#;; from the updates... it seems we can get a sort of answer out of everything

[cherry-colored-petals]

Update: I sent one (1) more ask because I swear to the Gods I am not well HAOSHISJS

I AM NOT OKAY IM LOSING IT— THE UPDATE OF DAY 7 IS SO.

OUGH.

IT ITCHES MY BRAIN SM THAT I WANT TO PUNT THE ALCHEMIST HELP

[jazziejax]

𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 - Dev-Em x Black!OC

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 - 𝐔𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐮𝐩𝐬, 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬.

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 - flirting, mentions of sex, unknown world confusion, slight jealousy, and I tried to make this a slow burn but I might be a little fast with the way I’m going, idk

𝐉𝐚𝐳𝐳𝐢𝐞’𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 - I know it’s been a minute, I KNOW YOU WANT A BAD BOYS UPDATE, but I’m collecting more so I can release two at a time. Plus, I’m lowkey in a Snowfall moment right now and trying my best in to write for Franklin Saint/Damson Idris because once I’m in the mindset of the drug game, it’s hard to get out of. (I’m so dramatic 🙄) Imagine Leroy and Giorgio who you want, i had Danny Glover and Joey Bada$$ in mind. UNEDITED, sorry for any spelling errors and grimmer issues, I don’t like re-reading my own work :(

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 - 8,096+

“So, we need to get some sort of story in order before we see Uncle Leroy.” She said, her flyaways blowing within the wind.

The golden sunlight of Louisiana filtered through the dense canopy of oak trees draped in Spanish moss, casting dappled shadows on the winding dirt road. Magnolia had one hand on the steering wheel of her old pickup truck, the other tapping nervously on the door of the open window. The ride was silent the majority of the time it took them to get to Leroy’s. Dev’s eyes were trained out of the window, jumping between all of the different things he could as they went from the scarce homes of the countryside to the French-style city. He would see the occasional stray dog that ran with some others as they raced for scraps or a stork rise for the waters and fly off.

Magnolia would glance over now and then, watch as Dev leaned forward slightly, his piercing eyes scanning everything outside with the intensity of someone cataloging the world for the first time. She assumed speaking would snap him out of his thoughts, but his gaze was focused intensely out of the window.

“You don’t blink much, do you?” Magnolia asked, squinting over at him out of the corner of her eye.

Dev turned his gaze to her at that, his expression calm but curious. “Blinking is inefficient when observing. I might miss something important.” She stated.

“You sound like some sort is soldier.” She said, letting out a small chortle. She glanced over at him to see his eyes flicker away from her, his jaw flexing quickly as he trained his eyes out of the car again. She could see that her statement hit a nerve, so she just awkwardly cleared her throat. “Well, now that I have your attention.” She began as her fingers flexed on the wheel. “When we get to Uncle Leroy’s, just let me do all the talking, okay? He’s old and suspicious of everything so there will be a lot of questions and I don’t want his mumbo jumbo to confuse you.” Her words only caused Dev to furrow his brows slightly, glancing over at her.

“Mumbo Jumbo?” He questioned. Magnolia just blinked at him. “Right.” She said. “Uh, forget that. Let’s just get our story straight, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Um….”She trailed off as she thought, tapping her fingers against the door her arm rested on. “You’re a friend from college!” She stated, glancing over at him with a nervous smile. “We can say you’re in the military and you just got back from deployment and needed a place to stay.” She said with a grin.

“Why would I choose to stay with you?” Dev asked, blinking over at her. Her grin faltered slightly as she glanced from the road and over to him. “Because we’re college friends?” She asked herself more than she answered him, thinking over the logic of their plan.

“Why wouldn’t I stay with family?” Dev continued.

“They’re dead,” Magnolia stated simply with a shrug, not taking her eyes off the road as her grin appeared again since she came up with another take that seemed to fit their plan. “See, it checks out now.” She stated, not charging the way Dev’s eyes seemed to dim. His jaw tightened as he focused his eyes down at his hands, which were clenched together in his lap as he tried to keep his composure. “That won’t be too hard for me to adjust to.” He stated plainly. Magnolia glanced over at him due to his deep tone, deeper than usual. It was filled with dread and anger, although it was masked to seem like average indifference.

She blinked once she registered his words, her gaze returning back to the road. She internally cursed herself out for being so forward. She felt her heart clench as she thought it over again and again in her mind. He was so lost, in a strange world with no family. Everything was unfamiliar to him and he could barely remember how he ended up here. He was helpless. And she wasn’t making it any better.

“Well, let’s just scrap that all then.” She stated softly. “It wouldn’t make much sense for you to be in the U.S. military anyways with your accent and all.” She said, turning her head to look out of her driver-side window as she cringed again as words kept slipping out of her mouth. She didn’t mean to keep bringing up how different he was and his home but she couldn’t help it. They are coming up with his background story after all, so they don’t have to explain that he fell from the sky in some unknown object.

“We’ll just say that you’re an exchange student, in a way but still a college friend.” She began again. “You’re here to gain the full American experience, the one you didn’t really get in university since you were always on campus, and I’m your host.“ She looked over at him for any sign that she probably said something wrong again, only to be met with a simple nod from him. She subconsciously copied his actions before turning back to the road, engaging them in another moment of silence.

Magnolia wanted nothing more than to apologize. She felt that she always seemed to say the wrong things to him. She didn’t really know how to house anyone despite being the southern belle people assume she is because she bakes pastries at her friend’s cafe. So add not only a stranger but an alien, a hot alien that crashed into her backyard….She felt that she was owed the right to be a little confused and on edge.

She also couldn’t describe this strong pull she felt towards him. She felt this urge to care for him and be there to get him to open up some. Dev gave off this strong and intimidating aura, but she could see right through it with every little move he made. Granted, maybe everything she was thinking and feeling was the after-effects of the crash. It’s not every day something like that happens and it’s probably some reverse Stockholm syndrome. And it also could do with the fact that she was a decent human being and would always help another in need if she could But she hasn’t felt this sort of pull to anything or anyone besides Mufasa when she found him in the rain outside of work three years ago.

This entire situation was doing nothing for her lack of social cues and anxiety.

They rode the rest of the way to Uncle Leroy’s clinic in silence. Dev continued to observe everything around him, taking in all details he noted as worthy while Magnolia raced in what she would say next and whether or not it would lead to thoughts she didn’t want him to have.

Once they pulled into the parking lot of the clinic which was surrounded by other businesses, Magnolia stopped the car. “Follow me.” She said as she gathered her bag and then hopped out of the dark, unknowingly slamming the large metal behind her. Dev followed with no question, almost taking himself out as he tried to hurry after her and forgot he still had his seatbelt on. Magnolia turned around when she heard a soft strangled noise, but only saw Dev exit the car and quickly close the door behind him before fixing his clothes. She just simply shook her head, thinking it was nothing.

The bell above the door chimed as the pair walked in, Magnolia in front of him. He followed her to a small counter where he could see a woman sitting behind a computer, typing away. “Hey, Jess.” She looked up at the sound of the bell, offering a small smile to the familiar face of Magnolia, but doing a double take at the unfamiliar man behind her.

“Hey, Magnolia.” The woman said as she ceased her typing and once between the two. “What’s up with you today? You don’t have an appointment.”

“Oh, I know,” Magnolia stated nonchalantly. “I just need a walk-in for my—.” She paused mid-sentence as she glanced over her shoulder, expecting to find Dev in one of the available lobby seats, but was met with the sight of the man’s broad chest directly behind her. Her eyes quickly bounced up, catching his eyes when he looked down at her. “My friend. He’s new to…well, the country.” She added as she looked back over at the woman behind the desk, letting out a small laugh at the end. Dev looked back at the woman as well, giving her a polite smile. “Hello.” He said.

And it was as if the sound of his voice ignited something within the woman, causing her to let out a giggle as she looked at him. “Hi.” She grinned, not taking her eyes off of him. Dev blinked at her, his smile only faltering slightly at the woman’s odd behavior. Magnolia's brows twitched, looking at the woman who was no longer paying her any attention and cutting her eyes to the tall man next to her who seemed to be a little uncomfortable.

After flicking her questioning gaze between the two for only a few seconds longer, she cleared her throat. “Jess?” She said.

“Yeah?” Jess responded her eyes only momentarily leaving Dev’s figure to look over at Magnolia as she bit at her lip, trying to keep her grin at bay.

“We’re gonna go to my uncle's office, Kay?” She said, not even trying to set up a walk-in appointment anymore. She was going to lie and say the man knew she would be here but there was no point in any of that since the receptionist seemed more than occupied just staring at the man next to her.

“Yeah, sure.” Jess sighed, still looking at the man next to her. Magnolia blinked, trying to keep her words at bay as a sour feeling spread through her chest. She just gave the woman a sarcastic smile, not that she could even see it, before reaching back and grabbing ahold of Deb’s hand to pull him away.

Dev didn’t protest the feeling of the woman’s grip on him, only glancing down at the contact and up at the back of her head as she pulled him through the foggy glass door to their left. It was silent as she dragged him down the hall, passing rooms with doors open as waiting patients sat for a doctor and some closed as they convoluted over their meeting. Dev could feel the annoyance radiating off of her Magnolia as she led him through the hall of the small clinic. He couldn’t tell what had her angry, but by the way, she gripped his hand and the small frown he saw before she turned her back to him, she was a little ticked off.

She composed herself when they got to a wooden door near the end of one of the halls she led them through. The name ‘Dr.Jenkins’ was written on the foggy glass panel in gold ink and fancy writing. Dev watched as Magnolia took in a deep breath and then let it out, her eyes closed as she tried to gain a sense of herself back.

She then turned and looked up at him, trying not to jump back at the sight of his bright eyes already on her. “You ready?” She asked, her voice as soft as ever.

“Yes,” Dev said, giving her a single nod. Magnolia nodded herself before opening the door, not even caring to knock.

Her smile was large as she stepped into the room, Dev’s hands still in hers. “Hey, Uncle Leroy.” She said to the man behind the desk, who looked up at the sound of his door opening. The man had small, rectangular glasses sitting on the edge of his nose, looking over from the papers on his desk and over the frames to see them.

His face automatically broke out into a grin at the sight of the woman. “Hey, my little moon pie.” He said, his voice light and smooth with a scruffy undertone. He stood from the seat of his leather chair, and that’s when Magnolia finally let go of Dev’s hand, moving to meet the man halfway, around the large dark wooden desk, in a hug. Dev watched as she smiled largely as she wrapped her arms around the man, trying not to pay attention to the cold feeling that washed over him once her hand left his.

They rocked back and forth for a few seconds, savoring the embrace. They then pulled away from the hug with a breath, the older man looking down at the girl. “It’s been months.” The man began, a fond look on his face as she looked down at her. Magnolia let out a small sigh, looking aura from the man’s gaze. “The only time I hear from you is when I see you at church or work. We barely talk anymore.”

“I know, Lee, I know,” Magnolia said. “I’ve just been busy since..everything.” She said, sparing Dev a quick glance out of the corner of her eye when she paused. Dev caught on to what she was saying, but oddly enough he had a feeling she wasn’t alluding to him when she mentioned everything.

Her eyes cut to him and the man before her looked his way. The brown-skinned man's eyes scanned Dev up and down skeptically before his eyes drifted back to Magnolia only briefly. Magnolia avoided his eye, her lips pursed into an awkward smile as she gazed at Dev.

“Ah, so this is what’s kept you busy.” The man stated, before stepping around the woman. Magnolia gaped in shock at his words, tilting her head as she tried to decipher what he meant by that. Before she could question him, Leroy spoke back up, now standing before Dev. His shoulders were squared as he looked up at the taller man. Dev kept his ground, although he did shirk himself in slightly due to the man’s smaller but as well as intimidating stature. The younger man studied the older man before him, taking in his salt and pepper goatee that matched his small fro.

“And you must be?” Leroy said before holding out his hand. Dev placed his hand into his, each of their grips firm on the other. “I am Dev-Em, sir.” He answered. Magnolia silently winded when he said his name but quickly fixed it when Leroy furrowed his brows and glanced over at her. “Dev-Em?” He repeated back to the man, his tone giving way to his confusion.

“Deven!” Magnolia yelped, causing both men to look over at her. “Deven, you have to say your full name, silly.” She quickly added, letting out a nervous laugh as she eased her way over to stand back next to the new man in her life. Her smile was strained on her face and she hoped the facade wasn’t obvious as she placed her hand on Dev’s bicep. “Sorry about him, he’s getting used to the whole Southern Hospitality thing.” She said to Leroy as she glanced between him and the man she stood next to. Dev was confused by the ordeal taking place before him but just went with whatever the short woman next to him said. That is what she said in the car on the way over and he was following her orders.

“His name is Deven Embrose. He’s from the United Kingdom. It’s, like, a lil nickname thing they do over there.” She finished, her hand still connected to Dev’s skin, to which she gave a small pat.

Leroy nodded, placing his hands in his pockets as he gave the tall man another once over. “So I heard.” He said, giving a lowly gesture to his mouth as she referred to the other man’s accent. “I’ve met a few men from across the pond in my day.” He nodded. Magnolia let out another bout of anxious laughter, unknowingly leaning into Dev’s side more. Neither of them seemed to pay attention to the touch she was applying, but Leroy did glance between them suspiciously.

“Anyways!” Magnolia was quick to inject before more questions about Dev’s past could be asked. “I’m here because he needs a check-up.”

“A check-up?” The older man asked. “Why? What happened?” He questioned.

“Oh, nothing much.” Magnolia shrugged. “There was just…a tumble that..occurred.” She explained as nonchalantly as she could, making up a lie on the spot. Leroy furrowed his brows again, his eye dating between the close pair. His suspicions were loud and clear within his gaze, especially in the way he eyed the random man who was with someone he considered a daughter.

“A tumble?” He echoed.

“Yup,” Magnolia said. “It happened when we were moving his things in. He fell down the stairs with a large box in his hands.”

“Fell down the stairs?” Leroy questioned in shock, his eyes moving across the young man before him to gauge any serious wounds on him at such a serious incident. Magnolia was quick to interject his scurrying mind. “Not down all of the stairs! It was just a small tumble down, like, the bottom five. Right, Dev?”

“Yes.” The man replied with a firm nod.

It was silent for a moment, the younger duo standing close as they waited for the older man to speak.

Leroy just nodded, completely unsure and a little stunned by whatever was going in before him. He just subtly shook his head as he blinked. “Okay, well why don’t we just go to one of the available rooms and get this checkup started.” He said with a small grin. Magnolia nodded as she moved out of the way for Leroy to walk through and led them to the room.

Once he was out, Dev looked down at the woman who made her way out of the door before him.

“You’re..bad at this.” He murmured. Magnolia shot a look at him over her shoulder, taken back by his audacity. “What?” She said but didn’t have any time to respond before she stopped outside of the room Leroy did.

He clicked the lights on and gestured them into the space. “Have a seat.” He said as he moved over to the counters that held tons of average-grade medical equipment. The sound of rubber stretching echoed within the small room as Dev sat on the leather seat of the operation chair. The chair was pretty large but the big man that sat in it made it seem like it was made for his form. Magnolia stood near the chair, her stature putting her at the perfect height so that she didn’t have to crane her head to see Dev’s face clearly.

Her lips were pursed as Leroy turned around with gloves now on his hands and his stethoscope out of his white coat.

“Okay, now why don’t you just take a deep breath in for me.” He said as he stepped over, placing the bell of the tool on Dev’s chest. Dev did as he said, his chest lifting outwards. “Now, release.” Dev followed his instructions, breathing out. Leroy just let out a small hum before taking the tool out of his ear and hanging it on his neck. He then took out a pen-like flashlight from his coat pocket and clicked it on.

Magnolia stood off to the side, watching the whole produce as Leroy foaled the small light into Dev’s eyes, who flowed a little upon impact but did as the man instructed about where to look. Leroy stood with another hum, pocketing the pen. “Everything looks fine to me. I’d just need to run a few more tests before you can head out. Let me alert one of my nurses.” He said before stepping out briefly.

He came back only seconds later. “So, Deven.” He began in a questioning tone as he began to switch out his gloves. His cadence caused Magnolia to throw her back as she released a silent groan, her movement catching Dev’s attention. He furrowed his brows at her as he watched her go back to normal when Leroy turned back around. “What do you do?” He asked.

“Military, sir.” He stated, his eyes briefly jumping to the woman next to him, making sure he remembered their small conversation from the car. Magnolia’s brows twitched as she tried to keep them from peaking since she wasn’t all too sure if they had scrapped the whole military story in the car or not. She could’ve sworn they decided not to go with that idea. And while she was having a mini internal freakout, Leroy just nodded. “What branch?”

“The Navy.” Magnolia was quick to add since she was certain most of this wasn’t covered in their small conversation from the car ride over. “Marines, more specifically.” She nodded.

“But why are you here? In America?” The old man continued to question, not paying much mind to her interjection this time.

“I got injured.” Dev was quick to respond, taking the woman who had eased her way next to him aback. “It wasn’t severe but it caused a lot of physiological trauma so I retired. I also wanted a change of scenery and Magnolia offered to house an old friend.” He explained. Leroy’s stare was stagnant, never wavering from the man as he listened to his story. Magnolia was still quite shocked. Not only at his quick thinking but also the way her stomach fluttered at hearing the sound of her mane on his lips for the first time.

“Okay,” Leroy said. The pair just blinked at him.

“Okay?” Magnolia replied, her tone slightly questioning. “That’s it?” She asked. Leroy just nodded. “Yeah. I’ve known you a long time, so I know how careful you are. Plus, you’re a grown woman. I’m not gonna ask too many questions.” He stated. Magnolia just nodded, and she honestly didn't think she had it in her to be shocked by anything anymore. If anything, the last 24 hours have proved anything is possible.

“But I still do have to run these tests.” He said as he glanced down at his watch, just time for a nurse to push in the machine that would check his vitals and blood pressure.

It didn’t take them long before they were out of the door.

“That was stressful.” Magnolia sighed, her shoulder slightly slumped as she walked before Dev as the pair made their way back to the lobby, Leroy absent since he had an actual patients waiting on him. “I’m stressed. I need something sweet.” She groaned. She then glanced back over at the tall man behind her. “You want something sweet. Ya’ like ice cream? I could go for some ice cream.” She rambled as she opened the door that looked like the one they walked into earlier, however, this door led them out on the opposite side of where they walked into, to the right of the receptionist's desk.

“I do not know what that is,” Dev stated. Magnolia paused and turned to him, just staring at him as she tried to gauge any sight of a lie within his gaze. Seeing the plain look the man was giving her, just staring into her eyes with no questions asked, she then broke out into a grin. “Oh, Dev, sweetie, I have so much to show you.” She said, her soft southern drawl almost luring him into a trance as she placed her hand on his arm, subconsciously rubbing her thumb against his skin.

It was however broken by the sound of someone speaking.

“Hey.”

The pair both looked over at the sound of Jess’s voice, the woman’s eyes trained solely on the man in front of her. She stood from her chair, showing her dark purple scrubs as she leaned forward to the tall counter and pushed over a small card. “It’s for you.” She said, a sultry grin on her face as she didn’t hide the way she eyed the man before her. Dev’s brows spiked a little in interest, the man reaching over and picking up the small piece of paper to see it held an odd series of numbers.

Magnolia tried her best to hide the frown that began at her brows as she watched, her eyes jumping between the ever-stoic Dev and the thirsty receptionist, Jess. She didn’t know why, but she got this sour tang in the back of her throat at the sight of Jess’s obvious flirting. Whether it was the way she didn’t care to even ask more about Dev before throwing herself at him or the fact that she was doing this all on the clock, hell, even the possibility that she and Dev could be together. She couldn’t care less about the specifics when this woman was obviously throwing herself at him right in front of her.

Dev blinked at the small card before looking back up at her. “Thanks.” He said, no smile, not even a nod. He just held the white card stock up in acknowledgment. Magnolia softly scoffed before quickly turning on her heels and strutting out of the clinic, her bunch of curly hair swinging on the top of her head. Dev was quick to follow her, not even sparing the woman behind him a glance as she tried to keep up with the only thing he knew in his new life.

The bell above the door chimed as they exited the clinic, entering the blazing sun shining down on them even from under the awning. Dev could feel a source of every course through his veins as he stood in the light but didn’t have time to focus on it before he felt the small card be ripped from his hands. He watched as Magnolia ripped the paper into pieces and then pocketed the scraps. She then pulled her keys from her purse, all in silence as Dev simply watched her.

Due to the pause in the atmosphere, she looked up once she held her keys to her truck to see the man staring at her. “What? I don’t litter.” She said before turning from him and walking over to her truck.

Dev followed behind her as usual, getting inside the odd contraption as he did before. “What was that she’d given me?” He asked as he copied the way to put on the seatbelt from watching her, glancing back now and then to see if it was correct.

“Her phone number.” She replied.

“What’s that?”

“It’s the way we communicate here without being face to face. We write letters as well but that takes too long. But then again, we also have electronic letters such as emails and text, so, I don’t know.” She shrugged, her tone flat as she started the car and began to pull out. Dev nodded, taking in what she said at face value since she didn't seem too in the mood to offer more context. Something both of them didn't bother to question.

“Why did she give me her number? Aren’t you her friend?”

Magnolia scoffed, glancing over at him. “Hell no, I’m just nice to her because it’s the right thing to do. She’s just doing her job and she works for my uncle.” She shrugged again. “And she gave you her number because she don’t want nothing but to get in the drawls.” She scoffed again, her tone bridging in pissed as she gripped the steering wheel.

“What?” Dev asked full-on confusion written across his face as he looked at her, not even focused on his task of gaining information by observing his surroundings. Magnolia paused, glancing over at him to see the look he was giving her. “She wanted nothing more than to just sleep with you, Dev.” She said bluntly. “That’s why she gave you her number. So you could call, talk, flirt a little, go out, and then hook up.” She explained as if it was obvious. Dev understood most of what she was saying, but he was still sort of lost on some parts.

“Hook up? What is that, how do you hook up?” He questioned.

“Sex.” She stated. “Hooking up is sex. Mating. The act most things do to reproduce offspring.” For some reason, she had no trouble explaining such things to him. Even though it was sort of awkward because she never really had to have “The Talk”™️ ever in her life, especially with a grown man, and with the way he was staring at her so intensely. But it seemed to just flow out. This conversation would probably be their easiest because every culture and race had to have sex…right? That’s how they had to reproduce?

“Ahh.” Dev nodded once he understood what it all meant. He then frowned, as if thinking over it all now. “She wanted to mate with me? We wouldn’t even be compatible. Her genetic makeup doesn’t offer anything to mine.” He said. Magnolia squinted her eyes in thought, blinking as she registered the way he stated that in her mind. She opened her mouth to respond but came out saying nothing.

“Hey, the check-up wasn’t so bad, was it?” She chimed in after a moment of silence. Dev glanced back over at her, giving a silent nod before realizing she probably couldn’t see him. “It went well. Odd, but well.” He said. “You’re terrible at lying on the spot, though.” He added.

Magnolia opened her mouth to say something snarky at his comment, but could only let out a small sigh. “Yeah, I know. I get nervous when being put on the spot.”

“Your uncle is an interesting character.”

“Yeah, he gets that a lot. I say he’s a little nosy but he likes to call it cautious. My grandma used to blame his age but he’s been like that my whole life and I’m almost thirty.” She told, a fond grin making its way into her face as memories began to flash in her mind. Memories filled with the family she used to have and the good times she always thought of before closing her eyes at night for a good night's rest.

Dev could sense the newfound softness in her voice at the mention of her grandmother. He stared at her, watching the subtle smile grace her lips as she zoned off within the hum of the road. He wanted to question more about what seemed to be the connection between the old man and her but could tell it was a sensitive subject by every mention of her. That and whatever that small conversation between her and Leroy was before his presence was made known.

“So, you wanna try some ice cream or what?” She suddenly asked, glancing over at him. Dev simply nodded, causing her to grin as she drove to the perfect spot.

────୨ৎ────

Before he could even get to observe his surroundings, they out of the car and walking into another establishment that had a lot of windows. The bell above the door chimed again, causing him to look up. “Another bell. Why the bell?” He asked, following closely behind the woman as his senses became invaded with a plethora of smells and sounds. He blinked frantically with a small frown, trying to clear his mind of the loud noise that surrounded him.

“It alerts the staff that new customers have arrived.” He heard Magnolia’s voice speak over the chaos, and it was as if that was all he needed to snap back in. Honing in on the sound of her voice caused the other sounds around him to come to a halt, to the point where he didn’t even hear them anymore. “It gets annoying but diners tend to keep that traditional vibe for some reason.” She finished with a shrug. She gave the person behind the counter a large smile with a wave before moving her way through the diner.

The pair passed countless booths that held a variety of people, from kids who were full of sugar and agitating their parents to groups of teens who gossiped around the small devices in their hands. Dev looked around at it all while it seemed that Magnolia led them somewhere she wanted to go since some of the tables they passed were empty.

He stopped, watching her drop herself into a booth by the window, scooting in the middle of the seat. Dev followed suit, watching as she pulled the large menus from the little folder stand next to her and handed him one.

He copied her actions, looking at the variety of names in the list before him. Some held small pictures of the food next to its name, but majority of the list he had no idea what was. Except water and he wasn’t quite sure why that was on the menu since it held no price next to it.

“I have no idea what any of this is.” He spoke as he placed the menu down on the table with a little force, sort of fed up with being utterly confused by most of everything around him. Magnolia hummed, placing her menu down as well with a nod. “I figured. Are you hungry?” She asked.

“No.” He shook his head innocently, staring at her. “I ate quite a bit this morning.” Magnolia let out a small chuckle at his words. “Boy, don’t I know it. I’m gonna have to go grocery shopping this week. I mean, I know I cooked it all but usually I have leftovers.” She said. Dev looked down, his eyes darting to his hands on the table. He couldn’t help but feel a little bad at that. That he was invading her space.

Magnolia’s smile faded slightly. She reached her arm across the table, placing her smaller hand atop his large ones. “Hey,” She said in a soft tone. She tilted her head down just as he looked up at her call, connecting his bright-colored eyes with hers. “I’m just pokin’ fun.” She stated with a mere grin. “I’m happy to have you in my home. I know have someone who can respond to the nonsense that I say.” She chided, causing him to let out a small chortle.

“You do talk a lot.” He stated nonchalantly. Magnolia blinked at his words. “Okay, ouch.” She said, but her smile was still there to let her know she wasn’t actually hurt by his words. Their small bonding moment was then interrupted by the sound of a voice coming up to them.

“Who comes to work on their day off?” The smooth voice of a familiar man spoke up, causing the pair to look over. A large smile instantly broke out into Magnolia’s features while she looked up at the man who made his way over to them, her hand unknowingly sifting away from Dev’s, that cold feeling enveloping him again just as it did at Leroy’s clinic.

“Someone who loves their job,” Magnolia said, looking up at him as he stopped in front of their table. The man rolled his eyes at her, pulling a notepad out of his coat jacket. “Yeah, whatever, kiss-ass. You just got a raise out of me. You’re not getting another this soon.” He said as he flipped the pad and pen in his hands.

“Oh, you’ll know when I’m kissing ass, G.” She said, causing them both to let out a small laugh. The man’s gaze then drifted to Dev, who eyed the obviously familiar pair with a subtly arched brow. The stranger held out his hand, his gold watch peaking from underneath the expensive brown suit he had on, the man standing out against the rest of the diner. “Giorgio Clarance, nice to meet you.” He introduced himself.

Dev placed his hand into his, both of their grips firm as they stared at one another. “Deven Embrose.” He said, speaking the name Magnolia made up earlier. It felt weird coming off of his tongue, unnatural. He just hoped Giorgio couldn’t tell.

The overdressed man hummed at his words. “Around the way type of guy, I see.” He said with a nod. “Cool.” He stated simply, giving the man a plain once over before directing his attention back to Magnolia. Dev furrowed his brows at the man’s dismissal of him, one that was a little hostile with the look he was just given. He tried not to read much into it, but he couldn’t help but question if he felt that Giorgio was throwing at him.

“He’s my boss,” Magnolia spoke up, seeing the questioning look on Dev’s face, thinking that’s what he was questioning. “He owns this place.”

“And others,” Giorgio added with a smirk.

“And others,” Magnolia repeated in a stupid tone, playfully rolling her eyes at him. Dev's eyes jumped between them. He nodded at what Magnolia told him “I’m a chef. Well, a baker.” She stated. Dev's eyes gleamed at that, and he was about to say something to her about her occupation before Giorgio cut in.

“A Chef.” He retorted firmly, looking down at her with a small frown. “What did I tell you about cutting yourself short? You are a chef.” He said, and Magnolia softly rolled her eyes at him again, looking down at her hands, though she couldn’t hide the soft smile on her face at his words.

“All I know how to really do is bake.” She said softly, looking up at Dev as if she was answering him. He could only offer her a polite smile back before her eyes drifted away and toward the man who stood next to them.

“You make amazing pastries for two a five start restaurants.” At this point, he had leaned down, slightly holding his weight on the table with his hands so he could be closer to Magnolia. Magnolia looked him in the eye, her face as neutral as it could be due to his praise. As if this proximity for them was normal as if they did this all the time and were fine. Dev, on the other hand, was not fine. He raised his hands from the table, leaning his back against the cushion leather seat of the booth. His brows twitched into a frown, staring the at side of the man’s head as his view of Magnolia was almost blocked. Almost.

“In the diner, you may be the baker, but at Augusto’s Chevalier, you’re a chef.” He explained, never once taking his eyes off the woman next to him. “You think they differentiate all that back there in that kitchen?” Magnolia squinted her eyes at him with a slight tilt of her head.

“They literally do?…in every kitchen.” She said, understanding the point her good friend was trying to make but also not seeing how a restaurant business mogul didn’t know such a thing.

“Yeah, whatever.” He said with a shrug as he waved her off playfully.

She rolled her eyes at him again. “Are you gonna take our order or not Mr. Hotshot?” She asked with a playful smirk, looking at the man decked in a nice suit and gold jewelry whose face stood only a few feet away from hers. She caught sight of Dev’s bright eyes next to his briefly, staring at her intensely. She felt a chill run down her spine at the gaze, but her eyes never directly met his.

“No, actually. I just came to speak.” He said to her with a small smile. He then turned his head, giving the man next to them a sideways glance and another once-over. He let out a dry chortle that was barely audible before rising from his relaxed position to stand fully. “This is just for show.” He said, gesturing to the pen and paper he’d gathered from his large blazer.

“Good, because we’re not even ready to order,” Magnolia said. Giorgio just hummed with a nod, giving her face one last good look. “It was nice seeing you, Magnolia.” He practically purred, his eyes trained on her face. Magnolia nodded at his words. “It was nice seeing you again too, G.” She said, giving him a soft smile. Giorgio couldn’t help but smile at the name, his perfect teeth showing as he looked at her, gleaming in contrast to his chocolate skin. He blinked before his gaze drifted to the other man at the booth. He nodded his head down at Dev before walking away from them, passing by Magnolia.

Dev sat there, watching the man leave their table. He didn’t even offer a nod back to Giorgio. He just stayed in place, a stone-cold look on his face, even when Giorgio glanced back at Magnolia with a smirk, said woman eyeing the menu. His eyes drifted to Dev’s, his grin turning more sinister before leaving his eyesight.

“Not gonna lie, I could go for a butter pecan.” He was snapped out of his trance at the sound of the woman mumbling to herself. “I’m definitely getting up there because I used to hate that shit.” She let out a small chortle of herself. Dev’s gaze moved across her form, not speaking as he continued to think about the interaction between Giorgio and Magnolia. “I never had pistachio, maybe I should try that.” She said, continuing her search, unbeknownst of the watching eyes she had on her.

She then looked up, slightly shaken to see the man’s gaze on her already but didn’t speak on it. “I’m gonna start you off simple with a waffle cone and some chocolate ice cream. I know vanilla is more basic, but I said simple, not plain.” She stated, waving her finger about as she explained the rundown to him, her abundance of jewelry clinging about. “But don’t get me wrong, I love a good vanilla. Especially a homemade one? Tuh! Word around town is your girls makes the best.”

“I think Giorgio wants to hook up with you.”

Magnolia’s head jerked back at Dev’s statement as her smile dropped. “What?” Her face contorted between confusion and disgust but also a little bit of intrigue as she tried to gather what Dev saw. “No, I’m positive he does not.” She said, letting out a nervous laugh at what her newfound friend said.

“He was acting a little like Jess.” Dev continued, not taking his eyes away from the woman in front of him. “Just a little different.”

“That’s just how we interact here.” She said softly, sitting forward more in her seat to lean closer to him as she began to explain. “He’s technically my boss and I’m his worker. In today’s time, to create a more healthy work environment, bosses tend to be friendly to their staff so what they’re doing isn’t considered slave labor.” She said letting out a small chuckle. “That and so their bond is somewhat like a work family and that there’s a trust put into everything said company produces.” She explained. She then worked her head, looking him in the eye. “We’re just friends.” She said softly. “Barely even that, we’ve never even gone out for a beverage.”

“He looks at you a lot,” Dev continued to comment, his face still the same even though this warm feeling spread through him at the way she was gazing at him over the table. He had subconsciously leaned forward in his seat and against the table, the pair sitting closer to one another.

“That’s what we do here. Eye contact is expected in most settings.” She said, her eyes stuck on his. They were practically whispering now, faces sort of close as they leaned across the table. “I mean, look at us now. I look at you, you look at me.”

“That is because we are having a conversation.”

“Were me and Giorgio not having a conversation?”

“Yes, but even when you weren’t looking at him, he was looking at you. Everywhere.”

“You look at me all the time.” Magnolia was quick to add to their small and somewhat silent argument, ignoring the last part about Giorgio’s eyes drifting over her figure when she wasn’t looking.

“I am observing because I am new here. What’s his excuse?” Dev added with a small tilt of his head. Magnolia let up a quick gasp at his words, looking him up and down. “Oh, you’re a little sassy when you want to be.” She said with a playful grin. Dev’s face stayed stoic, causing her to let out a small laugh. “Dev, relax and pick out an ice cream door before it gets dark out.” She said, jerking her head out of the window at the cloud-covered sun. “I hate driving in the dark.” She said softly before going back to her menu.

Dev blinked at her before looking down at his menu in front of him, both still leaned forward on the table as they observed what they were going to have.

His mind was clouded, full of questions and thoughts regarding not only the ones Ms out of his new life, it whatever was going on between Giorgio and Magnolia. Dev was no stranger to emotions, as oddly as he acted about them. He’d never really felt such staring emotions about anyone, not even his intended, but he’s seen those who have. And he could see that there were feelings between the two, even if it was one-sided. And something was telling him that Giorgio was the one that fancied her more, which caused this acidic feeling to enter the back of his throat and made his face want to contort into a scowl.

Giorgio rubbed him the wrong way and it’s not just because he’s into Magnolia. Although, Dev wasn’t quite sure why that last part bothered him more.

Magnolia on the other hand was simply a little confused. This had been the first time anyone had ever told her such a thing about her and Giorgio. Although they weren’t friends who went out anywhere, they’ve been around and conversed with others, and nothing of the sort has ever come up. She didn’t know what Dev saw, or if she could even trust his judgment since he was new to earth and e everything.

What bothered her most was that she wasn’t sure if she disliked the thought of Giorgio liking her. It was her boss after all and that wouldn’t be good for business, so she was more than likely never going to outside anything, but she couldn’t deny that he was an attractive man. A wealthy attractive man with a Brooklyn accent that dressed well. To Magnolia, he was a city boy through and through, and that intrigued her southern little behind. He was no blue-collar man, but she wasn’t picky and didn’t necessarily have a type. She was just used to one thing. All that to say is it were true, she wouldn’t mind hopping on the ride.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by Dev’s speaking.

“I don’t want to hook up with Jess either.” He said, causing her to look and connect their eyes. “Ever.” He finished. Magnolia blinked in confusion before simply nodding. “Okay.” She said before looking back down at her menu. Dev frowned, looking at the top of her head.

“And you don’t want to hook up with Giorgio, right?” He questioned. Magnolia let out a small laugh before looking back up at him. “No, I do not, Dev.” She said softly, looking into his eyes, which were now a soft green. Even though she sort of contradicted her previous thoughts, she was telling the truth, she didn’t necessarily want to hook up with him. Dev’s eyes jumped between hers, trying to see if he could almost sense a lie from her. He then blinked with a nod. “Good.” He said, looking at her intensely before going back to his menu. Magnolia frowned in confusion at him in what he meant by that but was cut off by Dev speaking again.

“When do we get this ice cream? Where is it coming from?” He asked, looking over his shoulder as he observed the thing in the diner. Magnolia pursed her lips, watching him.

“There's so much you have to learn, honeybun, so when we get home, we’re watching movies.” She said. “There’s only so much I can do for you, sweet pea.” She said as she shook her head with a sad smile.

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[cosmicmunsonwrites]

Can you do rafe x reader and she find out she’s pregnant and gets kicked out so she has to tell rafe

you hurt me pretty good too

pairing(s): fwb!rafe cameron x fwb!fem!reader

warnings: pregnancy, toxic parents, reader is kicked out, talks of abortion, pet names

summary: after finding out you’re pregnant, you parents kick you to the curb, forcing you to tell the father.

authors note: thank you so much for the request! i’ve been so slow with updating because of my writers block but i’m going to finish up all of these requests as soon as i can.

part zero | part one | part two

not edited

do not copy my works. i do not condone rewrites, translations, or edited versions. all my content is my content that i wrote.

not my gif

“dad, please,” you cried. “i tried. i was careful! i don’t know what more you want from me. we used protection and i was on birth control.”

he didn’t seem to accept that answer. “then maybe you shouldn’t be having sex at all. if you’re not responsible enough to prevent getting pregnant, how can i trust that you’ll take care of a kid?”

“i promise i will. i have a steady job, i pay for all of my own stuff, i do everything on my own. i promise this won’t be a problem for you,” you tried to reason.

“if you won’t get an abortion, you can’t stay here,” he said firmly. “and thats that.”

your lip trembled as you turned to your mother. “mom?”

“i’m sorry, honey. your fathers right.”

you choked out a sob before rushing into your room and packing up all of your valuable belongings into a duffle bag you found in your closet. you grabbed all of your stashed money and anything else you needed. you didn’t even bother packing too many clothes, you’d later buy new ones.

without any exchanged words, you walked out to your car and threw the bag into the back, pressing the start button and driving off.

you furiously wiped the tears from your eyes as you sped down the bridge over to figure 8. you hated this. you hated what you were about to do. but it was your only option now.

and when you arrived, you were still in tears and even more nervous than confessing to your parents.

your walked up to the front door and knocked. “coming,” you heard his voice yell. then it swung open.

the first thing he noticed was your teary eyes. “hey, what’s wrong?” he was never this soft with you. but you were more than grateful right now. “come in. we can go up to my room.”

you stepped around him, trying your best not to cry even harder when his hand splayed across your lower back as he led you up to the room as if you hadn’t navigated your way there on your own a million times.

he gestured to the bed, silently telling you to take a seat as he kneeled in front of you, a hand on each of your thighs. “what’s wrong, sweetheart? something happen.”

you broke down now. “you’re gonna hate me.”

“i don’t think i could ever hate you,” he mumbled softly, eyes searching yours for some sort of answer.

you took a deep breath to gather yourself. “my—my parents kicked me out.”

his brows furrowed in towards each other. “what? why?”

you couldn’t look at him anymore. your eyes averted to the ground. “i’m pregnant.”

you heard the breath he sucked in, letting it out seconds later as his thumb moved across your skin comfortingly.

when he didn’t say anything, you cried even harder and stood up. “i’m sorry, rafe.”

he stood up with you and grabbed your hands. “no, no it’s okay, sweetheart. it’s okay,” he said before wrapping his arms around you. “it’s gonna be fine. we’re gonna figure it out together, yeah? i can talk to my dad about you staying with me for a little until we sort it out.”

his hand gently ran through your hair as he kissed your temple. “no matter what, angel, i promise to take care of the both of you.”

[lazypanartist]

HELLO i fucking LOVE ur stobotnik and their kid series!!! its what initially got me to watching the movies and into the sonic franchise as a whole!!! can i request a stobotnik and their kid whos sort of like maria.... like they genuinely love the world and humanity despite (ahem) everything Ivo says. Maybe add in a sprinkle of shadow who sees reader and is taken aback by how similar they are to maria, and now stone + ivo has to deal with their kid having a new guard dog/brother HDSHSDH love ur writing, hope u have a good day!!

AHHH I'M SO GLAD I COULD HELP YOU GET INTO THE SERIES!! Super touched 💙💙💙

*Frantically googling Shadow's personality + Maria Robotnik*

*Having a Crisis™ because WOW OKAY*

Anyways! I've been working on this since the request rolled in, and am 100% invested. Willing to take related requests ^-^

Stobotnik + Sweetheart! Child, + Guard Dog Bestie! Shadow

Note: this is long. Like, LONG long

Your fathers have always loved you, if a tad.. oddly.

Papa Ivo doesn't understand your interest with the rest of humanity.

"What if one of those disgusting cretins gets my baby sick? What if someone actually wanted to hurt you?"

"No, it's far safer for you if you stay by his or Papa Stone's side. Or in the lab. The lab is VERY safe, you know. Well idiot proofed"

Not that he's calling his baby an idiot, of course -

Baba Aban, however, seems to understand you.

Of course he respects Papa's wishes, keeps you close when you do go out, but he tries to sate your interest in humanity best he can.

Always open to questions, and will try to answer everything as age-appropriately as possible.

"What does Papa do all day?"

"He builds things for the government."

"Why?"

"Because it pays well enough to raise you and keeps him busy."

"Why doesn't Papa like other people?"

He.. doesn't have an answer for that one. Not really.

"Just because" sounds too shallow, and "Because people can be horrible" is almost worse.

"To keep you safe."

It's not a lie, but it's not the truth, and the way you huff lets him know you're onto him.

Lets Ivo know before you two are finished with errands, in case you bombard the older man with questions next

They both try and keep you entertained in their own ways

Papa Ivo tries to keep you interested in his machines, how they can be used to better your life

Baba Aban takes you out for errands and helps teach you in the kitchen

Life is as balanced as it can be, considering your solitude growing up

Both dads help you set up a little greenhouse in the traveling lab

"For self sufficiency!" - Papa Ivo

"To give them a new hobby." - Baba Aban

"To keep me busy." - Baby You™

You know what's up

SO since we don't yet know how Shadow calmed tf down in the movie, bare with me here.

After the events of Movie 2 and then the unearthing of Project Shadow, you and your dads are living in the Crabmeat base deep in the Pacific

You and Baba Aban still surface occasionally for groceries and supplies, while Papa Ivo throws himself into his work to distract himself from his latest defeat.

During one surface visit, looking around the Seattle streets while on the back of Baba Aban's motorcycle, you see a strangely familiar figure on a similar vehicle.

You tug on your das's sleeve before gearuring toward the hedgehog

"Baba.. that's not Sonic, is it?"

He looks, does a double take

"Uh.. no."

He's stopping near the same lot the two of you are, and Baba instructs you to message Papa

"Found another alien hedgehog, will update"

He seems wary when the two of you approach, glancing between you as Aban steps closer, an arm in front of your chest to keep you back behind him

"Who are you?"

The hedgehog glares, and you slink just a bit closer to see him

"I am the ultimate life form."

"Decided by who?"

"That's none of your concern."

The two are almost circling one another now, Baba keeping you behind him, even if just barely

"It's my concern if you're here to.. to destroy humanity, or whatever."

You eye him from behind your dad, but he just huffs a laugh

"Destroy? I was created to preserve your human lives."

Your eyes widen again, catching his own before he glanced back towards your Baba

"Is that a problem?"

You tug at Aban's sleeve again, and he slows his movement, letting you peek out more from behind him

"No.. I don't suppose it is."

You finally slip out from behind him, smiling, and Shadow is hit, mentally, with the image of Maria, smile - the same energy as your own

A certain kind of sad loneliness, with an undertone of care

He doesn't know why he thinks of it that way

All he knows is that it feels like home again

The two of you see each other a few times after that, while out on errands with Baba

Papa wants to meet him - of course - but doesn't want another Knuckles situation

(He's very glad that the echidna didn't try and go after you for revenge - after the emerald was taken away, he wasn't sure he could have saved you)

So he lets you - and Stone - approach him on the surface

Not that you know explicitly that you're helping.

Neither of your dad's know about Maria - at least not explicitly - and Shadow still hasn't voiced why he's so attached to you

He finds himself following you whenever he sees you on earth

Of course you're with Baba every time, kept at arms length from Shadow, but he keeps coming back

Papa allows it because he hasn't made any threats

Baba allows it because he seems genuinely friendly

And doesn't seem to recognize him

Finally - FINALLY - Papa asks Baba to help bring him to the base

Respectfully, if possible. He wants to keep the peace, even if it's just for your sake

You get to be the lucky one to invite Shadow to the base

You smile when you ask if he'd like to come, and all he can see is Maria inviting him to see a new breakthrough from her grandfather

He says yes

Immediately

Your smile gets wider

"This is the first time I've invited a friend home!"

His poor, walled-off heart cracks just a little, and he gives Stone a Look™

Baba just glanced away before offering him a ride in a (rented) car

The two of you sit in the back, just talking to each other, while Stone contemplated how he got to driving one of the aliens.

To his home.

With his child in the backseat next to said alien.

As long as you're happy, and Ivo's happy, then he's sure he'll be fine

Shadow is still vague with answers around his past - every time you try and engage him about family, friends, childhood, home - he thinks of Maria

He still tries to answer you - he grew up in space, with his best friend and her grandfather.

She was.. sick. Very sick. And she died.

Conveniently leaving GUN out of the convo.

He sees the sadness you have for him - the same Maria held when she told him to go - and decides that he'll make space for himself in your life

If you let him.

ONLY if you let him.

The three of you make it back to crabmeat safely, and both of your dads hover, but let you interact how you want

Shadow sees a lot of Gerald in your Papa, but won't say anything.

He can't

Not yet, at least

He ends up staying the night, nested on your floor next to your own little fort, facing the door even in his sleep

Ivo tolerates it, if barely

He brought the hedgehog here to study, not to befriend his baby

"What if he has.. space rabies?!"

Stone just rolls his eyes as he shuts your door most the way, alarm systems all in place for the night

"This is the first time they've had a friend over, Ivo. We'll know if something goes wrong - just let them have this."

"This" turned into "a live-in best friend" rather quickly, to both parents' surprise (and your absolute delight)

Eventually, he caves.

He starts answering questions truthfully, the pain still rather fresh in his mind

He tells you about Maria, about GUN, about his purpose and pain

And you're there to comfort him

He's not graphic, and you don't push, and he appreciates it more than he'll voice, even to you

He figures that as long as you're willing to be there and listen, he'll be there to keep you safe company

Both dads are.. annoyed

Ivo thinks this new hedgehog is overbearing - always at your shoulder, keeping you company when he's supposed to be, never seeming to let you out of his sight

Stone thinks he's up to something, the way he lingers between streets when you're out, watching from the shadows (ha)

In reality, he's just trying to keep you safe

Your dads seem to figure that out when one of Ivo's ridiculous predictions comes true - you wander just a bit too far from Baba to look at some UV lights for your plants on Crabmeat, and someone grabs your arm as they walk past, jostling you enough that you yelp

Shadow is there in half a second, sending the aggressor to the floor before tugging on your hand, coaxing you down so he can look at the bruise forming on your bicep

Baba Aban is there a second later, lowering himself and helping Shadow turn your arm before helping you back up

"We should leave."

The three of you are silent until halfway back to the base, when Baba tilts the rearview to look at Shadow while he's druving

"Shadow.."

"What?"

He always glares when he talks to anyone besides you. Typically toward the floor or their chests, but right now he's looking your Baba in the eyes through the mirror, watching your father's gaze soften

*Thank you."

And thank YOU anonymous requester for all of this!

The requests for Sonic Movieverse, and this particular headcanon set, are wide open! Please send me reqs! I'm fixating like a mofo right now!!

[lizardaggro]

on the flip side (twst bully!au) pt 3

here we are, the long-awaited (it was literally like 1 day) part 3!! i wanted to declare on one of the actual chapters since those get seen by the most people that I DID NOT MAKE THIS AU, credit i believe goes to @azulsluver. i swear i don't hate you guys, leaving everything on a cliffhanger, but the good news is i have a lot of time on my hands due to chronic illness so i can update super often. also i gave up on the purple theme on posts bc tumblr hates me and always leaves the end of the word count black.

part 1 part 2

genre: gn reader, angst trigger warnings: bullying, mild yandere (will be escalating throughout the series, but no non-con) word count: 1246

You couldn’t really afford to space out and think about it though, not when he was right in front of you. Riddle tapped his foot impatiently, clearly irate at your lack of response. “Well?” He asked. “Do you not even have anything to say in your defense?”

Oh dear. However were you supposed to get rid of him when he was so intent on getting some sort of answer out of you? You had no idea what he wanted! He was more difficult to threaten, too, since you’d made up your mind that you didn’t want to be like your tormentors and completely ruin others’ lives. No, your end goal was just to make them leave you alone. After everything you’d been through, you really didn’t want to see them again.

It might seem strange to some people, that you weren’t dead set on destroying any semblance of normalcy they once had. You had all the ammunition you needed, of course. The Overblot victims would be the easiest to topple, considering what they’d done in and leading up to that state. But you didn’t think you were a particularly vengeful person; at least, you didn’t want to be. Crowley had always said that you must’ve been sent here to get his precious students to work together, so clearly you weren’t like them.

“I never asked for this, Riddle. Any of this. So if you think somewhere in your fucked-up mentality that you’re doing me some sort of favor, you’re dead wrong,” you intoned. Indeed, even though you just wanted them gone, you missed the days when you were all friends. Back when you thought everyone had your back no matter what. Oh, if only you knew what they’d do for you. It wouldn’t be hard at all to push some of the more unstable students over the edge. Those who felt they didn’t have anyone else. Much like a certain dragon fae who never did seem to get invited to things.

Riddle looked like he was about to say something, but before he could, he was drenched by a great torrential rain. Where did that come from? Didn’t the forecast say it was supposed to be clear skies and sunny for the rest of the week? Your question was soon answered, as you had two more visitors.

“Silver? Sebek? What brings you here?” You inquired, not at all amused. When those two showed up at the same time, it could only mean one thing, and it wasn’t good. Riddle looked like he had caught on as well, since he stepped in front of you, as if that would do any good.

“LORD MALLEUS REQUESTS YOUR PRESENCE!!” Sebek boomed. You’d made progress on his volume in the past, so you were sure he did it just to annoy you. Silver just stared. He always stared, you felt like. Sometimes you swore you could feel his eyes on you even when he was nowhere to be found.

“Oh, gee, I wonder what that’s about,” you snarked. “Poor little princey-poo doesn’t want his embarrassing little secrets getting out? Well you can tell him to fuck off.” You must’ve been feeling especially brave, since normally you knew that defying Malleus Draconia was as good as a death sentence. He wasn’t even that bad, compared to some of the others. He just… locked you in his room and made you listen to him talk, with no room to get a word in edgewise. He’d go on and on about one thing or another for HOURS, with no regard for your schedule or your bodily needs. Clearly fae had a different sense of time than most.

It was the loss of control over your own life that you hated; that, and that if he really still considered you a friend, he never bothered to do anything about your bullies. You knew he was more than capable; you’d witnessed his strength firsthand on multiple occasions. You didn’t know what his endgame was, and frankly you were too scared to find out. He could trap you there forever and you wouldn’t be able to do a single thing about it.

Sebek was not amused. He raised an arm, likely to strike you, but Silver placed a hand on it, effectively stopping him. “Don’t. You wouldn’t want Lord Malleus to see a bruise on them,” he reasoned. You didn’t get it. Since when would he care? Sebek roughly shoved Riddle out of the way, despite all his objections, and nonchalantly slung you over his shoulder.

“What the hell?!” You screeched, pounding your fists on his back. “Put me down! I’m not going!” You weren’t sure why you were objecting so vehemently; this time wasn’t any different than the others. But something about the dark gray clouds pouring rain on what should’ve been a lovely day just told you that this was not going to be good.

But alas, your plight was ignored. The three of you made your way to Diasomnia in silence. No one bothered to stop and stare in the halls, as you being carried off by people was somewhat of a normal occurrence. You could swear Savannahclaw and Diasomnia even had some sort of twisted capture-the-flag game going, for whatever reason.

When you entered the gothic-style castle, you were greeted by none other than Lilia. Much like Malleus, he’d never bothered you too terribly, only engaging in less-than-welcome pranks. You knew he was far older than he let on, so you supposed he didn’t see the point in such childish endeavors. There was, however, one thing you feared about the man: his cooking, which he tried to shove down your throat at every opportunity. How Silver grew up healthy you’d never know.

And so, of course, you were greeted by a plate of… well, goop, to put it nicely. “Here, have a seat, dear, I made lasagna,” Lilia offered with what you assumed was supposed to be a warm smile. To you in that moment, with the fumes starting to reach your nose, it looked like a shit-eating grin.

“I’ll pass, thanks. That is to say, I’d rather die than eat that shit, because it looks and smells like it’ll send me straight to hell,” you deadpanned. Sebek let out an unholy screech and started ranting about how dare you refuse Lord Lilia, even though you knew he wouldn’t want to eat it either. You did your best to tune him out. Silver looked relieved, surprisingly enough. You supposed he was able to empathize since he grew up eating the stuff.

Luckily for you, Lilia just sighed and walked off, taking his culinary abomination with him. The three of you who remained shared a look. “How are you still alive after all these years?” You asked Silver. He shrugged. If even he didn’t know, you’d just call it a miracle.

“SILVER, QUIT FRATERNIZING WITH THE ENEMY! LORD MALLEUS IS WAITING!” Sebek practically screamed in your ear. You really wished he would stop doing that. But you had more important things to worry about, like your impending death by dragon fae. Once you arrived at Malleus’s room, Sebek set you down and pushed you inside. You heard the lock click behind you. You gulped, feeling the pressure of being alone in a room with a presumably angry and very powerful mage. You looked up to see a pair of emerald eyes staring you down. Oh boy, this was not going to be fun.

taglist: @twistedcece @slxt4h1m @teawhere @pleasehugmeaether @reivelmin @aoiyx

[andhumanslovedstories]

hey here's another question that I've been thinking about for about a week with no particular breakthrough. I'm so much on the healthcare side that all my advice is on that side. Dude, I read academic articles for this and didn't come up with anything particularly useful. That's why I'm answering this publicly, so other people hopefully add something useful. (Also I know you said you're not looking for opioids. I'm gonna talk about opioids anyway they certainly affect perceptions of chronic pain. In your case, try making clear early on that you don't want opioids.)

I'll say some things that I've noticed from my work to maybe provide some insight into healthcare's side of the exchange. I'm not saying this is the way things should be, I'm giving advice based on how I see things are. I wish I could say this wasn't the case, but when there's a pain medication standoff, the two ways I've seen it work out best for a patient are:

A third party advocates for the patient. (like family, nurse, social worker, different specialist, patient advocate, etc)

Change in caregiver.

I don't like those as the top answers, but that's what I've seen and it's consistent with a lot of the accounts I encountered. There is also a third way that the pain medication standoff can quickly end in a patient's favor:

3. New evidence (new symptom, imaging, vital signs, lab test, etc) forces a reexamination of how we're thinking about the patient.

This is also the "oh shit they seem worse" method, but it can also be "we have gained new information that re-contextualizes the information we already knew." This is like hey the xray came back, your whole bone is dust, or hey your blood pressure is now significantly higher, or hey oops your appendix exploded.

In all three cases, something new happens to change the dynamic. This works for healthcare providers operating in good faith because someone comes in fresh and/or the new dynamic causes the healthcare team to do a new assessment and cost/benefit analysis with this updated information. This works for healthcare providers operating in bad faith because they are either removed from the situation or put in a position where giving pain medication is less onerous than not giving pain medication. I genuinely, genuinely believe far more healthcare employees are operating in good faith rather than bad faith, although the end results can look the same from the patient side. This means I think that far more people are swayed by additional information that makes pain management have more benefit and less cost.

I don't know how actionable any of this is from the patient side unfortunately. I don't love being like "my advice? wait till shift change, see if you can shake it up." Bring someone to the emergency department with you if you have someone available, preferably someone prepared to make a fuss on your behalf. If you don't have a third person, see if you can get one. Hospitals can have patient advocate as a job. If they aren't available, is there someone on your healthcare team that seems most sympathetic? Try asking them if they have any advice. They might be able to give you some, they might advocate for you. Be careful about badmouthing staff to other staff and avoid compliments to one member of the team that relies on insulting another member. You don't know the relationships at play, and it's sort of like how you shouldn't trash talk your old job when interviewing for a new job. You may be completely right in everything you're saying, but being like "my boss was a crazy asshole who refused to recognize my work," doesn't come off as objective. It can undercut your credibility and introduce hostility into the conversation where it is not productive.

I'd also be prepared to talk about what you already tried to relieve the pain. Again, with you I'd mention upfront that you don't want opioids because they don't work for you. Then say what you have already tried at home before you came in (tylenol, ibpurofen, heating, ice, exercises, stretching, shower, other meds, etc) and the effect of both the pain (can't sleep, makes you nauseated, had to call off sick from work, aren't able to be a caregiver to someone, etc) and your already attempted interventions (no significant pain control, symptoms got worse, called PCP, they said emergency was the next step, etc). If your condition is chronic, compare it on the pain scale and the functionality scale to your baseline. (i.e. "I'm always at least a 3 out of ten on the pain scale, but it doesn't usually leave me bedbound." "Normally Symptom improves after Intervention At Home, but that didn't work this time.") Something that can make providers hesitant is if opioids, benzos, or other powerful drugs are the first and only thing a patient says will help and they're unwilling to try anything else, so sometimes demonstrating flexibility with your pain plan can signal "I'm not here for oxy to sell, I'm here because I want my symptoms to stop (and, if relevant, figure out what is causing them)."

Also if you can and feel safe doing so, consider providing feedback to the hospital. Nothing changes without something documented.

[lychgate]

Echo brain comic?? My beloved?

this one's pretty new and id like to in the least get some segments drawn up if i can

i went balls deep in depth about my personal ideas of Echo's structure and how it works, it has much more writing rn then art lemme get some snippets:

tech and echo begin digging around in his wiring as echo's health has lately began to decline rapidly. Blood transfusions are becoming daily, exhaustion occurs much quicker, and newest to the issues are these seemingly random seizures. They've attempted many outside options at remedying the problem but it was becoming urgently clear that the only way to get answers would be to open up his system and understand exactly how his body operates from the inside out. Echo is mostly on edge because he fears finding the answer that is he's just doomed to die soon, and that his body was in no way sustainable outside of that fridge. He fears the idea of dying so much that he has manic considerations of being put back in some sort of stasis chamber. Death, which he never feared prior to the citadel, but now he's come to be you know uhhh quite traumatized from it. But he also hates the idea of that fridge!! caught between two terrible options, wowie here ill add some more breakdown of that in a read more if anyone is interested in paragraphs of bullshit:

as for a brief descriptor on the shit on his head and body, from this paragraph:

Tech: these rivets across your skull are not simple ports one can just plug into. They're a very unique structure, containing an extremely delicate, but long system of thin metallic fibers wiring throughout your brain. These 'rivets' then act as anchors to those metal fibers, which then respond to very specific electric signals that we can access at the nodes on the surface here. If the signals sent are not exact. Well. Echo: yeah I get it I get it.

and some write up on how Tech begins to diagnose the problem:

Eventually Tech will find his way into deeper functions of the brain, finding shortcuts that were already developed by the Techno Union scientists for the sake of their own equipment likely. Categorized sections for monitoring all sorts of chemicals and levels within Echo's body, most of which were left on an automatic function to regulate.

Tech begins to understand that the key issue is that this program, and these automatic functions, were fitted for exactly the stasis chamber Echo had been put in, and if they want to begin fixing Echos phsyical body, he would have to start going in and coding line for line, functions that pertain to the body on a sustainability outside that fridge. Some functions were completely turned off, being that Echo was getting fed certain synthesized chemicals thru the machine, his brain had to be telling itself NOT to produce said things naturally.

But it's all very finicky work that requires continuous maintenance and updates, not much unlike a patch update to any other computer program, except this is Echo's life. It's an impossible amount of code to do in any short time frame, and so Tech will begin splicing lines of code from similar organic droids with systems of similar complexity.

They handle these sessions once per week, giving time for Echo's body to catch up and adjust. At first he begins feeling some nausea, his heart rate starts rising, but he insists something feels good about it and urges Tech to keep going. Echo begins to feel warmth back in his body, his mood increases, after about a month hair begins to grow again, muscle mass fills in what once was skeletal limbs, nail beds regain a lively shine. Besides a few errors in updates like over producing a chemical or small bouts of insomnia, everything seems On Course.

and then:

So now we get into the meat of the drama, which is a lot of Echo mania and identity issues:

By this point Tech has outfitted much easier screw on parts so they can go in and out of this program faster (the set up previously was hours of work) so pulling that up he theorizes that he will have to do more then just reverse programs that the Techno Union set up. Tech now believes he'll have to create NEW systems, as the old program appears to be getting corrupted from all of Tech's editing. The seizures are, at this point to their best guess, coming from this. That parts of his brain are literally crashing, and soon he's going to start having more serious issues like bro is gonna just have a massive stroke at some point. Tech points that out all regular voice and Echo is just 'great im back in the mental swamp' Now that Echo's learned that he has corrupted files eating away at his brain, and that the chance of having a massive stroke is like inevitable, he's back to feeling like anxious shit. It doesn't help that this will take Tech a lot of time to figure out. Truthfully he's putting as much effort as he can into it, but this is when Echo begins to get Really mentally unwell. He's both worrying and also trying NOT to worry out of fear that it's going to complicate the program even more. Echo begins to have identity issues, coming to rely more on the mechanics then the organics that make him. He doesn't feel like a human with robot parts anymore, he feels like a robot with human parts.

and it keeps going like there's parts where echo is begging Tech to up programs on dopamine generation and Tech has to turn him down cause that would just be creating an addiction problem, situations where Echo starts trying to mess with his own brain, situations where he tries to kill Tech, its a lot of rambling but im not a writer, like i can't write for shit and I'd like to try and draw it instead

[quizicalgin]

Since I was recently tagged on making CC in milkshape, I figured I'd copy and paste what I know from my other blog, rather than just forwarding the page here for ease of viewing. It’s the FAQ page for creating CC under the read more.

What do you use to make mods?

S3PE is used to export snippets of the code to edit to make tuning mods. If you wanna make some yourself, HERE is the tutorial to learn how.

What do you use to make objects/clothing/hair?

This one has a few answers depending on what you mean specifically.

TSRW mainly for cloning and editing objects. It also lets me export the files in simpack and package formats.

If you want the version of TSRW BEFORE the sims 4 versions, you can get that HERE. This is important to note because some other programs used for CC creation aren’t fully compatible with the newer version of the TSRW’s WSO files.

If it’s an object that needs a fourth channel added, but it isn’t supported, Texture tweaker by Ignes Jones is what gives the object that channel to work with.

For meshing I use milkshape, and I’m currently working on learning how to use blender instead, since it’s freeware and has a lot more that can be done with it. However, it seems like the plugins from TSRW no longer work with blender, but there are plugins to have blender import geoms HERE that are best used with blender version 2.8-2.9.

There are some additional plugins for Milkshape that makes working in it much easier. There is an align normals plugin set by Demon 432 HERE, and the Unimesh plugins by Wes Howe found HERE. Lastly, to make UV editing easier in Milkshape there’s the CatofEvilGenius UV plugin HERE. They also have a UV flipper too.

For editing textures I personally use Photoshop and here’s how to add DDS usage to it with a link already there in it to download the necessary files. If you use Gimp instead, you can get the DDS files for it HERE. Installation should be similar to PS’s, just look for the file formats.

HERE is a link to the faces and scalps for when I need to model hair or jewelry, since doing it right on the head is much easier. Teens and elders aren’t in here because they aren’t that much different from the adult head.

Is that everything you use?

No there’s also:

Delphy’s Dashboard – Used to make sure my package files aren’t corrupt and won’t make sims implode. It’s also good for checking if anything you already have may be corrupted (a lot of it out there sadly is through no fault of the creator. It just happens during creation sometimes)

S3OC – Another program that lets you clone files, save unlike TSRW it can clone interaction objects, like toothbrushes, game controllers, bowls, plates, and other things that only appear for certain situations. The downside is everything mostly appears in strings with few images, but most of the names make sense for the items. Just sort by name and get to scrollin.

Compressorizer – This compresses simpack and package files in order to help keep the game running smooth. Due to some of its functions, remember to back up your CC and games before using the program.

MeshToolKit – This one is indispensable for creating custom content if you’re adjusting meshes just a bit, or using it to give completely new weight assignments (what makes it move and work like a sim body part) and morphs (the thin to thick range, pregnancies included). Thornowl also made an updated version that can be downloaded HERE.

Normal/Bump map plugins – They’re necessary for any CC you make, as most art programs don’t natively have the ability to make them. Now there are a couple different sets you can download and use depending on your art program of choice.

You can get the ones for GIMP HERE, with the link to the downloads on that page.

The ones for Photoshop can be gotten HERE, and this is a mediafire link because I personally had difficulty using NVIDIA’s newer exporter

And I THINK that’s everything, if I think of or get asked anything else I’ll edit this as needed.

[primary-022]

outsiders x male reader

I sat in a booth at the dingo, eating lunch, and finishing some homework, as well as others because I needed the money.

Then a group boys came in and settled down in a booth in front of me. They had greasy hair, a style commonly associated with Greasers. I recognized some of the boys - not that I knew them well, but I had seen them around. Two of the boys work at the DX and another one with a cut on his cheek is in my English class.

Well knowing very what greasers are like I tried to keep my head down so I won't get notice until a couple of socs came in.

How I know this is, well, I am middle class, and we're mostly pretty chill besides choosing groups to be in. I am close to being called middle-class so I don't get bothered as much sort of.

If you are not familiar with socs, they're the rich kids who think they are above everything and are super snotty-well at least most of them. Anyway, socs and greasers are not very fond of each other, and there has been a rivalry between the two social groups.

Well, anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, I was doing some work until the Socs happened to stumble across me.

"Well, look who it is," one of the socs said, sliding into the seat next to me. Hey guys, I said, trying to continue my work and hoping it would make them interested in me."What do you guys need?" I asked. "Oh, nothing. Just checking in on our favorite genius to monitor if he's okay and doing what we requested. It seems that you’re not," he replied disapprovingly."Well, I have other people working on it; you know that," I responded."Do we? Or are you just avoiding it?" he pressed.

I started to feel a little scared because, when he acts like this, I know from past experiences that I might get jumped on my way home. "Look, man, I can do it right now if you want," I said, trying to divert his attention from whatever he had planned."I guess that's good," he said, but not before glancing at his friends with a smirk. "While you're at it, do these," he added as his friends began passing their homework to him. "That doesn’t mean you’re off the hook," he continued, dropping the pill onto the work I was doing. With that, he and his group started to walk away, and I let out a deep breath I had been holding. If you're wondering who had been tormenting me the whole time, his name is Bob, and he thinks he is invincible.

Unknowingly to me, while that was happening, the greaser sitting in the booth next to me was overhearing the commotion"Hey, you!" I heard someone call out. I turned my head to see who it was. "Oh, hi," I greeted them. "Hey," one of them replied. "Um, we were wondering if you wanted to walk with us. We overheard that little situation with those annoying Socs."Oh, y'all heard? Sorry, and sure, why not—it will save me from getting jumped, hopefully. "Yeah, well, I'm Soda Pop," he said, introducing himself. Oh, right! You work at the DX.

Yeah, and this is Steve with the tattoo, Johnny Cakes, two-bit with a Mickey t-shirt, the sleeves cut off, and my brother Ponyboy. he said, introducing the people he is with. I said hello to them, and they waved back in response.

Anyway, why are you doing other people's homework? Sodapop ask.

Well, I need the money to avoid getting harmed, and I have some debt to pay off.

"Huh? What kind of debt?" Two-Bit asked.

I borrowed money from someone, and now another person thinks that if I owe money to one person, I should also owe him money. "Who?" he continued. "Huh?" I replied, confused. "Who?" Steve asked, responding to my vague answer. "Um... oh yeah, Bob. He's part of this so-called badass group that I mention."

"No, we were asking who you owe money to," Ponyboy said, wanting to know.

"Oh" well, you are gonna have to get to know me better if you want to know".I said with a grin, leaving them with a confused and disappointed expression.

I'm sort of in a stump. I don't know what else to add, but I will keep updating this post or another one and link to the original post. If you’d like me to create a full story based on this, please let me know! I’m also working on an oc character story on Wattpad and A03. It’s not published yet, but I’m focusing on that as well. The story features a male character because there aren’t many options available for male readers. Anyway, I'll stop yapping your ears off. 😘💋

[campbyler]

the ppl that complain abt updates are actually so bewildering to me bc im literally 2k words into my fic and it has taken SO LONG 😞 not to mention the fact that no matter how long i wait for your updates, i truly never get bored because i js come on your tumblr everyday to see what you guys have been posting on here and it 100% makes up for the long awaited updates (not that you have anything to make up for anyway) you guys are truly SO incredible for what you do bc i could NEVER 😭 i literally talked to my friend abt ur fic and how the waits are usually long (wasn’t complaining abt it) and she was like “oh my god i could never wait that long for a fic” and i immediately came to your defense and was like “yeah but it’s okay bc the long ass chapters always make up for it and the fact that they post on tumblr almost daily”

prefacing my accidental ramble by saying that if we ever seem disproportionately annoyed at something someone said then it’s definitely because it is not disproportionate to Us!! little comments and things like that add up over time, so it’s rarely about just that one thing someone says and absolutely more of an overarching pattern that gets tiring really fast. and not to dredge everything back up again bc it’s rare that we get someone being super weird and rude outright about longer or delayed update times but we get soooo so many asks or comments etc like the one thea answered earlier which just include little remarks that come off as just passive aggressive and just kind of kill the vibe of getting a really nice message?? very much like “oh i miss when we only had to wait a couple weeks for updates but your fic is so good!” or “this was so good but don’t know how im going to wait months for the next chapter :(“ and just stuff like that which gets pretty frustrating over time, especially when they’re coming from people who blew through a 30k update in like 45 minutes lol. we see so much of this over on twt especially, maybe because we’re not as active there and people are not saying it To Us so they think we don’t see it but there’s also a lot of likeeeeee “i want to start acswy but im Traumatized by authors abandoning their fics so im just waiting until they’re done” or “i want to catch up but the update intervals are so long😭” and that sort of thing which is also just kind of frustrating to see come up over and over again, esp bc sometimes people have actually said that to us? like in our inbox??? for some entirely unknown reason??? like why are you telling us on this blog that you don’t want to read our fic until it’s done. good luck getting through 500k in one sitting then idk what to tell you 🤷🏽‍♀️

anyways all that to say thank you so much for your message of support it’s very much appreciated! sometimes the demands (even if they’re said as a joke) and little side comments that are slipped into really nice messages can def make us feel like our readers see as us people who are putting out a product and not people who are just trying to share a passion project with our little corner of the internet, but we also know that most of you are not like that and especially the people who regularly interact w this blog and send in asks and comments are so lovely! thank you for coming to our defense 🫡

[aaaaafro]

Seductress 3 - ITZY Chaeryeong x M!Reader (+18?)

tw: titjob? blueballing, yes till reader dies, we aint stopping.

author's notes: I'm back yall! JK, okay so this'll be my only update for Tumblr at this time, I'll be jumping back to my wattpad work because I've been too lazy writing, after updating the Tumblr work, I'll jump back here, perhaps with a new work or another update for an ongoing series ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ ͡⁠°⁠ ͜⁠ʖ⁠ ͡⁠°⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

pt. 2 here

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"WAIT!" You and Yuna echoed each other.

In a haste you two put your clothes back on before running after the said person who witnessed the unsightly situation.

Exiting ITZY's RV you've noticed that the outside is too empty and the person who saw you and Yuna has completely vanished.

"God fucking damn it!" You collapsed realizing what's about to happen.

Yuna stood there guilty as hell as she just tried her best to calm you down.

"W-we can sort this out oppa."

"No! We can't! This fucking job!" You feel terrible lashing out at Yuna but you can't blame yourself.

"Oppa..." Yuna's hesitant voice calls.

You then reached your wits end, standing up with your head down ignoring everything. The few staff that was left finishing the clean up was saying hi yo you but you just shut off completely.

Then a figure suddenly blocks your path. Your eyes travel upwards only to see.

Having been too spent to even give a proper greeting you just mumbled "M-my bad." before stepping aside and continuing your walk of shame.

"O-oppa!" She called hesitantly.

"Yes Chae?"

"Uh..."

"Can I help you with something?" You grew impatient with a hint of regret but your mind isn't in the right place at the moment.

"Y-yes..." She continues to hesitate.

"Is it something to be done tonight? Because, I'm not really–..."

"Can we go to your house?" Chaeryeong suddenly proposed.

You're too baffled at the suddenness of the situation "W-wait... Why?"

"I'm n-nervous for my s-shoot." She reasoned but you're not having any of it.

"Oh really? But you've done it many times now." You tried probing.

"Y-yeah b-but still..." She acted all cute and your anger dissipates in a matter of seconds.

"W-why my h-house?"

"Y-you have a small studio set up right?" Chaeryeong replied.

"R-right..."

"So? W-what are we waiting for?" She suddenly takes you by the arm and rushes to your car.

There's a lot happening in your mind that somehow isn't making sense. Firstly, there's still the person that witnessed Yuna grinding herself on top of you. Second, the fact that Yuna and Ryujin seem to be onto something from the get go of the whole situation, and lastly Chaeryeong's weird impulse of getting some practice shots for the photoshoot.

"Oh, you have a nice place for yourself." Chaeryeong compliments as you two enter your unit.

"Ye-yeah." You replied instinctively.

"Uh Chaery..." You mumbled.

"Shall we start?" She suddenly states before taking off her coat.

"H-hold on...." You tried halting her movements but she instead just gave you a look of confusion.

A smirk forms on her face before she continues to undress. Yep... Undress, just when you thought she'd stop after her coat was off. She suddenly removes her shirt.

As all other proper men would've done, you stood there frozen for a second before realizing that Chaeryeong is revealing more skin than you're prepared for. You quickly turn away the moment you saw a good portion of her bare toned torso.

"Chaeryeong! WHAT THE HECK?"

"Why?! I'm changing to my outfit." She replies managing to have the most innocent tone possible.

"Couldn't you do that somewhere else?"

"Wow, now you're uncomfortable? You sure weren't when Yuna was grinding herself on top of you." She suddenly answered with such a disdain tone.

Your heart drops hearing her confession. You then pieced all of it together.

"Hey?! Are we gonna do this or do you need me to grind on you too?" Chaeryeong sounded really impatient as she stood on your small makeshift studio.

You reluctantly followed, before you were greeted by Chaeryeong's gaze locked onto you, following every single step you took to your set up.

"C-chaery..."

"Yes, oppa?" She asked cutely while thinking of possible poses.

"About what you saw... With me and Yuna–."

"Stop! Can't you focus on what's in front of you?"

"B-but..." You were about to comment before Chaeryeong deadly gaze once more lands on you.

"Shall we start?"

With her eyes digging a hole straight through your defenses and her expression loudly saying that she's not taking 'no' as an answer. You reluctantly nodded.

"what pose should I start with?" she asked.

"L-let's break... b-break the ice first. You're free to just feel yourself and..." You unconsciously spoke with a professional mindset that you failed to realize how different the situation is.

"Feel myself?"

"Y-yeah."

"Right..." She then starts to run her fingers on her lips making sure she doesn't break her stare into your camera lens like she knows you're looking on the other end.

She's oozing confidence...

She's something else...

She's doing it on purpose...

She's holding her pose for you...

She's seducing you...

Not even a minute in, your hand starts to shake, cold sweats run down your face and your chest tightens.

"H-how about a b-break?" You state having to reach your limit

"Already?"

"I-... C-can I at least get some water?" You excused

"Get me some too. I want to feel wet." You paused midway through your walk to exit your studio.

"I mean my throat oppa."

"R-right." you then quickly bolted out of your studio and went straight to your kitchen.

"Fuck." You muttered to yourself while taking a sip of water.

"We will, don't worry."

You spat out the water you just took in as soon as you heard the voice behind you.

"C-chaery."

"Yes?" She answered cutely before carefully brushing her finger on your hand making you let go of the glass and taking it.

"W-wha..." Your words fails to form properly as she slowly runs her tongue across the rim of the glass even the inside of it making sure to taste whatever hint of DNA you've left behind.

"Yes oppa? I can't hear you properly..." She said in such a sultry tone before taking a small sip of your water.

"You girls, wh-wha..." Once more your thought process fails to work seeing the young lady's lip coil as she bites it keeping a straight gaze towards you.

Mere seconds later you feel a pull from the universe as your face gravitates towards hers. Chaeryeong's lips grew redder as you've gotten so close to the point your foreheads collide in such a gentle way to welcome each other.

"Chaery." You whispered.

"Yes, oppa?"

"T-this isn't... r-right." You weakly say but it is enough to let her hear it.

"Is it?" She whispers before brushing the back of her hand on your cheek.

All of a sudden a hint of cherry hits your taste buds, lost, bewildered and confused all at the same moment you realized that Chaeryeong's lips are now connected to yours.

Your eyes widens when she suddenly slips something on and her hand that was on your cheek travels further to your nape. You didn't want to engage but there's something about it that you just wanted to give into.

It may be the feeling that this was all premeditated from the beginning, the way this whole thing started from Ryujin and it escalated to Yuna before landing yourself in the hands of Chaeryeong.

Fuck her lips are so delicious.

The way her tongue skillfully dances with yours, her slim fingers brushing against the skin of yours, her soft huffs in between the gaps of your make out session.

You can feel your spit spilling out as the kiss grows more intense than it already is. Chaeryeong then adjusts her position sitting atop the counter top capturing you in between her legs.

"Ha~!" Chaery then breaks off your contact before locking eyes with you.

A subtle eyebrow raises from her piques your interest before her hand from your nape travels down your torso right on the seam of your shirt. She then started to lift your shirt as your hands came into the mind of their own and started to feel her soft thighs.

"How were those two?" She then asked.

"T-those two?" You innocent retort and that produces a scoff from the younger lady.

"You're asking as if you don't know who I'm talking about."

You shrugged before feeling her short tap on your chest. Her cutest giggle hits your eardrums as she leans in for a quick peck.

"Honestly... I didn't do it with Yuna and Ryujin." You confessed in the kiss this causes Chaeryeong to dislatch her lips from yours.

"You minx!" She bursts.

"It's true!"

"W-we just dry humped and got interrupted."

You can clearly see her laughter being held back. She lookes away before scoffing and despite having held back most of her laugh a slight giggle still escapes her lips.

"You really got blueballed twice with the most brattiest members of ITZY."

"W-well, if it weren't for you and Yuna, I would've done it with Ryujin." You boastfully state and Chaeryeong just shakes her head in disbelief.

"Oh, so it's our fault you didn't get to taste Ryujin-unnie?"

"K-kinda."

"Wouldn't you want to go all the way with her?" She asks.

Perhaps your new found confidence was short lived as you've slowly considered the possibility of sleeping with one of them.

"Oh big boy, don't ponder too much. Just look in front of you." Chaeryeong cheers you up even lifting your head high to align your eyes with hers.

Her hands then traveled to your arm and ultimately led yours up to her torso. You can feel her heat radiating from her body feeling your touch against her clothed skin.

Your fingers sprawled out grasping the healthiest of orbs in your hand. Chaery lets out an airy almost whimper-like moan.

"Mhmmm."

"A-are you sure about this?" You stupidly questioned.

She then again produced a scoff before removing your hands from her torso. You mentally smacked yourself as you stepped back and gave her some space.

Then the unthinkable happened (as if it hasn't for almost 3 chapters now) Chaeryeong pulled down her dark shirt, freeing her arms from the constricting black clothes and finally revealing her luscious orbs that have their buds covered by pasties, which almost disappointed you but fuck that its closest to the real thing.

Chaeryeong noticed your slight disappointment and decided to do something about it. Slipping her fingers through the small seam of the pasties before peeling them off completely, greeting you with the pinkish of nubs that are protruding enough to be called turned on.

"You're salivating."

Can she blame you though? You did your best to wipe whatever shameful liquid that's dripping from your mouth before the lady in front of you chuckles at your cuteness.

You smiled at the sight of Chaery laughing but wasn't able to fully admire her visuals as you were greeted with a mouthful of hunger and desire. Chaeryeong lapping whatever remnants of your spit was left.

"Fucking delicious." She mumbles in between the pauses.

Can't deny that, as she slips her tongue almost wanting it to reach your throat. The two of you reconnected your lips before your hands acted on their own and quickly got a vice grip on her perky tits.

Mashing the supple feel and occasionally pinching the nubs of her aroused breast didn't fail to up Chaery's libido even more as her legs captured your pelvis and pulls you into her.

She broke the kiss off before resting her forehead against yours.

Her lust-filled eyes locked against yours before she whispered; "Mhmm, you like playing with them baby?"

You didn't answer, instead, you tightened the grip of her perky tits with the slightest intent of having your fingers engraved on her breast.

"S-shit!"

Without a hint of being hurt or displeasure, you came to the conclusion that this isn't gonna be your average fucking.

"Eat me." She again whispered.

Your eyes widened, never have you ever imagined yourself devouring, fuck it even seeing a member of ITZY naked and right at that moment, one of them is asking you to do lustful things to her. You'd be the biggest idiot if you didn't comply.

With your goal set in sight, seeing that it's just the two of you. You start working your way from her lips, down her sharp jaw, planting soft kisses and subtle bites that continue to make Chaeryeong squirm in anticipation.

The moment your lips brushed against her pinkish hard nub an airy sigh leaves Chaeryeong's lips, her hand grabs a handful of your hair,

Sucking, licking, biting or whichever way your mouth can work on each nubs of the squirming lady in your arms to have her moan out another profanity or just the sultry sighs was all you could do, as your pants grew painfully tighter.

"You're choking baby." Chaeryeong manages to whisper.

She's clearly not talking about your busy mouth lapping up her busty orbs, she makes her point but unbuckling your pants and freeing you from the constricting confinement.

Wasting no time, she immediately fished out your member and started stroking the rock hard length that's raging against her touch.

You can feel Chaery's excitement as her grip and strokes grew more and more aggressive.

It became too much for you and as much as you hate it you detached yourself from her precious goodies before saying "F-fuck Chaery."

"I know! We'll get there!" She playfully replies before slithering down the counter top and on to her knees.

"But first, this big guy needs a lil bit of attention." Chaery added before planting a kiss on the tip of your length which almost made your knees buckle.

A long wet lick suddenly came across the base of your member that made you brace yourself on the counter top, with a sultry sigh Chaeryeong then took your whole member in not caring about her vocals for their practices she did her best to make you collapse on your feet.

While you're receiving the gawk gawk 3000 you look back at the earliest encounters with the other member, reminiscing Chaery's question. If it weren't for the interruptions would you have gone all the way with the other two. How about the other two? The unnies... You honestly can't get your head around the thought but you exactly knew what's going aroudn your head. Other... head... Chaeryeong's lips as she continues to suck the living hell out of your cock pairing them with the massage on your balls just took it a step further.

"Fuck! Chaery I might..."

She released the tip of your member with an audible pop before answering; "Cum? That's the plan big boy."

She then placed her hands on the back of your leg and for whatever fucking reason, as soon as she pressed a nerve you buckled down lowering yourself for her.

You already know what's about to go down and yet it still makes you twitch as soon as your rigid length fits between her mounds.

"Holy fuck." You commented which made Chaery smile.

"Hot aren't they?" She replies with a devilish smile.

Pressing her soft orbs together encapsulates your member perfectly, her spit still covering your length and she starts to pump.

"S-shit."

You can see the tip of your length hitting Chaeryeong's chin which begs the question but it was already answered before it was asked. As she quickly leaned downwards and took your member into her mouth but careful enough to still have you captured between her mounds.

This sight is so sinful, sacred and so fucking hot, making it impossible to look away, like it's blasphemy to remove your attention for even a fraction of a second.

Not even a minute in you feel yourself reaching your limit but who can blame you?

"C-chaery." You pathetically called.

But the little fox is too busy with her meal as she just ignores you and continues to do her thing.

As soon as your balls tighten, something unimaginable happens. Chaery lets go of your member, giving you a devilish smile as if to mock you, stating that she's proud of sin she had committed.

"I think that'll be enough for the night." Chaery removes herself from the space between you and the counter top.

"What the fuck?!"

"Oh, that? Perhaps next time baby." She cheekily replies before giving you a wink.

"W-wha?" Too stunned to speak, with your pants down you stood there glancing back and forth at your raging member and the lady who's fixing her outfit.

"You should get yourself fixed before my service picks me up." She added with such a nonchalant tone that only adds insult to injury.

Three... you've been blueballed three times in a single day. You're too dumbfounded at how these girls are just playing you at the palm of their hand. Drawing the line between coincidence and a well thought-out plan, you stood there motionless piecing together the times you've been stopped midway through committing the lustful act.

"Stop!" You burst immediately as Chaery was about to leave the vicinity.

"Wha-." She was about to ask but you quickly closed the distance between the two of you and pinned her against the wall.

"H-hey! P-playtime's o-over." The girl nervously chuckles.

"No." Was your straight answer.

The girl trembles but it doesn't seem like it was out of discomfort. She stood there fidgeting while rubbing her thighs together as if something was off.

Your hand on the wall slowly travelled towards her hips, tracing her well sculpted body. Chaery couldn't even keep her composure as she squirms from your touch.

"Didn't you ask me earlier if I would've gone all the way with them if I wasn't blueballed by you and Yuna?"

"Mhmmm." She moaned as your fingers traced her flat tummy down her heat radiating core.

"Should I answer that now?" She nodded subtly with her eyes pleading.

You were about to kiss her, when all of a sudden.

"Ryeongiee! We're going!"

"WAIT!" You and Chaery echoed each other.

[echoghost1]

Are You My Father? Chapter 3!

Chapter Title: Nervous as an Heir

Summary: The Fenton family now knows for sure who the real father is for Danny and Jazz.

Chapter Word Count: 1,646

You can read on AO3 or down below the cut

It was a good thing that this all started on a Saturday. Tucker spent so long making sure Danny, not only knew who Bruce Wayne was, but also felt really dumb for not knowing already.

Not that Tucker was being particularly mean about it, but there was a lot Danny already knew, he just hadn't made the connection yet.

For example, he knew of Wayne Tech. Tucker often brought it up whenever they invented something cool or made some advances in the scientific community. 

He also knew of Wayne Industries because it helped build the Justice League’s space station. He had been very invested in that when it was being built and watched the launch when it was ready for space.

The thing he didn’t realize was that this was the same Wayne.

It was really obvious in retrospect. 

He felt so dumb.

Sam, on the other hand, filled Danny in on everything she knew and could find about Bruce himself.

Like how he seemed to be a hot gossip celebrity along with this successful business guy. The kind that had a new girlfriend every weekend and was always at every big party.

Despite looking sort of similar to Danny, he didn’t think they had anything in common at all.

He just really hoped he wasn’t some kind of secret supervillain or something. 

Then again, Bruce seemed to take in orphans sometimes so at least he wouldn’t be completely clueless about how to talk to talk to teenagers. Also probably wasn’t evil if he was nice enough to do that.

In the end, the trio was up all night and into the morning. It was nice that it wasn’t because of ghosts.

The downside of this paternal revelation happening over the weekend, was that they had to wait until Monday to talk to anyone at the clinic and then wait several “business days” while they “processed the request”.

Needless to say, his mom was one minor inconvenience away from completely losing her mind during the wait. Jazz was constantly talking her down from driving to the clinic and processing the DNA herself. 

It was the following weekend and he was hanging out at Tucker’s playing video games when he got the call with an update.

“We got the answer.” His mom said instead of a greeting.

“Oh?” was all Danny could think to say.

“You can still stay the night at Tucker’s, but tomorrow we're going to Gotham.”

“Okay,” Danny said, unsure how he was supposed to feel.

Part of him was still hoping the mix-up hadn't actually affected him at all. He had been hoping that nothing had changed.

He had hoped those random rich kids who looked more like his dad than he did were just wrong.

They weren’t. 

He wasn’t genetically a Fenton after all.

He was a Wayne.

He had no idea if that was a good or a bad thing.

===============================================

The next morning Danny’s family was packed up into the Fenton RV and started their estimated 12-hour journey to Gotham.

His dad had offered to drive the rich kids back home, but they said they already had plane tickets.

Danny wasn’t sure what part of the offer they disliked more, having to cram into the car with them or just driving there in general.

Danny hadn’t expected them to have stayed as long as they had. Turns out they had a nice time getting to know their bio-dad.

Jack had even come up with nicknames for most of them before they left.

The oldest, Robert, didn’t seem to be a big fan of being called Bobby, but once all the other kids got their nicknames he stopped fighting it. That, or maybe it was because Jack refused to call him anything else.

The second oldest, Jacqueline, quickly became Jackie. She, unlike her half-brother, seemed to like her nickname a lot.

Veronica was able to avoid being called Vicky by quickly suggesting Nickie instead after Robert got stuck with Bobby.

Her twin Haydon was able to avoid getting a nickname, or at least Danny never heard one for her. Then again, Brody didn’t get one either.

The youngest, Theo ended up being called Teddy. Getting that nickname was the first time Danny saw the kid smile. 

Danny got himself a little more comfortable in his spot in the RV and wondered if Bruce was going to be as stiff and reserved as the rich kids were.

He really hoped not, but the only rich adults he knew were Vlad and Sam’s parents. They weren’t exactly easy-going or super friendly.

Then again, assuming all rich people are the same would be stereotyping and he’d be friends with Sam long enough to know that was a bad idea.

In the end, Danny wasn’t sure what to expect, and all the not knowing just made him more anxious about what could happen.

===============================================

Due to speedy driving, the Fenton family arrived in Gotham hours ahead of schedule.

“Hey Mom,” Jazz said as they passed the welcome to Gotham sign, “do you have the number for the hotel we’re staying at? We should call to let them know we’re early.”

“We don’t have a hotel,” their mom replied simply.

“I am not sleeping in this RV the whole time we're here.”

“Oh don’t be silly. Just because we don’t have a hotel doesn't mean we have nowhere to stay.”

“Then where are we staying?” Danny asked.

“Why at our new buddy Bruce’s place of course!” Jack said with a grin.

“Bruce Wayne invited us to stay with him?” Jazz asked.

“Technically, the butler did,” Maddie added.

“He has a butler?” Danny asked.

“Are you really that surprised about the butler?” Jazz asked. “He’s super rich. Of course, he has a butler.

“Vlad doesn't have one.” 

“I think we know why that is,” Jazz said not quiet enough for her parents not to hear her.

“You do?” Jack asked obliviously.

Thankfully their mom had an explanation, “He doesn't like it when people touch his things. Don’t you remember how territorial he got in the lab in college?”

Their dad remembered that and then a bunch of other stuff from the good old days, which is when Danny stopped paying attention. He knew more than enough about Vlad already, he didn’t want any more of the rose-tinted glasses version.

He looked out the window and found it interesting that Gotham seemed so much more like a city than Amity Park did.

All the buildings here seemed taller and closer together. There were statues and stone carvings all over everything. If all the eyes of the crowded streets weren’t enough, the walls could stare at you too.

The city also seemed to come in layers. There were tons of bridges over other streets and not just over rivers like back home. He didn’t see many city buses but he did notice a lot of train tracks above him with commuter trains. He wondered if they’d have time to take the train somewhere while they were here, he hadn’t been on one before. The only trains that came to Amity Park were freight trains.

Well, and the circus that one time. He didn’t like to think about that.

Instead, he shifted his gaze upwards only to see that the way the clouds gathered overhead made it look like it was all just concrete and metal all the way up to the sky.

He sighed in disappointment realizing there was no way he was even going to see the moon, let alone the stars. He hoped it wouldn’t be overcast like this the whole time they were here.

“Psst, Danny.”

“Yeah,” He said as he turned towards his sister.

“I was doing some research on Mr. Wayne,” she started once she had his attention.

“Did you find any red flags?” he half-joked.

“Of course not,” she dismissed quickly.

“Really?” 

“Well there’s a few things I’ve noted, but I have to make my own observations first to be sure.”

“Should I be worried?”

“No, it’s fine.”

He didn’t believe her for a second. He wasn’t going to say that though.

“So what did you find?” he said instead.

“I think Mr. Wayne has more in common with Sam than he does Vlad.”

That wasn’t something he expected to hear. He had a strong feeling it wasn’t what she meant, he couldn’t help but picture Bruce Wayne and Sam completely goth-ed up and hanging out in that poetry place she likes, drinking expensive coffee.

“Yeah, you see Vlad has what’s called new money, which is basically getting rich yourself. While Wayne and Sam have old money, which is basically being born rich because your parents or grandparents were rich.”

“That’s a good thing right?”

“I’m not sure if it’s good or bad, per se. Just that he has different life experiences than we do.”

“Jazz, I don’t think anyone has had a similar life experience to us.”

She looked towards their parents in the front seat, “Good point.”

There were a few moments of silence before Danny asked something Jazz that had been nagging at him for a while.

He tapped her knee to get her attention.

“Do you think he’ll like us?”

“Why wouldn’t he like us?”

“I don’t know. We’re just some random midwestern kids and he’s this fancy East Coast rich guy. We probably don’t have anything in common. He’s gonna think we’re lame or something.”

“Danny, I think you might be overthinking this.”

“You sure?”

“If anything, this will be kind of awkward for everyone and something we'll laugh about a few years from now.”

“So you don't think it's going to be a big deal or anything?”

“It's going to be fine. Try to enjoy the experience.”

“I’ll try,” Danny said with a sigh as he turned to look out the window again, “but I’m not making any promises.”

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️

Damn okay! 165 for ☠️:

---

“How did people react?”

“While he could still talk, he told us,” Karen explains. “‘Epipen. Truck. Glove box.’ I remember him struggling to say that.”

“Tommy grabbed his keys and ran out to the truck,” Buck says. “He got the epipen while Eddie called 9-1-1.”

“Yep, I called 9-1-1,” Eddie says. “I was pretty buzzed, so I didn’t think I should do any medical intervention. Tommy and Buck had had less to drink.”

“Chimney and I helped Captain Gerrard to lay down flat on the floor,” Hen says. “Then Tommy came back inside and administered the epipen. It was only when we noticed it wasn’t having any effect that we checked the expiry date.”

“He just kept getting worse,” Buck explains. “Chim went to start CPR, but he was drunk. I offered to take over.”

“Even though there were three paramedics in the room?” Ransone asks.

“All drunk,” Buck says. “Plus, I’ve done CPR hundreds of times. I know what I’m doing. I did everything I could.” 

But he was dead before Athena arrived. 

▪️▪️▪️

“It still seems like just an accident to me,” Ransone tells her. “What do you think, Sergeant Grant? You know these people.”

Athena isn’t sure. She still feels uncomfortable about the whole thing. It seems like a big coincidence for swapped pitchers and an old-enough epipen to not work at all to overlap in such a fatal way. Her years on the job have certainly exposed her to the often banal tragedy of minor negligences. She knows it’s possible. But the other thing she knows? Coincidences are rare.

“What was the expiry date on the epipen?” She asks. 

“2019,” Ransone answers. 

“Five years,” Athena sighs. “Doesn’t that seem odd? Gerrard was a first responder. He ought to have seen enough of these sorts of deaths to know better.”

Ransone nods. “There is that.”

Before they can discuss further, Ransone’s phone rings. He takes the call and listens as someone on the other end provides an update. When he ends the call, he looks at Athena gravely. 

“What’s wrong, Lou?” She asks. 

“Gerrard’s truck was searched. There were two epipens in the glove compartment. Including one that was brand new.”

Athena feels cold. Tommy made the caesars. Tommy grabbed the epipen. This death just became officially suspicious.

ii.

The next morning, Athena gets the call that the coroner’s report has confirmed their understanding of events. The contents of Captain Gerrard’s stomach indeed contained clamato juice. He had not drunk the vegan option. Though everyone, including the actual vegan who drank from the same pitcher, believed that he had. So either Tommy made a mistake when making them, or Tommy intentionally switched them. And either Tommy accidentally grabbed the expired epipen rather than the functional one and failed to notice the functional one present, or it was on purpose. 

“That’s crazy,” Bobby says when Athena explains it all to him. “Tommy wouldn’t do that.”

“Do you know that for sure?” Athena asks. 

“Well, listen, I know he had a history with Gerrard and some of the guys at the 118 before I arrived,” Bobby says. “A history that doesn’t always reflect well on him. But I never had any reason to suspect anything violent! He’s not… I mean, he’s dating Buck!” 

“I know,” Athena sighs. “That might be the worst part of all this.”

Bobby’s shoulders sink. “I didn’t suspect anything about Jonah either. So… What do I know?”

Athena feels terrible. She hadn’t even thought of Jonah Greenway. She hopes they’re all wrong about this. Bobby doesn’t need to learn that anyone else under his command is a murderer. 

▪️▪️▪️

“There’s more evidence,” Ransone says when Athena arrives at the station. 

“More?” Athena frowns. 

He brings her over to a computer screen and shows her an opened Adobe Acrobat PDF. 

“This,” he says. 

Athena reads the title page of the document. 

10 Murder Mystery Party Plots to Entertain and Thrill! 

“What’s this?” She asks.

“The guide Kinnard used to plan his party,” Ransone says. “We got a warrant to search the condo.”

This is moving fast, then. 

“Okay,” Athena says. “Why is that significant?”

Ransone scrolls down to the table of contents. 

“He based his party on plot number six,” Ransone says. “One Last Strip Tease.” 

Right. In which Eddie was the slain exotic dancer, Chip N. Dale. 

“Read number seven,” Ransone prompts.

Athena reads aloud. “Comments from the Peanut Gallery?” 

Ransone clicks it, bringing up the proposed plot and how to execute it. Athena reads. It tells the story of a character allergic to peanuts who is fed sabotaged baked goods. Jesus. Is he stupid? The idea is all spelled out in front of them. Tommy must have read this, when he was planning the party. 

“I think that’s enough,” Athena says quietly. 

“I agree,” Ransone says. “I’ve already made some calls.” 

▪️▪️▪️

Ransone brings everyone back in, one by one, for more interviews. He doesn’t tell them why. 

Each person, individually, looks concerned to be asked back. They all thought it was an accident. They all thought it was a mistake. No one thought there’d be an investigation. Athena feels bad about that. The blindsided looks on her friends’ faces as they walk past her. She knows they’re confused. She knows they’re probably scared. They don’t need to be, though. 

Only Tommy should be scared today. 

Athena doesn’t participate in the questioning. Obviously. She’s not a detective and she has a conflict of interest. She does, however, watch through the two-way mirror. She needs to hear everything that’s said. She can’t miss any of this. 

With the exception of Tommy, Ransone starts by asking everyone the same question. 

“So, did you know Captain Gerrard had an allergy to shellfish?”

The answers are varied. 

“No,” Karen says. “I didn’t know anything personal about him, really. This was only the second time we’d even formally met.”

Matt and Mark didn’t know. Obviously. They’d never met the guy before either.

“No,” Eddie says. “Had no idea. We didn’t talk about personal stuff.”

“No,” Buck sighs. “Which is kind of insane, since I did a lot of the cooking. You think he’d mention it to me? Closest thing I think was him telling me he hated the idea of shrimp scampi.”

“Mmm, yes,” Hen says. “That’s familiar. But I’m not sure why I knew.”

“Oh, yeah,” Chim says. “I knew. Anyone who used to work with him back before he got transferred knew. B-Shift left a mess of coconut shrimp and he lost it.”

 Ransone latches onto this answer just as Athena suspects he will. 

“So Tommy probably knew about it too, then?” He asks. “He worked with you back then, right? That’s how you know him?”

Chim’s expression falls as he realizes what is really being asked. As he realizes the trap he’s been guided into. 

“Uh, yeah,” he says quietly. “Yeah, he probably knew. I mean, if he remembers. I don’t know how good his memory is.”

After that, the conversation with Chimney takes an interesting turn. 

“Wait… You guys don’t really think Tommy did this, do you?” He asks. “I mean, it was an accident.”

[sprout-fics]

i just binged read the stowaway fic for the past 3 days with minimum sleep i am speechless in the quality of your work its insane then a few minutes a go i only realised that you last updated it in 2023. i hope its not offensive to ask whether or not you have any plan to continue it? i completely understand if you don't. you do this work for free with little of any form of compensation. i just need a closure in honesty. i hope you are well and healthy!!

This has always been a hard question for me to answer. The truth is, I just don't know if I'll ever finish it. I want to, I do, but I'm just...I don't know. Season 3 kinda robbed me of any remaining motivation to work on it. Honestly it hurts to think about.

I can provide a brief summary of the remainder of that fic and the sequels I planned under the cut. Spoilers for anyone interested.

The rest of The Stowaway pretty much follows the remainder of season one. Cuyan and Din reunite before that, Cuyan confesses the truth of her past to Din, and they both reconcile and move forward. The remaining chapters follow the events of the final 2 episodes, with Cuyan meeting Din's companions. In the end Cuyan and Din decide to move forward uncovering the remainder of Cuyan's past, and finding a teacher for Grogu.

The second installment follows the second season of The Mandalorian, with Cuyan meeting Ahsoka amongst everything else. They have a long conversation about things, and Ahsoka tells Cuyan her force-ability to wipe memories, including her own, is usually only found in dark-side users, and to be very careful of the temptations of the dark side. Cuyan struggles with this, and she wonders if the true solution is to abandon her past as a Jedi altogether in order to stay with Din.

As it turns out, Cuyan is captured alongside Grogu in 'The Tragedy' as we find out Gideon's true plan- to use the blood of force users to give himself the ability to wield the force through genetic experimentation. He essentially wants to become the new Empire's Sith lord. Cuyan in turn will become his very first inquisitor. As a result, Cuyan is subject to increasingly terrifying torture methods, and has a mental break of sorts.

When Din comes to rescue both Grogu and Cuyan, he finds he has to face Cuyan as well. Fortunately he manages to get through to her, and the rest of the episode follows as usual- Din rescues Grogu, he defeats Gideon for the darksaber, and Luke comes to the rescue when it seems all is lost.

There comes a moment where, when Luke takes Grogu, he asks Cuyan if she's ready to resume her training as well. I have two alternative paths for this.

The first is that Cuyan declares she will never again walk the path of a Jedi- too afraid of the risk she runs of falling to the dark side once more. She holds Din's hand and announces from that point on she is a Mandalorian, part of clan Mudhorn. She stays with Din, and together they go on to re-conquer Mandalore and rebuild it under Din's leadership. Din becomes Mand'alor, and she rules alongside him as they build Din's clan full of foundlings from ruined and broken worlds ravaged by war.

The second is that Cuyan in the end leaves with Luke, and says a very heartbreaking farewell to Din. The years pass, and Din becomes Mand'alor of New Mandalore, ruling as king. Cuyan goes on to become a Jedi Knight of Luke's new order. When tensions arise between New Mandalore and the New Republic, Cuyan is sent as an ambassador of the New Republic to negotiate for peace with Mandalore's king. She and Din rekindle their old flame, and navigate being on opposing sides of a war brewing between Mandalorians and the New Republic. They end up together at the end of it all, but I haven't fully fleshed out that idea yet.

In both circumstances, Din ends up as king of New Mandalore, and Cuyan his queen. Grogu still ends up with Din as his heir, and Cuyan may or may not provide a second. If Cuyan does have a child, they name them 'Shae' after Shae Vizsla, also known as Mand'alor the Avenger.

Typing all that out made me remember what fun it was working on TS. I really hope someday I'll go and revisit that series. Old fixations have a habit of revisiting me, so maybe it's not out of the realm of possibility.

[pearl-kite]

Hi I know this is out of nowhere and sorry if you answered it before. Also totally ok if you don’t want to answer

But your blog got me super interested in the redacted asmr thing

I did some research and you seem to know a lot about so do you know if there’s any like, chronological order I should watch them?

Love your blog!

Absolutely no worries! I like getting stuff to respond to, it's the opposite of a bother <3

So Redacted Audio, formerly Redacted ASMR, is a channel on youtube with a, quite frankly, massive amount of audio, and since it's been running for over 4 years now it can be a LOT to sort through. Fortunately, he's done a really good job curating and organizing playlists for the different speaker-characters.

Everything is within the same universe, and many of the characters have interacted with each other. The context is that the location is a fictional city named Dahlia set somewhere in California, which is a "cornerstone" city for magical society. The best way to get a solid rundown on magic and the setting is to listen through the Freelancer Season 1 playlist.

This one is already arranged in chronological order* and also has the benefit of giving a sampler of sorts for a wider variety of speakers. One thing to be aware of ahead of time: While this was actively being published, Erik hadn't decided who the listener-character (nicknamed Freelancer) would be romancing, so it starts off with a lot of potential toward all of them except Caelum. As it went, there were polls in the discord server that he used to run, and popular consensus eventually narrowed it down to Gavin. The first time I listened was after all of that, and I was more fond of Damien, but I'm personally pleased with Gavin now, and this playlist has been one of my favorites to just revisit if I'm bored.

*Well, mostly. There was a point where the channel got a strike for some of the audios being too spicy and he removed and/or edited some of them to try to avoid being demonetized. The first Gavin audio is one of the ones that got edited, and #3 on the playlist accidentally got relocated. It's been a long time, but I think it was originally after what's now #6, the second Caelum audio.

Aside from that one as a good introduction to the channel as a whole, there are some "main" characters that have had the most attention.

One is a group of wolf shifters: David, the current head of the pack (Chronological for his listener. A lot of people aren't super fond of the earliest ones for him, #3-5, because the character evolved a bit and they aren't really representative any longer) Asher, his second Milo, another pack member, which is absolutely underselling him, he's one of my favorites

There are a couple of vampires: Vincent, the OG for the channel Sam, a common favorite who's listener is a member of David's pack

While most of the playlists are specific to character, there are a few thematic ones as well, all of which are chronological within themselves. Now, chronology with respect to each other can start to get a bit confusing, because of how long it's taken for some of them to play out.

If you want to get a feel for the characters before worrying too much about timeline, I'd listen through most playlists as they're arranged with one main caveat:

When you hit the audios titled Inversion, give those a pause until you've listened to more speakers. Inversion was a huge crossover he did that has 10+ speakers involved.

A personal favorite has been Vega. I'm actually super not fond of the first audio he's in, which is also in the Freelance list, so I skip that one when I relisten. The first one in this list is that one with the Freelancer, but the second and onward has a demon listener nicknamed Warden. We just got an update on his story today/last night and I've been a little unwell about it 🙃

I am realizing I could go on and on and on and I kind of have, so I'm going to stop there. Hopefully that's enough to dip your toes in. I'll gladly help out with any follow-up questions, too :3

[aquanova99]

Haunted (Cato x Reader)

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Part 10

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A/N: Sorry it’s taking so long for these to update. Life seems to be winning lately. I hope the length these are make up for it. This is nearing 13k sorry!

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Cato’s POV

You see Y/n flinch at the distance between you when she turned. You continued talking, pretending your own skin wasn’t on edge. Not in the dangerous sense, but still…nervous. You had sat up in shock you had slept at all, shocked that y/n had learned to dissect everything you said, shocked you had given in and just admitted how messed up you really are. And overall, you worried she was going to be making herself feel worse. You had leaned forward to try and explain she should just worry about herself, when she turned to face you, stammering about wanting to help.

“You help a lot more than you realize.”   Its all you can say. Why were you still comforting her? You needed her to stay away. She was somehow digging herself deep into your mind, threatening to never leave. And you were beginning to find it harder and harder to listen to any previous reason to keep your own distance. It was going to make the end of her adjustment period impossible. You had barely began treading water, and if you didn’t stop you knew you would drown without her. And worse, you didn’t care. The two of you stared at each other, and no matter how much your mind screamed at you to pull back you instead found your body slowly getting closer. The quiet voice urging you to get closer was beginning to get louder, so the rest of you screamed at Y/n to get away. But her eyes only flitted down and back up to your eyes before mirroring your own hesitant movements. Neither of you backing away.

At least, not until the sound of hurried footsteps approaching had you both pull back. The effect was immediate. It was as if you both had gotten too close, splashed with hot oil. Your legs pushed you back before returning to their original position, pulled up in front of you, your arms crossed on top of them. Y/n moved to the foot of the bed, cross legged and resting her head on a closed hand. She seemed completely unphased by…well whatever just happened. You could only hope you looked that relaxed on the outside. You could only focus on the thumping and pounding ringing in your ears. The thick coal infused air seemed to be heavier today, you could only take short quick breaths, only adding to the anxiety you were struggling to get rid of. Well, you were sick. You decide that that’s the reason you seem to be so out of sorts about everything.

Cashmere throws the door open, “How are you feeling Cato?”

You shrug, “Fine.”

“I don’t know if I’d trust that but his fever did go down a little bit.”

“Thank you, Y/n.”

You stared at her in disbelief. She smiled at Cashmere, and shrugged when she looked back at you, grinning smugly.

Cashmere chuckled, “Well Cato, you are welcome to keep resting but we are going to need Y/n. We are going to discuss the next course of action to keep Y/n out of the sponsor’s hands.”

Y/ns face dropped but Cashmere continued, “They’ve decided we need to get it out of the way.”

“Right.” Y/n answered

You start to get up, ignoring thee body aches and lightheadedness you got from standing up so quick. “I’m good.”

“You should re—”

“I’m going.” You interrupted Y/n. Outside of curiosity, a small part of you wanted to be there in case she withdrew again. Y/n nodded and took a deep breath before standing.

“Well. Lets get it out of the way then.”

Cashmere offered a sympathetic smile and let her walk out first. You followed behind the both of them. Slowly behind them. Every step threatening to empty out what little you had in your stomach. You blamed yourself. You barely slept, and before coming here you only ate enough to keep you going. And when you would try to rest, you would make sure the windows were open. Inclement weather or not. You were bound to get sick eventually. Well…maybe this would force your body to actually slow down. It had worked once before.

“You look like crap.” Brutus commented as you sat down next to y/n, you only managed to glare at him. Why was it so cold all of a sudden? You tried to breathe in through your nose to settle down your stomach. You tried to unclench your jaw, your whole body was tense and you had to relax. Y/ns siblings stood around nervously.

“Does anyone need water or something?” Mallory asked, everyone shook their head or declined. Y/n gestured for him to come close and whispered something in his ear.  He nodded and walked away, the younger one trailing behind him.

“You’re sure you feel okay?” She whispered while every settles in. You just nodded, afraid she would call you out again.

“Alright sweetheart should we get everything out of way?” Haymitch started

“Might as well.” She grumbled, “But I assume that the solution isn’t all that great, right?”

“Oh, you picked that up?” Haymitch chuckled, and elicited a small smile from her. The two had effectively learned how to communicate without saying much. You wondered what solution they had come up with that required every one of them present. Then again, you wanted to be present and you didn’t have much of a reason to be there either. Haymitch took a drink of what you assume is whiskey, and pursed his lips. He was not happy to be delivering the news. “Bottom line is, if you want the capitol off your back you have to find someone you can tolerate enough to be in a relationship with.”

You weren’t sure you heard that right until Y/n spoke up. “What?”

You weren’t sure why you were so shocked. The capitol enjoyed a good story sure, and it was a quick enough way to get people off her back. Apparently, while killing kids wasn’t off the table, breaking up a partnership was where the capitol citizens drew the line. Even then, she would have to be with a…that’s when it hit you. They wanted her to find a victor.

“Look, we can go in circles forever. But until you actually look older they will keep you around.” Brutus scoffed, “You won’t have to do anything, and depending on who it is they could get out of their own commitments.”

He said the last word with a wave of his hand and soon after Cashmere spoke up to try and ease Y/n into their plan, “Finnick would be a decent choice, he has someone he cares about so you wouldn’t have to worry about him trying anything, I would say maybe even Johanna but she gains nothing from helping out. So unfortunately, your choices are limited to our districts.”

“No.”

“Y/n…” Haymitch warned, but she continued regardless

“My answer is no. You just said Finnick has someone. What about her?”

“Y/n if you pick someone from here, Snow is more likely to target their families. That and the Capitol wouldn’t take your relationship as seriously.” Enobaria offered

“So, instead of putting someone I know in danger. I put a stranger in it instead?” Mallory crept back in, she grabbed the blanket he offered and tossed it in your direction. Accident or not, you took it. Really, you knew she likely thought of this in advance. You wish you could understand why. You focused back on the discussion, everyone but Brutus trying to calm her down. You wonder what you would do in her situation. Then again, you knew what you would do. You did it. You became the person to avoid. You wondered if Y/n would fight her way out, or if she even could. You felt yourself tense up.

“It could help—”

“It could also be worse for them. If I choose someone like Finnick what’s to stop them from hurting the one person he cares about. This solves nothing. And even if it did I wouldn’t do it.”

“Y/n…” Haymitch warned

“No. I’ll deal with the sponsors.” She pushed the table and stormed out. The slam of her door in the distance felt like someone had punched you in the gut. The immediate resignation. The acceptance of her fate. You realized you were furious. At the idea everyone seemed to agree on, at Y/n for not trying to figure out another solution, at the fact that there didn’t seem to be another solution, at the Capitol for allowing this in the first place, at yourself for ever believing it was anything other than a way to keep the districts in line. Your head was spinning. Stupid sickness.

“Tsk, that went well.” Haymitch laughed as he gulped the rest of his drink.

“I didn’t hear you suggest anything else.” Brutus huffed

“And what did you expect? For her to willingly go into another situation where someone has to pretend to be in love with her? Because that worked so well last time?”

“Its her problem now. She knows what her options are.” Brutus rolled his eyes

“Brutus, this is a lot to take in. We still have awhile to convince her.” Cashmere said softly, he shrugged and headed out the door. “Cato, you should go rest. You look terrible.”

Yeah well, you feel terrible. You just nodded and headed back. You could feel Enobaria and Cashmere wanted to run something else by Haymitch. As you left the large dining area you saw Y/ns siblings hanging around, no doubt eavesdropping. You wonder how they felt in all this. How hopeless it all seemed. Instead of making your way back to where you had been residing, you stopped in of her room. Unsure of whether you should knock or not. You decided to try and knock but remained frozen. Eventually the door flew open. Y/n still clearly enraged, softened for only a second.

“You should be resting.” She began closing the door again but your body seemed to finally move forward, stopping her from isolating. She sighed, “What is it, Cato?”

“They’ll think of something else.”

She scoffed, “I’m sure they’ve been thinking for a while. I know it’s the only realistic solution. I’m upset, not stupid. But I still won’t do it.”

“Why not?” Your voice came out harsher than intended, it seemed to give her pause, you took a deep breath and slightly raised your eyebrows, barely nodding your head towards her direction. She sighed, and rolled her eyes but released the door and let you in. She was more careful when she closed her door again. You realized you didn’t know where to sit when you weren’t standing guard.

“Just sit down, its fine.” She gestured to the end of the bed, you felt ridiculous. You’d been helping keep watch for a few days. This shouldn’t be any different. You were making sure she was okay. That’s it. You notice you both somewhat mirror each other, both holding your crossed legs up close to your chest.

“You’re really giving up?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Why would Johanna gain nothing from helping?”

You avoid her eyes, you both knew she knew what the answer was. You both also knew you had to watch you both said. “She refused to repay or visit anyone from the Capitol. I’m not even sure if she had any sponsors. She just…doesn’t have any family left. So. I guess if she helps…”

“She’d be risking the last thing she has left. And if I choose someone like Finnick, then whoever he’s protecting by visiting the capitol risks the lack of protection from the Capitol. So, why would I do anything but suck it up like everyone else has done.”

You realized she was right, the last time she tried to played against the Capitol got her ally killed. Something you knew she would likely never get over. She was also right about the other victors. There was no one who was completely alone. The ones that were, were older or like Johanna, not interested in being something for Capitol entertainment. The only one who had nothing to lose was… me. Fuck. The thought refused to disappear. The pros and cons becoming more and more indistinguishable. You try and convince y/n to think of something else instead.

“You cant do that. It isn’t something you just deal with. Cashmere, Gloss, Finnick, its killed parts of them. You cant.”

She half smiled, while looking out her window, as if she was imagining something else. “I wished I’d never been the girl on fire.”

“You would have gotten sponsors anyway.” She chuckled, you realized your words weren’t entirely baseless. The tribute parade definitely made an impression, but what cemented the attention of the capitol was her training score and Peeta. Her face turns into a slight frown and you know she likely comes to the same conclusion.

“I would say I should have let Prim get reaped, or let Katniss volunteer. But I don’t think there’s any world where I would have done that.”

“Why did you do that?”

“I don’t know, guilt?  We were closer before…”

“Before the mining accident?” You didn’t even realize you remembered her interview that seemed so long ago

“Yeah. Our dads were in a pretty bad mining accident. Mine made it, hers didn’t. Our families used to take turn watching us. Or they would take us out into the woods to gather some kind of roots and veggies. After the accident though, well they went through a lot. Ironically we both started hunting around the same time just not together. My dad, he couldn’t work after that and then he…just stopped trying. My family needed food, and I didn’t have a weapon like she did. So, I had to learn quick. Her dad had shown her the bow and Arrow, my dad had shown me how to snare once. Lot of trial and error.”

“He must have been relieved.”

She smiled as she recalled your previous conversation about your own family, “No.”

“Really?”

“Really. I think he was embarrassed but he expressed by yelling. A lot. Not catching enough, getting the wrong thing, asking too many questions because I wanted to keep going out there, not being as good as Katniss with a weapon.”

“Your mom just stood by?”

“Yeah. Trying to keep the peace, or whatever she tells herself so she doesn’t feel so guilty.”

“So how did you decide what weapon worked best?”

“Well, I never tried a knife before the training center but I carved some weaker spears to use for fishing and some slightly bigger animals. But any big catch was because of the snares. I’m okay, but they hurt my hands. That’s why knife training saved my life out there.”

“Easier to control?” She nodded

“Yeah, my hands shake a bit for some reason. And they get stiff pretty fast. So, like I said I had practice, but barely.” Not barely you thought as she lifted her hand in front of her face, sure enough it seemed to have a slight tremor in it. You wonder if it was something they could fix in the capitol, or a result of nerves she had developed from having so much responsibility for such a long time.

“How’d you get an 11?”

“Haymitch never said anything?” You shook your head, she shrugged in response, “the gamemakers weren’t looking at me. Even thought I thought I was doing pretty good. They were looking at a pig that had been brought in for lunch, complaining about how they were supposed to cut it up. So… I…threw my knife…at them.”

Her voice was barely above a whisper. You didn’t even know how they allowed her to step foot in the arena. “You…”

“Well, I threw it at the pig, and to be fair it was a perfect throw. And then I apologized for interrupting their meal…” She glanced up at you, you hadn’t been able to say anything else. You could only register your emotions as shock. “Don’t look at me like that. I know. I don’t know how I wasn’t immediately punished. And partly why I keep saying I shouldn’t have won.”

You want to scream at her for being so careless.  The idea you had still the forefront of your mind. “You have to figure something out. I’m serious. They’ll destroy you the second you step foot in the Capitol.”

She hesitates and you know she thinks it’s pointless, but she still agrees. “Okay.”

You nod once, and you suddenly remember how sick you felt. Your entire body aches. And your head is pounding. You should go to your room. But your body doesn’t move. Cant move. You realize you pushed too hard. This happened once, you had continued to participate in all of the academy exercise. When your day off had finally came you hadn’t been able to move the entire day. At one point someone checked to see if you were breathing. You felt Y/ns eyes on you.

“Cato?”

You couldn’t speak. You were beginning to panic, the feeling of not being able to move filled your body with panic that probably only made everything worse. Your breathing was getting quick and shallow, as if even that was becoming difficult. For whatever reason you had an overwhelming feeling of fear. This wasn’t new, but you could usually sense when it was about to happen. The fact that you didn’t see this coming adds to your anxiety. You’re pretty sure she scrambles to her feet to get directly in front of you. She touches your forehead and then your cheeks with the back of her hand. She pries one of your hands from the other and then slowly lays you down. You hear the door click and you’re unsure of when she comes back but when she does Enobaria follows.

“I’ll go call Brutus,” She starts. You want to protest but you don’t think anything comes out. The conversation with Y/n left you worried. Your own ideas adding to the stress.

“No just let him rest. This room is giant I’ll sleep on the couch thing over there.”

“Y/n… he may not wake up in the right state of mind.” Ouch. She was right, but it didn’t hurt any less. No, thats it. She was right. She should get Brutus.

“I’ll be fine. I’m caught up on lost sleep. If I need to rest I’ll let you know. Just help me lift his head a little so I can get more of the fever medicine in him. I already told my brothers to bring my mom so she can double check to make sure I didn’t miss anything.”

You hear Enobaria grumble and they slightly shift you while Y/n gives you a heavy syrup you’d normally decline. Enobaria wipes your face and mumbles something to her before heading out.

Y/n sits next to you, “I cant believe you. Next time I tell you to stay and get rest jus—just do it. Sleep. You need to rest.”

You close your eyes on command. Exhaustion washing over you. You sleep without any of the dreams that usually plague you. When you wake the room is dark. Your body still feels heavy but you feel much calmer and its clear your fever broke. You try to stretch your stiff muscles, massage any knots you feel in your neck. The light flips on, and you blink to adjust to the immediate difference.

“Oh sorry, I thought you’d be asleep a little while longer.”

“I didn’t mean to kick you out of your own room.”

“What are you talking about, you started stirring like five minutes ago so I went to grab some water, here.” She sat at the foot of the bed, and put the cup in your hand.

“…Thank you.” You wondered when you would stop being genuinely surprised that someone could anticipate what you needed. “I must have been out awhile.”

Y/n nods, “Pretty much all day. But you needed it. Don’t scare me like that again.”

“That scared you?” Of all the things… that was it? Me being sick was what scared her?

“Yeah, you cant push yourself that hard. You’re not in 2 anymore. Besides you looked just as freaked out. My mom said you just need a good rest, and to take it easy for a few days. You should have seen the look on her and Mrs. Everdeen’s face when I brought them in my room. I’m going to get a lecture for sure.”

Your cheeks got hot. “That’s ridiculous.”

“I know. That’s what I said when she tried to ask what you were doing in here.” Even though you just said the same thing, it bothers you when Y/n agrees.

“I hope I didn’t make things difficult.” You see her lips twist as she thinks about something, “What?”

“Nothing. You didn’t do anything. Promise.” She smiled as grabbed the cup back from you. “You’re welcome to keep sleeping if you want.”

“Where’s everyone else?”

“I think Cashmere is talking to Haymitch. Plotting. And Enobaria is in the living room.” You debate sharing the idea you had with Y/n, and decide to wait until you speak to Cashmere and Enobaria. Y/n seems to know something is on your mind, “Did you sleep okay?”

“Great actually. I don’t remember the last time I didn’t feel just as tired waking up.”

“Well, let’s hope it doesn’t take you getting sick to get that kind of sleep again.”

“Thank you. By the way. I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

She smirked and shrugged, “Don’t worry about it.”

You realized you had made no intention of leaving her room, you felt your face get hot. You tried to clear your throat, “I guess I should get out of your hair. I’ll go talk to Enobaria, see if I missed anything.”

“Sure.” You scramble to get out and apologize for bothering her. She laughs and repeats that you shouldn’t worry, you only wish you understood why you did worry so much. You barely step foot within eyesight before Enobaria puts down the book she was reading and points to the spot next to her.

“What the hell were you doing in there?” Enobaria whispers angrily

“Relax. I just went in there to make sure she was alright. After talking for a while, I just got sick. I don’t know what happened.”

“Relax? Tell me exactly what led up to that. Now.”

“I don’t know, we had mostly finished our conversation and I just felt really tired. And it was weird because I felt that weird feeling like right before I usually lose it but it freaked me out. And before I knew it I couldn’t move.”

She sighed, “Cato. You were frozen. Like actually frozen. Your whole body was stiff. I've never seen you like that. It was probably a mix of exhaustion and stress but...”

“Sorry.” You mumbled

“You should have seen Y/n. She immediately sent her brothers to fetch her mom and she all but dragged me in there to see if that had ever happened before.”

“Was she mad?”

“Just worried. Her family wasn’t able to come for hours, I think they were helping someone else, so she just stayed with you. She must have been tired too—”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing, Cato.”

“What?”

“Nothing. She just fell asleep while she was waiting.” You mouth drops. You wonder what could have happened if you woke up in a bad state. It had happened before, where you forget where you are and unsheathe your knife. What if you had seen her as a threat? “Cato. Stop. You were completely out, you didn’t do anything.”

“But I could have.”

Enobaria just shakes her head. And argues you for a little longer. She soon returns to her book and you finally retire to your own room. You can tell there’s more to it but decide its probably better you don’t know. You decide to look for Cashmere and Haymitch in his place. Its dark but thankfully the streets are lit up enough to make out where to go. You knock but let yourself in when you don’t hear anything. Haymitch and Cashmere are sitting in the kitchen, you wonder where Brutus is hiding for a moment before deciding it s better if he isn’t around.

“Oh Cato! Just the person we wanted to see.” Cashmere smiled a little too brilliantly

“What happened while I was out?”

“Not much we just started talking a few hours ago. You’re feeling better?”

“…Yes?”

“Sit down, kid.” Haymitch cut the pleasantries, which you appreciated. Better to get the bad news sooner rather than later.

“What is it?”

“Look. We need to figure out how to get Y/n to agree with some kind of plan—"

“She needs a story.” You interrupt him, “And I should be the one to do it with her.”

They both freeze. For a second you doubt whether your idea had any merit. Cashmere starts again, “Well, we were hoping you could at least help us convince her to play along but I suppose that could work.”

“It’s the only thing that could work. She’s right. No one will risk their families by associating like that with her. Finnick especially, he wouldn’t do that to Annie. She needs someone with no attachments. And it’s a story they’ll buy.”

“Hold up kid. Last I checked you have a family.” Haymitch pitched

“I have no attachments.” You say firmly.

“He has a solid point Haymitch. If she wants the capitol to leave her alone, they need to root for her to find someone. And who better than Cato? We could even say that’s he made so many improvements since he started talking to her. It would be perfect. They’ll go crazy. And it’s not as if they don’t get along. A little acting for the cameras and when they go home they can completely ignore each other if they feel like it.”

“It doesn’t work like that. What happens if the Capitol presses them on kids, what then?”

“We can say Y/n cant have any, it would be so tragic.” Cashmere waves away the possible issue and you suddenly realize what this would entail. You would have to kiss her in public, possibly get married. You would completely be taking away her free will, and she’d be forced to do that for the rest of her life. Immediately Haymitch senses your hesitation.

“You’re sure about this?”

“I wont do anything unless she’s on board. We talk to her first.”

Haymitch pressed his lips together and nodded. “Tch, alright then. We will discuss this tomorrow.”

Cashmere claps and kisses Haymitch on the cheek. “Yes! We’ll leave you be Haymitch. I’m sure this will all work out.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just sleep on this, alright kid?”

You nod as Cashmere begins ushering you out. “Cato, you may have just solved all of our problems. And after today I know you guys will at least get along.”

“Today?”

“Yeah, you guys are so cute, I almost suggested your name myself. Especially after you fell asleep on her lap.” She squeals as if this is all good news

“I—What???”

“You don’t know? I guess you were starting to kind of freeze up again, a nightmare or something and she sat next to you. And I don’t know what she did but she calmed you down. When her mom finally came in, your head was on one of her legs, she propped her head up with her arm on the other one and fell asleep.” She sighed as if this was something out of a movie, she continued as you reached the steps of Y/ns house. “Her other hand was rested on your shoulder, you would have thought you had planned this out with her already.”

Haymitch told you to sleep on your decision. The only thing you were managing to think about tonight was how big of an idiot you were, that and the fact that if Y/n agreed you would need to kiss her. You thought about how close you’d gotten earlier that day, how you both jumped as if you were breaking some kind of unspoken rule. Did you almost kiss her then? Would you have kissed her if she had gotten any closer?

Needless to say, it was a sleepless night. Enobaria and Cashmere told you they would take shifts if Y/n needed them tonight. That’s fine. You weren’t sure you could even face her anyway. You woke up relatively early. From what you could tell the sun had barely begin to rise. You walk downstairs to get yourself some food when you hear indistinguishable mumbling coming from the front. You quickly sneak into one of the adjacent room, peeking your head around to see Y/n talking to someone who had some physical similarities to herself and her ‘cousin.’ He was taller, and whatever they were talking about it was urgent, and it was irritating her. You think you see Katniss somewhere behind him. Y/n pats the guy’s arm before closing the door. You wonder if he  means anything to her, and if that’s why she’s hesitant on the plans Cashmere had offered yesterday. Your body tenses and you realize this infuriates you for some reason. You realize you had a similar reaction with Y/n and Peeta, and then again with the people clamoring for her attention at the capitol. This however, was stronger. The thought of her having someone waiting for her at home never crossed your mind, of course she wouldn’t want to put on anymore acts for the Capitol.

You decide to make your presence known and head to the kitchen where Y/n has already stated taking ingredients out.

“Good morning. Did you sleep okay?” She smiles as you enter the room, continuing to dig through the fridge and cabinets.

“Fine, thanks.” You try to relax but even you could hear the irritation in your voice, not that Y/n had ever shied away from that before.

“Doesn’t sound like it was fine, do you want to talk about it?” Her concern immediately softens you. You had agreed to play a part, to put on an act, she owed you nothing and you had no right to be angry towards right now.

“I guess I slept too much beforehand. What about you?”

“I guess I slept a little better. I want to try and just sleep without a bodyguard and see how it goes.” She finishes rummaging around and steps in front of you, placing her hand on your forehead. You flinch back at the sudden touch. “Sorry, just checking to see if you were still warm. You feel better. Do you want to help me make breakfast for everyone?”

“Sure.” Her smile brightens and she begins dividing things up for the two of you to do. She lets you cut up some potatoes while she begins measuring and then stirring some flour mixture. You both work silently unless she asks you to do something else. She makes some kind of roll to put in the oven and you wait for the potatoes to cook. It isn’t until she begins serving the plates that you decide to speak up. “So, you had a visitor pretty early.”

She immediately bristles, “Yeah. Its Sunday. Sunday is Katniss’s and Gales day to go hunting together.”

“They wanted you to come?”

“He thinks I’ll get over it if I force myself to hunt some more. I guess Katniss has been filling him in on how—I don’t know, freaked out I get even picking up her bow or a spear…”

Your suddenly filled with a deep shame you hadn’t known you could experience. You suddenly realize all of the jobs she assigned you were the ones that involved anything sharp, you wondered if even this was intentional. You had trained with weapons your whole life. If anything, it brought you comfort to have one handy. You hadn’t considered she would be so ready to try and avoid those things as long as humanly possible.

“Who do you see?”

“No one anymore. That’s what I’m trying to avoid. I go in the woods with Katniss for a couple hours at most. When her and Madge would practice I would see people dropping. When we would pick berries I could swear I saw Cora’s or Peetas hand. Or I see them laying in the distance. I didn’t try to pick up anything else, I don’t want to see them.”

“You still see them though. Right?”

“Yeah. But that’s different. I love the woods, I cant let them take that from me.” You nod. You would fight to keep something so personal away from the capitol too. You just didn’t have anything to fight for. They had taken everything before you knew what was happening. Y/n asks you to deliver the plates to Cashmere and Enobaria, while she drops food off at Haymitch’s place. You find them together whispering and before they say anything you say you’re just dropping off their food. You leave quickly to avoid any interrogation you seem to be constantly getting as of late. You breathe a sigh of relief when they stay in their room. You collect all of the bowls you used and start washing them as you wait for Y/n to return.

“You don’t have to do that.” She says as she comes back in.

“I know.”

“Did you eat?”

“No. I was waiting.” For you, you think in your head.

“Well, then take a break. We can do those after. Come eat with me.” You nod and take a plate she hands to you. The food has cooled down quite a bit but its still delicious. You realize you quite enjoy cooking, you wonder if you would have ever learned how to do anything like this at home. Or if you hadn’t been tossed to the academy anyway. You wondered what other things you could try. “What are you thinking about?”

“Just the food. I liked making it.”

“I’m glad.”

“What about your brothers?”

“Oh, they went to see my mom after last night. Probably to tell them about the plan that will keep me away from the Capitol. I gave them some money to pick things up for her and my dad today.”

“Yeah about that…” You feel your throat go dry at the thought of bringing up the new plan you made without her.

“What is it?” You debate waiting for Haymitch or Cashmere to tell her about your idea, but somehow it doesn’t seem fair. Still your lips are sealed shut. How do you even bring up that conversation, “Do you want to take a walk with me?”

You nod and follow her out of the house. She takes you deep into the meadow. You can see the woods she must have frequented so often before the games. You wonder if you would have ventured out, maybe to challenge yourself but even from here it looked daunting. The fence wasn’t charged, but seemed to warn about whatever was back there. You walk for a couple miles, as far as the meadow will take you. As far from anyone within earshot. If the people weren’t working to the point of exhaustion you wouldn’t be surprised to see more people enjoying the meadow, maybe even for a picnic. You’d only seen a few people and even then they stayed near the edge of town.

“It’s beautiful here.”

“Yeah, a lot of the flowers here can be used in medicine. You just have to know what to pick.” She pauses for a second before bringing up the prior subject, “do you want time to sort out whatever you’re thinking about or just get it out of the way?”

“I’m more worried about your response.”

Her eyes narrow, probably assuming whatever you say already wont be good news, “Will it help if I promise not to storm off like yesterday?”

“I talked to Cashmere and Haymitch. They—we think I would be the best match for the whole public relationship thing.”

“Cato…no. I am not putting your life at risk. Or your family’s.”

“I haven’t talked to my family for over a year. They cant use them, it wouldn’t affect me either way.”

“You know that’s not true. The guilt would get to you. Maybe not right away, but eventually. And it would get me too. If Snow decided to punish them, that’s more people I would have had a hand in killing. And you’d resent me.” She says the last part quietly, as if that was the worst possible outcome of this whole thing.

“They have too many eyes on them anyway. Like Cashmere said yesterday, it would help me out. I don’t—I don’t want to meet any one of them. We could stay here…in 12. We would only have to see each other during the games.”

Her gaze softens as she ponders what you said. As if your hesitation in the thought of being sold to the capitol is all it took to convince her. Maybe it had. She did seem to have the innate nature to help whenever and whoever she could. She looks out towards the woods for a long time before facing you and trying to smile through her obvious anxiety. “Well, I would hope we’re at least friends enough to see you more than that.”

You feel a weight lift off of your shoulders, “You’re sure? At the end of the day, it’s a suggestion. I wouldn’t make you—”

“I know.” You cant help stare, as if she’ll freak or back out if she thinks about it for even a second longer, “I’m sure. Come on, lets head back.”

You walk back the same way you came in, but this time you felt like you couldn’t stand any silence filling the gaps, “Do you have any questions…for me?”

“Who came up with it?”

If you could turn back time you would have forced your mouth shut, “I did.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” That’s it? That’s all she needed? “What’s your favorite color?”

“W-what?”

“What’s your favorite color? If we’re going to be in a ‘relationship,’ we should know the basics about each other. We’re going to have to do this for presumably the rest of our lives.” You’re not sure why the implication of the relationship being nothing more than an obligation hurts even this whole thing was your idea. Worse even, you couldn’t think of anything. You didn’t have time to think of this before, it was not a necessity. Even now, you took whatever was in the victor’s village back at 2.

“I guess I don’t have one.”

“We’ll have to find one then.”

“What’s yours?”

“Yellow. Like the sunflowers.” You nod at her response. It seemed fitting actually since she seemed to brighten whatever room she was in. She continues asking, “Do you have any you hate?”

“Red.” You answered automatically

“Me too.” She agreed. You found that to be somewhat ironic as the ‘girl on fire.’ And red suited her, made her slightly darker skin glow. But you knew what she meant. What shade of red made could make your skin crawl. Her next question elicited a similar response, “Who do you see?”

You knew she was bringing up your conversation from hours ago, but it didn’t make it easier “A girl from district six. She had just turned 12 a few months before the reaping. She used similar techniques to the other morphlings. Her name was Dhara. I see the others too, but she’s the one who reminds me what I did.” She tries to apologize but you continue, unable to hold back everything you would continue to bottle up again after this conversation. Besides, you were almost back at the house. “I hesitated for maybe half a second because she was just crying for help. I’d only found her because she was starving, she tried to sneak something from the cornucopia. It was the first kill that I thought about. I hated that. So… I went hunting for everyone left, then finished with the allies. She’s partly why my games finished so quick. I didn’t…I don’t know…didn’t realize it would bother me so much, until I saw the recap footage.”

Realization seems to dawn on Y/n, she stops to face you, “That’s why you helped me that night?”

“I guess.” You wonder if she realizes she helped you out first and if she did, you wonder if she knows exactly how much her gesture had grounded you. “You helped me too.”

“Not like you did.” She says matter of factly. The two of you finally enter her home, she smiles at you and gives your hand a squeeze before flitting away to the kitchen. You follow, fully knowing and expecting the rest of the victor’s interrogation.

“So, I take it you’re all clued in Y/n?” Enobaria asked

“Yep. I assume I was the last one to know?”

“Not exactly…” Haymitch grumbles, you notice Brutus and Cashmere are missing. You both brae yourselves when you hear the sudden screaming. They must have been waiting for you two to be close to the house to tell him. You hear something smashing and more yelling. Y/n flinches and grabs your arm, a similar reaction to when you had stepped in front of her back at the capitol. This time she releases immediately, the others are too distracted by the noise and you take the time to squeeze her hand. She sends a grateful glance your way. If you could just sleep right for one night you would think you were improving. You have instinctively backed away from anyone who touched you within the last year, and you didn’t seem to feel overwhelming dread anymore, at least not the past couple months. Then again, almost everyone has been to scared to come within a five mile radius.

Cashmere finally came down smiling, “Well that went well.”

A door slammed as Brutus stomped down the stairs. He came in front of both of you, a towering presence. “You two better be damn sure about this.”

Y/n is frozen. She was already against this. Brutus was not going to help anything. “It was my idea. We’re sure.” You speak up.

“Brutus. Take a walk.” Enobaria says, his eyes still contain an unexplainable amount of rage but he storms off and slams the other door to make a point. “He’s right, you two. You both are going to have to train a lot. Your answers have to match, you have to know almost everything about each other or know what the other has said in past interviews, and you have to be believable. If you can’t, this is going to end badly for all of us.”

“You’re going to be busy. Because this starts on the Victory tour.” Haymitch agrees. “We need to get word to Cinna. And Effie was called, she’s got clips from last year.”

“Does she know?”

“No, she thinks you want to be camera ready so lets let her keep thinking that, alright sweetheart?”

Y/n nods, “So when do we start?”

“Today, kind of.” Cashmere starts, “We have some worksheets, you both need to fill them out. I would suggest not lying so you don’t mess it up. Otherwise, you’ll have more to memorize. I suggest you both get comfortable working together because eventually you’ll both have be very affectionate for this whole thing to work.”

You both look down at the floor. You both, of course, know this but the thought of it makes you nervous. You’re both excused afterward to begin learning every possible mundane thing about the other. The only problem was that you in fact, had difficulty forming or remembering any opinions about yourself. You had, apparently, spent the last year just miserably existing. You had continued training as if you were still awaiting the opportunity to even begin the games. You wadded the paper up and threw it across your room. The only thing you could fill out was the family portion and that section only infuriated you. So instead, you go downstairs and turn on the television and stare at the screen while completely ignoring whatever was on it.

“Didn’t think you’d be so interested in ‘The History of Panem.’” Y/ns voice suddenly snaps you back to reality, you look back and forth between her and the tv. Wondering how long you’ve been spaced out.

“I guess. So interesting I wasn’t even aware it was on.” She chuckled and sat next to you.

“So, I’m guessing you couldn’t finish the stuff on your sheet.”

“I literally have no idea what to put on there.”

“Do you want help?”

“Maybe. Like Cashmere said, I don’t want to forget things by lying.”

“So, don’t lie. We can figure out how to find some truth to some of these. They’re pretty simple. Like for food. Why is that one harder for you?”

“I don’t know how to make anything. I just had whatever food they gave us at the academy. Once a month they would make fancy capitol food. Other than that, the food was only enough to sustain us. Hold us over. If we didn’t do well they would withhold it.”

You could tell this information bothered her, still she was getting better at quickly regaining her composure. “So, is there any food from the capitol you couldn’t get enough of when you got there? I couldn’t get enough of the pasta, especially that one with the white sauce. I always ate it with some kind of meat.”

The solution was so simple, you felt like an idiot for not figuring it out yourself. You couldn’t believe you had given up so quickly. You also realized the first time you had longed for more food than whatever filled you was when Y/n’s brothers had thrown together a stew for you. “Actually, I liked whatever your brothers threw together.”

“The beef stew?”

“Yeah it was filling, and it wasn’t like the Capitols where it was too rich. It just made you feel…warm.”

She smiles, “Well. I’m honored you enjoy my recipe. Okay what’s next.” You go on for hours, and still, you only want to echo most of her answers. At most you get that you like it when it rains, and that green is the most tolerable, you hate when your hair is too long, and unless it’s for the capitol you are pretty much always in some athletic or close to athletic type clothing. Old habits die hard, I guess. You both agree that while dancing is fine, you’d both prefer to not do it at all, and after you simply talk. Talk about how no matter where you’re from something about capitol food is well, to die for, the fashion on the other hand is questionable at best.

“Well, I think we figured it all out. Should make it easier to remember since we finished it together.” She stretched her arms but stayed sitting next to you, you felt like you had been studying for some kind of exam for days yourself. You felt tired. And you still had several more pages to work on. The next section was supposed to be about your family… “You must still be feeling a little off. Why don’t you get take a break?”

“I’d rather get through this.”

“Okay. You know about mine. But I guess you cant say I’ve been hunting so we can say I’ve been helping provide for my family by doing whatever odd jobs I could find. Which I guess isn’t totally a lie.”

“Yeah yours is easy, that and your brothers and…cousins are all extremely close.”

“I guess there’s no downplaying that part…” You shook your head knowing that she wondered how long her family would be held over her head as some kind of leverage. Your loyalties couldn’t be traced back to them. The training you go through all but ensures it. Still explaining exactly why you feel the lack of connection now, brings up prior feelings you would rather remain buried. You have to tell yourself to suck it up, this was your idea, you would have to talk about it eventually so might as well get it over with. “Cato?”

“Sorry.”

“You’re sure you want to go through with this?”

“Yes.”

“Then we don’t have to talk about it.”

Your head drops. You don’t know why you feel shame at the literal excuse you were searching for. “You know I technically have a sister?”

The shock was evident in her face, she must have known there was no point in trying to cover it up, “You do?” When you nodded, you could see her choose her next question very carefully…

“Is she—”

“No. I guess my father enrolled her too. But she was older, maybe six or seven? From what I was told, I was showing so much promise I was basically guaranteed to win. So, my mother more or less encouraged her to fail and come home.”

“She…she just got to quit?”

“Yeah. I guess they made a safe bet, since they ended up being right.” Your hand reactively jerked back when you felt something graze one but instead of pulling away, Y/n’s hand gripped tighter, forcing you to either focus on your hand in hers or to stop looking away and face what was sure to be some kind of pitiful face. You weren’t sure what was worse. When you finally decide to look up, there’s no pity but seemingly, genuine concern.

“I am so sorry. I cant even imagine how I would feel. What you went through…and then they just—I don’t know. It must be hard.” The way she phrased that. Not ‘it must have been hard.’ No, she said it must be hard. And obviously you weren’t as disconnected as you thought. Your throat felt tight. Y/n never seemed to want to congratulate you, you wondered if it was something with the outer districts. The ones who saw the reaping the same as basically signing a death certificate.

“They visited me once.” You start, tightening the hold on her hand, as if it letting go would stop you from talking about it. “I assume it was the day they dropped off…my sister. I think I was ten? My mom couldn’t even look at me. Just told me I was doing a good job and to keep going. I think going in so young made me forget them to a point. I didn’t even recognize her when she came in. I had already accepted that the hunger games was an honor. She was a stranger.” You didn’t need to tell her how much you tried to call them when you were younger or how often you would go to sleep crying asking where your mom was. At one point you rationalized that the life you lived was normal, an honor, just like they wanted you to believe. So young, so stupid.

As you try and figure out how you’re feeling now that you’ve dug years’ worth of memories you’d tried to bury deep within your subconscious, you start realizing how much of your time is spent on trying to ignore everything you’ve done in your life. From the training to the games. You were a waste of a victor, basically waiting to die. Until recently, you had nothing to look forward to. No goals. Just continue living as though your name hadn’t already been reaped. You didn’t know anything else. You’re pretty sure Enobaria made a fuss about not taking kids too young because of it.  Not that she would tell you. You got all of your news by either eavesdropping or pretending you weren’t listening at all. People talk quite a bit when they think you’re not all the way there anymore. You’re not the only one pitying yourself. Y/n’s moved closer and before you can react her head is rested on your shoulder.

“Well. You aren’t going to be alone anymore. I promise I’ll make this as painless as possible. Regardless of everything, if we go through this plan or not. You’ll have an…ally for the rest of your life.”

You scoffed, “You too. We’re in this together now.”

“Together…” She echoed softly as her voice trailed off. Any thing else was stifled by a yawn. “I think its time for a break.”

You forget how weak she still was. She had barely begun to recover from the games before getting thrown through another loop. “You should get some rest.”

She half scoffed, half chuckled as she stood up. You went back through all of the interview questions, forcing yourself not to follow. You had dumped things on her you weren’t aware were weighing heavily on your conscious. Best not to overwhelm her. Cashmere jumps over the couch suddenly, and startles you.

“So how is the homework going?”

“It’s going.”

“I don’t know how you do interviews when the most I get out of you is three words at a time.”

“I save them all up for those days.”

“Ah. So, what happened with you and y/n? She looked really upset.”

“What?”

“Seemed like there was something on her mind. And it looks like she’s baking for the whole district again.” You walk into the kitchen before Cashmere continues. You see Enobaria standing next to her, an icy glare in your direction confirming you had said too much. What were you thinking? She could still barely sleep through the night, and here you were adding more to her plate.

“Oh finally. I was about to go play some music. You can help Y/n with the baking right?”

“I don’t recall asking for help En—”

“Nonsense. You’re working too hard as it is. Why else would Cato come in here?” You stare back at Cashmere who is suddenly very invested in the television. Unnecessary to lie to you to get you in here, you were close to coming in here regardless, so why were they pushing you guys together? Weren’t we spending enough time getting to know each other? Maybe this was more conditioning for the upcoming months.

“I’ve already mixed everything up. I’m just going to make some food for my brothers. They’ll be home soon.” Y/n assured the both of you

“Can I help with that?”

“Sure.” She smiles at you, Enobaria immediately leaves. You both work soundlessly unless Y/n directs you on what to do. You repeat the process with the flat bread she puts in the oven. You mostly clean while she finishes packing the soft fluffy disks into a container. “Would you like to see the hob?”

“The hob?”

“Its…a market of sorts.” She makes a face that makes it clear she can’t say anything more.

“Yeah.” You, like always, were surprised at seeing so many people seem so close to death here. The seam was the worst of according to y/n, she made stops at her “cousins” house and another house near it. Another family friend supposedly. You noticed she gave them both some money as well. Both of the women tearing up and hugging her before she headed to the districts black market. You were too busy looking at all of the different stalls and taking to remember all of the names of the people she greeted. You could only nod in their direction, surprised at the lack of hostility this time around.

“Hi, Ms. Sae. Did Katniss get you anything good today?” The older lady went back and forth in conversation for a while before y/n decided to introduce you. “This Cato, he’s helping my new mentors.”

“Well, she’ll need all the help she can get.” You smiled at the older woman, she was more welcoming than most. But you soon understood why she didn’t discriminate. The peacekeepers were comfortable here. Too comfortable. No one checks on 12, but if they did they could all get in a lot of trouble. Then again, so could the people operating the stands. But unlike the peacekeepers, the people here had no other choice, it was either this or slowly waste away. No one seemed bothered by the Peacekeepers that did decide to frequent the area and you wondered exactly how much they pretended not to know.

“I see we’re getting blessed by our victors presence today.” A red headed peacekeeper laughs as he comes up behind Y/n and kisses her on the cheek. She seems startled at first but immediately laughs and pushes him away. You try not to think about breaking his jaw.

“Good to see you again Darius. I suggest you behave I’m not the only victor here today. Cato, Darius. Darius, Cato.”

“Hard not to miss him, doesn’t exactly have the look from the people who hang around here.” Darius smiled and offered his hand. You nodded in his direction and shook it. What else could you do? You needed the people here to support what you and Y/n were planning to do. Hell, they would probably all see your act for what it is. The community here seemed close. Close enough to cover for you both or to at least support what the capitol will inevitably force down everyone’s throats. Maybe for Y/n, but you better at least make an effort to make friends.

“Hope I’m not making things difficult for anyone around here.” You offer

“Not any harder than what we already deal with. Right, Sae?” The old woman rolls her eyes and hands him a bowl of stew

“Y/n and I made some bread to go with that.”

“Oh? I like him already, Y/n. You should bring him around more often.” Darius laughed

“I know, who knew people from district 2 could be such softies?” She made a face at him and everyone laughed, “Here, I’m sure you’ll give them out best.”

The older woman winks and takes the bread off her hands. You both make some more small talk for a little before she hits as many stalls as she can to buy things she likely didn’t need back at the victors village. You tried to be polite, but you were distracted. You thought about how relaxed everyone seemed to be with Y/n. No one treated her with a sense of apprehension due to her games, as if they couldn’t have changed her. She wasn’t a monster, not like you. You wondered if they had any idea that the games had stolen pieces of her, pieces that would take years to rebuild, if they ever came back at all. You wondered if they knew how she couldn’t even step in the woods anymore.

Y/n grabbed your wrist and turned it upwards, “Here, for you.”

Pressed into your hand was a small bracelet. It was a simple wooden beaded thing, there were three different colored round beads in the center. “Thank you.”

“We decided on green right?” You realize she had put thought into what she picked up, the beads all a varying shade of deep greens. “You don’t have to wear it by the way, but I thought it might help whenever you start feeling nervous.”

When I start  tapping she means. Maybe it meant nothing, maybe she was already trying to set the foundation for your upcoming performance. As you ran your fingers across each sphere, you realized her reasoning didn’t matter. You had never received an actual gift like this, you held your hand back out.

 “I’m wearing it. Help me put it on?” You saw her hands begin shaking as she tightened the strings around your wrist. “When was the last time you ate?”

“I got distracted and made the bread instead.” She admits

“Well, then it sounds like we can stop by Sae’s again then.” She rolls her eyes but doesn’t protest. You both make more conversation with the people around the stand before heading back. As you make the long way back through the seam and to the victors village, you get stopped by someone. He was tall, had some similarities to Y/n. Same as so many of the people that lived here. He seems angry. You realize you remember him.

“I said we didn’t want your help.”

“You said you didn’t want help, Hazelle has no problem with it. Besides. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“So, you didn’t give her money for all that bread?”

“No, actually.” He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms, she mimics his movements pretty dramatically, you force yourself not to laugh and possibly anger this person further, “Relax, Gale. I made them. I made too much so I dropped some off for our families.”

“Thanks. But I can help my own family.”

“Great, so this can just be a gift.”

He seems to finally acknowledge your presence, “This one of your mentors?”

“Yes. This is—”

“I know. We all watch the games.” You said nothing, you couldn’t really blame him. No one really liked the games except for 1 and 2. Even 4 only trained so they could survive. “Maybe you could talk her into coming with us next Sunday.”

“To the woods?” You ask

“It will help.”

“You don’t know that.” Y/n responded

“Its up to her. The woods aren’t the problem. And if she goes back too soon it could make things worse.”

“I already told you I’d think about it.” Y/n interrupts, “Thank you, honestly for trying to help. And I really will think about it. Lets just drop it for now, alright?”

“Alright. We’ll try again next Sunday. Why don’t you bring your mentor along?”

You’re not entirely sure what to make of his last comment. Did he think you were scared? Or that you’d back out? Maybe he was trying to taunt you to convince her to go out there. Really, it wasn’t up to you. And you really couldn’t know how you’d react, you’d felt better. Aside from the last couple of nights, anyway.

“Sorry about him. He means well but he’s annoying.” Y/n offered once you continued walking

“Is he a friend?” You didn’t want to ask for anything more specific, the look in his eye implied something you realized you didn’t want to hear.

“Yeah I guess. He gets weird with me and Katniss. I think he assumes one of us would end with him since we are the only people I know that go into the woods. I thought he liked Katniss and they make more sense anyway since they hunt together, and since the games he’s been better. But before, I think he tried to figure out if I was interested in him once. I just changed the subject.”

“Why?” And why were you hurting yourself with these questions, idiot? You ask yourself

“I never planned on making that far to be honest.” She shrugged, she grew somber as you continued walking, “I need to tell you something.”

“Okay.”

“Remember when you asked me why I volunteered? I said I felt guilty…well that wasn’t entirely true. I started getting these terrible dreams about my brothers and the games.” Her voice got dangerously low, “I don’t even know if he can actually do anything about it but I asked the Mayor to take their names out in turn for me volunteering.”

She had covered her mouth to whisper the last part to you, that was crazy. Doable…you didn’t think so. “If anything, don’t you think it would have given them a bigger reason for their names to be drawn?”

“Now maybe, but like I said before I never thought I’d make it that far. If I had just been a number or gotten hit by Cloves knife in the bloodbath…I think they’d be safe. But then I couldn’t just give up either, so now I’ve screwed over everyone. Arioch should have won. It was all for nothing”

“It wasn—”

“It was. My family is in more danger than ever, Katniss’s family is too…and I’ve dragged you into this too, and the other victors. I shouldn’t have won.” Y/n’s eyes become watery. It was hard to refute her points, because you knew no matter what you said there was some truth to what she said. She had drawn too much attention to herself. If she had won by simply out surviving everyone that may be one thing, but she had become a capitol favorite from the chariot ride. Still, every victors family became targets, often getting “randomly” picked. And the victors had all chosen to help. But she could dispute that by saying that she shouldn’t have pulled the stunt with Rue and Marvel. Her whole personality revolved around helping others, it was like she couldn’t help it. Its why she was against working with you. And the capitol would continue eating it up. In a few years, after the quell and a few more games…she had a high chance of being left alone. But she would have to avoid the Capitol. What if your plan made that impossible? Were you making things worse for her?

You were trying to catch up but she had basically run the rest of the way back to her house. You didn’t want to force her to be uncomfortable. At this point, you knew you would check on her as soon as you could, if not as soon as you walked in. Her brothers found you first.

“What happened?” Mallory asked

“I don’t know. We talked to Gale about going back to the woods and then—”

“She didn’t go right?” Amal asked worried

“No. She started talking about why she volunteered…” They both looked at each other and back at you.

“She’s feeling guilty again.” The older one stated, not asked. A conversation he had had before. You must have looked confused because he continued, “We know. Before you got here the only thing we could get out of her was ‘sorry.’ We knew about the volunteering but something happened… after the games didn’t they?”

You just nodded. It wasn’t your place to say. And frankly, you had a feeling they knew after the whole meeting. And you doubted they wanted to know the details of the maybes. They, unlike most of the families form your districts, had suffered watching their sister come close to death and become a shell of who she used to be. They would likely be willing to sacrifice their own lives to stop Y/n from accepting anything more from the capitol. And that’s when it hits you, exactly how much she is willing to give up for her family. They knew whatever show Y/n put on was for them, and they couldn’t stop her if she only told them what they needed to know. Maybe she had told them and said there was nothing they could do. As the two brothers continued to talk after letting you back in, you realized how much you longed for that what seemed to come so easily for them. You felt cheated. Then again, you had been feeling that way a lot since winning.  

You’re about to go knock on her door when Mallory calls out for you, “Hey, Cato. Just give her a minute. She’s going to scream at you that she’s fine.”

“She’s nicer when she figures out why she was so upset. She doesn’t mind talking about it when she understands what bothered her.” Amal finishes.

“Seriously, She likes to calm down alone first.”

“Okay.” You sit down awkwardly in the living area. The boys are good at making small talk, and you enjoy their company. After a while, Y/n does reappear. She sits next to Amal, ruffling his hair. She offers a slight smile and tries to ask everyone about their day. Amal and Mallory play along but its clear she wasn’t fully present, her mind likely still wondering the best way to appease the capitol to avoid hurting her family.

The door opens and Haymitch stumbles in. Enobaria and Cashmere follow shortly after, “So, how’d the homework go, sweetheart?”

“Its going. Would you like to sober up enough to make dinner?” Y/n and Haymitch have some silent conversation and leave the rest of you alone.

“I wish she’d stop doing that.” Mallory grumbled

“Do they do that a lot?” Cashmere asks

Mallory shrugs, “When our parents would try and get her to talk or eat, they would sometimes invite him over. He never stayed for long because he was ‘busy,’ but they would do whatever that was and she would find a way to sneak out.”

“We saw her head to his house most times. We just wish she would tell us what’s bothering her.” Amal finished, “Its not like wed tell mom.”

“I’m sure they just have a different understanding about things, she wants to keep you guys as far away from the games as possible.” Enobaria assured them.

“What homework was he talking about?” Mallory pried, Cashmere opened her mouth but you rushed to answer first

“She’s studying different ways to answer interview questions. Trying to seem as boring as possible for the Capitol. We’re hoping with the quell, she will be able to fly under the radar.”

“So, she doesn’t have to be friendly with the people in the capitol?”

“What do they want with her anyway?” Amal asked. Mallory’s lips formed a tight line. He looked at you, probably for the chance he was wrong, and for a lie to cover him so he wouldn’t have to explain it to the youngest.

“They would want her to move down there, work in television and stuff like that. She would rather stay here, but she doesn’t want the capitol to be angry and use anyone as leverage.” Cashmere and Enobaria stared for a second before turning back and reassuring them of what I said. If Y/n wanted them in the dark, then that’s where they would stay. Haymitch came back out shortly after, claiming that after awhile y/n said he was just getting in the way.

The brothers immediately stood up and went to go help. The second they were out of earshot, Cashmere whispered harshly, “They should know.”

“Y/n said to say nothing. The more they think its real, the more believable it will be to everyone. So ,everyone just relax.” Haymitch waved her concerns away. So, they did talk in there.

“She’s still on board.” You realize

“Barely, she’s worried about the lot of you. You’re only here for so long. And frankly I cant say I disagree. Specifically, for you Cashmere. The rest of us have no one. Well, we don’t know about Brutus so she’s freaked out about him too. You’re the one with the most to lose. She’s at least accepted what everyone else told her.” Haymitch raised his brows and smirked as he took a sip from a cup he must have filled in the kitchen. You wonder if he had gotten used to the burning sensation or if that was the pain he chose to inflict on himself.

Cashmere said nothing. In fact, no one said anything until Y/n and her brothers brought everyone a plate. Some noodle plate that tasted better than anything you’d had at the capitol. Had it not been for Amal asking more questions about what everyone enjoyed doing, the dinner would have been silent. Cashmere and Enobaria tried their best to keep the conversation light, it was clear they had grown fond of hi. He was young, hadn’t had to sign up for the games yet. You could tell they were becoming protective, maybe longing for a sibling or child of their own to be that innocent. To maintain it.

When he asked Enobaria if she had been practicing, y/n seemed to finally perk up. “Oh, that reminds me!” She ran to grab the bag she had taken to the hob, “I got you guys something."

She begins handing all of the victors something small. “What is this, y/n?” Enobaria asked, already trying to not get choked up.

“Well, this is wooden version of a flute I think, I thought you may like trying something kind of new so you don’t get bored. A hair pin and bookmark for Cashmere, I swear you read a new book every day so maybe you wont need them. Haymitch. Don’t get excited I’m not supporting your drinking problem, but I got you sheath and sharpener for your knife.”

“Thanks, kid.” Haymitch smiled.

“Thank you, Y/n. You didn’t have to do this.”

“I know. I just thought you might like the stuff, plus it helps the people at the hob anyway. This is for Brutus but I doubt he wants to see me.” She hands Haymitch something you assume is for some kind of small wood carving project. You realized the others hadn’t received a gift like this either, none of you had to react to this. Amal and Mallory snickered at their bewilderment. “If you guys will excuse me, I’m pretty tired. I’ll see you all tomorrow?”

“Okay, I’ll take the first shift.” Enobaria started

“No, that’s okay. I want to try and sleep alone tonight. You guys have a good night.”  She gave her brothers a side hug and disappears.

“Do you think shes ready?” Mallory asks Enobaria

“No. But, its up to her. If she does feel better its best to try and work it out now, before the victory tour begins.” Enobaria stated

Meanwhile Cashmere got curious, “What did she get you Cato?”

This shouldn’t have bothered you but it did. Her tone. Too knowing. Like there was no way Y/n could forget to give you something. You just held up your wrist. Cashmere grinned and nodded. Enobaria glared at her, and ordered you away.

“We are going over interview tapes tomorrow, Cato. You should get some sleep. We’re all going to be doing a lot of watching.” You nod and hide away in your room.

You toss and turn for hours. Eventually staring at the ceiling fidgeting with bracelet you were given. You keep trying to untangle all of the emotions you were going through. Confused, mostly. But you had been jealous today you couldn’t ignore that. You had an overwhelming to protect her, to help. And you may as well admit you enjoyed her presence, craved it, more often than not. No. Nope. You couldn’t think like this. Not now. You threw off your sheets and before you could begin pacing you headed down to the kitchen. Try and find something to eat or drink just to have something to do.

You hear steps as you begin filling a cup with water. On instinct, you freeze. Gripping the cup as if you would have to throw it at any second. You force you entire body still, trying to rationalize that you had no threats around you.

“Can’t sleep?”

You exhale as you recognize Y/ns voice, “No. You?”

“Not at all. I was hoping if I turned on the tv I might fall asleep that way but I heard noises and had to check.” Of course, she did. You don’t understand why this surprised you. As if she wasn’t always looking for something to be wrong. As if you could be the only one with these problems.

“Can I join you?”

“You realize you don’t have to ask me right?”

“Its still your house. Besides I don’t want you to blame me for not being able to sleep.” For some reason what you said sounds weird in your head, but she rolls her eyes and sits in the same place she sat this morning.  You follow and sit next to her. She tosses one of the throw blankets in your direction.

“Should we watch some more of the exciting and thrilling history of Panem?” She asks sarcastically

“It sounds like the best way to fall asleep.” She tucks her feet under her and turns on the screen. You start with your head resting on your fist, you think its lucky that this isn’t one of the weirder seating choices, like you’d see in the capitol. At least this one had an armrest. Your nerves don’t settle, what you were worried about your weren’t sure, but you had overwhelming feeling of…dread, worry? You didn’t even know what to call it, but you could swear something was going to wrong, you were going to do something wrong. Y/n gently pulled your hand away from the bracelet you had begun picking at. You’re not sure if it was her intention, but you hand intertwines with hers. Neither of you say anything about it, just stare silently at the screen.

When your eyes open, you see light shining through the windows. You squint as your eyes adjust, but as you turn your head you realize it was laying on top of something. No. Someone. Y/ns head was laying against your shoulder, you’d been Lying your head on hers. Your body turns to ice. The two of you had fallen asleep. Together. Well, not together, but in the same space. A very close space. You curse yourself for putting the both of you in this situation, what if you had done something to her? What if you had another ni--? You pause, you realize there were no nightmares. You’d slept the whole night, and you had no nightmares…

As you realize you hadn’t moved since you opened your eyes, you have to force yourself to accept two simple truths.

For the first time since the games, you had gotten a full nights rest. No nightmares.

You had to admit Cashmere was right. You cared for Y/n. Which meant this plan of yours had just gotten much, much harder.

Fuck.

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