vivere militare est

Addison St.Clair | 22 | Criminology Major/Agent of SSRA | Witch: Molecular Manipulation | Corruption Points → 3,545

[addisonstclair]

julietxhawthorne:

@addisonstclair

Juliet was trying to move fast, to move to a safe place, but in her mind she knew there were no safe places. She had ran out of the Outskirts to avoid the darkness there and she found herself in Uptown. It was chaos, everyone shouting, crying, screaming, and running. Juliet found herself stuck in the middle of the crowd, being shoved and pushed every which way. Juliet struggled to find a way out of the crowd and then she she froze in place as a little boy stood in front of her. It was her son, William, and behind him was Ronnie, her deceased husband. 

“No, no, no…” Juliet’s eyes widened as she stumbled backwards into someone. This couldn’t be happening. It wasn’t. Her husband had died and her son was most likely dead, or just barely alive. There was no way she was actually seeing them, especially not in Braddock. 

“Mommy? Let’s go play in the water!” William giggled as he pranced up to her and offered her his hand.

“This isn’t real…” Juliet breathed out as she backed up again.

“Juliet, why don’t you come swimming with us? We should teach our son how to finally swim.” Ronnie said with a smile.

Juliet shook her head before taking in a deep breath and turning around. She needed to get out of there. She needed to find a safe place. Tears stung her eyes as she began walking away from her son and husband. Then she ran into someone else. “Oh, I’m sorry! I wan’t paying attention to where I was going, it’s kind of chaos right now and I… I’m a little disoriented.” 

It was like Ethan had predicted. The brewing storm finally hit full force. Addison wasn’t so high and mighty to believe she’d make it out of this war without a scratch on her body. No, this was the final battle, and she was prepared. There was no hiding any more, no containing her powers like she so desperately attempted to do. Those who had no previous knowledge of supernatural were now fighting for their lives against monsters they didn’t understand. And so, she ran, guns blazing, into the heat of the war. All of her anger was focused on the creatures destroying the home she had found in Braddock, however one false move from citizens of Braddock around her could be deadly. Just as the sand man readied an attack on a group of people, Addison focused her energy and slowed the creature down. “Come on people, move it along,” she demanded, ushering them away from the frozen monster. The woman was able to lead them away, but chaos leaked out of every corner of Braddock. Just as one disaster was avoided, they ran into another. 

Eventually, Addison and her group of followers made their way to the lake. Many of them scattered along the way, believing hiding in buildings or running off on their own improved their chances of survival. She scoffed at them all. She was their best chance at survival, though her chances also improved as the numbers of people to protect decreased. Just as she contemplated their next move, a woman ran into her with enough force to cause the woman to nearly loose her footing. “We’re in a war, ma’am. No time for apologies.” Just as she was about to question the woman further, she saw a familiar figure.

“Uncle Holden?”

“Addison,” the apparition called to her. “Addison, come closer.” Without much hesitation, the young woman began to follow its instructions.

[addisonstclair]

ethanxvaldez:

“Where’s the fun in that?” he rhetorically asked with a scoff. “Besides that is practically half of our dynamic in this lovely friendship that we’ve developed. Dead or alive, I’m just staying true to what we have.” Ethan wasn’t going to change who he was just because he was a ghost and this was something that he stuck to ever since he had found out about his new found form. There was no revelation, no change of heart, none of that kind of spiritual awakening that would make him change himself because death had greeted him at an early time. 

Just everything about Addison’s reaction, whether it be the tone or how she chose to respond, didn’t phase the older ex-agent at all. Just like all the other times he had made a point that struck a cord with her, he had expected such reply. “And there it is!” he exclaimed as he sat up in his seat. “Don’t apologize really, that’s like the last thing I want from you. I was just stating the obvious! Congrats on all that fire power that’s in you, but I’m just warning you for what’s to come. Stop getting your hopes up, you’ll only disappoint yourself further.” He then snorted a laugh as soon as she mentioned her uncle and adds, “How cute…And yet he’s no where to be seen huh? Ever thought that maybe…I don’t know, he’s dead? If it helps and do I end up meeting him in this lovely journey in the afterlife I’ll for sure give him your regards.” 

Ethan’s tone was seeping with sarcasm and taunt. He also may have touched a subject that could anger the young witch, but he chose not to back down when it came down to his perception of things. “Worse is an understatement.” he replied with a scoff. “Whatever, it’s not my responsibility anymore. At this rate, whatever happens, happen. I wouldn’t be surprised if another wave of crazy shit were to bring this town down into a disaster. However, knowing you Princess, you don’t need a good luck from me, if anything you’re your own knight and shining armour.” 

“Oh joy, even in death I can count on you to be a pain in the ass, like always.” With that she pushed some hair out of her face at let out a sigh. At least he was sort of alive. Maybe there was some way to rectify all of these deaths. But then there was the worry of the breach. It was obvious that the rift in the sky was what kept some of these poor souls trapped. So if there was a way to bring those ghosts back, it would be while the rift was open. On the other hand, it needed to be closed because there was some energy about it that was haunting. It was like an omen of future things to come.

Addison gritted her teeth as he went on about her not getting her hopes up. “I’m just trying to do my fucking part. You think I should just sit by and accept that I’m as good as dead? Watch my aunt die, watch Andrea die? Fuck that, Ethan.” Just as she thought she could keep her anger from boiling over, he made a comment about her uncle. She looked him dead in the eye, and before even thinking about it, she moved to slap him hard across the face...But nothing happened. Her hand continued on its path right through his face. Hot, angry tears stung the corner of her eyes. Her hand came down into a slam as she hit the bench the two of them sat on. It was some way to momentarily release the pent up energy. “I thought you knew what lines not to cross,” she hissed as she stood up. “But I guess you just don’t give a shit anymore. And I don’t either.”

Anymore she had stopped listening much to what she had to say. Instead, the agent got onto her two feet and took a silent breath to collect herself before she made her leave. “You’re damn right I am. Good luck being stuck with your shitty ass attitude.”

[addisonstclair]

aaronharmxn:

He chuckled dryly when the suggestion of moving on was mentioned, a lighter subject being more harder to come by then he realized. Where he’d once been able to find conversation topics so easily, he briefly struggled to find one that didn’t revolve around the disease that was killing the town one by one. “Uh, okay. Say this was over, there was no plague. What would you be doing right now?”

The woman dryly chuckled as she took note of how difficult it was for either of them to come up with something not revolving around the plague. It wasn’t surprising. The infection was engulfing the lives of several. It was difficult to see past it all. “Well considering it’s New Years Eve, I’d probably be at some sort of work party. How about you?”

[addisonstclair]

andyradcliffes:

        “I know I can,” Andrea replies with a voice that is just above a whisper, with the stillness of the morning and the heaviness of the girls’ current situation, the whisper overtook the room, almost echoing. Although the gesture was awkward, the thought behind it was humbling. With a slow movement, Andy puts a hand over Addison’s, rubbing her own thumb over the other blonde’s knuckles gently. She needed comforting just as much as Andrea.

        “The SSRA can’t have him,” Andrea says without missing a beat after the question. There was a contrast to her wide, worried eyes and her heavy, unreeling voice as she looked to Addison. The agency held so much against Ethan that she was afraid they were somehow able to get their hands on his body and that thought scared her.  Looking away, back to Ethan’s still features, she runs her fingers through his messy hair. The action brought comfort to them both when he was still breathing. “… – Probably… Buried, but. His brother. Eric needs to be contacted.”

Feeling Andrea’s hand gently rest on her own, Addison flinched a little. But she refrained from pulling away and scoffing at the other. As much as she resisted physical touch, it helped. Contact was comforting. One of the corners of her mouth turned up in a small smile of thanks. “At least someone does,” she muttered, underlying tones of bitterness evident. People were suspecting the SSRA was up to no good and with all of the work she put in, it was frustrating. But now, seeing the results of their inability to do real work, it was salt in the wound.

The young woman’s gaze fell back to Andrea at the woman’s statement. For a moment she remained silent. Addison had prided herself on following every protocol, being the best agent there was. Her loyalty to the agency was undying...but her faith was beginning to crack with the plague. “No, we can’t...he’ll just be turned over to the CDC and used as another research subject. They’ve already got plenty of data.” She owed him the dignity of staying in one piece post-mortem, They’d need a way to get him out of the building discreetly and take him into the woods to bury him. Deep in the woods, but not near the mountain. “Right, his twin. We’ll call him after we’ve...buried Ethan somewhere in the woods.” Her heart still felt heavy, looking over his lifeless form, but they couldn’t just leave him here. They had to act before someone else caught wind of his passing.

[addisonstclair]

aaronharmxn:

Part of him wanted to think that if the Government did leave them to die, then his father would raise all kinds of alarms and hell to voice what had been done, so that their deaths wouldn’t be entirely unnoticed. But, there was another part that wanted him to not get himself involved in whatever it was, especially given the distrust he held in the Government. “And people expect answers from you? Why, security has nothing to do with the cure, unless you’re protecting people working on it?”

Addison finished off the rest of her drink and sat back in her seat. Mindlessly, she began fiddling with the glass as she waited to order another drink. “I don’t know. Some of the SSRA employees might be. I’m mostly just an intern, so I direct people where to go and people ask all sorts of dumb questions,” she causally lied. “But lets move on to a more fun topic. That’s why I’m here. To forget about all of the bullshit going on in this town for a night.”

[addisonstclair]

lafemmecarmen:

“Oh I am.” she said with a smirk, “I usually don’t go around accusing people mostly because I don’t like to be on the other end of an accusation but in your case I’m making an exception.” she said, her jaw clenched in an effort to quell her anger. “You expect me and everyone else in town to believe that your aunt, you and her security agency have no idea what’s going on? It’s been months since this “mystery disease” started floating around the only thing you all did was twiddle your thumbs like some clueless third graders.” Carmen was seething, her hands balled tightly into fists, in desperate need of a punching bag. “But for arguments sake let’s say I believe you.” she said taking a step towards Addison. “Let’s say I believe that you are just as clueless as the rest of us, what about your Madeline? What about the people that you work with? Can you honestly tell me, without a shadow of a doubt that you know everything there is to know about them? That you can’t fathom any of them doing something so reprehensible?” Carmen took another step towards Addison. “You can call me all the names you want blondie, but the sole purpose of your wonderful agency is to protect the town and you all have done a marvelous job.” she said looking down at the various headstones. “I’m sure everyone here thinks so.” 

Addison scoffed at her comment about the SSRA doing nothing about the disease. “Okay, you want to say you’re doing nothing, then tell me something, what are you doing? Huh? Are you volunteering with the CDC to work for a cure? Are you giving your time to helping find the cause of the disease? OR are you just contributing to causing chaos and fear to spread? Cause if you aren’t spending your every waking moment scouring over old and new documents, running back and forth from the CDC and hospital to gather every piece of information and try to make sense out of bullshit, then I don’t want to hear a word of your bullshit accusations.” Giving out a verbal lashing was all Addison could do at this point to keep from keeping her abilities under wraps. All of the physical aggression she so desperately craved to released needed to be done in the verbal form.  She didn’t so much as flinch as Carmen approached. Carmen was just some entitled bitch looking for someone to place the blame on so far as Addison was concerned. “I trust the people I work for. You, not one shred.” When the failings of the agency were brought up, Addison gritted her teeth. “If you can do so much fucking better, then by all means, save the town. I don’t know what’s stopping you if you’re so goddamn smart.”

[addisonstclair]

august-bentley:

“Well I think that has to do more with the other options at hand than my actual demeanor, but I appreciate the compliment. It’s always refreshing to meet one of the youngins who won’t take any shit. Gives me a little hope for the next generation.” The sound of a glass smashing against the ground made August’s head snap in the direction it came from. He signed and seemed to deflate against the bar. “And then shit like that happens and that hope goes out the window.”

“Youngins? You sound like a grandpa calling me a youngin,” Addison  commented with a snort. No one had called her a ‘youngin’ in a long ass time. “I think there are more people from ‘my generation’ that don’t take shit, I just have an especially low tolerance for shit taking.” And that was more so due to her short fuse and inability to swallow her pride in any situation. Hearing a shatter, Addison’s head snapped over to the idiot that broke their glass. “Hey, come the fuck on,” she snapped in the direction of the drunkard that carelessly acted. “Yeah, but that’s just the populace of drunks in general. Not just my generation.”

[addisonstclair]

august-bentley:

“Life’s a drag, sweety. But that’s why we all come to places like this,” he said with a small flourish to highlight the bar and maybe slightly over-rowdy crowd. At the sarcastic business advice, August face-palmed and laughed. “Now damn, why hadn’t I thought of that? So much wasted potential income.” The old werewolf held out a hand. “August. And who, might I ask, is my current verbal jousting opponent?”

Both of her brows rose when the bartender called her sweety. If she weren’t buzzed on alcohol, she’d spit venom his way for the pet name, but she just did not want to care. “Yeah, I bet this place is depressing on weekdays,” she commented as she glanced around the bar. On holidays and weekends, it was expected of people to come to bars. Weekdays were another story. “Now you know, and you can start by overcharging to make up for all of the money you would have made in the past.” Once he offered his hand, Addison took it. “Addison. You’re actually not half bad to talk to.”

[addisonstclair]

Jackie, my darling you do all these amazing and thoughtful things for the members but who does things for you? Thank you Jackie for being the wonderful, caring, thoughtful and amazing member and you make this group such a welcoming place with the little things you do. You have a beautiful heart, ily <3

ooc: Well people like you do m’dear! But, aw, thank you so much! It’s fun to do these sorts of things ;) . You have a beautiful heart too, everyone in this group does. Y’all are like a family. I love you all, muah! <3

[addisonstclair]

jasperashworth:

Jasper was use to the world ending, he had experienced it before. He was no stranger to having everything that he knew in his world fall to ashes in his palms, dish rag in his back pocket, knuckles deep in scrubbing out the bar glasses, his head had become such venom that when all the townsfolk were experiencing fear gnaw on their ankles of an uncertain time of apocalypse, he felt nothing but familiarity and that plucked him with ire.

It was familiar but it was anything but easy, he had survived it before — gotten out but barely, he didn’t fully survive the attack and massacre of his last pack, not all of him got out alive. Something in him died that night. Losing everything wasn’t a petal soft moment, it was a sharp shove off the precipice and the idea of the storm moving into his new town made him burn, as the darkness reigned overhead, vexation grew in Jasper as he tended bar that night. He learned you had to do something when the world came to an end, you had to keep moving, fix your own drink, build your own fire, make your own light and he had, he fought with bared teeth and healing wounds to find a pack here in Braddox and the idea of losing his footing again and having his pack at risk again made his wrist slam the glass down hard on the bar surface with frustration, internal aggression turning external as his grip curls around the bar counter with heavy harsh breath as he tried to calm down.

Sensing another someone in his atmosphere, his lips curl in a cold smirk cruel laughter tinged on his lips, nothing near warm enough to be a smile. “They say if the worlds coming to an end, you might as well drink — what’s your poison tonight?”

Addison couldn’t believe she was here at the Black Dhalia. Normally, she’d be sitting outside on a stakeout, gathering more information on the fighters. But here she was, sitting at the bar. Half of her justification was it was the perfect atmosphere to gather so gossip on just what was going on in town. And she had overheard an exchange about how some people had suddenly felt better after being infected with the plague. And a theory here or there on what to do with the ‘Breach’ as it was coined. Another half was that it was entertaining to watch some people get the shit beat out of them, especially with her frustration at everyone in town. She hadn’t gone down into the basement yet, but she was considering it, considering even hopping into the ring herself.

“Wow, how poetic,” she dryly began, glancing up with the man with the elfish grin. Automatically, she found everyone in this bar untrustworthy. But something about him put her at unease. “I suppose I’ll get a gin and tonic.”

[addisonstclair]

ethanxvaldez:

“Except you didn’t punch mine, so clearly I’m special.” teased Ethan with his signature smug smirk. While many feared and respected Addison in the agency, Ethan on the other hand felt indifferent towards her. Either way, their partnership worked out between them seeing as they didn’t end up killing each other. Unfortunately for the ex-shapeshifter, death decided to take him sooner than later with a completely different cause of death. Nodding confidently, Ethan proceeded to make eye contact with the younger agent and simply grinned at her words. “Yup! So far, that’s the plan. If it changes otherwise, I’ll be sure to scare someone into delivering you the memo.” 

Addison’s response was typical as Ethan wore a bored look as she spoke on about her duty being a distraction. Even with the town going to shit, she still hasn’t changed. “Yeah whether you take offence to this or not, I’m not sure if the SSRA got this shit on lockdown. First the infection and now all these rifts popping out of no where? The agency fucking sucks at their job containing all this supernatural phenomenon. I mean, what’s the point Princess?” 

He furrowed his brows and frowned at the sudden thought in his mind. “I’m dead, so are the others who didn’t make it—clearly the agency failed at what they were supposed to do. And I’m certain that with all this, it’s only going to get worse from here.” It was the harsh reality to step on something she was close and involved with. However, she had to understand where he was coming from. “Well clearly those rifts are a supernatural doorway Princess. Who knows what things and beings are roaming this town.” 

Addison rolled her eyes at him. “You love to revel in that fact, don’t you? If only you’d appreciate our friendship and not make my job harder than it already is.” Although the underlying quality to her tone was exhausted, there was still a sharpness in her tone. Hearing that he was planning on scaring everyone he came across bothered her. But he assumed that Andrea might be able to make him reconsider that plan. At the moment, she didn’t have the capacity to deal with this potential annoyance. “Wow, how considerate of you.” She glanced over at him. Even if he had returned from the dead, he didn’t seem ready to let up on how much he pestered her. Great.

“What’s the point?” she was appalled by his question. “Look I’m really fucking sorry that I couldn’t save you, I really am, I wish there was something I could do... but I can’t just give up. Then what? Just accept my fate and hope I die before I loose my sanity to the guilt and watching everyone I love die? No thanks. I don’t care if my chances of fixing anything is razor thin, I’m not giving up. I have to keep going, for my uncle and for myself.”

As he continued on about how the agency had failed, she began to block his words out. These were things she already had doubts about. She didn’t need to have it reinforced. It was easier to try and put on the blinders and focus on trying to remedy all of the failings. “Aside from ghosts,” she remarked. “I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough and it’ll be worse than anything we could expect.” But she’d fight until her last breath for the people of this town, even if they were a bunch of shitheads. 

[addisonstclair]

lafemmecarmen:

“I know.” she sighed, “But there’ll be a new one eventually. There always is.” she said, a small smirk on her face as she eyed Addison. “But in the meantime, I’ll just pay my respects to the Crypt Keeper.” she said looking down at Hector’s headstone once more. “It’s not the best nickname but it always got the job done when I wanted to ruffle his feathers a bit.” she said looking back up at Addison. “He usually had some equally annoying retort for me as well.” Carmen dug her hands into her pockets as she stared at the other woman, trying to read the emotions on her face. “So are you here to visit someone or just admiring your handy work?”

Addison gave a small shrug at this. “Eventually, sure, but with the quarantine...well unemployment isn’t going to be a problem for anyone.” The problem would be people that are under qualified filling a position simply because someone needs to do the job. Hector did a good job. Addison did not know him too well, but with her work, she talked to him in passing. 

For a few moments, she had tuned Carmen out as she went on about how the two of them were at odds. But her last statement caught her full attention. “Fucking excuse you?! You think I’m one of the shitheads behind this fuckery? And I thought you were sharp,” Addison shook her head in distaste and let out a scoff, doing everything in her power to contain her anger at the ridiculous statement. “What I’m doing here is none of your damn business, but if you think I have anything to do with the hell hole Braddock has become, you’re a dumb ass.” She was working her ass off trying to find the culprits, so she wasn’t about to stand for these heinous accusations. 

[addisonstclair]

griffin-xx-callahan:

Tracing around the rim of the glass with his fingers, he does lament over the year he’s had. From befriending vampires and police officers to hanging out with crippled kids to even having a conjoined dream with aforementioned parties—along with a few other people. It’s safe to say that the year in this seemingly small town has been anything but small. It’s been an adventure left , right, and center whether he liked it or not. Now he’s contracted some disease and it seems as if he might be punching in that clock soon. In a blink of an eye the drink the woman so graciously purchased for him is placed in front of his face, so he stops his motion with the old one to allow the bartender to take it away from him. He lifts the glass up as high as he can manage in the air when it seems like the woman is about to do a little cheer. “Well from what’s happened in this year it does not seem so far off, but yes. Hopefully we all live long enough to make it another year in this hellish town we call Braddock.”

Once they clinked glasses in their odd cheer, Addison took a long sip. Talk about the current state of things was killing the buzz she had. “Hopefully we’ll live long enough to see Braddock climb out of the hell pit we’ve fallen down into,” Addison countered. “But enough about that. It’s the new year, I’d rather talk about something going right in the world, like...” but the young woman trailed off, trying to think up something positive. To no avail. What was going on right now that wasn’t terrible? “Like dogs. Dogs are great.”

[addisonstclair]

aaronharmxn:

“When have they ever?” he muttered, considering any kind of Government couldn’t exactly be productive even if they tried. The news that Braddock would be swept under the rug and promptly forgotten was alarming, though he schooled his features into a more neutral one, at least he hoped so. “so, what they’re just going to let this thing run it’s course, let us all die?” he asked, wondering if he should get his final affairs in order, it wasn’t a comforting thought and his brother and father appeared in his mind then, knowing he would need to try and get a message to them that he loved them still. “Your aunt? What does she own?”

Addison gave another shrug then took a long drink from her glass. She just wanted to forget about the state this town was in, forget about the people that had been casualties in the disease. “Probably. If they can’t cure it, at least the government will be able to pat themselves on the back for keeping it contained,” she bitterly answered. At this point, Braddock was a blemish on the face of America. No one wanted to look at it. “My aunt runs the SSRA, a security firm in town.”

[addisonstclair]

ethanxvaldez:

Once his companion spoke out, a sardonic smile escaped Ethan’s lips as he kept his gaze straight ahead. He knew that voice, that snark and he didn’t have to look at her, but he could feel the weight of the world on Addison’s shoulders. The thing is, he didn’t want to see her for many reasons, one of them being that she was probably beating herself up for what had happened in the town. Second, she was angry and no not at him, at how the way life worked out in the end for all of them—but he didn’t blame her. Lastly, the Addison he knew was persistent, stubborn, and she probably shouldn’t be here in the first place. They were partners and the fact that he’s dead, he was certain that the agency advised her to take time off, especially with all the other personal matters that’s been going on with her—they’ve been accumulating up until now and he was certain that she was probably losing it to the point where she could lose sight of control. 

Ethan understood Addison from the very beginning, although it was something that he truly wanted to avoid, there was this silent mutual understanding between the two. It basically explains why the ex-SSRA agent remained her partner. Aside from Nikolai, all the other agents that Theo tried to match with him up with either gave up with him or well..were close to getting killed. Ethan made sure it would never work out, but with Addison—it was different. Separate the teasing, the pestering, the call outs, the threats and the insults, in the end the two were surely stuck together, but in no way did they ever leave each other behind. 

The ghost sighed in defeat as he finally faced the blonde and dryly asked, “Is this your way of saying how much you missed me Princess?” Ethan then casted his gaze downwards and shrugged, “Scaring them is the closest fucking thing I can do to killing them, if they drop dead—extra points for me.” he deadpanned, before diverting his gaze back up to her. “As for your sanity, trust me you’re sane…You’re just mad and clearly, you’re doing your best to hold it together, but seriously Addi, you and I both know what it’s like to be on the edge. You shouldn’t be here, you should be giving yourself a fucking break from this shit hole.” Even when he’s dead, he still manages to keep up their dynamics of telling each other what to do as a way of looking out for each other. After a brief moment of silence, Ethan cleared his throat and mustered up the courage to ask, “So uh what happened?…To me…Exactly? Cause I had no fucking clue what was going on until my dead ass ended up here.”

“I’ve always hated that nickname. If anyone else used it, I’d punch their teeth in,” Addison hollowly commented, progressing her movement once again. But she stopped right behind the bench. She couldn’t just sit beside him...that would just further confuse things in her mind. The more distance she kept, the easier it would be. Still, she was drawn towards him, like how the two always were. It was funny, they always said how they were stuck together, but that wasn’t the case any more. At least not in the voluntary sense. Both of them could have easily found a different partner while Ethan was still among the living, but neither chose to. Despite all of their bitching and moaning, Addison and Ethan had worked well together. They had the freedom to choose other partners but resorted to saying they were stuck together because it was easier to say that than be real. 

“So that’s the goal now? See if you can scare anyone to death?” Normally there would be some sort of lecture on the tip of her tongue, but she was too drained...and Ethan was a fucking ghost now OR she had truly lost all of her marbles in all of the guilt plaguing her mind. Either way, she just couldn’t act like everything was normal, because it wasn’t. “No, nope, I can’t. I can’t just stop what I’m doing, because then I have to deal with everything that’s happening. Work is a distraction. It’s all I’ve got,“ Because really, who did Addison have to talk to? She didn’t make friends, not really. Madeline was too consumed in the shit hole Braddock had become, Addison wasn’t exactly sure how to approach anything real with Andrea, and here was Ethan...a ghost. 

His following question caused her to let out a sigh. At this point, she took a seat beside him, though facing the opposite way. “I mean, you died, obviously. The plague and what not, but I’m guessing you mean why you’re still here?” With that she shot a glance his direction for a brief moment, before shifting it towards the sky. “That’s probably got something to do with it. There haven’t really been many ghost sightings in Braddock before that appeared. And now...” she merely shrugged. All sorts of weird things were happening...weirder anyhow.

[addisonstclair]

ethanxvaldez:

Being dead had its perks, it was as if he was alive, but with less work, less responsibilities—basically no effort. He didn’t have to take care of himself, he was just there. However, it did take a toll on his mental and emotional state. The exhaustion still stuck with him and although for the most part he felt numb and angry, he just hated being alone. 

The first few days of being dead consisted of Ethan understanding what he could and couldn’t do in his ghostly state. He knew for a fact that the vast perimeter of the abandoned apartment he supposedly died in was where he was capable of roaming freely. Going farther than that took a toll on his state and he eventually ended up back to where he had started. He also realized he was intangible and can be invisible when he chooses to be, but these were abilities he had expected to excel in and so he knew he had a long way to go in honing in on the others skills. 

This was a distraction for the most part, but once he had the basics down, Ethan was back at square one. Any chance he had with human contact, Ethan went ahead and did his worse to the best of his abilities and it was purely his entertainment. Today, he decided to take a break and appeared right in front of the apartment complex, walking towards an occupied bench and standing right behind it as he watched the different rifts that occurred all throughout Braddock. He knew the rifts were causing not only his chance at being in Braddock, but other supernatural occurrences that the town wasn’t even prepared for. Problematic for those living here yes, but he’s dead so what use was he to this if he wasn’t alive, a shifter, and an SSRA agent. 

“Boo.” he suddenly greeted not giving a fuck that he walked right through the bench and took a seat next to his companion. “What a fine day sitting out here and enjoying the view.” he states with his tone dripping with sarcasm. He then leaned into his seat comfortably and not bothered to make any eye contact with them, instead Ethan looked straight ahead and assessed the scenery before him as he awaited their reply. 

Ever since Nikolai and Ethan had passed away, Addison had become more and more unstable. Dr. McCready had instructed the young agent to just stay home and take some time off. And she did take a few hours off. In that time, she fell further down the rabbit hole and ended up repacking a go-back. At this point, Addison was beginning to wonder where she even fit in to the equation. Something had changed in Braddock. She and Madeline had been here too long, mostly because they were holding out hope that Holden would return to them one day. But both of them knew now that that was an absolute load of bullshit. Why hold on to hope any more anyways? It only lead to disappointment. And Addison was one of the biggest of them all.

She was going to turn things around, stop the brewing war. But it was useless. These days she was a ticking time bomb because she’d become too attached. Those losses still hurt. So maybe it would be easier to escape the hell pit of Braddock and start fresh, keep everyone out. Her off putting personality tended to do the trick. However, just as she was packing up her go bag, perfected for the fifth time to include stuff for Artemis, she rediscovered a note Holden left for her. ‘Never loose sight of what matters. Always fight the good fight.’ She sunk onto her heels and let out a sigh. She knew she couldn’t run away. Even if Holden was dead, she’d fight for his memory if she could keep a firm grasp on her sanity. He wouldn’t have run away like a coward. So even if she was emotionally unstable, she had to keep working. That would fight away the thoughts of taking the easy way out. 

Shortly after coming to this revelation, she returned to the SSRA. “Uh, didn’t Dr. McCready tell you to take time off?” one of the agents question. Addison didn’t even grace them with a glare. 

“Dr. McCready can suck my dick,” she snapped back. “Give me something to do before I make work for myself.” Before long, Addison was told that there was something supernatural, perhaps an apparition, scaring people outside of Laurel Heights. Addison didn’t need a debriefing for a situation like this, so she just hit the streets. 

It took no time to get there and as she did, she saw a person running away from a bench. This was the place. But as she approached the bench, she heard a familiar smug laugh. Addison stopped dead in her tracks. Sitting there was Ethan...sort of. His form would glitch away every half second or so. But Addison just stood frozen as her fists balled up. Was her sanity really slipping this fast? Or was it possible that he somehow still remained on this Earth and was sitting before her?

“I guess even in death you’ve found a way to get under my skin. By either scaring people if you are actually there, or making it apparent that my sanity really has vanished,” she stated in a quivering voice.

[addisonstclair]

andyradcliffes:

( addison st. clair. ) *continuation from this para.

        The tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down her face. She feels the muscles of her chin tremble like a small child and she looks toward the broken window as if the light could soothe her. There is static in her head once more, the side effect of this constant fear, constant stress she lives with. She hears her own sounds, like a distressed child, raw from the inside. It takes something out of her she didn’t know she had left to give.  His head still in her lap, hands on either side of his cold face. Hearing the door creak open, Andrea gives herself a moment to take a quick breath in, which may have sounded as a gasp as she looked up to meet Addison’s eyes.

        Andrea tries to wipe away the wetness from her eyes, but it useless since they keep spilling over. “I didn’t know who else to call…” She repeats from what she had said over the phone. “All I knew was that… That I could trust you. That we could trust you.” Her voice breaks again as she looks down on Ethan’s pale features, shoulders trembling.

Seeing a call from Ethan shocked Addison. It had been a few weeks since she had heard from him and despite it being early in the morning, the young woman immediately answered. But the voice on the other line wasn’t Ethan’s. Andrea hurriedly explained that it was an important call. “What’s going on?” But deep in her heart, she already knew. Still when the answer was given, her heart still dropped below her stomach. “I-...” the agent paused to collect herself. “I’ll be over as soon as possible.” With that, she rushed to gather all of the necessities. Proper clothes, her wallet, keys, phone, helmet, and gun. With all of the chaos that had consumed Braddock, she never left home without one at this point. 

The silence of the town was broken by Addison’s motorcycle tearing down the street. Even as the wind whipped against her body, she felt nothing. Numbness crept through her form. As much of a cynic as she had become, a part of her had believed Ethan would pull through this...That didn’t seem to be the case. Her vision started to get bleary as she began thinking about her deceased friend, and the woman sped up more, managing to still get there in one piece.

Once she arrived, Addison hesitated at the entrance. The agent had to collect herself and help Andrea figure out her next move. “Dammit Valdez, why’d you have to go and die?” she hissed under her breath as she wiped away the tears gathering in her eye. Taking in a staggering breath, she opened the door and entered Ethan and Andrea’s hideout. Her entrance pace was slow at first, trying to hold herself together. But when she saw Ethan’s lifeless body resting on the floor with Andrea hovering over, each step felt heavier and heavier. If she just ran out, maybe it wouldn’t be true. ‘No, dammit, you’re better than this. Suck it up,’ she scolded herself.

“You can trust me,” Addison reaffirmed as she finally joined Andrea’s side. After taking a moment to take in Ethan’s body, she reverted her gaze to the woman beside her. Hesitantly, she placed a hand on the other’s shoulder, but said nothing. Comforting others was not a strength of hers, and she was hurting right now too. But as her gaze fell back down to Ethan, she felt the tears coming back on again. “Fuck,” she hissed under her breath. A more audible groan escaped her lips as she tried to recollect herself. ‘Fuck, fuck, fuck, calm the fuck down. Don’t. Fucking. Cry.’ She removed her hand to wipe away the stray tear and push her hair back.

“What do you want to do with the body?” she finally asked, after a few sniffles and another deep breath.