#Jill sees what he's doing the whole time but she never comments on it

[hamartia-grander]

All I want in Resident Evil: Death Island is for Jill and Leon to have a Thor and Peter Quill dynamic

[futbol16]

Who’s Loss  • England Lionesses

Request:  If you write this type of thing maybe R X Lionesses where it's a big game and R found out that her sibling has been put in the hospital or one of her parents died. Throughout the match R is playing terrible and is missing shots,passes,touches and Leah shouts at them on the pitch and half time or end of the game everyone it shouting at R and blaming them until either Jill comes in and hugs R out of nowhere or R leaves at some point to the hospital (unless they have already passed away) and the team found out what happened and u can decide 

Word count: 1,9k

You have no idea what is going on with you but you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing. Your football isn’t working, whatever you try you fail at it. Your passes aren’t connecting, you let the opposition foul you as if you are blind to their presence near you and you’re playing your worst football.

The look on Leah’s face would be an understatement for how you felt. It was an incredibly important match against Germany who were here on a revenge tour for the lost Euros, worst time for revenge at least for England because you were in a World Cup semi-final and it looked like you were losing. 

You didn’t want to think in such a negative way, it was still only the 38’th minute of the game, nowhere near being finished but the score was 1-0 to Germany and you doubted you would be able to help your team to a goal, not with the way you’ve been playing. Or not playing, that’s what Leah shouted at you the last time she passed you exactly two minutes ago.

It was rightful of her to be angry at you as captain. It was her job to make sure the team could give their all but you weren’t co-operating. You were trying but once again, nothing was working and you helplessly watched as the ball rolled over the side line under your foot, you mistimed it. 

“Y/N THE BALL FOR GOD’S SAKE!” Leah’s shout is louder than the screaming of the fans and you’re met with a harsh glare from the blonde. The rest of your teammates are sporting similar looks, many of them refusing to even look your way and you let yourself take a glance at Sarina.

You were playing terribly but if Sarina kept you in she must think differently, it could cost her and England a World Cup though and you definitely didn’t want that, much less to be the reason for the loss. You realize she might just sub you off at half time and for a mere second you’re relieved about it.

Leah has been on your ass the whole 40 minutes of the first half and she made sure you knew just how much she wanted you off the field in this moment, you did not blame her, once again, but the comments and constant glares did hurt. 

You knew why you weren’t doing your best, scratch that, why you were playing like you’ve never seen a football. Recently your older brother had been diagnosed with cancer and he fought hard but it had been late and the chemo therapies were doing little to help him and he spent most of his days tied to a hospital bed. Not literally, but it felt like that for the both of you.

The two of you were very close despite the five year age gap, he had always been someone you could rely on, he was the reason you started playing because your parents were against the idea until he talked to them and they allowed you to try yourself out in the sport. 

He knew he didn’t have much time left but you’d always deny it despite seeing how weak he was getting, you were in denial you didn’t want to lose your big brother. 

His condition got a lot worse two days ago and he was rushed to urgent care, hence why you weren’t able to focus on the match you were supposed to be playing. All your thoughts were consumed by the well being of your brother and guilt at not being there with him in the hospital on what would undoubtedly be one of his last days with you. 

When the half time whistle is blown you’re bent over, hands resting on your knees as you breathe in deeply and you watch as both teams make their way back to the tunnel and their respective changing rooms. You feel the presence next to you but you don’t dare to look up knowing exactly who it is, instead they lean down to your height making sure no one else would hear.

“Get yourself together Y/L/N or I will have you subbed off and you’ll watch your team lose on the bench.” This isn’t the Leah you know, and you know she’s not herself right now, the girl is under immense amount of pressure and you were not helping her case. 

You give her a small nod and she leaves you there, eventually one of the staff members walking onto the pitch to escort you to the changing room after your teammates.

Whispers are what you hear first when you enter the room and none of the girls notice your presence as harsh comments are thrown around, all of which are about them wanting you on the bench or that you’re threatening their chance of winning the World Cup.

You let them whisper, too consumed by your own thoughts until loud cheers interrupt the negative and hopeless energy.

“JILL!” in an instant the girls are piling on the retired footballer who greets them with a big smile and gives them a short pep talk about not giving up.

Her eyes are set on you however and she beckons you over, the look in her eyes making you hold your breath. The girls watch confused as Jill guides you into the corridor before the door closes in Leah’s face and whispers are exchanged again, this time about whether you were going to get an earful from the woman or not.

Just as the whispers die down they’re replaced with loud booming sobs and wails, your crying echoes off the walls of the hallways and if anyone were to take a look out their door they’d witness your collapsed form that Jill tries to hold up, her own tears running down her face. Instead your team just assumes you were, thankfully, going to be sent off the pitch. 

The sobs quiet down after a few minutes until the area goes silent and the next time your teammates see you you’re ready to walk back onto the field, much to their surprise.

There’s a fire in your eyes, along with something else they haven’t yet figured out but the second half of the match it’s like you’re a completely new person from the one before, you’re yourself.

Aggressively playing the game you were so passionate about and Leah isn’t shouting at you as much as before, but it’s not enough. With the score at 1-1 by the end of added time, the teams are forced to go into a penalty shootout.

It’s beyond stressful and you can’t help but bite at your nails as each player takes a shot.

Fran first, German player, you’re too focused on the ball to notice who on the other team lines up, Lauren then German player and so on until England’s fourth player, Lauren Hemp has taken her shot. Both teams are still at an equal, three shots in one shot missed and as Germany miss their final penalty, you know this is England’s final chance at winning the semi-finals.

Leah looked around for someone to take it, usually you were England’s key free kick and penalty taker but she was doubting your capabilities right now, especially after the first half of the match.

Nonetheless, you approach your captain with a determined look.

“Please Leah, let me take it, please I promise you” you’re begging her at this point, desperately pleading with her and she contemplates. For a moment she looks to Sarina only to find the manager enthusiastically nodding as if she hadn’t seen the way you played the first 45 minutes. But if Sarina believes in you, and she does then so does Leah. 

Your eyes zero in on the goalkeeper and everything around you goes silent, focus on getting the ball where it belongs in the back of the net. Much like the past two hours, your mind wanders elsewhere and with the feeling of your brother next to you, waiting for your big moment you take a final breath and run up.

You strike the ball, a strike that barely has the ball spinning and it’s in slow motion as the goalkeeper dives in the direction of the ball. 

You could practically hear Leah cursing herself for letting you take the shot but then suddenly the ball changes directions and ends up in the upper left corner, opposite of where the goalkeeper had reached. 

Screams of joy are heard throughout the stadium as you run towards the corner flag before falling to your knees. You dedicate it to your big brother as you point to the sky, head tilted upwards as tears flow down your cheeks and your body shakes as you’re overwhelmed with emotion.

Teammates pile on you and hug you but you pay them no mind, eyes set on the starry sky above until Sarina reaches over and pulls you out from the pile.

You let yourself drape over her shoulders as she hugs you and congratulates you, she was the only one apart from Jill who knew about your brother’s condition. She believed in you too, just like he had.

“He’s so very proud of you Y/N” she lets you know and you nod into her shoulder, letting her go after a few moments.

You avoid eye contact with your teammates, all who share guilty looks amongst each other and you head for the German team to thank them for the game and console them. Many had been your club teammates just a year ago. 

Leah watches as your form gets smaller as you walk further down the pitch to Lena and she turns to Jill.

A few other girls crowd the former England player demanding for answers to their questions. The next time Leah turns to you, the blonde has a sorrowful look on her face, one she shouldn’t have after winning a World Cup semi-final but she feels like she’s betrayed you.

The English girls glance at each other, defeated and guilty expressions as they learn about your brother. You avoid all of them as long as you can and your captain has known you long enough to realize what was next. 

You were going to turn off your emotions, it’s what you did when something became overwhelming and you were hurt. The way you chewed on your lip to keep the tears at bay and the looks some of the German players shot told her enough and though to the outside world it just looked like the Germans were salty about the loss, Leah and the team knew it was something else. 

Her thoughts are far from the World Cup as she holds her head, now more upset with herself than anyone else as she remembers what she has said during the game. 

She was a complete asshole and she let your friends do the same too, she didn’t know if you’d let them back in again, if you were going to be willing to call them your team again.

[drabblesandimagines]

can we get something with the FF16 girls for the 400 request? I'm not sure if you write for the girls too, but I really want a Girl Talk with Jill, Tarja, Vivian and reader 😩 where, for example, they encourage Jill to confess her feelings to Clive? and maybe with Jill throwing reader under the bus in which she expose that she sees the tension between Joshua and reader just to draw the attention away from her? 👀❤️

Thank you, anon! This was a fun prompt - I hope I did it some justice and got everyone in character. Please drop me an ask and lemme know what you think xxx Lead By Example Joshua Rosfield x fem reader, fluff 1,327 words

“I still remember that look on his face five years ago when he saw you in your new clothes, Jill,” Tarja teases, leaning across the table as she speaks. “Could’ve knocked him down with a chocobo feather.”

“I’m not surprised,” Jill replies. “I looked quite the state when he first saw me, it must’ve been quite the transformation.”

“That’s not what Tarja meant and you know it,” you elbow the Shiva Dominant in the side, lightly.

“Mayhaps I should add the study of romance to his curriculum.” Vivian adds, before taking a sip of the ale, trying her best to hide her grimace. It’s never quite sat with her palate.

You’re all sat in a corner table in the Ale Hall, the other patrons having long left. It had been a while since the four of you were in the Hideaway at the same time, or at least you and Jill – Vivian hardly left and Tarja only occasionally. You’d arranged to supper together to catch up, which had led to the late hour. Jill had returned from an outing with Clive that morning and the conversation, encouraged along by some of Molly’s brown, had moved along to the relationship between one Lord Rosfield and one Lady Warrick, much to the latter’s embarrassment.

“Clive still would never admit to it. The man’s swore blind to me he’s fine when he’s quite clearly bleeding.” Tarja counteracts.

“I think Clive’s too reserved to be so bold with his feelings.” You grin. “It’s going to have to be you, Jill.”

“I assure you I am unaware of what you mean.” She replies, lightly, scrutinizing the contents of her own tankard.

“Oh, you certainly do. Come on, Jill, please take the rest of us out of our misery.  Founder, the whole Hideaway has witnessed the lingering glances between you both. We should probably put it in the welcome speech. Welcome to the Hideaway, where you are free to live and die on your own terms. And, yes, Clive and Jill are infatuated with each oth-“

“What about you and Joshua?” Jill interrupts, a knowing smile on her face.

It’s as if your brain stops working for a moment as her comment renders you speechless. You swallow, your throat strangely dry, and try and sound confused. “W-what?”

“What’s all this?” Vivian places her hand under her chin, leaning more towards Jill’s direction. “This bit of information has yet to cross my table.”

“There’s not any information… I mean, I don’t know where you’ve got that impression.” You protest, taking a sip of ale to try and steady your nerves.

“Come to think of it,” Tarja mulls, “I may have heard a certain name mumbled when Joshua was resting in the infirmary.”

“You did?” You shake your head. “No, you must be mistaken. There’s nothing between me and Joshua. You’re just trying to distract us from the real matter at hand of you and Clive.”

“Of course not,” Jill smiles, slyly, “I just want my dear friend to be happy – you should tell him how you feel.”

“There’s nothing to tell him, but you and Clive however-”

“No, I think Jill is correct. I have observed your interactions, there’s definitely something going on there.” Vivian drums her fingers on the table in thought.

“Especially as you’ve gone as red as his cowl at the mention of his name,” Tarja muses.

“You’re all wrong - I do not love Joshua.” You protest, a little too loud for the hour.

“Ah, we didn’t say you did. How odd that you’d be so defensive of something we did not state.” Vivian smirks.

“I didn’t mean-”

The door to the shelves open rather abruptly, causing you all to stop short. You thought Tomes had retired hours ago - you’d seen him depart, even - but the figure at the top of the stairs is not him, but one clad in red and black with a mop of blonde hair…

“I beg your forgiveness for interrupting your conversation, ladies,” Joshua begins, striding down the stairs. “I’m afraid I got rather carried away in my research till this late hour.”

“Were you successful?” Jill queries.

“In certain matters, yes.” The Phoenix grins, approaching the table, a certain glint in his eye and your stomach flips. Could he have overheard Jill? “I hope your evening has been enjoyable.”

“Oh, indeed.” Vivian smiles. “It has proven quite… fruitful.”

Joshua quirks an eyebrow, curious.

“In fact, we were just talking about you, Joshua.” Jill smiles and your heart is pounding. She wouldn’t…

“Oh,” he looks over at Tarja. “I suspect my reluctance to take your most recent concoction.”

“Not quite-” The healer begins, but you jump to your feet, startling them all.

“Apologies, but I am quite overdue my bed, so I will bid you all a good night.”

Fate has other plans – or maybe it’s your nerves and the ale – because as you turn to step away, you stumble, catching your boot on the edge of a floorboard. Joshua is swiftly at your side and catches you by your elbow, preventing you from greeting the floor. He rests his hand on the small of your back as he helps you upright.

“Are you all right?”

“Fine, thank you.” You hope the low lighting of the Ale Hall is hiding the red in your cheeks. “Just a misstep.”

“Well, permit me to escort you to your bunk, my lady, lest any more steps betray you so.”

“Oh. No, that’s kind, but I’ll be-”

“I think that is a fine idea, Joshua – thank you.” Jill smiles, folding her hands in her lap. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, ladies.” The Phoenix nods his head in greeting, before encouraging you forward towards the stairs, one hand still lightly gripping your arm and the other still pressed against your back.

He’s polite enough to pretend he does not hear the outburst of laughter as the two of you reach the boarding deck and walk along, heading towards the mess to cut up past the infirmary to the bunks.

You should say something, you reason, but your tongue won’t co-operate with him touching you, holding you so close. Glancing to the side, the moonlight is clearly illuminating the amused expression gracing his features.

“I…” You begin, but falter off as your mind and mouth fail you.

“I am not sure if you’re aware, but the acoustics from the Ale Hall at this hour travel remarkably well into the shelves…”

You swallow. “I… am not sure what you thought you heard, but-”

“No, I wholeheartedly agree.” He comments as you both begin to ascend the stairs to the mess. “Jill does need to confess. I love my brother dearly, but he’s always been far too reserved in matters involving his heart.”

“I worry she thinks he’s too busy for such things. I do just want the two of them to be happy.”

“Well, perhaps I should give him some guidance.”

“Oh?” You pause – you’d crossed the mess and were now at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the bunks. Joshua drops his hand as you stop and you immediately miss the warmth.

“Clive has never been a scholar, so I will have to more practical in my example. Would you permit me to demonstrate?”

He couldn’t possibly mean what you think he means, but you nod firmly all the same.

Before you can blink, he wraps one arm around your waist to pull you close, his other hand resting between your shoulder blades and he presses his lips to yours in a soft, slow kiss. You can’t comprehend how the evening has ended in this way and can’t help but pout as he moves away.

“Hm.” He muses, dropping his other hand down to your waist to embrace you fully. “Though that was a fine example, I do believe we should practice a little more, just to make sure we really get the point across – wouldn’t you agree, my darling?”

--

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[shrimplymoray]

After a while of trying, I ended up uninstalling Twitter again. That app is not for me lmao.

On the other hand, though, I am feeling quirky and want to make a new HCs post of creepypasta. So...

Creepypasta characters soft spots*

Featuring: Jeff the Killer, Jane Everlasting, Nina the Killer, Homicidal Liu, Sully, BEN, Eyeless Jack, Laughing Jack, Laughing Jill, Candy Pop, Jason the Toymaker

* bear in mind I make them a tad bit fucked up in the head, so beware (though it IS Creepypasta)

Tw: slightly graphic canibalism description, mentions of abandonment trauma, canon like control freakiness on Jason's part

Jeff The Killer - expressiveness and not being easily intimidated

Jeff is a pretty... Expressive guy, to not say a huge asshole with a big ego. And even though he might not say it, he does admire someone being expressive. It took him a long time (and a mental breakdown) to start expressing himself how he wanted to. If he meets someone that is expressive be it verbally or physically, he will end up circling around them more often than others.

Hand in hand with that, if the person is not easily intimidated and has the courage to talk him out of his mean comments, he might as well ask to be friends with them. As much as he denies it, he enjoys not scaring someone by being himself from time to time.

Jane Everlasting - housekeeping skills and good music taste

Jane is not the easiest person to get along with. However, if you know how to work a stove, and knows that x product is better at cleaning windows than y, she finds than entertaining. She misses Mary so much, and having someone that reminds her of Mary, it warms her on the inside.

This is more of her being a bit of a nitpick, but she despises having to deal with screamo or those techno songs. She deals with it too much from the others, so having the chance to listen to classic romantic ballads, or some soft Jazz while reading a book, by her fave person's side, and not having a complaint at all? That's a dream. One that seems so far away to her reality, being near so many emos

Nina the Killer - foot on earth and alternative fashion

If you stayed even 5 minutes with Nina, you would understand why she appreciates someone hard on reality. Nina is easily enthusiastic and also impulsive as fuck. So having someone to keep her from breaking the whole house down, or to make sure she doesn't throw someone out of the second floor window, it really helps her out in the end, and she knows it.

Nina, although she is slowly getting better at keeping this down, is still a bit obsessed with Jeff, so alternative styles like emo and her beloved Scene style, it makes her feel like she is right up her alley. She would pick matching fits for you two, and also make a whole blog just for pictures of you two with very 2000s core stuff. Plus: hot topic dates.

Homicidal Liu - respectfulness and good cooking skills

Liu has gone through a lot of traumatic events, all his life. Some he holds the memories, after alter fusion, and others... Not so much. But what he does know is that disrespect towards his person, and what he has gone through, is something he doesn't want to go through never again. So being respectful, in the sense of not narrowing him to DID guy, or to murderer, it makes him genuinely happy.

Liu misses his family, even though it wasn't the best family. It's been 11 years since he lost all his family, so sometimes he will try cooking food that his parents used to make. However he... Is not the best cook. He tries, he really does, but it's not his thing. So having someone put the time and effort to do this small act, of cooking him the food that he misses since a teen, it makes him have butterflies. Plus, seeing his lover in an apron sounds cute in his mind.

Sully - strong morals and dark humor

Sully may share a body with Liu, but he is still his own person, as an alter. And most importantly he is the system protector. It is his role to make sure no more trauma is suffered. So, having a lover that understand that and agrees with him, it is a sight to behold to him. And most importantly, having someone that understands and respects the boundaries he puts, which are many, is important for him.

Now... The system is rather small, and so Sully is a trauma holder alter. But... His method of coping with that trauma is mostly through dark humor. Jokes about his trauma done by him or the body, is the way he knows how to cope and, in his eyes, not turn into a monster like Jeff, which he despises. Having someone letting him indulge in his not healthy but necessary coping mechanism, and even joking around with their own problems, it ends up in a great pair for him.

B.E.N._drowned - Sass, nerdiness and night owl

BEN is not really a human, and although he sometimes can be very human like due to the Moonchildren Souls, the one in control is still the Behavioral Environment Network. So he has the power to be as mean as he wants and not feel remorse. Though as a behavioral AI, he can react in many ways depending what his code finds most fitting. He didn't start liking sass, but after being around Jeff and collecting data to act based on that, besides the souls, he ended up sassy, and enjoys now having sass thrown back at him. It is a familiar environment, which is something he sometimes need.

He is based around on TLOZ, and his souls had that common interest besides other games, so of course he wants a gamer to fit with him. He doesn't sleep, so having someone also be a night owl and stay the whole night spending time with him, letting him learn their functions and behavior, it makes him enthusiastic, as much as malevolent code can be.

Eyeless Jack - Patience and a hard stomach

Jack, different than a lot of the others, didn't want to be here at first. And as such he isn't the easiest to approach, sometimes being plainly reclusive, and others being aggressive. Having patience but still perseverance to approach him at his own time, and let things go in his time, it makes him trust you even more.

Jack, as we all know, is a human eating being. Not sure cannibal is the right term since he isn't a human anymore, but I'll use it for now. As a cannibal, it is not easy to be around him sometimes. He is not afraid to eat in front of others if needed, or to harvest organs out of a human carcass. If you can endure at least the putrid smell of organs and blood, than you will find EJ to not be he worst to be around.

Laughing Jack - playfulness and clingyness

LJ is, as we all know I assume, a clown! So what would I clown like to be around? People who know how to have fun, of course! Playful battering, joking around, a good sense for a performance, this are all things that, summed by playfulness, make Jack feel alive. The feeling of succeeding at making his lover laugh till their cheeks turn red, it is a sight to behold to him, so having a good sense of playfulness makes things a lot easier.

On the other hand, Jack was once abandoned for years in his toy box. He grew to feel lonely, sometimes even around others. Having someone being close to him, even when not the best option to do so, and the feeling of being wanted all times. It does magic to the clown.

Laughing Jill - good sense of humor and optimism

Jill, like Jack, is a big clown lady and as such, she loves to make people laugh and have fun! She isn't the fondest of the more mean plays, but she does love striking jokes around, so having a good sense of humor is the best option of a pair for her!

Although she was made to be happy and make others happy, she can have negative emotions too. But having someone that will make sure to let her know that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and give her the care she gives to others, it is truly special for her.

Candy Pop - chaotic nature and being laid back

Candy is to an extent a genie like entity. And as such, they love to bring chaos, and distort stuff to their amusement. And as such, having someone that matches their personality is what they want. C'mon, who doesn't want to see what can happen if they inflate their head like a balloon? I do.

As such, someone strict to the rules, and someone that wants them to be in line at all times bore them if not anger them. They need some semblance of freedom. Being laid back, doing your stuff when they do theirs, and uniting forces to end get out of trouble, that's love to them.

Jason the Toymaker - size difference and art appreciation

Jason is someone that likes to feel in control of any and all situation. He is a manipulators, so making sure he is the one up top, it's what he wants ever and ever. Having someone smaller than him, it gives him a semblance of control, even if only illusory. It plays in his control freakiness.

As a toymaker, he is an artisan. He loves to create intricate toys, which are pieces of art in itself. Having someone that appreciates it and praises him for it, it boosts his already inflated ego. He might plainly squeeze you for your praises, as a thank you.

That's all I got for now, might do some others plus the proxies on another post.

Reminder that it is cool if you don't agree or like these, y'all can have your own opinions and it is very valid! This is how I like the characters (aka sick in the head).

[getmeoutofhell]

Mickey Altieri x f reader

summary: mickey has a gift for you.

warnings: just mickey being mickey.

a/n: this takes place with the whole gf group. but this is for my BFF helloooo frennn. also happy eve y’all!!

“Merry christmas everyone!!” you said as you walked into the living room.

you were so excited today, the reason being is because you had mickey for secret santa.

“merry christmas y/n.” ethan said to you, handing you a small bag which you assumed was a gift from him.

“you dumb brain we aren’t supposed to do the secret santa until after we eat!” roman told him, slightly annoyed.

“ohhh right, my bad. sorry y/n pretend this never happened.” ethan then walked away to the christmas tree to put his gift back on the floor.

“okay ethan.” you said in between laughter.

you had your gift in your hand. no surprise you actually pulled mickeys name for the secret santa. you thought he some how did it on purpose, but you didn’t question it.

you and mickey had pretty strong feelings for each other for a while. you wouldn’t say he loved you, but you knew you loved him.

you saw stu put his gift on the floor under the tree, hiding it behind a bigger present.

“i know i was supposed to just get one gift. but the person i got deserves more than one.”

you knew immediately he picked billy or ambers name.

“you must have gotten billy or ambers name since you saying they deserve more than one.”

stu then put his index finger to his lips, making a shh sound and waking away. you playfully rolled your eyes at him.

“oh my god what’s that smell?” it was jill. she came and sat next to you in the couch.

“it’s mickey, charlie, and richie burning up the fucking turkey.” roman told her.

“that does stink damn.” you said, laughing at the end.

“no surprise it’s those three.” jill added.

*time skip 1 hour*

“okay guys, it’s time to come eat at the table. hurry up!” roman yelled to everybody.

you went and sat at the seat close to the end of the table. to your surprise mickey came and sat next to you.

“hey beautiful.” he smiled at you.

“oh! hey mickey, merry christmas.” you felt your body get a little warm from embarrassment, so you tried to avoid eye contact with him. no matter how many times you guys talked, his voice still make you a nervous wreck.

“merry christmas y/n.” you notice he had a christmas hat on, with an ugly sweater.

“nice sweater.” you tried to avoid the awkwardness with a joking compliment.

“thanks.” he chuckled.

about 5 seconds later everyone else started walking in the room, finding a seat to sit in.

ethan sat on your right, as mickey was on your left.

a little bit later, charlie and roman brought out the turkey and ham and sat them on the table. then went back into the kitchen and grabbed to rest of the food.

“thank god the food is done, i’m literally starving.” amber said. “that turkey looks and smells burnt.” jill stated, looking at it with disgust.

“let’s be nice jill, i bet they tried their best, right mickey?” you turned to mickey, waiting for an answer. “uhhh, yes?” you laughed.

“i guess not then, continue the slander jill.” jill laughed at your comment.

“okay guys let’s now eat.” roman told everyone.

as your enjoying your food, you look over at mickey, who was already looking at you. “is something wrong?” you asked concerned.

“do you know how pretty you are? like seriously.” he smiles. you feel your whole face get hot and you look away and avoid eye contact once again. “uhhh, i don’t know what to say to that. thanks i guess?” he then puts his hand on yours, rubbing it softly.

stu notices, and makes a shocked face. “ohhhh, the two love bugs are back at it.” he laughed and then stuffed his face with more food.

you felt your body heat up again, staring at your plate nervously. you turned to look at mickey, who’s face was a tiny bit red. “don’t do the most stu.” he said.

now it’s after dinner, and time to open the secret santa gifts. you were kinda excited to see what ethan had got you. but you were more excited to show mickey the gift you got him.

“alright let’s pass the gifts around. ethan…how about you go first. since you already spoiled who you got a gift for.” roman stated.

ethan mumbled a “my bad” and went and grabbed the gift with your name on it, and then looked for the one with his name.

“ohh, i wonder who got me this gift. y/n was it you?” he handed you your gift, and then sat down and opened his.

“maybe. maybe not.” you teased him, knowing you didn’t get his name. “okay so, this is ambers.” roman started handing the gifts to who they belong to. he eventually handed mickey his gift, then going to sit down.

you watch as everyone opens their gifts, all enjoying and making jokes with each other. “aren’t you gonna open your gift y/n?” mickey asked you, looking at you then the gift. “yeah! wait, you got me a gift?” you tried to remove the awkwardness by laughing. “special gift for a special girl.” he chuckles. you look inside the bag to find a box. you then look at him for a second before grabbing the box and reading it.

it was titled ‘my love’.

you then opened the box to see what was inside, only to find pictures of you during your everyday life. “do you like it princess?” he asked you. you took a minute to process what you were looking at, picking up and looking through the pictures. there was pictures of you in your pjs, and even pictures of you in the living room by yourself. “how?” you thought. “what…why? i appreciate the gift, it’s just…” you stared at the pictures. he put his hand on your knee. “now do you believe i love you?” you only started at him in disbelief, but felt your face and body heat up. maybe he does love you?

AHH I HOPE YOU LOVE THISSSS

[ashrillvenheim]

Awakening Past

Chapter 19

NOTE I want to make an annotation for this chapter. This is a fic that, as you can see, is very long and I have realized that there are chapters that get out of hand to the point of having to make two parts. I have been writing another 7-chapter fic in which I condense the story and the way of narrating it, so I wanted to implement a personal limitation for the length of the chapters that will come after this one. I would like to know your opinion about this chapter. I would like to know what you think about the transition of time, the events and the pace at which it takes place. I would appreciate if you could leave a comment to know your opinion about it! :3

pairing: Ashley Graham x Leon S Kennedy.

Content: (+18) romance, angst, gore, erotic/suggestive themes at some point, slow burn, violence, action, self-harm, death talk,

If you're a MINOR DON'T keep reading, thank you.

Archive of our own / WORK LIST / Awakening Past Masterlist

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Everything was spinning horribly.

It felt like she had a goblin stuck in her head hammering against her skull.

Ashley grunted for the umpteenth time trying to focus on the papers. The dogs had laid down in the corner and were playing with a worn rope.

The call she got from Victor to see how her injuries were going was like a punch in the face and she was about to say something outrageous to him, but managed to control herself.

It was a brief call, she would probably give it to Leon as well and she was grateful that Victor was concerned about her strange cases. It put her mind at ease.

She took a second coffee, but the goblin was still pummeling her brain and she could only drop her head against the table.

Everything was a blur.

From a moment during dinner she no longer had clear images of what happened.

She just hoped she hadn't done anything foolish.

The door opened to let in Jill, Chris and Leon, who were chatting over a cup of coffee and stood still when they saw Ashley with her head against the table.

“Should we be worried?” Redfield said with an arched eyebrow.

Ashley grunted.

“ Don't expect much from me today.” she mumbled with her forehead pressed against the metal table.

That answer seemed to calm the three of them down and Jill walked over to the dogs.

“What a show you gave us yesterday.” smiled Valentine scratching Mint's belly.

Leon glanced sideways at Ashley who snapped her head up.

“ Tell me I didn't do something stupid.” his voice was alarmed.

Chris laughed sitting down on a stool.

“ It depends, if you consider it stupid to sing an "exciting" song.” he emphasized the word with a mocking air.

The three of them could see the blonde's face gradually turn red and then she slammed back down on the table.

“ Oh God... it was not a dream…”

Jill and Chris laughed, but Leon couldn't get out his trademark laugh. Too focused on not thinking about what happened the night before for Ashley not to smell his nerves. So he tried to deflect it onto someone else.

“ You don't know how you were sticking it to Chris.” Kennedy joked, taking a seat on the other side of the room.

Ashley tried to sink her head deeper into the table, holding her hands to the crown of her head.

“ For God's sake, stop it. You're never taking me out to party again and I'm never drinking again, I'm done.” she said, red up to her ears. Leon could hear her heart beating wildly.

“ Oh come on, the song was great, people would pay to see you perform.”

Ashley almost gagged as she imagined doing that whole show for an audience and the embarrassment made her groan under her breath.

“ Chris…” she whimpered in embarrassment.

Chris, Jill and Leon laughed, but the latter still remembered that dark look he gave her during the deep words of the song. He was under the influence of alcohol, but he wondered to what extent the things Ashley had done the day before had been unintentional.

The two ex-Stars teased him for a while longer until Narsson and Maria arrived an hour later.

Vazquez turned to Ashley and the blonde pointed at her in warning.

“ Don't. Start.” she stressed every word. “ Not a word of this to my father or James, is that clear?”

Maria pretended to be offended.

“ Me? I would never do that to you.”

Ashley closed her eyes.

“ You recorded me and sent it to James the first time, I'm still saving it for you.”

Vazquez rolled her eyes and sighed.

“ What a poor sense of humor you have Ashley.”

“ I want to keep my dignity.” she argued.

From Leon's point of view, even if Ashley had been drunk, at no point did she lose her dignity. Quite the contrary. She captured the attention and the hearts of those who saw her sing that night like a femme fatale.

Narsson noticed the way Leon watched Ashley as she argued with Maria. Enma scratched her chin and began to feel her curiosity demon emerge from the bed and poke its head out.

She approached Leon cautiously and tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.

“ Hey did something happen yesterday?” she whispered in a playful tone.

Leon knew instantly what she was talking about, but played dumb.

“ What do you mean?”

“ Oh come on. Yesterday Ashley was over the top and the same way she clung to Chris she could cling to you. Did something happen last night?” Enma hinted with an arched eyebrow.

Leon kept firm eye contact, until a sudden image of Ashley on top of him came to his mind, making him blink and blush subtly.

“ Nothing happened.”

"Little liar" thought Enma even more eager to know what had happened and continued to press in.

“ Wow, I think someone's going to grow a nose.”

Leon looked at her in surprise.

“ I'm not lying, nothing happened.”

“ Mmm…”

Like lightning he turned to Ashley.

“Ashley what-”

Leon quickly covered her mouth with his heart in his fist and with a smile dragged her out of the room like a sack. He closed the door on his way out.

Ashley blinked not quite understanding what was going on, but it struck her as odd that Leon was acting so...close to Narsson.

Her heart skipped a beat as her mind processed the information.

Did something happen between them last night?

*

“You're supposed to be an adult, dammit," Leon growled down the corridor, away from prying ears.

“Well then tell me what happened.” Enma crossed her arms.

Leon rolled his eyes.

“Why the fuck do you want to meddle in Ashley's personal life?”

She glared at him.

“I want to make sure that the team I'm working with isn't suffering from problems that could affect the performance of the investigation.”

Leon threw back his head with a "Ha!" and looked at her coldly again.

“ And I am Julius Caesar. Now tell me you're not going to ask her.”

Narsson drummed his fingers against his arm.

“ She doesn't remember?”

Leon sighed.

“It doesn't look like it, and I'm not going to ask her to confirm it.”

This time it was Narsson who rolled her eyes.

“ Have you had unprotected sex?”

Leon hissed, covering her mouth with his red face.

“No, damn it. We haven't had any of that.”

Enma pressed.

“Unprotected and you finished inside.”

Leon clenched his jaw wanting to strangle her.

“Your FUCK- She pinned me to the floor, touched my lips and painted them with what she was wearing on hers, happy?”

Enma blinked at the sudden confession that was not at all what she had expected.

“Did she kiss you?”

“No. She smeared her fingers with her lipstick and then painted them on me.”

Narsson was speechless for a few seconds.

“Are you kidding me?”

Leon turned red up to his ears and approached her menacingly.

“Do I look like I want to joke about a situation like this with the president's daughter?”

She thought that argument was solid enough, but that didn't stop her from doubling over in laughter and trying to hold back a laugh.

“My God...it's not like you guys are Mormons, are you really in such worry about that?”

“Yes, is there a problem?”

Leon's flat voice made Narsson stop laughing. He stared at her and saw the seriousness in his expression.

“Aren't you going to tell her?”

“It's stupid and I don't want her to feel any worse about it than she already does.” Leon said decisively, really aware that knowing something like that wouldn't help Ashley at all. “ And I hope you don't either.”

His voice was a clear warning and Narsson held up his hands.

“ Let's make a deal.”

The agent arched his eyebrows.

“Enma, don't fuck with me.”

“I want the special homemade croissants from the bakery across the street from the Museum as my breakfast in exchange for my silence.”

Leon pinched the bridge of his nose, not understanding this woman.

“How many..." he sighed.

“I want you to buy me one in the morning for a month.”

He grunted heavily and utterly defeated. He really was persistent.

“All right, it's a deal.”

Enma held out her hand with a broad smile that Leon reluctantly took.

“Perfect. You can go for the first one today.”

Narsson spun on her heel and headed back toward the lab. Leon wanted to slam his head against the wall, but he took a deep breath and went after her, thinking about that darn croissant. 

Ashley turned when she heard them enter the lab. Narsson was smiling broadly and Leon followed her with his hands in his pockets and then grabbed the dogs and announced their departure.

“Can I get you anything?” he asked in a slightly more... defeated tone.

“You know mine.” Enma said like a teenager, turning back to her notes and oblivious to Ashley's gaze.

The blonde didn't understand what was going on.

“Bring me another coffee.” Maria said and Leon nodded before leaving with the dogs.

Ashley stared at the door for a few seconds and then turned back to Narsson. Her former teacher was glancing at her notes calmly and Ashley felt a small thorn begin to lodge in her chest.

Something had to have happened between them, right? She could ask Chris or Jill about it, but... it made her feel bad to pry into other people's private lives.

So she decided to focus on her notes.

Half an hour later Leon returned with Maria's coffee and another bag that he handed to Narsson.

He didn't want to think about it. She really didn't want to think about it, but it was enough that she didn't remember the events after last night's dinner very well to make her feel uncomfortable.

She tried to focus on work, finally receiving the box with the fossil samples and carbon results.

Ashley focused on applying her studies alongside Enma without thinking too much about other things. but every time she looked at her former tutor and her former bodyguard, her mind decided to throw her a little party.

Had they kissed? Had they had sex? Had they had...?

"Ashley, stop it. Enough." she said to herself over and over again, feeling bad for thinking those things. They were adults, they could do whatever they wanted.

It was their lives, not his.  So she swallowed her thoughts .

*

For the next two days, Ashley and Narsson spent the next two days sorting through all the fragments and elements of the fossils that Graham, Leon, Chris and Jill found in Spain. They located on the world map and in the areas where more types of these bivalves had been found, trying to look for a pattern of origin. But so far with no luck.

In those two days Ashley saw how Leon brought Narsson the same bag from the bakery across the street from the Museum and Enma always smiled at him with a thank you. 

She didn't like that feeling. She didn't like that tiny demon that had started to wander around in her head.

She didn't ask any questions. She didn't want to know and it was none of her business, but one of those days she had to take a break.

She saw Leon watching Narsson too much, as if he was watching her. Was it about what Leon stopped her from saying a few days ago?

Whatever it was, she needed to strangle that horrible demon whispering in her ear.

“I'm going out for a while.” She announced getting up from her seat and not waiting for anyone to offer to accompany her.

Leon watched her go and for a moment thought about following her on impulse. After being her escort for three months he had become accustomed to going wherever she went.

But he had a feeling that this was not the time.

*

Ashley walked down the hallway toward the museum library. One of the benefits of being doing research in the lab was that they were given access to other worker-only areas.

She needed to disconnect. To stop smelling her scents. 

She opened the door showing her badge and lost herself among the shelves of the place. She read the spines of the old volumes that adorned the shelves and inhaled the faint scent of the dust that accumulated on the less used books. Her amber eyes reached the other side of the aisle, where she perceived another figure, but to which she paid no attention.

She continued to snoop around, glancing at some document that might bring her something, but finding nothing new that they didn't have in the lab. She remained engrossed until she perceived someone approaching her.

“ Excuse me," said the man. 

Ashley turned to him. A dark-haired boy with a grayish eye was looking at her with a curious air.

“ Yes?” she replied, not recognizing him at all. Even his scent didn't ring a bell.

The boy seemed to watch her for a couple of seconds, as if he were confirming something.

�� Forgive me for being so blunt, but did you sing at the river bar three days ago?”

Ashley's face turned hopelessly red.

“ No... I think you're confused.” she tried to evade the question, because all she needed was for someone to spread the word that the president's daughter had gotten drunk in public and then put on a show.

“I'm sure it's you, it was unbelievable. I never would have expected to run into you in this place. I'm Dylan, by the way.” He held out his hand, which she took, still a little confused.

“ Ashley, are you sure you're not confusing me?” she insisted, but somewhat surprised that he didn't know who she was.

“Of course, you can't forget a show like that.” he winked teasingly, making Ashley blush hopelessly.

“Oh, please, I was drunk.” she covered her face and heard him laugh softly.

“Well, you didn't look it.”

“Well, I was.”

Dylan laughed again and looked at the shelves Ashley had been browsing.

“How long have you been working here? I've never seen you.”

She looked at him. He definitely didn't know who she was and that... relieved her.

“I started this week.” She smiled at him, finding the man's scent very pleasant.

Dylan nodded and scratched the back of his neck gently.

“I've been here for a year, if you want... I could show you some departments of the museum.”

Ashley was quiet for a moment.

Was he hitting on her?

 Her brain stopped processing.

“Only if you want of course, but I'd love to show you around.” Dylan finished with a soft smile.

He was definitely hitting on her.

Ashley was stumped not knowing what to do for a moment. She didn't realize she had been silent for too long.

“Ashley?” he called out to her, looking for a response from her.

She blinked finally and a shy smile tugged at her lips.

“Sure, I'd love to.”

Dylan's eyes widened with delight and his irises sparkled.

“Great. I'm kind of busy today, are you working tomorrow?”

Ashley couldn't help but feel infected by that smile.

“Yeah, do you want to meet up for break?”

“Sure, I'll see you tomorrow.” He said goodbye to her with a gentle caress on her shoulder and left.

Ashley stood in place for a few more seconds, still processing what had just happened.

She tried to be logical. To think clearly. She didn't know him and didn't know what his intentions were. She might discover some side of him she didn't like. She tried to think that he had only offered to give her a tour of the museum, nothing more.

And yet she clenched her fist and whispered a low "Yes!" of victory. 

*

Ashley re-entered the lab with a totally different expression than the one she had left with and Leon noticed. The agent was surprised at the sudden change, but didn't think much of it, perhaps he had just needed some fresh air.

Thanks to the small encounter, Ashley managed to focus much better that day. Her mind stopped paying attention to the little gestures between Narsson and Leon, or at least she could not give them too much relevance.

She kept that horrible demon in the back of her skull at bay, but was unaware of the way she avoided interacting with Leon Enma at the same time.

The rest of the day was uneventful. This time they didn't stay so late and Ashley was, surprisingly, the first to leave mid-afternoon. Though not exactly of her own free will, but because Jill forced her to.

" With a hangover you don't work well." she had told her as an argument, something that made Leon turn to them and simply added a " Take her word for it, trust me."

Ashley didn't ask, but knew it was something that happened a long time ago.

So after she finished labeling the fossil samples, she decided to call it a day. She took the dogs and said goodbye to Leon quickly as she felt his intrusive thoughts creeping back into her head.

When she returned home she decided to make dinner early and take a nice bath. She wanted to look her best for tomorrow, something she hadn't given much thought to in a while.

But he was looking forward to it.

The fact that Dylan didn't know she was the president's daughter and that he had approached her because he liked hearing her sing...it felt good.

So she gave herself a little treat in the bathtub.

She wanted to have a normal opportunity. Interact with a guy interested in her as a girl her age. Sometimes she'd been told she was too narrow-minded or too strict. Not swoony and loose enough like a normal college girl.

Ashley leaned back in the tub with a long sigh.

She wanted some of that... everyday life back, but she had to rein in her mind as she started to ramble on about possible situations or conversations that hadn't happened.

" Ash, calm down. tomorrow you have a date with him and you can chat and see what he's like." she said to herself in an attempt to calm her paranoid thoughts.

*

The package Leon left on top of Narsson's desk was the same as the day before.

And the one before that.

And the one from three days ago.

He sighed heavily, planting himself in front of the clipboard Ashley and Enma had been filling in.

No luck so far. The evidence was still the same, and it was somewhat difficult to investigate with caution lest he mention the plaga or the bug that was storing them. Everything they saw on that expedition to the Spanish mines was confidential to Narsson. At least the part about the biological weapons, the rest they had told him roughly.

Leon glanced at Ashley's desk shortly before Narsson arrived and greeted the rest of the team.

Even if he had made a deal with Enma, he didn't have a hair's breadth of confidence that he wouldn't inadvertently slip his tongue. So he kept an eye on the woman at all times.

What he had noticed were the long breaks Ashley had been taking these past few days.

“The sheets have stuck to your face Narsson?. - Jill joked with the teacher, who held her fingers to her face.

“You have to get your beauty sleep.”

Maria scoffed.

“And the extra hours? To rejuvenate to ten?”

Narson rolled her eyes at Vázquez's taunts.

“The extra hours of sleep are to recharge my batteries to support you.” Emma reproached her.

“I love you too.”

They laughed and the teacher walked over to her former student to compare the latest notes.

Leon sipped his coffee.

Yes. He had noticed Ashley's slight change in mood and... in her image.

She was putting on mascara.

Anyone would think it was bullshit, but he knew her and in the time he'd spent with her, she never wore makeup to class. Only on the day of the presentation.

So the fact that she was slathering on a lightly scented body cream and mascara was enough to make him wonder what was going on. 

Was it a bet with Casey? he wondered, but quickly dismissed it when he knew his friend wouldn't ask such a thing.

“These are the last labels.” and Ashley reported, holding out the papers to Narsson.

“It's been a long time since I've felt so blocked in an investigation. You've brought me a tough nut to crack.” sighed Enma, sitting down at the clipboard.

Ashley leaned back in her seat with a grunt.

“So much for that. It's neither mammal, bivalve, nor bird. Being a fossil we can't extract anything to tell us what its genetic code is, so we're just left to look for possible places it's been.”

Narsson stared at the fossilized specimen on the table.

“I still don't understand how this got to Spain. We said another bug seemed to have transported it, but we don't know where this creature came from either.”

Graham waved the pen in his hand.

“I don't know why I get the feeling there's something terribly obvious we're missing.”

Leon heard them sigh heavily as Chris, Jill and Maria discussed another extraneous topic.

“I've seen a Thai restaurant across the river, maybe we could go there sometime after work.” “Jill said, looking up the place on her cell phone.”

“Ugh, I don't know if that's a good idea.” Maria wrinkled her nose, unconvinced by the proposal. Chris arched his eyebrows and looked at her.

“What's the matter, any bad experiences? Did they serve you cat?” Redfiel scoffed with a laugh.

Maria tapped him on the shoulder.

“No, you idiot. I just don't tolerate very spicy things very well. I went to a Korean once and almost wanted to die. It was like opening Pandora's box.”

“PANGEA!!!”

Ashley and Narsson's scream made Leon spit out his half-swallowed coffee. He coughed loudly watching the blonde open one of the many encyclopedias and spread it out with a thud on the table.

“How had we not noticed this before?” Enma said turning the pages.

“I told you it was right under our noses.” Ashley told her with a big smile.

“And sometimes the most obvious thing is the thing you see the least yourself.” Narsson's eyes lifted for a moment to Leon and he tensed like a wire.

It was a second and then he went back to the map, but Ashley noticed. She saw the fleeting glance and felt something shrink in her.

This was already so much more. She couldn't be misreading things. It was impossible.

Her mind wandered for a moment, but she swatted the thoughts away. 

"No. Not now."

Narsson found the world map he was looking for. A depiction of the supercontinent of Pangea. Ashley refocused and frowned slightly.

“ The specimen I found is from the Cenozoic.” Ashley thought aloud and Emma listened intently.

“Yes, and Pangea formed in the middle of the Paleozoic. From that point to the Cenozoic, we have the entire Mesozoic in between.”

“It could come from anywhere…” Ashley started to say, sensing that they were back to square one.

“Think a little." said Narsson.

Ashley took her old teacher's advice and looked carefully at the map. The other four agents approached them curiously.

“The bug is from the Cenozoic and we found it in Spain, probably transported by another bug that hunted the fossil we have in an area that is now Norway. That puts us one route north.”

Narsson smiled at her former student's witty remark and she added

“Northward it could have gone through England and Ireland, but seeing how the continents split, the north was the last to split, so we can rule out the southern hemisphere for now.”

“True, we still have no evidence that it came from a single specimen indigenous to the other continents.” nodded to Ashley.

“We can narrow the search to Europe and North America.” Enma pointed out, but Ashley pointed to the map.

“We can't rule out Asia or northern Russia. Siberia could also be their place of origin.”

“It could be, you're right. For now we could get in touch with some English and Norwegian museums. Maybe the ideal would be to visit the museum where I discovered the fossil and start connecting dots from there?”

Ashley thought for a few seconds and then slowly nodded in affirmation.

“Yes. Now that we have a possible pattern we can start looking.”

Leon sensed the enthusiasm in Ashley's voice and was glad that after almost a week they had been able to find a new clue.

“I'm going to ask for the visit request as soon as possible," said Narsson with a smile. Ashley looked at her watch and quickly added.

“Since it's time for a break, I'm going to go to the library to get a better map, maybe I'll have more information.” she said putting down her books and stretching out her arms.

Leon seemed somewhat surprised by Ashley's haste to take the break. Just like the previous days. He watched her take off her lab coat and leave the lab. The rest had their coffee break there, but Leon... he was curious.

Too curious. So he poured some turpentine on his hands so Ashley couldn't catch his scent and went out into the hallway.

She had already gone ahead of him and he had to hurry after her.

Ashley was acting a little different lately, especially with him and Narsson. As if she was avoiding them.

That week they hadn't had dinner or lunch together even one day, when, from time to time, they used to go out training together and then eat at someone's apartment. But since the party... they had barely interacted outside of work. Maybe it was the fact that now he was no longer her escort. He used to have to accompany her everywhere and maybe that was the reason, or so he had been telling himself all week.

Leon turned down the hallway and saw Ashley's figure heading for the cafeteria, not the library as he had originally said .Where was she going?

He didn't follow her any further. He walked up the stairs and watched from a distance. He saw her enter the cafeteria and walk to a table where another person was seated.

A person he did not know.

He watched as she took a seat next to the boy and as she smiled like a teenager. They chatted and laughed side by side and Leon began to perceive small gestures between them that gave away the relationship. He watched as the boy stretched his arm over the back of Ashley's seat as she leaned closer to him to see whatever he was showing her. 

They were flirting.

When Leon realized what was going on, he felt dirty. He looked away and walked in the opposite direction down the hallway.

That boy was the one who had changed Ashley's mood these past few days how had he not noticed?

"Think Leon, Ashley's personal life is none of your business either." he said to himself, but for some reason... he felt a strange feeling in his chest. A subtle discomfort that made his thoughts revolve around that boy.

She had to have met him there. Would he be nice? Who was he? Was he nice to her? Was he trustworthy? Would he be approaching her out of interest? Was-

He stopped his thoughts in their tracks as he stopped at the other end of the hallway. He was no one to question Ashley's choices. She was her friend, and she was getting a little sick to her stomach about the discomfort coursing through her body.

“Hey, Leon.”

The agent looked up at the source of the voice and saw Chris and Jill approaching.

“Are you guys leaving for the day?” he asked, pushing his intrusive thoughts aside.

“Yes, we have to call the base to report what Narsson and Graham are going to do.”

Maria was going to call the president later.

“ Hmm, good.” was all the man said, still lost in thought.

“Is something wrong, Kennedy?” It was as if Jill was reading his mind.

Leon blinked.

“Me? No, why?”

“You seem distracted.” Chris continued, crossing his arms. “Did something happen with Narsson? You bring him breakfast every day.”

Leon wanted to tear his eyes out and sighed.

“I made that deal with her so she wouldn'tAshley was peppered with questions about the night we all went out.”

Redfield arched his eyebrows.

“Did something happen or what?”

Leon waved his hand reminiscing about the incident.

“Nothing serious, Ashley got a little silly to a drunk, nothing more, but I don't want Narsson to start interrogating her. You saw how worried Ash got when you started telling her what she did when she was drunk.”

Jill and Chris looked at each other for a second as they analyzed Leon's words.

“Yeah, maybe you're right. Like Maria said, it's very personal for her..." added Valentine.

Leon was grateful for the understanding and put his hands in his pockets.

“I'm fine," he finally told them with a smile. 

Chris made the same gesture and gave him a gentle touch on the chest.

“Let's go out for a drink one day, you and me. No girls.”

Jill turned to her partner.

“Hey, it's not like we're the pest.”

 Chris put his arm around his partner's shoulders.

“Every once in a while two men share a bottle of whiskey in silence.”

Jill rolled her eyes and started walking toward the exit.

“Well, if you get drunk, don't call me or Ashley.”

Chris laughed and said goodbye to Leon and then followed his partner. The agent watched them leave and stood there, lost in thought again.

*

“I have to get back to the lab Dylan, were you able to find the world map I asked for?” said Ashley finishing her coffee with a smile.

“Yes, I got your message, here.” He held out a cardboard cylinder containing the rolled up map. Ashley smiled with a blush on her cheeks and took it.

“Thank you very much Dylan, by the way, I'll probably have to go away for a few days to another museum to do the research.”

Dylan looked at her in surprise and thought for a second.

“When are you leaving?”

“I don't know yet. Maybe in a couple of days or three. Shall we meet tomorrow at the same time?” she said enthusiastically, really looking forward to spending time with him on breaks. 

“Of course, I'll see you tomorrow.” he leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.” So you won't forget about me on the way.”

Ashley stiffened for a second and then her whole face turned scarlet. She smiled shyly and got up with her package.

“See you tomorrow.” she said goodbye.

“See you tomorrow.”

Ashley left the cafeteria with her heart pounding and walked back towards the lab. She was so engrossed and excited that she didn't notice that familiar smell and almost bumped into it.

“Hey princess, look straight ahead.”

Leon's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

“Oh yeah, sorry, I was... distracted.”

“I hope he's at least funny.”

Ashley blinked and got a little more serious all of a sudden.

“What are you talking about?”

Leon's logic told him to shut up, but that damn goblin in his head kicked in his reason and the words weren't the brightest.

“About that boy you're dating.”

Her amber eyes widened like saucers.

“You spied on me?”

“I wanted to go to the cafeteria, but seeing you there with him I didn't want to disturb. Now I understand why you were taking so long on breaks.” he lied.

Ashley frowned and smelled the smell of turpentine still on Leon's hands.

“You don't have to follow me, you're not my escort anymore, besides, what do you care who I'm seen with, it's none of your business.”

“I'm just worrying, Ash.”

“Worry? Or don't you like the fact that I get attention too?”

Leon just stared at her in bewilderment.

“What? Don't talk nonsense.”

Ashley frowned and shut herself off.

“Why don't you go with Narsson? It seems you can't take your eyes off her.”

Kennedy stood in place as Ashley stepped around him, bumping her shoulder into his.

“Ashley, it's not what you think .” He tried to defend himself, but unable to tell her the truth. Because she was right, he had followed her.

“Save your saliva for Narsson, you'll need it.”

It was like a punch that made him stunned.

Ashley hurried down the stairs, feeling an unpleasant pressure in her chest, like a prick.

He had followed her and spied on her while she was with Dylan.

She felt betrayed, but... it was confusing. There was a horrible mix of emotions that did nothing but choke her.

That feeling became more pronounced as she approached the lab. In the distance she saw Maria on the phone, probably talking to her father. She entered the lab and frowned even more. She set the cylinder with the map down with a thump on the table and Narsson turned around startled.

“You scared me, Ashley, by the way, have you seen Leon?”

Graham gritted her teeth and picked up her backpack with restrained fury.

“Don't worry, I'll leave you two alone so you can get laid. Just clean up when you're done.”

She slung her backpack over her shoulder and called off the dogs turning her back to her. Narsson watched her leave without another word and didn't know what to do. What she had said to her had been so abrupt, all her thoughts had ceased.

Definitely the deal with Leon had been a horrible idea.

*

Ashley barely managed to sleep. Her mind had mixed thoughts that she tried to push away at all costs, but ended up creating images between Leon and Narsson.

She hated it. I hated that stupid feeling. Why? Why did I feel that unpleasant pressure in my chest?

She let out a long sigh in the library. She hadn't been through the lab yet. I didn't want to. She didn't have the courage.

She leaned back in a seat hidden among the bookshelves. The dogs rested at her feet in silence, while their owner ate her head off by the second.

They had waited for her to graduate so they could have a free pass...were they in a relationship? Why the fuck was she still thinking about them?

She growled in fury, shaking her head in despair and earning a hiss from another worker for the noise.

Ashley pulled her knees up to her chest and sighed wearily.

She'd barely slept a wink and didn't have the head to sit in that lab right now. She exhaled heavily again and stared at the floor.

What she didn't understand was why it bothered her so much and why she couldn't get it out of her brain.

Mint lifted his head towards her and gently touched his nose to Ashley's foot. She looked up at him and the dog stuck his tongue out as if smiling.

“Sometimes I wish I had the worries you have and not the melodramas we humans have.” she said in an absent tone.

“Should I be worried about you conversing with the dog?”

The voice startled her. She hadn't smelled Dylan's scent approaching her.

“Dylan, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you.” Ashley said getting up from her seat with a smile. Mint and Pepper sat next to her, staring at the boy.

“What about these?” he asked pointing to the canines.

“Oh, these are my dogs, Pepper and Mint.” she introduced them.

“I see, hi guys.” Dylan reached out his hand to Pepper, who sniffed his fingers and turned his head away suspiciously. Ashley was surprised by the dog's behavior, as he tended to let himself be touched after sniffing new people.

“A bit wary, I see.” Dylan said, pulling his hand away from the animal, who stared at him. “You haven't been by the lab?”

“No, I wanted to... take a walk around the Library first, you know, refresh my ideas.” Ashley lied naturally.

Dylan didn't suspect and nodded with a smile and then put his hand to his head.

“Em... look, since I found you here I want to tell you something.”

Ashley tensed when she caught the scent of adrenaline on him, who seemed much more nervous than usual.

“Yes? - she replied feeling her own heart start to race.”

“Do you want to go out to dinner with me tonight?”

Ashley took a while to process his words. Then she analyzed what they meant and after her mind blocked for a second, she answered.

“O-o-of course, I'd love to.” Her voice wavered exaggeratedly and for a moment she wanted to punch herself. How could she behave like that? Was she stupid or what?

Dylan smiled in relief and his cheeks reddened subtly.

“Oh thank you, I was afraid you'd turn me down. I'll see you today at eight o'clock? I'll send you the address of the restaurant.”

Ashley nodded as she couldn't get a word in edgewise and said goodbye to Dylan after telling him she would go ahead and get some work done so she could leave early for dinner.

She stood there with the dogs for a few more minutes.

" Relax Ashley, it's dinner, just dinner." she repeated to herself trying to calm her growing excitement for the night to arrive.

" The first normal date you've been asked on in four years YES!!!" she squealed inwardly and unable to contain herself she pranced on the spot, causing her dogs to look at her in confusion. She held back her excited giggles and decided it was time to go down to the lab.

At least now she wouldn't be thinking so much about Leon and Narsson.

When she opened the lab door she saw Chris dialing a number on his cell phone.

“Wow, you finally showed up, I was just about to call you.”

Ashley smiled at him and left the dogs in their usual corner. She looked at her watch and laughed helplessly. 

“Hey, I wasn't that late either.”

“Where have you been? You were out early.” Leon said from across the table.

Ashley glared at him discreetly and smiled.

“I've been out for a walk with the dogs, it's nice out today.”

Leon averted his eyes quickly and added no more. Chris became quieter and looked at the rest.

“Well, now that we're all here I'm going to tell you that our bosses are going to provide us with the trip to Norway.”

Everyone, except Narsson, knew what Chris meant by "our bosses". Enma did not know that they belonged to the BSAA and that was to be kept secret.

“Really? I'm going to start working with you guys more if it's going to be like this.” joked Narsson and Jill laughed. 

“It's a joint investigation and being a small team they were able to organize the trip for us.”

Ashley turned to Narsson.

“Enma-”

“Don't even think of telling me that I can't go. There is already too much secrecy in this project to leave me out of visiting the museum that made my name. Besides, you will need a guide out there and I am your best option.” Narsson sentenced without leaving many alternatives.

Chris and Jill looked at Ashley and she sighed. She didn't like to expose her teacher to possible dangers, but she was right. Her presence there would make the job of getting information in the museum easier.

“All right, but you're not going to be a tour guide, okay?” she warned him knowing his habit of doing a historical tour in any situation and more so in his homeland.

Enma put her hand on her chest.

“I promise.”

Maria grunted leaning back in the seat.

“So I'm staying on as a dog sitter?”

Mint and Pepper trotted over to Vazquez, laying their big heads on the woman's thighs.

“Oh come on, you love them.” Ashley said teasingly.

Maria stroked their heads energetically.

“Don't complain if they pick up a couple of pounds, Aunt Maria likes to spoil her children.” Graham's former escort teased, but the blonde knew her dogs were in the best of hands.

But her mind couldn't help thinking that now, that awkward situation she had been feeling around Leon and Narsson, would be more continuous.

She took a deep breath. She was having dinner with Dylan today and... Maybe with some luck, she could find someone to occupy her thoughts even during the trip.

“Ashley, let's organize the material for the trip.” Narsson told her, oblivious to her former student's inner debate. She raised her amber eyes to her and for a moment remembered what she had told her the day before. Her thoughts betrayed her and she looked at Enma's table as if searching for some trace of " that".

But there was no smell either.

“Yes, I'm coming.” replied the blonde putting down her bag and organizing all the notes the two of them had developed.

"Focus on the investigation Ash, nothing else." she said to herself as she made the list.

It was a fairly quiet morning, as they only had to organize the points of the trip they would make and the material they would bring. When they finished they saw that it was still early and decided to all go out for lunch somewhere nearby.

Narsson and Leon noticed that Ashley was talking to them just enough so as not to make them think she was ignoring them. But she was avoiding them.

At one point as she was chatting with Chris, Narsson approached Leon, who was walking behind everyone.

“I think she's angry.”

“Don't tell me.” the man rolled his eyes. 

“She thinks we're having sex.” sighed Narsson.

Leon turned around in surprise.

“Really? But if-”

“He said to clean up after we got laid in the lab.”

Leon suddenly fell silent and sighed heavily as Narsson told him.

“ I think you should tell her the truth.”

The agent grunted.

“And you think that's going to make anything better at this point?”

“Definitely. If you won't do it, I will.”

 Leon grabbed her arm.

“Don't even think about it, I'll... I'll figure out a way to tell her, I'll do it.”

Enma looked at the man who was massaging the bridge of his nose. Why was he making something so simple complicated? I really didn't understand sometimes what kind of relationship he and Ashley had to set up these scenarios.

“Hey lovebirds, let's go inside.”

They both turned to the front at the sound of Ashley's voice calling them that way. She looked at them casually, but Leon could sense a slight quickening in the rumbling of Ashley's heart as they approached.

Graham walked back into the restaurant, leaving Leon and Narsson outside.

“She definitely needs to be told," Enma said.

“Says the one who got me into this mess out of curiosity.”

Narsson went to argue, but bit her tongue as she realized that Leon was right.

 All because of her bloody curiosity.

*

Leon never thought an elevator ride could take so long. As bad luck would have it, all the neighbors seemed to have agreed to use the elevator at the same time. The time it used to take them to get to their penthouses increased fourfold, and Leon was convinced that Ashley could sense their growing nerves, as he could sense their erratic heartbeats.

But neither said anything.

Not even when they finally reached their floor and pulled out the keys to their respective apartments. When they closed the doors and were alone in their homes, they sighed. Ashley lay face down on the kitchen counter and Leon dropped onto the couch with a grunt.

The agent stared at the ceiling in thought. How the hell was he going to tell her that she made a suggestive entrance while drunk and he didn't stop her? How was he going to tell her that he practically didn't resist when he almost thought she would kiss him? He put his hands to his face and a deep growl reverberated in his chest.

Hopefully she'd hit him with a smack. With no luck... he didn't even want to think about it.

Now there was no use thinking that he should have told her from the beginning.

She thought he was sleeping with her old teacher. God, how complicated everything had become.

After spending half an hour on the couch cursing himself in every way he knew how, he decided to take a shower. Something that would make enough noise that he couldn't hear Ashley's every move on the other floor.

In the meantime, Ashley focused on her date. She managed to calm her earlier discomfort and focus on herself. She didn't want any more worries, she had enough, but she wanted to enjoy herself for once. To have fun with someone who was interested in her and not her name or social status.

She wanted to feel a little... normal.

So she decided to go for it. She took a long salt bath, washed her hair, filed her short nails into a rounded shape and even got her toenails done, something Casey always told her but never did.

But for their first date after four years she definitely would. 

Time passed. It was almost seven-thirty in the evening. Leon had laid down on the couch and was looking at his cell phone without paying much attention to it. He was sliding his finger down his YouTube shorts and waiting for dinner time to come. 

Then he started to hear footsteps and they weren't Ashley's house slippers. His finger stopped moving and stayed in place, listening to the coming and going of the footsteps. He heard the jingle of keys and arched his eyebrows, was he going somewhere?

Suddenly there was a knock on his door and he almost dropped his cell phone. He boiled on his elbows just before he saw Ashley open his door and Leon's heart stopped.

“Hey Leon, would you mind keeping the dogs?”

She was wearing the same satin dress. The outfit Casey had given her drew her figure back, as did the wedge and rope heels. She had done her makeup to perfection, subtly enhancing her natural beauty and had even curled her hair.

She looked beautiful.

“Leon.”

The man blinked, coming down to earth.

“What?” was all he could articulate.

“Could you keep the dogs?” she repeated with a subtle blush on her cheeks.

Leon got up from the couch, dressed in a simple tracksuit and feeling like a stray dog next to her.

“Em, yes, but where are you going?”

Ashley stepped aside and called Pepper and Mint, who scampered over to Leon's apartment with glee.

“I'm meeting Dylan for dinner.”

Dylan. That must have been the name of the boy she'd been meeting. They were going to dinner. This was a date. With a man he didn't know, about whom he had no information or-

"Leon, stop. Stop the fuck up."

“Oh, yes, Dylan, um... are you going to... come back too late?” he paused for a moment, aware of how controlling he sounded and added.- In case I have to go get the dog beds. 

Ashley looked at him for a second and adjusted the end of her dress.

“Uh... I don't know. I guess I'll be late, yeah.” She tried to stay calm as the silence between them started to become uncomfortable. “I should go, thank you.”

Leon's mind didn't think. His impulse was stronger.

“Ashley.”

The blonde turned and looked at him with those bright golden eyes.

“Yes?”

Leon stalled. What did he want to have told her, the truth? Now he was going to tell her that she'd almost kissed him drunk that night and then painted his lips? Was he really going to tell her?

She had prepared a lot for that dinner, he could see it. She was really looking forward to that date, he had to be a fool not to appreciate the effort she had put in. And he thought... was he really going to ruin one of the most important nights in the last four years of her romantic life?

“Have a good time, princess.”

No. He smiled at her and watched her leave after giving him some of the most dazzling smiles she had ever given him.

He closed the door and turned back to the dogs. 

He sighed leaning back against the doorway and dropping down to sit on the floor. Pepper approached cautiously and touched his dangling hand.

Leon stroked the animal's snout with a faint smile.

“Why are we humans so complicated, Pepper?”

The dog cocked his head to one side, not understanding what he was saying, but wagged his tail as if he did. Leon couldn't help but let out a weak laugh and sighed again.

“At least you're going to keep me company enough to keep my thoughts from eating my head.”

Pepper gave him a soft bark and Mint decided to join Leon in demanding petting. The agent laughed, grateful to at least have the dogs with him, even if his mind was still looping Ashley's figure.

Time passed and with the dogs he managed to distract himself enough. He prepared dinner for them and played with them and then made his own food. As he cooked, he missed the little get-togethers he'd had with Ashley since he'd lived in the same building. Sometimes she had invited him over for lunch or dinner after training or running errands, and sometimes he had done it himself.

His thoughts began to gather momentum as he ate alone, wondering if that date would end in something more...intimate. Would Ashley come back tomorrow morning? If she did the outcome of the evening would be clear. Part of him was happy for her. That she had found someone who seemed to treat her well and if that led to finally being able to have sex in bed...he could only be happy for her. But at the same time there was a little voice, like a cricket behind his ear, whispering the opposite. The part of him that didn't want those casual lunches and dinners together to end.

It hadn't even been two hours and his mind was already asking for answers. She would probably come tomorrow. They'd have a romantic dinner, go for a walk and then...probably go to his house. He knew Ashley wouldn't feel comfortable bringing a guy to her apartment when she knew Leon could hear them.

Yes, he should go get the dogs' bedding and their bowls to eat and set an alarm to take them out the next day for a walk and....

The door burst open and Ashley walked in.

Leon was stunned. Why had she come back so soon?

He turned to her as he sensed her heart thundering, as if she had come running back or... she was terribly furious. For a second he thought he saw her eyes water. 

“Ashl-”

He fell silent as she suddenly began to undress. Leon's chest almost burst out and his face turned scarlet.

“Ash, what are you doing?” he managed to react by looking away out of sheer embarrassment.

Ashley threw the dress to the floor, remaining in her lacy underwear. Her breathing was rapid and her brow was furrowed. She almost looked...desperate.

“Is there something wrong with me? In this?”

Her voice was shaky, but at the same time tinged with an anger and frustration that made Leon swallow saliva.

The man looked at her again and his cheeks flushed hopelessly as he looked at the pink and black lace lingerie. It looked great on her and looking at the garments he also noticed the fine scars on her side, the one from the Colmillo that bit her.

He noticed some older climbing marks and all the moles and creases that made up her beautiful body.

He didn't know how long he looked at her, absorbed like a fool, enraptured by the beauty and strength she conveyed with just her figure in front of him.

He raised his blue eyes to her amber ones, surrounded by a strong blush. He didn't understand what was going on, nor why she was behaving like that, but after restraining the urge to kneel down in front of her to make her tell him everything, he answered.

“No Ash, it's... you look beautiful and fit, why?”

“Good.” was all she said before grabbing her things and turning back to her apartment.

Leon blinked, perhaps more confused than before. He thought about following her and asking her what had happened, but he had a hunch that she wanted to be alone at that moment.

He turned back to the dogs, still sitting in the kitchen and just as confused as he was. He sighed, dropping his shoulders.

“You know what? You're sleeping with me today.”

They went wild and ran to Leon's room. The man looked at the door one last time and saw one of Ashley's heels. He picked it up and stared at it for a moment.

Tomorrow he would take it to her and maybe ... he could ask her about dinner and ... talk to her about the misunderstanding.

But that would be tomorrow.

[lipglossanon]

Hope you had a good break girlie! So I looked into it and you unfortunately cannot get OG 2 or 3 on PS. I finished Leon 1st route! I was literally cheering as Ada fell and was yelling at her when she kissed him I was pissed. I started Claire 2nd and I’m having trouble understanding how her run lines up with Leon’s. I’m doing basically the same exact things I did with him which is honestly kinda annoying. I’m also trying to figure out the timeline between this one and the first one. Ik that 1 takes place in July & 2 is in September, but what happens in between that with the STARS members? Hoping it touches more on that in 3 (it was on sale digitally for like $10 I’m so excited!). Mr X is terrifying I see why people said this one was the scariest. Anyway sorry for all the info but I couldn’t remember which comment section we were talking g about this before on. 😂😅

Hi!!! 🥰 Never apologize for talking Resident Evil with me cause I’m a huge fucking nerd for this series 🤣

Read more cause it’s long lmao also spoilers for 3 😬 but nothing crazy I don’t think plus 3make is a little different from OG

Also sorry this is like another rant lmao

Yeah I didn’t think it was possible but I always hold out hope cause Capcom are so weird about their IPs 😒 and yes Mr. X was so fun in RE2make (way better than Nemesis but that’s a whole other tangent 🤣)

You might if you can find the GameCube versions of the OG RE2 and RE3 games. They play as well as the PS1 versions and it’s the exact same so not missing anything 😉

Haha that kiss is what I was talking about! Like she’s such a user —which I get that’s her character she’s a spy (first mentioned in RE1 as John’s password-his girlfriend’s name- and that’s why she’s in OG RE2, looking for her boyfriend who was a researcher for umbrella).

And to be honest the B scenarios do NOT complement the A scenarios. I am 100% of the belief that they were last minute additions 😒 for the most part they don’t really add too much in the way of story aside from a few little anecdotes.

So yeah sorry for that big disappointment 😆 oh man that’s a whole can of worms sorta? Lmao. Capcom is notorious for retconning or having confusing timelines 🤣 So buckle up I’ll try to keep this pretty streamlined:

RE1 takes place in July of 1998 and RE2 and RE3 take place at the same time with 3 lasting longer as Jill becomes infected and is in the city a bit longer. Like another disappointing factor is not having any crossover from the 2 and 3 remake cause come on! That would’ve been sick as hell for Jill to run into Claire or Leon in the RPD 🙄

Anywho, but as for the time between RE1 and RE2 is that Umbrella has Chief Irons in their pocket and so has him disband STARS and sweep everything under the rug. So no one believes them about the Spencer Mansions incident and so everyone’s oblivious to the shit storm about to happen 🤣

Brad is a chicken so hides away from everything. Rebecca peaces out. Barry takes his family and leaves for safety; Chris goes off to Europe to look into some Umbrella connections (which is why Claire didn’t find him and what leads into her looking for him a la Code Veronica).

Jill stays behind in Raccoon but she’s legit about to peace out to go after Chris when all that shit goes down and Nemesis is hunting the STARS members down; he fucking annihilates Brad, like tentacle through the mouth out the back of the head (so in 3make his death was way lame in my opinion 😒)

So unfortunate in 3make they don’t touch on anything inbetween 1 to 2 and 3; with OG RE3, there were epilogue scenes that explained what happened to everyone which was really cool but they took those out for some reason. They’re online if you wanna look it up. It explains why Leon ended up working for the govt, where Claire went, what happened to Jill, Barry, Chris, Ada, etc. All really cool and idk why they didn’t toss it in 😞

[eviltothecore13]

Is it just me or has fandom overall...changed a lot in how it talks about its favourite characters over the past few years?

It used to be people who really liked a character would be like “this character’s the best at everything, they can do no wrong, they’d win every fight, they have a plan for everything, they’re the coolest cleverest most attractive person in the whole story!!!”, and like...that could go too far, it could be annoying or just really really inaccurate compared to canon (I used to know a Jill fan who insisted that Jill could easily beat every single character in the series in a fight--and look, Jill is very cool, but Chris was canonically the best in hand-to-hand combat at STARS and was also training HER in marksmanship, Jill is of course extremely capable but...she really does not have to be the best at everything to prove why she’s your favourite...for that matter, Wesker fans who were like “Wesker in RE5 has to be a clone/a fake/whatever because the REAL Wesker would never LOSE because Wesker can’t make mistakes!”...always made me go *stop, please, it’s embarrassing*), but it did...make sense why someone who really loved a character would say these things about them?

But now it seems like the kind of comments people make about their favourite characters, and the way they portray them in fics, are...pretty much the opposite of that? People will be like “my blorbo is SO STUPID! they’re so useless they can’t do ANYTHING! they’re a pathetic weak little wet paper bag!”

Like, a few years ago if I’d seen a post saying things like that about a character I’d assume it was written by someone who hated them?

And obviously...sometimes a character you love is kind of a dork, or makes some silly mistakes sometimes. Other times a character you love is a terrible evil person. I’m not saying everyone should equate liking a character with thinking they’re perfect. But...most popular characters AREN’T actually completely stupid and incompetent at absolutely everything, and I can never quite get my head around it when people seem to hold this view of a character and it’s clearly not true, like...if you really think they’re pathetic, stupid, and can’t do anything right...do you really like them that much?

I’ve seen fandom call characters stupid/idiots when they are either science geniuses, or they’re brilliant inventors who build sci-fi gadgets, or they’re scheming chessmaster strategist types who manipulate all the other characters for years and come very close to taking over the world, or maybe they just canonically speak several languages and are well-read, or even if canon doesn’t focus much on their intelligence you’ve got characters like Chris who was a USAF fighter pilot--which means he has a degree, judging by the timeline probably an Air Force Academy one, which means he was likely in the top 3% of his high school classes and DEFINITELY didn’t “barely scrape through” as I often see headcanoned (not just by people who want to bash him but people who are like “I love him! He’s such a big dumb himbo! He’s so stupid!!” like. what.)

Similarly I see characters who are canonically very confident and self-assured, never really doubting themselves for a second, and who canonically react to things going wrong by calmly adapting their plans and moving forwards without ever getting discouraged, get tagged on posts about “pathetic wet paper bag men who’ve never had a good day in their life and an insult from a child would make them cry”.

Or characters who are shown in canon as dangerous, powerful and near-fearless fighters get written in fics, by people who say they’re their favourites, as spending all their time crying and flinching and not even trying to defend themself from whoever’s attacking/trying to hurt them (and not because they went through some major trauma previously in the fic that left them in this state, either--often the fic is set during canon and the character is just...like that rather than something having happened to change them from who they were at that point in their life in canon)... personally, while I enjoy whump, whumping a character who’s ALREADY weak and helpless and spends all their time curled up in a corner crying BEFORE whatever you do to them in the fic can easily just feel like kicking them while they’re down and is honestly boring because it doesn’t show anything NEW about the character, so it’s particularly odd to see fics written that way when the character in canon is exactly the confident powerful type that I do think is fun to whump.

(For a specific example, RE canon is that Wesker and Sergei had a rivalry and Wesker seems to view Sergei mostly with disdain and see him as an annoying obstacle. Wesker never gives any sign of being scared of or intimidated by Sergei, and certainly doesn’t seem to start panicking the instant Sergei enters a room. And even before he had his powers, he had extensive combat training by the time he met Sergei, and Sergei being taller and heavier doesn’t inherently mean that Wesker would be defenceless and go down in one punch in a fight, or even that Wesker would LOSE a fight against him. Canon doesn’t depict Wesker as a helpless victim for Sergei to beat up...hurt him by all means but it’s OOC if Wesker doesn’t give as good as he gets.)

Oh, and characters who are canonically master manipulators who are experts at getting people on their side and gaining their trust being portrayed as so socially awkward and clueless that they’re incapable of holding a conversation without coming across offputtingly weird...

Maybe I’m the odd one out here but I can’t really get why you’d want to present your favourite character as LESS capable, LESS intelligent, LESS brave or confident or powerful or whatever other impressive traits they might have in canon? Like I wouldn’t go so far as to say I ADMIRE all my favourite characters, because some of them are murderous evil monsters, but...I generally do see them as either having some kind of admirable personality trait (courage, integrity, confidence, determination... or maybe just a lot of charisma and a good sense of humour, though I feel like charisma tends to overlap with confidence a fair bit...), or at least as being very good at what they do. I can kind of get the appeal of the “sweet and kind and caring but not that bright ‘golden retriever man’ type”, even though they’re not usually MY type, because I know some people primarily like characters who they think it would be good to be friends with (and most of those types of characters aren’t USELESS, at the very least they tend to be good at listening and being supportive), but when someone’s favourite character is a bad person AND they seem to think they’re stupid, useless, incompetent and pathetic on top of being evil it’s like...so what do you even like about them?

[dean-samw67]

This is Hell Headcanons

(This is something I am only doing for tumblr. I thought it would be fun to write up headcanons for This is Hell. Give you all a little look into some smaller details I may have not added, you missed or I added but didn't go into detail about)

Warnings: Mentions of attempt at suicide, death, sex

Season 1

Merle wasted no time trying to flirt with Harper as soon as she got there

Harper hated it and always would turn him down

Though once she did fuck with him by acting like she was into it for just a moment

Daryl’s face was priceless

But she quickly humbled Merle by telling him off and calling him a slew of names

Which in turn pissed Merle off but Daryl found it amusing

“I didn’t want you anyway ya ugly prude!”

“I’m ugly? Have you seen yourself lately? You definitely aren’t the attractive brother, I can tell you that much.” 

Daryl definitely blushed at that comment but he hoped no one noticed

Daryl 100% showed his sexual attraction toward Harper through his aggression and arguing with her

But Harper didn’t notice and just wanted to argue

“For someone so good looking, ya have a bad attitude on ya!” 

“My attitude? Your whole personality is attitude!” 

Daryl would get annoyed that he would be woken up by Harper having a nightmare but would still go to check on her if no one else did

Though he was kinda rude about it

“Hey, girl. Wake up, you are keepin everyone awake.” 

She would wake up from the aggressive shaking

“I’m awake, asshole. You can stop shaking me.” 

Daryl was the only one who could see Harper struggling deep down

He never would say anything though

After he found her trying to kill herself, he kept a close eye on her

Harper knew about Lori and Shane without even needing to ask

Harper never blamed Lori for doing it, but the fact that she hid it from Rick pissed Harper off

For a while after she showed up, she would hold onto her locket whenever she was trying to fall asleep

Amy and Harper weren’t close but she was the first girl that Harper saw as a little sister figure

Seeing Carol with Sophia made Harper jealous

As much as Harper was struggling and wanted to die she knew deep down that she could never actually go through with it

For Carl and Lori

She always has blamed herself for Devon and Jill’s death

Daryl only called Harper ‘princess’ when he was mad at her or arguing with her

Along with that name he would name her after many of the well known princesses 

Sleeping beauty, little mermaid, ect.

I definitely believe he would call her Snow White once when he caught her up close with some type of wildlife

He shot it after

Daryl hated never understanding what this girl did to him

Lori saw the small interactions between the two of them from the start

Of course, she never approved

Rick probably told her multiple times to stay out of it

“Harper is a grown adult. She can do what she wants.” 

“That Dixon is bad news. He is the type of guy who would get her pregnant and then disappear.” 

“Lori…” 

When Lori heard that Harper would be riding alone with Daryl on the way to the CDC Rick practically had to force her into the car and leave them alone

When they got to the CDC, while they were drinking, Harper had a real smile for the first time since she met the group

And Daryl was practically smitten as soon as he saw it

The way her face lit up and her eyes would squint as she laughed made his heart jump

But Daryl being Daryl was too hard headed to admit it

The first time they had sex, they went multiple rounds because they both were drunk as hell and both wanted to forget everything

Daryl believes the only reason he stayed all night was because she asked him for the night and he gave that to her

Most of the others could tell there was sexual tension between them the next morning

Harper refused to even look at Daryl after he had saved her from the CDC

(Let me know what you guys think. I think I'll do this for every season)

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Confronting our antisemitism during Holy Week

“Jesus of Nazareth, charged by the Roman authorities with sedition, dies on a Roman cross. But Jews ― the collective, all Jews ― become known as "Christ-killers." Still haunting, the legacy of that charge becomes acute during Holy Week, when pastors and priests who speak about the death of Jesus have to talk about "the Jews." Every year, the same difficulty surfaces: how can a gospel of love be proclaimed, if that same gospel is heard to promote hatred of Jesus's own people?”

- Professor Amy-Jill Levine

___________________________

Holy Week is here, so I thought I’d remind myself and other Christians that it is imperative to resist antisemitic interpretations of Jesus’s Passion.

Holy Week has long been a dangerous time of the year for Jewish persons (See this article for the history of antisemitic hate crimes on Good Friday in medieval Europe, for instance). And the scriptures that we choose to read in our churches during this time fuels that antisemitism not only this week, but the whole year round. 

When our Gospels’ various versions of the Passion narrative are full of inflammatory language about “The Jews” shouting “Crucify him!,” about the disciples (despite being Jewish themselves!) hiding away “for fear of the Jews,” it’s no wonder that we absorb an antisemitic message when we read those scriptures every year -- especially when we aren’t given any guidance on the context as to why these texts were written this way or what to do about it.

So. How can we acknowledge and combat the antisemitism that has too long been entrenched in our communities?

________________

RESOURCES

First, let’s get educated on the basic facts about antisemitism in Holy Week’s typical scriptures, and alternatives to concluding that “the Jews killed Jesus”:

Article: “Who are ‘The Jews’ in John?” .

See this article from My Jewish Learning - “Who Killed Jesus?” .

You might like my sermon from last Palm Sunday that discusses antisemitism in the “triumphal entry” narrative and connects it to the perennial search for someone to blame when we feel afraid or helpless, including parallels to anti-Asian sentiments in this pandemic .

See also Jon M. Sweeney’s book: Jesus Wasn’t Killed by the Jews: Reflections for Christians in Lent

Next, let’s reimagine the stories we read during Holy Week in ways that don’t do harm to our Jewish neighbors! Replace the bad with good!

I most highly recommend Jewish scholar Amy-Jill Levine’s book Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week. .

Get a summary of and link to a pdf of her chapter on Palm Sunday and the “cleansing of the temple” (Jesus flipping tables) here .

And if reading a whole book isn’t your thing, Levine also has a video series where she talks about the Passion story -- here’s the first video, just 9 minutes long

This quote from Levine in this article sums up the purpose of her scholarship as a whole:

“A number of Christian commentators feel the need to make Judaism look bad in order to make Jesus look good. Instead of portraying Jesus as a Jew talking to other Jews, he becomes in their views the first Christian, the one who invented divine grace, mercy, and love, and all that other good stuff. Such views neglect the presence of these same virtues within Jesus’ own Jewish context. There should be no reason this Jewish Jesus is used to promote anti-Judaism.”

Finally, if you only have time for one resource, make it this article:

“Holy Week and the hatred of the Jews: How to avoid anti-Judaism this Easter,” also written by Amy-Jill Levine.

In this article, Levine describes how the anti-Jewish language got into the Gospels to begin with; how interfaith conversations today help stem the tide of antisemitism; and explores and ranks the 6 strategies Levine has seen people use when trying to resolve these problems with the New Testament. .

From least useful to most useful, she names these strategies as excision (just removing the problematic stuff and pretending it was never there); retranslation (changing up the way we translate problematic texts, such as changing “the Jews” to “Judeans”); romanticizing (this includes Christians holding their own Passover seders -- read this part of the article to see why we should Not Do That); allegorizing; historicizing; and, best of all, just admitting the problem:

“We come finally to our sixth option: admit to the problem and deal with it. There are many ways congregations can address the difficult texts. Put a note in service bulletins to explain the harm the texts have caused. Read the problematic texts silently, or in a whisper. Have Jews today give testimony about how they have been hurt by the texts.

Those who proclaim the problematic verses from the pulpit might imagine a Jewish child sitting in the front pew and take heed: don’t say anything that would hurt this child, and don’t say anything that would cause a member of the congregation to hurt this child. Better still: educate the next generation, so that when they hear the problematic words proclaimed, they have multiple contexts - theological, historical, ethical - by which to understand them.

Christians, hearing the Gospels during Holy Week, should no more hear a message of hatred of Jews than Jews, reading the Book of Esther on Purim, should hate Persians, or celebrating the seder and reliving the time when “we were slaves in Egypt,” should hate Egyptians.

We choose how to read. After two thousand years of enmity, Jews and Christians today can recover and even celebrate our common past, locate Jesus and his earliest followers within rather than over and against Judaism, and live into the time when, as both synagogue and church proclaim, we can love G-d and our neighbour.’

___________

What do you think? 

Do you have more questions you’re wrestling with? more ideas on how to actually deal with our antisemitism, in Holy Week and beyond? more resources on this topic you’d like to share?

[thefanficmonster]

I'm so happy you like the idea! Your first three words are: Rattle, Candlelight and Corset.

Oh this is gonna be interesting 🤭

Regretting

Pairing: Chris Redfield x Female OC (taken in by the Winters family as a daughter of theirs basically)

Warnings: Swearing (No Spoilers for any games don’t worry😊)

Genre: Romance, Fluff

Enjoy the mess my brain’s produced. Love, Vy ❤

“I have several questions surrounding this bullshit event!“ Gwen shouts from inside her room where she’s been getting ready for the past hour with the Captains of the BSAA keeping a watchful eye outside her door, making sure she doesn’t get any ideas of running away.

“I have as many as you do, trust me on that one.“ He replies, readjusting his tie. He hasn’t found himself in a three-piece-suit in a long time, all’s been soldier get-ups, bulletproof wests and combat boots. Truth be told, it’s not that he doesn’t want to dress nicely, he’s just rarely had any occasions worth dressing up for. Lord knows he’d be at home in this very moment, seated on the couch with a cold beer bottle in his hand. So to make the truth truer - he actively avoids places and events that would require him dressing up. It’s simply a hassle in and of itself, but dealing with the people at the even - that’s what he’s most bothered by.

“You cannot expect me to believe that’s the truth!“ Gwen shouts again, the sound of shuffling accompanying her voice. 

“Leon said it was important, Jill backed him up and you know I rarely get a say when the two of them partner up to support one another.“ Chris says, sighing while reaching for a cigarette before withdrawing his hand, remembering he didn’t take his pack with him on purpose. Claire says he needs to break the habit little by little so, in order to give her peace of mind, he does try whenever she’s looking. However, when she turns away, he’s quick to light a cig, almost as quick as a dying man getting connected to life support.

“You, Leon and I have very different definitions of the word ‘important’.“ She sasses back, her voice now being the only sound coming from the room which is a sign Chris cannot decide the meaning of - is she almost done? Is she starting over with everything? Either way, he doesn’t mind. Running late to the gala the mayor’s throwing is not particularly bothering him, he actually prefers it.

What’s been bothering him is the fact that he’s found himself impatient of something else. Impatient of seeing her - not that he’d ever admit it. Him and Gwen have been friends for quite some time. Well, they did get off on the wrong foot, but were quick to arrange a relationship alike a friendship and function without wanting to gauge each other’s eyes out. Somewhere along the lines they became actual friends without even noticing.

Gwen Winters had every right to be suspicious of Captain Chris Redfield. Not that she was always wary of him or anything - seeing as how him and her ‘parents’ are friends, she never thought twice about the guy. However, when she expressed interest in joining the BSAA and earned herself a scoff from him, she was rather pissed. Being the main chemistry project of an asshole with a saving-the-world complex back in Raccoon City, it’s safe to say she got some above average strength to her name. And that’s putting it mildly. Being rescued from that lab by Leon and getting taken in by the Winters family, she’s developed her own hero complex, the need to save those who can’t save themselves always dwelling within her.

And so, despite the amusement Chris showed when she brought up the idea, she became a BSAA soldier. 

“I think we established that on your very first mission, soldier.“ Chris chuckles, recalling that first mission he was so opposed to, mostly because Gwen was tagging along at her request and the allowance of Leon. He was very fucking afraid they’d have to carry her dead body out of there but the action was quick to turn the tables on him - having Gwen save his life more than once. What surprised him most though was her humbleness about it. She didn’t rub it in or nag him about having proved her point. She was just glad they had all made it out in one piece and that struck him with a whole new intensity. Almost like a wake up call.

The door beside him suddenly swings open, causing him to abruptly straighten up from his leaning position, shooting a look at the doorway from which emerges Gwen. Or at least he believes it’s her. Had he not known she was the only other person in the house at the moment, or had he seen her passing by on the street he wouldn’t have recognized her.

And he’d have every right not to: this must be the first time she has worn a dress since prom - if she even wore one then - and the same probably applies for the make-up she’s put on. It’s not much or anything, in fact the only reason he’s noticed it is because he’s so used to seeing her make-up-free face. So much so, he’d recognize even a drop of foundation if she applied it. And oh boy, is he whipped by the sight. He can lie all he wants and to whoever he wants to, but he cannot lie to himself. Especially not when his jaw has fallen to the floor, his eyes have grown wide and his heartbeat has picked up noticeably.

If Ethan could hear at least half of what Chris is thinking at the moment, he’d be as good as banned from the Winters home forever.

When Gwen’s eyes meet her Captain’s, she can’t help but smirk, “What is it, Cap? I exchange the bulletproof vest for a corset and you suddenly don’t recognize me?” She asks, raising a teasing eyebrow.

He knows it’s wrong, for so many reasons: He’s her captain, she’s his soldier; She’s an adult but he’s still significantly older than her; She’s the ‘daughter’ of a friend of his, to make matters even worse - It’s so wrong yet he can’t get the thought out of his head. It’s not just now, it’s something he’s been struggling with for quite some time. He’s constantly haunted by her: the sound of her laughter, her smile, that focused frown that appears every time she is looking at a map or a new case, analyzing its every detail, the twinkle in her eyes whenever she gets told she’ll be going on a mission and that same sparkle growing brighter when she returns from it having successfully completed it.

It’s all overwhelming, and in the nicest, wrongest way possible.

“Honestly, Winters, seeing such a shift does rattle a person. Especially when I haven’t seen you out of a soldier’s uniform for years now.“ He comments, his eyes traveling up and down her body on their own accord, despite his best attempts at keeping his gaze on her face.

She laughs, “Can’t really go to training in a dress and high heels, you know. If I had more opportunities, the dresses in my closet wouldn’t be covered in spiderwebs.“

“Duly noted.“ He smirks, offering the young lady his hand as he leads her down the stairs, “I could help you out with that.“

She frowns, pausing mid-step, “Oh no, no, no no. If what you have in mind is a bunch of charity events, you better get that thought out of your head. A bunch of rich assholes drinking champagne, really not my scene.”

Chris chuckles offering her his arm as they walk out the front door to where he parked his car upon arriving at the Winters home, running into Ethan, Mia and their five year old daughter, about to head out for the night. He won’t complain about the lecturing he received, he deserved it after all. It’s a miracle the two even agreed to let Gwen accompany him, not that they could stop her either way seeing as how she’s an adult woman who’s more than capable of making her own decisions.

“No, no, I know you hate those events. I do too.“ He says, oddly timidly as the two get seated in the car. “I was thinking more along the lines of...“ He contemplates how to say it without making the rest of this night awkward, or mess things up with Gwen in any way. She means a lot to him and he’d hate to lose her over his complicated feelings he wishes he could control. “Dinner under candlelight, maybe?“

He’s as stiff as a boulder, tense and expecting something, anything. Literally anything, even outright rejection would be better than silence. Regardless of her answer, he’s gonna regret this move later when Ethan hears about it and goes to kick his ass.

Out of the corner of his eye, he catches the slight shake of her head, a blush evidently appearing on her cheeks, visible even in the dim light in the car. A small smile graces he features as her hand travels to his which is nervously resting on the gear shift. “Sure, I’d like that.” She says, her smile growing wider.

There’s that same twinkle - the sparkle in the eyes of a soldier willing to fight for the greater good, putting everyone above herself. And, on his hierarchy, she’s number one.

“I’m glad.“

Chris Redfield has regretted many things in his life and will probably regret even more in the future. However, he was a fool to think he’d regret this decision - one look at Gwen’s eyes and all regret was erased. All ass-kicking he might receive for it seems more than worth it, looking at it from the perspective of this very moment.

Then again, Captain Chris Redfield has never been a stranger to a little ass-kicking.

Thank you so much, Anon for this super fun challenge! I hope to receive more three words to turn into fics cause I really enjoyed this experience 🥰

[fonulyn]

So my partner is amazing and let's me ramble about RE to them whenever I want to, and even sat down to watch Vendetta with me when I bought it, so the other day I was like explaining Leon and Chris' characters (bc my partner knows how much I love them both lmao so of course that's what I was talking about), and we have both come to the conclusion that Leon is a bisexual disaster, and Chris is a homosexual. The running joke is that Leon is also just generally a whore, out there living his best life, and Chris is the kind of gay guy who no one expects to be gay bc of stereotypes and his habit of never really talking about himself, but he also was never really in the closet about it, so he's surprised whenever people are surprised to learn that he's gay lolol but in all seriousness Leon is not only bisexual, but he's the type to fall in love easily despite all of his background and trauma related to betrayal, so his heart is almost continually broken, either bc he's betrayed or he loses whoever it is he's found himself in love with (and sometimes both i.e. Krauser, and Ada at the end of RE2), either through death or just leaving bc he knows he can't stay/can't be with whomever. As for Chris, maybe I'm reading into it wrong, but despite all of the like, romantic connotations they try to put into some of his games (which I don't. Really see? Like there was some in the first game with Jill but I just cannot see them together like that, neither seem interested in one another like that. And of course, Jessica, who I can't stand, and who Chris is supposedly totally oblivious to? Like she thinks he didn't notice her flirting in RE revelations, and Parker is like "is it that, or is he maybe interested in someone else?" And the assumption there is that he means Jill, but again, I don't see it? Even in that game! But that line of Parker's always makes me think "yeah, he's more than just interested in someone else, he's playing for a whole nother team entirely!" lmao. And I haven't seen much for 5 but I'm sure it's there between Chris and Sheva, and then for 6 from what I understand there really is hardly any talk of Chris in regards to any women at all? 8 has nothing, as well, and the DLC for 7 is just another "Chris loses his entire team in horrific fashion yet again" side plot, so nothing there either), he never seems interested. He's always focused on the task at hand, not letting emotions get in his way, and like, some could argue that that's why he doesn't show interest or why Capcom doesn't create more romantic lore around him, but if they really wanted to Make Sure he was straight and Make Sure everyone playing these games knew that, I imagine there would be some one line little hints in the games of him talking about how he can't let himself get distracted, or in his line of work there are no happy endings or what have you, but. There's none of that. Bc he isn't forcing himself not to be interested, he isn't purposefully focusing on saving the day so he doesn't have to get hurt knowing he can never have whichever high potential for a dope ass protag female character who's constantly sacrificing herself to save him bc what better purpose could they serve, right Capcom?, he's just. There, doing his job and trying to save whoever he can, not getting distracted in anyway whatsoever by any of the women in his life, romantically at least. He still cares way too much, but it never comes off as romantic to me in pretty much any way. Also the note he leaves in his STARS locker in RE2remake, Claire being like "this doesn't sound like Chris at all!" Is funny to me bc like, I don't really remember so correct me if I'm wrong, but she doesn't elaborate on WHY that note doesn't sound like Chris lmao is it bc he's respectful to women at all times and doesn't ever objectify them, probably hates when other people do? Or is it bc he would never be interested in women in this way ANYWAYS, the man is so gay, he must have left this note so that Claire would know something is Up, bc her brother is Such a homosexual.

Anyways sorry, I just wanted to ramble/get your opinion on this. Over-analysing RE is actually really fun lmao

haha not gonna lie, I opened your ask in the car on the grocery store parking lot and tried to read it on my phone, and gave up squinting at the small screen halfway through :'D now that I'm back at my laptop though, lol, all good :'D

first of all I'm happy you have someone to ramble to even though they aren't into the thing themselves! :D I regularly rant about RE fandom things to my brother haha and he listens patiently although he isn't in the fandom at all, he's only played the games and that's it. but he still listens to my shippy rambles lol.

as for your thoughts? makes sense to me tbh. I definitely headcanon Leon as a bisexual disaster most of the time, because it does seem fitting. maybe it's partly because I think he's absolutely breathtakingly stunning and it'd be a shame to deny anyone that, so, naturally he wouldn't care about such trivial things as gender, pfth, love is love.

also Leon falling in love easily? absolutely. too damn easily. c'mon this is a man who gets attached to anyone who shows him even the tiniest amount of basic kindness in the matter of minutes. he canonically forms attachments with Claire, Ada, Krauser, Helena, Buddy and JD (JD 😭)... whoever else am I forgetting? but this is the guy who meets someone and would die for them five seconds later. so. it tracks.

and you know what, I can 100% see Chris being only into men. because like. I don't see the romance there either when he's interacting with the women in his life? okay, sure, I could imagine something there between him and Jill if pressed seeing the way he so single-mindedly wants to save her and then holds her in the scene after they get that thing off her chest. maybe. but even there it doesn't really feel super romantic to me, personally.

in the first game with Jill there's not... a lot of romance I don't think? sure she falls asleep against his shoulder in the evac helicopter but i mean, i've fallen asleep against a friend like that? not an indication of romance? they're clearly important to each other! i am not trying to diminish their importance to one another at all! they'd die for each other and they'd do anything it takes to protect each other and i do think their relationship is compelling but... i don't really see anything inherently romantic in it.

and Jessica, yeah, Chris is 100% oblivious to her advances. it is implied in the game that he's into Jill instead but other than that there's again zero actual romantic interaction between Chris and Jill. I was actually talking about this with my brother, who said the same, like there were so many chances in Revelations to put something romantic in there between Chris and Jill but there just. isn't? anything? except for Parker's comment. which is why it felt so damn out of place? (and like my brother would've wanted to ship Chris and Jill, he was kinda bummed about this i feel :'D) so interpreting it to mean he's not interested in women at all would actually make more sense lmao.

as for RE5, I've played it twice (with my brother lmao do we see a theme here) and honestly I don't remember anything in the game that would've insinuated anything more than solid partnership between Chris and Sheva?? if someone who's more familiar with the game wants to correct me on this, then please! but at least off the bat I can not remember anything so I think they actually didn't try to even hint at romance for them?

and in RE6 Chris is way too focused on killing "Ada" to have any thoughts about anything else :'D so no. no mentions in there regarding him and any women. at all. not even hints of Jill which is so incredibly weird (and stupid tbh) bc she was made to be so important to him in RE5 and then doesn't even get a mention in RE6? (/shakes fist damn you capcom! the characters exist outside the games they're in!)

I think that's pretty much the main difference between Chris and Leon tbh. Chris sees the job at hand, and he knows it'll help, he knows it'll save people and it'll make the world safer and he's so single-mindedly focused on the job that he sees nothing else. while Leon sees people, for the better or for worse, and he is willing to take detours if it helps even one person in the meantime. like in RE6, Leon willingly ignores the task at hand to go help just about anyone. Chris doesn't want to pause even when pressed bc he has an end goal in mind.

and bear in mind, I am not trying to say this somehow makes Leon better or Chris better or anything. they're both doing this to help. they both have their heart in the right place. they both care. but they're just so different! their personalities, and their way of dealing with things is different! I feel Chris is really target oriented and wants to get the job done. while Leon's easily distracted from it, because of all the damn feelings :'D

but yeah. i love them both, and i think it's really damn fascinating how they're both the good guys, the heroes of the franchise, but they both take to things so differently.

i don't know if any of this makes sense, I think i rambled too :'D but hey-o, it was fun lmao.

and hey no need to apologize at all!! always feel free to shoot me a message if you wanna chat!

[re-diesirae]

Prologue & Chapter 1

Prologue

Llanbister, Wales. March12th, 2016.

He was running late. He shouldn't have spent those few extra minutes waiting for that coffee, but then again, the traffic today was a nightmare. He had no idea of what was happening, but at this rate he wouldn't make it to the office until past noon.

The man drummed his finger against the glass of the window impatiently. The line of cars was not advancing at all and he could see the irritated drivers coming out trying to figure out what was happening. The man checked his hand watch and sighed. His office was barely a few blocks from where he was right now; he probably would make it less late if he just got off and did the trip by foot.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by poke on his shoulder. THe woman sitting by his side had suddenly dropped her head on him apparently asleep and he couldn't help but feel the annoyance building inside him.

"Ehm...excuse me, miss." he said trying to hide the irritation in his voice "Miss?"

Seeing that the woman wasn't responding to his words, he tried moving her to a better position. She was cold and he noticed that she was holding a bulk in her arms. No matter how much he shook her or called, the woman remained unresponsive.

A loud set of screams made him jump on his seat completely forgetting about the woman for a second. He looked out the window and he could see smoke coming from somewhere a few vehicles in front. Just like him, the other passengers in the bus were also trying to see what was happening outside with curiosity. Suddenly he was distracted by a stir at his side.

So…the woman had finally decided to wake up.

He turned around to see her and screeched in horror. The woman was suddenly covered by blood; it dripped out from any possible body hole: nostrils, eyes, mouth, ears...

She began murmuring some incoherent things that he could not understand, but before he could ask anything the woman had jumped over him with a roar. It was too quick for him to react as she stuck her teeth on his neck.

The last thing he would ever remember were the people running frantically inside the bus trying to escape, the smell of blood, pain and darkness and horrifying screams.

1. CLAIRE

North America TerraSave HQ, Hughesville. March 16th, 2016.

Claire let out a frustrated sigh as she dug into the fresh pile of paperwork on her desk. After her return from Sushestvivanie Island, the North American branch of Terrasave had fallen into chaos. The treason of one of its higher characters had caused the organization to falter, and people were starting to lose confidence in them. As a result, the directives decided that it was time to put a meaningful person in the head, and that was how she got promoted to branch chief. Despite the pretty office and the fancy title, the new rank brought even more problems into her already messy life. As expected by many, Claire had done a magnificent job as chief by proposing new plans and strategic protocols, among other things. She had done such a great job that the Chiefs from other branches asked her for advice regularly.

"Seriously," Claire sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. " I am not sure if I'd rather shoot zombies every day instead of signing all this paperwork."

Claire gave the file she had been reading one last look before signing and shutting the folder. She left the thing on the pile on her right and stretched her arms. It was then that she heard the shy knocking at her door, and the auburn headed sighed and told whoever it was to come in.

"Excuse me, Ms. Redfield," Madeleine, her secretary, said, peeking her head behind the door shyly, "I am sorry, but I've been knocking for about ten minutes. I was afraid that you might have collapsed."

Madeleine had been working as her secretary for a couple of months now. However, for some odd reason, the girl still acted a little nervous around her. Claire was aware that there was an innate Redfield trait that would sometimes make her intimidating, so she gave the girl her brightest smile, trying to calm her.

"Oh, sorry. I've been spacing out a lot lately. Did you need something? Please tell me you bring me something good and not another of those endless reports that I am supposed to sign."

Claire was feeling pathetic and bored, and she swore that if she had to sign another of those stupid reports, she would jump out through the window and hide somewhere away from there.

Madeleine laughed, feeling a little more relaxed, and shook her head.

"Oh, no. It isn't a report, Ms. Redfield," she replied, "And I supposed it counts as good news, in a way."

"Huh?" Claire said, tilting her head.

"You have visitors, Ms. Redfield."

"Visitors?" Claire repeated.

She looked at the clock on her desk and frowned. She was sure she didn't have anything booked in her Agenda for that afternoon. She wasn't even expecting guests that week.

"Well, a zombie may kill me," a familiar grave voice chuckled.

Claire's eyes widened in surprise, and her lips curled into a smile as she watched her brother's form step into the room with a teasing smirk. He was wearing casual clothes, something that was very odd these days. To her shock, Chris hadn't come alone. When the large man stepped aside, she saw Jill, Barry, Moira, and Leon enter as well. The latter was who made her even more surprised, as she had no idea of what had brought the agent to visit her today.

"Chris! What the...? What are you doing here?" said Claire, dropping her pen. Suddenly, a wave of panic ran through her body, and she looked at her visitors in a panic," Oh, no. Please, don't tell me there was another outbreak."

Her question caught everyone by surprise, but it was Moira's laugh that broke the tension.

"See what I told you?" the girl laughed, "She's been like this for a while. Whenever someone stops only to say hi, she automatically assumes you bring news of the apocalypse."

Claire rolled her eyes. The only reason she did that was that she had enough experience now to know when something was off.

"You would, too, if you had my job. I've gotten six outbreaks in the past two weeks..." Claire defended herself, "that ebola case in Congo and the Plagas thing in Mexico still has me on edge, so don't judge me."

"Ok, ok..." Moira said, raising her hands, "No one is judging."

Claire sighed. The woman turned to her brother and tilted her head.

"Please tell me there isn't another outbreak," she whispered, looking at Chris.

Chris scoffed, crossing his arms.

"Tch, do I need to be in a crisis to visit my baby sister?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I supposed not," Claire shrugged, "but considering your history and that fact that Leon is here, too. It is hard not to think otherwise."

Claire stood up and gave both men a questioning look.

Chris let out a chuckle as he pulled his sister into a warm hug. Claire couldn't remember the last time she'd felt her brother's hug, and she was happy to return it.

"Relax, Claire," Jill smiled, putting her hand on her shoulder, "We just returned from a mission, and we got a couple of weeks to rest. Since we happened to be around and Barry told us you were overworking yourself, we thought we should come to visit for a change."

"Ok, that's reasonable for you," Claire nodded.

Of course, Barry would tell them that since he probably heard it from Moira. The girl was always complaining about how little rest Claire got, but in her defense, the piles of paperwork kept growing, and she needed to finish them on time.

"What about James Bond?"

"Very funny, Claire," Leon sighed.

Claire smirked at him teasingly, and the blonde shook his head with a faint smile. She often teased him with that, and she was probably the only person from whom Leon accepted it.

" Pretty much the same. I came back from a mission, too. I was in the area and coincidentally stumbled with Chris," he answered, "he said he was going to visit you, and since I haven't seen you in a while, I decided to tag along. Is it true that you've been overworking yourself, Claire?"

Claire laughed.

"I guess that's a plus from my promotion," she sighed, and then she quickly added, as she saw Leon give her a skeptical look, "It's alright. The whole thing is more boring than anything else. Just paperwork and stuff, you know. The sort of thing that Chris hates the most."

Claire punched her brother's muscular arm playfully, and Chris answered the gesture by hugging her by the shoulders.

Jill laughed at the comment, while Barry nodded gravely. No one knew how much Chris hated paperwork better than his partners. Both Barry and Chris would do anything to avoid that, so it was Jill who ended up dealing with that.

"Well, it must be some hellish paperwork, then," Leon said, frowning, "You don't look too well."

"Geez, thanks, Leon, but you are one to talk..." Claire said, rolling her eyes, "No, wait. You never look bad, so how would you know."

Leon smirked at her teasing but said nothing else.

"I know what Claire needs to look livelier. How about we grab a bite?" Barry suggested, "I am starving, and I can swear for my Magnum that Claire needs to put on some weight. Seriously, girl. Are you even eating your meals?"

"Yes, I am, Barry," Claire answered, "Are you here to lecture me on my eating habits?"

"Nah, that's Kathy's thing," Barry laughed, "but you're seriously too thin."

"Blame my quick metabolism for that, but talking about food. I think I can take that offer, but you, Barry, are treating me."

"Sure thing, whatever it takes to put some fat on those bones, girl," Barry smirked, patting her back.

It was rare to have all her friends and family reunited in the same place at the same time, and Claire couldn't deny she felt happy, but Claire's happiness always came with a tiny thorn of doubt. No matter how well things looked, a part of her was waiting for something ominous to happen and make that happiness crumble. She wasn't always like that, but after so many bad experiences, she couldn't help it.

No more than a few minutes had passed since the thought had crossed her mind that she found her prediction coming true. The group was walking out of the office when the harsh echo of the emergency alarm began to ring. They all looked around in confusion, and Claire bit her lip with worry.

"What's that?" Chris asked.

"Isn't that the emergency alarm?" Moira asked, looking at Claire, "That thing has never rung before, has it?"

"No, never..." Claire said with a frown. She picked the radio she carried on her waist and began calling into it.

"Red? Do you copy?" a cracked voice called through the radio.

Claire let out a sigh and answered the call, fearing the news that it'd bring.

"I'm here, Grant. Would you mind explaining why the alarm is ringing?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. There was a security breach. Someone hacked into the system and set out all the safety protocols."

"What?" Claire sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Again? Please tell me you are doing something about that."

"Ah, yeah. I am at it," Grant replied, "where are you now?"

"Standing in front of my office door," Claire said, looking at Madeleine. The girl was sitting at her desk and turning pale.

"I got an S.O.S call from Saya," Grant replied, "Things are a fucking mess. All the security protocols in the laboratories got activated, and people got either locked in or locked out. I tried to help remotely, but the hacking messed up with the system, and it's rejecting me. I am trying to fix things up, so I can't go and reset it manually. Mind lending a hand and taking a look? I think your master code should work."

"If it is rejecting yours, what makes you think mine will work?"

"Well, your code works differently, and even if it fails, I trust you can figure out a way to solve it in situ. Just try not to toast my circuits."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What happened the last time?"

Claire rolled her eyes.

"Fine. You fix up this mess. I'll head to R&D."

"Roger to that."

Claire put the radio away and groaned.

"Sorry," she told her friends. "I hope you don't mind a detour and a slight delay on that lunch date?"

"Well, we don't mind," Barry replied, "Duty is important."

"What happened?" Chris asked, "is there anything we can do to help?"

The group walked to the emergency stairs, followed closely by her brother and friends.

"Ah, never mind. It's just another false alarm," Claire sighed, "It's another attempt to wreck our security system. These pro-terrorists have taken it up against TerraSave, lately. This incident is the first time they succeed, though. No surprise, Grant is so pissed off. He controls the whole cybersecurity system in the building. His pride must hurt."

"Grant?" Jill asked.

"Grant Wallace," Moira chuckled. "Claire's little fanboy and the head of cybersecurity."

"Fanboy?" Jill asked curiously.

"Don't ask," Claire replied, rolling her eyes.

"Hardcore fanboy," Moria smirked, "and not shameful about it. How many times has he asked you out?"

"Out of topic."

Moira smirked and wagged her eyebrows meaningfully.

"So, pro-terrorists?" Leon asked, and Claire innerly thanked him for changing the subject.

"Well, Mr. Government agent, I would have expected you to know about it. It seems there's a significant group of people who believe TerraSave is causing more damage than good. The organization has made its enemies, and the situation with Fisher made our credibility fall apart. We get tons of threats daily."

Claire had, purposely, omitted the detail about the fact that more than 80% of the threats were specifically for her. She could deal with the nuisance, and there was no need to worry about them with silly pranks.

"Those extremists see anyone that goes against their ideas as enemies. Everyone knows the effort that TerraSave has put into helping people in need, Claire," said Chris, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You are all doing a good job."

Claire smiled at her brother. She didn't recall when was the last time she had Chris physically by her side. They spoke regularly by phone unless he was on a mission on some decrepit corner of the world and out of reach, but having the flesh and bones Chris was somehow soothing, especially now. The younger Redfield had been having some issues recently. Her paranoia and neuroticism had been keeping her awake at night. A part of her was unconsciously awaiting a calamity, but having her brother close was a rare comfort.

They reached the fifth level of the building, and Claire led the group through the door and into a corridor with white walls.

"Well, I just had a deja vu," Chris said, shuddering.

Claire snorted. The corridor would surely remind them of many of the bioterrorist laboratories they had visited in their career in the BSAA. However, it was the standard design of any health and investigation facility.

"Don't worry," Claire smiled, "We don't make bioweapons here."

"Fuck no," Moira agreed.

"Where exactly are we now?" Leon asked curiously.

Claire smiled again, this time with some pride. Level five and six held restricted access, so even most members of TerraSave had no access to the place. Chris had visited the building on several occasions, but he'd never stepped into this area either, and Leon had only come once, so she wasn't surprised that he seemed a little confused.

Claire was sure that Leon expected the place to look like a conventional office, but he found laboratories instead.

"Research and development, Level four. Biosafety and Public Health department," Claire explained, "We do some research on disease treatments and control. We work continuously to develop effective countermeasures during outbreaks. Health care systems, communication, medicines, among other things."

"You are developing vaccines?" Leon asked, "here?"

"I had no idea TerraSave could do that," Jill said, surprised.

"No, unfortunately, we lack the resources to develop vaccines. However, we can provide data to companies to help, and we can design treatments for disease, but we don't have enough power to produce vaccines."

"We have the brains, though. Right, Claire?" Moire said, grinning.

"I have no doubt we do. We have many competent researchers."

The group turned around the corner and reached an area with several glass doors. The lights on their electronic locks were red and blinking, and a tall woman with long black hair and Asian features was pacing back and forth in front of the door restlessly.

"Saya," Claire said, surprised.

"Ah, god bless us. You're just the person I wanted to see," the woman said.

"Well, I'm happy to be a sight to sore eyes, I suppose. You got locked out?"

"Isn't that obvious?" the woman asked with a frown, "I went to get some papers from the office next door when the alarm rang. All the doors got locked. I tried my master code, and guess what, it rejected it."

"Any sensible essay I should be worried about?" Claire asked, opening the panel and fidgeting with the buttons.

"Well, not on my part, but some people were working in lab3."

"They will run out of Air if we take too long," Claire sighed, "Let's hope it won't reject my master code."

"I am sure that you can figure out some other way if that happens," the Asian said, "though maybe something less explosive than the last time."

"Are you all going to keep reminding me that?" Claire said, rolling her eyes.

Claire pressed the buttons in the panel. Finally, after tampering with the electronic log several times, the red light turned green, and all the locks chimed, indicating that they were open.

"Bingo," Claire said, closing the panel.

"As expected from Fix-it-all Redfield," the Asian woman chuckled, "You're an angel."

"Oh my god, so the fix-it-all title was for real?" Moira asked.

It was because of Moira's sudden outburst that Claire and Saya remembered that there were other people present.

"Oh, my. Where are my manners," Saya said, looking at Claire, "Who might these be?"

Claire scoffed and turned to her friends.

"You know Moira, of course, this is her dad, Barry; this is my brother Chris, his partner Jill Valentine, and my old friend Leon Kennedy."

"Oh, friends of our chief are friends to me. I am Saya Hiwamura."

Saya shook everyone's hand politely.

"She's a doctor and one of our active researchers."

"You give me too much credit," Saya said with dismissal, "We all know the one doing most of the work here is you, Ms. Fix-it-all."

"Can you stop with the nickname?"

"Why? We know it brings good luck."

"That rumor has been running around the members for a while now," Moira explained to her father and friends, "everyone says that when something isn't working, you must come to Claire. She will fix it."

"Oh, that's a horrible lie, and the reason why my work load keeps piling up."

"Well, that's your fault for being good at this job," Moira laughed, "If you sucked, no one would ask for your advice."

"If I sucked, this branch would sink deeper."

"You can't blame yourself for that," Moira said, "That's fucker Neil's doing."

Claire shrugged. Suddenly, they were interrupted by the sound of Claire's radio. The woman answered it and got greeted by a lot of static.

"Hey, Redfield. Do you copy?"

"Yeah, Grant. What's wrong with your signal? It sounds so bad."

"Not...sure. Probably interference," the voice answered, "Hey, can you come to the Command Center? I've got troubles here, and I would like you to take a look."

"Me? You are the tech guru, not I. If you can't fix this mess, then I can't either."

"Oh, I am sure you can fix this. Come down here, and you'll see."

Saya gave Claire an amused smile, and the auburn headed caught Moira snickering.

"Fine. I'll be there in a minute."

Claire put the radio away and groaned. She turned to her friends and gave them an apologetic look.

"Sorry, I have got to check this," she sighed.

"Wallace calling for you, huh?" Saya smirked, "He'd use any excuse to have you pay him a visit, wouldn't he?"

"This is purely professional. I don't know what Grant wants me to see, but I am sure it is important," Claire shrugged, "Would you mind entertaining my friends until I'm back?"

"Oh, no. I am happy to oblige," Saya smiled at the group.

"Are you sure you don't want us to help?" Chris asked, but Claire waved her hand.

"I am sure it's nothing. Grant is a dork sometimes, but he knows his deal. The security system in the building is tight. I am sure they just messed up with the alarms and stuff, nothing more than a bad prank."

"Are you sure?" Jill said, "We don't mind helping."

"It's fine. I'll check, and I'll be back in a jiffy. We can get that lunch then."

Claire patted her brother's back and walked down the hallway until she disappeared around the corner, leaving the group behind.

Claire reached the basement, where the Command Center was. The alarm had finally stopped ringing, and the woman was happy to hear silence at last. The loud whistle was starting to cause her a headache.

Everything seemed to be in order, but she had an odd feeling in her gut. However, the woman brushed it off as her paranoia, kicking into action. She had seen several people on her way down, but once she reached the basement, she felt it unusually quiet.

"You are overthinking, Claire," she told herself as she pushed the door to Grant's office open.

The room was empty and dark, except for the tiny lights coming from the equipment. That was the first thing to set off her alarm. From all the rooms in the building, that room was the only one that never looked dark. Even if the lights were off, Grant's monitors would still light it up enough.

"Grant?" Claire called.

There was no answer and Claire's gut twisted. Something was wrong, and she was automatically on edge. Her clear eyes tried to scan the room for danger, but with the little light, it was difficult for her to see if there were any threats.

It was a good thing that her instinct was fast to react. Otherwise, she wouldn't have evaded the dark figure that tackled her from behind the door.

Claire rolled over the ground and stood up in a jump, taking a fighting position. The woman landed a clean kick on the ribs, sending the black-suited person against the wall.

Her attacker was surprised by her reaction, perhaps he taught that Claire was an easy target, but she wasn't. The woman was ready to fight if she had to. Claire hit the man several times, but the man dodged one of her hits and pushed her against the table, slamming her head against the polished wood.

The attacker was sturdier and stronger than her, and he had the advantage in the fight. However, she'd learned to fight from Chris, and he had taught her many ways to overcome that disadvantage. Claire's knee hit the man in the stomach, knocking the air out of him. Using that distraction, she grabbed his head and slammed it against the table several times until the man fell to the floor unconscious.

"Well, crap," Claire gasped, rubbing her head and trying to recover her breath.

She was about to check who the man was when a second man, who she had not seen before, attacked her. The auburn headed struggled against the man, leaving a mess in the small office.

It was at the last minute that Claire realized that there was a third person in the room, but she was too late. The third attacker raised his shotgun and hit her head with it.

The impact was painful, and it made her lose her balance. The second hit knocked her out, and the last thing she felt was a crushing pain on her backs as she faded away.

[acesydneysage]

A Sydney and Eddie retrospective

@vablappreciationweek Favorite familial relationship: The Melrose Twins

Part 1, Books 1-3: The Nice, Cute Trilogy Where a Friendship Blooms and Nothing Bad Happens

Part 2

In Bloodlines, Sydney and Eddie are still getting to know each other. Eddie seems to find Sydney's awkwardness endearing, and they have a certain camaraderie as The Responsible Ones. I think the first time he calls her sis is really cute, even if they don't actually think of each other as siblings yet:

I guess I shouldn’t say everything that comes to mind,” I murmured to Eddie. I was used to being direct in social situations, but it occurred to me that simply saying “Yeah, totally!” would’ve probably been the correct response. I’d had few friends my own age and was out of practice. Eddie grinned at me. “I don’t know, sis. You’re pretty entertaining as you are. Keep it up."

There's a lot of cuteness. Eddie insists on teaching Sydney how to throw a puch, to keep his promise to Clarence. And there's this adorable little fist bump too:

I returned to my desk and received an approving fist bump from Eddie. “Nice work. You don’t have to take a real class. Of course, if she’s got you reading Latin, maybe it’ll be worse than a real class.” “I like Latin,” I said with absolute seriousness. “It’s fun.” Eddie shook his head and said in a very, very low voice: “I can’t believe you think we’re the strange ones.”

That last line brings me to the conflict. Even if the power dynamics for it to be oppression aren't there (and Eddie can't exactly claim his society treats humans amazingly well in my opinion), having someone think that you're an evil, unnatural creature cannot be fun. They mostly don't let it get too far because they're both very professional, so what you get is a thoughtless comment from Sydney and answering jab from Eddie.

“Even a dhampir like you should know that.” He smiled ruefully. ‘“Even a dhampir like me?’” I supposed I’d been a little insulting, but it couldn’t be helped. [...] That wry smile returned. “Everything’s black and white with you Alchemists, isn’t it? Do you think you can really stop her from doing anything? You should know better. Even your childhood couldn’t have been that abnormal.” With that slap in the face, Eddie stalked off, leaving me aghast.

The more explicit conflict they have surrounds Jill's dating life, and the taboo of vampire/human relationships, and that's how we get Lee. The mini-golf family outing is very cute, the twins actually talk in sync at one point, Eddie steps up when he thinks Adrian is making Sydney unconfortable, and he claims that the Dracula statue incident is the first time he heard her laugh. But of course it leads to trouble in the form of Jill's escapade with Lee.

When Sydney explodes about feeling like their mom afterwards (I love that speech), Eddie is included for not scaring off Micah. He's honestly regretful about not pulling his weight, even though she says he's not as bad as the others. I think their relationship is pretty smooth from then on. After that talk they seem to understand each other better.

“Spirit users can take antidepressants, can’t they? If he’s worried about it becoming a problem, then he needs to step up and take charge. He has a choice. He’s not helpless. There are no victims here.” Eddie studied me for several seconds. “And I thought I had a harsh view on life.” “You have a harsh life,” I corrected. “But yours is built around the idea that you always have to take care of other people. I was raised to believe that’s necessary sometimes but that everyone still needs to try to take care of themselves.” “And yet here you are.”

The similarities between Sydney and Eddie's worldviews should be taken as a sign that Guardian ideology is about as messed up as Alchemist ideology, to be honest. But other than her hang-ups about vampires she always thought pretty highly of him:

Eddie was the one who finally spoke, his words soothing and kind. He so often gave off the impression of a do-or-die warrior that it was surprising to realize he was actually very compassionate.

Once Adrian tells her about Mason, she has more insight into the tragic past he hides behind his easygoing nature. I'm keeping this the happy post,more on Eddie's tragic past on the next one. By the end of the book, they've spent a more significant amount of time together, and even though Sydney is not great a reading people and Guardians are probably very good at hiding their feelings, she's the one who notices his feelings for Jill, because she's the one who's paying attention to him.

In The Golden Lily, Sydney is already pretty fond of the whole gang (and feeling pretty conflicted about it), and they clearly like her a lot, too. She spends only a weekend away and she already misses all of them. Eddie is so relieved she's back in town to save him from the crazy. There's more talk about their similarities, "Like me, he understood duty", and they continue to have Mom Friend and Dad Friend solidarity:

Jeans, khakis, a few solid colored T-shirts. They were very practical, very much something a no-nonsense guy like Eddie would pick out. I approved. “The size actually looks right. Good eye. We’ll have to send you out shopping more often.” “If that’s what I have to do,” he said, face serious. I couldn’t help but laugh in surprise. “I was joking.” I put the shirts back in the bag. “I know that couldn’t have been fun.” Eddie’s face gave nothing away. “Oh, come on. It’s okay. You don’t have to play stoic with me. I know you didn’t enjoy it.” “I’m here to do a job. Doesn’t matter if I enjoy it or not.” I started to protest but then thought better of it. After all, wasn’t that my philosophy too? Sacrificing my own wants for higher goals? Eddie was intensely dedicated to this mission. He never backed down. I expected nothing less from him than single-minded focus. [...] “Sydney,” he said gently. “You’re the most responsible person I know, but this isn’t what you’re here to do. You don’t have to take care of everything and everyone.” “I don’t mind,” I said automatically. “It is what I’m here for.” But even as I said it, I wondered if that was true. A bit of the anxiety from the bunker returned, making me question if what I did was truly Alchemist responsibility or the desire to help those who—against protocol—had become my friends. “See? Now you sound just like I did earlier.” He stood up and flashed me a grin. “You want to come with me to Adrian’s? Be responsible together?”

Of course by this point Sydney is unconfortable with her image as the hyper responsible one who's all about duty and never has fun. With Sydney encouraging Eddie in his feelings for Jill, and Eddie thinking Sydney going out on a date isn't a bad idea, thoughout TGL they're telling each other that it's okay to have feelings and relax a little, and not be completely focused on duty all of the time. "I'm not gonna do it, but you totally should."

Sydney explicitly thinks of Eddie and the gang as her friends at this point. I don't have anything to say about this, it's just cute banter, I'm gonna claim that it shows that they already have a more relaxed, friendly dynamic:

Eddie and I exchanged glances. So much for avoiding her indiscretions. “Improving how exactly?” I asked. “In combat, in following the dress code, or in keeping her hands to herself?” “Or in turning off caps-lock?” added Eddie. “You noticed that too?” I asked. “Hard not to,” he said.

Eddie just happens to be hanging around her dorm at the time her date comes to pick her up for reasons, very good ones I'm sure (“And I was here to, um…”). He seems to spend a signicant amount of time discussing Sydney's love life with the gang.

Eddie is now more open and vulnerable with Sydney, talking to her about his feelings for Jill and how hard it is to touch her during sparring lessons, and about how unconfortable he is with Angeline's unwanted advences. He sees her as an ally in that area:

“There’s a Halloween Dance?” Eddie dragged himself from his misery to give me a surprised look. “How do you not know? There are signs everywhere.” I stirred around my steamed vegetables. “They must not be anywhere I’ve been.” Eddie gestured with his fork to something behind me. [...] “How can you memorize entire books but miss something like that?” asked Angeline. “Because Sydney’s brain only records ‘useful’ information,” Eddie said with a smile. I didn’t deny it. “Don’t you think Eddie should go?” pushed Angeline. “He needs to watch out for Jill. And if he goes, we might as well go together.” Eddie shot me a desperate look, and I tried to find him a way out of this.

They already know each other better at this point, and what to expect. Also, this little passage just screams SIBLINGS to me:

“You’re going to this one, aren’t you?” asked Eddie. “With Brody?” “Brayden. And I don’t know. We haven’t even had our second date. I don’t want things to move too fast.” “Right,” Eddie said. “Because there’s no bigger sign of commitment than a Halloween dance.” I was about to get him back by suggesting maybe he and Angeline should go together after all when Jill and Micah joined us.

It really pains Sydney to see Eddie hurting, and she feels like his insistance in staying away from Jill and encouraging her relationship with Micah is masochistic. And she talks him up to Jill when she shows interest.

In the end, Eddie goes along with the plan to keep Sydney out of the loop when they raid the Warrior's compound. He has a whisper fight with Adrian where I assume he convinced him to let it go, and he's the one to put a tracking device in Sydney's purse. Sydney considered the whole thing a pretty big betrayal of all of them, her vampire friends and Alchemists alike.

When the raid goes down, Eddie can't get to Sydney, and she motions at him to go without her. According to Adrian, when Eddie came out without Sydney he was "babbling" about how she'd gone out some random door. He was obviously pretty worried about her:

“Sydney!” he exclaimed. He immediately released Angeline’s hand and hurried over to me, astonishing me with a hug. “Thank God you’re okay. I hated having to leave you there. That wasn’t part of the plan. I was supposed to have gotten you out with Sonya.” “Yeah, well, maybe next time, someone can fill me in on the plan,” I said pointedly. Eddie grimaced. “I’m sorry about that. I really am. We just…” “I know, I know. Didn’t think I’d go along with it, were afraid something would go wrong, etc., etc.” “I’m sorry.” I didn’t entirely forgive him, but I was too tired to push the matter much further. “Just tell me this,” I said, lowering my voice. “Were you just holding hands with Angeline?” He blushed, which seemed ludicrous after the fierceness I’d seen him pull off back at the compound.

Sydney still didn't fully forgive any of the Palm Springs gang for this, but it also drove a rift between her and the Alchemists, which helped do away with the conflict she felt about liking them.

On to The Indigo Spell, Eddie's the only person Sydney trusts with her car which is a high honor.

I took my car keys out of my bag and reluctantly handed them over to Eddie. He was the only one I trusted to drive my car, and I always let him borrow it when I left town, in case he needed to run errands for our group. “Here you go. I better get it back in one piece. Do not let Angeline near the driver’s seat.” He grinned. “Do I look suicidal? I probably won’t even use it. Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you to the airport later?”

When Marcus gives sydney a black eye, she feels like Eddie might want to hunt down her assailant, which I feel goes a bit beyond the immediate protection he'd give just anyone who needed it. When Sydney starts going on super secret meetings with rebel alchemists she decides the Eddie is the man to call for protection:

I’d been a little hesitant to let Eddie in on Marcus. Eddie certainly wasn’t going to turn Marcus or me in to the Alchemists for sideline plotting. That being said, I also didn’t want Eddie to think the Alchemists were involved in nefarious schemes against the Moroi. That might very well be something Eddie would relay back to his own people, which could in turn cause all sorts of diplomatic problems. Even this hint of the Alchemists potentially being in contact with the Warriors was dangerous. I decided that having Eddie as protection was worth the risk of him hearing something he shouldn’t. He was my friend, and I trusted him.

When Eddie hears that there might be a connection between the Alchemists and the Warriors, and that the later might be after Jill, he trusts Sydney to find out what's going on and help him keep Jill safe, which is pretty much the most important thing in the world to him:

“It’s all circumstantial,” argued the scientist in me. “Sydney,” said Eddie. I turned to him and saw something in his eyes I’d never expected to see: pleading. He didn’t care about Alchemist conspiracies or Marcus’s Merry Men. What he cared about was Jill, and he’d heard something that made him think she was in danger. That was unacceptable in his world. He would do anything in his power to keep her safe, but even he knew stealing information from the Alchemists was out of his league. It was pretty much out of mine too, but he didn’t know that. He believed in me, and he was silently begging me to help.

So they both really trust each other at this point. It's Eddie's pleading and her own worry for Jill that convince Sydney to take the pretty big risk of stealing Alchemist files.

I had to stop myself from adding a bunch of instances of Eddie blushing that aren'tactually that relevant to their relationship, so I have to agree with Sydney that blushing Eddie is adorable:

Eddie still looked way too serious for this discussion. “Maybe Eddie would volunteer,” I suggested. “I bet guardian posture would be great on the catwalk.” He blushed, which even I had to admit was adorable.

Eddie talks pretty openly to Sydney about his relationship with Angeline throuhgout the book, and then when that implodes spectacularly he agrees to talk to Sydney about it. They meet at a cafe and when the scene starts Sydney claims they had been there for almost an hour. Eddie Castile spent AN HOUR talking about his feelings with Sydney Sage, I just love that. The serious, dedicated Guardian allowing himself to be vulnerable and to be conforted. Then we get this beautiful, beautiful little exchange:

“Thanks for the moral support,” Eddie told me. “Sometimes it feels like you really are a sister—” That was when my car exploded. Sort of.

Interrupted by an exploding car because I can't have nice things. During that conversation Sydney was feeling pretty terrible herself, and she can't talk about her fight with Adrian. But that makes her wish that at least Eddie could be happy even more.

At this point I consider them to absolutely be ACTUAL TWINS, but I'm gonna have to leave the second half of the series, where Sydney and Eddie prove their love for each other in the most painful way possible, for a part 2.

[zaffrenotes]

[TRR x ES] Viewing Party

Book: The Royal Romance & Endless Summer Pairings: Liam x MC (Katrina Bailey), Drake x OC (Alyssa Devereaux), Jake x MC (Laurel) Rating/Warnings: G; mild innuendo Author’s Note: * All main characters belong to Pixelberry, I’m just borrowing them * Katrina Bailey & Laurel are the MCs I use when writing fanfic for TRR and ES, respectively; Alyssa Devereaux belongs to birthday girl @burnsoslow​ * This is my submission for @wackydrabbles​​ Prompt 80: Stop looking at me like that. * Author’s Note 2: * This is a birthday gift for my cheesy, potato loving homegirl Burnsie, who requested her very first Endless Summer/Jake fic, despite having never read any ES fic until now 🙈 for the sole reason being that she and Jake McKenzie are almost birthday twins, and my favorite pilot turns 30 this year. If you’re unfamiliar with canon ES trivia, Jake can hold his breath for 9 minutes, and Estela can hold her breath for an astonishing 14. This isn’t entirely what I had in mind when I set out to write an ES/Jake birthday fic, but I wasn’t about to miss your day because I’ve hit a whole ass writer’s wall, Burnsie! I hope you have an AMAZING day and I’m sending you so many hugs! You’re one of the sweetest ladies here, and I am so very thankful that I can call you a friend 🥰 also my real, real gift to you is coming at a later date, as I still have to work on it 😬 * and yes, that’s DDT in the moodboard - just for Burnsie, again - since I use Barnes as Drake’s FC in my TRR fics, lol * Word Count: 2000 on the dot!

It was nearly 10:00 PM on Friday evening, when Burns arranged things around the comfiest chair in her living room. The rest of her family already retired for the evening, after a small but wonderful birthday celebration in her honor at home. Within easy reach, she’d arranged drinks and snacks next to her laptop - a glass of water, a hot mug of tea, a slice of homemade birthday cake to take care of any sugar cravings, and a small platter of cheese and crackers for something more savory. She grinned softly at the newest addition to her mug collection, watching the steam rise from the contents within. 

The lavender mug arrived in the mail earlier that day from one of her friends, emblazoned with a quote from David Rose. Burns took a sip of the warm beverage before setting it down on the small side table and situated herself in the chair. She flipped open the laptop and pulled up a browser window, smiling at a gift from another friend - there was a sticker next to the trackpad with a drawing of a wedge of Swiss, quoting another memorable line from Schitt’s Creek, reminding her to “fold in the cheese.” Burns glanced to the time on the screen and logged in to her Netflix account, clicking until she arrived at the viewing party, and began typing to join the group chat. 

She was greeted with jubilant messages from Donna, Ella, Brandy, Anitah, and half a dozen other friends, wishing her a happy birthday before the show started. They’d formed an ever-growing viewing party for a new series titled Stranded in the Orchard, which was an odd amalgamation of Survivor and Gilligan’s Island. Taking a cue from reality tv competitions, there were hidden cameras all over the island to monitor everyone and reduce production crew intervention, and in a nod to Hunger Games, there was an omnipresent host that would drop messages to signal when challenges were about to take place. After four episodes, the ladies in the watching party started picking their favorites from the two teams. 

Team Ruby consisted of a group that appeared to have been shipwrecked onto the island. Leo was dubbed The Rogue; his brother Liam was The CEO; Katrina was The Attorney; Alyssa was The Teacher; Drake was The Cowboy; Olivia was The Weapons Expert; Bertrand was The Grump; Madeleine was The Whiner; Maxwell was Bertrand’s brother and The Jester; Hana was The Jill of All Trades. Bertrand and Madeleine had already been voted off when Ruby lost two events. 

Team Catalyst consisted of a group of mostly college students. Jake was The Pilot; Laurel was The Mystery Girl; Sean was The Coach; Michelle was The Doctor, even though she was only pre-med; Craig was The Muscle; Zahra was The Engineer; Aleister was The Slick One; Grace was The Brain; Diego was The Entertainer; Estela was The Huntress. Catalyst lost the last two events, which sent Aleister and Grace packing. 

Everyone settled in to watch the opening credits as they recapped last week’s episode, where Ruby won the immunity challenge and fishing gear by building a makeshift stretcher to rescue and carry Katrina from a jungle crash site to a first aid station on the beach; Catalyst voted Grace out. Burns popped a cheese cube into her mouth as she and her friends watched the two groups deal with day-to-day chores in their respective camps on Day 14 of the show. They chatted about the team members and how much Burns wanted to see Drake take off his shirt to go in the water, despite the knowledge that there were clips of him cuddling with Alyssa; Donna, Ella, and Anitah would keysmash in the group chat any time Liam appeared on the screen, even though he and Katrina were clearly sweet on each other, while Brandy and Alyssa Lauren would ask what was happening or who someone was from the Catalyst team.

—

“Pillows and blankets are nice, but what we could really use is food,” Maxwell said, drawing an octopus in the sand with a piece of driftwood. “I don’t know how much longer I can last on coconuts and rice.” 

“Liam and Drake took the raft out this morning to try fishing with the gear, maybe they’ll get lucky,” Katrina suggested, stirring the pot of rice in the fire. She set the lid on top and stood up from her kimchi squat position, dusting some errant sand off her leg. They both looked out towards the water, as dawn stretched out across the ocean, making out shadowy forms of their friends as they bobbed in the water, just before one of them went under the surface. Behind them, the rest of their friends began to stir awake from the scent of rice cooking. 

Back at the Catalyst camp, Jake sat by the campfire with Estela; they were working on making their own fishing gear from bamboo and camp supplies after losing the previous challenge. Jake fed a length of twine through a handmade fishing pole while Estela sharpened tips on one end of a pile of branches she’d gathered. “Whatcha whittlin’, Katniss?” 

Estela glanced at Jake sideways. “Stakes. Hand over some of that twine, I need it to bind these to make spears.” With a begrudging huff, Jake unfurled the twine and ran it against the edge of the makeshift bench he was sitting on to cut it, before tossing the rest at Estela. 

“How fast can you tie those off? We’re losin’ daylight for a morning catch, if you wanna ride on the raft with me.” 

“Five minutes,” she answered, already working nimbly around a branch to secure the whittled spikes. 

The screen cut back to Ruby’s camp, where Liam and Drake stepped ashore, smiles brighter than the sunrise as Drake held up a fish trap with small rays flapping against one another. 

—

“kjsdhfksjhfksjhfks,” Burns smashed into her keyboard. “Look at my man! With the sea bounty!” 

“mevmnbvmnxb,” Ella smashed back.

“How do you know Drake did all the work? Liam’s just as wet, hahaha,” Donna chortled in response.

—

After killing their catch as humanely as possible - with Alyssa turning her face to Drake’s chest to avoid witnessing it - Leo and Olivia gutted and cleaned the rays before setting them on top of their makeshift grill to cook. Liam and Drake regaled the group with their morning under the water, as they took turns fishing. 

While Team Ruby enjoyed some protein with their rice that morning, members of the Catalyst team glumly spooned rice into their mouths as they sat around the campfire while Jake and Estela dried off; their morning fishing trip had been unsuccessful. 

Later that day, both teams received messages from the host to gather for a reward challenge. Each team made their way to a small lagoon, where they saw a structure floating in the water. A booming voice overhead instructed them to swim out to the structure and await further instructions. Once everyone from both teams had done so, a blue holographic image of the host appeared in the center to explain the rules. “The challenge is simple,” she narrated. “We want to see who can hold their breath the longest. There’s a bar you can use to keep yourself from floating up if you need it. Last one standing earns the prize for the whole team — an overnight trip at the Celestial Hotel, where our rotating film crew goes to rest. You’ll be treated to clean sheets and towels, hot showers, along with a decadent dinner and breakfast menu the next morning, before having to return to your camp.” 

Everyone’s eyes lit up at the incentive of a night away from sleeping on the beach, away from mosquitos, rodents, and the threat of being waterlogged by passing storms. Stomachs gurgled at the thought of hot meals that didn’t consist of rice, and the possibility of cocktails or wine. “Oh, we got this,” Jake murmured quietly to Laurel. “Bet I can hold my breath longer’n any of those Ruby kids.” 

“Is that so?” Leo taunted, overhearing Jake’s comment.

“Just call me Poseidon,” Jake smirked. 

“We’ll see about that,” Leo replied. “You know most of us are from an island, right? We’re basically merpeople.” 

—

“Bets! Bets on who wins this!” Brandy typed into the chat window.

“Sticking with Drake,” Burns typed. “Maybe Hana. She could have another random talent up her sleeve.” 

“My money’s on Liam. Look how broad his chest is,” Anya replied. “He’s got to have massive lungs to match.”

“That makes no sense,” Ella typed, adding a laughing emoji. “But I’m Team Liam anyway.”

“Don’t hate me,” Donna began. “Something tells me Jake isn’t boasting right now.” 

From her screen at home, Alyssa Lauren used Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe to choose Zahra. The rest of the group picked their favorites as the castaways donned goggles and got into the water. 

—

“Ready? Set! Go!” 

Sixteen heads dipped under the water’s surface, with contestants pinching their noses and puffing out their cheeks as an underwater camera filmed them. A handful of them - Olivia, Alyssa, Maxwell, Diego, and Michelle - tapped out under a minute. As the sand settled, thirty seconds passed before Katrina, Laurel, Sean, and Drake headed to the surface. Just after the two minute mark, Hana, Craig, and Zahra gave up, leaving Jake, Liam, Estela, and Leo under the water. 

Jake looked positively peaceful, sandy brown hair swaying with ease in the water. Estela tapped her fingers lightly across the bamboo rod, counting each second as it passed. Liam glanced over to his brother, who’d begun to turn pink. Half a minute later, Leo popped up to the surface, muttering to himself out of frustration. 

Three minutes in, Liam surfaced, gasping for air, leaving Jake and Estela to battle it out between themselves. Even though the hologram host blasted a horn to signal the end of the challenge, neither Catalyst member surfaced. Liam ducked down to check on them, and Jake and Estela both signaled that they were fine. Everyone continued to wait as the pair spent minute after minute under the water.

—

“Seriously? They’re on the same team!” Anitah typed. “They won already!” 

“They’ve been underwater for a scary length of time,” Brandy added. “What are they, Navy SEALs or something?” 

“I think Jake mentioned he was actually in the Navy before,” Alyssa Lauren replied. 

—

A digital clock appeared in the corner of the screen as the two Catalyst members continued to hold their breath underwater. With each passing minute, members from both groups began to worry. After eight minutes passed, the host’s voice rang out, advising them to pull Jake and Estela up from the water to end the challenge. Laurel and Craig ducked down, eventually pulling their teammates up. “Congratulations to The Catalysts!” the host exclaimed. “A boat will be waiting at your camp to take you to the hotel.” 

Laurel swatted Jake’s arm as they made their way to the shore. “What’s wrong with you!? You were underwater for nearly ten minutes! Who does that!?” 

Jake looked over his shoulder to her with a grin, mischievous sparkle in his bright blue eyes. “Ten would be a new record, my best is nine.” He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Imagine nine uninterrupted minutes of me holding my breath, Princess. My birthday is tomorrow, and I know exactly how I wanna celebrate,” he winked.  

Laurel’s cheeks flushed at the suggestion. “Stop looking at me like that, Top Gun.”

—

That evening at the hotel, after a sumptuous feast of lobster, crab, and an endless supply of beer and wine, the Catalyst members eventually went to bed. Much later into the night, Jake was seen sneaking into Laurel’s room. 

—

“I KNEW IT!” Burns typed. She laughed as her friends typed in responses full of lemon, fire, pepper, and eggplant emojis. She popped another cheese cube into her mouth and smiled, watching the rest of the episode play out.

[refinedbuffoonery]

Flawless (6)

masterlist.

Content Warning: swearing, violence, sex, PTSD

Not gonna lie, this is a bit of a filler chapter. But the NEXT chapter...that’s the one you’ve all been waiting for. Also, I’ve had “bad guy” by Billie Eilish stuck in my head for DAYS, so that’s the song playing during the runway show. 

*****

A week after the job at the director’s house, Riley sank into her first-class airplane seat and immediately opened her laptop, the tan pleather chair squeaking slightly as she crossed her legs beneath her. Dimming the brightness, Riley angled her laptop so no one could see it but her. She’d been profiled plenty of times in the past while writing perfectly benevolent code. Riley certainly didn’t need anyone catching her working on something more nefarious. 

If she did this right, then she’d be able to just connect her phone to whatever Louvre computer that controlled security and be free to do whatever she wanted. 

If she didn’t...she’d need to brush up on her French. 

Nikki dozed in the seat beside her. She’d been bouncing off the walls all morning in anticipation of getting to see Fashion Week in person after Riley had promised to go with her to as many fashion shows as they could sneak into. Nikki’s excitement was infectious. While the priority was to see the runway show of the designer whose Louvre afterparty they were crashing, before they boarded the flight, Riley found herself sifting through fashion blogs to determine which other shows she wanted to see. All couture, of course. 

Across the aisle, Jill had her nose buried in an incredibly thick book Riley couldn’t see the cover of, and behind her, Cage and Desi curled together like a human pretzel as they watched a movie. They were disgustingly happy, and that made Riley happy too. 

When they were somewhere over the middle of the Atlantic, Nikki awoke, grumbling, “You’re going to ruin your eyes if you stare at that screen any longer.” She was right. Riley’s vision had started to blur at the edges hours ago, and she knew she’d have a hard time focusing on things in the distance when she finally looked up. Riley saved her work and shut her laptop. 

Nikki still hadn’t budged from her awkward curled position, but her eyes were open. Riley figured now was as good of a time as any to make Nikki answer her last lingering question. “So you still haven’t told me why you and your boyfriend broke up,” she probed. “You know, the one who hacks everything else.” 

Nikki sighed, rolling her head to glare at Riley. “Do I have to tell you?” 

“Yes.” 

“Fine.” Nikki sat up. “When we met, he told me he worked for a government think tank. Really nerdy stuff, does a lot of consulting. I figured he was smart but harmless.” 

“I remember.” 

“That was a lie. He’s a government agent, all right. But not the nerd kind. The double-O-seven kind.” 

Riley nearly choked. “A spy?” she hissed. “You dated a fucking spy?” 

“Surprise.” 

“How did you find out?” 

“The same way he found out about me. I originally told him I was a freelance art appraiser”—not far from the truth, actually— “and the IT job was to help make ends meet. We both bought each others’ lies at first, but over time we both struggled to keep our stories straight. And then one day it all just...fell into place, I guess. We had a massive fight, and by the time the dust settled, I think we both knew there was no going back to how things were before we knew the truth.” 

Riley laced her fingers through Nikki’s, conveying her empathy through touch rather than words. “What agency does he work for?” 

“The Phoenix Foundation.” 

“What the fuck is that?” 

“It’s DXS. The name changed while you were gone.” At least Nikki couldn’t still say the P-word either. But DXS...DXS could move Christmas. If Nikki’s boyfriend told anyone about her real job, they were all in trouble. Big trouble. 

“Think he’s going to come after you? Come after us?” 

“I don’t know.” 

Trying to lighten the mood, Riley said, “Ignoring the part where he knows you’re a criminal, it must’ve been pretty cool to date a real-life black-ops spy. I bet he knew all kinds of tricks.” The innuendo easily rolled off Riley’s tongue. 

Nikki smacked her shoulder. “We were having a nice moment and you had to go and ruin it by being gross. What the fuck, dude?” 

Riley rolled her eyes. “Love you too.” And she did. Despite the grudge she may or may not be holding, Riley loved her. She never stopped.

*****

They landed in Paris at night, and the Five Eyes crashed the moment they made it to their swanky, overpriced hotel room. The next day, they bounced around the city attending as many runway shows as traffic allowed. Riley didn’t understand the hubbub and overdone romanticism; Paris was just like any other major city—loud and overcrowded. And snobby. So very snobby. 

On their second day in Paris, the women chose to divide and conquer. Desi, Cage, and Jill teamed up to scope out the Louvre. Riley and Nikki attended the runway show of the designer whose masterpiece they intended to steal. 

As she and Nikki found their seats along the runway, Riley made a mental note of all the exits. Their seats were in the back, against a wall. Nikki hoped for a better view, but Riley liked it better this way. Sitting by a wall, she had something solid behind her and could see everyone come and go without having to turn around. Riley had always kept meticulous tabs on her surroundings—that’s what made her so good at her job—but the fear of not being able to see what’s coming was new. 

She didn’t tell Nikki about it. 

The blonde blended right in with the highly fashionable crowd, wearing a floor-length, gray plaid coat with hot pink lining. Nikki was completely in her element here, and sometimes Riley thought her friend would’ve been better off legitimately pursuing a career in fashion rather than letting Riley drag her into the world of shadows, secrets, and cons. 

While they waited, Riley fidgeted with a button on her black blazer. Her whole outfit was the same shade of her signature color—blouse, blazer, leather leggings. But her boots were the real showstopper—thigh-high black suede with intricate gold embroidery down the entire front. Riley saw them in a window yesterday and had immediately gone inside to purchase them. The boots were outrageously expensive, but it didn’t matter. Riley Davis was already a filthy rich woman, and after this job, she’d have more money than she would ever know what to do with. 

The house music quieted, and the designer—older man, favored his left leg, voice thin and raspy like a smoker—strutted down the runway, microphone in hand, welcoming the audience and beginning the show. He rambled on, ruminating over his inspiration for this collection. Nikki hung on every word. Riley tuned him out. 

So this was the man who was renting out the Louvre. Riley couldn’t even imagine the amount of money and favors it took to secure such an ostentatious party venue. 

What she could imagine, however, was that she’d surely be subjected to yet another one of these long-winded speeches at the afterparty tonight. On the bright side, that would buy her and her team extra time, making the job that much easier. 

The show began with a sweep of the lights as the music dropped to a low, pulsing beat Riley could feel just as much as she could hear. The crowd murmured respectfully as the first model appeared wearing a shiny black gown that looked like a trash bag had been melted to her body with the excess pooling on the floor. She told Nikki as much, earning an eye roll. 

The next gown was better—sheer fabric with countless thin, metallic gold vertical stripes. The skirt had pretty lines, giving the model the illusion of curves she didn’t have. After that was a strapless canary yellow ball gown with a full, pillowy train. 

“I don’t understand why designers keep making yellow clothes,” Riley hissed. “No one looks good in yellow.” 

“That model does.” 

“No one looks good in yellow.” 

Nikki twisted in her seat and glared, which Riley ignored. “Are you going to say anything nice?” 

“You’d miss my commentary if I stopped.” Riley’s snide comment earned her an elbow to the ribs, but she caught Nikki’s smile all the same. 

The next gown was cherry red satin, with huge ruffles on one shoulder and the opposite hip. The extra fabric was a lot, but there was something elegant about the gown nonetheless. 

Leanna would look good in that one, Riley stopped herself from saying aloud. Nikki—nor anyone else, for that matter—hadn’t said another word about Leanna since Riley first asked weeks ago. Suddenly their longtime friend was taboo, and Riley didn’t want to disrupt the tentative peace she had with Nikki just to push for answers she probably wouldn’t get. 

Another ugly gown, this one feathery pink with a sort of netting over top. 

But the last one...the last one caught the eye of every single person in the audience. 

Including Riley. 

The sheer dress was covered in intricate silver beading that accentuated its long sleeves and mermaid silhouette and left little to the imagination. It was the kind of show-stopping gown one wore when they wanted to be the center of attention. 

Despite the audience’s rising hum of approval, Riley still heard Nikki murmur, “That one is all you.” And it was. Riley would wear that gown in a heartbeat if she had the opportunity—too bad most jobs required her to blend in, not stand out. 

She was too busy lusting after the gown to respond. 

From her seat, Riley could just see into the wings, and she spotted who could only be the designer’s assistant, running the show behind the scenes. Even from a distance, Riley had a feeling the young woman’s hawk-like gaze missed absolutely nothing. The designer would be easy enough to bamboozle during the heist, but this woman could very likely become a problem. 

Riley committed the assistant’s appearance to memory and set the thought aside for later.

*****

Later that afternoon, the Five Eyes reconvened in their hotel suite. They still had a couple hours until they needed to get ready for the afterparty. Since only Cage and Nikki had been there before, Desi, Cage, and Jill had spent the day scouting the Louvre. It was good for Jill to work with Desi for a change; because of her military background, Desi’s way of thinking through a job diverged greatly from everyone else’s. 

Team meetings like this were one of Riley’s favorite parts of the job—swapping intel and strategizing the best way to pull off the job. Or the most fun way, which was usually also the riskiest. But tonight, the team was in unspoken agreement that they would play it safe, both because of Jill and the importance of this long-awaited job. 

Piled onto one plush, king-sized bed, the five women sat tangled together as they tore through the box of pastries Riley purchased on the way back to the hotel. For the first time in forever, Riley was hungry. She avoided dwelling on that fact as she licked her fingers and picked up stray crumbs that fell on the off-white comforter. 

“So, what did you learn?” Nikki quizzed Jill. 

Jill pushed up her glasses with her middle finger, speaking with her mouth full. “The room the party will be in is super fancy and at the far corner of the building.” She swallowed. “First floor.” 

“Good. What else?” Riley prompted. “How do Nikki or I get to security and the building’s system control?” 

“There’s an employee door in the hallway…” Jill trailed off. “Wait. This is a test, isn’t it? You already know.” 

Riley smirked. “I do.” 

Disbelief etched Jill’s face. “How? You told me yourself that you’ve never been there!” 

“I have my ways.” Riley would tell her eventually, but for now, it was more fun to lure trade secrets over Jill’s head. She reached for another buttery pastry, selecting one topped with slivered almonds.  

But before Riley could continue her taunting, Desi spoke up. “There’s something you should know.” The mood plummeted into seriousness. 

Riley and Nikki both raised their eyebrows. Go on. 

“Nikki’s ex was at the museum.” 

“Which one?” Nikki asked cautiously. Riley could hear the dread in her tone, the same dread that churned in her own stomach. 

“You know which one.” 

Riley swore. Nikki’s ex, the spy, was at the Louvre. “Did he see you?”

Cage answered, “We have to assume he did. And we also have to assume he recognized Desi and me as Nikki’s friends.” Riley set her pastry down, no longer hungry as the heist of her dreams started to crumble before her eyes. She refused to let that happen. 

“He was with a middle-aged man who definitely had a gun tucked into his belt,” Desi said. “Based on that and his haircut, I’d say he’s probably ex-military.” 

“Mac is too.” Tucking her knees to her chest, Nikki’s voice was uncharacteristically small as she spoke. Defeat wormed its way across her features. Nikki thought they couldn’t pull off the job now, Riley realized. 

No way. She wouldn’t let one stupid ex-boyfriend get in the way of her dream job. And her grossly large payday. 

“It’ll be fine,” Riley reassured. “He knows you’re into fashion, right?” Nikki nodded. “Then he has to assume you’re there for innocent, legitimate reasons. Innocent until proven guilty, remember? All we have to do is avoid looking suspicious, which we already do anyway. He won’t have any evidence to pin it on us besides a hunch, and even if he shares that hunch, he’ll get in trouble for not disclosing information about you and your relationship sooner.” 

Jill said, “That seems overly optimistic.” 

“Which one of us is the expert?” Riley snapped. Jill flinched, and the other three watched Riley warily. “Sorry,” she grumbled. 

The tension only somewhat dissipated. 

“Anyway,” Riley redirected. “We picked up the replicas.” She gestured to Nikki’s Balenciaga bag sitting open on a nearby chair. 

“Replicas?” Riley fought the urge to sigh at Jill and her constant questions. 

“What did you think we were going to do? Just take the jewelry and run like hell?” 

Jill’s silence was a resounding yes. 

“Pickpocketing 101. What did I tell you?” 

Understanding dawned in Jill’s wide, blue eyes. “When you steal something heavy, put something else in its place.” A pause. “We’re going to replace the jewelry with fakes so no one even realizes the real set is missing.” 

It was Cage’s turn to smirk. “She’s catching on.” The blonde leaned in. “So, can we see them?” 

Nikki was off the bed in an instant, retrieving a package wrapped in plain brown paper from her purse. She let Cage have the honor of unwrapping it and revealing the masterfully crafted jewels. 

The faux-sapphire and diamond necklace and earrings were stunning. And exact replicas of the real set. The only difference was a tiny, insignificant bump Nikki’s jeweler added to the back of each piece so they could quickly tell the difference between the replicas and the real deal. 

Desi whistled. “Damn. Those are stunning.” Beside her, Cage nodded appreciatively. “You would look so hot wearing those,” Desi murmured to her girlfriend. “Wearing only those.” 

Blushing furiously, Cage shoved her girlfriend off the bed. 

Riley knew that if she let them, her friends would spend hours examining the jewels. Clearing her throat to get everyone’s attention, she asked, “Everyone clear on the plan?” 

The four other women nodded in turn, first Desi, then Nikki, then Cage, and finally Jill. 

“Good.” 

“That’s it?” Jill questioned. “No team pep talk?” The other women chuckled, but Riley just rolled her eyes. 

“That one,” Desi pointed at Riley, “is the wrong person to ask for a pep talk.” 

Riley’s jaw dropped in mock outrage. “Hey! Speak for yourself.” Desi shrugged. Directing her attention back to Jill, “You really want a pep talk?” 

Jill blinked. 

“Don’t fuck this up.”

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