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grizzersmamma · 1 year

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Beyond the Loch | Monster CoD AU | Chapter 2.

Summary: “With monsters now being used the world over to wage war, the military is desperate to encourage non-human citizens to join their ranks. A young kelpie, John ‘Soap’ MacTavish, is invited to join the infamous Task Force 141, the first task force in history to be headed up by a monster. Soon after joining, he encounters a black dog, an omen of death known only as Ghost. Determined to prove that not all black dogs are harbingers of disaster and misfortune, he decides to become Ghost’s field partner, becoming close to the spirit while everyone else flees from him terror. Only time can tell if he’ll come to regret it or not.”

Notes: Decided to create my own CoD Monster AU! I’ve seen loads of different AUs, but this will be my own personal take on what creatures the different characters would be.

Pairing(s): Future Ghost/Soap. Other to be added.

Warnings: Unedited because I’m tired ;w;.

Series Masterlist

Previous: Chapter 1.

Next: Chapter 3.

After a quick meal, some fresh meat for the first time in months, and getting settled into the tiny room he’ll be calling home from now on, Soap decides to return to the lake Captain Price had shown him beforehand. Seeing as it’s the very first day on base, he isn’t required to perform any actual duties – those will begin first thing the next morning – so for now he has a small amount of free time.

The cold water of the manmade lake is an absolute blessing for Soap’s skin, washing away the uncomfortably dry feeling that has been plaguing him for months. He dips his head under the water, letting out a content sigh through the gills that have formed along his neck. He hasn’t fully shifted yet, happy enough to simply laze about below the surface.

Large fish dart around him in an excited dance, unused to visitors in their domain. It would be easy to catch one, but Soap isn’t yet hungry enough to expend that much energy on a hunt. Instead, he toys with them, wiggling his fingers to draw them closer before running a hand along their smooth scales when they’re close enough to touch. Some of them dart away the moment he makes contact with them, while others are curious enough to allow his gentle caress.

Such friendly little animals. What a shame they also happen to taste so good.

When he breaches the surface again, Soap can see a lone figure sitting at the edge of the small wooden dock, legs dangling just above the water. It’s a peaceful spot, with only the wind blowing through the reeds and the gentle calls of waterfowl to be heard as dragonflies flutter from lily pad to lily pad. There have been no other people coming to the lake, save for Soap himself, so the area feels almost untouched and creates the perfect place to hide away from the rest of the base.

Pressing his legs together, Soap feels the familiar sensation of the muscles knitting together until he’s left with a lengthy tail in their place. He doesn’t bother with shifting his upper body, only requiring the tail to gently propel himself across the surface of the water and toward the dock.

When he reaches the old, wooden structure, he uses his tail to push up off of the bed of the lake and out of the water. With how shallow the water is around the dock, he’s easily able to drag his upper body onto the wood, coming to rest just beside the other monster. He looks up into the white skull mask of Ghost, offering a bright grin.

“Afternoon, L.T,” he chirps, smile becoming a little toothy as he decides to add, teasingly, “fine day fer a swim, water’s just right.” Soap hopes that the anxious twitch of his tail is the only tell of just how nervous he is to be pinned under Ghost’s calculating stare.

“I’ll pass,” the man grunts, finally, blessedly, shifting his eyes from Soap and returning them to the book he was reading previously, “not particularly in the mood to be drowned by my own sergeant on only day one.”

Soap lets out a dramatic gasp, clutching at imaginary pearls in feigned horror, “ye think so lowly of me, sir?” He sniffles, pretending to wipe away a tear in his heartbreak. “Well, ah dinnae ken if ye realise this, but ye cannae drown a ghost,” he says, as if imparting some great wisdom upon the other monster.

“Perhaps, but you’d get my fur all wet, then I’d stink of bloody pond water,” Ghost grumbles, turning a page.

It’s a battle to keep from outright snickering at the response, “tha big ol’ scary Ghost, scared o’ a wee bit of pond water.”

He receives a foul squint for his efforts at humour. “That’ll do, MacTavish,” the monster growls, once more returning to his book.

Soap snorts, but falls quiet, resting on his elbows as his tail slowly swishes back and forth. Unfortunately, the Scot has never been very good at keeping his mouth shut, and after only a short moment, is piping up again. “So, ye clearly ken a wee bit about kelpies, ye know much else?”

Ghost hums in thought as he continues to browse the pages before him, “not much,” he says eventually, “you’re supposed to be some sort of horse monster that tends to drown people.”

The kelpie slowly nods, scratching at the small layer of stubble attempting to grow over his jaw, “suppose tha’ just about sums it up, aye.” He pulls himself a little further out of the water, showing how his hips turn into a long tail rather than a pair of legs. He flexes the powerful appendage, letting droplets of water rolls off of it and back into the lake.

Soap doesn’t look up from where he’s watching the water, but he can feel Ghost’s eyes slowly roving over his body, unconcerned by the other man’s rather stark nakedness. “Y’know, it’s also a well-known fact tha’ us kelpies only ever take a human form tha’s strikin’ly handsome,” he grins, playfully raising an eyebrow as he glances at the black dog again.

The lieutenant’s eyes snap back up from where they had been observing Soap, brows immediately furrowing in annoyance, followed by a dramatic eyeroll. “Whatever you need to tell yourself, sergeant,” Ghost grunts.

“Am tellin’ ye the truth, L.T!” he laughs, “how d’ ye think we get all those bonnie lasses te come into the water with us?”

With a surprising amount of strength, Ghost lifts one of his legs up from where it’s hanging over the edge and uses it to shove Soap off of the dock and back into the water. “Clearly that trait skipped a generation,” he growls when the kelpie’s head pops back out of the water again before he cracks open his book again, evidently done with the conversation.

Soap laughs to himself at the lieutenant’s response but knows better than to push much further. No doubt the other man has very little downtime, so he’s not going to force his way into Ghost’s personal time when he was very clearly here to unwind alone.

Their brief conversation was enough to satiate Soap’s need for interaction anyway, so he’s more than happy to retreat back into deeper waters with a flick of his tail. He spends a good while stretching out muscles that haven’t been used in months, leaping from the water with the occasional dramatic twist, before diving back down again. Even after Ghost eventually leaves, he continues working, revelling in the pleasant way his body burns from exertion.

By the time he’s dragging himself out of the water the sun has just finished setting and no doubt the mess hall will be serving dinner soon. His legs are a little all over the place when he attempts to use them for the first time since climbing back onto dry land again, but he’s able to stagger over to where he’d previously abandoned his clothes.

The advantage of a base with a multitude of monsters is that there’s very little concern for nudity, considering the majority of them need to shed their clothes in order to change their form in any way. Any adjustments needed to someone’s fit have to be carried out by the wearer as the military would only supply the basics.

Thankfully, Soap was fortunate enough that he could wear regular human clothes, so he grabs his shirt, jeans and finally his boots. He doesn’t have a towel to completely dry off, but it isn’t too cold just yet, so Soap elects to throw on his clothes and drip dry.

After making himself somewhat presentable, Soap makes his way to the mess hall. It’s already bustling with a mixture of humans and monsters. It still feels so surreal to be seeing so many people comfortable with showing off their more inhuman traits around others and it gives him that warm, tingling sensation he always gets whenever he encounters a fellow monster.

He selects a piece of raw steak, practically drooling over it despite knowing it’s likely been in the freezer for who-knows-how-long. Searching the room briefly, his eyes land on a familiar face and he’s quick to head in their direction, placing his tray down beside the other man before plopping down beside him.

“Evening, Gaz,” he grins, grabbing his steak and taking a large chomp out of it.

The other sergeant offers a hum of acknowledgement while he’s sipping from his mug. “Enjoying dinner?” the vampire asks, placing his drink down with a slight cringe.

Soap visibly shivers at the sensation of raw meat between his teeth and the harsh metallic taste of blood flooding his tastebuds. “Mhm,” he hums, swallowing down the whole chunk of flesh, unbothered with chewing, “how’s breakfast?”

Gaz grumbles, sliding his drink slightly away from him, “still not used to drinking this stuff instead of eating, it doesn’t exactly taste that great.”

“Is it human, or...?” He’s always heard that vampires naturally enjoy the taste of human blood – some people tasting better than others – so it’s a little odd for Gaz to find it repulsive.

Gaz shakes his head, grabbing the mug again and forcing down another mouthful of the crimson liquid, “no, pretty sure it’s pig blood or something.” He swirls the blood around in his mug, watching as it laps dangerously at the edges of the cup, “it’s easier to get a hold of and doesn’t take away from people that actually need it for a medical reason,” he continues.

“Does animal blood work the same?” Soap is genuinely curious. He’s never really thought too much into how vampires work, but if he’s going to be working alongside Gaz then no doubt, he’ll need more than just a cursory knowledge.

“To a degree, it gives me the energy I need, but I need to drink it more often than if it was fresh from a human.”

Soap hums again at that, going back to tearing his own meal to pieces. He’s been a kelpie his entire life, so it’s difficult to wrap his mind around the concept of being new to the life of a monster. He imagines it must be like suddenly changing into a completely different kind of monster, with different needs, instincts and abilities.

To have to unlearn a lifetime worth of behaviour and begin again almost completely from scratch must be a struggle to say the least. Like a kelpie foal, trying to run on wobbly legs they aren’t yet used to. Occasionally, they’ll lose their balance and fall, but their dam will always be there to help them back up to their feet again. He can’t help wondering if Gaz has anyone to help him.

He’s younger than Soap, perhaps by a fair amount considering how slow kelpies age, and seeing him in the evening it’s clear the other monster is bright and friendly. His brown eyes are still soft and full of life despite him now technically being undead, the little flicker of scarlet across his irises whenever they shift being the only indication of his true nature.

“It’s good to properly meet ye, Gaz,” he starts, drawing the man’s attention back to him again from where it had wandered during their brief silence, “I know ye weren’t exactly in the best state when we came to see ye earlier.”

Gaz snorts at that, shaking his head slightly, “was my fault for falling asleep in the rec room rather than my actual bed. Cap keeps telling me not to just pass out wherever I happen to be when the sun comes up,” he chuckles, scratching at the back of his neck sheepishly. “But it’s good to meet you too, Soap,” he smiles, offering a hand which Soap is quick to take, shaking it firmly, “glad I didn’t scare you off with my grumpiness earlier.”

Soap merely tsks, “Ah’m sure it’s won’t be the last time a pillow gets thrown at me face, certainly no’ the first time it’s happened,” he smirks, devolving into a fit of childish snickering alongside Gaz.

“It’s a regular occurrence for you then?” Gaz looks downright gleeful at this development.

Soap sniffs, tilting his chin up slightly, “ah’m not gonna dignify tha’ with an answer.”

He’s able to keep a serious face for all of about five seconds, before a snort escapes Gaz and the two of them proceed to burst out laughing. A few odd looks are levelled in their direction from the other people still in the mess hall, but both are too distracted to care. It feels good to have someone to be a little less serious with, not needing to worry about remaining professional like he would if interacting with a superior or subordinate.

He’s relieved that Gaz appears to be so light-hearted despite what he must have been through, and it’s remarkably easy for them both to fall into conversation, acting like old friends who have known one another for years. It’s only after they’ve been gossiping for several hours that Soap finally drags himself away from his fellow sergeant and in the direction of his bunk.

He’s going to need plenty of sleep if he hopes to be at his best the following morning, but he takes a moment to enjoy the frigid evening on his way there. The stars are a little difficult to see with the intense lights flooding the base and the moon is obscured by the moon, but the weather is pleasant enough, if a tad icy.

He’s about to open the door to the barracks where his room is housed when something in the distance catches his eyes. He glances off into the darkness, eyes momentarily struggling to pick anything out against the backdrop of trees and long grass. When he finally spots what had drawn his attention, he can feel a shiver run down his spine, unsure if the feeling is from excitement or fear.

A large canine looks back at him through familiar red eyes, glowing brightly in the night and illuminating the sharp features around them. Similar in shape to an alsatian, with pointed ears swivelling around at even the slightest of sounds and a rough, shaggy coat all over. He stands just taller than a fully grown bull, with broad shoulders and a lengthier body.

The Ghost stares back at him for what feels like decades, before he turns away disinterested and trots off into the tree line, seemingly vanishing into thin air. Even with Soap’s advanced hearing, he couldn’t hear Ghost’s movements, very much playing into his callsign.

He can see why people are intimidated by the creature, slinking through the darkness with only a pair of creepy eyes to give away his position. But there’s a small part of him that can’t wait to see that dangerous beast let loose on the battlefield, tearing through their enemies with sharp claws and deadly teeth.

A second thrill passes through him at the thought alone.

#writing #call of duty modern warfare #simon ghost riley #john soap mactavish #kyle gaz garrick #ghostsoap #soapghost #ghost x soap #monster au #kelpies #vampires #ghosts #black dogs and water horses

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heranubis · 8 months

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monster cod (dullahans version) ft. 141, kate laswell, alex keller, farah karim, alejandro vargas, rodolfo parra, philip graves

John "Bravo 0-6" Price

where many people mistake mactavish as a werewolf, it's actually price. he has excellent control of his wolf, and is capable of shifting at will rather than relying on the moon cycle.

all of his senses are heightened and his strength far surpasses a regular human. anyone who tries to call him "alpha" gets a growl and eye roll - he find's it annoying and only the rest of the 141 (& kate) can get away with the joke.

is capable of masking his identity of a werewolf, except his eyes will sometimes flash a circle of amber around the pupil - a sign his instincts have been triggered and his wolf is present.

his teeth are incredibly sharp, even in human form. he's not a fan of dentists nor are they a fan of him.

his wolf form more closely resembles a grizzly than an actual wolf - and he definitely uses this as an intimidation factor.

Simon "Ghost" Riley

was actually human, once upon a time. it was a mission gone wrong, a desperate deal made and soul taken away. his body was transformed into a hellhound - think of the ones from chronicles of riddick.

he actually prefers his new hellhound form to his human one! will only be human when absolutely necessary - otherwise you can often spot him prowling around in the shadows, dew claws clicking as he stalks and observes.

his neutral scale color is a faded, smokey gray. when he is content, his scales flush to a lighter, not-quite-white. it's when he's hunting that his scales take on that signature black color - though his face still retains the skull markings similar to the mask he wears as a human.

capable of canid vocalizations in either form, and capable of human speech - he just prefers remaining silent. he also rattles his scales to announce his presence around those he respects or considers pack. everyone else get's a jumpscare when they turn around and there he suddenly is.

will only tolerate pets (read: hard shoulder smacks) from johnny or price. kyle tries, but he doesn't pat hard enough for simon to register through the scales. the effort is appreciated, though.

Kyle "Gaz" Garrick

a seraphim - or the closest anyone will get to one. four sets of wings, all made of a metal not found on earth. he prefers folding them tightly to his back to avoid accidentally slicing someone.

please don't talk christianity or catholicism with him - he will bolt. he has no issue with religion or anyone being open about it, he just (quite frankly) get's tired of answering the same questions repeatedly.

actually grooms his feathers regularly! though made of metal, they can be very pliant and soft when his body feels like it isn't under active threat. nobody is allowed to sit within his wingspan on horror movie nights unless it's simon, whose scales can't be sliced by the feathers.

if you ask him why he left the clouds - his answer is always the same. his sense of justice was too strong - he wanted to make a change in the world, and he wouldn't wait to do it.

does not have an eternal lifespan and can be killed, but it's incredibly hard to do so. he still hates helicopters and thinks they're pointless (salty that he fell out of one twice).

John "Soap" Mactavish

a kelpie! actually a hybrid between two different species of faer, kelpie is the easiest to identify with. unlike the typical three forms, john only has two: human and horse.

his horse form is a large dark bay, almost impossible to identify it's breed at first glance. the most you'll ever see are those blue eyes and his suspiciously sharp teeth before he pulls you beneath the murky waters.

has a very strong affinity for water, and despite his love for demolitions he will take any chance possible to be submerged. not as big of a fan of salt water than he is fresh or brackish, but he'll take whatever he can get (except chlorine. that is hell and he hates it).

doesn't use his horse form on base - it has a subtle air of influence that tends to draw people in. after a few unfortunate incidences, it's more of an unspoken rule that he can only shift on leave or on field but never on base.

kyle is the only one who has ever been able to sit on his back and his skin not trap him - something about the heavenly blessings? john was a little too stunned to truly pay attention

Kate "Watcher" Laswell

a proper dragon - half of her heart, soul, and lifespan split with her wife. golden scales that grow in patches (like alex, found below) - more like snake skin than harder scales like a crocodiles.

her pupils are slit and while she does have horns, she keeps them short at her wifes request (hard to bonk foreheads comfortably if they get in the way xoxo). her tail isn't super long but that makes it easier for her to keep close and out of the way.

both wings are in tact and she is Not a fan of anyone touching them outside of her wife (and maybe kyle, since she see's him as a good friend and he knows the struggle of cleaning wings).

can absolutely breathe fire, and will do so as a warning.

Alex "Echo 3-1" Keller

a snake hybrid of some sort, specifically a king cobra. patches of scales, fangs that are capable of tucking into his gums, spectacled eyes. he can see in infrared and often finds it annoying when in cold enviornments.

has a forked tongue and absolutely uses it to mess with people. his tattoos and preference for long sleeves actually mask his scales pretty well, so it's easy to mistake him for a human at first glance. he's been known to trick people in the past by randomly flicking his tongue or even unhinging his jaw.

yes, he knows hes larger than a mongoose. yes, they still unsettle him. claims it's natural instinct (he thinks they just look... really weird). hisses as a defense when startled or annoyed, no he will not acknowledge it.

big on seeking others out and sticking close for body heat. farah, price, and kyle are his favorites because of their higher body temps.

has never elaborated on what exactly he is - will give a different answer every time you ask.

Farah Karim

suggested by my beloved noji @blighted-lights, farah would be a harpy or otherwise bird adjacent! i personally see her as some sort of falcon - small and mighty and underestimating her is your very last mistake.

she doesn't bond easily but when she does? she will do absolutely anything for you. she especially loves when you help her preen, it's something she only allows when she feels utterly safe with you.

chirps and coo's when she feels particularly emotional (positive).

she has one of alex's scales and he has one of her feathers. it's a sign of their deep devotion to each other. regardless of romantic or platonic, they are incredibly important to each other and an equal exchange of something so important cannot be ignored.

if you manage to be farah's favorite person? it would melt her heart if you fashioned her feathers into jewelry and even made matching pieces.

Alejandro Vargas

hear me out, but i think he would be a cadejo! a dog shaped creature whose eyes change color depending on it's mood - often seen as either protectors and bringers of good will or the incarnation of the devil.

he stands around the height of a cow, and though his fur is black - alejandro is only a protector of his community. rodolfo often jokingly teases him that he smells like a goat so he very much invests in colognes.

though he doesn't have any visible chains, the sound of them dragging behind him can be heard on especially quiet nights. alongside the sound of his hooves - these are the sounds of safety to the people of las almas.

very much prefers his human form and can mask himself incredibly well.

the most you'll ever see that tells against him being human are his sharp teeth and the subtle color shift in his eyes.

Rodolfo "Rudy" Parra

another shifter, like price! his canid form is actually a Xoloitzcuintli. not a lot of hair and more on the 'traditional' side of hairless. his skin in this form is as dark as his hair as a human, which allows him to blend into shadows better.

much like price, all of his senses are heightened, though he has to be more careful due to little to no fur protecting his skin in altercations (plenty of small scars from chasing after suspects and not being super careful in avoiding obstacles)

yes, he can stand as a traditional werewolf. no, he doesn't do it often - it scares the shit out of ajelandro and while it can be funny, he'd really rather not deal with it.

has exceptional control over his shifting and honestly doesn't have a preference over what form he uses most - just whatevers convenient at the time.

has absolutely pretended to be a regular dog for the sake of an op - has since learned he's a bigger fan of belly rubs than previously thought.

Philip Graves

somewhere between undead and genuine zombie. no he doesn't know how it happened, no he doesn't want to figure it out. no he doesn't want your brains, yes he will bite if you keep bothering him.

constantly smells like rot and sulfur, and his eyes are always just a bit cloudy. his body doesn't fall apart nor does he suffer from rigor mortis, but the cold does not mesh well with him.

incapable of permanently dying - yes he can be put down, but bury him shallow; he Will come back.

please don't call him a zombie, it'll just aggravate him and that's not a fight you want to pick. shadow company is protective of him and vice versa.

has complete cognotive functions alongside physical functions - can very easily pass as a regular person if you look past the more... obvious signs pointing otherwise.

#heranubis #call of duty #john price #simon riley #kyle garrick #john mactavish #kate laswell #alex keller #farah karim #alejandro vargas #rodolfo parra #philip graves #modern warfare 2

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drabbles-mc · 1 year

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Far From Over (3)

Gilly Lopez x OC Josephine Costa

Chapter Index

Warnings: 18+, drinking, smoking, language, angst, messy people and their messy relationships

Word Count: 6.2k

A/N: It's the way that I don't even know how to explain how much I love these two. I want to write more for them but I just don't know what yet. Updates to follow. I'm also willing to scream with anyone about them if you have thoughts lmao. Hope you enjoy! xo

Mayans Taglist: @buckybarneshairpullingkink @paintballkid711 @queenbeered @kelpies-shed @gemini0410 @mijagif @amorestevens @garbinge @justreblogginfics @rosieposie0624 @choochoo284 @littlekittymeow @artemiseamoon @nessamc @crowfootwrites @winchestershiresauce @frattsparty @fanfic-n-tabulous @justazzi @darqchilddaydreamz @camelia35 @cositapreciosa @narcolini @danzer8705 @proceduralpassion (If you want to be added to any of my taglists, please let me know!)

The wedding came faster than Josie had anticipated. Over the last few days, she had contemplated trying to find a way to reach out to Gilly to make sure that he hadn’t changed his mind, or taken off for the other side of the country. There was no point in doing that, though. He would either go with her, or he wouldn’t. Neither outcome would be the end of the world. Still, as she pulled up and parked next to his motorcycle, she couldn’t help but to just fucking hope that he was going to follow through and do this for her.

She hopped out and walked up to his door, taking a deep breath to try and steady herself before reaching out and knocking. The seconds of silence that followed put a knot in her stomach. She was about to bail on the whole thing, just resign herself to coming up with some excuse as to why she was showing up alone, when she heard the sound of the lock being undone on the other side.

Gilly pulled the door open, a duffle bag in one hand, and his suit jacket draped over his other arm. He didn’t look excited about any of it, but the fact that he had actually decided to follow through and show up with her sent a wave of relief through Josie that she wished she could explain to him.

The two of them stood in the doorway facing each other for a moment. Gilly looked annoyed, but more than anything he just looked tired. Josie had a weak, almost nervous smile on her face. For the first time in a long time, neither of them knew what to say to each other.

After the longest, most awkward few seconds that Gilly could handle, he took a deep breath and stepped through the door. “Let’s get this over with.”

Before he said that, Josie had almost tried to offer some sort of a, “Thanks for this,” but now she was glad that she hadn’t gotten the chance. Gilly wasn’t in the mood to be thanked for any of this. He wasn’t doing it because he wanted to do her a favor.

“Right,” she said with a sigh, turning and following him away from the door and to her car.

She watched him as he pulled the back door open and tossed his back onto the back seat. He draped his jacket over the bag a little more carefully. It was impossible for him to miss the dress that was hanging on the hook above the window on the other side of the car. A few months before, the sight of that dress and knowing that Josie was going to be wearing it when she showed up somewhere with him would’ve been exciting, would’ve gotten a chuckle out of him or at the very least a smile. This time he just stepped back and swung the door shut.

Josie was already sitting, buckled in and about to put the key in the ignition when Gilly sat down next to her. Against her better judgment, she said, “I know you could’ve bailed,” she turned the car on, her tone dangerously close to sincere, “so, you know, thanks for not doing that.”

“Don’t fuckin’ thank me,” he said with a shake of his head. He adjusted the seat so that he was a reclined a bit. He was hoping to try and get some sleep on the drive, mostly because he was tired but also because he didn’t want to feel like he was supposed to be entertaining a long conversation with Josie on the way to where they were going. “Wake me up when we get there.”

It was a long, quiet ride to the hotel. Josie didn’t know if Gilly was actually asleep for any of it, or if he was just pretending to be. Either way he was suspiciously quiet—no snores if he was asleep, not snide remarks about her driving if he was awake and just trying to pretend to be asleep. Even once she’d parked and they got their things out of the car, he didn’t say much of anything to her as they walked into the hotel.

Luckily, they didn’t cross paths with any of her family members as they made their way up to their room. If Josie had to guess, everyone was already in their rooms starting to get ready. It wasn’t as though she and Gilly were cutting it close, but everyone in her family except for her seemed to have gotten the gene for showing up to things hours ahead of time. Josie wasn’t ever late, but she was comfortably on-time in a way that none of her relatives ever were.

“I don’t need the shower,” she said as she swiped the card to get the two of them into their room, “so if you need to use it, go ahead.”

“Thanks,” he replied, no real inflection in his voice one way or another. As the two of them walked farther into the room, Gilly saw that there was only one bed in the center of it. It was king-size, sure, but he still had no interest in sleeping in the same bed as Josie after how everything had gone down. “Of course,” he muttered as he dropped his bag at the foot of the bed.

Josie didn’t have to ask to know what he was talking about. “She booked this room for me forever ago. I wasn’t just gonna call her up and ask—”

“Whatever,” he cut her off with a shake of his head. He grabbed a few things out of his duffle bag and went off to shower without another word.

Josie got started on her hair and makeup. She sat down cross-legged on the floor, using the closet door that doubled as a full-length mirror. It didn’t take her as long as she thought it was going to. She was just cleaning up her things and about to stand when the bathroom door opened behind her.

She and Gilly looked at each other through the reflection of the mirror. She was still in a t-shirt and jeans, with her hair and makeup done impeccably. Gilly had changed into his slacks. He had a t-shirt on underneath his dark green button-down. Half the buttons were done as he stepped out behind her. Josie didn’t know if she wanted to pay him a compliment or to greet him with something sarcastic instead, so she did neither as she watched him step by her.

Gilly kept his eyes focused on his buttons, but he couldn’t help but to be aware of Josie getting changed into her dress. Because of course she wouldn’t just step into the bathroom to take care of it. The pale blush pink fabric settled nicely, just barely reaching the floor. The dress had a strap over one shoulder, conveniently her shoulder that was injured. If Gilly hadn’t so frustrated about the rest of it, he would’ve told her that she looked nice, that she cleaned up well. He didn’t realize how tightly he’d clenched his jaw until Josie spoke up and got his attention.

“Help me with this? Please?” she asked as she walked over, pulling her hair to the side. “I can’t get the last of the zipper.”

It wasn’t really an inconvenience for him, but Gilly still huffed and rolled his eyes as he nodded. “What would you do if I wasn’t here?”

“Gilly? Please? Just pull the zipper up.”

He did, hands gentle despite how annoyed he sounded. “Why get a dress you can’t fuckin’—”

“I had a dress I could get into just fine but then I had to get a new one to cover up my fucking bullet wound.”

“Wouldn’t have a bullet wound to cover up if you didn’t come around my fuckin’ clubhouse but whatever,” he muttered under his breath.

As much as she wanted to kick up the dust on that argument again, she managed to stop herself. Instead, she took a deep breath and stepped away to grab the heels that she’d brought. Neither her nor Gilly were looking at each other anymore, her putting on her shoes and him putting on his jacket, but regardless they were both shaking their heads at the other.

Once she had finished strapping on her shoes, she grabbed the small purse that she’d brought with her, one that was gold and matched her earrings and necklace. Gilly watched as she tucked her phone, her lighter, and a pack of cigarettes into it. The three things she was never caught dead without.

“Ready?” she asked, making him look away from her back and up at her.

There was a snarky remark on the tip of his tongue but he managed to hold it in. For the next few hours he was going to have to do better than just not being an asshole. Josie too. Pushing down his anger was going to be enough of a task, but to have to be with Josie and pretend that everything was fine was going to be another thing entirely. As if weddings weren’t exhausting enough.

“I’m good,” he said with a shrug.

Getting through the ceremony was the easy part, to an extent. When they walked into the venue, Josie reached and slipped her hand into Gilly’s, and he almost pulled away before he remembered what they were doing. He let her pull him to where she wanted to sit. The only people he had to talk to were her parents and her older sister, but the extent of it was just saying hello and how excited everyone was. He wasn’t really going to have to talk to anyone until the reception. For the first time ever he was hoping that the wedding ceremony was going to take a long time.

For all the reasons that Gilly didn’t want to be there, Josie’s family had nothing to do with any of them. Everyone that he’d met in the time that they’d been together had been great. He liked them, and what was even more shocking was that they seemed to like him too. He didn’t know what to do with the conflicting feelings of being glad to see everyone, and simultaneously wanting to be sitting in the hotel room away from every single one of them so he didn’t have to feel like he was lying to all their faces.

Gilly didn’t consider himself a crier. He didn’t cry about much, but he definitely wasn’t the type to cry at weddings. And, if anyone had asked him before, he would’ve said that Josie wasn’t the type to cry at weddings either. He’d seen her cry from stress, or after a really sad movie, but he didn’t have her pegged as someone who would be sniffling during her cousin’s wedding.

But there she was, trying not to lose it during her cousin’s vows. And Gilly couldn’t stop himself as he leaned over and asked, “Are you cryin’ right now?”

She could hear the stifled laughter in his whisper, and she also tried not to laugh as she discreetly swatted his arm with the back of her hand. She kept her voice as low as she could manage. “Shut up.”

“Should’ve put tissues in that purse,” he joked quietly.

She sniffled, still smiling as she wiped at the tears on her cheeks. “Probably.”

Josie was doing her best not to let out an actual laugh as she gently bumped her shoulder against Gilly’s. For a moment everything really did feel like it used to. For a brief second neither of them were lying to anyone—it was all real. Gilly watched her try and keep herself together and he remembered that sure, Josie had been his girlfriend, but when they were together she was also one of his best friends. That was why it had all hurt so bad, that’s part of what had really made him so angry.

Josie saw the way his facial expression shifted as all of the thoughts went flying through his head. She tilted her head for a moment, brows coming together as she wordlessly asked him if he was okay. He didn’t say anything, just giving a tight nod before diverting his attention back to the ceremony, one that was rapidly coming to an end.

Once everyone had made their way to the reception, Gilly could feel himself getting more tense. So far, no one had really said much of anything that really put him in the position of lying. Most of Josie’s relatives and family friends would talk to her first, and Gilly let her field most of the questions that got sent their way. This was all her doing anyway, as far as he was concerned, so the least she could do was take the brunt of the conversation. The table that they were sitting at would have six people at it when everyone was there, but Josie’s parents, her sister, and her brother-in-law were all off talking with other people. It sort of gave the two of them a breather, with the exception of everyone coming over to talk to them.

Josie was laughing as one of her cousins walked away, the two of them having had a short conversation about what they’d been up to since they saw each other last. Gilly fought the urge to shake his head as he listened to Josie lie by omission. In the same breath of Josie talking about how work was going, Gilly was waiting for her to also pepper in the reality that was the last few months for them, the last couple of weeks, but of course it didn’t happen.

The second her cousin was out of earshot, Josie turned back around to Gilly, the smile falling from her face instantly and exhaustion taking over. “I need a fucking drink.”

He chuckled and shook his head as he toyed with the namecard in front of him, his name written out in someone’s very nice cursive handwriting. “All that lyin’ giving you dry mouth?”

She rolled her eyes. “I was gonna offer to get you one, but now you can go fuck yourself.” She pushed her chair back, standing up so she could make her way over to the bar.

He was more than content to let her walk away until he realized that that meant he was going to be left at a table alone, at an event that was filled to the brim with her entire family. He went from snide to worried as he called after her, “Jos, shit, wait, don’t—”

“Too late,” she said, still walking away.

Gilly propped his elbows on the edge of the table, dropping his head into his hands. “Fuck me,” he mumbled to himself under his breath.

Just as he separated his face form his palms, he saw someone else walking towards the table. He was ready to panic, to get up and try to go after Josie at the bar, but then he realized that it wasn’t just any of her relatives. It was her cousin, but the one that they were all there for to begin with. Gilly wasn’t about to bolt on the bride, no matter how badly he felt like he wanted to. He smiled as she got closer, a grin that went from forced to almost completely genuine when he saw how excited she was to see him.

He stood up from his seat as she got closer, hugging her back when she threw her arms around his neck. “Gilly! Oh, I’m so glad you could make it!”

“Of course.” He nodded as he stepped back. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

“I feel like I haven’t seen you in so long! Was starting to get nervous that it was something I said,” she joked.

Gilly laughed, guilt rushing through him. “Nah, nah. Just been busy.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re here.”

He felt like he was going to combust if he became anymore uncomfortable, so he tried to divert her attention onto anything else. “This place is great by the way, Eva,” he nodded to the room around them.

“Isn’t it? I was so glad that we were able to fit everyone in here.”

“Yea,” he laughed, “you guys got a big fuckin’ family.”

Eva laughed, her head tilting back slightly as she did. “We really fucking do. Speaking of which,” her smile grew as she stepped past Gilly towards Josie, who was finally returning with their drinks, “Josie!”

Josie’s smile was almost as bright as her cousins as she set down the drinks in her hands. They wrapped each other up in a hug, one that nearly sent Josie tumbling to the floor. “Congratulations!”

The smile on Eva’s face was so genuine as she thanked them both for coming. Once the two women started talking, Gilly took that as his chance to sit back down again. He passively listened to what they were saying, but for the most part he was looking around the room at everyone else who was there.

“Okay,” Eva finally said as she started to scope out the next table that she was going to go to, “I’ll try to catch you guys again later.” She rested one hand on Gilly’s shoulder. “Make sure you find me to say goodbye!”

“We will,” Josie promised, giving her cousin one more hug before she went on her way. Gilly watched as Josie took her seat next to him again. Reaching, she pushed one of the drinks over towards Gilly. “You can still go fuck yourself,” she said, a little light-heartedly, “but I got you a drink.”

He huffed out a tired chuckle and shook his head as he took the drink. “Thanks.”

“Was hoping you’d squirm a little more if I left you alone,” she admitted as she sipped her drink.

He shot her a look but he couldn’t deny that he was trying not to laugh a little at her honesty. “Sorry I wasn’t uncomfortable enough for you.”

She shrugged. “The night’s young.”

He sighed, giving a slow nod. “Sure fuckin’ is.”

Soon enough, their table was full and everyone was eating. It was harder to keep his head down and go under the radar when he was sitting at a table with just Josie’s immediate family. Of course they were going to ask him how he’s been, what he’s been up to. Of course they were going to ask he and Josie how things had been with them.

If only anything that the two of them said in response to those questions had been the truth.

Gilly wondered if it all really came as easily to Josie as it seemed to, or if she was just a really good fucking actor. It seemed like there was no hesitation in what she was saying. It was maddening, to an extent, to sit there and listen to her say how good things had been going with them. He knew it’s what he had signed on for when he agreed to this, but having to listen to it was completely different than how he’d imagined it.

“So,” Josie’s mom spoke up, already a few glasses of wine in, “you two will be next, right?” She gestured to Josie and Gilly, and then to the venue, “With the wedding and—”

“Mom,” both Josie and her sister spoke up simultaneously.

“What?” her mom replied, laughing it all off. “I’m not being that ridiculous, right?” She looked to her husband, and then to Gilly. “Right?”

Gilly felt like there was a cinderblock lodged in his throat. He tried to force a smile, tried to clear his throat and make it sound something like a laugh. He knew that the easiest thing to do was agree. It would make the conversation end so much faster. “Yea, right.” It was only two words but each one felt like they were scalding his tongue as he said them.

When quiet fell over the table again, Josie reached for her purse. She nudged Gilly to get his attention. “I’m gonna,” she nodded towards the door before bringing her pointer and middle fingers up to her lips, “you know.” She saw the look that he was giving her, one that was begging her not to just up and leave him alone with the rest of her family. She smiled, one that was bright enough for her family to see. “Come with me?” she asked, her tone loud enough for them to hear and bright enough not to question why they were going.

They stepped outside the building, both of them breathing out a sigh of relief as they did. Josie could feel the tension radiating off of him, and even if she would never admit it to him she did feel a little bad about it all. It was a lot. She knew that it was going to be, which was why she hadn’t wanted to show up alone, hadn’t wanted to tell the truth. Lying was a lot too, though.

“Hey, look, I—”

“I need a fuckin’ smoke,” he cut her off.

She kept her comments to herself, because she needed one too. She pulled the pack and her lighter out of her purse. She flipped it open, holding it out to Gilly so he could take one first, and he did. She rested her own cigarette between her lips, lighting it before handing the lighter over to Gilly. He passed it back to her when he was done, watching as she put everything back away in her purse. All of the motions and exchanges between them were silent. It wasn’t long before smoke filled the air between the two of them.

“I wasn’t gonna say shit, because it’s your mom,” Gilly finally said after he’d taken an extremely long drag off the cigarette in his hand, “but if any of your other family members, cousins, aunts, whoever the fuck, ask me when I’m gonna propose to you, or why I haven’t yet…”

She exhaled, resting her head back against the wall behind them. “I know.”

“I fuckin’ hated that shit when we were actually together. But now?”

She let out a puff of smoke. “I know.”

“This is so fucked, Jos,” he said after a beat of silence.

She turned and looked at him. “You gonna bail on me?”

He shook his head. “Too late now.”

She watched him as he took another drag, tapping the ashes onto the concrete beneath their feet. “Thought you were gonna quit?”

He scoffed. “I thought I was too.” He turned his head so that he was looking back at her. “You’ve single-handedly increased my risk of lung cancer.”

She rolled her eyes at his dramatics, but there was a bit of a lift to the edges of her mouth. It only lasted for a moment though until she thought about what he said, thought about the scar that was tastefully hidden beneath the strap of her dress. “Yea,” the finally said, “cancer is what’s gonna get you. Not the literal murderers you’re surrounded by.”

“You used to be friends with some of those murderers,” he shot back, sort of in jest, sort of serious.

“None of the ones that were trying to murder me.”

“Those guys weren’t really after—”

“Can we, you know, not fucking do this here?” She aggressively tapped her cigarette, ashes falling to the ground. “I came out her to try and chill the fuck out for a minute.”

“You started it,” he replied with no hesitation.

She rolled her eyes. “You’re a child.”

“And you’re—” he stopped himself short. “No. Nope. Not, not doing that.” He took one last drag off his cigarette before putting it out underneath the bottom of his shoe. “We should go back in before your family thinks we took off.”

She sighed, nodding as she finished off her cigarette as well. As the two of them walked back through the doors into the building, Josie spoke to him without turning her head to look at him. “Want another drink?” An offer, an olive branch that would never be strong enough to hold the weight of all that she’d put him through and asked him to do.

He didn’t turn to face her either as he chuckled, a sound that was more exasperated than amused. “Please.”

It was like Josie’s mom asking about the two of them had opened up invisible floodgates somewhere. Now that people had eaten, and most everyone had been able to talk to the bride and groom, everyone else was now starting to flit around and make conversation. No one had made any other comments about the two of them getting married, thankfully, but Gilly felt like he was about to suffocate inside the endless vacuum of everyone asking him and Josie what they’d been up to and how things were with the two of them.

“Drink?” Josie asked him.

He shook his head. “Nah, I’m good.” He saw her moving to get up anyway to grab her own, and he motioned for her to stay sitting. “I’ll get yours.”

It was a seemingly caring gesture on the outside, but truthfully Gilly just didn’t want to be at the table alone with her family. She reached over giving his hand a light squeeze. “Thank you.”

He pulled his hand away faster than he probably should’ve. If Josie noticed, she didn’t show it on her face. She watched him as he got up and walked off towards the bar. She didn’t realize that she had an audience of her own, watching her watch him.

“You got yourself a good one,” her mom said with a smile.

Josie laughed, nodding as she fought against the regret, the heaviness starting to bubble up in her chest. “I did, didn’t I?”

Gilly came back with her drink not too long after that. He noticed the way she eagerly took it from him, drinking a good amount of it in one go. His eyebrows raised slightly, not expecting that reaction out of her. If they’d been anywhere else, he would’ve had something to say about it, but not here.

“You two should go dance!” her mom insisted, standing up out of her chair because she was clearly about to do the same.

Josie laughed, knowing that even on their best day, it would’ve been a task to get Gilly out onto the dance floor. He hadn’t had enough drinks for that. “Maybe in a bit,” she told her mom, just enough to pacify them and save them from more commentary. Once her mom had walked away, Josie turned back to Gilly. “That’s not gonna be the end of that, you know.”

Gilly shook his head, but he knew that she was right. He looked at Josie for a moment, seeing the way that her eyes were starting to get glassy, the way that it was a little harder for her to sit still than it had been before. She was drinking more than he was, and she had never handled her liquor as well as she led herself to believe. That, combined with the stress of everything else, had Gilly wondering if he was going to end up carrying Josie back to their hotel room rather than walking next to her.

A few more minutes went by, a few more songs played. A couple more people stopped by to talk, to try and get both Gilly and Josie out onto the dance floor. Between the two of them, they were able to get themselves out of it each time.

Then the tempo of the music slowed drastically. The DJ was talking but neither Josie nor Gilly were listening. She looked over at him, the look on her face a little more serious than the drunken grin she’d been sporting before.

“One dance?” she said.

He shook his head. “That wasn’t part of the deal.”

“You can come and dance with me,” she said as she stood up from her seat, “or you can sit here and deal with a bunch more people coming up and asking why you aren’t dancing with me.”

He sighed, head dropping for a moment because he knew that, once again, he wasn’t going to win the argument. He stood up and shrugged off his suit jacket, draping it on the back of his chair. He gestured for Josie to lead the way, because she was going to whether he invited her to or not. And, just like when they had walked into the reception, Josie took his hand in her own. She pulled him towards the dancefloor even though he was walking with her anyway.

When they found a little pocket of space for themselves, Josie stepped right in close to Gilly, draping her arms over his shoulders like it was the easiest thing in the world. She interlocked her fingers behind his neck, tilting her head up to look at him as though nothing had ever changed.

It wasn’t as easy for Gilly, but he tried. He rested his hands on her hips, trying not to let the tension that was creeping into his muscles completely take him over. Maybe he should’ve taken a page out of Josie’s book for once—maybe he should’ve drank a little more. It might make all of this less uncomfortable.

“We can leave after this,” Josie offered as the two of them swayed to the slow song that was playing. It was just loud enough to keep others from hearing their conversation, but not so loud that they couldn’t hear each other.

Gilly couldn’t pretend that that wasn’t the greatest thing that he’d heard all night. “Yea?”

Josie laughed, nearly stumbling as their feet moved. “Yea. I can’t believe that you didn’t take another smoke break and just take off.”

“Thought about it,” he admitted. “Really fuckin’ thought about it.”

“It’s been, like, a little fun though, right?” she asked, almost sounding hopeful.

“You know I never lie to you, Jos.” He tried not to get distracted by the way her hands were fussing with the collar of his shirt. “I can’t wait to be done with this fuckin’ wedding.”

She laughed and shook her head, but the pang of disappointment that went through her was something she hadn’t been expecting. Obviously he wanted to be done. This wasn’t something that he wanted to do. It didn’t change anything. And objectively, Josie knew that. A few drinks ago she wouldn’t be having any of these thoughts at all.

“When the song is over, we can go find Eva and say goodbye,” she told him.

And that was exactly what they did. When the song was over, they stopped by their table to grab their things, and then went to say goodbye to the bride and groom. Josie was all hugs and laughs as she said goodbye. Gilly tried not to feel guilty for lying, making empty promises about seeing them again sometime soon. They didn’t have to know.

They walked through the halls of the hotel they were staying at. Gilly watched as Josie drifted from the side of the hall, to the center, and back again. He kept a close enough eye to make sure that she didn’t get hurt, didn’t topple completely over. She was laughing as she walked, and when she meandered a little closer to him, there were a few times when Gilly noticed the way that she almost reached out for him.

Even if she had, he knew that he wouldn’t let her fall into him the way that she wanted, the way that she used to.

When they got into the room, the first thing that Josie did was undo the straps of her heels so that she could kick them off. She flopped back onto the bed, dragging her hands down her face as she stared up at the ceiling.

“We made it,” she said to Gilly, even though she wasn’t looking at him.

“Yup,” he nodded putting his jacket off to the side and starting to undo the buttons of his shirt, “we did.”

She turned to look at him, watching as he pulled his dress shirt off, leaving just his t-shirt on with his dress slacks. “You good?” she asked, hearing the edge that was in his voice.

He cocked one eyebrow, trying to figure out how much was her being intentionally obtuse, and how much was her having had too many drinks. “Are you?”

She propped herself up on her elbows. “I know my family can be a lot, but—”

“That,” he scoffed and shook his head, “that is not my issue.”

She frowned. “Yea, I know.” Getting herself up off the bed, she walked over to him. Turning around, she pulled her hair off to the side again. “Help me with this?”

Gilly sighed but he did as she asked. He pulled the zipper down all the way, hitting the end of it just above the small of her back. He let his hands drop back to his sides, but he noticed the way that Josie didn’t step away right away. He took a slow, deep breath in as he tried to figure out what she was thinking, what she was going to do.

Turning around, she faced him. “Thank you.”

“It’s just a zipper, Jos,” he tried to play it off, tried to ignore the look in her eyes. “I know it’s a bit challenging for you but I got it under control.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know you didn’t wanna come here and do all this, but—”

“You’re right,” he cut her off, “I didn’t. But don’t, don’t make me regret it more than I already do by trying to say or do something stupid right now.”

She rested her hand on his chest. “Gilly…”

“No.” He pushed her hand away. “We’re not, you know, we’re not good now, Josie. I did this with you, for you, whatever, but it’s not like we’re just gonna go back to how it was before all that shit went down.”

“That’s not what I was gonna say.”

“What were you gonna say then? What were you gonna do? ‘Cause,” he shook his head a hollow laugh slipping out of him before he could stop it, “the last time you got drunk like this, that’s when you—”

“I know,” she cut him off. Despite the glassy look in her eyes, and the alcohol in her system, Josie sounded and felt stone cold sober for a moment. “I fucking know, Gilly.”

“If you knew, then you would’ve known that nothing was gonna change.”

“I wasn’t expecting it to!” she snapped. “But, come on, you, you gotta admit, it could’ve been a lot fucking worse.”

Gilly was shaking his head as he walked around her. He grabbed shorts out of his bag to sleep in, changing into them as he spoke. “I don’t want things to be good with you.”

“Wh-what?”

“I don’t,” he ran his hands back over his head, “I don’t want things to be normal, or feel normal with us. Because they’re not. They’re never gonna be.”

“Why can’t they be?”

“Because you fucked up, Josie! You,” he shrugged helplessly, “you hurt me. You were supposed to be on my fucking side, always, and you weren’t. So, no, we don’t get to be friends anymore. I told you months ago, I don’t wanna see you.”

“It’s that easy for you, then?” she asked.

“No, it’s fucking not,” he shot back. “That’s why I don’t want you around. I know that I was the one who broke this off,” he gestured between the two of them, “but you’re the one who fucking gave us up. I never stopped—” he cut himself off, knowing there was nothing to be gained from getting into it now, getting into it at all.

There were a few heavy seconds of silence before Josie grabbed her own bag with her pajamas in it. There was no bouncing back from all of that. “I’m gonna get changed.”

“Yea,” he said with a shake of his head, “you, you fucking do that.”

By the time Josie had washed her face, changed, and taken off all of her jewelry, Gilly was already in bed. He was laying as far to one side as he could, scrolling on his phone. When Josie walked out of the bathroom and saw him, she wanted to apologize, or come up with something to say. But none of it was ever going to be good enough. Not tonight, maybe not ever. She wished it was different, that she had been different. But it was what it was.

Crawling in on the other side of the bed, she made sure not to let herself scoot too close. Even though he probably didn’t want to hear it, she couldn’t go to sleep next to him and not say anything. “Goodnight.”

She wasn’t facing him, but she still heard the deep sigh he let out and he could picture the look on his face. “Night.”

#mayans mc #mayans fx #mayansmc #mayans mc fanfic #gilly lopez #gilly lopez x oc #gilly lopez fanfiction #oc josie #oc josephine costa #far from over #my writing #fanfiction #drabblesmc

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game-weaver · 1 month

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"Here now, what a Child of de Seelie court be doin' without his guard?" Grigorí was just passing by Yugi's shop when he saw the other. The Kelpie wasn't looking for trouble, he was just surprised to see this.

Then, he caught Yun's scent around the other male. "That explains why no hunters dare to enter yer area. Ya be one lucky lad, to have Yun as yar guard."

[Grigori had to say hi from cirquedenightmares]

Yugi looked up when the door opened, only to freeze by the direct words. How did this stranger know...And not just know he was fae but the very court he was from? But he felt the magic of this being, something very not human, making his hair stand on end. He didn't relax, even as he was told he was lucky to have Yun.

"I'd be careful what you say out loud. It isn't just Yun looking after me, you're in a witch's lair. And he doesn't take kindly to dangers to his dear ones. Can I ask how you know what you know and what exactly you are?" He had spent too long fearing for his life, at this point he was just tired and didn't care he was being direct.

#ohhi!#cirquedenightmares

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grapecaseschoices · 11 months

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Idk if you've been asked this before but what would you like to see more of in IF genre wise and RO wise. Are there any tropes you wish were more prevalent or genres?

i may have? [i think so!] but thoughts change. so it's all good in the hood.

My response to the first one would always be more diversity. More characters of color, more characters of different ethnicities, variety in body types. More characters with disabilities. More short male and nonbinary ROs. More amazonian female and nonbinary ROs.

I've seen some improvement in body types, at least from the recent IFs I've been eyeing, especially when the ROs don't have pictures but more is always great.

As for TYPES:

For IFs:

I'm a historical romance fan, so I would love to see more of those. In general. I don't mean in a magical world [though I will get that to it], but slice of life during the Harlem Jazz Era, murder mystery in Japan in the 1930s, etc. And if you MUST, must, must do it in a European setting [nothing wrong with that, I love a good Regency romance], there is no reason for it to be all white. Or even entirely white. 1- I don't care about historical inaccuracies [half the time people get corsets and medical stuff wrong anyway] 2- if you MUST be accurate, do your research.

Though, I do love fantastical/sci-fi in historical settings. And I don't mean aliens made the pyramids [don't try it]! More like a Victorian era IF making influence of the steampunk genre [which go hand in hand]. Or netflix's taking zombies and putting them in ancient Korea [is it Korea? I don't watch those shows]. Give me elves in the Mayan empire. Or maybe something like where people advanced tech-wise but the social mores are very Regency. "Urban" Fantasy in Imperial China. Werewolves vs Vampires but make them Vikings.

More isekai IFs. Both in how they do it in manga/manhwa but also like a Kid In King Arthur's court, kind of vibe. You're not Alice but you're in Wonderland.

I love the slices of life coming out. Particularly the ones that are inspired by shows. I want more of that! Maybe even films.

I want more witches and werewolves. That is it. Separate. Together. Any era. I want them.

I also want more stories with the Fae. Changelings and hobgoblins and The Hunt. Tam Lin and kelpies and trades. The nightmarish stuff.

More stories about second chances in life, especially for older characters.

Um. I had more thoughts but I've lost them.

ROs.

Second chance! But something like you and your ex got a divorce, but there are kids [hi thicker than!]. Or the one who got away in high school/college [hi dropout!]. I don't want fresh feelings being washed out [though that's nice]. I want scratching at old scabs. I want you thought these feelings were dead but they're back. Or they did die, but now we're different people and -- oh, hello ... again?

Speaking of second chance. I would like more ROs who have pasts. Lost loves. Heartbreaks. Mistakes they've made and they're trying again.

Tired of alpha men. More 'alphas' of other genders.

I want ROs who are messes. And not in the shy, awk introvert~ Who is sometimes klutzy but its cute! I mean someone who thinks they're good with people but is actually a disaster. Characters who are angry. And mourning. And have their own issues that make them imperfect. That also won;t be solved just because MC is there.

This.

Friends to Lovers to Enemies to Friends and then Lovers again.

Enemies to Enemies with Benefits to Grudging Friends to Bickering Lovers.

Older ROs.

MORE FAKE DATING/MARRIAGE PLEASE!

A King and a Lionheart. But make it dark.

And my all time fave: this right here.

#anon #grapecase answers #long post #thanks for the ask anon #i sorta smooshed relationship tropes with type of ros i want #i expanded my brain on types of IFs #idk if i have types of ros i want to see more of other than older and more characters of color #i think if i were to do types i might have to focus on a specific genre #liike what i want from slice of life ros. what i want to see in urban fantasy ros. etc #i will say more personalities for e. asian ros that isn't shy/awk or cold and stoic. and more personaliies for black ros that isn't #the soft and supportive bff #im sleepy i will ponder tho.#honestly my shipping tropes/ship inspo tags could give you a great picture #but this gives me so much food for thought anon #so thanks <3 :-D

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grumpygreenwitch · 7 months

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The Witches & Wizards Jobs 17-18-19

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SEVENTEEN

I slept like I hadn't in months. Living in a constant state of anxiety will do that to you, I suppose. But I was so far from home and from the enemies and dangers of Chicago that it felt as if they were too far away to matter. Even the war seemed a thing happening to someone else. It was a dangerous feeling, particularly because the house didn't have any of the protections of my Chicago apartment, but I was too tired to care.

I woke up to an unfamiliar doorbell and my dog trying to murder me by stepping on my kidneys. That much dog euphorically walking all over you will wake you up in a hurry, if nothing else. I dragged myself out of the surprisingly comfortable bed and down the stairwell to the door.

I found my current boss there.

"Dresden."

"Ford." I was all at once as awake as someone could be, every sense sharply on the alert.

"You can't use an electric stove, can you."

Ok, not the words I'd expected to hear from the man. "Uh, I can probably do it once."

"Without setting the house on fire?"

"Fifty-fifty on that one."

"Mm. Get dressed. We're gonna pick up breakfast."

He must have seen something on my face. I'd expected a lot of things; most people see Soulgazing as a theft, or worse. Very few like what they see in me. I'd expected to be fired, or interrogated, or something in a long and extensive list. Treated to even more food had not been part of it.

Ford shrugged minutely. For once he looked put together, and it was startling. He still had that deceptively harmless quality, the feel of a man that makes friends easily. He was freshly shaved, wearing a light shirt under a summer jacket and casual slacks, all in dark, neutral tones. His hair was still damp. "I refuse to let you think Boston only wants to come at you swinging."

I opened the door wide and stepped aside. "For the record, I don't mind Boston. I just don't want to make waves."

He stepped in. Mouse sniffed him, the banner of his tail wagging sedately, and Ford distractedly rubbed his head. I don't think he even noticed he was doing it. "Is it that easy? If what happened yesterday at the museum hadn't happened, would the city still know you're here?"

"Yes."

He looked thoughtful, but merely went on his way to examine the rooms full of crates while I took the fastest shower in the world, fed Mouse some dog food that looked like it cost more than my rent back in Chicago and got into my spare clothes. We headed out into an unfairly sunny and lovely morning. Trees bordered the street, the houses gracious in their old age. Boston was lovely.

It just wasn't home.

"There is, comparatively speaking, a lot of things living in Boston that aren't human. Supernaturals move, same as us," I explained as we walked. "For work, for life, for family. That's universal. And Boston's one point where that traffic bottlenecks. A lot of them don't go any further."

"So Boston's the best they could find?" He gave me a quick, incredulous glance.

"No, the most convenient. Magic likes it when you throw down roots. You can draw power from your home in a pinch, there's protections that kinda seep into a place the longer you live in it."

"Lintel magic," he murmured.

I damn near stopped walking. It was the first time in all our dealings that I'd heard Ford use the m-word.

"My mother believed," he said after a few steps. "She'd tell me stories, the old classics, and the ones from the Old World. Fairies, wicked stepmothers, charming princes - kelpies, hounds, fairy queens…" He shrugged once again. "I'm not nearly as surprised as I should be that the reality is even bloodier."

"You stopped believing, why?"

The ice flickered briefly in his eyes. "You looked into my soul, Dresden, don't you know why?"

"It doesn't work like that. You know that, or I would already be on a train to Chicago."

He did look amused at that, snorting minutely. "Dresden, you're Crime Lite from where my people and I are standing." He marshalled his thoughts while I tried to figure out if I was flattered, insulted, or something else even more complicated. "Life got in the way. Here comes Parker."

The thief was sprinting at us. She'd probably been coming to meet everyone in the loft. "Nate! Are you getting donuts?"

"Uh, we can?"

"I want donuts."

"I want something a little more substantial than donuts," he pointed out mildly.

"Oh, fine." She peeked at me. "Are you alright?"

"I'll do better with a couple of donuts in me."

She beamed. Ford groaned. We walked down the block to a little shop by the clever name of Double-O's, which did bagels and donuts both. Ford ordered enough food to feed twenty people and we sat at one of the little tables with a couple of donuts and some coffee and they brought me up to speed on what they'd done after I'd gone down.

Parker and Eliot had moved the coffee table, and everything in it, to the storage room, and taped the key to the Witchwell. That was already a huge weight off my mind. But then the Leverage people had gone further - with the crumpled envelope, of all things.

"It's not paper, it's vellum," Ford explained while Parker demolished a donut covered in chocolate and corn flakes. "Which is just fancy paper made to imitate actual vellum."

"Expensive paper," I ventured.

"Precisely."

"There was no writing."

"There doesn't need to be. Remember the embossing on it? It's a sigil, sort of a coat of arms."

"I really, really would love to know what it is you people actually do. So you looked up this sigil thing?

"Solve puzzles." Ford didn't miss a beat. "We didn't have to. Sophie knows it by heart, it's the sigil of Christie's."

"Christie's, the British Auction House?"

"Yes."

I worked on my coffee. "I'm hoping this makes sense to you, because I'm -"

The lights above us flickered. I wouldn't have thought much of it; I was there, after all. But at one of the tables, two women snatched up their purses and one toddler, and scurried off at truly phenomenal speed.

There were advantages to having that many supernaturals around, apparently. I snatched for my wand; like a moron, I'd left my staff back at the house.

"Do not." The gratingly avuncular tone was threaded with menace.

The man in black walked sedately past the counter and the last late morning customers. Only one person reacted to his passage, a young man wearing a typical cycling outfit, a messenger bag slung across his chest. He took one look over his shoulder and bolted. No one else seemed to see him, to know he was there. They shifted out of his way because suddenly they had to reach for a napkin or a sugar packet or something else, but no one directly acknowledged his presence at all.

It was a Veil with conditions. Until that moment I'd never known a Veil could be crafted like that, with exceptions built in.

Ford put a hand on my good shoulder and shook his head minutely. I tried to relax, and managed only to pull my hand out of my duster pocket. Parker was glaring with hyperbolic fury.

"Ah, you must be the sensible one," the man in black told Ford. "What pleasant luck."

"Every now and again," Ford agreed mildly.

He turned to look at Parker. She immediately looked down at her donut and scowled.

"This modern world," the man in black mused. "One comes to find the Prince of Thieves, and it is a woman. How times change. Hands on the table, please. Where I can see them."

"Parker," Ford said quietly when she didn't move. He said nothing else; he merely let his eyes take in the dozen or so people sharing space with us and the wizard.

She obeyed, sulking all the while.

"And yours, wizard Dresden."

Gosh, I'd almost forgotten what it was like, when someone used the title to insult me. I dropped both my hands on the table and worked really hard on not curling them into fists.

"Well, isn't this nice." He sat at our table. He was wearing fully modern clothing, a high-collared white shirt, a black embroidered vest, a long black coat with silver and emerald buttons, dress slacks, expensive shoes. His black hair had been cut and combed back, and his moustache and beard were so neatly trimmed I wouldn't have been surprised to find out he'd used a ruler. He was a very pale man, and his eyes were the same luminous, poisonous green of the painting and his magic. He looked and sounded so smug it took effort not to just haul up and punch him on principle. "So very nice. You have something of mine, sir," he told Ford mildly. "Several somethings, actually." He grinned.

"That would be stealing. I don't make it a habit to confess to crimes publicly, even when I haven't committed any."

The man's eyes flashed. His mouth opened - and closed, and he looked deeply amused. "No, of course not. You have committed no crime." His voice suddenly turned into a lash. "Hands. On the table."

Parker glared at him.

"I do strive to not be a fool more than once," he told her mildly. "If you do that again, I will kill someone here. Someone you do not know. Someone who does not know you. That nice man who served you your donuts, maybe. The old lady one of your companions held the door for one time. It will not hurt you. It will just be a toothache, forever there to be worried at, because I will kill them only if you take your hands off the table. Yes?"

Parker's face had gone to stone. My hands, despite my best efforts, had curled into fists after all. Ford tightened his grip on my shoulder a little more.

"I do not see a need to make this into a quarrel," the man in black said very calmly. "My attention is on greater matters. Whatever Dresden might have told you, until the small issue at the museum, I had committed no crime."

"No c- No crime? At the very least you destroyed the MFA lab. You stole from their vaults."

"Not at all. The portrait is mine. I commissioned Sokolov for it. Beautiful work, truly. I was very pleased with it, even with the nose being wrong."

"Working from memory," Ford mused.

"Mm, as portraitists do. So you see, I was recovering my property."

"You could have gone through proper channels. That shouldn't be a hardship for a man like you."

"I am pressed for time," the man in black admitted. "Which is why I come to make you an offer."

I tensed up immediately. Ford's hand turned into a vise on my shoulder and he shot me a warning look.

"You will return my property to me. And I will not kill you. You will send Dresden home. And I will not kill him. You will forget this matter. And in three days' time, I will grant you and your people your heart's desire. Whatever it might be. Fame, fortune, revenge, knowledge. I am a man of many talents. I daresay there's very little in this world that I could not give you. One wish."

"I get to punch you once," Parker growled immediately.

The man in black blinked in surprise, and then laughed. "Well, not that."

Under the table, Parker's leg bumped lightly against mine. It was so unexpected, so out of nowhere from someone who only touched even her own teammates when she absolutely had to, that it shocked me back to my senses, and I turned my attention to her. She was scowling at the man in black from the corner of her eyes, hunched down minutely, her hands flat on the table, tension on every line of her body, and her face had the same wild expression she'd had back at the Museum, when she'd figured out how to save our asses.

I lunged at the man in black across the table. I did it slow; I already knew I was much quicker than him. For a moment I thought I was going to actually get at him, the one time I didn't care if I did, but Ford belatedly caught me. "Dresden!"

Whatever slammed into me froze me, literally. I felt my veins turn to ice, my muscles lock. Cold blasted into me, left me motionless, unable to even shiver. I could barely gasp for air, but hey, if I wasn't going to get another chance to breathe, I might as well put the one breath I had to good use. "My hands're still on the table," I hissed at the man in black.

I saw surprise and fury flash through his eyes. He'd thrown himself back and scrambled to his feet, his chair crashing to the floor. No one noticed." So they are," he gritted out, and his magic faded, letting me wheeze for breath. With an effort he turned to face Ford, the mild and cheerful facade gone behind a vulturine, sharp and predatory look that was far more appropriate. "My property. Now, if you please."

"Does that include the Burning Witch's Well?"

Surprise once again went over the angular features, quickly hidden out of sight. "Yes."

"Well, you nearly killed twenty people with it, so, uh. No."

The man in black bared his teeth and flicked his hand. The lights went out. I threw my hand up and whatever he'd meant to hit Ford with crashed instead into my shield. It sent us both skidding back until we hit a half-wall behind us, random little decorations falling off it. He looked livid; yeah, still faster than you, asshole.

"Then I will take what is mine, and enjoy the killing of you all in the process," he declared, stalking off.

Breathless or not, Nate rushed immediately after him. I turned to check on Parker. "You alright?"

"Yeah, go get him!" She was wriggling in place. "I gotta put my shoes back on!"

Her sh-

Her shoes?!

There's only so many surprises I can cope with from just one person. I ran after Ford, but he was just outside the door to the shop, looking frustrated, scanning the street in every direction.

"Don't bother," I told him. "He probably closed off the Veil he was wearing to begin with."

"You saw him."

"No. I saw a couple of ladies bolt; they're the ones who saw him. I told you; you can't hide a wizard, not easily."

Parker nearly ran into us both as she charged out the door. "Is he gone?"

"Yup." Ford had that look again, the look that said he was putting together bits and pieces into a whole no one else had even noticed was there.

A man peeked out of the shop. "Mister Ford? Your order's ready."

"Oh, good." He marched back inside.

"You picked his pockets again," I told Parker before either of us followed Ford inside, not sure if I was amused or amazed. I settled for both.

"Yeah, of course I did. You almost messed me up, though!"

"I did? I thought you were signaling me for a distraction!"

She flushed minutely. "No. Your legs are just longer than Eliot's."

"… Sorry?" She grinned a little. "So what did you get?"

She grinned even more.

EIGHTEEN

Nate charged into the loft at full speed. "Hardison, are you here yet?"

The hacker had been in the kitchen; he peeked out of the fridge. "Yeah, man. Uh, fridge's broken."

"Then replace it, landlord mine." Nate glanced at the door and added, his voice quieter. "Quietly."

Hardison's expression filled with understanding, and he nodded. "Did you get breakfast?"

"They're bringing it up. I don't promise there's any donuts left. Is everyone else here?"

"We are now." Eliot held the door open for Parker and Dresden, Sophie coming up behind them. "What's this I'm hearing, that you met the man in black?"

"We did," Nate confirmed cheerfully.

"What?!" Hardison looked stunned.

"Is everyone alright?" Sophie asked.

"Oh, yeah, everyone's fine. He just wanted to talk. Threaten us, bully us, you know, the usual. Dresden, back to your couch, I need Hardison's computers." The wizard went that way obediently, but he didn't let go of the box he was carrying, raiding its contents before he surrendered it to Eliot. Sophie followed Parker to the staging area.

"Hardison." Nate sat and stared at the screens. "The Tetryakov Gallery is the main repository of Sokolov's work. That's not just his portraits and his studies, that's also his journals, his notebooks. The records of his commissions. Do they have electronic copies of those?"

In a moment the central screen was full of documents, more and more being flicked to one side as the hacker blithely charged into presumably secured databases across the world. "Some of it."

"Cross-reference against the portrait. We might not know who the people in it are, but it's absolutely one of Sokolov's largest pieces."

"It's also a full-body portrait of two people. He preferred faces, busts, or large groups. It's unique," Sophie added.

"Give me a minute, I'm having to run all this through a translator. I don't actually read Russian."

"Sophie, Parker. Are there any big art events taking place within the next three days?"

"Yes," Parker replied before Sophie could. "A private art auction in two days." She pulled from an inner jacket pocket a small piece of paper and handed it over with a grin.

Sophie took it, read it, and passed it on. "That's what the Christie's man is here for. He's not selling, he's buying."

"He just went to all this trouble to get the portrait, and he's selling it already?" Eliot protested mildly. "Why?"

"Because in two days he won't need it anymore." Ford stared at the screen. "Dresden, the brass piping. What you meant to do with it, can you do it in the storage room as well?"

"If there's enough brass, yes."

"Do it." Nate looked at his team. "He can't find them. He came to us because whatever Dresden did worked. The key, the circles, whatever it is, they are actually doing their job and he can't find all the stuff Parker took from him. I bet he had some sort of tracker in his pockets, waiting for Parker to go for it."

"Jerk," the thief muttered, but she didn't sound angry as much as resigned. "I figured the paper was safe."

"Dresden."

Eliot brought the piece of paper to their consultant. It was a match to the envelope, heavy vellum, the ink black and gold, the writing beautifully elegant. Dresden grimaced as soon as he touched it, and lifted it up. "Nope. This is your tracker."

"I can't put it back when he just keeps being invisible!" Parker protested.

Nate gestured appeasingly. "Hardison, make a copy. We'll put the original with the rest of the stuff. I imagine next he's going to try and break in, send the leshy to fetch them, or something worse." Once again he turned to Dresden. "Can you stop that from happening?"

"Yes, but I should get started soon," the wizard had sat up straight, staring in something like wonder as, once again, Nate did what he did best.

"You've got the whole day. Sophie, you and I have a meeting for dinner."

"Fedorov?" When he nodded confirmation, she pursed her mouth. "Are you sure it's safe?"

"No. That's why we're going."

Hardison had put the invitation into a scanner that was discreetly hidden in one of the desks. He handed it back to Parker, who glared at it as if it were the man in black himself. The computers chose that moment to beep and he looked sharply up. "Found it." His fingers flew over the keyboard and he grimaced. "They're direct scans from one of Sokolov's commission journals. The OCR is having a time with it, let me see if I can make the name of the commissioner any clearer." He clipped one particular set of lines from the yellowed, faded page on the screen.

Sophie drew in a sharp breath. Eliot, who'd been coming over to take the invitation from Parker, froze.

"You're fine, Hardison. It reads fine like that," Nate murmured distractedly.

"That can't be right," Eliot muttered.

"What's been right about this job from the beginning?" Sophie countered mildly.

"What's it say?" Hardison asked.

All three of them replied at once. "Koschei."

Behind them, Dresden choked on his breakfast sandwich.

Nate clapped his hands. "This is good!"

"Good?" Eliot stared at the mastermind in disbelief. "This is good? We're going up against the main bad guy in every Russian fairy-tale ever written, someone who actually makes the Russians balk, and you think this is good?!"

"All fairy tales have their basis on something real," Sophie had sat to one side, her hands wrapped around a cup she hadn't touched yet. "Khan Koshan was a barbarian warlord, back in a time when Russia was simply Rus, 'the land'."

"It's good because we have a name," Nate explained. "And a name means a trail. Wizards might not be able to use technology - he is a wizard?" He turned to Dresden, waited for a nod to carry on. "But the rest of the world does. A name means a profile, travel records, hotels, purchases. Even if he's not using his own name, and honestly I expect he'd be the sort who would out of sheer arrogance, a name isn't the sort of thing that blows up computers, like an image does." He turned to stare at the screen. "A name gives us everything. Hardison, this isn't your usual profile, but can you give me an estimate of how long it will take you?"

"You want me to guess how long it'll take to sift through two hundred years of fairy tales to get a bead on this man?" Hardison stared at Nate.

"He's older than that," Dresden sounded off. "He's much, much older than that."

"Dresden." Nate acknowledged. "Do you have a starting point?"

Harry exhaled sharply. "Yes," he replied carefully.

The mastermind pressed his mouth into a thin line and added, "One that doesn't involve men in gray and big swords?"

"I'm working on that," Dresden admitted. "Khan Koshan is…sort of a wizardly cautionary tale. He's the only wizard anyone knows of that successfully managed immortality."

"As in he can't die, or he can't be killed?" Eliot asked.

"Both," the wizard replied grimly. "That's half the trick. You can be ageless, if you don't mind every supernatural in the world out for your blood. You can be unkillable, if you don't mind selling your soul. As far as anyone knows, he got both kewpie dolls without paying the price."

"So he's a criminal." Nate didn't look convinced.

"That's the other half, he's not. Technically." Harry seemed to measure his words with incredible care. "The best known way to be ageless is by stealing the life off of someone else. That is outright necromancy. Men in gray. Big swords."

"He's not doing that." It wasn't a question.

"No. No one knows how he's doing it, only that he absolutely doesn't age, and that he's not a necromancer."

"And he can't be killed? Hurt?" That came from Eliot, who was scowling at the very thought.

"Parker clocked him twice at the museum. Solid hits. They were gone by the time I tackled him."

"That can't be an easy trick to pull off," Sophie mused.

"It's not. What… is known is what the fairy-tales are already telling you. He cut out his own heart and hid it - he hid it so well that no one can find it, not even death."

Sophie drew in a deep breath. "The brooch. The Emerald Heart of Koschei the Deathless. The jewel that no one's ever seen, but everyone knows is real."

"Yup. Now, here I'm going on hearsay: he did it to gift it to a woman he loved. But she rejected him, and it poisoned the heart. Turned him greedy and cruel. He was going to share the trick of it with the world, up until that point. Having met the man, I think it's bullcrap. He never meant to give the secret away. He's just spinning some PR to make himself look the victim, not the villain."

"That tracks," Nate agreed.

"Is that what he's after?" Eliot turned. Hardison had put up a picture of the portrait on one of the screens, deeming it safe enough since no phones had been sacrificed in the acquisition of it.

"The placement of the lock would seem to hint at it," Sophie agreed, but she saw Nathan frown minutely.

Surprisingly, it was Dresden who sounded off. "Why? It's been safe all this time, impossible to find. Why bother now, why bother at all?"

"Mm." Nate stared at the painting. "Dresden, do you mind shouting across the room?"

"I like it better than the alternative."

"Then I'd like you to work with Hardison on the profile, but the security around the things we took from Koschei takes priority. Eliot, you're with them. Sophie, Parker, we're going to find out what we can about this private auction."

"I bet Jess knows," Parker suggested.

"Start there, then. Dresden." It was Nate's turn to choose his words very carefully. "Is this something you should report to your people?"

The wizard looked surprised to even be considered on that regard. "Technically."

"We're flying on a lot of 'technically's here," the mastermind muttered.

"I mean, I can't use a cellphone. I'd have to find a landline." A little smirk ghosted over Harry's features making him look, for a fleeting moment, young. "The only ones I know of are back in Chicago."

Nate didn't smile, but it was a close thing.

NINETEEN

To be fair, I did get why Ford called it 'wanton destruction of property'. Eliot just looked way too gleeful wielding a power tool. And it absolutely wasn't because I was a little bit jealous that he got to use the fun toys, like a nail gun. Cordless drill. Power sander.

Nope, not jealous at all.

So the morning went with Eliot in my basement and me out in the yard entertaining Mouse, and the hitter occasionally stopping long enough to relay a question from Hardison back at the loft.

Then he ran out of iron nails. That wasn't anyone's fault, I'd asked for enough for a few spells, not enough to line the doors and windows, which was what it would take to keep the leshy out. No shield or barrier I could think of was going to keep a Golden Bear out, obviously. And I couldn't imagine anyone had ever come up with something to keep Koschei out, it would have been the stuff of legends. No, the point was the circle, and the ward inside, a copy of the pattern on the key.

Hey, if it worked for Koschei it was good enough for me.

Eliot took off to get more nails. Hardison didn't want me near the loft while he worked on a little joint project I'd suggested. Which gave me the perfect opportunity to head into my shiny new basement, close my shiny new circle for protection, and break out Bob.

I'd honestly thought about leaving Bob behind. My apartment might not look like much, but there were protections on it that only living for years in the same place can create. My laboratory, the sub-basement, was not only protected but hard to find. There was a better than good chance that Bob would be reasonably safe. But better than good was no perfect. And powerful and knowledgeable as Bob was, he still lived in a skull, and skulls are fragile. I wasn't worried about any of the many enemies in my life breaking in and finding him nearly as much as I was about them breaking in and not realizing how valuable he was while they wrecked the place.

In any case, I'd brought him with me. I hadn't expected we'd do much. I figured I could let him loose for a little while, if nothing else, and use that later as, heh, leverage when I needed his help. But that had been before I realized the size of the mess in Boston. I brought my rucksack down to the basement, found three boxes that had been on the Endless List, and put the skull on top of them. "Wake up, Bob."

The spirit's eyes lit up like candles, and immediately blazed and sparked like fireworks. "Whoa!"

"Yeah, welcome to Boston." I knew exactly how he felt. I put the sack on the shiny new workbench and sat on the shiny new stool.

"Ooof, headrush." Bob sorted himself out faster than I had, and his eyes rolled all around the sockets as he took in his surroundings. "Nice place. These Leverage people are taking good care of you, I see. Did you ever find out what it is they do?"

"I'm working on it."

"You know, Harry, it wouldn't have killed you to put me on a window during the train ride. It's been forever since I've really traveled."

"I was asleep for most of it."

"Liar," Bob sang back. "Are you wearing a sling?"

"I was trying to sleep for most of it. And yes." The shoulder was only occasionally throbbing, but Eliot had been very clear about wearing the sling as long as possible. "The Leverage people seem to have stepped into something a little beyond everyone's paygrade."

The spirit scoffed minutely. "Mortals."

"I'm not sure I'd have the arm to put in a sling if it weren't for them, so let's skip the pleasantries about that. I need to make a quick veil-shielding charm."

"Harry, you can't do that, you know that. A charm that can defend against a Veil needs to be attuned to, if not the Veil, then the wizard casting it, else it burns up."

"I'm fine with it burning up. I just need it to last five minutes. Two even." I couldn't even imagine the sheer amount of mayhem any of these people could do in two minutes. Or less, but I was trying to play it safe.

"What a waste of magic," Bob scoffed.

"Bob, focus. These are the same people who got you the boxes you're sitting on." The skull was sitting on top of three boxes full of paperback romances. I didn't question his unlife choices and Leverage hadn't questioned mine.

The spirit's attention turned inward briefly. "Well, I'm suddenly feeling a lot more generous toward our hosts," he declared, far too chipper. "Also, this city's making my teeth buzz. Anything that takes attention away from that is welcome."

"Oh, I have lots more questions for you, don't worry. The charm?"

"Did you bring the Vivendum with you? Page 253. By the way, Gottridge is lying, the charm works just as well in metal as it does glass, as long as it's not iron or lead."

I lifted one of the pins I'd found in the Lost & Found box. "How about pewter?"

"Ooo, tin and copper, perfect. If you get lucky, there might even be silver in there."

I found the Vivendum Grimoire, one of the books I'd brought with me from Chicago, found the spell to enchant the charms, and started rummaging about for sympathetic ingredients. Magic's all like that: sometimes you need something specific, but for the most part as long as you have something that sorta resonates with what you mean to do, you're fine. I found a heavy mortar and pestle first, and started throwing things in there: a lens and some colorful beach glass, a few plastic whistles. I tore strips out of a sheet of sandpaper, and emptied a bottle of perfume in. Then I started looking about for something to fill in the fifth slot. Gottridge recommended cheese, but everyone agreed that the man had had a dairy allergy.

"Rice," Bob said in a long-suffering tone. "Rice, Harry. If you cannot go to one extreme, go to the other."

I threw my last ingredient in, covered the mortar and started grinding. "Next question. Can you make a suppression spell into a suppression potion?"

Bob sucked in a breath. How, I didn't know, given he lacked every single element needed for it. "Yes, but it's not gonna taste good. Among other things."

"Other things?" I asked in between working the pestle.

"Think, Harry. The point of a spell is that you can dismiss it at will. If you drink the suppression, how are you going to dismiss it if you need your magic?"

"Can it be done so it's on a timer?"

"Tricky, but doable. And it's still going to taste like the bottom of a ditch. Why are you wearing a sling?"

"Because I dislocated my shoulder last night. Work out the recipe, please." The pestle began grinding more smoothly, so I gave all my focus to the spell. Bob knew better than to distract me, though I could all but feel those witch-light eyes burning into my back.

It wasn't hard, particularly because I didn't need it to be efficient, or good. Like I'd told Bob, I just needed the charms to do their thing long enough for my employers to get wise to a bad situation and bail. I worked the spell into the ingredients until I had fine, dust-colored dust on the bottom of the mortar; I scooped that into an empty salt shaker, sprinkled it all over the dozen or so pins I had ready, covered it all with a dish-cloth with sunflowers printed on it and left the magic to cook.

"You've been here barely a day and you dislocated you shoulder already?" Bob burst out as soon as the cloth settled.

"The suppression recipe, please."

"Harry!"

"It wasn't by choice!"

"That's worse!"

"Bob… These people live and work and do everything on computers. The suppression potion, please. Besides, they put it back already."

I got a recipe, and about ten minutes' worth of being lectured in between every step and ingredient, where Bob knew I couldn't get away or complain too much. "What do these people even do, did you ever figure that out?"

"Nope, and at this point I don't want to. Next question: what would it take to summon a Golden Bear out of the Nevernever?"

Bob went quiet. You wouldn't think this a bad thing unless you knew Bob. Unfortunately, I knew Bob.

"I mean, a couple of the wizards on the Council might be able to, if they can find one. If they can convince it to come through. Things that big, they don't like it on this side, Harry. It takes too much effort and they're not bright enough to put in the work themselves."

"Let me rephrase," I said as I tried to figure out if I had half the things I needed for the suppression potion. "What would it take for someone to instantly summon a Golden Bear out of the Nevernever to do their bidding?"

Bob went quiet again. His eyes were staring at me with an almost solid weight. "Harry, what aren't you telling me?"

"Too hard? Ok, here's another one: tell me every you know about Koschei."

The silence went on for so long that I would've thought him gone if it weren't for the eyes pinned on me. "Harry."

"Yeah?"

"Call the Council."

"Not an option."

"Harry, I know you. If you're asking leading questions about Koschei, it's because you've already met the man. You know for a fact he's here. You are involved, and that is the least safe thing you could be. This is beyond you, Harry. This might be beyond the Council, but at least if you call them it'll be them dying, not you." Bob was sounding very clipped and rushed; it was something I very rarely heard from him, I guess because when you're stuck in a skull there's not much to make you afraid anymore.

"I can't. Not with the War going on. Even if I did manage to get through to someone, I have no way of knowing if they'd have anyone to send. I'm here, now. This is the job."

"You can't take Koschei on! Harry, that's beyond suicide. He has a reputation for holding grudges for a reason!"

"That's a problem for future me. Present me still needs to know everything you can tell me about him -"

"I will not!"

"-because if you don't he's still coming after me, I just won't know when or where or how."

The skull somehow blew me a raspberry, and let out a highly infuriated sound. "What did you do?!"

I brought him up to speed while I worked on attuning a couple of compasses to the chalk I'd scrawled on the back of the portrait. Odds were the painting -sorry, the portrait- would be protected with the same anti-tracking magic on the key, but just in case it wasn't I wanted some way for the others to follow and find it, not just me.

"So he's here for his heart?" Bob saw me grimace as I worked. "You don't think so."

"No. It's been safe all this time, Bob, he has no reason to look it up now, particularly not so openly, so blatantly. If he just wanted the heart he could've gone into the museum at night, broken in by magic and taken it. No, he wants that portrait for another reason."

"And you're sure the woman's the Hag herself?"

"Ford thinks so. I haven't met her."

"I still don't like it."

"Oh, I'm thrilled as peaches about it, Bob," I told him, and all the sarcasm I'd learned from the damn skull came out with the words. "Really. I've met the man twice and both times he wiped the floor with me. I'm sure earning my paycheck."

"Harry, no one could ever pay you enough to face off against the Raven." Bob's voice went to a quieter note. "You're alive. Take the win."

"What'd you say?"

"I said take the win, you -"

"No, I mean, what'd you call him?"

"The Raven? The Blackbird? I wouldn't even be saying his name if we weren't in a circle that I'm sure you've closed. He's one of those people who are deeply attuned to any attention coming their way. You know the type. Opera singers. Politicians."

"So he can tell when someone says his name?"

"If he's listening. If he knows the person saying it. If there's enough intent, like with any other sort of magic. Why?"

I closed my eyes and focused on that morning. Koschei hadn't actually met Sophie; the vault hallway of the MFA had been dark, and I'd drawn his attention away just long enough that, by the time he'd caught up to us, Sophie had already bolted to go get Eliot.

Eliot, he knew. Unfortunately.

But he didn't know Ford. They hadn't even traded names at the bagel shop. More, Ford didn't believe. It didn't matter that he'd seen me actually throwing magic around, he was more like the sort of person I'm used to, the ones who wanted to explain it all away and forget it had ever happened.

So, just as we'd expected, he probably had a nebulous idea of where his stuff was - somewhere on the block, if he'd sniffed me out already. But he wouldn't know precisely where, and with the anti-tracker in place, he never would. "See, that's the sort of thing I need to know. How about sharing some fairy tales with me while I work on the suppression potion?"

Bob wasn't happy about it, but he also had a vested interest in keeping me alive, and it was going to be hard enough without suggesting one of his usual bargains. I spent the next hour setting up and preparing the suppression potion while he told me old Russian fairy tales and scared the crap out of me.

And yet.

The thing was, whenever I was on a case, things were usually happening so fast, coming at me from every direction, that most of the time I wasn't acting, I was reacting. That wasn't happening with the Leverage people; it couldn't. Whatever came at them, one of them knew how to deal with it and the rest knew to follow through.

Which included me.

I'd never realized it before, because I usually worked alone. I didn't have time to think through what I was doing, I barely had time to catch my breath, keep all my body parts attached to the body in question. But working with other people, capable people, I'd held my own. It wasn't gonna save me from Koschei, but it was kind of enlightening to know I could keep up with some of the smartest folk I'd ever met. Even if they were suspiciously criminally inclined.

I got the potion sorted out, dipped my finger and tried a taste, since I was pretty sure I was done doing magic until lunch, at the very least. It tasted about as bad as I'd expected. "Hey, Bob?"

"I don't have a tongue, I'm not tasting it for you."

"It's not that. I was just thinking, if you can see what's in those three boxes, you can probably do a general inventory -"

"Oh, here we go with the drudgery."

"- and I need to know if I've got what I need to make a mirror-mask -"

"Hey, Harry!" Eliot called out somewhere above me. "You home?"

"Inventory, Bob."

"There better be another box in it for me," he grumbled.

"Thanks." I stepped forward and focused on breaking the circle, except as soon as I stepped up to it it disappeared.

Right, suppression potion.

"Dresden!"

"Down here!" I set my foot on the stairs.

The doorbell rang. It was about as old as the house, and it seemed to be holding up well in my presence. It was certainly loud enough to nearly make me jump off the stairs. Eliot had just opened the basement door up top, and I saw him snap around like a wolf scenting prey. He put up a hand; I'd seen enough of the man to stop dead where I was.

He walked out of sight. I couldn't even hear his steps on the wooden floors. I only knew where he'd gone when the front door opened. I heard a woman's voice, I heard Eliot saying something back before he called out, "Dresden, someone here to see you."

That, I wasn't expecting. I trotted up the stairs, closed the door; Mouse was waiting for me there, ears perked and tail on the alert. He whuffled a warning.

Eliot shot me an equally wordless warning with his eyes before he stepped back, away from the door. There was a woman there with a kid, a young girl. I'm not good with children but she was old-ish, maybe twelve. Something like that.

When someone talks about someone who's not classically beautiful? The woman was the very definition of it. She was short, solid, very curvy, but even when she was just standing there there was a grace, a sort of unbreakable dignity that made you take notice. She was wearing a very prim business suit, gray skirt and jacket, white silk shirt, black shoes. She had dark hair done up in a very severe bun, dark skin the color of copper, sharp features mixed in with soft curves. Her eyes were black as midnight, with a ring of gold.

Her daughter had the ghost of her mother's beauty; she was quickly growing into it, though there was a bit of lanky to her that said her father was probably taller, definitely skinnier. She was wearing some sort of uniform, gray pleated skirt and white shirt, and she looked scared; she took one quick peek at me and immediately pinned her eyes down, but it was long enough for me to see she had her mother's eyes.

"You are wizard Dresden?" The woman had a thick, nearly impenetrable accent. She also had a printed sheet of paper with, of all things, my ad on the Chicago Yellow Pages on it. "Lost Items Found?" she recited.

"Uh -" I'm not good when I'm not under pressure. I usually get myself all hyped up and ready when I have to talk to a customer, be it on the phone or in my office back in Chicago. It didn't help when she suddenly started talking in a language that sounded a little bit like music and a lot like nothing I'd ever heard before. "Whoa. Ma'am. Ma'am, please."

"She wants to know if you're the man from the ad." Eliot's frown had changed to a look of curiosity.

"You sp -? What is sh -?"

"Wampanoag. Algonquian. It's a native - hold on." The woman had kept on talking, faster and faster, and Eliot put his hands up to stop her. "Ma'am, please, wait a minute -"

"Ma'am, he's human!" I shot at her, hating that I had to.

It worked. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth fell open. She stepped back. "Sorry! Sorry! Am sorry! Am so sorry! I say nothing!"

Eliot fell back, confused, so I stepped forward. "It's fine. It's fine, ma'am. Yes, I'm Harry Dresden. Can we please move this inside?" I thought for a moment she was just going to bolt, but obviously whatever had made her track me down sight unseen, in Boston, had more weight than her fear of humans and she stepped in, her daughter keeping close.

"Dresden, what was that?" Eliot muttered.

"There's a thousand humans for every single supernatural in the world, and most of them come out shooting if they get so much as a whiff of anything weird. Never sell yourself short in a fight, Eliot, not that I think you would. Humans are the tactical nuke of the supernatural world."

"And scary accordingly?"

"It's just safer if humans don't find out what lives around them. Safer for everyone involved."

"Hardison wants to know why you're not blowing up the earbud."

"Suppression potion. Long story. No magic for me right now. I'd take it out, it's gonna wear off any minute."

We sat down. Mother and daughter laced hands, and the woman said something. Eliot opened his mouth, but the kid beat him to it. "We don't want any trouble. We didn't know you had humans with you. We don't know what the rules are for people in other cities."

"I'm a little looser on the rules than most wizards. Now, I'd love to ask how you tracked me down, but I'm more interested in why."

"I found you on the internet," the girl replied. "I told my mom. We had a friend sniff you out. It wasn't hard." The mother said something. "He said you smell like big water, like a lake."

"You found him by his smell?" Eliot sounded stunned. She shrugged. Her mother said something and he frowned. "I'm not sure I got that right, it wasn't Algonquian."

"It was Welsh," I said. "Wasn't it?" I looked at the two ladies sitting on a couch that had been, until five minutes ago, still wrapped in plastic. "Because there's no word for 'selkie' in the local tongue."

The mother finally found her courage. "You help us. You find lost items, yes? You help."

Well, the next part was gonna suck. I've been the victim of my share of raw deals in my day. There's been a lot of times when I've had to sit down, shut up and take it when someone's doling out misery. I'll never agree to leaving someone in that kind of situation, but there's rules of magic even I can't bend. "Not this one, no. Ma'am… did he take it fair?"

She drew herself up proudly. "Never fair. Never. You know, wizard. You know this."

"Wait, selkie, as in, the selkie? Seal-woman?" I saw Eliot go through every stage between disbelief and understanding in under five seconds. Then I saw dark, cold rage blot out the sunshine. "Her skin. Someone took her skin."

"Someone took her skin, what, twelve, thirteen years ago?" I asked the kid.

"Fourteen," she replied haughtily.

"That deal's done. It's like signing a contract, you might not like it, but you're stuck with it. The penalties for breaking it are… severe. And interfering is tricky. Interfering with magic into a selkie marriage tends to rebound, ricochet. Like a bullet. "Ma'am, I can't help you, I'm just - I'm a wizard. The rules apply to me same as everyone."

"No!" She snapped at me. "I no say -" She growled in frustration, then looked at her daughter and took a deep breath. "He find my skin. Take. Is law. I know. I no need you find my skin, wizard. I need you find my daughter's skin."

Oh, Hell's Bells.

Both Eliot and I turned to stare at the girl. Thirteen, fourteen years old. In some places, to some men that I couldn't legally set on fire, she was ready to be married.

"He took your daughter's skin," Eliot sounded ready to murder someone.

"Yes. You find."

"I'm… working -"

"Can you find her skin, Dresden?"

"There's a few things I could try?"

He smiled at the two seal-women. It almost looked like his usual sunshine smile, but I could see the murder still lurking somewhere behind it. "We'll do what we can, ma'am."

She sagged with relief and reached for her purse. "I pay -"

"No payment required," he told her pleasantly.

"But we'll need as much information as you can give us about your -" Even knowing Eliot felt the same as I did, even knowing I had both backup and permission to act, I still wanted to set someone on fire. I did my best to smile instead. Smile and reassure. "- your husband."

She had it all typed up neatly in another piece of paper she pulled out of her sensible purse, as well as a few hairs in a bit of plastic wrap and her contact information, which directed us to Sannah, her daughter. We saw them to the door, waved them away, and Eliot turned to face me. "Dresd- " The little bit of suppression potion I'd tasted chose that moment to run out, and he yanked the earbud out as it screeched angrily. He drew in a deep breath. "Is that for real? Someone took her skin and she had to marry him?"

"Yeah. Crap deal, with magic and hope keeping them tethered. As long as there's even a chance to get her skin back, she'll do anything, put up with anything."

His hands curled into fists. It took him a few moments and a couple of deep breaths to get past the first crest of anger; he was better at it than I was, I'd known about selkies for so much longer, and I was still angry at the whole situation. "So, how do you normally handle something like this?"

"Uh, I go to the library, look up the guy. Tail him, on foot or by magic, see if he goes any place that isn't home or work. Find out where the skin is, report back to her with the location."

"Wh- That's it? There's no… explosions, no fighting?"

"He's human. Anyone else would know to give the skin back. A selkie's skin is bad luck on an impressive scale to anyone but the owner, it's why you can't use magic to break up the marriage."

"So he'd be using human means to keep the skins." He looked very thoughtful.

"Probably, yes."

A slow, wicked grin bloomed on the man's face that made me feel as if we were about to do some very bad things to some very bad people. It was a good feeling after having Koschei wipe the floor with us. Me, mostly. "Good. Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"Out of the dark ages and into the age of the geek. Unless you're in the middle of something?"

"Nothing that can't wait." Yeah, ok, I was curious to see how Leverage dealt with a supernatural challenge, even if it was a relatively minor one.

#fanfiction #my writing #urban fantasy #leverage #the dresden files #harry dresden #nathan ford #parker #alec hardison #eliot spencer #sophie devereaux #crossover

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im-tired1124 · 5 months

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At last, I’d like to finally introduce you to my personal favorite bone-collecting, cucumber-munching, OCD-having, back-breaking-hug-giving, babysitting, 6 foot one and super strong great-grandkid of death herself (violent inhale) Melgaar Rekachro!

Despite looking like the nightmarish anime girl version of Krampus, Melgaar’s personal generally very nonthreatening, caring, and of course, like everyone else in the Emberlyn and the Dental Dilemmas group excluding Kelpie, one of the most genuine and kind people to ever breathe air. They’re very much the Mom friend of the group, despite not liking children all that much, ironically. She’s very concerned about everyone’s health, constantly insists on doing everyone’s dirty work for them as much as Ylra if not even more, has a crack ton of healing spells, is not afraid to make brambles grow out of someone’s lungs if they fuck with her friends, and constantly tries to pretend that everything’s fine while playing therapist and being extra paranoid about the group getting physically hurt. All of this will trying to battle violent vivid intrusive thoughts. I’d say aside from Lirin, she’s probably the least confrontational out of everyone in the group, though that can mostly be attributed to the fact that she’s usually too tired to start a fight. Someone get this poor dude some melatonin gummies, she’s gonna need em’. Oh yeah, did I mention that she likes cucumbers because they FUCKING LOVE cucumbers.

NOTES!

#fall of enselia #Melgaar fall of enselia #Melgaar foe #oc artwork #mini reference #reference sheet #original character #this took so long to make aaaaaaaaaa

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zipitmythicalsunset · 2 years

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Chapter 2: BloodBath River

(ALL SONAS HERE YAYAYAYAYAYAAYA)

(This is all from X.Gs pov, an important note is that due to the area she had grown up in, she has learned to speak all 3 (kelpie selkie and siren) main mer languages fluently, also Tw. This chapter is called Bloodbath river for a reason, I think i got a bit graphic but i have no idea where that border is so- E)

It's been an hour since dawn, and the town is already up and busy, people raiding the cafe for coffee to keep them up and going, others walking their dogs or chatting blissfully to one another. Unaware (or uncaring) of the lady with blue eyes piercing through a black veil with the gray, ominous Sunday hat sitting up top of a closed bookstore.

X.G has been so…tired

Everyones been. None of the other kelpies who she's been so close with she considers family have been active on their group chat. Life on land seems to have also been rough over the course of a few weeks. Most of her family live among humans, how, she can never know.

Maybe it's because they were born on land, and they had found the appeal there that she was blind to. Even then, the second their true form is revealed, no matter how good of a person you may have been. you're immediately a monster. Someone that deserves to be locked up and soul sucked out in a disgusting smelling lab. And be treated as a mere object, and when you finally die, nobody will remember you. Why run this risk? What was the appeal that she couldn't see? She wanted to know. It’s kinda her thing, to understand things she probably wasn't capable of understanding.

X.G looked around to the sea of humans below her, watching them all scatter to do whatever they had planned to do today. There's more than usual, that's odd. In the sea of busy people, she had spotted a familiar figure. blonde hair with strands of green slaying a white dress. X.G perked up and bounced off the building she was sitting on (earning a few gasps from a few bystanders. heh) and ran over to the blondie.

“Nora!” she basically yelled out, and Nora had spun around at the call of her name, perking up when she saw her friend running to her. “Hey X! how have you been?”

X.G held Nora in a one arm hug, in which she happily returned. “M’tired, life in the forests feels slow and the fog is starting to pick up. I almost lost my kitty bag yesterday when trying to get to Momma Yami’s home cave thing..” she grumbled, looking down midway through her sentence and patted her purse just to confirm she still had it. wandering around in the foggy eerie woods searching for her dropped bag was not fun. Nora simply chuckled. “I can imagine, the flower shop has been very busy. I’m closing it for the weekend because I somehow ran out of stock.” That. That right there had caught her by surprise. Nora tended to overbuy stock. So the thought that she ran out was shocking. “That busy?”

“Mhm, mainly tourists. Heard some point of interest or something opened up to tourists to check out and they came flocking, hotels packed and well yeah,extra money but nobody was ready for that.It's all haywire.” Ah. That explains why there's so many people around, and the extra boats, seriously, they appear out of thin air…speaking of..“Hey, that does mean you're free for the weekend, right?” She questioned hopefully. Nora had begun walking again, X.G following along behind her. “Yeahh, you got any plans I can tag along with?”

“No but we can maybe go- '' A familiar ring cut X.G off, coming from both of their phones. Someone had pinged them in the group chat, that used to happen a lot. But ever since these tourists had come and eaten everyone's free time. This is the first Ping this month. The girls looked at each other and whipped their phones out. X.G scrambled her phone out of her purse in the sea of other objects she purchased yesterday, out of its many waterproof covers, and clicked the notification.

🥗🥗🥗 Salads and sides🥗🥗🥗

Bloo: @everyone hey i know we’ve been busy, so sorry for the ping. But me and Vi are going to walk from the exit of the river and upstream to the cove at its start. just to take a breather from all the humans. Probably gonna spend the night there. Anyone else free to come hang with us?

Bloo, you goddamn life saver.

X.G and Nora looked at each other “Well, that solves that problem.” Nora said, laughing. X.G chuckled “Bloo is always there when you need her, even unintentionally, isn’t she?” Nora hummed in confirmation while she texted the group chat.

The former looked back down at her phone after a few moments of just laughing at the coincidence. she can see through her black veil that there are already 5 new messages, including nora.

bloo: @everyone hey i know everyones been busy, so sorry for the ping. But me and Vi are going to go from the exit of the river and walk upstream to the hidden cove near its start at around 12 pm. Just to take a breather from all the humans and chit chat. Probably gonna spend the night at that cove. Anyone else free to come hang with us?

(replying to bloo) Finnick: Eh, why not, nothing more entertaining to do anyway.

(replying to bloo) Cici: HECK YEAH! I'VE BEEN SO BORED AND I MISS YOU GUYS >:D

(replying to bloo) Whisper: ooo~ well i don't see why not, I'll bring some snacks and a couple of drinks! :D

(replying to bloo) Nora: shops closed for restock, it will be nice to get some fresh air :>

(replying to bloo) Beetle: hm…sure! Sounds like fun!

Smiling, she has typed out her response.

(replying to bloo) X.G: a walk would be nice, count me in.

sent.

Not 2 seconds after, Bloo had started typing again and had sent another message.

Bloo: all right! It's nice to see that almost everyone has free time this weekend!

It's something to look forward to, and she can feel Nora’s buzzing excitement next to her. It's a break from the town and work- with 8 out of 10 members of her family, she couldn't blame her. She herself missed listening to them chatter away and doing less than responsible things. It can get annoying trying to keep them out of trouble, yes. But if her friends weren’t chaotic children, what fun would there be?

——————————————————————

The meeting time was 12PM

Everyone was here by 11:30AM

The part of the beach where the river was is kept untouched by everyone, including tourists. After all, you'll never know when you'll get bonked by a gator.

The residents of the town found out the hard way

Poor fucker.

Vipera and Bloo had just arrived, ironically last, to be fair, they were technically 30 minutes early. Nora basically rushed X.G out of her jacket and sweatpants to show the outfit that fit much better with her kelpie form and hurried them over to the river at 11 AM so they wouldn't get side tracked and be late. X.G didn’t like to be rushed, but she still couldn't help but chuckle at her friend's shenanigans. Nora didn't wanna be late. Not at all

The river itself was maybe 100 feet wide and gashes into the land, carrying anything along that happens to fall into it.

Well, almost everything.

The river's current may be strong to a human, but a kelpie's powerful tail can easily swim against its current, though slow and inefficient… X.G and her family will know, they are no stranger to walking up this river to the cove.

“We are all ready, right?” asked whisper. Snapping her once again out of her thoughts. Vipera and Finnick were nodding, Finnick was holding a pretty big, black cooler bag. That probably has the stuff Whisper brought along. “Mhm, all ready for freddy.” Beetle joked. “I'm ready to go already!” Cici practically shouted impatiently. Nora and Bloo were holding a thumbs up “Me and Bloo are up and ready, how about you, X.G?”

She looked at each of her friends under her veil, she had removed her blue contacts- sky blue eyes have been replaced with blood red ones- and nodded

“ready”

And they were off

——————————————————————

At 3pm, all was well, everyone had switched to their true forms. Everyone was talking, telling stories they haven't had the chance to tell anyone, doing a few goofy things here and there, playing chess without a chessboard- actually a couple of games without their respective items. Vipera and X.G were in the middle of a tic tac toe match when Cici decided to make the first moment of the walk.

Cici was talking to Nora and making plans about one thing or another, when she looked at the river they were walking to the right of, dramatically gasped, and jumped inside. Giving everyone a heart attack until she surfaces 10 seconds later, jumping out the water with a fucking massive bucket, big enough to hold a child, and pretty well intact.

“GUYS LOOK A BUCKET” Cici yelled out with pride, holding the bucket like it was that baby lion cub from that one popular movie Bloo made X.G watch a while back.

silence…

Somehow, Everyone but X.G and Finnick had the same idea, and had gotten to their knees and began praising the bucket like it was the motherfucking lord and savior Jesus Christ himself.

….It took almost half an hour to convince everyone to continue walking, Cici kept the bucket though.

At 6 pm, They had stopped to take a break and eat some of the snacks that Whisper had gotten. Some cookies, water, and sandwiches . Bloo had snagged a few fish out the river to snack on. Some didn’t like raw food though. Whatever, it was eaten anyway. Bloo has always been the best at catching fish bare handed. Never ever lost any contest before, even if 3 people were working together, Bloo somehow always got more. X.G has always been VERY curious where she got her skills from. But she always says she's self taught. Fine then, keep your secrets, you blue tinted sentient plant.

At 9 pm, they had a simple conversation, a release of information about a pretty random topic. One that they had no idea would be relevant later.

“Hey X.G!” CiCi called, swaying the bucket around. her kelp hair swinging around almost smacking Vipera, who was chit chatting with Finn.

“hmmm yeah whats up?” X.G responded, pausing her game of connect 4 with Beetle- well, imaginary technically, the setup was in their heads and where they placed their next piece by saying which column out of 9 they wanted to place their piece in. They’ve done it for years now, it's second nature to remember such things.

“You spend your time out in the wild and all, seeing deers, traversing tree roots, and swimming with the fishes, yeah?”

“What about it?” she asked.

“well i’ve had this question for a long while now but never had time to ask because busy month and all, but how the FUCK do you keep your clothes clean and not even torn up in the slightest?!” CiCi nearly shouted.

“Actually, that's a good question. X, I know you're careful and all. But I don't think anyone is that careful, and your kelpie outfit doesn't even have a blood stain. how?” Asked Beetle, now also curious.

“Huh? Oh, Atlan tech. Neat shit aint it?” X.G responded casually. “Pardon me, what tech?” asked Nora, now interested. Great, everyone was interested now, all eyes were on her. hhhhhhhhhh-.

“Atlan tech.” she replied again. All of her friends looked at each other, each confirming with one another with a simple look they had no idea what she was talking about, and looked at her and gestured for her to elaborate. Why did she expect them to know what she was talking about?

“well….you guys know the atlantis myth right?”

Everyone nodded in confirmation. Well, here goes nothing…

“yeah that's a real thing”

silence. they have stopped walking, nonhuman eyes gone wide, staring at her through her veil, this feels ominous now.

“Holy crap…” gasped Whisper, shocked, and so was everyone else, now looking at each other processing that information, some in disbelief, others fully believed her.

“Wait really?!” yelled CiCi, flabbergasted. “Not in the way you think, however.” She added, and now all eyes were on her again, just like that. “It ain’t an underwater city that was run by humans and is full of gold or whatever the tale was. It's actually a Country sized city run by seafolk. Works like humans, just less tech advanced because it’s underwater, and, well, its under fucking water. Also they all hate humans. Funny isn't it?”

“And…nobody knew about this… because?” Finn asked, still doubting X.Gs admittingly pretty unbelievable claim.

“With all due respect, Finnick. Do you really think a COUNTRY SIZED CITY OF SEAFOLK THAT HATES HUMANS WILL LET A HUMAN LIVE TO TELL THE TALE?” Bloo pointed out.

“Pfft, that too, but really it's because there's a weird barrier that prevents anyone from seeing it and you gotta sing a certain song to an underwater shrine to enter.” X.G stated bluntly, not really questioning it.

….

“Ok normally id question that but then i remembered im arguing a civilization that made the most durable clothes i’ve ever fucking seen thats quite literally right in front of my eyes- just how are those two related mind you?” Finn asked, giving up on questioning X.G’s words. After all, she’s no liar to those close to her. They’ve been each other's family for a long time now. Everyone knows each other like a book they’ve read a million times. They know well the most X.G can do is half lie without stuttering her words or start avoiding eye contact.

“Long story, make it short, combined a bunch of animal genes together to create a genetically modified organism that produces a substance that which combined with a different genetically modified organism’s GUTS and a couple other things makes the most durable and questionable shit ever fucking created.” She said without a second thought. She can feel eyes piercing through her veil. She didn’t look away, or show any of her giveaways when she lies. Because she isn't.

“Hold on …how did they figure that out?” Vipera asked, Whisper and Nora hummed in agreement, having the same question.

“To be honest not even i wanna know” The Blood-eyed kelpie half chuckled out.

“Im wondering how the fuck they made a gentically modified organism that assumingly can mass produce this stuff.” Cici said, still baffled. “That…isnt my area of expertise.” X.G replied with a small giggle.

“Well, the Alfredton Marine Institution or whatever has a lab base right next to the left side of the river, we'll be a few minutes from the property line at like 3:30 am or 4:00 am, why not go ask them?” Finn said sarcastically. Earning a few laughs from the other seafolk.

“Jokes and clothes aside, you gotta take us there someday.” Beetle said jokingly, Whisper nodded her head in agreement. “I wanna see this barrier thing.” The blue eyed selkie Joked too. “Alright bet, when yall free to go on vacation to Atlantis? Outsiders are free to come and visit as long as they dont eat someone. ” X.G stated as if oblivious that the two were messing around.

“Wait fr?” Beetle said, shocked that their joke can actually happen.

“Mhm!”

“Oh heck yeah.”

Beetle won that Connect Four game, by the way.

At 10PM, the group took a small detour to a nearby open field to mess around with the fireflies. Beetle became the crowned heir of the fireflies since they insisted on following them around. Fitting. It was fun too, Cici had caught Finnick + 10 fireflies with the bucket she got. Which spawned a “game” of chase between the two idiots. They were back on track on the river within the hour, but only because Cici had run out the field and back to the river with Finnick on her tail and everyone else had to run after them, also prevent one from killing the other.

At 12:30 am,when their destination was maybe 4 or so hours away, her gut told her something was TERRIBLY wrong.

They've been walking for maybe 13 hours now, and everyone was starting to get droopy, but Whisper had also brought a bunch of energy drinks. God bless her for thinking ahead. But that means all her senses were not being dragged down by sleep. And every single one was screaming at her to be prepared to fight something, something she couldn't see or hear at all.

This didn't go unnoticed, however, not at all.

“Hey X, what's up? You seem to have lost your stride .” asked Beetle. “Yeah, I was about to ask the same thing, your energy is quite tense. '' said Nora. Of course those two will notice, they’ve always been more aware of their surroundings, they would have noticed X.Gs stiff posture a mile away.

“My protective instincts are screaming at me that something is wrong” X.G replied, it was true, but that instinct has been wrong before, but she was highly alert nonetheless.

Whisper immediately went stiff, turning around to look at her red eyed friend. “I'm…not the only one who's getting a strange feeling?” Ok, something is definitely wrong. If her instincts were nudging her, she would pay no attention to it, but they were screaming at her to protect someone. AND Whisper was getting the same feeling, who just so happens to have just as good hearing as her. Fuck no, something is wrong and she has to be re-

“Guys, chill out, if something happens, it will happen. Just don't ruin the good time before something else ruins it.” scoffed Finnick. “We are in the middle of nowhere, worst case scenario we get jumped by a bear or something.”

…..As much of an asshole Finn is and how rude of a brush off was, he was right. nothing could be done about it now, and nothing worse than a bear can attack them. So for now, she stayed on alert.

And X.G’s glad she did.

It all started at 3:05 AM, an hour and a half away from their destination.

she heard something

It sounded like a scream.

a human shriek.

The air had all tensed in as she stopped walking and looked across the river where the noise had come from, eyes widening as goosebumps prickled every scale on her body.

“Whisper?” she heard someone ask. maybe it was Vipera, or was that Nora? Whoever it was- they are implying that Whisper had heard the scream too, so it's not just her. “Hey, X.G what’s up?” asked Beetle- wait was that Finn? She couldn't care to check, nor to respond.

“Hey guys you good?”

“Did they hear something?”

“I don't hear anything”

“X and Whisper have the best hearing here, They probably hear something we can't”

“X.G looks like she's watching ghosts strip dance in the sky and Whisper looks like she had watched someone deepthroat some cacti.”

“What kind of simile is that, Finn?!”

“It's been a few minutes, X.G, Whisper, come on we gotta go”

She heard something again. Another shriek, in the distance. but it wasn’t human….it sounded like…like…

. . .

Changing to her higher form has always been a painful process, she always did it slowly. So when she threw her bag at Whisper to catch (which she barely had time to do, being distracted and all) and changed into her higher form in 5 seconds, everyone was alarmed.

Vipera got the hint, and changed into her higher form, not as quickly, but still quite urgently. Whisper had heard it too it seems, and had run over and jumped onto X.Gs back, immediately looking up at where the sound had come from once she was settled. Finn and Beetle decided that this was pretty serious, and had followed Whisper's footsteps. Her horse-like figure allowed them to do that easily. Nora, Bloo, and Cici all stood by the water, ready to jump in and swim against or with the current

“What is happening exactly?” Bloo asked, alarmed

“No idea, but it seems like Whisper and X.G had heard something alarming enough that we gotta be ready to move.” Nora said, trying to keep her cool, but the worry and alarm was obvious in her voice.

“No shit! But what did they hear!?” Cici nearly screamed, emotions of terror, alert, and weariness fused in one.

“Bro we dont fucking know! Jus-“

“SHUT THE FRICK FRACK UP YOU BROKEN BOBBLEHEADS WE ARE TRYING TO LISTEN!” Whisper yelled abruptly, cutting Finnick off before he had a chance to really start.

For a few minutes, nothing can be heard besides the current of the water. And their alarmed breaths.

And then she heard it.

it was loud enough for everyone to hear it, in fact.

selkies, kelpies, and sirens, the most intelligent creatures in the ocean. Each having their own similar yet unique languages, but there is ONE phrase that is the same across all three, and in that moment, her fellow companions understood why she, and Whisper were so alert. Why her instincts were screaming at her to protect someone. Why Whisper has had a strange feeling for the same amount of time.

“PLEASE HELP ME!!”

She’s never moved so fast in her life.

She was running so fast upstream. Kelo flying everywhere as her hooves smacked the river so hard that it made bubbles that she can run on, and run she did. It was draining her energy fast-but she had more energy than the average Kelpie, especially in this form. She can hear Vi somewhere to her left. and the sounds of splashes behind her as powerful kelp tails move against the powerful current of the river behind her.

There was still screaming, cries for help.

A child’s cries for help, they were begging, pleading cries.

They needed to go. Go and save the child from whatever danger they were in.They needed to get there YESTERDAY.

…The screaming abruptly stopped. She can hear voices now, but she didn’t care what they were saying and focused on her hooves to keep herself running correctly on the water. But whatever it is, it has the kelpies on her back riled up as they were now rambling in their anger. Mainly Finnick and Whisper, they were livid.

When they finally arrived, she realized why.

10 guards, and more approaching. Every single one had malice on their faces, which quickly turned to terror and shock as she ran on the grass where they were. She can hear Vipera getting out of the water somewhere behind her. and the sounds of Cici, Nora, and Bloo bursting out the water on the left and right sides of her.

her eyes looked around for the child that had called out for help. Then she spotted them—There, on the floor, next to a guard who was holding an active taser, definitely injured

Was a red, four armed siren kid.

“SURPRISE, YOU SCALES FUCKS” yelled Finnick, as the three kelpies jumped off her back.

And thus, the fighting began.

“Whisper, get the child to safety on the other side of the river” X.G demanded in their native language. Whisper didn’t think twice before following the order.

The red eyed mare wasted no time before bolting to the one closest to her and ripping their intestines out , listening to their screams of agony as blood tainted green kelp red..before making a human pancake with a hoof to the face and a satisfying crunch.

She looked up in search of her next target, catching a glimpse of Whisper putting her foot through the taser wielding man's chest. Thankfully without getting shocked. before scooping up the child and doing what she was told to. Good, Good. X.G had found her next victim, turning around and bucking their upper half off and began trampling their body. Organs, blood, and other bodily fluids exploding out like a piñata hit with a wrecking ball. She didn't fail to notice the glint of a shiny, used needle on the floor where the little siren once was and happily trampled that too with merely a thought.

Agonized Screams of terror and pleas for mercy filled the air while red tainted their kelp and clothes. The ones in the distance have caught up, the smarter ones ran back to wherever they came from, while the foolish ones had attempted to intervene a few had tried to shoot at them, stupid, stupid and cruel and foolish and COLDER THAN ICE. The bullets only made them stop taking their time and marked who died first. The kelpies slaughtered and fought. Tearing limbs off , listening to the terrified, wonderful screams, filled to the brim with agony and PAIN and DREAD and REGRET for their actions. For whatever harm they have caused to the innocent siren Whisper whisked to safety. Speaking of, While Finn rips heads off, left and right, what they deserve- they don't deserve their minds, they are far too cruel to have them. While Bloo rips them apart for their livers like the amazing hunter she is. While Vipera eats the terrible, cruel humans in one bite. While Nora makes sure they are unrecognizable to whoever comes and finds the bloodbath they leave behind. While Beetle leaves holes where their hearts should be, as they do not deserve them. They were fake anyway. EVEN while Cici makes sure there isn't a body, just a few organs, maybe a few limbs, skin scattered around, smashed bones, no name to put on it even if they tried. What they deserved, what humans all deserve is this birthday party of crimson and copper and screams right here. Among all of that, She also can hear Whisper maniacally laughing, even though she's trying to keep herself quiet for the child's sake. Her heightened hearing can still catch the laughter through all the screams and pleas for mercy and gunshots and the crunch of bones and dripping of blood and organs falling on the floor and the RED. That wonderful usually innocent laugh now also tainted beautifully by blood. X.G hears something else too, but she’ll address it later, but right now.

They have far too much blood to spill.

She wasn't sure about her comrades, nor had time to make sure they were ok, but besides the few hisses from pain, none of them ever cried out. Too bad for those even more idiotic humans. They made quick quick work of them all. When they were all done, the best way to describe the battlefield was a messy 3rd grade group collage, the blood being the canvas, with bones, organs, skin, and dead bodies being clumsily glued onto. Withthe occasional accidental flicker of what little green grass that didn't get tainted by the blood .

…

But now it’s over, the moon highlights the glimmers of blood on the now red grass and kelp that is their “art” project…Speaking of kelp, X.G looks at her friends. she herself besides a bit of kelp damage, has come out unscathed..

Well, Also Vipera, everyone else has maybe a few bruises, maybe a few stab wounds. Not sure why the ones in the distance didn’t immediately run at the sight of eight “monsters” tearing up their fellow coworkers, but X.G didn’t really bother to understand human logic. They were just stupid most of the time.

“Hey X.G, you know alot about sea mons- seafolk, right?” Whisper called out from wherever she was in their language. “Yeah, why?” X.G replied back. “…Do you know what I'm looking at?”

huh? Did Whisper find something? Or was there something wrong with the kid? She looked around at everyone else, who was walking towards the other side of the river, diving in the water to help remove the blood and jumping out to where Whisper probably was.

“Holy shit X.G GET OVER HERE!” Finn yelled out back in common tongue, flabbergasted by whatever he was seeing. Well then, if it's that serious.

She slowly turned back into her kelpie form…slowly…and painfully, the tough skin shrunk and hooves turned into claws until she was back in her kelpie form. X.G looked down at her…perfectly fine outfit and dusted it off and adjusted her hat. She really didn't know how the Higher form works and honestly she doesn't really wanna know. She’s so tired now. All that running on water and fighting for an undetermined amount of time really drained her energy, not to mention switching to her higher form so quickly. Pray to all that is holy that there's still an energy drink in that cooler bag. Speaking of, where is it?

“X.G!” Vipera shouted like a mother being ignored by their child being told to come downstairs. “COMING, I'M COMING!” X called back, running to the river and jumping in, the current tried to take her, but even when tired as she is right now, she was far too strong for that and easily swam to the other side before jumping out. Spotting Whisper and everyone else surrounding her. Sighing she trotted on over. “Ok what is going on?” She looked around, spotting the cooler bag on the floor- and the bucket too, seems like Whisper went back for them. She opened the bag and thank god there's still 4 Monsters. Grabbing one and immediately chugging it, she looked around to find what everyone was losing their minds over with new found energy.

And then her eyes landed on the kid. She spat out some of her drink and made her spit out words she’d thought she'd never say when talking about a sea creature.

“What the jesus christ FUCK am i looking at?!”

And for a good reason, That siren has TENTACLES, FUCKING TENTACLES. THE SIREN HAS TENTACLES. WHY?

“Wait, you don't know?” Bloo asked nervously. “Nope nada never have i never seen this in my life.” X.G blurted out. Holy shit. She’s never seen anything like this before. She thought she had seen all seafolk types, she thought wrong. “Why is it only showing itself now?” Nora asked, furrowing her brows. And everyone grunted in confusion…until she remembered something…

“I saw a used needle on the floor next to where the kid was laying. Maybe they paralyzed him with some toxin or whatever.” She recalled, yeah, she trampled it in her anger and spite.

Nora hummed, satisfied with that answer, but pretty fucking mad now. And so was pretty much everybody else, how could they not? Who were those people and why were they trying to capture a baby siren with tentacles? She looked from the baby siren to her friends as if their eyes had answers.

And in a sense, they did. After all, they can read each other like a book. She can tell who's thinking and who has an idea by that look in their eyes.

“Whisper, don't be shy. Ican't be that weird, state your theory.” X.G asked bluntly, Whisper was always the kind to listen to other people's thoughts and ideas before speaking her own, but right now she’s the only one with one. And now suddenly all eyes were on her. oops.

“W-well…” The shy sky eyed kelpie started. “What if this little one is genetically modified , and wherever that blasting alarm is coming from is the lab? And- and it was trying to escape and got caught?” Ah, right, the other thing she heard during the fight. that blasting alarm. Issue for later, but that idea, That's… “Ok yeah that IS a weird idea” Finn stated.

“But she's right…” Nora started, attracting all eyes to her. “I mean, the folks at Atlantis with a lot less tech were able to fuse a bunch of different animal genes and traits together to create two for their own benefit. What is stopping a lab of ice cold, cruel humans from giving a siren an octopus trait- wait do krakens exist? Doesn’t matter, point across, besides, Finn, you yourself said that we will arrive at some Marine institution at around 3:30, and it was 3:05- maybe 3:10 when X.G looked like she was watching, and I quote “ghosts strip dancing in the sky” Nora was glaring at Finnick now. “Well, it's like 3:40 ish now, so this has to be it, right?”

“Ye-Yeah! EXACTLY what I was thinking!” Whisper said more confidently.

The next few seconds were deafening as the realization of what that could mean slowly but surely made its way into the others' heads.

“There are more in there….” Beetle pointed out, despair overtaking their face.

“We don't have the energy,time or even a plan to save them all!” Finnick pointed out, “Come on, let's just take the kid and go already!”

“Wait, can we atleast go and cause some destruction? I haven't gotten all the rage out of my system yet!” Cici whined.

She let her friends argue about their next move, while her eyes drifted to her kitty bag that Whisper was now wearing.

Whisper had never gone in the water, she probably jumped across the river, As her bag isn't wet. It was a durable little thing, meant to withstand the harsh environments she climbed through. Yeah, it is true she almost lost it in the foggier woods, but she wasn't quite looking for Yamitsukis cave when she did. She had planned on going there, yeah, but that was before she bumped into a red headed selkie. Said Selkie was heavily armed, a rifle, a pistol, and a bunch of other weapons she could see from her carrier-like bag she was using.

Ironically, that Selkie was a darling to chat to, a lovely lady, a traveler, in fact, from Atlantis. It is not frequent she sees another like herself, so that was a pleasant surprise. She also had a mini shop, she was going to buy something from it when she realized her precious cat bag was gone. That kind Selkie- Eleanor, had helped her find it. And then they split paths.

Not before X.G had purchased five hand grenades from her and put them in her purse. With a discount too, at the promise she won't mention her to anyone else. Something just told her to do it, and she understands now. You see this is why she listens to her gut most of the time.

She looked at all her friends, Finn, Whisper, and Beetle seemed pretty calm and collected and just concerned about the child. However, Bloo’s hands are clenched in fists so hard to the point it's probably cutting skin. Nora's eyes are twitching and her foot is tapping. Vipera’s claws keep bracing around nothing and her eyes keep glancing over at the fence. And Cici, as per usual, is letting her rage be known to the world with clenched fists and pissed stomps. Yeah, They gotta get that out of their system before anything, lord forbid what happens later if they don't.

“What are the kids' injuries?” X.G thought aloud, cutting off whatever argument they had going. “Some bleeding bruises we gotta patch up later, a pretty deep stab wound in their top right shoulder, but a bit of kelp can keep that fine for a few hours now, besides that and he's probably sick. He's pretty ok.” X.G took the time to stare at the little guy. He was mostly blood red, Besides his dull orange-gray fins and his odd sunray-like orange and yellow head frills. Wearing a dirty old white gown. Along with having four arms, He also had four eyes, that definitely isn't normal. His tentacles have a pattern of dull orange spots with red ovals. His scales looked so dehydrated she kinda wishes Whisper had dunked him in the river. Even through the black tint of her veil she could tell he was definitely neglected there, poor kid. He didn’t deserve this.

“Whisper, can you give me my bag? I have an idea.” She asked, stretching her arm out to her cat bag expectantly. In which Beetle took the bag off of her and gave it to X.G, since Whisper was still holding the little siren-kraken kid. “What idea can you possibly have?” Finn scoffed. “And is it a good one?”

“Ok, who else here still feels unhinged and angry and wants to kick more ass still?” She asked just to confirm. As expected, Nora, Bloo, Vipera and Cici happily raised their hands. “Great, go run hop that fence over there and get it out of your system. We don't need a hole in the wall later. When we see them hop that fence to come back, we do what these legs were built for and book it.” She explained. “Yeah but, where do we run too?” Beetle wondered aloud. “To Momma Yamis house.” Finn Deadpanned. Yamitsuki was basically their mother, and the cove wasn't a better option, and eight suspicious looking “humans” pulling up to town, 6 of them having their clothes stained with blood (Vipera was in her higher form during the whole fight)with a tentacle siren isn’t a smart idea.“She lives a few miles away from here though, we should probably all chug an energy drink, those four morons will be high off adrenaline anyway.”

“Wait, you won't just send them over the fence, how exactly do you want them to get it out of their system?” Beetle asked suspiciously. For a good reason, Nora and Bloo are both on steroids when pissed. If Nora and Bloo are using steroids as a pick-me-up, Vipera and Cici is just straight up cocaine abuse. “well…i have the perfect solution” X.G giggled, opening her back and revealing what she had bought the day before “NUKES!” she joked. Getting a mixtures of panicked screams and joyful cheers from her friends, this was such a stupid idea but who the fuck cares.

The girls grabbed the nukes, really liking this terrible idea, and bolted over the river and over the fence to set off the hand grenades. Yeah, they are small, but causing a bit of chaos and destruction is what they need right now. Lord have mercy if one gets too riled up and makes the roof fall in at Yami’s cave.

“X, what the FUCK were you thinking?! Has the sleep blocked your common sense?!” Finn snapped at the red eyed kelpie. “First of all, I was thinking about the consequences if they punched a wall in the cave out of rage, and it caves in on us!” X.G snapped back. “Second of all, probably, but there's no point in arguing it now* She pointed out, turning her head to Whisper. “Whisper, give me the kid and the three of you guys crack a monster in there, we are gonna run for a few miles without break so you better be ready.”

“No, actually putting the kiddo in the bucket will be easier since you'll be able to use your other hand to help traverse the trees.” Beetle suggested, pointing at the bucket Cici had found all those hours earlier. “Good idea beetle! Finally someone who isn't on crack with the ideas” Finn scoffed. “I mean yeah we just killed maybe 30 or so people and our clothes are covered in leftover blood that will probably stain. But holy shit, fucking GRENADES X.G?! WHERE DID YOU GET THOSE FROM?”

“Look mate I promised not to speak of the buyer, that's for you to find out for yourself.” X.G replied back while zipping her cat bag closed. Earning a grumble from Finn, his eyes piercing through her veil. Whisper had placed the kid gently and comfortably in the bucket and took out three monsters, which she tossed two to the other two kelpies before grabbing the cooler bag and basically forcing Finnick into it. “Guys, seriously, enough arguing, just Chug and be ready. They'll hop the fence any second now.” The normally shy kelpie pointed out before cracking her drink and chugging it all down. Finn mumbled a complaint about how it's not supposed to be chugged normally before doing the same with him. Beetle had already finished theirs and just threw the can at Finn before picking it up, taking the other now empty cans and yeeting them back into the cooler.

They can't really Litter.Momma Yamitsuki will lose her mind if she finds out they did that, and angering the 9 foot tall Kelpie is not a good idea, no siree.

The four kelpies stood there, waiting in anticipation for their other four members to jump the eerie barbed fence on the other side of the river. The bucket is big and firm enough for Whisper to put it over her shoulder like a carrier bag. The little mer curled up inside in a fetus position comfortably. ya know, If he wasn’t badly hurt, dehydrated, and probably starving, it would've been pretty adorable.

Ah, and there's the screams. Looking away from the little one and over at the fence, Nora, Bloo, Vipera, and Cici were running over screaming wildly.

“RUN NOW!” Cici screamed, alarmed and maybe a bit of terror in their faces.

Well that's all they needed, but they hadn't heard the explosion yet, and they took quite the while. So what the fuck is going on? Didn’t matter, they had hopped the fence now, and they were all off. Eight pairs of animal-like haunches slamming the earth, going faster than any human racer can ever dream of going with heavy breaths. Oh and the baby siren passed out in the bucket.

“What's going on!? Where's the expl-“

BOOM!!

That wasn't a hand grenade explosion. No way.

The explosion was so powerful, rattling the floor around them like an earthquake, causing them all to nearly trip, but they somehow managed to quickly regain their footing and continued to sprint forward. Not an idea where they were running, but that doesn’t matter, all they know is that Yami’s cave is to the right of the massive river, so that's where they went, and were going. Don't stop, the Adrenaline and Energy drinks were doing their jobs pretty well, well enough? Only one way to find out.

“WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?!” Someone yelled. Theres no way in fuck she was paying attention to who was saying what. she needed to put her focus on her surroundings, to determine where they are and where they need to go. Yeah, she knows the woods like the back of her hand. But let's be real, why will she go anywhere near any human civilization while in her true form?

To save a neglected and abused siren kid from a lab of torturers, apparently.

“Well at first Cici dropped her grenade and we were looking for it-” started someone, probably Bloo. “NO TIME FOR BUILDUP, JUST SAY WHAT HAPPENED.” shouted someone else through gasping breaths for air. “OK, I FAILED TO NOTICE HOW CLOSE TO BLOO I WAS WHEN I THREW MY GRENADE AND I HIT HER ELBOW WHILE SHE WAS MID THROW, HER GRENADE MISSED OUR TARGET BY A LONG SHOT AND LANDED UNDER A BUNCH OF THOSE MASSIVE TRUCKS IN THE PARKING LOT.” Another blurted out.

Oh, of course, Big trucks mean a lot of gas, the fact that it landed under them adds salt to the wound. “HOW THE FUCK DID YOU MESS THAT UP?!” screamed someone else. “EVERYONE SHUT YOUR DARN CRYHOLES YOU WET DOG SMELLING PLANTS, YOU GONNA WAKE UP THE BABY!” ok that one was whisper.

“But where are we going?!” someone pointed out. “I'm working on it!” X.G yelled in reply “I'm waiting to see if we can find a landmark that I've seen before or something!” Her heart was pounding and the exhaustion from running had started to take over, eyes darting around like a hawk looking for any kind of landmark as to where they were going.

and finally, she spotted something, for a flick of a moment. Two trees that had grown weirdly and had fused together. She knew those trees. With that landmark, and the direction they were running…that meant…

..OH SHIT

“EVERYONE STOP RUNNING NOW!!” X.G screamed, trying her best to slow herself down and not run into Finnick, who was ahead of her. It took a few devastating seconds, but eventually they all came to a halt, heaving and holding their knees while their throats took in the much missed air.

“What's wrong X?” Bloo finally asked after she caught her breath, concerned. “Yeah, what happened?” Beetle also questioned. “I saw something I recognized. Two trees, we are way too far north” X.G unconsciously looked at where she saw the trees. “Yamis cave is maybe another 10 minutes run down south if we continue at that pace.” Fuck, right, her friends knew her better than this. She can feel everyone's eyes piercing through her veil. “X.G what are you leaving out?” sighed Beetle. “We don't have time for this, the fact that none of us have passed out yet is a miracle.” They complained.

“Andddd we are running head first into a massive sinkhole.”

“O h”

“yeah”

“Let's just go to Yami’s cave, lead the way X.G, you seem to know what you’re talking about .”

It all started at 3:05 AM.

Safety was reached at 4:35 AM.

And off they went, easily the worst 15 minutes of her life, the exhaustion quickly began to slow down her steps and made the journey much longer then she hoped. Yeah, it was only 5 minutes extra, but still. Also why were they still running? Good question, because fuck their health, the kid’s is more important. Oh yeah lets not forget that their bloodbath masterpiece will be found much sooner than they would have liked.

At last, they had reached the vine-blocked cave. Yamitsuki somehow had been able to find a way to control the vines in the area. These ones are near indestructible. They were all so tired, lightheaded, and on the brink of passing out. “MOMMA OPEN UP ITS AN EMERGENCY.” yelled Bloo in their language urgently and tiredly.

“HOLY SUGAR ICED TEA!” Yelled a familiar voice. as they heard aggressive stomping towards the cave entrance, and suddenly the vines were gone.

“CHILDREN- WHAT HAPPENED?!” screamed the purple eyed kelpie. Actually they probably looked terrible, eight adult kelpies, most of which clothes have some almost hour old blood stains on them, not to mention

“EXPLAIN…IN THE MORNING…” Finnick said in between breaths.

The older kelpie wasted no time rushing them inside the cave, settling them all down in the beds in one of the many “rooms” of the cave. Usually there were young seafolk in this cave, but the youngest had recently grown out of it. Momma Yami always knew how to care for anyone. She was grateful for that, sleep is now blurring her vision so much she can't see anything and she can’t even say a coherent word. You see this is what happens when you switch to your higher form too quickly, run on water, then run a marathon all in an hour or so.

“The bucket!” She heard Whisper yell somewhere. “Baby…bucket…lab…hurt…” the blue eyed mumbled.

“Baby what?” asked Yami, probably grabbing the bucket and seeing the little one still unconscious in it. Actually how did he stay unconscious through all of that chaos? “oh sweet heavens- CARRIE DARLING PLEASE GET OVER HERE AND HELP ME OUT.” Yamitsuki called out.

Ah, right, Carrie, the other kelpie that didn't reply to Bloo’s message in the group chat. She's in college for marine biology. So she’s…. probably…very…busy….

“WHAT HAPPENED……..IS THAT……. FINNIC…SIR… TENT…..X….” were the last words she heard before exhaustion had finally pulled the crazy kelpie under into its pitch black waters.

(Not really words if you asked her, more like a pile of junk.)

@intistone ive made a mistake somewhere it was suppose to be a oneshot with maybe 6k words NOT A WHOLE FIC THAT ALREADY HAS OVER 10K WORDS- im so so sorry yes there will be more chapters but rn ima go cry i reread this SO many times theres probably so many mistakes and shit that dont make sense.

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hhelliish · 1 year

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Some Seven Deadly Sin design ideas i felt i needed to write down somewhere

Lucifer (Pride): he is the character ive worked most on out all of them

currently his design is going through some changes. for one i want him to be more goat like. i still want to keep his sharper nose cuz i just really like that one him, but hes going to start looking more like a furry as the days pass sorry not sorry

his personality i dont plan on changing. he's going to remain a more standoff-ish and quiet, coming off as cold. but on his other side he is actually quite caring and passionate about taking care of his family, his people, and Hell itself

Sathanas (Wrath): hes a bit tricky. i didnt want him to be so predictable by being a meet head jock or something. so i decided to go the business man route.

im thinking of also making him more animal like. maybe a bull to represent the wrath part of him to get a better idea. he also 100% has glasses he's a nerd

personality; similar to Lucifer he's quiet and intimidating, but more like the opposite spectrum. he comes off as more stern and serious, not taking anyones shit and he means it

Beelzebub (Gluttony): my silly. ive grown heavily attached to him

entirely going into a bug look for him. in my mind he looks a bit human but has a lot of bugs features like antenna's, four pairs of arms, huge insect wings, differently bent legs, and possibly abdomen im not entirely sure about that yet

i always pictured him to be very carefree, silly, but really off putting and strange. bro totally eats corpses and thats ok because hes funny <3

he also has a wife and child. she let him hit cuz hes goofy

Asmodeus (Lust): this again is a tricky one cuz i really want him to be unique but translate his design that doesnt feel overcomplicated to design. because if you know how he really looks, its a lot

i do have in mind i want him to be fat as im tired of the definition of Lust being this skinny guy. fat people can be hot af and i want that to be more pushed

i was also thinking with how Asmodeus has more than one face, i either thought he could change his features by waving a hand in face that changes everytime like magic. or he spins his head like a doll and appears a new face every so often. not entirely sure with what i want to do but the separate faces i dont think i want to make to be different people, rather just different appearances

Asmodeus is also a kind and full of passion for others. he has several partners that he all treats very well and is not purely out of lust

Mammon (Greed): again, this is a hard one

Mammon in my mind can be many things and its hard for me to decide what he looks like. so he is the one thats the most work in progress as for some reason its just difficult for me

as for personality, hes by far the nastiest out of all the Sins. besides Belphegor, he very much embraces the sin he represents and doesnt feel bad about it. hes a man of the status quo and likes to be the bigger person power or wealth wise.

even though when being ranked alongside the other seven sins he isn't that powerful compared to Sathanas, Beelzebub, or definitely Lucifer

so hes kind of compensating all the time for his broken ego LOL

Leviathan (Envy): SEA WITCH SEA WITCH

ive been so excited to design her and im gonna go all out with the deep sea monster look. i envision her as a kind of kelpie/siren kind of monster creature girl that has hair covering her face but a huge creepy smile. shes got lots of teeth like a shark

personality so far is that shes a bit creepy. she likes to make herself look as if her spine is cracking in half and loves fucking with people. but sometimes her creepiness is just who she is. no one can tell when shes being serious or being an ass

Belphegor (Sloth): the last furry i promise (not)

yeah, i may be stealing the idea of what Vizviepop is doing with her Belphegor. not like entirely tho since we still dont know what she looks like. but my Belphegor is going to be a sheep for certain

i want her to be the shortest out of all the Sins and look like the fairly unthreatening one. but thats where she gets you cuz actually all along her fluffy wools is eyeballs that pop out of nowhere and scare the hell out of you

her attitude to me is more predictable for Belphegor by being noncaring, monotone, and sleepy. but i honestly cant think of her in any other way it just fits best. i imagine she never even walks she just floats around with a pillow and sleeps randomly

these are just concept ideas btw but i needed to air this out to someone so i hope you guys enjoy seeing my thought process <3

#hellish #oc #hellish lucifer #hellish beelzebub #hellish sathanas #hellish asmodeus #hellish leviathan #hellish belphegor #hellish mammon #my oc stuff #my stuff #my writing #my ocs #oc stuff #ocs

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alexanderlightweight · 1 year

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So I've seen Alec accidentally courting Magnus before but would you be interested in doing Magnus accidentally courting Alec? Well. accidentally as in he wasn't aware he is hitting all of the traditional requirements for courtship, not that he hasn't desperately trying to work out how to get Alec to respond while non-stop flirting happens. I just think it would be funny if every assumes that with Magnus's age he is fully aware of Nephilim/Lightwood/Trueblood courtship when in reality, no clue!

so this is actually super funny because in my kelpie!au, magnus accidentally courts kelpi!alec for like 40 years without knowing it and then when he finds out he immediately goes to ragnor and cat for help because he's not letting alexander know it was a misunderstanding!

here is what i went with. i'm super focused on when alec goes to magnus to help with the trial for izzy and magnus goes 'you' and exploring the different ways that could go so i hope you enjoy!

lumine

-—

“What?” Alec asks, because he’s not sure he heard right and suddenly Magnus’ incredibly confusing actions make a bit more sense. “Magnus, I’m engaged. To be married.” He adds, because he’s already taken and Magnus just raises his eyebrow.

Alec swallows, unsure exactly how to deal with this because Magnus offering him a different political marriage after disparaging his first never crossed his mind. Unless this is what Magnus wanted all along and Alec just… missed the signs.

“You’re not her’s yet.” Magnus mutters and the look he gives Alec makes it very clear that if he has his way, Alec won’t ever be bonded to Lydia.

Alec swallows because he’s really not sure how to handle this now that he realizes Magnus isn’t just playing with him. Magnus can’t be teasing him or just cryptically playing with him, not if he’s saying he wants to magically keep Alec.

“I—” Alec starts, because he’s really not sure if he should be accepting this or if he should be trying to talk Magnus around to a different price.

The thing is, despite the rather mercenary approach, it’s exactly how Alec got himself engaged the first time and he finds that a part of him likes his now second option much better.

—

Magnus isn’t sure what part of his little act hooked Alexander, but he’s not upset. His shadowhunter is looking contemplative and serious, thinking about this honestly.

Which is good.

Because Magnus wants Alexander more than he can bear to admit and while he knows he won’t, every hour Magnus is increasingly tempted to destroy the Institute.

If there is nowhere to be married, then surely the wedding can’t take place.

Except Alexander is being so sweetly receptive to the idea that Magnus teased him with and Magnus is tired of trying to catch shadows in his hands. This may be his last chance and Magnus feels selfish and hungry as he reaches out to trail his fingers down Alexander’s arm.

“You still have a choice, Alexander.”

Magnus pauses intensely confused because he knows that magic.

He’s felt that magic multiple times when overseeing dozens of various ceremonies through the shadowworld.

That’s binding magic, the kind that ties souls together in a magical union. Alexander is gasping against him, looking wrecked and trying hard to keep on his feet as Magnus holds them both up.

If Magnus wasn’t expecting it, he can’t even imagine how intense it was for Alec. It’s with careful hands and magic that Magnus lowers Alexander to his floor and carefully soothes him with magic. His body eagerly accepts the touch and feel of Magnus’ power and his magic is quick to flood Alexander’s body with it’s own possessive claim.

Magnus gets his boy’s head into his lap, running fingers through sweat-damp curls as he hushes Alexander who is whimpering into his thigh.

“There you are,” Magnus soothes and he pets Alexander’s hair and murmurs sweetly to him. “Hush darling, just let it pass.”

Alexander whines, teeth clamping through fabric and into skin and Magnus bites back a hiss as he lets it happen. Whatever ritual activated and tied their souls together, Alexander’s was not prepared for it.

His eyes are glassy and he’s whimpering, soft pained little noises as he tries desperately to get more comfort and warmth from Magnus. It means that Magnus isn’t sure how he’s supposed to leave Alexander to go try and help his boy’s sister.

It’s with annoyance that Magnus has to summon several potions and while he hates doing it, he coaxes Alexander’s mouth open with gentle force. The potions take affect quickly and Alexander grumbles, eyes blown but finally clear again.

“There you are.” Magnus murmurs, relieved despite himself when Alexander leans into his touch. “Good boy.” He says without thinking and Alexander nearly collapses further into his touch. He’s shivering from the simple praise and Magnus has to remind himself that they don’t have the time. “Tell me what happened for you?

“You didn’t mean it?” Alexander asks, voice soft with a pain that has no business being near him.

“I’m just wondering if it means the same thing, darling.” Magnus soothes him, using magic to lessen the sting of his words as he presses cool, healing magic to Alexander’s temple. “Nephilim change their ways sometimes and us warlocks don’t always notice.”

“You—” and Alexander stutters on his words with a groan. “You challenged the relationship between Lydia and I. You offered the better advantage. If I marry Lydia, I keep my Institute. If I marry you, I might save my sister.” Alexander looks up at Magnus with a deep, aching longing, “my grace decided for me, Magnus. Family will always be more important to me than power. I thought I could protect them through Lydia, but I can’t.

Magnus did not know this was a thing but he croons in a proud, preening way that he knows drives Ragnor and Cat nuts. It also settles Alexander, who looks calmer now that Magnus is acting so pleased.

“That’s exactly what I wanted.” Magnus murmurs and he lets his fingers play with Alexander’s hair as he slowly eases him to sleep with magic. “And you, Alexander, need sleep.”

And to also not be aware when Magnus storms the Institute. Because Magnus is not going to let something like the hubris of the clave interrupt his unexpected but completely necessary honeymoon.

#lumine writes #writing wednesday #writing wednesdays #the stronger of claims #malec #shadowhunters #magnus bane #alec lightwood

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kierancampire · 9 months

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Just to say in advance, I played a fair bit of this game ill and tired, I still am currently ill and tired, and I struggle with spelling, names especially, at the best of times, so please excuse any misspellings of characters and places, I will try my best, I just can't be bothered to keep repeatedly Googling each one to check if I have it right. Anyway, with that said, here is my experience/thoughts on God of War Ragnarok, major spoiler warning as I'm going over everything:

I was smiling like crazy at the beginning, it was such an awesome opening and really captured the changes in all the characters. Though I immediately was said as it just started fighting Freya and I thought, I don't want to kill her, I actually got into a lil debate with a friend who hated Freya and wanted to kill her due to her threatening you after killing Baldur, so I was dreading it.

I literally cried when Fenrir died, like, had genuine tears come down my eyes and was sniffling, I know we never knew him but god it got to me.

While it was awesome finally seeing Odin after GoW and all the stories on him, I felt conflicted. In my mind I was picturing a sorta Zeus like Odin, maybe slightly muscular cause it's GoW after all, but just the beard, taller, a more powerful presence. I was kinda taken aback by this smaller, meaker man without the epic voice, but at the same time, that made me realise how deceiving and manipulative he could be/appear. I should say right now, outside of what is said and shown in GoW and maybe the odd popular thing, I know nothing of Norse mythology.

I thought the game was so incredibly beautiful! I am playing on my PS5 with a 4K TV and it is just gorgeous! It truly is such a beautiful game! I also loved how large the worlds were! There felt like there was so much more to them this time! While I tried to avoid everything about the game, some things did slip through, like knowing you go back to the same realms, and I was apprehensive but they are like whole new worlds, and the actual new worlds are incredible! Svartleheim was such an awesome first world, I loved it!

When you first play as Atreus I was freaking out so much! I had no idea there were Atreus sections of the game, so I lost it! Although his gameplay isn't perfect, it is fun, and obviously him transforming with rage makes it so much better! (I did suspect he was the bear at the start, one of the exceptionally few things I know about Norse mythology is Loki can transform)

The jelly fish creatures in Alfheim were so beautiful! Once I released the first I just sat there watching it "swim" in the sky, so pretty!

It was *SOOOO* awesome going to Jotunheim and seeing more of the world and the Giant side of it! I loved going there and getting to explore more of the actual world! It was so awesome seeing Angrboda and her grandma too! Just learning more of the Giants and their story was so great!

I couldn't believe we got to visit Vanaheim! After hearing so much about it, it was so cool getting to actually go there! I must admit, the plants drove me fucking crazy, but I loved the rest of it!

Hearing about then seeing that Freya had a brother was so cool! Though him being called Freyr and it being pronounced the exact same way was confusing, very handsome though! Their own things of Yngvi I forget Frayas was a lot easier to tell who was who.

I absolutely loved getting to break Freya's curse and how it was done! It was sad that the ancient creature had to get sacrificed for it, but I loved finally setting her free.

Finally getting to actually visit Asgard was so awesome! I must admit, it woulda been cool to get to explore it more, and I was expecting something grander, but I did love finally going there and seeing it!

Seeing the Nonir people was awesome too, like knowing they even existed was cool, but seeing them was cool! They were insufferable know it all's but I guess that was the point! The Kelpie was so beautiful!

I was really sad you had to kill Gorm, the Hel wolf, as he was only just freed. So I love that Atreus not only found a way to save him, but to keep Fenrir alive! That was lovely!

It was SOOOOOO awesome finally seeing, ah, I think it's Skal and Hati? The wolves that chase the sun and moon? I was expecting more celestial type things, but it was awesome meeting them!

The Heimdall fight was really bittersweet. I found him insufferable and wanted payback for all his shit, but at the same time, he didn't deserve death, and Kratos repeatedly says how much he doesn't want to kill him or return to his past life, so it was sad it happened anyway.

Atreus seeing the Aesir really conflicted me. On the one hand, the whole time in GoW you hear these horrible stories of them and the atrocious things they've done, Thor and Odin especially, and you want to bring them down to avenge all the fallen, like Thor was to the Giants as Hitler was to the Jewish. But then you kinda can't help but get connected to them, see their human side, and see that they all are being used and manipulated by Odin, and Thor has suffered. I especially never wanted to harm Thrud, she was just a child and a pawn of a pawn, but then harming the ones she loves is harming her.

One of the biggest moments I lost it was Brok/Odin. I had *NOOOOO* idea Odin could transform too, and had no inclination that he was really Tyr! Do when it did the huge reveal that Odin was really Tyr all along, I lost it! And immediately my mind was racing like, did the dwarf set us up by giving the location of "Tyr", Odin knew that whole time with Atreus, everything with Freya was bullshit. But then I had no time to think as he just instantly kills Brok, I kept expecting something to happen to save him, but then he was really gone, and I just couldn't believe the game did that! Though I do love how in his final moment, what Brok did was stand up to Odin by himself and caught on before anyone else.

So playing GoW twice before this game, I was looking forward to so many things the game said would happen around Ragnarok (though the wolves never ate the sun and moon?), and one of those things was seeing Surtr! It was so awesome finally meeting him! And that area where the realms meet was SSSSOOOO beautiful and pretty! I loved it!

So like, I thought Ragnarok was an event, I had no idea it was a "person" so seeing a physical embodiment of Ragnarok was bizarre.

I felt so conflicted on Thor! On the one hand, I wanted to kill him for all he had done in the stories and just who he was, an abusive, dead beat dad who was an awful person. But at the same time, he is so easily manipulated, besides Odin, Atreus is able to manipulate him, then immediately after his wife manipulates him against Atreus, then even Kratos sorta manipulates him, but then you see he realises Odin used him and sacrificed his family, and Thrud loses her dad, so it was so conflicting when Odin killed him.

So I didn't like that Odin's soul was being kept alive in a ball, so when Sindri smashed it I was very happy, also, yeah, everyone in that room had a right to kill Odin and I am glad Sindri did. Though with his anger, the blood and dirt, torn clothes, you can see how much he has lost it with losing Brok and I hurt for him. Like he hates Atreus, blames him, and has been so nasty to him, and that just isn't Sindri.

So I had no idea the game ended with Atreus leaving! It really made me wished I finished side quests and stuff with Atreus that felt more fitting! I also was so sad he left! I was happy for him, but sad for me/Kratos.

I really enjoyed doing optional stuff, all the side quests were super fun! And just exploring the lands and getting optional locations/labours was really fun! Though I did find trying to get to some locations really confusing and tedious at times, but doing the Crater in particular was great!

So when Atreus put the soul in the snake and Angrboda said it was growing like crazy, even after only recently playing GoW twice, I thought that meant the snake was transforming into a giant Giant and thought nothing of it! It wasn't until Freya practically spelled it out in Midgard in a conversation that I realised it was the great snake! I had my mind blown!

I am glad I finally eventually managed to kill all the Valkyries, including the queen, as yeah, they are all so plot important that it woulda felt odd never having done it on my save file, so the story was more cohesive because of that.

So I still have Gna, the Beserker King, a few Ravens and the odd lore/loot to get, otherwise I think I have done pretty much everything? I also still haven't really touched Valhalla, so I need to do that, I just don't massively enjoy that style of game.

I really loved the more detail and life this game had over GoW, like the insects and lizards on the walls, the birds and other creatures in the sky, the animals and such around the world, I loved all the little touches to bring more life and realism into the world.

I really liked how we see a more emotional Kratos finally. Even through everything, the only emotion he ever really shows is anger, and he speaks of sadness and heart break but never really shows it. So having multiple scenes where his voice breaks and he's clearly really emotional, I really loved seeing that finally. I guess I should add here I also loved finally seeing Faye, seeing her as a living character, and then hearing more about her past and who she was.

So one thing I struggled with a lil was combat. For like the first half of the game, fighting felt really tedious and boring, enemies were just unpleasant to fight, and I never really felt like I struggled, but the repeated respawns of enemies just felt like it went on for too long, this did all eventually improve/stop though. Another thing I struggled with was difficulty. I played the game on normal, but it just felt all over! I would say a majority of the game felt way too easy, I never really struggled, and staying on top of health, breaking and avoiding enemy attacks was super easy. But then there were random points were it would just get really difficult out of nowhere, or, even if it wasn't "difficult", you'd be stuck in multiple forced battle encounters, or bosses that went on for ages, and I would just die from not having the skill to keep dodging and attacking for the length of time the game required me to do so.

Another thing I struggled with was the game itself. So even though at points I had only been playing for like, 15-30 hours. I think where I did so much in every world, I felt a lot deeper into the game than I was, so the story kept going and I just had no idea where I was in the game! Like I had no idea if I was near the final mission or if I still had 8+ hours left! And even though it is called Ragnarok, due to this timing issue I kinda was expecting the big battle to be in a third game! So it was odd eventually doing it.

In GoW I felt like I had no real glitches, but this one I had a few. Like, with Atreus (and this only happened with Atreus, never had this issue in any other game either), if I would hop over something/get down from a ledge, occasionally he had this issue where my controller would sorta stop working, and he just glided and wouldn't move correctly, I'd have to give it a minute before he we fine again. There also was another issue that in Asgard, it kept repeatedly showing I could pick up items I already picked up in the closet even though nothing was there. Also with Kratos, sometimes either the compass would disappear entirely and I just had to wait for it to randomly appear again, and no, I wouldn't be in a fight or even near enemies, or other times the compass would be motionless and not show me where to go, or it would take me down routes I couldn't go down, so I spent many areas blindly trying to find my way around which is awful when you have my sense of direction!

But anyway, yeah, here's what I "finished" the game on. Unlike GoW I felt no need to wear a matching armour set, and I know that the curass I have on has no perks, but it's stat buffs to everything was insane! Also, even though I had done everything to get all the Chaos flames, including the Beserker and Muspleheim, I am one short from fully upgrading them and I have no idea why? As the rest are story ones thus I can't miss them? So no idea why I couldn't fully upgrade the blades! Gotta be honest, never touched the spear beyond using the R1/R2 abilities, I found I took more damage than I dealt trying to use it, I greatly preferred the blades and axe. But yeah, the exploration and combat options were great either way! Over all I loved the game and had such a great time playing it! I just am sad I will never get the experience again of the Tyr, Brok, and Atreus plot twists for the first time again! Though I guess when I replay it I can maybe experiencing things in a new way knowing these twists!

Oh just editing on, the writing in the game was fucking great too! There was so many deep and complex lines, so many that struck with me and got me kinda emotional, like, the writing was great! But there were so many hilarious lines too! Like Mimir was fucking hilarious the whole game! "Chuck me at him brother, horns first!" "All-Fucker!" "What the fuck is an olive?" and so many more, but other characters had great and funny lines too! There just is too many to quote! Some entire conversations are great, like I love when Mimir and Freya roast Kratos over Lunda's orb :') Also I am quite sure that Thor does a Will Smith reference during his final fight!

#personal #gow #god of war #ragnarok #god of war ragnarok #valhalla #god of war ragnarok valhalla #god of war valhalla #Kratos #atreus #freya #odin #brok #sindri #ps5 #game #games #gaming

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