#no I'm not joking about only realising it was religious a handful of years back

[defiant-firefly]

(I've had my chatty medicines so you get a post about this)

There is something distinctly and uniquely alienating and bizarre about hearing people say 'Easter Sunday is the most religious day of the year'. Like, when was this?? If it's so religious and so so so important, how come no one thought to tell me it was religious until like four or five years ago?

Yeah it's kinda funny but I'm also sat there every time like "what the fuck are you talking about". The assumption I was raised Christian and am Christian via culture is really funny though cause like. Bro I have no fucking clue what any of this stuff is about.

My parents never taught me the majority of this shit. Anyone else assumed I already knew about it. This Easter talk I've been hearing about a weird amount more than normal is all new to me and making me think of all this shit lmao

[cryptiles]

hi! could i please req a obey me matchup?

im 5'2, she/her, straight i have long black wavy/kinda curly hair, a septum piercing, blue eyes, apart of the itty bitty community lol but i make up for it in ass. im very quiet around new people (i barely speak if idk you and pretty much go mute around large groups of people idk) but once i get comfy around you I'm very sarcastic, and cracking jokes all the time. i really enjoy cooking for people i care about, watching Disney movies with my kids, spending time outdoors and smoking the devils lettuce, well i typically smoke dabs but yk what i mean. i hate soup (it is a sad chunky beverage not a meal okay?) i don't really have an ideal date, as long as im spending time with my loved one i dont care what were doing. what attracts me to someone is if they're funny, loving and make me feel safe oh and my name is ivy

•❅────────✧❅✦❅✧────────❅•

MATCH-UP FOR IVY

— details ; obey me x no stated gender! reader ; match-up based ; obey me m.list ; she/her

— requests are open as of 23/8 —> 11 match-ups left

— a/n : hello hello sorry this took so long 🏃‍♀️ but like same i only drink soup if it’s really fucking good if not it’s a fat no from me 😻 also i fucking love your username.

•❅────────✧❅✦❅✧────────❅•

and for this particular soup hater i match them with … mammon !!

• i have so many ideas okay.

• he would love your septum piercing and would impulsively go get one just to match with you.

• this man would definitely 100% smack your ass in the hallways of the house because he’s like that.

• if you’re uncomfortable with it he’ll stop immediately and start apologising and overthinking everything. [ he’ll be contemplating the meaning of life and may even drop low to pray to whoever is in the celestial realm that you don’t hate him ]

• this man is so god damn funny so its a regular that you guys will be cracking jokes and have many laughing fits.

• and they’re LOUD.

• y’all are shaking , huffing and puffing down the centuries year old house.

• and causing everyone in there headaches but to be honest y’all are comedians so they’ll probably let it slide since they overheard your jokes and had a laugh.

• of course mammon is such a family man , disney moves or any movies or any activity with you and your kids is an absolute must for him.

• he religiously drops everything he’s doing and joins y’all for movie nights.

• oh god everytime you cook for him he melts because you care about him ?? hand in marriage rn.

• he probably finds it lowkey funny that you hate soup and describe it as a sad drink.

• depending on his mood , he may or may not tell beel , if he does … well just run.

• mammon will be laughing at y’all as you try to defend your opinion on soup and beel will be arguing on how its good.

• this man is already clingy as hell since he realised his feelings so spending them with him everyday would be no problem.

• he’s always with you anyways , barging into your room , texting you every second of the day , getting you to go out with him. [ as friends according to him 😒 ]

• he may not express his love through words but through facial expressions , gifts and gestures everyone can tell he loves you so much it genuinely hurts.

• he’s constantly saying things like “ the great mammon will protect you ! “ etc etc and he shows it.

• pulling you close in big crowds and quickly guiding you to a less populated area , starts holding your hand in public [ despite the numerous amount of times he still has a small blush on his face ]

mini scenario !!

“ man that damn photoshoot was tiring as hell ! plus i had to stay back for extra classes , today sucked and i’m drained .. “

mammon complained plopping himself down onto the comforts of the soft couch.

he laid his head on your shoulder , usually he wouldn’t do this but today he was so drained he didn’t have the mental strength to care anymore.

“ you hungry ? “

“ starving … “

“ i could cook for you , your favourite if you want. “

you offered , mammon immediately sat up straight and gave you a raised eyebrow.

“ i don’t see you in the kitchen other than when you’re for kitchen duty. “

“ that’s because you don’t see me cook. i only cook for special people and i’m offering to cook for you now. the deal is on the table for the next minute. “

“ … wait you think i’m … special ?? “

“ yeah is that not what i implied- oh my god please don’t cry. “

“ I’M NOT CRYING ! YOU ARE ! “

“ THEN ARE YOU PISSING THROUGH YOUR EYES ? “

•❅────────✧❅✦❅✧────────❅•

© 2022 cryptiles. please do not repost / translate my work and post it to other social media websites without permission , thank you.

[teebarnes]

✨ | A Bad Day

Click [100 Followers Fic] for the rest of the 100 follower fics :)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!reader

Summary: You had a bad day at work and Bucky knows that, so takes this chance to brighten your bad day.

Word Count: 2k

Warning(s): Fluff, crying... I think that's about it.

A/N: Thank you for 100 followers! Plus, I mean, who wouldn't want Bucky to comfort them after a bad day? (GIF isn't mine)

⤑ Click here for my taglist to be notified when I post my future fics.

Any Likes, Comments & Reblogs are super duper appreciated :))

Locking the door behind you, you lean yourself against your door, sliding to the floor. Tears flowing down your face, you pike your knees up you to the chest, wrapping your arms around them. It was another one of those awful days at work, your face hidden in the nook you made. You slowly sobbed to yourself, trying to express the bad day you had quietly into your house as if it could listen.

The quietness of your rural home thickened the sound of your tears; you sigh deeply into your knees, attempting to catch the breath you longed for. Then, calming yourself, you wipe the tears with the end of your jumper before hearing your phone ring. A few sniffs holding the fact you were crying, you check your phone to see it was your best friend calling.

"Yellop", you softly chime to your best friend on the end of the other line. You can hear an audible laugh. "Yellop doll, how was your day?" The voice you always long to hear at the end of your days. "U-usual", you softly chocked out before continuing ", how about you, old man? How was your day?" You giggle slightly at your remark.

A long pause extended your conversation with him before he broke the silence with a soft laugh through his nose, "usual, same since we last spoke", you smile, getting up, taking the conversation to your couch. Hearing his voice had taken away any sadness you had before you even picked up the phone. "Hey, I'm coming over. I need your help," he says, which piques your interest.

"What does a 107-year-old man need my help for? I'm sure you have all the life experience you need," you joked; Bucky gasps ", ouch, my feelings… they're hurting because of you", he laughs, causing the two of you to roll your eyes at each end of the line. "May I ask what you need help with?" You sat up from the couch, eagerly waiting for his reply.

A steady silence homed their conversation for a few seconds "a date y/n… there is this beautiful woman I want to ask on a date." He sighs.

Your face drops slightly, tears rushing down your face again like the ones before. Quickly wiping the tears, you answer, so Bucky doesn't worry "a date, huh? Since when do you socialise" you half-laughed to yourself sadly. "well… doll. You see, I don't if I'm honest," you both laugh, waiting for him to continue. "But… she is amazing, beautiful, the most incredible person I've met", he boasts to you over the phone.

You couldn't help but wallow in your thoughts for a bit, wishing that it were you he was talking about. But you knew that you two were just made to be the best of friends; despite how you felt towards him, you knew he could never feel the same. It took you a while to collect yourself when Bucky spoke again, breaking your train of thought. "Doll?" Your eyes focus again on your surroundings, coming back to the reality that you wanted to run away from right then and there. "Doll, are you there?" He asks again; you clear your throat "yes! yes… sorry, yes I am." You coughed.

"I am happy for you, Buck! She will be so lucky to have you." You stand up from the couch walking into your kitchen. "I am the lucky one, actually…" he replies softly. You smile at his reply only to realise the context of the conversation before answering back to him, "Well… are you sure you need my help? I feel you have all of that covered. I don't think I could be of much help to you, Buck." You held the phone between your shoulder and your ear as you opened the fridge up to check what was for dinner tonight. "I most certainly do doll. You are a vital part to getting this right," he excitedly says; you could never turn him down.

Even after being his friend for over ten years, you still couldn't say no to him. "Geez, Bucky, you really are serious… I'll have you know, though. I haven't had a boyfriend since I met you, so I'll only be able to give you basic pointers," you laugh to yourself. "Doll, don't worry about it… as long as you're there, that's all I need." He swoons. You couldn't help but laugh, "see, buck, with that attitude, I think she will say yes." You lightly say, "plus, have you asked Steve? I'm sure he has better advice to give," you question. "Yeah, I did… no help there", he laughs.

"Okey dokes, well I'm going to take my shower n stuff… you've got a key so you can let yourself in, alright?" You say, continuing to push through the built-up tears and emotions that halted at your throat. "Okay, doll! See you shortly," he says "see ya, Buck" you smile, hanging up.

Not knowing it, but your world fell before you; you didn't want to lose Bucky to a woman he hasn't even told you about. Then again, you cared for his happiness, that is what he needed after all the trauma he had been put through. You shook off the tears sucking up the pain into your stomach, heading to take a shower.

~

Bucky’s POV

"How do I tell her, Steve?" Bucky groans, pacing around the living room, "I love her so goddam much, but I am afraid to lose her. What if she doesn't like me and only sees me as a friend-"Bucky is cut off by Nat, who is sitting on the other side of the couch reading a book. "Bucky, I am going to slap some sense into you soon. She is head over heels for you." She sighs, getting up to leave the room. Bucky continues to pace again, with Steve closely watching.

"Ask her on a date Buck. Go from there," Steve lightly says, leaning back into his seat. "Hey doll, I know we've been best friends for ten years now, but I just wanted to let you know that I've fallen in love with you since the day we met", he frustrates into the palm of his hands. Steve chuckles a bit, "sounds about right", he snorts. Bucky wide-eyed to his oldest friend. "Ahaha, so funn-" he is cut off with a buzzing in his left pocket.

Reaching in, he picks it up "oh, it's just Sam" he rolls his eyes, answering, "what's up, Sam?" Sam sighs "have you talked to y/n recently?" He asks, which immediately makes Bucky furrow his eyebrows "no, why? Has something happened?" A pause before Sam speaks, "Can you check on her, please. She had a rough day at work. I have a feeling she is not at her best at the moment." Bucky's eyes dull hearing that the woman he's in love with is sad "okay, on it. Thanks for letting me know, Sam", he let out a sigh. "I've given her the week off, but please check." He sternly asks. "You have my word Sam" Bucky hangs up, turning to Steve.

"She had a bad day at work…" he frowns before plopping himself on the couch. "Well, buck, this may be a good opportunity to take her out on a date? Or even have a sneaky film night?" He stands up, patting his friend's shoulder. Bucky gives a slight grin, nodding, "Thanks, pal".

Steve walks out of the room, leaving Bucky alone with his thoughts, "okay okay okay, I can do this, I can do this." He hypes himself up, taking his phone pressing your contact that he had on speed dial.

"Yellop" Bucky hears on the other end of the phone; he couldn't help but melt to the sweetness of your voice. It was one he loved so much. It wasn't unusual to call each other; it was a religious routine for the both of you. If one didn't call, the other would. But this time, it was different; Bucky was nervous; it has taken him ten years to work up the courage to ask you out. But he still couldn't, not without seeing your face, not without being able to hold you as he said he loved you and not without comforting you first. He knew you didn't want to burden him with your troubles, so he took it upon himself to make up an excuse just to see you.

After the call, Bucky knew that you'd been hiding your emotions just to have your usual conversation with him. He felt even guiltier when he went on and on about you but never had the guts to tell you that he was talking about you.

Bucky packed a night bag from his room, packing it onto his motorbike before making his way to the local supermarket that was on the way to your house.

He picked up some of your favourite snacks and a bunch of your favourite flowers, securing them on his bike before riding to your house. Then, turning his bike off, he left it parked in your garage, heading inside. He closed the door behind him, walking into the kitchen laying the snacks on the table before heading down the hall into your room. He could hear the shower running and knew you were still in there.

He could hear you singing a soft melody of your favourite song; Bucky smiled, took his shoes off, and set them at the door in the hallway. Bucky flopped onto your soft bed with the flowers he had for you hidden on the bedside away from the bathroom door so you wouldn't be able to see them when you'd come out.

Finishing your shower a few minutes later, you wrapped your hair in a towel. Drying yourself and popping on your oversized henley, the same one Bucky had given you all those years ago when you had nothing to wear the first time you slept at his. You put some undies on and Van's socks. Using the dryer to dry your hair, you fitted your thick hair into a messy bun with your black scrunchy. "Alright", you took a deep breath before heading out to see Bucky lying on your bed.

"Oh, Buck! Hey," you smiled at him. His head was comfy on the bedsheets; he turned to see you, a bright smile upon his face. "Hey, doll," he noticed straight away that you weren't wearing any pants, something he was used to but not used to at the same time. You'd always make a fuss over going to bed with pants on; you hated wearing pants to bed. So you just opted for socks. "So", you sigh, flopping on the bed next to him. "Who is the girl?" You asked, turning your body to the side facing him. He chuckled, rolling over the edge of the bed, coming back to meet you, your favourite flowers in his hand; you both were face to face.

"You"…

~

You look at him, jerking your face back a bit in surprise but totally melting seeing the flowers. "M-me?" You reply; Bucky smiles, brushing the hair from your face nodding, "It's always been you y/n." His arm caressed your cheek, and you couldn't help but rest yours on his. You kissed the inner of his hand before taking the flowers leaving them on the bedside table.

"You know how long I've wanted to tell you that I love you" you smiled almost in tears; wrapping his metal arm around your waist, Bucky pulled your body close to his "And you know how long I've wanted to say the exact same thing" he rested his head against yours "I am in love with you y/n, I've loved you ever since I met you". You sniffled, cupping his cheek before leaning in, kissing his chapped lips; he leaned into him, kissing back "and just when I thought I was going to have to let you go, you prove me wrong," you chuckled through your tears.

He chuckles with you. "I couldn't tell you on the phone. I had to be here. Plus, Sam told me you had a bad day, so I wanted to be with you." You smiled, giving him the biggest hug. "Thank you, Buck. Thank you for doing this" he kissed the top of your head.

"You're welcome, love", he smiled.

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Sebastian Stan's Taglist: @buckyswintersoldiermask @lharrietg @buckyfan12 @afraid-to-be-me @fairityretro

[mayasaura]

I had never heard of The Locked Tomb before you started posting about it, but I've been casually skimming your posts for the past few weeks when they pop up (ok, mostly the fanart tbh) and I'm really curious what it... is? I know I could Google it but I like to hear from a trusted source if you'd be amenable to giving me a breakdown. It's... a book, right? ^^;

Also, and this is sort of embarrassing, I only realised Gideon was a woman like... two days ago. XD; That's what I get for not paying attention.

It's a book series!! :DDD I'm glad you've just been paying attention to the art, I've been posting some whale sized spoilers in the meta.

The Locked Tomb is an incomplete trilogy of novels. The first book, Gideon the Ninth, was published in 2019; the second book, Harrow the Ninth, was published last August; and the third book, Alecto the Ninth, was scheduled to be released this coming August but has been pushed back a year to 2022.

The plot of the first novel follows Gideon Nav, an indentured servant and trained swordswoman of the Ninth House, in her attempt to earn, steal, or extort her freedom from her childhood nemesis, the Reverend Daughter Lady Harrowhark Nonagesimus. When the Reverend Daughter is invited by God the Emperor to be considered for a position at His side, Harrowhark finds herself in need of a sworn sword to serve as her right hand and protector. You'll never guess what happens next.

Alternatively, as the author put it: "Hero's quest to become a necrosoldier space hunkette ends prematurely when no-tiddy goth witch tricks her into the Hunger Games (biblical - Ed.)"

It's a series that isn't quite scifi and isn't quite fantasy, because it's a little too much of both to be either. It's set in an ancient galactic Empire ruled over by an immortal god-king, and it doesn't just have worldbuilding mechanics for how magic interacts with spaceships, it has magically derived faster than light travel. Not that you hear much about that for a while, because the first book is a bottle mystery with the entire cast trapped in a crumbling palace on a dead world trying to find the hidden key to immortality.

For tone, I'd say it's old school gothic horror. It's sometimes very funny gothic horror, but the jokes don't overpower the macabre and thematically it deals a lot with trauma, the desire to be wanted and connected, and grief. All the classics. That said, the writing style isn't remotely old school. The author was heavily involved in the livejournal era of online fandom before joining the shift to tumblr, and it shows.

Content warnings under the cut, in case you want to try reading them! In my experience they're handled tactfully, but my experiences aren't universal.

General content warnings for the first two books in The Locked Tomb: Non-chattel non-racialised slavery, discussion of suicide, discussion of suicidal ideation in a child, violent death, death of a child, survivor's guilt, loss of bodily autonomy, minor cannibalism, abusive religious enviorment (Catholic themed), mentions of miscarriage and infertility, unreality related to psychosis, minor necrophilia, gaslighting

There is no homophobia, gender based discrimination, racially based discrimination, or sexual assault

[asherlockstudy]

Did you end up listening to links EB? I'm curious about your thoughts

Warning, this post is extensively about religion, the concept of sin, trauma, self- torment. Please skip if you feel uncomfortable with any of these being mentioned. Also, this post is my personal interpretation of events discussed in the last EBs. I believe I am not exceeding any boundaries but keep in mind all the same that I do make assumptions here.  

Oookay… where to start and what to say…Even though I’d read many MB comments about Link’s EB and I was prepared, I was much more shaken by the end of it than I had expected. I still don’t know how to start so I’ll connect this a bit to the guess in my previous post. Link was indeed more absolute in his beliefs and thoughts than Rhett but it was for the reason I considered the least probable: he’s leaning away from Christianity / religion more than Rhett. His reaction to it involves anger and disappointment. 

I’ll just address this: I understand there are many valid reasons for which they say they haven’t experienced trauma associated with their religion and its practices but this is 99% not true. Perhaps they don’t say it because they are still processing it, they are just now realising it or haven’t yet. Sometimes when you’re bursting with emotions, especially toxic, you can’t see the truth easily. On the other hand, maybe they don’t want to share with us their trauma and this is perfectly normal. Most people wouldn’t share their trauma with the global population. Speaking to your therapist or a close person is already hard enough. What they did means a lot to them so it was a very brave decision. 

When it comes to emotions, self-awareness and confronting oneself, Link is braver than Rhett. That’s why his episode is braver than Rhett’s too. I don’t believe Rhett’s insistence that his pursuit for answers was strictly intellectual. Yes, they acknowledged they are very different personalities but I think Rhett still has trouble accepting or admitting the toll his choices and beliefs early in life could have had in his emotional world for decades. Link exposed him a little, mentioning several times that Rhett would discuss with him their similar concerns that were often largely irrelevant to the Evolution and the accuracy of the events described in the Bible. You can hear that Rhett is sometimes hesitant to participate a lot to Link’s EB and I respect that. He does not have to say any of this to us after all. He’s not obligated to say as much as Link either.

 As for Link, Link is a person that loathes keeping things buried inside him and yet it seems this is all he ‘s been  doing his entire life. Like I said in my guess, Link’s natural predisposition was not to care all that much about religion as a child but he yearned for guidance (and a father figure) that I am afraid he was deprived of in his household. The reasons Link is so obsessed with systems and organizing is probably because he always felt there was not enough control / order / guidance in his life. He relied on his systems and the most willingly authoritative people he could find: Rhett and, by extension, Rhett’s father. Make no mistake, I’m not condemning Rhett. I hate to say that Rhett was also a victim of his father. Of course, I don’t mean his father wanted to torment his son but simply his parenting was toxic even though he was undoubtedly trying for the best for his family. Rhett was not the one who kicked Link out of his car. The real Rhett was the one who walked back to him. His anger for Link’s “sin” (for fuck’s sake???!!) was his father and all the religious teachings speaking in his ear. Besides, the fact that a 16 year old would feel ashamed on behalf of another teenager and abandon him in the middle of a road because he drank a little alcohol simply shows how much poison was eating Rhett’s insides too without realising it. 

You see, what makes me melancholic is that in this perspective Link and even Rhett sound like they were really innocent children - pure souls. But sometimes when someone is by nature or by circumstances so sensitive / innocent / sheltered / isolated, then whatever attacks them first (i.e extreme religious teachings) can fuck them up very easily. Link was innocent enough that he was convinced that as a baby he had committed serious sins that Jesus sacrificed to save him from specifically. Kid Link felt guilty for things he couldn’t even fathom. He was compelled to maintain a relationship with Jesus (which they were both interpretting almost as a regular, literal one) out  of gratitude for his “””redemption””””. Then he lived in constant fear of what could be perceived as sin by God next. Crying because he had a few drinks. Staying (too) away from Christy because he was more “irresponsible” with his previous girlfriend. (At this point I am really curious what Link considered irresponsible / sinful in a romantic relationship but I am afraid of the answer.) We all understand I hope that this isn’t very different from those monks who have an “unholy” thought and then whip themselves until they pass out, right? The reasoning is the same and it’s self-torment. The irony is I think Link probably was doing a pretty solid job as a Christian (even by conservative standards). He sounds like he had unrealistic expectations about his relationship with God. I sensed that he’s still not completely over this. 

After I learned the truth about their “lost years” I was slightly disappointed because I had this dreamy view of a friendship where one quits his job because the other has artistic visions for both of them. It turns out there was even more devotion and loyalty on Link’s part after all. Link stayed in this religious system basically because Rhett did, because he had so much faith and trust in him and he was repressing himself because “surely Rhett is right and it’s just that I am the insufficient one again”. My understanding is that the first signs of Rhett’s scepticism was something Link desperately hoped for for years against all odds. It’s mindblowing for me that Link started distancing himself from the church only after Rhett’s doubts were multiplying and he started being open about them. The amount of respect and trust he has for Rhett could probably be found in novels. 

In order to make a full circle, all this makes it obvious once more that there is trauma - maybe severe - involved. I mean, these incidents alone are traumatic enough and now imagine everything they have not told us. What’s more, Link sounded like there was trauma involved. So did Rhett. For more proof, just watch today’s GMM where Terry prays for Link. Notice Link’s clear discomfort. He felt bad but he didn’t want to make it awkward for poor unsuspecting Terry who was just trying to make a joke. This shows though how easily Link is triggered - Terry clearly pushed all the wrong buttons there - and that means trauma. I don’t have the slightest doubt that Link was 100% sincere when he said a big part of it was his frustration that people dear to him could not be accepted by the Church he was a member of but, let’s be real, it’s a whoooole different thing realising some stuff and making calm decisions to stand by your non-privileged friends and reevaluate your choices than actually almost having a panic attack at the thought of following your family inside a building that happens to be a church. This hints to a personal wound, it is an instictual response for self-protection. Also, we know how adamant Link is to not disappoint and keep the family as united as possible - it is uncharacteristic that he wanted to make a different choice that day instead of, say, go in there with them and simply stand indifferent and not participate. 

They are healing right now. Despite what Link said, I feel they both still yearn very much for a higher force, an almighty spirit. They just need it to be unconditionally loving and accepting and just. Their spiritual journey is not over. 

[jacobseedvaas35]

A Love Like No Other

Jacob Seed X OC Ana Pearce

Warnings: Violence, Smut, Mention of abuse

Word Count: 1708

Chapter Two

Going back home was a bloody nightmare. Tim and Kelly went off their heads when Ana walked through the front door, not knowing that Blake was right behind her. They yelled in her face and Kelly had grabbed Ana's arm so tightly that she was sure there was a bruise already. The moment Blake walked in and yelled back at his parents, Tim and Kelly backed off, letting Ana get past.

"From this day forward, Hannah, Haley and Ana are allowed to leave this house whenever they want" Blake put his foot down to his parents. "They are old enough to look after themselves and do whatever. It's time you two, grew the fuck up".

"I've had enough of your tone Mr. We are your parents, you do not raise your voice or order us on what to do" Tim raised his voice.

"Listen here old man" Blake walked up to his father's face. "Lay a single finger on one of my sisters and I'll break that finger. You understand? If you wanted respect from your children, then you should have never abused them".

Hannah and Haley followed their siblings into Blake's bedroom, curious to know where they had gone.

"So? What does Hope County have for us?" Hannah asked as she sat down next to her brother.

"Other than forests, mountains and lakes. We've got a small town called Falls End. It has a bar and some clothing stores" Ana started explaining. "Oh and a lot of farms".

"And not to mention, a church for a religious cult" Blake smirked.

"Now we're talking" Hannah said. "Keep going".

"Yeah we met the leader. His people call him The Father but he said his name was Joseph Seed" Blake continued to explain. "He has two brothers Jacob and John and a sister, Faith Seed".

"Are they good looking?" Haley asked.

"Yes. The brothers were hot and Faith..."

"She was beautiful" Blake interrupted Ana, as he remembered Faith and her beautiful features.

"Wow. Someone's in love" Hannah joked.

"Joseph said he'd like to meet you two as well. Maybe our awesome brother here, can take all of us next week Sunday to another sermon" Ana informed her sisters.

Blake looked up at Ana and smiled, "my dear sister. Joseph said we can visit him anytime we wanted". He looked at his other two sisters and informed them that he was going to take them to Joseph's church tomorrow and get them to meet the Seed family for themselves.

-

That evening, with the help of her brother, Ana was able to leave the house to go and explore the forests that Holland Valley had. She walked through the forest, looking up at the trees and listening to the birds chirping away. The sun shone through the trees, helping her walk without having to worry about falling. As she continued to walk, she started hearing the sound of the lake's water flowing, as if it was a river instead.

"This is beautiful" she said to herself and started to turn in circles.

"You shouldn't be out here, all alone" a voice from behind her came. Ana jumped with fear and turned around to see the familiar man from the church, stand behind her and leaning against a tree.

"Hope County forest's might be beautiful to explore but the wildlife can be extremely dangerous" the man kept saying. "If you want to explore, you have to bring a weapon with you".

Ana looked down and saw the man holding what looked like, a red rifle in his hand. "Umm" was all she could say, still startled by this giant man.

"You're that girl from the church. Right?" He asked and started approaching Ana slowly.

"Yes" Ana replied back and swallowed hard.

"No need to be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you" he said and stopped right in front of Ana.

He was really tall compared to her. She had to look up a fair bit to get a better look at him. He was even more handsome up close and she was able to make out the colour of his eyes. Light Blue. They were perfect. Ana was finally able to smile at him after realising that he wasn't dangerous or scary.

"So which one are you? John or Jacob" Ana crossed her arms and examined his features. "Wait! Don't answer that. Let me guess... Jacob".

"Correct" Jacob smiled. "I'm Jacob. Oldest brother of the Seed's".

"Nice to meet you Jacob. I'm..."

"Ana. I remember from the church. I might be old but I've got a brain like an elephant" Jacob chuckled a little and started walking past Ana.

"Old? Pfft" Ana giggled.

Jacob stopped in his spot and turned to look at Ana. "47 isn't really young".

"47? Jesus Christ. You look like you're in the 30s" Ana sounded shock. "You're really handsome for a 47 year old Mr Seed".

"Jacob!" He reminded her of his name.

"Sorry. Jacob" Ana smiled.

"So you live in Holland Valley?" Jacob asked, wanting to question her about her family.

"Yep. I wanted to live in Whitetail Mountains but my parents chose this place instead" Ana explained.

"Is that so?" Jacob got close to her again.

"Yeah. On the pamphlet it said Whitetail Mountains had more forests and even mountains" Ana said.

"You like Mountains?" He continued to ask her questions.

Ana nodded with a big smile on her face.

"Interesting. Would you like to go to Whitetail Mountains one day?" Jacob asked.

"Oh I would for sure" Ana was quick to reply. "Could you take me?". She was embarrassed to ask but felt a lot better getting it out off her system.

"You want me to take you to Whitetail Mountain?" Jacob was surprised. No one in this County would have asked him for something like this or for that matter, anything at all.

"Please. I really want to see the mountains" Ana begged. "Plus, it would be a great way to get to know each other. Being new and all to this County, I'd like to make friends. I barely had any in New York".

"I'll give you my number. You let me know when you wanna go and I'll pick you up" Jacob accepted.

Ana jumped with joy, then took her phone out and put Jacob's number in. "Thank you so much Jacob".

"You're welcome but I think I should take you home" Jacob suggested. "It's getting dark and like I said, wildlife in this County, is incredibly dangerous".

"Sounds good" Ana accepted and the both of them walked out off the forest and to Jacob's truck.

-

Jacob had all his windows to his truck opened wide. Ana had rested her arms on the car door and enjoyed the breeze hit her face. It felt amazing and smelt like fresh air. Her long black hair flew around crazily but she didn't care. Jacob couldn't help but glance at her at times. 'She's beautiful' he thought to himself and smiled as he glanced over at her one last time.

"Jacob?" Ana called out to him, then sat back in the passenger seat. "Could you drop me off around here. I don't want my parents to see me in a car with a guy. They'll kill me and I don't think Blake can save me".

Jacob pulled his truck over and looked at Ana. "Your parents sound like bad people. Do they hurt you Ana?".

"Umm. No of course not. They are just trying to be good parents" Ana lied.

"That's not what your brother said at the church. Abusive parents are the worst" Jacob looked out the window. "My brothers copped it from our abusive parents. They've got the marks to prove it but it made them stronger".

"They don't abuse me Jacob but thank you for your concern" Ana said and placed her hand on Jacob's scarred arm. "I'll call you when I want to go to the Mountains. Thank you again Jacob". With that being said, Ana jumped out of the truck and walked the remaining distance, home.

She walked in and was greeted by her brother. The two of them spent the evening speaking about what they did when the four siblings split up. Hannah and Haley had gone to Falls End to shop around while Blake had gone to the bar for a few drinks. Ana explained to her brother about Jacob's generous offer to take her to Whitetail Mountain's to see the mountains and forest it had to offer. Blake thought it would be a good way for his sister to make some friends, since she barely had any friends back in New York. Again, that came down their parents but he was going to make sure his sister made friends here in Hope County.

"I think these Seed's are going to be great people to hang with" Blake said and sat back on the couch. "What do you think?"

"I agree. Jacob looks like a very intimidating person but I like him" Ana said. "He'd be nice to be friends with".

"When are you going to meet up with him again?" Blake asked.

"Maybe Tuesday. He gave me his number and told me to give him a call whenever I wanted to go" Ana replied back. "I'm going to get some sleep. Goodnight".

"Night" Blake responded back and decided to go to bed himself. "What a fucking awesome day".

Laying in bed, Ana couldn't stop thinking about Jacob Seed. In the morning, seeing him for the first time was awkward and uncomfortable. He continually stared at her the whole time but after seeing up closer and talking to him, Ana could help but feel a tingly while thinking about him. He seemed like a really nice guy and he was extremely handsome but the only problem she had with him, was the age. He was almost 50 years old, so hanging out with a much older man, may seem a little disturbing for others.

Ana bit on her lip and smiled, wiping out that memory and thinking about the good things about Jacob. She couldn't wait to hang out and get to know him a lot more. He seemed like a guy full of mysteries and stories.

[scripttorture]

Hi. I'm working on a story set in the mid 1950s, taking place in Hong Kong, and this is a bit complicated. I am looking for some help on a torture that will not work, and a method of torture that was used in WW2 to various effects. The situation is that my protagonist is a freelance investigator and he is captured by a rich Western idiot who honestly believes in "civilised" torture, which is the bit that I know cannot and will not work 1/HK

2/HK The person holding him prisoner decides to use some sort of clean, civilised, and scientific (all the things that do not work and do not exist) as a form of torture. Basically the type of guy who has watched one too many movies. He has a couple of flunkies to help him, who think he is an idiot too, but he pays well. What is going to happen is that after a few sessions of the unworkable my Protag basically laughs in the antagonists face and it ends up with him just losing his temper and3/HK and just starting beating on the protagonist with a lump of wood. The reason the protagonist not only finds the previous "civilised" torture to be ludicrous is that they were previously a POW of the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in the war. So, having set the scene I am asking if you can please give me some info on what my protagonist may have suffered during those years from Singapore to the time of liberation. And4/HK And also, and I acknowledge you might not be able to help here, maybe some ideas for what the antagonist might use as a form of civilised and scientific torture. The sort of thing that is ineffective and which is something that someone raised on the idea of being above such inelegant matters as just trying to beat information out of someone with a lump of wood, until they lose their temper. The antagonist is in their mid 20s and Upper Class English, my protag is in his mid 40s. Thank you.

Ithink I can help you out here. :)

Sofirst off I think you should look Ronald Searle’s book of wardrawings Tothe Kwai and Back.Searle was captured in Singapore shortly after he’d joined theBritish army and he drew his experience, both of the fall ofSingapore and his time as a Japanese POW. This includes depictions oftorture, mutilation, death and starvation.

Manyof the drawings are available online. Sometimes they’re accompaniedby Searle’s summation of the picture and a date. Sometimes not.

Obviouslythey only record one man’s experience, but as a quick visual primerto the experience of Japanese POWs they work very well.

Oneof the things Searle records is that he was moved about quite a bit.Between both prisons and forced labour projects. Searle ended up inChangi at first, but I’m unsure how many non-Western prisoners wereheld there. He also records that an estimated 20,000 Chinese andMalay civilians were killed when the Japanese invaded Singapore. Someof them were shot, others were beheaded and beatings even outside ofimprisonment seem to have been common.

Idon’t know a lot about the cultural factors behind the racistviolence Japan engaged in at this time. But I do know that ethnicChinese people often seem to have borne the brunt of it. It’spossible that particular targetted abuses were used againstparticular groups of people. From the sources I have at the moment Ihaven’t seen anything as a repeated pattern, at least not alongcultural, linguist, religious, racialor ethnic lines.

Thatsaid I know I could have more detailed sources dealing with thatperiod of history. I could be missing something.

Asit is I’m going to suggest things based on a combination of whathappened to people arrested in Singapore at the time and whathappened to captured troops in Singapore.

Starvationwas widespread. Unsanitary and overcrowded prison conditions werecommon. As a result of this combination disease was rife. Infections,parasites, dysentery, diarrhoeal diseases and diseases ofmalnutrition were particularly common.

Unethicalmedical experimentation occurred in Japanese occupied areas but I’venever seen any mention of it in Singapore.

Rejalidescribes the following as reported in Singapore during World War 2.Burning tortures with cigarettes and heated irons, forced kneeling onsharp objects, pumping with water, beatings, suspension, floggingwith knotted ropes or bamboo and electrical torture using a magneto.All of those were common throughout Japanese occupied territory.Additionally there was the practice of putting needles underfingernails, seated stress positions and ‘twisting of limbs’which I’m guessing was similar to the British practice of ‘dorsalflexing’.

There’salso a description of putting ‘sharp edged wood between fingers’but the description isn’t detailed enough for me to feel confidentI know how this was done.

Someof those probably require a little more explanation.

Asfar as I can tell pumping, kneeling on sharp objects, burningtortures and suspension all had a long history in Japan.

I’mnot confident that suspension was analogous to the Italian practicebut I could do with more native Japanese descriptions of the practiceto confirm that. The impression I get is that in Japan victims werebound with their hands in front of them, hoisted up and left there.In Italy victims were bound with their hands behind their backs,hoisted and dropped which dislocated the shoulders and causes furtherdamage as they were hoisted again.

Themethod I think the Japanese were using would also have dislocated theshoulders but this would have happened more slowly.

Kneelingon sharp objects often occurred with weights placed on the top of thevictim’s legs (the upper line if you picture their legs as a

Pumpingis forcing a victim to swallow large amounts of liquid. To the pointof causing visible and very painful swelling in the abdomen. Victimswere sometimes beaten around the gut afterwards or had their legsbent in front of their chests and pressure applied. This could cause-basically liquid to come out of just about every orifice. This is amessy, smelly, painful practice that could be done without leavingobvious outward marks or scars.

Searledoesn’t report pumping. Which doesn’t mean it didn’t occuraround him.

Hedescribes (in Singapore) beatings, starvation, summary executions,forced marches, forced labour, forced standing, exposure to theelements and unsanitary conditions. He notes that the jail he was in,Changi, was not run by the Kempei-tai who controlled Outram Road.Searle’s impression was that few people survived Outram Road.

Ihaven’t got anything definite on Outram Road.

Takingthe general practices Rejali and Searle reports I think it’s safeto say that your torturer character probably wouldn’t considerburning, pumping, beatings or flogging, ‘clean, civilised andscientific’.

Butthere’s a few things the Japanese used that your character wouldprobably consider to be these things andoverlap with British torture practices at the time.

Forcedexercise and stress positions have been practiced by the British fora long time. I’vegot a description of some of the more modern variants here.

Electricaltorture isn’tgenerally common British practice, but a character in this timeperiod, with this background may well consider it more ‘advanced’and want to experiment with it. Which could result in him doingexactly the same thing as the Japanese.

Magnetoswere still relatively common in the 50s. They’re… big metalthings with cranks on the side that were used to generate power forfield telephones and other equipment. As a result they were common inpolice stations and any army units during this period.

Magnetotorture was common in France (and used by the French). It was alsopretty common in America. The result is that a British villain whodidn’t know much about Asian history (recent or otherwise) mightthink of magneto’s as a ‘European’ and ‘advanced’ form ofabuse.

Theexact positions the British tend to use for forced standing aredifferent to the Japanese, but the entire thing is similar enoughthat the victim could easily see his attacker’s posturing as acomplete joke.

Thestress positions and forced exercise in particular have a longhistory in the British army. Which is relevant to your characterbecause many members of the ruling classes in Britain do some armytraining which would expose them to these practices. They were often(and unfortunately still are) used against new recruits.

It’sunlikely the character would realise just how old these practices arein the British army. My experience is that most Brits now aresurprised by how old these practices are. History lessons that are….let’s say concerned with a narrative of progression- tend toemphasise the bloodier punishments of the past and gloss over whenexactly they were phased out.

OverallI think you've got the makings of a good scene here. And potential touse the shared points in Japanese and British modernhistorical torture to further support the scene.

Ihope this helps. :)

Disclaimer

[anthrat]

The Akatsuki members as high-school students

Has this been done before? Probably! Do I care? No, because these are my terrible headcanons and nobody can take them from me.

A/N: This has been in my drafts for a long time, probably since early February. I’ve been lacking motivation to do anything at all for months and lo and behold, I find this basically finished piece bar one character. I really, really want to start writing again but I’m struggling to think of ideas, so if you have any requests for future headcanons/one shots/etc feel free to slide me a message or something :)

He's definitely the generic super intelligent kid who gets straight A's in pretty much every subject. All of his notes are really well organised, he keeps bullet journals and everything is colour coded - mans notes are literal art. His handwriting is definitely beautiful, we're talking professional calligrapher here.

All of his equipment is immaculate, he cries if one of his books gets a crease or something on it somehow. If you accidentally nudge him or ruin his notes he will silently hold a grudge against you forever - he probably won't act on his grudge though, he just wants to blend in and he dislikes conflict in general.

Despite being fully aware of his intelligence he hardly ever speaks up in classes. He only really speaks when spoken to and so is renown as the token quiet kid. I also envision him as being super pretentious, although he doesn't show it he definitely thinks he's better than everyone else.

His favourite subject would be English because he enjoys analysing anything and everything. If you're friends with him he will make comments on how random pieces of media etc. are a representation of -insert important world issue or theory.- He'd also like art despite it being the only subject he's not very good at. All his art is abstract, he will draw a pink square and claim it represents a patriarchal society.

Doesn't have many friends because he isn't very talkative, spends most of his time at school alone doing schoolwork. Sees school purely as an educational setting and so doesn't see the point in making an attempt to be social.

All of his school equipment looks like it's been mauled by 300 dogs because its all second/third/fourth+ hand. Man would never pay full price for a textbook. He definitely steals all the faculty equipment too. You could fill an entire room with the amount of stationary this man has but he will NEVER lend it to anyone else. If he does lend you something it's because its either A) broken B) barely functional (so like pens which can write 2 letters before running out) or C) you're giving him something better in return/paying for it (even then he'll probably take whatever he lent you back without you realising)

He also definitely runs mini-shops in school where he'll sell stolen equipment and things like sweets/chewing gum/trendy items (he made bank when fidget spinners were a thing) for like triple what they're actually worth.

His favourite subject is definitely history (He's a crusty dusty old man so of course) but he will never admit this. He takes business and economics but hates them, he's already done all of his own research into the subjects and is only doing them to get the qualification. Definitely complains about how he already knows it all already and it's a waste of time for him to learn it again. His only conversation topic is him talking about how he's going to set up his own business as soon as he leaves school.

Is very intelligent but only gets average grades in most subjects because he refuses to try if he dislikes the subject or sees it as a waste of time.

Watched DeathNote once and now thinks he's an actual real life version of Light Yagame. Carries around his own DeathNote and threatens to write people's name in it.

Convinced that he's been bestowed with supernatural powers, whenever he speaks he does lots of flashy hand gestures, - think generic cool-dude protagonist poses - these change depending on what piece of media he's currently obsessed with. His personality also changes alongside the poses.

Basically what I'm trying to say is he's the over-saturated 'weird anime kid' with a touch of superiority complex. Although, he's super confident and has absolutely 0 shame in this fact.

Bless his little heart, he loves writing but is the definition of 'uses complicated words without knowing what they mean'. He's still decently smart though. His grades would probably be pretty average because he struggles to apply himself properly. His favourite subject would definitely be something like sociology where he can freely express his profound ideas, even if some of them are completely god awful. He'd also enjoy any subject which gives him creative freedom such as art or English.

Cannot see this lad as anything but a jock. He loves sports, lives and breathes them. He's probably a member of practically every single sports team and is surviving on the basis he has a sports scholarship of some kind.

Despite him being a jock he'd be the most approachable out of all the Akatsuki members. He's the kind of guy who no matter who you are he'd always be happy to crack jokes and talk with you. He definitely brings in way too much food, he's that dude who brings a whole mini banquet to school every day for no discernible reason. He's always happy to share though, he's definitely the kind of guy who if he saw someone sat by themselves at lunch he'd sit with them and offer them food.

His grades would be a little on the lower side because most of his free time is taken up with all his sports, however, he'd still work hard at his academics regardless. If anything this man is probably the most dedicated, he would hate the fact that he's falling behind all his classmates but at the same time would rather die than give up any of his extracurricular activities.

He'd be fairly popular because of his naturally easygoing and humorous nature, but people would rarely ever invite him to events as they'd just assume he was busy.

Konan is an absolute babe, the kindest and most caring person in the whole school. Forgotten your lunch? She'll buy you some or give you her own. Didn't do your homework? Bitch will give you hers to copy, if it's an essay or something she'll sit with you and help you write it. Looking a little upset? Konan's right there to try and cheer you up even if you aren't friends.

Despite how wonderful and 100/10 a person she is she probably won't have many close friends. She'll get used a lot by others who take advantage of her good nature. She's smart enough to know what they're doing but she doesn't care, she's happy to be of help to anyone even if they don't appreciate it.

She's a bit of a teachers pet though, she's on super good terms with every teacher in the school even if she doesn't take the subjects they teach. Most of her breaks/lunches would be taken up by her helping with display boards or whatever.

Her favourite subject would be geography, she'd really enjoy learning about different cultures and societies. I can see her just really enjoying learning about how rivers are formed and stuff like that as well. Her least favourite would be something like math which is only fact based, she enjoys being able to look at things from different perspectives.

Also bitch would bake all the time, literally every lesson she'd whip out a box of cakes/cookies/anything else she'd baked the night before to share with the whole class.

Carries knives around with him because he thinks they make him look cool. He can and will whip one out at any given opportunity so he can flex a knife trick on you. His knife tricks suck though, he always drops them or cuts himself, if you try and walk away he'll beg you to stay claiming that fortieth time's the charm or something.

He never shows up to lessons, he doesn't even know what one is. If you ever ask him what subjects he takes he'll look at you blankly and ask what you mean. If he ever is in a lesson it's because he was dragged there by a member of staff. Honestly, the few lessons he's actually present for are so chaotic teachers find themselves praying he doesn't show up. Being as he never willingly shows up he'll never know what subject it is, and he'll ask insanely bizarre questions un-ironically because he gives no fucks and has no idea what is happening. For example, you'll be learning about arteries in biology and he'll ask something like "What ingredients do we need?" because he'll have confused arteries with artichoke and think he's in a home economics lesson.

Despite being the weird knife kid he's pretty popular, he's so completely brain dead and unaware of his surroundings that its impossible not to get along with him. He doesn't have the critical thought to bully anyone and so even if he tries to be horrible it always comes off as though he's just trying to be funny.

Oh dear oh lord what can I say about Zetsu? Zetsu is an absolute shit show of a student. Black Zetsu I can see as being very academic focussed, with their favourite subjects being religion, politics and some form of economics. I imagine they’d be very active within school politics/religious scenes, probably the head of some sort of group for both.

Black Zetsu would also be interested in applying for positions such as Head of Year, Class Representative and anything similar. They’re a big control freak and as a result have basically 0 friends. People would find them overbearing and awful to be around. They’re the incredibly opinionated kid who dismisses anything which they don’t personally agree with.

White Zetsu on the over hand, hoo boy. Class clown obviously. The living bane of Black Zetsu. If Black Zetsu wants class representative then you know people will vote for white Zetsu instead because he’s infinitely more popular. He’s incredibly weird but in such an innocent and goofy way they’d have a large group of friends. They wouldn’t be popular per say, but they’d be friends with practically everyone.

Their favourite subject would probably be biology because sex jokes, but I also think they’d enjoy English because uhh… Sex jokes. I just can’t see White Zetsu taking school even slightly seriously.

He basically lives in the art department. If you walk near him he will tag along and start talking to you about art, it doesn’t matter who you are you will be forced to listen to his speech.

Incredibly confident and has no issue starting a conversation with anyone. He's definitely the type of person who every time you see him he'd be with a completely different group of people, whether they want him there or not.

Despite his weird constant art rants he'd be the life and soul of the party. He's always fun to be around purely because of how much energy he has. He'd be the kid who makes everyone laugh completely on accident, although people would probably be laughing more at him than with him.

He'd probably get invited to lots of places by other kids just so he could be the butt of every joke. He wouldn't mind though, he'd brush it off and probably enjoy the attention he gets from it.

Most of his friends would end up being people who know nothing about art though, all the students who participated in any artistic subjects would stay far away in fear of him starting another argument about art.

If the art class ever does clay his has to be put in the kiln separately because it always blows up. He also has a habit of 'accidentally' damaging other people's art if he dislikes it. Eventually he would mellow out and start appreciating other forms.

Nobody knows who he is, people will have sat next to him for years and won't even know his name. The amount of times his name is called in the register and people will pipe up with "who's that?" or "didn't he move to another school?" is genuinely concerning. He doesn't care though, he'd rather go through school completely unnoticed.

Excels at all subjects (besides sports, he's never showed up to a PE lesson because of 'health reasons') despite putting very little effort into academics. His favourite subjects would be biology and math. He'd absolutely hate art as a subject, preferring to do art in his free time rather than make it into a chore at school. He'd have been put in Deidara's class at least once and it would have completely ruined all enjoyment of art as a subject for him. He'd also hate any subjects which prompt discussion such as English or sociology, he doesn't have any opinions on them and he doesn't care to listen to anyone else's.

Honestly, dude is the definition of a background character at school. He just simply does not exist, and I have mad respect for him. On the off chance anyone even tried to speak to him he'd probably completely ignore them, the only communication he has at school is through emails with teachers. He has 0 interest in making friends when they have nothing in common with him.

Another character sort of hard to pinpoint. He’d probably be somewhat similar to White Zetsu, but not quite as popular. He’d be a right teachers pet, with few friends his own age. He’d probably spend spend all his breaks and lunches with teachers in their classrooms, offering to help them with display boards etc.

Despite being a teachers pet he wouldn’t be academic whatsoever. He’d always try his best but bless him, he’s terrible at every subject and ends up constantly making a fool of himself. He’s definitely the sort to raise his hand to make a really great point, but his really great point is basically repeating the lesson objective. When studying of mice of men he definitely asked “what’s the name of Curly’s wife’s husband?”

His favourite subject, regardless of his ineptitude would be drama. He’d always be the most melodramatic and over the top in every character he played, not really caring what other people thought of him. In fact, that’s probably his best feature. Despite his lack of popularity he’d always unapologetically be himself, his goofy and over the top self.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

If we’re thinking more about Obito, I’d like to imagine for the sake of this headcanon Tobi is what he’s like during lower school years and then suddenly one summer he comes back and he’s completely matured into this foreign character unrecognisable to nobody.

He’d become incredibly serious, forgoing the role of energetic teachers pet to a much more muted one. He’d still be just as terrible at all his lessons, and still spend most of his time around teachers rather than others his age but he’d no longer have that fun spark. He’d probably start caring greatly about what people thought of him so his latter years would be trying to stay under the radar completely.

[jacobseedvaas35]

Befriended

(Chapter 2: The Neighbour)

Word Count: 1154

@chobit92

Isabella had a good sleep in, when she woke up and saw the time, she flew out off bed. The Sheriff was going to be over soon and she hasn't even had anything to eat. But one thing was on her mind, why did Sheriff Whitehorse want to talk about Jacob Seed with her? Was there something she had to know?

She shook her head, walked out of her bedroom and stretched out her whole body. "God that was a good sleep in. And look at that, the suns out again". With saying that, Isabella walked outside, forgetting that she was still in her short nightgown. She walked to her mailbox and checked to see if she had any mail.

"How's it going neighbour?" A familiar voice said.

Isabella turned around and came eye to eye with Jacob Seed. "Oh, good morning. How are you?".

"Not too bad. My, aren't you a sight for sore eyes" Jacob said in a flirty way.

Isabella looked down and finally realised that she walked out in her nightgown. "Oops" she said and blushed.

"Hey don't be embarrassed, it happens when you are still half a sleep" Jacob said and walked past her. "See you around neighbour" he said again and walked off, leaving Isabella red in the face.

“God, he went from being a jerk to a tease" Bella laughed and walked back inside. "I better change before the Sheriff gets here".

-

An hour later, Sheriff Whitehorse finally arrived. Isabella told him to make himself comfortable, while she got them both coffee to drink while they talked.

"Thank you for last night again Sheriff"

"That's quite alright. We do have to look after each other, after all" the Sheriff said. "Listen Rookie, I'm not going to stall or make you wait any longer. The reason why I had you relocated here to Hope County was because I needed someone young and attractive".

"Umm..ok but why?" Isabella was confused. Why did he need someone young and attractive? And did he just admit that she was attractive?

"I've tried older women as well but it seems like Jacob finds younger women more attractive"

"Oh right. This was about my neighbour wasn't it? But I am so confused Sheriff?"

"Let me explain. A year ago, Jacob and his two brothers were bad guys. They had a religious cult, who fought anyone and everyone. We've lost many people because of them. We had another young and attractive Deputy who fought against the Seed's but we realised that they actually liked her a lot." The sheriff explained. "The day the war ended was the same day that the Deputy died. After that, Jacob's two brothers John and Joseph, turned to good guys and we want to believe that Jacob has too but he keeps to himself a lot".

"And I believe, that's where I come in?" Isabella asked, starting to understand everything now.

"Yes. I'm going to give you a secret mission. No ones allowed to know. This is going to be between you and me. Got it?"

"Sure. So what's the mission?"

"I need you to befriend Jacob Seed. Get as close as you can, with him and try to find out if he is good or if he is still a bad guy. I don't care how you do it Rook, just as long as you get Jacob Seed on our side" the Sheriff explained the mission.

Isabella thought about it for a second. She already know how hard this mission was going to be, especially since she's seen Jacob's bad side a few times. "I'll do my best".

"Please Rookie. Do whatever you have to but please, do be careful as well"

"I will Sheriff. Don't worry. What else should I know about Jacob Seed?" Isabella asked, hoping that the Sheriff would give her more details about Jacob.

"We don't know a lot about Jacob but Joseph's told us that he had a very rough past. Especially in his army days but Joseph has made it clear that we should never mention anything to Jacob. Getting him angry means we push him away. That's why I suggest that you don't mention anything about his army days or ask about his past. If Jacob feels comfortable enough, he might even tell you himself" the sheriff said and stood up. "You've got your very first mission Rook. Like I said don't tell anyone. Not even Hudson or Pratt. You come to work every day, acting normal and leave everyday still acting normal. One mistake could put this whole mission into jeopardy".

"I understand Sheriff. You don't have to worry" Isabella assured him and walked him out.

"See you on Monday Rookie"

"Likewise Sheriff. Have a great weekend".

As the Sheriff walked to his truck, Isabella looked to the left and saw Jacob cutting some wood. The best part of it, was the fact that he was topless. "Oh my god. My neighbour is fucking hot" she said to herself, only to realise that Jacob was staring at her.

"You enjoying the view?" He yelled out to her.

Isabella immediately blushed and made her way over to Jacob. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare at you. What are you doing?".

"Chopping up some wood for the fireplace. Looks like the weather is going to change and I like being prepared" Jacob explained to her. "Sheriff was over again?".

"Yep. Had to give me some paperwork. Haven't been here for more than a day and he is already piling on all the work" Isabella said.

"I'm surprised he didn't drag you to work today" Jacob joked.

"I'm glad he didn't. My feet still hurt from all the unpacking" she smiled. "Hey I was actually wondering, if you are free tonight, why don't you come over for dinner. I'm going to go to the store soon and buy some steaks. Seeing that you like meat so much, I thought it would be a great idea".

"Thanks for the offer but...."

"No buts. Please. It'll be great and we can get to know each other a bit" Isabella said, cutting him off.

"I'll think about it".

"You'll come and that's it".

"You're very pushy".

"Jacob, every time we see each other, you cut our talks short and run off. I always tell myself that maybe your just busy but then i come across you shortly after. I just want to have a nice long chat and get to know you. After all, we are neighbours".

Jacob sighed and looked at Bella, "what time?".

"6pm. I'll have the dinner ready"

"Alright then, I'll see you tonight" Jacob said, a small smirk appearing on his face.

"Great. See you tonight then" Isabella said and rushed off to her home.

Jacob watched her and shook his head in annoyance, "this ones going to be a handful" he said to himself and continued to chop his wood.