#when he started staying rogue fan i was so confused he was so serious at the start

[yrsonpurpose]

george russell vs the rogue australian fan:

#george russell #daniel ricciardo #f1 #f1edit #canadian gp 2023 #formula 1 #mine* #LMFAOOOO AKLD they are incredibly unserious #when he started staying rogue fan i was so confused he was so serious at the start #good ol russel george #so glad someone captured this moment

[mochegato]

Hope on Board

Chapter 12 – Pretending to Be Functional Adults

 Chapter 1     Chapter 11

“Oh my God”

“What?” Dick came running out of the bathroom, his hair still dripping from the water in the shower and a towel around his shoulders and waist.

“Did you buy every pregnancy book in the bookstore?”  She gave him a teasing smile.

He rubbed the back of his neck before pulling his soaking wet hand away and drying it and his hair with his towel.  “Yeah, I um… wanted to be prepared.  I’ve only gone through a few.”

“I can’t believe you’ve gone through two already.  I haven’t even made it through one.”  She made her way over to him and took the towel from him, using it to gently dry his hair for him.  

He looked at her adoringly and wrapped his arms around her.  “I just want to know what to expect and make sure I’m giving you the support you need.”

“90% of parenting is being there and supporting them.  You are going to be a great father,” she assured him gently.  “I can see it in the way you interact with your family and talk about the kids you teach, how you interact with Rachel when you visit.”

“I really hope you’re right. And I can’t wait to see you as a mom. I know you’ll be amazing but I still can’t wait to see you rocking our baby and cuddling our baby, putting our baby down for the night before coming to bed…” he pulled her closer and leaned down suggestively as he said it.

Marinette squeaked and covered his face with the towel before he could see the deep blush that settled on her cheeks.  She wasn’t fast enough though, judging by the way Dick’s chest rocked with laughter and the way his arms tightened around her.  He gave her a peck on the lips before going back to get dressed.

Marinette turned back to his bookshelf with a quiet, “Should have grabbed the other towel too.”  To distract herself from her mind going down that road, she continued looking over the books, movies, and cd’s on his shelf.

When he returned a few minutes later, she glanced up at him quickly before looking back at the CDs. “I didn’t realize you had such an extensive Jagged Stone collection.  Oh, I still have your shirt too, don’t I?  I’ll return it next time I see you.”

“Keep it,” he grinned at her and waggled his eyebrows.  “I’d really like to see you in it… and nothing else.”

She blushed and looked down to collect her thoughts.  Instead her focus got caught on something else.  She started giggling and looked back up to Dick.  “Are those your slippers?”  She eyed the fuzzy bunny slippers on his feet.

He grinned back.  “They are.  I love these slippers.  They are extremely comfortable.  Maybe if you’re really lucky, I’ll get you a pair too.”

She rolled her eyes at him, “Be still my heart.  So romantic.” She giggled and wrapped her arms around his waist.  “Did you want to go with me to his concert in a few weeks?”

“You have tickets?” He exclaimed louder than he meant to.  “I mean, sorry.  How did you get tickets?  I tried to get tickets but they sold out before I could get to a computer.”

“Yeah, well kind of.  I have backstage passes,” she answered shyly. “My friends are coming to visit that week so it would be going with all of us.  You’d be meeting my friends at the same time.”

Dick gaped at her. “I’d love to meet your friends, but Marinette, how did you get backstage passes?  And you just happen to have an extra one?”

She cocked her head to the side, confusion clear.  “I… Tim didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“Do you know the name of the artist you liked who does all his album covers and some of his costumes?”

Dick looked at her suspiciously.  “Yeah, kind of.  I know they go by MDC.”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng…” Dick stared at her dumbfounded.  “That’s what caught Tim’s attention for the partnership in the first place.  I can’t believe he didn’t tell you.”

“No.  I asked him not to.  He did a background check on you before the partnership and…” he cringed as the words left his mouth, “a more thorough one after the pregnancy.  Sorry.  But I asked them not to tell me anything.  I figured we should learn that stuff together.”

She beamed up at him and pulled him down for a quick kiss.  She stayed cuddled in his arms and looked up at him with a mischievous smile, “So is this a bad time to mention I was given a full briefing on you and your history after my friend discovered who you were?”  Dick looked at her for a few moments unsure how to react.  

Marinette giggled. “I’m kidding.” Her face suddenly turned serious.  “It was actually two friends, coming from two very different perspectives.” Dick opened his mouth to say something and shut it again, uncertain if she was serious or not. Marinette smiled shyly.  “Or at least they wanted to.  I had the same reaction you did.  I thought it was unfair and we should get to know each other on our own.  Although if there was anything I needed to know, they could tell me that.”

Dick nodded.  “That makes sense.  I’m pretty sure that was the deal with my family too.  Even if I didn’t want to know, if there was anything extremely concerning, they would have told me.”

Marinette cocked her head to the side and studied him for a moment.  “And my best friend and current roommate’s father being a supervillain terrorist wasn’t considered concerning or you were just waiting for me to mention it?”

Dick furrowed his eyebrows and rested on the arm of the couch, examining her in an attempt to figure out if she was telling the truth this time or teasing him again.  But the earnestness and nervousness in her eyes told him it was the truth.  “It wouldn’t have been considered concerning unless Adrien showed signs of having helped him.  Since nobody mentioned it, I have to assume he didn’t.”

Marinette shook her head frantically, her eyes now pleading.  “He didn’t.  He… it was a really big blow to him to know his father had done that to not only all of his friends but him… that he cared that little for him.”  She looked away as if trying to steel herself for something. Dick tensed in anticipation for what she was going to say.  

“That’s one of the reasons I think he is so excited for the baby.  He is so excited to be an uncle, to shower our baby with so much love and acceptance.  Even before we knew he was Hawkmoth, Gabriel was a crap father.  Always judging, always cold, always putting Adrien down. His only value to him was what he could bring to the brand.  It was a completely loveless life.  He wants to make sure our baby has that.  It would kill him if he couldn’t see the baby or if we didn’t trust him around the baby.”

Dick reeled back in realization.  That was why she was so nervous.  She was afraid when he found out about Adrien’s father, he would ban him from hanging around his child.  He smiled gently and pulled Marinette closer until she was standing between his legs and wrapped in his arms.  “I would never blame the child for the sins of the parent,” he assured her.  “Remind me to tell you about Damian’s mother sometime, when he’s comfortable with me talking about it.  And Stephanie.  Her father is Cluemaster.  He’s one of our rogues.  He’s done a lot of damage, responsible for a lot of deaths.  I have never thought less of Steph and I won’t of Adrien.” His voice was gentle and comforting.

Marinette looked up at him tears falling out of her eyes, so filled with appreciation, it pushed the tears out.  She lunged at him in a desperate hug, causing both of them to fall onto the couch. Dick chuckled affectionately, but kept his arms tight around her.  After a few seconds his face became serious again.  “Is that… is that why Adrien doesn’t like me?”

Marinette pulled away from him just far enough to cock her head to the side as though confused, but the sudden tension in her frame confirmed his suspicions.  “What makes you say that?”

“He just seems slightly hostile toward me.  Not really welcoming.” Dick shrugged as though it was a small thing.  She could dismiss it if she wanted to, or they could talk.  He was letting her decide.

Marinette sighed and leaned her head back on his chest, staring out the window as she started to speak. “He… he takes his role of protector very seriously.  During those attacks, we were usually right by each other.  We had a main group of four through most of it. Nino took care of Alya, they were dating back then, I mean, they still are, but… yeah, anyway.  So that left me and Adrien to watch each other… and for some reason a ridiculous number of akumas targeted either him or me.” She fumbled for the words.  She did not want to lie, but she couldn’t exactly tell the truth either so she settled on a half-truth.  

“So we watched out for each other.  We protected each other.  We’ve saved each other’s lives so many times.  We died for each other.  Him… him more than me… a lot more.  And now, he still has that mentality.  I’m his family.  He needs to protect me like his father never did for him.  And you just kind of snuck in.  He thought he’d get the chance to have an opinion on my romantic interests and now you’re in my life, our lives for the rest of our lives because of the baby. So it doesn’t matter what he thinks of you, it doesn’t even matter what I think of you, one way or another, you are in our lives forever.

“And he’s just worried about you walking away or being like his father.”  She worked her arms under her chest so she could angle her face to look at him.  She looked at him, sincerity clear in her eyes.  “He doesn’t know you.  When he does, he’ll relax.  I’m sorry he didn’t make you feel welcome.”

Dick reached up and tucked some hair that had fallen in her face behind her ear.  “That explains why you understood Damian so well and were so comfortable with his attitude.”

She chuckled and leaned into his hand.  “Yeah, a bit of similarities there.”

Dick nodded.  “I can accept that.  I have to earn his trust.  We’ll have to hang out more and maybe you with Damian.”

Marinette smiled and nodded. “I like that idea.  Maybe we can make a plan for it while we eat?  I’m starving.”

Dick grimaced and looked toward his kitchen.  “Yeah… maybe we should go out for breakfast… unless you’re a fan of cereal… but I’m not sure if my milk is still good.”

Marinette blinked a few times.  “You have no food in your apartment?  How do you… eat… like not even snacks?  Last time I was here you had food.”

He shrugged sheepishly. “I asked Steph to bring food over while you were sleeping last time.  Probably going to need to change that before the baby comes, huh?”

She pushed off of him to stand up and offered him a hand.  “How are you considered a functional adult?” She shook her head affectionately.

“I never made any such claims.  That’s on you for assuming.” He grinned at her.

She laughed and pulled him toward the door.  “Come on, we’re going to get breakfast then get you some groceries and I’m going to teach you to make at least one dish.”

He grimaced.  “I should warn you, I’ve been banned from the kitchen by Alfred more than once.  It might not be as easy as you think.”

She gave him a cheeky grin. “I’m a very good teacher.  I’ve already taught one hopeless, rich boy to cook, I can teach another.  Just make sure to pay attention.  There’s a test at the end.”

Dick stopped and pulled her back into his arms.  He lowered his head so he was barely a few centimeters from her ear, his warm breath brushing against her ear.  “And what do I get if I pass,” he asked huskily.

Marinette took a deep breath and slowly let it out, hoping to calm her thundering heart.  It was unfair he could affect her like that with just a few words.  She looked up at him from under her lashes.  “You get to not starve.” He pouted but quickly morphed into a smile when she pulled him down so her lips were now just centimeters from his lips. “But, if you’re a very good student, I might give you a reward.”  She smirked and started walking away.

Dick stared after her in a daze.  He waited a few seconds for his heart to calm down.  “Okay, but it isn’t the same reward you gave your other student, right?” he called after her.  “Right, Mari? Mari?”  She giggled and kept walking.

After a few hours of getting to know what Dick liked and might like to try, and buying the essentials for a functioning kitchen, they finally returned back to his place.  They had just gotten everything put away when Dick’s phone started ringing with a very distinctive ring.  “Damn it,” he cursed under his breath.  “Give me just a second.”  He gave her an apologetic look and walked back to his bedroom to talk.

He came back out a few minutes later with a deeply guilty look.  “I’m so sorry.  Something came up at work, an emergency they need my help with.”

Marinette gave him a concerned look.  “On a Saturday?  Is everything okay?”

“Yeah.  No.  It’ll be fine.  I just need to take care of a few things.  I should… I should be done by dinner if you wanted to stay here.  I don’t think we have time for a lesson today, but maybe you could do it tomorrow?  And tonight we could go out and get something.”

Marinette smiled. “That sounds like fun.  Are you sure you’re okay with me staying here while you’re gone?”

“Absolutely,” he assured her.

She nodded and beamed at him. “Okay.  I might run home to change though.  I wasn’t exactly expecting to spend last night here and might want new clothes.”

He looked down at her clothes, making no secret of him checking her out as he did it.  “Or, you could just walk around naked.”

She giggled and pushed his face away.  “Not while you’re not here.  Where’s the fun in that?”

He nodded in agreement. “Good point.  Here,” he rummaged through a drawer in his kitchen and pulled out a key.  “Take this. You can run home and come back and hang out here while I’m out.”

She looked between him and the key a few times.  “Are you sure.”

He shook his head and pulled her into his arms again.  “About you? Absolutely.  Now I have to go or I’m going to be late.”  He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and ran out the door.

<><><><><> 

He hated the Court of Owls. He hated them.  They never made things easy or straightforward.  Whatever they were planning was going to be big and it seemed like he and the other Titans couldn’t get any insight into it.  Every time they got a hint, something happened. He couldn’t figure out if the Court figured out they knew and backed off that plan or if his information was wrong or if he was just misinterpreting it.  They couldn’t get a foothold into it and it was driving him crazy.

He unlocked his door and threw his keys on the counter, freezing at the sight at the table.  There was an amazing looking plate of food, probably ice cold by now, waiting for him.  “Fuck,” he cursed quietly and ran his hand back and forth through his hair, mentally berating himself for being such an inconsiderate, thoughtless asshole.  He had completely forgotten Marinette was going to wait here for him.  It looked like she had even made dinner for him before giving up and going home.  He was going to have to do something huge to make this up to her.  And God, Adrien was going to think he was right about him.

He moved over to the couch to collapse and call Marinette, but found her there instead, fast asleep on his couch, her empty plate of food on the coffee table.  At least she hadn’t waited for him, he bitterly mused to himself. That would have made him feel even worse than he already did.  He watched her as she laid there in the shirt she had borrowed after their first night together, hand protectively placed over her tiny baby bump.  She looked so peaceful and sweet and perfect.  He looked down and huffed out a quiet laugh seeing his slippers on her feet.

He lightly traced her cheek and jaw, feeling his heart swell.  He still could not believe he was somehow lucky enough for her to come into his life in the first place, but the fact she wanted to be there with him was overwhelming.  He furrowed his brow as a thought occurred to him.  Whatever the Court was planning, it was going to be big.  What if it was something in Gotham?  What if Marinette got caught up in it?  He didn’t think he could survive losing her and the baby. He had given her his key for a reason. He hadn’t planned on asking for it back. He already couldn’t imagine his life without her there in some capacity.  He didn’t know if it was love yet, but he knew she made his days brighter.

He needed to protect them. He needed to work harder.  He had to figure out the Court’s plan and end it before they could get started so they would never have the chance to hurt her or the baby.  He needed to double his efforts and stop messing around.  He needed to… “Dick?” the sleepy mumble brought him from his thoughts.

He gave her a soft, apologetic smile.  “Hey, beautiful.  I’m so sorry. Things took so much longer than I expected.  I should have called.  I’m sorry.”

Marinette yawned as she shook her head.  “No, it’s… you were working.  I’m out later than I expect for work all the time.  I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to fall asleep.  That’s kind of creepy.” She sat up and looked groggily around.  Her eyes found his food on the table.  “I’m sorry.  I meant to put your food somewhere so you could reheat it when you had the chance to eat.”

“Marinette,” he let out a frustrated sigh.  “You didn’t do anything wrong.  It wasn’t creepy.  I asked you to stay here.  It’s fine. You have nothing to apologize for. I do.  I let you wait for me without giving you any updates.  I’m so sorry.”  He looked around quickly, trying to formulate a plan.  “Hey, do you want to sleep here again tonight?  I can drive you home if you want, but if you want to stay here, we can just cuddle tonight?  I need to take a shower and eat something really quickly, but you can go to bed now and I can join you when I’m done?”

Marinette looked at him unsure, her eyes still not completely open.  “Are you sure?”

Dick smiled at her and gently ran his thumb over her cheek again.  “I would love it.  I like having you in my apartment.  It makes it feel more like a home.  And I love waking up to you.  Here,” he picked her up in a bridal hold, “let me carry you so you can go back to sleep quicker.”

Marinette smiled sleepily and snuggled into his chest, resting her head in the crook of his neck. “This is a good way to travel.  We should do this more often.”

Dick’s smile widened at the idea.  “That’s a promise.”

Chapter 13

Tags:

@dickinette-february @demonicbusiness @ichigorose @iloontjeboontje @ladybug-182 @toodaloo-kangaroo @dast218 @golden-promises @trippingovermyfeet @emimar7 @laurcad123

#maribat #Dickinette February #dickinette #platonic jasonette #platonic adrienette #Hope on Board #Knocked Up AU #prompt - slippers

[stories-to-tell-by-lantern-light]

Who Am I Really?

(Eyeless Jack X Reader)

Iron was all he could taste, as he hugged his arms close to his chest. The white snow that speckled the forest floor contrasted greatly with his newly acquired ash-grey skin. He could feel blood crusting under his fingernails, he could feel the sting of the cold snow underneath his bare feet as he walked. Whatever they did to him, he was no longer human that much was clear, his feet turned more animal-like and had ripped through his old shoes. If he was being honest with himself he knew that from the moment he awoke and could still see that he was no longer human.

Jack Nichols shivered as he caressed the hollow sockets where his eyes should’ve been. They were dripping with the black tar that was mercilessly poured in there by Jenny and her cult.

‘That absolute fucking bitch.’ He thought, and an animal-like snarl tore through his throat. He could feel the stretching and popping of his jaw as he ground his teeth together. Killing her and her stupid friends was therapeutic to him, remembering the taste of their blood as it filled his mouth when he tore out their throats made him feel euphoric. Pausing his steps only for a brief moment he let those memories of eating their flesh and organs consume him, it only served to make his mouth water.

What was wrong with him? Why did that memory, which happened only hours ago, make him so god damn hungry? What exactly had they done to him, as much as he tried not to dwell on that thought the hunger that ate away at him even after the slaughter was almost too much to handle. All Jack wanted when he woke up this morning was to go on a date with a cute girl, get a little drunk, and maybe get lucky (though realistically that was just wishful thinking). The true college experience one might say, even for a med student. Especially with a schedule as busy as his...that was as busy as his. He knew he should’ve just stuck to focusing on school and studying his brain out, god why did he have to listen to his friends as they urged him on the date.

‘What’s the worst that can happen?’

This. This was clearly the worst possible outcome.

What he really couldn’t believe, however, was that he allowed one of the cultists to get a hit on him, and a bad one at that. Turning his head to glance down at the tear in his thigh, it was a deep gash that desperately needed to get medical attention and fast. The only problem the former medical student faced was that whatever was pouring out of his leg wasn’t blood. It was a deep black ooze that stained the white snow that littered the forest floor. In fact, Jack wasn’t even sure if normal medical supplies would even heal his wound. Jack grit his teeth trudging onwards into the forest, a faint buzzing reverberated around in his skull like flies buzzing around a corpse that he couldn’t seem to shake.

He placed his hand against a tree the world spinning around him. Whatever the blood-like substance that was pouring out of his leg was, he was losing it fast. Jack heard the crunching of snow in front of him and a small gasp. It took most of his strength but he picked his head up and snarled. Jack bared his teeth and tried to make himself look as dangerous as possible, he felt like a wild animal that was cornered by the hunter. There was a girl in front of him, she had (h/l) (h/c) hair that was stuffed under a furry winter hat. She took a few steps back, her brown snow boots making giant footprints in her wake. He could hear the blood flowing through this girl’s veins, as her anxiety levels seemed to spike. The anxiety caused her heartbeat to quicken drastically, hearing the sound only served to increase Jack’s seemingly ceaseless hunger. Jack tried to take another step towards her, flexing the sharp nails on his hands but collapsed under his own weight, his fucking leg. He really couldn’t catch a break, could he?

“What are you?” The girl’s voice held a slight quiver to it and Jack could feel her sharp eyes burning holes into his body. He watched as she hesitantly took a step closer, her (f/c) parka standing out against the muted colors of the forest.

“I don’t know.” He responded with a raspy breath, she smelled divine but he had no strength to attack. Something in his bones told him that he was beyond human, something so much more, a god perhaps? What a silly thought that he couldn’t shake away. Through his quickly blurring vision, he swore he could make out a pair of fancy dress shoes a little bit behind the girl. He saw the girl drop to her knees and cover her ears, his vision went black and the sound of static accompanied the darkness.

---

Jack was expecting to be dead. He expected to be accompanied by beautiful white light, maybe an angel or something. However, it caught him very off guard when he suddenly awoke in a rather plush bed. He threw the plaid covers off himself unceremoniously and moved to swing his legs over the side of the bed. The baby god never got far because he let out a howl of pain as a sharp sensation traveled up his thigh. Shit right, his entire upper thigh was practically ripped open. He forgot all about that, glancing down at his wound he noticed it was wrapped tightly in medical bandages and he assumed it was stitched up underneath the dressings. Whoever fixed the wound seemed to have done at least a semi-decent job, at least he wasn’t dead. Sniffing the air with his newly acquired sense of smell he could make out the distinct smell of humans and...was that lavender?

Jack felt his stomach growl and he doubled over clutching it. They smelled delicious. He could practically hear their organs singing out to him, rip open the human, steal us, devour us.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the door opening, in the middle of the doorway stood the exact girl he’d seen in the forest. Immediately going on the defense he bared his teeth opening his jaw as wide as he could, he heard the popping sound of his jaw as it extended, he felt something swirl around in his mouth. He felt a chill run down his spine at the unwelcomed sensation.

Did he have more than one tongue?

Shaking the thought away Jack didn’t move to attack, he was never the type. He would always rather listen to rationality before getting his hands dirty, the only issue was he was starving and the girl would absolutely make a fine meal.

“Don’t try demon.” The girl scoffed eyeing Jack up and down, if he was still his old college self he would’ve gotten flustered at the gesture. A girl showing him attention? Unheard of back them. However, after Jenny, he was almost positive he’d never let that happen again. His sockets looked down at what the girl held in her hands, it was a plate, a plate that had kidneys on top of it. He was only mildly aware of the fact that he was drooling all over himself. “Oh gross.” She scrunched up her nose placing the organs on the bottom of the bed.

Without hesitation, Jack attacked the cold meat shoving it in his mouth with vigor. He knew blood was all over his face and hands but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Jack knew the girl’s calculated eyes were watching his every move, even so, he couldn’t help but let out a groan of pleasure as the food slid down his throat. Once the meal was finished and Jack was satisfied he finally felt he had enough strength to start asking questions.

“Who are you?” He rasped, whipping his mouth with the back of what was left of his sleeve.

“Really? You’re asking ME that question.”

“I’m not a fan of your attitude.”

“I’m not a fan of you bleeding out on my property.”

Jack growled low and guttural.

“Don’t make me hurt you.” The girl had the audacity to laugh in his face was she not aware of what he was capable of now?

“Nice try but I’m not scared of you. You’re not allowed to hurt me as long as you’re under my care.” She pointed to herself with her thumb, puffing out her chest a little however he could hear her pulse increase just the slightest bit.

Jack only scowled.

“What pray tell is exactly stopping me?” He raised an eyebrow watching carefully as the girl lifted up her sleeve to her sweater. Scared into her wrist was a symbol that Jack had never seen before in his life, but for some unknown reason, he felt dread wash over him. Carved into her wrist was an O with an X slashed through it. “What’s that supposed to prove exactly? That you’re into weird tattoos?”

The (h/c)-ette let out a loud sigh like this conversation was boring her. Oh he’s sorry it’s not his fault he was turned into a fucking organ-eating monster by a cult at his local college! If he still had his eyes they would be rolling so far back into his skull, yet he still waited for the girl to explain.

“My name is (y/n), I’m a medical proxy under The Operator. Currently one of the only ones he has left because we keep getting killed off by rogue killers.” The girl, (y/n), clicked her tongue in clear distaste at the mention of said killers. “Since I’m under The Operator it means if you kill me, he’ll kill you, that’s the deal Jacky boy.” That put him on high alert.

“How the fuck do you know my name?”

“You’re certainly full of questions for someone just waking up out of a coma. If you must know The Operator gave me a brief rundown of your file after we found you in the woods.” (Y/n) crossed her arms over her chest “It’s your lucky day because you just got hired to work for him.” She gave him a round of applause, but it sounded more mocking than serious and he only grew more confused.

“This doesn't make any sense to me. I hope you’re aware.”

“I’m sure it isn’t. It’ll all be explained in due time. For now, all you have to focus on is getting better so you can begin your training. Lucky for you, I’m your registered nurse and caregiver, so enjoy your stay at castle de la (Y/n). Trust me when I say you should value your time here while you still have it.” A thousand more questions ran through Jack’s mind and his little question and answer session with his self-proclaimed nurse didn’t really help.

“So you’re a med student then?” She made a noise of affirmation picking at the strings of her sweater.

“Was a med student Jack, that pretty much came to a screeching halt after I was scouted by the boss man. That, however,” He watched as (Y/n) put a hand to her lips signaling him to stop asking questions, “Is a story for another day. The first order of business now that you’ve eaten is a shower. Cause no offense but you smell like dried blood, and coming from me that’s saying something cause I smell blood all the time.”

Jack still didn’t trust this stranger fully and it got under his skin that she seemed to know everything about him and he knew next to nothing about her. Yet, a shower did seem nice at this moment, he glanced down at his hands and noticed his nails were caked with dry blood. He could only imagine what every other part of his body looked like, (y/n) clearly didn’t bother cleaning him up aside from dressing his wounds.

“A shower sounds good.” Jack nodded in confirmation and the girl gave a relieved smile.

“Oh thank God you agreed, it took me a week of convincing to get Jeff to go take his first shower.” Jack decided it was best not to ask who Jeff was deciding that that was a can of worms he shouldn’t open just yet. She reached out to touch him and he immediately recoiled back almost biting her handoff, the smile that appeared disappeared into a frown.

“Don’t touch me.” Memories of Jenny’s friends holding him down while he pleaded for his life flashed across his mind. The blade coming closer and closer to Jack’s crystal blue eyes before making contact and-

“Alright, cannibal boy snap out of it. Can’t have you succumbing to blood lust just yet. You don’t wanna injure yourself more.” (Y/n) snapped her fingers next to his ears and he couldn’t help but feel a little grateful that she snapped him out of his stupor. “I was going to help you to the bathroom because you really shouldn’t put pressure on your leg. Is that okay?”

Jack felt himself nodding reluctantly. She was right, he really shouldn’t put stress on his leg or it could cause more harm than good. Especially since he didn’t know the extent of the injury yet, for all he knew he was lucky they didn’t hit the femoral artery. Her arms went around his waist as the god and the human girl hobbled to the bathroom together. On the short walk there Jack was trying to get a feel of the house, in case he needed to make a grand escape in the future.

“I’ll put some fresh clothes outside the door for you, call for me when you’re done so I can help you back to the bedroom.” (Y/n) explained as Jack hobbled into the bathroom, he didn’t feel the need to respond to her as he shut the door in her face. He heard a faint click of a tongue from the other side of the door and listened to the girls retreating footsteps.

Jack leaned against the sink putting most of his weight on his hands. The sink creaked at the newfound pressure and Jack wasn’t sure it was because it was an old house or because he had newfound strength. He glanced up at the mirror, it was weird somewhat seeing when you had absolutely no eyes. It was the first time since the incident he got a good look at himself, he looked about as good as he felt.

Terrible.

His auburn hair curled around his now pointed ears and was caked in mud and dirt. He was almost grateful that (y/n) didn’t touch him aside from the wound while he was unconscious, Jack couldn’t imagine what he might’ve done if he felt anyone go near his face. Speaking of his face, he opened his mouth and saw his teeth were shaved into razor-sharp fangs. His stomach turned as he remembered the exact reason why they were like that, organs. They were like that so he could eat organs. The thought wasn’t nearly as nauseating as it should’ve been.

His skin was unnatural and sickly grey color, as he lifted up his shirt the color seemed to spread all the way down his body. He glanced down at his hands and saw his nails were long and black, almost like those girls who wore acrylics, except he was sure their nails couldn’t rip into people's chests with a single swipe. Continuing down his body he lifted up one of his padded feet, he was correct in his assumption from earlier. They were much more animal-like, he wondered if they made him faster, what purpose could they possibly serve other than that?

Gently letting his footfall back down on the floor he shuffled to the shower and turned it on, the water sprayed out in a burst and he patiently waited for it to heat up. Eventually, he was able to step inside, not before knocking his head not only against the curtain rod but also on the showerhead.

“Fuck!” He snarled glaring down at the showerhead. Jack did a little double-take, okay he was also super tall, at least he got one blessing out of whatever the fuck was happening. Jack had to kneel on the ground in order to let the water roll down his body, with a deep breath he enjoyed the warm water pelting his skin. He fumbled around with the shampoo trying to figure out how to open it without popping a hole in the container. As the lid popped open he was hit with the calming scent of lavender.

~~~

“We’ll send someone to come back and check on him in about a month give or take, see how he’s adjusting and healing.” A figure spoke from the kitchen shaking a cigarette into an ashtray, as (y/n) stood across from him. The man ran a hand through his messy brown hair “Then we’ll reassess him, give him a test and see if he’s fit to come to the mansion.” Meanwhile, the girl heaved a sigh of her own and leaned against the cool tiles of her kitchen wall.

“So it’s gonna be my responsibility to explain everything that’s happening to him? Isn’t that supposed to be your job Tim?” (y/n) raised an eyebrow “You realize he’s, like, almost seven feet tall, has no eyes and eats organs right? I’m not even sure WHAT he is.” She muttered, “The rundown I got really only gave me his background and his clear trauma.”

Tim clicked his tongue like the girl in front of him was wasting his time, it made her ball up her fists subconsciously.

God, the main proxies really got on her fucking nerves sometimes.

“You won’t have to worry about that, The Operator will handle all of that throughout the coming weeks. No need to worry. You also don’t need to worry about harvesting organs for him, and hopefully, once he’s healed he’ll work on doing that himself. But for now, someone on a kill close by will be dropping off organs.” Tim’s nose scrunched up a little and the (h/c)-nette’s did the same, she normally prided herself on her strong stomach, but this was a lot even for her. “The only thing you have to do is monitor his eating, see how much he will need on a weekly basis, and obviously keep him alive.”

“Obviously.” They both seemed to have a mutual understanding about that at least, she fucks up and he dies they’re both in deep shit with The Operator. Tim reached to the side where his porcelain mask sat against the countertop.

“Don’t fuck it up.” He pointed to her before slipping out the door leaving the women alone with an organ-eating monster. (Y/n) mimicked ‘don’t fuck it up' in a nasal voice before kicking off the wall and heading back in the direction of her guest's room, she pulled out a pair of crutches from the closet and rested them by the bedside. She gently scratched at the faintly buzzing symbol on her wrist, this is going to be a long month.

#creepypasta x you #creepypasta x reader #x reader #x you #x y/n #eyeless jack x reader #eyeless jack x you #proxies #proxy reader #horror #fanfic #ej x reader #ej x you

[15001700tt]

Descendants Of the Moon

Evasive Tactics

Descendants of the Moon Masterlistword count: 2,755 Tag list: @chastja  @multi-fan-trash @serpentityx @syublush Dm me if you want to be on the tag list!

Word Count: 2,811

Key: Italics- things that happened in the drama but do not old any importance to the story line

Key: Bold- Dialogue said in the Drama

Episode 5:

*Doctor Daniel comes back to Urk to his wife Ye Hwa* *part of the medical team goes to visit the solar plantation* *they go look for the missing kid* *they go to the restaurant*

Yoo Ji didn't know what she was going to do, but she knew she had to get out of the base. She went to the city. She planned to just walk around and check in on her usual sources, they most likely won’t have updated but it won’t hurt to try

As she left the solar energy plant she made her way back to the inner city and into a convenience store to grab a snack. She picked out her food and went to pay for it when she noticed a face that was familiar to her. She realized that he was the fake UN guy. He was holding a beer in his hand and talking to another guy. Her attention was brought back to the cashier, she took her stuff and walked out but stayed hidden from the two men. She watched as they interacted, she had hoped she wasn’t right when she said the cops were cheap, she’s proven wrong. She stayed there to watch them, maybe even tail them since she had nowhere to be.

She unscrewed her bottled water and took a sip, she almost spat it out when she saw Shi Jin come out from the restaurant a couple of feet away from the men, Mo Yeon behind him. He noticed them, his disbelief clear on his face, Yoo Ji wanted to laugh if this wasn’t just a horrible situation. 

She decided that she might need to intervene so she crept up closer to hear their conversation. She couldn't get too close or she would risk getting caught.

“ Can you find the hardware store that we went to the last time? ” 

“ You made sure I know, around the corner, across the street ”

Shi Jin nodded and watched her go, once she was out of sight, he got out the gun he kept with him, Yoo Ji rolled her eyes, of course, he would use the most extreme choice. Yoo Ji contemplated going over there and confronting the boys with him, but she held back, she probably will need to use the element of surprise later. 

Shi Jin pointed his gun at them, Yoo Ji couldn't see their expressions as they turned their backs towards her.

“ I think we’ve met before ”

“ You don't seem very surprised, how is a peacekeeper threatening an unarmed civilian with a gun? ” the white man said.

Yoo Ji mentally snorted, unarmed? Both men had pistols on them. It seems like Shi Jin noticed too. He unhinged his jaw and raised his eyebrow slightly. He cocked his gun towards the man before aiming at the car next to them and shooting the tire.

“ You're not a civilian, and you're not unarmed ”, Shi Jin responded. Yoo Ji’s ears are still ringing from the echo of the gunshot. Both men drew out their weapons.

“ I know you have connections with the cops, why do you keep showing up near me? ”

It seems that the gunshot alerted their men inside as five men came out, four equally armed, while the last wasn't, he was wearing a black suit and sunglasses shielding his face. Yoo Ji’s eyes darted to Shi Jin, he was outnumbered. She halted and it seemed like Shi Jin recognized this man, Yoo Ji couldn't place her finger on it but she feels like she’s met him before too. He said something before aiming a gun at one of his men before giving it back to the man.

“ Long time no see, Lieutenant, ” he said to Shi Jin, Yoo Ji was shocked, they knew each other? From the military? The man took off his shades, and everything clicked. Yoo Ji was staring at Agus, a captain who went rogue and dealt weapons for a higher price, consumed by greed.

“ Captain Agus? Why are you… ” Shi Jin trailed off looking hurt and confused.

“ Changed jobs as you can see, now I can grow my hair out, luckily the jobs are pretty much the same, shooting guns and making money ” Yoo Ji scoffed, if they were not armed, she would've loved kicking his teeth in. it seemed like things were getting heated so she might as well make an entrance. 

“ What happened to you? Your call sign is still legendary in the Delta Force ”

“ Being a legend doesn't pay ” he shrugged, Yoo Ji made her appearance then she walked up the staircase that she was hiding behind and stopped right next to Shi Jin, who was surprised as much as the other men. 

“I guess being a legend doesn't stop you from becoming a greedy motherfucker either?” she said, immediately the guys in the back raised their weapons.

“I wouldn't, I am an unarmed civilian and that would be a violation even the police can't be bribed into letting go.” She tsked at their defensiveness.

“What are you doing here?” Shi Jin gritted his teeth. 

“I was having a stroll” she rolled her eyes.

“I see you that he hasn’t killed you yet” Agus responded to her insult, glaring at her. 

“Long time no see Argus” she winked, he glared even harder. Her heartbeat faster at the thought of the person he was talking about, she didn't even want to think about how he knew about that. 

“It's Agus” he growled out. 

“Same difference.” she shrugged. The boys in the back still not lowering their guns, she cocked an eyebrow at them then turned to Agus. she was feeling her confidence seep through her again when Shi Jin didn’t push it and instead looked in between them with confusion

“Tell your boys to put ’em down, if you haven't forgotten I have high ranking connections, and they’re more influential than any sum you can give to the cops” she threatened with ease, this wasn't her first run-in with these boys, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. 

“One day, Mun, you won't be able to see the light of day” he glowered.

“Certainly today is not the day, I wanna go out with a big bang, preferably not with that cheap-ass gun” she retorted. Shi Jin was just standing there frozen in shock. How is it whenever something happens she’s always around to provoke it. 

“How's your nose?” she asked the white guy that faked his injuries in the car accident. He growled at her, she smiled sweetly at him.

“Listen here, Captain ” Agus started halting her attempt at conversation, he looked at her with a pointed glare. 

“ There are many gangs in this neighborhood, and they have no fear, no rules and no honor ” he scoffed pausing, “ They got no country to serve ”

“ This is your last warning, mind your own business ” he warned him, Yoo Ji rolled her eyes. It didn't go unnoticed by Agus but he chose to let it go. 

“ Even back then and now, you’re far too empathetic. ”

“ I guess so ” Shi Jin answered in Korean, so far the conversation was in English, but now only Yoo Ji can understand what he's saying.

“ I interfered with God's will unnecessarily. Someone on the verge of death must have had a reason to be. ”

“ Do you hide behind your language? ”

“ For god’s sake, piss off, don’t come near me, or else you’ll have to pay the price ”

“Bye Argus, see you again next time” Yoo Ji waved as she left with Shi Jin, he was a ball full of emotions. She didn't want to say anything to provoke him but he seemed like he had other plans. 

“What were you thinking? involving yourself in our conversation? Why do you keep on risking your life? To prove a point?” he scolded. 

“Captain Yoo, I can handle myself,” she responded icily. He shook his head. 

“Does Gwang Nam know that you're in town?” he asked her.

“He is not my babysitter” she snapped at him, seriously what's up with this guy. 

“I am calling him to pick you up” Shi Jin stated, but before he can even dial his number he got a phone call. It was from Mo Yeon. All he heard was a big honk and a bunch of ruckuses, he looked up and made eye contact with Yoo Ji, that didn't sound very good. 

“ Hello? Hello? ” 

“ Captain Yoo? ” her voice came through the speaker, she sounded shaken up.

“ You listened to me well. I heard you borrowed the car. Where are you? I finished my work and I'm about to leave .” Shi Jin replied looking at Yoo Ji, trying to communicate with his eyes. Something happened, she nodded and got out her phone.

“ Please save me! Please save me! ” she yelled out with terror. That snapped everyone into action. 

“Go! go! I’ll call Gwang Nam to pick me up!” she ushered him towards his car. She looked around one more time, she caught a glimpse of one of Agus’s men lingering around, but he ducked once she fully turned around. She shook her head, she’ll pick a fight another day. Right now she has to figure out a way to get to the base without asking Gwang Nam to pick her up. 

She thought it would be ironic that she was in town to avoid him and then end up asking him to come to get her. She decided the best way was just to go to the hardware store Ye Hwa ran and ask for a car. Once she was able to get that sorted, she arrived on the base, she managed to get through halfway without running into anyone. 

“Where have you been all day?” Woo Geun asked with a smug tug on his lips. 

“Around” she cryptically responded, usually he doesn’t really care where she is, it seems like someone was trying to find her. 

“Answer it clearly Mun Yoo Ji, we’re not playing games,” Woo Geun said with a serious tone.

“Why did something happen?” she asked curiously, killing her.

“Piccolo was looking for you,” Cheol Ho told her as he walked up to them. 

“Huh, who is that?” Yoo Ji frowned in confusion. 

“Gwang Nam” Woo Geun answered. 

“What? Where?” Yoo Ji panicked and looked around, when she realized that he was responding to her question instead of calling him out as if he was there, she looked like a deer caught in headlights. She mentally slapped her forehead, she just outed herself, great.

“Did something happen between you two?” Cheol Ho asked. Curiosity nipping at his sides.

“No, why would you say that?” She avoided eye contact. 

“I don't know maybe cuz you were hiding all day and didn't cause any trouble,” Woo Geun said 

“How do you know for sure she didn't cause trouble?” another voice butted in, it was Shi Jin.

“Is Mo Yeon ok?” she immediately asked, he nodded in confirmation. 

“She was hanging from a cliff,” Shi Jin’s exasperated voice explained. Yoo Ji’s eyebrows went up, how does Mo Yeon manage to put herself in situations like this. 

“I better go check on her” she tried to escape their little group. 

“Wait wait, what happened between you and Gwang Nam that you didn't call him to pick you up?” Shi Jin interrogated. Yoo Ji cursed under her breath. 

“How did you know?” 

“Doctor Daniel’s car is right there,” he pointed out. 

“Well, nothing really just-”

“What are you guys talking about?” a new voice cut in, and that made Yoo Ji curse even more profusely. It was Gwang Nam. if only she had made her escape earlier. 

“I really have to go check on Mo Yeon, excuse me,” she shouldered through the men and came head to head (well, head to chest more accurately) with Gwang Nam.

“Where have you been all day?” 

“Just...here and there” she awkwardly laughed. 

“She was in town, she almost got herself shot,” Shi Jin elaborated. Yoo Ji turned around and glared at him.

“I did not” 

“Are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?” he started fussing over her. Shi Jin smiles cheekily and goes to get changed, he is dripping wet. Cheol Ho and Woo Geun left with him. 

“I gotta go” Yoo Ji excused once more and tried to make her getaway. Thankfully she was able to escape. 

“Mo Yeon, are you okay? I heard you got into an accident” Yoo Ji went to check on her friend. Mo Yeon had already changed and was just sitting there sitting in silence gazing at nothing. Yoo Ji guessed she was pretty shaken up from the events. 

“I am fine”

She sat down next to her to try and comfort her when Shi Jin came in with two cups full of steaming liquids. Yoo Ji was sure they wanted to be alone, so she moved to stand up. 

“I’ll check on you later, I have stuff to tell you” she smiled at the girl.

“That stuff would include my First Sergeant Lim, right?” he joked, Yoo Ji’s cheeks flushed but she shook her head.

“Focus on your own drama, Captain” she commented. 

She made her way back to her own tent but even then it had gotten dark, and she was lost in her thoughts. 

-in the next morning, she went to return the car to Daniel, but Mo Yeon and Shi Jin were there too-

“Good morning,” she greeted Shi Jin as they walked up to the store. 

“Why are you guys here again?” Yoo Ji asked.

“Daniel’s car is getting towed in, we’re here to...assess the damage” he chose his words carefully, as Mo Yeon narrowed her eyes at him. 

“ Why couldn't you just save me without putting the car in the water? ” she paused, shaking her head.

“ No. You saved me, but I'm just complaining. Sorry. ” she shook her head, Yoo Ji chuckled, she went inside to turn in the keys to Ye Hwa. 

When she came out she saw the front door and the bumper on the floor with Doctor Daniel on the floor looking heartbroken, she couldn't help but let out a laugh. 

After Daniel finished his business with the towing truck he went inside to get the things Shi Jin asked for. Yoo Ji was still there since her ride would be Shi Jin. Apparently Shi Jin ordered a bunch of walkie talkies since he wants to take precautions after yesterday’s events. 

“They're more convenient anyways.”

After that they made their way back to base, Shi Jin explained how to use the two-way radios, well he at least tried before Yoo Ji told him she knows how to use them because she’s used them before. 

“You might want to explain to Mo Yeon, she’s never used one before” she winked. 

“Just tell me what station is yours and the medical’s?”

“Station 3 and 7,” he gave a half-smile before Yoo Ji saluted at him and left. 

*Myung Ju and Mo Yeon meet* *Shi Jin and Myung Ju have their conversation while Mo Yeon tries to listen to it from outside*

*the meeting in the Medi-cube*

“ The on-call duty for tonight will be Doctor Ha and-- ” Mo Yeon was interrupted.

“ Is there anyone who will do it instead of me? ” Doctor Song asked, putting up his hand.

“ If there isn't, then I will do it. ” he nodded looking satisfied, the room broke out in chuckled. 

“Oh! Why are you guys here?” Yoo Ji asked in surprise when she walked into the common room. Mo Yeon pointed up, towards the fan. Yoo Ji nodded and smiled. 

“ This is Cube B. Pretty One, respond. Over. ” a voice came through the radio. Mo Yeon smiled.

“ This is unexpectedly pretty fun. Pretty One is here. Over. ” Mo Yeon responded.

“ What is today's lunch menu? Over. ” the voice asked.

“ I'll check and let you know. Over. ” 

“ I'll tell you the lunch menu, so Pretty One, ” Shi Jin responded from behind Mo Yeon, she dropped the walkie talkie.

“ let's talk for a second. Over. ”

“ Pretty One, work hard. ” Everyone started to excuse themselves from the table, Yoo Ji was the last, as she got her snack, she smirked at Mo Yeon.

“Work hard.”

“ This is Handsome Spaceman, headquarters respond! ” Chi Hoon said with a fake breathless tone.

“ This is Firefly what’s up? This is Headquarters. What is the situation? ” Yoo Ji said with a small smile on her face.

“ It's not looking good. ” he paused while thinking of something, “ Liquid salonpas! We're short on liquid salonpas! ”

“ Calm down. Hold on for a bit longer. ” Doctor Song came through with them in his hand.

“ Clear ” Nurse Ha slapped Doctor Song’s back. 

Later on, they made a small gathering for Shi Jin’s departure, Yoo Ji figured that he would tell her sometime before he leaves. It seems like Mo Yeon didn't know yet. 

#dots #Descendants of the Sun #descendants of the sun fanfic #descendants of the moon #dotm wip #dotm #ahn bo hyun #ahn bohyun #Yoo Ji (OC)

[bonebreakjack]

My request is Haru x Aoi known as Dragonflyshipping with a Mistletoe kiss prompt.

Thank you for the Request! Sorry this took so long, it kept getting longer XP

Fluff prompt: Mistletoe kiss (HaruXAoi)

Aoi stared at the invitation in her messages with a blank look on her face as she repeatedly pressed on the refresh button hoping it was a glitch. There was no way this guy was ballsy enough to-

Oh, wait, yes he would.

She frowned at the messaged overly decorated with holiday cheer and it happily explained that a certain AI wanted to go on a date with her for the holidays. Which is incredibly odd, because while the Rogue Ignis and AIs were stopped, everyone was still tense around them, you know. After the whole, being absorbed thing.

Fun times.

She put away the message and contemplated what he was up to.

-

Everyone seemed to be moving out her way today, which fair, Aoi’s avatar Blue Angel doesn’t seem to look the most approachable now. A dark look wrinkled her face as she marched down the streets with her red and fluffy white event theme outfit. The little jingle of the bells in her ponytails sounding ominous as she finally stood before the boy who somehow got her here.

He became annoyed with his messages until the new event was set up and it was couples only. The prize was really good this year but all her friends already partnered up! And apparently she can’t go with Aqua cause that's cheating (Her brother really should have let it slide, whatever). And all the messages to team up with strangers got too much.

Aoi got a tad desperate.

So now here she is with Haru, who looked older than when she last saw him. His outfit changed to be a bit more mature. She won’t admit he looked good now, she felt weird about agreeing to partner with a guy who looked like he should be in middle school. But now he seemed to be her age.

He looked kind of cute….

“Hello Blue angel, thank you for accepting my request”Haru looked a bit awkward as he said that. He eyed her like she was going to wring his throat, which he’s not wrong if this a trick. But she’ll throttle it back a little and stared at him watching him fidget.

“So?”

“So…”

“Why did you ask me to do this with you?”

“In all honesty, I think your pretty cute for a human. Also I’ve been researching online because I wanted to know more about them. Apparently dating is an important factor in a teenagers life.”Haru explained with a bit of cheekiness, but was actually totally serious.

Aoi was pretty sure her mouth was on the floor.

How the hell does she explain she hasn’t been on a single date her whole life? Blue angel was popular yes, but untouchable cause her fans were crazy? Or that aoi was so plain in reality that no one would look twice at her?

Haru scuffed his feet once the silence was getting unbearable.

“....Did you even plan on what we we’re going to be doing?” Aoi asked hesitantly, a little worried about what he came up with. She was going to honor her end of the deal she already agreed anyway.

“......”

“....Crud”

---------

They wandered around aimlessly, their conversations starting and stalling because they really didn’t have a lot in common.(Haru was only begin to have likes and dislikes about things, but he has never eaten, going to school, bought clothes, ect).

Aoi was sure this was going to end in failure, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to eb showing him but so far she thinks she hasn't done a good job anyway.

Until the event started.

It was a special event for just boarding duelists, only no actual duels this time but a race!

The catch? It was in an artificial data storm controlled by the Windy and Aqua to make it look like a snow storm condensed in a tunnel like course. It made her blood pump with anticipation, she was always a competitive person but she tended to scare people away as Aoi when she did so. It's another reason she loves being blue angel so much she doesn't have to hide so many aspects of herself.

Or hide her love for crushing people in competitions~

They were at the starting line the whirl of the purple blue storm made her heart beat loud and shake with excitement. At the corner of her eye she was surprised to see a similar look of competitiveness and anticipation on Haru’s own face. It seemed the most genuine he's been all night.

Well then, this is going to be interesting

The ring of the gong and they were off, artificial snow tearing up into powder behind them as they raced into the storm. Already the weaker riders were being picked off and being spit out of the storm.

The white flurry was blinding her, but Haru kept making calls already ahead helping guide Aoi through the storm with his voice. Banking quickly left another group flew out of the track. 

Whipping her hand out as if in sync Haru grabbed hers and they rolled their hips and adjusted their legs so they can balance each other weight.

Up. Down. Left bank. Upward.

Someone smashes into Haru having lost control and they lose their balance, but Aoi uses her wings to pick up the air current and navigate him back to his board letting the poor bastard who smashes into them fall through.

Haru makes calls, she uses her strength to push them through. The crowd was thinning as the storm became terrifying.

The smiles doesn’t leave their faces.

-

Aoi was laughing as she put away her trophy in her rewards box, only 5 teams were left of the droves by the end of the track with her and Haru in the lead. They ended up working well and played off the other weakness.

“It was a lot more fun than I was expecting, I would never have gotten to do this as myself”Sad truth her brother was incredibly overprotective and snowboarding was out of the question. His paranoia sometimes killing some of the joy she experiences. Why she hangs out with Ghost girl so much because she gets it.

“Really why is that?

“My human form is fragile and boring, I can't do fun stuff otherwise people will find out I’m blue angel. So Aoi stays boring in plain”

“To be honest I think I prefer your human form.”

Huh.

“How do you even how i look like in reality?”

“Lightning has us gather information on anyone who was a threat”

“....ah”

“Anyway, Like I said I prefer how you look as Aoi then you do as Blue angel. I think your humans self is cute and unique looking”

Well Damn.

That was actually pretty sweet, not to mention smooth. Apparently thing date thing was a success.

Aoi spotted a familiar plant above her and a little smirk came across her face, Haru looked up as well but just looked confused. Aoi’s hand shot out and she grabbed his arm pulling close….

And placed a kiss on his cheek.

“Thanks for the date. It was fun, and for the record I think your cute too~”

The look on his face was completely worth it, seems he can flustered too after all.

#Haru vrains #Aoi Zaizen #Yugioh Vrains #vrains #ygo vrains #Dragonflyshipping #bonebreakjackwrite #tumblr request

[snowbarrywatercooler]

While I love Grant Gustin to pieces, I'm not looking forward to watching an hour long comic con involving him and Kevin praising WestAllen. Though I can't help but be curious about his forced answered and body language. If it's not too much trouble, could you pinpoint some of those moments in the video? I know it's on YouTube so I'd have no problem finding it. I'd just rather not watch the whole thing. Thank you in advance!

Here’s what I can sum up from the video.

VIP is $311. x Grant looks and acts tired from shooting Season 4 overall. David Rappaport knew him from 90210 and casthim in the role. David is also responsible for casting Candice too.Andrea was there. Right behind him at his signing booth.

Kevin moderated the interview, he compares Grant’s work ethic to Matt Damon’s. Grantkeeps smiling and waving at his fans, he’s genuine even though he looks tired.Fame and wealth make Grant nervous, that’s why he doesn’t do many cons.Kevin keeps praising Season 4 over and over but he doesn’t mean it in histone. Grant is just nodding along. Praising the show along with him. Especially because they know what it’s leading up to. These questions are pre-screened, nothing is said on the air that Grant is not prepared to answer.On how he was cast: he tested the same time as Carlos. He claims theonly person he did a chemistry read was with Candice. I notice how he spokethere, he was lying because we would have seen it by now in some way, leaked or on a DVD. He neglected to bring up his screen test with EBR,which was on Season 1 DVD, his “chemistry test” with Candice was not, “so much chemistry.” Why can’t we see it then?12:46 is where the WA talk begins. The “drama for the sake of drama comment.” Even with the small cheering Grant’s face saysit all…his body scrunches up, his shoulders are held back and tight,his face is holding something that looks like a forced smile but he isn’t smiling,he’s acting, trying to sell WA. Kevin in spite of having the question already memorized looks down.

Kevin ignores the that fact of WA are step-siblings and insteadcalls them “childhood besties” no mention of incest at all going right into “nowyou guys are married.” Grant during all of this was holding a fist and fidgeting a lot,why he is so uncomfortable? If he has chemistry with CP, why does he giveoff so much discomfort whenever WA is brought up? Grant also says “if we canstay on the air long enough” and “I hope everyone saw the finale” which indicates he isn’tconfident in the show anymore. He doesn’t know what will happen. He triesto sell us WA but he can’t help being honest in the same answer, he can’tlie but he can’t piss off his bosses. When Grant mentions “I guess we’llsee…a kid? In the future.” A small crowd cheers but when the camera pansto the crowd nobody is smiling. 

I’ve counted, maybe 4-5 WAs in a sea of 8,000, andeveryone is just as serious as Grant. These are not WA stans, they are superGG fans. Nobody cares about WA.

14:16 is where it ends. Grant is relievedthe discussion is over. His curt laugh at the end points that out.6-23 was the date of the panel, Grant hasn’t gotten the script yet, but will receive it on that weekend. When this is posted Grant will have already gotten the script.On Monday the 25th was the meeting with HELLbing.Season 1 Grant was reading The New 52 to learn about BA and TF. Season 2he stopped doing that so he can focus more on the acting. He also said “as someone growingup with superheroes you don’t want to get sick of it.” Grant’s energy really picked up when Kevin started talking about the firstepisode he directed. You can tell Grant loves working with him. Kevin feelsthe same way. When they are just talking Flash, it looks natural, less forced,less promo salesman, it looks like two friends talking as opposed to Viris or WA awkwardness. 

22.56 is where Kevin brings up “in every episode there is always a WA peptalk scene” it seemed they just glazed over it and Grant just nods “yup” in a repeated manner agreeing that it’s monotonous to do. 

Grant praises Jesse L Martin, being a fan of his because he bonded with himfirst and he was in Rent. Tom Canavagh is brought up and Grant says he ishis favorite actor to work with. Grant talked about Tom and Grant, the moviewas based on their real on set unfunny gags, Tom wrote and directed the shortmovie. After wrapping up Season 3 Grant had plans to do a movie and Tom filmedthe short movie in 2 days. The movie Grant was supposed be a part of “fell through”it could be referring to a recast because he wasn’t available at the time.Grant says he likes Time Travel and fans will ask him questions but he alwayssays he is confused. If the writers knew what they were writing about, I’msure Grant would have a clearer answer for the fans. He clearly likes it whenBarry time travels but when it’s used the right way.He loves Captain Cold and Wentworth as a “frienemy.” Big cheers for thatone and pan to the crowd to see smiles. Weather Wizard was brought up ashis favorite rogue. Mark Hamill as The Trickster.Kevin said his favorite season is the first one and that his favorite episodewas 1x15 where Barry time travels for the first time, Danielle was mentioned. He quotes the show as “Dawson’s Creek with capes.” Greg Berlanti wasa head writer on Dawson’s Creek. 28:17 is where Grant demonstrates how he does “the run” on the show. They don’tshoot his legs in frame. At the beginning they did with a treadmill.Grant is aware of what people are saying about his physic, body frame andKevin states “you have a runner’s body.” Grant agrees, “I have more of a runner’sbody than any other type.” Grant’s favorite episode is the Season 1 finale. Grant is very proud of theepisode and Kevin agrees as he brings up his infamous crying video he postedon youtube that gave him the opportunity to direct the show.Fan Q&A was around 30min mark. First question was: What is going to happenwith Nora Allen? Grant’s response is “she’s trapped in our time. We’re probablygoing to see Barry help her get back to her time.” Second question was about Grant’s education. He never graduated from ElonUniversity but was made an Alumni. He left after hisSophomore year to go on the road for “West Side Story.” Grant didn’t believehe would end up on TV, he thought he would be on the Broadway stage.Third question was about how they shoot each episode. Grant says they prepfor a week prior with table reads of the script, then shoot an episode for8-9 days. The network and studio watch it and make notes and cuts, during that time the SFX are added in. Every time an episode is finished it is 2 months agoso the show has a lot of time to omit, re shoot, polish what they want interms of what will make the cut. I don’t believe at all the show runnersare avoiding the feedback. They could easily incorporate so many things for future episodes it’sthat they choose not to. Do not tell me this is hard for them to do. Thisis how TV is run, especially a show like this. Grant says his favorite crossovers to shoot was possibly the last one inEarth X, but it was the hardest one, the Supergirl crossover was highlightedbecause of the location in LA. Grant lives in Venice Beach, Ca. Brandon Routhis his favorite actor to work with aside from Melissa and Stephen.Grant says working with Tom is a blessing and a challenge. He lovesbeing directed by Tom almost as good as being directed by Kevin. Flash has made him want to be a director but he doesn’t see it happeningwith the show. He calls it “impossible” but he mentions being interested indirecting an episode for their last season if “they let him.” The amountof control these show runners have is disgusting. Grant is a decent person and the star.He shouldn’t feel apprehensive if he wanted to direct, it’d be an honor if he did.He understands the character better than anyone. Kevin snuck in “before itall ends, who knows it might go on forever” Grant responds with “notforever.” At 38:10 the question is: how many more seasons do you think the show isgoing to do? He said at least 3 more, that takes it up to Season 7 but he saysanything could happen. Kevin adds “it’s strong in the ratings forThe CW.” Meaning if it was on a real network, it would be already cancelled.2 million viewers is not high. Right now with the adjusted they are at 3.0,with a demo of .6 thanks to the horrible Season 4 disaster Viris WA obsession. Kevin also added which surprisedme “the show will go on as long as Grant wants it to go.” Grant said he knew Kevin was gonna say that. Kevin says back it could go on for 26 seasons. Grant says sarcastically “imagine that?” Grant’s favorite musical is “Singin in the Rain” which got him interested in performing. The best part of being Flash is they give him his own superhero suit. Hementions wanting an authentic version of Christopher Reeves Superman suit.He likes wearing Star Labs and CCPD sweatshirts. The guy who asked the questionstarted asking Kevin a question and Grant was all “wtf wasn’t this supposedto be about me”? Everyone in the crowd laughed.His most difficult scene to film which was also his favorite was the scenewith Barry and his mom at the end of Season 1. His other most difficultscene was in Tom Canvanagh’s directed episode 3x19 where EmoBarry was. Kevincalled Grant with the wig “My Chemical Barry.” Grant said it was hard to shootbecause of the two conflicting emotions of playing Present Barry and FutureBarry wearing “a stupid wig.” Kevin compared EmoBarry to a “Hot Topic Employee.”Grant’s favorite Season is the first one, mainly because of how well the finale was constructed “so perfectly.”46:18 is where the question about which he prefers: his fictional WArelationship or his real relationship with Andrea. His exact words are: “Ienjoy my real relationship much more. Nothing against Candice, love to d-greatly.Yeah, it’s obviously very different. One is scripted for me and fictional.One plays itself out and I love her very much in real life. So, I think thoseare probably the biggest differences.” He doesn’t know what to say, the questionitself was lame, obviously there are huge separations from fiction and fact something the delusional doesn’t comprehend.Grant feels uncomfortable answering but he was polite and humored the guywho was obviously a huge Gr*ndice and WA stan. One of the 5 stans in there.When Grant does cons he doesn’t know how much it means to people and he’sgrateful for everything the fans give. He loves what he does. Grant loved filming the musical episode. No WA mentions. Especially singing “Superfriend”because he got to tap dance again. The crowd wants him to sing the song andGrant says he won’t. He thinks the heroes in real life are the troops, his mom because she was a single mother and supported his dreams.A fan asked “will we get a Run Nora, Run from Barry?” Grant credits Tom formaking that line iconic. Kevin agrees. Kevin says he did versions of theline in “The Runaway Dinosaur” because he loved it so much. Kevin said it is the show’s version of “May the force be with you.” No mention of “we are the flash” I wonder why….Grant answered what he has learned being The Flash and Grant credits Season1 again. He learned a lot from Barry’s empathy, his humility. He is a betterman than Grant is. 

Grant got another fan request shout out but in the videohe said “Are we ready? You’re not here but 8,000 other people are.” Crowdwent nuts. The same fan asked him if he wanted to play a Marvel superhero,which would he play. He said Spider-Man. Grant comments on what it’s like to be the star of a TV show. Even thoughhe knows he is the star in truth, he is very humble in saying it’s an ensembleshow. No mentions of CP or IW or WA. Hear that stans who stalk this blog? Grant is too much of a gentlemen to bait you demons.Grant’s most embarrassing scene was when he slide across the floor in 4x02“Mixed Signals” paying homage to Risky Business. He says because he has “chickenlegs.” He also says in the finale when Wally comes back he dropped 6 champagne glasses in 2 takes. It’s included in the bloopers. He says if he goes to the Vancouver Con he will bringhis dogs. Grant says he watches when people on set run and walk and compare it to howhe does it unintentionally. He’s met people in life that want to race him.He feels like he is a fast runner in real life, but he admits out loud hedoesn’t like running. When they are using science jargon, Grant doesn’t know what they are talking about unless he googles it. Grant loves playing the villain more than the hero. Savitar was a lot of fun for him to play. It could be because he loved working with Danielle more closely but the show will not allow any Snowbarry mentions, he’s there to plug WA, it would destroy WA as a whole and he knows it.The last couple of minutes they were talking about Grant’s famous slide into scenes, he does it at the last minute of the interview. Do with the information as you will. Grant has highs and lows here. Whenthe lows are pretty low it’s jarring when they are high it’s obvious wherehis heart is. He is a good guy that doesn’t deserve the bad treatment he’sbeen getting. Whether it’s about his character, CP’s repeated abuse of him and body shamming. Grant is nothing but friendly and takes the punches with thepraise. I hope he does more cons in the future, maybe when he is more rested and less fatigued.

[dumbledearme]

chapter forty-three—freedom and courage

Okay... So I may or may not have stolen Elizabeth Swan's speech from Pirates of the Caribbean. What can I say, I'm a huge fan. (So credit’s hers)

read Child of Land and Sea here

Act V — Walking On Water

Part VI — But if you're not convinced that I'm invincible, put me to the test! I'd love to lay this rivalry to rest.

"What did they do to my city?" Andy's voice sounded tight and angry. She stood with the other campers looking down at New York. She could see almost everything from there and what she saw was the calmness, the silence. Even in the dead of night, New York is never silent. What had they done?

Traffic had stopped. Pedestrians were lying on the sidewalks. There was no sign of violence, no wrecks, nothing like that.

"Are they dead?" Silena asked in astonishment.

Andy shook her head. "No. Morpheus must have put the entire island of Manhattan to sleep. The invasion has started."

Anthony and Andy went to find Argus. The man was rummaging around in the back of his van. He brought out a bronze shield and passed it to Anthony. When he set it on the ground, the reflection on the polished metal changed from sky and buildings to the Statue of Liberty.

"A video shield?" Andy guessed.

"One of Daedalus's ideas," Anthony said. "I had Beckendorf make this before- Well, it bends sunlight or moonlight from anywhere in the world to create a reflection. You can literally see any target under the sun or moon, as long as natural light is touching it. It will let us see what's going on across the city. Thank you, Argus."

Argus grunted.

"You'd better get back to camp," Andy told him. "Guard it as best as you can." Then she called Mrs O'Leary. "Hey, girl. Remember Grover? The satyr? I need you to find him. We're going to need his help." The dog gave her a sloppy wet kiss and raced off north.

Anthony and Andy went back to the others.

"I don't get it," Pollux was saying. "Why didn't we fall asleep, too? Why just the mortals?"

"This is a huge spell," Silena answered. "The bigger the spell, the easier it is to resist. If you want millions of mortals to sleep, you've got to cast a very thin layer of magic. Sleeping demigods is much harder."

"How do you know that?" Andy asked.

Silena blushed. "I'm not just a pretty face."

"Andy," Anthony said; he was looking at the shield. "You'd better see this."

The image showed Long Island Sound near La Guardia. A fleet of a dozen speedboats raced through the dark water toward Manhattan. Each boat a packed with demigods in full Greek armor.

"Scan the perimeter of the island," she said. "Quick."

Anthony shifted the scene south to the harbor. Staten Island Ferry was plowing trough the waves near Ellis Island. The deck was crowded with dracaenae and whole pack of hell-hounds. Swimming in front of the ship was a pod of telkhines.

The scene shifted again: the Jersey shore, right at the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. A hundred assorted monsters were marching past the lanes of stopped traffic: giants with clubs, rogue Cyclopes, a few fire-spitting dragons.

"What's happening to the other mortals?" Andy asked. "I mean, is the whole state asleep?"

Anthony frowned. "I don't think so, but it's strange. As far as I can tell from these pictures, Manhattan is totally asleep. Then there's like a fifty-mile radius around the island where time is running really, really slow. The closer you get to Manhattan, the slower it is."

"Kronos is slowing time."

"Hecate might be helping," Katie Gardner said.

"Somehow they've surrounded Manhattan in layers of magic," Anthony sounded really frustrated. "The outside world might not even realize something is wrong. Any mortals coming toward Manhattan will slow down so much they won't know what's happening."

"Like flies in amber," Jake Mason murmured.

Anthony nodded. "We shouldn't expect any help."

Andy turned to her friends, to their stunned, scared faces. "Alright, demigods. We're going to hold Manhattan."

Silena tugged at her armor. "Um, Andy, Manhattan is huge."

"And we're going to hold it. We have to."

"She's right," Anthony stood up. "The gods of the wind should keep Kronos's forces away from Olympus by air, so he'll try a ground assault. We have to cut off the entrances to the island."

"They've got boats," Michael Yew pointed out.

Andy almost smiled. "And you've got me."

Michael seemed confused. "How does that help us?"

Andy tried not to be offended. "Dude, child of land and sea? Try to keep up, Michael. We need to guard the bridges and tunnels. Let's assume they'll try a midtown or downtown assault, a least on their first try. That would be the most direct way here. So Michael, take Apollo's cabin to the Williamsburg Bridge. Katie, Demeter's cabin takes the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. Grow thorn bushes and poison ivy. Do whatever you need to do, but keep them out there. Connor, take half of Hermes's cabin and cover the Manhattan Bridge. Travis, you take the other half and cover Brooklyn Bridge. Silena, take the Aphrodite crew to the Queens – Midtown Tunnel." Andy closed her eyes trying to think of what she'd forgotten. "Um, the Holland Tunnel. Jake, take the Hephaestus cabin there. Use Greek fire, set traps. Whatever you've got. The 59th Street Bridge," she glanced at Anthony. "Athena?"

He nodded and turned to his siblings. "Malcolm, take the Athena cabin, activate plan twenty-three along the way, just like I showed you. Hold that position."

"You got it."

"I'll go with Andy," he added.

Somebody in the back of the group said, "No detours, you two." There were some giggles.

"Yeah, I'm gonna let that pass because I know you're all nervous," Andy said. "But the next one gets a smack on the ear."

Jake Mason cleared his throat. "I think you forgot the Lincoln Tunnel, Andy."

Andy swallowed a bad word. Then a girl's voice called: "How about you leave that to us?" The daughter of Zeus grinned. "The Hunters of Artemis, reporting for duty."

"Thank the gods," Anthony murmured as Thalia hugged him. "But if we don't blockade the rivers from those boats, guarding the bridges and tunnels will be pointless."

Andy glanced at all of them. "It's time, boys and girls. You are the greatest heroes of this millennium," she told them. "I know I said we didn't have a choice, that we have to do this. That's not true. Each one of you are here by choice. And when the enemy look at us, they will see that freedom. They will hear the ring of our swords and they will know what we can do! By the sweat of our brows, and the strength of our backs, and the courage of our hearts. Demigods," she raised Riptide in the air, "for Olympus!"

They shouted in response, and their voices echoed around the sleeping city.

On their way, Anthony decided to stop in the middle of East 23rd. He stood before a bronze statue of a dude sitting in a chair with his legs crossed.

"Why is..." Andy approached to see the name, "William H Seward important?"

"He was a New York governor," Anthony said. "Minor demigod – son of Hebe." He climbed on a park bench and examined the base of the statue.

"Don't tell me he's an automaton," Andy said.

Anthony smiled. "Turns out most of the statues in the city are automatons. Daedalus planted them here just in case he needed an army."

"To attack Olympus or defend it?"

Anthony shrugged. "Either one. That was plan twenty-three. He could activate one statue and it would start activating its brethren all over the city, until there was an army. It's dangerous, though. You know how unpredictable automatons are." He pressed the tip of Seward's boot, and the statue stood up. "Hello, William."

"Bill," Andy suggested.

"Shut up," Anthony asked her. "Uh... Governor Seward. Command sequence: Daedalus Twenty-three. Defend Manhattan. Begin Activation."

Seward jumped off his pedestal and went clanking off toward the east.

"He's not very polite," Andy said.

"He's probably going to wake Confucius," Anthony guessed.

"Do they know we're not the enemy?"

"I think so."

Then a ball of green light exploded in the evening sky, somewhere over the East River. "We need to hurry," Andy said.

"Perhaps you shouldn't go alone," Anthony said staring at the dark water.

"Uh, unless you can breath underwater, I don't think there's much you can do."

He sighed. "You are so annoying."

"No. I'm just right. Which must be an unpleasant surprise for you. Also I'll be fine. I've got the curse of Achilles. I'm invisible."

He crossed his arms, trying to keep his face serious. "I think you meant invincible."

"I meant to make you smile." Andy winked and jumped into the river. She tried to find the spot where the Hudson and the East River's currents seemed equal. There she shouted, "Hey! I heard you guys are so polluted you're embarrassed to show your faces. I heard the East River is more toxic, but the Hudson smells worse. Or is it the other way around?"

The water shimmered. Two giant forms appeared in front of her. The god of the East River said, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Or are you just extra stupid?"

The spirit of the Hudson scoffed, "You're the expert on stupid, East."

"Watch it, Hudson," East growled. "Stay on your side of the island and mind your own business."

"Or what? You'll throw another garbage barge at me?"

"Hey!" Andy shouted. "We've got a bigger problem."

"The kid's right," East snarled. "Let's both killed her, then we'll fight each other."

"Sounds good," Hudson said. Before Andy could protest, scraps of garbage surged off the bottom and flew straight at her from both directions – broken glass, rocks, cans, tires. But the debris shattered against her skin.

The two river gods stared at her. "Took a dip in the Styx?" Hudson asked. Andy nodded. Both rivers made disgusted sounds.

"Well, that's perfect," East said. "Now, how do we kill her?"

"Listen to me," Andy said. "Kronos's army is invading Manhattan!"

"Don't you think we know that?" East asked.

"Then stop them," she pleaded. "Drown them. Sink their boats."

"Why should we?" Hudson grumbled.

"I can pay you," she said taking out a sand dollar from her pocket. It'd been a birthday gift from Poseidon. The river gods's eyes widened. She broke the sand dollar in half. "You each get half," she told them. "In exchange, you keep all of Kronos's forces away from Manhattan."

"Oh, man," Hudson whimpered. "It's been so long since I was clean."

"The power of Poseidon," East murmured. "The guy's a jerk, but he sure knows how to sweep pollution away."

They looked at each other and spoke as one: "Deal."

Andy gave them each a sand dollar half.

East flickered his hand. "Invaders just got sunk."

Hudson snapped his fingers. "Bunch of hell-hounds just took a dive."

"Thank you!" Andy said. "And stay clean!"

Back on shore, Anthony was looking pretty shaken. Andy was all wet, but he held her tight in his arms like he thought she'd never resurface again.

"All good," she said. "The rivers are safe."

"We've got other problems," he told her. "I just talked to Michael. Another army is marching over the Williamsburg Bridge. The Apollo cabin needs help. The Minotaur is leading the enemy."

An entire phalanx of dracaenae marched in the lead, their shields locked together, spear tips bristling over the top. The Apollo campers would hide behind cars and snipe at the approaching army, setting off explosive arrows, building fiery barricades. Hell-hounds leaped ahead of the line from time to time. Most were destroyed with arrows, but one got hold of an Apollo camper and dragged him away.

Michael Yew had a bandaged cut on his arm but he was smiling like he was having the greatest time. "Glad you could join us," he said. "Where are the other reinforcements?"

"For now, we're it," Andy said.

"Then we're dead," he said joyfully.

"Do you still have the flying chariot?" Anthony asked.

Michael shook his head. "Nah. Left it at camp. Told Clarisse she could have it. Whatever, you know? Not worth fighting about anymore. But she said it was too late. Look! Here come the uglies!" He drew an arrow and launched it toward the enemy. When it landed, it unleashed a blast. The nearest car exploded. A lot of monsters disintegrated. Others ran. Michael laughed maniacally, but the other monsters were still coming. "We need to fall back," he said. "I've got Kayla and Austin setting traps farther down the bridge."

"No," Andy said. "Bring your campers forward to this position and wait for my signal. We're going to drive the enemy back to Brooklyn."

"How do you plan to do that?"

Andy drew her sword. Anthony moved like he was ready to follow her, but Andy shook her head. "I need you to help Michael coordinate the defensive line. I'll distract the monsters. You group up here. Move the sleeping mortals out of the way. Then you can start picking off monsters while I keep them focused on me. If anybody can do all that, it's you."

Michael snorted. "Thanks a lot."

Andy glanced at him. "Oh, Michael. Get a girlfriend. She'll say nice things like that to you."

She focused back on Anthony who nodded reluctantly. "All right. Get moving."

"Don't I get a kiss for good luck?" she asked. "It's tradition!"

Anthony drew his knife and stared at the army marching toward them. "Find me, Seaweed Brain. And then I'll kiss you."

"Ha!" Michael laughed. "Too bad."

"Nobody asked you, Michael," Andy muttered. She walked up the bridge in plain sight, straight toward the enemy. The Minotaur was in the middle of the invading legion. When it saw her, his eyes burned with hatred. He bellowed to let her know he remembered all too well.

A few dracaenae threw flaming javelins at her. Andy knocked them aside. A hell-hound lunged and she stabbed it, mentally apologizing to Mrs O'Leary. More monsters surged forward – snakes and giants and telkhines – but the Minotaur roared at them, and they backed off. He unstrapped his axe and swung it around.

Andy raised her sword and sliced the axe in half like it was nothing. "Moo?" he grunted, uncertain. Andy spun and kicked him in the snout. He staggered backward, trying to regain his footing, then lowered his head to charge. He never got the chance though. Her sword flashed – slicing off one horn, then the other. The Minotaur tried to grab her, but Andy rolled away. He bellowed in rage. He charged and she ran for the edge of the bridge, pushing some dracaenae out of the way.

The Minotaur ran after her. Then Andy changed direction, jumped and stabbed her sword into his breastplate. He exploded in gold dust. Andy turned toward the rest of his army. It was now roughly one hundred and ninety-nine to one.

She spread her arms. "Who's next, you bitches?" None dared move. So Andy charged. She sliced through armor like it was made of paper. Snake women exploded. Hell-hounds melted to shadow. She slashed and stabbed and whirled, and she even laughed – a crazy laugh that scared her as much as it did her enemies.

The Apollo campers were behind her, shooting arrows, disrupting every attempt by the enemy to rally. Finally, the monsters turned and fled. Andy followed them with the Apollo campers at her heels.

"That's what I'm talking about!" yelled Michael Yew. They drove the monsters toward the Brooklyn side of the bridge.

"Andy!" Anthony yelled. "You've already routed them. Pull back! We're overextended!"

The monsters were running straight toward their reinforcements. Andy recognized the leader as Kronos himself. Anthony and the Apollo campers faltered. Kronos gazed in their direction. "Pull back!" Andy shouted. The Titan lord's men drew their swords and charged. "Retreat!" Andy commanded. "I'll hold them."

In a matter of seconds they were on her. Michael and his archers tried to retreat, but Anthony stayed behind with Andy, fighting with his knife and mirrored shield as they slowly backed up the bridge.

Kronos's cavalry swirled around them, slashing and yelling insults. Andy tried to wound his men, not kill, which slowed her down. But they were demigods, they were people, and she couldn't bring herself to kill them.

Andy stood shoulder to shoulder with Anthony. They'd almost made it to the middle of the bridge when it happened. Andy fell the knife approaching her weak spot. She was about to turn, but then Anthony was the one falling. Andy watched, stunned, puzzled. Her head spun. He couldn't have known... Nobody did.

She locked eyes with the enemy demigod: Ethan Nakamura. Why wasn't he dead yet? How had he survived? Why hadn't she killed him when she had the chance? Andy slammed him in the face with her sword hilt. "Stay back!" She slashed the air in a wide arc, driving the rest of the demigods away from Anthony.

Kronos smiled. He towered above her on his skeletal horse, his scythe in one hand. "Bravely fought, Andy Jackson," he said. "But it's time to surrender. Or the boy dies."

Anthony groaned something Andy didn't understand. The situation didn't seem to register in her head. His shirt was soaked with blood, blood so bright it twisted her stomach. What could she do?

It was Blackjack who came to the rescue. He swooped down and clamped his teeth on the straps of Anthony's armor. They soared away over the river before the enemy could even react.

Kronos dismounted. Andy was still a little dizzy but she met his first strike with Riptide. The impact shook the entire bridge, but Andy held her ground. Kronos's smile wavered. Andy kicked his legs from under him. His scythe skittered across the pavement. Andy stabbed downward, but Kronos rolled aside and regained his footing. His scythe flew back to his hands.

"You had the courage to visit the Styx," he studied her, looking mildly annoyed. "I had to pressure Luke in many ways to convince him. If only you had supplied my host body instead... No matter. I'm still more powerful. I am a Titan!" He struck the bridge with the butt of his scythe, and a wave of pure force blasted Andy backward. Even his own men were blown off the edge of the bridge.

Andy got to her feet. "Make the bridge collapse!" Michael Yew shouted. Andy looked down and saw the fissures in the pavement. It was all or nothing.

She stabbed Riptide into the bridge. The magic blade sank to its hilt in asphalt. Water shot from the crack. Andy pulled Riptide and the fissure grew. The bridge shook and began to crumble. Within a few seconds, a fifty-foot chasm opened between Andy and Kronos.

The Titan lord looked at the rising sun and smiled. "Until this evening, Jackson." He mounted his horse and led his army away.

Andy turned around to thank Michael but couldn't find him anywhere. She searched the wreckage, but he wasn't there.

Then Silena came running toward her. "Andy!" she yelled. "Come quickly! It's... It's Anthony!"

#andromeda #andy jackson #anthony chase #andony #child of land and sea #fanfic #genderbend #dfcrosas #walking on water #fem percy jackson

[jasonfry]

“Duty Roster” is my contribution to the unbelievably fun Del Rey anthology Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View. (Please go here to read more about the project and First Book, the charity it benefits.) As promised, here are some notes about the story and a discussion of its construction.

(SPOILERS MOST DEFINITELY AHEAD! SERIOUSLY! STOP!)

“Duty Roster” was my Plan B for From a Certain Point of View -- the scene I asked to do was taken. Happily, the consolation prize was pretty good: in the same email I’d also proposed a story I wanted to tell nearly as badly, which I described as “Wedge with the other pilots.” 

But I had a twist in mind: my POV character wouldn’t be Wedge, but Fake Wedge.

If you’re not a massive Star Wars dork like I am, this will require a little explanation.

That’s Wedge Antilles sitting next to Luke in the Yavin 4 briefing room as General Dodonna tells the rather skeptical pilots the plan for attacking the Death Star. Wedge says hitting a two-meter exhaust port is impossible, even for a computer; Luke, apparently hell-bent on coming across as a yokel who says nonsensical things, replies that he used to bulls-eye womp rats, which aren’t much bigger than two meters.

Here’s the funny thing: the actor in that scene isn’t Denis Lawson, who plays Wedge in the cockpit scenes in A New Hope, as well as in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. They sound the same, but they sure don’t look the same. 

That’s because they aren't the same. Wedge is played by two different people in A New Hope. In fan circles, briefing-room Wedge became known as “Fake Wedge,” and arguments about the identity of the actor who’d played him went on for years -- until Lucasfilm’s Pablo Hidalgo dug into production reports and Web images and proved that briefing-room Wedge was an English actor named Colin Higgins.

Why the switch? By Higgins’ own admission, he kept flubbing the line and got fired. Happily, Hidalgo’s discovery led to Higgins joining the Star Wars convention circuit and getting some love and recognition from fans before his death in 2012. 

So why does Wedge sound "right” in the briefing-room scene? Because all of his lines in the original trilogy were dubbed by a third actor, David Ankrum. If you were miffed by reports that Lawson had no interest in a Force Awakens cameo, perhaps you have more sympathy for him now. Also: you should stream the 1983 movie Local Hero. Lawson has a starring role, he delivers his own lines, and he’s wonderful.

Anyway, Fake Wedge became a part of Star Wars lore, with his different appearance just one of those movie moments in which you had to suspend disbelief. 

For FACPOV, I figured we could have a little fun with that. Hence my proposal: I wanted to do a pilot story about Wedge, except I’d be writing about Fake Wedge, who wasn’t Wedge at all. He was another pilot who was frequently mistaken for Wedge, and hoo boy was he tired of it.

I thought that was pretty funny. My editor thought it was pretty funny. The folks at Lucasfilm, presumably, thought it was pretty funny.

I was pleased with myself (and tweeted out a picture of a Wedge figure standing next to Aunt Beru and her blue-milk pitcher), at least until I realized something I hadn’t thought through earlier.

Fake Wedge not being the same as Wedge was a gag. It was a pretty good gag, but a pretty good gag is still just a gag. It would take about 500 words or so for me to tell that joke. What would I do after that?

That’s where I realized I’d actually signed up for something pretty challenging, and got a little worried.

“Duty Roster” wouldn’t work if it was just a Fake Wedge gag. It had to pivot from that and become something else -- a story that captured the terror of the Yavin 4 battle from the perspective of those left behind and saluted the heroism of the pilots who’d fought in it. The reader had to start off identifying with Fake Wedge, but wind up appreciating and admiring Real Wedge. And Fake Wedge had to make that same journey.

I realized that was a tough landing to stick, and 2,500 words (or however long “Duty Roster” turned out to be) wasn’t a lot of time in which to stick it. Well, there was no way to solve it except to get to work.

Before we go any further: Is “Duty Roster” canon? Beats me. I wrote it as if it were, working carefully on Red Squadron’s assignments and making sure the scenes in Massassi Base matched the movie. But that's just good practice. I suspect The Powers That Be would rule that it isn’t -- they’d say Wedge is Wedge, long pointy nose or not. Which is just fine with me -- and, for the record, would be my ruling too. My only concern was telling a good story. 

Job One was giving Fake Wedge a name. “Col” was easy -- that rather obviously honors Higgins. “Takbright” came after a couple of false starts, and was a portmanteau of two TV roles from his long career. 

From there, I told the joke, which I will now ruin by explaining. 

We see Col first, raging about the nickname he hates -- a nickname that I had to avoid specifying for as long as possible to make the joke work. A Mon Calamari tech, Kelemah, thinks Col and the person he’s confused with look alike -- but then all humans do to him. (Setup, plus mild social commentary.) Kelemah then notes that Col and his doppelganger sound exactly alike. (More setup, Ankrum tip of the cap, the most astute readers now realize what I’ve done.) A veteran pilot, Puck Naeco, almost says the forbidden nickname, but falls back to asking what, exactly, “the kid” said to make Col so mad. (Bit of misdirection, more setup.) Col recounts the two-meter objection we know as Wedge’s line. (Some readers now get it, which is a reward but means I’ve got to hurry to the punchline while they’re still smiling.) Biggs enters with other pilots, including Wedge. (Pieces moving into place.) One of those pilots, Elyhek Rue, mistakes Col for Wedge. (Board now set.) Laughter, and Puck explains that’s why Col is and will always be known as Fake Wedge. (Punchline, and scene.)

See what I mean? We’re less than two pages in and the joke has been told. Which is why I also used the gag to introduce the most important characters for the more serious story “Duty Roster” would have to become.

To pivot effectively, I couldn’t tell the joke and then take time to introduce a bunch of new characters to the reader. So we’ve got pilots and techs doing double duty for the gag and the serious story. There’s Puck, who’s Col’s mentor. Kelemah, whose technical knowledge will be critical later. Rue, who will be with us throughout. And of course Wedge himself. That’s a variant of a basic lesson: storytelling is most effective when scenes and/or characters are advancing the story on multiple fronts.

With the gag behind me, I had to establish Col as a sympathetic yet flawed character. And so I dived into that, setting up Col and Wedge as opposites in temperament and attitude. Col is dedicated to the rebel cause but thinks his anger reflects well on him; he’s too self-absorbed to realize it’s what’s holding him back. He sees Wedge as too quiet and reserved, perhaps even insufficiently devoted to the cause -- which is both unfair and untrue, and says nothing about Wedge but everything about Col’s immaturity and jealousy.

The pilots get their assignments, which is where Col’s dreams turn to dust. I had to engineer it so Luke’s flight of three is the last one filled out with pilots, and the final spot seemingly comes down to Wedge or Col. There’s no particular reason that flight would be announced last, so I suggested that Red Leader is filling flights in order from most-experienced pilots to least, with Luke a bit of a wild card since he’s just shown up. You can see the storytelling gears turning a bit there, which you’d rather avoid. But sometimes you can’t, and I like to think I got away with it.

A brief continuity note, for those who are interested: I’d filled out Red Squadron for The Essential Guide to Warfare, in a section whose most notable contribution was assigning Puck Naeco (originally introduced way back in the strategy guide for the X-wing game) to the up-for-grabs call sign Red 12. I was happy to do so again in “Duty Roster.” 

The rest of the squadron had some alterations, though, to fit Rogue One. It was obvious that X-wing pilots who’d survived Scarif would fly at Yavin 4 too, so Ralo Surrel, Harb Binli and Zal Dinnes were in, and off-screen Legends pilots Rue, Bren Quersey and Wenton Chan got sidelined. But that fit perfectly with the theme of the story. It’s no accident that Rue, Quersey and Chan are the  three pilots with Col as he watches the battle.

Col doesn’t get his spot on the mission, and so remains in the pilots’ ready room, alone in his misery. (Once again: he thinks it’s all about him.) Giving into his rage, he trashes the place -- only to realize Wedge has left his helmet behind. Wedge enters and tries to avoid a confrontation, but when Col tries to bait him he quietly but firmly puts Col in his place, showing the maturity and sense of camaraderie that Col lacks and the leadership he’ll display as a squadron leader in the future. 

It’s a moment of realization for Col. Which is why he cleans up the mess he’s made and heads for the war room to stand with his fellow pilots. That’s his turn -- and it’s because of Wedge.

Col finds his place in the war room and the Battle of Yavin unfolds as we know it. Except we learn something new that’s really important: Wedge is flying an X-wing with suspect hydraulic lines that were patched up after Scarif. It’s risky, but his choice was to fly and take the risk or stay behind, and he chose to fly.

As a fellow pilot, Col understands the risk Wedge is taking. As the battle unfolds, he thinks about how each of the squadron’s pilots has a shot at becoming the rebel hero he’s dreamed of being. That’s a bit of the old Col, but he doesn’t stop there. He cheers for them (a marked change), and also understands that some of them have no chance at glory -- they’re flying to buy the others more time, and know they’ll have to sacrifice their lives to do so.

And he understands that once Wedge’s hydraulic lines are severed, he’s as big a danger to Luke and Biggs as he is to the TIEs chasing them. So Col doesn’t blame Wedge when he peels off -- in fact, in a sign of his newfound maturity, he urges Kelemah to tell Wedge to do so. 

We then learn something else: Wedge charged his auxiliaries and tried to go back to help, which would have been a death sentence. It’s a bit of continuity added to a scene that doesn’t really work in the movie (where the heck is Wedge going?), but Col’s reaction is the key. He understands he would have done the same thing Wedge did, that it would have been a mistake, and begs Wedge not to throw away his life for nothing but pride.

The pilots return, but while everyone runs to congratulate Luke, Col hurries to find Wedge, who’s wrestling with the guilt he feels at having left the fight. It’s Col who absolves him, pointing out that Wedge took out six TIEs, ran the trench at full throttle, kept a malfunctioning fighter intact and then tried to go back. Because Wedge Antilles is that awesome, and because Col Takbright -- Fake Wedge -- has finally figured out that they’re both part of something larger, and that a single pilot’s identity (or mistaken identity) is far less important than what they can do together.

So that’s a wrap. Some other interesting bits for the trivia-minded:

Wedge’s malfunction has been described in various ways in various sources. I took bits and pieces of multiple explanations.

Luke’s simulator run is from the old Brian Daley radio dramas.

I didn’t know the canon status of Blue and Green squadrons, and didn’t want to open a canoncial can of worms. So Red Leader doesn’t know what’s happening with them either. Which makes sense -- he’s got enough on his plate. Since I couldn’t have the reader think Col could just join another squadron, I added the note about his having to go to the back of the line in such a situation.

Colonel Cor is mentioned in the Rogue One visual guide.

Kay-One-Zero is the Alliance evacuation code. Note that you don’t need to know that to understand the reference -- Quersey gives an explanation that reads right on the page but also helps those who don’t know every bit of Star Wars canon. Context is critical for making lore support a story instead of distracting the reader.

When Porkins dies, Rue quietly says “So long, Piggy, you will be avenged.” This is a thought balloon for Biggs in the original Marvel adaptation of A New Hope.

I accounted for the fates of Red Seven, Eight, Nine and Eleven, whose deaths aren’t seen on-screen.

#storytelling #star wars #From a Certain Point Of View #wedge antilles

[crystalracing]

Under the skin of the enigmatic Raikkonen

KIMI RAIKKONEN IS ONE OF THOSE BLOKES WHO polarises opinion, that people seem to either love or hate. Ironic really, considering he is the epitome of getting on with doing his own thing, not manipulating anything, staying clear of boring politics and not worrying about things he has no control over. As a private man who can be difficult to read – not to mention one who a proportion of Formula 1 followers think has passed his best –he is, as our cover suggests, F1’s enigma. Which is why Ben Anderson’sin-depth 14-page feature, beginning on page 14, is probably the best and most-balanced thing you’ll ever read about him. Based on interviews with Raikkonen himself and those around him, it properly assesses his role on the F1 grid, and in the paddock. Ferrari announced a one-year contract extension for Raikkonen on Tuesday – after the last page of our feature had gone to press – but one thing for sure is that he is closer to the end of his F1 career than the beginning, and this week’s Autosport also provides a study of a talent at the opposite end of the spectrum. There hasn’t been a buzz this big about a young British prospect since Lewis Hamilton was rising the ranks, and Kevin Turner’s chat with Lando Norris (p28)tells us all about his cracking recent F1 test with McLaren. It was good timing that the interview coincides with two more wins in the Formula 3 European Championship at Zandvoort (p40). Funny to think that Norris hadn’t even been born when Raikkonen made his Formula Renault UK debut in 1999, and was only a toddler when Kimi first raced a Formula 1 car…

“IF YOU STRUGGLE, PEOPLE SLAG YOU OFF, BUT IT DOESN’T BOTHER ME”

It is very rare that a driver comes along who challenges preconceived notions of what it takes to be a Formula 1 driver. But when a true prodigy breaks through into grand prix racing through sheer force of talent, they often create a sort of butterfly effect.The world we thought we knew before is suddenly changed, and will never be the same again. Kimi Raikkonen should go down in F1 history as one such driver. It has taken Max Verstappen’s remarkable recent ascension to motorsport’s pinnacle to further redefine the boundaries of possibility – so successful in one season of junior single-seater racing that he simply must be in F1 immediately. Since 2015, Verstappen has been thrilling fans, threatening reputations, and rewriting rules with his fearless and superlative brand of racing. Fourteen years earlier, Raikkonen laid the template –arriving with Peter Sauber’s eponymous team after a brief but highly successful stint in Formula Renault. Raikkonen had competed in fewer than 25 car races; surely he couldn’t be ready for such a monumental leap.Yet there he was – 13th on the grid for his debut in Australia, within four tenths of a second of sophomore team-mate Nick Heidfeld, scoring a point in his first GP, finishing not much more than 12 seconds behind his team-mate. Raikkonen looked immediately like he belonged – a driver so naturally gifted he could bypass F3 and F3000 completely, turn convention on its head, yet be immediately and properly competitive in F1. Truly astounding. The question with all prodigies, in any sport, is what next? Will they fully harness that ability, show the necessary will and dedication to ally proper craft to their genius, and transform themselves into a truly unstoppable force? It is this unique blend that tends to define the ultimate greatness of an athlete – whether they burn out early and fade away in the Wayne Rooney style, or evolve into an era-defining machine in the mould of Cristiano Ronaldo. Raikkonen’s stats suggest he’s something of an underachiever. This weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix will mark his 263rd grand prix start; only four drivers – Rubens Barrichello, Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso – have started more. For a driver of Raikkonen’s ability and longevity to have scored ‘only’ 20 wins and 17 pole positions, plus a single world championship achieved in fortuitous circumstances in 2007, seems out of kilter. Damon Hill would not consider himself to be the most naturally gifted driver ever to grace F1. Raikkonen could make that claim, yet Hill achieved more wins and poles than Raikkonen has, in much less than half the number of starts. And yet Raikkonen is still good enough that he is still racing for Ferrari – F1’s grandest team – at the ripe old age of 37, and Tuesday’s announcement that he will remain for 2018 means he will continue doing so for another season at least. That shows Raikkonen still has something serious to offer in the eyes of those who make the biggest decisions in Maranello. Sport is always about much more than pure numbers. Personality and style also count for as much sometimes. Raikkonen commands a strong and loyal fan base, energised by his ‘Iceman’ reputation, one he says he’s done nothing conscious to cultivate. Publicly, Raikkonen comes off as a cool, aloof, anti-hero character – a no-nonsense antidote to the clean-cut corporate image of modern racing. His ‘wild-child’ early years curry him huge favour with those followers of F1 who pine for the era of James Hunt, when drivers partied away the nights and drove by the seat of their pants in the day. But even lovable rogues like Hunt and Raikkonen are driven by a fierce competitive instinct that belies their devil-may-care reputations.We are left with a confusing picture. How to reconcile the incredible natural ability that once redrew boundaries at Sauber and McLaren, and claimed a historic post-Schumacher world championship for Ferrari, with the later seasons of struggle: bettered by Felipe Massa, outpaced by Romain Grosjean, destroyed by Alonso, now playing second fiddle to Sebastian Vettel? Herein lies the enigma of Kimi Raikkonen.

BLAZING A TRAIL AT SAUBER

Raikkonen’s first season in F1 was very strong by conventional standards for a rookie, but when you consider his fundamental lack of experience in car racing it was truly exceptional. His results were very good – four points finishes in total, twice finishing fourth (in Austria and Canada) and placing inside the top 10 in the world championship. Raikkonen made a vital contribution to what then constituted Sauber’s best F1 season, but it was his raw speed that caught the eye. Third time out, Raikkonen qualified only a tenth behind Heidfeld in Brazil, and thereafter matched his more experienced team-mate 7-7 on Saturdays. Not only that, Raikkonen performed with a calm assuredness that belied his lack of experience. “Kimi was very young [21] and not experienced at all – it was very risky,” says Sauber driver trainer Josef Leberer, who worked with Ayrton Senna at McLaren and recalls his season alongside Raikkonen with fondness. “A lot of people said, ‘I don’t understand why Sauber were doing this’. But it worked. “He’s not the kind of guy who sits days and hours on the computer. Such an intuitive driver, his instinct is incredible. This way I would say he’s one of the best. It comes naturally. No bullshit. Just wanna be fast, no excuses. “He was not spoiled, so you could talk with him and be straightforward, and he was an incredible, cool guy. Doing the massage in the morning we had to wake him up and he said, ‘Let me get an extra five minutes of sleep before the race’. I’d never seen this – the second race in Malaysia and he wanted to sleep an extra few minutes! Can you imagine being like this in your second race? “He made such an impact. We had a feeling and he was fast immediately. You could see he had the requirements to be a top driver.” Raikkonen’s extraordinary ability to drive an F1 car quickly without the educational foundation enjoyed by his peers left a lasting impression on the paddock. Renowned motor racing journalist and author David Tremayne was Sauber’s press release writer during Raikkonen’s rookie campaign. He recalls a driver aloof and reserved in public, but completely different when hidden from the glare of a camera lens. “He was very quiet, like he is now,” explains Tremayne. “You thought, ‘What is this kid like, is he going to be another Mika [Hakkinen]?’ But he clearly wasn’t in terms of the way he conducted himself – he wasn’t forthcoming. Kimi didn’t want to do any of the other bollocks. He wanted to get in the car and get on with it. “[But] at Monza I heard all this raucous laughter on top of the media bus at Sauber. I went downstairs and it was Kimi, Peter Collins, and a guy who turned out to be Kimi’s kart mechanic – and it was Kimi doing all the laughing. “It was the only time I ever saw what you might call ‘the real Kimi’– with mates, completely relaxed, no need to be protective of anything.

I think he has the ability to compartmentalise. There was a lot of fire in him but you didn’t get to see it. He’s very self-reliant. I don’t think he needs an entourage. “As a driver, he was wonderful to watch. Felipe came in the following year and he was quick but always on a different line. Kimi was just cool and calm with it – not pushing the car or wrestling with it.”So many drivers dream of being world champion, work hard to achieve that dream, but never even make it onto the grid. Others carve out opportunity but become overwhelmed by expectation or consumed by pressure. It seems Raikkonen benefited not only from exceptional natural ability behind the wheel – after all there are many drivers who share that sort of skill – but also a mental resilience and confidence that helped strip away the extra burdens that might have destroyed someone of a different character. Raikkonen never dreamed big or got carried away by the prospect of fame and fortune. It seems it was this aloof attitude, bordering on indifference, that made him so perfectly suited to thrive in F1. “It was a good team to be in; nice people – I still have lunch there,” Raikkonen tells Autosport, relaxing into his seat as we discuss the first stage of his long career in F1. “For me, it was very easy in someways because I didn’t really expect anything.“I didn’t know anything about F1. I never went to see a race. The first time I saw it live was when I was in a test myself. So for me it was like if you just go to Formula Renault [for the first time]. I had nothing to worry about – what’s the point? It either goes well or it goes bad. What can you do?” Ultimately, it went very well indeed for Raikkonen, who made such an impression that he was poached by Ron Dennis to replace retiring double world champion Hakkinen at McLaren for 2002. Even a wunderkind like Verstappen had to wait four races into his second season before earning promotion to one of F1’s biggest teams… 

McLAREN: WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN  

Some paddock insiders consider Raikkonen’s five-year stint at McLaren to be his absolute peak. His first grand prix victory at Malaysia in 2003 briefly made him F1’s youngest winner since team founder Bruce McLaren. Raikkonen won eight more times for McLaren in those five seasons, as well as taking 11 pole positions and 36 podiums from 87 starts. He quickly established himself as one of grand prix racing’s most exciting stars, but a world championship title eluded him. He was second to Alonso in 2005, but came closest to breaking through two years earlier, when Raikkonen lost out to Schumacher by just two points. “Back in those days he was massively quick,” recalls Pat Fry, McLaren’s chief engineer during Raikkonen’s stint with the team. “It’s a shame car reliability and engine reliability didn’t work for him really. If you look at him through the early 2000s, he was right up there with the best, wasn’t he? He was absolutely outstanding driving the McLaren through 2003, 2005. He should’ve won the championship in 2005.” Raikkonen was unfortunate in that his time at McLaren coincided with Schumacher’s most dominant seasons at Ferrari and latterly the brief but potent rise of Alonso at Renault. Only once during that period, in ’05, could McLaren be considered to have produced the absolute quickest car on the grid, and senior personnel admit it was too unreliable to ultimately get the job done. In this context, Raikkonen achieved much of his success against the odds. Apart from his first year with the team in 2002 – when he was paired alongside stalwart David Coulthard – Raikkonen was never beaten by his McLaren team-mate across a season. He won many admirers inside the squad for his fearless style of racing. “He was blindingly quick – sometimes the circuit wasn’t big enough to contain him in those early days, but he was pushing to the max and everyone liked it,” remembers McLaren’s chief operating officer Jonathan Neale. “He used to scare me. He scared me because he was so completely fearless. You just knew there was no way he was going to give anything less than 110%, and I don’t mean that lightly. He was just a force of nature.” Out of the car, McLaren found a “completely uncompromising” driver, whose “maverick” style didn’t always sit well with the team’s clean-cut corporate image. “We struggled to find out who he was as he didn’t say very much,” adds Neale. “[But] everybody underestimates him at their peril. He did have a fantastic sense of humour. If there were two drivers going on stage, to do a presentation or a question-and-answer session, he’d be sitting in the back and he’d do an amazing mimic. He had the voices and the phrases, all of that, so he was a sharp observer. “There was never a dull moment, but he was a great racer –somebody who is still spoken of highly in the team for what did with us, for us, and the style in which he did it, which was uncompromising. It was uncompromising in the car, it was uncompromising in the set-up, he was uncompromising on whether he wanted to be with a sponsor. It’s not always easy, but isn’t it refreshing when you find somebody who is brave enough to be candid and frank and not prepared to cower to conformity?

“He wouldn’t suffer fools. Everyone was taken at face value, no airs, no graces, nobody standing on ceremony, what you see is what get, very grounded, but enormous following with the mechanics and engineers – real loyalty. “Because that fire burns very intensely, it was kind of polarising –either you got it or you didn’t. It is quite difficult getting engineers close to him – to be able to have that rapport and reach him without being too much, too little, not a fool. “Any whiff of bullshit and you were toast! But [race engineer] Mark Slade was very good with Kimi and they had an understanding. Mark knew when to leave him alone, and when to push him and there were occasions when Mark was quite assertive with him, but because he built up that trust he could be. It is easy to be intimidated by somebody of that temperament.” Slade has worked with Raikkonen twice through the Finn’s F1 career – first at McLaren and later at Lotus. Slade responded well to Raikkonen’s no-nonsense attitude and fussiness for precision. He says the Raikkonen that drove for McLaren arrived at Woking “well-rounded” and was “massively impressive”. “He knew how to manage tyres, he knew how to set up the car – it was like working with someone who’d done it for five years,” Slade recalls. “He knew exactly what he wanted. It was not like working with a new driver. “The only aspect that was a little bit ragged early on was in qualifying, when we had to put the fuel in the car for the race, so 2003. He had a little bit of a tendency to want to be on pole regardless of the amount of fuel in the car. And there were a couple of races where he went off trying to achieve too much. “We basically banned him from watching the other drivers’qualifying laps. We just told him, ‘Go out and drive the car as quickly as it will go’. We did that for the rest of this season and he didn’t do any more mistakes.” Raikkonen is often portrayed as a lazy driver – someone who simply relies on his natural feel for the car but isn’t particularly interested in doing anything other than driving. Slade argues that’s a misunderstanding of Raikkonen’s approach. It’s not that he is uninterested, rather that he sees clear delineation in responsibilities within teams, and wants to trust those around him to do their jobs properly without interference. Slade admits this approach can compromise Raikkonen when internal politics arise.

“There were times at McLaren when things didn’t go the way they should have for Kimi and if he had been just a little bit more involved, that could have swapped things around a bit,” Slade says. “In the middle of 2005 there were certain things happening with the design direction of the car that didn’t suit Kimi and there was a lot of tension and pressure. I was having to fight Kimi’s corner, because he wasn’t really doing much himself. That was quite stressful. “He didn’t like hanging around in the office for very long. His debriefs were very short, but he gave us the important points and that was almost perfect for me, because it meant we didn’t spend lots of time talking about what was not relevant. He won’t rant about it. It’s just, ‘That’s what we need to fix’. Simple as that. “If people try to push him in a different direction, it’s not going to work because you need him on board. You need to be on board with him and he needs to be on board with you. For me, it was enjoyable to work with him, because it was logical and straightforward. “One of the biggest difficulties with drivers who are less consistent with their approach is trying to filter out this inconsistency. It becomes very difficult very quickly. If he came in saying there’s something wrong with the car, the chances are there’s something wrong with the car – even if you can’t see that on data. Ninety-nine percent of the time he’s right. “When we were doing Michelin tyre testing, they desperately wanted him to do the testing. They told us at one point that he was the best test driver that they worked with. They used to give a little array of tick boxes for different characteristics of the tyre – what the tyres were doing, what the characteristics of the different compounds were. They said there were some drivers who got most of the points correct, but he always got them all correct. “And his consistency of lap time when we tested eight different compounds – his baselines would be within one tenth, and that meant that they could properly analyse the lap time data as well as the driver’s comments.” Slade says he’s never seen anything else like Raikkonen’s “extraordinary level of sensitivity” to the car, to the point where Raikkonen could detect problems with McLaren’s traction control so aware the engineers couldn’t see in their trackside data. The chase for a ‘perfect car’ can be a real curse when too many things aren’t working correctly, but this degree of feel made Raikkonen a formidable weapon during F1’s tyre war between Bridgestone and Michelin. “That played a big part of how it went,” says Raikkonen. “I was very happy to do the tyre tests. We could test 20 different sets of tyres and choose exactly what you wanted, whatever you feel is best for you. It was one extra thing that you could use.” Raikkonen does not agree with those, such as Williams technical chief Paddy Lowe, who would say his McLaren years represent Raikkonen at his peak. But he was certainly unfortunate not to win at least one world title with McLaren, and Slade recalls some truly stunning drives by Raikkonen during that period. “No doubt Michael, Fernando and Kimi were the three guys,” argues Slade, who feels Raikkonen could have won “15 straight races” in 2005 with better reliability. “Then, just slightly behind, DC, [Juan Pablo] Montoya and a few others. When it came to the driving and his racecraft, Kimi was right up there.“In the middle part of the [2005] season the car was phenomenal and he was driving phenomenally well. At Monza, he qualified fastest with the full tank of fuel [before a grid penalty]; at Silverstone, he was half a second per lap quicker than Montoya, who won the race; in France he started 13th and finished second. Japan was awesome because he came from the back and won. “One of the best races he ever did was Indianapolis in 2003, when we were on the Michelin wets and the Michelin wets were rubbish. He finished second. It was fantastic. He just drove his heart out. He didn’t win the race, but it was an absolutely phenomenal drive. “Nurburgring 2006 – the engine was terrible that year and he finished fourth. I remember him coming to the bus afterwards, sweat pouring off him, and he said, ‘I just drove 60 qualifying laps’, and you could see he had. We knew he had to drive phenomenally well to achieve that with the car we had then.” By now Raikkonen had grown increasingly frustrated with life at McLaren and reputedly made an agreement with Ferrari as early as late-2005 to join the Scuderia for 2007. “He signed with Ferrari two years before he moved to Ferrari,” confirms his then-Ferrari team-mate Massa. “I remember when I signed for Ferrari, Kimi already has his contract; the only way I stay in Ferrari is if Michael stops.” Schumacher announced his first retirement from F1 after winning the 2006 Italian GP at Monza. Thus, the way was clear for Raikkonen and Massa to usher in a new era at Maranello.

MARK SLADE RAIKKONEN’S ENGINEER AT McLAREN AND LOTUS

Does Kimi have particular traits in his driving? He’s very, very smooth, very gentle, very precise – minimal inputs into the car. He wants the car to do the work. Most drivers tend to be a bit more aggressive with inputs, which can have benefits when the tyres are hard and difficult to get into the working window. The other thing is power steering. He came to us and complained about power steering. We spent a lot of time fixing it. Then he went to Ferrari and apparently complained about power steering there. Then he came back to Lotus and complained about power steering. So the feel of the steering is very, very important. He doesn’t want any friction in it. He doesn’t want any play on the brake pedal. Also, Mark [Arnall] always carried a special cloth to clean the windscreen, because if there was a slightest finger print or scratch, we had to change it.

He says he hates understeer and you often hear him complain about the front… Even at McLaren there were occasions where we did have issues. Canada was a good one in 2005. We were slower on new tyres than on used tyres because he couldn’t get the new tyre temperature to work. The start of the lap can be a real problem if he just hasn’t got the front grip that he needs to get the car into corners. I would say that’s probably the only real weakness. There were times also that was an advantage, because he was a lot more gentle on tyres. When we won the race with Lotus in 2013 in Melbourne, he just walked away with it because he could do one stop. Those tyres were absolutely perfect for him, then Pirelli changed the tyres and that disadvantaged him unfortunately.

Why does he often seem to make mistakes in qualifying? He takes a high-risk approach to qualifying. It’s all about corner entry speed. And if you get the corner wrong you tend to drop a lot of time. Other drivers probably prioritise the exit a little bit more. He’s trying to carry speed through; that is high risk. 

WORLD CHAMPION THEN DITCHED BY FERRARI

Raikkonen’s Ferrari career got off to a dream start – pole position and victory in his first race in Melbourne, and of course he went on to claim the championship as Ferrari backed his bid to overhaul the McLarens of Alonso and rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton. Raikkonen succeeded in this mission by a solitary point when team-mate Massa moved aside for him to win the season finale in Brazil.“For me it counts much more than any others – if I had won with McLaren or with somebody else,” Raikkonen says. “Ferrari is Ferrari.I got close a few times in the McLaren. I mean yes in some people’s eyes I [could] have won three championships. I didn’t deserve it.In the end, whoever gets the most points deserves it. “Would I be happier with three championships? It makes no difference. I am happy with what I have achieved.” It felt as though F1 almost owed Raikkonen that championship– regardless of the peculiar circumstances – as payback for the disappointment and near-misses at McLaren. But although he finally conquered the world in his first season as a Ferrari driver, Raikkonen never fully established himself as the team’s number one. Raikkonen says his biggest concern before coming to Ferrari was having to adjust to Bridgestone tyres after years spent honing his car on Michelin rubber, but according to Rob Smedley – Massa’s race engineer throughout Raikkonen’s first stint at Ferrari – the tyres were “never the limiting factor” for Raikkonen during this period.“In terms of raw talent he definitely was one of the best drivers on the grid when he came to us,” Smedley says. “[But] he very much needs a particular set-up. He needs the front to work for him very positively. He turns the car in very early, a little bit like Michael, like Fernando, like Valtteri [Bottas]. They turn very early in the corner, and due to that he’s very demanding on the front-end in that phase of the corner.“He needs to start sending the car into the apex almost immediately when he starts thinking about the corner, especially in medium-speed corners. When he first came to us, it took us a longtime to understand what he wanted. “He’s the driver who, probably the most I’ve ever seen of anyone, is absolutely and entirely unfazed by rear locking at the start of heavy braking. To be able to deal with that and not to be fazed by that is something quite incredible. “We spent a lot of our time in that winter of 2007 attempting to understand how on earth he was putting the brake balance so far rearward. He was running probably 8% more rearward than Felipe and the other drivers – that’s another planet. “We were quite surprised by that, but actually what he was trying to do, in his own way, was to make the car turn as soon as he asked for it.As soon as he asked for response out of the steering, he wanted the car to turn. He had a particular way of driving the car and I think it took us a little bit of time to understand that. Once we did, we got performance from him.” But not consistently. Raikkonen was closely matched with Massa through most of 2007, but would likely have been asked to support his team-mate’s own bid for the championship had Massa not suffered a damper failure while running ahead of Raikkonen in that year’s Italian GP – and narrowly leading Raikkonen in the standings. Massa, who describes Raikkonen as “for sure one of the strangest people I’ve met”, was a fan of the Finn’s honesty as a team-mate, but rates Schumacher and Alonso higher: “Definitely Michael and Fernando were stronger – not quicker, but more complete.” The following year Raikkonen was cast into the supporting role, as his title defence fell apart amid a run of four consecutive non-scoring races in the second half of the season. Massa was unlucky not to become world champion in ’08 and was Ferrari’s leading driver through the first part of a difficult 2009 campaign too, before he suffered a terrible head injury during qualifying for the Hungarian GP. “We never were really comfortable – like if you drive and you have to try and do things that are not normal,” says Raikkonen of his first stint at Ferrari. “We never really found it and put things together. We changed the cars a little bit, but we just struggled compared to what we did in the first bit.” Raikkonen showed flashes of form in a very difficult 2009 Ferrari, which was not a strong answer to the regulatory upheaval of the previous winter. He qualified on the front row and finished third at Monaco, but he wasn’t proving so relentlessly impressive as he had done in his McLaren years– against a team-mate not rated as one of the absolute best on the grid.

“In ’08 Felipe was still in the stage of rapid improvement and overall Felipe was pretty much quicker than him, definitely in qualifying,” adds Smedley, who reckons Raikkonen’s “pure natural talent” made him better than Massa at looking after the rear tyres in races.“That was one of the things that really surprised me, because I expected him to come in and be blisteringly quick but not really manage things in such a mechanically sympathetic way, and in fact the opposite was true. One of the strengths he’s always got is that he can take the tyres further than anybody else and, wherever he goes, the team tries to exploit that.“It’s never a matter of application with Kimi – you just plug him in and he just does it. You often wonder [what would happen] if he had the level of application of others with his level of natural skill and tenacity, [but] one thing you can say about him is that he doesn’t bring any politics. The guy is absolutely apolitical.“I think that comes a little bit from not being interested in this world. The thing that is really important to him is going racing on a Sunday afternoon, qualifying, trying to be better than anybody else. And all the other periphery bits do not interest him. “And that’s kind of where he probably differs to 99.9% of the rest of us in F1. You wake up thinking about it, you go to sleep thinking about it – much to the annoyance of my wife! But that’s how we are– constantly striving to do better and be the best. I don’t think Kimi has that. I mean, he likes it here, he comes and drives his car, then he goes home, and doesn’t think about it a great deal after that.” The feeling inside Ferrari was that Massa was establishing himself as the quicker driver, and that messed with Raikkonen’s head. Raikkonen’s form certainly picked up following Massa’s accident. Kimi was on the podium at Budapest, Valencia and Monza, and beat Giancarlo Fisichella’s Force India to victory at Spa. His performances were made to look all the more remarkable by how badly Massa’s stand-ins Luca Badoer (who qualified slowest of all at Valencia and Spa) and Fisichella (who took over after Spa) struggled. But it wasn’t enough for Ferrari, which elected to pay Raikkonen out of the final two years of his contract to bring Alonso on board for 2010. Raikkonen is still guarded about the events that unfolded behind closed doors at Maranello, but says he was keen to get out of F1 in any case. “I have nothing to hide really,” says Raikkonen, who originally never planned for a long career in F1. “That’s how it played out and I was happy at that point to say, ‘OK, that’s fine and I’ll go’. Honestly, somethings happen in life and I didn’t feel bad about it. Obviously, I had a contract, but that got dealt with. They obviously wanted something else at that point, and for me that’s how it goes sometimes. I wanted to do something else anyhow.”

RETURN FROM THE WILDERNESS

Raikkonen was temporarily done with F1, but F1 wasn’t done with him. Throughout his two-year stint experimenting in the World Rally Championship, proposals were made for his return. Eventually, Raikkonen realised he missed the joy of wheel-to-wheel competition so began thinking seriously about a comeback. He held talks with Williams – “I had a meeting with Toto [Wolff]; he came to my home” – and Lotus, before opting to make his comeback with the Enstone outfit.“The year before I got people asking me if I wanted to come back– there was a lot of talk but I felt if I want to come back I needed to have a current team that people will at least try to put the money into,” Raikkonen explains. “I didn’t need the money, but I wanted a car and a team that actually had some chances to do something good, rather than just being there.”Raikkonen enjoyed a superb first season with Lotus. He finished every one of the 20 races held in 2012, was on the podium seven times, and claimed a victory in Abu Dhabi – the infamous GP where he told the team to “leave me alone I know what I’m doing” over the radio while preparing for a safety car restart.Then-Lotus team principal Eric Boullier recalls a driver who was“a bit rusty over one lap” at first, but “brilliant” in the races, despite spending two seasons out of the game.“His capability and racecraft was amazing,” recalls Boullier.“The good thing for him [was] he had Grosjean near to him, and he [Grosjean] was very fast on one lap but not as good [overall].The most amazing thing about Kimi is he has a great understanding.He has a GPS in his head. He’s doing his own strategy, it’s amazing. ”Boullier recalls the 2012 Hungarian GP as the perfect example of Raikkonen’s craft, where the Finn came from the third row of the grid to beat Grosjean (who qualified on the front row) to second by saving his tyres and running longer in each stint. “You just have to guess sometimes what he wants, because he’snot the best communicator in the world,” Boullier adds. “Kimi gets quite stressed sometimes; he needs people who understand him and can handle him.“He is charismatic – actually, his charisma is strong enough to make people fans of him. What would be better would be to have more motivation to push people around him. He’s not as complete as maybe a Vettel, but he is a great driver. Some drivers need support. He’s one of the guys who can do it on his own. He’s incredibly talented.“He’s quite easy [to work with] to be honest – as long as you give him space to breathe and you’re not on his back all the time.

That was key – to let him live his life. ”Reuniting Raikkonen with Slade (who came across from Mercedes to work with Kimi again) also proved crucial in helping Raikkonen get the most from his comeback, and Lotus get the best out of Raikkonen. “When he first came back, he was really enthusiastic,” remembers Slade. “Unfortunately, he got messed around a bit on the salary side of things. That was an annoyance, but in terms of the driving, I felt he was still exactly the same. I don’t think it’s any secret that he’snot a big fan of the F1 paddock scene and the stuff that goes with it.”It seemed those two seasons of F1, racing on the most extremely fragile rubber of the Pirelli control tyre era, also suited Raikkonen’s particular skillset. Often he would score a big result by making fewer pitstops than his rivals, but Raikkonen himself reckons the design of that generation of Lotus – conceived by James Allison’s team around the Renault V8 engine and exhaust-blown downforce – made more of a difference, giving him the “pure front-end” grip he needs to drive well. Whatever, the combination gelled superbly. Raikkonen added eight more podiums to his tally in 2013, winning the first race of the season in Melbourne and finishing second six times. An unfortunate retirement at Spa that year (thanks to a visor tear-off blocking a brake duct) broke an incredible run of 27 consecutive points finishes stretching back to the Bahrain GP of 2012. “He’s relentless,” says Slade. “I’d say Fernando is the closest in terms of achieving consistent results.” But into the latter part of 2013, Grosjean began to establish himself as the stronger and generally faster of the two Lotus drivers,even though he was twice defeated by Raikkonen overall in the championship. Grosjean describes Raikkonen as “the perfect  benchmark” and says he learned a lot from racing alongside the Finn. “As team-mates we didn’t talk much – maybe three times in two years!” Grosjean says. “Everybody thinks he doesn’t give a shit; he actually does. He works. Same as Fernando – the only thing he thinks on Sunday is 2pm, how to get the car to where he wants it to go.“Once I had a rear soft spring for a race and Kimi tried it and liked it. He was pushing to get the springs. He was trying even though you think he doesn’t [care]. It was interesting that everybody thinks he [just] comes and drives the car and goes. He actually works. ”Their head-to-head record as team-mates is also skewed slightly by the fact Raikkonen skipped the final two races of 2013 – quitting the team over a financial dispute and electing to have surgery on a long-standing back injury, legacy of a testing accident during his first season in F1 at Sauber. “Unfortunately the whole thing [was] destroyed by people that, in my mind, were just stupid to be honest,” Raikkonen says. “They had a great thing on their hands. “It’s not my business, but I left there purely because I didn’t get paid. Without it, who knows? But then obviously I got the offer from Ferrari. I never had a bad feeling with them when I left, despite people thinking that. You know how people always think it will end in a mess, but they offered me a new deal and I went back.”

WHY RAIKKONEN OWES HIS SECOND F1 CAREER TO RALLYING AND NASCAR

Kimi Raikkonen’s two-year sabbatical from F1 in 2010-2011 led him to try his hand at other forms of motorsport he’d long wished to dabble in but never had the time to do so while fully absorbed into grand prix racing’s goldfish bowl. Having sampled Rally Finland in the summer of 2009, Raikkonen contested most of the 2010 World Rally Championship as part of the Citroen Junior Team, and nine rounds of the 2011 championship with a DS 3 run under his own ‘Ice 1 Racing’ banner. There were many incidents, but also many top 10s. “I always wanted to try the rally stuff, because it looks so difficult,”says Raikkonen. “I wanted to see how it would go and I was happy to have the help from Red Bull to do it. I still think it’s a great sport, it’s so difficult. The problem is that it needs time – experience counts a lot more in rallying than in circuit racing.“In rallying you have to put the same effort in driving, but you [also] have to listen to your co-driver. The most difficult thing is that you have to think about what he says and then react. That takes too much time. When that starts to happen automatically then you can go faster, then it gets easier.I was close to getting to that point,then things happened and I ended up back in F1. ”Raikkonen also travelled Stateside in 2011, to try his hand at NASCAR. He contested the lower-tier Nationwide and Truck series races at Charlotte, qualifying mid-pack for his Nationwide outing.It was this experience that refired Raikkonen’s enthusiasm for circuit racing and accelerated his F1 return. “Without that happening then I would definitely not be here today,”he says. “I would never have lasted this long if I hadn’t had a few years doing something else, trying things.

MARANELLO COMEBACK

It was during Raikkonen’s financial dispute with Lotus that he agreed a two-year deal to return to Maranello. Initially, it looked as though signing Raikkonen was the perfect insurance policy for Ferrari,which seemed in danger of losing Alonso after failing to carry the fight to Vettel and Red Bull in 2013. But despite publicly criticising the team and being admonished by company president Luca di Montezemolo, Alonso stayed put (for the moment) and he and Raikkonen became team-mates for 2014, as Massa departed for a fresh start at Williams. Raikkonen’s first season back at the Scuderia was a real struggle.The first year of F1’s current V6 hybrid turbo era was Ferrari’s least competitive since 1993. The car was bad, Raikkonen couldn’t adapt it to his driving style, and was demolished in the championship by Alonso, 161 points to 55. Jonathan Neale recalls how McLaren found its suspension development pulled “in two different directions” owing to Raikkonen’s demand for instant steering response from its cars, and Pat Fry, who was Ferrari’s chief engineer when Raikkonen returned in 2014, found his team coming up against an age-old problem – one exacerbated by stiff and hard Pirelli tyres that Raikkonen often struggled to get working for a single flying lap in qualifying. “He has a very smooth driving style – you’ve got to get rid of the understeer in the car,” says Fry. “You can obviously play around with suspension geometries and stuff like that to try and give him the feel,and sort out power-steering and all that stuff. ”The process was made trickier by Alonso’s long-standing presence as Ferrari’s number one driver, which inevitably led the team in a development direction that suited Alonso, before he departed for the ill-fated McLaren-Honda project.“In all the years I’ve worked with Kimi, the year I saw him struggle the most was that first year back at Ferrari,” says his long-time trainer Mark Arnall. “Coming from Lotus, where he had a good front-end on the car and had podium after podium after podium, it’s not like he suddenly forgot how to drive – he just couldn’t get a balance with that 2014 car.” But Raikkonen commanded the faith of technical director James Allison, with whom he worked at Lotus previously, and knew that he would have to play the long game at Ferrari to get back to where he needed to be.“I knew what I was getting into,” Raikkonen says. “With the engineers, I wouldn’t say they were bad – maybe the fit wasn’t what I wanted. It just didn’t work, I suppose, and our car was not very good.

“The front end has to be right there. If it’s not right, it’s not right,unfortunately. When it’s right things are very easy. Even when you have a good year, it’s a little percentage that’s perfect. There’s always something. There’s so many things that you have no control over.“Some days everything goes perfectly fine, and some days whatever you do it seems to be against you, but I’ve been long enough in the sport to know it. People look at you in one race and if you struggle they slag you off, but I’m used to it so it doesn’t bother me too much.“I want myself to do well and I know what I can do. That’s more important for me. Obviously, it’s not nice when you are in a team like Ferrari and the results are not coming, [but] I had no issues with them and I knew that things would turn out to be just fine with time. It just took some patience.” Raikkonen’s form has gradually improved since that annus horribilis, during which time the Ferrari senior management has changed, the technical structure has changed, the identity of his team-mate has changed, and so has his engineering group. Drafting in Dave Greenwood as his race engineer at the end of 2014 has made a massive difference for Raikkonen. “The car has been getting better and better every year, and a big part for me has been the people,” Raikkonen explains. “Dave is for sure one of the greatest guys that I have ever worked with. I would compare him with Slade – I very highly rate them. “For me it’s important that when we do something, everything has to be exactly like it should be. A very easy example: the ride height,if it’s [supposed] to be 20mm, it has to be 20mm; it can’t be 21mm or 19mm.“When everything is ‘close enough’, and you have five or six things like that, we all know in F1 how much difference small things make,then suddenly the lap time is not so perfect anymore.”Vettel has generally outperformed Raikkonen since arriving at Maranello in 2015, but their similar set-up demands and harmonious working relationship is helping drive Ferrari’s development in a single direction, and the Scuderia is now finally carrying the fight to Mercedes in the world championship – though it is Vettel leading the charge rather than Raikkonen. “Of all F1 drivers, he is probably closer to him [Vettel] than any of the others,” says Arnall, who arranged for Vettel to travel with Raikkonen on a private jet when Vettel was first in F1, and recalls Vettel’s rapid progression playing badminton against Raikkonen. “Kimi always liked Seb and I think Seb always liked Kimi. They are good friends – as much as you can be in this sort of environment. “The thing about Kimi is that he is not political at all, so I think to be a team-mate of, he is actually very easy as he doesn’t stir up any shit in the background – he is very transparent. Harmony in the team is something that is massively underrated. It makes a huge difference.”Paired alongside Vettel, Raikkonen’s own performances have steadily improved too, to the point where he has earned three contract extensions, which will keep him in F1 until after his 39th birthday.Questions about his ultimate speed and consistency remain, though, stoked further by occasional criticism from Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne, who has described Raikkonen as an occasional “laggard” in races. But Raikkonen’s pole position in Monaco proves he can still be faster than anyone when things are right, and his pernickety obsession with car set-up and tyre behaviour, plus the deep levels of valuable experience from F1’s tyre war era he can bring to bear in an age of severely limited testing, make him a valuable commodity, even if the price is the odd lacklustre performance.“I think Kimi is one of those guys that if he thought, ‘I just can’t drive one of these cars as quick as I used to’, he would stop,” reckons Arnall. “Kimi brings a shit load of experience,he’s very good with the development of the car, very non-political, an easy team-mate for people to have, so I think as an overall package,he is [still] very good.“I think his belief is that he can still compete near the top. He is very honest with himself – if he didn’t think that was the case, he’d stop.”Many would argue that he should have stopped a while ago, that his continuing presence on the grid, in such a coveted seat, is baffling when you consider he hasn’t been definitively quicker than any of his last four team-mates in F1. But what does Raikkonen himself think – does he believe he is as good a driver now as he ever was? “That’s so hard to say,” he replies. “I feel that I can drive as well as 2007 and 2001, or whatever people think has been my best ever [year]. For me, if I didn’t feel that I can drive well, or couldn’t win races or championships, I wouldn’t be here, because I don’t have interest to waste my own time and everyone else’s time. “I value my own time too much to use it on something that I wouldn’t be happy with, or that I wouldn’t think that I can actually do well. Plus, all the other people who would waste their time and money or on something that I just want to be part of. It’s not the most friendly place to be if you don’t really want to be…” That Ferrari continues to place its faith in Raikkonen suggests it feels, beyond the headline results and numbers, that he is still fundamentally among the very best drivers in the world, and that it recognises those deeper layers of style, character, substance and ability that make Raikkonen something more than the sum of his parts. He is enigmatic and mercurial, hasn’t been world champion for a decade, but clearly possesses extra qualities that F1’s biggest team finds are still worth investing in. He may lack the single-minded dedication of some of his peers,he may not be the out-and-out fastest driver on the grid anymore, he may well be too Button-esque in his over-reliance on particular car characteristics to drive quickly. He may not be as adaptable as some of his rivals, and F1 may only be a job to him, rather than an all-consuming obsession – but what’s wrong with being naturally gifted enough at your job that you don’t feel the need to take your work home with you every day?His critics will argue that’s not good enough, that Raikkonen has long outstayed his welcome. If Ferrari hands him another contract extension, they will no doubt be outraged if this enigma is given yet another lease of life. But one thing is for sure, Raikkonen will not care what they think. “I can live my life very happy,” Raikkonen says. “Obviously, my aim is to win races and I’m not happy when I’m not doing well. My biggest issue when I’m getting older is that I care too much. In the past, I didn’t care much. Now, when I have a bad weekend it’s more painful because I care more. Before it was still painful, but I got over it very quickly. “I never tried to be anything else than myself. If people like it, that’s good; if people don’t like it, that’s fine. As long as I’m happy what I’m doing, that’s my only interest. I’m not trying to please people because then I don’t live my life as I should. I live my life for myself. “I always said I have a life and that F1 is just a part of that. It’s not like F1 is all your life and then you have nothing. In my mind, I have the opposite. I mean F1, yes I love it and I enjoy doing it, but it’s not my life. My life is outside of it, and that’s how it should be.”

MARK ARNALL- RAIKKONEN’S LONG-TIME PERSONAL TRAINER

How does the Kimi of now compare to the Kimi you first knew back in 2001?

He didn’t really care too much about the PR stuff, he wasn’t interested in that glamour side of it, being famous, I think he would much rather be anonymous! Every time he got in the car all he wanted to do was drive the crap out of it. When I started working with him, I could never imagine him being a father. Now seeing him with two kids is a phenomenal transformation. He is fantastic dad. I think all drivers, everyone learns, go through life and grow; experience teaches a lot. If you look at Kimi, the PR stuff he does now and what the sponsors say, everyone is super happy with him, and he’s got a global following of fans.

He doesn’t give much away in public; is he a shy character?

I think that mysterious side to him is intriguing for people. I don’t think he is particularly shy – the whole fan side of things,he obviously understands Formula 1, knows he is a popular driver, but it is not something he deliberately tries to play to, he just tries to get on with the job and what comes with it comes with it. One area he is very good is with kids. There was a guy who come up to me in Spa once, with this charity, to say this girl has cancer and she’d just love a picture with him or to say ‘hi’, and he spent 25 minutes sitting down and talking to her.

Is he quite a difficult character to work with? He polarises opinion – some people get him and say he is brilliant,others say he is completely closed off, difficult to work with…

The nicest thing I’d say about Kimi is what you see is what you get. Zero bullshit, zero politics. Kimi’s always been his own character and will always make his own decisions. He’s got a very strong head on those shoulders, so if he doesn’t want to do something, it is really difficult to get him to do it.

It sounds like he is not too demanding, quite independent and knows his own mind.

That is quite an accurate description of what he is like. I think he is probably the opposite to what most people think. If I was to describe Kimi, it would be ‘Mr 110%’. Goes into the gym and goes 110%. If he is lying on his sofa, he’ll go 110% horizontal! When he drives anything, it would be 110%, if he goes out it is 110%. I think that is just the way he lives his life.

The public persona is the ‘Iceman’: cool, disinterested, closed-off. Is he really like that?

In most situations, he is like that, but Kimi is actually a very warm, big-hearted character, and he has got a phenomenal sense of humour, but that is not really something people see. He needs to like people as well. If he doesn’t particularly like being with someone, he doesn’t do anything other than just ignore them.There is no bullshit, if he doesn’t like someone, he is quite straight about it. I think I’ve seen all the different versions of him, but I wouldn’t carry on working with him if I thought he was an arse. I actually really like him. I think he is super genuine, superkind. That is something people don’t really see so much.

#Kimi Raikkonen #raikkonen #f1 humor #F1 News #F1 #Formula One #Formula 1 #sauber #mclaren #Scuderia Ferrari #ferrari #mark arnall #mark slade

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Shot by the Gods- Meet the Parent Part 2

Summary: A series of One Shots, Ficlets, or Drabbles from my Gods of LS AU.  While Gavin and Ryan are away, Geoff and Michael rob a gas station. One store patron, a young woman, is apathetic to the whole situation. They assume she's a reaper and take her back to the penthouse for Ryan to deal with when he gets home. But this girl is not what she seems.

Chapter: 13/?

Word Count: 2,578

Note: Takes place after Causing Chaos and directly after Meet the Parent 

Previous / AO3

While Gavin and Ryan were gone, the rest of the crew still wanted to play. Even though their trip to England was only going to be a week long, the crew still wanted to keep busy. Jack and Jeremy had found other ways to take a break such as Jack visiting with her girlfriend, or Jeremy getting to have casual hangouts with B-team. Geoff was feeling antsy and was itching to cause some crime anyway.

With Ryan away, Geoff felt that he could rob another Limited LTD Gas station. It was small enough that he wouldn’t need Gavin or B-team tot back him up. Michael asked to join him on this small robbery, saying that his son, Lucas, was almost one and that he needed to stay in the game whenever he could.

Geoff and Michael drove to Mirror Drive without much of a plan and headed into the store. “HANDS UP!” Geoff yelled pulling out his gun. Michael followed behind, firing a few shots. Store patrons began screaming in fear and Michael began to shoot at them in response. Geoff ran up to the cashier. “Give me all the money!” he demanded. The cashier nervously opened the register and began pulling money out.

Michael began shuffling around the store to see if he could get any money off of anyone else in the store. He was pulling money off of a corpse when he heard someone yell, “Holy shit, I think that work!” He turned and walked to where he heard the voice coming from and saw a young girl, who couldn’t be older than twenty-three, open and shut the bathroom door.

“Hey, kid,” he called out to get the girl’s attention.

The girl didn’t turn to acknowledge him. “Mama’s treating herself to a Mountain Dew in celebration,” she said to herself, ignoring Michael.

“Hey! Kid!” Michael called out again. The girl continued to ignore him and walked over to the sodas. He ran over to the girl and grabbed her shoulder. “HEY! KID!” he screamed and he ran over to the girl and grabbed her shoulder.

The girl looked up at him casually. “Can I help you?” she asked.

“Why the fuck didn’t you respond when I was calling you?” he asked.

“Were you referring to me when you were calling out, ‘kid’? Because, I’m older than your parents,” then she gave Michael a look, up and down, “by the way, that’s a nice Mi-Mogar cosplay you got there.” she complimented while inferring that she knew Michael’s identity. Michael couldn’t take the absurdity anymore and began firing at the girl. The bullet went through the girl, but she continued to stand there as if nothing was happening. “Ooh, and a gun prop with smoke and sound effects. Nice touch,”

“GGGGGAAAAAAAHHHHHH!” Michael screamed.

“What’s up?” Geoff asked as he rounded the corner carrying a sack full of cash.

“THIS BITCH WON’T TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY AND DIE!” Michael screamed.

Thee girl looked up at Geoff. “Kingpin’s here too?” she asked. Then she felt soda spraying out from the broken glass behind her, confirming that Mogar actually was shooting at her. “The Fake AH Crew actually is here. That’s awfully convenient and I shouldn’t really be surprised.”

Geoff pointed his gun at the girl. “What exactly do you want with the Fakes?” he asked.

“I’d like you to take me so I could meet Vaga… bond,” she explained, implying that she knew the Vagabond’s true identity a well. Geoff didn’t like the sound of it. Then he scurried over to the girl and tried to ram her into the coolers. He was very surprised when his hand slammed into the cooler door. He looked up and realized his hand was going through the girl’s chest, like she was intangible. “Your hand’s going through my chest, scandalous,” she joked. “In all seriousness though, I’m physically incapable of being harmed. You can imprison anyway, if you so desire, I’ll be captured willingly.”

“Throw her in the back of the car when we leave,” Geoff groaned as he finished everything up with the robbery. Michael nodded and gave the money he collected to Geoff and threw the girl over his shoulder. They rushed back out to the car and threw the girl in the trunk.

They drove back to the penthouse. Michael carried the girl to one of the interrogation rooms. Geoff noticed Jack sitting on the couch in the living room. “Hey Jack, how was your date?” he asked.

Jack looked up at him. “It was fine, Caiti’s doing great. How was the robbery? I see you took a hostage,” she questioned back.

“Yeah. Strange character, this one is. Speaking of which, are Gav and Rye coming back today, and where do we keep the reaper cuffs?”

“Yes, the two of them are coming back today and the cuffs are in Ryan’s room,” she answered. “But do you really think it’s a good idea to make Ryan do an interrogation the day he gets back?”

Geoff sighed, “look, I’m pretty sure we have a rogue reaper on our hands, and we’re gonna need the God of Death to take care of it. Now if you excuse me, I gotta go contain this chick before she stops the whole, ‘compliance act’, and starts causing serious trouble,” Geoff finished before he walked off.

He used the special reaper cuffs to cuff the girl to the chair, then he called Ryan and told him that they needed him for an interrogation at the penthouse. Within the hour, he and Gavin entered the penthouse.

“Again, I’m really sorry about how my mother treated you,” Gavin apologized to Ryan as the two of them walked in.

Ryan walked in behind him and sighed. “I told you, I’m not mad about it. I don’t know why your mother was so keen on misinforming herself, but I promise I’m not mad.”

“Ryan, glad you’re here. How was meeting Gav’s mom?” Geoff greeted as he walked over to Ryan.

“Turns out, she hates Vaga.”

“Ouch. Well, maybe disciplining one of your reapers will make you feel better.”

“I suppose we can hope.”

“Great. Now come with me,” Geoff directed.

Ryan looked at Gavin before he was ready to follow Geoff. “Don’t worry, love. I can catch up with Michael while you go do your job,” Gavin reassured him. Ryan nodded and went to follow Geoff.

When Ryan caught up to him, Geoff spoke again. “Look, this reaper is a bit odd and she wanted to meet you for some reason. I don’t know what her deal is, but I can assume she’s some sort of trouble maker.”

“Discipline the reaper, got it,” Ryan replied in understanding.

The got to the holding room and Ryan grabbed the door handle. “I’m gonna go back to the living room while you handle this, if that’s okay.” Geoff told him.

Ryan nodded and proceeded into the room. He saw a young-looking girl whom he didn’t recognize cuffed to a chair at a table in the center of the room. “Finally, the man I’ve wanted to meet! How are you darling?” the girl asked. Ryan stared at her, confused. “Look,” the girl started, “I completely understand if you resent me for not being around. I never thought I actually could come to this world. It took me too damn long to get my head out of my ass and remember that I can actually do whatever the fuck I wanted. And I’m sorry I was never around. I’d like to make up for lost time.”

He continued to stare at the girl in confusion, ‘I don’t recognize this reaper. I swear, if my council started creating new reapers without my permission,’ he started to think to himself.

“Oh, don’t worry, darling,” the girl interrupted his train of thought. “Your council didn’t disobey you and create a new reaper without your permission. You don’t recognize me as a reaper because,” she paused to lean back in her chair, put her legs up on the table, and rest her hands behind her head, letting the reaper cuffs fall to the floor, “I’m not one. Though I gotta say, it was pretty nice that your crew put me in reaper cuffs. They really know how to make a woman feel special.”

He now stared at this girl in shock, “how could you read my thoughts?” he asked.

“Comes with the territory.”

“Who… what are you?” he asked.

“You know who I am,” she assured him, with confidence.

He immediately tried to think of who this person could be. She didn’t seem like she could be much of a muse or Amazonian. Then his mind jumped to the most impossible answer to his question, but it surely couldn’t be right. “You’re… Mewdas, the Titan who created the universe,” he guessed, unsure of himself.

The girl smiled, “I’m so happy to finally meet one of my children,” she replied to confirm of his guess.

Ryan continued to stare in shock, then he smiled, “It’s nice to meet you, dad. Though. I don’t completely understand why you came in a female form.”

Mewdas’s smile dropped and she groaned, “Ugh, why did Fulcrus have to fill this world with all that patriarchal bullshit.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I’m not a man. Never have been, never will be.”

“My apologizes, mom,” he corrected himself.

“It’s okay. I’m just happy to see you. Would it be to forward to request a hug?” she asked.

“No, it would not be a problem,” Ryan told her. She quickly got out of her chair and the two of them met for a tender embrace.

Once they finished their hug, the two of them stepped back. “So, why haven’t you come to visit earth before?”

Mewdas sighed. “In all honesty, when I created this universe and planet, I created it for you and your siblings to do with it as you pleased. And even though I’m not a fan of everything that has been going on in this world, especially right now, I promised myself that this was your world to play with and I wouldn’t mess with it,” she answered, honestly.

Ryan understood and nodded. “Have you visited Fulcrus and Tuvagos yet?” he asked.

Mewdas shook her head, “nope, not yet.”

Ryan raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Oh, why did you choose to visit me first, if you don’t mind me asking.”

Mewdas smirked, “Well this may be my mothering instincts kicking in, but I wanted to meet with you so I could also meet your lovers. They are very good people for you as far as I’m concerned.”

Ryan was very surprised by this. “I’m surprised you chose me first if that’s your reasoning. Because Fulcrus,”

“I am well aware Fulcrus gets around. Even with your sister, which I find very questionable. And Tuvagos hasn’t picked a lover and settled down. But you picked two. I think their adorable and would love to meet them.”

“You do know that Fulcrus did convince Tuvagos and I to copulate and have children with a human before, right?”

“I do know,” she assured him. “And I’ve sent agents to meet and befriend the children of the two of you. None of that changes the fact that I’d like to be a better mother to you and your siblings, and meet your lovers.”

Ryan sighed and smiled. “I think I could still appreciate that. I don’t resent and I’m very happy I finally got to meet you. You’re actually quite lovely.”

“Daw, thank you. By the way, I’m also aware that you call yourself ‘Ryan’ while you’re here on earth, so I could refer to you as that if you’d prefer.” Mewdas smiled fondly and offered.

“That would actually mean a lot to me. And Meg’s not here at the penthouse, but would you like to meet Gavin?”

“I would absolutely love to.”

“And since you are my mother, would you be apposed to holding my hand as we leave the room?” he asked her.

Mewdas placed her hand into Ryan’s, “I wouldn’t be happier.”

The two of the walked out into the living room. Geoff saw the two of them walking out together. “What the hell...?” Geoff asked himself.

Mewdas nodded to Ryan and let go on his hand. He gave her a thumb up as she walked over to Michael, Jeremy, who had come back to the penthouse, and Gavin sitting on the couch. “Hello, you must be Gavin. I’ve learned so much about you and have been looking forward to finally getting to meet you,” She held her hand out as she greeted Gavin. Gavin stared at her, confused.

“RYAN WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!” Geoff demanded. Everyone paused what they were doing to look at Geoff. “YOU DO REALIZE THIS APATHETIC BROAD WAS BEING ANNOYING AT OR ROBBERY, RIGHT? OR DO YOU JUST HAVE A STUPID SOFT SPOT FOR ALL YOUR GODSDAMN REAPERS WHO CAUSE ME TROUBLE?!”

Mewdas turned to face Geoff, “oh darling, I’m not a reaper.”

Ryan’s eyebrows furrowed as he also turned to face Geoff, “and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak so ill of my mother.”

“Your mother!?” Michael yelped in surprise.

Jack began shaking and pointing, “You’re Mewdas? Creator of the universe? Grand Titan?”

“Yep,” Mewdas replied, casually.

“Holy fucking shit,” Jeremy commented in surprise.

“You all could call me that or Grandma or Great-Grandma. Actually, don’t call those, because those would make me feel old,” she continued.

“But, you are old,” Michael pointed out.

“Meh, details.”

“Michael,” Ryan warned.

“Calm down, sweetheart. I’m willing to admit that there absolutely is truth to that statement.”

“Fine,” Ryan grumbled.

“Good boy. And I think I’d prefer it is you guys would just call me Mewdas.”

“I’m sorry I was a dick,” Geoff quickly apologized.

“It’s quite alright, Geoff. I didn’t come out here to scold you.” Geoff blinked in surprise that she already knew his name, but then he remembered who she was and he should have expected that.

“Then what exactly did you come here for?” Gavin asked, nervously.

“To meet you and Meg, darling. You both are either a fine grim reaper or the latest reincarnation of king Midas, but more importantly, you two are my son’s lovers. I’m so happy to get to meet you,” she happily explained.

Gavin shifted nervously in his seat. He had already seen how poorly his own mother had reacted to Ryan and Meg’s associations with the God of Death, he really didn’t want to end up pissing off the being who created the universe. Ryan saw how nervous Gavin was and leaned into him. “Don’t worry, love, she already loves you,” he assured him.

“Secrets, secrets are no fun, unless you share with everyone,” she teased.

“He was telling me I had nothing to worry about,” Gavin answered as he stood up. He offered his hand out to Mewdas, “I’m Gavin, but I suppose you already knew that.”

“Oh, come here,” Mewdas said as she grabbed Gavin’s hand and pulled him into a big hug. Gavin’s eyes widened in surprise, then he graciously hugged her back.

“This is actually, really cool,” Jeremy noted in response to the situation he was witnessing.

Ryan smiled approvingly, Jack and Jeremy smiled as well in response to getting to see the creator of the universe. Geoff and Michael were confused but were happy they didn’t actually piss Mewdas off. Ryan couldn’t wait till he introduced Meg to his mother, next.

#ragehappy #rt fanfic #fanfic #fake ah crew #freewood #Gods of LS

[lovelyparanormalbooks]

Book Blitz: Grand Finale: The Renegade's Redemption by Stacy Henrie (Giveaway)

On Tour with Prism Book Tours.

Book Tour Grand Finale for

The Renegade's Redemption

By Stacy Henrie

We hope you enjoyed the tour! If you missed any of the stops you can see snippets, as well as the link to each full post, below:

Launch - Note from the Author

Ever since sharing some of Tex’s story in my last Love Inspired Historical book about his twin brother Tate, I’ve eagerly anticipated the chance for readers to get to know Tex better—through his own story this time. A legendary, charismatic outlaw, Tex was a fun and complex character to write. So, too, was his reunion with the girl he left behind eight years ago Ravena Reid.

Hearts & Scribbles - Character Descriptions 

An identical twin, Tex looks just like his brother Tate with their matching blue eyes and brown hair, but their similarities end there. Tex is charming, fun-loving, and never in one place for long. But when he realizes Ravena needs help with her farm, he offers to stay and help, if only to atone for leaving her behind years ago. In the process, he comes to face-to-face with his past, his mistakes, and his long buried faith. Before long he’ll have to make the toughest decision of his life—to stop running or not from everyone, including himself. 

Christian Suspense Author Mary Alford - Review

"This story was such an amazing journey for me. Filled with rich characters, precious children, a wounded past, and best of all…forgiveness and a second chance at love.

THE RENEGADE’S REDEMPTION was impossible to put down. I read the entire book in one sitting, it’s that good. "

Heidi Reads... - Review

"I loved the various personalities of the orphans that Ravena cares for and how it shows her compassionate nature. She struggles with her long-held feelings for Tex and forgiveness of others and self is a big theme in the story. There is some action as Tex's outlaw background catches up with him but I appreciated that he came to terms with it of his own volition before he was forced to by circumstances. Lovely romance between a stalwart young woman and a charming rogue!"

I Am A Reader - Excerpt

“Ravena,” Tex called as she reached the door.

She blew out a sigh and turned to face him. “Yes?”

“Thank you for this. But you said one night and I won’t stay longer than that.”

Gripping the edges of the tray until they dug into her palms, she willed the words she wanted to say to reach her lips. Yes, Tex, you have to leave. I have enough concerns right now, without worrying about you and the fragileness of my heart.

Sylv.net - An Old Flame

Can past hurts be overcome and forgiven in order to have a second chance at love? In my newest Love Inspired Historical book, that’s what Tex Beckett and Ravena Reid must decide.

Tex and Ravena grew up together on neighboring farms in Idaho. They were inseparable friends, though Tex’s twin brother Tate often tagged along with them. As they grew older, Tex and Ravena realized their friendship had developed into something more. Though different in temperament—Ravena is far more serious, and Tex is fun-loving and eager for adventure—they complemented each other and shared a deep love.

Rockin' Book Reviews - Review

"This Historical fiction is full of action, suspense, drama and romance. The reader will be unsure of the ending until the last pages. The characters are defined well and the reader feels very endeared to them. The background scenes are portrayed well. The story steadily flows smoothly until the very end. The reader’s interest is held throughout the tale."

Reading Is My SuperPower - Review

"Vivid characters with lots of personality join forces with swoony romance, adorable children, and a heartfelt message of redemption and restoration. Stacy Henrie is skilled at knowing the right combination of each of those elements to achieve a ‘just right’ balance and a smooth story. If you’re a fan of stories set in the late 1800s West then you need to definitely make time to read Stacy Henrie’s books as well!'"

Singing Librarian Books - Review

"Stacy Henrie has done it again! Her novel Renegade’s Redemption is simply splendid!! This western romance is filled with plenty of adventure and romance that readers will not want to miss. In addition there are themes of inspiration, forgiveness, and redemption that will tug at the heartstrings of readers. . . . This sweet historical romance novel is a fantastic sequel to The Outlaw’s Secret that readers will adore."

Katie's Clean Book Collection - Review

"I enjoyed the gentle chemistry between these two and the way they each worked through trust issues. I love the descriptions of their every day lives and the way the past and present fit together. There are many things to be resolved and through journeys of self-discovery and responsibility, a satisfying conclusion resulted."

Mel's Shelves - Review

" I devoured it quickly and love the way it all came together! I love Stacy Henrie's writing style and she is quickly becoming a favorite author! If you enjoy clean historical romance, you will want to read both of these books!"

Getting Your Read On - Review

"Tex and Ravena were great characters. The book flowed gently and easily, weaving in daily life events with the rekindling of friendship and love. The children in this book were a fantastic addition and really gave the story a feeling of family and love."

Wishful Endings - Excerpt

For one moment, Tex knew the familiar thrill of a clean escape. Then the sheriff shot at him again. This time the bullet found purchase. It struck Tex in his right side, and his body jerked hard to the left in reflexive response. He clung to the horse with trembling arms to keep from falling as searing fire registered through his shock.

Paulette's Papers - Five Fun Facts about The Renegade’s Redemption

1. The final scenes of this book take place on Independence Day. And while I knew the release date for the book was in July 2017, I didn’t pay much attention to which day. So it was serendipitous and lots of fun when I realized it was releasing on Independence Day.

The Power of Words - Review

"The road for this unlikely pair seemed impossible, and I loved how everything was resolved. . . . I enjoyed The Renegade’s Redemption very much and look forward to much more from Stacy Henrie."

Tell Tale Book Reviews - Review

"The Renegade's Redemption is a sweet historical romance with strong themes of forgiveness and trusting in God. The story begins and pretty much ends with a bang, and the pages in between are sure to keep readers anxiously turning them to find out what happens with Tex, Ravena, and the orphans."

Cafinated Reads - Review

"This is a truly wonderful story of seeking one’s faith, relying on God, forgiveness and redemption. Ms. Hernie will steal you away with this book and leave you wanting more instantly! This 5 star book is the second in a series, and while I wasn’t confused and it could be easily read as a stand alone, I do plan to go back and read book 1 and see where it all began with Tex. Hats off to this talented author who is now on my favorites list!!"

Brooke Blogs - Review

"I really enjoyed this sweet story. I quickly found myself attached to the characters and immersed in the setting. I loved this story so much. The setting and time period was just perfect. The Renegade’s Redemption is well-written and a quick read. If you are looking for a sweet, clean romance, give this one a try. You won’t regret it."

And don't forget to enter the giveaway below, if you haven't already...

The Renegade's Redemption

by Stacy Henrie

Inspirational Historical Romance

Paperback & ebook, 288 pages

July 1st 2017 by Love Inspired Historical

Refuge for the Outlaw

When Tex Beckett arrives at Ravena Reid's farm, he's eight years too late for the elopement they'd once planned—and it's far too early to win her forgiveness. He's seriously wounded, though, and she can't turn him away, though she knows better than to trust him. Yes, it's wonderful having help with the farm, and with the orphans she fosters, but if she opens her heart, she'll get hurt again when he leaves. And Tex always leaves.

As a notorious bank robber, Tex is used to danger. Yet reuniting with the only woman he's ever loved is the riskiest thing he's ever done. All he wants is to stay with Ravena and the children. But can he build a new start before his past catches up with him?

Goodreads│Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Book Depository Harlequin│Kobo│iBooks│GooglePlay│BAM│IndieBound

Other Books in the Series

The Outlaw's Secret

by Stacy Henrie

Christian Historical RomancePaperback & ebook, 288 pages

February 7th 2017 by Love Inspired Historical

Lawman in Disguise 

Getting taken hostage by a gang of train robbers wasn't in dime novelist Essie Vanderfair's plans, but interviewing these men could make her career soar. Especially since the gang includes legendary outlaw Tex Beckett, better known as the Texas Titan. Tex is famed for his protection of women and children, so she'll be fine…right? 

Keeping the gang in line was hard enough before a stubborn, beautiful writer interfered. Now Tex is scrambling to keep Essie safe, to gather evidence against the gang and most of all to hide his dangerous secrets. First, that he's a detective working undercover. And second, that he's not the Texas Titan at all, but Tex's twin brother, Tate Beckett.

Goodreads│Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Book Depository

Harlequin│Kobo│iBooks│GooglePlay│BAM│IndieBound

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Stacy Henrie is the author of western romances and the Of Love and War series, which includes Hope at Dawn, a 2015 RITA Award finalist for excellence in romance. She was born and raised in the West, where she currently resides with her family. She enjoys reading, road trips, interior decorating, chocolate, and most of all, laughing with her husband and kids.

Website│Goodreads│Facebook│Twitter│Pinterest

Tour Giveaway

- 1 winner will receive  copies of The Express Rider's Lady and The Outlaw's Secret, and a $10 Amazon e-gift card (US only)

- 1 winner will receive a $25 Amazon e-gift card (open internationally)

- Ends July 22nd

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#ParanormalBooks