#I’m glad we’re aliens together

[spocksgotemotions]

was talking to my friend (also recent autism discoverer) and we were talking about our experiences growing up as autistic but not knowing it. And she was like “I always knew I was an alien :)” and it just :) yeah we’re aliens together and we found someone else from the same planet AND we also have Spock. Isnt that nice

[miedei]

terrible profilers

(aka the team meets early seasons!spence's not-so-secret girlfriend)

a/n: this came to me in my dream last night and i cannot get over it, pls send asks/requests and tell me what you thought! (look at '#mystery girl!au' on my blog to see more musings about them <3)

cw: reader has she/her pronouns, the team is nosy, my niche personal headcanons of how i think spencer would text, probably more tech inaccuracies

wc: 3.5k

part one | mlist

(reblogs are the only way to promote fics on tumblr! please reblog if you enjoyed it :) )

The moment Spencer walks into the bullpen, he knows something’s up. Garcia never replied to the text he’d sent on Friday night, and he’d hoped she was just busy on their first weekend off in a while, but it’s clear there’s more. Clutching the strap of his satchel, he walks to his desk, observing the strange tension blanketing the room. For one, Hotch and Gideon are in the bullpen, standing in the corner speaking in hushed tones. Weird. They usually go to one of their offices to talk, and either way, they usually are stuck in their offices until lunchtime when they don’t have cases. Another thing. JJ and Penelope are standing around Elle’s desk, which isn’t out of the ordinary, but they’ve swivelled around to stare at Spencer like he’s an alien (which they do on occasion, but Spencer is pretty sure he hasn’t been strange yet. He just walked in!). Derek is sitting on Elle’s desk, leaning over to huddle with the three girls, but he’s frozen with his mouth open, like he just shut up for some reason.

“Uh… Good morning.” Spencer furrows his brows, but tries to shrug it off, more interested in the smell of coffee emanating from the kitchenette. Setting down his bag, he quickly busies himself with pouring his signature overly-sweet (according to you) coffee.

It’s like his movements snap a thread that has been holding his colleagues together, and they suddenly start bustling around the bullpen again. Derek sidles up beside him as he’s stirring in sugar, and Spencer braces himself for some Morgan-esque prod. But what he says has Spencer confused.

“Kid. You know you can tell me anything, right?”

Ok, something is going on. Spencer has worked with Derek since he was 22, and they’ve fallen into a very comfortable dynamic ever since. But neither of them have ever felt the need to reassure the other of their closeness.

“What’s up, Morgan? No jabs today?”

Derek stiffens, like he’s been caught in a lie, and scrambles to reply.

“Well… We- Um, Garcia worried about you on Friday. What was up with you leaving so suddenly?”

Spencer has to bite back a smile, memories of you, coming to ‘O Keefe’s just to see him, flooding into his mind. But he answers as smoothly as possible, still turned away from Derek as he elaborates.

“Oh, I felt a bit sick. I think it’s going back and forth from the more arid parts of the country that did it. Did you know, travelling between warmer and colder climates makes you more susceptible to contracting viruses because it strains your immune and musculoskeletal systems, causing the feedback loop of homeostasis to-” Derek puts a hand on his arm, and Spencer quiets.

“Okay, okay, pretty boy, I get it.”

With that, he walks off, and Spencer is left at the kitchenette, stirring his coffee, confused. It’s not like it was a lie, he was feeling a bit nauseous in the bar, so you insisted that you go home. He recovered that same night over a cup of tea, Metropolis on the television, and you cuddled up on the couch next to him.

When he walks back to his desk, mug in hand, he calls out to JJ, still standing by Elle’s desk.

“JJ, no cases today? …JJ?” The blonde is looking at him, but his words seem to fly right over her head, until Elle pokes her shoulder.

“Oh! No, the cases I’m being called about are still pending, we’re probably not leaving on anything until tomorrow.” Spencer smiles softly, glad to have at least one more night sleeping at home this week. Because of his reverie, he doesn’t notice the way JJ, Penelope and Elle are staring at him, befuddled expressions on their faces.

The day continues to be a little weird, much to Spencer’s chagrin. Around 1pm, Gideon emerges from his office again. This, already, is out of the blue. Gideon only leaves his office an average of 3.78 times a day, mainly to go to Hotch’s office, or to go home. This time, however, Gideon marches to Spencer’s desk.

Gideon comes to a stop next to Spencer’s desk chair, and it’s all he can do to muster a blank face and look into his mentor’s eyes.

“Hey, Gideon. What’s… What’s going on?”

The older man sighs wearily, looking down his nose at Spencer, looking uncannily like Spencer’s highschool Calculus teacher when she got irritated at him for being a ‘13 year old know-it-all’.

“Reid. You weren’t sick on Friday, were you?” What is happening? Spencer doesn’t lie, he’s never told Gideon something untrue, so this is incredibly out of the blue.

“Huh? No, what’s wrong? I felt nauseous, which could’ve been a symptom for an inner ear problem, inflammatory bowel disease, gastroenteritis…” Spencer continues to rattle off a list of things he could have had, not noticing the uncharacteristically soft, paternal gaze that Gideon has trained on him.

“...and even a brain tumour, but it was probably because I drank more than I usually do. Why do you think that’s not true?” Spencer finishes his little speech, looking up at Gideon with a confused expression. There’s nothing else the older man can do but sigh, patting his shoulder softly.

“Okay, Reid. Glad you’re feeling better now.” With that, the experienced profiler walks away, not bothering to reply to Spencer’s continued questioning:

“Gideon! What’s wrong? Why are you-” Gideon’s office door slams shut.

Unfortunately, Spencer cannot ignore the rest of the signs, spending the rest of the day in a state of coiled anxiety. Something is going on, but he can’t get anyone to tell him.

Derek and Elle are constantly glancing over at him, unreadable expressions on their faces. Penelope keeps finding excuses to go to Spencer’s desk, and even if Spencer wasn’t a profiler, he’d be able to see the words bubbling up in her throat, but she never says anything.

JJ doesn’t come talk to him at all, which is strange. Instead, she shoots him knowing looks whenever she’s in the bullpen, sending Spencer into a spiral every time she doesn’t say anything about why they’re all acting weird.

He’s even caught Hotch and Gideon peeking through the blinds over their office windows to look at Spencer, with the analytical looks they get when they’re observing a crime scene on their faces. It’s driving Spencer crazy, and he has to tell someone.

You’re leaving your desk at the university when your phone buzzes.

SPENCE <3: Hi. I looked normal when I left the house, right?

Your brow furrows at the text. Normally Spencer isn’t a fan of texting while he’s at work, and you’d told him multiple times how handsome he looked when he left the apartment this morning. He’s wearing his striped white button down and the purple tie you bought him for his birthday last year, he looks pretty. And you made sure to tell him so.

YOU: hi <3

YOU: no spence you look pretty i told you this morning didnt i?

SPENCE <3: You did, thank you. Everyone’s acting weird at work, and I can’t think of what it could be.

YOU: maybe its something with a case?

SPENCE <3: They would tell me if it was that, right?

YOU: ur right

YOU: if you cant think of it with that big beautiful brain its probably something to do with them

There’s a solid minute of silence before he texts you back, and you grin to yourself as you walk through the halls. You can see the flush growing over his face in your mind’s eye, the way he does every time you pay him a cheesy compliment.

SPENCE <3: I guess so. They won’t tell me anything about it, which is strange.

You frown a little, imagining his frustration at being out of the loop. Spencer has expressed his love for his coworkers to you many times, but he’s also told you about his struggles feeling like the ‘baby’ of the office, and the way it makes him feel isolated at times. Racking your brain to think of a way to cheer him up, you check the time on your watch (the twin of which is settled on Spencer’s wrist).

YOU: its nearly 6

YOU: if i leave my building now i can make it to your office in 30mins

YOU: i can pick you up and we could get thai for dinner

YOU: ?

The reply is instantaneous, and you smile, looking forward to seeing him earlier than you’d expected today.

SPENCE <3: That sounds great. I’m finishing up here but text me when you’re in the lobby and I’ll come down.

SPENCE <3: I need to go, I’ve been texting you from the bathroom.

SPENCE <3: See you soon :-)

The last half hour of Spencer’s workday flies by, unlike the way the clock had crawled previously. He finishes up the consults he was working on for the day, and begins packing up the moment the clock hits 18:27.

Derek and Elle are still sneaking glances at him, but Spencer couldn’t care less at this point. As he closes the flap of his satchel, his phone buzzes in his breast pocket. He can’t help but whip out his phone immediately, missing the bewildered looks that pass between his fellow profilers as he smiles down at the screen.

Y/N L/N: in the lobby now! i forgot how fancy it is here i feel underdressed

He doesn’t bother replying, instead opting to leave the bullpen through the glass doors, nodding at Derek and Elle, and pressing the elevator button immediately. He’s so engrossed in his thoughts as he stares at the closed doors, that he realises far too late what’s happening behind him.

He can hear the sounds of shuffling feet, a squeak of surprise (Penelope), hissed insult (Elle to Derek), and a firm clearing of a throat. Hotch. After sighing petulantly, Spencer turns on his heels to find the entire BAU team standing there, faces just as confusing as they’ve been all day.

“I’d ask you what’s wrong, but none of you gave me an answer the last 23 times I asked, so.”

There’s a beat of silence, before Hotch, of all people, says, “Reid, we need to… ask you something. About last Friday.” That’s strange. Spencer cocks his head in confusion.

“What about it? I already told Morgan and Gideon, I was feeling sick, but it turns out it was just that I’d just drank more than I was used to.”

Penelope looks like she’s about to burst, and finally, she blurts it out, voice slightly shrill. “Reid! Who is she?”

“Who is who?”

Derek butts in, a hand on Penelope’s shoulder. “Kid, that girl. The girl you were… close to, on Friday. At the bar?” Oh. That’s what they’re talking about?

“That was Y/N. My girlfriend. Are you mad I didn’t introduce you guys? I thought you were all busy.”

Spencer sees six sets of jaws drop. There’s more silence, before JJ croaks out, “Girlfriend?”

It’s a bit of a sight, to be honest. Penelope has clutched on to Derek, and Derek on to Elle. JJ is gobsmacked, eyes bulging out of their sockets. Even Hotch and Gideon look the most shocked Spencer has ever seen them. But why?

“Uh, yeah. She came to see me because we’d had plans before we decided to go out. Then when she found out I felt sick we went home.”

Gideon looks a little green, and when no one makes a sound, Hotch speaks, his normally stoic voice coming out a little shaky. “Reid, we didn't- We didn’t know you were seeing anybody.”

What? Now they’re being even weirder. Spencer can hear the elevator doors open behind him, but he doesn’t bother. This is something he has to get to the bottom of.

“How did you not know? I’m sure I’ve mentioned having plans with her multiple times. Elle, I told you about the time I went to the movies in New York with her, when we were on that case.” Elle looks more shocked, if that’s possible, but doesn’t say a word.

“Garcia, I asked you to help me find florists that have Gibraltar campions in Vegas that one time.” Penelope jolts, muttering under her breath about ‘idiot geniuses and their mothers’.

“Gideon, I asked you for advice on how to ask her out!” Gideon stiffens, remembering the time Spencer had asked him about his ex-wife. Was that Spencer asking for advice?

“I ran into you, JJ and Morgan, when I was with her, don’t you remember? She was in the aisle over” Derek distinctly remembers a time at the bookstore, they’d seen Spencer, but not noticed anyone with him. JJ shamefully recalls being too busy making fun of Spencer’s heart-studded tie to look around.

“Hotch, I told you about her! When I added her to my emergency contacts?” At this, Hotch pales. A year ago, Spencer had come to him with a request to change his 1st emergency contact from his mother to a Y/N L/N. How he never registered that this was a girlfriend, Hotch would never know, but he stares fixedly at his shoes as he contemplates quitting his job as a profiler.

Spencer looks at them, mystified. How did they not know? It’s not like he was ever hiding you! Of course, Spencer wanted to keep you to himself, so he didn’t talk about you that much, but they were profilers. He assumed they’d known, and just didn't want to embarrass him.

His phone buzzes twice, and he pulls it out to see another text from you.

Y/N L/N: spence are you coming

Y/N L/N: a guy in a suit is eyeing me weird he knows i dont belong come save me

A happy sigh leaves him, before he remembers the people standing in front of him, still gobsmacked. He scrubs a hand down his face wearily, and mutters slowly, as if he’s not sure if he wants to do this.

“She’s downstairs right now, we were going to take the metro home together. Do you… Do you guys want to meet her?” Penelope brightens up, and the rest of the team seem in higher spirits, despite their continued disappointment in themselves. Warily, Spencer opens the elevator door with a press of a button, and they all file in obediently.

“Please don’t be weird.”

“My good doctor, I would never!” He eyes Garcia with a fearful expression, but presses the ground floor button anyway. As the doors close, a strangled shout leaves JJ’s mouth.

“Wait, you live together?”

You are sitting on a bench inside the FBI Headquarters. No matter how many times you drop Spencer off or pick him up, this will always be surreal to you. And, right now, it’s not just surreal, it’s a little scary.

A real Danny Ocean type guy is sitting on a bench across the room, talking on the phone and eyeing you. Clearly, you don’t exactly look like an agent, you know that. Dressed in the uniform of a PhD student, jeans and an oversized Doctor Who t-shirt (Spencer’s), you know that you look out of place.

You’re just hoping Spencer walks out of the elevator before you get escorted out on suspicions that you’re a spy or something.

Like some deity has heard your words, you look up at the ding of the elevator to see Spencer… and a whole gaggle of people behind him, slapping at his shoulders and barraging him with questions. He looks harried, a line between his pretty eyes.

The line disappears, though, when he locks eyes with you. His eyes light up, and his steps grow in length, before he's left his entourage behind, at least for a couple of seconds.

He uses this time to explain to you: “Hi hello I'm so glad you're here and I need to tell you something-” As if on instinct, your hands come up to rest on his upper arms, thumbs moving in circles soothingly as he continues to ramble.

“-and well, they didn't know about you somehow? Which is crazy to me because you know I don't hide you so I don't know where they got that from but either way they were acting crazy, so I suggested they come meet you, and…” The group of people you now recognize to be the BAU have caught up to him, eyes darting between your face and Spencer's. His shoulders slump, and the agitated look returns, if a little less intense.

“Well, here they are.” He motions to the group behind him. “These are my coworkers, Jennifer Jareau, Elle Greenaway, Penelope Garcia, Aaron Hotchner, Jason Gideon, and Derek Morgan. Guys, this is my girlfriend, Y/N.”

Rising on your toes to see over his shoulder, you wave with a smile, eyes zeroing in on Penelope Garcia, who looks like she's vibrating from excitement, shouldering past Spencer to hold both of your hands.

“Hi! It's so good to meet you! I'd say I've heard a lot about you, but you know that's a lie, we didn't realize you existed until 10 minutes ago, but oh my god! You're here! You're so pretty- Spencer, she's so pretty!” She's practically bouncing up and down, causing Spencer to laugh sheepishly.

“Yeah, Garcia, I know that.” The next few minutes are a barrage of introductions and handshakes, all so brief that you can only get quick first impressions of them all.

Penelope is incredibly kind, not letting go of your hands until Spencer pries her off of you, telling you that you have to come out on girl's night with us, exactly like Spencer described her.

Elle is nearly intimidatingly cool, giving you a handshake and a smile, mentioning that she likes your eyeliner.

Aaron (Hotch? You're not sure how to refer to him) is nowhere near as stoic and intimidating as Spencer makes him out to be, breaking into a smile as he introduces himself, and grinning even wider when you congratulate him and his wife on their newborn child.

JJ is the sweetest. You've heard a lot about Spencer's best friend, and she lives up to expectations, squeezing you into a chaste hug with warm words.

Gideon is a little terrifying. He gives you a handshake, quirking the side of his lips in what you assume to be a smile, but saying very little beyond an introduction. You know how highly Spencer thinks of him, and hope he will warm up to you (Spencer is over the moon that he smiled, and tells you Gideon loved you later that night).

Derek is exactly how you expected him to be. Somehow, he makes you feel wholly comfortable after a single comment, and promises to regale you with all the Spencer stories you'd want (you see him punch Spencer in the arm, grinning and saying he approved).

Spencer pulls you away from them as quick as he can, citing your dinner plans as an excuse. He slings an arm around your waist, leading you out the door as you wave over your shoulder.

“It was great to meet you guys! We should go out to dinner or something!” You hear mixed shouts of agreement from behind you, before the doors shut and it's just you and Spencer, on the sidewalk outside the building.

It's butterfly-inducing, the way you can see the tension leave his shoulders when he turns to look down at you, brown eyes shining.

“I'm sorry that was so last-minute, I know they can be… a lot.” You giggle at the weariness in his tone, resting your forearms on his shoulders.

“They were really nice, Spence. I'm glad to finally meet them. They didn't know who I was?” He sighs, hands tightening slightly on your waist.

“I don't know what goes on with them half the time. I've told them things about you so many times, but they were just being dense, I suppose. They saw us on Friday, at ‘O Keefe’s, and they had no idea I was seeing someone!” He bends to rest his forehead in the crook of your neck with a sigh. As if on instinct, your hands come up to play with his hair.

“I guess they would have found it a little strange that you acted like nothing had changed, huh? Is that why they were being weird today?” He grumbles unintelligible words into your skin, before raising his head to look at you.

“I guess… You know I wasn't hiding you, right? I really thought they knew about you,” The earnestness on his face makes you want to implode, his thumbs rubbing minutely on your waist. Speaking would pop the bubble you've found yourselves in, so you find the best next option for you to show him your assertion.

Your hands roam up his neck to cup either side of his jaw, and slow, slow, slowly, you rise to your toes and kiss him.

Suddenly, Spencer's not worried anymore.

[demonic0angel]

Think you could write anything for Ghost King Danny/Plant Sam?

(Sure 🫡)

She was feeding her children when she felt him. His overwhelming presence meant that any of his citizens could instinctively call him out when he passed by.

She turned and gave a little bow. “Your majesty.”

“My lady,” Danny replied, just as teasingly.

Sam rolled her eyes and threw another piece of meat towards her Saturn flytraps. They chewed messily on the meat, gurgling and crooning from happiness. Danny eventually walked up next to her, looking around at her garden. An overhanging vine dropped down and wrapped itself around his neck, but he didn’t seem to mind.

She sighed and reached over to untangle the vine, before it could choke him again. “You’re too careless.”

“They’re your children, so they’re also my children, right?” Danny said softly. “What’s there to be afraid of?”

Sam looked away, her face feeling hot. “Whatever. It’s your funeral.”

Danny grinned, wide and fanged. “Yes it is. And you’re one of the stars.”

Sam smiled a little and then asked, “How is everyone else? I heard that there’s going to be a party, right?”

Danny sighed. Two alien butterflies drifted nearby and landed on his shoulders. He gently brushed them off as he complained, “You’ve been away for so long that you forgot? It’s our engagement party, Sam. We’re going to announce our marriage to the Infinite Realms.”

Sam had not forgotten. She only wanted Danny to say it aloud. She hummed and drawled out, “Ohhhh.”

Danny gave her a light glare. He stated, “You didn’t forget, did you?”

“Not at all, your majesty. I’m glad we’ll be finally making it official. We’ll be together… for eternity.”

[shineon3]

Winter Warmers, Day 31

Prompt: NYE Countdown (kinda) & (just a smidge of) Mpreg / Word Count: 541

Once again big thanks to the lovely @33max for this event, I had so much fun writing these little ficlets

“Maxy?”

Daniel walks out on the porch, hands on his hips. He had just said goodbye to all their new year’s eve dinner guests, and he was now looking for his boyfriend, who had disappeared earlier. He had looked all around the house to no avail, so he decided to check the garden. And, sure enough, the blonde was there, curled up on the swinging love seat with one of the cats on his lap. Daniel sits down next to him. 

“Baby? You okay?” 

Max just hums, shifting so he's curled up against Daniel's side, and Daniel instinctively wraps an arm around him. They stay like that for a while, the silence only broken by Sassy’s soft purrs while Max pets her. 

“It’s been a long year, huh?”

The younger’s voice is a soft whisper, so low that Daniel almost misses it. When he looks at him, Max is staring at something far, far away, seemingly lost in thought.

“It has, yeah. But I’m happy, ya know?”

Silence again. Max leans a bit more against him before looking up. Their eyes meet, and Max’s lips slowly curl up in a smile.

“I’m glad you’re happy. And I’m happy too, of course. Even if I do not usually like change, I can tolerate it if it's with you.” 

Max's whole face goes soft, eyes crinkling as his smile widens, and the lights above them make him shine like the prettiest person Daniel has ever seen. He pulls the blonde in a kiss, pressing their foreheads together when they separate. 

“You're super cheesy tonight, Maxy,” He teases, cheerful. “You sure you didn't get replaced by aliens or something?” 

Max pulls back, lightly punching his shoulder and laughing. Offended by the sudden movements, Sassy hisses before jumping to the ground and retreating back inside. It makes both of them laugh even harder, and they struggle to compose themselves afterwards. 

“Okay, wait, wait, let me speak,” Max interrupts him just as Daniel opens his mouth. “I- there is something I wanted to tell you. But please wait till I'm done before reacting, okay?” 

Daniel takes Max’s fidgeting hands into his, squeezing them, and gives the blonde a patient smile. 

“I'm all ears, baby. Hit me. Or don't, you know what I mean.” 

Max smiles shakily, and takes a deep breath.

“I- I have… a little joey in the pouch.” 

He stutters over the words, face cherry red, and Daniel almost doesn’t understand the words with how fast Max strings them together. And when he does, his eyes go wide, immediately filling up with tears. He pulls Max in a hug, holding him tightly against him.

“Maxy, fuck, that’s-...” He barely manages to not choke on his words, the sound he lets out a mix between a laugh and a sob. “Maxy, baby, that’s amazing, oh my god-”

“You’re-” Max clears his throat. “You’re happy…?”

“Sweetheart, of course I’m fucking happy, I’m gonna be a dad! We’re going to have a baby, Maxy!”

Max’s arms wrap tighter around him, and they sit there for a while, giving each other time to process the news, happiness practically radiating from their bodies. 

Up in the sky, fireworks explode, loud and colorful, celebrating the start of the new year.

[emmyrosee]

My Baby Midoriya and Secretive Dating? Or, if you're not up to that, trying out a new activity and he's absolutely rambling because he researched everything there is about whatever you're doing with him... but you still manage to pull out a surprise card, maybe?

You look both ways as you make your way down to the dining hall to be with your man, meeting him for some frozen to baked cookies to be shared in the dorm room that you’d also have to sneak into. By the time you make it to the kitchen, he’s already setting up a baking sheet, humming to himself absentmindedly. You grin and slowly slink up to him and, once you’re officially behind him, you skitter your fingers up his side, making him yelp and jump to the side.

“Baby!” He whines, but it’s mingled with a smile. “Scared me!”

“Good,” you giggle, leaning into his side where he then wraps his arms around you, planting a kiss to your head. “That’s what you get for not waking me up to be with you.”

“I didn’t want to bother you!”

“You’re my boyfriend!” You scoff, hopping up and onto the counter while he loads the baking sheet into the oven. “You could never bother me!” He smiles happily and plants himself between your legs, burying his face in your chest and inhaling your scent off of your collarbone. “But it’s okay. I’m glad I’m here now.”

“Good,” he sighs. “Had a bad day… been looking forward to this all day.”

“Awww, my poor baby,” you croon, hooking your legs around his waist and arms around his shoulder, pressing a loving kiss to his temple when suddenly-

“I’m telling you, Kaminari, the likelihood of being abducted by aliens is slim to none-“

“But never zero!”

A panicked blonde and comforting red head come around the corner into the kitchen, and you freeze stone cold. All pairs of eyes lock onto each other, only for Izuku to burst out in a flush and once his mouth opens, it’s over.

“Kirishima and Kaminari, wow it’s so good to see you guys! What’re you doing here so late, we’re making cookies because that’s what friends do together, do you guys ever make cookies, making cookies with your friends is so fun, and you should try it sometime with the group because that’s what friends do!”

You snicker and bury your face in Izuku’s hair, trying to stifle your laughter from your poor, embarrassed boyfriend. You tighten your grip on him, secretly happy it’s Kirishima and Kaminari to find out first.

Kirishima chuckles while Kaminari sinks his teeth into his lip to hide his excitement for this new discovery. Kirishima raises his hands, “we’ll keep it in mind, Midoriya… but maybe another time.”

“Yeah,” Kaminari hums. “Only best friends make cookies at two in the morning, right Kirishima?”

“Right,” the red head agrees. He grabs Kaminari by the collar and drags him out of the room, “well, you kids have fun with your… secret cookies…”

“Will do, Eiji,” you giggle, resting your head on Izuku’s and watching as the pair leaves.

The room is quiet for a few minutes before he swallows thickly and turns his head to look at you, “so… do you think they know…?”

You snort, “with the way you lie? I’m sure they’ve always known, baby.”

“Darn…”

[unholywriter]

Stars | Jaime Reyes x Fem!Reader

Warning: Fluff.

Paring: Magic Reader x Symbiotic alien infused bug boy.

a/n: I know it’s definitely not the time of year for Christmas but enjoy. 💙🪲

It was later, and your shift was ending. Working at a bar downtown in Palmera City, you never knew what kind of rambunctious shenanigans would unfold. But, for Christmas Eve, it was quiet. It was a godly slow day, not many stopped by aside the few occasional regulars wishing good holidays. Thankfully, it was coming to an end. Setting up the bar stools on the table, and making sure all was clean, capped and put away. You slid out the door, locking it behind you. Palmera was nippy, but it doesn’t get too terribly cold around this time of year.

Pulling up your scarf you walked looking at the text message from Jaime, your lover. A smile blanketed your face.

Jaime: Close went good?

You: Yes. Just stepping out now.

Jaime: Need a pick up? I’m near by.

You: What, a roof top a block over?

Jaime: Hey, rooftops are peaceful. 🥺

You: So is being wrapped up in my bfs arms but, sadly you like rooftops more. 😈

Jaime: You’re not going to let me live that down huh? Also, lamp post. 😂😭

As you read the last part you halted immediately. You were a few inches from running into it. You took a breath in and smiled looking up to the sky to see a silhouette of a particular blue looking suited boyfriend of yours. But you knew he was grinning ear to ear underneath that mask.

“tfihs em oot sih edis.” You whispered. Now it was your turn to grin ear to ear as you materialize right beside him. You swore a squeak left his mouth.

“Dios mío mi amor!” He hitched his breath, dramatically placing his hand on his chest. “You know you could have just let me come down and meet you right?”

“Maybe I like the rooftops too.” You smile, and move in closer to embrace him. He embraced you back, and just like he read your thoughts, and well. Khaji reading his; the suit’s mask dematerialized revealing his gorgeous face underneath. And damn those beautiful brown doe eyes of his.

“You were just teasing me about it.” He rolled his eyes, his grip gently squeezing you.

“I know.” You placed your lips against his tenderly, running your fingers though his hair as he kissed you back just as sweetly. “I’ve missed you JaiJai.”

“Sorry for being gone a week, I thought we caught wind on a lead for Ted.” He said grimly. His mood changing only made you soften your expression with more concern.

“How’s Jenny?” You pulled away slowly. You still didn’t leave his touch though. But you knew making sure he was okay and being his emotional support is more important than craving deep intimacy at the moment from him.

“She’s doing well for someone who found out her father is alive. Just not knowing where he is, you know. She’s worried.” He began to explain, his tone and pace nerve racked. You could only assume because, Ted, being his predecessor. A man he’s never met before. Definitely an unregulated, stressful situation. Not only that, Jenny and Jaime had some moments together. But, she stepped away knowing you two were more or so in love with each other without each other knowing. She was the one, (and Milagro) who gave you both a push ironically. Now it’s been a few months after Jaime had Khaji Da infused within him, Victoria Kord, and Jaime’s father almost dying. It’s been rough, but you’ve been there. As a best friend and his lover. He is thankful, and you know it. Just as much as you’ve been thankful for him all these years.

“I’m glad, but we’re here for her. She has you. And Milagro always makes it her business to make sure she and all of us are okay. So honestly, Jenny will be alright.” You smile, entangling your fingers within his. “You will be alright too, got that mi querido?”

“Loud and clear.” He smiled brightly, fighting back his tears. You reached up, rubbing your finger against his cheek.

“So, do you still want to visit the tree in town square?” You ask, making sure he’s up for it. Yes distractions are nice too get away from everything but you can’t always run away.

“Of course. But I actually had a better idea.” His grin pulled further, a bit of mischief being one of your favorite signature looks that spread across his face.

“What do you have in mind?” You grinned back, curious to what your boyfriend had in store.

“Just trust me?” He grabbed both your hands gently and started to walk backwards, leading you too the edge.

“Always.” You tittered softly, turning back into a soft smile. He then lifted you into his arms. His wings materialized and off you two went. The view was beautiful, of course you’re used to flying via magic yourself but being in his arms with the breeze hitting you even if it was chilly was very peaceful. Soon you could see Palmera City Square, the large Christmas tree erect in all its multicolored glory for season cheer.

“So pretty.” You spoke softly. “What now?”

You both now hovered a far distance from and over the tree. The crowd gathered below enjoying the festivity. “I thought we could have a once in a life time experience not many normal people can experience.”

“Oh?” You tucked some of his curled hair behind his ear still nice and snug in his arms. “So we’re not normal?”

Your tease made him laugh. “I have an alien symbiotic peice of technology infused into my back and connected to every cell in my human body and you? Well, you’ve never been normal mi tesoro.”

The tease back earned him a gentle smack to his shoulder. “Wow, if this is your way too whoo me tonight I might just have to up my game.”

“Hey! I meant you not being normal in the best way possible!” He cheesed. And you gave him a kiss on his cheek.

“I know my love. So what now?” You beamed happily. Patiently waiting for his goofy, lovable plan of his. Because well, both of you were sixty or so feet in the air and you were beginning to wonder if people looked up wondering what or who was hovering above them.

“Well.” He then begin to help you to where you were now dangling closely together. But your feet hung out, and gravity wasn’t to kind. “Uh.” He laughed nervously, his plan not working in his favor for the moment. “I was going to see if we could just, dance? But, I honestly didn’t think this part through.”

“It’s okay Jaime, that’s why having a girlfriend with magic comes in handy.” You giggled. Holding him close. Taking a breath in you closed your eyes and met his again. “Ekam eht ria a ecnad roolf, kaolc su nihtiw eht thgin.”

With ease your feet met an invisible flooring underneath the both of you. He looked down awe stuck with bewilderment but quickly smiled back. “What did…?”

“Now we can dance.” You took your arms wrapping them around his neck. He tenderly held you by your back. From below Christmas music rang, the smell of peppermint and pine filled both your senses. Laughter and happiness from people all over could be heard. It was truly magical.

“Okay, so bear with me mi amor. My two left feet might become a problem.” His cheeks turned a tint of pink, and soon an even more embarrassed expression crossed his face. “No Khaji!” He looked over his shoulder in a fit of sheepishness. Your smile pulled further.

“What did she say this time?”

“She said she could help me learn because she indulged herself to the internet the other night.” He rolled his eyes yet again.

“Oh no, that poor thing.” You gasped in actual horror. “I hope she didn’t delve too deep into the endless web of dark and treacherous Fortnite dances.”

“Do not give her any ideas.” He widened his eyes. You laughed again. Waiting patiently. “Besides, even if I trip over my feet as long as I’m dancing with you no matter how bad I am - that’s all that matters to me”.

You blushed softly. “Me too. Then lead the way Jai.”

Slowly, he began to lead. His steps a bashful disaster. But, he kept at it, soon both you moving in a circle of rhythm. “I think, I think we got!” He looked down and snapped back up with his playful, dramatic expression of giddiness. One of the many things that you fell in love with about him.

“We are!” You pressed your lips together tighter, and he then placed his forehead against yours.

“Feliz navidad mi estrella.” He said softly as the bells began to chime signifying midnight. “I love you so much y/n.”

“Feliz navidad Jaime. I love you so very much too amor de mi vida.” You softly spoke back. A gentle kiss was exchanged, and the both of you continued to dance above the city square. Locked deep in each other’s arms, but more importantly deep within each other’s hearts. And man, were the stars so pretty tonight as they watched the both of you fall in love deeply.

[mothpendragon]

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR SONIC MOVIE 3 (if you haven’t seen it yet look away now)

Here are my thoughts on the movie:

Okay so that opening was PERFECTION!! I absolutely love how they immediately hit us with the Maria flashbacks, this film didn’t pull any punches with Shadow and Maria’s relationship (and especially the tragedy)

Tom and Sonic visiting the old cave melted my heart. I’m very glad they mentioned Sonic loosing Longclaw again, I was slightly worried they weren’t going to fully address it. I especially love how they re-address it later in the film to help Sonic connect with Shadow, because both of them have experienced loss.

I completely lost my mind when Sonic said “Talk about a low budget flight, no food or movies! We’re outta here!!” I wasn’t expecting that line to be included but HOLY SHIT HE SAID THE THING!!! I swear I almost did the Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at the screen meme in the cinema 🫵

I wasn’t expecting to see Shadow watch telenovelas, but here we are

FUCKING CALLED IT!!! Tom got hurt by Shadow!! That entire scene of Sonic shaking Tom’s unconscious body, and Shadow having flashbacks to Maria’s death, I loved it!! It was an especially great way to show Shadow beginning to realize that what he’s doing is wrong, that the path of vengeance only leads to more pain.

SPEAKING OF PAIN—

I almost cried when they showed Shadow and Maria together. It made my heart hurt so much, they really did a good job hitting all of us in the feels and laying it on thick with the tragedy. They were so happy together! Seeing Shadow smiling, dancing, just having fun with Maria, only to have it all taken away…

I’m not sure how I feel yet about the changes they made to the backstory. I definitely think they fit for the movie universe, but some of it caught me off guard. Shadow being an alien instead of man-made, and erasing Maria’s illness. Idk, I think it makes sense for this universe but I’m unsure if I completely like the changes or not :/ (they’re definitely not bad, just different)

Okay but that scene of Shadow and Sonic on the moon just talking it out, connecting, sharing their pain, it was all perfect. Sonic bringing up the fact that he lost Longclaw, him admitting that the pain never goes away, but holding onto pain isn’t the answer, you need to hold onto the happiness you did have. When Shadow said that line “Even when the star is gone, the light still shines” or something along those lines genuinely made me shed a tear…

LIVE AND LEARN!!! (I almost screamed when they started playing that)

Also, as a major Sonadow shipper….can I just say that the sequence of Super Shadow and Super Sonic working together was super fucking gay. I’m sorry, but it’s true (they’re boyfriends your honor) ❤️💙

(I kinda think Shadow is still alive, but I’m not sure. He survived Maria getting blown up, so idk if that means he’s explosion proof but maybe 🤔)

Oh yeah also….WTF HAPPENED TO THE MASTER EMERALD?! After Sonic and Shadow finish using it we never see the chaos emeralds again! Did they fall to earth?! Did the ones Shadow use get blown up?! I imagine not. We never see Knuckles say anything, nor any of the characters for that matter. Maybe that’s a problem for the next film *shrugs*

Yes, they’re making Sonic 4. I wasn’t entirely expecting them to give us two characters instead of one like they did for the last two movies. I had honestly placed my bets on Amy being revealed and lo and behold, I was right!!(ngl I knew Silver was a long shot but I can dream). Metal Sonic as well is pretty exciting! No clue who would’ve built him since it seems Robotnik/Eggman is DEAD dead fr this time. Maybe Stone? I’m not sure tho. The fact that there were multiple Metal Sonic’s has me thinking the big bad of Sonic 4 is gonna use an army of them, which is very cool!

I just…..this movie is everything I wanted and more. It was genuinely worth the wait. I think that’s all I wanted to say in this post so uh…bye! 👋

Edit: I just found out there was a second post credits scene and I missed seeing it 💀

Uhhhhhhhhh yeah so that’s what I get for not watching all the credits. Make sure to stick around until it’s well and truly over. Should I just like look it up or…..?

Edit 2: I just googled the after credits scene and watched it. Yippee!! Shadow is alive! (Figured that was the case but wasn’t expecting them to confirm it)

[victoria-writes]

Love Diagnosis

Pairing: Adrian Monk x Reader

Summary: Monk has a crush on his new assistant (reader) and talks to his therapist about it

Word Count: 1,544

Notes: She/Her pronouns are used for the reader. Trudy Monk, Leland Stottlemeyer, and Natalie Teeger are mentioned but don't make an appearance. Entire fic is just dialogue between Adrian and Dr. Kroger. Mentioned age gap between Monk and the reader.

Read it on AO3 here

Story:

“You don’t understand, doctor. This isn’t some cute crush. I can’t get her out of my head!”, Monk said frantically from the chair he sat in across from his therapist.

“Adrian”, Dr. Kroger began while taking off his glasses and sitting forward in his chair, “it’s perfectly normal to look forward to seeing someone you like. It seems that you and Y/N have developed a special relationship and it’s only natural for you to think of her. If anything, this is great progress. It means you’re moving on after losing Trudy”.

“No, no, no, no”, said Adrian as he waved his hands about, “I am not moving on from Trudy. She is my wife. Y/N is a parasite who has infected my brain. She’s probably an alien. That’s the only explanation. A very pretty alien, but an alien”.

Dr. Kroger smiled, “Y/N is not an alien. It’s okay to be scared. You and Trudy were together for a long time and you were both very devoted to each other”.

“I can’t be scared because I’m not moving on. How can I be scared to do something I’m not doing?”

“Adrian-“

“It’s like she’s taken me hostage in my own mind. Everywhere I look, she’s all I think about. I walked into a CVS with Natalie today to get more wipes and I saw the shampoo section. Why was my first thought ‘What kind of shampoo does Y/N use? She always smells so nice.’?” 

Dr. Kroger sets his glasses on the table next to him, “I’m going to suggest something that may sound a little crazy to you. Have you considered telling her how you feel?”

“…Dr. Kroger”, Monk scoffed, “Are you sure we’re sitting in the right seats? Because where I’m sitting it seems that you may be the one that needs help if you think that is a reasonable solution.”

“So I’m going to take that as a no.”

“Of course, I haven’t talked to her about it!”

“And why is that?”

“….well…”

“Well?”

“…” 

“You’re frightened she may not feel the same way as you do.”

“…yes”

“And if she does feel the same way, you don’t want to know because then you’d have to accept the fact that you’re in love with a woman after Trudy’s passing.”

“yes”, Monk grumbled while looking at the floor with sudden interest.

“So you think it’s better to bury your feelings deep inside and only let them out during our sessions”

“Now you’re getting it. I’m so glad we could come to an understanding”, Monk smiled and sat back in his chair, relieved. 

“Adrian, these feelings aren’t just going to disappear overnight because you don’t want to face them. You see her almost every day now.”

“This is all Natalie’s fault.”, Adrian furrowed his brows as he spoke, “I wouldn’t have had to hire another assistant if she didn’t need so many days off.”

“Natalie needed the time off to take care of her daughter as a single mother. It’s a miracle she was able to balance work and her child for as long as she did.”

“Yeah, well, she should’ve balanced for longer so I wouldn’t have to deal with this.”

“Tell me, what is it that you like about Y/N?”

“She smells nice.”

“You mentioned that already”

“She’s a good assistant. She’s very clean and doesn’t touch me without asking. I like her hairstyle too, not just the shampoo. Her nails are neat and manicured, so I don’t feel disgusted by the thought of her touching me.”

“Anything else?”

“When she does touch me…her hands are soft.”

Dr. Kroger looked at Adrian with raised eyebrows and interest written across his face.

“Y/N, she has a certain way of talking. She emphasizes certain words in her sentences and talks with her hands.” 

At this point, Adrian is staring up at the ceiling and smiling fondly as he pictures Y/N in his mind, “She gets so animated when she’s passionate. And she has so many strong opinions on things. Things I never even give a second thought to. Just the other day, she went on a very passionate rant about what kind of handle she prefers on umbrellas.”

“I would’ve thought you’d have an opinion on that sort of thing.” 

“Oh, I do now that I’ve thought about it. I much prefer the curved handles to the straights ones, even if they have grooves for the fingers to sit”, he scoffs and shakes his head, “the fingers are never as comfortable on those as they are on the curved handles and-“

“I think we’re getting off track here. Is there anything you dislike about her?”

“Oh, yes”, Adrian quickly nodded, “She’s a horrible driver and always parks crooked. She’s lucky she has me or she’d anger a lot of other drivers with her parking.”

“Uh-huh.”

“She chews on her mints and I can’t stand the sound. What psychopath chews on those? You’re supposed to let them sit in your mouth.”

“I see.”

“She stands too close to me wherever we go. Like I said she doesn’t touch me without asking but she’s always so close.”

“And that bothers you?”

“Yes, my heart starts to beat very fast and I can’t breathe sometimes. Once I thought I was having a heart attack but she told me I was just having a panic attack and made me do breathing exercises with her.”

“Did they help?”

“Yes, but only for a little bit because she kept standing close to me after that. She was worried I would faint so she stood even closer.”

“And?”

“I’ve never had clammier hands in my life.”

“Did you have these symptoms when you first started to see Trudy?”

“I…I don’t remember. It was all so long ago. Let’s not talk about that.”

“I apologize if I made you uncomfortable. Let’s move on from that.”

“Okay.”

“…”

“I had eggs for breakfast this morning but the yolk was a little too runny. That made my skin itch.”

“Let’s not talk about eggs.”

“Okay.”

“If you and Y/N were to enter a romantic relationship-“

“That would never happen.”

“Humor me for a second. If you and Y/N entered a romantic relationship, what do you think it would be like? Truly imagine it for me. What would dating Y/N look like?”

“I…I don’t know. I’m not dating her so how would I know?”

“Just try and imagine it.”

“Okay.”, Adrian sighed quietly as he closed his eyes, “Okay. I’m imagining.”

“Go on.”

“We’d have to spend a lot of time together. That’s what couples do.”

“What would that time spent together look like?”

“I suppose we would hang out at my house. Go to different places around town. Maybe to that coffee shop she likes.”

“Which shop is that?”

“The one on third avenue with the blue walls.”

Adrian’s eyes were still closed but he could hear the smile in Dr. Kroger’s voice, “You remember the kind of things she’s passionate about, little details about her, and even what coffee shop she likes.”

“I’m a detective. It’s my job to remember things about people.”

“Do you know how she takes her coffee?”

“Of course.”

“Do you know how Natalie takes her coffee?”

“No”

“Do you know how Captain Stottlemeyer takes his coffee?”

“No”

“Interesting. Have you ever thought about kissing Y/N?”

Adrian opened his eyes, “I don’t see how that’s relevant.”

“I find it very relevant. Have you thought about kissing her?”

Adrian took a long pause before answering, “Yes. Once she stood very close to me, she stands much too close to me, and I…”

“You…?”

“I was looking at her lips and I started to lean in but I pulled away.”

“Did she know you wanted to kiss her?”

“I don’t think so. When she asked why I was staring I lied and told her she had dry lips and needed to put on chapstick. It couldn’t have been further from the truth. Her lips looked very”, he pauses looking for the right word in his mind “soft.”

“Has she ever indicated any interest in you in a romantic sense?”

“I don’t think so.”

“No, you wouldn’t.”, Dr. Kroger sighs, “Adrian, there is only one solution to this dilemma and that is to speak to her about it.”

“That would be highly inappropriate. I’m her employer and several years older than her.”

“While that is true, she has the right to know about this. She spends nearly every day with you.”

“What if she quits? Then, I’d have to find another assistant and I don’t want her to go.”

“That is a risk you’ll just have to take. It is much more likely that she will either tell you she doesn’t feel the same way or that she does. She’s your assistant but she’s your friend too. I’m sure she’d understand.”

“But what if she doesn’t?”

“But what is she does?”

Monk sat in silence with no rebuttal prepared. What could he possibly say to that?

“We’re nearing the end of our time together, Adrian. Next time you see Y/N, politely tell her how you’ve been feeling about her.” 

“...”

“Adrian, tell her.”

“Yes, Dr. Kroger.”

“I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

[katatonicimpression]

Hi, friend!!

🦅 or 👽 for the SamBucky prompt game please 🙏🏾

Sambucky Prompt Game!

Thanks for the ask! I combined the two lol

“This is why we should never go on separate missions.”

Sam frowned. 

“What do you mean? I see this as a win.”

“Sam, that thing is reading your mind right now and you don’t have a single issue with it?”

Sam looked at the bird perched on his arm and back up at Bucky. 

“No?”

Bucky glared at him.

“It’s a mutual thing,” Sam said. “I can read him too. We’re connected, I don’t know how to explain it better than that.”

“Sam.” Bucky sat down on the coffee table opposite the couch. He put his hands together. “You go off on this mission to outer space-”

“Which went well, by the way. We won.”

“You go to space, and you come back with a bird that’s apparently your soulmate and you don’t think that’s worrying?”

“He’s called Redwing,” Sam said, petulantly.

“Seriously?”

“You like that, don’t you?” Sam asked the bird. 

The bird agreed, he did like it, and yeah it was weird that this thought was just beamed into Sam’s head through some kind of telepathy, but he was starting to get used to it. 

It had been a weird week and a half since meeting Redwing, but Banner and Strange and Richards and seemingly anyone off the street with an opinion had looked into it, and everything seemed fine and above board. Redwing wasn’t dangerous. This bond between them was weird, but genuine. They could read each other’s thoughts.

So, Sam took Redwing home to his and Bucky’s apartment in Harlem, and then his boyfriend came home from a mission, and started all of that fuss all over again.

“How do we know it’s not influencing you in some way? How do you know it’s safe?”

“I just do,” Sam was aware this wasn’t going to convince him. “It’s like I’ve known him my whole life.”

He reached up and petted Redwing’s head.

“Do you really have to be cuddling right now?”

“Cuddling? He’s perching!”

“You’re in our spot!”

“Our what?” Sam laughed. “Buck, are you seriously jealous of a falcon right now?”

“He’s not even really a falcon! He’s probably some kind of alien!”

“Well, yeah, he’s from space.” Sam paused, then shrugged. “From his perspective, you’re an alien.”

Bucky let out some gravelly noise of frustration that was clearly not supposed to be as funny as it sounded, and stormed out the living room.

“Between you and me,” Sam said to Redwing. “I think he is jealous.”

“I heard that!”

Sam sighed, and stood up. He walked over to the window and opened it. 

“Give us a minute,” he told Redwing, who agreed and flew outside.

Bucky, who clearly never made it more than three feet out the door in the first place, stepped back into the room. He slouched towards the sofa and sat down. Sam joined him, swinging his legs over Bucky’s lap, perching on him.

“Ok, yeah,” he said, his words muffled into Bucky’s shoulder. “This is our spot.”

“Damn right.” Bucky caved, putting his arm around Sam and pulling him into a hug. He added. “I’m not jealous.”

“You absolutely are.”

“It’s not jealousy. He’s just a bird. I could take him.”

“Oh my god…” Sam laughed. Then pulled Bucky back towards him when he tried to move away in annoyance.

He wasn’t trying that hard, evidently, because he let him.

“I’m glad you’re alright,” Bucky said. “From the mission, I’m glad it went well.”

“Thanks,” Sam said. 

They sat for a second in silence.

“You wanna order?” Sam asked.

“I could eat.” Bucky squeezed him gently. “But I don’t want to move.”

“That’s cool.” Sam concentrated, and reached out mentally. “Redwing, can you get my phone?”

“It’s just going to be like this now, isn’t it?” Bucky groaned.

[etherealhoneybee777]

Okay, the mp100 fandom (and other fandom spaces as well) makes me really hopeful✨

The internet is mostly a cruel and terrible place. It largely exists as an instrument of global capitalism. Governments use social media to push propaganda that either reinforces their fascist, conservative ideals or instills leftists that want to fight back with a sense of hopelessness that paralyzes and scares them. And we’re also getting to a point where much of the content we see online is not only made by AI, but interacted with by AI as well. We’re seeing “art” and ragebait stories that aren’t even made by real humans, but are spread online as if they’re true. Transactions are everywhere, but because everything is a subscription service, we own nothing. Corporations are putting advertisements on even the most sacred corner of the web & encouraging people to constantly consume, to BE consumed with the desire to consume more things, and to fill up the little time we have left with constant, buzzing productivity—because the internet is an instrument of capitalism, and capitalism is about constant expansion, expansion that won’t stop until everything in our lives is quantifiable and our whole being is stretched thin in service of a pointless, unstoppable economic growth.

In the face of that, I think your mp100 art is amazing. I think your fic is amazing. I am glad you decided to share it with us. I am glad you took the time to analyze Mob or Serizawa or Tome. To post screen grabs of Dimple or gifs or animatics or anything else. I’m glad you reblogged my post and added some silly or thoughtful little hashtags. I’m glad you DM’d me or posted a long ramble about Ritsu or Teru or reigen.

People don’t have to do these things. They don’t have to sketch characters or share headcanons or write fic or make watch parties on cute little discord servers. But they do. They do it because it’s a fun thing to do & because they’re talented and passionate. And it makes me happy that on the internet—which is increasingly being used to alienate and control us—still hosts real communities and real people making real art and writing their real thoughts without any kind of profit motive or manipulative agenda. People are literally just posting because they want to share their work and connect with others. It reminds me that no matter what capitalism does, we live in a fundamentally social world & we’re constantly trying to connect with each other about the things we like. MP100 is the thing I like and the people here make me hopeful. I see people post their art/writing/headcanons and I get super happy. I get inspired. I look at people’s bios and all the different countries they’re from and get really happy that the internet can be used as a tool to connect people across the world with the same interest together.

Choosing to create and make friends and be nice and spread positivity over the internet is a uniquely powerful thing. It may not seem like much, (and being on the internet is often framed as “wasting time”) but the Internet is important and the things you do here are actually tangible and real. Making and sharing art—making friends—sharing writing and blurbs and headcanons is a legitimate pushback against the terrible capitalistic machine that the internet has become. I’ve heard a lot of creators say that their art doesn’t get noticed/doesn’t matter because it doesn’t get a lot of attention. But it DOES matter. Because, for every second that someone spends seeing your art, that’s one second that they don’t spend on government propaganda or brain-numbing advertisements or ragebait or AI generated “content”. And even if no one sees your art, YOU spent time making it. You loved it and cared for it and valued it in a way that capitalism can never profit from or understand.

I hope you know that I see your art & love it. I look at it when I’m sad. My gf and I look at mp100 art while we sit outside and feel the world leave our bones. Maybe this is too much, but I’m feeling earnest and joyful tonight & am trying to lean into those feelings.

I’m just thankful. You create and share just because you wanted to create and share. You’re making the world a better place.

[thoscheienjoyer]

You guys really seem to like my threegado stories, so here's another, I call it 'The Sacrifice'

The Doctor and Jo had faced one hardship after hardship in these past few weeks, the adventures were just too much, so the Doctor decided it was time for a well-deserved break. No aliens, no inter-dimensional threats, just a simple trip the old-fashioned way. Through UNIT’s connections, they secured a private plane for their peaceful getaway.

“Are you sure this will be relaxing, Doctor?” Jo asked in a lighthearted manner, pretending to be overly skeptical, but she did trust the man more than anyone.

The Doctor nodded, “Quite sure, Jo, we'll arrive at our destination in just a few hours”

Settling into their seats, the Doctor fell into a light nap while Jo immersed herself in a book. The calm didn’t last long. As the plane began to shake violently the Doctor jolted awake.

“What’s happening?” his companion asked, heavily concerned for their safety as she looked around frantically for some sort of cause.

Before the Doctor could speak, a sinister yet familiar voice crackled over the intercom. “Ah, Doctor, Jo. So glad you could join me.”

“The Master,” the Doctor muttered and stood. If course.

“Indeed. I’m your pilot for this little excursion,” the Master continued playfully. “The plane is going to crash, and I’ve taken the liberty of packing two parachutes. Unfortunately, there are three of us. Take your pick, Doctor." They could feel the smile.

They horrified looks and the Master stepped out with the parachutes as promised. “You see, Doctor, this is where we differ, I would simply leave both of you, but you? Either admit you and me are worth more than one measly human, or save the innocent and punish the villian. I know you’ll make the ‘right’ choice.”

The decision was already made. “I won’t sacrifice Jo, and I won’t sacrifice you either.”

His smirk faded. “Doctor, what are you saying?”

“Jo and you will live.”

Jo grabbed the Doctor’s arm. “No! Doctor, you can’t!”

He turned to her, his expression gentle but firm as he ran a hand through her hair in a way that could almost be seen as parental. “Jo, if I let someone die because they’ve done bad things, I’m no better than they are. We don’t let people die, no matter who they are.”

Jo nodded but tears streamed down her face “But you’re letting yourself die!” she cried.

The Master interrupted, his voice dripping with disdain for the emotional display. “Why would you risk yourself for a human, Doctor? You’re far more important.”

His old friend softly met his gaze. “I won’t let an innocent die, Master. It doesn't matter who I am."

The Master was frustrated and angry at the thought, he gestured to the other timelord. “The universe needs you Doctor, you know that."

The man's resolve remained unshaken. “I won’t compromise my morals.”

For a moment, the Master seemed conflicted. Then, he thrust the parachutes at the Doctor and Jo. “Take them.”

The Doctor's eyes widened and he was momentarily stunned, but he quickly tried to regain his composure. As the Master assumed the decision was final, the Doctor grabbed him, pulling him towards the door. “What are you doing?!”

“We’re jumping together.” the Doctor would not take no for an answer. “Jo, follow us!”

Jo, clutching her parachute, nodded and jumped. The Doctor and the Master followed, sharing one parachute. As they fell, the Master continued to argue. “You could have killed us both with the extra weight! Why would you save me you fool?!”

The Doctor's eyes were full of compassion as he held his enemy so he wouldn't fall. “You may be my enemy, Master, but you’re still my oldest friend.”

The Master was silent, his mind reeling. His Doctor’s.. No, his Theta's unwavering morals, his refusal to let anyone die, even him, and his willingness to save even his greatest adversary—it was confounding. The Master felt a strange, uncomfortable emotion stirring within him as they descended safely to the ground.

Jo landed nearby and shook her head. “He’s just going to cause more trouble.”

The rouge timelord, still grappling with the Doctor’s actions, didn't even notice how he hadn't let go of him yet, he clung like they were still falling and the Doctor didn't stop him. They're always clinging to each other in different ways.

The Doctor just smiled warmly with a nod, like he's accepted this fact. “I know. But for now, let’s get to safety.”

He let go to walk away from the crash site and the Master couldn’t understand the feeling of being cared for by someone he considered an enemy. The Doctor’s commitment to his principles had foiled his scheme and left him questioning everything.

[oddly-casual]

Spoilers for the Tales of the Tmnt teaser trailer (This me talking abt my thoughts and stuff I noticed ;)

With screenshots baby let’s go.

I’m not comparing it to Rise, but it did give off a kind of vibe. Especially with how Leo holds his sword and Raph’s fond older brother stare.

I’m also really glad they got rid of Splinter’s whatever they were, it was a little distracting on his movie design for me so I’m glad they simplified it.

I think this might be the establishing shot of like a news report about how much the public loves the turtles now. Which is crazy bc imagine being an unsocialized shut in teenager and suddenly you have hundreds of adoring fans.

Ma’am 💀 ain’t no way this grown ass woman made that sign deadass. They really took notes on how some fans act abt the turtles that’s crazy.

Fame really does go crazy bc ain’t no way she seriously wants to be married to a crusty teenager.

They’re gonna get their ass beat

Come on now, what did he expect…he had enough sense to rip it off the wall but not throw it…

Lowkey kinda hope they get called into the principals office after this fight because of how much property damage they caused

The art style is wild, but I particularly like these two frames of Raph because they go hard like look at that.

Also maybe a Raph barn fight???

He did say he was gonna kick 🤷

I think this might be the final blow to the fight of the bots just because of how dramatic and center stage it is

The robots, most likely sent by TCRI, seem to have different materials cobbled together. So either they’re shit at making robots or they’re repairing themselves.

Or someone else repaired them with junk, maybe Donnie.

And why number your bots? Shit tagging systems tbh

April is saying like always. Though I do wonder if she’s wearing that little headband bc she’s trying to mimic aliens. It would be the right amount of cringe fail for her personally

Another thing I’m noticing is while everyone else got several shots, Donnie is only seen with a group and not by himself like his brothers are. I think this is just the pilot episode we’re seeing clips of so I’m not too judgy about it but I do wonder what the hell Donnie is doing that he can pitch in and help with the fight.

April we only see once, which is fair, again first episode. I really do hope they explore her character more than what we saw in the movie.

That’s all for now, let me know if I missed anything because you know I eat that up

[nortism]

doctor who liveblog pt 22

s4 ep10 midnight

- i’m glad donna’s getting a nice holiday

- COLIN MORGAN OF BBC MERLIN FAME??! katie mcgrath next pls

- “ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon”

- ROSE ON THE TVVVVVVV

- oh god was she possessed

- FUCK SHES REPEATING LIKE THE THING OUTSIDE

- SHE GOT HIS VOICE

- that was such a good episode, genuinely unsettling

s4 ep11 turn left

- omg are we in a country that’s not the uk?? i didn’t know the tardis knew how to do that 😭😭

- oh never mind they’re on a different planet, should have known

- and billie piper!!

- oh the doctor’s dead

- get the screwdriver donna!!

- ROSE TYLER!!!!!!!!!!

- oh she’s vanished

- donna’s so funny

- NO MARTHA’S DEAD this sucks

- SARAH JANE SMITH’S DEAD?!?! this au is awful

- ROSE

- i love donna’s grandad so much it’s not even funny

- london’s gone??? thank god the world is free!

- not leeds

- uh oh america

- ROSE

- oh fuck jack as well

- oh great, now the uk is turning into nazi germany

- that’s a big old bug

- rip alternate universe donna

- BAD WOLF?!?!?!!????

- shitttttt

s4 ep12 the stolen earth

- oh fucj the earth’s gone

- MARTHA

- ohh fuck the companions r all gonna come together

- ROSE WITH A GIANT GUN WOOOO

- oh yeah the whole gang in the opening credits

- oh great we’re gonna find out what a shadow proclamation is

- ofc the british are celebrating the end of the world by drinking and rioting

- ofc it’s the fucking daleks

- i feel like there was easy ways to exterminate the human race i won’t lie

- the crucible?? always with the religious imagery

- idk if i trust the space cops

- not the rhinos again

- ohhhh they’re building a mega planet

- for what it’s worth, i trust martha to save the world. she’s done it before

- NO MARTHA

- the loss that is yet to come???

- also which god??

- BEES ARE ALIENS?!?!

- i knew i couldn’t trust the space cops

- ROSE

- when he was a 90 year old teenage girl

- HARRIET JONES MY LOVE

- yay martha’s alive

- aww rose is jealous

- is everyone here a jones?

- HARRIET NOOOOOO

- he’s still thinking about rose 😭😭

- jfc what is that

- ewww

- FUCKING DALEKS RUINING MY REUNION

- oh my polycule did reunite, just under the worst circumstances possible

- FUCK HES REGENERATING ALREADY

- noooo sarah jane

- whatttt

s4 ep13 journey’s end

- did he just regenerate back into david tennant???

- MICKEYYYYYYYYY

- JACKIEEEEEEEE

- oh the whole gang is back together i missed them 😭😭😭

- oh donna i love u

- they gotta stop leaving the tardis lying around!!!

- that’s nice of the daleks to translate for different countries

- that’s a lotta daleks

- donna?!!

- DONNA?!?!!??

- hello is donna regenerating?!?!

- ITS ANOTHER DOCTOR?!?!?

- dw rose this is just an avg day for jack

- nah is the new doctor technically donna and the doctor’s child???

- pls leave my girl and her mummy issues alone

- oh they’re soulmates

- when did martha learn german??

- oh yeah on her world tour

- it would be cool if they subtitled the german bc i’m getting none of this

- not loving the sound of a reality bomb

- omg they’re disintegrating

- oh so we’re destroying all matter now???

- won’t this also destroy the daleks??

- apparently not

- SHES GONNA BLOW UP THE EARTH

- oh fuck the whole gang’s been teleported

- it’s up to u now donna

- uh oh rip the other doctor

- uh oh rip donna

- this is a bit awkward

- YES FHEN DONNA

- the doctordonna

- SHES PART TIMELORD?!

- they oppenheimer-ed him

- K9!!!

- finally an explanation for why he sucks a flying the tardis so much, he needs more guys

- he’s got the biggest family on earth 😭😭

- she’s getting her own doctor?!

- aww she got her kiss?? i think aww?! this is a weird situation all round

- oh no donna’s malfunctioning

- wait what

- is she fucking dead

- HER MIND’S BEEN WIPED!!?!?!

- awww she’s forgotten him

- this is so sad

- aww granddad

- jesus that was bleak

[quietlyimplode]

The language of flowers and silent things

Whumptober 2023: day 4 - shock

Warnings: action based blood/explosion

Word Count: 1.7k (gif not mine)

Summary: Clint and Natasha’s first mission after the events of New York.

A/N: Sometimes things are exactly as they appear to be. (Also be kind to fic writers pls, know we read each and very comment on reblogs <3)

.

2012

NEW YORK

“He’s better,” Natasha defends, protectively.

“I’m just saying that hiding in vents to spy on your friends is not a good thing,” Bruce tells her.

“He’s not spying, this is a weird situation. We’re here because it’s mandated. We just didn’t know for how long.”

Natasha moves out of the kitchen, wanting to find Clint.

“Just think about it?” Bruce calls after her.

Six months they’ve been here and she knows they’re both stir crazy. Probably all of them are.

Bruce is preparing to go back to Calcutta, and who knows where Thor left to.

She knows Bruce just wants the best for Clint, and she does too; but weekly therapy is enough.

They don’t need more.

He’s no longer catatonic, he’s eating, joking and talking about his feelings.

Isn’t that all she can ask of him?

He’s never had to deal with mind control or someone being in his brain.

The tower is more empty now, though Tony maintains they’re welcome for as long as they want.

She wonders what Steve is going to do.

Her phone rings and she glances at the caller, seeing Maria, she picks it up.

“Yeah?”

Reprieve comes in the strangest of ways.

“We have a mission for you,” she opens.

“Australia.”

Natasha’s heart leaps a little and she smiles to herself.

“Send the packet,” she says, “we can leave whenever.”

Maria pauses.

“How’s he doing?”

Natasha finds her way into the elevator, choosing Clint’s floor as an email comes through.

“Got it,” she tells her, “he’s better, he’s ready for this I think.”

Maria is quiet.

“I’m glad; we’ve missed you both.”

Natasha nods.

“Nothing like a mission to Australia to recalibrate.”

“I’ll get Fury to spring for business class, the 18 hour trip is shit,” Maria laughs.

Natasha is thankful, she hates traveling economy class on long haul trips.

“Hey, maybe whilst you’re there you can do some wedding prep,” Maria goads.

Natasha laughs and hangs up on her friend.

It’s been a running joke since the mission in Kashmir, one that since the events in New York, she’d not heard.

Finding Clint reading, she throws her phone at him with the open packet showing.

“Australia?!”

His glee is contagious as she smiles.

Today is a good day.

Natasha feels a bit of lightness in her world, and it feels strange given the last six months.

She can’t remember the last day like it. Maybe before the aliens came.

“Business class?!”

He laughs again.

“What a lowball mission, they must be feeling sorry for us.”

She takes her phone back, and lays down next to him.

“Maria said we should do some wedding prep,” she laughs with him.

His face turns serious, and she wonders if she’s ruined the mood.

“What if we do?”

She breaks into a smile.

“Yeah okay.”

He nods, looks at the packet again.

“We’re going to Queensland anyway. Nothing happens there.”

Natasha nods, lays down next to him and closes her eyes.

“Bruce is leaving tomorrow too,” she murmurs.

“Tony is going to be lonely,” Clint considers.

“Yeah.”

She does feel sorry for the billionaire, who seems to have grown accustomed to having people in his world, to suddenly have none.

“Maybe we should get everyone together and eat tonight,” he proposes, “I think maybe after Australia we could go back to the apartment.”

It’s a big step, not being around people, not feeling the need to have safety measures in place. She doesn’t think she would have even considered it a month ago, but the more she thinks about it, the more it feels right.

“Yeah I think that sounds like a good idea.”

.

Tony spares no expense in providing for his friends.

It’s kind. Natasha isn’t used to the abundance, even after all this time.

“There’s no way we will eat all this,” she tells him, passing him the food.

Pepper, Steve and Bruce sit on one side and it’s the three of them on the other.

Sitting between Clint and Tony, it’s like sitting between her brother and her lover. Or what she imagines that might be like.

She’s going to have to ask Clint what it was like growing up with a brother. She imagines dangerous in a fun way.

Steve tells a story that makes her laugh; and she goads him with a fossil joke, Clint chimes in with another story and the night passes quickly.

Too quickly, it feels and she wants to stay in this happy moment, this good day.

It surely can’t last.

.

Australia is hot.

It’s a different heat to the United States, and she can almost feel the infrared heat engulf her as she steps off the plane.

“Shit,” Clint exclaims.

She stares at him and he shuts up.

He’s to play her bodyguard, and his outburst is out of character. It’s not like him.

It’s like he’s forgotten what he needs to do to be a spy.

She frowns, worried.

This is a low ball mission, but it doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t take it seriously.

Let your guard down and you become an easy target, even if the mission is just surveillance.

He takes her bags in apology and she fakes the persona she’s been given.

Rich people rarely give eye contact to anyone.

She leaves her glasses on and continues on her way through customs. It takes longer than she expects and she internally groans at the lines.

Externally, she complains out-loud. Everyone avoids eye contact.

Australians are a strange bunch, unlike Americans they seem to both simultaneously helpful and not, no one going out of their way to explain things or to point the clueless in the right direction.

The car that picks them up and drives them to the house is black and the driver nondescript.

It’s only when they’re alone in the two story house overlooking the beach that she breaks character and flops on the bed.

“I forget how well you do a rich bitch,” he says offensively.

She smiles.

“Get me a drink, won’t you?”

He laughs and busies himself with making a late lunch.

They have three hours before night, before they start the stakeout and all he’s eaten is plane food.

.

Two hours in the car and he’s so bored he starts throwing popcorn into his mouth.

Then.

The generator blows.

“Nat?”

“Yeah I saw it.”

They move out of the car, trying to get a better look.

“Maybe it’s a coincidence,” he mutters.

She rolls her eyes.

“I don’t think so.”

Natasha moves quickly, scouting the house to see what’s happening inside, their line of sight now gone in the darkness.

“Nat, wait,” he urges, “what if it’s a trap?”

The money launder is clearly on alert.

Two sets of armed guards leave the door and Natasha watches as they fan out. She sneaks past them and Clint swears as she looks back.

Natasha moves into the house.

Two shots ring out, and Clint ducks, swearing softly under his breath.

There’s someone else there and he can’t see them.

Scrambling up and onto the tall fence, he moves across the tallest tree and climbs up it.

There’s a team of two, dressed in black with large night vision goggles that make them look like frogs.

He taps on his ear piece.

“There’s two, on your left, try and take the mark alive if you can,” he orders.

“The two are coming through the kitchen, he’s moving out the up the stairs.”

Ideally alive, with his ties to hydra and the ten rings, he has valuable information they can use.

Natasha gives the signal she’s seen and chases him up the stairs.

Clint holds the two unknowns lined up in his sight.

He sees one set a charge and the other place two more.

“Fuck, Nat, they’re setting it to blow,” he growls, too far away, too high up to get to her before they detonate.

He drops down anyway, yelling.

“Nat, it’s a trap, they’re rigging it to blow, get out,” he says urgently.

He chases after the retreating spooks, and catches one, gun trained on them.

The frog like character shakes it’s head and holds up the detonator.

“No,” he exclaims, and holds his gun up.

They shake their head, and then press the button.

Hot flames engulf the building, throwing both of them back.

He tackles the body to the ground, ripping off the mask, and punching down hard.

Blonde hair and a frown greet him under the balaclava.

Wild eyes turn to him, “better go save Natasha,” a Russian accent growls.

Shock hits him.

How do they know Natasha?

Russian.

Black widow?

His heart sinks as the realization that Natasha is in a burning building.

“Just like Dreykov’s daughter,” she says scathingly, “left alone to die in a burning building with a bad man.”

Clint lets her go and runs.

She’s going to be okay, she has to be.

The explosion wasn’t big enough to total the building, parts still standing as he coughs in the heat, shielding his face.

He hears sirens wailing, and he knows he needs to find her.

“Natasha!” he calls, going in.

“Nat?!”

He calls her name over and over until he reaches the crumbling stairs. Covering his mouth, hoping that nothing else explodes, he climbs them.

Finding a bathroom, he opens the door only to find Natasha behind it.

“Bathtub,” she coughs.

“Stayed in.”

He hands her the cloth he was using to cover her mouth and helps her down the stairs.

“Mr. Nought?”

Natasha shakes her head.

“Couldn’t get to him. Dead, I think.”

They exit the house, Natasha limping and Clint guiding her out.

He wants to check her over, to see if she’s actually okay, but the sirens draw closer and they need to leave.

“I think the safe house is compromised,” he says driving away, heading straight for the airfield.

“We probably need to swap cars too.”

Natasha groans and holds her head, and Clint glances at her.

“What is it?”

“Nothing, just go, find a car,” she tells him.

There’s blood but he can’t tell in her black cat suit.

“Who was that?” she asks, looking back.

He doesn’t want to say the words but as he speaks them, the more he’s convinced he’s correct.

“Nat, I think it was Yelena.”

.

[influentcomic4]

The Walking Dead: North Wind Arc 3

Arc 3:

Survival

I’m so Sorry

I cough, smoke filling my lungs. I immediately jerk up, looking at Sara and Jake.

“ARE YOU OK!?” I ask, searching them for injuries. Jake cries, blood pours down from his forehead.

“Mom…” Sara looks at me, “What happened?”

“Some bad people came after us…” I look around outside, “... but I think they’re gone.”

“Fuck…” Mark groans, putting his hand on his head, “You guys alright?”

“Yeah… we’re alright…” I say, trying to catch my breath, “Joseph?” I call out. I look up, but he’s not there. Mark notices he’s gone too.

“No…” He opens the door and crawls out, “NO!” I look over at the kids.

“Stay here.” I open the door and stumble out too, holding my shoulder. Joseph is laying in the road.

“JOSEPH!” Mark cries, we both run up to him. He looks up at us, trying to smile, but it quickly fades. He… doesn’t look ok. His legs… one’s bent a way it shouldn’t be, the other has bone sticking out of it.

“Hey guys…” He breathes heavily, “You… are the kids alright?”

“Joseph…” I crouch down, grabbing his hand.

“I’m ok…” He looks up at the sky, “I just need a moment, then… then I’ll be back in the swing of things.” I look over at Mark. He’s just standing there, covering his mouth with his hand, crying.

“Joseph… you… your-” “I’m ok… I swear.” He tries to stand up, but he just screams out in pain, “F-f-fuck… I’m ok…” I look back at Mark again, making eye contact, and we come to a silent agreement. He walks over to the car, opening the passenger door, and picks up his rifle. Mark places it on the ground beside me.

“Tell me about Alex again.” Mark says, crouching down beside Joseph, “What did you guys talk about?” 

“We… we liked talking about movies… tv shows…” He says, still looking up at the sky, but making the occasional glance at me or Mark.

“What was his favourite movie?”

“He loved the Alien movies, but… I never watched them.” Tears start to form in his eyes, but he still smiles, “We were going to watch them together once we finally met, but…”

“When we get to Drumheller, maybe they have movies and we can all watch Alien.” Mark smiles.

“Yeah… yeah… that’ll be nice…” Joseph grabs Mark’s hand.

“How about… you close your eyes for a minute, then we’ll get you back up on your feet.” Mark says, a deep pain in his voice. Joseph is silent for a while, then he looks up at me.

“Elsie… I… I can’t ask you to do this.” He says.

“Joseph, I won’t let you do that to yourself.” I say, crying.

“Please…” He pants, “Give me a gun, I’ll… I’ll take care of it.”

“Ok… ok…” I lower the rifle, and pull my pistol out from the back of my pants.

“Thank you…” He says quietly as I hand it to him.

“Is there anything else I can do to help you?”

“Could… Could you give Mark and I a moment please?”

“Of course.” I force myself to smile, “Goodbye Joseph, thank you for all you’ve done for my family.”

“You’re welcome… I’m glad I was able to be part of your family.” Him saying that makes me feel a stabbing pain in my heart. I put a hand on his chest before standing up to leave Mark and Joseph alone to say their goodbyes. I walk back to the car, opening the door.

“Come on you two.” I say, doing my best to hide my crying, “We need to go.”

“Where?” Sara asks.

“Still Drumheller, but…” I pause for a bit, “But we’re going to be walking until we find another car.”

“Where’s Joseph?” Jake asks.

“He’s… he’s hurt.” I say, “I don’t know if he’ll be ok.”

“Oh…” Jake says somberly. I hear Mark walk up behind me.

“Let’s get going…” He says, his eyes red from tears. I grab all that I can carry, taking one last look at Joseph before we start walking away.

“Mom.” Jake tugs on my arm as we walk, “Mom!” I snap back into reality and look down at him.

“What’s up Jake?” I ask. I adjust my backpack and hold on to the strap of Hugo’s rifle on my back.

“My feet hurt, can you carry me.” He complains. I just sigh.

“Babe, I’m already carrying a lot of stuff, I don’t think I’m strong enough for that.”

“Aww.” He groans, “Can Mark carry me.”

“I wish I could, little man.” Mark says, “I’m not exactly able bodied here.”

“Can we rest soon then?”

“Yeah, we can rest in a few more minutes.” I say, looking forward. We’ve been walking all day. It’s been hours since the wreck. Thankfully, the people who came after us haven’t come back, maybe they think we’re all dead. Well… not all of us were so lucky as to walk away from the crash. Mark and I did the best we could to make him as comfortable as possible in his final moments. He didn’t deserve that fate. This is all my fault. If it was the same people I shot at that burned the house down, and came after us. Maybe if I just hid, or just gave them my stuff… maybe we’d be at the farm right now, all five of us. I think Sara can tell that I’m trying not to cry. She grabs my hand and holds it tightly.

“We’re going to make it, right mom?” She looks up at me.

“Yeah… yeah, we’re going to be ok.” I smile at her, wiping away the tears, “We’re going to make it to Drumheller, and we’ll be safe at the museum.” As we keep walking, I look up towards the sky. There’s lots of those giant fluffy clouds in the air, I’ve always liked those ones. They look so comforting, inviting. I wish I could lay down on one, even though I know I wouldn’t physically be able to do that. 

“How far away is Drumheller?” Jake asks.

“Pretty far.” I sigh, “It’ll take us a while to get there.”

“A couple of days at least.” Mark looks back, “But we’ll be alright.”

“That's a long time to walk!” Jake complains.

“I know, but maybe we’ll find a car we can take, that’ll make it a lot quicker.” I reassure him, patting his head.

“Maybe we can find a super fast car!”

“God, you have no idea how much I’d love a super fast car.” I do my best to smile, but it quickly fades away, “That could be a good spot to rest.” I point at a little spot under a lone tree. It’ll give us a bit of shade while we rest our feet for a moment. I’m sure Jake and Sara will want to eat something too. It’ll be like a picnic.

I step outside onto the porch, Joseph is keeping watch. I lean against the railing, and he looks over at me, smiling.

“Hey Mark!” He says warmly.

“Everything good out here?” I ask, scratching my cheek. He puts the rifle down, leaning it against the wall. Then sighs as he leans against the railing beside me.

“Yeah, nothing out of the ordinary, perfectly boring as usual.”

“Well, being bored is a luxury.” I chuckle, “Because if you’re bored, it means nothing is trying to kill you.”

“I suppose you’re spot on there.” He smiles at me again, “So… I’ve been itching to ask, what’s it like not having an arm?”

“Well… I won’t lie, I hate it.” I sigh, “Everything I used to be able to do with zero trouble, can now be really difficult.”

“Yeah, I guess I should’ve known that one.” He chuckles softly, “Is it true that you can still feel your arm? Or is that a tall tale people made up?”

“It isn’t as bad now as it was when I first lost it, but yeah, I still feel it sometimes.” I look up into the sky, “Sometimes I still forget that it’s gone, I’ll try to reach out to grab something, but obviously there’s nothing there.” Joseph puts his hand on the railing right beside me.

“Am I holding your hand?” He asks shyly.

“I moved it so now you are.” I smile at him, blushing.

“I think I’m gaslighting myself into feeling it.” He laughs, closing his eyes. I rotate my both, and put my real hand on his. He opens his eyes, looking down at our hands, then up at me. I pull my hand away, rotating back around.

“Sorry…” I nervously say. He scooches closer to me, then I feel him softly kiss my cheek.

“I didn’t mind.” He whispers in my ear, sending chills down my spine. I smile softly as I look back over at him. I grab his hand again.

“Should we?” I ask quietly.

“Do you want to?”

“A little but… what would Elsie think?” He stands on his tiptoes, kissing me.

“She doesn’t need to know.” He smiles at me as he pulls out from the kiss, “Come on, let's go somewhere a little more private.” He squeezes my hand tightly as he leads me away.

We can’t Change what Was

“FUCK!” I shout, hitting the dash. Another car that doesn’t have a key inside. I have no idea how to hotwire a car, so there’s no chance I could do that. I wish I had asked Joseph to show me. I get out of the car, slamming the door shut in anger. I walk back inside of the Petro Canada we found. Mark looks over at me.

“Ok, I think I have an idea for how we could get to Drumheller.” He says as I walk over to him, “So, we’re here, Wetaskiwin, if we go east until we hit highway 56, then it’ll be a straight shot south to Drumheller.”

“That sounds like a solid plan to me.” I ask, looking up at him, “I wasn’t able to find a car with a key inside of it.” I sigh.

“There’s got to be one somewhere here right, people for some reason do that.”

“I guess… just kind of disheartening to miss so many times in a row.” I put my head down on the counter.

“We’ll find something.” He puts his hand on my back.

“This is just so fucking stressful.” I try not to cry, “There’s so much weight on me, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep up with it. I know I have to, though, I’m not going to give up.”

“I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.” He reassures me, “I’ll do my best to take some of that weight off of your shoulders for you.” I look up at him, hugging him.

“Thank you Mark.” I close my eyes, “I’m really glad you’re here with me for this.”

“I’m glad I’m here too.” I look over at the kids, they’re sitting on the floor, snacking on some of the food that we found here. It isn’t exactly gourmet, but it’s better than starving. Also I doubt they’re complaining about eating candy. I walk over to them, sitting on the floor.

“How’re you two holding up?” I ask.

“I’m tired.” Jake looks up at me, “Walking that much hurts.”

“Hopefully we’ll find a car soon.” I put my hand on his leg, “How are you Sara?”

“I guess the same, tired, I want to sleep forever.”

“God, I wish I could too.” I chuckle. I don’t think I’ve had a full night's sleep since everything fell.

“I miss Joseph.” Jake says, laying his head against my arm.

“I miss him too, he was a good person.” I put my hand on his shoulder and pull him in tightly.

“Were him and Uncle Mark dating?” He asks, I laugh and look down at him.

“No, they weren’t.”

“I saw them kiss though, I thought you only do that if you’re dating someone.”

“WHAT!?” I shout, looking over at Mark, he just tries to hide his face, “EXCUSE ME!?”

“Ok we weren’t dating but-”

“You better not have done something that I won’t say because of the young ears beside me.” I laugh, though I can’t tell if I’m pissed or not.

“We may or may not have done that.” He sheepishly says.

“I can’t believe you.” I dramatically say, “I specifically told him not to go for you, he betrayed my trust.”

“If it makes you feel any better, he was a horrible kisser.” Mark laughs.

“That does help slightly.” I say, “But I’m still angry at you.”

“I think I’ll be alright knowing that.” Mark says in a defiant voice. I can’t believe him. Joseph, you fucking prick. If he were here right now I’d beat the shit out of him. HE HAD SEX WITH MY BROTHER! I’ll never be able to look at Mark the same way again.

The wind howls outside the car as Cass and I drive down the road. The snow is pretty deep in some areas, but this road isn’t as deep. There’s some tire tracks too, so I guess that means people have used it recently. Hopefully we don’t run into them, or if we do, hopefully they’re nice enough not to kill us where we stand. In an ideal scenario, we’ll never find out which one they are. I bounce my knee anxiously.

“So… what are we looking for exactly?” I ask, looking out the window.

“Anywhere relatively warm, or anywhere that could have supplies for us.”

“You think there’s anything like that out here anymore?”

“There is.” Cass sighs, then looks over at me, “There’s gotta be, right?”

“Well, I mean nowhere is going to be warm, not now at least.” I smile, “But being out of the wind would be a godsend.”

“Fuck I hate the wind.” She laughs, I do too. The best thing of the winter is that most of the biters aren’t out and about anymore. There’s the odd one you see outside, or in buildings, but for the most part biters aren’t much of a threat for now. At least until they thaw. I look over at the speedometer, we’re going like 75 km/hour. 

“Hey… don’t you think we should slow down a little?” I ask.

“We’re running low on gas, I want to try and get somewhere before we run out.” She responds.

“But doesn’t going faster use more gas?” I chuckle a little, “So wouldn’t it make more sense to go slower, from both a fuel consumption and a safety perspective?”

“I know what I’m doing!” She snaps, looking over at me, “Just-”

“WATCH OUT!” I shout. A biter is stumbling across the road. Cass tries to avoid it, but the car doesn’t turn. We strike it with a huge bang, and slide sideways.

“FUCK!” Cass gasps, “HOLD ON!” The car starts to roll, I hit the door, then the center console, then my head hits the glass, and everything just goes black.

I open the door of another car. It’s an older Honda Civic. Isn’t exactly the flashiest car, but if it has the keys and fuel, it’ll get us to where we need to go. I look back at Mark, then kids are standing right beside him.

“Keep an eye out please, I’m going to try and find a key.” I say. Mark nods as I climb inside. I look on the dash, the glovebox, and the center console, but there’s nothing. I grunt and kick my foot down in frustration. The sunvisor. I need to check the sunvisor. I pull down the driver's side one, but nothing. Then, I reach out for the passenger side sun visor, closing my eyes.

“Please, pleasepleaseplease.” I whisper to myself, then pull down. I hear it, that jingle of a keyring. My heart skips a beat, but I’ve already been tricked a couple of times. Holding my breath, I open my eyes. Lo and behold, the keys are sitting there, right on the seat. A huge smile spreads across my face, and I laugh to myself as I grab them. I put the key into the ignition, silently praying as I turn it. To my surprise and astonishment, the car actually starts!

“YES!” I shout, “THAT’S WHAT I’M FUCKING TALKING ABOUT!” I look over at Mark, him and the kids are jumping around and dancing. I turn the car off and open the door.

“You did it Elsie!” Mark shouts, pulling me into a hug.

“It was a group effort.” I laugh, “I would’ve given up hours ago if it weren’t for you guys.”

“Does it have gas?” He asks.

“The tank was half full, and it’s a Civic so the tanks aren’t big, but they’re pretty fuel efficient.”

“That’ll be alright, we can siphon some from other cars.”

“Can I help siphon?” Jake asks, looking up at Mark.

“Of course, little man.” Mark rubs Jake’s head, “We’ll need all the help we can get.”

“But remember Jake, this isn't a game.” I crouch down to look at him, “We need to be careful, otherwise we might get hurt.”

“I know…” He groans, “But I want to help you guys!”

“I know Jake, but my main priority is keeping you two safe.” I say.

“Not me!?” Mark says, pretending to be offended.

“You’re a grown ass man, you can handle yourself I think.” I tease.

“I’ll have you know I am physically disabled, and I find your comment very rude.”

“Yeah? Well I’d like to see you do something about it!” I playfully put my hands on my hips.

“You best sleep with one eye open, ‘cause I’m comin’ for ya!”

“Alright, enough fooling around.” I laugh, “Let's get our shit in the car and get some road behind us.”

“Sounds like a solid plan to me, let’s do it.” I walk around the side of the car and open the trunk. Whoever owned this car didn’t clean their car very well. The trunk is an absolute disaster. Guess we’d better get to tossing out the shit we don’t need.

Still Here…

I pull us into one of those tiny towns you drive through on road trips. The kind that has a few houses then a gas station and one of four different fast food restaurants. A&W, Tim’s, Subway, or Dairy Queen. It’s always one of those. In this case, it’s a Subway. I park the car at the gas station. The tank is getting dangerously low, it’s under a quarter left. Hopefully this gas station has some jerry cans we can take, then hopefully some of the cars in the town haven’t been completely drained of fuel. Knowing our luck, there won’t be anything like that, then we’ll be back to walking, and that’s the last thing I want right now. Looking inside, there doesn’t seem to be too much going on in there. I think I see a monster or two, but that’s really it. I sigh as I look forward again, placing my head on the steering wheel.

“You alright?” Mark asks with a concerned tone in his voice.

“Yeah just… thinking.”

“About what?”

“Everything.” I sniffle, “All the shit that we’ve been through.”

“Once we get to Drumheller, we’ll be a lot safer, and we’ll all be able to safely grieve.” Mark smiles at me, “I know it isn’t easy, and I’m not sure it ever will be easy, but we’re still here. We’re still fighting.”

“I know… just… I need a moment, then I’ll head in and clear it out.”

“Don’t you think you need to rest for a bit?”

“I want to, but I can’t.” I move my hair behind my ear, “Every moment I’m not doing something, I have an unending sense of dread.”

“Just… let me drive tomorrow, ok?” He puts his hand on my arm.

“You sure you’re able to considering…”

“I can drive just fine with one arm.” He chuckles, “I’ll have you know I did my fair share of drive when it was just Cass and I.”

“You can drive tomorrow then.” I smile.

“Thank you.” I grab my hammer off the dash, then look back at the kids.

“I’ll be back soon you two, don’t annoy him too much.” I chuckle.

“We won’t!” Jake says happily.

“Don’t take too long.” Sara looks up at me.

“I won’t don’t worry.” I smile at her, “Love you all.” I open the door and step outside. The breeze flows through my hair as I walk towards the store.

There’s something peaceful about the night out here. Even with the danger around every corner, I like just stopping to listen. I sit outside of the gas station, listening to the crickets. The concrete is a little cold on my ass, but at the same time, it kind of feels nice. I smile to myself a bit as I pull a cigarette out and light the tip. I go to put it in my mouth, but stop. I put the cigarette out, and flick it away. I grip the pack tightly in my hand, contemplating, then place it on the ground beside me. I really should stop. It’s a gross habit, I know the kids don’t like it, Mark doesn’t either, so they would both be happy if I did quit. I hear the door open, it kind of scares me a little bit. I look up and see Mark walking out.

“Hey.” I say, smiling at him.

“What’re you doing out here?” He asks, “Why aren’t you inside?”

“I don’t know… I like it out here.” Mark sits down beside me, and sees the pack of cigarettes.

“Why do you have them on the ground?” He asks.

“I’m thinking about quitting.” I say.

“That’s great!” Mark says happily, “I’m proud of you for being willing to try.”

“Yeah… but I’m worried that it’ll be really hard, and it might affect how I act, things like that.”

“You have me, Jake and Sara, the three of us will help you get through it.” He puts his hand on my shoulder, “I know you can do it Elsie, you’re strong.”

“Thank you.” I can feel myself starting to cry, “I don’t think I’d be here without you.”

“What do you mean…?”

“I don’t think I would… you know… but…” I sniffle, “...I don’t think I’d still be me.” Mark pulls me into a hug, “I’m scared of what the world will turn me into, of what it’ll turn my kids into.”

“And you have every right to be scared of that.” Mark holds me tightly, I close my eyes, trying not to get any tears on him, “I’m terrified of what might happen to us, mentally, physically, emotionally.”

“Is it bad that we’re scared?”

“No, I don’t think so.” He pulls out from the hug, smiling at me, “I think it makes us human.”

“I guess…” I say, looking up at the moon, “I hate him for what he did but… I miss Simon.”

“I was never his biggest fan but… I want everyone to stay alive.” Mark says, “Even though I might not see eye to eye with people, I don’t want anyone to die.”

“I’m sorry about Joseph.” I put a hand on his knee, “You two deserved each other, you were made for each other.”

“You think so?” He chuckles warmly.

“I do.” I smile, “I think you complemented each other's personalities perfectly.”

“Maybe in another life.” Mark sighs, looking down at the ground.

“I feel like that’s something we’ll be saying a lot more.”

“I fear you might be right…” He looks over at me, “But we’ll make things work.”

“We will, together.”

“I can take over for you if you’d like.” He says, “You need sleep, I don’t remember the last time I saw you sleep.”

“I’m fine.”

“No Elsie.” He says sternly, “Go sleep, please.” I sigh, then stand up.

“Alright, but come get me if you need something.”

“I will.” He stands up too, “Goodnight, Elsie.”

“Goodnight, see you in the morning.”

Mark and I sit out on the porch. It’s not as cold today, but the snow is still blowing through the air. I have Hugo’s rifle sitting on my lap.

“Mark?” I say.

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you to promise something for me?”

“What is it?” He looks over at me, his eyebrows raised.

“We’re living through an uncertain time, and… you don’t always know if you’ll get tomorrow.” I sigh and look over at him, “I just want to ask you if… if anything were to happen to me… I want you and Joseph to take the kids. Take them far away from here… somewhere safe.”

“Elsie…?” He puts his hand on mine, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just… I want to be sure that they’d be safe with you guys.”

“Of course.” He smiles at me, “I’d protect them with my life if I needed to.”

“Thank you.” I smile back.

“I know Joseph would gladly take care of them too.” Mark chuckles softly, “I know he doesn’t always show it, but he really cares for them, but I can tell.”

“I can kind of see it too, he’s kind of like a sort of older brother to them.” I say.

“Yeah… yeah, I can see it.” He laughs.

“What do you think mom and dad would say if they were here?” I ask. Mark ponders for a bit.

“I think… I think they’d be proud of us.” He finally says, “They’d be proud of all we’ve overcome.”

“I hope they would be proud of us, but… I don’t think they’d like the things we’ve had to do.” I chuckle, “I don’t think they’d approve of us killing people.”

“I guess, but I think they’d understand that it was what needed to happen, it was to protect ourselves and the people we care about.” I look out over the snow covered horizon, the sun reflecting off it at the perfect angle to nearly blind me. I look back on what we had before, I feel sad remembering the faces of those long passed. But the faces I still have, they keep me going. Jake, Sara, Mark, Joseph, they all have been keeping me fighting, giving me strength.

“I hope that nothing happens to me, but I’m happier knowing that you’ll protect them.”

“I’m glad to help Elsie.” He smiles at me, I smile back. I couldn’t have asked for a better younger brother, even if he does get on my nerves sometimes.

…Even Though They Aren’t

I pull open the cover of a gas tank on the side of a blue coupe, then feed a hose through. Crouching down, opening the lid of the jerry can, I suck the gas out of the hose. Thankfully this time I take it out of my mouth just in time, and none gets in. The jerry can slowly fills up, and I sigh. I take the hose out as the fuel reaches the top, and screw the cap back on. I hear the groans of a monster behind me. Quickly I stand back up, pulling the hammer off my belt. I swing the hammer down as it gets closer to me. I hear a snap as the head makes contact with the monster’s skull. The handle of the hammer has split in two, and it was more or less unaffected by the blow. Before I can properly react, the monster lunges at me. I quickly raise my arms up to keep it away, but it knocks me over. I groan in pain as my back hits the concrete below me. I push with all my might, trying to keep its mouth away from me. I can feel its rotting skin move as I push. Looking to my right, I can see a half of the hammer. It isn’t the head, but that’s probably a good thing. I reach out for it, but it’s just barely out of reach. I have to bring my arm back to keep it away. I try to shift over slightly to get as close as I can. I reach once again, and this time, I’m able to grab it. I grip it tightly and drive it into the side of the monster’s skull. It stops moving, and I grunt, pushing it off of me.

“God damn…” I say to myself, trying to catch my breath. That was too close. I need a new weapon now too, fuck. That hammer served Simon and I well, may it rest in peace. The house I’m standing outside of has a garage, there’s got to be something in there I can use. Garages usually have tools and whatnot, right? I walk around to the side of the garage, and peer through the window. It doesn’t seem like there’s any monsters or people in there, and I think I see a few tools too. I grab the doorknob, and thankfully it’s unlocked! I push it open slightly, and poke my head in. I whistle loudly to try and draw out anything that might be hiding. But nothing comes out. I walk inside, and walk over to the table that has tools on it. There’s some hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, standard things you’d expect to find in a garage. But then, something catches my eye. I grab what appears to be a sheathed machete. I grab it, pull it out, and sure enough, that's exactly what it is, in amazing condition too!

“Well HELLO, beautiful!” I say excitedly. I should be able to figure out a way to tie the sheathe to my belt, and always have it on me, so I can always be prepared. Now I’m glad that the hammer broke, because I never would’ve found this otherwise. I smile to myself as I hold it, inspecting every detail on it. I’m even able to see my reflection in the blade. God, I look like shit, I wish I could have a shower. I walk back outside and grab the jerry can. I guess I should get back to the gas station so we can get this show on the road.

As we go down the road, I tap my fingers on the steering wheel. I don’t know what I’m tapping to, it helps with the boredom I guess. The trip since we left the gas station has been fairly uneventful. We’ve had to drive through a bunch of wrecked cars, but that was really it. We stopped just outside Camrose last night, and now we’re on highway 56, so now we’ll get to Drumheller before we know it! We probably could have searched the town for a bit, but it’s fairly big, and we don’t know how many monsters are inside. It seemed like the safest option to just stick to the highway and go through. It feels nice knowing that there’s a settlement out there. People working together to build something. To build a safe place to live. It’s really inspiring. Plus, Jake always liked dinosaurs, and he always wanted to see fossils at a museum. I wonder if they still do tours of the museum. I just hope it lasts. 

“How much longeerr?” Jake groans. I chuckle.

“Still a while, bud.” I say, “A few more days at least.” I look over at Mark, he’s just staring out the window swaying his head side to side to a song in his head. I smile and look forward again. As we come over a hill, I can see something in the distance. I slowly stop the car and put it in park.

“The hell…?” I quietly say to myself. Mark snaps back to reality and looks over at me.

“What?” He asks.

“Look at that.” I point forward.

“Shit…” He says. We both get out of the car and walk forward a bit.

“Is that… a bunch of monsters!?” I say in utter disbelief. There’s got to be thousands.

“I… think…?” Mark puts his hand on his forehead.

“Have you ever seen them do anything like that?” I ask.

“Cass and I saw a small group of them, but it was maybe twenty or thirty at most, not that many!” They seem to be walking east. They all sway life water, one moves over, then another, then another, causing a wave. They’re loud too, monsters usually aren’t too loud on their own, but multiply it by at least a couple hundred, if not a couple thousand, and it’s almost deafening, even at this distance. I can also smell them from here too, and it is not a pleasant one whatsoever.

“Fuck, what do we do!?” I look over at him, “Do you think we can go around them?”

“Let’s check the map.” He says, and we walk back to the car.

“What’s going on?” Sara asks.

“There’s… a horde of monsters.” I say, “We’re going to see if there’s a way around them all.” Sara gets out of the car as Mark grabs the map, Jake follows us out too.

“Oh my god…” Sara says as she looks out over the ocean of monsters. Mark hands me the map and I open it, placing it down on the hood.

“Ok, so we’re about here…” I point to our approximate location, “...the only path forward would require us to backtrack a bit.”

“Do we have the gas for that?”

“Probably not..” I scratch my chin, “I mean maybe we could scavenge something back in Camrose, but we have no idea what’s there.”

“That could also add a day or two to the trip.” Mark sighs, “So we either backtrack and go around, or camp here and hope they’re all passed in the morning.”

“Fuck… I don’t know…” I groan, “Both options aren’t ideal…”

“Should we ask the kids?” Mark asks, “I think you should let them be a little more involved in the decision making.”

“Maybe…” I look over at them, Jake is sitting in the road, picking up rocks, and Sara is just looking at the monsters, “Let’s try it.” We walk up to them.

“Are we going to start driving again soon?” Jake looks up at us, smiling.

“Maybe, I want to see what you two think.” I say, “Sara, come over here for a second.” She walks over.

“What’s going on?” She asks.

“So we have two options for what we could do.” I explain, “We can either camp here for a bit, and hope the monsters pass overnight. Or, we backtrack a bit, going down a different highway for a bit, before getting back onto highway 56.”

“Can we stay here?” Jake stands up, “I don’t want to drive anymore.”

“Sara?”

“I’d be alright with staying here.” She says.

“Alright, that’s what we’ll do then.” I smile.

“What will we do if the monsters aren’t gone in the morning?” Jake asks.

“Well, we’ll figure that out in the morning.” I run my fingers through his hair as he smiles at me, “Alright, let’s get set up then!” I say, walking back to the car. Mark follows me closely.

“Good job Elsie.” He bumps me with his side.

“Thanks Mark.” I wrap my arm around him and hug him, “I think that was the right thing to do.” I open the trunk of the car, and rummage through it to find our water bottles.

Grief

I wake up, my neck in absolute agony in the driver’s seat of the car. Mark is sitting on the hood of the car. Looking to the left, I can see the sun rising. I open the car door and step out. Mark looks back at me, wiping his eyes quickly.

“Hey.” He says nervously.

“Are you alright?” I ask, walking up to him.

“Yeah…” He pauses for a bit, “No.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” I sit beside him on the hood of the car, looking over the horizon together. He sniffles as he wipes more tears from his eyes.

“I know that I’ve been… trying to put on a brave face for you and the kids, but…” He pauses, “It’s hard to try to act like everything is alright.”

“I know Mark.” I try to comfort him, “I’ve been trying to be strong for the kids, but it hurts.” Mark looks over at me.

“I… is there anything more we could’ve done for Joseph…?” He asks me, pain in his eyes, then looks forward again “I mean… maybe there’s something we could’ve done to help him… maybe…”

“I don’t think there was…” I pause for a bit, Mark rests his head on my shoulder, “I… you saw the condition he was in.”

“Yeah…”

“If I was in his position… I know I’d want the same thing.” I say somberly, “Even if we brought him with us, none of us know the first thing to do to fix his legs.”

“It’s just…” He opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out for a while, “I think I loved him.” I do my best to fight off the tears, but it doesn’t work.

“We all loved him.” I wrap my arm around him, pulling him in as close as possible, “There’s so many things that I wish I did differently, because maybe, just maybe, he could be sitting here with us.” I close my eyes.

“I don’t want you to blame yourself for this.” Mark reassures me, “I don’t think it’s your fault.”

“I’ve been going back and forth from blaming myself to not.” I sigh, “I don’t think that feeling will be going away anything soon.”

“I’ll never forget him.”

“I’ll never forget everyone we’ve lost.” I open my eyes back up, “Mom, dad, Simon, Hugo, Cass, all of them.”

“I’m scared, Elsie.” Mark’s voice trembles.

“I am too.” I say, “But despite that, I won’t stop fighting.”

“Neither will I.” He looks up at me.

“Good.” I smile. The faint sound of groans are quieter now than it was last evening. The monsters seem to be leaving, so hopefully the road will be clear, and we can keep driving. We will get to Drumheller, for Joseph.

We drive though where all the monsters were marching. There’s trampled bodies strewn all across the road,  some trying to crawl, the rest not moving. I do my best to avoid them, but there’s so many that it’s damn near impossible. I adjust the rear view mirror to look at the kids. They’re both just looking out their respective windows, silent.

“So, what do you guys hope they have in Drumheller?” I ask, trying to make conversation.

“I hope they still have the dinosaur bones!” Jake says excitedly.

“I don’t know… I just want to get there.” Sara says in a monotone voice.

“Well, I for one hope that they have some showers.” Mark says.

“Fuck, you have no idea how much I need a shower.” I laugh, “I just hope that the people there are nice.” I feel more and more anxious as we get closer to Drumheller. I mean, what if that broadcast is being used to draw people in so that they can rob them… or worse. But I don’t know what else we could possibly do. We’re on our last leg here, so we need to try. I’m terrified about what could possibly happen to us, but being out here, I doubt we can last much longer. 

“Elsie?” Mark says, noticing I zoned out, “You alright?”

“Uh… yeah, yeah, just thinking.” I grip the steering wheel tighter.

“About anything in particular?”

“Not really, mainly just about what could happen, playing through different scenarios in my head, shit like that.” My breath shakes as I exhale.

“We’re going to be alright, Elsie.” He assures me, “All of us.”

“Yeah mom!” Jake shouts, I can’t help but smile.

“We will be.” I say.

I sit on the trunk of the car as mom, Jake and Uncle Mark eat together at the front. They want me to eat with them, but… I just like being alone. I know the first time that I tried taking out a monster on my own, it was hard for me, and Joseph had to come help me, but I know that it’s something that I need to learn how to do, even if mom doesn’t want to accept that. She wants me to still be her little girl, but if I don’t grow up, either Jake or I are going to die. Jake doesn’t really understand the dangers of the world, he wants it to be as it was before, but it will never be like that ever again. Even if Drumheller is even the smallest bit like the old world, it still won’t be it. I pull out the knife that’s hidden in my jacket, inspecting the blade. A monster is stumbling down the road towards us. I look back, mom doesn’t see it, so I decide to take matters into my own hands. It makes eye contact with me as I hop down, readying myself. It’s a lot taller than me, so I need to try and be careful. The monster gets closer and closer, snarling as it approaches, its arms stretched out at me. I reach up as high as possible, my hand is barely long enough to reach its head. I struggle to get the knife in, the monster growls as it wrestles with me. Finally, the blade pierces its skull, blood pours out and it falls to the ground, bringing me down with it. I cry out in pain as I hit the ground.

“SARA!” I hear mom shout. I roll off of it and sit up, shaking the blood off my arm.

“I’m alright.” I explain.

“What happened!?” She frantically asks, “Are you hurt!?” 

“I saw a monster, so I took care of it.” I say.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous it is!?” Mom shouts.

“I do, and that’s why I need to learn how to protect myself.” I stand up after she finishes inspecting my entire body for bites, “I know you don’t want me to, but it needs to happen.”

“You’re ten! Probably eleven by now, you’re too young for that amount of responsibility.”

“Mom, I need to learn.”

“Just… god damn it.” Mom puts her hands on her forehead.

“Elsie.” Uncle Mark says. Mom turns around, and he whispers something in her ear.

“Yeah… maybe…” She closes her eyes for a bit, sighing, then crouching down to be on eye level with me “Sara, I know that you want to protect you and Jake, but it isn’t safe to teach you out here.”

“Then when can I learn?” I ask.

“When we get to Drumheller, I’ll start giving you some lessons.” She puts her hands on my shoulder, “Would that work for you?” I pause for a bit, then nod.

“Ok… you promise?” She pulls me into a hug.

“I promise.”

“Thank you, mom.”

“Of course, Sara.” I can tell she’s trying not to cry, “I just want you to stay the little girl that you were before.”

“I know but… we both know that I need to grow up.” Mom nods her head.

“I’m sorry for not letting you sooner.” She says softly.

“It isn’t your fault, I know you just want to protect us.” I sigh heavily, “But if you want to protect me, you need to let me protect myself.”

“I know… I know…” She hugs me as tight as she can, “I love you, Sara, so, so much.”

“I love you too mom.” I close my eyes, hugging her tightly.

Badlands

Mark pulls the car up into an area on the shoulder of the road. I think it was a service stop, or whatever the proper term for it would be. There's some board with information, and a sign that fills me up with joy. It has a t-rex on it, and reads “Welcome to Drumheller”.

“Holy shit…” I mutter to myself.

“We made it.” Mark laughs.

“WE FUCKING DID IT!” I shout excitedly. Mark pulls me into a hug.

“We’re in Drumheller?” Jake asks.

“Well, right outside it but, yeah, we made it.” I look back, smiling at them.

“I think we should stash the car here, and walk the rest of the way to the museum.” Mark says, looking over at me, “I know it’s a bit of a long walk, but the car can be our backup plan, just in case this place isn’t what it seems, or if something bad happens.”

“That’s probably smart, you never know if we’ll need to make a quick getaway or not.” I say, still smiling widely.

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Mark smiles at me. He takes the key out of the ignition, and hides it under the driver’s seat. Then the four of us get out of the car, and walk to the trunk. I lift it open, and pass some bags to Mark. I throw both the rifles over my shoulder and onto my back, then tie my machete to my belt. Lastly, I grab the last bag, and throw it over my shoulder too. It’s all heavy as shit, but the kids probably can’t carry the bag, and I’m sure as shit not giving them loaded rifles.

“You want me to take that bag?” Mark asks, stretching his hand out.

“No… no… I got it.” I say.

“You sure?” He tilts his head, “I can carry it, the bags I’m carrying now aren’t that heavy, I’ll manage.”

“Alright, thank you.” I say graciously. As I pass the bag over, the literal weight off my shoulders feels great. I place my hand on the handle of the machete.

“You’re welcome, Elsie.” He smiles at me.

“Can we go now?” Jake groans.

“Alright Jake.” I look down at him, “Let’s get going.” We start our journey towards the museum, and hopefully towards our safety.

“I’m worried about Elsie.” I say, laying my head on Joseph’s shoulder. He puts his hand on my shoulder.

“I know Mark.” He says softly, “You want to do right by her, it’s cute.” I chuckle, he just smiles at me.

“Oh fuck you.” I smile at him, “But… in all seriousness, I’m scared that she might lose herself in this world. All the horrors she’s seen, all she’s lost, I’m kind of surprised she hasn’t lost herself already.”

“From what I seen of her, she’s proper strong, not just physically, but emotionally too.” Joseph sighs, “I met her the same day she lost a friend, and… I could tell she struggled, that she blamed herself for it. But I could see that the fire in her eye never went out, she’s determined to fight until the bitter end for the kids.”

“Yeah, she was always stubborn like that.” I laugh.

“I want to be as strong as she is one day.” Joseph stares out over the landscape.

“Me too…” I sigh. I’m going to do everything within my power to help Elsie through this. She wasn’t built for a world like this one. I don’t think any of us really are. I wonder what we’d all be doing right now if the world didn’t go to shit. Well, I know that I wouldn’t be missing an arm, so there’d be that. But other than that, it’s really anyone’s guess.

“*grzt* M-Mark!?” Elsie says over the walkie. I quickly shoot up and grab it.

“Elsie!?” I say frantically, “Are you alright!?”

“*grzt* Ngh… not really…” She says, I look over at Joseph, “*grzt* I… I don’t know when I’ll be back, but… I need help…”

“Ok… ok… we’ll keep an eye out for you, drive safe.” I pace back and forth.

“*grzt* Thank you… zee you zoon.” I sit down and put my head in my hand. God damn it… what happened!? Did someone attack her? Did she get bit? My mind races with all these possibilities, none of which are good.

I unsheath the machete, and drive it into the skull of a monster that stumbles towards me as we approach the museum.  I put my foot on its stomach and push it away, almost falling over, but I manage to stay upright. As we enter the parking lot, I look towards the building as I slide the blade back into the sheath. The building is surrounded by giant walls, topped with barbed wire, with a giant gate in the middle. My jaw drops as I see it. It’s the best thing I’ve seen since the world went to shit.

“Oh my god…” Mark says in utter disbelief. 

“Now that looks safe to me!” I say excitedly. The four of us walk down the road, towards the gate. As we slowly get closer, a gunshot rings out. The bullet hits the ground right in front of us, launching some asphalt up, hitting my chest. I quickly put the kids behind me as we all stop in our tracks. I look up at the top of the small hill overlooking the area. There’s a person up there aiming a rifle at us.

“Place all your weapons on the ground, raise your hands, and back up, someone will be out to greet you momentarily.” A voice booms over speakers on top of the wall. I look over at Mark, and we both have the same worried expression on our face. Reluctantly, I comply, placing my machete and the rifles down on the ground. Mark follows, placing a knife down.

“Put your hands up guys.” I say to the kids. They listen and we all take a few steps backwards. I look up towards the person on the lookout, and they say something over a walkie, but they’re too far to hear what they said. After the longest thirty seconds of my life, the front gate slowly opens, and out steps a man with a wheelbarrow. He looks like every Albertan guy ever, wearing a cowboy hat, plaid shirt, light blue jeans, and cowboy boots to really tie the whole outfit together, he even has what seems to be a revolver on his hip.

“What can I do ya for?” He asks as he approaches us.

“We… uh… we heard your broadcast on the radio, we heard there was a community here.” I nervously explain to him, his smile not leaving his face. 

“Well, y’all heard correctly.” He puts his hands on his hips, “We founded this place shortly after the fossils rose.”

“So… Can we stay?”

“Well, we have a borin’ screenin’ process that everyone needs to go through. Just to make sure y’all ain’t gonna go robbin’ us now.” He chuckles, “But, once that’s all said and done, I say there’s a good chance y’all will be accepted in.”

“God… Thank you.” I start crying, “It’s hell out there.”

“Don’t worry darlin’, you and the little ones here will be nice and safe here in The Tyrrell.” He turns around to the person up on the lookout, and waves his hand, they lower the rifle, “That there’s Ada, real sweetheart.”

“Can we have our weapons back?” Mark asks.

“Once you go through screenin’ yes, but for now, they gotta go in here for safe keepin’” He crouches down, picking the weapons up and placing them in the wheelbarrow, then he pulls out a notebook and pen, “So, what should I put the name under?”

“Elsie… Elsie Morris… please.”

“Alrighty…” He says as he writes in the notebook, “OH! Where are my manners!? My name is John.” He laughs at himself, “Now, if you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to where you need to go.” He motions for us to follow him as he picks up the wheelbarrow and pushes it back towards the gate.

“Come on.” I softly say to the kids as I lead them. As we walk through the gates, there’s lots of people outside, there’s got to be even more inside.

“I’m honoured to say, welcome to The Tyrrell!” John says triumphantly as we walk in through the front door.

[sensitive-trait]

On a fine summer afternoon the Border sisters were playing astronauts and aliens in their treehouse. Despite the heat they had been out there for hours fueled by their imaginations.“Another alien is aboard the ship! Initiate intruder protocols!” Alice yelled, pressing her imaginary comms button.

“It’s okay, that's just my brother.” Charlotte's casual reply brought the game to a screeching halt. 

“Your brother?” Alice repeated, wondering if Mum and Dad had neglected to introduce her to him. “Yeah. If we’re in space, then we’re near Sixam and  probably have a bunch of siblings out there.” Charlotte rationalized. She’d been thinking about this quite a lot lately. Wondering what the rest of her family must be like. 

Alice didn’t know what to say. She knew Charlotte was probably right. Luckily, their father ended the awkwardness by calling them for dinner.

The family ate outdoors, enjoying the summer weather. Since it was such a lovely night, Charlotte proposed the girls spend the night in the treehouse. Their parents agreed, so long as they stayed together. 

Alice turned in early, eager to read under the covers, but Charlotte stayed up as late as she could. Peering through the telescope for a sign, with increasingly droopy eyes. Until sleep eventually won and she headed into the enclosure to join her sister. 

The next morning, the girls woke to another bright sunny day. But Charlotte was disappointed, “They didn’t come.” She whispered. 

“I’m glad,” Alice quipped, not meaning to sound harsh. “You might have a lot of siblings out there. But I only have you, so I don’t want you to go anywhere.” She remedied. 

Touched by her sister’s words, Charlotte gave her a hug. “No matter what, you’ll always be my favourite sister.” She promised, and then the two headed for breakfast. Bickering like nothing had ever happened.