#either run off a cliff or explode

[faerociousbeast]

i havent been able to play fortnite since they had the mha skins bc i would fuckingngo insnae if i even had the slightest chance of seeing one of those guys in a game

[wethecelestial]

put morton’s fork on repeat because unfortunately it’s my pavlovian conditioning editing music but it got tangled up in the silmarillion brain worms and now i’m like. morton’s fork maedhros animatic

[queen-of-fanfics]

I Told You To Stay

Pairing: Peter Pan x Reader

Prompt: Peter told you to stay.

A/N: Ayoooo lol I'm alive. Anywho Y'ALL I GRADUATED COLLEGE and the first thing I accomplished after was writing this fanfic. How have y'all been? Now I have some free time and a desk job so I have time to write more. I literally got the idea for this scenario from a dream I had. So... This one gets a little heated but nothing explicit.

I Told You To Stay Part 2

"Where do you think you're going?" Peter teases you as he grabs your arm to spin you around.

You were the second Lost Girl to have ever made it to the island. The first will always be Wendy. Wendy continues to be the mother figure around the island while you were free to run off hunting and exploring with the Lost Boys. You could never shake the feeling that either Wendy hated you or envied you. She would be stuck cooking and caring for the boy while you were almost like a sister. You two never got along too well, the feeling of competition was always there.

The second that you came to the island and met everyone, it was no surprise that Peter was the one that caught your eye. 

However, you were always hesitant to let any hope blossom in you since you thought that Peter and Wendy were together. And if they weren’t, she would have first dibs on him anyway. But that fact never stopped your crush and admiration of him from growing. Day in and day out, you were running through the forests with him and protecting the Lost Boys together. 

Tonight was a quiet and warm night and everyone had had their dinners and was heading to bed. Wendy had made dinner and stayed back at the camp to clean up. You were heading towards your cabin before Peter grabbed your arm.

“You aren’t going to bed already, are you?” Peter asked with his usual smirk.

“Why, huh? You got something in mind worth my while?”

“Only one way to find out, I suppose.” He hides his smile from you as he leads you into the forest. That leads to where you are now. Running through the trees and climbing up the cliff as Peter is bounding off in front of you.

Coming to a stop behind Peter, you drop your hands to your knees and your head drops to start gasping for air. “Are we there yet? I feel like my lungs are going to explode!”

All of a sudden you’re squealing in delight because Peter ran over to you and scooped you into the air, carrying you bridal style. He takes off flying and your arms shoot out and wrapped around his neck. 

“What are you doing?!” 

“Taking you up to see the stars!” He yelled over the whistling wind as you continued laughing until tears formed in your eyes. 

Daring to peek over his shoulders, you gasp at the beautiful aerial view of the island before he dives and does a giant loop in the air. Hugging him close, you shove your face into his neck and breathe in his scent. Though the night was cool, you felt warm against him. Wanting this moment to last forever but you know it can’t, you decide that you will hold this memory so you can always relive this happiness that you feel. 

Feeling dizzy either from the adrenaline or from him, you rest your head against him and press a soft kiss on his neck. 

Suddenly, Peter tosses you lightly into the air and you are airborne before he catches you but now your position has changed. Now you are sitting, straddling his hips, as his hands come to your behind to carry your weight. Your arms wrap around his neck again but now you are face-to-face with him. 

As a blush covers your face, you whisper, “Well hi there.” 

He gives you a small smile as he looks at your thorough hooded eyes, “Much better don’t you think? Now I can see you.” 

You sit there, chest to chest with breaths mingling, completely suspended in the air over a cliff. “What are we doing, Y/N?” His whisper caresses your skin and he leans in just a little bit closer.

“What do you mean?” You can’t help but do the same, almost like a string pulling you to him.

“You know exactly what I mean. Have you casted a spell on me? Making me dream of you every night and thinking of you every minute the sun is up? Have you made yourself my personal magnet to me so I can never not be near you? Are you bewitching me?” He continues to whisper as one of his hands drags up your body and grips the back of your neck, pulling you in closer until your noses are barely touching. 

Your breaths are coming out shaking but your fingers find their way to his hand and you tighten your hold, desperately keeping him close. 

“What if it’s you that is playing with my head?”

Your lips are brushing against each other but not quite touching. Your brain fogs with desire but it’s all pulled away from you as Peter abruptly pulls away and starts flying back to land.

“Wha-” You’re dizzy from the sudden change but you aren’t able to be stable on your feet before Peter is hurriedly pulling you through the trees. Silently giggling and running through the forest, your heart is beating out of your chest. 

Coming to a clearing, you see a small and simple log cabin sitting by itself. There are a few steps leading up to a porch that surrounds the little cabin. 

“Where are we, Peter?”

“This is my place.” He finally slows down to a stop.

He comes up behind you and wraps his arms around you as he shoves his face into the crook of your neck. The movement pulls a giggle out of your throat but you don’t take your eyes off the cute cottage.

“I thought you had a tent back at the campsite with everyone else, hm? Are you keeping secrets from us now?” You tease.

“I always have secrets, don’t you know. But this is my own quiet place. I come here when I need to think. Or when I’m scheming.” He tickles your sides and gives your neck a quick kiss before he straightens. “Come on, let’s go inside.” He takes your hand and walks you into the cabin. 

The inside of the cabin matches its look on the outside. Comfortable. Simple. Nothing extravagant. The main room is open. One side seems to act as a dining room with a large table with a few chairs beside it. The other side of the room has a matching large table but this table is covered in maps, scrolls, trinkets, and many other items you did not recognize. You see a door towards the back of the cabin which you could tell leads to a bedroom.  

“Here, let me get you some water before you pass out on me.” 

But before Peter could take a step or before you could even respond, a voice calls out from the back room.

“Peter darling? Did you just get home?”

The blood drains from your face and your eyes grow to saucers as you see Wendy walk out of the back room. Your ears started ringing and it feels as though everything is happening so fast yet so slowly. 

Peter marches over to Wendy and angrily argues with her though you couldn’t hear anything over the muffling in your ears. “What are you doing here? Who said you could be here?”

“What are you talking about, baby? Don’t be like that.” 

Wendy tries to run her hands up Peter’s front side but her hands do not get far before he grabs her hands and throws them off of him. 

Your eyes shoot back and forth between Peter and Wendy and you could hear yourself mumbling, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t-” You hadn’t realized that you were backing up until you felt the front door hit your back. 

Before you knew it, Peter was in front of you. All you could do was stare up at him with your heart ready to leap out of your chest. You were confused and hurt and scared and you wanted to be mad. But looking up at him. With his face soft and full of worry. All you could do was trust. Trust in what, you weren’t sure. But a wave of calmness fell over you as you looked at him and his hands came up to softly grip your shoulders. 

Peter was gently moving you through the cabin and you could hear Wendy protesting but you couldn’t clear your head enough to hear what she was saying. Peter leads you to the back room which is his bedroom. He sits you on his bed and whispers to you, “Stay here.” 

“Peter, I can go. I should’ve known you two were together. I shouldn’t be here, I can go.” But before you could make a move for the door, Peter grips your face gently but firmly, “I said ‘stay here’. I will figure this out. I’m not with her. She isn’t welcome here. You. Stay. Here.” 

Peter slammed the door behind him as he left and all you could do was sit on the bed as you were told. Looking around the room, there wasn’t much there to keep you entertained. There was a nightstand by the bed with a few nicknacks on it. A desk with papers covered in writing you couldn’t read. No pictures. No posters. Nothing. Twiddling your thumbs, you tried to not overthink. You sat as patiently as you could but as the minutes ticked by and their angry whispering didn't stop, your anxiety started to kick up.

What if he is lying? Why would she just randomly be here? She’s comfortable enough coming in and out of his place like that. He could just be telling me what I want to hear. Of course, they’re together. Even a blind person could see that they were together. When did I become so dumb?! I need to get out of here. 

Your breathing starts to become more rapid as your mind starts spiraling. Looking around the room, there was only one door, and that led back to the main room where Peter and Wendy are. The only other thing in the room was a window that sat above the desk. That was your ticket out. You thank the stars that you weren’t on an upstairs floor or anything or else this escape plan was going to be harder than you thought.

Swinging the window wide enough for your body to fit through, you quietly climbed up onto the table, careful not to disturb anything, and started to push out. You managed to make your way out but you accidentally made a loud thump as your body hit the back deck. Before you could stop and think about what to do, you jumped to your feet and took off running into the forest. 

You ran until your lungs burned and ran some more. All around you were trees, trees, and more trees. Everything looked the same yet you didn’t recognize where you were. “Shit I should have been paying attention on the way here. Where the fuck am I?”

Coming to a stop, you drop your hands to your knees to try and catch your breath. After a few deep breaths, you stand up tall and prepare to take off again, at a more reasonable pace this time that you’re far enough away.

But before you could head off, something flies into you and you go slamming back into a tree. A warm, hard body pushes up against you and holds you flush against the tree with no room to escape. It’s still too dark in the night and the trees are blocking the moonlight so you can’t see what has you pinned. You start wiggling around and try to use your hands to push yourself free but a hand wraps around your wrists and pins them above your head. Something comes close to your ear and you could feel the anger radiating from this figure.

“I thought I told you to stay.”

I Told You To Stay Pt. 2

[noctivagant-corvid]

love me, normally !

(( THE COURT SANCTIONED GHOSTKNIFE FIC! full fic below cut))

in william’s defence, he didn’t mean to confess. it just kinda… happened.

it all started with- well, technically, it all started with a tick hiding in the grassy cliffs back in deadwood who decided it hated him in particular. two months later, he was hobbling through the world with a lyme’s disease diagnosis. oh, joy. 

this isn’t about his chronic illness though. it’s about his disaster confession.

william’s family originally had him stay with tide via the WATCH Gives Back program (a funding program that gave disabled kids access to schools that could help them for free), which put him in a school that worked with lyme’s. when in school, there were ramps and elevators and his cane could take the weight he needed most days. but once he left school, he was on his own for all that, aside from the cane.

today, his body decided to Not. he was slowly, painstakingly, attempting to walk home while his knees begged him to lay down on the ground and let nature run it’s course.

vyncent sol, with his well timed perception, noticed him wincing with every step, and offered to carry him home. great! amazing! no pain! gay disaster! Haha!

listen. you try being bridal carried by the guy you’ve had a Big Gay Crush on for a little over a year and not saying something stupid.

“i’m in love with you.” he blurts out, and vyncent stops walking. 

william is going to die here. he is going to explode right here in vyncent’s arms half way to his house and it’s going to be so pathetic and unbelievably unattractive.

“what?” vyncent says, head cocked to the side like a dog. william wants to fall through the floor right now. he thinks he should be allowed to just fall into the ground and then curl up and die. as a treat.

“nothing haha don’t even worry about it man its nothing i was just fucking with you ha uh i’m gonna go now-” his words rush out without enough pauses to be understandable, and he’s trying to wriggle out of vyncent’s arms but he’s not letting go, and william is going to spontaneously combust and they’ll have to scrape him off the sidewalk for a funeral. tide’s going to be devastated. dakota will probably laugh. 

“no, you said you were in love with me. what does that mean?” vyncent asks. because william has the worst luck ever and the guy he’s in love with is from a different fucking planet. (and has elf ears. and a tail. ashe has been calling him a monsterfucker since she found out william liked him. he’s been pointedly ignoring it.)

“i, uh, can we not talk about this here?” he says, gesturing to the open street. he’d rather not explain the concept of romance to vyncent in the middle of the sidewalk. he’s also pretty sure he’s red as the devil, and if he doesn’t get into air conditioning soon he’ll burn slap up.

vyncent nods, still looking confused. “we can go to mine?”

william nods. the off-world program vyncent had come here with set him up with a pretty nice apartment, and they usually went there after school if they were gonna hang out. it was where the two of them held their movie nights, which usually ended with either a long winded debate that had them up till the sun peaked out, or both of them conked out before the credits rolled.

a few awkward minutes of silent walking later, vyncent carries him inside while the doorman stares like they’d just told him his momma had grown a third eye and was dining with the fae. vyncent shifts william over to one arm to unlock the door, and this does nothing to william, no siree, not at all, no way. he’s placed down unceremoniously on the beat up brown couch that had come with the place, and vyncent positions himself on the other side, sitting criss cross applesauce.

“explain.” he says, tail flicking behind him absentmindedly. william brings his knees to his chest- ow- and tries to make his words work.

“uh, well, it’s like-” he stumbles for a good way to describe it. “your parents, back on Fauna, were they like, married or whatever the equivalent was?” vyncent nods. 

“right, so they were like, in love then, and stuff. NOT THAT I WANT TO GET MARRIED! it’s just like, the easiest comparison to make, uh, most people would date not get married but really it’s nothing we can just like go back to being friends-” he needs to be put down. euthanized, even. 

because the lord above decides he gets to have a good time every once and a while, vyncent cuts him off. “what’s dating like? what do you do?”

“uh- hang out, go on dates- those are like, hang outs but just two people-, kiss, cuddle. stuff like that.” 

“we do all of that, though? except for the kissing.” vyncent says, eyebrows furrowing. he pauses for a second, as if considering something. “kiss me.”

william stops breathing. “what?” he says, voice cracking half way through. 

“kiss me.” vyncent reiterates, as if it’s the simplest thing in the world. “so that i know if i want to.”

“vynce, a relationship shouldn’t be built on if you want to kiss or not- i mean, it can, but that’s not what i want, you know, communication and all that, uh, really we don’t have to do anything if you don’t like me like that it’s fine.” vyncent is squinting at him again. william fights the urge to cover his face with something.

“being in love with someone- is it like, when you wanna be around them all the time, like more than other people? and you like holding hands and sharing food and you think they’re super cool?” he asks, like he’s trying to figure out the plot of a book nobody told him about. 

william nods. “uh, yeah, that’s one way to put it.” vyncent nods solemnly. 

“okay. i’m in love with you too, then. can we try the kissing thing?”

holy shit, he’s going to pass out. this is it. This is the end of his sad little gay life. he’s going to die and come back as a ghost and haunt vyncent for killing him with his bluntness. He’ll use a blunt axe to kill him for poetic justice, or whatever.

he snaps back to reality when vyncent calls his name. “will? did i say something wrong?” 

“NO! no, you’re fine, i, uh, fuck, yeah we can. we can kiss, if you- if you want.” ok, yeah, he’s doing this. he’s going to kiss vyncent sol and he’s going to be soooo normal about it. yup. He’s awkwardly leaning in before he can second guess himself. 

distantly, william remembers that there had been a kissing scene in two of the movies they’d watched, so vyncent is at least aware of what the concept is. which is good, because if he’d had to explain kissing, he would probably have a heart attack.

honestly, it’s more of a press than a kiss, just skin on skin, but will’s too caught up in the fact that he’s kissing vyncent sol to care. they pull back. vyncent is grinning. William probably has a matching dopey smile. “we should do that more.” vyncent says, and william just makes a broken sound of agreement. they should absolutely do that more.

after a few minutes, his brain starts functioning again, and they work out that william will stay here for the night so he doesn’t have to walk home. also, they are dating now. discussed in that order. he has to take another few minutes after that before he opens up his phone to text tide that he won’t be home while vyncent orders chinese takeout (will has to help him with the credit card section of the form).

tide doesn’t respond, which is weird, and then he gets a text-

famous twitch streamer ashes2ashes: i think mark and tide are banging

william puts his phone down. and on silent. he will deal with that later, or possibly never.

anyways, he can’t tell you what movie they watched, but he ended up laying on vyncent’s chest and they both fell asleep before they got an hour in. also, vyncent purrs.

[salemoleander]

Joel is lounging around on Potato Pier, evening darkening to purple as Jimmy and Grian argue about something stupid in the background. He dips a hand in and out of the water elevator, in and out, and again; and after every splash he's seeing the same numbers.

"Time's stopped," Joel says absently. The lulling noise of the background conversation grinds to a halt.

"Sorry, what?" Jimmy asks.

"I said, the blimming-" Joel realizes what he's saying as he says it, snapped from dreamy to alert in a moment. Grian's head whips up.

Jimmy looks down at his own arm. "The time's stopped. The time has stopped? Grian?"

Already reaching for his comm, Grian says with a forcedly casual tone, "No it hasn't."

Then he blanches, eyes flicking over the screen.

"WHAT."

Joel snorts and looks out over the map. No one is noticeably freaking out yet- the only group he can see out and about this late in the day is the Clockers, busy fixing up the cliff face on their side of the No-Man's-Land with Pearl and BigB. He watches as Bdubs falls in the chicken pit for the umpteenth time. Joel snickers.

He looks up, and catches sight of Grian's expression. He stops snickering.

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

"What do you MEAN," Cleo yells, "that the clocks have stopped?" One of their arms is looped firmly around Scar's shoulders, which seems prudent given his tendency to wander off and either explode or kill whoever he bumps into. He still looks slightly singed from earlier, giving an overall impression of a puppy that cannot be left alone with electric cords.

Slumped against a rough stone wall reloading a crossbow, Joel scoffs. "What do you bloody well think it means?"

"HEY," Bdubs exclaims, "Don't talk to-" Aaand he's in the horse pit.

"It's fine Bdubs." Cleo rolls her eyes. "My fault. What I meant to ask is, why are you-" she points to Grian, who squawks, "-telling us about it? Why aren't you just fixing it?"

"Well he can't, can he?" Jimmy pipes up from his seat at the dining table. "Else he would. He's in here with us, though."

Cleo doesn't stop staring at Grian, and boy is Joel glad he's not Grian right now. Both because being himself is obviously the best option always, and because an angry Cleo is a very scary Cleo.

Reluctantly, slowly, Grian nods. "I can't fix it."

No one says anything.

The dripping from the ceiling to the floor makes Joel think someone really ought to fix up the roof. They'll have the time for it, he reckons. Then Joel remembers that the Bad Boys had, in fact, bombed the clocktower not an hour before, and decides now is really not the time to mention it.

Finally: "I really can't. It's not-" Grian sighs. "I set this thing up. It can run just fine on autopilot, pretty much. If I were on the outside as an admin-" he grimaces, "...like I should be, it wouldn't be an issue. But it's like the pilot is locked inside the bathroom while the plane-" Grian stops talking.

"Crashes? While it crashes." Cleo sounds displeased. Joel starts drafting an obituary. Bdubs has clambered up from the horse pit by now and is sitting on the edge of it, nervously messing with a janky old pocket watch.

"I would really prefer not to be stuck in an airplane bathroom forever," Scar says forlornly.

"Oh for goodness' sake," Joel says. "There has to be someone on this server who can fix this. Grian can't be the first idiot who's ever done something this stupid."

"I'll take that bet," Bdubs mutters darkly. Cleo shoots him a look, and he raises both hands and scoots forward to disappear down into the horse pit again.

Cleo pinches the bridge of their nose. "Alright, let's go find out if someone else on this server has already been a bigger idiot than Grian."

(Part 1)

[starsreminisce]

Lucien hadn’t explained the black eye and cut lip, either. He’d only asked Rhys and me if we knew of a place to stay in Velaris, since he did not wish to inconvenience us further by staying at the town house, and did not wish to be isolated at the House of Wind. He hadn’t mentioned Elain, or his proximity to her. Elain had not asked him to stay, or to go. And whether she cared about the bruises on his face, she certainly hadn’t let on.

I wonder if the same sentiment about Nesta can be applied to Elain, where people assumed that since Nesta acted like she didn't care, it was actually the reverse—she cared too much and didn't know how to process it.

Sometimes I do wonder what happened between Elain and Lucien when she noticed the blood on his clothes and asked if he was alright in ACOWAR, only to withdraw immediately in ACOSAF.

The mating bond drives protectiveness between mates. Despite the issues Rhys's parents had, we were told that Rhys's dad saved his mom, and when Rhys's mom was killed by Tamlin's dad, Rhys's dad immediately sought vengeance for a female who supposedly hated him.

So, for all that we know about Elain, here is this male that she knows little about, yet she will always have this pull that follows her. She will know when Lucien needs help or when he's hurt. She will feel his loss profoundly when he's dead.

And it scares her—that she can feel this anger, this drive to protect, especially towards someone she does not know. It scares her to feel so deeply for someone when she already feels deep as it is.

Maybe it's because Lucien puts himself in this situation, driven by his need to help. Perhaps it's because Lucien is in the human lands where she knows he faces extreme prejudice. Or maybe it's because Lucien is connected to their politics, and she knows firsthand the climate he's willingly a part of.

Lucien also seems adamant about not wanting Elain to find out. He asked Feyre not to tell her about Calanmai to Elain, and he stopped himself when he was telling Feyre about Jurian and Vassa.

I wonder how Elain would react when she found out that Lucien had been permanently stationed in Spring by Azriel and the storm she'll bring when she comes down, considering SJM has hinted we'll be returning there.

After all, Rhys being hurt was what triggered Feyre to realize how she felt was attributed to the mating bond

Because he’d been injured, and I’d gone out of my mind— absolutely insane—when he’d been taken from me, shot out of the sky like a bird. I’d acted on instinct, on a drive to protect him that had come from so deep in me

and Cassian being hurt is what drove Nesta to Unmake Briallyn.

And as the sun broke over the horizon, as Cassian’s knife plunged for his chest, Nesta erupted with the force of the Cauldron. There was nothing in Nesta’s head but screaming. Nothing in her heart but love and hatred and fury as she let go of everything inside her and the entire world exploded. The baying of her magic was a beast with no name. Avalanches cascaded down the cliffs in seas of glittering white. Trees bent and ruptured in the wake of the power that shattered from her. Distant seas drew back from their shores, then raced in waves toward them again. Glasses shook and shattered in Velaris, books tumbled off the shelves in Helion’s thousand libraries, and the remnants of a run-down cottage in the human lands crumbled into a pile of rubble. But all Nesta saw was Briallyn. All she saw was the slack-jawed crone as Nesta leaped upon her, throwing her frail body to the rocky ground. All she knew was screaming as she clutched Briallyn’s face, the Crown glowing blindingly white, and roared her fury to the mountains, to the stars, to the dark places between them.

[tripleglitchwriting]

Wohoo! My first fic on this blog.

This one isn’t specifically any continuity, it’s kind of a mishmash of all of them. It is set in a first contact universe.

Ratchet-centric, GN human reader (though there are POV changes)

Ignition (Part 1)

CW: Graphic injury, mild language, angst

Flashing lights and blaring sirens shouted at Ratchet from all sides of the ship. He’d been in the medbay when the attack started- while not entirely unexpected considering where they were it was still a surprise. Despite their best efforts, a Decepticon ship had managed to track them down.

Not two minutes later Optimus ordered a retreat. At the time it didn’t make much sense to Ratchet, but he trusted his friend enough to go with it. Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Drift, Wheeljack, and a couple others joined him in getting into an escape pod. Frankly, he was hesitant to go, there were plenty of bots unaccounted for still on the main deck, but Optimus let everyone know through the comm link that he had a plan. With that he begrudgingly boarded his pod, expecting to be launched into space and put into stasis. The pod shot out of the ship normally, but the next couple minutes were anything but normal.

Outside the small window he immediately noticed they were very, very close to a nearby planet. So close, in fact, the escape pods wouldn’t be able to get out of orbit. Immediately after that realization, and saying something along the lines of “this couldn’t get any worse”, things got worse. The pods’ emergency warning systems activated, which would have been a surprise if Ratchet didn’t already feel the impact of what was most likely heavy blaster fire on the back of it.

Again, lights flashed and sirens of all sorts begged for his attention, yet the stasis lock system was a-okay. It was also beginning to activate. Now as he plummeted to an unfamiliar planet in a damaged escape pod he could only hope the rest of his friends were safe. Then, he heard a very loud explosion from farther away and promptly went into stasis.

—————————

“Go on a hike”, they said, “It will make you feel better”, they said. Well, right now you feel pretty damn bad considering you were incredibly lost, had no idea how to survive in the wild, and you had a very definitely broken leg.

It hurt like hell when you fell and it really didn’t get any better from there. Most of your body was either scratched or developing a nasty bruise, other than your right leg which was bent in a way it shouldn’t be. You fought off nausea as you lay on the forest floor, at the bottom of a steep cliff, tears stinging your eyes and hands clutching the bag you managed to hold onto. You didn’t think it could get any worse. Of course, that notion was quickly thrown out the window when a very loud explosion shook your aching body to its core.

You groaned at the feeling, but still turned to look in the direction of whatever it was. You didn’t see much other than trees, leaves, and your own tears clouding your vision, but you did notice some weird thing streaking through the sky. God, maybe you hit your head harder than you thought. Still, even if you did just spontaneously develop exploding head syndrome and began hallucinating, checking out a possible source of help was better than laying in your spot to rot.

You just needed to drag yourself to wherever it was… and try to ignore the pain while you did it. Needless to say, you made it a solid two feet before your body gave out and you lost consciousness.

————————

Ratchet woke up in what was now effectively a pile of burnt metal. He murmured some unintelligible curses to himself before running a self diagnostic- luckily nothing too bad had happened to him, at least nothing he couldn’t fix. He tried to activate his comm link, which unsurprisingly only sputtered static. He pushed down the horrible feeling in his fuel tank in favor of focusing on the problem at hand: Where the frag was he?

Slamming his servo on the release switch, Ratchet stumbled out of the pod, falling on the floor immediately. Right, his injuries. He would have to fix that. Just after he made sure the rest of the crew was alright. Looking up he noticed the world around was primarily organic. He’d landed in some dense forested location. The good news was the temperature, atmosphere, and plant life (from what he could tell from a simple scan) were safe. The bad news was there was absolutely nothing remotely cybertronian within scanning range, which meant his friends had probably landed much farther away, or… well anything could have happened, really. He’d just have to hold onto hope, not that that has done much good so far.

If there was any sentient life on this planet (which, frankly, he doubted there was) they weren’t anywhere around here. During the war the Autobots had visted plenty of organic planets with sentient organic lifeforms, though not all of them were friendly. Either way, by the looks of things he was going to be here awhile. He realized a lot later than he’d ever admit in order to explore around being able to walk would be pretty useful, so Ratchet began repairs. It wasn’t long before he was able to get back on his pedes with minimal pain. The next step was to look for anything useful.

Unfortunately, despite how broad the term was, “anything useful” didn’t seem to show itself. There was dirt, plants, and more dirt. There were various creatures he would have loved to have a look at if the situation wasn’t so dire. As the planets star went down and dark started to creep into the land, his grip on hope started to slip just a bit more.

Ratchet decided to go back to his pod- maybe he could fix up the distress beacon, or patch up his comm link, or just do anything other than walking around getting dirty. Of course, just as the pod came into distant view, a high pitched squealing noise from below nearly gave him a spark-attack.

It was small, probably the size of one of his digits. Splayed out on the ground with this strange expression on its face. When he looked down at it, the thing made a similar noise, trying to move back. Most of the creatures he’d encountered had scampered off before he could get a good look, but this one stayed put, its little chasis heaving up and down at an alarming rate.

He bent down to get a better look at the thing. It had some sort of covering on it, something that wasn’t the plants he’d become so familiar with. Its face became strained as once again it tried to move back, now squeaking out unintelligible nonsense. The pieces soon clicked into place: It wasn’t curious or stupid, it was injured. That was made obvious by the small cuts decorated with dried red energon, or whatever organics had in them, but it was made very clear when he noticed the angle one of its limbs was at.

It was trying to leave but couldn’t move. Scrap, did he do this? Was it caught in the crash? He quickly moved to scoop the thing up out of instinct, but it only shouted more, this time with a feral twinge.

“It’s okay, I won’t hurt you. I’m going to help you.” Of course he knew speaking slowly wouldn’t make it understand, but maybe the tone would show his intent.

Judging by how its optics widened and began to drip some sort of liquid, he figured it was a failed attempt. Though even if it didn’t like it, the thing still needed help, and if he couldn’t help his friends at least he could help it. Whatever it was.

Very, very carefully he shimmied his digits under its back, trying again to speak in hushed tones. It squirmed and writhed and screamed, wincing at every touch. When it was safely in his servos he closed them around it, hopefully protecting it from any natural predators they might encounter. He grit his denta at every attempt it made to escape or wiggle free. As he made his way back to his pod, Ratchet had a feeling this was going to be more than he bargained for.

[witchhazelevesque]

Some scenes for that marvel au where Leo gets abducted by aliens like in guardians of the galaxy:

I think it'd be funny if Leo doesn't show up until the absolute last second, like the beginning of Mark of Athena and his crash landing is basically what kicks starts the war.

He'd have to have some contact with the rest of the seven for this to work, and Octavian probably spins it as the quest group harboring an enemy of the state or something.

Also this means that Annabeth would have taken his spot on the Lost Hero quest, which is kind of funny, because she'd be stuck with a emotionally and logically confused Piper and Jason, and we'd actually get some conflict stemming from the differences in Roman and Greek leadership.

They're all angry- Piper because her dad is in trouble, Annabeth because Percy's still missing and Jason because he can't remember a goddamn thing- and easily irritated and about one second away from exploding and eventually they all do.

-

The Greeks probably make some generic ship for them to travel on, and maybe Leo upgrades it with alien stuff.

It's like. Glaringly obvious that Leo does not know anything about the mythical world.

He's actually been raised on stories of the Norse gods, so his knowledge base is inaccurate and misplaced, because like, the Norse gods on Earth are not the same as the Norse gods that he's heard about. But since none of the others know that there are terrestrial Norse gods, that doesn't come up.

So, they're trying to explain that no, the gods he's heard about aren't a thing, and Leo's like… squinting and fiddling with his fork before gesturing back and forth between the Romans and Greeks. "Okay, but y'all thought the Greeks didn't exist and the Roman's didn't exist until now so…"

No one wants to think about this on top of everything else, so they just let Leo believe what he believes. (He's right, sort of, anyway. Annabeth is not going to want to admit as much when she learns about what Magnus is up to lol)

-

When they're discussing rescuing Nico from the jar, Leo looks side to side and asks, "Are they trying to pickle him or something?"

Hazel's about ready to kill him, but Frank is just like. very confused. "Like cucumbers?"

Leo shrugs. He's had a childhood of threatening to be eaten, so it isn't the largest jump in logic for him.

Anyway, since he's got no opinion about either camp, he isn't opposed to going after Nico, though he does pull out a holographic battle map and starts suggesting some strategies.

Annabeth and Frank are very reluctantly fascinated.

-

Hazel and Leo are always commiserating or fighting over the bathrooms because Hazel's always sea sick and Leo's always throwing up from food poisoning because he's not used to earth germs.

He doesn't realize this is the issue and there's an unfortunate mishap where he tried to bond with Frank by offering him some of his snacks from space and... yeah, that was a bit of a setback on the making nice thing.

-

Percy took one look at Leo's leather outfit and went "Ares."

He tries to let go of this prejudice.

-

All the monsters they have to deal with are like, nothing compared to what's out there in the rest of the universe and Leo is deeply unimpressed by the creatures attacking them.

He doesn't have a bronze or gold weapons (and at least here that oversight makes sense).

At some point, they're fending off some beast and Leo just glances between it and the way the other demigods are fighting it with knives and swords and pulls a gun from his jacket.

It probably shouldn't work, but it's not bullets as ammo, instead some kind of energy beam doodad and the monster careens over a cliff side. Leo just leans forward to watch it fall and then goes "…cool." and walks off.

-

Festus has still been running wild at camp this whole time and now he's like, sensing his future buddy and waylays the quest group before they leave the States. Maybe it happens when the Romans catch up with them and Festus unintentionally saves them/ buys them time to escape.

THIS GUY, Leo is impressed with.

-

They don't realize what the storm or fire line means for the LONGEST just because Leo just never thinks about his fire. Like, he didn't tell any of them about it, he kind of came to think he had some kind of alien ancestry over the years and so it doesn't have anything to do with this mythic stuff in his mind yet.

Anyway, that means that Jason and Frank think it's about them (ayyy frason ) and that's just a whole big thing when Leo realizes what's going on. It would have been pretty interesting if the final outcome of the prophecy had come down to a decision made by both a Greek and Roman actually. Hm.

Anyway, with all of this in play, it might actually come down to Frank dying to stop Gaea instead of Leo, simply because the expectations were different, and that Leo doesn't have as strong of connection to this world or the rest of the seven. Which is an interesting take/explanation for Nemesis's warning to him about never finding a place with his brethren. Hm...

Anyway, either Leo dies, or Frank dies and Leo has to like. Actually, face reality because he's lost someone again and he blames himself for that death and he can't keep running, but it's not so simple because he doesn't know where or what home is.

He'd probably end up going back to space, but eventually he'd have to come back for his own peace of mind.

[gumnut-logic]

This is a very old WIP that I thought I would post for @idontknowreallywhy as she likes to drop things on Scotty.

I blew him up and Virgil was not impressed.

Warning for very much not finished WIP from 2020 that probably has been read by some of you before, possibly several times. Also, everyone gets whumped.

-o-o-o-

Scott Tracy had an amazing smile. His dimples were legendary and those blue eyes of his certainly added their own sparkle to the equation.

And the commander of International Rescue, President of Tracy Industries and all out billionaire was very much aware of the power he wielded with that simple facial gesture.

He was a ladykiller.

Well, perhaps not quite a ‘killer’. More a ‘I’ll do whatever you want if you will just keep smiling at me’ lethal mouth muscle wielder. Or so Gordon claimed.

Gordon’s descriptive skills weren’t one of his strengths.

It was also an excellent tool out in the field. Male or female, when that smile was directed at a person in charge, they either melted and did whatever Scott wanted them to do.

Or the opposite.

The ratio of the non-receptive vs receptive to that smile was definitely a low number versus a much higher one, but unfortunately, today they had encountered one such person.

And they were being a real pain in the ass.

Virgil would have been on Two, but no negotiation on Scott’s part was convincing the mine manager that International Rescue knew what it was doing.

They were down to technical facts and time was growing shorter by the moment.

Two was hovering above with Gordon on board while Virgil rappelled down to discuss engineering concepts with this idiot and convince him that the great Thunderbird was not going to make the situation worse.

Scott was steaming.

Virgil appeared to be nearing boiling point himself and that was quite a feat on the manager’s part. Virgil had battled Fischler without a blink, for crying out loud.

The conversation had slipped into engineeringese quite early on and most of the concepts were beyond Scott, leaving him edgy and worried about the miners trapped below.

Thunderbird One was parked not far away and his eyes wandered in that direction before skipping back to the mine entrance.

Just in time to see someone slip under the warning tape and start climbing over the collapsed debris.

Scott was moving without thought. “Hey! Get out of there! It’s not safe!”

The suspect turned, saw him and disappeared inside the cliff face.

What the hell?

Scott made it to the tape before the manager started yelling.

The commander ignored him and poked his comms. “Thunderbird Five, can you give me an updated scan of the mine. An idiot just entered-“

A flash, and the rock face exploded.

The blast hit Scott face on. He didn’t even have a chance to scream.

-o-o-o-

Virgil did.

The shockwave knocked him of his feet, the mine manager landing on top of him, but they were far enough away to only be pelted by the edges of the explosion.

Something solid hit Virgil’s left arm, numbing it from the elbow down. Beside him the manager screamed as a large chunk of rock landed on his foot.

Far above, Thunderbird Two deviated from her hover, banking off to the north only to circle back and begin her landing sequence nearby.

He felt her in his bones and it was only then he realised his eyes had fallen shut.

He forced them open.

Scott.

Scott had been closer.

Virgil struggled to his feet. The manager was writhing next to him, a rock pinning his ankle. A rock that would need his exosuit to move it.

Scott first.

Scott had been closer.

“Virgil, status!”

Virgil was running. He thumbed his comms as his legs closed the distance to where his brother had been. “John, I need Scott’s location.”

“Five metres to your left.”

There was rock everywhere, dust and haze obscuring everything. “Scott?”

A stumble and a flash of blue.

A gloved hand lay limp. Virgil skidded in beside it.

Scott hadn’t been wearing his helmet. After all, he was only negotiating Virgil’s entrance into the mine.

Dirt and blood on pale skin.

Medical assessment. “John, Scott’s unconscious.” His own gloved fingers touching dusty dark hair, gently searching for the source of the blood and the damage level. “Head injury.” His fingers encountered a dip in his brother’s skull that should not be there. “Possibly serious.”

His brother was breathing, his pulse strong, and Virgil thanked whoever or whatever protected their family for that mercy.

Gordon joined him, first aid kit in hand, while Virgil was inspecting the rest of his brother’s body for injury.

“What the hell happened?”

Virgil peeled back a gash in Scott’s uniform at his thigh to reveal another injury.

“I don’t know. Scan him while I get the exosuit.”

Gordon frowned at him. “What about you?” Carnelian eyes looked him up and down only to settle on his limp left arm. “How-“

“Worry about Scott. I have another victim to attend to.” He brushed his fingers across Scott’s baldric and stood up.

“Virgil-“

“The man’s pinned, Gordon. Time is of the essence. Look after Scott.”

He didn’t miss Gordon’s glare, but he did ignore it and with an indrawn breath, broke into a run towards Thunderbird Two.

-o-o-o-

He ended up taping his left arm into his exosuit. It was slapdash and done in a hurry using some of the electronic insulation tape he kept for emergency repairs. He could lift his arm, but his fingers had no strength or coordination. It was only for a matter of minutes. He had to lift the rock off the injured man. That was all.

His arm didn’t like the added weight in the slightest.

He’d live.

He ran from the module back to the pile of rubble dragging a couple of hover stretchers behind him. He tossed one in Gordon’s direction

By the time he reached the mine manager, Virgil’s numb arm was no longer numb. In fact, it was hurting like hell with every movement.

Lift the rock and he could shed the suit.

“What the hell have you been doing?!”

“Hold still, Mr Ginley.” Fortunately, it was his right hand that controlled the largest claw, but unfortunately, he had to use his left to steady the load as he lifted.

Ginley’s cry of pain as the rock was shifted hid Virgil’s own.

Sweat broke out on his forehead as the engineer let the rock fall harmlessly to one side. He found himself panting.

“It’s bleeding! It’s bleeding!” Ginley was pointing at his foot where the rock had gashed the bare skin of his shin. The man was wearing steel toed boots and the rock had apparently only pinned him rather than doing any extensive damage beyond grazing him.

“Thunderbird Two?”

“Yes, John.” Virgil stumbled back towards the stretcher and grabbed the medkit.

“I’m still reading one life sign within the mine.”

Virgil blinked. One.

There had been five. Plus the person Scott had tried to stop from entering

All that time talking.

But then he and his brothers had been underground during that explosion…

“How far down? Mole or exosuit?”

...

[etoiline]

do you trust me

(read with characters and tags on AO3 instead)

Cal remembers Dathomir, and a particularly treacherous labyrinth of scarred walls and blood-red cliffs that he hadn’t been sure he would be able to traverse. He remembers missing his grip so badly that he tumbled down the rock face in a spin, only able to gain his footing at the absolute last moment so he can launch himself onto another ledge, and live to search another tomb.

He remembers, when Merrin finds him next, shortly after that embarrassing incident, wondering if she’s been watching him make a fool of himself. Cal can’t do much about his face reddening to the color of Dathomir’s sky, but he tries to cover it by asking Merrin what it's like to teleport and never be worried about taking a fall.

She smiles at him and his stomach swoops, almost like he was tumbling down that cliff again, and says, “It’s like wind through gravethorn, Jedi. Speed that cuts.” She does not elaborate.

Cal finds, now that he’s flying through space in her green-magic wake, that Merrin hadn’t needed any more descriptors. She’d asked him do you trust me, he’d said of course because he thought it was obvious and what are you up to before seeing that glittering portal, and she asks about trust again and what is he supposed to say but yes? And then she’d kissed him, sweet and sure and long enough that BD started cursing in Binary and shoving a little foot into his shoulder because there’s a karking Trident bearing down on them—

He’s the wind through gravethorn. Merrin’s magic cradles him but it does not protect him. He’s never flown so fast on his own, with no speeder beneath him, never fallen in a crystalline moment as the world slows around him, confident that the green-wreathed portal will catch him and yank him to another place. But the speed comes at a cost, debris tearing at his clothing and shrapnel slicing past his face, hot blaster bolts singeing far too close for comfort, tears ripped from his eyes. He doesn’t let any of that stop him from examining that monster of a machine, because it’s speed that will keep them from becoming nerf kebab on its piercing claws.

Merrin’s portals guide him to a weakness, a locked joint on a vicious limb, and Cal laughs as he latches onto it, vaults atop its metal hide, heedless of the sandy drop on either side. He won’t fall, not with the Force to guide his steps until his saber can slash deep into the mechanism, not with Merrin’s magic rushing past him in ribbons, waiting to catch him as he dives off the writhing machinery.

It’s exhilarating. Cal almost doesn’t feel like the thing is trying to destroy them, like this beast of metal and anger is simply a dancer in a esoteric ballet, a player in a planetary orchestra with the Force as the conductor. If the speed of the portals and the wall jumps didn’t steal his breath, Cal would laugh for the joy of it.

But every symphony has an end, and Merrin and Cal find theirs, the Trident looming ahead of them, leaving no time for Merrin to draft another portal.

“Nowhere left to run,” Merrin says, looking only at Cal. He hopes the luck from their kiss hasn’t run out.

“Then we stand together,” Cal says, letting his Force expand there atop the mesa, feeling Merrin’s green-hissing magick coalesce at his side, a complementary note to his fiery power, and he grits his teeth in a grimace. The Force and Dathomir’s smoky haze hang heavy among the sandy stones for a frozen second.

“Now or never,” Merrin says, and Jedi and Nightsister thrust their power at the Trident, her acid fog exploding its armor, his burning Force throwing the pieces back at the Imperial machine, the both of them keeping up the assault until the Trident collapses on itself, falling into the depths of the red canyon below.

The weight of the Force is suddenly gone from Cal’s hands, and he exhales, but Merrin says, “One last jump—and it’s a big one,” because they’re atop a mesa with no easy descent, and Cal follows the greensmoke trail of Merrin and her portals. He relishes the speed, whoops in the air, flinging his arms out in pure delight and relief, until they find solid ground in a grotto lit by the soft light of a green ray shield. Cal slides out of the blast of magic, skidding a little on the rock, and fetches up against Merrin’s side. He puts his hand on her arm, the both of them shaking with adrenaline and breathing hard. “How did you do that?” he says, awed.

“A ritual I learned on Dathomir. It is...taxing,” Merrin says, leaning into his hold. Cal gathers her into his arms, letting Merrin rest her head on his chest. He closes his eyes and remembers falling, and flying, and echoes of acid-green magick, and hopes he can fall again, as long as Merrin is there to catch him.

[pixlostinatos]

SO WHAT IS BEASTLIFE'S "FRIDAY LEAGUE"?

howdy all! as one of the very small number of people qualified to summarize the first two seasons of friday league, im here to give the frileague counterpart of @mcybree's satleague summary! that said, my memory retention abilities leave much to be desired, so please bear with me.

Beastlife is a fan-hosted life series by unidingo. It is currently on its fourth season, but there are two leagues that run simultaneously; this summary covers Friday League only, which is on its third season.

SEASON 1

as you may have guessed, friday league did not begin at the same time as saturday league. when satleague season 2 was first proposed, the idea of running a second league for people who couldnt make it to the saturday sessions was floated -- and what ended up happening was that we decided to run it two hours later in the day, and a significantly smaller group of people signed up.

as such, friday league couldnt run the double life gimmick of the paired satleague season -- instead, the five (kiiwiibird, vizquiche, unidingo, ekerlense, and jackofowltrades) ran a standard third life ruleset in a snowy and mountainous world.

vizquiche (hereafter referred to as "buiche", short for "beast quiche") went yellow almost immediately because they went mining without creating any sort of weapon and a zombie attacked them. naturally, it is mocked relentlessly

despite the mockery, eker and jack also lost their first lives very quickly -- jack to a zombie in a hole, eker lost his bc she and kiki went to a fucking pillager outpost within the first 10 minutes of the session

dingo fucked off to the caves. i genuinely have no idea what was going on over there but dingo and jack were both just kinda doing their own thing while the other three were Loring It Up

eker and buiche decided to stick together as the first two yellows. they chased kiwi around as he panicked and ran because he tried to apologize to eker for the pillager thing and asked what eker would want in order to forgive him. eker said all it wanted was its life back. eventually buiche and eker lost kikis trail as he fled back to his home in the mountains

eker went red before the break bc he got trapped under ice and drowned. buiche laughed and said it knew better than to do that.

either dingo or kiwi has died once by now? i think it was dingo

immediately after the break ended buiche decided to explore a little pool in the cave it and eker had decided to hide in when they logged out. as you may expect, it promptly got trapped under ice and drowned.

jack gets shot by a skeleton. the official life count is now 1 green, 1 yellow, 3 reds.

eker convinces buiche to go caving with them! surely nothing bad will happen

a creeper explodes in buiches face. oops bye buiche

eker builds a little mausoleum over buiches bed near the house the two had been building. with deemgos/gods permission, eker is allowed to do a little seance so buiches ghost can tell them where it put their sheep

jack dies. to another skeleton.

session 1 ends with one person on each life color yay!

kiwi builds a sacrificial altar for eker to kill him on because theyre gay and also he doesnt wanna be the only green anymore

eker kills him

dingo dies twice??? i genuinely have no idea what happened over there dingo pls elaborate

kiwi and eker have this long fun talk. eker kills kiwi again

eker is chasing kiwi down to kill him a third time

a skeleton shoots kiwi off the cliff

eker jumps after kiwi

the skeleton shoots eker as he is also falling

they die hand in unlovable goddamn hand

alexa play no children by the mountain goats. eker is the winner and has not been present in frileague since.

this was not canonized until late season 3 of saturday league, however, "friday league kiwi" is also a member of the system that kiiwii and peregriine (and duckiie) are part of, known as fiinch. fiinch also appears in the current season of beastlife!

Season 2

technically friday league's season 2 used the same last life styled gimmick as saturday league season 3, sans the boogeyman mechanic out of respect for the significantly smaller crew. kiwi and eker are not present this season; instead sonic sonicmike4077 mike, phia phiala, and tom tomscryingcorner joined in the fun, leaving us with a group of 6, briefly.

friday league's secondary gimmick for the season was that everyone was dumped on a deserted, desert island with only a stack of steak, some bamboo, a cherry sapling, and a single grass block apiece. a shipwreck is available to loot for.....wood and not much else, honestly.

dingo once again sets off to do their own thing. they get set up pretty handily with sheep and a mob farm

sonic and tom go exploring for more resources! turns out, deemgo forgot to set the world border. oops

this is quickly rectified, and sonic and tom are not allowed to keep their illicit gains. the lives they lose when the world border is set up ARE returned, however, since its not their fault the border wasnt there in the first place.

phia goes red within the first hour

everyone except phia (red) and dingo (knows what theyre doing) all band together to create the warren, a little communal mine/storage/house area named for the many rabbit heads buiche plastered above the door. the building was also intentionally built to be as ugly as they could get it with their limited resources.

jack and buiche spend most of their time mining for the first few sessions

tom starts working on a big birdhouse-styled building to live in

echidna of satleague fame possesses jack once or twice because of irl scheduling conflicts

everyone all stops what theyre doing to fish when it rains

genuinely its all just a very chill time. kinda hard for alliances to have issues with each other when theres not enough people for multiple alliances tbh

sonic, who only was granted two lives by the last life gatcha, loses his first life

phia has to quit frileague due to scheduling conflicts, sadly -- but even though she was the first out, we dont count her as the first permadeath of the season. dw its fine shes back for skyfall

buiche loses their second life, bringing it down to red as well

it abandons the warren, assuming itself to no longer be welcome now that shes dangerous. he starts work on another new house and a very ineffective mob farm. they call it "blood isle". when sonic drops by, buiche tells her that hes always welcome at blood isle and that as reds, they ought to stick together. sonic gives buiche some fireworks and agrees to return later.

sonic dies to a creeper.

buiche builds a little grave for sonic, as eker did for it in s1, putting a sign up telling him to "Rest in Violence".

a funeral party is held at the spawn campfire+cactus ring. a second memorial for sonic is built, telling her to rest in piece

sonics ghost tells quiche that he wants it to win. a creeper almost immediately blows up right in front of it. it survives but sonic scolds it for almost dying the same way she did right after she had placed his faith in it.

dingo steals a diamond sword and a very good bow enchantment book that buiche fished up from their front room chest.

buiche goes looking for its stolen items, and perhaps to steal from dingo itself, but cant find anything.

tom is still working on his house, and jack has started building a defensible cobble tower. chill times at the warren.

dingo and buiche fish together for a bit

sonics ghost is getting bored with everything staying so calm on the server despite buiche being a red name, so he starts urging them to kill. it pushes back a little, but without much convincing it gears up

reluctant to go after its day one ally alin jack, and fearful of dingos overall preparedness, it decides to go after tom

it kills him, she immediately turns around and, a red name now herself, kills buiche despite its pleas to talk about this. its awful and hilarious and awesome all at the same time. @dykevotions pls attach the clip im begging you

jack (yellow) and tom (red) decide to go on a bit of a hog hunt, as dingo is still on dark green

between the two of them, they actually manage to get dingo down to yellow before dingo kills tom, and jack brings dingo doown to red with him before he, too, falls, leaving dingo the winner of the season.

jack unfortunately has to leave future seasons due to scheduling conflicts, but we wish him the best!

buiche, about a week or two after the end of the friday league season, goes and possesses space since space cant make it to the first half of the satleague session. its a nightmare but buiche mentions it in frileague s3 a fair few times so i feel its important to bring up

finally this brings us to season 3, which is the current season!

im not going to summarize it here, in part because it is still ongoing, and partially because there's more people so there is a lot more going on to keep track of. i know kiwi, tom, and fishie have been releasing videos of this season, and vizquiche has plans to as well, so you have a few possible povs to choose from! happy beasting!

[ominist]

BITTER REWARD

--- Part 2: Reaping ✧

Pairings- Dark!Sebastian Sallow x F!Auror!Reader x Auror!Ominis Gaunt Summary- Sebastian escapes from Azkaban after 8 years. The Ministry were on high alert and searching for the escaped fugitive. Newspapers and flyers spread with the danger that could come within encounter. Sebastian Sallow’s face was plastered all over public and communal areas of the Ministry. After working for the Ministry for years, MC and Ominis Gaunt were cut off from the search. The Ministry’s numbers as of late were short due to ongoing violent events and kidnappings. Both aurors were denied any involvement due to conflict of interest. They were secretly put under a watchful eye in case the fugitive decided to reach out to one of his old friends. After 2 weeks, the search proved fruitless. It was almost as if the man had disappeared into thin air. Due to lack of resources, the search and security lessened when it came to Sallow. This was, quote, only a temporary decision until something new came up.This was exactly what Sebastian Sallow was hoping for. After a watchful eye and a calculated risk, he bids his time before cornering you. As painful as it was, waiting a little longer would prove to be rewarding. Warnings- 18+, language, trauma, depression, angst, aged up characters, explicit content later on. Word Count- 7,695 Words Author’s Notes- Warnings, finally some Seb, a lot of angst, and a cliff hanger. Also, thank you for reading my work! ❤

Writing Masterlist -- Part 1: Sowing -- Part 3: Mourning

With Sebastian’s disappearance, temporary demotion, and the emotional chaos from her social life.. 

MC’s ongoing frustrations and stress started to leak into her daily life. Exploding in the smallest and most obvious ways. It started with ripping the assignments waiting on her desk, slamming boxes of pending paperwork, spilling ink all over the floor.. 

But of course, these outbursts would not last long. Almost immediately, she would stop and feel embarrassed by the petty display of lack of control. She repaired and cleaned everything until it was back to its previous state. 

The reality was this. It was either running rampant with her magic (which threatened to spill over) or these minor micro-aggressions in her lonely office. It was taking too much energy to keep her ancient magic under control.  It only got more chaotic and spontaneous whenever she was in distress.

In addition, every other Auror in the department decided to leave her to her own devices. Correction, they decided to avoid her all together. Whenever she emerged from her office everyone either gave her a pitiful smile or turned their eyes away from her. She was deeply bothered by the change in the atmosphere. And irked by the revelation that the current situation provided. This was only a job. The what you-once-thought-were-close-colleagues stemmed from self-interest and forced respect. Your presence was replaceable. And it was very apparent at the present.

The new found solitude gave her the chance to do something she had been keeping in the back of her mind. No one seemed to pay attention as she emerged from the Archive part of the building holding a stack of folders. 

Within a few hours, she had exhausted the amount of times she re-read Sebastian’s case in her office. She went over Sebastian’s old records as they rested on her lap. Confident that she would be left alone, her boots were kicked up on the desk as she lounged in her chair. If no one paid her attention while she sorted through these embarrassing tasks, no one would become alerted by an unauthorized review. MC was technically still an Auror. Besides, the current groups of officers searching for Sebastian already had copies of the old records and were too busy creating new records from their investigations. Her eyes moved over the contents repeatedly for hours, almost wanting to conjure the hidden truth and details not recorded.

After 3 days of picking up entry level work provided by different departments, MC reluctantly accepted the current state of things and decided to take a break. She had been acting stubborn at first. She hoped that they would see her determination and eventually let her return to her position. But after engaging in such dull and motivation killing work, she could not continue for the rest of the week. MC dropped off the last of the completed assignments and returned Sebastian’s records to their proper place without raising anyone’s attention. 

Then she found herself at home, unable to finds ways to occupy her time productively. Time away from the Ministry only made her chaotic emotions worse. MC started to realize how much she depended on her hefty investigations and feeling overworked. She needed the fast and critical pace that came with being an Auror. It stopped her from overthinking, and most importantly it stopped her from being alone with herself. 

Since she had started to work, she had not raided poacher camps or pursued dark wizards in the hamlets near Hogwarts. In a way, being an Auror provided a little bit of everything she used to cope in the past. 

Now being in her apartment, she started to experience her first signs of paranoia. When she stepped out of her apartment, she swore she was being followed. It did not take her long to notice this. She had initially made it part of her routine to take a walk in the mornings. Whenever the rain paused and the heavy fog appeared, she found herself stopping by the local shops for groceries, picking up fresh flowers, or walking through the more populated areas of the city. The cold air and noisy streets had given her the distraction she desperately needed. 

The first time she caught sight of a shadow passing behind her, it had heightened her instincts. MC had been walking by some store windows, passing some glass lamps. A dark silhouette passed closely behind her as she leaned towards the window. Almost immediately, her posture tensed and straightened. Her eyes roamed over the reflection on the window with her hand ready in her pocket. But the figure disappeared around the corner without being seen. This happened again the next day, but this time she caught sight of someone wearing a bowl hat peaking around the corner of the street.

After those 2 encounters, she returned to closing herself in her apartment. She realized that she had somehow obtained an easy pattern to track in the mornings. She removed these morning walks from her new schedule.

Being enclosed in her apartment made he wish for a change around her. After a couple of hours of deep cleaning, organizing, and sorting through rubbish- she almost did not recognize her home. With her new found time, she even found herself sitting by the window and catching up with the letters on her desk. She spent many afternoons reading one of the many books from her collection. Majority of the books had been recommended by Anne at some point. She could not remember the last time she sat down and had time to read something of choice. Every now and then she would peer through the  window after feeling that creeping sensation on her skin. She was more than convinced that she was being watched. Whenever she felt exposed, she would draw the curtains and close her windows. 

Even if it had only been a couple of days, she felt the most alone she ever felt. She had not gotten a moment of relief. And to add to the ongoing theatrics, she could not stop thinking about Sebastian and his whereabouts. 

Sebastian’s news had put a stop to her ongoing progress with finding Anne’s cure. Now that she was more than convinced that she was being followed, she could not risk being caught in the middle of something suspicious. She was thankful that she had been smart enough not to keep her research and illegal books in her apartment in case her home was searched. She was also having a hard time focusing on one task for too long. MC had all the time of the world now with her inconsistent work. She tried to find ways to occupy herself productively.

She could not bring herself to get rid of the shadow that appeared the morning she received the news. MC had grown more tense, easily upset, and on edge. It was easy to admit that she never really let got of the guilt from being an accomplice during Sebastian’s imprisonment. And she believed it would never happen, especially now. 

Sebastian had escaped early on a Sunday morning and it was now Friday. Almost a whole week had passed. Ominis continued to check in with MC, even if it was briefly. Even with his full work schedule, he persisted stopping by to check on MC even when it was after hours. If he noticed her growing restlessness, he did not mention it. 

She knew his continuous visits were his way of showing that he still cared about her. But she could never be truly honest about her current turmoil. She was more than aware that Ominis was also going through his own troubling thoughts. The circles under his eyes had grown darker, and his skin started to look paler than usual. He was sleep deprived, exhausted, and even malnourished. But Ominis still watched out for her even when they had grown apart and detached in the recent months. He still checked on her every day, regardless of how platonic their friendship had become once again.

By Monday, she received a promising letter from both Natsai Onai and Poppy Sweeting. Poppy was always traveling and never stayed in one place for too long. She was engaged to their former classmate Garreth Weasley. Natty had moved and was now a professor at Uagadou. Between the two, Natty stopped by London more often to see MC. The former Hufflepuff and Gryffindor were so busy as it was, but she appreciated their concern and support shown in their letters. They had both agreed to come visit London the upcoming weekend to her relief. MC could finally take a break from feeling like a caged animal. 

During one of Ominis’ visits, he revealed something important for the MC. It was a little bit after 6pm on Wednesday. Ominis sat in the usual chair with the usual cup of tea between his fingers. He stopped by her home for a bit, already having plans for the rest of the night he had told her. 

“I have something to share with you. But before I tell you, you need to promise me that you will not be alarmed,” Ominis told her. The  he quickly added,“And that you will not do something to get yourself in trouble.”  

The way he added the last part made her smile in his direction. He was always so cautious when he knew something would upset her. 

“You know, I appreciate you trying. But you and I know better,” MC told him honestly. 

Ominis brushed his hand through his hair and nodded once. With his hands crossed over the other, he appeared apprehensive. He exhaled before continuing. 

“The department had appointed some officers to watch us,” he stated, sounding frustrated. Then he added in slow syllables, “Without our knowledge or consent, for the matter.” 

She breathed a loud sigh of relief at his words. And there it was, she could finally put her doubts about her own sanity to rest. If she was right, this explained the uneasy and cautious expressions that many of her peers wore last week. MC let out a small laugh and shook her head in disbelief. 

“The Ministry never fails to amaze me with their strategic methods. Let alone, their denial about the current number of able bodied officers.” 

Ominis gave her a small smile, agreeing with her words. “That was my initial response. But if they are watching us.. That could only mean that they truly believe that our old friend will be making an appearance.”

MC’s smile faded and she turned to look out the window. Ominis had chosen not to mention his name. And it further proved that he was still being careful. He was trying to cause the least amount of pain as possible. She was unsure if it was intended for her benefit or for his own. 

His name is Sebastian.

Her eyes looked into the dark street. The lamplight flickered twice and a stray cat crossed the street. The longer she looked out the street, the more noticeable the feeling became. She got up from her seat and approached her window. She drew the curtains in the hopes of removing the feeling of exposure. 

Her hands held the curtain for a moment longer than needed. Her eyes focused on the pattern between her fingers. The room became quiet.  

“Do you..” MC said quietly, without turning to face Ominis. “Do you think he has gone away to start a new life?” 

Ominis was unable to answer. He should have expected this topic to be brought up eventually. In reality, he dreaded talking about it with MC. The bitter feeling of the past was something he wished to get over as the years passed. He was not sure what Sebastian Sallow would be doing with his new found freedom. And as of the present, the Ministry didn’t either. Ominis preferred it this way. As long as Sebastian was not found, he could rest easy. 

It had come to his surprise that Sebastian had not reached out to any of his close friends in the first week of his escape. Not even Anne. 

But the again, Sebastian was smart. If he intended to survive, he could not give in to his reckless nature. 

Ominis had somehow convinced himself that he no longer knew Sebastian.

He believed he was the only one to wear the guilt on his shoulders for what he had done. He deserved to lose sleep, his appetite, his sense of character, and peace. 

And the most important of all.. He did not deserve to have MC. 

Ominis knew that MC and Sebastian had been close during their 5th year. He often times believed that he and MC would never be as close as Sebastian she she were back then. 

Ominis had almost proposed to move in with MC for the time being until things were safer. He hated to leave her during such dire times.

But he had not. 

Ominis shifted in his seat, unable to give her an answer that reflected the truth about his feelings. 

“I.. I do not know,” he confessed to her. His voice was suddenly fatigued. “I would like to believe that he somehow managed to escape the border and settled somewhere remotely liberating.” 

MC stepped away from the window, her expression unreadable. She did not return to her seat across from Ominis. She continued to stand idly near the wall. Her hands were hidden in her cardigan. 

Ominis turned his head towards MC’s direction before continuing. “MC believe me when I say, if Sebastian does not want to be caught, then he will not be.” 

MC shifted in place, her thoughts pouring over her like a rapid current. It was hard to believe that Sebastian would just escape the country and find a lovely home of some sort by the ocean somewhere in the world. She could not image him willing to settle down and find peace. 

He would not be able to do that as long as he sought closure. He would make his most important mission to find answers. 

She did not understand why Ominis was so set on lying and giving such empty answers. He could not possibly believe what he was telling her. She was starting to feel impatient with him. 

“Is someone possibly helping him hide?” MC asked out loud, somewhat ignoring Ominis’ previous response. She walked into the kitchen, her eyes settling on the dish rack as she thought hard.  

“I do not think it matters. It isn’t either of us, so I doubt it.” 

MC was now set on putting away the dishes. With her back turned, she occupied her hands with pushing the plates into the cupboards. The dishes were put away harshly, the sound of the dishes being pushed on top of each other echoed through the apartment. 

“I hope his whereabouts are not keeping you from your sleep, MC-”

MC finally turned towards Ominis, unable to stop her irritation from raining down on him. With a glass in her hand, she let her bottled discontentment interrupt him. 

“He has not forgiven us , Ominis,” her words were sharp. She inhaled and continued without sparing another moment of caution. “If you truly believe he ran off into the sunset with his new found freedom, then you are being delusional.”

She had almost broken the glass in her hand. She winced at the sound of her words as soon as she had said them. At that moment, she was unable to hide the pain and desolation she had felt for the past 8 years. MC watched Ominis with her unsettling gaze. Her jaw was tight and she felt as if she would cry out of frustration.

The air became unbreathable from the pressure in the room. The silence between them was daunting. Ominis’ expression finally broke from his shallow facade. His eyes stung from the truth in her words. Her tone dripped with culpability. 

His only response was getting up from his chair, letting is scrape against the wooden floor. His expression resembled a drowned man. His lips moved, and to MC’s dismay he did not give her the answer she deserved.

“I should go check on Anne.” 

Her eyes only followed Ominis as he stepped out of her apartment without another word. 

… *… * …

It was getting closer to the 2 week mark since Sebastian’s escape. And instead of feeling more at ease that there was no news about his whereabouts, she felt more restless. Her nightmares had started to take her sleep again. After the last meeting she had with Ominis, she could not bear any more wasted nights. She started to take sips of sleeping draught before bed.

On the following Saturday morning, MC received an email correspondence from the head of the Auror Department. To her surprise, the letter contained a series of updates.

Sebastian’s man hunt had been put to a stop until further notice. The Department was facing a a shortage of numbers, leading to a strain in their security and resources for higher priority cases. This is a temporary decision until further reconsideration. 

MC was scheduled to return to her previous position on Monday morning.  

MC held the letter in her hands under the sunlight of her window, the tension in her shoulders lessening as the minutes passed. She re-read the letter until she was able to process the contents. 

MC was beyond relieved to finally have her job back. She still was not used to being home so much. The letter did not mention whether she would continue to be observed and followed. But then again, she was not supposed to be aware in the first place.

With the hopes of celebrating her return, she was preparing to meet with her friends later on that evening. Natty and Poppy agreed to meet at one the pubs closer to the water’s edge. It was only a couple of minutes away from her home. She knew that Natty enjoyed the black friar bridge view. That was mainly the reason why this pub was one of her favorites.

With a couple of minutes to spare before she headed out, MC sat down to read through some of the letters waiting on her desk. The letters seemed to have increased now that she had time to respond.

She received a letter from her mother with news of her trip. Her parents were visiting America for a couple of weeks. Her father had decided to visit Boston in the hopes of reconciling with his mother. Her father had been raised in an orphanage before attending Hogwarts. At the age of 41, he recently found more information about his biological parents. It was a whole ordeal alone, one that she was sadly being updated from the sidelines. Her once extremely demanding position as an Auror had been the reason she denied the invitation to join them. She was aware of how important this visit was for her father. But she had no choice at the time the trip was planned. But now? She wished she had taken the opportunity to join them. 

MC wrote a whole hearted response to her mother’s letter and pulled Anne’s letter from the small pile. She moved the candle light closer to the page to read Anne’s small script. 

My dearest MC,

Thank you for that new cushion set! It made my new home feel more homely. I am adjusting to my home much better as of late. It is much better than the room I was staying in previously. The loneliness was hard to adjust to at first, but now I am able to look forward to every day.

I absolutely love working for Madam Ryder’s shop. I wish you could see how friendly and welcoming the people are here. It reminds me a little of Feldcroft. You need to come visit me soon. 

I was asked to go fetch potion ingredients by the shore this week. I found it to be a dream. It reminded me a little of your outdoor excursions and adventures. I can see why you enjoyed them so much when you were younger. 

Working at the shop part time is enough at the moment. The hours are quite flexible and I am able to fit in time for my studies. I am beyond grateful for Professor Sharp’s patience and willingness to continue to tutor me. I have you to thank for that.

Between working and focusing on my studies, I think that I want a change of pace. 

Living in this small town by the ocean the past couple of years has me feeling like a senior. Think about it, I live in a small house by the ocean. I wake every morning to tea and books. I water my new found garden and feed my cats before heading out every morning. Maybe this life was more fitting for the person I was before.

I visited Solomon’s house yesterday. I think I am feeling a little nostalgic. When I stopped by, I made it my mission to fix and replace the dead plants in the garden. It made me sad to see how vacant and unattended the home was.

Staying in the house let me reflect on what I want out of life. 

I want to open my own store in town. But I also find myself wanting to move to London. I miss you and Ominis so much, I want to spend more time with the both of you. I think it would give me the clarity I need.

Wishing you well and love always,

Anne S. 

She finished reading Anne’s letter with a sense of emptiness. She missed Anne terribly. 

But she could not overlook the implications that came with becoming close once more.

Could she put aside her conflicting emotions and invite Anne to stay with her for a while? She had done the same with Ominis last year, so what is stopping her from offering her the same? Would having her around more cause more tension or diffuse it? Would having her around cause a bigger rift between them? 

MC left Anne’s letter open on her desk. She was unable to finish her response. She had only gotten to the formalities. Anne’s letter was left unfolded and on top of the other letters on her desk.She got up from her seat and grabbed her coat on her way to the door. 

For the first time in the past 2 weeks, she felt a sense of reprieve. She was leaving her apartment for the first time in a while. She was on her way to meet with her two friends for some drinks. She was no longer demoted from her hard earned Ministry position. Her life was slowly returning back to normal.

MC walked into the gloomy street and hugged her coat tighter. She could not pass the opportunity to smell the crisp and smokey air once more. She walked for the first time without feeling paranoid. Her boots walked over the cobblestone, sometimes echoing louder in certain streets. She passed the familiar shops as they prepared to close early. 

When she finally reached the planned destination, MC paused by the door and inhaled before entering. She walked into the pub, staying close to the wall and away from the crowd. 

She made her way to her friends and was instantly embraced by two pair of arms. 

Poppy shared about her ongoing wedding planning and constant traveling. She was the happiest she ever felt. Poppy had Natsai and MC promise to be her bridesmaids and that she would not accept any excuses. Natty admitted that she had a new love interest. She explained how she had gone on a couple of dates and how it felt promising so far. She did not share the individual’s name or too many details. She rather not share too much in case it ended up not working out. Which, this had happened before. MC had witnessed her friend’s repeated rise and fall out of love in the recent years. The two witches respected Natty’s decision to save her from the possible pain once more. 

Poppy turned to MC, her eyes soft as she asked, “What about you, Y/N? Do you have any pending admirers you’re wanting to tell us about?” 

MC gave her a small smile, but it did not quite reach her eyes. Her attention turned to the drink between her fingers as she shook her head in denial. She could see Natty’s expression from the side of her vision. Natty was one of the few people she had shared about her temporary relationship with Ominis. 

“I wish I could go on about a new love interest,” MC finally told Poppy. She sounded a little regretful. 

“That is okay, do not worry about that. If you ever find yourself interested in meeting new people, just let me know,” Poppy told her with a genuine smile. “Garreth has so many family members and friends. I could have you meet them sometime if you like.” 

MC felt touched by Poppy’s thoughtfulness. The fact that Poppy thought she was agreeable enough to introduce her to new friends and her family to be, made her heart hurt. She thanked Poppy and took a long sip from her drink. She could taste the ice melting, dulling the affect. She looked down the counter and waved the bartended down for another drink.

Their conversation went on for the longest with no breaks or awkward silences. Poppy seemed to have kept in touch with a lot of their past classmates. With Garreth’s influence, she had a pretty good recount for almost every single Hogwarts alumni. The occupations she mentioned ranged from curse breakers, quidditch players, portraitists, apparition examiners, and astronomers. MC listened attentively and realized that many ended up working for the Ministry. 

Poppy had gone on for so long without stopping that she had to take a breather. She lifted her drink to her lips right before excusing herself to the lavatory. MC grinned as she watched Poppy walk off with a tipsy edge to her step. 

"She is still a lightweight,” she stated as she turned to look at Natty.

Her friend nodded in response with a blush on her cheeks. “You know Poppy. Some things just never change. I see that you’re a little giddy as well Y/N.” 

MC raised her glass towards Natty as she grinned widely. She did not deny her friend’s statement. Natty raised her own glass and muttered cheers.

“How are you holding up?” Natty asked quietly. MC had been expecting her friend to finally ask her more about the current events now that they were both alone. Before answering, she finished the rest of her drink. The bartender spared her a glance and started to make another drink without being asked. 

“I actually got my job back. I got a letter this morning,” she told her, trying to move the subject away from Sebastian all together. 

“What a relief! Tell me they apologized as well,” Natty responded, her hand came to rest under her chin as she leaned against the counter. Natty had been kept in the loop with the recent turn of events as MC wallowed in her apartment. 

MC shook her head once with a smile playing on her lips. Natty groaned and shook her head with annoyance. She continued to gaze at MC and finally moved on to what she originally intended to ask her.

“What about.. Sebastian?” Natty asked, she was not going to let MC change the subject. 

MC sighed in defeat and turned to face the friend next to her. She licked her lips and reached for the drink that came floating her way. She brought the drink to her lips as she contemplated. Under the influence of alcohol, she felt more willing to open up to her best friend. 

“I have no clue what is going on. All I know is that the Ministry have stopped searching for him. The letter gave little details about the progress.” 

“He hasn’t tried to contact you, has he?” Natty’s voice dropped to whisper. She was watching MC’s expressions, ready to catch her if she lied. 

MC shook her head in no. She felt her throat tighten, she did look forward to talking about him in the current state she was in. “I doubt he would. Why would he? I am the bloody reason why his life was ruined.” 

Natty said MC’s name and stopped her from continuing. Her eyes were serious. 

“You cannot possibly believe you are at fault Y/N. Are you forgetting that the decision was not yours to make? You were not alone during all of that. And I am sure Ominis would not agree with you.” 

MC shook her head again at Natty’s response. Her grip on the glass tightened as she started to feel the shadow fall over her once more. The shadow was peeking its ugly head as she felt the remorse and guilt build up inside of her. 

“It’s not that easy Natty..” She responded slowly. “I wish I could just turn it off. But I just..” 

MC tapped her temple with her index finger in frustration. “I think I am just delirious. My mental state has not been the best lately.” 

“Tell me what is not easy, please.” 

“I am having a hard time sleeping. It usually wouldn’t be such a bad thing, but..” MC paused before continuing. She could see Natty’s unwavering care and loyalty. MC breathed out before admitting something she had not told anyone.

“I still see Professor Fig,” MC confessed to her friend. “I see him in my sleep. I wonder what he would tell me now with all of this going on.” A bitter laugh left her lips. 

Everything seemed to be pouring out of her as she watched Natty’s expression. She swallowed hard and felt tears forming in her eyes. Natty was concerned now. 

“You told me your nightmares had stopped MC.” 

“I- I do not know how to undo my wrong doings Natty. I cannot move on,” she breathed. 

Natty’s hand reached out and took MC’s drink from her. She stopped her friend from drinking any further. Her expression was full of understanding and concern. Natty moved the glass far from reach and brought her hand to touch her friend’s.

“I don’t want you burdening yourself with unnecessary guilt. Professor Fig was not your fault. And what happened with Sebastian, that is not your fault to take either Y/N. He faced the consequences to his actions. Believe me, my friend. You deserve to live your life without these burdens and learn to forgive yourself.”  

“Forgive myself?” MC repeated in a small voice. She failed to notice the tears were falling down her cheeks. 

Natty tapped her hand against hers in affirmation. Her gaze was intense as she answered. 

“Forgive yourself for not learning how to look after yourself. I know you will learn to let go of these irrational thoughts and stop blaming every single misfortune on yourself. I just hope it is soon.” 

Natty’s hand tightened over MC’s, her gaze not moving away from her. 

“I will be alright Natty,” she told her as she wiped away her cheeks with the back of her hand. Poppy was approaching them once more with a big grin.”I promise.”

Their outing went on for a couple of hours. The mood lightened up as the three talked about other matters that were not trifling to MC’s sanity. MC felt more grateful for her friends as the night went on. Poppy was the closest to being drunk between the 3 of them. She watched as Poppy hugged her sides in laughter as she shook her head at Natty. Natty was smiling and continued to talk for Poopy’s amusement. MC’s smile was unwavering as she looked at her two friends with sad appreciation.

By the time the 3 witches were walking out of the bar, it had gotten late. 

Poppy and Natty insisted on walking MC all the way to her apartment. MC denied their request and told them that her apartment was not far. With bright and loud exclamations, they compromised and walked her down the street. 

With their final goodbyes and loud giggles, MC walked in the direction of her apartment. She passed a couple of bright windows, her mind distracted by the night’s events. She was busy thinking about Poppy was traveling all over the country and saving all kinds of creatures. She did not notice an unknown figure following behind her. 

The person’s face was hidden under a heavy black cloak. The figure followed her at a distance, but he seemed to be closing the distance as MC reached the street she lived in.

MC eventually felt the crawling sensation of being followed. She involuntarily moved her shoulders into a shrug, wanting to brush it off. Was it real? Or was she merely living the side affected of being slightly intoxicated? She did not want to turn around to look out of fear. 

Her throat suddenly felt dry as she saw her apartment building in the distance. There was not a single soul in sight. Most of the windows in her street were dark. She slowed her pace and thought hard on what she should do next. Normally, she would not feel so flustered and hesitant. But she did not have to think long when she purposely stalled in front of a shop. The windows had been recently cleaned and polished. She looked into the glass, waiting for the reflection to catch the light from the lamp post as she walked. 

She caught sight of the figure in the reflection. It was a tall man. She could not make out his build, he had a long cloak and dark boots. She did not manage to stare long enough to gather more details for her advantage. 

That was when she knew she could not go home. Instead, she kept walking down the street. Her shoulders stiffened and her back straightened with a new profound objective. 

She gripped the wand in her pocket and let her features settle in displeasure.

She would make sure that she is no longer followed once and for all. 

… *… * …

Sebastian waited for 2 weeks. The longer he waited, the more it felt like a game.

With the constant use of polyjuice potion, he moved around the city freely. He made it part of his day to disguise himself as a different person. Whether it was a middle aged wizard or a fish selling vendor, he occupied most of his time blending in with the city inhabitants. This was the first time he had visited London. It felt large and advanced compared to his hamlet. 

Sebastian had stopped by Feldcroft the same night he escaped. He did not know what he had expected, but it had left him feeling hollow and empty. It was completely empty and unoccupied. He had found his uncle’s grave, and to his vexation he could not find Anne’s. He walked around the town, noticing how many new homes and shops had been built since he had been away. He had only roamed around the town for less than an hour before he was gone. His visit to Feldcroft had lead him to London immediately. 

He was not aware of how heavily secured the country’s border would be. But by the lack of Aurors roaming around the city looking for him, he felt that he was over estimating the Ministry. 

He was dangerous and armed. He almost felt insulted by the amount of officers making an effort to look for him. There were so many times where he knew he could have been easily caught. But there was yet to be an altercation between himself and the Ministry. 

They could have fooled him by the amount of headlines he made on almost every morning paper since he escaped. 

He was going through the potion supply much faster than he had wanted. But it was crucial to not be caught lacking. He had been more than fortunate to have picked an old potion master’s home to ransack. As much as he wanted to save some of the last phials of the potion, he knew it could not be helped. What other moment would prove more important? Maybe escaping the country all together. 

That was, once he executed his plan.

Now, his eyes were unmoving as he noticed movement pass by the window below him. He was peering over the edge from the opposite building. Sebastian had a knee against the hard tiled roof. The rain stopped minutes ago. His clothes were wet but he did not feel the cold. He did not feel the cold anymore. Nothing could compare the nights that he almost freezed to death. 

Once Sebastian learned that Ominis and MC were Aurors, he had hoped that they would be ones assigned to hunt him down. But to his trepidation, they had been completely removed from the equation. Instead, Sebastian had been the one to hunt them down. 

Ominis never seemed to be anywhere else but at the Ministry. Sebastian somehow always lost sight of his old friend whenever he finished his shift. Ominis would apparate almost immediately, never idling around or letting his guard down. Whenever he caught sight of him to his surprise, he would be leaving MC’s apartment. 

Sebastian had settled with watching MC. She never seemed to be at the Ministry for whatever reason. He observed her for a couple of hours a day until he managed to create a pattern from her routine. With the consistent amount of Aurors following her, it had been difficult to even get close. There was always some hidden officer under the disillusionment charm watching her home or trailing behind her when she left her apartment.

He had enjoyed revealing the officers that followed her through out the day. He had even sent trip jinxes in their direction. But every single time he exposed the Aurors, they merely apparated on the spot. Sebastian knew that MC had caught on. She stopped leaving her apartment all together. 

The fact that they were carefully watching her confused him. The Ministry seemed to have appointed more officers to watch over MC than they have searching for him. The chance of his capture were growing more dim as the days continued to pass. It felt a little too easy.

He was not sure how far off his opportunity was. But he felt it coming closer. 

And surely enough, he finally caught sight of MC leaving her apartment once again. 

Her back was towards him as Sebastian looked over the ledge. She was walking alone with her hands in her pockets. The sun had already set and he tried to register the dark shade of colors she was wearing. She wore a long coat that stopped at her knees. Her heeled boots peaked under her slacks. She was wearing some fitted suit, he assumed. Her hair was out of its usual bun, it fell right below her shoulders. 

She always had long hair during their time at Hogwarts. He remembered how she loved to wear hand knitted scarves during the colder seasons. They were always a new and interesting color. But as he watched her walk further down the street without hurry, he could not see any of the colorful familiarity in her apparel. 

He had to tell himself once more. She is a complete stranger. 

She was not the person you once remembered. The MC he knew from Hogwarts would never turn him to the Authorities. 

Sebastian gripped the wand between his fingers tightly as he walked. The tiles were soundless under his shoes. He followed her at a distance, waiting for the signs of an officer to appear behind her. 

MC walked for almost 20 minutes before reaching her destination. She stopped by a crowded pub near a bridge. The windows were uniquely arched and colorful. It was difficult to even catch a glimpse through the thickly mosaic material. She disappeared into the noisy building without looking over her shoulder. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, she was not followed. 

With the new found revelation, Sebastian stepped down on to the street. He waited in the shadows, noticing the potion’s affects wearing off. 

Sebastian’s eyes looked over the leaving patrons of the pub. The more people left the bar, the more confirmation he received that the building only had one exit. He watched every single individual until they were out of sight. There were no familiar faces to anchor his growing delirium. He was growing more and more agitated as the hours passed. 

Then at last, MC was leaving the pub. He could see two others walk out with her. Their voices made his insides tense. He recognized the other 2 witches from school immediately as they insisted on walking her home. But they only walked her to the end of the street before leaving her on her own.

He could not afford to feel an ounce of nervousness or hesitation. He was shaking from the anticipation, his moment has finally come. Sebastian knew better than to believe this would be made easy for him. 

When MC finally caught on that she was being followed, she had been walking towards the light of a closing store in the distance. Her body was angled towards that direction, her head unmoving from that direction. She passed her apartment’s door all together. With one abrupt step into the left alley between the apartments, she was fleeing. 

With sharp turns and uneven footing, his ears focused on her movement as he kept up. 

He moved after her, just barely enough to not to lose sight of her. He heard his own breathing growing louder as he chased after her. 

He turned into an isolated alley, no it was still a street. There were countless barrels and boxes that smelled of fish. The buildings to the left stopped where the river started, leaving no outlet. The lamplights closer to the water flickered. When his eyes landed on the empty factory building down on the right, his focus was interrupted by a string of red lights. 

MC was huddled behind the barrels and shot curses in his direction. Sebastian deflected every single one and shot his own curses back. His spells hit the wooden obstacles and the sound of wreckage filled the empty alleyway. MC was successful with predicting every single spark and spell headed her way. She never stopped moving, her poise and expertise was apparent in her stance regardless how intoxicated she was.

The spells they shot in each other’s direction never seemed to hit their target. Everything else seemed to catch the force of their anger, leaving chaos everywhere they headed. 

Sebastian restrained himself ftom muttering the words he wanted to use for those long minutes. When finally, he felt an electric sensation course through the ground. He ducked quickly and dodged the boxes thrown in his direction. He felt the wave of ancient magic in the air and the static vibrated through his body. 

He knew it had only been a matter of time before MC started to use her full abilities. He kept running, dodging, deflecting, until it started to feel endless. He was slowly cornering her down the street. He was tiring her out.

By the time he was painting and sweating, he finally steered her into the area he wanted her in. She was close to the water’s edge near the factory. The amount of energy he spent the past couple of minutes finally made his blood seethe. Enough. 

Sebastian then destroyed the few lamp posts, letting the glass fall on to the ground. The only light in the street was reflected in the river. Sebastian removed the ability to see all together and he welcomed the darkness with familiarity. 

He vaulted over the obstacles until he caught sight of her running figure. She hurried behind more boxes. The sound of MC’s boots running over the broken glass heightened Sebastian’s awareness. 

Sebastian shot the disarming spell at her retreating figure. MC’s pace faltered once she realized she had been disarmed. She turned her head to look in his direction. 

By that moment, Sebastian had reached her. She had been milliseconds away from apparating.

Sebastian gripped her wand in his hand and pushed her back with the other. He pressed her against the wall roughly, feeling her body grow panicked and tense under his hold. Her lithe figure struggled under him until she finally met his gaze. She immediately stopped as she looked at him. 

Sebastian was finally able to truly see MC for the first time in the past 2 weeks.

Her eyes looked darker then he ever remembered. There were shadows in her eyes, ones she never had when she was younger. Her brow still had that stern angle whenever she was stressed or tense. Her skin was once flush and soft but now he could see areas where her skin looked sunken and sharp. 

The ghost that hung over her reminded him of something he knew too well. He had caught sight of it the first time when he had looked in a mirror. A haunted and unsettling wraith that refused to leave you alone. It was almost as if she carried some invisible pain that disabled her from looking truly healthy.

Even after all of this time, he felt his insides turn with the familiarity of her presence.

The longer he looked at her, the more he noticed the ache and longing pile on top of the revenge, hatred, pain, betrayal he already felt. 

“Sebastian..”

Her voice was soft and pained. Her eyes did not move away from his and it was getting harder to move.

He rejected the upcoming confusion from muddling his thoughts. His grip on her tightened once more, suddenly growing aware that his hold had loosened.

He once again felt the instinct to hurt her.

✧

[bigboobyhalo]

As in other cartoons, BadBoyHalo and Foolish Gamers follow certain laws of cartoon physics, peculiar to an animation universe. Some examples:

Animation vs. Reality Mixing: BadBoyHalo has the ability to enter the painted image of a cave, while Foolish cannot (unless there is an opening through which he can fall). Sometimes, however, this is reversed, and BadBoyHalo can burst through a painting of a broken bridge and continue on his way, while Foolish will instead enter the painting and fall down the precipice of the cliff where the bridge is out.

Gravity: sometimes Foolish is allowed to hang in mid-air until he realizes that he is about to plummet into a chasm (a process occasionally referred to elsewhere as BadBoyHaloing or a Foolish Gamers moment). Foolish can overtake rocks (or cannons) which fall earlier than he does, and end up being squashed by them. If a chase sequence runs over the edge of a cliff, BadBoyHalo is not affected by gravity, whereas Foolish will be subject to normal Earth gravity and eventually fall to the ground below. BadBoyHalo can also stand upon a platform suspended in midair (such as a hole cut out from a bridge by Foolish) where gravity instead causes everything but that one cut-out area to plummet to the ground.

BadBoyHalo is able to run fast enough to go through time.

If Foolish uses an explosive (commonly dynamite) that is triggered by a mechanism that is supposed to force the explosive in a forward motion toward its target, the actual mechanism itself will shoot forward, leaving the explosive behind to detonate in Foolish’s face. On occasion, the explosive sometimes explodes either too early or too late with Foolish being caught in the explosion (this gag also appeared in other Minecraft Roleplay series).

Delayed Reaction: (a) a complex apparatus that is supposed to propel an object like a boulder or steel ball forward, or trigger a trap, will not work on BadBoyHalo, but always does so perfectly on Foolish - when he inspects it after its failure to ensnare BadBoyHalo. (b) BadBoyHalo can jump up and down on the trigger of a large animal trap and drink the intended trap trigger apple juice off it and leave unharmed without setting off the trap; but when Foolish places the tiniest droplet of oil on the trigger, the trap snaps shut on him without fail.

On other occasions, Foolish dons an exquisite Acme costume or propulsion device that briefly allows him to catch up to BadBoyHalo, but ultimately always results in him losing track of his proximity to large cliffs or walls, and while BadBoyHalo darts around an extremely sharp turn near a cliff, defying physics, Foolish succumbs to physics and will rocket right over the edge and plummet spectacularly to the ground.

[angelonasher]

[this gets a bit ramble-y heh]

the way i imagine the scars in the life series working would be based on emotional significance

the more emotions based on the death (or maybe not death?) that caused the scar, whether that be stronger emotions or by more people, or both, the more uh dark? obvious? the scar is.

or it can also be based on what that death symbolizes/the significance in the story

so- the winner's final scars would be bolder(? i cannot find right word.) i think it'd be the same with jimmy's last deaths, because it's the canary curse continuing

so uh take an example like explosion scars from Pearl and Scott's last death in double life, where Scott exploded himself and Pearl won. I think Scott's scars would be bolder, both because yeah it's significant for him that he blew himself up, but also for Pearl.

The thing important about that death isn't that Pearl blew up, it's that Scott blew up. Scott doing that is what made Pearl forgive him; it was a very emotional moment for her and significant for the story. But it's not significant because Pearl died, it's because Scott did.

Or take Martyn's winning in limited life. Impulse and Scott's scars would be bolder than Martyn's, because whats unique about him winning is that he betrayed them (probably bolder scars for Scott, considering they were allies from the start). The thing significant about Martyn's winning is Impulse and Scott dying, not Martyn running out of time (however that would scar) or him being /kill-ed if you wanna go with what actually happened and not lore.

And Grian and Scar would probably have bold scars from their 3rd life last deaths, Scar's being the significance of Grian killing him, betraying his day one ally he owed his allegiance to, Grian's being the grief or whatever made him yeet himself off the cliff.

Make sense?

Or when Ren got beheaded in 3rd life. Bold scar, definitely. I didn't watch much of 3rd life or either of their povs, but from what i understand it was kind of a trust thing? Ren was putting trust in Martyn as his hand, Martyn was showing his allegiance to Ren, it marked the red winter beginning, it was an extremely significant event for them, the whole server, and story. I think that scar would be very bold.

Jimmy's last death in 3rd life prob would be bolder than his other last deaths, at least in my general headcannons, since in my brain/lore/headcannon it was that first time being the first one out that sealed his canary curse.

Also, Skizz's last death in 3rd life- apparently that has lore that the death being such a bloody/hectic(?) death was the birth of the boogeyman curse (hence the reason the curse wasn't there in double life or why Skizz has never been the boogey), and given that the boogeyman is so significant in the seasons it is present, that would prob be a bold scar.

In my headcannon, the eye scar Pearl had in her Scarlet/5am Pearl skin represented the separation between her and Scott. So, whether or not she did that herself in bitterness or got it because her soulmate wasn't there to defend her, it sort of was a visual representation (and a non-death scar)of that plot point everyone loves.

(I imagine they both got glass eyes after that season, and Pearl removed hers when being 5am Pearl in limited life for the spooky effect. i refuse to believe Scott didn't get a scar bcuz hello they were linked also empires s2)

I can't really speak too much about scars given that i definitely need to watch more povs of the life series (last-life im so sorry i know so little about you) but uh yeah. ✨headcannons✨

[bismuthupmy]

Nothing Hurts | Leon x Luis RE4

Chapter 4 | 5.2k

The story of tragic righteousness where nobody is hurt and everything is perfect. Except nothing is perfect in hell.

A re-imagining of the events of the Resident Evil 4 remake where Luis and Leon get the ending they deserved.

——————————————————————————————————

Wow this ones a big boy compared to the others- I got carried away and accidentally wrote too much but I didn’t want to halve it so here it is! :)

Ch.1

——————————————————————————————————

Leon came to with a jolt as the sun was dipping below the trees on the hills. His head pulsed and his body ached where he had landed. He muttered curses as pulled himself back up and onto the seat grabbing at his arms before realising where he was. The taste of blood lingered in his mouth as he just sat there for a minute. The boat was slowly filling up with water which had soaked his left side. Pulling on the motor string, Leon forces it to work again and speeds off towards the boathouse hopefully before the boat sinks and he becomes fully soaked. 

He made it just in time, the boat gurgling as it sunk into the lake. The boathouse was dark because of the lack of light making it into the valley, meaning he must’ve been out for a good few hours. Leon mentally slapped himself for wasting so much time. He patched through to Hunnigan. She was probably worried he fucking died.

“Condor One to roost,” he called in. “Do you read me?”

Hunnigan immediately picked up, as was her job, but she was frantic.

“Condor One!? You’ve been radio silent for three hours. Are you alright?”

Three hours. Shit. 

“Yeah…  I’m fine. Won't let it happen again.”

Hunnigan sighed, “And the church?”

“Still looking for whatever ‘key’ I need.”

“Copy that,” a pause. “I’m glad you’re ok. Roost out.”

Leaving the boathouse Leon was met with a near pitch black forest, having to pull out his flashlight. Night exploration was a pain because you couldn’t see anything and the torchlight was a beacon for enemies. There was no one immediately in the vicinity but as Leon approached a bottleneck in the road, chanting could be heard. Crouching down through a rocky crevice, Leon quietly stalked up to the voices. He could see shadows of two people against the stone cliff beside him, cast from a fire or candles around the corner he couldn’t see. As he got closer the chanting got more frantic. One of the villagers yelled and its shadow convulsed, its head exploding with something erupting from it. Leon cringed as he saw some of the blood spatter from around the corner and long fleshy tentacles whipping around. What the fuck?  He moved forward slowly again, stepping on a large stick, however, which snapped loudly. The villagers up ahead were alerted and stumbled his way. The first villager that emerged from around the corner was the one with the weird fleshy mound for a head, tendrils lashing out towards his direction.

Leon stood up to take aim and shot a few rounds into the guy's head. It didn’t die though which concerned him. The second villager came around the corner and Leon decided to take him out first. Within the same amount of shots it was dead but immediately started convulsing on the floor. Leon couldn’t get to it to knife it dead dead either because he was blocked in by the… twisty guy. 

The villager on the floor’s head exploded then and another fleshy head replaced it, the same as the other guy. Leon groaned.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Deciding to just save his ammo and not bother with fighting these guys, Leon pulled out a flash grenade to stun them and run past. He covered his eyes and prepared for the flash as the grenade went off. Except the flash pierced his eyes through the cracks left by his arm, causing his head to sear in pain as he dropped to one knee, ears ringing. He shook his head to get rid of the fuzziness, looking up to see the two villagers lying dead on the floor, the fleshy heads having disintegrated and left a soggy puddle on the ground. 

“What the fuck?” Leon huffed, standing up straight again. “Twisty sons of bitches.”

Jogging past the dead bodies, Leon continued along the path. He had a key to look for and Ashley wasn’t getting any safer in that church if she hadn’t been taken away by now already. The path led into a cave which then opened out into a small room off to the side. In the room was an altar between two large hand statues. 

“Some kind of shrine?” Leon muttered as he got closer. On the wall between the statues was a symbol. “Same mark from the church.”

Yep this was the church key. It was held together by mini stone hands which Leon assumed that the larger statues had something to do with it. On the far wall was a map with two locations marked on it. He may have said finding information was easy but applying the information was not.

Finding the first stone key was fairly straight forward. Leon followed the cave system through a loop and used another convenient boat around the corner, taking out villagers as he went. As soon as he got up to the caged up head, Leon inspected the stone tablet with several buttons and realised he needed to be looking out for symbols. So back he went, scanning the walls of the cave for hastily scrawled symbols on the walls and made it back to the key. He imputed the symbols and the gate opened loudly. Leon was faced with a weird demon looking statue with a suspicious line running around its neck and figured he just had to lift the head off its perch. 

The head, once disconnected, spurted blood coloured liquid which leaked all over his hand. Leon grimaced with disgust, shaking as much of the liquid off as he could, not really wanting to find out what it was and especially not  being stuck with it on his pants.

He returned to the room with the church key and placed the stone head onto one of the hands. Half of the mini hands holding the church key twisted and released the key. Now he just needed to make it back across the lake.

Before heading off, Leon leaned down over the edge of the dock and dipped his hand in the river, washing off the blood. He looked around the cavern, spying the other end of the merchant’s workshop. The church key could wait for a moment, he was running low on supplies. 

He steered the boat to the lower platform and climbed up to meet the merchant. The same scruffy British voice greeted him. 

“Hello there, stranger. Care to run an errand for me? Or two ha ha.” Leon leaned on the desk nearby, picking out supplies he needed.

“What errands?” “Need an egg. A gold one. I’ll pay you handsomely for one of them buggers. That or I need three snakes.

Leon scoffed, “I’m not going out searching for snakes in the wilderness.” “You’d be surprised how many of them end up in bloody crates, ha. Chicken egg it is.” Leon restocked up on ammo and invested in some more first aid spray while he was there. It was the exact same stuff the American government had packed him with except the text was all in Spanish of course.

“So,” Leon reloaded his weapons absently. “What’s so special about the gold ones? Can you even find them?”

“You have yet to witness the power of a gold chicken egg, eh? Nothing much. It's gold.” “Seriously?” Leon looked at him incredulously. Was he really about to go out of his way to find just a funky looking egg.

“No. But I can't have you running off with my egg if I tell you what they can really do, am I right?” Leon shook his head and started back for his boat, the merchant calling back to him, “Thanks, mate!”

─•~❉᯽❉~•──•~❉᯽❉~•──•~❉᯽❉~•──•~❉᯽❉~•─

Leon took the boat out to the other side of the lake, speeding through another cave before coming to a stop at a tower looking construct. There weren’t any people lurking around which put Leon somewhat at ease. He didn't bother to check if the door down the bottom was open or not and began another climb and search of strange painted symbols on various surfaces. Leon absently wondered how the hell someone managed to paint up on stalactites but there wasn’t any time to worry about it because he made it to the key code to the door. Three more symbols were imputed and the gate opened. Leon grabbed the head, careful of the splash of blood that came with it and descended down the tower to check out the lower room. Maybe there was some treasure he could collect. Damn that merchant and turning Leon into a treasure freak.

On his way back across the lake, Leon spotted another light to his left. There was another flat area beneath the hills that was fenced off. He decided to check it out and upon closer inspection the land was a chicken coop. Might as well go search for that chicken egg the merchant wanted. He wasn't planning on doing it in the first place but he was here now and  he wouldn’t pass up the chance to gather some dinner.

Leon searched around the coop, walking laps in circles, startling chickens left and right, picking up a few normal eggs for later as well. Just as he was going to give up and move on, he spotted a flash of gold out the corner of his eye. There lying on the ground, nestled between hay and mud, was a golden chicken egg. Leon chuckled in disbelief, rubbing a hand down his face. A fucking gold chicken egg. Leon picked it up and headed back to the cave that held the key for the church and the reward he was going to get for this egg.

The second stone head was placed on the other hand statue, fully unlocking the circular key. Leon tucked the key away safely and headed back to the merchant’s safe house. The first thing Leon did was place the golden chicken egg on the merchant's table, startling the man awake from a nap. 

“I didn’t expect you to actually do it,” the merchant smirked, taking the egg and hiding it away somewhere. 

“Yeah, well, it  was on the way,” was all Leon said, not wanting to clue the merchant in that he was somewhat now addicted to finding treasures. 

“Thanks for the help, stranger. Your payment.” A few purple crystals were placed into Leon’s hand. He looked at them and then at the merchant perplexed. 

“Spinels. Special currency. Some things money just can't buy. Take a look.” The merchant slid over to another section of his little store, pointing out “special” stock. Leon pocketed the spinels, deciding to spend them on something that would actually be useful for later instead of a few jewels or gunpowder he could find elsewhere. He could never tell what expression the merchant had but he vaguely thought he caught disappointment on the other man’s face when he left. 

“See ya later, then.” Leon waved over his shoulder, making sure that the church key was secure in one of his pouches preparing for the jog back to the church. He wanted to get to Ashley as soon as possible. Having the church key himself reassured him that she must still be there but that didn't mean she was safe.

The night brought rain, the clearing Leon passed through empty of any crows that he found everywhere else during the previous day. The gate where Leon entered was mysteriously locked up with no clear way of opening it which would be a real hindrance to his mission if he couldn't find a way back. Leon grumbled and returned back to the clearing, deciding to go back and ask the merchant about it when a ground rumbling roar came from the other side of the area. Another gate dropped, blocking the way back to the merchant, something big battering against the solid gate beside it. He was locked in an arena. He looked up to see a figure cloaked in red distorted by the rain.

The big creature bashed through, revealing a massive ugly troll looking monster. Maybe he had been too cocky when he’d mentioned the massive weapon earlier and he hoped the creature wasn't smart enough to go find it. 

The giant’s arms sweeped for him, Leon ducking under it and scrambling to get behind and to the other side of the arena. He pulled out his rifle and aimed for its head. The giant seemed to feel pain as it howled and angrily charged towards Leon, however he was going to take a lot of effort. Leon spent most of this time running for clear ground and getting shots in where he could. 

The giant roared again, paying Leon no mind as he shot at him, making a beeline for one of the sheds that lined the edges of the arena. Leon lowered his weapon. 

“Surely not.” Surely yes. The giant ripped the house out of the ground and launched it in Leon's direction. He barely managed to jump out of the way of its path, stumbling in the mud. The giant made wide sweeping motions with its arms again, Leon diving out of the way as quickly as possible. The rain made the earth slippery, his hair sticking to his face and in his eyes making things all the more difficult.

Leon could vaguely hear howling in the distance over the pouring rain, sighing to himself. He wasnt going to deal with rabid wolves in addition to a fucking troll. Behind him he heard snarling and barking. He whipped around and up on the higher ledges of the hills around the arena was the wolf he had saved earlier.

“Hey, it’s that dog.”

The wolf jumped down, running circles around the troll, distracting it. While it was a welcome relief from the stress for Leon, the troll was chasing the wolf with its eyes round and round in circles so he couldn't get a good shot in. The wolf darted out of the way of a swooping grasp and dove back in, teeth latching onto the giant’s heel causing it to howl. Out of it’s back, emerged a slimy worm looking thing, not unlike the twisty fuckers he’d seen earlier. 

“You got worms too?” He pulled out his rifle and trained it on the worm, hitting it a couple of times, bringing the giant to its knees. He rushed up to it, knife in hand, and scaled the giant to slash at the exposed weak spot. He got a few slashes in before he was bucked off and the giant regained its strength. Now that he knew how to defeat this thing the game was on.

The dog circled the giant again which angered it more. The giant reared back its leg before striking the dog, kicking it back several feet. Leon’s heart dropped for a second but the dog got back up. The giant ignored the barking and the shower of bullets into its back that Leon was hoping would draw out the worm again. It grabbed onto a second house bracing to lift it. Leon swiftly shot at the giant’s hand which caused it to drop the house it was holding onto its feet. Apparently splitters were enough for the worm to emerge again so Leon continued to attack the weak spot. The giant eventually tumbled again and Leon slashed at the worm. Soon enough the giant howled and threw Leon off it which sent him sprawling into the mud. 

The giant hollered and crumbled to the ground one last time. Leon dropped his shoulders in relief, covered in mud with the rain quickly washing it off. The gates around the arena opened again letting him out. 

“God damn,” Leon breathed shakily, looking down at the dead troll in relief. “I was almost a pancake. I simply must tell god about this one.”

He was about to leave for the church when the barking of the wolf caught his attention. Glancing back up to the ledges, the wolf was laying out panting. He looked up at it with a small smile.

“Thanks bud.” He journeyed back to the old church.

─•~❉᯽❉~•──•~❉᯽❉~•──•~❉᯽❉~•──•~❉᯽❉~•─

The church was still quiet when he made it back, no villagers around for now luckily for him. Leon placed the church key in the gate and like hands on a clock it spun, triggering the poles to drop. The door behind the gate was open and he was finally inside. 

“Ashley Graham? I’m here to help!”

The main room was doused in colourful light from the moonlight outside shining through the stained glass window above the altar. Ashley wasn't anywhere on the first floor after exploring but there was a locked gate to the side of the main chapel area. 

Inspecting the altar he found a puzzle which required an extra piece which was easily found in the church. The stained glass had to be rearranged in a certain orientation which was really not that difficult to figure out. Seems like they had exhausted all their time in hiding the main key to bother with any more meaningful security measures. The gate clicked to the side and Leon went through, climbing to the second floor. There was a long corridor which wrapped all the way around the church but it wasnt a loop so he wouldn’t be able to miss her.

“Ashley, you in there?”

Leon came up to a door on the left. He opened it up cautiously waiting for something to jump out at him. Sure enough a high pitched grunt and a candlestick came crashing towards him. He quickly dodged the candlestick, finally finding the young girl holding it. 

“Just let me go,” Ashley pleaded. Leon had to admire the girl’s strength because they candlestick certainly looked a little worse for wear. Ashley swung gthe candlestick at him again to which he easy caught it.

“Hey, easy with that!” He tossed the candlestick away which in hindsight might have been too aggressive as the girl looked absolutely terrified. He didn't approach her, instead taking a step back to appear less menacing. “My name's Leon. I’m here on the president’s orders to-”

Ashley ran at the opportunity as Leon stepped backwards leaving a gap for her to dash out of the room. Leon sighed. Yep, definitely a bit too aggressive. 

“That went well,” he muttered to himself, following after Ashley. She hadn’t run towards the exit so he hadn’t lost her yet. He quickly walked to the front of the church on the second level, seeing Ashley looking out the floor to ceiling window. 

“Hey. It’s dangerous outside,” Ashley ignored him and continued to stare out the window. They needed to leave now and Leon was starting to get a little more urgent. “You need to listen to me-” “What is that? Over there?” she interrupted him, pointing out to a hoard of villagers approaching the church. A sharp ringing pierced Leon's ears as he and Ashley grimaced.

Pursue them. The lost lambs are escaping. Deliver unto them… Salvation.

The piercing pain let up and Leon turned to Ashley earnestly.

“Your father trusts me,” He looked her directly in the eyes. “And I need  you to trust me too, and do exactly as I say. I’m gonna get you home safe.”

Tears began to well up in Ashley’s eyes but she held them back with a brave face and a nod.

“Ok…Ok, Leon.”

Leon turned just as the villagers entered the church's lower floor. He crouched down to avoid being seen, gesturing to Ashley to do the same. “Alright. Let’s get the hell  out of here,” Leon muttered to which Ashley eagerly  agreed. Leon signalled to her to follow him and they made their way around to another ladder which led to the top floor. Leon stayed crouched on the ground and waved over to Ashley.

“I’ll boost you up. Get the ladder.” Ashley nodded hesitantly and climbed onto his shoulders as he hoisted her up to the next platform. Ashley pulled herself up, turning around to drop the ladder down for Leon to climb up behind her. Leon took the lead again, searching the attic for any way out. He came across a window which overlooked a lower ledge below easy enough to get down to. Leon climbed up onto the window sill, Ashley gasping from behind him. Leon dropped down and Ashley rushed to the window to see if he was alright. Leon looked back up at her, completely fine, waving her down.

“No way-”

“It’s ok. I’ve got you.” Ashley began to protest before thinking better of it. Leon surely knew what he was doing. She jumped up to sit on the edge of the windowsill before jumping over, arms crossed over her chest and eyes shut tightly. She landed with a small yelp in Leon’s arms, heart hammering from the free fall.

“You alright?” Leon let her down and helped steady her until she nodded slowly. Leon jumped off the ledge up ahead, glancing back at Ashley as she climbed down the ladder like a sane person, calling Hunnigan to report in.

“Roost, I’ve secured Baby Eagle.”

“Copy that,” came Hunnigan’s pleased reply. “Is she ok?”

“Affirmative.” “Good job, Condor One. I’ll dispatch a chopper ASAP”

Hunnigan quickly typed into her computer, the clicking of the keys audible through the comms, “I’m  sending you the coordinates for the extraction point. Make your way there. And don't let anything happen to Baby Eagle.”

“Copy that.”

“Hurry, the weather is getting worse. Roost out.”

Leon led Ashley around the side of the church, signalling her to crouch down as they snuck past villagers in the courtyard. Leon halted them behind a large rock watching stray villagers wander into the church. They managed to slip out through the gates and into the graveyard but were met with another hoard of villagers. 

“Stay close to me!” Leon tried weaving the two of them through the graveyard, avoiding the most threatening group of oncomers. “What is wrong with these people!” Ashley cried, keeping low to avoid the grabbing hands of the villagers. They ran through a tunnel, heading back towards the village centre through the town hall. The extraction point was nearby but they couldn’t get anywhere with a hoard on their trail. Leon was hoping they could lose them somewhere deeper in the village. 

More angry villagers blocked their path in the centre, Leon hastily pulling out his shotgun to thin out the crowd enough for them to run, “Spread out!” Ashley ducked behind a nearby house as Leon took out a few of the villagers, calling out to her again to follow him as they ran by the outskirts of the square. They ran through the farm again, jumping over the paddock fence to loop around the oncomers. They made it to the bridge, villagers hot on their tail when Leon noticed the gate to the house up ahead was open. He remembered it was locked shut. The door burst open and Luis waved them over urgently.

“Hey! Over here!” His voice was drowned out by the rain but  Leon got the idea and led Ashley into the villa, closing the gate behind him. Ashley heaved beside him, trying to catch her breath. He put a hand on her shoulder in reassurance before turning back to Luis. 

“You,” Leon stalked towards Luis, the other seeing the anger in his gait and quickly put his hands up in surrender.

“Hey, listen. About earlier, I-”

“Yeah about that,” Leon grabbed Luis by the shirt and shoved him into the wall. Luis’ face contorted in pain for a moment before he glanced to the side. Leon followed his gaze.

“Heyyy. I see you found your missing señorita.”

Ashley seemed to have regained her breath and joined them over at the wall,  a scowl over her face.

“The señorita has a name, and it's Ashley,” she sassed, not taking any shit from a random guy. “And you are?”

Luis smiled, “Name’s Luis. Encantado.”

“Great. We all have names. Now then-” Leon shoved Luis harder into the wall to draw his attention back. “Who are you?  And what’re you doing here?”

Luis chuckled, “Very good questions, unfortunately…”

He tipped his head towards the gate Leon had shut where the villagers had broken in. Leon let go of Luis to get a closer look before turning back to Ashley, “Hide. Now!”

Ashley frantically looked around the villa for somewhere to hide, all previous confidence gone, until Luis spoke up, kneeling beside an overturned wardrobe.

“In that case, here, help me.”

Leon  joined him in the wardrobe and helped Luis lift it up just enough for Ashley to crawl outside. He nodded to the hole in the wall for her to go but noticed her hesitance.

“Go,” he urged, watching Ashley finally crawl under the wardrobe before dropping it back down. With Ashley safe he could now focus on the villagers searching for them. Leon peeked out through the window at the hoard, sizing it up. Luis joined him on the other side, gun raised.

“Ok. It’s game time.”

Leon ran around the room, picking up any loot or ammo that he could find, pocketing it and a few grenades. Luis kept talking, however, and Leon couldn't tell if he just wasn't taking this seriously or if he was just a nervous rambler.

“Hordes of them against two of us,” he flitted around the room dramatically. “Oh, and let's not forget — this mob is made up of monsters.”

The villagers had made it to the windows now and had smashed them in, claiming through. 

“You done warming up? Hope you stretched!”

Leon shot a few of them as they attempted to get inside, knocking them back outside and into the mud. Luis was lagging slightly, boarding up one of the windows to the side. More and more piled up at the windows. Leon quickly grabbed a bookcase and slid it across, simultaneously smashing a villagers skull as well as narrowing down the entry points. The bookcase didn't hold up for long and soon enough a few villagers made it inside. Leon shuffled up the staircase for a vantage point on the villagers before deciding to check out the top floor. He found a few more boards upstairs he could use so he dropped back down to the bottom floor.

“Cover me!” Leon called to Luis, who grunted in acknowledgement, while he boarded up the last two windows. The last few villagers were taken out when they heard knocking up on the top floor.

Running up, the thing that concerned Leon was that they had gotten a hold of  ladders and lent them up against the house. If they couldn't get in through the bottom floor why not  try the top right? Leon kicked down the ladders, taking the villager climbing up with it when he heard yet another crashing sound followed by an unwelcome roar.

Looking to the lower floor, Leon saw the bull headed man run to the staircase, having broken through the window and letting in a whole bunch more of the villagers. Groaning in frustration Leon readied one of his grenades and chucked it to the base of  the stairs killing the villagers on impact but leaving the bull man. At least it had thinned the crowd.

More ladders were propped up against the second floor windows but Leon found himself busy holding off the bull man. He looked to Luis to try to signal to him to knock them back down for him but he too was caught up in a swarm. Leon narrowly dodged the big hammer swung right for his head but in the process was grabbed from behind by another villager. He struggled against the arms  but the bull man was quicker, raising its hammer again. A shot to the head from behind stunned the bull man and a second shot to the villager restraining Leon allowed him to quickly duck away with an appreciative nod in Luis’s direction.

They were caged in, the ladder and the staircase to the lower level not an option anymore with villagers closing in. Another bang.

“Leon! This way, hurry!”

Ashley stood in another doorway having pushed open the door. Leon wasted no time running through the hoarde, Luis in front of him, finally escaping the house. They ran across the bridge, villagers right behind them until they got past a gate. Looking around Leon spotted the wheel mechanism holding the gate up and shot it, causing it to drop and block the path. 

The three of them leaned against the walls of the portcullis, breathing deeply. Ashley’s coughing and choking caught Leon’s attention.

“Ashley-”

She was shaking and still coughing wetly as she held out her hand in front of her. It was covered in blood.

“Whats- What’s happening to me?”

Leon wasn’t sure what to do in a situation like this. He wasn’t a doctor but he knew coughing up blood was bad. He paid no attention when he did it but f Ashley was hurt-

“Ashley,” Luis gently held onto  her bloody hand, his expression grim but it looked like he knew something they didn't. “Is this the first time you’ve coughed up blood like this?”

Right, Luis worked for Umbrella. Surely he’d know what was going on. Ashley nodded at the question.

“You wanna start explaining?” Leon demanded.

Luis took a few steps backwards, “the cry, the blood — it’s caused by something called a… ‘plaga’.”

Leon frowned. That was definitely a lot more intense than he was expecting. Not quite fully understanding, Leon and Ashley just looked at Luis.

“Ok,” luis walked back over to the gate, vaguely gesturing to behind it. “You saw those ‘people’, right? Well, you have the same thing inside you. The same thing that made them like that.”

Leon looked down in thought. Sure he’d survived zombie apocalypses but he’d never had to deal with being infected. This added a whole new layer of complexity to the mission now.

“This,” Luis continued. “What you’re experiencing, these symptoms… They’re only the beginning.”

Ashley began to panic, her voice shaking, “I don't want to become like them.”

“You are, well, lucky,” Luis reassured her. ‘You see, at this early stage the parasite — the plaga. It is possible to remove it with a surgical procedure.”

Parasite. Not even a virus. Leon supposed that made things easier, though he hated to think what the American government would do to him and Ashley if they got hands on the parasite. Luis was being slow on the information and Leon needed him to just get straight to the point.

“And all you need is some know-how. And, oh yeah — the right equipment.”

Luis spun around, pulling away the neckline of his shirt revealing a long jagged scar across his chest. Leon shook his head in frustration and confusion.

“Wait. You too?”

“No worries. See. I have a plan. But you’re going to have to trust me.”

Luis spread his arms out cockily. The bastard knew that they had no choice but to trust him and he was toying with them. Leon sighed and nodded at him. Luis beamed with a clap of victory.

“Great! I guess you wouldn’t mind extra company then?”

——————————————————————————————————

I really didnt know how to really describe the… worm heads of the guadañas soooo fleshy mound 👍 I used that phrase once i think and i also think never again.

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[erabundus]

@avaere &&. said... ' where did your common sense go ? ' from tighnari ! ... who is being -- well , himself ( sadly )

his  ears  are  ringing  so  LOUDLY,  he  barely  registers  the  forest  watcher's  question.  ren  opens  his  eyes  —  only  to  immediately  regret  it  as  the  smoke  causes  them  to  burn.  his  head  hurts.  not  in  any  way  he  can't  handle  (  for  his  PAIN  TOLERANCE  stretches  beyond  human  comprehension  )  but  it's  surely  irritating  nonetheless.  a  steady  throb  that  curls  around  his  skull.  where  is  his  kasa  —  ?  another  fleeting  peek  through  blurry  eyes  rewards  the  wanderer  with  a  glimpse  of  gold  and  blue.  it  lays  in  the  grass,  tassels  twisted  and  curled  like  the  bodies  of  two  large  snakes.  that's  a  relief;  it  would  be  irritating  if  he  lost  it.

❝  ...  ugh.  ❞   he  mumbles  eloquently,  then  tries  to  sit  up.  dizziness  immediately  slams  into  him  like  a  wave;  he  has  to  grit  his  teeth  and  fight  to  keep  his  head  above  the  surface.  something  wet  trickles  down  the  wanderer's  face.  blood  —  remarkably  human  in  appearance,  yet  TOO  COLD  to  spill  from  the  veins  of  a  living  thing.  a  quick  brush  through  his  hair  has  him  withdrawing  a  hand  streaked  in  vibrant  red.  rubbing  his  fingers  together,  ren  grimaces  at  the  sight.  he  hates  headwounds;  they  always  bleed  more  than  anything  nonfatal  rightly  should,  and  they're  such  a  hassle  to  clean.  his  body  may  come  equipped  with  the  capacity  to  regenerate  from  any  injury,  but  that  does  little  to  contend  with  THE  MESS.  (  he  only  hopes  his  clothes  aren't  dirty;  it's  hard  to  check.  )  ❝  that  wasn't  my  brightest  moment.  ❞   the  wanderer  admits.  or  rather,  he  assumes  —  it  takes  several  seconds  before  he  can  dredge  up  what  happened  from  the  syrupy  mess  of  his  muddled  thoughts.

an  exploding  barrel,  he  thinks.  he  hadn't  seen  it  —  and  must  have  DETONATED  IT  in  his  carelessness.  ordinarily  that  wouldn't  be  much  of  a  problem,  yet  ren  distinctly  recalls  being  AIRBORNE  at  the  time.  he's  far lighter  than  a  human  of  his  size  reasonably  should  be;  it  was  probably  quite  a  sight.  (  embarrassing,  and  deservedly  so.  )  looking  up,  ren  ignores  how  his  head  swims  with  vertigo.  there's  a  cliff  to  his  back,  its  rocky  surface  rough  and  jagged.  that  would  explain  his  injuries  —  and  why  he  hadn't  been  tossed  far  enough  to  land  in  liyue.

exhaling  a  soft  huff,  he  allows  his  head  to  hang  —  a  gesture  that  ironically  evokes  the  image  of  a  puppet  whose  strings  have  been  unceremoniously  SLICED  clean  through.  he  can't  see  their  attackers  around,  so  the  wanderer  can  only  assume  they  were  either  blown  away  in  the  blast ...  or  his  companion  fought them off  while  he  was  unconscious.  fine  by  him;  what  zest  he  had  to  fight  has  RUN  DRY  for  the  time  being.  ❝  just  give  me  a  minute.  ❞  ren  mutters.  ❝  i'm  pretty  sure  i'll  live.  ❞   his  body  will  heal,  and  he's  certain  he  can  come  up  with  AN  EXCUSE  to  justify  his  miraculous  recovery  —  as  soon  as  his  head  stops  pounding  long  enough  to  allow  a  coherent  thought  to  slip  through  the  cracks.  it's  irritating  to  admit,  but  he's  still  quite  new  to  using  his  vision;  this  isn't  a  situation  he's  ever  encountered  before  —  certainly  not  in  his  past  life,  wherein  his  fighting  style  wasn't  nearly  so ...  airborne.  embarrassing.  embarrassing.  embarrassing.  trial  and  error  is  a  tedious  enough  process  without  an  audience  to  witness  his  mistakes.

MORBID CURIOSITY