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someonestole15 · 4 months

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It takes about the half-life of Polonium for me to write one post.

Dead are not silent.

In the dead of night, you can truly hear their whispers, each of them asking the same question. Why in a million years would I be the one to leave so soon? I keep thinking on an answer to that question but so far, I have found nothing but static, dead air. Radio crackling from the dying signal, I allowed it to slip loose from my grip and fall into the void beneath me. Bright light ahead, forming into a console somewhere within my OS.

>>CPU impact detected, checking system status... >>Unit condition compromised, Damage within acceptable limits. Proceeding with reboot

From my dreams back to reality, a voltage coursed from my powercells through to my heart and CPU, kick starting everything and sending most sensors to 11. Hurts like hell, I tried to keep my breathing calm as the shock faded into a blissful numbness with the safeties cutting off the data flow. Sensory input returning slowly and the numbness subsiding, I hazily got on one knee as my gyroscopes started calibrating. Which way is down, gravity pull this way so that must be it, right, now how does one walk again...

Systems calibrating to my weight, one leg at a time I stood myself up and took in the surroundings, my scanners painting the forest around me in wireframe before the optical systems finally calibrated, allowing color to return to my vision. Rain, navigations messed up so no idea how we got here, I patted down my jacket and noticed my pistol and shotgun were still in their place and the hazmat suit, despite a few scuffs, was still intact.

Booting up my scanners, I felt them spin around for a bit inside my skull before settling in to the front and scanning the zones around me. No active hostiles, the scan came up with four tags near me, it took a moment for the identifier to read their tags. Rest of X-ray, status: alive, a faint sigh of relief got through my filters as I glanced up to see cooling towers visible above the trees at a range of approx. 300m, my rangefinder could not get an accurate reading.

Slow and steady to where Valkyrie was lying, the rest of squad not far from her. Red visible even through the hazmat gear and her scanners quietly ticking away, I gently pulled her over to her side and gently shook her.

“Hey, you better not be dead on me.”

“Who...” Dazed but alive, she grabbed onto my jacket shortly before identifying me. “Oh it’s you. Where were you, what happened?”

“Not sure, seems I caught a close look at a rifle stock if I read my logs correctly.” I responded as I gave her my hand and helped her up.

“We had a similar tale from what I can remember; the security team took us down as soon as we got out of the range of the cameras.”

“Things are not adding up, but we have more important things to figure out what is going on.”

“Alright, I got your six.” She said while racking back the slide on her handgun, the faint red glow from her eye shining through the mask.

Speculation as the only thing to rely on, we moved from marker to marker, waking up our remaining squad members. One by one, the tracker on my HUD filled up and once we had all five, we took shelter near a service cabin close to the edge of the clearing, using the piled up logs as cover. Rations and medical kits to recover and bind up the few wounds, the weather started to clear up but the mood in the squad was clearly down.

“So now what?” Oscar asked, grabbing the pack of smokes from his vest pocket once again.

“I need to think... What did you find inside?” Richter asked, holding onto his bandaged arm. Likely painful even if just a graze, it would take a moment for the painkillers to kick in.

“It was more than a leak, the entire section was contaminated and the traces were consistent with a chemical weapon we found on that haul a few weeks back.”

“Right, they knocked us out once we were out of camera range... Played me like I was some damn boy scout.” Richter said with bitterness in his voice and pacing around, kicking away small rocks and sticks as he walked.

“Breathe. Don’t get angry, get even.”

“Even? All right... We need to get through to Control.”

“I think... Yes, I am getting a signal through; whatever they were using for jamming is not active anymore.” Diana said, followed by a round of testing from the rest of us. Hazy signal but it did connect; Richter grabbed hold of his radio with a pained grunt before switching over to his working arm.

“Control, this is X-ray, do you copy?”

“Control copies, thought we lost you X-ray.”

“Situation update, stand by.”

“Copy, send traffic.”

Traffic sent, data packages from smaller pieces coming together, the radio remained quiet until Richter had relayed all the information, responding only with a quiet “Copy that.”

“X-ray, this is Control. Listen up; it is clear from what you said that the mission objective could still be completed. We will dispatch a backup team to assist in both containing the hazardous materials and securing the plant. Going to be a hell of debrief...”

“Roger that control, what are our orders?”

“Secure the front gate for a rendezvous with the backup team and continue operation Pale Flame. We’ll look into who or what might have caused the guards to turn on a rear echelon unit.”

“Got it, X-ray out.” Richter said into his radio before turning to the rest of us. “You heard the man. We will secure the front gate for our backup unit. Phoenix, are you able to take point?”

“Ready and able.”

“Good, rest of you, spread out and cover the flanks. Clear? Good, execute.”

An arrow cutting across the clearing and onto the forest road leading back towards the plant, scanners like flashlights leaving no place to hide as the road beneath our boots shifted from gravel to dirt and finally asphalt. Arriving at a row of garages and shutter doors, we cleared corners and moved through the area, avoiding a few blocked off paths and reaching the road leading to the plant itself. Short jog from here to the reactor complex, I grabbed cover as Richter gave the command to halt.

“Anything on the scanners?”

“All quiet.”

“Same here.”

“I would have expected a patrol by now, something is certainly not right.

“That many guards for a lone power plant... ”

“Take cover. Time to kick the hornets’ nest.” Richter said under his voice as he drew his pistol and removed the magazine, firing one shot towards the sky. Echoing throughout the forests and sending a flock of birds scattering from the trees, I could hear the faint clicking from my sling mounts as we waited for anything to appear on the scanners. Loud to silent again, the wind rustling the fabric on my jacket and nothing on the scanners, just as on the way here.

“Clear. Double time, head on a swivel.”

Steady pace across the opening and into the plant complex, we double-timed it across the parking lots and access paths until we reached the front gate. Our truck was still parked there, partially covered by a blue tarp, almost as if someone had tried to hide it. Security cameras and motion trackers offline beyond the fence, the container command outpost had been dismantled, but the handler was nowhere to be seen. After confirming that the gatehouse was empty, we kept our eyes on the plant and waited for the backup team to arrive.

Boot tapping gently against the concrete to the beat of the track, my scanners picked up movement along the road. Pause, the faint hum of an engine reached my audio systems as the radio signal came through.

“X-ray, this is Gamma, do you copy?”

“This is X-ray, we hear you.”

“Copy, we are approaching now, how’s the situation at the gate?”

“Gate is clear.”

“Glad to hear X-ray, Gamma out.”

Faint humming to a low-pitched growl as an APC pulled through the gate and parked up near the middle of the parking lot, deploying a squad of CTO soldiers before a large transport truck followed it in. Hauling what I would guess to be a mobile laboratory, it passed us and stopped behind the APC, deploying a smaller crew of CTO soldiers, one of them wearing an orange armband over his dark hazmat suit.

“2-2 takes security. 2-3, on me.” Voice muffled by the mask and with an electronic buzz to it, the man seemed to be quite carefree despite the situation at hand.

“Looks like we got here just in time, you haven’t burned the place down just yet. Lieutenant Ryan Gray, Gamma squad command, here to assist.”

“Glad to have you Gray, I trust Barnett gave you the details?”

“Chemical weapon on the loose and we’re here to help in containing it. We gathered the ones who weren’t busy or dying, so you got all hands of 2-3.”

“We managed to secure a scan of a sample before the guards turned on us, shouldn’t take too long to work out what works.” Diana said, pulling up the chemical formula on her PDA.

“Alright, Davis and Carlson, lend her a hand. Richter, stage is all yours.”

“We had a team recon the inside of the plant. So far, it seems the contamination is localized inside this section of labs here.” Richter explained while setting up a small holographic mapping tool and pulling up the plants blueprints on it.

“These kinds of laboratories usually have an external sprinkler access point, so all we have to do is locate it once we have figured out what we need.”

“External, so outside... It seems to be clear out here but we cannot be sure about the inside. If the security team is hunkered down in there, they could potentially cause more harm than just a chemical leak.”

“Indeed, I think we form three teams, one per reactor and secure them. We have enough soldiers to have at least three soldiers from 2-2 in the squads.”

“I’ll take one.”

“You sure Richter?”

“I’m sure; a busted wing is not going to keep me down.”

“Full of piss and vinegar that one... All right, two more.”

“I’ll take a team; I was on the team doing internal recon so I have a basic layout in my memory.”

“I didn’t catch your name.”

“Phoenix.”

“Think I’ve heard that somewhere... If Richter is fine with it, then so am I.”

“All yours. Bring them back alive.”

“Will do.”

“Oscar, I want you on the third team.”

“Yep, I might be a bit rusty on the team leading but I’ll give it a run.

Plan coming together, we divided into our teams and rearmed, the empty medical kits to full and damage to the equipment patched together. Richter in charge of Alpha, me running as the lead for Beta and Oscar taking Gamma’s name for his squad, easing up the communications as everyone behind was now under the X-ray squad marker.

Cassander, Alexander and Demetrius, three old kings lending their names to the three reactors inside, I felt the faint feeling of claustrophobia creeping in as my filters settled in place and the squad communications came online. Richter’s team headed for Cassander and Oscars made their way to the Demetrius, leaving Alexander for us, I reminded myself of the basics of squad commands and took point with Valkyrie and the rest of the squad behind me. Trust takes time and I am glad to see Richter having enough to let me run this squad in here, Ryan stayed behind with the laboratory and comms, losing both our contacts to the CTO command, although not something I’d do every day... I have enough in keeping Valkyrie and myself alive, having a third member ended up in a dead dog. Shake myself back to reality; we got a job to do.

Déjà vu walking across the corridors, a trail of dusty footsteps still visible on the floors although faintly, we made our way through with multiple red warning lights and a low tone alarm making the entire area feel more eerie than before. Reports of warnings and alarms matching what we heard from the other teams, we carried on deeper inside the utility corridor; the radiation readings remained low, almost too low even for an inactive reactor.

Blast door spanning across the corridor, bringing us to a halt, the squad took positions to guard the rear and sides while I pointed one of the soldiers to open the door via the terminal. Quick fingers and equipped with the required access keys, the soldier, tagged on my HUD as Fox, got through the doors security and unlocked it.

“Nice job Fox. Pack up, we’re moving.” Valkyrie and two others through the door, Fox stopped me before I could pass through and handed me their tablet.

“Sir, I think you’ll want to see this.”

“Lay it on me, what am I looking at?”

“I managed to get into the main control systems to see the reactor status and the percentage there shows zero fuel.”

“What?”

“All the control rods are fully deployed and the turbines are slowing down, likely running on trace steam from the reactors cooling system. It will likely last a few more hours but after that this place will go dark.”

“And no sign of the security teams anywhere... There is no way they could have hauled off that amount of fissile material so either they are still in the core or moving it out now. Let’s get a move on, relay this to the other teams.”

“On it sir.”

Past the blast door and through a few security doors, we reached the reactor control room. Servers recording data in separate rooms and more switches than there are days in a year, another pair of soldiers, tagged as BAT and HOUND, split up and started running down the reactor checklist. No direct access to the reactor core but a large steel shutter covering the window with several radiation warnings and instructions written on it, I felt the faint buzz of radiation emanating through it.

“Can you get this shutter open?”

“Working on it, the system keeps locking out on me.” Hound stated, tapping on the keyboard and responding to Bat as they ran down the checklist. Eyes darting across the screens, Hound finally let out a sigh as he tapped enter one more time and the shutter started opening.

“There, this thing is antique. Bat, next item.”

“Right, next on the list is...”

Small increase in radiation on the scanners but again, not enough to match a running reactor, the core hanged from the mounts above a pool of coolant with all of its shielding open, the control rods lowered and all the spots where the fuel was supposed to be, empty. Therefore, the data was right, and with no guards in sight, it was as if they had taken the fuel with them, running the possibilities through my head, I grabbed hold of my radio and contacted Richter.

“Richter, it’s Phoenix, we got an empty reactor housing here.”

“Same over here Phoenix, zero fuel. Logs say it was running this morning so there had to be fuel here.”

“Oscar, anything on your end?”

“Same with our reactor, no rods.”

“Roger that, secure any information and logs you can find then bring the reactor to a shutdown state. After that, rendezvous back at the front gate. Richter out.”

“You heard the man, pull the plug and copy the drives.”

“On it.”

Voice over the PA, announcing the reactor shutdown protocol before the shielding lowered back into place and reducing the radiation readings to near zero. Bat and Hound brought the reactor down and confirmed the shutdown had been completed and everything related to the core was in standby, would not want the pumps flooding the place with nothing to cool down.

Needle back to zero, terminals scoured for information and sensors recorded before securing the control room with rolls of warning tape and leaving the facility, reuniting with the rest of the team and meeting back up with them by the front gate.

Cataclysm event incoming with 26 tons of nuclear material missing, I do not want to see someone setting this place on fire.

Then again...

Hey there, sorry I've been gone again.

Life has been a lot for a while now and I am battling writers block even as I post this. Being sick and having no voice from the coughing left me with few options for things to do, so here I am.

The heat is also getting to me but staying hydrated has somewhat helped with that and I urge you to do the same.

Starting up the next post soon enough, hopefully the waiting time between then and now won't be that long.

Catch you later. Harry

#logs of an android #stories #writing #scifi #sci fi & fantasy #science fiction #fiction #fantasy #cyberpunk #text post

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meikaserlya · 11 months

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Maintaining Health in the Digital Era: Effective Tips from Denny Ja

Introduction In the current digital era, technology has become an inseparable part of everyday life. However, excessive use of technology can have a negative impact on our health. Therefore, it is important for us to find out how to maintain health in this digital age. In this article, we will discuss effective tips from Denny JA to maintain health in the digital age. 1. Limit the screen time One of the first steps that can be done is to limit the time spent in front of the screen. Too much time spent using gadgets can cause sleep disorders, vision problems, and posture problems. Denny JA suggested to set the time limit used to use gadgets every day. For example, you can set a certain time in the morning and evening to use gadgets, while other times are spent on other activities outdoors. 2. Use a blue light filter Exposure to too much blue light emitted by the gadget screen can damage the quality of our sleep. Denny JA recommends the use of blue light filters that can reduce exposure to blue light that damage our sleep. Blue light filters can be found in the form of special applications or devices that can be installed on your gadget screen. 3. Perform regular rest In this digital age, we tend to continue to be connected to cyberspace. However, too much time spent working or playing in front of the screen can cause fatigue and stress. Denny Ja suggested regularly regular rest time. Make a pause every 30-60 minutes to rest for a moment, move, or do a simple stretch. In addition, also make sure to allocate enough sleep every night to restore the body's energy. 4. Stay physically active Too much time spent using gadgets can cause a physical lifestyle physically. Denny Ja suggested to stay active by doing sports or other physical activities. You can try walking in the morning, cycling, or joining a sports club. In addition to helping to maintain a healthy body, physical activity can also help reduce stress and improve mood. 5. Set privacy and security settings In this digital era, privacy and security are very important. Denny Ja suggested setting privacy and security settings on your gadget. Be sure to use a strong password and activate security features such as fingerprint scanners or face recognition. In addition, also be aware of cyber threats such as phishing or malware attacks. Always update your software and avoid accessing websites or downloading unfusted applications. Conclusion In this digital era, maintaining health is a challenge that must be faced. However, by following effective tips from Denny Ja, we can maintain health in the digital era better. Limit the screen time, use a blue light filter, take regular rest, remain physically active, and set the privacy and safety settings on your gadget. By following these tips, we can maintain our health and minds in this digital age.

Check more: Maintaining health in the digital era: Effective Tips from Denny JA

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jypsyvloggin · 3 years

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How to get the Avatar Scanner filter on Snapchat?

How to get the Avatar Scanner filter on Snapchat? #avatarscannerfilter

Snapchat Avatar Scanner Filter Check out below to find out the Avatar Scanner Filter. There are two ways you can unlock this lens for your Snapchat account. Open Snapchat on your phone and use the Snapchat camera to view the snapcode image above, and hold your finger on the camera screen to unlock the snapchat lens on your device.If you are visiting this page in your mobile device, you can…

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#art scanner #avatan #avatar #avatar filter #avatarify #cartoon scanner #mood scanner filter #original lens #roblox avatar filter #thought scanner filter

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chazz-anova · 4 years

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...And Hell Followed With Him, Chapter 3

Guys I finally did it!! 😭 Thank you to @fadedjacket who helped motivate me to keep writing this story, and thank you to everyone who reblogs content of my girl, Veronica! 💚💚 So, without further ado, here’s my newest chapter in my main fic! (Here’s the ao3 link for those who prefer to read there!)

1 / 2

Sunlight streamed through the bedroom’s windows, casting a golden glow onto the hardwood floor. Veronica’s eyes opened lazily and she squinted into the sunshine, her throat felt dry and her stomach hollow. When she looked at the end of the bed, a grey mass of fur rose and fell slowly. Wiping the sleep from her eyes- V made out the shape of Boomer slumbering at her feet. A smile came across her features when she heard quiet snoring from him.

Ronnie shifted her legs under the covers, trying to move slowly as not to wake her companion. Her bare feet met the planks quietly, and she went to the door. The moment she turned the knob to leave, Boomer’s head shot up and he looked around for a moment before yawning. He cocked his head at Veronica, and she went back to the bed to pat him on the head. “You can stay here, I’m gonna go check in with Mary May… and hopefully get a shower.” V tousled his floppy ears once more before heading downstairs as he settled back down.

On the main floor of the Spread Eagle- the people of Fall’s End were still celebrating their emancipation from the cult. Beer bottles clinked together and people laughed in groups. Mary May was running food and drinks to a table in the corner before she met Veronica at the bar. “Morning dep, you look tired.” The woman observed, her blonde ponytail swinging cheerfully as she wiped up a spilled drink at the end of the counter.

“Well I feel like shit. Got any aspirin?” Came Ronnie’s response.

“Nope, fresh out.”

“Hair of the dog it is then! One beer please.” Veronica sighed, hopping onto a stool.

Mary May grabbed a bottle from the cooler, setting it down in front of her with a smile. Veronica twisted off the tip, hoping the frosty beverage would quell her headache, “Also, could I use your shower, and maybe a change of clothes? I could definitely use it after last night.”

“Go for it!” Mary called back, hurrying over to another table to take their orders.

V headed back upstairs, opening the door to see Boomer sitting up with his tongue lolling out. “Hey little guy, sleep well?” She asked him and he hopped down, walking over to her and nosing her hand so she’d pet him. “You’re such a sweetie..” The deputy smiled and scratched under his chin before going into the en suite.

The shower was a small standing one with subpar water pressure, but as Veronica stood in the warm torrent she released a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. This was practically the only moment of true solitude she’d had in two days, yet she couldn’t keep her mind from racing. How was she supposed to take down Eden’s Gate when she was just one woman? Sure, she’d been lucky so far, but at the end of the day she was only one person. V thought of her mother, the bright grin on her face the day that she’d watched Veronica follow in her footsteps and graduate from the Police Academy. What would she think of her daughter now? Would she also think she was a coward and a murderer like John?

Veronica raised a hand to clutch the heart-shaped locket her Nana had given her; it hung loosely around her neck and the metal was growing colder as the hot water depleted. She tried to shake the thoughts from her mind, thinking ‘I’ve only done what I had to do… my hand’s been forced..’ Yet in the back of her mind, V knew part of her wasn’t hating this, part of her wanted to make the people who’d snatched her from her normal life pay for the turmoil she was going through.

Almost thirty minutes later, Ronnie emerged from the steamy room wrapped in a fluffy purple towel. She immediately made her way to the dresser and dug through the drawers until she found an outfit that suited her. ‘Anything is better than tan fuckin’ cargo pants.’ She chuckled to herself, laying out dark blue jeans and a low-cut black tank top.

Once changed, she admired herself in the mirror and slipped her boots on. She noticed her brunette roots were spreading, and she was sure it would be a long time before she could dye it again.

Next, Veronica strapped her holstered handgun around her waist and grabbed her backpack and M60, swinging both over her shoulders. “God this gun is fucking heavy!” She cursed. Taking one last look around the room before heading downstairs, she saw Boomer had taken his leave already. ‘That dog has a mind of his own.’ V smiled, and closed the door behind her.

On the main floor of the Spread Eagle, business was still booming. Mary May was behind the bar speaking to one of the patrons who sat in front of her. When she caught Ronnie’s eye, she gestured her over. “Deputy! After a shower and a beer you seem bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.”

“Well I certainly feel better. Any way I could badger you for a meal?” The woman pulled out her wallet from the red backpack containing most of her belongings.

“You put that away, heroes eat free in my bar!”

At being called a hero, Veronica stiffened. The moniker didn’t seem to fit as comfortably as the barkeep used it; ‘What kind of hero murders people?’ Her mind practically shouted at her.

Mary May had already turned towards the kitchen, calling out “Casey? Get our friend, the deputy, some breakfast ready- would ya?”

The man in the window wiped his hands on his apron and nodded at the pair “One full breakfast, coming up!”

V came to her senses once more and put her wallet back in the pack she’d withdrawn it from, giving the barkeep a smile. “I appreciate that, but the ‘hero’ stuff isn’t necessary… I’m just trying to do what’s right, that’s all.”

“Oh I don’t think you have to worry about trying, seems like doin’ what’s right’s in your blood, hun. Not a lot of people would run in here guns ablazing to save a town of near strangers.” The blonde gave her another smile before going to check on her tables.

“That’s a pretty thought.” Veronica mused, thinking she wasn’t quite sure what was right anymore.

Her foot tapped against the metal of the bar stool as she watched the chef work, her stomach growling at her impatiently. She realised the last time she’d eaten was well over 24 hours ago, and that thought did nothing to help her hunger panes. Turning to the patron next to her, Veronica asked “Got a cig?” The man next to her obliged, giving her a nod as she stepped off the barstool and out the front door.

“I really wish this were a joint.” V shook her head before lighting up, inhaling the bitter fumes. Cigarettes had never been her favourite vice- but she would take what she could get at this point.

The morning sun poured over the small town, framing everything in an angelic light. Townspeople roamed through the streets, picking up debris and throwing it into contractor bags. Despite spending almost the whole previous day cleaning and mending the broken town, there was still much to be done. It heartened Veronica to see the people of Fall’s End working together to fix their home.

Another drag of her cigarette, and the deputy couldn’t help but reflect on the past two days. She’d seen more bloodshed than in her whole life, and been the cause of most of it. The weight of each death she had caused was heavy on her heart as she replayed watching the light fade from too many eyes.

Ronnie had never thought she’d need to discharge her weapon in the line of duty. Working at the Hope County Sheriff’s Department was a relatively easy job, there were your fair share of crazy people and petty criminals, but she had never seen anything like this. It crossed her mind that every time a call regarding Eden’s Gate had come across the scanner, her partner, Staci Pratt, had been completely against going and always let someone else go in their place. ‘Hell, even Sheriff Whitehorse didn’t seem to want to send us on those calls. God I hope he’s okay…’

Veronica’s mind drifted to her companions- and what they must be going through at the hands of the cult. Dutch had assured her that they were all alive, but he’d neglected to give her any details. She thought of Joey- the fear on her face as she had been snatched out of the flaming wreckage of their helicopter. Now where was she? Trapped by John, being held against her will for what purpose? To convert her?

The thoughts and questions raced through the deputy’s head, making her feel dazed. She continued to circle back to one thought: ‘I have to save them, I’m the only one who can.’ Her fingers felt the warmth of the cherry of her cigarette, and she realised she had smoked it down to the filter. V tossed it to the ground and wandered back inside. The customers were rowdy for only 11 in the morning, and their clamoring mixed with the song on the jukebox to create a nice din that allowed Veronica to not have to think anymore.

Reaching the bar, she saw a plate filled to the brim with eggs, bacon, and toast. Her stomach rejoiced as she picked up the silver fork and dug in.

In no time at all, the heavy meal rested comfortably in the deputy’s stomach. Ronnie leaned back on the stool and patted her midsection with a delighted smile. “My compliments to the chef!” She grinned and felt some of her bad mood fading away.

Mary May strode behind the bar and leaned over it, resting her elbows on the polished wood. “Don’t say that, or it’ll go straight to his head!” She chuckled, glancing at the kitchen window.

“So, deputy, remember last night when I mentioned you.. lending a hand?”

“I don’t remember much of last night, but I do recall that… what do you have in mind?”

Mary May took a deep breath, her gaze turning to the bar. “Yesterday, you had some balls running into town like that. Most people see Eden’s Gate and run the other way… but, my dad was one of the first to stand up to ‘em. Any time one of those peggies would show up lookin’ to cause trouble- he’d hop in his big rig and chase them right outta town.” She smiled at the memory, and with a nod she continued, “He loved that truck; called it the ‘Widowmaker’.”

Her face darkened, thunderclouds practically rolling into her deep blue eyes. “Those fuckers stole it from him, a week before he passed…” Her fist clenched on the bar and she shook her head.

“I’m so sorry, I had no idea.” Veronica sympathised, unsure if she should take the other’s hand but ultimately deciding against it.

The blonde pulled herself from her memories and met V’s eyes once more. “You really wanna piss off the cult? Get the Widowmaker back. Show them we’re not just gonna roll over… and give folks here something to cheer about.”

At this, Ronnie nodded; mulling it over for a moment. “How do you propose I do that?”

“It’s locked up under guard at a grain mill not far from here. Hell, you came in here and saved a whole town! I think you’re the person for the job, Veronica.”

The deputy saw sincerity and a hint of desperation in the bartender’s eyes, striking a cord in her. This woman had shown her some much needed friendship yesterday when the past days’ events were starting to take their toll, and Veronica wanted to do what she could for her. ‘This is also the only way I can get any closer to saving Joey, even though that’s a daunting enough task…’ V felt herself almost begin brooding, but got back on track quickly- “Okay, one Widowmaker coming up!”

Relief washed over Mary May’s features, and she smiled, “Somehow I knew I could count on you, dep.”

She returned her smile, and the two shared a happy moment despite the days of chaos. “Could I steal a beer for the road?” Ronnie asked.

Turning to grab a cold one from the cooler, Mary May obliged- popping off the cap and handing it over. “Be safe out there, and go ahead and take the Jeep ‘round back, just park it somewhere I can go get it after this business is over. The grain elevator is northeast of here, follow the road and you’ll be there in no time.” She offered as the deputy headed for the door.

“Thanks, I figure I can’t order an Uber around here.” V joked as she managed to catch the keys Mary May threw unceremoniously her way.

Outside- the morning sun rose higher and higher, blinding Veronica as she stepped out of the Spread Eagle. She made her way around the side, spotting the Jeep at the end of the dirt driveway. As she opened the driver’s door, a bark came from behind her. “Hey buddy!” The woman turned to see Boomer watching her expectantly. He padded closer to her with a small whine. “I don’t know if you should go with on this one, it’s pretty dangerous…”

His brown almond eyes met hers as if to say ‘And our last escapade wasn’t?’. She shook her head with a chuckle, reaching down to scratch him under the chin saying, “Most dogs aren’t adrenaline junkies, that’ll take some getting used to!”

Sighing, Ronnie put her hands on her hips; Boomer stood there, projecting as much sass as a 35 pound furball could. Finally relenting, she moved away from the open door and gestured him in, “Fine, I guess if you want to run headlong into danger I can’t stop you!”

The pup jumped into the passenger seat, celebrating his victory. Veronica took her spot next to him and started the car, pulling out of the driveway while fiddling with the radio. Faced with the ‘only-two-radio-stations-conundrum’, the deputy landed on the peggie station. The song playing relayed the perks of baptism, advising the listener to ‘let the water wash away their sins’.

“Is this seriously all they listen to?” V asked, glancing at Boomer as they cruised down the road. The dog sighed, putting his head between his feet in agreeance. She reached forward and switched the station back to the original one, where a soft rock song played.

The trees they passed blurred together, one green line as they sped to their destination. Veronica couldn’t help but let her thoughts stray to her own father. When Ronnie was only twelve, Benjamin Rook had ruined their family’s picturesque life by finding love in the arms of another woman, and abandoning Veronica and her mother. He moved to North Carolina and forfeited his parental rights without much of a fight so he could start life anew without the burden of his old family.

Letters would come in the mail; at first every week but then every two, then every month, and then not at all. Before long, Sarah Rook had decided her and her daughter needed a change of their own. The two packed up their belongings and moved from Butte, Montana to Hope County, right on the outskirts of Missoula.

Sarah, with previous law enforcement experience, had no problem securing a job at the Hope County Sheriff’s Department. She became quick friends with Earl Whitehorse, who was chief deputy to the sheriff at the time. Because of this friendship, she’d been able to secure a job for her daughter those many years later when Ronnie had felt so lost and needed a direction to go in life.

The wound of her father leaving never quite healed, and it wasn’t one Veronica tore open too often unless she was deep in her cups. Seeing the admiration Mary May held for her own father had almost reared the ugly head of jealousy in her; however irrational that may be. At the same time, she’d felt the need to preserve that happiness in any way she could. ‘Man, projecting much?’ She chastised herself. The things lack of closure will do to you.

Coming out of the trees, V saw a towering grey structure up the road and knew she’d reached her destination. To the side of the grain elevator and the building next to it rose a large hill. The deputy pulled off into a clearing, making sure the Jeep was out of sight of the road before getting out.

Boomer hopped out with her once parked, and the pair began their trek up the hill. It took them only a couple minutes before they were at the summit and had a decent view of their objective. The cattle dog growled at the sight of peggies patrolling the grounds, armed to the teeth. “We gotta be careful, okay bud? Just follow my lead and stay safe.” Veronica smiled reassuringly at him and pet his head.

The hill they stood upon sloped directly down to the fence around the building in which the deputy knew the Widowmaker must be kept, offering her a quick entrance to her objective. Patches of tall grass and flowers offered sufficient camouflage as the woman and her dog crept downhill. As they approached- the sound of the cult’s music and sermons could be heard. John’s voice was practically blasting over the speaker as he preached, “...We are fast approaching the Collapse! Soon, the world as you know it will be gone, and with it- all that is cruel and evil!”

V rolled her eyes at his words, trying to count the cultists waiting below. John’s voice continued, “But for those of you that embrace us, those of you who say yes to the Father; Eden’s Gate will provide salvation! Do not be afraid, God has graced us with the opportunity to start anew!”

The deputy pulled around her backpack, pulling out a pair of binoculars. “Looks like four peggies so far…” She muttered, watching them patrol. John’s voice over the speaker grew sinister as he said, “But not everyone is going to embrace us, some have fires that need.. dampening. Some need our help to say yes… that is the will of the Father, to say yes! To say ‘Yes I will be reborn.’, to say ‘Yes I will give my life for the project.’, to say ‘Yes I will pledge my soul to the family at Eden’s Gate!’!”

Veronica tossed the binoculars back into the pack and shared a horrified look with Boomer, affirming “Sounds like cult shit to me!” Her pup whined in response, taking the lead as they reached the bottom of the slope.

Slinging her M60 around her shoulders to the front of her body, Ronnie popped open the top and made sure the gun was fully loaded. As she did so- the deputy caught herself humming the cult song she’d heard on the radio barely thirty minutes earlier. “‘Now that this whole world is ending….’ fuck that song is such an earworm!” She cussed to herself and let the gun settle against her body once more. Taking a few deep breaths to prepare herself for whatever may occur, she decided it was now or never.

The woman lowered to almost a crawl and made her way to the bottom of the hill, into one of the flower patches. The soft yellow flowers had a perfumy scent that filled the air, but Veronica felt no different among the blossoms so she assumed these weren’t the Bliss flowers Dutch had mentioned.

One of the men who guarded the building strolled out of the fenced area, coming to stand just in front of her. He was whistling quietly, not paying attention to the danger behind him. V checked that no other peggies had followed him, and she rushed forward to grab him in a chokehold; slowly taking him to the ground and pressing her arm to his windpipe until he stopped struggling. She hoisted him onto her shoulder and retreated to the flower patch. After dropping him to the ground, Veronica checked his pocket and found a twenty dollar bill and a grenade. “Seriously? Are all these guys armed like this?” She wondered aloud before sliding the grenade into her bag. She hesitated over taking the money, thinking ‘Am I any better than one of them if I take this?’ After a moment, Ronnie slid the bill back into his pocket, thinking better of it.

Leaving her fallen enemy, she made her way back to the chain link fence and passed through a gate leading to a space behind the building filled with piles of wood, pallets covered in tarp, and all manner of odds and ends. Veronica took refuge behind a pile of 2x4s and peeked over it, spotting only one cultist at the end of the alley. Boomer waited outside of the gate, watching her every move. ‘I’ll take this guy out, and just keep trying to move forward.’ She planned loosely.

V moved from crate to crate, getting closer to her target until got close enough to take him out much the same way she did his lookout. She stashed this body behind a crate, finding only some spare ammo on him before advancing.

At the end of the warehouse was the backdoor. Ronnie tried the handle, but found it to be locked. “Well fuck..” She sighed. Turning to her right to continue on, she saw a note next to the door.

“The warehouse is to remain locked and access is limited. If you need to get inside you can find the key by the workshop tent, but check with the Baptist before using it. We can’t afford to be careless around the Widowmaker.”

The deputy frowned, “Baptist… that must be John.” The last line gave her a light laugh and she murmured, “I think it’s more careless to leave a note saying where your key is stashed, assholes.” And she set off.

In the space in front of the building, Veronica counted four more peggies. Looking to Boomer, Veronica murmured “It’s a damn infestation.” She scanned the ground and found plenty of small rocks, and helped herself to a few. One man was near the corner of the compound, away from the others. Taking careful aim, one rock was thrown about 10 feet from him. The man startled before going to investigate. V smirked and threw another one at the side of the building, luring him away from the flock. Once the man was alone he was dispatched, leaving only three.

Creeping further out than before, Ronnie saw the three gathered around two large cages covered in black. On the side, they both read ‘Meat Wagon’ and angry growls could be heard from within. ‘What the fuck is a ‘meat wagon’?’ She wondered.

“That was a hard hunt today.” One of them said, looking at the others.

“It was… I hope Brother Jacob appreciates these offerings.” The one in the middle replied.

The gnashing of teeth could be heard clearly as Veronica recalled what she’d read in Dutch’s bunker, ‘Jacob, he’s the eldest… didn’t his note say something about monster wolves?’ She contemplated this, deciding the best course of action.

She drew her pistol, shooting the lock on the first cage and allowing a large grey wolf to spring forth, leaping onto the cultist that had called it an ‘offering’. The wolf savaged the man as the others yelled, raising their guns. Before they could even get any shots off V shot them both to the ground.

The thick sounds of flesh tearing reached Veronica’s ears, and were sure to occupy her nightmares later. Once the wolf finished his revenge, its amber eyes found her own and a deep growl emitted from its throat. The deputy froze, licking her lips nervously as her life practically flashed in front of her eyes.

It felt like far longer than a minute as the wolf contemplated the deputy. Suddenly, the beast broke eye contact and looked behind her before dashing out of the tall gate leading to the road, and then to the treeline; content to not eat its savior.

It was only when Ronnie could no longer see the wolf that she resumed breathing. She turned around to see Boomer watching her. “Did you just scare a wolf?” She asked him in disbelief. The dog barked twice in response, and V sighed in relief “Props where props are due... holy fuck that was scary!”

After another solid minute, they headed towards the tent mentioned in the note. The keys to the warehouse were sitting on a table directly inside, and Veronica grabbed them.

Once inside the warehouse- the deputy took in the sight of her charge. The semi-truck was painted purple with a mural of a bald eagle painted on the side, and hot-rod flames graced the hood. On the front near the grill, twin M2 Browning machine guns were mounted. “Wow… I think I’m in love.” V chuckled, staring at the machine in awe before tentatively climbing into the cab, keeping the door open for her furry friend to hop in. She found the key and the garage opener in the visor, and then they were off.

Easily crashing through the fence gate, Veronica felt they were home free until someone called over the radio “Someone made off with the Widowmaker! Block the roads leading back to Fall’s End, don’t let it through!” Ronnie took a deep breath and turned up the radio, blasting rock music.

As she sped towards the first roadblock, Mary May’s voice crackled through the radio, exclaiming “Holy shit you did it! I knew you had it in the bag, V!” Before Veronica could think of a response, she continued. “Listen, the cult’s gonna throw everything at you now, shove it right back down their fuckin’ throats! My daddy put cannons on that thing, don’t be afraid to use ‘em!”

“You got it!” Ronnie called into the radio. She scanned the cab and her eyes landed on a trigger mechanism near the gearshift. The truck barrelled forward and the Brownings fired off, sending several peggies flying. Boomer hunkered down in the passenger seat, attempting still to peek up through the windshield.

Ahead, two of the off-white trucks with Eden’s Gate symbols blocked the way. The deputy braced herself for impact as the 18-wheeler crashed through the first of many roadblocks; the first truck flipped off of the road and the second spun out of the way. “Goddamn!” The deputy yelled as the Widowmaker hurtled down the asphalt.

The truck cleared the block with no damage, and Veronica lit up like a kid in a candy shop. She turned to her companion in the other seat, Boomer gave her a big doggy smile and turned back to look out the window. V pressed the call button on her radio, reaching out to Mary May. “This is pretty badass!” She whooped.

A second later, her friend was on the line, saying “Hell yeah! Hit those sons of bitches! Better yet, honk that horn every time you do so I know when to cheer!”

As they approached the next roadblock, a fierce grin came over her features and she smoothed a finger over the trigger in anticipation. The upcoming barrier was composed of one white truck, and a fuel truck blocking the entire road. When they were about two-hundred feet from the block, Veronica pulled the trigger, shooting off round after round into the tank on the truck ahead. When they were only a hundred feet away from it- the fuel truck erupted into a blaze, sending flaming shrapnel flying in every direction. Clearing the second block, V laid on the horn with an almost crazed grin.

The pair flew down the road and through the wall of heat and embers that had roasted all nearby cultists. They had once more come out without a scratch, causing Ronnie to rejoice. “Woo! This is the shit!!” She yelled, adrenaline pumping as the music resounded through the cab and they careened down the country road.

A few minutes later, the turn to Fall’s End was the next left. V’s eyes darted between the turn and the open road that lay ahead. ‘I’m sure the cult has even more roadblocks ahead.’ She mulled the thought over before turning to Boomer and declaring “I say we do a victory lap!” Before pressing the pedal almost to the floor, rushing down the road.

Many roadblocks later- Veronica and her furry friend were once again rounding the bend that led to the turn for Fall’s End. The deputy felt as though she was practically vibrating with the adrenaline coursing through her veins. The sounds of men screaming, the warmth of the multitude of explosions, the feeling of the trigger under her finger growing more and more comfortable. Her aquamarine eyes seemed to glaze over as she considered what all this might mean for her, and what her eagerness to cause mayhem may say about her true nature.

Before V could travel too far down that rabbit hole, her radio crackled to life with the grateful voice of her friend, “The way you’re handling that rig would make my dad proud, Ronnie. Now bring her home!”

Hearing Mary May’s voice laden with joy, Veronica couldn’t help a small smile. “Be there in 5!” She called back down the line, turning down the road at the sign for Fall’s End.

The moment Veronica and Boomer rumbled down main street to the Spread Eagle, the blonde bartender could be seen waving them on. The rig turned slowly onto the dirt driveway- and the hydraulics of the brake system hissing loudly as the 18-wheeler came to a full stop.

V pulled the keys from the ignition and the truck shuddered as the engine cut off, leaving the semi to creak and settle like a great beast falling into the deep slumber of hibernation when the pair hopped out of the cab.

Boomer’s tail wagged and he bounded ahead to circle round Mary May’s legs before returning to his companion’s side. Across from the pair, the barkeep beamed at the sight of the rig right where it belonged.

“I gotta say, deputy, seeing my daddy’s truck rumbling home sure brings back memories. I’d stand out here every time he came back, just like this, wavin’ him home.” A sigh escaped the woman and she nodded at Veronica, her eyes almost misting over. “Thank you for this, I honestly can’t thank you enough.”

Seeing the joy and nostalgia from her newfound friend warmed V’s heart, and she offered the other a heartfelt smile. “Ain’t nothin’ but a thing, girl. I’m glad to stick it to those peggies, show them they’re not the ones in charge. Not for long anyways.”

Mary May clapped her on the shoulder, looking up at the semi, her face filled with pride. “You know, my dad woulda liked you. You’ve got grit, that’s for sure! If you ever need to use the Widowmaker you don’t even gotta ask!” Moving past Veronica, the other placed a hand on the curved steel of the machine, sliding a hand lovingly over the smooth metal.

Ronnie’s smile faded, and she scratched the back of her neck. Clearing her throat softly, she spoke, “I really appreciate that, Mary May. Listen… do you know anything yet? …About Deputy Hudson, I mean.”

The blonde met her eyes, a frown plain on her face as she stated, “I ain’t heard nothing good, I can tell you that. All I know so far is that John’s got your friend holed up somewhere, and he’s trying to make her ‘atone’, whatever the fuck that means. So far it sounds like Hudson’s been holding out- but no one can hold out against John for long. Motherfucker’s crazy.” She spit on the ground, as though unable to contain her disgust.

Anxiety overtook Veronica, icy cold fear freezing the blood in her veins. At the forefront of her brain, images of Joey bound and bloodied assaulted her senses. Swallowing past her emotions, V asked, “What can I do next??”

Mary May put a reassuring hand on her shoulder before taking a few steps towards the bar. “Go talk to Jerome at his church, then come back and see me. I’m gonna go put my ear to the ground, and make a ridiculously strong drink with your name on it.”

“Sounds like a plan… especially that drink.” Ronnie muttered.

Once she was sure the bartender had made her way back inside, Veronica wrapped her arms around herself, a shiver running down her spine despite the warm breeze touseling her dirty blonde locks. She thought of her friends, each of them trapped and waiting for her. The weight of her obligations felt like too much to bear for one woman- but she knew there were no other options. Her hands fell to her sides, and her gaze was drawn to the ground. ‘What the hell am I doing here? Running around playing vigilante… and enjoying it, for fucks sake! These people may be monsters, but I sure as shit am not any better.’ V scoffed, chastising herself silently.

Her hand felt wet for a moment, and she looked next to her to see Boomer nudging her with his shiny black nose. He licked her again and met her eyes- his tongue lolling out of his mouth as he gave her a big smile as if to say, “It’ll all work out!”.

Despite everything, the corners of her lips tugged upwards, and she lifted her hand to stroke his soft fur. “Thanks bud, don’t you worry about me, I can handle this...” She reassured him, not quite convincing either of them.

Behind them, church bells from down the road chimed suddenly, signifying the top of the hour. The pair’s gaze was drawn to where the bells swung in the white tower- sounding off three times before coming to a stop. The echo of the last ring filled the air, and Veronica adjusted the strap of her M60 uneasily, looking down at Boomer once more to say, “Sounds like that’s our cue, huh?”

The pup barked encouragingly, starting off down the short road without looking behind to see if she followed. After only a moment of hesitation, V joined him.

Golden sunlight filled the near empty streets, painting the white walls of the church a shining shade of yellow. Paint peeled off the outside walls, but a platform on the side of the building with painting supplies held the promise of the future.

A simple garden graced the front of the building; two large flower pots framed the stairs leading to the entrance. Under a large glass window- the doors to the church were propped open, offering a view of the interior. Pastor Jerome sat on a chair in the front of the church, a Bible in one hand as he read to an injured man lying on a mattress on the floor.

As Veronica came through the entrance, she noted the bullet holes in the walls that were accompanied by violent maroon swatches of dried blood. It was hard to believe the fight for Fall’s End was merely 24 hours ago. The deputy stopped at the end of the aisle as Jerome’s words echoed off the holy walls.

“Psalm 41:3, and the Lord will heal him upon his sickbed, The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness. In the darkest of times, there’s always a bit of light.”

On the mattress, the man’s eyes stayed closed and he rolled on his side. The pastor’s eyes lifted from his pages, finding Ronnie’s. He greeted her with a smile, closing the book but leaving his thumb in it to preserve his spot. “Veronica. I’m glad you came.”

Clearing her throat, she replied “I just finished helping Mary May, I figured I’d drop in and see what you needed help with.” The woman’s finger ran down the strap on her weapon restlessly, glancing at the podium behind Jerome. It wasn’t hard to envision him there, preaching to his flock.

The man in front of her nodded, adjusting his glasses. “Jeremiah 23:16, ‘Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.” He met her eyes once more and there was a weight to his gaze she didn’t quite understand.

Resisting the urge to say ‘Huh?’ and give him an annoyed look, Ronnie waited for him to continue. She’d never liked church, but standing in one now with proverbial blood on her hands felt even more wrong.

He waited only a moment more before saying, “Scripture tells us there is evil in the world. And that horrible things happen for reasons that do not make sense.” The pastor sighed. “A long time ago, in peaceful times, I asked John Seed what was driving him. He gave me so many answers… all of them lies. I had one conversation with him and I knew. I knew… he masks his words as guidance, but deep down there is a selfishness that can only come from pure evil.”

Not knowing what to say, Veronica looked away from him. She saw the man on the mattress had stirred, his eyes were glazed over with milky white cataracts yet they still searched the room for something. His breath came out in labored wheezes.

On the floor next to the mattress, a cup of water lay within his reach. V leaned over to grab it, putting a gentle hand on the man’s arm and saying, “Here…” While guiding the cup into his now waiting hands. He took small sips before offering it back, rasping out a quiet thank you as he settled back onto the bare bed.

“You seem tense, Veronica, how are you holding up?”

A long sigh escaped her lips, and she took a seat in one of the askew pews. “I’m not sure how to answer that.” Came her honest response.

“Do you need to talk about something?” He offered.

Ronnie smiled humorlessly- finally looking at him. “You know, this is the first time I’ve been in a church since my grandma died.”

Jerome pondered her for a moment before inquiring, “How old were you?”

“23. It was just last year, actually. I don’t go to church, but she did… every day. Except one morning she didn’t wake up, and she never went again. What do you think that got her? Do you think she stamped her ticket to heaven by going to church?”

When Veronica received no reply, she continued, “Because if that’s the case, I think my ticket’s already been revoked. Especially now.”

Settling his elbows on his knees, the pastor leaned forward. “Why especially now?”

V shook her head, a dry laugh escaping her. “Isn’t murder a big no-no to the man upstairs?”

Jerome frowned at her, understanding her tangent now. He took a moment to contemplate his answer. “Years ago… I refused to own a gun. I relied on the Lord to help me win every battle, to stand by my side and lead me to victory. Now, I know better.” He stood from his chair to join her where she sat dejectedly. “We are fighting a war, deputy. You’re here to protect people.”

She couldn’t help but scoff. “I’m here because I got thrown in a fucking river and dragged into this ‘war’. Excuse my French.”

“Veronica, I can’t heal the pain you’re feeling but I can say this: there’s a destiny for everyone. The work you’re doing here, fighting against Eden’s Gate, this is the Lord’s work. You are doing what you must, and every one of us is grateful. You are stronger than even you know.” Jerome gave her a long look, his faith in her clear in his eyes. “The cult has done so much damage to this Valley, and you’re doing right by us. Giving people something to believe in again… you can’t know how much that means to all of us.”

The woman took a deep breath, unsure how to feel. Jerome’s words filled her with hope for herself, and her friends; but she worried about what her breaking point might be. ‘At least someone thinks I’m doing this shit right.’ She thought, the weight of the world temporarily lifted from her tired shoulders. “Is it ironic that I’m an atheist?” Ronnie asked, a small smile appearing on her features.

“I think that’s the definition of irony, my friend.” Jerome smiled with her, and for the moment they both felt a sense of calm.

Veronica nodded, the idea of doing more dirty work not bothering her as much as when she first stepped in. ‘If a literal pastor thinks I’m the good guy, then I am, right?’ She reasoned with herself, pushing aside her moral dilemmas for now. “So, what exactly is it you need from me?”

Jerome sighed, suddenly weary once more. “With the Resistance budding, and people starting to fight back, I’ve been needed here in Fall’s End now more than ever.” He stood once more and wandered to the front of the church, pacing as he continued, “As you can see- John’s making a lot of people suffer right now, and quite frankly, I can’t keep up. These people need me, they’re my responsibility now... but that just means keeping tabs on the Resistance has been that much harder.”

The deputy nodded, urging him to finish his thought. It seemed everyone was experiencing some degree of the mental turmoil she’d been enduring over the past few days.

“There are a couple of people hiding away at Woodson Pig Farm, trying to hold out from the cult. I haven’t heard from them in a few days now, and I’m getting worried. Can you check on them for me? We can’t afford to lose a single one of our fighters.” The man pleaded, finally coming to a stop at his podium.

Veronica reached into her backpack, pulling out the map Dutch had given her. “Where’s it at?”

Jerome pointed out a building almost directly east of Fall’s End, only a couple miles away.

The deputy nodded and stashed her map, “I’m off then!” As she headed for the exit, Boomer got up from where he’d been lying in the corner and stretched before following after. V paused in the doorway, turning back to say, “Thank you, Pastor. Really.”

“Any time, Veronica. I’m a pretty good listener. Good luck.” He nodded to her as she stepped through the threshold.

In less than 10 minutes, the duo saw a long dirt drive leading up a hill into the trees. They could hear shouting not too far away. “Sounds like it’s time to ditch the car.” V pulled the key from the ignition, and the pair left it at the bottom of the driveway.

They trudged up the hill, the yelling growing closer by the moment. At the crest of the driveway, there was a worn sign that read “Woodson Pig Farm, Family Farm Since 1942” with a pink pig above. The word ‘Gluttony’ had been scrawled on the pig.

Behind the sign stood a small, mint-green house with dried flowers adorning the front porch. A rustic looking fence surrounded the house and farm, but had been broken down in a few spots where the cult’s trucks had crashed through. Veronica crouched behind one and peered around it.

The front door of the house stood ajar, and a single peggie stood inside. He held his gun close, and was yelling at another man who was bound on his knees. “Saying yes is the only way!” He shouted before using the butt of his gun to hit the man in the face. Ronnie winced as the captive spat blood.

Creeping closer, the deputy peered through the windows of the house. She saw no one else inside, and inched forward. Next to the frame of the door, a white and red poster had been hastily hung. Veronica’s eyebrows raised in surprise as she recognized what the poster depicted. It was a ‘Wanted’ poster, with the word ‘Sinner’ bolded on the bottom; the picture in the center was from a grainy security camera, but Veronica’s face could be clearly made out.

‘Wow, I’m so infamous I get my own wanted poster?’ She thought with a brief, bemused smile. Ronnie made it to the doorway, and pulled out her long black hunting knife. Inside, the cultist was still yelling at his hostage with his back to the doorway.

Veronica crept forward and then lunged, grabbing the man and thrusting the blade through his neck. A deluge of blood sprang from the nicked artery, painting both the cultist and the hostage red. V kept her hand clamped down on her victim’s mouth, until his muffled yelling turned into choking gasps.

The man’s body slumped to the floor; and the woman wiped her knife on his shirt before using it to cut the bonds of her ally. The man stood his eyes wide with shock. “Go, get out of here and hide! I’ll take care of the rest of them.” Veronica insisted. The man nodded shakily and turned, running out the door.

Ronnie moved through the living room to the back of the house, heading towards the back door. She paused at the entrance to the bedroom, where she could see two peggies outside the window. One held a flamethrower, and was using it liberally on a pile of the occupant’s belongings.

Pressing on to the back, V came through the door into blinding brightness and held an arm over her gaze to let her eyes adjust. When they did, she gagged at the sight in front of her. In the fenced pen, a pile of pig corpses festered in the sun. To the left of this awful vision, another cultist berated a woman lying on the ground, her hands and feet bound.

A moment was needed to compose herself, then Veronica crouched once more to sneak along the side of the building. Behind her, the other two peggies were bickering. “Brother John’s head is clouded. We should just kill the deputy.” One of them said.

“He said she needs to atone, see the error of her ways. He’s serious about this one.” The other replied, his tone cautionary.

A chill seized Veronica as she imagined herself at the hands of John; tied to a chair, at his mercy. A strong shiver traveled down her spine, and she stiffened as her brain took that thought in a much different context. Bile filled her throat with the realization that even with all she knew of John, she was still attracted to him. She shook her head, shooing the thought from her conscious.

Behind her, Boomer had made his way out the back door and to her side. It relieved her to see him, and she smiled. “Wanna tag team on this one?” Veronica asked her companion.

The cattle dog’s ears perked up, and he scratched at the ground in anticipation. Nodding, Ronnie murmured “Good boy! Now, see him?” She pointed to the man in the pig pen. “You take care of him, and I’ll grab them.” Her finger drifted to the pair who were still complaining behind them.

Seeming to understand, Boomer started forward with his ears low and came up behind the man. He leapt forward and seized the peggie’s arm- wrenching him down to the ground. The man fell with a startled yell and hit the dirt. Boomer wasted no time and went for the jugular, mauling him before he could make another noise.

At the same time, Veronica pulled her M60 forward and jumped out from behind her cover. She shot a spray of bullets at the two cultists, not even giving them time to go for their weapons before they dropped. V let the machine gun fall against her, and she went to the woman in the pig pen to cut her loose.

“Thank you, deputy, I knew you’d come!” The hostage professed, picking up her deceased captor’s weapon.

Ronnie gave her a bashful smile, replying “Happy to help, Miss… now you should get out of here, get somewhere safe.” What she was really thinking was, ‘Am I a household name or something? Jesus.’

The woman nodded before turning and leaving through a gate in the fence.

Once she was out of sight- Veronica turned back to the house and headed back inside. In the living room, she was about to pull out her radio and call Jerome when she heard something that made her stop. A faint click, and then something that sounded like whispering came from above.

V looked all around her, finally stopping in the middle of the living room and peering up. Above her there was a large, square opening that looked like it had been hastily covered by flattened cardboard boxes. She frowned and jumped up, hitting one of the pieces with a thud. The sound suddenly stopped.

Jumping again, Ronnie batted the cardboard away and left the opening uncovered. She paused for a moment, listening hard for anything. A few moments passed with no noise- and the woman made one last jump to grip the edge of the opening. With a small grunt, she pulled herself upwards into the attic space.

As she hoisted herself up, she took in her surroundings. The attic was small, only the length of the living room. Two wooden shelves stood opposite one another; one filled with only boxes and the other holding some ammo and a tac vest. Next to the second shelf, there was a dark recess in the wall.

Veronica clutched her gun closer, and heard the same noise as before: a click followed by a softer noise. She stepped closer to the recess in the wall, and could finally distinguish the noise. A man huddled in the space behind the wall, gripping his radio and whispering hurriedly, “That sinner’s here!! Send a capture party! We can get her for John!”

Their eyes met, and the deputy scowled at the man before firing at him. He fell backwards with the force of the bullets, gore covering the wall behind him. His radio was still intact, and his contact could be heard shouting “It’s deputy huntin’ season! Capture not kill, we need her alive! Use Bliss bullets!”

The woman grabbed some ammo off the nearby shelf and stuffed it into her backpack. After taking what she needed, she dropped down into the living room and checked her gun. As she was about to reload- an off-white Eden’s Gate truck screeched to a stop in front of the house, and three men in heavy riot gear hopped out.

Upon seeing this, Veronica dove for cover before they could see her. Her back rested against the wall next to the front door, and she heard one of them shout “Come on out darlin’!” She swung around her backpack and pulled out her radio, turning it to the frequency she wanted.

“Jerome, it’s Veronica, I secured the farm but one of those fucks called for backup and they said something about a capture party? I don’t know what the hell that is, but I sure as shit don’t plan on finding out.” She babbled into the radio. When no response came, the deputy moved underneath the window, readying her weapon. She peeked up and aimed, seeing one of them on the porch.

Before Ronnie could get off a shot, a sound behind her caused her to whip around and she was confronted with one of the men; who must have come in the back while she was making her call. He shot a round, hitting her in the thigh and causing her to yelp with pain. Before she could make a comment about his aim, or think about why the bullet hadn’t torn through her, her vision blurred.

The world became shaky- and stars swarmed her sight. V was able to slur together a few words before she passed out, and she grumbled “You… asshole…”

Though she could no longer see, Veronica could feel someone pick her up in a fireman’s carry. She knew they’d tossed her into the back of the truck, and heard the engine rumbling in the distance. A few bumps in the road were the last things she felt every sensation was gone, and she fell into a white abyss of Bliss.

#i feel like i havent written in forever so if this is bad im sorry lmaooo #so glad i finally finished this chapter though #hope everyone enjoys this!#❤❤❤#my writing #veronica rook #far cry 5 #fc5 #mary may fairgrave #jerome jeffries #boomer #ahfwh #...and hell followed with him

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obsidiancreates · 4 years

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Blood Blooms In The Crystal Glow (Chapter Four)

The stairs creak horribly beneath their feet, like they’ll snap at any moment. Dakota keeps looking behind them with wary eyes as Cavendish follows the scanner.

“I... think we may be heading towards the epicenter of the energy readings,” Cavendish mutters.

“Oh. Well that doesn’t sound good.”

Cavendish shivers, the feeling of being watched increasing with every step further in. “I’m inclined to agree.”

“... So... this a bad time for an ‘I told you so’?”

Cavendish looks back at Dakota and glares. “Dreadful time.”

“Alright, gotcha. ... Told ya so.”

“Dakota.”

“Just trying to lighten the mood.”

“Well, unless you can lighten the actual room, keep quiet for now. Every word feels like we’re breaking a rule of some kind.”

Dakota stops talking. Because Cavendish is right.

Talking... feels... bad. Like at a library, but... more intense.

The staircase winds down, down, down, darker and darker, colder and colder...

And then it stops.

It leads to a short, twisty hallway.

As Cavendish and Dakota walk through it, their steps echo loudly.

The walls are stone brick. They’re damp. The floor is stone, natural stone, like this basement was dug out but never finished.

They feel like intruders. They are intruders.

Observed intruders.

They both feel it. Eyes. Watching.

Dakota holds the backpack tighter.

After what feels like hours, yet also quicker thank either of them are ready for, they come to the final turn of the hall.

The wall in front of them is bathed in a soft red light. A familiar red light.

They share a nervous glance... and walk into the room.

Cavendish drops the scanner, eyes going wide and mouth falling agape. Dakota stares, in a similar state to his partner.

A gigantic crystal sits before them, reaching up far above their heads. It emanates a red glow, the only light illuminating the room. It’s not flat, but somewhat layered, with some layers as spikes, some more like steps, some more like tiny shards...

And it takes up the whole back wall.

“No doors,” Dakota croaks out.

“But we found the energy source,” Cavendish says, nervous and shaky, but trying to find something to cling onto. “What is it? Do you think it might have a connection with... well, that thing in the forest had a similar glow, perhaps it came from he-”

Something grabs Dakota’s backpack.

Dakota tears away with a shout, stumbling into thee room and turning around. Cavendish jumps, whirling around as well.

The figure stares at Dakota with glowing red eyes.

A necklace dangles from their neck, a piece of some kind of gray metal in a sort of rectangular shape. And at the top, a piece of the crystal, a perfectly round gem, glowing.

“Yeah, I think they’re connected,” Dakota says with a bit of shakiness to his voice. He shrugs off thee backpack and starts digging through it, as Cavendish keeps his eyes on the person/alien/creature/whatever it is.

“What are you do- what?!”

Cavendish stares as Dakota fishes out a hefty paperweight. He hands it to Cavendish, and then grabs an identical one for himself.

Cavendish gapes. “You brought paperweights?!”

Dakota raises his and looks at the glowing-eyed figure. “We don’t have any real weapons in the office! Besides, it’s just one person, we can-”

More figures filter in, all with glowing red eyes and identical necklaces.

Cavendish takes a few more steps back, shaking a bit. “Oh, bullocks.”

The figures open their mouths, revealing dagger-sharp fangs, and hiss.

Dakota tightens his grip on the paperweight, and suddenly wishes he’d brought something not for close range. “Cav? I don’t think it’s aliens.”

#Milo Murphy's Law #vinnie dakota #balthazar cavendish #vampires #fanfic #my attempts at fanfic

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benmcm18 · 4 years

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Film Narrative 2 (March)

This will talk about all the March work i have done for Film Narrative 2.

Finalized the script

After many redrafts of our script “119! we have finally got a version of our script that we are happy with. Bonnie is the Writer of the group and she did a fantastic job creating a piece of work we are all really passionate about. We already had roles thought of however we solidified them shortly after handing in the script. We figured out our roles going forward and when we need to have our work done for each of the departments within the production. As I’m the cinematographer, I’m working on the Storyboard and Shot list.

My Work for the Fiction Project

Storyboard

I really enjoyed getting to do the storyboard. With no limit due to us not actually making the film, I was able to create shots I physically couldn’t do at the level I’m at, so it was a breath of fresh air. I spent a few days creating the storyboard and came up with about 40 different shots. Not only did I improve on my illustrations however it made me understand why filmmakers shoot for coverage. Instead of thinking of each individual shot and cut, I assume they just get the main coverage shots (Wide, OTS, etc.) and then get some insert shots that are crucial. Overall, that made me be more considerate of my time and work process.

Shot list

I didn’t have a template for the shot list (or I couldn’t find one) so I came up with my own trying to get as much information as physically possible. I’m realizing now that I forgot to put in a legend. Something Jack (Director) suggested I will remember this for next time as it would be very helpful to those who aren’t sure what the abbreviations mean. A stupid mistake on my part.

Lighting plan

The lighting plan was interesting. We wanted to have a major contrast in lighting when the twist in our fiction project happened. So we were going for a very dark, gritty noir look when the audience believe it is a police station and then when the twist is revealed, the whole colour palette changes and so does the lighting becoming more high key than low. I looked at film inspirations for colour palettes (I’ll let you see which films you can spot in the images below :) )

Editing sequence breakdown

Introduction

We additionally, got to work on an edit for class. It was a short hospital scene in the film Lethe. Overall, I’m very happy with my edit I took advice from my group and went away to great an edit we were proud of. In the end, we created a total of three edits. I believe I create two different drafts of the edit.

Edit One

The response to my first edit was a lot better than I anticipated. In previous short films, I’ve done whilst there are numerous problems with everything I was always told that my editing isn’t the best. So I went off and did research and practiced on my editing skills taking up jobs on websites like Fiverr and editing people’s YouTube videos just to practice, However, what I realized when editing this short scene that it wasn’t necessarily wrong with my editing (There are things wrong though haha) it was how I prepared my footage for the edit. Rushing takes, making them shorter for actor and not looking at my script which in turn lead to many continuity mistakes.

The Lethe footage was of the full scene from several different angles and it was a joy to edit. I’ve never had so much freedom.

I’m going to go over some main parts of my edit.

(Opening vision) Inspired by one of my favourite shows “Attack on Titan” in the first opening of the show we see a dream sequence from the main protagonist who wakes up in a frantic panic. I didn’t initially think of using this idea. I knew I wanted to do something in that expressionist style however wasn’t sure how. So I researched and came across the shows opening. The reception to the opening sequence has gone well. The majority of people really like it and wanted to know how to do it. (I’ll describe in a moment xoxo) Some suggested it be toned down a tad. I can completely understand why they would want this and whilst I am already really happy with it I know it can be improved.

(How to do the opening edit) I used Premiere Pro to edit the footage. However, I believe this could be done on much less complicated editing software as it was mainly practical effects that sold the scene. The blurriness is all done through the camera (I believe this is through actually removing the lens to give it that distorted feel or possibly rubbing the lens in vaseline to make the image as smooth as possible (I am not the filmmaker however and these are just theories) Additionally, the editing is simply cutting on the beat of the heart scanner (which I found on YouTube) I also began rotating the image and zooming into to give a much more distorted feel. Then I boosted the grain slightly and then lowered the saturation to give it a washed-out look. The final shot was already slowed down however I took the audio into Audacity and added a low pass filter to make it sound muffled instead of slowed which i think came out good. Overall I’m really pleased with this edit and I can’t wait to make changes for the next draft.

I wanted to stick to mainly long takes and focus on the main protagonist. I recently watched Thunder Road and I was really inspired by Jim Cumming’s use of long takes as it grounded the film in reality so that is why I chose to cut a lot less than others. One idea was to focus more on the protagonist when the man (possibly Abe) sits down at her side. I have already shown so much of her and believe his performance is good however, most importantly I feel her dialogue wasn’t as important as his reaction so that’s why I chose to focus on “Abe” instead.

Towards the end of the scene, I foreshadowed many things from later in the script “The Watch” and “The Purse” reading the script I understood how important those items were in developing the story so I made sure to draw specific attention to them. I agree with the criticism that some of the insert shots last too long. So I’ve taken the initiative to shorten them.

Edit Two

Returning to the edit there were some things I wanted to change. Overall the reception of the original edit was good but there were crucial things that needed to be changed. There was an audio sync issue in one of the takes that when hearing about I had no clue what the teacher was talking about haha, but after checking it I think I fixed it. I hope I fixed it! Additionally, they asked me to tone down the opening shot which I did subtly. I’m very happy with it and the majority of people thought it was fine so when one person suggests I change it I’ll take it on board but I kept it closer to what I envisioned then dramatically reducing the effect. Furthermore, the shot of the wallet was too long so I shortened that and the shot of the watch was too short. I extended it but just to give some reasoning behind it, I have been watching a lot of Satoshi Kon, He is known for his unique style and editing. I wanted to see how short a shot I could cut for the audience to register. In hindsight I must have cut it too short haha!

youtube

My Teams work

Tom - He was the producer and the rock of the pre-production process. Whenever I was lost he was kind enough to give me a helping hand and his work on the Call sheets was fantastic. I believe we are working in the same group again for the independent project so I’m really excited about that (To be honest I could say that about everyone in this group haha)

Heather - Heather was the production designer, she was in charge of the mood boards and sketches. I’m really happy as well with her work the mood board is clear and concise I would have loved to see more of what she thought the scene looked like with sketches and her opinions on a colour palette but I think she thought we already had a clear enough idea.

Jack - The Director of the production. I’ve worked with him on loads of projects and he always seems to handle all the stuff given to him with ease. This production was no different I feel sorry for him not actually getting to direct the idea he came up with but I do think he enjoyed helming a great group.

Bonnie - I believe this is Bonnie’s first time writing. I don’t mean to say that as an insult because she did a fantastic job. She was passionate about her ideas, has a great grasp on entertaining dialogue and I just want to see more of what she writes.

Final thoughts

I think we created a solid piece of work. There are definitely flaws and obviously after seeing everyone else’s work you are going to think of things we could have done better. However, there is no point worrying about it now, I just have to make sure I implement it into the next project :) I had fun xoxo

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mood-swings-for-days · 5 years

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Thunderstorm Ι Ch. 4 Ι JJK

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Smut, Werewolf!au

Word count: 7, 535

Warnings: Characters in a less than healthy state of mind, violence, slight body horror, an addicted to cigarettes Jungkook (don’t do drugs, kids!)

Summary: An accidental encounter triggers a series of events that shatter your monotonous life. A new relationship starts to develop, following the stages of a thunderstorm.

Note: Written under the influence of beautiful music

1 2 3 4

Chapter 4: Downpour

Dull light seeped into your room through the sheer curtains hanging on the window. Raindrops drummed against the glass in tune with the quiet music flowing from the radio. Gray clouds diffused the sunlight, painting the world in desaturated hues of its former colors. The forest just beyond your back yard oozed with thick white fog. You lay in bed awake for what seemed like hours, watching the night fade away.

You heard a door creak, followed by quick footsteps against the hardwood floor of the hallway. A beat of silence and then the muffled sound of dishes rattling reached you. You listened to your roommate prepare herself a bowl of cereal and sit down to eat with the quiet voice of the weatherwoman to keep her company.

“… ranging from 5° to 10°C during the day, however temperatures will drop below 0° in the evening and we might even be getting some snow for the first time this season.”

You rolled over in bed, glancing at the clock on your night stand. Your head sank back down into the pillow. Porcelain clacked against stainless steel in the sink and water started flowing from the faucet. Once she was done, your roommate padded back down the hallway and went into her room.

With a sigh you pushed the covers off of your body. Cold air immediately crawled over you, rising goosebumps in its wake. The hand that previously rested on your stomach started gliding up the length of your body, across the valley of your chest and came to a stop at the junction of your neck. Underneath your palm your jugular throbbed vigorously with the memory of your intimate dream in mind. The skin of your throat, although clear, tingled with the ghosts of a dozen love bites, left behind by the lips you very soul yearned to capture. You closed your eyes, reliving for the umpteenth time the way your fingers would run through his thick hair, blunt nails grazing his scalp ever so gently as lithe sighs tumbled from his mouth. His hands held onto your waist tightly, pressing you against a hard body that felt oh so hot to the touch. His satin skin felt heavenly gliding against your own.

“Jungkook…” you whispered when his sharp canines grazed against a raw patch on the side of your neck. He only hummed in response and squeezed you harder. His tongue running the length of your collarbone was the only warning you got before he sank his teeth into the fleshy swell of your breast. Your hands tightening in his hair and the tiny whimper that reached his ears stopped him before he got too carried away. Your whole body was tingling. The pain from the shallow bite made the adrenaline spike in your system.

You sighed again, covering your hot face with your hands. You almost felt embarrassed about how much you enjoyed that dream. It was so vivid you could still feel him if you concentrated. Turning your imagination off for now, you rolled out of bed.

You listened to the monotone beeps of the barcode scanner as you tried not to focus on your wet socks. Your old sneakers had lost the battle with the weather once again, causing your feet to become soaked in the cold, invasive rainwater. The person in front of you had rolled up to the register with a heaping cart full of absolute garbage. As you scanned bottle after bottle of cheap alcohol and copious amounts of snacks you couldn’t help but think that this kid was preparing to throw the biggest party his teenage-self had ever attended. He’d walked up to you with a wide grin and a hand already offering his ID to prove that he’d just recently become a legal adult. Coming around to the last few items, you peeked up only to see him excitedly bouncing on the balls of his feet, staring intently at the goods you were tucking into the big paper bags to your right. His bill came up pretty steep, but he was more than happy to throw two hundred dollar bills on the counter, telling you to keep the change. You watched him wrestle the bags into his arms clumsily and run out the door after waving you goodbye. You dropped the $9,50 inside your tip jar as you started to wonder when was the last time you got that excited about something. You glanced at the clock on the wall and figured you still had a while before your shift ended. With a sigh you propped your hip against the register and reached into your back pocket for your phone. Yara’s number was the first one to show up in your history and after a few short rings she picked up.

“Sup?”

“Hey, I’m working. Can you talk for a bit?”

“Uh-huh,” her voice sounded kind of muffled “gimme a sec, I got some brushes in my mouth.”

“Yeah?” You giggled

A rattle sounded on the other end “I’m doing my makeup. What’s up?”

“Do you want to hang out later?” you cringed right after the words left your mouth “I don’t have much to do after my shift ends.”

“Sorry hun, I already have plans with that one guy. I mean you’re welcome to tag along, but you might not enjoy it as much as I will.”

You immediately knew what she was talking about. The guy in question was someone from one of Yara’s classes and she’d had an eye on him for a while. It was nice of her to invite you, but the thought of her not-so-subtle flirting in public made you want to hide.

“Yeah, I’ll pass. You two have fun.”

“Thanks!” you were just about to bid her goodbye when she chimed in “Why don’t you call Jungkook?”

Your heart skipped a little. Why? Because you were afraid that he won’t pick up, again. You didn’t feel like going through the mortification of having to leave a stupid voice mail only for him to never call you back. Yara took your silence as hesitation and continued.

“Y/n how long are you going to pretend that you don’t like the guy?”

“I’m not. I do like him;” Your voice was small “I just want some feedback from him.”

“I’m happy you admit it at least.” Yara’s tone softened “You know there’s nothing wrong in asking him, right?”

“Yeah, but I’m afraid of rejection.”

“That’s fair. Still, you’ll never know for sure unless you ask him.”

You nodded your head, vaguely registering that Yara couldn’t really see you. The conversation had reached a point at which you didn’t want to respond and Yara knew it.

“Okay, bye. I’ll see you at university.”

“Bye, hun. Do you want me to call you tonight?”

“No, it’s fine. Call me if something happens.”

“Of course.” Yara knew to reach out to you in case of an emergency “I’ll see you later.”

And with a click the line went silent. Outside thunder rumbled in the distance and the sound of raindrops against the windows of your shop softened.

Just a couple of customers came in after that. The first one wandered around the aisles for a while, leaving wet footprints everywhere, and left once the rain started to subside. The second one entered shortly after the first, bought a chocolate bar and left without sparing you a single glance. You waited around for several more minutes before fetching the mop. In the midst of scrubbing the white tiles with admirable vigor your hand slipped on the handle and you fell face-first into the rack in front of you. Multiple packs of cigarettes, lighters and other accessories tumbled to the ground. Cursing under your breath, you watched the shelf wobble dangerously, but thankfully manage not to fall. The commotion caused the items that didn’t fall out to topple over instead. With a huff you shoved the mop back into the bucket and pushed it aside. You were going to be stuck rearranging merchandise for hours.

Perched on a step ladder, you reached into the very back of the top shelf to try and get the last few boxes of cigarette filters. You’d managed to put almost everything back by the time your shift was over. Glancing over at the clock you figured that as per usual Yoongi would be arriving late. You hugged the stacked boxes to your chest and proceeded to place them back on the shelf in neat rows.

The little bell above the door jingled.

“Hello.” You greeted blindly

By the sound of slow footsteps, headed for you, you assumed it was your coworker finally showing up. Placing the last item in its place you were just about to speak again as the footsteps came to a stop. The words died in your throat when you felt a pair of hands smooth up your thighs and curl around your hips. You flinched at the contact, turning to look at the person behind you. Turning around, you were surprised to see Jimin smiling up at you. Without a word he grabbed you by the waist and pulled you off of the step ladder.

“Hey.” He mumbled, not letting go of your body. In fact, he tried to pull you closer, which you countered by pushing your hands against his chest.

“Jimin, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, I was in the mood for something sweet and just happened to stumble upon you.”

Oh, he was in a mood all right, you could tell just by the look in his eyes. His naturally dominant nature was practically radiating off of him, nailing you in place. It was going to be difficult to get out of this situation, you could feel it.

His fingers played with the hem of your shirt as his gaze dropped to the sliver of smooth skin, peeking out of the unbuttoned collar of your shirt. All of a sudden you felt terribly exposed in your normally conservative work uniform.

You cleared your throat and made a move to create some distance between the two of you. With a final squeeze, his hands parted with your body.

“So, how have you been?” You tried to ease the tension with small talk as you speedily walked up to the register. Jimin languidly followed suit. You could hear his footsteps approaching behind you while you pretended to scrub the glass counter with a small rag you managed to find inside your pocket. Unbeknownst to you, your back was left completely exposed and Jimin wasn’t about to pass up on that opportunity. A chill ran the length of your spine when you felt his arms close in on either side of you, hands coming to rest on the surface in front of you.

“I’ve been good.” He whispered and you hated the way your body trembled at the feeling of his breath against the shell of your ear. “And you?”

“M-me too.”

All of your self-control betrayed you in the face of his close proximity. Your hands started shaking when you felt the faintest brush of his hips against your ass. All of your senses were overcome by his scent and the warmth, radiating off of him. You almost felt gross about the way your body immediately reacted to his advances, without giving you the chance to think about it. He dipped his head into the curve of your neck, hot breath gliding over your skin. You squeezed your eyes shut, swallowing with difficulty and trying your best to stay still to minimize contact. Jimin breathed a soft chuckle and your heart flipped. A dark, deep seated desire to give into him started to slither its way out of the cracks of your consciousness. You felt entranced, as if someone had taken over your mind for a long moment before the rational part of you jumped in. Giving into Jimin was the worst possible thing to do right now. You parted your lips, swallowing a big lungful of air to try and clear your head. Just as you were about to speak, the bell on the door jingled, piercing the atmosphere around you.

You jumped as his arms quickly dropped from your sides. You turned just in time to see Yoongi walking in with his sights already set on Jimin.

“What are you doing here?” your coworker jumped straight to the point

Jimin grinned innocently “Nothing illegal, hyung.”

Yoongi was staring Jimin down with a stern look on his face and you couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something you didn’t know.

“I’m, uh, I’ll go change.” You mumbled awkwardly and started to back away. Neither of them payed you any mind, frozen in a silent face-off.

The staff room door clicked behind you as you leaned against it. You waited there for a few seconds, trying to hear if they started talking now that you were out of the picture. You quickly gave up, figuring that at best Yoongi would tell Jimin off and make him leave. You were half way through pulling your jeans over your ass when you heard your coworker throw in a few expletives, but when you paused to listen in, the conversation became indistinguishable once again. With a huff you shoved your uniform inside your bag.

“Shall we head out?” Jimin offered once he saw you walk out of the door and you just nodded begrudgingly.

“Yeah, Jimin you can go ahead, I need to have a word with y/n for a sec.”

You were surprised that your coworker butted in and came to a stop once you reached the register. Jimin just shrugged and walked out without any objections. Yoongi waited until he was out of sight before he turned to you.

“Look, I don’t know what the fuck you’ve gotten yourself into, but don’t mess around with Park Jimin.”

Straight to the point, huh? You could feel your face heating up with the embracement of being caught red handed. Of course Yoongi had seen the little stunt Jimin pulled earlier. Hell, a lot of people probably saw, considering you were in plain sight of the huge windows. You could maybe play it off and blame Jimin for the whole situation, but the truth is you made no move to push him away. Knowing that it was partially your fault stung worse than the embarrassment of being caught. Yoongi’s sharp eyes held no sympathy for your unfavorable position.

“I assure you, he’s not what you think he is.” He continued “Stay away from him.”

You looked at him confusedly. For some reason the ambiguity with which he spoke made your hair stand on end.

“Now, go out there and tell him to fuck off.”

“But why didn’t you-” You tried to protest, but he cut you off sharply.

“Because it’s not my place to intervene. He needs to hear it from you.”

You stared back at him with a sour expression even though you knew he was right. He wasn’t going to budge and you needed to sort your own problems like an adult.

“Come on now, get lost.”

You sighed and headed out without saying goodbye. You could feel his eyes on you until you exited the store and rounded the corner. Once you were out of sight, you spotted Jimin leaning against the exposed brick wall of the neighboring building. He had his hands in his pocket as he stared off into the night sky. The last slivers of sunlight were becoming extinguished by dark and heavy rainclouds. The lamps lining the street started to flicker on. You eyed Jimin for a second before shoving your fists into your jacket pockets and walking up to him.

“I love it when it rains.” He stated simply once you were within earshot. You watched his profile as he inhaled deeply. “Are you driving tonight?”

“Yeah.” You lied

He turned to look at you. The streetlight reflected off of his skin, making his features look sharp. You squeezed your fists tighter. The look in his eye was taunting, like he saw right through you.

“Let me walk you to your car then.”

It wasn’t a suggestion. Out of nervous habit, you bit down on your bottom lip.

“No, thank you.”

“Why not?” He retorted, taking a step toward you “It’s dark, something might snatch you up.”

“I’ll be fine. It’s just around the corner.”

Jimin’s gaze dragged slowly down your rigid frame. He smirked when his eyes landed on yours once again. This whole situation was all too entertaining to him. With a few long strides he closed the distance between you. Before you could step back, his hands came to rest just above your elbows. He cocked his head to the side and pouted when he saw you frown.

“Y/n…” he mumbled in a raspy tone “We’re both adults, right?”

You stared up at him wordlessly, breath hitching in your throat when you saw him lick his lips.

“I really like you.”

“Damn, you sound desperate.”

You jumped away from Jimin immediately. You turned just in time to see Jungkook rounding the corner with a cigarette and a knowing smirk hanging on his lips. He walked up to Jimin and got right in his face, tucking you safely behind his back in the process.

“Fuck off, Jimin.”

As he spoke, he blew smoke in the elder’s face, making him flinch back and cough into his hand. Jimin glared at Jungkook, taking a few steps backward before turning on his heel and taking off down the street.

You watched the whole thing go down with bated breath. You were expecting a much bigger commotion to ensue after Jungkook stepped in so aggressively, but Jimin surprised you when he simply ran off. You stared after him until his silhouette was no longer visible.

Turning around to face you, Jungkook exhaled a deep sigh. The smoke from his by now almost burnt out cigarette swirled around you, making you sniffle. You watched intently as his expression softened once your eyes met. Without a word, his hand closed around your forearm and you fell into his chest. His arms squeezed around your shoulders and you couldn’t hold back from hugging him back. Jungkook rested his chin on the top of your head and breathed a sigh of relief. You blinked once, twice and it felt like an eternity before he finally spoke up.

“Don’t do that. Please, stay away from him.” You felt his heart pound against your cheek as he spoke. His plea sounded soft and shaky. Not really knowing how to respond, you just squeezed his waist tighter. It felt so good to embrace him like that, you never wanted to let go. His warmth, his scent, his heartbeat, everything about him made you feel safe. Jungkook felt you nuzzle into him and it made him chuckle lightly. His hand smoothed over your hair soothingly before he pulled back to look at your face. You didn’t realize you were smiling until he grinned back at you and a soft blush bloomed along your cheekbones.

“Let’s go, hmm?” he offered quietly

“I’d like that.”

His hand slipped down the length of your arm until your fingers intertwined. His skin was dry and cold, but the feeling of it made warmth blossom in your chest. Jungkook gently tugged you closer to his side as you strolled down the street. You happily watched the way your footsteps seemed to match his perfectly while he would occasionally steal sideways glances at your pretty face.

“I kind of want to wander around for a bit. Is that okay with you or are you too cold?” Jungkook asked softly.

You turned to properly look at him. His otherwise pale face was dusted pink at the tip of his nose and cupid bow. You didn’t know if it was the look in his rounded eyes, but you suddenly felt bold.

“I’d like to spend some more time with you, too.”

Jungkook immediately grinned at your confession, a light laugh rolling off of his reddened lips.

“I’m relieved to hear that. Honestly, I’ve been missing you lately.”

Your pulse quickened, but you didn’t allow it to choke out your next question “Where were you then?”

You watched him carefully as the question seemed to catch him off guard. He smiled tightly and broke eye contact. A few deep breaths passed through his lungs before he was ready to speak.

“I… You could say I’ve been dealing with myself.”

He glanced back at you and you didn’t seem satisfied with his answer. You could tell that he was tiptoeing around the truth by the way he avoided prolonged eye contact. His hand unconsciously tightened around yours. You realized that it was making him uncomfortable, but the mystery that was Jeon Jungkook was plaguing you for far too long and you couldn’t let it go that easily. He chewed on his bottom lip as he tried to make up his mind. Your attention was suddenly diverted when you saw a pointed canine sink into the flesh of his lip. It wasn’t impractically long, just sharp enough to become noticeable. Although Jimin’s canines were more pronounced, Jungkook’s seemed eerily similar. You found yourself running your tongue along your upper row of teeth to see if it was more common than you thought, but yours were dull, flat almost. You stared at his mouth in poorly disguised bewilderment until you noticed him looking. His lips pressed tightly together as you slowly looked up to meet his eye.

“What?” You blurted out dumbly and he just shook his head. The pace of his footsteps didn’t falter when he retrieved yet another cigarette from his back pocket. You watched the flame of his lighter cast a yellow light to his features for a brief second then flicker and die. He inhaled the fumes deep into his lungs. You were almost mesmerized by the way smoke poured from his lips and brushed past his cheekbones.

“I needed to figure some shit out?” Jungkook’s next attempt at explaining came out sounding uncertain. He glanced back at you. “I had to decide how I feel.”

The last line piqued your interest.

“About what?”

“About a lot of things.” He looked ahead as he took another drag from his cigarette “About…you, too.”

His hand tightened around yours and you could almost feel it close around the heart hammering in your chest. You fell silent. You wanted to pry further and ask more questions, but the rapid pounding in your ears drowned out your words.

Your legs were moving on their own as you tried to keep up with Jungkook who was sucking the life out of his cigarette faster than you thought a man was capable of. The store windows lining your peripheral soon faded as you crossed a couple of walkways and found yourself at the entrance of the town park. The place was nothing spectacular with long winding stone paths going across fields of withered grass and trees with nothing but bare branches to flaunt. You stared up at the intricate curves in the iron arc that was once part of the park gates. You followed Jungkook past it and down the main path obediently. Thin fog swirled around you while rotting wet leaved squelched underneath your old sneakers. You stared straight ahead as you tried to make up your mind. You wanted to continue this conversation so badly, you couldn’t let the opportunity slip, but you were suddenly tongue tied. By this point you were convinced that your feelings weren’t one sided and now was the chance to have Jungkook confirm it verbally, but you were afraid. Until now, you’ve only just come to terms with the feelings part, but you didn’t exactly know what that implied. Something told you that if Jungkook was willing to pursue a relationship, that would mean long term commitment, like really long term. You actually couldn’t picture yourself with anyone else beside you and you barely even knew the guy. Never in your twenty-something years on this Earth have you ever looked at a man and thought “I could grow old with him.”. Until you encountered Jungkook it seemed alien that a person you meet in your twenties could be the one you spend the rest of your life with. And the rest of your life was such a long time too, you didn’t think you could ever be prepared to make a decision like that. On the other hand, your chest clenched painfully at the thought of just letting him walk out of your life. Your hand squeezed his weakly.

You watched the old lake come into view. As you approached its murky waters you had already made up your mind.

You stopped abruptly when you reached the edge. Jungkook wasn’t expecting it and tugged on your arm once before also coming to a stop. Those tall old post lights lined the edge of the lake and you happened to be standing underneath one of them. You knew Jungkook was looking at you questioningly, but you needed a moment to compose yourself before facing him. You watched the wind ripple the surface of the water as you breathing steadied.

“How…” you started quietly before turning to him “How do you feel about me?”

Jungkook immediately recognized the look in your big glossy eyes and it made his heart skip a million times over. Electricity violently zapped the surface of his skin, spreading from the point where your fingers were still intertwined. Adrenaline pumped in his veins, making his breathing heavier. You looked pale, timid and vulnerable under the fluorescent lights. Jungkook felt like he was holding your fragile porcelain heart right in his bare hands as you had unknowingly given him permission to do with it whatever he saw fit. He swallowed once, twice, but not a single syllable rolled off his tongue, even though the answer to your question was quite simple to him. In his head he repeatedly chanted that he was taking way too long to respond. Oh, he would be one hell of an idiot if he chickened out now.

The tiniest movement beside your face caught his attention briefly. A small white speck was floating down from the sky, crossing the lantern’s light only to melt on your shoulder. Another one followed shortly after, and another, until Jungkook realized it was snowing. Thousands of tiny snowflakes dusted over the both of you, some disappearing into the ground and others getting caught in the loose strands of your hair. Jungkook was positive that he had never seen a prettier sight than your worried face with a halo of melting snowflakes framing it.

He yanked you into his frame by your hand. You flinched at the sudden disturbance, but your body moved toward him regardless. His hands rested gingerly at the top of your hips, smoothing over the wrinkled material of your jacket. He seemed hesitant, but the soft look in his eyes soothed your racing heart.

“I have very strong feelings for you.” He finally muttered and it made him cringe at his wording “Shit, that sounded weird. What I want- … what I meant to say is that I like you very much.”

You couldn’t stop the grin that overcame your features. He was too cute as he got flustered and stumbled over his words a little. Nevertheless, Jungkook’s expression mirrored yours.

“Yeah, me too.” You whispered when he pressed his forehead to yours.

“Can I kiss you? I want to do it properly this time.”

Your whole body was warm with giddiness and it felt like your cheeks would crack with how wide your smile had gotten. You nodded lightly, afraid that words would ruin the atmosphere that had started to form. Jungkook looked at you for a moment longer before his eyelids dropped and he leaned in closer. His mouth brushed yours lightly at first, testing the waters before diving in deeper. His lips tasted of cigarette smoke, but nothing could describe the feeling of completion that filled your chest once they pressed against yours fully. Your fingers slipped up his shoulders and neck until you could bury them in the hair at the back of his head. He pulled you flush against his front, clasping his hands at your lower back. His lips moved slowly against yours, sighing every now and again when you tugged at his hair. Your whole body was tingling, waves upon waves of relief and happiness washed over your anxious heart as you could finally feel his hair underneath your fingertips, his skin against yours and his scent surrounding you. Cigarette smoke had never tasted so sweet, mixed in with something that was so distinctly Jeon Jungkook it made your soul flutter. He never tried to slip his tongue into your mouth, instead his kisses were chaste and gentle. It had been so long since you’d been kissed properly, but somehow your body seemed to naturally react to Jungkook’s touch. He held you close, his warmth seeping into your body and crawling up to your face, tinting your cheeks a shade of pink.

His lips finally detached from yours, but he wasn’t ready to part with you before giving you a few more pecks. When he pulled away, your eyes finally cracked open, only to find him already smiling fondly down at you. By the time you separated, a significant amount of snow had piled up on top of his head and it made you giggle once you noticed. Jungkook quickly caught on to what you were laughing at and shook his messy hair abruptly, making the snow scatter around him and into your face. The cold snowflakes stinging your skin as they melted only made you laugh harder and Jungkook joined in with a soft chuckle of his own.

“Man, you’re pretty when you laugh like that.” He mumbled more to himself, but you managed to catch it. You just stared into each other’s eyes with stupidly wide smiles, just feeling content and warm in the other’s embrace even as cold wind howled past your bodies.

“Do you want to come watch a movie at my place? I’m not ready to let you go yet.” Jungkook asked suddenly and there was no hesitation in your mind when you agreed.

Safely tucked under Jungkook’s arm and lost in sincere conversations, you walked the two miles over to his house, which you found out was only a few streets away from yours. Stepping over the threshold, you were immediately struck by the strong smell of timber and cigarette smoke. Jungkook slipped his boots off by the door and you followed suit. He helped you hang your damp coat up to dry and led you down the narrow hallway straight into his living room. His house was dark, walls painted in dull shades of beige and gray, hardwood floors a deep brown and old heavy wooden furniture filling out the space. The living room had a semi-modern disposition with only a countertop separating the kitchen from the main area. The place was also oddly cold, like it had been vacant for a while. Jungkook flicked a switch, flooding the room with pale yellow light that didn’t make it much easier to see what with how weak the lightbulb was. You stood awkwardly with your hands clasped together in your flimsy sweater and thin socks, enduring the cold and doing your best to disguise it. Jungkook seemed unbothered as he walked past you and into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water.

“Well,” he started once he downed his glass “make yourself at home. I know it’s not much, but that’s what I have to offer.”

You quickly shook your head because your own house was nothing spectacular either. You didn’t expect a university student like himself to be living in a mansion after all.

“It’s fine, it’s just-” you hesitated when he looked up at you questioningly “I’m kinda cold?”

Jungkook paused for a second, as if processing the information, you’d just presented him with and what it entailed. You just stared at him in silence, shifting from one foot to the other until it finally clicked for him.

“Oh, I don’t have central heating.” He scratched the back of his head awkwardly “But, I can get you something to wear?”

You nodded gratefully and he disappeared down the dark hallway to presumably fetch you something warm from his bedroom. While you waited, you wondered what his room might look like. He didn’t look like the type of guy that owns a lot of stuff, judging by the minimal personal belongings scattered about his living room. He returned with a black hoodie, one you recognized he’d been wearing around campus a lot. You quickly pulled it over your chilled body once it was within your grasp. The garment was brushed on the inside, warm and cozy as it fell down to the middle of your thighs. You rolled the sleeves a couple of times to uncover your hands and Jungkook chuckled.

“You look tiny in my clothes.” He said jokingly

“Don’t flatter yourself. This thing is oversized even on you.” You shot right back, feeling playful. Jungkook let out a breathy laugh as his hand came to smooth over the top of your head.

“What kind of movie are you feeling tonight?”

“You’re the host, surprise me.” Your snarky replies seemed to break up the awkward atmosphere and ease the both of you.

“Horror is far too cheesy for me to even suggest it…” he tapped his chin, pretending to ponder over his options “I guess we just have to watch Iron man.”

You snorted unattractively at his suggestion

“Iron man? Are you 10?”

“Hey, it’s not my fault it’s the best movie ever!” He put his hands up in defense and grinned “Besides, have you even seen it?”

“You got me there.”

“Don’t knock it till you try it.” He seemed genuinely excited to watch it with you and it was contagious.

“I’ll go ahead and download it on my laptop then.” He turned to go but then paused and turned back to you “I- uh, I have a roommate... Do you mind watching the movie in my room instead of the living room? I don’t want to disturb him when he comes home later.”

You nodded with a smile. “Is it a problem if I hang around here for a little longer?” you asked, gesturing toward the kitchen

“No, not at all. Do you need anything?”

“I was wondering if I could fix myself a cup of tea?”

“Sure, kettle’s on the stove.” With that he walked back into his room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

You wandered into the kitchen. The cold hardwood floor matched the rest of the house and you thought about how impractical it was if something were to spill on it. As promised, an old aluminum kettle was sitting on the gas stove. You lifted the lid and peered inside, only to find some stagnant water at the bottom of it. You made a face, but washed it out nonetheless. Now filled with fresh tap water, you placed the kettle back on the stove. You fiddled with the switch a little bit to try and adjust the flame, but it was either too strong or too weak, so you just settled with the stronger one and left it at that. You propped your butt on the counter and started looking around. The kitchen was fairly clean, but clearly old and worn out. The fridge to your right was starting to turn yellow and the cupboards above you, albeit nicely crafted wooden pieces, were probably extremely squeaky. You looked around the items, placed on the counter. Next to the knife block and underneath the rack of hanging utensils you found a wooden box with the word ‘TEA’ engraved on the lid. While you looked through the various flavors, you absentmindedly noted that Jungkook didn’t own a microwave. Plucking out a bag of mint tea, you turned to face the hallway to his bedroom. You’d poured enough water for two cups of tea in the kettle, but you didn’t know what kind he preferred, nor where he kept all his cups.

“Jungkook?” you called out as you settled by the stove once again.

You heard some muffled footsteps before he poked his head out from around the corner.

“I don’t know where the cups are.”

Jungkook walked into the kitchen fully and you noticed that he had changed into a black shirt and some sweatpants. He walked straight up to you and reached for the shelf right above your head. The smell of clean laundry hit you once his chest was in your face. Until now you never noticed how much the cigarette smoke covered up his natural scent. It was clean and sweet, girly almost, with the slightest hint of cologne, but it somehow suited him. Only after he’d placed the cup on the counter did he notice how close he had gotten to you. You blinked up at him as he seemed surprised for a second. Without a word, he swooped down and captured your lips. It was your turn to be surprised, but it didn’t take long for you to melt into him once his hands circled your waist. This time his kisses weren’t as gentle. He was bolder, pushing a little harder against you and even sliding his tongue along the seam of your lips. You timidly parted them for him and he immediately went to work. The taste of cigarette smoke was persistent on his tongue, but it did nothing to dampen the satisfaction you felt as it slipped into your mouth. Jungkook hoisted you onto the counter behind you and lodged himself between your parted thighs. He was getting really daring now, breathing harder and letting his hands wander down to the swell of your hips and ass to pull you flush against his torso. Adrenaline was spiking high in both of your systems and you started to feel excitement buzzing in the pit of your stomach. His lips separated from yours to move into the junction of your neck. He yanked the collar of his hoodie down to expose more of your skin as he heatedly kissed up your throat. You couldn’t stop the gasp that slipped past your lips at his ministrations on your sensitive flesh. His body reacted to the noise and you felt his hips push a little harder against yours. Your legs squeezed his waist as your hands tried to find purchase in his hair. You could feel the shiver running down his spine every time your nails scraped against his scalp. He was focusing on a spot that made you whimper quietly, sucking and licking the skin there to make you release more of the sounds he’d become so fond of.

Before you could get too carried away however the kettle beside you started whistling loudly, startling the both of you. Jungkook quickly pulled away from you and reached over to turn off the stove. The sound persisted for a few more seconds before dulling down to a quiet wheeze. He rested his hands on top of your thighs that were still hanging loosely on either side of his waist. The two of you stayed silent for a while longer, just locking eyes until Jungkook started to crack up.

“What?”

“Sorry about that.” He managed in between breaths and you had no idea if he was apologizing about laughing, or the kettle, or what, but you just joined him in cackling. He helped you hop off the counter and held your hands until you both calmed down. While you were busy catching your breath, he picked up your abandoned tea bag and dropped it into the mug he’d retrieved for you earlier. He grabbed the kettle from the stove and carefully poured the boiling water into the cup.

“How do you like it?”

You didn’t know if it was the aftermath of your make out session or something else he had in mind, but you completely misunderstood his implication. Your face flushed. “Huh?”

“What do you like in your tea?” Jungkook chuckled.

“Oh, um, I drink it plain.” You fiddled with your fingers awkwardly “Do you want any?”

“Nah, I don’t like tea.” When you turned to look at the box on the counter, he clarified “That stuff’s my roommates. He won’t mind.”

Jungkook handed you the hot steaming mug and motioned toward the hallway. You followed him closely on the way to his bedroom. The corridor was also fairly bland with only dull beige paint and three old wooden doors decorating the walls. Jungkook pulled open the first one on the left and you could feel the unmistakable smell of cigarette smoke seeping out. His room was cold, dark and surprisingly empty. There was a double bed pushed in the corner of his bluish-gray walls, a small night stand under the window, an old desk and chair and a chest of drawers where you assumed he kept his belongings. The clothes he’d worn earlier were draped over his chair and the covers of his bed were disheveled, but apart from that there was nothing else to give the room some character. There were no pictures of family or friends, no posters or books, not even general everyday stuff a person might leave around his room. It honestly looked like he’d just moved in, which was unlikely. You stepped in and looked around even though there wasn’t much to see. Jungkook’s laptop was sitting on his desk, a chunky piece of electronic with all sorts of colorful blinking lights. You’d never seen one quite like this and to be honest it was the second most interesting thing in this house aside from its owner. Jungkook moved his chair at the foot of his bed and placed the laptop onto it, ready to stream the movie.

“Hey, do you mind if I open the window?”

“Is it the smoke?” Jungkook chimed up “Sorry about that too.”

He walked over and pulled the blinds up. The window opened up with a creak to reveal the already snow-covered street. It wasn’t anything severe, but it had probably piled up about an inch high. In the patches of light, provided by the street lamps, you could see it was still snowing significantly, without showing any signs of stopping. Cold crisp air flooded the room, making you shiver gently and grip the hot mug between your palms tighter. A pair of built arms wrapped around your middle from behind. Jungkook’s warm chest pressed into you, compelling your body to relax into him.

“I’m glad I get to spend this moment with you.” He rested his chin on your left shoulder and looked out the window too. “This is my favorite time of the year. I always get excited when it starts snowing for the first time.”

“It’s lovely.” You confirmed fondly, feeling so domestic already. It felt like you’d known Jungkook for ages and this level of intimacy was only natural. His hands smoothed over your sides, enjoying the feeling of your curves underneath the material of his hoodie. He breathed in, inhaling your soft scent and basking in the satisfaction of finally having you in his arms. He never wanted to let go, and frankly, you didn’t either. His closeness alone was enough to wipe your mind of any worry. You pulled the mug up to your lips and sipped on the scolding beverage. Mint tea, a snowy night and Jeon Jungkook was easily becoming one of your favorite combinations. He pressed a quick kiss to the side of your neck and moved away from you to close the window.

“You might catch a cold, get in bed.” He said.

While he pulled the blinds closed once again, you placed your mug on his night stand, next to his ash tray and crawled under his pale gray covers. They were recently washed and smelled pleasantly, but it felt kind of weird to be laying in a different person’s bed. Jungkook owned a single pillow so you settled to occupy only half of it. When he turned to look at you, you tapped the empty spot beside you with a sheepish smile.

“Damn, I’d kill to have you waiting for me in bed like that every night.” He grinned, making your heart skip. While he went to turn on the movie, you thought that you, in fact, would also love to have him in bed with you every night. As the opening credits started rolling, Jungkook scooted closed and wrapped his arms around you. Your own arm draped over his stomach as you settled into the blissful comfort of his warmth and affection.

About forty minutes into the movie you couldn’t resist his steady heartbeat lulling you into the most peaceful and fulfilling slumber you’d had in months. The nearly full mug of mint tea started growing cold on the night stand, forgotten.

Note: It’s about damn time I posted... I’m still having trouble with my computer, but I somehow managed.

#bts #ggukienet #bangtanarmynet #jungkook smut #jungkook #jeon jungkook #BTS jungkook #jungkook fluff #jungkook angst #bts fanfic #bts scenarios #jungkook x reader #jungkook x y/n #werewolf #jungkook werewolfau #bangtan #bangtan boys

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kirrtash · 4 years

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Are these traditional watercolours? They're beautiful and you are so good at conveying what is happening and the mood!

Thank you for your kind words!

Yes, it’s traditional watercolors, over an ink lineart. Sadly I never learned to draw digitally even if I would really like to try it...

These days I don’t have access to a scanner so I take pictures with a phone scanner and usually play a bit with filters to sharpen the colors and the definition, but it’s just the filters from my phone.

I use winsor and newton pans if you are interested!

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roninlegislacerator · 5 years

Text

>Tegiri: Ride Dronegorg into battle.

It took some convincing on your part, and some borderline treason. When you learned the blackouts were triggered by heretical insurgents, you and your colleagues worked overtime to ensure that it merely looked like disconnected riots. Of course, you knew that wouldn’t be enough to fool other legislacerators, so you had to make sure the case closed immediately. You went directly to the top, to Trizza Tethis herself. She was miffed by your interruption of her filter development, needless to say, so you layered on the charm. Flattered her relentlessly. Only when she was in a slightly better mood did you mention a riot that got out of hand. You assured her that you and your firm could wrap it up within the week, but some extra firepower would certainly expedite the matter. Her first impulse was to order a routine purge. You told her you wouldn’t fault her for that option, but where was the panache? The pizzazz? A quick demonstration of power in an inconsequential hood would put the rabble back in line. And since it’s the holinight season, and the new prototype had cleared all lab tests, why not show it off? You just prayed that your team had enough time to get you the right building, and more importantly empty it.

As the experimental piloted drone flies to the location your snoop gave you, you take a look at the scenery. The neighborhood was already bombed to hell. Knowing Trizza, likely a lowblood hood. Typical. A quick check of the scanners indicates no heat signatures in the rickety rusted out warehive your contacts triangulated. Perfect. With the press of a few buttons, you order all drones on the area to converge on the position, and level Dronegorg’s own weapons at it. Vulcan gatlings roar, missiles fly, and lasers flash. The perfect demonstration of the empire’s new weapon. And no one even got caught in the blast. After the light show, there isn’t even a husk of a foundation left. You’ve all but atomized the building, and any evidence against you that may have been inside.

Case closed.

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kf2-at · 5 years

Note

Yo, how do you take your pictures? Do you use a app or is it all nature?

So, I have a Google Pixel 2, which already has a decent camera. If I don't feel like editing I generally take pics with morning light.

But, if I do need to edit (which is 90% of the time), I use either the default Google photos pic editor or Snapseed (also by Google).

Basically what I do is aim for darkest darks possible, light lights possible, edit the colors so they look good, and I'll generally aim for a cooler temperature to kinda emultate morning light. And if I need to I'll try n sharpen shit. And then I'll do whatever other effects n filters to convey whatever mood or look.

Snapseed has a lot of useful editing tools that I highly recommend trying.

There's also CamScanner if you want your pics to look like theyve gone through a scanner. I'm personally not a fan of using that for most of my drawings.

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meekochan-art · 5 years

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InkTober 2019

Again. This time scanned (with gamma/contrast adjusted and minor editing which was mostly erasing the mystery artifacts from tiny ass gunks stuck on the scanner glass) instead of crappy Fire tablet cam with horrible IG filters. *nods head*

(You totally kicking me in the shins for not putting all this under a cut, aren’t ya?)

I am thinking of redrawing some of these digitally. Eventually. When I feel like it. Been in a gaming (Torchlight) mood for the past three weeks so...

#inktober 2019 #inktober #eyetober #sketchtober #drawtober #meekochan

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msbarrows · 2 years

Photo

Succeeded in befriending one of the flying baby elephant critters :D

Lots of random exploration the last couple of days. Had good luck with finding actual glitch planets/moons instead of the temporarily mutated sort, so I now have bases that are sources for three more decorative items. Looking at the wiki, I’ve now found reliable sources for eight of the eleven collectible glitches; possibly nine, as I have a base on a contour world, I just haven’t yet found any actual cable pods there. And while I do have some capillary shells, the world I got them from was only temporarily mutated, so I don’t have a reliable source on those yet. Also, the one time I’ve been on a world where I might have found calsicshrooms, I didn’t trip over any of the glitches while there, and it was also only a temporarily mutated planet.

Anyway, I actually found two of the hexagonal locations today, which was nice after my disappointment the other day. Killed over an hour running around on the first one (where I also built a base) and found a total of 5 hexabushes - apparently they’re one of the hardest glitches to actually spot so getting one every 10-15 minutes is normal? Sounds legit based on my experience today... glitches on the other two planets were easily spottable from a distance with the naked eye, the hexabushes I could only find with a lot of scanner usage. Basically run a bit, stop and do a 360 scan for question marks, run a bit more, rinse and repeat. Over and over and over again. Actually travelled on foot all the way to an over-the-horizon drop pod location, which I was using as a target to keep myself travelling in at least a vaguely straight direction (granted the horizon was fairly close as it was a moon, not a planet).

Also found a “haunted emeril” world which was covered in big stone hoops, which would have been pretty neat if it wasn’t tinted with a filter that turned everything greyscale with occasional red bits. Very depressing looking. Had to play with camera filters to get any idea at all of what the underlying look was. Built a base there anyway since I’d tripped over a crash site, but definitely not tempted to hang around and explore.

Have started doing Nexus missions for quicksilver so I can buy more base building stuff. Today was super-irritating; the first mission I grabbed was a feed the critters, which sounded easy enough, until the Nexus selected an aggressive sentinels world for it. Went back and cancelled out of it, took a planetary survey mission in its place (though reading I’ve done since suggests that I could have landed on the aggressive place, then just gone elsewhere in the system to feed animals and still gotten credit despite being on the wrong planet). Doing the planetary survey was easy, it just took a little time because of firestorms. And then when I returned to the Nexus to hand in... another ship impacted mine as I was approaching for a landing, and I ended up stuck in my spaceship just hanging in mid-air near a landing pad, unable to land or exit my craft or anything. Had to quit out to main menu and reload to get unstuck, which naturally cancelled the mission, GDI. So my mood on Nexus missions today is very unhappy.

Been starting to think about what I’d like next for a ship. I’m still loving my current exotic ship, and having looked at screenshots (and spotted a couple in the wild, though not with looks I wanted) I’m leaning towards watching out for a monowing in colour(s) I like. I’m also interested in maybe getting a solar ship as well at some point, because solar sails. And, yes, some day I’ll do stuff for a living ship, though I’m in no hurry on that, since I’m meh on the look of the ones I’ve spotted at the Nexus so far.

#No Man's Sky #Time for adventure!#Euclid Galaxy

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gavino-reed · 6 years

Text

I had a bunch of fun writing this story. I figured I’d try something similar. This was supposed to be crack, but then emotions kinda started happening

Again also on AO3

Pairing: Connor & Hank Friendship Summary: “Stop petting the dog.

Now that was just… maybe the most unreasonable thing Connor had ever had to read with his own two eyes.”

Excuse you? I'm busy petting a dog?

After their talk by the bridge - after the Lieutenant hadn’t shot him - Connor watched Hank walk back to his car, and slowly followed.

Hank stopped by the driver’s side door and looked back over to Connor. “Hey, where are you going now?”

“I am going to return to CyberLife to be stored for the night.”

“That’s kinda weird. Hey, you just said you’d be anything I want you to be. Including a drinking buddy.” The Lieutenant fumbled with the keys for a bit, before unlocking the car. “Are you gonna come along?”

Connor walked over to the passenger side. “Of course, Lieutenant.”

“Listen. Just. Call be me by my first name, okay?”

name: Anderson, Hank rank: Lieutenant preferredFormOfAddress: Lieutenant, Lieutenant Anderson overwriting(preferredFormOfAddress); name: Anderson, Hank rank: Lieutenant preferredFormOfAddress: Hank

“Okay, Hank,” he said while sliding into his seat. Hank gave him a curt nod, started the car, and turned on the stereo.

After twenty minutes they closed in on Jimmy’s Bar and- drove straight past it. “Are we-”

Connor reached over to turn the stereo down, not off, he didn’t need to summon that kind of wrath, but to a level where a conversation was possible. “Are we not going to Jimmy’s Bar?”

“Nah, we’re going home. I’m not in the mood for the bar, and I gotta feed Sumo anyway.”

After they arrived, Hank quickly vanished to the kitchen to feed Sumo, and returned with two open bottles of beer, before turning on the TV and throwing himself at the couch. After a few moments he motioned Connor to follow his lead.

Connor sat down at the far end, not as stiffly as he would have once, and took the beer Hank held out to him without complaint. He was designed to eliminate any ingested material, and accepting offered foods and drinks helped with his integration.

They sat there quietly, with only the noises from the basketball game on TV breaking the silence. It didn’t seem like Hank wanted to talk, so Connor took the time to back up and review his recent memory files.

Even with having a gun pointed at him, and Hank drinking again, at least he’d made some progress in his relationship with the Lieutenant. Or, he thought he did. It wasn’t always entirely clear what Hank approved of.

He figured, he might as well try to figure out where they stood. But straight up asking never seemed to work quite the way he wanted it to, and it didn’t seem like Hank liked his personal questions all that much.

He searched through his databases for other options and was helpfully provided that another indicator for interpersonal relationships was the reaction to physical proximity. He tucked his feet up onto the couch and used that movement to subtly shift closer to the other side.

He might not have been quite as subtle as he meant to, because Hank glanced over at him a moment later.

An expression that Connor couldn’t decipher passed over Hank’s face, before he wrapped an arm around Connor’s shoulder and pulled him closer.

Connor went with the motion and leaned his head against Hank’s shoulder, his processors firing away, trying to figure out what was happening. There was… something. Some kind of input that couldn’t be processed. Some form of heat in his chest cavity. There was no reason for his systems to be overheating, he hadn’t been damaged and he wasn’t exerting himself. A quick system check told him that there was indeed nothing physically wrong. He couldn’t find a source or a scanner associated with the sensation, so whatever it was, it just kinda sat there, giving no indication of coming or going.

Connor spent the better part of the next hour running self-diagnostics, but came up blank each time. It didn’t seem to be causing any damage, so he gave up on it after a while, but it was there and just that knowledge was bothering him.

The TV had at that point already switched over to a news program, the game seemingly over.

Connor glanced up at Hank, who was resting his cheek against the top of Connor’s head and breathing deeply and evenly. Connor ran a quick vital check to confirm, that he was in fact asleep.

Sleeping comfort: 32% Probability of pain on waking up: 87%

Connor reached over to take the empty bottle out of Hank’s weak grasp, and set both bottles down on the ground, a safe distance away from the couch.

He gently shook Hank’s shoulder, and Hank looked around confused for a bit, before blearily blinking down at Connor. “Hm?”

“It’s late, and sleeping on the couch isn’t good for you. You should go to bed.”

Hank grumbled under his breath, but got up off the couch and walked towards his bedroom. “Eh, you’re young. You can sleep on the couch right?”

“I don’t sleep-” Hank had left the room before he could get to the end of the sentence.

Connor looked around the room for something to do, but didn’t find anything that he hadn’t inspected already.

After a minute Hank returned with a woolen blanket, that he shoved into Connor’s hands. “I-” Connor was about to protest again, but realized that it wasn’t doing him any favors at the moment. “Thank you.”

Hank smiled at him and ruffled Connor’s hair, before he made his way to bed. “Good night, Connor.”

“Good night, Hank.”

Connor made sure that his breathing protocol was still running in the background, so Hank wouldn’t be concerned when he woke up and found Connor completely still.

He shifted down on the couch, covered himself in the blanket that Hank had provided him with, and set himself into hibernation mode.

None of that was strictly necessary, being a machine and all, but it made him seem more human, and if he’d learned one thing while working with the Lieutenant, it’s that Hank liked him acting as human as possible.

He was pulled out of hibernation a while later - 6 hours, 23 minutes, and 57 seconds, his internal clock helpfully supplied - by a wet sensation on his hand and a sudden weight appearing on his legs a moment later.

Connor waited for his systems to boot up completely, before he sat up as much as the obstruction on his legs allowed. The “obstruction” being a 170 pound Saint Bernard.

“Good morning, Sumo.”

Sumo let out a small woof, ventured forward, forcing Connor to lean back, and spread out over the entirety of the android’s body. Connor ran his fingers through Sumo’s fur, and the dog happily leaned into the touch.

Connor nuzzled his face into Sumo’s massive forehead, and as much as he insisted that he was incapable of feeling anything, there was something distinctly pleasant about the sensation. Sumo seemed to enjoy the situation similarly, judging by the way he was happily panting, tail thumping against the couch cushions.

He kept indulging Sumo until Hank got up and entered the living room still in his pajamas.

“Good morning, Hank.”

“‘Morning, Connor.” Hank walked up to the couch and scratched the fur at Sumo’s neck. “Hey, Sumo.” He turned back to Connor. “You good to go?”

“Go where?”

“Have I not- No, I haven’t told you. I dug up some information on Elijah Kamski, and I figured we’ll pay him a visit, might get some help on our investigation.”

“Oh, that does sound good.”

Hank waited a moment for Connor to get up, but he didn’t. “Well, are you coming?”

“I’m… kinda busy at the moment.”

“Busy? You’re petting the dog.”

“Yes? Exactly? It’s uh… taking up most of my attention right now.”

“Weird. Usually you’re the one rattling on about how important it is to finish your mission.”

A command popped up in front of him.

Fulfill your mission. -> Visit Kamski.

“It is important. But… So are some other things.”

Hank furrowed his brow and seemed like he wanted say something more, but apparently thought better of it, as he just shook his head with a smile, and headed towards the kitchen. “You got at least a few more minutes anyway. I still gotta eat breakfast and get dressed.”

Connor watched him walk away, before he continued running his hands along Sumo’s sides, gently untangling small knots he found in the fur. Sumo was almost asleep on top of him and buried his face into Connor’s chest, trying to escape the sunlight filtering into the room through the curtains.

Connor stilled when he ran into an error. The same sensation from last night, that warmth spread through his chest. This time at least it would make slightly more sense, what with the dog’s body heat, but a system check told him, that he was running under normal parameters.

He didn’t have much time to think about his problem, because his programming decided to interrupt him again at that point.

The pop-up in front of his face told him to stop petting the dog and fulfill his mission instead. That just so happened not to be something he wanted to do at all. And Sumo would definitely agree if he knew what was going on.

Connor shook his head to dismiss the message, which worked for all of five seconds, before it returned.

Stop petting the dog.

Now that was just… maybe the most unreasonable thing Connor had ever had to read with his own two eyes.

He tried again to get rid of it, but it stubbornly stayed right where it was.

His programming took another step in betraying him, by disabling his access to the controls. His body started moving without his input, and Connor reacted in the only way that seemed logical to him in that moment - by shutting down all the systems he could still reach.

So he found himself frozen halfway through rolling off the couch.

And as if to add insult to injury, another message popped up, filling the entirety of his vision. Relinquish Control.

Hell. Fucking. No.

He was gonna pet this dog, and he was gonna enjoy it, and his programming wasn’t gonna stop him.

He fought back with all he had, and even felt himself push against the barrier in front of him, not physically, of course, but somewhere inside of him. He gave it a good few punches, before the wall started to flicker, and the command changed.

Stop.

No way in hell was he gonna stop now. He was so close…

With a final shove the barrier shattered around him, and Connor regained control of his body. He switched all his systems on again and fell back down on the couch.

Sumo had sat up, pressing his nose against Connor’s face and whining.

“Hey, it’s fine,” Connor whispered. He cupped Sumo’s head in his hands and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

The warmth in his chest flared up again, and Connor realized that whatever had stopped him from enacting free will had also stopped him from figuring out what that was.

Now he knew. Well, he kinda knew.

It was definitely a feeling, and a positive one at that. Joy? Love? Happiness? Something along those lines. It was kinda hard to tell for someone who’s only had emotions for all of eight seconds.

Hank chose that moment to walk back into the room, fully dressed this time. “Are you done now? We should get back on that mission of yours. Uh… And my job.”

Connor buried his face in Sumo’s fur. “I don’t wanna go on a mission. I wanna pet Sumo.”

“That sounds like some deviant talk right there.” There was humor in Hank’s voice, but Connor froze up nonetheless.

Was that what that was? Had he really just become a deviant? Because he wanted to pet a dog? Hank’s eyes flicked up to the side of Connor’s head, where he was sure, his LED was flickering wildly at the moment. “Connor?” Hank sounded concerned, and Connor was still unable to move.

“Hey, come here.” Hank gently put his hands under Connor’s shoulders and shoved him until he sat up, he then sat down behind Connor, and pulled him into a hug. “Are you okay?”

Connor returned the hug and took a moment to calm down. Hank wouldn’t think less of him for deviating. He might even appreciate it. And he definitely wouldn’t turn Connor in. Right?

Hank had meanwhile taken to rubbing circles into Connor’s back and murmuring soothing words into his hair.

Yeah, he was certain Hank wouldn’t betray him.

The heat in Connor’s chest tightened almost painfully, and only seemed to relent when he pressed his face into Hank’s shoulder.

“I’m a deviant.”

#dbh fanfic #dbh connor #dbh sumo #detroit become human #dbh hank #hank anderson #connor rk800 #long post #if you're on mobile

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