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hiraya-rawr · 1 year

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so i betrayed you, my love– (2/5)

Xiao Version || Childe Version || Thoma Version || Gorou Version || Ayato Version

synopsis !! Part 2 of “You Were The Enemy All Along” featuring the aftermath of betrayal and confrontation, with more depth to their stories! (Part 1 of each character was also included to make reading convenient.)

contains !! some character lore spoilers / a little violence / dialogue heavy in some scenes / reconciliation but also complicated relationships mending together / cameos of other characters! / might be easier to understand if you knew the lore of the characters

notes !! This was commissioned by the wonderful @mh8 who allowed this to be posted in public for everyone to enjoy! and honestly childe scares me to write bc I've barely written anything for him but I tried to bring out his charm? idk 😭

CHILDE

wc !! 2.4k

The noisiest of them all. He doesn't understand at first, tries to deny it by making jokes. The prank is up, what are you still doing? It's only when your betrayal becomes painfully obvious does he allow himself to laugh. It's ironic to be surprised coming from his line of work. He should really be used to these things.

"If you're this desperate for a fight, you could have just said so," He laughs, "Though, I warn you comrade, I won't hold back this time." It's so easy to drown in the adrenaline of battle and if he doesn't think hard enough, it feels no different than any of your usual spars together. There's a battle crazed look in his eyes at the thought of not holding back with you, but it's odd how numb he feels as Foul Legacy takes over.

Whether or not he wins the fight, the result remains the same; with him lying in the middle of the battlefield, mask still on, staring blankly upwards. He thinks of the abyss he fell into as a child, and briefly wonders when did it all go wrong.

— Before Him

You sighed in relief, a long day of training was finally coming to an end. Dottore was not an easy harbinger to be a rookie under; aside from the harsh training requirements of a Fatui Agent, you also had to deal with a lunatic scientist for a mentor. You were lucky enough to have the doctor more distracted on conducting his experiments rather than training fresh meat like you.

You leaned against a wall. You were in an isolated, snowy village, a mile away from the nearest Fatui training ground. It existed quietly, the villagers were as cold as Snezhnaya in that barren wasteland. You knocked twice on the concrete behind you, then an additional four times, then once more.

“Agent (Name), report.” A voice muffles from behind the wall, a figure you can't see.

“Pulcinella adopted a strange boy. . . He's coded as Childe. They say he fell into the abyss. He's quite strong, we've only sparred once but I know there's something off with him.”

“Hmm. A peculiar new recruit. I've heard from the other agents.” Muttered the figure of the shadows. He doesn't talk much. You know it's to keep identities hidden and to avoid letting you know too much lest you get caught and the information forced out of you (and believe me, the information will be forced out of you).

“You think he could rise in the ranks? Perhaps become a general or diplomat?” You question quietly.

“I think he could be the next Harbinger.”

A sharp intake of breath, surprised. A Harbinger. The next and possibly youngest one after so long.

“Continue your work. Do what you believe is best for our organization. Leave any files you found useful under the gap.” Were his last orders before hearing the footsteps walk away. Work was never easy; you dealt with loneliness most of the time. The only comfort was when an ill-reputed plan of the Fatui failed, knowing it was only possible through your contributions and warnings. For every plan you thwarted was a step closer to revealing your identity and getting killed for it.

Yes, you're prepared. You've been preparing for it ever since you joined the Fatui.

With a sigh, you went back to the training grounds.

— With Him

There’s a reason why Diluc Ragnvindr survived the hunt by the Harbingers when he sought out revenge in Snezhnaya. That should have been the first red flag for Childe. You were transferred early under his platoon, just when he was solidifying his position as a Harbinger. You were the subordinate he sent out to represent the 11th and, having the approval of Dottore (The old geezer, what a wack. Should he really be trusting a mad scientist? Childe questions this everyday) he trusted you enough to do your job.

Yet, the winery-heir-slash-fatui-serial-murderer escaped Snezhnaya with the help of those damned underground pests they've been trying to get rid of. Honestly, Childe could care less about the guy— if anything, he was immensely excited to try and pick a fight with him! But it still hurt his pride that one of his early missions as a Harbinger didn't turn out well. He needed to prove himself to the Tsaritsa after all! If not to at least make Pulcinella proud.

Going back to you.

It was always him and you; you and him ever since you transferred; sparring blade against blade. It was easy to get along when you were one of the only trainees close to his age, even easier when you managed to keep up with him in everything, bloodlust and all.

You were his match and he was yours, or so he believed.

“Say, why did Dottore transfer you anyway? Did you get kicked out, pissed him off somehow?” Childe once asked, boots scraping the ground as he dodges an attack from you flawlessly. Despite Dottore’s rather crazed way of managing his platoon, agents were given a handful of benefits for being under a high ranking Harbinger with a budget larger than the others (Experiments don't pay themselves, you know!).

You huff, a little tired from the onslaught of keeping him entertained in battle, “No, didn't he tell you? I requested for transfer.”

“Oh really? What, did the good looks of a new Harbinger catch your eye?” He teases, going on the offensive once more as he sprints to slash his blade. You block it with yours, trying to push him back with force. When he does pull back, getting pushed a few meters away as hir boots skid on snow, you scoff.

“Good looks? If that were the case, I would have transferred to–”

He immediately sprints ahead again, blade nearly catching you off guard as you block the attack.

“Aww come-” Slash. Block. “-on! Don't tell me you're not-” Kick. Jump. “-even a little bit enraptured by-” Hit. Block. “-me?” He huffs heavily, finally catching your eye as your blade stays on his, pushing each other back with all your strength.

“Hmp. Must you be so arrogant?” You strain out, matching his force before– “Maybe. . . maybe just a little bit.” You avert your gaze at the very moment he catches sunlight in your eyes. Childe pauses, his grip on the blade loosens momentarily at your admittance. You take the chance— kicking his stomach back with force as he skids across the training ground, the sword clattering on the ground.

“Does this mean I won?” You giggle, your weapon still in your hand as he looks at you from where he crouches, a smile on your face.

Maybe it's the butterflies that erupted in his stomach, but he laughs out loud. Childe wonders to himself; Is this the thrill of battle? Or something else? You tilt your head in confusion.

“As if! I haven't even gone all out yet!” He yells enthusiastically, “Agent (Ņ̸̛͕͔̏̓ͅa̶͍͊m̸̲̫̄͝ȩ̴̹̙̄̀ͅ.)”

Your smile tenses. Your heart beats. Pensively, you also wonder to yourself; Is this the success of a mission? Or . . . something else?

— After Him .

You should've known.

You should've known, you should've known, you should've known that the Fatui would never have let a betrayal such as yours go so easily. The past few months after him was spent laying low, hiding from daylight and any chance that you could be recognized. A large bounty was on your head and the Fatui weren't cheap by any means. The organization shielded you as much as they could but even you had missions you had to continue fulfilling. You’d gladly risk your life for the better good; after all, if you didn't, you wouldn't have went undercover in the Fatui anyway.

But now, he was chasing you.

It's back to the snowy forests of Snezhnaya, sprinting and dodging all the tall pines in your way. You hear him gaining speed from behind you, hydro blades swishing as they cut through branches, unbothered to waste energy on dodging. Distantly, the sound of a Fatui gunner prepares his shot. You immediately switch directions, a pyro blast landing inches from where you once were. It’s followed by more blasts, each hitting a little closer to you until—

“Ah!”

It grazes your shoulder, blood escaping the wound and soaking your clothes. You don't stop running, adrenaline keeping you alive and conscious. Childe barks something out in Snezhnayan. You’re too distracted with running to understand what he said, but the Pyro Gunner stops shooting and soon enough you focus on escaping.

A clearing appears in your line of sight. A field of snow and endless white and—

Crash! You're knocked off your feet, landing on the snow. You feel him on your back as you quickly force him away, rolling to the side and kicking. It's a blur from there on— a flurry of kicks, punches, scratches, the snow around you forming the most unrecognizable snow angel.

Until his hydro blade was on your neck as he keeps you pinned underneath him. No amount of sparring could've prepared you for a battle to the death with a harbinger. Your breaths fog together with every exhale, the proximity feels bad for your heart but finally, you get a clear view of the face you haven't seen for months.

“I win,” He says, an ever-so-childish grin on his lips, “Any last words?”

It astounds you how casual he is, as if you weren't running for your life just moments ago. Sparring had always been his favorite game but this wasn't like the other times. You do as you were trained (by both the Fatui and your organization)— you keep your mouth shut. Last words are worthless in the face of the enemy, you’d rather bite your tongue off.

“Hmm. . . the (Ņ̸̛͕͔̏̓ͅa̶͍͊m̸̲̫̄͝ȩ̴̹̙̄̀ͅ) I know would have barked back some words. You would've scoffed.” Childe says, the blade pressing deeper onto your neck, drawing beads of blood to the surface. “Or was that some personality you made up? Was it fun for you?”

Silence.

The smile falls off his face. Something darkens in his eyes. “Alright. You won't talk, that's okay. Anyone who would dedicate their lives living undercover naturally wouldn't respond. I can respect that.” He starts, the blade doesn't move an inch on your skin, the snow numbing more of your back, “But at least answer me this. Not for your organization, not for you. . . answer it for me; was I ever anything to you?”

Silence. Keep quiet.

Something unrecognizable crosses his face. There’s a smile on his lips, but his eyes are pained.

“You know,” He whispers, leaning down closer to you. “Whenever we sparred, did you feel anything? Anything at all?” His face contorts to a mix of frustration, “Because I sure as hell knew I loved you. I can differentiate things, (Ņ̸̛͕͔̏̓ͅa̶͍͊m̸̲̫̄͝ȩ̴̹̙̄̀ͅ.)! I knew what was bloodlust, it wasn't just me being battle hungry. I’m not dumb! I knew— know I love you!”

As if wanting to hide from your gaze, he hides his face on the crook of your neck. Forehead to the snow, blade stilling on your skin. Despite how cold everything is, the warmth of him seems enough to coax you in.

“. . . At least tell me how much of it was real. Please.” He mumbles slowly. Did you mean to cause this much anguish? Did you have to go fall for someone like him?

The words fall from your tongue before you could even catch them. The lack of hesitation, the urge to come clean; “Everything. . . everything was fake. Even my name. (Ņ̸̛͕͔̏̓ͅa̶͍͊m̸̲̫̄͝ȩ̴̹̙̄̀ͅ.). It's fake.”

He freezes over you, listening intently. Snow falls quietly into the ground, you wonder if you'll be buried in— caved to become timeless underneath the ice. Briefly, you think it would be fine if it happens if it's with Childe.

“I know it's hard to trust me, but please— loving you,” Pause. You feel tears well up in your eyes, blinding your vision of the descending snowflakes. “Loving you was real. Is real. It was the realest thing I had in that life under the Fatui. I’m so sorry, Childe, I’m really sorry. And I’m sorry we have to end like this.”

“You mean it?” He asks, hushed.

“Yes, yes, archons I mean it.”

“Then what's your real name?”

Your breath hitches, “(Name).”

“(Name).” He repeats.

The awareness of the metal on your throat becomes all too obvious. Breathing too hard would cause it to press more against your skin. You try to calm down, trying to accept the falling of the snow (the fall of you) as the end of your life nears and suddenly—

the blade is retrieved. You hear the shuffle of leather as it's placed back into its holder. Blinking, bewildered, you glanced up at him only to see his boyish grin.

“You honestly didn't think I'd kill you, right?”

Your mouth falls open. You want to hit him.

“You're going to let me go?”

“I mean, I did kind of let the traveler go back in Liyue.”

“The senior Harbingers reprimanded you for that!” You sit uo, hands flailing as you grab a handful of snow to throw at him. He lets it hit his stomach, laughing.

“It's fine, it's fine! The higher ups don't really care about me as much as they do the others anyway,” He shrugs nonchalantly, “It gives me a whole lot of leeway. If I say I don't want to kill you, they'll just nod along.”

You stare at him longer than you mean to, holding his cheery gaze as the snow continues to settle around you. How quiet and peaceful to exist with him in that space.

“Is this really okay?” You ask and he falls silent with you.

He looks away to the white horizon, speaking in a softer voice, “Well, of course not. You still betrayed me, I still got hurt,” He inhales, “But you love me. I think that's all that really matters, no?”

Tears well up in your eyes. You can't bear to think how close you were to losing your life (losing him) and how easily he pushes your lifelong conflicts aside. So who cares if you played for the opposing organization? Who cares if you struggled with love and truth?

You've faked yourself for so long but Childe would still embrace you, lies and all.

“Come on, the snow must be cold.” He extends his hand, gesturing for you to take it, “Sooner or later the other scouts would be arriving. You should keep running east.”

“Ajax–” You start but he hushes you gently.

“We won't be seeing each other for a while. I don't know when we’d meet again but. . . you know, I’m sure it'll work out if it's us. So don't cry anymore, (Name).”

Stiffly, you nod. It was this moment that you tried to memorize everything about him— his eyes, his ginger hair, the way your name -your real name- falls off his tongue. You replay every sound he made to say such a name, just for the sake of remembering.

“Now go—” He pushes you to the direction, “Don't worry! I won't let them catch the love of my life!” He grins widely, hydro blades appearing in his hands once more as you nod towards him, tear stained smile in response. Your feet take you away, further and further away as you hear the familiar sounds of his blades against his own agents. Icy wind whipping against your face. You can't help the laugh that escapes you, surely the agents would think their blood-crazed superior is in another one of his impulsive moods.

You pity them and envy them all the same.

notes !! thoma is up next, featuring some of our fav inazuma characters <3 ill edit it into a post once my finals settle down (currently cramming in a cafe) I hope you guys liked this one

childe // i really tried to fulfill that he's the more talkative of the bunch! and honestly with childe’s history of forgive and forget, i dont think it's a surprise that he’d easily forgive MC and brush everything under the rug. if anything, he kind of likes the complexity as far as i could tell! by the way, did you like the inclusion of “before him, with him, and after him”? i think it was a poem or a dedication in some book. I really like the thought of it since it's a good way to divide timelines. BY THE WAY do you like the parallels? In part 1, he was left on the snow looking up at the sky. Now in part 2, ur the one on the snow looking up at him :D

#genshin #childe #childe x reader #genshin childe #ajax x reader #genshin ajax #genshin tartaglia #diluc #tartaglia #genshin impact #harbinger x reader #genshin harbinger #fatui harbinger #genshin x reader #genshin angst #childe angst #genshin angst/comfort

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sexiest-objects-tournament · 5 months

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hey guys, and welcome to watchmojo dot com. today we're counting down the top 5 sexiest objects. because as the great bo burnham once said, a really good book is better than pussy.

starting us off at number 5, we have decay and detritus. there are fewer things more erotic than becoming one with something. after i die, i hope to be one with the earth, to be churned by the fungus and fed to the flora and fauna. i hope my open carcass becomes a glorious feast, that my ashes find their root far and wide. i hope my bones are picked clean, my skull turned to diamond in the womb of the earth.

next up at number 4 is weaponry. erotic swordfights. cleaning and sharpening your blades. glistening daggers hidden in a bodice. perfect aim with a bow and arrows. ornately carved hilts and pommels of gemstone.

for number 3 we have the deep ocean. victorian diving suits, erotica in anonymity. coral reefs, countless organisms in structured colonies giving homes to countless fish. underwater volcanoes, churning up food and heat. whale falls, the corpse of a god feeding hundreds. the particulates of underwater snow, shimmering in the gaze of a submarine. a shipwreck, the gutted hull becoming home to creatures who'd never seen its purpose on the surface.

number 2 is the moon. the collective wife of every lesbian. she split off from the earth long ago, and has remained close ever since. she plays an important part in our lives, from our oceans' tides to shielding us from solar radiation and asteroids. the cultures of the world have been fascinated with her for millennia,. writing stories about her travel and her phases. we've been loving her for as long as time can show.

and our number one sexiest object is a tie between computers and gore. we'll highlight each of them.\

computers. the screens we spend perhaps hours of our day in front of. from the carefully crafted code to the thousands of pixels to the purr when she takes on a heavy file, a computer has it all. not to mention the expanded possibilities of a sapient computer. a machine that has learned to love.

and gore. cannibalism, loving someone so much you need to consume them. vivisections, needing to see the inner workings of their body, hold their heart in your hand and watch it beat for you. or something lighter. vampirism, the intimacy of drinking their blood. wound care, stopping the blood with a hand on their chest, feeling their pulse to make sure they're stable, wrapping the bandages around them in sweet silence.

and the two of them together? wires exposed, viscera woven alongside. blood and electricity becoming one in the same. a heart pulsing at the core of a machine, laid bare for your eyes only.

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kwisatzworld · 6 months

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List of Valentino Rossi books and documentaries:

inspired by @pgaslys list of marc’s docs

📚 Books

What If I Had Never Tried It [English/Italian/Spanish/German/Japanese/Chinese, etc.]: Vale’s only autobiography to date, translated into a lot of languages (so many that it’s hard to keep count). The English edition is notoriously rough - think spelling mistakes and some lost-in-translation moments. Despite this, yellow fans absolutely shouldn’t miss out on this gem. Published in 2006, during Vale’s zenith with five consecutive championships under his belt, the book radiates his happiness and confidence. The narrative is casual, with chapters loosely connected, but you will still find pleasure in reading this book.

MotoGenius: the Valentino Rossi biography by Mat Oxley: Oxley remains my all-time favorite Rossi author! Initially published years ago, the latest edition is available on Kindle. It’s a treasure trove of Vale anecdotes and Oxley’s unique insights, offering a glimpse into how Vale captivated his generation.

The Valentino Rossi Files: Everything I’ve ever written about VR by Mat Oxley: Available on Kindle, this collection (in two parts) encapsulates all the articles Oxley wrote about Vale for magazines and newspapers before joining Motor Sport Magazine.

Valentino Rossi: The Definitive Biography by Stuart Barker: A comprehensive biography of Vale, chronologically organized.

Valentino Rossi: Il Dio del Motociclismo by Fabio Fagnani [Italian]: Not recommended as the author’s fan-like admiration making it read more like a love letter than a biography. The only saving grace is the interview with Aldo Drudi.

Valentino Rossi: All His Races by Mat Oxley [English/German/Japanese/Serbian]: Chronicles every race of Vale’s career, enriched with exclusive interviews.

🎥 Documentaries

When asked about a movie about himself, Vale said, “If it’s a bad movie, I’d rather it didn’t exist.” He holds a similarly cautious stance towards documentaries, and has never personally produced a documentary about himself, though perhaps that might change at some point in the future.

Faster (2003) : Premiered at the Festival de Cannes during MotoGP’s golden era, this documentary intriguingly portrays the rivalry between Vale and Max Biaggi.

The Doctor, the Tornado, and the Kentucky Kid (2006) : Focuses on the 2005 season, especially the US Grand Prix, you can see the beautiful yellow livery of Yamaha’s 50th anniversary.

Fastest (2011) : A sequel to Faster.

Hitting the Apex (2015) : Arguably the best MotoGP documentary out there. Vale and Marco riding into the sunset to ‘Wish you were here’ is a poignant moment.

Valentino Rossi: The Doctor (2016) : Produced by Monster Energy, primarily illustrating how Vale expanded his empire step by step.

Racing Together (2017): MotoGP history isn’t complete without its greatest icon, Vale features for about 15 minutes.

Valentino’s Secret Room: Inside the Doctor’s Hidden Archive (2020) : Produced by Dainese, revealing Vale’s personal collection.

Ruta 46 – Ruta 93: El camino de dos mitos (2021) : Produced by DAZN España, unfortunately I haven’t seen it yet – if you have, let me know how it tells the tale.

Tales of Valentino (2021) : A nine-episode documentary series produced by Dorna, showcasing different aspects of Vale’s career through nine significant races.

RiVale | Valentino Rossi as Told by His Rivals (2021) : Produced by DAZN Italia featuring Vale’s main rivals (except Marc), sharing their stories with him.

Rossi | BT Sport Documentary on the Career of MotoGP Icon, Valentino Rossi (2022) : Produced by BT Sport following Vale’s retirement, highlighted by Suzi Perry’s captivating hosting style.

MotoGP Unlimited (2022) : No need for a lengthy introduction – it’s probably already been watched by everyone by now.

#valentino rossi #motogp

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hello-eden · 1 month

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-Seeing Enemies- BSD x DC

“I think you guys should look at this” Oracle said over the coms just after everyone had gone back to the Batcave. The Batcave computer screen changed from the case file that was left open to video footage from a few days ago. The first minute of the footage shows just normal footage then abruptly changed to show Robin arguing with another person. The person's face was hidden from the security camera. It only took a few seconds of them arguing on screen for Robin to pull a knife. The argument looked like it had been going on for a long time.

Robin held the knife against the person's throat “I don't have time for your games mackerel” Robin said with a sneer and pressed the knife further. “You have always been impatient” the person answered with a lighter tone than should be used in their situation. “You told me that you would rather go back to the mafia than step foot in this city. What are you planning” Robin tone got more serious as they talked. “ The angels have been sighted here,” the person replied seriously. Robin lowered the knife off their throat.” I thought they were long dead” Robin said as they put the knife away. “That's what the evidence pointed to but unfortunately there's been signs of the rat”The other person says as they wipe the dirt off of their clothes.They seem to look into each other's eyes; one to prove that they're not lying and one wants to see if they are.

The audio fizzes out.” hey what's happening” Duke says as it becomes obvious that the video is still playing.” The audio short circuited. I've been trying to recover it for days. I decided showing you it was more important” Oracle replied.” Have you gotten a file on who they are arguing with?” Tim asks.” That's one of the reasons I decided to show everyone I can't find them at all. Facial recognition isn't working because they were never caught on camera. they never say what their name is and they don't even mention an organization.” Oracle says as she begins to sound frustrated” There is nothing for me to find. but continue watching” everyone starts watching footage again.

As Robin and the other figure continue talking they seem to relax. The tones of when they were speaking were angry but the body language tells an entirely different story. The figure puts their hand forward, one hand on Robin's uniform and the other on their cheek. Everyone in the room tenses up. They all expect Robin to push them away. What happens instead is that Robin leans into the touch. The figure presses their forehead against Robin's and seems to continue to speak.

”I'm not the only one who finds this weird right.” Jason says with the confusion everyone is feeling” the demon brat is definitely leaning closer right. I'm not just seeing things” “Well I can definitely see why Babs wanted to show us this” dick replies

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

If you can't tell this is a bungou stray dogs and bat family crossover. Damien as Robin is chuuya. I have more ideas for these crossovers that will be uploaded later. If anyone would like to use my ideas or just have add-ons, please do.

#dcxbsd #bsd crossover #robin damian #batfamily #batfam #the-ritual au #soukoku

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john-macnamara · 2 months

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It took us a little while to find the file for this, but we wanted to successfully wrap up PEIP's infamous portal incident. As you know, the Paranormal, Extraterrestrial, and Interdimensional Phenomena division of the United States' Military interrogated one Johnathan S. MacNamara after the incident. He was twenty-four at the time. We thought it would be beneficial to share this portion of the story. Give all you loyal followers the full picture.

cws: implied torture, degradation, drugging, implied sexual assault

Interrogation Records: Major Johnathan S. MacNamara; Feburary 15, 2006.

Interviewer: Lt. Gen Joseph N. Brown (JB)

Interviewee: Maj. Johnathan S. MacNamara (JM)

Purpose: Prove connection to ex-Colonel Wilbur R. Cross, now under alias Uncle Wiley

At 2:38 AM, MacNamara was forcibly removed from his bed and taken to interrogation room C. He was confined with handcuffs in case of an escape attempt, and injected with 0.7 ml of flunitrazepam combined with 5 ml saline solution. As soon as the injection was completed, the interrogation began.

[Begin Transcript 00:00:05]

JB: What is your relation to Wilbur Cross?

JM: I don't see how this has any relevance to our current problem. Nor how you have any right to request that information. Sir.

JB: You've still got a mouth on you, huh? Don't know what I expected. You're that street whore we hired, are you not? Of course your mouth would be the most important part.

JM: I'm not sassing you, sir. I'm simply stating my misunderstanding of the situation. If I was woken up in the middle of the night for this, I'd appreciate knowing why I happen to be important enough to question.

JB: You don't need to know that. Simply answer me. What is your relation to Colonel Wilbur R. Cross?

JM: He is- was my friend. Is that all you wanted from me? Can I go now?

JB: Oh, a friend you say? Well you weren't his only friend, and yet you were the only one unharmed yesterday. Why is that?

JM: I don't know, sir.

JB: I'm sure you know something. You went to him first. You could have very well had something to do with the attack.

JM: I would never. I am loyal to this organization above all else. I have been nothing but loyal to you. I swear on my life.

JB: Swearing on a traitor's life doesn't mean much.

JM: I'm not a traitor, you fucking pig! ...I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry sir. I'm so sorry.

JB: Board him. He should know how to address his superiors with respect.

JM: Please. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry... I'm sorry...

[Indistinct]

[00:11:56]

JB: Do we have an understanding, Major?

JM: ...yes, sir.

JB: Will you refer to your superiors by anything other than "sir" or "ma'am"?

JM: No, sir.

JB: Good. Now, would you like to truthfully answer my previous question about your relationship to Wilbur Cross?

JM: My apologies, sir, but I thought I already did? We were friends, and then he swore fealty to whatever resides beyond that portal. Now we're not.

JB: I was looking for a concise answer, Major.

JM: Sorry, sir.

JB: Are you telling the truth about your relationship? There was nothing romantic there, no hidden feelings that may have lead to assisting him after he left?

JM: Of course not, sir.

JB: I don't believe you. Tell me the truth, or we'll put you under the water again.

JM: I'm not lying, we had nothing between us except for a friendship and a mentorship. I promise, sir. If we had anything else together, I'd have told you as soon as it occurred.

JB: Alright boys, you know what to do.

JM: No. Please-

[Indistinct]

[00:18:31]

JB: Would you like to tell us anything yet?

JM: I...

JB: Yes? Spit it out.

JM: I was in love with him...

JB: There we go! Look at you, finally admitting something. At least you have some sense.

JM: I swear to you, sir, that just because I was in love with him doesn't mean I would have betrayed PEIP for him.

JB: Well, I don't know if I can trust that. But I'm nice, so here's what I'm going to do. We're going to dose you with something that'll make you more... malleable. You'll be more likely to tell the truth and to cooperate. Don't try to resist, it'll be easier if you let it take effect.

JM: I- yes sir.

[JM dosed with 150 ml sodium thiopental]

JB: How ya feeling, soldier?

JM: 'ired...

JB: Good. Where are you?

JM: Uhhhh... I dunno? Sorry...

JB: Wow, you just fall right under this shit, huh? I bet I could do anything I wanted to you, and you wouldn't even know. Maybe you'd even like it, you slut.

JM: Mhm...

JB: But that's not what we're here for. Tell me the true nature of the relationship between yourself and Colonel Cross.

JM: Uh- righ', Wil. Yes. We'r frens. I love him, he doesn love me. Simmle.

JB: We already got that part. What was your relationship to him after he went through the portal?

JM: Oh, sorr'... I aven seen 'im ince the portal.

JB: So you weren't lying to me, then?

JM: No sir.

JB: Were you in cahoots with any entity from beyond that portal since he entered?

JM: Nosir.

JB: Well, considering I don't think you can lie in this state, I'm going to assume you're telling me the truth. Our apologies for the misunderstanding.

JM: Issok.

JB: There must be something we can do to make this up to you. What would you like?

JM: ...sleep?

JB: Well that sounds very nice. Unfortunately, we can't let you go to sleep until the drug wears off, you see. But I do have an idea of what we can do while we wait. Does that sound nice?

JM: Mhm, sure...

JB: Now, if I asked you to do anything right now, you'd do it. Isn't that right?

JM: Yessir...

JB: Wonderful. You all may leave, I have something to do here. Now, stay still, pretty boy, and open up your mouth.

JM: [Indiscernible slurring. Reminiscent of protests]

[End Transcript 00:32:17]

#hatchetfield rp #hatchetblr #peip leaks

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lets-try-some-writing · 2 years

Text

Guilty Pleasures

Every sentient being has a secret hobby or interest. Autonomous robotic organisms not excluded.

Megatron

The only one who knows about his little hobby is Soundwave, it's a good thing too, because Megatron would kill anyone else who uncovered his secret.

Despite his general distaste for humans, Megatron admires their creativity, more specifically their literature.

He may be a warrior first and foremost but he also has a love for any all all historical and poetic works.

He enjoys reading and having to decipher the hidden meanings behind the stories he collects.

It fascinates him to read about just how different and how similar Cybertronian societies are.

However he would never be caught dead reading a book written by a human. So he sends Soundwave to fetch him good books whenever there is nothing more important on the agenda.

He is greatly inspired by Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, J.R.R Tolkien, C.S Lewis, and Homer.

He has a whole secret closet in his berthroom filled with dataslates that contain the works of his favorite authors.

He will often read them before falling into recharge, and occasionally he will attempt a little writing of his own if he is feeling particularly inspired.

This has led him to create another secret stash in his berthroom filled with his own stories, ones that mostly illustrate his own life and views on how society should be structured.

(If Megatron's works make their way into the newly rebuilt Iacon hall of records in the future due to a certain Prime, then no bot comments on it)

Optimus

He has a rather unique little hobby, one that like Megatron, he would never be caught dead engaging in.

His particular hobby stems from his base coding as an Archivist.

Since the war did not really grant him much opportunity to work with and organize the data he desired, he ended up developing a tendency to note and catalogue the relationships of bots around him.

In short, Optimus is a shipper.

It was not a purposeful thing, but as time passed and tensions heightened Optimus just started listening in on conversations more frequently and paying extra attention to body language and how other bots interacted with one another.

He found it fascinating and so began to write it all down on a dataslate, and from there it just escalated as he began noting how certain bots reacted around others.

It really began after he started listing known relationships and all the information he had on them (In surprising and almost creepy detail)

Then he started theorizing and creating a whole separate catalogue dedicated to organizing gossip and discerning what was correct and incorrect so that he could get his relationship files properly updated.

In the end he created the most intricate and well informed database filled with information regarding every known relationship, platonic, familial, and romantic that he caught wind of.

But of course that still wasn't enough for his Archivist coding, he needed and still needs a constant flow of fresh data, and so he started playing a role in the relationships around him.

A well placed rumor here, a slight change of orders there, and Optimus's notes gain new additions from either the success or fallout of the event, satisfying his urges and helping his troops sort out their feelings much quicker than they would have otherwise.

To the complete and utter shock of everyone when they eventually find out; it is not Smokescreen, Bumblebee, Jazz, or any other source that has all the tea. No, it's all Optimus, and he knows everything and will gladly play matchmaker for his favorite OTP.

Soundwave

Cats. Soundwave. Loves. CATS.

He thinks they are the best to thing to happen since Primus himself came into being and nothing will change his mind.

His berthroom is covered in posters, pictures, and art of cats.

He has a whole pile of cat plushies that he stole and he adores it, especially when he is having a mental breakdown.

Soundwave also has a whole drive reserved solely for any all and all cat related content on the internet.

He is obsessed, he wants a cat badly, and he is not shy about his desire to adopt one.

However as he knows it would not be safe for a feline to stay on board the nemesis, Soundwave has turned to alternative methods to satisfy his desire to be around the fluffy organics.

Soundwave's solution is to not keep cats on board the nemesis permanently, but to bring them on for a limited time before ground bridging them away.

When he has the chance he collects a few street cats that he has taken a liking to and will keep them with him in his office, taking every measure to ensure their health and happiness.

The cats love him and he loves them, everybody goes home happy in the end.

However on the off chance that someone wanders into Soundwave's office while he is with his court of cats they are met with hisses and a terrifying blank stare from the spymaster.

Everyone on board the nemesis chalks it up to Soundwave being strange as usual and refuses to speak of what they see, lest the spymaster make them disappear.

Ratchet

Despite his gruff personality Ratchet has a rather wholesome secret hobby, that being baking.

He picked up baking from his mentor before the war, the older mech had been fond of the activity due to its simplicity.

Ratchet was skeptical, but out of respect for his mentor agreed to participate.

He ended up developing a fondness not for the energon goodies themselves, but for the process by which they were made and the smiles of those who consumed them.

During the war he made energon goodies and secretly put them in among the rations to increase moral among the troops

For a while a rumor spread about how there was a ghost meandering about leaving goodies for bots who did well or were going through some things.

No one suspected the 'I NEEDED THAT!' Ratchet to be the one leaving the treats. (except Optimus or course, such data would never escape his notice, not with his files constantly needing updating)

Ratchet also got into the habit of making small batches of goodies for Bumblebee every now and then when he was small, mainly to keep him quiet but also because he genuinely has a soft spot for him.

The habit continued even when Bee got older, surprising the scout on occasion when a little baggie of goodies appeared in his rations.

Once on earth Ratchet also ends up becoming interested in the human version of baking and since then has found no end of frustrations with the whole process.

Despite how much it aggravates him, when he has time he tries hard to figure out the intricacies of human baking so that the children won't feel left out out when the energon goodies are passed around (not that he will admit that is his true purpose)

Currently his baking capabilities with human food are abysmal largely due to inappropriately sized equipment and lack of organically attuned taste buds.

But the children appreciate the burned cupcakes he produces anyway, after all, its the thought that counts.

Knockout

In his own words, he is not only an Automobile but an Automobile enthusiast.

He goes street racing when he can but for a mech as interested in cars as he is, only being able to street race is not nearly enough.

And so Knockout collects things, more specifically model cars.

If he likes them as they are, he will liberate (steal) them from human stores and display them on a little shelf he has in his berthroom.

He even has some mood lighting around the shelf to really draw attention to his collection.

His favorite models also have their own little pedestals which spin and light up.

He is particularly proud of himself for setting it all up correctly.

But, oh boy, if any bot on the nemesis so much as looks at his collection funny he will end them.

Those are his models. No touching.

Usually the models he collects are well painted and well within acceptable standards but sometimes he just doesn't like the colorations of his models.

On such occasions he will spend hours, painstakingly using tiny tools to change the coloration of his collectable. Carefully using small brushes and glasses in order to make everything just right.

He always takes great care to not damage the fragile human product. Sometimes going so far as to watch online video's on model painting just so that he doesn't mess up.

Occasionally though, the mass produced models simply don't cut it for Knockout, and so he goes hunting for rare and custom made collectables.

He even set up an account online and liberated (stole) some cash to use to buy particular models from around the globe.

If a human were to see his collection they would be flabbergasted as he has one of the most pristine and extensive model collections known to man.

Bumblebee

Bumblebee never really had a hobby on Cybertron, he was far too busy training for and fighting in a war to really get involved in anything else.

However upon coming to earth and getting roped into earth culture his status as a mech without an interest changed quickly.

Bumblebee swiftly got swept up in the melting pot that is the internet, and there he learned a great many things he wishes he could forget.

But it was also on the internet that he was introduced to video gaming.

He spent countless hours watching gameplays, livestreams, and walkthrough video's, yearning more and more with every video to be able to play as well.

Thankfully his wish was granted when Raf rolled round and helped him get his own gaming system set up, with controllers of the appropriate size of course.

What no one expected however was for Bumblebee to become and absolute boss in nearly every game he played.

Online matches are filled with anger towards Bumblebee's character, but being a veteran of the internet by the time he starts playing, he is unconcerned by the human profanity thrown at him as he leaves his competitors in the dust.

Bumblebee has even made it into the world of E-sports, operating under an alias when online and using a holoform when he is required to turn up for tournaments.

Agent Fowler had a fit when he found out, but since no one suspects Bumblebee's alias of anything other than hacking he left it be.

Little does anyone know that Bumblebee has no fragging clue as to what he is doing.

More often than not it is dumb luck, a lot of ignorance, a healthy dose of stupidity, and his spectacular servo to optic coordination that pull him through.

Everyone around base praises him for his skill when they watch him play, and Bumblebee thoroughly enjoying the praise, refuses to say anything regarding the truth of his gaming career.

#transformers prime #transformers #optimus prime #tfp #bumblebee #ratchet #fluff #megatron #soundwave #knockout #Transformers shenanigans #secret hobbies #i believe optimus is a shipper and no one can stop me

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the-silver-peahen-residence · 1 year

Note

Can we have a dirty drabble of Masaru and his puppy demon relaxing after a mission? @ask-silent-death

((Hello anon dear, hope your doing alright this evening. I think I can write a drabble for you with these two. Just give me one moment please.))

Silver butterfly mun/Peahen mom

"Are you sure you don't want me to get anything else for you?" Sukuna was just done massaging Masaru's shoulders as he was sitting there relaxed after a long mission. It was a pain in the ass but it was done none the less.

"No, I'm fine but I have what I need so far my precious puppy.." He smiled from the massaging that Sukuna looks to him to apply pressure once more that he feels him shivering. "Did you like that?"

"It felt good and yes....but I should be pampering my puppy since you did a good job with taking out the worthless targets for me." He smiled now turning around but shows the gentle smile to give Sukuna a light kiss to his lips. He blinks to return the kiss holding him that he feels Masaru lay him back while making out with him showing he indeed was happy for what his puppy did. Sukuna was blushing feeling his hands touching him but slips past or under his clothing to feel his chest that he growls already growing excited.

"What's wrong? Feels good or do you want more?" He teased to massage his chest feeling his puppy twitching under him.

"You should know the answer. Even as your puppy I wanna have some fun." He said about to flip them but Masaru stops him to have him be still sitting on his lap.

"Ah ah don't be a bad puppy..why not behave and let me reward you for being good. You'll love it." He chuckled to carefully start making him relax while he begins slipping his hand down to rub against his entrance. Sukuna tense from the feeling but he blushed to look away as he felt Masaru's finger push in slowly that he growls tightening around him.

He tried not to moan or make much noise and yet it leaves him growling aroused. His finger was in but pushes another that he was softly groaning out while feeling his hips bucking. Even if he pushes his fingers into him, it still felt good. He grips the pillow to feeling that he was thrusting his fingers in and out that he heard Sukuna moan out softly that he only feels Masaru now spreading his legs to quicken his fingers trying to make him feel even better. His puppy was moaning out wanting more that he was tightening to almost cum but Masaru stops to hear a whine from Sukuna.

"Now now, you can't cum yet. Besides..we just started to have a little fun.....you are going to be a good puppy, turn around to show me your cute ass, and let me have fun. I'll be sure you do too." He smiled that Sukuna only looks to do as he said to rest on his front with his hips high up showing his body to him.

"...You better be sure you do..I'll return the favor.." He teased that Masaru smiled to squeeze his hips. Oh he will alright.

#OOC #scattered silver rose petals #ask answered #mun answered #silver butterfly mun #peahen mom #the mansion owner #Masaru and Sukuna #anon #short drabble #hidden organization file stories #peahen writer

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exitrowiron · 2 months

Text

Wage Transparency

Numerous states and some cities now require employers to disclose pay scales, salaries and wage information for existing and potential employees. The applicable jurisdictions continue to proliferate so many companies have simply decided to provide this information in every market. In my experience, the company established such broad salary ranges that the information wasn't particularly helpful, however it did require the company to address the compensation for those few individuals who, for whatever reason, fell below the minimum of the range.

Too much granularity of salary information can, of course, cause conflict with an organization but in general I think more transparency is better than less.

Very early in my career I was given responsibility for the annual budget process. This was before online budget software was available, so I created a very sophisticated (for that time) Excel model with VBA routines, etc. Each manager was given an excel file with the historical costs/revenues for their department and provided with instructions on how to complete the budget for each line item. In order to calculate the correct payroll taxes, etc. managers were instructed to enter the name, salary and bonus of each of their employees. This Excel sheet was then hidden and password protected.

You can probably guess the rest of story. This was before Excel had really strong password and encryption features, so I had a backdoor to the payroll sheet and when all the files were submitted, I could see every employee's salary and bonus.

Seeing which functions were paid the most was extremely motivating and ultimately guided the next decade of my career. I knew exactly what job I wanted and how much to negotiate for my compensation. Beth and I were willing to make the necessary sacrifices (including relocating 3 times) because it would be worth it.

Rather than bitching that I was paid too little, I was motivated to do what it took to get the better paying job. I wonder what would happen if companies were more transparent about their payroll.

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carriesthewind · 1 year

Note

a question, if you don't mind it! I read your post about the IA, and it makes a lot of sense, I wasn't aware of how their lending system operated, so thank you for that. I was curious, does there exist/do you know of any digital library that operates fairly and without harming authors? lending on a one to one basis etc? this isn't an "aha, there is not ethical option available to me so I'm allowed to steal, gotcha!", I just genuinely hope something like that exists bc for several reasons I don't have access to a physical library rn. thanks and I hope this isn't a bother <3

Hi Anon!

Unfortunately, I think the answer to what you are looking for is going to boil down to "there are a lot of free online books and resources, but not resources that will allow you to borrow any given book." But it's going to be a little bit of a complicated path to get there.

Part of the problem is the words "fairly" and "without harming authors." Because "fair" does not necessarily equal "legal," and authors can and do disagree about what systems cause them harm. So is "controlled digital lending"(CDL) (where instead of buying or licensing an e-book, the lender digitizes print book and lends the digital copy) that's one-to-one owned-to-loaned fair and not harm authors? Well, as the district court held, it's certainly not legal in the U.S. (because to be clear: while the IA was/is not doing one-to-one owned-to-loaned, the holding of the court was that even it it was, that would violate U.S. copyright law). But is it fair (or more fair and equitable than current digital copyright law) and does it harm authors? As I've said in a previous post, I have not stated and will not state a personal opinion on that. If you want to read more, the statement I previously linked by the National Writer's Union takes a position that it is unfair and harms authors; for a counter-position that it is fair and does not harm authors, here's the memorandum the EFF filed in support of their motion for summary judgement for the IA. And you can find lots and lots more written on both sides of the issue. (If you are struggling with where to start: a google search for "internet archive controlled digital lending" will bring up a lot of articles about the case with links to various statements and opinions.)

If you are looking to avoid illegal or disputed CDL, there are options, but they are limited: that is, there is plenty of digital books and reading material that is legally and fairly available online, but you are unlikely to be able to borrow any specific book. Some options that exist:

On the IA's "Open Library": anything in the public domain (including, as of 2023, anything published or released in the U.S. prior to 1928), as well as anything where the rights-holder has allowed the IA to distribute their work. (If legality matters less to to you "fair" and "harms authors," you might also be ok with works on IA if the author has permitted the IA or another site to loan their work in defiance of an allegedly unfair or exploitative contract.)

If you want to avoid the IA's "Open Library," HathiTrust Digital Library won their copyright case (correctly, imo) and host a bunch (17+ million) of digital books and other items. (By the way: this was a case where the IA - as one of their partner organizations - was on the right side and the Authors Guild, who sued them, was, imo, on the wrong side. Just to emphasize how complicated this is.) But (unless you are a member of one of their partner institutions - mostly universities) your access is limited to reading works that are in the public domain or for which they have been given permission from the copyright holder.

Lots of individuals and organizations post written material for free online! For example, while many journal articles are hidden behind paywalls, many are not; lots of short story magazines (esp. genre fic) have free digital versions; and lots of people post books for free online under a Creative Commons License. I don't know of any universal library for these kinds things though - where to look will depend on what you are looking for.

Beyond that, it depends on where you are and what you are looking for. For example, if you aren't in the U.S., there may be country-specific digital resources (e.g. does your country have a national library, and does it have digital resources)?

You can try looking into:

Local university or resource centers: sometimes, even if you aren't a student or profession, many of these institutions offer resources, including digital resources, to their local communities.

Local museums: same as above.

Local cultural or other kinds of resource centers: sometimes these kinds of organizations will have community libraries. These will often be specific to the interest of the organization in question, but it's worth checking!

Finally, if you are in the U.S.: if your lack of access to a physical library is based on the fact that you can't physically get to or access the library, but you do have a local library, you have options! Even if you can't get there to access a library card, some libraries will allow you to create a card online just for their digital collection. And many libraries have resources to assist home-bound patrons - it's always worth calling and asking.

If anyone else has any other suggestions, please feel free to add them! (Especially if you have information on non-U.S. and/or non-english specific resources)

#libraries #internet archive #asks #anonymous

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six-eyed-samurai · 2 months

Text

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This relationship should not be condoned and was only written for entertainment purposes. Dark content like murder, gaslighting, cutting up and cannibalism is in here, so don't read if it makes you uncomfortable. Minors, scat and shoo and scram!

Obviously, he's obsessing over his one and only!

I put a lil tracker on your phone, just to make sure you’re all alone - and I crept into your room, lying next to you, saying I love every part of you, blood and skin and bone.

Walking down the corridor casually and oh so ordinarily he pretends to trip and makes you fall down with him, slipping a tiny little tracker into your pocket, hidden amongst overbearing, obscure, obsequious apologies and a flash of that open smile for the cherry on top. Oblivious little you didn’t even feel the extra weight in your jacket, occupied with trying to hide your giggles.

Anyone who might try and catch your love, sweetheart, might not survive for long, because I've got a knife and a big crush on you, you, you!

He expresses concern over the ogling boys and so called friends who hadn't shown up to school while throwing away the offending bottle of poison he had dripped into their food, pleasing him with the appeased look on your face and twisting his heart at the same time - how dare your concern be given those odious others? Very well, soon the obstacles will have to obey his orders and leave you if they value their organs!

Lies, cheats, fools...how many of them could possible be at school? Backstabbed by friends who haven't read the rules on how to survive without incurring terrible consequences...well, sinners who stained your name had to repent, and repent they will.

Of course he’s heard those onerous, opprobrious snakes of gossip girls oppugn your very Olympian-god worthy self and ostracized you out of their friend groups, essentially abandoning you, so what sort of knight would he be if he didn’t slay the dragons for his princess? He stalked their social media, then sabotaged every project, homework, relationship, posts, family ties and things they've done in their oppugnant existence that he could lay his hands on. How dare they cause you such ordeals.

You're my muse in every poem that I write, every song that I sing, every romance story you star - it's all just to be with you, don't you see? Or rather, dream?

He hopes nobody will ever check under his desk, because he’s got a whole outrageous file dedicated to papers upon papers of crossed out, failed love letters, poems that could barely do your open-hearted, optimistic presence and scribbled fantasies he's determined to have with you one day...even if you are going to have to be unconscious, so be it! You’re never going to remember it anyway in the end, and he’s not afraid to admit that’s the part that drives him mad.

Aren't I your friend, show you anything you want and need once you get to know me? Are they your friends, wreck your life, make you cry, laugh behind your back?

But you know what drives him even more insane? Over everyone who can freely talk to you, have your obligation to touch and hold hands and hug, LOOK AT YOU AS IF THEY COULD EVER OWN YOU - aaaah, why can't he do that? WHY CAN'T HE BE THE ONLY ONE TO DO THAT? It's alright, it's fine, you can't talk without a tongue! Overzealous they may call him and overprotective he might be, but he’ll do anything for a love just as obsessive from you.

Sure, I know it hurts honey but you've got to grin and bear it, just a little slice, 'cause when it's all done you and I can never leave.

Can you really blame him? He just desperately wants to hear you promise you'll be with him forever and ever and ever, and what better way to do that than to extract a blood oath? Oops, guess he cut off your hand! It's fine, now you'll have to depend on him even more - he swears he'll be good to you, oh so good! Anything you want and need will be offered!

I'm the better alter ego when I'm down on my knees for you, so I'll take a hammer to their heads, but to her I just reek of love, so if I go down it's only because it's over!

He’s known for being calm and cool and...alright, and a crazy killer too who has never been more triggered than when he sees you being the target of horny comments by his traitorous pals. They'll find out just how strong he really is soon enough! Funny way of answering their questions, huh?

Gore is what I carve up and what I'll serve in gourmet, and of course my gorgeous, you can join the soiree.

His friends constantly ask him what's in his secret meat soup recipe - pork? Chicken? Seafood? - as they talk about their missing friend at the same time...oh, idiots that they were. He slyly glances at you - ah, thank the stars for you too had no idea of where he was. His suggestion of “in a better place now” was widely accepted, although he doubted that being digested by stomach acid applied.

The world says I'm depraved, but your love's just what I crave, and I know you feel it as well, so they can all go burn and rot and die in hell.

He can't take it if anyone says otherwise about the both of your love or disagree with your compliments, no, no, no! Duct tape won't work, so he'll break their jaws! You're his one and only, only he can break and take and snap you, the same way only he can be affectionate and shower his only true love with worship!

Now tell me that you love me or everything blows, you have to reciprocate, you have to love me! I'll burn this fxxking house down and hide them all six feet underground, only for you, you know? It can't be all for nothing!

He threatens to jump off the balcony if you don't return his crazed affections, especially when you're pressed against the wall and strangled by his hands - he’s done all this for you and for the “us”, atrocious crimes and horrendous killing…but he honestly doesn’t want to force a confession out of you, so why won’t you be an obedient little darling?

YANDERE ALPHABET MASTERLIST

#sanzuyaps #yandere #yandere x reader #yandere x you #yandere x y/n #yandere x darling #yandere fics #yandere x gn reader #male yandere #yandere alphabet

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the-blind-assassin-12 · 3 days

Text

Recall - Part 3

UN(F*CKING)BELIEVABLE

A/N: Here's the part where I ask you to pretend it hasn't been MONTHS and MONTHS since the last update. I have no excuses for how long its taken me to get this part written other than it hurt. Thank you to everyone who has been on this ride with me from the beginning or from any point along the way, especially @something-tofightfor for the constant encouragement on this story. I've known how it all shakes out for a while now, and after this there are only two parts left. I hope you all like where it's headed, because it's full steam ahead from here on out!

Word Count: 5.6k

Warnings: language, mention of death and loss, Jack has a lot of Trauma stored in his noggin and in his heart

Summary: Merlin helps shed some light on the mysterious Project Aster. Jack awakens from the Recall program... And you find yourself even more involved in this mission than you already were.

Series Masterlist

To his credit, Champ didn’t keep you waiting long at all, and for that you were thankful.

“Talk to me, Ginger Ale. What in tarnation is goin’ on with our man Whiskey? And how bad is it? No sugarcoatin’.”

He strode into the lab, dressed the same as he would be for a boardroom meeting - stetson to bootsoles - and fully alert, despite the late hour. You glanced down at your watch as the lab door slid shut behind him, frowning as the numbers there dwindled further.

00:28:19 REMAINING

We’ve gotten nowhere. We… He’ll be awake soon and we have no real idea what’s wrong.

“We’re not entirely sure, Champ.” Ginger’s response called your attention back to the conversation at hand. “Physically, everything is fine. The Alpha-gel is doing its job. The wound is almost completely healed, his vital signs are all within normal limits, and the Recall program booted up and ran without issue.” She gestured to the various monitors that displayed proof of what she’d just said, Champ nodding along as he looked them over for himself.

“Well that’s a good start,” he mused, crossing his arms over his chest. “So where’s the hangup?” Without taking his eyes off the screens in front of him, he tilted his head in your direction. “Maraschino? Fill me in.”

He’s asking me?

Your eyes widened in surprise as he addressed you, and you quickly looked over at Ginger for reassurance. She gave you a small, encouraging nod, and mouthed the words go ahead.

“The problem isn’t with J-” You cut yourself off before you could break protocol in front of the head of the organization himself. “-with Whiskey. It’s with his file.” Champ turned his weathered visage on you then, even deeper creases forming over and between his unruly eyebrows as he frowned. “There are some inconsistencies in his chart. Things that were never updated. But it’s more than that. It’s-”

You winced, stepping up to the computer screens to pull up the hidden files that Merlin unearthed. It’s potentially much worse than that.

“What the devil is Project Aster?” Champ’s mumbled confusion confirmed what you and Ginger had already suspected - that he was just as in the dark about the surreptitious op as you were.

Ginger sighed. “We were really hoping that you could tell us, boss.” She shook her head and lifted her right hand up to resituate her glasses. “We can’t access any of the records on it. Merlin is working on that as we speak. But we do know that there has been crossover with the Recall Program and this Project Aster.” Gesturing at the screen, she indicated the flags in Jack’s decrypted file that showed where the two operations coincided in the past. “Most of these incidents date back to before you took over from the last Agent Champagne.”

“Most?” One eyebrow arched in question as he turned to face her. “You mean to tell me that this malarky-” He pointed to the screen with one hand, the other going to his hip. “- has been goin’ on under our noses? On my watch?” He clicked his tongue, a look of pure disappointment in himself crossing his face. “How?”

“That’s what we need to figure out,” Ginger responded, sympathy and urgency woven through her tone. “And we need to know if Whiskey was the only one involved or if this affects any of the others.”

You knew that was true. You had to rule out an agency-wide problem, and going through every operative’s file with Merlin’s fine-toothed comb would take time. But something in the center of your brain told you that it was too big of a coincidence - the Project and the flower Jack had tattooed on his chest sharing the same name - for it to apply to anyone else but him. He got that tattoo because it was his wife’s favorite flower. He told me that. It’s… A metallic taste filled your mouth as you glanced over at him and finished your thought. I don’t know how yet, but it’s connected. It has to be.

“When did you last hear from Merlin and the Galahads?” Champ asked. “And what’s the status of their mission?”

Their mission. Right.

In the chaos of dealing with Jack you’d almost forgotten what had preceded his arrival in the lab. A chill raced down your spine as you reminded yourself what was at stake if Eggsy and Harry weren’t able to pull it off without Jack’s help. You looked over at Agent Tequila. What little of his skin you could see through the dome of the recovery bay was struck through with spidery blue veins. They crept up the side of his throat and over the cut of his jaw, the poison in them threatening to spread through his entire bloodstream if the antidote wasn’t administered soon. You knew that there were millions of others in the same danger, and that most of them were not fortunate enough to receive the technologically advanced medical care that you and Ginger had been able to give him to slow the effects of the tainted drugs. You knew that thousands of people had likely already succumbed, and countless more would soon follow if The Golden Circle wasn’t stopped.

They will be. They have to be.

Ginger tapped on the keyboard to pull up a map showing the GPS tracker that was located on the Statesman plane they’d let the Kingsman Agents borrow. It showed that it was still in the air. “They haven’t landed yet,” she explained in answer to his second question. “And they- oh.”

Oh? Your eyes darted from the map to the woman, and then back to the screen as she pulled up a message from Merlin. Oh.

Ginger Ale - Still working on cracking these files. Each one has a different key so it’s taking some time. From what I can see so far, it looks like Project Aster had something to do with memory restoration, specifically restoring the intensity of a memory. Possibly a precursor to your Recall program? I’ll have a better idea once I crack more of these flagged events. Forwarding the two decoded files now. Let me know if anything stands out to you, otherwise I’ll touch base again when I have more. - Merlin

You frowned at the screen and read the message a second time, your grip on the chairback in front of you tightening. Restoring the intensity of a memory? The furrow between your brows deepened as you pondered the implications of a procedure like that. Sharpening the details of a memory, ensuring that nothing was forgotten and that time didn’t numb the subject’s initial thoughts and reactions certainly had its place in an agency like Statesman. But if they were running Project Aster in conjunction with Recall… Your eyes strayed from the screen to the manilla folder on the countertop, honing in on the silver paperclip that you knew was only securing a single item - a polaroid. Oh, shit. Your heart thudded to a full stop and then plummeted into your stomach as you put two and two together.

“His wife.” The words came out in a breathless whisper, a sour taste filling your mouth as you turned to face Ginger. “Ginger, does that mean… If Aster and Recall were mixed, does that mean that the memory that they were-” You winced. “- intensifying, is the memory of losing his wife?”

Ginger’s eyes went wide as she inhaled deeply through her nose. A handful of seconds ticked by without a response, and you knew that meant that she was trying and failing to come up with a way to easily dismiss your hypothesis. When nothing came to her she looked to Champ, the man’s weathered features reflecting the heaviness you felt in your own heart.

“How on Earth could that be somethin’ worth puttin’ a man through?” Champ’s question broke the silence, but it was clear in his tone that he didn’t doubt what you’d proposed. He frowned, and the glint of compassion you saw enter his eyes made your heart break even more, because you knew he cared for Jack as a friend first and foremost. “Like he’d ever forget how he felt on the worst day of his goddamn life.”

You swallowed down the tears that were threatening to spill as you shook your head. “I don’t know, Champ, I can’t…” Can’t imagine how that constitutes anything but fucking torture. Squeezing your eyes shut, you gave up on answering his question because you weren’t sure it had one. Instead, something else occurred to you as you returned your focus to the screens once more. “Ginger, can you pull up those dates again? The ones that were flagged for both programs?”

“Sure,” she replied, already moving to find the information you asked for. “They’re right here.”

You quickly found the entry for the incident that Ginger had pulled up - the one that left Jack with a gunshot through his chest. Your blood ran cold as you cross referenced it with Merlin’s file and found it to be one of the double flagged events. “Shit. Look. Right before he got the tattoo. It… he…” You sighed heavily. “It makes sense that if that memory was being enhanced while he was going through the Recall system that he’d suddenly be inspired to get a tattoo honoring his wife directly after. And if there’s a chance that those two programs being run simultaneously causes lapses in short term memory or even reordering of current memories…” You trailed off as Ginger nodded.

“Then he wouldn’t have thought to report the tattoo because he thought it was always there. You’re right, Maraschino. I think…” She nodded again, glasses slipping down the bridge of her nose and requiring a small shove back into place. “I think that’s the only explanation, actually.”

“But why?” Champ asked again, crossing his arms and bringing his left hand up to smooth out his mustache. “Why sharpen that memory?” He clicked his tongue. “And if I wasn’t the one authorizin’ it, and neither of you were the ones implementing it, who the hell was?”

Static started buzzing through the portion of your brain where logic normally resided, but luckily Ginger had an answer to the first half of Champ’s questioning. “Well, since Whiskey’s trigger image is a photo of her..? Maybe ensuring that that memory in particular stays… intact, was somehow crucial to ensuring that the Recall program would work every time?”

It was something, though you weren’t sure it answered the second part of Champ’s question - about who was actually running Project Aster. And perhaps more importantly, how.

“Maybe,” Champ muttered. “You should get in touch with Merlin. Let him know what Maraschino just puzzled together. See if you can get him to focus on only crackin’ the files that coincide for now. Maybe there’s more clues that we’re missin’.”

Ginger immediately did as he asked, filling her Kingsman counterpart in on what the three of you had just discussed. As she finished, so did the countdown on your watch, three long beeps coming from the device on your wrist. Whipping around towards the recovery bays, you took a breath and held it as you watched the visor lift…

…And the man beneath it start to sit up.

– – –

A fizzy sort of disorientation greeted Jack as his eyes opened, the feeling akin to waking from a nap he hadn’t meant to take and not quite knowing how long he’d been asleep. It wasn’t unpleasant. If anything, it was nice. A few seconds with no pressure, no expectations, just the hum of consciousness taking back over. A reprieve of sorts, short-lived as it was.

By the time his boots hit the floor it was already over, the pleasant fizz in his brain consolidating into a clunky mass of confusion.

Where the hell am I?

He blinked, clearing the slight blur around the edges of his vision as the hum sharpened into sounds and then words. There were people - three of them - talking, and it took him a few seconds to realize that they were talking to him.

But who… And how did I get here? Last I remember I was…

Before he had a chance to blink again, a woman with dark eyes behind winged glasses stepped up next to an older man with sandy gray hair. Despite the somewhat regretful expression she wore, she was gorgeous, and Jack was just about to tell her so when she beat him to the punch once more, extending her hand and what she was holding, out to him. “I really hate to do this to you, Jack, but I need you to look at this.”

Alright?

He lifted his hand to take what she was passing him. As soon as his fingertips made contact with the glossy finish of the photo paper though, he felt something at his core telling him to pull back - like the slamming of brakes at 65 MPH or the tug of a chain attached to a heavy anchor. It was strange, a bit unsettling, but he was willing to chalk it up to the confusion still taking up most of his brain space, so he ignored the alarm and looked at what he was holding.

A young woman - a beautiful young woman - smiled up at him from the photo, her ruby lips catching his eye right away. “Well now, who is this pretty lady?”

The other man in the room clicked his tongue, Jack looking up at the sound. “You really don’t remember her, Whiskey?”

Whiskey? What? He gave a small shake of his head. Do I know her? He felt that slam again, that thing inside trying to pull him back, but he looked back down at the picture. She does look… familiar. “Remember… what about her, exactly?”

The third person in the room was standing just out of Jack’s line of sight and slightly behind the man, but Jack heard a gasp come from their direction at his question.

The woman who handed him the photo let out a deep sigh then. “I’m so sorry, Jack.” She frowned. “She’s dead.”

She’s dead.

Those two words fell through him with the crushing weight of a lead anvil. He dropped his eyes back to the photo, and as he did he felt his memory spin like the cylinder of a pistol, flashes of moments flying by with each empty cylinder.

Click. A quarter dropped into the coin slot of a jukebox. The press of a button to select a song. His hand extended out to her and her smile as she let him lead her in a dance.

She’s…

Another click. Her simple white dress, his borrowed suit. The last rays of sunlight and the exchange of rings. Elation as the words “I do,” were spoken, and a kiss that mirrored their intent.

My wife, she’s…

The final click that found the loaded chamber. One hand on her hip, the other on the slight bump of her belly. “Just running to the store for milk, Honey, I’ll be right back.” “Alright, Sweetheart, be safe.”

He blinked at the photo again, the motion of his eyelids like the pull of a trigger in his brain.

She’s gone.

Suddenly it all fell painfully into place. Who he was, what he lost, his training with Statesman, the mission he’d been on when - he lifted his fingertips to the side of his head, finding a gauzy bandage applied near his temple - when he’d been shot. Bringing the photo up to his lips, he pressed a kiss to the glossy image of his wife, his highschool sweetheart, the love of his life, the mother of his child, the woman who was ripped from his life when she got tangled in the web of a drug related shooting.

When Jack lifted his eyes to the woman who had handed him the photo, he could feel that they had darkened. “Ginger.” He handed his trigger image back to her so she could slip it into the file for the next time it was needed, and then shifted his focus to the man standing beside her. “Champ.”

The older man sighed, relief rolling off of him in waves as he did. “Welcome back, Agent Whiskey. Had us worryin’ there for a spell.” He clapped a weathered palm to Jack’s shoulder.

The contact was meant to be comforting, compassionate. But with it came another sharp pulse of memory - anger and rage, deep seeded and violent. The image of a vial in his hand, and then the business end of a pistol meeting his gaze, the man behind it wearing an eyepatch. A loud bang and then nothing.

I was close. To completing the objective. I was close, and then -

He hissed under his breath, subtly shrugging Champ’s hand off of him. “Goddamn butterfly guy shot me.”

“What?” Ginger Ale’s bewildered tone matched the questioning expression on her face. She gave a small, jerky shake of her head. “Why would he-”

Jack felt another pulse of anger flash through him, and it forced him to cut the woman off. “Well I’m guessin’ it’s because you didn’t fix’im right.” The woman recoiled slightly, Jack narrowing his eyes.

This is… strange.

The emotions he was experiencing didn’t feel like his own. He respected Ginger. And Champ. He couldn’t recall a time when he’d ever spoken to either of them with the same amount of vitriol that he tasted on his tongue with every word he let loose now.

Somethin’ ain’t right.

He knew it at his core. He’d done this same dance several times before, but never had he woken up so agitated, so hell bent on shoving blame onto anyone but himself. But he also knew that the mission he was on had to be seen through, and he knew that he needed to be there to ensure that it was. Swallowing the thickness in his throat, he took a second to calm himself down, eyes moving from Ginger’s frown to the screen displaying the GPS location of the plane carrying Eggsy, Harry and Merlin to Poppy’s hideaway.

But in transition, they landed somewhere else first.

They landed on the pair of eyes belonging to the third person in the room, and when they did he felt something else. Something warm and soft, like the sound of the music coming from that jukebox. Like the gentle glow right before sunset. Like the promise of home and someone to share it with.

He knew his wife was gone. In the depths of his soul, he knew. But in that moment, when his eyes locked with that third pair - with yours - he felt a connection that he couldn’t explain.

“Sweetheart?”

– – –

His voice cracked on the word, and you watched the daggers he’d been shooting from his eyes clatter to the ground as he shifted his focus to you.

What? You sucked in a breath and held it as your heart slammed against your sternum. He’s never called me that. He only… That particular term of endearment belonged to someone else. Someone who you knew you could never replace, nor would you ever try to. You wet your lips with the tip of your tongue before speaking. “It’s me… It’s Maraschino, Agent.”

At the mention of your codename he blinked, dropping his eyes from your face, down to where your necklace lay atop your shirt. The tips of your fingers came involuntarily up to touch one of the pearls strung along the chain. When his gaze lifted it had changed again. Still softer than what he’d treated Ginger and Champ to. But not as wistful as it was when he first looked your way. Oh, Jack. A deep ridge cut through the center of his forehead as his eyebrows came together, and then he took a step towards you, clearing his throat before speaking again, a hint of apology in his tone as he said your name. “Darlin’ I-“

You shook your head, cutting him off before he could finish. “It’s alright, Agent.” You could have sworn you saw him wince as you dropped your hand from your necklace back to your side. What’s that about? Giving him what you hoped was a small but encouraging smile, you tried not to let your mind leap to worst case scenarios, ones in which the reset hadn’t fully taken, leaving him caught in confusion. No, that was just a blip. Happens sometimes. He just needs a few more minutes to settle. “Just glad to have you back.”

Because losing you would be awful, Jack Daniels. I… I can’t lose you.

“Back.” Jack repeated the word, eyes finally finding clarity and moving to their intended target - the screen displaying the map. Moving towards it, he pointed at the Kingsman Agents’ destination. “I need to get back to the mission. If Galahad Senior’s brain is still scrambled, Eggsy could be in danger and the whole damn mission could be at risk.”

Though it didn’t necessarily surprise you that he was so eager to get back in the field, the idea of him barreling back into the fray without any answers about Project Aster was not one that you were comfortable with. At all. Wait. Your heart sped up as you turned in Ginger’s direction. We can’t let him go back without even telling him what Merlin found in his file, right? You caught her eye and pleaded silently with her. He needs to know. He could still be at risk if something’s not right, and-

“Hold your horses just one minute there, Agent.” Both you and Ginger turned at the sound of Champ’s voice, his hesitancy to agree with Jack giving you hope. “There’s somethin’ you need to know first before we decide if we can send you back out. Might be better to get Mezcal on it, he’s still in Tokyo so -”

That was not what Jack was expecting to hear, which was made extremely clear by the incredulous look he shot Champ’s way. “No, what you need to know is that that one-eyed wonder Harry is liable to snap again and shoot this whole operation to shit. Briefing Mezcal and arrangin’ travel will take too long.” He took a step closer to the Agency’s leader. “I’m already familiar with the mission. I can get myself there in the Pony.” He gave a small shake of his head. “You know I’m right, Champ.”

You glanced sidelong at Ginger, the woman doing the same, both of you seemingly holding your breath to see what Champ’s response would be.

He clicked his tongue and muttered a swear under his breath and you felt your heart sink. He’s gonna do it. He’s gonna send him back out even though - “Well, you’re not wrong, Jack. But!” He held up a finger and cocked his head to the side. “Galahad the Elder might not be the only one scrambled up here. Tell me, Agent, you ever heard of Project Aster?”

–

Project Aster?

Jack instantly recoiled at Champ’s question, one hand coming up to his chest where beneath the jumpsuit he still wore, a bundle of three flowers sharing a name with the operation was tattooed on his skin.

They were his wife’s favorite flower, symbolic of love and devotion. He gave her a bouquet of them on their first date and on the day he asked her to marry him. She had them in her hair at the wedding. She grew them in the garden of their home. Asters had been a part of Jack’s life far longer than Statesman had. And as far as he knew, he’d never been involved with a project of that name.

“What the fuck is Project Aster?”

Over the next few minutes, Ginger Ale showed him hidden entries in his file that corresponded to the mystery project. She explained that whatever it was, it seemed to be linked to sharpening or enhancing specific memories - and that it was being used in conjunction with the Recall Program. Something like a dark shadow lurked in the back of his mind, telling him that whatever concerns Ginger had brought up were valid. But even as she laid it all out to him, including how much was still unknown about why and how Aster was being implemented without Champ’s authorization, and what it could possibly mean for his own health and safety if there were any dangerous side effects, Jack had simply no prior knowledge of taking part in it.

“I don’t know what to tell you about this, Ginger,” he said with a shrug of both shoulders. He glanced your way, the empathy in your eyes damn near breaking his heart. Oh, Darlin’, don’t be sad for me. He swallowed his knotted emotions and returned his focus to Ginger and Champ. “But I do know that if I don’t get back on this mission, millions more people will die because they got caught in the crosshairs of some psycho, just like my Sweetheart did.” He looked directly at Champ then, pleading to the one person in the room he’d known the longest. “And that I cannot abide while there’s still something to be done about it.”

Champ held his gaze for a handful of seconds before clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Fine.” He raised one shaggy eyebrow. “But you might not like the one condition I’m allowing it under.”

– – –

Champ had been right - Jack did not like the condition.

“Abso-fucking-lutely not, Champagne!” He roared, eyes darkening and nostrils flared wide. He looked right at you then, and you saw something flicker just beneath the surface before he whipped his attention back to Champ. “For one, I do not need a fuckin’ chaperone. And even more importantly, Maraschino should not have to risk her life in the field when she’s not trained and-”

“And it’s the only way you’re going, Whiskey.” You’d never heard the tone that entered Champ’s voice as he shut down Jack’s protest before then, and it was enough to make you suck in a breath and straighten your spine. Oh, shit. “Now you just told me that we don’t have much time to lose here. Do you really want to lose more of it arguin’ with me on this? Because you will not win.”

The condition, though it was sprung on you and Ginger in the same moment that it was presented to Jack, was that he would be allowed to resume his part in the mission to stop the Golden Circle - so long as you accompanied him to observe him for any side-effects or signs that Project Aster was interfering with his cognitive function. Which, as someone who never considered taking a job in the field, came as a shock to you.

But not as big a shock as it was to him. It was clear that Jack wanted you nowhere near the mission, and you couldn’t really blame him. I’d be a liability. He’d have to watch both of your backs and that would mean taking attention away from what he was there to do. But… You hated to admit that it was the only way. He needs someone there with him to make sure he’s still on target and it… It has to be me.

Ginger needed to stay to monitor Tequila’s recovery and to continue to correspond with Merlin. Champ had the entirety of Statesman to run, several other ongoing missions to oversee. But you were the one who not only knew the most about the Recall Program among the rest of the lab assistants thanks to your research, but you also knew the most about Jack. You knew him as an Agent and as a man, and you would know best if he were acting off in any way.

“It’s okay, Jack.” You knew that you should have used his codename. Protocol and all of that. But you also knew that you could reach him more deeply if you shirked protocol and showed him that you were in if it could give him a better chance at safely finishing this.

You watched the fight drain from him as you agreed to Champ’s terms. His eyes went soft and his full lips formed a slight pout as he looked at you, taking a breath that filled his lungs before slowly letting it out. He took two steps closer to you, gaze flicking down to your chain once more before coming back up to meet yours. “You sure about this, Darlin’?”

Wetting your lips with the tip of your tongue, you nodded. “I’m sure.” Trying for a moment of lightness, you gave him a tiny smile. “Besides, you always said you wanted to take me for a spin in the Silver Pony.”

It didn’t make him laugh or even crack a grin. Instead, to your dismay, the look on his face only grew more grim. But he nodded once and turned to Champ. “Alright.”

It was the last word he spoke until you were in the air, Ginger showing you how to strap into your seat and going over the controls in your headset before takeoff. Jack continued to keep his lips sealed for the first half of the flight. When he finally broke the silence, it was with your name, static crackling in your headset before his voice was in your ear. You froze at the emotion you heard there, recognizing it instantly despite the fact that it was the first time he’d displayed it to you. Fear. He’s… You swallowed down a thick knot. He’s scared. “Darlin’? You read me?”

Shit. Clearing your throat, you pressed the button that allowed you to respond. “I read you, Jack.” You waited a beat, heart slamming at your ribcage as you stared at the back of his seat in front of you. “Everything alright?” Well that’s a dumb question that I already know the answer to.

He let out a small humorless laugh that sounded far too flat to have come from the man you knew. “Oh, just peachy.” You winced, closing your eyes and focusing on his voice. “Listen, I know Champ and Ginger want you to stick with me on this one. But I…” He swore under his breath. “I need you to stay with the Pony when we land. Can you promise me that?”

What? Your eyes flew open, brow creased with confusion. “That’s not…” You shook your head even though you knew he couldn’t see you. “Jack, that would be a violation of a direct order. Think about what you’re asking me to do. I can’t-”

“No, I can’t,” he spoke over you, that uncharacteristic fear still present in his tone and sending a chill through you. “Can’t lose you, too, Darlin’. Can’t have you become another picture in my file of someone I lo-”

Your mouth dropped open and you inhaled sharply as he cut himself off mid-word. Someone he… The rushing sound that filled your ears then had nothing to do with the fact that you were traveling at Mach speed, and everything to do with what you were damn near certain he had just stopped himself from saying. Was he going to say someone he loves? You blinked, fingers digging into your thigh as you waited for him to continue.

“Someone I lost.”

You let go of your held breath in a single burst as you thought about the way he looked at you back in the lab, when he first woke up and called you Sweetheart - like he’d been reunited with someone he’d been missing, someone he’d been looking for but who he never hoped to find. Like he thought I was… A deep ache twisted through your chest and you had to work to fight off a sob. Like he thought I was his wife.

Whatever shit Aster had dragged up in his memory, whatever edge that time had worn down that the experimental project had sharpened was clearly playing painful games with his heart. And yours was getting cut up in the process. “You won’t lose me, Jack.” And I won’t lose you.

“Just promise me,” he said again, adding your name. “Promise me, please. I’ll leave my wrist comm open and connected the whole time. Anything squirrely starts happenin’, you come runnin’. But… long as everything’s alright, can you please tell me you’ll stay back?”

It went against your better judgment. It went against your loyalty to Statesman and the agreement that you made with Champ and Ginger. But the crack in his voice, that look in his eye back in the lab… you knew that if he was too worried about your safety it would put his own at risk. So you made the promise he asked you to. You stayed with the plane when it landed, Jack pressing a too-quick kiss to your lips before he went dashing off into certain danger.

“I’ll come back to you, Darlin’,” he’d said. “I swear it.”

But you heard and felt what he was really saying with that kiss, with those words. I love you, too, Jack. “You better, Cowboy.”

And then he was gone.

Ten minutes ticked by, going on eleven when your watch beeped and you twisted your wrist to read it, three messages from HQ coming in rapid succession.

IMMEDIATE CONTACT REQUIRED RE: PROJECT ASTER

NOT WHAT WE THOUGHT. PROJECT ASTER WAS NOT INTENDED TO SHARPEN MEMORIES. ITS INTENT WAS TO CREATE THEM.

As chilling as both of those were to read, it was the final one that drove an icy spike through your heart.

WHISKEY NEVER HAD A WIFE.

Thank you for reading! If you would like to be added to or removed from the taglist, please feel free to let me know or you can fill out the form on my masterlist.

tags: @something-tofightfor @paracosmenthusiast @cannedsoupsucks @dihra-vesa @littlemisspascal @hellovanessax

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#agent jack whiskey daniels #jack daniels x female reader #jack daniels x f!reader #jack daniels x you #pedrostories #whiskey x maraschino #agent whiskey x reader #agent whiskey x you #jack daniels kingsman golden circle #jack daniels fic #agent whiskey fic #series: recall #recall part 3: un(f*cking)believable #pedro pascal character

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onwriting-hrarby · 1 month

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reloaded: Rotten Judgement

ROTTEN JUDGEMENT IS BACK

This story has been hidden for quite the longest time (a year, exactly). I wanted to turn this into an original story and I grew paranoid with the cases of plagiarism in the fandom and the possibility of seeing my work somewhere without my permission. However, when I began working it into an original story, I realized it needs a major rewriting. And, since I hid it, multiple of you have asked whether I would be uploading it again or not—I've been notified of reddit threads sharing a link, people exchanging the files. It flatters me, truly. So, I thought: This is nonsense. This work is already copyrighted (because of the "what ifs", and because I work in publishing, so I know how these things go) and even if it wasn't, there is no way this is going to be an original story as it is. So, here I am again. I thank you from the bottom of my heart if you want to reread this.

And if you want to share it with others, with your Eremika community, with people who might like politics even though they might not be fans, it will make me very happy. If you want to talk about it, to gush, to complain about what I make the characters go through, my ask is always open (or you can comment on ao3).

All the art done for the fic was work of @dead-dolphins. She's an amazing writer and if you follow her, you will know that she gifts you with the most special aesthetics ever, too.

#eremika #fanfiction #writing #attack on titan #rotten judgement

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vampkomori · 1 month

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Ratio might be a Candelagraphos scholar

*The Candelagraphos is a school of the Intelligentsia Guild. theyre the so-called "printing department" of the guild.

despite having known Ratio for (arguably) a while, we still dont know what he actually does! funny. hes overall mysterious and we dont actually know anything about him, but we might be able to find out what he does at the guild/ or what hes planning to do.

^ emotional support ratio

lets start chronologically, im going to build this up again slowly for context, but also because i want to compile what Ratio actually does, so into the post it goes.

We know that he works with the Technology Department of the IPC as an outsourced science consultant. This is to be expected, because Yabuli, the head of the Technology Department, is also the controller of the Intelligentsia Guild.

- File Repository: Ally — Interastral Peace Corporation Headquarters, at the Seat of Divine Foresight

In the IPC trailer, you can see Ratio's bust in the bottom left corner-ish. The voiceover also says "Join us and team up with the Intelligentsia Guild!" So, its likely that the guild exclusively (or primarily) works with the Technology Department when the IPC requires aid.

Moving on to Ratio's qualifications/his 8 doctorates to establish what kind of fields he works in:

He has 8 doctorates, namely: Medicine, Philosophy, Natural theology, Mathematics, Physics, Computer science, Engineering, and Biology. (7 of his 8 degrees are mentioned in his character story, but his 8th (computer science) is only mentioned in his trailer)

From this we can gather he regularly publishes books and papers, invents machines/medicine, and does regular ol' research.

great job pookie. based on this, lets try figure out which of the guild's schools he would fit into:

Synesthesia School: Mostly known for its Synesthesia Beacon, the tool that lets you understand and speak languages. They mostly seem to focus on communiation-related things, as Herta says their next research focuses on "remote communication technology".

Ratio could probably thrive anywhere but he is not shown to have language-related interests or research, so this ones unlikely.

Astral Ecology School: Focus on Astrology/Cosmology, they study the void song whale, radiant jellyfish, and other organisms of the galaxy.

Highly unlikely. This one has nothing to do with his kind of science.

Armed Archaeologists: Very exploration-heavy. They do galactic exploration and archaeology. On the Interastral Peace Broadcast, its said that they discovered a miniature galaxy and recently unconvered the tomb of Rubert I.

Also highly unlikely. Ratio does science and is also a teacher, he doesnt go out into the universe to explore.

Quantum History School: This school is allegedly a bit of a scam. they used to try and "find the influences of disturbance and patterns of change hidden throughout history", but now they just scam you with calculation-based fortune telling.

No comment.

Candelagraphos:

Ill just add Hertas summary of it and marked the relevant passages.

Author✅ Ratio is a published author of multiple books and papers.

Programmer ✅ He has a doctorate in computer science and works with the Technology Department, so he likely knows how to programm.

Their altruistic philosophy ✅ literally matches Ratio's to a T.

"The science of the guild is gathered here" ✅ Ratio does science.

Naturally its possible that the guild has more schools than just these ones, but. well anyway lets keep going.

In 2.1, Ratios goal in Penacony is specifically to get Stellaron Research Papers from the Family.

"achieved what he desired" (to which he replies, "Thats true.") So, Ratio is doing research on Stellarons. interesting! this is a surprise tool that will help us later.

Anyway, Ratio was invited as a science consultant to Hertas space station, and its possible that it was during the events of Crown of the Mundane and Divine that the IPC allied with Herta

- Interastral Peace Broadcast Radio

Herta is known for a lot of things, but shes also one of the only people whos been able to seal a Stellaron and keep it "dormant", to the point that the Stellaron Hunters specifically used her sealed Stellaron for the Trailblazer.

Although Himeko later says that no one, not even Herta, has found a way to destroy a Stellaron.

Its interesting that Herta is emphasized, likely meaning that shes basically the universe's Foremost Expert On Stellarons. Naturally, the IPC allying with her couldve been for other reasons too, though.

In the same broadcast its said that the IPC has been doing research on Stellarons with the Intellgentsia Guild's support, and currently, their results are promising.

So, the IPC does research on Stellarons, recently allied with Herta who happens to be a bit of a specialist on Stellarons, has the guild's support, and recently Ratio acquired Stellaron Research papers, implying that hes the one doing research on it.

Fun bit: Stellarons are called "Cancer of all worlds" and technically what theyre doing could be considered "trying to cure cancer" which is funny because Ratio's a medical doctor and that absolutely sounds like something hed do.

But what school in the Intellgentsia Guild would do research on Stellarons? None of them seem to really have anything to do with them? how would you even classify Stellarons? biology????

Worry no more, I have the answer:

The Candelagraphos

Theyre requesting data on Stellarons for their experiments. I rest my case (bows)

that was kind of the conclusion. Ratio's department is absolutely the Candelagraphos, hes doing research on Stellarons with the IPC, and it is undoubtedly going to be very very relevant in the plot (soon? ish? eventually).

id love if we got more lore on him once that happens. He absolutely has ties to the Laurel Wreath Galaxy and the Philosophers Union. Maybe that wont be relevant in the Stellaron Chapter but. well, theres ample foreshadowing that Emperor Rubert is going to make a comeback and he was the reason said galaxy and philosophers even perished and Screwllum recently uncovered his tomb alongside a member of the guild? so??? pretty please. thank you 🙏

Ratio stonks will rise

#dr. veritas ratio #honkai star rail #hsr #ratio kinda lives in my head rent-free #theres so many weird things about him. i didnt even go into those. but theres PLENTY #vampy.txt #its also extremely funny to me how minor of a role he had in penacony #casually figures out dormancy. woke up from the dream alone. just keeps chilling afterwards????#also there was that weird part where he went to the auction for unknown reasons #that guy..... hes a walking chekhovs gun

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