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imagineswriting47 · 3 years

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Running away

A/N: This is for the Anon who asked ‘ Hello! I saw that your requests were open, and I want to know if it’s possible to write a Dean x reader story where the reader has a dark/sad past ( maybe worse than the Winchesters?) that extends outside of America, like an international type of deal? Then maybe dean does something rude or finds something out and treats her badly, just something that causes her to run away? I literally have no plot to this! Thank you in advance! I want to apologize for this taking so long to get out.

Summary: When Dean finds out the truth about Y/N he doesn’t take it to well.

Parring: Dean/Reader

Warnings: None

Tag List: @akshi8278

If you had told me ten years ago that monsters and demons were real, I would have laughed about it. I would be thinking that you were saying some terrible jokes. Now I know differently. Watching monsters kill my whole family changed everything. How I survived, I will never know. Running away from everything didn't solve anything, either. Flying to America, I hoped that I could leave monsters hunting behind and the British Men of Letters. I couldn't. Once a monster hunter, always a monster hunter. So when I heard about some strange killings the town over from where I had been staying, I had to check it out. Meeting the Winchesters was not what I expected. Nor were they anything like I had been lead to believe. When everything was said and done with the hunt, Sam asked if I would like to come along. I said, 'no.' I gave them my number to call if they needed anything anyway.

After meeting Sam and Dean, I started hunting again. I was meeting other hunters along the way as well. But somehow, the Winchesters and I kept crossing paths. Every time they would ask me to come along with them, I told them 'no.' But the more that I hunted with them, the more I found myself wanting to go with them. For the first time since I lost my family, I felt safe with someone. But how would they handle the truth about me? My past is not pretty. The things that I did for the British Men of Letters are things that I can't forgive myself for. They will hate me if they know the truth about me. But Sam, with those puppy dog eyes, how could I say no. Even when I got a room in the Bunker, I still kept my distance. I was doing my best to keep my past from them. They could never know how much I care about both of them. I fear that they could use it against me, or someone could use the brothers against me.

The past, no matter how hard you run from it, will always find you.

A simple hunt that turned out to be demons changed everything. Demons lie; everyone knows this. But these demons were not lying about me. And when the beast was dead, Dean asked if the creature was telling the truth. Did I sell my soul? My silence was answer enough for him. Then the yelling started. I was everything that he said. I was no better than the monsters that we hunted. While my soul was still mine, it was dirty and tainted by the darkness that is Hell. It doesn't matter to him that my soul is still mine and that I still have my soul. That I managed to get the demon who I sold my soul to break their end of the deal was a miracle. By breaking their end of the agreement, they were making the deal void. Dean didn't care about that, and the whole way back to the Bunker, Dean was silent after Sam got Dean to stop yelling and get in the car. A yelling Dean I knew how to deal with but a quiet Dean that was a bad thing. When the car came to a stop, I all but jumped from the car and went to my room. Closing the door behind me, I sat on my bed. Only a moment later, the door was thrown open by Dean.

"Were you going to tell us?" Dean spoke the quiet furry easy to hear in his voice. I didn't know what more he wanted me to say. What could I say? "You lied to me—your just another monster. I trusted you to have Sam, and I's back. I trusted you, and I should never have done that..." I don't hear anything after that; his words keep getting harsher and harsher. Seeing the chance when Dean stepped further into my room, I ran. Once past him, I let the tears fall down my face. When I felt like I ran into a wall only to have two arms wrap around me.

"Y/N?"

"I'm sorry, Sam. I'm just so sorry." I whisper as I pull away from him. Running to the garage, I jump into my old car. Once out and onto the road, I drive. There was no destination in my mind; I just kept driving; my tears had long since dried, not having the energy go further. I pull into a little service road with the car off. The silence is defining. I did not realize how used to the boys always talking I had gotten.

Climbing into the back of my car, I lay down. Pillowing my jacket under my head, I let the blackness of sleep pull me under. Though my sleep was restless, I could not get more than a couple of minutes of rest. The sun shining in the car's window decided for me that it was time to start moving again. Sitting up, I rub my face trying to wake myself up the best that I can. Climbing back into my car's front seat, I turn the car over and get back out onto the road. I keep heading west following the sun, still with no destination in mind. I only stop when I get hungry or need to use the bathroom. Putting as much distance that I can between the Winchesters and myself.

Just before nightfall, I find a small little town that has a cheap motel in it. Thanking my stars tonight, I pull into the motel parking lot. I was pulling out the little bag of clothing that I keep in the trunk of my car as a 'just in case kind of thing. The motel was reasonable but also dirty as most cheap motels come. Also, it doesn't look like any redecorating has been done since the eighties. After all the salt lines are laid out, I make my way to the shower. The water is thankfully hot, and I let it relax the muscles of my back. I was washing my body before stepping out of the shower. Towel drying my hair, I quickly re-dress and head out of my motel room. I am running into a small town looking for someplace to get something to eat. The town's dinner was little and '50s themed like much of all the diners I had obtained food over the years. Ordering my meal to go, I quickly make my way back to my hotel room. I eat fast, not even tasting what I was eating, knowing that I need to see what I had left in my car. At this point, I considered what had been left at the Bunker lost, and I needed to know what I needed to replace. The bags I felt had some weapons left in them but not enough to keep hunting for long. But I had left my phone behind in my room.

Over the next couple of days, I manage to get some money for doing some hustling at the bars. With that money, I got myself some new clothing and a burner phone. By the end of the week, I move to another town. I kept moving like that week after week, hustling money as I went. Three months after leaving the Bunker, sitting in a small bar, I hear the door open. Sitting where I was, I could see the door and those that walked in, but they could not see me. Standing in the doorway are the Winchesters. I wait for them to get to the bar with their backs to me before standing up and making my way out of the bar.

Once back at my motel room, I pack up my things, cleaning up, making it as if I was never there. By the time I am finished, I can hear the Impala's unmistakable sound pulling into the lot. I wait to hear a door close than wait longer to be sure before stepping out of my room. I am quickly making my way over to the car. I set my things in the passenger seat before walking over to the office. Once checked out and everything paid, I make my way back to my car. At the same time, my attention was elsewhere. I failed to notice Sam stepping out of his room. Sam doesn't see who I am until I am standing next to my car with my head down. "Y/N?" I hear Sam say to me as he moves to be standing on the other side of my car.

"Hey, Sammy," I say as I look up to him. Only the Sam that I see is not the same Sam that I left at the Bunker. This Sam looks so tired like he hasn't slept in weeks; the dark rings under his eyes are so dark. He even looks like he has lost weight. His clothing seems to hang on him. "I can't believe it, Y/N. Dean and I have been looking for you." When he mentions Dean, I can't help but cringe back, Remembering Dean saying that he should kill me. "Y/N?" When I hear my name, I look up to Sam. I can see the concern in his eyes.

"I can't, Sammy. I'm sorry, I-I have to go." I whisper to him as I pull my car door open. Making a decision quickly, I pull out a piece of paper and write my new number on it for him. 'Don't tell Dean.' I finish off the note before handing it to him. Once in my car, I don't wait to see if Sam reads the message before pulling out of the parking lot. I'm not on the road long before I hear my phone start to ring. Wanting to put more space between us, I don't answer.

I drive for the rest of the day and all through the night. I don't stop until I cross over into Ohio. I stop at the first motel that I come across. Once in my room, I plug in my phone before falling into bed. I am woken up hours later to my phone going off.

Grabbing it off the table, I find that Sam is calling me. "Are you alone?" Are the first words out of my mouth before Sam could even say anything. "Yes." Sam and I talk for hours after that. Mostly it was just me telling Sam that I was okay. That no, I hadn't been hunting. Then he asked what happened the night that I left the Bunker as Dean wouldn't talk about it. So I start from the beginning by telling him everything. The secrets that I had kept from him, why I sold my soul, how I got out of it. What Dean said to me and how it scared me.

Sam fills me in on everything that had happened since I left. I can't believe what Sam tells me how worried Dean got when he realized that I hadn't returned to the Bunker the next day. After a week, Dean was freaking out, calling everyone that we all knew to see if they had seen me or heard from me. At first, I thought it was because he was trying to follow through with what he had said in my room. Sam said that all he kept saying was that he needs to apologize.

Sam and I keep talking for weeks after that first phone call. He keeps his promise and doesn't tell Dean about our conversations. But with each chat I have with Sam, I make my way closer to the Bunker. Sam doesn't know this, but I plan on seeing him again in the next couple of weeks. Sending a text to Sam when I get into town, I tell him where I am staying. He doesn't get back to me right away, but when he does, it doesn't take him long to show up at my hotel room. Once my door is open, I am pulled open into a bone-crushing hug. "It's good to see you too, Sam."

"Same to you, Y/N." When Sam pulls away from me, I can get a good look at Sam. He looks so much better than the last time than I saw him. The dark circles are gone, and he seems like he has been eating better. "You look better, Sammy. How's Dean?" What Sam has been telling me about Dean is making me worry.

"It's not good, Y/N. I don't know the last time he slept. I can't get him to stop looking; it's killing me not to tell him that you are okay." Sam sits on the bed in the room with his head in his hands.

"Do you-Do you think that it would help if I went to the bunker?" I whisper to him as I take a seat next to him. This was my plan when I came here, but to hear Sam talking is making me nervous to see him again. It's been six months since I have been back. "Would you?" I can see the hope in his eyes as he lifts his head and looks at me. Shrugging my shoulders, I stand up and hold my hand out to him, pulling him to his feet. "Let's go." I want to get out of the door before I change my mind. It doesn't take long before we are pulling up to the Bunker and making our way inside. Sam stays back, letting me walk in first. The Bunker is quiet, not much noise to be heard, nothing like it was before when I was living here.

"Sam, where did you go?" I hear a yell for the library turning, I look at Sam, and he smiles at me in pushing me to the library. Dean has his back to me when I first see him again. "It's not Sam," I say to him. I can see him freeze before turning slowly to look at me. "Hi, Dean," I say when I can see his face. His face is pale; he looks so tired and underfed. I don't get the chance to get a good look at him before I have an arm full of Dean. For Dean being so much taller than me, he seems so small in my arms. But what makes me the most surprised is when I can feel tears on my neck. I start to walk backward and out of the room, slowly making our way to his room. Dean doesn't seem to realize that we are even moving. He is shaking in my arms but not making any noise either. Once in his room and laying down on his bed, all he keeps mumbling is 'sorry.' I keep whispering soothing words in his ears, hoping to get him to calm down. Slowly he stops shaking, the tears stop falling, and his breathing gets deeper, letting me know that he has fallen asleep. Not long after he is sleeping, so am I.

I don't know how long we are asleep, but I am woken up to the feeling of a hand on my cheek. Opening my eyes, I find Dean's green ones looking back at me. Looking Dean in the face, he looks better already; the dark marks under his eyes less pronounced his cheeks have color back in them. "You okay?" I ask him as I place my hand over his that is on my face.

"I should be asking you that Y/N," Dean whispers to me, his eyes closing as he says this. "I'm fine, Dean, I promise." I smile at him even though I know that he can't see it. Not knowing what to do, I move his hand off my face; turning my back to him, I sit up. "But I couldn't stay, Dean, not after everything. I-I'm not staying for long. I just thought that I would come and see you and Sammy." I can feel the bed moving behind me as Dean stands from the bed. He moves around the bed and stands in front of me. Dean is turning on the bedside light before kneeling in front of me.

"Y/N, I can never tell you how sorry that I am for what I said. I will never admit this outside of this room, but I was afraid. I sold my soul. I know what could have happened to you, and I don't want that for you. You are so beautiful and kind and everything that is good." Dean looks like he wanted to say more, but he doesn't. He takes a deep breath before standing up and turning his back to me. His shoulders fall.

"Dean, I'm sorry. But I couldn't tell you; I didn't know-how. I want to stay here. But I don't think that I can, not after everything. I know that I am better off on my own..." I don't get to finish my sentence before he turns back to face me, grabs my face in both of his hands, and kisses me. It could be barely be called a kiss more of a dry press of his lips against mine. "Please..." I can feel him whisper against my lips. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, I lean up and kiss him. The kiss is rough, all teeth and tongue saying everything that both of us just couldn't put into words. I feel his hands on my ass before he is lifting me up. I warp my legs around his waist as he turns and presses me against the wall.

We kiss for what feels like hours about cant be more than a couple of minutes. "Don't leave me." I hear Dean whisper as he pulls away from this kiss. His head once again resting on my shoulder. I grip tighter to the short hair at the back of his neck before whispering, "There is nowhere that I would rather be."

With my feet back on the floor and the both of us cling to each other, I know that we have a lot that we need to talk about, and my past is one of them, but maybe this really is where I am meant to be.

A/N: Thank you for reading. Please leave a heart and a re-blog. My requests are still open but it might take some time for me to get them out.

#supernatural #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural fic #supernatural imagine #supernatural x reader #dean winchester #sam and dean #dean winchester fanfiction #dean x reader #dean x you #Sam Winchester #sam winchester fanfiction #sam winchester imagine #sam winchester x reader

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soapdish290 · 4 years

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Harrow the Ninth may be one of the best books I’ve ever read.

Under the cut for some of the questions I need the answers to, as well as me mulling some implications / potential theories.

Harrow the Ninth is horrifically, horrifically dense, and is the first book I’ve ever read that made me take actual honest to god notes on first reading, but my entire GOD is it worth while.

I’ve never ready anything with a form / point of view quite so immensely complicated whilst still adding to and complimenting the narrative. Absolutely masterful shit.

I’m going to go hog wild with spoilers under the cut.

Edited in a probably fruitless attempt to make the formatting not The Worst on Mobile

IT WAS NEVER IN SECOND PERSON OEFHAUIOFNBaufbhAPIhbaip

It was always Gideon. I kind of jokingly wondered if it was back when I first heard it was going to be written partially in second person, but I didn’t BELIEVE it!

Things we should have known

1. There are so many clues that Harrow has inexpertly switched her cognition of the very word ‘Gideon’. I mean we know she’s wiped HER Gideon out of her head way back in Chapter 2 when John talks about Harrow’s Cav, name drops Ortus, and Harrow notices “As he spoke, his mouth looked strange.” Well yes, hearing something out of sync with what’s actually spoken will do that!

But we can actually see that it’s MORE than that way back in the Dramatis Personae. Everyone has their name, written out grammatically and normally, and then we have ORTUS. All in caps.

Obviously the real tell however is the codenames in Chapter 36. We know from Cytheria’s funeral that the Lyctors are naming themselves [Necro first name] [Cav first name]. The codename’s reflect this - apart from ‘Ortus’s’, which is G.P. P for Phyrra, G for Gideon. That’s when I got it.

What I MISSED, is that this tells us, right there and then, that he was very involved with our Gideon, who is named for her mother’s last word. Her mother whose last word was for OG Gideon.

2. Palamedes knew there was a perfect Lyctorhood and outright told us way back in chapter 33. “Tell me you [became a Lyctor] correctly. [...]Tell me you finished the work. You out of everyone could have worked out the end to the beginning I was starting to explicate”. I had to stop and stare at a wall for a bit with the implications of this one, at the time.

Things we now know

1. The thing for me, the real thing, is how goddamned casually the answer to one of the biggest mysteries is dropped. It’s an afterthought. Chapter 51:

“You clawed my face so bad that my blood ran down your hands; my face was under your fucking fingernails. When I let you go you couldn’t even stand, you just crawled away and threw up. Were you ten, Harrow? Was I eleven?

Was that the day you decided you wanted to die?”

Gideon is trying to work something out. She’s trying to parse together how Harrow opened the locked tomb. The entire opening part of this chapter is Gideon’s brain, whirling, working, following the reveal that the Necrolord Undying’s “unbreakable ward” was a blood ward. Rightfully, a ‘cell’ ward. And that Gideon is God’s blood.

So what have we learned?

In order:

We've learned that only John could open the ward. That Harrow couldn't possibly. That the latter half of her life has been a tragedy based, as is oft the case, on a misapprehension.

Then we learn that God is wrong, because he doesn't understand blood wards as well as he thinks he does.

We learn at the same time, through implication, that the locked tomb is blood warded (and think back to Gideon Prime's advice to Harrow RE warding).

Then we learn that our Gideon was birthed to be a weapon used to open the locked tomb. She is the blood of God.

And here, casually, that when Harrow decided to commit suicide by ward, she did so with our Gideon's fresh blood underneath her fingernails.The locked tomb has been open for 8 years.

(as an aside this is ‘casual’ because Gideon’s entire goddamn existence has just been torn asunder by learning her parentage and hearing what might become known, in the literary canon, as The Dad Joke Undying. It’s casual and seemingly disconnected because Gideon is dissociating to FUCK and Muir is a damn MASTER of linguistic form echoing narrative function).

2. “Alecto had your eyes from the moment any of us first saw her.” Harrow, who is in love the the body in the tomb, would have seen this, too. A 10,000 year old body with the same exact eyes as Gideon Nav. Nothing specific to add here. Just... worth noting. There are potential implications.

3. Oh yeah, Wake’s spirit was in the sword as well as Cytheria sometimes. OG Gideon probably knew this when he was macking on the corpse, seeing as both he and his Cav were fucking her. Although she ALSO very much tried to kill OG Gideon, so go figure. Wake was haunting Harrow and trying to steal her body. Apparently people were having trouble with this.

Things we do not know, but would like to.

1. ‘“Augustine”, he said, “if the man you were - the man you were before you died, before the Resurrection - could hear what you just said to me, he’d tear your throat out.” Augustine said, “Thanks for confirming that.” And then he was silent.’

So, this has some pretty legit implications right? Augustine has just told John to give up on his ‘invasion force’. So either Augustine has changed over 10,000 years and John hasn’t, or else Augustine was LITERALLY someone else before the resurrection. This leads in to the next thing that I Would Very Much Like to Know:

2. What the BALLS caused the Resurrection. What WAS the resurrection. Why was it necessary. Why does John need an invasion force? What, succinctly, the fuck is going on?

3. John says that he will forgive OG Gideon for failing to “fix or put down” Harrow. A scant page later he says that he “was trying to save her”. Save her. By ‘putting her down’. That’s not the language you use for someone you’re trying to save. That’s the language you use to minimise what you’re doing. What the fuck was John doing. Who was he manipulating. He told Harrow he wished she was his daughter. He asked OG Gideon to try and kill her. Why. What the fuck my dude.

3. The Stoma at the bottom opened for John. They’re only supposed to open for the Resurrection Beasts. “some kind of heinous underworld that only opened for the undead souls of monstrous planets”. What the fuck IS John, at this point? I can’t help remember that he had bodies and souls left from the Resurrection - he used them at the start of the book to rejuvenate the Ninth House and ‘buy’ Harrow. I’m reminded of Teacher from Gideon, who was 50 men. Of Harrow herself, who is 200 children. How many is John? Cytheria said she was doing her work on behalf of the 10 billion. The population of earth in the presents near future? of the solar system? Going back around to an earlier point, WHAT DID JOHN DO.

4. Gideon-in-Harrow is saved by the body. By Alecto, who speaks “with the wrong voice twice removed”. Whose voice? Why is it wrong? Who is she talking to when she asks for chest compressions? I assume she’s with Blood of Eden? With the Sixth and Coronabeth?

5. The Harrow who wrote the letters still knows more than we do. She knew that Camilla was around, that Corona was, that Judith was. She knew enough to know that Judith would need to be muted instantly.

6. The Epilogue. To me the implication is that they have Harrow’s body, but do not know who is driving. They give the bones and the sword, and look for a reaction.

7. Gideon’s body. Where is it. The assumption is that Blood of Eden have it. Why.

8. Oh, Gideon outright states that Ianthe was playing games with Harrow, up to and including lying about seeing Cytheria’s body under her bed (fucking nightmare fuel right there by the by). Not surprising, but oddly specific if just doing it for shits and giggles. Could just be that Ianthe assumed Harrow was doing all the made shite on her own and just egging her along, could be something else. Doubt we’ll find this one out, I’m probs overthinking.

I’m definitely missing a lot. I could also list the fucking effortlessly cool shit that keeps happening in this book, but this is long enough.

#Harrow the Ninth #Harrow the ninth spoilers #The Locked Tomb #The Locked Tomb spoilers #Tamsyn Muir #this is a fucking long post #and I'm not joking about the spoilers

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octalove · 4 years

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Back Then

(Batsis/Jason Todd/Dick Grayson)

Description: Reader’s little brother is having some trouble adjusting to his new life. Sad toward the end.

The sun was bashfully hiding behind some thin gray clouds, not unusual for any given afternoon. Leaning against my still-warm black Maybach 57, I tried not to grow impatient. “Maybe he joined an after school activity.” Dick mumbled through the Twix bar I’d picked up for him at the vending machine during lunch. He was sitting in the front seat, with the window rolled down, listening to Adele. I rolled my eyes, knowing full well that Jason Peter Todd would rather be skinned than join an after school activity. Still, though, Gotham Preparatory School for Boys had let out eleven minutes ago, and most of the other boys had gotten into their parent’s cars and sped away to their uptown abodes. Dick and I had come straight from Gotham Academy, punctual as usual, so as to avoid a folly of disapproving glares from dad and Alfred at dinner tonight. Where the hell was that kid?

“Maybe he ran away. Joined the circus.” Dick tried again. “Maybe I’m gonna put you in a circus.” “Back in a circus.” He corrected with a grin. Finally, at 4:15, Jason emerged from the school’s artfully carved wooden doors. His head was bowed, dark hair sticking up in all different directions, brow furrowed. He looked small in his school uniform, plaid socks and disheveled blazer. He hugged a book to his chest. A leathery hand lay on his shoulder, attached to a spindly man in his late 50’s, with receding salt and pepper hair, and golden oval glasses perched on his beak-like nose. I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms, and upon spotting me, the man turned pale as a ghost, just as Jason looked up to reveal a purple bruise under his eye. He snapped his gaze back down. Dick quickly assessed the situation as well, and hopped out of the car, standing equal to me at a solid 5’8, but with all the toned muscle of a gymnast since walking age. We were about to play good cop bad cop- me, the polite, sophisticated elder sister who didn’t want to involve her egregiously powerful father, unless provoked by lack of cooperation, and Dick, the ill-tempered 15-year-old brother ready to raise hell if he didn’t get a good idea of what the fuck happened.

“Headmaster Ellison.” I said tersely, smoothing out my Gotham Academy uniform. I was thoroughly familiar with him from Dick’s days at the prep school- he’d called him Headmaster Hellison, and had a catalogue of grievances as long as his list of unfinished assignments.

“Ah, Miss Wayne. You look lovely today.” I had to steel my face into something vaguely agreeable, because even though it appeared he was the one afraid of me, I was 17 and in a schoolgirl skirt, and something about getting complimented by old men always skeeved me.

“What happened?” I cut right to the point, deciding small talk might soften my resolve, and I was in the mood for this to piss me off.

“Well, you see, we had a small incident today-“

“It’s okay! Can we go home?” Jason piped up abruptly and nervously, eyes pleading with me to let it go. Unfortunately, Waynes skewed toward long grudges.

“Come here, let me see.” I said more softly. Stiffly, Jason trudged across the neatly cut grass, still avoiding my eye. The bruise itself wasn’t bad, but I could tell it had just begun to bloom.

The Headmaster cleared his throat. “Jason has been encountering some problems with some of the other boys. This wouldn’t be the first incident, but it did escalate this time-“

“Not the first incident?” I clipped.

“It never got physical before, just some small verbal altercations that we easily handled.”

“Obviously they weren’t handled.” It was Dick’s turn to interrupt. It always struck me how he could make his voice go from lazily playful to stark and authoritative, biting off words almost as effectively as dad. Who needed Batman and Robin when Y/N Wayne and Dick Grayson were on the case?

“Please, can we just go? I’m okay, honest.” Jason begged, grabbing my hand and tugging just a little. His bronzed face was all swollen and puffy- not just from the fight. I could tell his eyes were rimmed with red. But he looked at me with all the determination and bravado of a street rat from Gotham, and my heart always bled for him in that regard. I sighed.

“Well, I have violin practice here shortly, Headmaster Ellison, so I’m going to take my brother home,” I bit off the brother part with a special zeal to emphasize that Jason Todd, no matter his name or background, was a Wayne, and I was his reminder. “And my father will be calling this evening to handle it once he gets off work.” Work that includes being able to liquidize this whole school right into his bank account in the time it takes to send an email.

“Get in, Jason.” I said. He did.

After a silent ride home, in which Dick tried to coax the full story out of an increasingly moody Jason, we arrived back at the manor whereupon I briefed Alfred, concerned, supportive, and called dad, exasperated, quiet. I let my little brother stew in his room until later that night, when I finally got tired of waiting him out and knocked on the door.

“Jaybird.” I cooed softly.

“…”

“Jay. If I open this door and you’re not there, I will set up the largest manhunt this city has ever witnessed.”

“I’m okay.” A quiet voice called back, sounding annoyed.

“May I come in?” I asked.

“…”

“Ok.”

I cracked the door open. He was balled up in his window nook, engrossed in a book. The room was dark, and he was reading with a flashlight, which was really unnecessary because he had about a dozen lamps, including a really cool lava lamp that Dick had gotten him. He’d changed out of his uniform and into pants and a hoodie, his hood pulled over with the strings pulled taut. He glanced down at the keys in my hand, narrowing his eyes.

“Come on.” I said.

“Where?”

“You haven’t eaten since you got home, kiddo.” His gaze fell askance. When it came to Jason, food was the way to ensure the answer was yes, whatever the question was.

“Can you bring me back something?” He grumbled quietly after a moment. I shook my head.

“I’m going to Sherman’s. Dine in only. One time offer.” I said with a smile. He frowned.

“I don’t wanna talk to Bruce.”

“Bruce isn’t coming. Just you and me. And we don’t even have to talk.” After some consideration, he pulled himself from his nook and brushed past me on his way out. I grinned to myself. Too easy.

Sherman’s Diner was the finest restaurant experience in Gotham City. The reflection of the neon lights skewed across puddles which danced with the drizzling rain. Fuchsia, cyan, lime green, red. Cracked white tiles and a sign with Sherman himself; a little plump chef man who, despite his jovial countenance and enthusiastic smile, appeared to be weeping tears of rust. Inside, the floor was unswept, the tables a bit sticky from all the no-show teenage staff of the payroll, and one of the lights above a lonely booth flickered. Jason loved it. The waitresses loved him.

“Come on in and sit down, hun, we’ll get ya some coffee!” A blonde woman called from behind the counter. One thing about Gothamites and Diners, black coffee was a 24/7 ordeal; 9pm on a school night was no exception. I let Jason pick the booth- he usually went for the same one, creature of habit that he was. We slid into the cool, torn red leather and neither of us needed to look at the menu. We sipped our coffees quietly for a while- Jason pretending to like it because it was the worldly thing to do. He’d never admit that he only started after he saw that dad and I always passed on sugar and cream.

It seemed our little evening standoff was going to bleed into the night. I took it as an opportunity to show him how patient I could be when necessary. The waitress- Darcy- set down a small slice of Oreo cake on the table. For him. Finally, he sighed, taking a bite of it.

“I hate school.” He mumbled.

“The school? Or the kids?” He didn’t answer. “What happened, Jay? Last week you loved school.”

“I like English.” He offered.

“Jason.” I said, leaning forward and folding my hands on the table. Food hadn’t worked. Patience was out the window. It was time to apply pressure. “If you don’t tell me who hit you, I, on my honor as a Wayne, am obligated to track down every snotty little boy who ever set foot in Gotham Prep and hit their snotty little faces to see how they like it.”

Jason’s lips tugged into a smile, which he fought, and eventually lost. So he hid it behind his cake. But after a minute, his smile fell. Something else crossed his face and he looked out the window.

“I hit first.” He said quietly. Solemnly. I blinked at him, surprised.

“You did?”

“Yeah. Jared Mullins. I hit him first.”

“Why?”

He sniffed, furrowing his brow to try and fool me into believing he was something tougher than a ten year old boy. Maybe he was. Tougher than the likes of whoever the hell Jared Mullins was. “He said…”

I waited.

“He said I was poor. Said I don’t belong at the school. That Bruce only took me in cause he felt sorry for me.”

“Sounds like he deserved to get hit.” I sipped my coffee. He didn’t smile again. A beat passed in its place.

“I don’t know why I hit him.”

“Because it was a stupid thing to say.” He shook his head.

“That’s not it. He was right.”

My heart fluttered in my chest. “Jason! The fuck he was. You know that’s not true.” Alfred would’ve been appalled to have me cuss in front of him, as if it wasn’t a large majority of his vocabulary since before he came to the manor.

“You don’t get it.” He said, eyes glued to the rain on the window. “You’re his daughter. His real daughter.”

“And Dick isn’t his real son?” Dick was usually the one to advise him when his legitimacy came into question, not me. Because in truth, I didn’t understand. Jason didn’t answer the question. A plate of chicken tenders and fries appeared, but they went untouched.

“Look at me please.” He did.

“It doesn’t matter that you’re not dad’s real son. And it definitely doesn’t matter that Jared whoever the hell thinks so or not. Dad took you in because of who you are, and everything you’re going to be. You belong in this family and wherever else you go, because you’re worthy of everything Gotham has to offer- and more.”

Jason’s face crumpled a little before he composed himself, blinking fast and wrestling with the emotion. He didn’t say thanks, but that was thanks enough.

“Hey. Did you see how scared Headmaster Hellison was?” I asked smugly.

A small smile. “Yeah.”

“That’s because you’re one of us. And we scare the piss out of people like him and Jared Mullins. Cause we’re a damn good family.”

Jason smiled at me. “Yeah. I guess we are.”

People like us

I watched- all I could do was watch. There was no way in hell I could stop him. The Jason that stood before me was 6’3 and impenetrable. Even if I thought I could get the gun from his hand, I wasn’t going to save anyone. The only thing about himself he kept when he drug himself out of the grave was his stubborn conviction. Anyone he wanted dead would wind up that way.

Scare the piss out of people like him.

The man let out a guttural, desperate noise as he tried to crawl away, pale as a ghost as Jason stood over him. He was a criminal, to be sure, but not one willing to die for his trade. Evidently, that wasn’t enough.

Cause we’re a damn good family.

“Red Hood! Stand down, now.” Batman’s voice snarled, echoing off of the concrete walls and floor. I flinched. Jason didn’t. A single shot, blood spatter, all the rest. His red monochrome helmet was on the ground, black hair all mussed and disheveled from the fight. A bruise was blooming under his eye.

His gaze flicked up, landing on me. Any trace, any remnant of my brother was gone. The man who came back was a dejected, solemn thing, who carried this dark look in his eye and looked like he could eat me whole. I tried to convey something to him with my eyes. It didn’t appear to take effect.

“You’re late to the party.” His voice rumbled in his chest, and he turned his attention to Batman.

I tried not to let my voice shake as I stepped forward.

“We’re here now.” I said.

His jaw clenched at the sound of my voice. Something grim passed his features.

“Yeah. I guess we are.”

192 notes · View notes

kayrogers · 4 years

Text

sugar baby ][ r. drysdale

50 shades / CEO au

Paring(s): ceo!ransom x curator!reader

Inspo: the embarrassing amount of ransom smut I've read

Word Count: 2300+

Warning(s): cursing, implied smut, unequal power-dynamic, mention of kinks, and ransom being the hot douche he is

Part: part 1 | part ??

A/N: imma be real with y’all I saw knives out in theaters like three times and I am absolute ransom trash, I apologize

It was already a shitty day.

By the time you had reached Thrombey Selects, you were on the verge of frustrated tears and you hadn’t even gone into your interview yet.

Your day started normal enough, you prepared for your interview and organized your portfolio about ten different times before you could run out the door. Coffee was a better option than actual food for breakfast as the thing really filling your stomach was anxiety. You had only gotten your masters recently and it was a miracle that you were given an interview at Thrombey Selects, only having pulled together minimal art galleries — most of which were done as part of getting your degree in the first place.

Then there was the subway. It felt like it took forever to get to the Lower East Side, especially being sat between two men with no concept of personal space and a snot-nosed two year old giving you a stink eye across the aisle. And to make matters worse you got a coffee spilled on your dress right as you walked off the train. The woman who spilled it actually had the audacity to scream at your face, and say it was your fault, like she wasn’t nose-deep in her phone. Luckily, you had left your apartment super early and you stopped at the nearest department store you could find. A too-expensive little black dress later and you were on your way to Thrombey Selects. And then it down poured and by the time you walked into the building, every inch of you was drenched in water.

You took a deep breath, approaching the receptionist with rain droplets falling from your hair and onto the floor. She looked up at you with an unimpressed gaze, stating that you’d be meeting with a Mr. Drysdale ‘whenever he felt like showing up’. You weren’t exactly sure what that meant but you took it as a chance to dry off.

Stepping away towards an empty hallway you were quick to work, taking up residence next to a decorative plant and ringing your hair out into the pot. Taking off your cardigan was the most work, the grey material sticking to your skin like glue. You undoubtedly looked like a madman, wrestling to get the knit off and finally slicking it onto the floor to reveal the tight little number you bought.

“Quite the weather, huh?” A deep male voice said from behind you.

You jumped and nearly tripped over your heels as you turned around to find the source. That source being a very gorgeous man with piercing blue eyes. He had a confident smirk and carved features, it was almost like he was created by a sculptor in Rome.

“Oh- oh my gosh! Sorry, I um yeah... kinda got caught in the rain.” You blush with a sigh, still taking in the stranger’s appearance.

He dressed sharp, yet casual. Adorning himself in a black turtleneck and pants, accompanied by a brown trench coat and Chelsea boots. The accessory on him which drew the most attention though was a large, flowery scarf. You suddenly felt very aware of the less glamorous state of your dress and reached for the cardigan you so ungraciously plopped on the floor.

“You’re [Y/n], right? [Y/n] [Y/l/n]?” He shamelessly looked you up and down while saying that, only making you blush more.

“How do you know my-“

“Because I’m interviewing you. The name is Hugh Ransom Drysdale, but you can just call me Ransom. The help call me Hugh.” His lips curled into a wide smirk and he shook your hand as it changed into a white-toothed grin.

‘The help’ stuck in your head for a moment and nearly made you frown. Any man who talked like that came from money, lots of money. And he clearly wasn’t the type to be polite about it.

“Let’s head up to my office, Honey.” And with that the two of you were on your way.

You could help but feel his eyes on you with every step you took, each click of your heels hitting the floors like a deafening clock. He opens a door to reveal a sleek, modern office room complete with a portrait of Harlan Thrombey on the back wall. You would recognize that face anywhere after reading his novels repeatedly, his picture always located in the back. He was the reason you applied here in the first place, he was passionate and creative. Any man like him would be expected to have a taste for the arts.

Ransom took his seat behind the desk and you sat in front of him gripping your portfolio tightly while he pulled out a Manila file.

“It’s interesting that grandad picked you for the interview... from the looks of it, you’re extremely under qualified compared to the rest of the staff.” Ransom immediately listed off in a twisted tone, dismissive and intrigued all at once.

You pulled a tight-lipped smile, “and yet, here I am.”

He looked up from the file, blue eyes shooting into your own holding intent you could not read. The smirk appeared on his face once more.

“Tell me about yourself, [Y/n]. I want a better understanding.” You suddenly felt small in that moment, you knew what he was actually telling you.

‘Show me why I should give a fuck about you.’

“Uh- well I’m a hard worker. I come from a low income family so I’ve been working since I was 14, in my mom’s diner. I still serve to keep up with rent, but that’s at a classier place no offense to my mom. Art has um always been my passion though... I’m sorry, am I doing this right?” You bit your lip, staring across to see Ransom sporting a sneaky smile you didn’t understand.

“How bout I help you along? Are you prepared for a lot of physical work? How much do you exercise a week? I know you may think being one of our curators is easy work, but I like to run things differently here.” That confuses you.

You know how curation works, hell it’s why you got your degree but the only physical thing you ever did was hang paintings on a wall.

“Uh- I mean I workout when I can but I’m pretty busy. I serve so I get a lot of time on my feet. But, I’m sure I can handle whatever you throw at me!” You answered honestly and watched as he quirked an eyebrow.

“I’m sure you can Miss [Y/l/n]. So... any significant others?” Warmth filled your face at his question.

“No I am single- sorry I just don’t understand what this has to do with being a curator.” You finish with a smile to hide how unsure you were.

Ransom just grins back, “oh that is because I am opting you for a better position. Higher up, better pay grade, and more personal work with me. Here take a look,” He reaches into his desk and pulls out a black file, tossing it to you.

Opening the folder shows you a contract that makes your eyes nearly bulge out of your head.

‘Sugar Baby’ is in bold at the top.

Reading through, you become flustered seeing the requirements and perks. The pay is definitely better, but is it worth the submissive role he intends you to play? Calling him ‘Sir’? Your cheeks burn as you keep flicking through, seeing all his kinks and desires written in ink. The particular emphasis on bondage and the sub/dom dynamic made heat pool between your legs. You run your thighs together in instinct, missing how his eyes light up at the response.

“You don’t have to give me an answer right now. In fact, my cell is on there, take a few days to look it over and text me. If not, I can still offer you that basic paid internship of a position.” His eyes were intense when they met yours, hiding the gears which were in overdrive behind their deep blue.

He was manipulating you and he wasn’t even shy about it. You were ashamed to think that you didn’t mind it. This was insane! Completely unethical and gross, but you found yourself considering the position all the same. Especially given the rut you found yourself in for quite a while now in the sex department. Graduating and entering your career didn’t leave much time for any sexual encounters, excluding your dominant hand.

“Yeah- uhm I’ll definitely have to get back to you. Not that I’m not interested-“ Your voice betrayed you, coming out quiet and almost naive.

“- it’s a lot. Sleep on it, Babe.” He stood up and you took that as your signal to leave which you were thankful for.

“Thank you, Mr- sorry.. Ransom.” You stood as well, closing the folder and holding it tightly in your hands.

You move to grab your sopping cardigan but he scoops it up before you can.

“I’ll have our dry cleaners handle this, don’t need a potential employee getting pneumonia today. Take my jacket, I’m sure I’ll be getting it back soon.” He matter-of-factly states and hands you his trench coat.

You sling it on, feeling small in the garment made for the clearly muscular man. Even in your heels he towered over you.

“Thank you.” There’s a small smile on your face and you head towards the door.

He walks behind you, his hand finding the small of your back as he opens the office door for you.

“Can’t wait to hear from you, Miss [Y/l/n].” Ransom’s voice is low and his breath fans on the back of your neck as you exit and the door clicks behind you.

It was about 11 PM in your apartment as you sat on your bed thinking of perhaps the longest pro-con list you could with a glass of wine in hand.

You had been surfing on your laptop, gathering as much information as you could about Ransom Drysdale and the idea of being a ‘sugar baby’.

‘Pros: He’s gorgeous. We have a lot of the same kinks. It’s a lot more money than the internship. I’ll probably get some nice clothes out of this. I can stop waitressing. He’s really really hot. I have the opportunity to live my dream and work at my dream company, and get some good sex on the side.’ You thought, biting your lip and thinking too much about what he looked like without clothes on.

‘Cons: this is a very unprofessional proposition and definitely a little demeaning. He’s clearly a douche. The ‘help’ comment. I don’t know if he even is that good in bed. I don’t really know this man at all and now I’m basically signing a portion of my life to him. If he doesn’t think I’m good in bed, am I getting fucked over??’ You took a large gulp of wine, eyes focused on the computer screen in front of you.

Ransom’s crystalline eyes stared back at you through the screen, the picture from a Ralph Lauren photo shoot.

“Fuck, he’s a model too.” You muttered with a groan.

Of all the valid negatives that filled your mind, the heat pooling below your stomach at the thought of him taking control of you and your life felt much stronger. Were you a little messed up to even be considering this so heavily?? Fuck, probably.

But even so, the idea tantalized you in such a way that had you reaching for the folder to read through his demands once again.

You didn’t quite like the demands of you working out 4 times a week and completely overhauling your diet. Sure, you probably shouldn’t have been eating the amount of microwaveable and junk foods you usually did but that's none of his business! But perhaps these things could be amenable within the contract? You decided you wouldn’t take part unless they were.

But most importantly, you wouldn’t decide on anything without a good night’s sleep.

The next morning you stared at the contract as though it were the most important thing you could sign in your life. A weight settled on your shoulders and you avoided the piece of paper for the rest of the morning. Instead you decided to run through your daily routine, taking a shower and getting dressed for the day. You made yourself a cup of coffee and stared at your small apartment with a slight frown.

Reality rushed through you as you realized the position you were in before this opportunity presented itself. You have tremendous debt from school, even with the scholarships you had received. The shoebox you lived in was already barely affordable while you practically worked yourself to death at the upscale bar-restaurant you were currently employed with. The idea that you could leave all this and live lavishly on the payroll of one of the wealthiest families in New York, was one which had been growing on you enormously.

Impulsively, you grabbed your phone and typed his phone number into your messages.

‘Hello, Mr. Drysdale. Or I guess I should say, Ransom.

This is [Y/n] [Y/l/n]. I have thought over your offer and though I have a few concerns with certain aspects of the contract... I would be glad to talk them over with you and get to an agreement we are both comfortable with. I am indeed interested in this position.

When would you like to go over the details?’

You typed out the message, writing in the most professional manner you could (despite the content of the proposal). Pressing the send button sent a series of sparks through your skin and up your spine, butterflies filling your stomach.

Within minutes though, there was a response.

‘Saturday night. Be ready at 7 PM sharp. I will send a car for you. Can’t wait ;)’

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

taglist(s):

sugar baby -

permanent -

@ultrunning @jesseswartzwelder

#ransom drysdale #ransom drysdale imagine #ransom drysdale x reader #knives out imagine #chris evans imagine #ceo au #50 shades au #sugar daddy au

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fantasiesandbooks · 3 years

Text

From Ashes To New Fires

I don’t own any of the photos.

word count: 7.9 k

Chanyeol x Reader

Genre: Angst. Fluff. Romance

Prologue Part 1

Chanyeol was running through the halls of the palace. He had been summoned by the king in the big dining room and he knew, as well as the rest of the people living there, that it bothered him others will keep him waiting for too long.

“Hey!” One of the guards named Baekhyun yelled at him. The boy started jogging, trying to match Chanyeol’s pace.

“Not now” The other man said in between breaths.

“Where are you going?” Baekhyun panted.

“The King wants to see me” Chanyeol said, trying to keep his voice steady. “He sent Alfred to fetch me about 30 minutes ago”.

“He’s gonna be furious” Baekhyun pointed out.

“I know” Chanyeol said matter of factly.

“Are you still going with us after dinner?” The brown haired boy asked him.

“Let me see what the King wants first and I will catch up with you and the others” The tall boy said giving him a quick glance and quicken his pace.

“If you are not at the barracks at 8 o’clock, we will leave”. The other yelled as he stopped to look at his friend coming to a halt before he opened the dining room’s doors.

The room was quiet except for the cutlery’s clacking and a servant saying something to the King in a quiet voice.

Chanyeol looked at the front without giving a second glance at the decoration that was around them. There was no need since he knew the castle like the palm of his hand. All those years living there since he was a boy had made him familiar with the place and after becoming Captain of the Royal Guard well, it was his duty to know it that well. He walked until he was a few steps away from the other two people in the room. “You can go now” King Athereon said at the woman and waved a hand dismissively at her. The woman bowed. She glanced shyly at Chanyeol and kept her gaze down as she exited the room with her tray in hand.

The King turned to looked at the Captain and said “You are late”.

Chanyeol without faltering his gaze away from the King’s eyes answered him “Pardon me your Majesty. I was supervising the archery lessons on the east side and I came as soon as Alfred told me you wanted to see me”.

The King looked at him in silence for a moment. He didn’t look as angry as the tall boy would’ve imagined but didn’t look happy either. Most of the people in the castle and outside of it, according to Baekhyun’s perspective, were intimidated and afraid of him. He certainly wasn’t in the “Good and benevolent” king’s list and even people from other kingdoms knew that too. Nevertheless, Chanyeol and some other servants and guards already got used to his harsh manners so it was something that didn’t impress him anymore. The man only hummed in response and gave a sip from his wine cup.

“How is the training going? Can I expect fully prepared men or we would have to dispose some of them?” The man asked.

“They are training hard and have been improving a lot since last month your Highness. Of course you will have a very good army”. Chanyeol explained securely.

“I have just received a letter where they informed me that the meeting of Arethea will take place in five weeks from now. I need you and all of your men to be ready by then”.

The meeting of Arethea is a gathering that occurs once a year. All the Kings and Queens from the continent must go in order to discuss the problems of each one of the kingdoms and come up with solutions to fix them. It is also useful in case there are conflicts between two or more of the lands as they have to find diplomatic ways to maintain the peace. After The Great War 50 years ago, all the continent’s rulers came to an agreement on trying to maintain the peace so the destruction and death that once hit the land never occur again. Chanyeol looked at the man weirded out. Usually in that meeting the Kings and Queens were accompanied by a small group of people in which you could count their Royal Guards, family like wives and husbands or their first born heirs and some servants.

He didn’t understand why the King would want for all the army to be ready for that meeting.

“I don’t understand my Lord. I already have selected the men that are coming with us to the gathering”. Chanyeol said.

“I know that” The King said sternly “But this meeting is different. There are some kingdoms that are having problems due to the weather. Some had their crops flooded and others couldn’t harvest because of the droughts. They might be expecting for the rest of the lands to give them part of ours”. The King snorted and continued cutting his steak. Chanyeol could sense where this coversation was going but decided to kept quiet.

“I have had enough with being the remedy of their misfortunes” The King said. “If they doesn’t know how to rule then it’s time for them to give away their thrones to someone more fitting for the job”.

The tall boy looked at him and clenched his jaw. He knew after all, the King wasn’t expecting his opinion on the matter.

“Have your men ready in case there’s need to handle things differently. They are not coming to Arethea but I want at least half of them near the proximities of the land”.

“Yes my Lord” Chanyeol said dryly.

“And also, I have a mission for you” The King wiped his mouth with a napkin and threw it on the table. He stood from his chair and started walking towards the gates gesturing Chanyeol to follow him.

“Gather some of your best men. I need you to go to the lands outside the Kingdom and gather the leaders from most powerful magical creatures you could find”. The King’s voice echoed through the halls as they were walking to his office.

“Wizards, fairies, witches, whatever you come across” He opened the door as he went through and left it open for his guard to pass.

The King rummaged through the papers scattered around his desk. He took a map where it could be seen all the land across the continent including the Kingdoms and the land between them that belonged to no realm in particular. He signaled at the borders between Arethea and Tassea and said “Rumors said there is one of the most powerful coven there. Bring the witch in charge of it”.

“And what if she doesn’t want to come?” Chanyeol asked him.

“Then kill or arrest them all” King Athereon said sharply. “Seeing a witch trial it is always amusing for the people in town”.

Chanyeol didn’t like the idea but it was clear to him that nothing he could say would disuade the King from it. He gave an intake of breath and nodded.

“Tomorrow bring another map so you trace the spots you’re going to be looking for and the list with the names of the people that will go with you. You need to leave as soon as possible and be sure to arrive before we need to leave for the meeting.” The King sat on his chair as he was contemplating the map.

“Is there anything else you need, Sir?” Chanyeol asked him.

“That’s all. Leave and close the door behind you”. He was writing some things on his black note.

“Good night My Lord” The brown haired boy said as he turned around and left the room.

Baekhyun and the others were waiting impatiently at Chanyeol. There was already half past the hour they’ve agreed to meet.

“He’s not coming” Kyungsoo, one of the Royal guards said.

“Lets go. It’s already late and remember he told us to be at 6:00 am on the sparring field”. Sehun whined.

“Just wait ten more minutes” Baekhyun said. “The good thing of hanging out with the captain is that he can’t lecture us for being late, if he is late too”. The other boys groaned. “Guys!” Chanyeol yelled as he was running through the stone bridge to meet them. Everyone turned to look at him.

“I’m sorry” The tall boy panted. “We can go now”.

“About time” Jongdae said.

“It’s all right, boys” Baekhyun said as he and the others started walking towards the castle gates. “I’m sure we will get to practice tomorrow a little bit later than usual, isn’t that right Captain?”.

The boy padded Chanyeol’s back and he looked at him with a frown. Baekhyun urged him silently to say yes.

The tall boy groaned “Fine, whatever.”

“Thank you” Baekhyun smiled pleased.

Two of the boys, Yixing and Kyungsoo, suppressed a laugh at seeing their friend’s annoyance.

“You know, I sometimes feel you only invite me because you want to be late at work without facing consequences” Chanyeol told them. The rest of the boys denied that immediately.

“We actually like you” Yixing said and smiled at him. Chanyeol gave him a little smile in return “I can trust in your words but not in Baekhyun’s”.

The shorter boy grimaced and put a hand over his heart dramatically “Your words hurt me”. Chanyeol pushed him playfully as the other boy laughed at his friend.

“So, what did the King wants?”, Jongin, his best soldier for sparring, asked him.

“He asked me to get the men ready for Arethea’s meeting”. Chanyeol said as his tone and expression became serious. “But Royals are not allowed to bring entire armies to the meeting.” Junmyeon said weirded out.

“He wants them near the realm” Chanyeol explained.

“That only will bring suspicions and confusion to the others, isn’t it?” Yixing asked.

“Well, he’s fed up with other Kingdoms asking for help.” The tall boy said. “Specially since he is not doing it willingly. He only does it because of the agreement”.

“So, if he doesn’t want to take part on the solution, we are going to war?” Minseok asked worriedly.

“Most likely” Chanyeol said without a hint of mocking. Everyone stopped walking to look at him.

“That’s madness!” Baekhyun said. “We would be one army against 5.”

“We don’t have enough men. We are the second strongest army in the land behind the Nareans”. Jongin pointed out.

“We are better in tactics and skills” Chanyeol said.

“That doesn’t matter when you have 3/4 of the continent against you.” Junmyeon said.

“We would be slaughtered before we can take over one of their cities” Minseok said.

“Enough!” Chanyeol said impatiently. “I already know that and maybe that is why he is sending us to find magical creatures”. The other 7 men looked at him wide eyed.

“What are you talking about?” Kyungsoo said.

The tall man sighed “He ordered me to gather some men and go to the lands between the kingdoms. He wants us to find witches, fairies, whatever we encounter on our way and bring them with us before the meeting”.

“What does he want with them?” Sehun asked “Magic is forbidden here”.

“He didn’t tell me his plans but I think it has to be related to his other request”. Chanyeol said.

“I don’t think they will be willing to speak to him. He had never being nice to them”. Baekhyun said.

“He said that if they refuse to come, we should arrest or kill them”. Chanyeol said.

“And exactly how are we going to do that?” Junmyeon said “They have magic. We don’t”.

“You can hurt fairies with iron” Minseok answered.

“What about witches and wizards?”. Jongin asked.

“Some said crosses can be effective with them”. Kyungsoo said.

“That’s for vampires” Baekhyun corrected.

“Also for them”. Kyungsoo retorted.

“No” Baekhyun countered back. The two boys started arguing when Chanyeol cut them off.

“Stop it!” He said. “The are not immortals nor invencible”.

“Except for Vampires” Baekhyun murmured and Chanyeol glared at him.

The rest of the boys got quiet and an awkward silence took over the atmosphere. “Let’s just talk tomorrow about this, ok?”. Their Captain said tiredly and the rest nodded. “I would really use a drink right now”.

The boys agreed with him and kept going on their way to the tavern.

It was already past noon. King Athereon and Chanyeol had been talking for several hours now, planning and checking the routes the little army was going to follow into the borders of Tassea.

“Are we clear on the steps to follow?” The King asked.

“Yes, Sir.” Chanyeol answered. “My men are already aware of the situation and they are getting ready to leave at midnight as we speak”.

“Good” The King said. He started walking towards a trunk that was settled in one corner of the office. He opened it and squatted down to look for something inside. After a few seconds he came back to the place where Chanyeol was standing and handed him two jars with different liquids. One had a blood-red colour while the other had an olive-green.

“Put one drop of the red one in every weapon you and the others will carry and the green one saved it for an emergency”.

Chanyeol looked at the jars in his hands. “What are they?”.

“The red one is poison and the other has iron molecules within its mix.” King Athereon said

“Smash it against the floor and it will create a fog against fairies”. The brown haired boy nodded and put them in his pocket.

“Captain” The man said “I expect you will be here in three weeks tops and with good news for me”.

“I’ll do my best to please your wishes My Lord” Chanyeol assured him. The King hummed in response “Go now. And be sure to be careful enough so no one from the others Kingdoms find out about the quest”.

“I will” The boy said “Good night your Highness”.

As Chanyeol exited the room, the King was looking at the map on his desk when a shadow came out from the door that lead to his chambers.

“Are you sure he’s competent enough to do the job?” A feminine voice asked. The King turned to look at the figure now standing next to him.

“So far, he had never failed me” He answered. He took the woman’s hand and squeezed it in a reassuring way.

“He better not” She said and smiled at him wickedly.

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“Come Y/n!” One of the girls called you excitedly. You looked at her and walked towards her direction.

Everyone in the room was practicing how to manifest their powers as most of them were young apprentices. You were the second in command after your grandmother, the head of the coven, and Naima your friend and third in charge. -In every Yule festivities, most of the younger witches receive all their powers and it is up to the more experienced ones teach them how to control them and used them properly. Now with the date approaching you were in charge of seeing this girls learned how to handle and manifest their gifts.-

“I did it. I blew up the apple!” The girl smiled at you as she focused her attention back to the new apple in front of her a couple of meters away. You could see pieces of fruit scattered around the floor, a signal of her previous attempts.

“I can see you did that many times” You said surprised. “But you should rest now, take 30 minutes and come back to it.

“No, I’m ok. Watch”. She lifted both hands quickly and waved them in a semi-circular way. A movement so delicate and yet powerful enough to make the apple and the table beneath it explode.

A blast echoed through the room as pieces of apple and wood flew around. Some of the other girls screamed as they got down on the floor and cover themselves with their arms while others through themselves at the nearest pillars and walls to take cover from the explosion. “Is everyone alright?” You lifted yourself from the ground and looked around the mess. You heard “yes” from several of them and helped the girl next to you to get up.

“Bitsie, are you ok?”. Both of you were dusting off the debris from your clothes and heads.

“Yes” She said. “I’m sorry” she winced at seeing the wrecked scenery before her.

“I thought I had it in control already” She murmured.

“That’s why I told you to rest before you have tried again” You sighed. “When your mind is not focused enough your power can expand without restraints and caused this”. You gestured at the room.

In that moment, the door opened and Naima entered the room hastily. “What happened?” The girl asked shocked at seeing all the chaos around.

“Bitsie make the apple explode along with the table” One of the girls near the door said.

“Is everyone all right?” She yelled and spotted you in the corner of the room. The girls agreed and she came walking towards you.

“Look at you. All covered in dust and apple” Naima told you, trying to suppressed a laugh.

“Well, at least it’s not butter this time” You said.

“Girls, help us clean this mess” Naima said out loud and the people around went to fetch cloths, buckets and brooms, some of them whining.

“Bitsie” You said “I know you’re eager to manipulate your power, but you need to be patient”.

Naima looked at the girl and nodded at your words “We had seen other witches getting on the wrong path due to their power’s thirst. We don’t want that for you or the others.”

“I know” The girl exhaled “I’m truly sorry. It’s just that sometimes I can’t help it”.

“We know. That is why we are here for” Naima said.

“Now, go with the rest. Tomorrow morning you will go with me into the forest” You said.

“Why are we going there?” Bitsie asked you.

“You will have your lesson outside. Maybe being in an open space will help you to focus more and if not, well, at least we could still have a place to practice after all”.

“Ok” she said. “See you tomorrow”. She exited the room with her head hanging low.

“Are you sure that will be a good idea?” The girl standing next to you asked.

“I hope so” You sighed.

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“Ok so, how are we going to know when we find the coven?” Baekhyun asked as they were walking through the forest. It was dawn and they could barely watch where they were stepping into as the fog was covering the ground. “I mean, it’s not like we can go around and said hey, are you in a coven? Can you tell me your location?” Baekhyun said sarcastically.

Around them, the only noises they could hear were branches cracking as they stepped on them, some birds chirping, the hooves and carriage getting pulled by their horses.

“I think I haven’t seen a witch in my entire life”. Jongin said thoughtfully. “How are we supposed to recognize them?”.

“Once I saw one in a witch trial” Junmyeon recalled “Her skin was stuck to her bones and hear face was quite grotesque. She barely had hair and the people around said she had lived over a 1000 years”. Jongin grimaced at the description.

“No one can live that long. Not even witches” Baekhyun said “Or can they?!. What do you say, Chanyeol?”

“I don’t know” The tall boy said, tired of hearing this conversation.

He had seen a few witches too. Pretty much they had looked the same as Junmyeon’s picture them although he didn’t know how old they were. Nor it was an information he would find relevant. This beings were unnatural and Chanyeol didn’t want to have any interactions with them. At least not willingly. He just wanted to get over with this stupid quest from the King, fulfill it and leave the rest to him.

“Some said there are witches that have long nails and use them to get the men’s guts out”. Sehun said “They lured you just as mermaids do and next thing you know they are ripping your guts from your body and eat them in front of you as you are dying agonizingly. It gives them youth”. He poked Baekhyun’s side and the boy let out a scream.

The rest of the boys cackled and his friend slapped Sehun in the head. “Stop it, guys!” Baekhyun said angrily as the black haired boy rubbed his head.

As they were getting nearer to their destination, the first rays of sunshine were visible through the branches and spaces between the trees. Some of the boys were sleepy already so Chanyeol ordered to stop near a pond in order for them to rest and let the horses drink water.

“How come witches have powers and yet they don’t escape from the trials?”. Yixing said inquisitively.

“There are different kinds of witches” Minseok said “There are those who only have powers when they cast spells from a book. Others can have mix blood from other magical creatures or humans and that genes are prevalent in them so magic is not their forte”.

“And the others, the originals as some called them, are the ones whose blood had ancient magic. It had run through their veins and families for centuries”. Chanyeol added.

“So most of the ones that had been in trials were from the other kinds”. Jongdae said. Minseok nodded.

“And we are look-“ Yixing was saying when Sehun cut him off.

”I hear something” Sehun announced.

“Yeah, our voices, fool!” Baekhyun said.

Sehun rolled his eyes and shushed them. “Listen!”

All the boys went still and looked around their surroundings. They could were some voices chattering and getting nearer.

“Cover yourselves” Chanyeol urged them in a low voice. They did it and took their swords and knives out. Luckily for them, the horses and the carriage were a few meters down the place of their bonfire and were well covered by the bushes. Sehun was getting his bow ready when Kyungsoo pulled slightly from his tunic “Get down” he urged him.

“They are coming, look” Brent, another soldier and archer, said and gestured them to the path a few meters above. Their figures were getting closer and once the fog cleared out a bit more, they could see a young woman chatting lively with the girl that was next to her.

“There are just girls” Baekhyun huffed.

“Maybe they are witches” Minseok said.

“We should follow them” Yixing suggested.

“Sehun, Jongin, Minseok and Baekhyun, go after them. Jongdae and Yixing keep a watch on the carriage and the horses.” Chanyeol ordered “The rest will go to grab our things.” Everyone moved quickly, trying not to get noticed as they executed the plan.

“Are you sure it’s ok if we practice here?” Bitsie asked you doubtfully “Of course! It’s early enough for people to use this path” You said cheerfully. The girl hummed but didn’t look at you nor talked more.

“What is troubling your mind Bits?” You asked her.

“How can you be so sure I won’t blow up the whole forest?” She said worriedly. You smiled fondly at her, remembering a young version of yourself full of worry and self-doubt.

“One, you have me and I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen” You said “And two, sometimes stress plays an important part of our lack of concentration. There are people who handle it better than others and it’s something you will learn as time goes by. But now, as a twelve year old girl, I don’t expect you to do that”.

“Maybe being in a closed space with more people around is what gets you worried. The possibility that you could hurt someone, am I right?” You asked. She nodded shyly.

“Everyone have had those kind of fears Bits. I still have them sometimes.” You admitted and she looked at you wide eyed. “You too?” The girl asked you incredulously “How come? You always look so confident”.

“There are times when you need to act like everything it’s fine even if it’s not” you chuckled. Both of you came to a halt in the middle of an open space between the trees. There were already several logs forming a line in the center.

“Ok! Here we are” You announced. “I’m going to put a fruit in every log and you have to make them explode. Just as in the practice room” Bitsie nodded and stood a couple of meters away.

“I can do this” She said to herself and gave an intake of breath.

“What are they doing?” Jongin asked.

He and the others were hiding behind a couple of trees on one side of the place. They could see you and Bitsie clearly but barely understood what you two were talking about.

“Maybe they are going to practice archery” Baekhyun suggested.

“They don’t have a bow with them”. Sehun pointed out.

“An eating contest then?”! Baekhyun said.

“I don’t think they are witches” Jongin said and gestured at Bitsie “She’s just a girl and both look ordinary. Nothing like what Suho said”.

“The older one is very pretty” Baekhyun admitted and Minseok nudged him in the ribs.

“What?! It’s true” Baekhyun complained. They watched you approaching Bitsie and it looked like you were instructing her about something.

“We should leave”. Sehun whispered “It is clear they are not doing anything interes-“. A boom echoed through the glade and all the boys turned to look perplexed at the girls.

“She just...” Baekhyun was saying when Minseok covered his mouth.

“Be quiet” The older one whispered. Another similar sound came after the one they heard and another after that.

“She’s doing it with her hands”. Jongin noticed with some fear in his voice “that means...”

“She’s an original” Sehun completed.

“By the Gods!” Minseok said.” How are we going to catch them?”.

“Catch them?! Nobody said anything about catching witches” Baekhyun said in a rush.

“Then how do you expect we find the place where they live?” Sehun said annoyed “The map says they are in the borders and it could take weeks before we find the right place.”

“Maybe the King wants another kind of witches” Baekhyun tried to sound convincing. Sehun snorted “I can bet you 10 jars of beer that he send us to find them” he pointed out at the women. Baekhyun gulped.

“Ok, this is what are we going to do” Minseok said “There’s a high chance they go that way” He signaled at the little path from where you entered the glade. “We will surround it and two us will be waiting on this side while the others are on that one. We need to separated them.”

“What about their powers?” Jongin said, looking at the others with concern. “Bind their hands and cover their heads with this sacks. Perhaps they cannot used them”. Minseok took the bags and handed them to Jongin and Sehun.

“We are not taking them to the camp, are we?” Baekhyun asked worriedly.

“No!. We are going to interrogate them here. Now, let’s move carefully around the trees,ok?” Minseok said and everyone nodded. “Go!”. All of them started to moved swiftly around the glaze in wait for you two.

“You were great today!” You said at Bitsie. The practice was over and both of you wanted to go back to the house and have a nice supper.

“Thank you” She said happily “I can’t believe I didn’t blow out other things besides the fruit”. “It was quite remarkable” you said “But you still need to practice. Maybe next week you could try with bigger things”. “Like what?” She asked you.

“You already have proved you can do that with furniture as well” You said teasingly. Both were laughing at the memory when you felt someone pulled at your right arm and heard Bitsie screamed.

“No!” She cried out. You were trying to get yourself loose from the man’s grip while another was trying to cover your head with a brown sack.

“Let go of me” You said as you struggled with the man.

“Be quiet” The man behind you said and tightened his grip around your body. You released one of your hands and move it. There was a loud sound coming from the ground and big roots from the trees around emerged and pushed the man in front of you. The one behind you got his legs trapped between the roots and you used that distraction to nudged him in the ribs. His grip loosen and you started running after Bitsie and the men.

“Let her go” You yelled and used your power again. The men were pulled down and you passed them by to get to the girl. She had tripped over because of a rock. You yanked her up and pulled the sack out of her head and untied her hands.

“We need to get to the market. There we could blend and they will lose track of us” You said hurriedly and watch how the men that attack you were getting free from the ties. Bitsie nodded and you took her hand so she could follow after you.

“Run!” You said and both raced across the path. “Stop!” One of the men yelled. He and the rest of them were running behind you. You gazed at them for a brief moment and realized they were getting closer.

“Use your power” you said to Bitsie. “I’m not ready.” There was concern on the girl’s stare.

“It doesn’t matter” You panted “I don’t care if you blow them up or the forest with us in it”. You took an intake of breath as the adrenaline rushed through your veins. “It’s better to die that been enslaved by them”. Bitsie turned her head to look at the men. She lifted her free hand and a second later there was an explosion that send pieces of mud in all directions. You could hear the men grunting but that only slowed down their pace for a moment. Bitsie did it again. The ringing in your ears from the blasts didn’t allow you to hear if they were near. You looked over your shoulder to check if they were out of sight. It only took you that moment when you crashed into someone. The impact made you loose your balance and Bitsie stumbled over you, making both of you fell to the ground.

“Cover their heads” Another men you didn’t recognize yelled at others.

“No, wait!” You said as he was standing next to you and shoved the sack over your head.

“Take them to the camp”. The man with the hoarse voice said. Sehun, Jongin, Minseok and Baekhyun caught up with them.

“You are a bunch of morons” The man snorted.

“Shut up Brent!.” You recognized the man’s voice. It was the same that have fought with you at first.

“Ouch!” You heard Bitsie complained but couldn’t see where she was.

“Be careful Bolson” Another men said.

“She’s a witch. Witches don’t have special treatment” This man had a deeper voice.

“She’s just a girl” Other with a silvery boy said. Well, at least there are ones with a little humanity in them you thought. That didn’t mean what they were doing was right but could considered go easy on them once you figured out how to escape and teach them a lesson.

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The forest was long gone when you heard other men talking. There were noises from horses and a bonfire. You assumed you already had arrive at the camp. You came to a halt and the men behind you and Bitsie forced you to kneel. They took the bags from your heads and you squinted your eyes as they were getting used to the light again.

“Who are you?” Bitsie said.

“I’m the one doing the questions little witch, so be quiet” Brent said.

“Now, here is how it is going to be” He said as he paced around the circle other men had formed around you. “You are not going to talk unless I say so. If I find your answers convincing enough, we will let you live”.

You looked at him full of hatred. If you were alone you wouldn’t mind dying while fighting against them but your main concern was the girl next to you.

“Tell me your names and which coven do you belong to”. The man said.

“Bit...” The girl was saying when you interrupted her.

“She’s Brisellia and I’m Elena” You said quickly.

“Which coven are you part of?” He continued.

“Lirea” You said.

“Where do you live?” He asked. You averted your gaze from the man and kept quiet. You couldn’t tell them the location of the others. He approached you and squatted on the ground in front of you.

“You are not going to answer?” He asked you menacingly.

“No” you said through gritted teeth.

“Alright then” He stand up and grabbed Bitsie by the arm.

“Get up!” He yelled at her as she was crying and trying to stand up.

“Don’t” Jongin wanted to interfere but one of the men held him back.

“Maybe you need a motive to talk”. He said and put his arm over Bitsie’s neck and shoulder.

“You can’t do this” other men interfere and a ruckus broke loose. There were men yelling and trying to get him while other were preventing them to go near you and him.

“You tell me where are the rest of your witches or I’ll break her neck”. He threatened. The was no ounce of doubt in his stare and you knew he wasn’t bluffing about it. You put both hands on the ground and closed your eyes. You were trying to even your breath in order to focus. You felt the soil through your fists and a white mantle lifted around the three of you. It was so thin and through it you could see the other men looking at it in shock.

“End the show now, witch!” He snarled. You set your eyes on him and he winced.

“What are you…?” He tried to say as he was having trouble breathing.

Your nails turned you skin around them red from how hard you were clawing at it. He tried to turned Bitsie’s head to one side but wasn’t able to as his strength was diminishing and collapsed on the floor. You let out a breath as the mantle disappeared and went running towards Bitsie.

“It’s ok now.” You said relieved as the girl cried in your arms.

“Grab them” Someone shouted.

Several men went to check the man lying on the floor. You looked at your surroundings and saw a bunch of men debating who should be the brave ones and tried to get a hold of you.

“Silence!” There was a loud scream and everyone kept still. There was a tall man walking through the crowd with another 2 following his steps. He stood a few feet away and looked around. He had a big frown on his face. His gaze went from the man on the floor to you and Bitsie.

“Someone explain what happened here” He said.

“These are witches Captain!” One man pointed at you two accusingly. “And that one killed Brent”.

“We should burn them” A young man yelled, followed by the agreement of a few.

“He’s just fainted Giggins” Sehun said dismissively.

“He threatened with killing the girl” Kyungsoo explained. The Captain, looked at the last boy who spoke and nodded slightly at him.

“All right everyone, go back to your duties” He yelled.

“You two” He gestured at some soldiers. “Take Brent and put him in a tent”. They moved to get Brent’s body and carried him.

“Minseok” He called one of the men you remembered from the forest. “You and the others were supposed to follow them. What happened?”

“It’s kind of complicated” The shorter man said awkwardly. The tall man sigh in frustration “Go to my tent. I will bring the witch with me so I can confirm the facts”.

“Yes Sir” Minseok said.

“And tell some of your men to keep an eye on Brent. He is not allowed to leave the tent until I spoke with you two”. Minseok nodded and disappeared into the crowd.

“What are you going to do with them, Sir?” Someone said, reffering to you and Bitsie. “I’m going to talk to them, Rollings. “That’s what civilized people do” The Captain said annoyed “go and keep guard of the supplies”. Chanyeol started walking in your direction but you held out a hand.

“Stay away or you will be the next” You warned him.

“Calm down” He showed the palm of his hands to you. “I don’t want to hurt you. I just want to talk”. He was standing three steps away from you. You looked at each other and his gaze settled on Bitsie.

“Please” He offered his hand to you. The man sounded sincere but you still were wary about all of them. You didn’t take his hand and helped Bitsie to lift herself up instead.

“Could you go with me to my tent? I need to talk to you, privately.” He said.

“I’m not going to leave her here” You said.

“Fine. Bring her with you” Chanyeol said and started to walk across the field.

“Y/n” Bitsie sobbed “I want to go now”.

“We are almost over with this”. You said quietly “Be brave just a little more, ok?”. The girl nodded and tried to wipe her tears with her sweater’s sleeves.

You stopped in front of a big tent. The Captain, who was walking ahead of you, step aside and gestured for you to come inside of it. You looked at him hesitantly as you moved forward.

The inside of the tent was big. It had a log on one side of it that was used as a bench, you imagined. The were two tables too, one in the corner that had a bunch of papers and maps scattered around while the other one was in the center with only two chairs, one in front of the other. Since it was noon already, light from outside was illuminating the place.

“I need to discuss an important matter with you” Chanyeol addressed to you. “She can wait here”. He signaled the log. You looked at Bitsie and nodded slightly. “Fine” You said and followed him to the table.

Both took a seat and he said “What is your name?”.

“Tell me yours first”. You answered him.

“I’m Captain Park” Chanyeol said.

“That’s not a name” You pointed out.

“It’s part of it” He retorted.

You glared at him.

“Your name?” He insisted.

“Elena” You answered. Chanyeol look intently at you and smile wryly. “I heard the girl called you Y/n. So either you have two names or you are lying to me”.

“Ok, let’s go with the first option then” You said with a fixed smile.

“Very well Y/n.” He smiled “I’ll call you that because it sound less fake”.

You knew annoyance was visible on your features but tried to hold back that emotion.

“I want to know what happened. I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt but bear in mind that everything you tell me, I will discuss it with my soldiers.” He put his back against his chair. “If your story doesn’t match theirs, we will take you and the girl into custody”.

“I will like to see you try” You laughed. “There are over 30 men here. Most of them willing to kill you, as you already noticed”. The Captain said.

“And there’s two of us. Don’t underestimate us” You said.

“Then why don’t you harm the rest of them?”.

“It was something personal with that man. And I was just getting started when you arrived” You emphasized.

He laughed “A lot of people say originals are strong. Maybe you’re not that much after all”.

“We can try that theory if you’re so doubtful about it”. You offered.

He said in all seriousness “I am not afraid of you. I might not have powers but I know how to fight people of your kind”. Your blood boiled at his last words.

“Listen, I just want to go with her” You pointed out at Bitsie without moving your stare from him “She has went through a lot today thanks to your men and that brute” You said angrily. “I don’t care what you think of me or my people but there still are boundaries. She’s a girl, witch or not, and she didn’t do anything wrong. Your men were the ones who attack us first. They put sacks above our heads and tie us in order to bring us here”.

A sound came from the outside of the tent. One side opened and Minseok step inside. “The men are...” He was saying but didn’t get to finish his sentence when Bitsie yelled.

“It was him. He was the one that covered my head with the bag”. You and Chanyeol stared at him.

“I...” Minseok said startled “I told you we didn’t want to hurt you”. Bitsie stared at him angrily and he gulped.

“Bitsie, calm down!” You said to her, worried that she might use her power and put them both in more trouble. She was breathing rapidly. You made a subtle movement with your hand and her breath steadied. Chanyeol’s gaze went from Bitsie to you, wondering what have you done to her. He didn’t want to show any signs of bewilderment so he spoke to the other men in the room.

“Minseok” The man looked at his superior “This lady, claims that some soldiers attack them for no reason. And now the she is accusing you” He pointed at Bitsie. “Care to explain?”.

“It’s true” Minseok admitted “Part of it”.

He came closer to the table “We have doubts about whether they were witches or not. We saw the girl using her powers, practicing. We thought the best would be talk to them straight away instead of looking around the land but we were afraid of her using her powers against us. That is why we tied their hands and cover their eyes.” Minseok said awkwardly.

“We didn’t want to bring them to the camp but they attacked us and ran. We chased them across the forest but Brent and his men found them. You know the rest”. He continued. Chanyeol sighed and rolled his eyes. “You were supposed to followed them not kidnapped them”.

“Oh! How thoughtful” You said sarcastically. “We didn’t do that, Chanyeol” Miseok raised his voice “That part was Brent’s”.

“Fine. I’ll deal with him later”. The Captain said tiredly. “I suppose the others help you, aren’t they?”.

“Yes” Minseok answered.

“On behalf of my soldiers, I apologize” Chanyeol stared directly at you. “To both of you. I expect they do the same”. He stared at Minseok severely and the man followed his apology.

“Bring the others”. Chanyeol ordered “tell them to wait outside”. The shorter man nodded slightly and excused himself from the room.

“I appreciate your manners, Chanyeol” You said.

“I’m a Captain. I prefer you call me by my rank”. Chanyeol said.

You sneered “I’m not part of your Kingdom. Therefore I can speak informally to you as you are doing with me.” The man glared at you. “It’s for courtesy”.

“Sometimes I lack of it” You said arrogantly. “Once you’re soldiers apologize we will go”.

“I’m afraid I can’t allow it” Chanyeol said.

“Why not?” You stood from the chair “You already know we are innocents”. “The thing I wanted to discuss with you is about an entire different matter” Chanyeol stood up from his chair too. “The King of Tassea gave us the quest to find magical creatures and bring them with us to the Palace”.

“What for? Magic is forbidden there” You said “Unless is for trials, we aren’t allowed to come in”.

“I can assure you is not for that” Chanyeol said.

“Then?” You said inquisitively.

“He wishes to speak to the leaders of the covens and clans before the meeting of Arethea.” The man explained.

“Your King isn’t known for talking to our kind” You pointed out.

“I know. But apparently he has change his mind” Chanyeol said.

“Good for him but we are not going with you” You said sharply. “I don’t want you to go with us” He explained. “I want to speak to your leader. She is the one the King wants to meet”.

“You are insane if you think I’m taking you to her”. You said.

“You will do it. If it’s in good or bad terms is up to you” Chanyeol said confidently.

“How would I know this isn’t a trap for you to imprison us?” You told him.

“You don’t. It’s a leap of faith” Chanyeol answered “And it goes both ways. I don’t know if once we are there you and the rest of the coven will murder us”. You didn’t want to admit it but he had a point. After all, you were complete strangers to one another.

“What will we win in return?” You said inquisitively.

Offered them whatever they want The King’s words resonated in Chanyeol’s mind.

“Whatever you want” He said. “Although the terms of the agreement will be approved by the King himself. For now, I can promise you and the girl will return to your home safely”. You were silent for a moment. Planning your next move. You knew your grandma wasn’t in conditions of traveling but the only thing you wanted right now was to get Bitsie to the institute. Feel safe again with your sisters around you.

“I have conditions” You said.

He lifted a brow. “Named them”.

“You won’t take all this men with you” You told him “You can choose 7 men, excluding you of course. You will be the only one that will enter the institute and if my leader don’t accept your proposal, you will leave along with the rest of them. For good”. Chanyeol look at you quizzically for a minute before he spoke again. “Fair enough” He said. You exhaled.

“But I warn you. If you try to pull any trick on us, I will kill you” Chanyeol said. His features hardened.

“I could say the same for you” You told him without a hint of mockery in your face.

“Do we have an agreement then?” He asked you and extended his hand for you to shake.

“Yes” You said and gave his hand a firm squeeze. You wanted to believe he will honor his words but you weren’t entirely sure about that.

Guess you will have to see as time passes by, if your instinct was right about him.

Hello everyone! Thank you for the Christmas wishes and for your requests. I hope you like this new series and enjoy this chapter. I am feeling very proud of myself for finishing it before the year is over and I’ll come up with the next one as soon as possible . If you have any comments regarding this chapter feel free to send me a message. In these times I think it would help me a lot. Also, I wanted to let you know that I’m working in your Christmas scenarios and the other 2 series. I’ll try my best in order to post them during this week. I hope you all have had a good Christmas as well <3 Take care of yourselves ^^

#chanyeol #exo au #park chanyeol #exo #sehun #sehun scenario #chanyeol au #pcy #sehun au #chanyeol fanfic #chanyeol series #exo fanfic #fic #exo scenario #sehun series #exo series #chanyeol scenario

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sorcererinthestars · 4 years

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Let’s Go Steal a Yacht

[UPDATED 2021.] Written for the 2020 @rtwritingcommunity‘s Secret Sunshine event for @leftsmitteninbritain! Just edited for 2021. Safe now! Please enjoy some unrestrained summer fun on this lovely August eve!

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25569448

-- The sun over the Los Santos skyline was relentless. The heat this week hadn’t been less than 90 degrees and it scorched every citizen that walked down the roads, turning skin red and blistering and making everyone sweat. Like every smart citizen of Los Santos, the Fake AH Crew had been mainly squirreled away inside their frozen fridge of a penthouse apartment, air conditioning blasting.

But Geoff’s birthday was coming up and that required a big bash. Michael bent over the proposed plans, scrunching his nose up as he pointed at the phone where they had all scribbled down ideas.

So far, the list was pitiful. “We can’t go out to bevs, J,” Michael sighs. “He doesn’t drink anymore. That’d be weird, right?”

“Only as weird as you make it,” he shrugs, glancing to Gavin, Jack, Trevor, and Alfredo who were sitting lazily on the various penthouse couches, watching with various degrees of boredom. Geoff was out on an errand — they should have at least half an hour of uninterrupted time to discuss.

“What if we did like — a heist?” Jack asks, snatching the phone from Michael. Gavin just grins at his immediate pout, but Michael hands the phone over anyways. “Like, combine something fun with a little mayhem.”

“Geoff does love his mayhem,” Gavin nods. “What do you have in mind?”

“There’s a bunch of rich kids who are running a coke scam across the border out of their yacht,” Jack explains, gesturing to the map of the city and pointing at a spot on the Los Santos waterfront. “It’s a pretty low-bit operation. Not much drugs, but it’s sort of just an excuse for the Harvard whiz-kids to blow off some steam. But they do it off of a massive yacht. I’m talking three-floors, two hot tubs, helipad sort of shit. Mommy and Daddy must own it, but the kids run it.” She grins up at them. “Seems like the sort of thing Geoff’ll like, right?”

“So… you’re thinking that we make a run for the yacht, take it and the drugs, and then have a full-out bev party with their built in pool?” Gavin’s all smirks, sitting back and putting his feet up on the table.

“Not to be a downer or anything,” Trevor says smoothly, “but won’t killing the sons and daughters of some filthy rich people like — cause more problems than a few pounds of coke and a boat we could buy is worth?”

Jack shakes her head. “I know these types of kids. I’ve been scouting out the yacht on my morning flights. It’s not stocked for a fight. I think the kids know it’s a matter of time before one drug lord or another rolls them over for their stock. It’s not meant to be a long-term operation. It’s not like they need the money. I figure, load up on some guns, be intimidating, blare a megaphone from my attack chopper, and they’ll roll right over.”

“Give Geoff a fun day out without any actual violence,” Jeremy hums. “I’d like to actually shoot at someone, but it’d be fun to pretend, anyways.”

Jack chuckles a bit. “Can you live without blood and guts for one day, Rimmy?”

He huffs out an overexaggerated sigh, but then laughs. “Yeah. For Geoff.”

“For Geoff,” they agree. And the plan is set.

—

A few days later, on the day of the fight, Michael meets Gavin in the door of their shared bedroom. He leans against the doorframe, watching as the other gathers some of his camera equipment and places it in a waterproof bag. “So,” he purrs, announcing his presence. “Does that mean I get to see you in a skimpy bathing suit?”

Gavin doesn’t even have the decency to jump. But he does smile, moving over to the man as Michael shuts the door soundlessly behind him. “Guess it does. I’m sure you’ll like the view,” he grins back mercilessly.

“Don’t be an ass,” Michael teases, grinning with sharp teeth as he runs a finger down Gavin’s skin. Already tanned and lovely, Gavin really didn’t need much more sun. But his lips were still warm as he leans over to brush a kiss against Michael’s.

That wasn’t going to fly, and Michael shamelessly yanks him forward for a breathless kiss that leaves them both chuckling as they break apart. “And there’s more where that comes from later,” Michael demands as they step back. “I want no less than half an hour of uninterrupted Gavin time on a beach chair.”

Gavin laughs, eyes bright. “Is that so?”

“I want a frozen drink in one hand and my boyfriend’s hair in the other,” he says brazenly, laughing openly. “Is that too much to ask?”

“Sounds great,” Gavin smirks, eyes dancing, giving him one more kiss on the cheek. “Now get out. I’m sure more things need to happen and Alfredo’s going to need three people to tell him he shouldn’t bring a sniper rifle to a yacht.”

“Bet you fifteen bucks Jeremy is going to throw him into the pool and by the end of the night, neither of them are going to be able to stand.”

“Fifteen bucks. Jeremy can stand. We’ll have to fish a passed out Fredo from the pool.”

“You’re on.”

—

The best thing is that Geoff has absolutely no idea that half their heist prep bags are filled with birthday decorations, swim trunks, food and drink mixes, and all sorts of other goodies. He’s all gung-ho with the idea of shaking another drug gang from their territory and as far as the birthday boy is concerned, they’re going in loud and will return home for dinner and a movie.

They take a speedboat and a few jet skis out to the yacht, moored about a mile off shore in the deeper waters. As soon as they get close, they can hear shouting echoing over the waves. Probably emphasized by the whop-whopping sound of Jack’s blades overhead as she hovers in her copter.

“You have ten minutes to fully vacate this vessel!” Jack shouts. Only her boys can hear the glee in her voice as it echos, amplified by the speakers she has attached to the helicopter. The yacht erupts in chaos, scantily clad men and women racing around. Through the scope of his sniper, Alfredo can see drinks and things being tossed overboard.

“Leave the drugs and we’ll let you go,” Jack continues to order as people continue to scream and race around. Jeremy and Michael drive their jet skis in circles around the yacht, their screams of laughter erupting as shots pock the water around them. They’re going much too fast to be hit by an untrained hand.

“Should I take the shot?” Fredo asks lazily, gun in his hand. He doesn’t expect to receive a yes, and he’s right, Geoff waves his hand, just chuckling. It’s cooler out on the water, and if he spends his birthday just chilling and watching a bunch of rich bitches freak out, that’s fine with him. “Let ‘em squirm.”

After five or so minutes, they start to board the yacht. Any stragglers who try to fight them are immediately knocked out. There’s no need to kill, not in this adventure — that would bring down more trouble than it was worth. With any luck, the kids will tell this story to their friends back at their hoitey-toitey universities and no one will have to die.

Michael joins up with Jeremy as they’re wandering around the main deck. Jeremy has his obnoxious yellow ‘Bigness’ mask over the second part of his face and Michael has paint drawn like war lines across his face in a pattern he’s affectionately named ‘Mogar’. Lingering twenty-something’s spook as they see them, racing away.

At the end of the day, Jeremy only has to throw one sod overboard. He screams as he falls the six-something feet over the back deck, hitting the water with a thwap that seems painful. Michael screams jeers after him, Jeremy laughing warmly with pleasure.

They watch as the guy swims frantically towards the circling speedboat of rich kids, who pull him on board and race away.

“Did you see that idiot?” Michael laughs, spinning Jeremy around and removing that god awful cowboy hat. “He almost pissed himself when you grabbed him.”

“Rumors of the Rimmy Tim go a long way,” Jeremy cackles. “I wasn’t even carrying my gun.”

“You’re a god awful eyesore, J,” Gavin’s voice filters through their coms. “I’ve disabled any tracking they have in the helm, plus gps positioning. Stand by, gents — this party is just getting started!”

Geoff, standing at the bow on the top deck, lazily wraps his arm around Jack and grins. “A very merry birthday to me,” he hums. “How much coke did we salvage?”

“About $50 grand worth, I’d say,” Jeremy says from the lower decks. “Not bad for an hour and no bullets.”

“Damn,” Geoff smirks. “I love to be King.” He runs his hand over the rail of the yacht. “Alright boys, let’s scuttle this thing and head home.”

“Scuttle?” Alfredo bursts, incredulous. “No, no. Everyone gather at the hot tub in the rear of the boat — ”

“Aft, Fredy!” Gavin protests. “Gotta be sea-worthy!”

Alfredo sighs and Trevor just kisses him on the cheek with a smirk. “I’ll throw him into the sea myself,” he whispers in his ear.

“....aft, then. Jack wants to say something.”

“Something you can’t say over coms?” Geoff asks with a raised eyebrow, but at Jack’s bright grin of insistence as she pulls on his arm, he laughs and shakes his head. “Okay, I’m coming, I’m coming. But you better get this out past the twelve-mile marker soon or we’re going to have the LSPD on our asses.”

“Pulling out,” Gavin hums. “This thing is run entirely on auto-pilot. Auto-ship? What’s the correct word? Anyways, I’m steering it out now.”

Even as he says it, the ship starts turning and heading out towards the open waters. They all rock a bit, but quickly find their sea legs as they head towards the aft, where Jeremy is already pulling off his heist clothes to reveal yet another glaringly purple-and-orange outfit — this time a pair of swim trunks — and falling into the hot tub.

It’s sickeningly hot, but it doesn’t stop him from wanting to take advantage of the bubbles.

It doesn’t take long for them to arrive, Gavin poking at his phone to make sure they’re not going to crash into, like, an underwater bomb or something. Geoff glances around at all of them, specifically at Jeremy with swim trunks, and lets out a bit of a sigh. He can’t help but grin. “Guys…”

“Happy birthday, Geoff,” Jack smirks from off to his left, pulling out something from her bag. It’s a firecracker, and with a tug, confetti and sparks fly out over the deck. “We’ve got snacks! Diet Coke! Party favors! And best of all…”

Michael moves over and, waving his arms in an elaborate parody, tries to encompass the entirety of the yacht they just stole. “A yacht, just for you!”

The others erupt into cheers as Geoff turns a bright red. Redder even than the sunburn that already marked his cheeks, anyways. “Boys, you didn’t have —”

“Stop,” Jack teases, shaking her head. “You know we did.” She squeezes his arm and pushes him towards the hot tub. “Now, relax.”

—

Two hours later, Geoff had discovered the massive built-in grill and was working on preparing his own birthday feast. They had protested, telling him this was his day, but he was having a blast. Gavin had hacked into the speakers and music was pumping. Currently, Jeremy and Jack were racing each other on jet skis around the yacht, screaming and yelling at one another as they zipped past with incredible speed.

Michael was focused on a different sight — namely, Gavin’s face as he leaned over him as they both sipped on fruity, icy drinks. The booze was sliding through their veins, making the world a looser, happier place, even if Trevor kept prompting him to drink water to keep him from burning in the sun. Their hair was both wet from their journey into the water, but now they were just relaxing in the warmth.

“You’re tanning,” Gavin teases, nosing into the side of his face and kissing his ear just a bit. Michael just laughs. “I’m fuckin’ from Jersey, man, what do you expect.” Gavin’s resulting musical chuckle makes him blush a bit.

“Whores,” Alfredo comments dryly as he strolls past, but his grin shows he’s only teasing. He’s got some fruit concoction in one hand and was making beeline towards where Trevor was waiting for him on another deck chair. Everyone knew he couldn’t resist making a playful comment, but it doesn’t matter. Michael was feeling real good, and teasing wasn’t going to stand.

He lurches up, dumping Gavin unceremoniously from his lap. “What did you say, you ass?” he calls, stumbling after Alfredo, who bursts out into laughter and flees to the dock. Gavin sits up and throws something at Geoff, who turns from the grill with amusement.

“Catch me if you can, bastard!” Alfredo laughs, dodging his attempts at capture with dexterity that no one should be capable of with so much booze inside him. But Michael has the dogged persistence of a man who loved to cause chaos, and it’s not long before he’s captured Alfredo in a tackle hold that sends the other squirming.

“God!” Michael grumbles, “You’re disgusting, you ass, so fucking sweaty! Have you gone swimming yet?”

“No!” Alfredo shouts, struggling, and they grapple for a few moments, laughing, before they lurch towards the edge of the dock.

No amount of struggling and playful yelling could stop this — Michael chunks Alfredo unceremoniously over the side of the dock. He spirals, arms and legs akimbo, until he splashes into the warm water of the Pacific with a yelp.

Everyone on board erupts into laughter as he surfaces, sputtering out insults and making sure he didn’t get water up his nose.

“Dick,” Alfredo mutters as he climbs back on deck, sprawling into the sun as soon as he lands there, spitting out water. Michael leans over him with a playful grin. “Don’t call me a whore again,” he says with his roguish grin and returns to Gavin’s waiting arms, who was giggling the whole time.

—

It’s truly insane just how much booze they get through, even if Geoff isn’t imbibing. The day trails on with a mixture of swimming adventures — Jack finds a few sets of snorkels in one of the unfortunate college student’s stuff — and launches into teaching a few very drunk boys the wonders of fish and coral. They are pretty decent swimmers even with a few bottles of booze inside them and only once does a rescue need to be made for Gavin, who is rapidly losing his ability to stand.

Geoff serves them an elaborate feast of steak, burgers, and dogs, supplemented with potato chips, potato salad, and regular salad. A true barbeque, and they eat like animals, ripping into it all.

Jeremy finds himself leaning against Jack at one point in the meal, and she gently puts more water in front of him and kisses him on the top of the head. She’s feeling good herself, nowhere near losing control but enough to be a bit more free with her affection.

She loves these idiots from the bottom of her heart. It warms her even more than the sun to see Geoff smiling so brightly, Gavin and him laughing about something foolish, Jeremy and Michael holding hands even as Michael tosses bits of bun at Alfredo to catch in his mouth, Trevor kissing him on the cheek every time he manages to catch one. Even if Trevor and Alfredo were their own little couple, they were family. They were her family.

Michael catches her smile and returns it. He looks tanner now, sunburn catching the tip of his ears and the curve of his shoulders, but it’s just great to see him so relaxed and happy.

They needed this. Summer just meant shorter nights which pushed for more intense heists with a shorter getaway period. She knew more than anyone the lengths to which they were working to be better, better, better. Geoff had said it themselves — they were Kings of Los Santos, but at what cost?

But today, it was a break from that. It was time for sun and surf, for snorkeling and barbeque dinners, for unrestrained booze (within reason, of course) and even less restrained smiles.

Her family. Criminals all, but criminals who lived and loved same as anyone.

—

As the sun sent cascading beams of color across the sky, Geoff rolls his shoulders and grins from where he was enjoying reading his book without assholes interrupting him every ten minutes. “This yacht is the best fuckin’ birthday present a guy could ask for. Better than dicks.”

“What could be better than dicks?” Michael teases from where he was trying to see if he could balance on a surfboard in a handstand. Gavin’s request. Sometimes he wonders why he gets himself into this mess.

He drops into the water with a crash when a very sunburned Gavin turns to him. “Geoffrey, you’re going to miss the best part!”

“Best part?” He blinks, putting his book down a bit. “What do you mean? There’s more?”

Jeremy’s all grins. “Yeah. Fireworks.”

Of course there are fireworks. And not just any fireworks. Big ones, ones that are illegal all across the county and into California and beyond. Ones that could set forest fires. But for guys who play with real explosives, these are nothing.

He’s just about to ask where they are when Jack comes strolling back over to them, her Hawaiian shirt tied across her bikini top. He has to practically force himself to listen to her instead of losing himself in how pretty she is.

“I’ve rigged them,” she grins, shooting the Lads two enthusiastic thumbs up. “Alfredo helped.” His diabolical laugh when he comes out from behind them and how bright Alfredo’s eyes are is never a good sign for anyone’s safety.

“If anyone knows anything about rigging about thirty wires together in one long fuse, it’s Fredo,” Trevor teases from his place on the deck. Alfredo refuses to look ashamed, just grins like a loon. “Gonna be a hell of a show. Short, though.”

Geoff rolls his eyes, but they can see the smirk he tries to hide. “Okay, assholes, get going then. I’m not going to miss the giant fireworks show on my birthday.” The other Lads race over, following the Gents as best they can when they’re all pretty shit-faced. Michael and Jeremy need to hold onto each other, giggling as they try not to fall down, but with the help of one another they climb the stairs to the top deck and look across the way. There’s a bunch of rockets — nearly literal rockets, not fireworks — strapped to the roof of the rooftop deck across the ship, a good 100 meters away.

“Here goes nothing,” Alfredo says once everyone is assembled and looking up into the beautiful night sky. He slams his hand down on the button and watches as the fireworks erupt up into the sky, exploding in a burst of color and sound.

It’s not the most professional fireworks show. It’s loud and hot and they have to dodge a bit of flaming debris. Michael is literally whooping, jumping up and down, grabbing Jeremy’s arm. Gavin squawks, diving behind Geoff and watching with wide eyes as the leader of the Fake AH Crew watches the sheer destructive force his boys put together, just for him.

“That was awesome, boys,” he grins as it finally settles down. “Good as dicks.” The night air grows quiet and they’re left, just them, the ocean, and the sizzling debris in the water. Smiling at one another, sunburnt and heat exhausted and drunk and looking towards bed, they start turning as one towards the stairs.

#edited 2021 #mavin #ragehappy #fahc #fake ah crew #unrestrained summer fun!

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numbersbythebook · 3 years

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Pentecost Tied to Resurrection through the Number 2161

written by Will Schumacher

This is a continuation of my last 2 posts on Pentecost/Shavuot.

The first occurrence of a word or concept in the Bible seems important.

Shavuot is first mentioned in verse 2161.

Exodus 23:16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

Strong’s G2161 = Eutychus

Eutychus is a young man who falls asleep listening to Paul preach late into the night and falls three stories to his death. Paul brings him back to life. His is the 10th and last resurrection listed in the Bible. The next resurrection is expected to be the Church.

Acts 20:9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.

What is really interesting about this is that the jewish people stay up all night on Pentecost and study the Torah. The story of Eutychus staying up all night studying Torah almost seems like a Pentecost picture.

Further I have posted on Lazarus with a gematria of 144 resurrected. His resurrection account is 4536 verses from the end of the bible. Strong’s G 4536 = trumpet. Do a search on Lazarus for that post.

Lazarus with a gematria of 144 is a picture of the Resurrection of the Church. 2161 verses before Lazarus is resurrected there is a 12 year old girl resurrected.

Mark 5:41 And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.

So the first mention of Pentecost/Shavuot is verse 2161. In the New Testament Eutychus who is G2161 is resurrected in a picture of Pentecost staying up all night studying Torah. Lazarus with a gematria of 144 as a picture of the resurrected Church is tied by 2161 verses to a young 12 year old girl who is resurrected.

You see where I am going with this?

Now notice this resurrection verse:

1 Cororingthians 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

2161 verses later we find the 144,000 - the completed Church - who are called virgins and first fruits.

Revelation 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

Notice it is a chapter 14 verse 4 or 144. I posted how this verse is tied to Rebekah. She is the virgin bride and the 144,000 are called virgins. This is a spiritual virgin, not physical. Search that post on Rebekah.

However the 144,000 are also called “First Fruits”. Pentecost as noted in verse 2161 is the day of firstfruits and is 2161 verses after a main resurrection verse again:

1 Corinthians 15:51 is also verse 2333 from the end. The verse with the first mention of Rebekah in the Bible has a gematria of 2333. It is verse 571:

Genesis 22:23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

The jewish people see the Torah as a circle. They go through the yearly cycle and then start over again. When you view the Bible as a circle verse-wise, and so when you get to the last verse of the Bible the next verse is the first, I have seen incredible links.

The verse jump from 1 Corinthians 15:51 (tied to Rebekah, resurrection, first fruits, virgin, 144,000) to Rebekah first mentioned in verse 571 is 2903.

Strong’s H 2903=”frontlets”

Exodus 13:16 And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt.

The jewish people wear bands with a box containing scripture tied to their fore heads.

This marking on the forehead is alluded to in Revelation and the 144,000.

Revelation 7:3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

Revelation 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.

Strong’s G3359 ="forehead" in the above verses.

Verse 3359 is about the High Priest has to marry a virgin - Rebekah.

Leviticus 21:13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity.

This has all really surprised me. There is just an incredible tie in numerically between the resurrection and Pentecost/Shavuot.

Pentecost is about the covenant. God married His people at Sinai. The giving of the Holy Spirit is about the covenant. The finger of God, which is a picture of the Holy Spirit, wrote the ten commandments on tables of stone. The sign of the Abrahamic covenant was circumcision. In the giving of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit came into our stony hearts and wrote His Law on our stony hearts. We are circumcised by the Holy Spirit. This is a continuation of the covenant.

Jeremiah 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Ezekiel 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh

Romans 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Colosians 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

The covenant is about being God’s people or bride and inheriting the land. When the Church is resurrected it sure would seem that it is the affirming of the promise to Abraham of inheriting the land as God’s chosen people.

Pentecost is named such because it is the 50th day. I looked at the 50th chapter of the Bible to see if there was something tied to the covenant or something. There is.

Joseph believed the covenant that God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and made Israel carry his bones with them until he entered the Promised Land.

Genesis 50:24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Genesis 50:25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.

#will schumacher #Pentecost #Resurrection #Holy Spirit #Rebekah #Covenant #Torah #Gematria #Bible numbers #Bible number systems #prophecy #Promised Land #Numbers by the Book #Eutychus

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chiseler · 3 years

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Harry Stephen Keeler: The Paper Blackener of Bagdad on the Lakes

Marry a moustachioed alcoholic and erstwhile magician to a Welsh-American beauty shortly before the World’s Columbian Exposition. When their son is born, widow the mother. Widow her again—twice. Put her in charge of a boarding house for vaudevillians. Make her son a prankster and give him a degree in electrical engineering. Bake him in the Kankakee mental asylum for a year. The result: the one and only Harry Stephen Keeler.

Keeler (1890-1967) was, in his own words, one of the most obsessive “paper-blackeners” ever to inhabit Chicago—“London of the West, Bagdad on the Lakes.” In this regard he is not wholly unlike Henry Darger, the janitor and outsider artist who spent his life a few blocks away creating the 15,000-page chronicle of the Vivian Girls. One difference is that Keeler got published.

When he was out of the asylum and working as a steel mill electrician, Keeler started frenetically punching away at his L. C. Smith, turning out surprise-twist short stories and, soon, complicated serial mysteries in a whimsical vein. He also landed a job as editor of 10 Story Book, a pulp featuring humorous tales and half-naked girls. With Find the Clock (Dutton, 1927), he achieved U.S. hardback publication. Keeler was to publish 37 volumes with Dutton until he exhausted his publishers’ patience in 1942. He published 48 books with the British publisher Ward Lock (1929-53), nine with the fourth-rate Phoenix Press (1943-48), and a dozen or so further novels written directly for Spanish or Portuguese translation at $50 a pop, in addition to several manuscripts that never saw the light of day.

That’s a story of decline—and even at the early peak of his mild popularity, Keeler struggled to sell more than a few thousand copies of his novels. The Great Depression was part of the problem, but so was Keeler’s prose. Over the course of the ’30s, Keeler transmuted his early style—convoluted “webwork” plots and somewhat Victorian diction—into screwball concoctions where the narrator and characters sink into morasses of dialect and ludicrous phraseology, as the reader is challenged to sift through layers of implausible interpretation to uncove an even more implausible solution. Ignoring the pleas of his editors, HSK churned out huge, multivolume creations that tried his readers’ brains and now seem boldly postmodern, as if they had been dreamed up by Pynchon or Oulipo. To mention a few:

The Box from Japan (1932) is set in 1942 and runs to over 700,000 words, with extensive digressions on intercontinental 3-D television, a Nicaraguan canal, and the Japanese emperor’s love of Virginia ham.

The Marceau Case and X. Jones of Scotland Yard (1936) are “documented novels” that consist of newspaper stories, telegrams, photos (including one of a topless woman and one of Keeler himself), astronomical charts, cartoons, a Bible verse, two ten-page long footnotes, and much more. The premise is a twist on “locked room” mysteries: a man was strangled on an open croquet lawn, with only a few small footprints in his immediate vicinity. Was he garroted by a Lilliputian in an autogyro? The case is given a three-dimensional solution by an American in the first volume, and a four-dimensional solution by an Englishman in the second.

The Mysterious Mr. I and The Chameleon (1938-39) trace the Chicago peregrinations of a narrator who keeps us and everyone around him guessing as he switches identities no fewer than fifty times (once posing as a professor of philosophy who provides yet another solution to the Marceau case).

The Man with the Magic Eardrums (1939) is an all-night dialogue between two mysterious characters who discuss interracial marriage, telephone technology, and a laundry list of other Keelerian obsessions. It was followed by three sequels.

The exhausting, quasilunatic plots of HSK’s novels are larded with gems of Keelerian writing: awkward, preposterous, and hilarious. The laughter is always uncertain, though, because you are never sure just how much of the effect is intentional. (I have come to believe that most of it is.) Contemporary Keelerite Edward Bolman has recently started tweeting some of these gems (twitter.com/harryskeeler). Here’s a small selection.

“I—I thank you, Governor,” he said with dignity, “on behalf of the Great Science of Mathematics and Joe the Duck.”

For all’s not gold that glitters; and everything that makes an inky black aqueous solution isn’t the pure oxyrhodomate salt of platinum.

“I—I don’t want any women,” Joe managed to ejaculate.

Real estate law oozed out from all over him.

“I’d like to be Hong’s gold watch in his pocket—but able to listen, like as if it were my own ear—yeah, a gold ear-shaped listening watch.”

“Nuts!” exploded Monk Onderko. “Bull,” came from Pox in the rear.

His conscience was invariably an amoeba hypertrophied to the size of behemoth and capering about, centipedal with a hundred elephant legs!

Unlikely as it may seem, Keeler got a small taste of Hollywood in 1934, when Monogram Studios put out two films based on his Sing Sing Nights. In the movie of that name, three murder suspects are tested by a lie detector. (In the novel, the three men shot their victim nearly but not quite simultaneously—so two of them are guilty of no more than pumping a bullet into a corpse. One shooter espouses the theory that racism will eventually be overcome thanks to interbreeding, plastic surgery, and international air travel. None of this makes it into the film.) In The Mysterious Mr. Wong, a film based on a story told by one of the characters in Keeler’s Sing Sing Nights, Bela Lugosi plays Wong, a tepidly creepy Oriental who is stalked by a feebly wisecracking reporter. These movies have some interest as period pieces, but retain little of the distinctive Keeler touch. Extensive research has not supported Keeler’s claim that Sing Sing Nights inspired yet a third film, titled The Gorilla’s Brain.

Nearly forgotten by the end of his life, Keeler has experienced a small posthumous revival thanks to the Internet (which he would have adored). The Harry Stephen Keeler Society, founded in 1997, publishes a newsletter. All of Keeler’s books can be printed on demand by Ramble House. In 2005, McSweeney’s republished the 1934 novel The Riddle of the Traveling Skull. Keeler’s confessed fans include Neil Gaiman and Roger Ebert. Now we await a truly Keelerian film—a movie that somehow captures the erudite, juvenile, loquacious, gleefully unrealistic world of a Harry Stephen Keeler novel.

by Richard Polt

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mrcleanheichou · 4 years

Text

Forever and ever chapter 2

When two young people fall in love others often call it puppy love. A love so intense that ultimately fizzles out very quickly. No one believes someone so young could fall for someone so fast and have it be genuine until they see it with their own eyes.

Pairing Cowboy!Jungkook x reader

Genre fluff, angst, eventual smut

Word count 2K

Warnings Mention of a boner

Author’s note soooo long time no see lol I am such a bad fic writer, I literally start a WIP and don’t touch it for months. I have 4 WIPs that I bounce between when i get writer’s block. Slowly but surely I want to start writing consistently so I can get better. So I offer to you my Bangtan cowboy yeehaw fic. I really want to read cowboy fics but there’s barely anything so I decided to be the change I wanted to see in the world and wrote my own.

Here’s chapter 1

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

1 week later Jungkook had just finished working on sections of the barbed wire fence with Jimin when he saw his hyung Jin getting the wagon ready. As soon as he put the roll of extra wire and his gloves back in the shed he jogged over to Jin. “Hyung! Are you going to town?”, He asked a little too loud making the horse Jin was hooking up to panic a little. “Hey, hey, hey, you’re ok.”, Jin says trying to get the horse back under control. Once he gets the nervous animal to calm down he looks toward the sweaty young man. “Yeah, I have to go to the market. Do you want to go?”Jungkook said yes a little to excitedly. “Ok, but go wash up. You stink.”

Jungkook hurried to the room he shares with Taehyung in the large ranch house where all seven of the men who work on Bangtan cattle ranch live.

**~~~~~~~~~** The whole operation is split four ways between the four older men. Namjoon and Yoongi run the majority of everything between Yoongi finding buyers for their livestock and Namjoon negotiating deals. They are both very knowledgeable cattlemen despite being in their mid twenties. They do not let other cattlemen try to dupe them because they think they’re young and gullible. Multiple times meetings have almost come to blows since the older men don’t like being shown up by the quick witted duo. The other partners are Jin and Hoseok. Jin takes care of feeding six very hungry mouths. He is a very good cook and he is also very skilled at fixing leather. He makes money on the side by fixing bridles and saddles for other people. Then there’s Hoseok who used to be a bronco rider on the rodeo circuit and now he uses his skills to break in young horses. Jimin and Taehyung were a couple of trouble makers that would do little odd jobs and play cards to get money to drink and entertain the women at multiple saloons almost every night. They ended up at the same poker table as Yoongi one night 6 years ago. They got to talking and he told them about needing workers on his ranch. Jimin automatically said no. He was very against that idea since he didn’t want to do actual hard labor in the sun. Taehyung was more open to the idea of a consistent pay check. Yoongi made them a bet. They’d play three rounds of ‘7-card-stud’ and if Yoongi beat them at least two times then he’d stop asking. But if he did beat them then they both had to come work for him. They took the bet and obviously Yoongi won. Although Jimin still to this day swears Yoongi cheated. Jungkook’s story is a little different. He made the 50 mile journey to Coyote Creek from his family’s farm after one of many fights he had with his father. When his mother died his father turned to alcohol to drown the pain. He became a monster of a man and resented the fact that Jungkook looked like his mother. The only time an argument turned physical was right before Jungkook ran away. He accidentally burnt the dinner he was making. His father immediately got up and grabbed Jungkook by the shirt and yelled in his face about how useless he was. He told him he regreted ever having him and that he has never loved him. When Jungkook started crying his father slapped him across the face. That was the final straw for Jungkook. As soon as his father was too drunk to even know where he was, he started packing some of his things and stole some money his father’s stash in his closet. He raided the storehouse for as much essential foods that he could reasonably transport and packed it all up onto one of their horses. Taking one final look back at his childhood home, Jungkook finally stopped fighting his tears. He sobbed, allowing himself to mourn the loss of both his mother and father. Once he calmed down he got on his horse and left his old life behind. At the age of 14 Jungkook set off for a better life. It took him two days to reach the town where he promptly started asking around for a job. Unfortunately no one was interested in hiring him, even for simple jobs. After six days he was out of cash, hungry and desperate. He went to the horse auctions and was going to sell his horse to survive when a man who was wearing an expensive looking black cowboy hat asked him why he looked so sad. Jungkook told him he couldn’t get money any other way and he had no home to return to. The man gave him a sympathetic look and told him to stay where he was. That he’d be right back. A few minutes later he came back with a shorter man in tow. “My name is Namjoon and this is Yoongi.”, the other man tips his hat at Jungkook “I’d like to make you an offer.” Jungkook was about to say thank you when Namjoon cut him off, “But, I don’t want the horse. We’re looking for a new ranch hand and you look like a hard worker. Would you like to come work for us?” Jungkook immediately says yes. “What’s your name kid?” “Jungkook.” “Where are your parents?” Yoongi asked looking concerned. When Jungkook looked down at the ground trying to come up with an answer Yoongi put his hand on his shoulder. “It’s ok, you don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to.” The two men take Jungkook with them to purchase the two horses they came to the auction for. They then head out for the ten mile ride it takes to get back to their ranch. Namjoon notices that Jungkook’s face looks sunburnt so he asks him if he needs a hat. “No, no it’s ok you don’t have to give me anything, I’m fine.” Namjoon pays him no mind as he takes the obviously expensive hat off his head and places it on Jungkook’s. “Every man needs a good hat.” Six years later Jungkook still wears it. **~~~~~~~** Jungkook took his time looking through his clothes. He finally chose a white button up, the pair of jeans he never wears when he does work and his nice town boots. After he washed up and changed he walked back to where Jin was waiting for him. ”You know we’re just going to town for supplies right?” Jin commented looking him up and down while Jungkook climbed onto the wagon next to him. Jin himself was wearing his work overalls that had leather oil on them. “Yeah, I just felt like dressing up that’s all.” Jin just shrugged and snapped the reigns to get the horse to start moving. When they got into town Jungkook immediately looked toward the school and was disappointed when it seemed like no one was there. Dejectedly, Jungkook got off the wagon and followed Jin to the first shop. “Ok, I made a you a list so we can split up and get it done faster”, Jin said handing Jungkook a piece of paper leaving him in front of the farmer’s market. Jungkook sighed and went into the shop that housed fruits and vegetables and opened the door. He grabbed a woven hand basket from the counter and went for the first item on his list. Apples. Not just any apples either, Jin wrote ‘***GOOD APPLES***’ Which caused Jungkook to stand confused in front of all the different types of apples for a few minutes. “What the hell does ‘good apples’ even mean? I thought all apples were good.” “Would you like some help?”, A sweet sounding voice asked. Jungkook looks to the side and almost gasped when he saw who was talking to him. It was the school teacher, she was stunning up close and her eyes were exceptionally beautiful. She smiles at him and he swears he felt his heart skip a beat. “You seem a little out of your element here.” “Y-yeah.”, Jungkook manages to say while trying to not stare at the woman. He doesn’t know why he’s so infatuated with her. He doesn’t even know her. “Do you know what kind of apples you want?” Jungkook feels his face getting hot because, no. Jin just wrote apples and there’s a bunch of different kinds in front of him. “No, my hyung didn’t write down what kind he wanted.” Jungkook rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “I’m completely lost.” “That’s ok, can I see your list? Maybe I can try to guess what he’s making and get you the right apples for it.” Jungkook handed her the shopping list and their hands briefly touched causing Jungkook to completely stop breathing. The woman started reading the list and mumbling to herself with a look of concentration. Jungkook thought it was was the cutest thing ever. “Ok! I think he’s gonna be making apple pie because he wrote down; flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and butter. But you can’t get that here today. Mr. Lee only comes to town with his milk and butter 3 times a week so you’ll have to come back for that tomorrow. But we can definitely get your ‘Good Apples’ today.”, she giggled and he looked at her in awe. How could someone so lovely actually talk to him. He almost felt unworthy of being in her presence. “Ok so I’m going to be biased and get you the apples I personally think are the best for pie. If your Hyung doesn’t like them then tell me and I’ll give you money for different ones.” she said looking over her shoulder at a nodding Jungkook. “I love these ones. They’re ‘Pink Lady’ apples.”, she says grabbing a small light red apple “They’re Sweet but not too sweet. They make the pie come out much better than green apples and their name sounds classy.” She handed it to Jungkook and started picking out the best apples from the pile. After finding 6 perfect apples she put them in the basket he was carrying. Once again accidentally touching him In the process. Jungkook completely froze, he felt as if he was shocked by electricity. “I can help you with rest of your things” the woman said looking up at the poor awestruck man. “I mean only if you want me to...” she added when Jungkook just stared at her without answering worrying that she might have been intruding. Jungkook just nodded, he couldn’t trust himself to speak without fumbling over his words. The woman smiled and spent the next 30 minutes helping him with the rest of Jin’s list. After Jungkook payed the two made their way to the wagon. “Thank you for helping me. I would have been lost for a long time.” “You’re welcome” the teacher smiled at him brightly. “It was my pleasure. By the way what’s your name Mr apple pie?” “Jungkook” the woman pondered that for a second before extending her hand. “I’m y/n” Jungkook silently hoped she wouldn’t notice how sweaty his hand was. If y/n did she didn’t say anything about it while grasping his calloused hand with her smaller and much softer hand. Jungkook felt ashamed when his thoughts immediately when to a dirty place when he imagined her soft hands touching him somewhere else. Mentally slapping himself he snapped out of it before he, as Jimin liked to call it, popped a boner. “Well, Mr. Jungkook, I’ll see you at the school house bright and early tomorrow” she said while turning to walk away. When y/n was gone Jungkook raised his hand to his face to make sure this was all real. With his luck this would end up being a dream. At least it would has been a really good dream. He must have zoned out for a while because he was startled back to reality by Jin clapping him on the shoulder, “Stop staring into la la land and help me tie everything down.” Jungkook took one last look at his hand, “You were right hyung” ...’love at first sight does exist.’ “I’m always right. I don’t know why you’re barely realizing that now”

#Jungkook reader #jungkook fanfic #jungkook reader smut #Jungkook smut #jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook fanfic #Jungkook reader fluff #BTS reader fluff #BTS reader #BTS smut #BTS reader smut

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snipehuntpotatosack · 3 years

Text

Hermetics

The Hermetic Word Frequency Counter tabulates the most used words in a given text. I applied it to a file I’ve been adding random scribbles to - every form of writing, truly non-formatted and non-themed - for two years. The program quit after it identified 10,000 separate words, complaining about its buffer or something. After eliminating the pronouns and conjunctions, and many words that are frequent but not very meaningful out of context (a judgment call it’s true), I was faced with what I say or write the most, listed below with number of times used. I was going to stop at frequency=24, below which would mean it was used less than once a month, but I arbitrarily went on a little longer.

Time – 136

Know – 129

She – 119

Think – 114

Her – 103

People – 71

Really – 66

Right – 64

Him – 60

Something – 60

Years – 50

Dead – 48

End – 48

World – 48

Life – 48

Old – 48

Human – 47

Actually - 46

Good – 45

Number – 45

Nothing – 44

Own – 44

Point – 44

Times – 44

Writing – 43

Love – 41

Man – 39

Mind – 39

Thought – 39

Always – 38

God – 38

Three – 38

Why – 38

Write – 38

Anything – 37

Because – 37

Night – 37

Real – 37

Day – 35

Form – 35

Yes – 35

Face – 35

Course – 34

Kind – 33

Name – 33

Small – 33

Death – 32

Earth – 32

Head – 32

Mean – 31

Men – 31

Better – 30

Ten – 29

Tumblr – 29

Want – 28

Whatever – 28

Fact – 27

Cause – 26

Give – 26

Past – 26

Read – 26

Hard – 25

Poem – 25

Seems – 25

Yourself – 25

Hell – 24

Person – 24

Itself – 24

Sound – 24

Word – 24

Gun – 23

Young - 23

Against – 22

Feel – 22

Idea – 22

Words – 22

Actual – 21

Circle – 20

Dark – 20

Days – 20

Everything – 20

Except – 20

Great – 20

Live – 20

Money – 20

Possible – 20

Remember – 20

Sex – 20

(Brooklyn – 19)

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tisfan · 4 years

Text

The Works

Title: The Works Written by: @tisfan (3023) Square: R2 - Hydra Won (swapped square) Rating: Mature (for horror) Triggers/warnings: Tags: Hydra Won, ambiguous ending, incomplete Created for: @tonystarkbingo Word count: 2346 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23753566/chapters/59696779 Summary: It had been his last act, getting the sleep-pods onto the ship and launching it, the whole time, holding Hydra at bay, keeping her here, keeping her distracted. And then she’d struck, casting some evil magic over him, over--He couldn’t remember.

__________

¬░▒╛┐z░¬ date ┴╗╣⌐g__d morning soldier ▒¬º╖ç

The old AI wasn’t working.

Which had been the plan, Barnes, get it together.

The man above him -- well next to him now that Bucky had sat up -- was something like a vision. They exchanged names, greetings. The man. Tony. Had asked some questions.

Bucky’s lips were warm. Tingling.

Tony had kissed him. To wake him up. To break the spell.

“Hydra won,” Bucky said. He wasn’t even sure he was speaking out loud, but he must have, because Tony was responding.

“That’s long since over,” Tony said. “There’s no Hydra anywhere in this sector.”

“She’s sleeping, because I was sleeping,” Bucky said. “I shut her down by shutting myself down. She might be back.”

“I didn’t see anyone else on this ship, except you and an awful lot of rabbits.”

“Rabbits?” Kobik had had some pet rabbits; a whole hutch of them. Part of the experiment. Could a space station become truly self-sufficient? The answer still looked like no, but some hutch and farm animals did function pretty well. There’d been goats at one time, too, but in the last days of the war, Bucky thought they’d all been eaten.

“They’re all over the place. My AI tells me they’re rabbits. I’ve never seen one, honestly.”

“Where th’ hell’d you grow up you ain’t never seen a rabbit,” Bucky wondered.

“I did mention the part about three hundred years, right?”

“Right, yeah,” Bucky said. “Uh, is there anything to eat?”

“There’s some mealpacks back at my ship,” Tony offered. “But unless your stuff is in permastore, I don’t think anything from here will be safe.”

“Water?”

Tony pulled out a canteen. That, at least, hadn’t changed much in form or function for centuries. Spout to put liquids in or to drink from, a standard filtration system, and a strap to carry it with. Why improve on something that was already perfect? Filters would, of course, adapt over time to whatever contaminants were in the water. “Human physiology hasn’t changed all that much,” Tony said. “I don’t think my filters will hurt you. But you have to be careful. Don’t drink from a Centurian’s canteen. They add in a lot of stims and endorphins to their water. Warrior race, but it gives the rest of us a twitchy stomach.”

“Good to know,” Bucky said. “How will I know who they are?”

“Don’t worry, they’ll usually tell you,” Tony joked. “They’re blue-skinned marsupials, with a red crown of-- head spikes, for lack of a better word.”

“Marsupials?”

“They carry their young around in a stomach pouch until they’re old enough to walk around. It’s a convenient arrangement,” Tony said.

“Okay, then,” Bucky said. He took a few sips of Tony’s water and then returned it to him. The nanites in his system would filter anything harmful out, and if he could eat soon enough, would get him back to fighting fit. Otherwise, he might possibly go into a cyber coma. He didn’t see the need to alarm Tony just yet. It wasn’t urgent. “We can check the mess, see if there’s any supplements left. They won’t go bad.”

Worst case, he could probably chase down one of the rabbits and skin it for food.

The whole station was both dead and alive at the same time. The hydroponics bay had escaped containment; there were vines and plants everywhere.

They’d probably grown, at least somewhat, in the remains of the dead. Bucky shuddered.

The rabbit colony hopped in and out of the dense plant growth. Unafraid, and why would they be? A rabbit only lived nine or ten years. There had been generations of them, since they last saw humans.

“Did, uh, did the colony ship get away?” Bucky asked.

It had been his last act, getting the sleep-pods onto the ship and launching it, the whole time, holding Hydra at bay, keeping her here, keeping her distracted.

And then she’d struck, casting some evil magic over him, over--

He couldn’t remember.

»£┼¬░▒-▒¿╟┼longing▒░┼╝º

“We never came across any ships from the Ring,” Tony said, as if apologizing, “but if you can give us mass and trajectory, I might be able to track it down for you.”

Sleep pods would last. If Bucky’s lasted, theirs would last.

He shook his head, wondering. Maybe they’d gotten out, maybe they’d gotten away. Away from Hydra, locked in her cold sleep with Bucky.

He wondered where she was.

She might still be on the station. He turned his gaze on Tony. That would be a strange form for her to take; Tony seemed sincere. But then, witches always seemed sincere, didn’t they?

“Sir, I’m reading some strange energy spikes in the station,” a voice said, coming from-- from Tony.

“My AI,” Tony said, as if apologizing. “Anything hazardous, Jay?”

“Not as yet, but you might want to consider retreating in the next few hours. Radiation levels are rising.”

“What’s the plan with the bunnies?” Tony asked. “Can we evacuate them to a planet?”

“I’ve already sent out a beacon pod, locating the station. Hopefully it will be able to float through the Ring, and broadcast from there.”

“Good job.”

“Of course, sir.”

“You’re worried about the wildlife?” Bucky asked, incredulous. Definitely not the witch, then. She wouldn’t have cared about the life of a bug, beast, or boy.

“They’re alive,” Tony said. “There’s no point in killing them. We’ve got biologists back on the various Initiative ships that can relocate them somewhere that they won’t be an invasive species. Well, technically, they’ll be invasive, but a careful selection will make sure they will fit in with the local ecosystem. Worst comes to worst, we can sell them as pets and novelties on Knowhere Station.”

“We do have cargo space in the lower deck,” JARVIS pointed out, “if you’re not planning to salvage much.”

“Salvage, right,” Tony said, snapping his fingers. “I got so carried away by Sleeping Beauty here that I forgot I was looking for valuables. What say you, hot stuff? You got anything worth selling on this floating coffin? Split it with you, 50/50.”[]

¥ƒ▀¥▒╜┼┼pжавыйÉ»¥┼╟╞─rusted▒╗▓

Bucky shook his head. “I think it’s all salvage now, rules of the drift,” he said. “Do you have policy in place for survivors?”

Back in his day, anyone found on the drift in space -- hypersleep accidents happened often enough that people could outlive their assets, their grandkids, their governments -- that some effort was made to track down any remaining property, they got a six month high intensity sleep-learning degree, and sent off into the world with a small stipend.

Bucky’d known a couple of them. Steve Rogers had done a Big Sleep, seventy years or more. Gone to sleep as a Private, cook’s assistant during the war and woke up as a Captain through time in rank.

Strange thing, really.

“You might be considered the longest standing prisoner of war,” Tony said. “Not that it matters, there’s a fortune to be had on this station. Split it with me, you won’t have to worry about it. This is all approved salvage. I have a license.”

He knew his way around the station, even with the plants and the rabbits. The rabbits were freaking him out a little; they kept following-- sticking their curious noses out of the underbrush. He wondered how they’d lived so long. Usually life support shut down when no one was breathing it.

Which meant Hydra had to be on the station somewhere.

“Why split it with me, then?” Bucky wondered. “License for salvage, you don’t need to--”

“Because I may be an asshole a lot of the time,” Tony said, “but I am not one hundred percent a dick.”

╜£Éëδ╗»╟┼╞─┬┴seventeen╜╝╗▒»▒┼

“If you want,” Bucky said. They finally made it to the messhall, and the sub-freeze was still reading green, so Bucky used his thumb print to open it. “I can recon some of these food packs.”

“You call this stuff food,” Tony said, incredulously. “You, my friend, you have been suffering. Recon has come so far since your day. Jay, can you dish up a four course for us?”

“Of course, sir,” JARVIS said.

“What’s considered a high value item?” Bucky wondered, picking out a few recon packs. He added water to the cooker, stuffed the packet in the slot and watched as the not-particularly interesting, but high calorie, high vitamin cereal poured itself into a reusable cup. The spoons were a little iffy, so Bucky added more water, and then drank it as a gruel. Yuck, but it would keep his systems intact for a while longer. Just a little while longer.

He just needed to know what happened to Hydra.

Where was she?

Not in the messhall, that was for sure.

Tony was still running down a list of items -- elements that could be repurposed. Titanium, protactinium, thorium. They’d had those in ample supply at one point. Potable water, preferably in ice form, which was easier to tow.

“Wait, what was that last thing?”

“Etherium gas,” Tony said. “Might as well as for unobtainium, or wishalloy.”

“What, why?”

“As far as we know, stable etherium is a fantasy,” Tony said. “We’ve got plausible theories, but no one’s ever gotten a hold of the stuff before. I was spinning castles in space.”

“Um.”

╟S│ªS▒»░▒O1█┼daybreak▒»╟╗╣╕ë

“We have a tankful, at least,” Bucky said, “if nothing’s changed. That’s what we were mining, here--”

Tony was staring at him as if he’d said the moon really was made from green cheese.

“A-- let me get this straight. A tank. How much is in a tank?”

“It’s not really my department,” Bucky said, “but last I checked, about twenty thousand gallons of liquid etherium.”

Tony stopped moving, he seemed to stop breathing.

“I think we just became the richest men in the galaxy,” he said, finally. “Show me where this tank of yours is. Can we detach it for hauling?”

Bucky nodded. It was the gas, he thought. That attracted Hydra. She’d come because of the gas, and they’d fought her over the gas.

Witch.

Monster.

╟╗▒░ªÜfurnace▒»½▒╟┼╣

“Tony--” Bucky said, reaching out his hand. He caught hold of the other man’s wrist. “The gas--”

“Perfectly safe, cupcake,” Tony said. “We’ll make sure there’s no leaks, then we can just haul it away. Easy peasy, nice and cheesy.”

Bucky was pretty sure the phrase didn’t go that way.

And it wasn’t safe.

If Hydra was still on the station, that would be where she was.

Hibernating, maybe.

Or just waiting. Lurking.

He wanted to speak, it was like he’d forgotten the words, and so instead of saying anything, he just turned and led Tony deeper into the station. Down into the Works, the mag-engines and the hydropods, the storage and the plumbing, the fuel cells. It was dark there, wet and heavy somehow. The plant life stopped, which wasn’t surprising, and while there were a few rabbits down this deep, they didn’t seem… normal.

Mutations, perhaps.

Bucky shuddered the thought away.

Tony had said he’d sent out a beacon.

Help-- someone could help them.

Maybe someone would come.

I don’t have to run faster than Hydra, I just have to run faster than you.

Not true, and everyone knew it. Hydra was so fast. She was there before you even knew it. She wasn’t a sight, or something to touch. A witch, some sort of presence.

“Here,” Bucky said. “This is the shut off station. We’ll need to disconnect, and run diagnostics. That can take a few hours--”

“Don’t worry, Jarvis is already in the works, he’s a lot faster than your old systems,” Tony said. “We’ll be on our way back to civilization before you’re even sleepy.”

╟»▒░½Ü¢Ö▒»╟┼nine┼»Q▒»░▒╟┼

“Do you hear something,” Bucky said. He took a few steps down toward-- he didn’t even know. Something was down there. Calling him. Like a magnet that he was too pinlike to resist. A flame, to draw away a moth. It would burn him up, and he knew it, but he could not--

“Hey!” Tony’s hand was hard on his wrist, the fingernails biting lightly into his skin. “Hey, Bucky. You okay?”

“No, I don’t think I am,” Bucky said.

“Jay, how’s it look?”

“You may come back to the ship at any time, sir,” JARVIS said. “I can handle the disconnect from here.”

“Gotta be sleep-shock,” Tony was saying, “I’m so sorry, you seemed okay, let me just--”

Tony was leading him away.

Away from answers.

Away from--

▒┼╟╗╦Ñ▒»╟benign▒┼╫D░▒½¬

“It’s all right, you don’t have to do anything else, I’ve got you,” Tony said.

And he did. Somehow, this man was… carrying Bucky. Like he was a sleepy child. Bucky blinked.

“Nanites,” Tony said. “They’re pretty amazing. I know you had ‘em back in your day, my scans show you’ve got some yourself. I think there’s something interfering with yours, though. Maybe they’re just old. We can do a filter, get you fixed up. It’s all right, just let me take care of you.”

That was nice, somehow. The idea of just letting go. Of letting Tony take care of things. Letting him take care…

Of Hydra.

Would it even be possible? That the witch could be defeated by something as simple and small as human technology?

“Jay, get me a stretcher, would you, buddy?”

Bucky couldn’t see anything; everything was getting cold, frozen. His eyelids were frozen shut. Winter--

Winter was coming.

The winter.

He remembered climbing into the sleeppod, knowing she was right behind him, knowing--

He’d known something, once.

What was it--

▒┼╟»ª╣╝»homecoming▒»╣¥╝¡☺”

Static in his head, like snow. Freezing. He was so cold. Tony’s hands were on him, but he couldn’t see, and if Tony was talking, he couldn’t hear it.

She was coming.

Hydra was coming.

They’d woken her up, somehow, and she was on her way to claim him.

“You need to run,” Bucky said, hoping Tony could hear him. That he could do something. Anything.

Live.

Run.

▒»╟┼┴▒½¡╝one▒ªñªú┼╝│

“Tony, run--”

“Freight car.”

Bucky closed his eyes and went away.

The Winter Soldier was here.

“Hail Hydra.”

A/n - @27dragons wouldn’t let me post this until everything was resolved, so, I have written 2 more chapters and I will post them in the next 2 weeks or so.

#tonystarkbingo2020 #winteriron #horror #space bunnies #not mutually exclusive #apparently

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msjr0119 · 4 years

Text

The Unexpected Roommate

Introduction

This idea has been in my head for a few days now. It was originally going to a one shot, but more ideas came into my head so decided it would be a mini series.

What happens when your roommate of many years falls in love and moves out unexpectedly? Drake Walker was in this situation, until his friends fiancée suggested that her friend moved in to replace her fiancé. The new roommate is causing tension already. Will they be able to survive living together? What’s the worse that could happen?

*All characters belong to Pixelberry*

Pairings: Drake x Riley, Leo x Olivia

Warnings: Swearing, tension.

Tags- using combined tag list for this introduction, as always if you want to be removed please do let me know. I won’t be offended.

@pedudley @kacie-0156 @loveellamae @annekebbphotography @burnsoslow @ladyangel70 @kingliam2019 @bascmve01 @drakewalker04 @drxkewalker @kozabaji @texaskitten30 @i-bloody-love-drake-walker @kimmiedoo5 @nikkis1983 @gnatbrain @walker7519 @lodberg @cmestrella @hopefulmoonobject @addictedtodrakefanfic @angi15h @liamxs-world @rafasgirl23415 @notoriouscs @yukinagato2012 @dcbbw @qammh-blog @nz1091 @cordonianroyalty @custaroonie @indiacater @seriouslybadchoices @rainbowsinthestorm @princess-geek @jared2612 @desireepow-1986 @twinkle-320 @queenjilian @forthebrokenheartedthings-blog @princessleac1 @scarletreesex

******

Drake exited his room, walking through to the lounge he noticed his roommate Leo sat on the couch with his head in his hands. Usually Leo would still be in bed recovering from a hangover until late hours the following day.

“Good morning. Usually I’d say good afternoon on a weekend. What’s up?” Leo sighed as he looked towards his friend with sorrow in his eyes. Drake’s infamous cocky smirk soon turned upside down- his eyes providing concern, as he sat next to Leo.

“It’s about me and Liv...” Drake rolled his eyes back- he wasn’t exactly ‘best friends’ with his friends fiancée. If anything they were arch-enemies. Always insulting each other. At every possible moment. Hate is a strong word. But they hated each other. Simple as. When Leo proposed, Drake provided a fake smile- he knew his friend was head over heels for her so accepted their relationship.

“I have to move out Drake. I’ve been putting it off for such a long time. But Liv is my future.” Deep down, Drake knew this day was coming. He would miss the old times they had spent together before Olivia came onto the scene.

“When are you moving out?” Questioning his friend, the look on Leo’s face explained that it was sooner rather than later.

“Tomorrow.” Drake didn’t know how to react, his first thought was wondering about how he was going to afford the upkeep of the apartment without a roomie. Then reality hit and he had realised that this was the end of an era.

“I’ll still pay my way though as I’m leaving you in the shit. Although there is another option?” Drake quirked his eyebrow, wondering what on earth the other option could be.

****

The following day, Olivia made her way to the men’s apartment. Hearing her strut through the door, natural instinct for Drake was to go and hide in his hovel of a bedroom.

“Walker. Don’t cry. I’m helping you.” Scowling towards her, he showed no emotion. So was confused as to why she would attempt to cause trouble.

“I’m not crying! Care to explain how you are helping me?”

“Well I got you a new room mate didn’t I?”

“Yeah. I’m sure you and Leo could show him around before you go awol.” Giving Leo a bromance hug, he wished him luck. Not with beginning his new chapter, but luck with the devil wearing red stood in front of them.

“Him?” Olivia cackled, as Leo’s complexion turned white as a sheet.

“Yeah, Leo said Riley.”

“She will be here later. Riley is a unisex name you moron.” Leo nervously smiled at him, he didn’t have the heart to tell him that his new roomie was a girl- once Drake assumed it was man. “She’s a laugh, unlike you Walker. Maybe a bit of her personality could rub off on to you?”

“Leo! How could you do this to me?” Leo of all people knew Drake wasn’t exactly the type of person to get along with women. He just didn’t seem to show any interest. There was rumours that Drake could have been a closet gay due to this. Unlike Leo and his brother Liam, he didn’t have the natural charm with the women like they did. Or maybe he did? But he never attempted to try it. If he wanted a one night stand, it was easy enough to flirt his way to get this. However he never went out intentionally to find someone to settle down with.

“If you hate her, just stay in your room. You don’t have to talk or socialise. As long as you both pay the bills I don’t see the issue. See you at my bachelor party next weekend!” Drake grit his teeth, maybe I should move back to Texas? He thought to himself- annoyed that he didn’t beat Leo to being the first one to leave.

****

A few hours later, Drake was pacing the room wondering what his new room mate was going to look like. Would she be blonde? Brunette? A red head like Olivia? Would she be tall? Or small? Nice tits or nice arse? Would she be like Mr Blobby? Drake shook his head, he didn’t care what she was like as long as she paid her way and didn’t disturb him. Hearing a knock at the door, he refilled his tumbler - knowing he would need a drink. Carrying it with him, he opened the door.

“Hi, I’m Riley....” Drake stared at her, not knowing how long for- he wasn’t interested in relationships. He was more of a one night stand type of man, he kept reminding himself. But the woman stood in front of him was beautiful. She was hypnotising.

“Drake, you are a super star! You knew just exactly what I needed. My boxes are outside...” Hearing her speak again, he was brought out of his thoughts. Snatching the whiskey out of his hands she gulped it in one go before placing it back into his hand. Forcing her way through to the apartment - she jumped over the couch and sprawled out across it. Much to Drake’s disgust.

“Okay. So first rule. Don’t ever do that again.”

“Do what?” Questioning him innocently, she honestly didn’t know what his issue was. There stood in front of her was an middle aged man trapped in a twenty something year old body.

“One, steal my whiskey. Two, jump over the couch. It’s not a fucking playground.” Jeeze. What a kill joy! He’s joking surely?

“Sorry dad!” Biting her lip, she couldn’t prevent the snort that escaped.

“Three don’t call me that. We are not friends. We are unfortunately roommates. Stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours. No visitors unless the other person agrees to it. We will allocate times to use the bathroom, and I’ll do a rota for the chores.”

“Babe, these nails aren’t for doing chores. I’ll hoover my room and keep it tidy. I promise.” Smirking, she believed that if she fluttered her eyelashes towards him that he would give in and allow her to get away with it.

“Princess...” Emphasising the word in a sarcastic manner- he believed that Leo was a poor roommate, until he met her. She was already pissing him off with her attitude after only ten minutes. “We both live here. It’s 50/50 chores. I don’t give a shit about your manicure. Don’t like it? Move out! Next time carry your own damn boxes in!”

****

The next morning, Drake wanted to stay in bed- if he didn’t have a job to get to he would have done. Wanting to avoid her, he was debating if he hated her more than Olivia. The only difference between them was that Riley at least was beautiful. Walking through to the kitchen area, she was stood next to the stove wearing gym clothing whilst cooking.

“Do you want a coffee grumpy? Or some breakfast?” Feeling his presence behind her, Olivia had warned her that he was a jerk- but the majority of people were with her- so therefore she didn’t want to believe her words. How wrong was she?

“No. I’ve got work. However I do want you to replace all of MY food that you have used...” Seeing his name labelled on the food, she didn’t believe he would react this way. He was acting like a child.

“Don’t worry I fucking will. I’ll even wrap your food up with a ribbon.” She snapped, wishing that she never moved in in the first place. She wasn’t that desperate for a place to live, there was other options but this seemed like the easy short term one.

“Make sure you put a gold bow on it too!”

“Then I’ll shove it up your arse... oops did I say that out loud?”

“You’re fucking annoying. I mean it Riley, stay out of my fucking way.”

“I intend to! Don’t you worry! Jerk.”

****

Drake finished work, all through his meetings his mind lingered on Riley. Feeling awful for the way he had treat her, and even with his sarcastic attitude he would find a way to apologise to her. Even if she did deserve it in some way. Making his way back to the apartment, he slowly opened the door- not ready for another debate. The aroma of Zoflora flooded his senses- the strong scent was almost suffocating him. Scrutinising the apartment, she had done a spring clean- believing he was hallucinating, he wondered who she had hired to do the chores. Instead he saw her on the living area floor doing yoga and exercises, surrounded by cleaning materials. Fuck, she’s hot. Gulping, he needed to make his presence known- make it look like he hadn’t been gawking at her for what seemed like an eternity.

“Hi.” Turning her head to face him, she smiled before slowly standing up.

“Hi. I replaced your food. I did a shop for my food. There’s left over Chinese in the fridge if you want it. My eyes were too big for my belly. I’m going to use the bathroom, if I’m allowed? Unless you want to use it first?”

“No you can use it.” Riley nodded, and made her way to the bathroom brushing past him. Making his way to the fridge- she had indeed refilled it, she had even put golden bows and ribbons on his newly labelled food. He wasn’t sure if he should laugh or not- he was only joking when he suggested it in a rage of anger. Retrieving the left over chinese, he noticed that she had written ‘Drake’ on it. Again, not knowing if she was purposely taking the piss. Luckily, she had the same taste in the take out as he did. Maybe we could get along? Make it a weekly thing having a chinese together? Hearing her come into the kitchen, his eyes widened seeing her naked with just a skimpy towel wrapped around her- barely covering her assets up. His trousers tightened slightly, shovelling around trying to remove the situation- he thought about something else. Leo. Thinking about how fucking annoying he was- worked a treat.

“Sorry, I left my phone charger.” Shrugging his shoulders, he acted as if he was oblivious that she was there.

“Thanks for the chinese..”

“No worries. I’m going to go to my room. Stay out of your way as you requested.” Not that she wanted to, they had began this adventure off on a rocky start. If anything she wanted to clear the air - get to know him so they could live together civilly.

“Good riddance.”” Riley nodded - holding the forming tears back as well as anger. Feeling like a prisoner in her own home, she had never known anyone as horrible as he was. Once she entered her room, she retrieved her phone sending a quick text.

Can I see you? I hate it here. My roomie is a complete arsehole. Are you up for some fun?

Smirking at the response, she decided to stop being the nice guy- blasting the music on full belt, she quickly got dressed into a form fitting dress- it barely covered her breasts. Hearing the banging on the door, she ignored it for as long as she could- knowing Drake was becoming more frustrated.

“Open the fucking goddamn door now!” Opening it, she bit her lip trying not to laugh.

“What’s up Drake? You can’t beat a bit of Queen. I’m under pressure getting ready to break free for the night. Am I allowed to leave?” Seeing him grit his teeth and the anger in his eyes frightened her slightly now realising that she had crossed the line.

“Can anybody find you somebody to love? Get you out of my bastard hair?”

“Tonight, I'm gonna have myself a real good time. I feel alive and the world I'll turn it inside out, yeah. And floating around in ecstasy. So don't stop me now don't stop me. Cause I'm having a good time, having a good time... see ya later, roomie.”

Unable to think of a clever response back to her, she had left him speechless. She was irritating, especially with that smirk she had provided him ever since she had arrived. Grabbing her wrist, their eyes locked for the first time - both of them remained silent for a short while, not insulting each other.

“I’m going to be late. Please let go of my wrist. Your grip is tight. You are slightly hurting me.”

“Oh sorry. I didn’t realise that you was a pot doll, too delicate. Don’t be late back. Another rule, I lock the door at 3am. If you’re not back, you get locked out.”

“You need to get laid or something! Get out of my way Drake. No man gives me a curfew. So looks like I’m sleeping elsewhere tonight.”

“At least I’ll get a bit of peace and quiet. Enjoy your night, Riley.” Raising his whiskey into the air, he blew a kiss towards her before turning around. Sitting on the sofa, he acted smug with himself knowing that she was still there.

“Fuck you. Dad!” Empathising the nickname, she knew it would frustrate him. Before he could react she stormed through the door, not looking back. Not regretting any actions. The atmosphere surrounding the apartment, was as if he was at a funeral- mute.

Why am I such a jerk? She hates me. I hate her though. Or do I? She’s so infuriating. Why did Leo have to meet Olivia? Why did Olivia have to know her? Why am I so confused about my feelings towards her? It’s just you and me Jack. Sighing to himself- he felt more lonely now than ever. Sipping the whiskey, he didn’t have anything better to do. After a while, he searched frantically for a pen and paper. Not knowing why his drunk mind was informing him to do this.

Riley, I’m sorry for the way I have acted with you. I was wondering if you wanted to go out tomorrow night? My treat. An apology. You’re stuck with me. I’m stuck with you. We need to work this out before we kill each other. I’m sorry.

#trr #trr fanfic #drake x mc #drake x riley #drake walker #riley brooks #leo x olivia #leo rhys #olivia nevrakis #trr au the unexpected roommate

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