#and how to calm panic attacks and hiding how we feel in order not to upset the people around us 🤷‍♀️

[subspacebibi]

Okay, real shit tho

Does anyobdy know what their doing????Cause I have no idea what I'm difng??Google doyouho w do the adult things???Interviews???Rezbonsibillytea??? How do I do the adult things that just would ap pear when I was beby???plaes my parnets didn't explnia adn wnto help????

[causenessus]

love notes

part 0.6. ROWDY TEENAGERS

"the pavement moves so quickly, flying high. i'll be there soon. i'll be next to you."

from new song by lowertown, left in sakai, osaka

CONTENT WARNINGS: one use of the phrase "attention whore" in a joke, one "what if i kms" type joke, mentions of hyperventilating/a panic attack, mommy/family issues, lots of comfort <3 we love found family!! but also if you don't feel comfortable reading it, that's ok!! it's not incredibly important to the plot, and i would recommend skipping everything after the tweets after the written part of this chapter :)

when the door chimes open and she hears two sets of laughter and the rain pouring outside before it quickly closes shut again, she’s quick to peek her head out. it’s eleven at night and there’s an hour until closing, which oftentimes meant her only customers were rowdy teenagers stumbling into the only place left open for a quick bite.

she smiles at the sight of the two pushing each other, trying to get the last laugh. they definitely act and look like rowdy teenagers, but they’re her rowdy teenagers. they’re breathing hard and water is dripping from their clothes like they’ve been running through the rain for hours. she grins as they take off their coats, hanging them on a nearby rack before sitting down at the counter. “you guys are sopping wet, what've you been up to?” she asks, tone light and teasing.

they share a look that only spells trouble before they burst out laughing again. “atsumu got the police called on us,” suna answers once they've calmed down while she places mugs in front of both of them.

osamu comes around the corner at the same time, drying his hands with a towel and a raised brow, “what did i just hear you say?”

a smile ghosts her own lips, the energy of the two boys in front of her rubbing off on her as she pours them tea. “thanks,” she hears suna whisper with a smile towards her before he joins atsumu in recounting their story to osamu.

“seriously? and you decided to come here? if someone comes in looking for either of you, i’m not hiding you guys,” osamu shakes his head in disappointment at the retelling. despite his words, they all know he’d cover for them if needed and they all laugh again before atsumu sneezes.

“do you guys want towels to dry off? one of you are bound to catch a cold,” she chides pushing off the counter when they both nod their heads eagerly.

she comes back and osamu is still scolding the two boys for something. she passes by him to hand a towel to atsumu first, who gives her a wink in thanks. and when suna’s hand brushes past her’s as he takes the towel, she has to hold in a breath to keep herself from reacting. her heart tightens as if she's overwhelmed, looking at him in the moment. his normally combed-out hair is damp and slightly flattened down, and the mischievous glint in his eyes is something that’s only increased throughout the years. 

perhaps it had come with the way they’d grown closer together, but she felt like she could read his emotions better, now. she could see the way adrenaline was still flowing through his veins, the way his pupils had dilated and the wide grin across his face. it was an urge deep inside of her that made her want to just come around the corner and dry his hair herself, to tell him she’s loved him since the first time she saw them. 

but instead, she only interrupts the boys’ conversations to ask if they were going to order anything, already knowing the answer. and with how frequently they came, she could already predict their orders. she disappears behind the counter into the kitchen leaving the boys to talk before she comes back out, carrying a plate and bowl.

in her absence, osamu has brought over two stools for them to sit on behind the counter. he’s sitting across from atsumu, resting the side of his cheek against his fist while he listens to his brother talk. she places the tonkatsu ramen in front of atsumu and the curry in front of suna before taking her own seat, absentmindedly picking at her fingers as she listens to the blond. she doesn’t realize what she’s doing until she feels a tap on her hand and turns back to the boy in front of her.

“you’re shaking,” he points out and she examines her own hands, watching the way they tremble.

“oh,” she says, dumbfounded, “that’s weird. i don’t know why they’re doing that.”

“i saw your twitter,” suna mentions. “something about a hike, right? and you’re working on top of that. have you eaten?”

the question surprises her, as she has to wrack her brain to even try and remember her own day, and when she last ate something. “i don’t think i’ve eaten something since this morning…”

suna raises a brow, checking his phone, “it’s almost 11:30 now.”

“yeah,” she presses her lips into a thin line at the realization. “i should probably make something for myself.” she moves to stand up before a hand on her shoulder keeps her where she is.

“stay here,” when she looks up at osamu in surprise, he only smiles, “i’ll make you something.”

she lets out a sigh of relief, “thank you, ‘samu, you’re the best.”

when he walks away, it goes silent for a moment before atsumu speaks up, shoving food into his mouth. “how come you went on a hike again?” he asks.

“i have a photography exhibit coming up soon,” she explains, playing with her apron to keep herself from picking at her skin. “it’s an assignment for one of my classes with akaashi and kenma, so we all decided to hike up a mountain to take some pictures for what we’re doing.”

“did they turn out good?” suna asks, and she tries not to fall apart under his gaze. she doesn’t want to ramble on too much about her own work, but he’s looking at her as if he’s genuinely interested in what she’s talking about, and it makes her feel a little better.

“yeah,” she says with a small smile towards him. “i posted some pictures of the flower field on my twitter, but i’m not using any of those. i have a specific theme i’m going for and we set a swing on fire for it. that one turned out pretty cool, and i actually got another picture i’m planning to use, too, but i think i’ll leave that one untitled.”

“fire?” he echoes with a perplexed look on his face.

she laughs, “we had a fire extinguisher handy and i think we had permission to do it…i kind of left that up to kenma. but i’ll show it to you later. i'm gonna mess around with the saturation before i dodge and burn it.”

he nods, “does that mean you're go back to the darkroom again? can i join you?”

she can’t help the way her lips curve into a bigger smile at the question, “yeah, i’ll be in there again but in case you come to my exhibit, i want the photos to be a surprise. do you think you'll come?”

he doesn't have the chance to respond before a plate is placed in front of her and her face lights up. it’s the same kind of curry as suna’s, and it’s one of her favorites. “thank you, osamu!” she looks up at him and he only chuckles.

“don’t mention it. it's the least i can do for my favorite employee,” he says, sitting back down while she turns back to her plate in time to see suna stealing a bite from it.

“hey! you have your own. it's the same thing,” she scolds, fighting off his spoon with her own.

he hums in response with a small smile on his face, “no, yours is better.”

she takes a bite of her own curry as she responds, “well duh, osamu’s the professional here.”

“no, i mean the one you made for me is better,” he clarifies and she freezes, her face immediately warming.

“wow. i’m right here, suna,” osamu scoffs, but shrugs playfully when she sends him an apologetic look.

“well i have credibility as a fellow chef, and i think your curry is the best i’ve ever had, ‘samu,” she defends.

“oh please, you don’t have to appease me. everyone has their own opinion, that’s just the way food is,” osamu responds, but gives her a smile in thanks for the compliment.

“you probably just think his food is good because he makes it with love,” atsumu chimes in, looking towards her while still eating his ramen, “but for me, he probably spits in my food. i like your food too, y/n. ‘cause you actually care about me and give me discounts.”

she rolls her eyes at his words before suna draws her attention back to him, “when’s your exhibit?”

“it’s exactly a week from now,” she sighs, rubbing her eyes. even the reminder of the event makes her feel exhausted, thinking about all the work she has to do between now and then. “honestly, it’s a problem. i don’t even have all my shots yet. i still need to find somewhere that i can set up the last one,” she explains further before stopping, “sorry, you didn’t ask about that.”

“that’s okay,” he reassures her, “i like hearing about the process. and i’ll be there—at your exhibit. just make sure you take care of yourself. you won’t be able to do it if you’re on the verge of passing out.” she’s sure her cheeks have flushed red at his words again, and she can only nod silently while he checks his phone, “‘tsumu, you ready to go? they’re gonna close soon, we shouldn’t hold them up.”

atsumu looks over from his conversation with osamu, blinking for a moment as he processes the question before he responds, “oh, yeah. i’m good.”

she stands up, meeting them by the register while osamu takes their trays away. she rings up atsumu first, who slips her a few notes with another wink that makes her roll her eyes. as suna is paying for his order, atsumu looks over his shoulder and gasps, “how come suna gets a bigger discount than me?”

she shrugs at his exclaim, “company policy.”

osamu comes up from behind her, following up, “i have a dedicated discount for you, ‘tsumu. you get 25% off.”

suna looks at his total, trying to do the math before he asks, “how much of a discount are you giving me?”

she turns red as osamu looks at the register screen and whistles, “damn, 75% off.”

the smile suna gives her only makes her more embarrassed and she’s quick to rip his receipt from the machine and give it to him, “see you later, rin.”

she slaps a hand over her mouth immediately as it slips out and he’s looking at her in surprise, “i’m so sorry, it just came out– i was looking at the receipt–”

“no, it’s fine. really. i don’t mind,” he cuts her off, taking the receipt and leaving a tip in her hand as well before the door chimes, signaling the exit of their last customers.

she’s left standing there with osamu at her side, her hand still reached out, the yen sitting in her open palm as she tries to process what just happened. she turns to osamu once she pulls herself together, “sorry, i can pay for suna’s food if that was too much of a discount, i promise i only do it for him.”

he laughs, shaking his head. “no, don’t worry about it. i know that’s what you always give him. akaashi eats here for free because we like him so much, so i really can’t fault you. i even put up with talking to my brother so that you guys could have a conversation. just make sure this all goes somewhere,” he pokes her forehead playfully, breaking her out of her trance as he walks past her. “now, let’s get out of here soon. do you wanna close back or front?”

she finally lets out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding in and feels the weight lift from her shoulder, “i'll close front!"

prev. | m.list | next

extras <3

SORRY FOR ANOTHER LONG CHAPTER </3 i didn't want to split it into two parts and drag it on

y/n and suna teamed up on atsumu to bully him back after his initial tweet which y/n didn't think much of. she just thought atsumu was being annoying again

hmmmmmmm i wonder who owns a convenience store and would get FLY spray painted onto it

UKAI APPEARANCE IN LOVE NOTES!!! DON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT LOCATIONS in this smau he's retired and he owns a convenience store in osaka now and it has a little garage door with "fly" painted onto it now <3

while y/n and suna were off in their own world talking <3 atsumu talked to osamu instead bc my boy likes to yap and needs someone listening at all times

and osamu put up with it for y/n <3

osamu and y/n also have a very close sibling bond if that wasn't obvious

i stole akaashi's "bye cruel world" post from pinterest. i wish i was that funny. but nothing bad happened to him, he was just stressed out and wanted to pass out

y/n was NOT supposed to have a panic attack but then i almost did writing this so it happened

"mei" is short for "meimei" which is chinese for little sister but it's a term my family uses because i'm the youngest daughter so i put it in here bc i was influenced by how cool @cr4yolaas' use of filipino culture in their smau mezzo forte is!!! (shameless plug <3)

also a really silly thing but i colorcode my phone contacts into people i don't like (yellow) and people i do like (brown) through their pfps (like everyone has a brown or yellow pfp, or an animal/their face if i really like them) so i just did the same thing here but made blue the pfp picture of anyone y/n doesn't like lol

y/n has met kuroo before from when he visited kenma previously and they hit it off super well so they're always asking kenma how the other is doing

to which he always replies "why can't you guys just ask each other? 😐"

their response?

"bc it's more fun to ask you!!! ❤"

taglist: @0moonii @iluvmang @bluebeanbee @wyrcan @oyasumeii @froyaoya @gyuijns @nbcvs @milkteade @eggyrocks @guitarstringed-scars @makkir0ll @mylahrins @cherrypieyourface @vivian-555 @sharkerino @r0seandth0rns @staileykout @lunavixia @thvvluvr @elliott0o0 @wolffmaiden @rockleeisbaeeee @toges-cough-syrup @cnnmairoll @ryeyeyer @hibernatinghamster @localgaytrainwreck @lemonocity @bows4life @sereniteav @madiexuberant @eclecticeggknightpsychic @phoenix-eclipses @sonicsolos @httpakkeiji @brkfclub @snail-squasher @starry-magicshop @kitnootkat @zzzlevislothzzz @iluv-ace @iluvaquaphor @stayyyyyyyyyyyy21 @applepi25 @twiishaa @girlkissersco @sleepystrwbrryy @encrypta

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

skeletons first thunderstorm on the surface, light's go out and S/O is completely chill obviously being used to this so they light up candles and comforts and reassure skeletons that they will be ok and it gets calming once you get used to it. S/O even goes outside to the front porch to watch the thunderstorm (s/o loves rain including thunderstorms)but will stay by skeletons side if they need them or if there too scared

Undertale Sans - He's a bit nervous but you staying perfectly calm is helping him so much to calm down. Obviously, it's nothing to worry about, so it's ok. He still jumps one or two times when there's thunder, but he gets over this quickly.

Undertale Papyrus - Well there's no Papyrus around and you're a bit worried about that, until you find him in his room, inside the closet. He's... He's not scared! The great Papyrus isn't scared of anything. But if you could just stay with him until it's over he would definitely be thankful lol.

Underswap Sans - He's actually very excited by the pretty lights in the sky and keeps asking you to go see them closer. Uh... You're not too sure how to explain the "pretty lights" can actually kill him if he finds them. Blue is fascinating though!

Underswap Papyrus - The first time the thunder hit, you hear his panicked steps in the corridor as he runs to hide behind you lol. Hell no, he hates this so much. He's clinging to you the whole time, the face buried in your neck and he refuses to let go. You can feel all of his bones shaking.

Underfell Sans - You two were talking when you saw his expression shift from perfectly fine to terrorized in three seconds. Red isn't listening to you anymore, frantically searching for a place to hide as fast as he can. He throws everything out of one of the kitchen cabinets and somehow manages to push his entire body inside. All you can hear from him while the thunderstorm continues is terrified whimpers every time there's a loud sound. Guess you didn't know yet about this scare of his uh. You're going to have a long talk after that.

Underfell Papyrus - He screams "CAVE IN!" and before you can say anything, he drags you by the waist inside the closest wardrobe and locks the both of you in here. You're so confused, but Edge insists you two stay in there until it's done. He only realizes afterward that there's actually no cave-in since he's literally not in a cave anymore. But you never know!

Horrortale Sans - He's agitated, and kinda wandering aimlessly in the house, not sure what to do with himself. Each time the thunder hits, you can hear him let go of a long cavernous growl at the emptiness, unsure if something is attacking him or not. Once he finds you, he's clingy and holding you protectively by the waist, growling at every noise. He doesn't like that.

Horrortale Papyrus - He's stress cooking. You said it's not dangerous and he believes you, but he still hates it a lot so he has to make something useful with his hands to not think too much about it. He baked six or seven cakes in two hours you think.

Swapfell Sans - He looks very cool from the outside but if you look closer, all of his claws are deeply buried inside the couch and he's so tense you're pretty sure he's going to explode if you touch him by surprise.

Swapfell Papyrus - He looks at you, then raises an eyebrow. "wow. if you're that hungry we can order something you know." "But it's not my stomach!" "oh, i'm not judging either if you didn't digest lunch." "It's not a fart either, Rus!" "sure thing, bud, we all know it's never a big old fart." You're a bit desperate, and not sure if he's messing with you or not. Rus head pats your pathetic little head.

Fellswap Gold Sans - He panics and starts to push everyone out of the house thinking a bomb just exploded inside the house. He's so confused when actually the house is... fine? Uh??? You try to explain him the concept of thunderstorms but he's really not listening to you. Because what if it was an invisible bomb and you're all dead but you actually don't know it? How do you know you're dead? Huh.

Fellswap Gold Papyrus - He's singing out loud in his bed, hiding under the blanket, trying to cover the noise outside. It's fine, he's fine, nothing is going to kill him. He screams every time the thunder hits nearby, then cry-sings to try to comfort himself. He can't wait for the storm to end.

[mallowsweetmiri]

hi lovely, don't know if you're taking requests but: reader is dating fred, she's sirius' daughter, she's asleep at grimmuald place the night of the battle at the ministry and when she wakes up lupin tells her sirius died and she becomes hysterical and has a panic attack fred trys to calm her down but she pushes him away and locks herself away. fluff ending?

sad wolfstar and angst/fluff with Fred? I love it.

Tw: character death, panic attack

—————————————————————————

It had been just a few weeks since you’d left Hogwarts. Considering you were an unregistered animagus, the daughter of convicted murderer Sirius Black, and caught up in the middle of a war, you felt justified to leave with Fred and George. Of course Molly was less than happy when the three of you showed up at Grimauld Place, but Sirius quickly stepped up to your defense. After all, he had been fond of pranks and mischief during his stay at Hogwarts.

“One night, me and Moony snuck out and changed all of the clocks just so we could sleep in. We kept changing them all week, and by Friday, it was dark at 2 pm!” Sirius had told you earlier that night. It made you smile as you laid in bed. You had waited your whole life to be with your father, and you were finally able to spend every day with him. So what if you missed out on graduating? Nothing could beat waking up and seeing the smile on his face. You heard a small knock on your door.

“Can I come in?” You heard Fred whisper as he cracked open your door. You were surprised he hadn’t just apparated in without permission.

“Yeah,” you whispered, sitting up in your bed. The moonlight fell on his face as he came into the room, shutting the door behind him. You couldn’t help but smile at him. It was comforting to know you had a lifelong friend by your side.

“Can’t sleep?” He said softly, taking a seat on your bed. You shook your head.

“Not quite. Just thinking,” you sighed, looking out the window at the night sky. Your eye was trained to go straight to Sirius.

“I couldn’t either. Not after all that ruckus earlier,” Fred shook his head and played with your sheets. Your head snapped towards him.

“What ruckus?” You asked, your stomach dropping. Damn this top floor room.

“I don’t know what it was about. You know how the order is, keeping us in the dark. But me and George charmed the front door just the other week. Almost everybody is out of the house right now,” Fred clenched his jaw, searching your face for a reaction. Your eyebrows furrowed together as you stood up. What the hell was going on? You hated that nobody told you shit. Sirius was the only adult who was willing to let you guys in on plans, but even he hadn’t said anything to you tonight. He often held things from you and used keeping you safe as his excuse.

“Do you think they’re on a mission? Even Sirius is out?” You said nervously, biting your nail. “He’s not supposed to leave the house.” Fred stood and placed his hands on your shoulders.

“Y/N, it’s going to be okay. I wouldn’t have come and told you if I thought you were going to get nervous,” he chuckled, his smile relaxing you a bit. “Now, come on. Me and George are playing snaps in our room.” You let out a huff at his incredulous face and shook your head, trying to hide the smile tugging at your lips.

“Okay, okay. Let me just put some pants on,” you grumbled, turning towards your dresser. Fred plopped back on your bed.

“Okay, love. There’s really no need for that but if it makes you feel better,” he hummed. You shot him back a glare that only widened his grin. You slipped on a pair of sweatpants and followed Fred out of your room, down two flights of stairs, and into the twins room. It was just a gray as yours was, but with a window view overlooking the opposite side of the city.

“There she is,” George grinned, laying out a deck of cards on the carpet. You waved him off a took a seat. “Let the games begin.” The three of you got through four rounds, and it was beginning to get heated when a racket from the front door startled you. Your eyes came to meet Fred’s as a look of concern flashed through both of your eyes. You scrambled up and ran for the door, entering the hall to peer over the railing. You saw the lot of them rushing into the house, some looked injured. You watched as Remus entered, looking thoroughly shaken, but no Sirius by his side.

“Y/N, wait,” you heard Fred say, but you ignored him. You dashed down the stairs towards Remus. Towards the man that raised you.

“Remus, Remus,” you panted, your stomach dropping when you saw his face. “Where is my dad?” He physically cringed when you said this. You already knew at that point, from the look on his face, the pain behind his eyes. You knew this man well.

“Y/N, darling. Let’s go somewhere private,” he spoke, his voice raspy and barely above a whisper. Tears brimmed in your eyes, your voice caught in your throat. You could feel Remus shaking as you clutched his arms, his own eyes looking wet and bloodshot. No. No. This could not be happening.

“Remus,” your voice cracked, “is he- He’s gone?” You whined, your body rejecting even the thought. A tear spilled out from the corner of his eye, his entire body shaking with grief. Remus couldn’t help it of course, when you looked so much like him. When he had watched you wait for Sirius your whole life, just for him to be taken away.

“I’m sorry, Y/N. Please, let’s-” you didn’t stay to hear the rest. Your feet were taking you up the stairs. You ran past Fred despite his protests and went straight to your room. You could feel your lungs collapsing when you finally reached your door. The air was coming in short gasps, over and over and over again as your eye reached his star outside the window. Your body let out a whine as you fell back against the door. You sobbed as your breathe left you. You didn’t feel real, this couldn’t be real. You had just gotten him. You had finally gotten to see his smile and hear his laugh and see where you got your hair from. You had finally gotten to see Remus smile for real, gotten to watch them joke around like the old times, gotten to see the man Remus told you stories about when you were little. And all for nothing. All for a war to tear him away from you. Another sob choked you as you reached for your wand, casting a locking and silencing charm on the door. The floor felt cold. You gasped for air as you imagined how cold Sirius was. Where was his body? Nobody seemed to carry him into the house. You felt bile rise up in your throat as you imagined him, cold, hard, and dead. Your body rushed to the bathroom and fell over the toilet, violently gagging into the bowl. You couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t think. You didn’t want to be here anymore, not in this body. Not when you looked in the mirror and saw his eyes, his hair, resting on your face. You couldn’t do that, it was too painful. It would be better to be with him, even if it meant not being alive.

“Y/N,” you heard a knock on the door. You laid on the bathroom floor, trying and failing to breathe.

“Y/N, please let me in,” the voice called again. It was Fred. You pushed yourself up and tried to call out but your voice failed you. You realized it wouldn’t matter anyway because of the charm. And your wand was next to the door.

“Y/N, I’m going to come in,” you heard him say. He muttered a view counter spells and easily undid your charms. Must’ve been sloppy work on your part. You found it hard to care. The door cracked open and Fred stepped inside. You stayed on the bathroom floor, curled into a ball, choking on your own sobs. “Y/N,” Fred gasped, coming over to you. He knelt down beside you and scooped you up into his arms as if you were nothing more than a bag of flour. You wailed again as you felt the warmth of his body flush against yours. A stark difference from the cold bathroom tile. “Shh,” he shushed you as he sat down on your bed, rocking you in his arms. This made you cry harder into his chest.

“He- he’s gone. I only just had him and he’s gone,” you moaned, hiccuping on your sobs. His hands came to stroke your head as he shushed you.

“Just breathe, Y/N. Just breathe for me,” he whispered, taking deep breaths in hopes you’d follow. You tried your best to match his breathing, albeit your sobs broke them up. “That’s it,” he muttered into your hair, “just breathe.” You relaxed into him as your sobs settled down, your body finally exhausting itself. You sniffled and sat up a bit, seeing how badly you’d drenched Fred’s shirt with tears.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered, running your fingers along his shirt collar. He huffed out a laugh and put his hand on your cheek.

“Y/N, there’s nothing to be sorry about,” he smiled softly, pressing a gentle kiss to your head. You hugged him again, taking a deep breath into his neck. He hummed as he rocked you in his arms.

“I- I know,” you sniffled, “but I’m still sorry.” You sobbed again into his chest. Your heart felt like it was tearing itself in two.

“Y/N,” Fred whispered, trying to calm you down, “let me take you to Remus, please Y/N,” he kissed the top of your head again as he rocked you. You nodded into his chest, knowing he was right. You couldn’t imagine how Remus was feeling, and it made you hurt inside even more. You sniffled and sat up, looking down into your lap.

“Thank you, Fred,” you said, looking up to him through your tears. He offered you a sad smile as he wiped them away.

“You don’t have to thank me,” he said, using his strength to stand you up. “Let’s go,” he reached out his hand and you took it. He led you down the stairs and into the main foyer, where Remus sat with his head in his hands. You frowned when you saw him.

“Remus,” you whispered, your voice giving out. His head snapped up at your voice and he rushed towards you, immediately wrapping you into a hug.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N,” he sobbed as he rocked you. Your sobs escaped you again. You heard the doors shut behind you and figured Fred had left to give you space.

“It’s not your fault,” you whispered as you cried in his arms. Remus had been with you for your whole life, and in this moment, you were eternally grateful. The two of you cried for the rest of the night, and you figured you would cry for a few more. You were just grateful to have him and your friends to help get you through this.

[lanadeldixon]

Summertime Sadness

Pairing- Daryl x fem reader (some Rosita x reader if you squint)

Word count- 1.1k

Warnings- angst, implied panic attack, mentions of death, someone being beaten, starved Daryl :(

Setting- s7 Alexandria

Summary- The saviours come to collect their 50%, but when you see the condition Daryl is in it’s hard to cope.

“Oh my God,” I whispered “Daryl?” His name a symphony of worry on my lips. A name I used to say with such love now drained of its positivity and filled with fear instead.

Vulnerability shone through his eyes as he turned to me, “Y/N?”

As soon as my name fell from his lips, the end of a gun struck him straight in the jaw, the loud thud of his body hitting the ground echoed through the town.

My breath hitched and a tear rolled down my cheek as they hit him again, yelling at him, “SPEAK WHEN YOU’RE SPOKEN TOO!”

“Leave him alone,” my voice choked up to the point where it came out in only a whisper.

“Let him go,” I cried louder this time, desperate to draw them away.

Hands wrapped around my mouth, too quick for me to react, my screams came out as muffled cries as I attempted to call for help.

But it was no use, I was dragged backwards into my house,

“Shh, you have to calm down, okay?” I immediately un-tensed at the sound of her voice.

“You gotta be tough, you do shit like that you’ll get all of us killed.” Rosita exclaimed sternly.

Her hands released me and she circled me until we were eye to eye.

“You’re not gonna be doing us any favours getting yourself killed,” it was clear to see she was still in grief, she was mourning a man she’d killed off in her mind a long time ago, only now he was truly gone and it was still sinking in.

She had become colder, no one could blame her, however all of us were too busy drowning in our own insurmountable grief and missing loved ones to pay attention to anything else.

I nodded at her like a school kid following her teachers orders then opened my mouth preparing to respond.

“Bam!” The door swung open.

“We said 50% didn’t we?!” His voice shook us to the core.

Whispers of the dead conquered my thoughts as I turned to look at him.

“Woah ho ho well you must be the girl?!”

Negan exclaimed following it with a slight laugh.

“Well you sure are a pretty thing ain’t ya!” His hand reached to my face as he said it, I stared him down, not daring to move but still not hiding my resentment.

“If I weren’t such a fan of your boy Daryl I think I’d have to make you one of my wives,” a sinister grin took over his face as my mine began to pale.

He leaned close to my ear, to the point where I could feel the warmth of his breath as he spoke, “Hell, im the boss, I could just do it anyway…”

I tried to hold back my anger, to not say anything out of fear of what he might do. But the idea of having to marry him sickened and overwhelmed me, “fuck you,” I snarled, eyes finally meeting his.

“You got some massive lady balls and I gotta say, I dig that.” He stated, pulling his face away.

“I’m so tempted to bring you home darling.” He finished, deep down I knew he was just teasing but the thought revolted me.

“I would never be the wife of someone like you,” I responded, my face scrunching up.

He looked at me still with that daring smile.

At that point I couldn’t taken it anymore, my rage boiled until finally, it spilled, I looked at him and let out a large wad of spit aiming it right at his leg.

“Go to hell,” I stated, storms in my eyes.

His face finally faltered as he stared at the stain on his trousers.

“Ho ho ho, you bitch,” he said grabbing the back of my hair and yanking me outside of the house.

“How about we put on a little show, huh darling” he purred in my ear.

I felt ill as he forced me to my knees and began to gesture with Lucille.

“Now I was gonna be nice today but it seems some of you still need an example of how to behave.” Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned as he spoke.

I didn’t cry, I was very careful to heed Rosita’s advice and made sure I didn’t once show my fear, Daryl however did not do the same…

“Y/N!” He screamed as if I was already dead.

“DONT TOUCH HER,” he cried with rage, “I’LL KILL YA!”

“Bring him,” calmly, he gestured to the woman on his right as he spoke.

She dragged him so he was diagonal to me, she then kept her hands on his face, forcing him to keep his eyes on me.

Now I knew to be scared but all I could think was how tired he looked, behind the rage and upset was masked malnutrition and exhaustion. I couldn’t help but worry.

“We’re gonna break up another couple tonight,” he laughed aiming and fake swinging his bat at me.

I grimaced at his statement recalling the story of what happened to Glenn and Abraham and the devastation Maggie and Sasha were left with.

“I’m sorry, you would’ve been a real treat to come home too but looks like you’re gonna end up another lost treasure.”

“Last chance to say goodbye lover boy,” Negan warned.

Daryl was screaming profanities at him, doing everything he could to divert Lucille’s attention to him instead but to my relief, his attempts failed…

That was when the countdown started…

“10…” my breathing quickened.

“9…” I could see Daryl’s mouth moving, his whole body scrambling beneath the saviours holding him back, but all I could hear was Negans voice.

“8…” “just continue to do this when you’re scared okay baby?” I could hear my mums voice infiltrating my thoughts, guiding me to breathe.

“7…” I can see the flowers, they look so pretty, especially now that the lilies have grown, my mother didn’t like lilies, she always loved roses.

“6…” I can see the sun, it shines so brightly today, beaming down its light onto all of us, I think of Daryl’s nickname for me.

“5…” I can see my friends, I love my friends. Part of me wishes I could see Maggie again, the other doesn’t want her to see this.

“4…” I can see the sky, it looks painted today, the way the clouds are floating looks ethereal.

“3…” I can see Daryl. My Daryl, I smile.

“2…” I can see the bat, it blocks the sun as it’s lifted high into the sky.

“1…” I can see Glenn and Abraham, I didn’t think I’d see them so soon but I’m happy-

“I’LL JOIN YA!” Silence overcame the crowd as Daryl pleaded.

“Just let her go, that’s all I ask” his voice quaked, there was a frantic look of desperation in his eyes.

Silence…

Negan chuckled before his face turned stern.

“Who are you?” He commanded in a teasing tone.

“I am Negan…”

[gretavanmoon]

an omnipresent force • ch 5

Chapter 5 - DARK ABDUCTION

Jake x female reader

Words: 12K

A/N: Semi-AU// Set six years in the future, the world has decided to cast humankind aside, starting with the poisonous entities that are destroying her the most.

*So sorry it took me a damned month to write this LOL I love you all

Warnings: Dystopian Horror, Cursing, Suspense, Feelings of Fear and Uncertainty, An Apocalyptic World, Violence (& mention of firearms), Mentions of Smoking, Kidnapping, Blood, Death & Dying, Lying, Attacks, Deceit, Panic, Mental Anguish. Smut: Kissing, Heavy Pining, Heavy Touching, Mentions of Sex

JAKE

“Wait, you two kissed?” Sam places his hand harshly on my shoulder as his tired eyes delve deeply into mine. I see the tiniest hint of a smirk poking at his mouth, and I immediately regret my decision to let the admission of what happened last night slip. I’m struck silent for a second as I bite my own tongue for telling my brother what happened on the wall by the koi pond, but he perseveres. “Answer me, asshole! Tell me what happened!” His hand shakes at my shoulder as I glance around to be sure we’re away from the rest of the group, but I feel Danny’s presence suddenly hovering at my back.

“Wait, what happened?” he says with a monotone grunt, sitting down beside Sam and I with a plate full of canned something. “Who kissed somebody?”

Jesus Christ.

We’d all awoken from the restlessness of sorry excuses for sleep nearly an hour ago, buried up under old, musty quilts and blankets from the home Odin had us hiding out in. I fell asleep with Y/N’s hand in mine as we laid head to head on the dusty cushions, trying our best to calm our minds enough to sleep. We knew we needed it, hell, even if we didn’t fall into unconsciousness, just resting our bodies enough to relax was helpful enough. My mind had raced all night long with half-asleep dreams of Josh… of my parents and my family, all my dark daily thoughts even darker then under the cover of nighttime and complete silence. 

But her warm hand in mine gave me some type of solace, though she is still yet unfamiliar and more or less a stranger to me, that kiss on the wall felt like more than just two humans begging for physical touch after so many months without it. Deep down I knew that my body was acting more powerfully than my mind, taking whatever it could get just to feel something again, but after sitting with the memory of the feeling of her lips on mine all night long, I started to think it felt like something different.

Luckily Y/N had taken off to the woods to do her business, giving me a second of reprieve to sort my thoughts out while Odin and the brothers made some type of breakfast over the fire in the backyard. Sparrow was still deep in sleep, resting peacefully in the bedroom across the hall from us. 

“Jake kissed Y/N!” Sam belts to Danny in a loud whisper, earning him a swift slap of the back of my hand across his stomach. “Ow, fuck! What, you didn’t want him to know or something?”

“No, I don’t care that he knows, it’s just… not a big deal–”

“Not a big deal? Jake, this is like the first episode of a soap opera, man!” Danny exclaims with a toothy smile. “Need some romantic drama in my life, tell us what happened,” Danny orders as the two of them sit beside me with expressions of extreme interest. For a split second, it feels like we’re 16 again, telling each other stories about girls and hookups and how we managed to sneak out after midnight without getting caught.

“No drama to it, Daniel,” I begin to reluctantly explain, running my hand over my mustache. “Just… kinda happened, I dunno.” I stare back at the both of them, all three of us haggard, dirty, unshaven and feral… looking outwardly worse for wear than we ever have in our lives. I make a mental note to re-think what Y/N even sees in me, right now.  

Their eyes are trained on me, their jaws hanging slack as they wait with bated breath for the dirty details. It feels private, but also…eh, they’re going to learn about it eventually, I guess. I’ll keep a little bit to myself, but feeding into them will make for some unexpected entertainment. 

“Just happened…” Sam repeats. “I mean was it, good?” he asks, swallowing down his excitement. You’d never guess that we’re thirty-something year old men having this discussion right now. 

I feel my chest bloom with the memory of it, remembering everything about how she felt pressed against me, how she tasted, how she sounded when I let my hands wander…

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, it was… really good,” I can feel my cheeks blushing. “We just…” I throw my hands into the air and try to down play it all, but they know me too well. The bite of my lips between my teeth is doing all it can to keep me from relinquishing every detail to them, simply so I can relive it, myself.

“Fuckin’ come on, Jake. I didn’t realize you guys were that close…” Danny tries to urge me.

“We’re not, I mean, we were locked up in the same pod, she was a damned fan, for fuck’s sake,” I breathe, checking our surroundings again as I whisper. “She saved me, back at the sink hole…” I recount to them. “Got me out of there. They’d just hit me over the head when I was trying to save her Paps, I was passing out. I wouldn’t have made it out if she didn’t–”

I watch them adjust themselves as they listen, huffing through deep breaths of imagining what my negative memory might be going through. 

“I mean of course I’m… ya know. It’s been some time since I’ve—,” I try and explain without saying, earning understanding nods from them. “But things got a little…handsy, I guess.”

“Oooo!” Sam squeals, rubbing his hands together.  “You lucky motherfucker! What else happened? Did you do it?”

“God, no, Sam, we didn’t do it, you fuckin’ idiot,” I bite back as Danny laughs loudly. 

“What?” he howls. “I’m trying to live vicariously here!”

“Nah man, she’s like… really nice. It was really uhm, not just physical, I guess. We talked and stuff. She feels like…” I raise my hands and squeeze the air as I realize I’m having a hard time explaining to them exactly what I feel. Of course my body is feigning for more human touch, any type of connection I can get my hands on. I’m ashamed of the thoughts that plagued me on the couch last night, but I remind myself that it’s normal. And, after hearing what she had to say about a little touchin’ and squeezin’...

“She feels good. I don’t know how else to explain it. Just, really good. All the way around.”

“So there’s mutual attraction?” Sam asks, nearly begging for more detail.

I fight back another smirk. “Oh yeah. M’sure of that.”

“I saw her looking at you last night,” Danny adds quietly as he pulls food into his mouth. “She got those googly eyes.”

“Of course she did, Daniel, do you not remember being on stage? It hasn’t been that fucking long ago…” Sam bickers.

“No,” Danny laughs, “not that kind of eyes. She was looking at you. Like, really looking. With concern and empathy…while we were listening to Sparrow talk.”

All I can do is nod, remembering that I’ve caught her looking at me like that, too. A few times now. And each time it sends a surge of some type of emotion that I don’t have time to think about right now straight through my body like an electric shock. It’s funny, I’ve had my fair share of what you’d call crushes in my lifetime, some evolving into serious, years-long relationships and some fizzling out before I even had a chance to think twice about them. 

But never have I felt like I didn’t want to eat the food in front of me when I’m nearly starving, simply for the fact that the emanating peace I’ve felt in my chest and stomach for the past few days takes up enough space that I don’t need sustenance. Because she fills me. She’s making my heart race for a reason that I don’t yet understand, and I’m teetering on the edge of feeling guilty about it, as my heart should be racing with worry and concern for my family, instead. 

“Well,” Sam breaks the silence, “I hope that things stay moving forward for you, brother. Nothing like a little romance during the fucking apocalypse.”

Just then I hear her giggle from the back side of the house, causing my head to dart that way as I long to hear it again. I toss the pebbles that I had mindlessly picked up back into the murky koi pond and stand with Sam and Daniel, and we begin to make our way back to the fire to see what the day will hold. 

I catch her eyes as soon as I round the corner of the house, bright and rested as I assume she got better sleep than I did. Her face immediately turns the prettiest shade of pink before she shyly breaks her gaze, tossing a few pieces of hair behind her ear. That familiar knot pulls at my stomach, making me forget how to breathe for a second as I watch the too-bright sun bounce off her features. The day is already beginning to feel strange as the wind begins to shift from the warmth of the night into the freezing cold of the day. 

“Where is Odin?” Danny asks the brothers as they work to prepare a makeshift meal. 

“Went to sit with Sparrow until she wakes up,” Robbie answers as he stirs whatever is in the pot that hangs above the fire. “Want some?” He holds the wooden spoon out to me as I realize it’s some kind of oatmeal, and I immediately feel my stomach churn with hunger. Maybe I do need real sustenance, after all. I nod, grabbing two bowls from the stack and letting Robbie fill them for Y/N and I. 

I pass the bowl off to her as we both take our seats on a rock by the fire. “Awfully kind of you to think of me, Jacob,” she says sweetly, taking the hot bowl from my hand. 

You’re the only thing that’s been on my mind since last night, if we’re being honest…

“Sharing is caring,” I blurt, making her giggle again. 

“Do we have a plan? Are we making moves soon?” Danny asks, turning the bleak cheeriness of the morning straight into business. We always leave it to him to keep things on track. And honestly, if it weren’t for him naturally doing that at every single turn, it’s hard to tell where we would be today.

“As soon as Sparrow wakes up, and we see that she’s ready to share again, we will define a more detailed plan,” Josiah explains. “For now, Odin wants you all fed and for us to gather necessary supplies from the house. I found some backpacks and camping gear in the upstairs closet, we can fill them with whatever we need.” 

I tilt the bowl up and let the soupy oatmeal fall into my mouth, and as it burns my lips and tongue I feel nothing but gratitude for it. My mouth waters and my stomach churns again as it thanks me, my mind suddenly feeling a bit of clarity as the food hits my stomach. 

“We also need to hydrate. All of us,” Robbie adds. “I think these people were preppers before we even knew the world was ending… I found a ton of canteens and potable water in the basement this morning. Firestarters, water filters, hot hands, oil lamps… take whatever you want but make sure it doesn’t weigh you down. There’s also still a ton of clothing in the closets. Grab whatever you can.”

“We also need to remember that we’re being hunted,” Josiah says grimly from behind him. His eyes seem dark in the sunlight, a stark contrast to his brother’s cheery disposition. “Hunted by the ones who Robbie and I ‘work’ for.”

“Worked,” Robbie corrects him, glaring behind him to meet eyes with his brother. My gut suddenly falls as a worrisome thought flows through my head, one that hopes to the heavens above that these men aren’t actually luring us somewhere. I know Y/N, Sam, and Danny have the same thought, but it’s quickly extinguished as Josiah explains his demeanor. 

“Right, worked. Sorry. I’m just…” Josiah works his hands over his face and licks his lips, letting out a large breath of air as he shakes his nerves away. It hadn’t dawned on me that these two men have put everything out on the line for this, for us. To help save us, keep us protected. They are just humans like we are, just a couple of guys who agreed to fight the good fight. Of course they’re feeling just as overwhelmed. 

“We haven’t forgotten that, Josiah. And I don’t think you know how much we appreciate you both for coming out here and helping defend our asses,” Sam says through full mouths of his oatmeal. The other three of us agree and nod.

“We’re not gonna let these motherfuckers win,” Robbie growls. “They mistreated us for far too long. Lied to us, and we played their games, but we caught them up. Now we know how they operate. We’ll be damned if we let them take anything more from us.”

“Your family, are we searching for them, too?” Y/N asks from beside me. 

Robbie and Josiah share a sullen glance before their eyes land back on her. “No, we lost them all to the rash. Dad was able to stay with us for a while, but. It got him in the end,” Robbie says, tossing a few pieces of broken sticks into the flames. 

“Neither one of us have even shown any symptoms. Then we got picked up by these scary fuckers, they agreed to give us shelter and a lavish life in safety from what has happened to the world. Not sure why we agreed, we felt desperate at the time, I guess,” Josiah adds. “They said they would make it worth our while to come and work for them, and before we knew it we were in too deep. But we did learn nearly everything there was to know about how their world intersects with ours, and then we learned about you guys being found. Made all the musical ties ourselves, realized all the lyrics, knew that you’d be in grave danger, and we were right.”

“I still can’t believe you two were fans, too,” Danny breathes. “Feels strange.”

“Yeah man, big time. Used to play you guys all the time while we were overseas, bugged the shit out of everyone until they all started singing along. Took some time, but we converted them,” Josiah went on. 

“Wait, overseas?” I implore. 

Robbie clears his throat. “Yeah, we were both in the military. I was Air Force, Joe was Marines. We were both stationed separately when Starcatcher came out, but I remember we got on some shitty Zoom call and talked about it for like an hour. We were hyped.”

“Oh yeah!” Josiah yelps. “That was killer, I remember that. Fuck I played that shit over and over, got the whole squad turned on to you guys. Playin’ fuckin Highway Tune on jukeboxes in random bars in Germany… ah, what wild times.”

I feel a genuine smile warm through me as I realize that our music really did tie bonds between people, and they found comfort in it even while they were living in what most likely was their own versions of hell. Even now, months after we realized that our dreams had come to a quick and forced ending, it feels good to hear the stories of days past, when it truly did mean something to someone. At least we all will always have that. “So that’s why they hired you guys… you had experience in this shit…”

They both nod. “Yeah, somewhat. We ended up coming back home around the same time, I got an MP job, and Joe stayed with Special Forces for a while. Got out and got some civilian jobs or whatever, then the world ended,” Robbie says with a twist of his neck. 

I gulp down the strange sadness that has washed over me, and I feel Y/N’s side press a little harder onto mine. 

“Bet that was tough…” I mutter. 

“Yeah, ya know. We didn’t hate our lives, but it wasn’t sunshine and rainbows. The thrill of the job is what we got addicted to, but it felt like a prison most days,” Josiah goes on. “Now we deserted our posts as work hounds for those motherfuckers, guess we’re a couple of renegades, now.”

Danny’s eyes shoot open as he glances to them, then to me, realizing yet another connection that hadn’t even dawned on any of us, yet. Son of a bitch, Josh…how in the fuck did you do this? 

I shake my head in disbelief, feeling Y/N exhale hard as she makes the connection, too. It’s quiet for a minute or so as a heaviness falls over us.  

“Till Valhalla?” I finally ask, unsure of how else to propose it. 

Josiah purses his lips, offering me a stern look. “Or is it Alas, Babylon?”

I huff through my nose, breathing a quiet “fuck” as I place my bowl down onto the rocky ground, running my hands over my face. They’ve realized it, too. As the minutes tick, things become more and more unreal. Or more real, depending on how you look at it. I’m awestruck at how our words are still coming to life at every turn, realizing now that these two brothers are our Barbarians. 

“Well, thank you, guys… for all of it. Really,” Sam says with a little conviction as we all add in our words of agreement.

“Ah, no need for that. But it’s appreciated,” Josiah says as he stands up and elbows his brother. “We’re just out here still doing what we do best, huh?”

Just as the conversation starts to lighten a little, we hear the back sliding glass door open as Odin gently bounds through, giving us looks of intrigue as his one orange eye glistens in the sun. Behind him in hand, is Sparrow. 

“Good morning, everyone. I trust you all got some rest,” his voice is low and graveled as he uses caution to lead a tired Sparrow outside into the cool wind. 

“Got enough, I suppose,” I say, standing to greet them. “How are you, Sparrow?”

Her aura seems to shift as she moves, the air around her almost glittering in a dusty haze. “Well, Jacob, thank you.” It’s like the breeze warms as she speaks, blowing across us with a new wave of positivity and calmness. She emotes some kind of invisible tranquility, almost immediately filling me with a new gumption to keep going, keep fighting. I can hardly fathom the emotion, but I feel a warm buzz of stamina begin pulsing through my veins. She makes me feel like I’m…alive. 

Odin leads her over to take a seat on a bench as she hobbles across the gravel with her hand clutched protectively over her sword. 

“Is she…limping?” I hear Y/N whisper quietly in my ear, again furthering that the visions of her in Josh’s dreams were spot on. 

I nod slowly as she begins to relax onto the seat, stretching her back and raising her arms high above her head. “My friends, my sincerest apologies for bestowing that news upon you with such haste last night, but I thought it prevalent to our situation, and urgency became paramount. And then, my slumber afterward is always overpowering, and again I am sorry. I simply can never fight through it…” 

I feel Y/N rise from her seat beside me as she wraps a blanket around herself, making her way over to sit beside Sparrow. “It’s alright, you don’t need to be sorry. I think we are all grateful that you’re here, and willing to help us, right guys?”

“Right, absolutely,” we all viciously agree. At this point, I’m chomping at the bit for her to continue, to feed us more information that I know she is holding inside her. But I’ve learned that patience is key. 

We all gather in around her like children being read a Christmas story, anxiously waiting to hear what new news she has to offer. I’m nervous, and I’m a little scared to know, but I also can’t bring myself to think about anything else at the moment. The newfound urge to keep going is amplified the closer I get to Sparrow, but I also could absolutely collapse with worry for my brother. 

“Alright, I’ve got good news, and I’ve got bad news…”

Y/N

I feel the overwhelming urge to reach out and grab Sparrow’s hand, but I resist, not knowing whether or not that will comfort her at all. I’m not sure where my want to comfort her has come from, but I can’t seem to step away from it. 

The guys and I sit and wait for her news, and I’m positive none of us have taken a breath since the last word left her lips. My nerves are swirling but I suppress them, knowing that Jake, Sam, and Danny are a thousand times more anxious than I am. Paps would want me to stay strong.

“The good news is that your brother is alive. And he is safe, in some sense of the word,” she sings, her accent flowing through a hundred millenia, but all of us are somehow able to understand it. “My friends, as I’m sure you all have probably assumed by now, Joshua has been found and captured by those who rule the Tower. His mind is still his own, but you must understand, once one crosses into the other world and begins inserting oneself with the beliefs of those who inhabit there, it takes a great deal of power to begin to reverse it. The words that flowed from me last night were indeed words spoken by your brother, himself, to the people there whom he will one day rule over.”

“Wait, rule over? What does that mean?” I interrupt, my body tensing. 

“Jacob, your brother is a Seer. Even in his adolescent dreams and nightmares, he was witnessing and experiencing a plethora of occurrences that were happening in real time, in the past and in the future, in our world. You know this, now. You wrote about it, about it all. Once our people learned that Joshua possessed this gift through learning of your music, they made it their mission to try and take him for their own. To rule over them as the true one that they could believe in, the one who stands, and watches over,” Sparrow says. My chest caves and my breath hitches as it all begins to come to life again. All of our lyrics, all of our stories…

She goes on, “Of course they wanted him, they just had no idea that a mere human would be the one to possess the power to see time. Time and events being prophesied by a human man in an enemy world is… unfathomable, for them. The end of your world just happened to be the perfect time for them to act upon their plans, as our worlds cannot live while the other is struggling to stay alive. Two sides of the same coin, spinning rapidly on its axis until it begins to slow and falter. But this time, oh, this time, things are different.”

“So they wanted Josh… to be their Seer, to be the one who can warn them of what’s to come, what will work in their favor, and what will not…” Sam drones, choking back tears. 

“Correct, Samuel. Odin, have you told them of what they are doing to their elderly? With their memories?” Sparrow asks. 

Odin shakes his head. “Yes, I have.”

“Your immune elders are being used for their experiments. They are trying to wipe their memories, wipe anything and everything they have ever known to soon bring them over into their own world, and convert them to follow the Seer. A whole new population that will know nothing but following him.”

“Blind faith…” Danny murmurs from beside me, his elbow pressing into my back. “It’s their fate.”

“That’s right Daniel,” Sparrow agrees, emanating another glow of positivity around us. “Blind in the sense that they will have no recollection of how they got there, or why they feel compelled to follow this omniscient. It’s the perfect storm.”

“You said that the hooded guards are all omniscient, why can’t they use one of them? Why does it have to be Josh?” I press, remembering what Odin had said. 

“I said they are all nearly omniscient. Your brother, in their eyes, is completely so,” Odin reiterates. 

I huff out an air of disappointment for news that I partially already knew, but hearing it all said out loud has crushed me. Why? Why?

“Josh didn’t know what we were writing about was real, though! They can’t take him and claim his mind like that, they can’t take away his free will!” I yell, feeling my heartrate taking off. 

“They can, Jacob, and they have already begun the process. You heard his words last night, and I know you know they were not his own. They’ve begun to manipulate his thoughts into believing that all he claims is truth, which partially, it is. They are deeming him as a new leader, a sovereign entity of whom will lead the people to their destiny.”

“Destiny? What destiny?” Danny asks.

“If their trials are successful, and they are able to completely wipe the memories of every immune human left on earth, they will take them all as their own and the Earth will have no choice but to relinquish all its power unto them,” Sparrow barks, and I can tell that the words sting a bit as they leave her mouth. 

“But I thought our worlds can’t exist without one another,” Y/N blurts, her hand now gripping hard onto mine. 

“They can’t, my love, without inhabitants who are strong and thriving.” Sparrow stands and approaches us, her warmth bellowing toward us as she raises her hand to brush across all of our faces. “That’s why they are hunting you. You are worth everything to them. If they can erase the memories of your elders, then they will be sure they can erase the memories of the stronger, younger immunes. Wipe your Mother Earth of her inhabitants, and watch as she completely crumbles. Once they convert you all, then their world will have more than enough power to exist on it’s own, without needing the support of Earth to survive.”

She comes in closer, her aura dripping with what feels like forced happiness. “You see, they want to fully extinguish the human race from the face of the Earth. They want you as their own. Their plan is to take you all, and Joshua is their sole key to the abductions.”

Abductions. 

Suddenly, I can’t breathe. 

I can’t blink, I can’t swallow… I can’t even feel the rocks that I know are poking through the thinning soles of my boots. 

Jake’s hand slips from my own as I feel him slowly turn to me, and to Sam and Danny, all of their faces void of any real emotion at all, other than complete terror. 

“This isn’t fair…” I whisper, and I’m not sure any sound came from me, at all. It feels like my chest is made of stone, the small breaths I’m pulling in unable to expand my lungs. Josh…

“What do we do?” Jake asks us, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as his pupils shrink to pinpoints. His face has dropped to a stark white, and I can feel the terrified energy radiating from him. His eyes dart from his brothers to me, looking to all of us for answers that we simply don’t have. “What do we do?” Tears begin welling in his eyes and the rims of them turn a bright red. I can see his hands visibly shaking.

“We search. Today. We leave, now,” Odin harks, standing from Sparrow’s side as he throws his bow and arrow over his shoulder. “Into the house, pack your bags, take only all that is necessary and nothing more. Pack water, warm clothing. Josiah, Robbie, the same for you. Make sure you lock all of the doors and windows, we will return to this place eventually.”

“Where are we going? What’s the plan?” Danny asks as everyone begins to shuffle. 

“First we find your families. Get them to safety. Then we find your brother and cross him back over. That will be the hard part,” he says, punching through all of us to go and begin packing his horse. Danny, Sam, and the others jump into action and begin rushing into the house to pack their things.

I notice that Jake is frozen where he stands, the news that Sparrow has just shared still coursing through him. I fear he is in shock, feeling the effects of learning the truth about his twin fully and completely. Truly, I’m not sure what to even say to him right now, but then I look to Sparrow and she gives me a tight grin, and I immediately feel another wave of comfort and courage wash over us. 

“Jake, I know you’re scared right now, and I know this is a lot to process, but. We’re going to find him, he’s going to be okay,” I reason, taking his cheeks into my hands to try to get him to look at me. 

“How do you know that, Y/N? What if we can’t get to him, and he’s already too far gone? What if he– what if he never comes back?” I never thought I would see him cry, I never thought I would have to be the one comforting him when he did… But here I find myself…

“You wanna know how I know that, Jake? Blind faith.”

“What–what do you mean? That’s…”

My hands release his cheeks and fall to catch his still trembling hands, cold and clammy in the blowing air. “How do we ever know anything is going to work for certain, Jake? We don’t, we just have to persevere. Josh wouldn’t stop looking for you, and he’d never give up on you. None of you would give up on each other. Right? All these years, all you’ve done is trusted each other, because it’s all that you had. You seized every opportunity, together. And look where it got you. You can’t stop now. You can’t think thoughts like that now, Jake. We don’t have time for them. Every single one of you is stronger than you know, and I’ll be damned if I sit here and watch you crumble because of a little fear. You’ve overcome so much, Jake, in your lives and in your careers, because of your blind faith.”

“Kill fear,” he whispers. 

I watch as his pupils grow a bit, and his muscles relax. I wipe the tears that are beginning to freeze onto his face, catching in his lengthening beard and mustache. “Yeah, fuck fear,” I smile.

He nods, turning his head to press a sweet kiss onto my palm. “Okay, yeah. You’re right. We’re gonna find him, he’s gonna be alright, the son of a bitch.” I smile as he picks himself up, gripping my hands that are still cupping his cheeks and placing more kisses onto my palms and fingers. “Thank you…”

I push myself onto him, wrapping my arms around his neck as he finally takes his first full breath in a few minutes. “Don’t thank me, Jake. You don’t know how many times you and your brothers have comforted me when I thought there was nothing else left for me in this world. You and your music were always there.” 

I hear him laugh, his chest shaking a little against mine as I realized the words I’d just said. “I didn’t mean to say that, it just came out,” I laugh along with him as he pulls away a little, holding my elbows in his hands. 

“Hell, maybe he dreamed about you and me too, then,” he mutters, sending my heart straight into glittering explosions. What did I do to deserve spending this time with him? The person that pulled me from the depths so many times… and now we’ve found ourselves here…

“Maybe he did…” I reply shyly, feeling his thumbs grazing across my arms. 

“Hey, love birds! Come on, we’ve got bags to pack!” We hear Sam yelling from the upstairs balcony of the house, and if it weren’t for the immediate action we jumped into, I would have had time to process the fact that Sam just used the word love.

JAKE

Only all that is necessary…

You always think about what you would grab and take with you if your house was burning down, but when it actually came down to it, you always knew you’d be able to gather resources again. Meals from a neighbor, supplies from the store, fuel from a gas station… 

But when it comes down, truly, to only what is necessary… I think I’ve drawn a blank. 

The empty backpack sits open in my hands as I kneel in the closet of the stranger’s house, my eyes scanning over the clothing that once kept this person warm. Sweaters that his wife had gifted him, socks with holes he had worn in, boots still covered in mud and debris from the hike he didn’t know was going to be his last... 

I swallow hard as my eyes scan even further into the bottom of the closet, shelves full of old memorabilia, high-school basketball trophies, photo albums, old vinyl records… these were part of someone’s life. And I am taking it, because I need to survive. 

“I can’t do this…” I mutter, shaking my head of the sudden overwhelming feeling of impeding into someone’s personal space, though their earthly body is long gone from this home. 

“You have to,” I hear from the doorway, looking up to see Robbie looking back at me. “Promise you, this guy wouldn’t care.”

I huff through my nose. “How would you know, did you know him?”

“No, but I feel like if he knew that it’s the actual end of the earth, the seasons are blending, your family was kidnapped by inhabitants of another world, and you’re running around with mythical creatures while you’re being hunted and used for your mind, I’m pretty positive he wouldn’t care if you stole a pair of socks or two,” Robbie says sarcastically as he gnaws on a long piece of red candy. “Twizzler?”

I laugh again, opening the drawer that houses the underwear and socks. “Yeah, actually, thanks. They aren’t stale?”

“Fuck yeah, they are. But it don’t bother me. Just keeps my hands and mouth busy, ya know?”

I stuff two pairs of woolen socks into a zippered part of the bag before removing my boots and slipping a fresh pair on. “You used to smoke, didn’t you?” I ask. 

“How’d you know?”

“Just a guess,” I reply, reaching far back into the closet to grab a pair of the man’s old hiking boots, happy with finding we were almost the exact same size. “I would have gotten you a pack or five if I’d have known… Right before you found us, we were in an old convenience store chock full of them. That’s where Y/N and I found Sam and Danny.”

Robbie grunts a laugh as he pulls another rogue Twizzler from his pocket, handing it off to me. “Sounds like we might have to make a pitstop.” 

It does sound intriguing… A cigarette would be fucking glorious, right about now. “Might could make that happen…”

“So Y/N… you didn’t know her before?” he asks, piquing my interest.

I shake my head. “No, just in the pods. She used to listen to us a lot, like you and Josiah did, so I guess she knew me, kinda… Why?”

I see him shrug from the corner of my eye. “Just wonderin’. Ya’ll seem pretty close.”

I shrug back, pulling a hoodie off a metal hanger. “Guess you could say that.” I pop the Twizzler into my mouth and bite off the end, zipping the overfull bag closed and tossing it over my shoulder. “Kinda feel like she’s mine to protect.”

He tosses me the last candy in his pocket as I stand and face him, watching his jaw work as he chews. “Raid the bathroom, too,” he suggests. “Soap would be nice.”

—-

“Got everything you need?” I ask Y/N as everyone gathers out back again. We’re all in a slow-motion hurry, now, as the morning is slowly drifting into noon. 

“Uh, yeah, think so,” she says, zipping the oversized pullover she’d found up around her chin, and pulling a toboggan down over her ears. “It’s so hard to think about it being so hot at night, and there’s ice blowing through the air, now…”

“I know, everything is so backwards,” I agree, leaning down to re-tie my boots. 

As I stand back up, she pulls me to the side, causing me to stumble a little bit into her. “Come here…” she whispers, her hand gripped hard in my jacket. 

“Yeah, whoa, yeah?” I laugh as she catches my fall and takes me in her embrace. 

“I found something else, while I was searching the house,” she whispers, her eyes trained on my face. 

“Oh?” I ask. “What’d you find?”

She reaches into her pocket, pulling out a brand new razor and a tiny bottle of travel shaving cream. My face falls and I feel my lips flatten into a sarcastic look. “What, you got a problem with this more rugged side of me, or somethin’?” I rake my fingernails through my beard, scratching hard at it. 

She glances around and sees that everyone else is taken up by their own tasks before she wraps her hands in my jacket, pulling me forward into her and around the corner of the house. We stumble back underneath the second-floor porch, hiding in the shadows and away from the wind a bit. She grips me again, pulling me into her as she speaks. 

“No. I love it. Really suits you,” she murmurs, her eyes traveling quickly from my eyes to my mouth. I watch as her breath turns to steam as she exhales, heavy and hot even in the blistering cold. It’s strange to say, but I almost feel like she beckons me without even saying a word. 

And fuck, she is so…

“Know what else I love about it? You feel more mature to me like this, I’ve always been one to prefer facial hair.”

“So I’m guessing you hated it when I used to shave my mustache off for shows, then?” I implore with a teasing tone, leaning in and letting my nose drift over hers playfully. “I couldn’t even grow a beard until I turned 31…”

“Yeah, used to get real fuckin’ mad about it,” she smiles, lurching her hips into mine. “We all used to place bets on if you’d show up with or without one. I lost most of the time, because you always shaved the damned thing off. But I guess it’s also cool that I’m the only one who’s ever seen you like this…”

I growl a laugh, gritting my teeth and feeling the need to be near her again. I feel flushed, even in the cold blowing air, but being near her makes me forget about every bad thing that’s surrounding us. I let my cold hands snake up under her coat, searching like hell to find her bare skin. Finally I find her stomach, attaching my cold palms to it and her hips. “Yeah, actually, I guess you’re right. Just you…”

“Fuck…” she breathes, her body shivering from my touch. “Just me?”

“Just you…” I repeat, taking her bottom lip between my teeth. God, she makes me want to lay her the fuck down, right here in this freezing cold grass. My mind begins spinning with want again as I feel her body weight pressing itself into me, my hands beginning to freely do what they please underneath her layers of shirts, just as they had last night. “What’s the razor for, then? If you like it so well?” 

Her hand comes up and grips the base of my neck, squeezing hard as I allow my hands to finally grip at her tits. She lets out a pitiful sound as her head falls back a little, spurring me on to keep exploring. I can feel her nipples hardening in my fingers, and I’m fighting with everything in me to stop myself from getting too excited, but the more her chest heaves, the harder it gets to concentrate. Her lips are ghosting across mine, and I feel her warm breath landing on my tongue. I need to taste her again.

“Just giving you the option to shave, if you wanted to,” she breathes, her eyes fluttering open and closed. “If not, you can pass it off to Danny.”

Her hand comes around and grips at my jaw, forcing me to thrust my hips into her again. I feel warm all over, almost as if the wind isn’t cutting us in two. There’s no way she can’t tell I’m impossibly hard now, and if the circumstances were different…

“If you like it, I love it,” I breathe into her as our bodies begin lurching and craning onto each other, my hands still massaging at her breasts. God, what I’d give to see her…

“Kiss me, Jake,” she mumbles into my mouth, our lips already almost touching, anyway. My mouth finally overtakes hers, my tongue unable to fight any longer as it begins exploring without any warning. She reacts the same way, pressing her chest more harshly into my hands, practically begging me to feel her even more. We stay this way for a minute or so, just like we did by the koi pond, our bodies pressing and moving as I forcefully back her up against the cold block wall of the house. 

She pushes me away a little, but catches her fingertips in the waistband of my pants, giving her a split second’s access to slip her hand inside. God fucking damnit. 

I take it as it comes as I feel her frozen hand work its way into my boxers, wasting no time in taking me fully in her hand. “Jesus Christ, baby…” I all but moan as I feel my head tilt back on its own. I reach for the wall behind her to steady myself as she squeezes me, her palm soft and gentle but using a little bit of force to show me what she wants. I come in close again, kissing her like my life fully depends on it. “Mmhmm…” I moan against her, my lips vibrating onto hers. 

“Call me baby again,” she whispers when we disconnect for a second to breathe. 

“Baby, baby, baby…” I say quietly, rolling my hips into her hand. “I’ll call you anything you fuckin’ want…”

She whimpers quietly into my mouth again as she pulls at my hair, knotted and ratty at the base of my neck. I’m reminded again of the thought of what she actually sees in me right now, dirty and gritted and unclean, but then again, she probably thinks of herself all the same. Her hair is tangled, her features are tired and a little sunburnt, yet I see her as the most beautiful thing I’ve encountered in ages. All of the things that society deemed as making a person desirable have flown out the window. Because truly, none of it fucking matters. 

Her hand grips around me again as my fingernails dig into the cinderblock, pulsing and throbbing as she takes her time with her show of intimacy. The essence of her is satiating all my senses… her taste, her scent, her touch… 

Then it hits me- this is the rawest I’ve ever felt in my life. 

Attraction comes in all shapes and sizes, and when you stumble upon it, it can either knock you down or confuse you even further. I’ve always been positive in what I want; I know exactly what attracts me and keeps my attention. And I’ve prided myself on that. Coming of age also determines and filters out what you do and do not want in life, and in a lover. And I know that my vision is blurred right now with this overwhelming need to fornicate, but shit, if she isn’t turning all of my past ideals about myself and what I want on their fucking tops. 

She’s different… she’s headstrong and brave, smarter than I could ever even think about being. She’s bold, and she’s unashamed. She acts as though she comes from a time that she didn’t have any business being in. She’s fucking beautiful, taking my breath away with every stolen glance. Yet she’s reserved in all the ways that I am… thinking before she speaks, studying people before she trusts them. I can tell all of this about her, and I’ve committed it all to memory, and I’ve only known her for less than a few weeks. 

Raw, unbridled and desperate, the wind biting at our cheeks as the wetness of our kiss coats our lips and faces, her hand gripping over me still, without any shyness about her aura, at all. Her preference of privacy stunning me as she shows me that she wants me just as badly as I want her. Not because of who she knew me as for the majority of our lives, but who she sees me as right now, untamed and ravenous for one another. And I am fucking enamored.

My hand leaves her breast and travels to grip her ass, covered in layers of pants and coveralls, but I don’t care. I hike her leg up across my hip, letting our bodies become closer as the cold wind whips through the bright green trees. I glance around every few seconds so that I’m positive we’re still alone, though at this point my mind is so fogged with desire that I truly couldn’t care less if we were caught. Her body is warm and inviting, and I let my fingers grip into the muscle between her ass and thigh, squeezing and kneading the skin there as her body rolls into mine again. 

“Would it be too forward of me to say that I fucking want you?” I blurt out with a forced whisper, my mouth overtaking my mind for just a second.

She laughs a little as we separate, her pupils blown as she shakes her head quickly from side to side. “No. It wouldn’t be too forward at all,” she says, squeezing me harder than she has, yet. “I’m the one with my hand on your cock, stupid.”

Fuck fuck fuck. Shit, get it together. My body shudders as I let out a quiet grunt of aggravation, completely blown with desire as my fist pounds into the wall that’s holding us up.

I swear if we weren’t fucking leaving in two goddamned minutes…

“I swear to god, baby, I do…” I growl again, making her grip on me move at a quicker pace. 

Just then we’re surprised by loud conversation near the fire pit, a rustle of everyone gathering up again breaking us from our intertwinement. She removes her hand from my pants and I adjust myself, rolling my eyes at our interruption as my teeth grit with annoyance. We both look at one another with the tiniest bit of shame on our faces, pink and wet with the after-effects of the session. I nod to the side as I silently tell her we’d better go. 

“Wait, Jake,” she whispers, pulling me back by the hand a little. “That’s not what I really wanted to give you.” Her closed fist stuffs into my jacket pocket and drops something inside it, and I watch her coyly turn and walk away with the sweetest smirk on her lips. 

Puzzled, I reach into the pocket and feel the familiar feeling of a small plastic package in my hand. A condom. I can’t help the cheesy smile that crosses my face even if I wanted to. I pull it out to inspect it, looking first and foremost for an expiration date. 

I glance back at her, purely entertained by her bold action. “2034,” she answers the question I didn’t even have to ask. “Actually found a whole box. We’ve got all kinds of time.” She shoots me a wink as she tops back into the gravel pit, going to join the others without me so as not to raise too much suspicion. 

Truly, if she thinks we’re waiting that long, she can go ahead and keep lying to herself. She has no idea what she’s doing to me, and it’s only worsening as the hours tick. For a mere five minutes, my carnal needs completely overshadowed the fact that we’re about to go on a mission that could cost us our lives, and the fact that my brother is currently being fucking brainwashed by entities that belong to another realm completely. I punish myself, but only for a second, as I know for a fact he would go on some big tirade about how humans need sex to thrive and survive in life. He wouldn’t fault me for it at all. In fact, he’d probably celebrate it with me. 

—

“Everyone gather, here is what we’re going to do,” Odin presents himself with a commanding tone, looking each of us in the eye as he speaks. We all take our places near the extinguished fire pit, backpacks and supplies in hand as we all listen intently. I try my best to calm my nerves and take in every detail of his directions, knowing that things could change at the drop of a hat. 

“Josiah and Robbie have reason to believe that your families have been taken to another set of pods just south of here, where no sinkholes have been reported as of yet. These pods are a bit smaller, locked down just as the ones you were in, but if they are going to be anywhere nearby, we assume that it is there,” he explains. “We will travel as a unit, sleep in shifts, and take cover as much as possible under the hindrance of the treelines. The brothers will scout, but we’ve decided it best to arm you, as well.”

Shit. I’ve fired a gun maybe twice, three times in my life? But when it comes to life or death…

The brothers bring us firearms that they’d found inside the home, passing them off to Danny and I. I throw it across my back and hope to the heavens above that muscle memory would kick in, had I need to actually use it. 

“I don’t believe that you will actually need these, as I will be with you always and our most dangerous threat are the hooded guards, of whom I can put to sleep with an arrow,” Odin goes on. “And I’m sorry, we can’t risk the sound of gunshot giving away our location. The smoke from this fire was already too much.”

We all bid a silent goodbye to the house that gave us the shelter we needed, and took off on foot from the coverage of the yard and nearby woodline, watching and waiting for the next threat to come our way.

Y/N

Was I too forward? Did I say too much? Did I move too fast… was the condom overkill?

A million and a half questions are rolling through my mind as we all traverse the heavy trails, making our way south to the other set of pods. We know it will be about a day’s travel, but luckily, with the guidance of Odin and the newfound spirit Sparrow had instilled in each of us, we know the journey will be fruitful. Treacherous, and probably a bit dramatic, but fruitful. Now that we have a better idea of where our families are, and likely Paps, I have a bit more pep in my step to get to him. And to Josh. 

Of course it wasn’t overkill, he reacted exactly how I expected him to. He even said he wanted me. Hello? Me?? I don’t even know what is happening between Jake and I, it’s difficult to even fathom. Just months ago he was an image on my phone screen or a video on my stupid tikok feed, but now. Now… 

I find myself wanting to text my friends again. Say, ‘You are never going to fucking believe this. Like, you’re really not…’, and they really wouldn’t. It’d be too good to be true. It’d take convincing, it’d take proof, it’d take receipts. I can hear them all squealing through voice memos, sending long strings of mismatched letters that don’t form words, immediate facetimes so they could watch me explain myself to their faces. Listen to every detail that we had all envisioned at one point or another in our lives.

But it’d never happen. I don’t even know if they’re all alive. 

“Watcha thinkin’ about?” I hear Sam’s voice suddenly startle me from watching my feet walk across the ground. 

“Oh, ah, nothing. Just…my friends,” I say to him, giving him a sullen smile as I pull my jacket closer around me. “I was thinking about what they’d say if I could tell them that I ended up meeting up with you guys. If they’d believe me.”

“Hm,” he laughs. “You think they would?”

“It’d take some convincing, but, I think they’d know I wouldn’t make something like that up,” I grin, pulling a few pieces of tree limbs away from my path. 

“Crazy that we all ended up here,” he says. “Crazy how we all found each other.”

“I know,” I breathe, glancing to Jake ten or so steps ahead of me. “I never even thought I’d even get to have a conversation with any of you, let alone–”

“Sneak off with one under a porch?” he cuts me off. 

I– oh fuck.

“Sam, what– what are you talking about,” I stutter, my face falling into a deep dark shade of red. Oh my god, if he saw us…

He lets out his classic guttural ha-ha laugh as a particularly harsh wind rips through us. His loud laugh causes Jake and Danny to whip around and look at us, and I shoot them and Sam a deathly glare. But I know that Jake probably notices the worry on my face. 

“I’m not gonna rat you out, don’t worry,” he goes on. “I didn’t see anything… just… watched you sneak off. That’s all. The rest wasn’t my business.”

“The rest?” I squeak, trying to stay quiet. “Sam!”

He’s gritting his teeth together in a huge, shit-eating smile, hissing annoying little laughs as he pulls sticks free from our way. I feel like I could trip him and watch him eat dirt right now, the little twit. Jake keeps turning around and glancing at us; he knows his brother is digging himself a cute little hole to jump into if he isn’t careful. 

“What the fuck do you think happened?” I press, kind of wanting to hear what he has to say. 

“Hey, I said it’s none of my business,” he goes on, puffing his cheeks up with air as he avoids laughing again. “My brother’s love life isn’t any concern of mine.” 

Will you please quit using that word, Samuel…

“God, can you just, not? Please?” I bark in a quiet tone, completely enjoying this back and forth with him. “I already feel weird enough…”

“Why?” he asks way too quickly. 

“Because,” I bite. I toss my hands up, trying to get him to understand. “I was, ya know… A fan, and stuff, and now it’s like..” 

“Oh whatever,” he interrupts me. “Hey Y/N, the goddamn world is ending and all our loved ones got killed by a flesh-eating rash. Yours did, ours did. There’s no such thing as levels of hierarchy anymore, if that���s the way you’re looking at it. We’re just fucking humans, ya know? We’re all just out here trying to survive this shit. Please don’t think like that…” he says a little confrontationally. “We could run into freaking Taylor Swift right now, and she’d still be trudging along in this damned frozen jungle just as we are.” 

I giggle at his comparison, as corny as it is, feeling just a little more at ease. “You’re right, you’re right. Just. Strange, I guess.”

He shrugs. “It is strange, Y/N. Nothing about anything that has happened in the past year is anything close to normal. But… maybe you were meant to run into him in the pods. Maybe it was meant to be this way, who knows?”

I nod, glancing again up to Odin and Sparrow on the horse to make sure they haven’t noticed any threats. 

“You guys are cute together, too,” he adds. 

I roll my eyes. “Ugh, Sam, don’t make me gag. I will shove you down onto this thorn bush.”

“I’m serious,” he laughs. “I don’t mean to poke fun at you. I’m just saying, maybe this is a really, really good thing, Y/N. He seems… I dunno. Excited. Even while worrying about Josh. It’s like you come around and he’s instantly relaxed. I think you have more of an effect on him than you realize.”

“HOLD!” Odin suddenly says from the front of the group, holding his fist high in the air as everyone freezes where we stand. My heart begins pattering as he slowly hops down from his horse, leading Sparrow to do the same. I watch as he pulls his bow from his back and loads it, Sparrow doing the same as she pulls her sword from it’s sheath at her side. 

“Fuck, what’s happening, what’s going on?” I whisper to Sam as he instantly grabs onto my shoulder, quietly leading us nearer to the front with Danny and Jake. 

The brothers bring up the rear and have their weapons drawn and ready. I don’t hear anything, and I don’t see anything, but I do feel Jake’s hand land forcefully on my hip as we gather in a protective circle. 

“Do not fire your weapon unless we say so, got it?” Robbie says to Jake and Danny as he passes, and I feel my heart drop. They both nod in understanding. The brothers exchange a few hand signals as they quickly dash off the trail beside us, keeping eyes with Odin as they scout around. 

“What did they hear?” Jake asks us, and we all shrug as our eyes stay trained on our surroundings. The wind has settled a bit, but the sun is bright and hot as it shines through the leaves of the trees. There’s bits of ice on the tall grasses beside us, and I feel myself become disoriented with the way the weather is working, again. 

I feel my heart pounding in my ears as my eyes scatter around the thick woods, Jake’s hand clutching mine protectively, now. I hear cracks in the trees, I hear steps that don’t sound like steps. High up, and down low. Sparrow backs up toward us, her dusty light following her as the wind floats her long hair into the air. 

A fast glance from Odin tells her something I cannot read, and he quickly hops back onto his horse, kicking his leg into its side as it takes off just off the pathway. They’ve disappeared and we’re still left clueless, the brothers back from their scout and closed in, just as confused as we are. 

“What was that?” I ask Sparrow quietly, my hot breath floating like smoke across the air. 

“More guards, they aren’t very close, but we can sense when they’re near,” she replies. “Their tactics to find us are becoming more clever, as they are now being told that you’re missing from the pods. And that Josiah and Robbie have turned on them.”

“They can come and fuckin’ get us, if they want us,” Robbie snarls as he readjusts his weapon. “Pardon my language, Ma’am.” 

I watch Sparrow smirk, giving him a look that says she is the last one he should worry about offending. 

“Come, let’s continue on,” she says as she draws her sword and keeps it protectively at her side as we keep going. “Odin will alert me if anything is close.”

It feels like my feet don’t want to move without me actively telling them to, now. The fear that’s beginning to settle in my bones has grown tenfold after that scare, and without me being able to see Odin. He has become a wall of peace and protection for us in the past few days, and it feels strange not having him in my line of sight. 

But still yet, Jake’s hand clutches mine, and to me, that feels more safe than anything else in our crumbling world. 

We walk along for another silent twenty minutes or so, clumped together and anxious along what used to be an old worn-in path used by hikers and bikers, now very much overgrown and succumbing to the wild again. Thorns catch on my clothing, and rocks and dirt scatter as I step, but we keep along, our eyes watchful and patrolling as we head south. I wish to god Odin would reappear. 

As we walk in the quiet, my mind drifts to Paps and what he might be doing right now, what they might be doing to him. Watching him be ripped away from me might be one of the most aggravating and terrifying things I’ve ever had to witness, and even though I know he is the strongest man I know, deep down I know that he hides his fears. 

If they really have taken him as a pawn for their testing, will he still have his memory? Will he remember me at all?

I feel a shudder as the frigid air envelops me and bites at the tip of my nose, making me feel like I’m frozen to the core. This cold feels different, especially with the sun shining so brightly. It doesn’t feel like it used to, it almost seems as though the debilitating feeling of fear is sewn into it, nefariously making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. My body doesn’t shake with the chill anymore, but it shakes with the unending fear of not knowing what the next second of my life will hold. What the earth will be doing. If we will be alive tomorrow or not. And the most terrifying thought of it all, is that there is nothing we can do to change it.

The wicked shiver chills me down to my soul…only time will tell.

I miss Paps so badly, and I want nothing more than to get to him. The possibility of their family being in the same pod as Paps is likely, which makes me feel a little bit better, but what are we going to do when we get there? Ambush the place? Sneak in a back door while we try not to get caught?

Surely Odin and Sparrow have thought it through, and I’m sure that the brothers have some sort of plan as to how to infiltrate the building. Or maybe, we’re just flying along with no plan at all. Because truly, none of us know the reality of what we're walking into.

Sam and Danny trail behind me, steadfast and courageous, truly grown into the men that I always envisioned they might have. I know they are just as worried as Jake is of what state of mind we will find Josh in, but I think they are holding it together for him. They don’t want to speak- yet- and bring such a horrific reality to life. If Josh is too far gone, and his mind is not his own anymore, will we have to leave him behind for the safety of ourselves?

I can’t even fathom that thought, right now. There is no way that will be our new reality. Starting a new life without Josh is just…

The sun has begun to slip behind the trees, and I know that the heat will return soon and we will all be sweating in the night air instead of freezing. I’m ready to feel a little relief from this new shiver that’s taken up shop in the deepest tissues of my body. In the back of my mind, I hope that Sparrow’s ability to make us all feel more at ease doesn’t take away from her energy source; she doesn’t know how badly we all need her.

Just as my mind feels as though it’s completely shoved full of too many unanswered thoughts, heavy cloud coverage moves in over the sun and begins casting strange shadows across the thick woods around us, and suddenly, my wicked shiver turns from a physical feeling into a subconscious gut suspicion of uneasiness. 

The wind hasn’t blown in minutes, now. 

I slow my steps, glancing around through the trees as darkness begins to shower us, faster and faster. Odin isn’t back yet, and the air feels as if it is standing still and creeping in around us. Something isn’t right. 

Suddenly I get the urge to pause and listen, stopping myself in my tracks as Sam bumps into me from behind. “Whoa, what’s–”

“Shh,” I hold my hand up to him, watching as Jake has noticed I’ve stopped, too. 

“You’re right, child, something feels wrong,” Sparrow says quietly from in front of Jake. Her hand grips her sword more tightly as she cranes her neck all over, looking up and around and through the woods. My chest tightens as I feel as though I’m preparing myself for something, something that has intention to hurt me. Hurt all of us. The feeling that I had when Paps and I had driven the truck into town and were stopped by those creatures has come back full force. Like a dark black cloud is hanging over me, and there is no way I am ever going to wash the feeling of dread from my psyche. 

Within seconds, the sunlight is almost completely gone. Jake’s hand takes mine again as we all press together in a terrified huddle, the brothers at the edges with their weapons drawn. “What is this? What’s happening?” Jake relents. I feel myself beginning to panic, my head darting side to side erratically as I begin to hear unfamiliar sounds coming from the forest. Not birds, not animals… there is no wind to rustle the trees, and there is no way of seeing what is now surely closing in on us. But I can feel it.

“Stay close, everyone, it seems as though we’re surrounded…” Sparrow says a little more loudly now. Her voice is panicked for the first time since we’ve met her. “Odin, Odin, where are you?” she says to herself, drawing her weapon higher. 

It’s dark, now. Pitch black. The world feels more hollow than it ever has. My skin feels like it could fall from my body as my depraved mindset becomes more and more dreadful. I know that whatever is surrounding us in the shadows is draining every ounce of happiness from my body, and try as I might, I can’t form one positive or uplifting thought. 

“Don’t let it consume you, my loves, don’t let it…” I hear Sparrow's voice as a loud hum begins to eat away at my ear drums, deafening me to almost totality. I grip onto Jake’s hand as we all crowd in together, writhing under the feeling of being so suddenly enclosed and debilitated. I can’t even see what’s around us. Not even Sparrow’s overwhelming power of comfort can match whatever it is they are putting onto us. 

“We should run!” I hear Danny suggest, the drone of the hum making him sound like he is a million miles away. “Let’s go!!” 

I feel him pull away from us as I begin to become disoriented, weakening as the seconds tick. “Jake.. I–” I can hardly form any words as I feel like all my energy is depleting. His hand is still latched tightly onto mine, and I begin to see spurts of light through the darkness of my vision, blurry and bright as my eyelids get heavy. 

“Y/N, no!” I hear his voice in my ear, the sweetest sound I have ever heard. “We’ve got to run, we’ve got to go!” Suddenly I feel as though every emotion has been ripped away from my body. 

Where is my gumption? Nothing matters, we’re all going to die, anyway. 

“Sweet Y/N, run!” Sparrow urges me, too, as I feel Jake begin to pull me along just as I had pulled him through the building as it crumbled into the sinkhole around us back at the pod. 

I can’t move, just leave me here. 

I feel my knees hit the dirt at the same time that I feel many sets of unwelcome hands all over me, burning through my thick coats and jackets as they touch me. The hum grows louder and louder, and my blood grows thicker and thicker. Just leave me…

I’m being pulled two ways- one way with the burning hands and one way toward the man whom I have come to adore so intensely, but I could somehow care less who ends up with me. I don’t even mind one way or the other. My endurance is gone. 

Jake squeezes my hands in the darkness, pulling me with everything in him as I feel Sam and Danny join him in his attempts. “Don’t let go of me, Y/N! Do you hear me!” he screams, his voice so worried and terrified. Why are you so scared, Jake? Why do you care about me? “Don’t let her go, Danny! Don’t let her slip!”

“She’s ours, now, you all belong to us…” I hear the crippling voice of the hooded guard say from behind me. I recognize the sing-song voice from their first attempts at taking us, like sirens luring us into the deepest depths of the night. “There’s nothing you can do, your world is a star defying time… you must come with us…”

Everything is blurry, nothing has shape. The burning hands are gripping at all points of my body, now, as I feel like I’m being ripped in two. I hear Sparrow’s shrieks in the distance, and I feel Jake’s grip on my hands begin to weaken. 

“Sam, Sam, get up! Let’s go! I– I can’t hold you both–”

His hands feel like my only anchors to the earth, sure and grounding, but I can’t find the strength to even try and hold on to them. He’s slipping from me, and it’s then that I realize he’s being pulled by them, too. 

We’re being taken. And there’s nothing we can do to stop it.

“Y/N, baby, please!” I hear his honeyed voice again, still so perfect even when he’s terrified. Don’t be so scared, Jake… you shouldn’t even be worried about me. I mean nothing to you. 

“Let GO of me!!” he yells, but it’s no use. He’s ten paces away from me now as I realize that our hands have finally separated, and the burning hands are still holding me. His screaming voice is nothing but a howl in the distance. “Y/N!!!”

My body feels limp and lifeless as the burning hands hold me upright, pulling my body across bushes and grasses and limbs, my legs and feet falling behind me. But I don’t even care. Why don’t I care? Death is probably soon, anyway. Nothing matters.

The eyes of the creatures taking me are burning a bright red, the drone of the hum still prevalent in my ears. 

Again I hear his voice calling out for me across the hillside, bouncing off the treetrunks and cutting through the warming air as the sound of it warms my soul and kills it at the same time. I want him, I need him… he’s the only thing that’s kept my head above water… But our magnets have somehow lost their polarity. I dig down deep and plead with myself, and whoever in the heavens above will listen to forsake me this one time, and bring me out on the other side of this. I have to help them, I have to find Paps… 

Jake…Please… Don’t let them keep me…

Tags: @gretavangroupie @britney-gvf @sacredstarcatcher @wetkleenex-gvf @farfromthehomelands @takenbythemadness @writingcold @builtbybrokenbells @ohgodthefeeling-gvf @fleet-of-fiction @milkgemini @gvfpal @ageofcj@dancingcarbon @highway-tuna @stardustjake @jakekiszkapunchmeintheface @gvfmarge @gracev0609 @myleftsock @literal-dead-leaf @peaceloveunitygvf @ageofbajabule @slut4lando @jordie-gvf @sadiechar @tinydancer40 @rosabellagvf @capnjaket @lyndz2names @thetroublegetssoloud71 @gretavanomens @spark-my-nature @josh-iamyour-mama @anythingforjtk @alwaysonthemend @danieljlmwagner @klarxtr @fortunatelytinybasement @demonrat444 @gretavansara @watchingover-hypegirl @hippievanfleet @digitalnomadz @raviolilegs @lipstickitty @hippievanfleet @klarxtr @strange-whorizons @do-it-jakey-baby @myownparadise96 @gvf-luna @starshine-wagner @cassiesgreta @joopsandjangs @whimsiliz @kiszkas-canvas @whimsiliz @joopsandjangs @broken0mens @scoreofinfantryvines @whereiskeara @do-it-jakey-baby @miravanfleet @heckingfrick@kiszka-canvas @whimsiliz @joopsandjangs @broken0mens @scoreofinfantryvines @whereiskeara @do-it-jakey-baby @miravanfleet @heckingfrick @jenniferkiszka @jjwasneverhere @gvfmarge @pineapple-photographer @vanfleeter @gretnavannfleet @pineapple-photographer @joshylanefleet @becinabubblegvf @ageofmach1ne

[the-starry-seas]

fox has a panic attack during a thunderstorm, and bail and breha are there to comfort him

Fox tears awake with a scream, his back arching off the bed, fingers digging into the mattress, his back burning. Thunder still growls and grumbles overhead. He doubts they heard him.

Something moves suddenly at his side and he moves on instinct, rolling away, presenting his back to the thing and curling around the vulnerable parts of himself. His hands cover the back of his head, a feeble effort, but the only thing he can do. If they hit him there too many more times, the medics won't be able to do anything about the damage.

"What's the matter?" murmurs a soft voice.

His gaze meet Breha's in the hazy soft light of the moon. She looks half-asleep still, squinting against the light coming in through the window, no idea what's going on.

Kark, when something happens, she won't be awake enough to protect herself.

Lightning flashes and he flinches, a full-body shudder violent enough that the mattress trembles with him as a sob escapes his lips.

Breha sits up, turns away, fumbles with the lamp on the bedside table. It clicks on and casts a warm golden glow across the blankets.

"Oh, Fox."

She sounds so dismayed, and he curls tighter around himself.

"I'm sorry," he gasps out, not knowing what he's apologising for, only that it often makes the pain stop sooner. "I'm sorry, I'll be better-"

"Bail," she says instead. "Bail!" There's a rustle behind Fox. "Where did we put Fox's emergency medication?"

"Kriff, it's in his bag," Bail says, and there's a tug at the blankets over Fox's leg as Bail gets up in a hurry, rushing out to the foyer and barely stopping long enough to turn the light on.

Something crashes to the floor outside and Fox flinches again, begging anyone listening that it wasn't a shiny who did that. He can't protect them, not when he's broken like this. They're going to be punished, they're going to be hurt, and it's all because he's a failure, he's useless, he never should have let himself think otherwise-

Bail sits down on the bed next to her, where the light is, face gilded and grieving. The small plastic pouch in his hand is already open, the sensor inside blinking a slow orange.

"Fox, I need to touch the back of your neck," he says.

"No, Senator, please," Fox begs, already sick to his stomach with the knowledge that no begging will save him. It's not Bail, in that moment, it's just a faceless thing that grabs and pushes, and spares nothing in its quest to conquer him.

Bail sighs quietly, looking down at his lap. "You're going to have to move your hands."

Fox doesn't want to move his hands, but soldiers follow orders. He tucks them to his chest, every line of his body tensed in anticipation of another blow.

He whines deep in his throat when Bail leans over him, an instinctive reaction to terror that he can't hold back. It's Bail who flinches then, but his hand is cool and gentle on Fox's skin.

"I know," Bail whispers. "I'm sorry. Does it hurt?"

Lightning flashes again, and Fox is paralysed with fear. He chokes on nothing, gasping for breath, drowning on dry land, and worst of all, he hates himself for the look on Bail's face. Like Bail is watching something horrible happen to someone he loves.

It must be too much to bear, because Bail gets up. There's the sound of the curtains closing, but with the lamp there - with Breha there - the room doesn't seem much darker. Music starts from somewhere, the waltz that they first taught him to dance. It doesn't do anything to hide the thunder, but it's not the thunder that ever hurt him.

The medication in the patch works quickly, the sensor's colour changing to green as Fox's vital signs even out to normal.

"How do you feel?" Breha asks quietly.

He uncurls himself slowly, stiff with tension. There's a part of his brain that turns off in all the terror. That knows that with the patch, it could only have been ten minutes at the most, before calm returned.

It still felt like a thousand years.

He sits up slowly, fingers splayed across the mattress. The patches always make him feel a little dizzy - Bail and Breha will insist that he doesn't get up for another few minutes - but that's no price to pay. Without the patches, that would have lasted for hours.

"Thank you," he whispers, and with gratitude comes shame. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up. I didn't mean to bother you."

"Fox Organa, I love you."

He's seen her in a professional capacity so many times, but for the rest of his life, Breha will never look more like a queen than she does then, in nothing but his shirt going down to her knees, her hair loose and messy around her face, her voice softer than silk and warmer than summer sun.

"I love you," she repeats, "and you will never be a burden to me."

"Or to me," Bail adds. He sets a hand on her shoulder, and she sets her own on top of it. His other hand, he holds out to Fox.

Fox clings to them instead, trying to lose what remains of him in the smell of Breha's hand lotion and Bail's shampoo. They say nothing until he turns his face to kiss Breha's cheek, then stands, unsteady on his feet, to lean into Bail and kiss him, too.

He sits back down and lets out a breath, reminding himself that he's safe here. Palpatine died years ago. Breha wrote clone rights into the planet's laws not long after. Bail oversaw the construction of this place. The lightning will never again touch his skin. Never, ever again.

"I'm better," he says finally. "Thank you." To prove it, he doesn't wait for them to ask. "I want to go back to bed with both of you here. I want you to touch the flowers."

They lay on either side of him, their breathing still a little more even than his. Breha leaves the lamp on. He's grateful for that. Their hands are gentle on his back.

Not the scars, he reminds himself, tucking his face into the oversized pillow that's somehow even softer than his sleep shirt. Not the scars. The flowers.

The palace medics had promised that the scars could be wiped away like they never existed. He'd thought about it, once. But those injuries had healed. The ones in his mind...

Foxgloves, Breha said, when he asked about the flowers almost as tall as he was, planted around the palace. He asked what they meant. Bail said that sometimes flowers don't have a meaning, they're just beautiful.

He had a foxglove tattooed along the length of his spine, over the scars from the lightning. To remind himself that sometimes things could be beautiful. To convince himself that when they look at his back, they're not looking at his scars.

Sometimes, when the bathroom mirror is fogged from the steam of a long shower, he can't see the scars in his reflection. He only sees the gentle lines of the blooms.

They'll fall asleep before he will. He won't mind staying awake to watch over them.

"I love you," he whispers.

They say it back in unison. He smiles a little at that. No matter what they do, they're always so sure of themselves. And when they saw him, when they wanted him, when they cherished him, they were so sure of that, too. It's the only thing he ever had any faith in.

As it turns out, they stay awake to watch over him, and they don't mind.

[progenycursed]

Progeny Cursed Chapter 16

The Pure Vessel goes through their first real molt. Kingsmold 009 remembers what happened last time with a molt of this size. 

<pressure>  *irritated* now what? more molt shit?

*tired*  <pressure> did (you) feel pressure? Is molt? Not happen for last molt.

And good morning to (you)

[hi] happy now

What feel? 

Tight. Crushing.

Itch?

Maybe? Can’t feel through pressure.

Arm normally squishy.  (He) approaching. Go to room

*nervous*dread*{remembering chapter 15 moments} will (he) be mad? *shock* shit! *panic*What (he) doing? Is (he) mad? [help]

scratch arm!

*thankful* thanks

why (he) twitchy? 

Will explain later

(We) in dream. Will (he) looks for (my) mind again? Wait. What? *confused*Did (he) wake? And leave (me) alone to train? Is (he) avoiding (me)? Do (I) worry?  Is (he) mad at (me)? Is (he) watching (me) now? Is test? Do (I) keep hiding self?

*shock* fear* surprise* *confused panic* What in shit!?

*dazed* *confused* where track go? *confused curious* Is test? *curious* Do (i) search for track? 

[growl] no touch! *confuses* no (him) *irritated* crushing. Can’t move *shock*!? <waking> <pressure>

<pressure> ? *curious* ? <pressure> *confused* can’t raise arm?  *serious* guess helping (him)

<tightness>*frustrated* Raise arm higher!! *bored* *irritated* Can’t bend?! <crushing> *angry confused* Not better

<crushed> *angry* Off!!

~relief~ no pressure. No itchy

*confused curious* Why glass smaller? <thirsty> thirsty. Liquid stops thirst  <dehydrated> *giddy* *content excited* 

*nervous* but thirsty  What water? *excited happy* *excited satisfied*

Want more water.  *mischief* can’t ask. But… *smug* victory! Still pure in mind of (him) *serious curious* what molt change? Look like (me) but bigger *serious calm* (siblings) could still recognize me

*excited* can’t wait to show (it) [greetings] *giddy* (I) molted. What (you) think? 

(009)?

How status? What feel?  ——> *confused* what. (Am) fine.

Weak? ——> no

Tired? ——> No

Pain? —— >No!

~huff~ What bad (you)? Why worried? 

*irritated worried* no thing bad (me). Want know (you) status good.

*serious* liar. why (you) worried for (me)?

Not worried!

*irritated* (you) must answer 1 question truthfully

*nervous irritated* Not that question. Ask another

*serious* if that, then (you) must answer 2 questions truthfully

*irked* if answer 2, then (you) explain why (he) twitchy

*content* deal. Where other (0 line)? Why (you) alone?

… *serious* what odds (you) ask different questions?

0%

*irked* (You) little shit

*mischievous* laughter* 

~sigh~ *irked (0) melted immediately (1) melted eventually  (2) attacked light, deconstructed (3) incomplete, void broke mold (4) torn itself apart from order (5) dissected by (him) (6) stood in (his) light (7) repeated molding glitched it, deconstructed   (8) armor outside of abyss

(10) killed itself (11) (he) thinks jumped into void (12) confused, fell (13) violent deconstruction by (him) (14) refused order, deconstructed (15) molded wrong, found empty (I) hide glitches behind locked doors *irritated* now, (you) explain why (he) twitchy

{memories of what happened in chapter 15} Think (he) mad at (me)

(I) would not say mad. (I) would say suspicious. Did anything happen during enchanting or feeding?

{memory of enchanting} {memory of thing approaching while feeding} {memory of threatening thing}

Who? *thinking* few people would approach (them) when acting out

*confused* don’t know. When woke (they) were in room

*thinking* can’t approach, won’t approach, wouldn’t approach…

*laughing* (they) threatened (him)!

* awed excitement* (You) can make sound?!

<laughing> *serious* One of (my) glitches. don’t worry about it.  <snickering> *serious* now, go to bed. 

*excited* Can (you) teach (me)?

*serious* no. Sleep. !relief! 

*curious* what wrong with (them)?

<weak>*dread* need stand up. Must return to abyss

<frail> *dread* no more time.  <feeble> *cautious hope* must return to (sibling)

*worried* where (they) going? why (they) weak? Do (i) go with? *anxious frustrated* if (i) go with, (he) could see (i) glitched  (They) will be fine

*confused* worried* *anxious* what happened to (them)? *shock* cleaning room?! *serious* hopeful* must learn what happened to (them)

First | Previous | Next

Quick guide:  () a person  [] a void callout  {} memories ** emotions <> physical reaction  ~breath~

At last! It is done! This was a looonnng chapter. Was stuck for a while on how I wanted it to look. But finally got into the flow. Enjoy!

[justanotherdumbteenboy]

A little rant over the why I consider that Bakugou Katsuki is autistic

Disclaimer: This is just one of my many mha theories. I would rather if people didn't attack me for this. If you don't like it, just ignore it!. Also, I believe he probably has PTSD as well, but that’s for a different post. This post HAS manga spoilers!

I added pictures this time!

______________________________________________________________

Special interest

I believe Katsuki has two special interests. Becoming a hero, and All Might. He is a person that constantly feels the need to mask, which leads to him hiding and minimising his special interest in All Might despite being an All Might fan basically his entire life. A clear proof of this, is keeping hidden his All Might limited edition card despite always carrying it in his pocket. The reason why he doesn’t mask his special interest in becoming a hero as much, is because it’s an interest that he has been praised for through all his life after his quirk manifested. (Which I find quite interesting, taking into account how this gives us more insight about how their society works, quirk and quirkless discrimination, and the way society praises and treats heroes as gods).

Low empathy and emotional dysregulation 

He has trouble identifying and expressing his own emotions, despite feeling them very intensely, which I believe leads him to mask by displaying anger. Because of this, he struggles with vulnerability as well, wanting to maintain his reputation and image of strength and victory, and hiding all of his potential “weakness”, including, his autistic traits. 

He also struggles with emotional regulation, causing him to have sudden “outbursts” since he suppresses his emotions, until they explode. (no pun intended). 

This is something shown in his fight against Midoriya, and how the only way he knew to express his emotions, was through fighting, and being angry at himself, and at the world. 

He struggles to recognize the feelings of other people, he is unable to relate personally to others' feelings, and doesn’t know how to show empathy, especially verbally. (This doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care for the people around him. He is actually a very kind and caring person. He helps Kirishima study, he defends his classmates, he trains with Izuku. The first thing he asked after waking up from a severe injury was how Todoroki and Midoriya were. In the manga, we see him taking into account Shouto’s past, and actually listen to him when they were dealing with the kids. He clearly cares for the Todoroki’s too). 

He needs routine

He has a very specific routine, and always goes to bed at the same hour. This could also be because he needs to spend some alone time after a long day of socialising and dealing with sensory input in order to calm down and relax, and actually be able to sleep. 

He needs to have time to recharge

Apart from what I just explained about his routine, this is also something we see after he has a panic attack during the Battle trial Arc. He leaves early, making Deku and All Might worry that he was going to drop out, when in reality, he just needed time for himself. 

Has a different way to view the world

During the sports festival arc, when he was analysing one of the fights, we got to see a little bit of the way he methodically analyses and understands things, and it’s shown that one of the things he does to take things apart, is thinking about it like a videogame! (Which I find really cute by the way, especially because he doesn't strike me as a videogame person). 

Sensory issues

His sensory issues focus on physical touch, as we see him avoid physical contact with others multiple times, for example, when he struggled with the hug that Endeavor gave him and Natsuo and practically ran away. He also struggles with tight clothes, and it’s probably one of the reasons why he uses oversized clothing, and hates the school uniform tie. 

I believe that in the sports festival he felt overstimulated by the restraints, and that, in addition to his PTSD, and trauma related to the sludge villain, lead him to having a meltdown. 

(Also, what the fuck with U.A, why would they put RESTRAINS on a child, and then HUMILLIATE him in public, and in television??)

He also has a surprisingly high pain tolerance, which means that he has difficulty processing pain stimuli.

Stimming

He very often grits his teeth, which can be interpreted as a stim, and his way of dealing with the stress and struggle of daily life.

I believe he uses his insults, and curses, not only to avoid having to interact with others, but also, as a vocal stim. Especially curse words. And his iconic ‘Tch’.

Another example of a stim, can be his habit of creating mini explosions with his quirk when he's under stress. 

He also has a very atypical posture, which is just a small thing that I would like to mention.

Struggles with social cues and understanding how to behave and adjust depending on the context

This is something that in my opinion, can be seen mostly when interacts with class 1-B, and on the first episode, especially on his discussion with Iida. He overcompensates his lack of understanding of his own body language through his (sort of) aggressive and ‘exaggerated’  movements.

As I already mentioned earlier, I believe he uses the curse words as a vocal stim, however, I also consider that the way he casually throws around the world ‘die’, is him not understanding social cues, and the fact that this is usually considered something bad. He probably understood this later and just didn’t care though. 

He avoids maintaining eye contact for too long with others, and stares at the floor very often.

He is also a very ‘blunt’ and direct person, and won’t hesitate to call people out, even if it’s seen as rude. For example, he was not afraid to call the Todoroki’s out in their diner, and also didn’t hesitate to question All Might when they were observing as Izuku train. 

He is a very observant and detail oriented person

People underestimate how analytic and observant Bakugou is because of his impulsive facade, however, in my opinion he is one of the most observant people in class 1-A. This is something that shines mostly when it comes to battle, for example in the final exam, and in the ‘Futari no hero’ movie, where he was able to quickly pick up how the quirk of one of the villains worked, and on the joint training arc with class 1-B as well. 

Strong sense of justice and rigid thinking

His way of thinking is very ‘black and white’. An example of this is his difficulty changing his mind about Izuku being useless. (We also know that this is deeply rooted in his insecurities, but I believe this also has an impact on it). 

His ‘win to save’ mindset, and determination to defeat every villain no matter what, in my opinion is an example of his strong sense of justice.

Speaking differences/struggles 

He very evidently has difficulty with volume control of his voice, causing him to scream most of the time mostly by accident. 

Other little details that I want to mention

He has a difficulty remembering names and faces, causing him to rely at the beginning on his nicknames. Which if you think about it, usually has something to do with the physical appearance of the person. Kirishima’s hair, Uraraka’s facial structure, Todoroki’s hair (and quirk), Momo’s hairstyle, Iida’s glasses, Sero’s ‘plain appearance’ (I don’t know how else to describe it, don’t hate me, I love Sero), etc.

His skull t-shirts that basically grew up with him. He probably likes them because of the familiarity they bring, being an item that he had worn through his life. 

_________________________________________________

In conclusion: He is autistic and very heavily misunderstood. I love Bakugou, I think he is an amazing, and very complex character, and I love it when people analyse him, so if anyone has anything to add, or a different perspective, please do comment on it. 

Thank you for reading my one AM rant. Sleep? I don't know her!

[zenphiaaa]

Kinda Crazy (Giyuu Tomioka)

Yandere!Giyuu x Gen!Reader

<> The first time you saw him, it was at the gym

<> A loud ban was heard throughout thr gym hall which caused multipe people to stop their workout and look to see what had hapened

<> You gently placed your dumbbells on the ground as you moved to help the man

<> It appeared that the man had tripped and knocked down some exercise rope

<> As you helped him up and put back the ropes, you could feel his eyes on you. Unnerving but maybe he was shy?

<> After thanking you for your help, he quickly dashed out of the gym without another word

<> It wasn't until the next week that you saw him again

<> Shyly coming up to you with a protein bar in hand and soem water, "For your help." He had said as he gently placed the items in your hand

<> You blinked at the male before letting out a small smile, "Thanks!"

<> And that was the start of it

<> Slowly becoming gym buddies and workout partners

<> Getting to know one another through small chats between reps

<>Which in turn started to mix in small 'dates' after said workout to a nearby cafe

<> You were excited to gain to work out buddy while Giyu...well he found the love of his life of course

<> Why do you think the gym had stopped charging you for you, more money in your wallet after all!

<> Not to mention he always makes sure no one approaches you during your workout, you won'thave to deal with any creeps anymore

<> Oh and those little cafe dates? Well he hopes you didn't notice him slipping in an air tag into your bag while you were ordering

<> Now he knows your go to drink and your address! It's a win win

<> Don't mind the way he stares at you, he can't help but commit your profile to his memory

<> And the day you suggested to hang out at your place, he was over the moon

<> Don't mind his long breaks to the 'bathroom' he's just setting up your new security cameras for you!

<> Now he has eyes on you 24/7

You knock on the door at a rapid and harsh pace. Scared for what you found in your apartment. A hidden camera. You weren't sure how long it was in your apartment or even who put it there, but you were going to get to the bottom of it.

Having already called the cops and them being useless as always, you deiced the next course of action was to ask a friend for help. Which leaded you to Giyu's apartment at eleven at night.

"Y/N? Is everything alright?" Giyu questioned worryingly. He had a mini panic attack as he watched you slowly come to the realization that your aartment was trapped. His only savin grace was the fact that those cops were utter shit at their job.

But he supposes he'll let the cos off the hook for this one. After all he doesn't want to hurt you! He just wanted to make sure you were taking good care of yourself. It's his responsibility as your future husband after all!

"There's...I found a camera!" You breathlessly tried to explain. You could still feel the panic coursing through your viens from the invasive object. You desperately tried to rake your brain on to who could possibly do something like this.

"Hey, take a deep breath alright? Your going to faint if you keep this up." Giyu tried to calm you down. "Here why don't you come in. We can talk more comfortably on the couch." He spoke as he began to lead you into his home.

You followed along, his hand resting on your lower back urging you forwards. Unable to hide the smirk tugging at his lips, as he lead you deeper into his apartment. If only you knew that you were about to enter into the loins' den.

[jokerislandgirl32]

Ziolet Songs: Day Eleven

Day 11: Can’t Help Falling in Love

Wise men say Only fools rush in But I can't help falling in love with you Shall I stay? Would it be a sin If I can't help falling in love with you?

Like a river flows Surely to the sea Darling, so it goes Some things are meant to be

Take my hand Take my whole life, too For I can't help falling in love with you

Five days late, but here we are! I promise I will post all 31 songs in celebration of Zach and Violet’s 10 year wedding anniversary this month, but I will be extending it out into November since I’ve gotten behind.

For now I leave you with this song! For Violet this song is representative of her devotion to Zach. Even when she realized he was in another relationship she did not give up on her hope of one day being with him. She knew “some things are meant to be,” and she prayed that would be true for them.

Below you can find a fanfic excerpt I posted on tumblr a few years ago that many of you have not seen! I am reposting it here! Please note the excerpt contains mentions of a panic attack and angsty feelings.

“Heellllooooo, Violet? Special delivery for my dearest cousin, it’s your latest edition of the ‘stalking my crush gazette!’” My cousin Paige happily announced as she bounced into the house with a newspaper and magazine in hand. 

“Can you please stop it,” I groaned in embarrassment. 

Paige winked at me, “when you ask him out, I will! I’m ready to be your matron of honor, you know.”

“You know I can’t do that…and you just got married, do you really want to endure another wedding?” I murmured. 

“Well it’s obvious he’s not going to do it, and if he did he’d run away afterwards….I really thought you were the only one who did that, but he’s just as bad as you are, you truly are meant for each other. And absolutely, love is in the air, let’s just go crazy and have you and mom get married to your true loves this year too!” 

I snorted and rolled my eyes as Paige took a seat on a barstool beside me at the kitchen counter. She flipped through a popular celebrity magazine, and I scanned the paper I especially ordered from Massachusetts to keep up on the happenings of Varmitech Industries, and by extension Zach. 

After a few minutes of us silently reading, Paige let out a quiet gasp, I looked to her and saw her snap the magazine shut and move it away from my line of sight at an alarming rate. She looked at me with a pained expression. 

“What’s wrong,” I joked, “it looks like you’ve seen a ghost? Did your favorite boy band break up or something?” 

“No, it’s not that, it’s ummm, it’s nothing…” she spoke with an anxious tone to her voice, and she looked away from me. 

I felt my heart rate accelerate, I knew Paige, something was wrong…she was hiding something, “Paige, come on, you can tell me, what’s going on, it can’t be that bad…”

She opened the magazine to the page she’d tried to hide from me, and she pointed at it as a tear silently rolled down her cheek, “he’s with someone….”

My heart dropped into my stomach as I chanced a look at the page she was pointing to, there was a picture of Zach, and a headline that read, “CEO of Varmitech Industries Has Mystery Lover.”

My mouth dropped open in shock, and I stood up quickly, knocking the barstool over in my wake. I grasped my V butterfly necklace as the breath I did not know I’d been holding left my mouth in a strangled sob. I backed away from Paige and the counter, and I began to hyperventilate. I covered my mouth with my hands to hold back my sobs when the tears began streaming down my face. 

My quaking knees gave way, and I fell to the floor, succumbing to a full blown panic attack. Paige wrapped her arms around me, pulling me against her, trying her best to calm me. All I could think was what an idiot I’d been, I’d fallen in love with someone who belonged to someone else. Someone who would never be mine…no matter how much I wanted him to be mine. 

VvvvvvvVvvvvvV

I walked by the ocean that evening fingering the butterfly necklace Zach had given me only a couple months before on the night he kissed me, the night I thought he’d fallen in love with me. I quietly sang the lyrics to “Can’t Help Falling In Love:”

“Like a river flows

Surely to the sea

Darling, so it goes

Some things are meant to be…

Take my hand

Take my whole life, too

For I can't help falling in love with you…”

I let out a growl of frustration, and I unhooked the necklace, preparing to throw it into the ocean. Before I could do it, I reached up to wipe the tears from my eyes and saw that a small, perfectly shaped red and black scallop seashell had washed ashore by my feet. 

I picked it up and ran my thumb over the surface of the shell, and I took a deep breath before I pocketed it. The shell had Zach’s colors…that had to mean something…I refastened the necklace, and whispered, “‘some things are meant to be…’”

[hendersister]

twilight zone (2/3)

summary: when you and steve get trapped in the upside down, you work together to survive.

pairing: steve harrington x henderson!sister reader

title 🎵: twilight zone by golden earring

<- part 1 | part 3 ->

You and Steve are stuck in the Upside Down. You both got here by going through a gate at the bottom of Lover’s Lake. Unfortunately, the gate is now being guarded by demobats and now you two need to find another gate to get back home. You believe there might be a gate at Eddie’s trailer, where Chrissy died. The trailer park is about 15 miles across town, so you and Steve decided to make a quick pit stop at your house in order to pick up supplies for the journey ahead.

You’re walking through the woods to get to your house. It’s a bit longer, but you believe it's safer. And you’re less likely to be seen by any other creatures from the Upside Down…. 

“So, is this how you imagined spending spring break?” Steve jokes.

“Not exactly,” you laugh, “I knew I’d spend it with you, I just thought it would be somewhere in our own dimension.”

Steve chuckles.

“Well, there’s nobody else I’d rather go to another dimension with than you,” your boyfriend tells you.

You smile and nod in agreement.

“Same. We help each other survive,” you say quietly.

You take Steve’s hand, nuzzling up to him. Nothing like the end of the world to bring you and Steve closer together. You’re both enjoying this cute little moment when- 

Suddenly you see a creature in the distance. Your eyes widen. Oh fuck! You’ve seen demodogs before, but this creature appears to be much larger. It’s a fully grown demogorgon.

You drop Steve’s hand in shock.

“St...Steve,” you stutter, barely above a whisper.

You nervously nod in the direction of the demogorgon. Steve turns his head to see what you’re seeing and his stomach immediately sinks.

“Shit…” Steve curses.

Although you’ve never dealt with a demogorgon before, Steve has. It was a tough fight. Steve jumped in to help out Nancy and Jonathan, but in the end it took all 3 of them to take down the demogorgon. 

The demogorgon is slowly coming closer but it doesn’t see you.

Steve really wishes that he had his bat with him. He could’ve used it to protect the two of you. He knows that he can’t take on a demogorgon without any weapons. Instead of fighting, your boyfriend is going to do whatever he can to keep you safe. 

“C’mon.”

Steve takes your hand and leads you over to a nearby tree. It’s big enough for you both to hide behind. You can hear the sound of the demogorgon’s footsteps approaching.

thump

You shut your eyes. You’re so terrified that your body is shaking. If that demogorgon finds you and Steve then it’s game over, man. 

No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! 

Your heart starts beating rapidly.  This might be the closest you’ve come to having a full on panic attack. Steve can tell how freaked out you are, so he protectively wraps his arms around you and pulls you close.

Thump

The footsteps are growing louder, which means the demogorgon is close.

“Hey, relax! It’s gonna be okay,” Steve whispers, trying his best to calm you down.

“I don’t wanna die. I don’t wanna die….” you breathe. You can feel your eyes welling up with tears.

"You're not going to die. I promise," Steve tells you.

THUMP

The demogorgon’s footsteps are so loud. It sounds like the creature is on the other side of the tree that you and Steve are hiding behind.

You put your hand over your mouth to muffle any screams and crying. Steve holds his breath and you. He is the only reason you aren’t crying hysterically right now. You and Steve are clutching onto each other for dear life as the demogorgon walks by the tree. 

It’s so tense and quiet right now, you can cut the tension with a knife. And then-

The demogorgon’s footsteps start growing more distant. It sounds like the creature has left. 

Steve finally exhales. He cautiously checks the other side of the tree. He doesn’t see anything.

“It’s gone.”

“Are you sure?” you ask anxiously.

Steve nods.

“Yeah. It left,” Steve reassures you.

You sigh in relief. Steve lets go of you. You can feel your heart beating at a normal pace again. 

“Are you okay?” Steve asks with concern.

You nod before pulling your boyfriend into a big hug.

“Thank you for helping me through that panic attack. The demogorgon would’ve got me if you weren’t here. You saved my life, Steve. I love you so much! Thank you,” you say sincerely.

Steve wraps his arms around you. He rests his forehead on yours.

“I love you too,” he says softly, and then, “It’s just like you said earlier… we help each other survive, right?”

Your heart melts.

“Yeah. We help each other survive,” you smile.

[rozaceous]

the time being had is of ambiguous quality, but we're certainly here

(ttbh for abbreviation purposes)

below the cut is the scene i wrote as gift fic for @vermillioncrown as a spin-off of our collab 'we're here for a good time, not a long time,' which we've hinted around in previous posts. (we were talking abt our beef w kidfic and this happened.) abt 1.7k words

to re-cap, general premise is that allie and korvin got de-aged in their respective universes, have to camp out in canon-verse for a little while as things settle down at home. whfagt events were abt six months prior.

Allie doesn’t think it’s unreasonable that when the very beautiful man who told her to call him Conner attempts to set her down amongst a group of vigilantes that she’s been assured are an alternate universe version of her family—and whom older her has apparently visited before?—she tightens her grip on his t-shirt and her knees around his hip.

The even more (somehow?) beautiful man who is first to approach them makes her hide her face in Conner’s shoulder because he’s so nauseatingly good-looking. Well, it’s a combo of that and people staring at her in general. Is everyone stupidly pretty here?

Someone makes a cooing noise.

“Jason filled us in,” says the Even More Beautiful Man. “This is Allie?”

His voice is all cheerful-gentle and Allie hates it, she does not want this man paying her his undivided attention, it’s mortifying, it’s even worse than when Duke and Jason had had to calm her down from a panic attack a few hours ago and had treated her with kid gloves and looked at her like she was the saddest, wettest kitten out in the rain.

But part of what he says makes her perk up, and she looks around the cave which is apparently called the Batcave because everyone sucks at naming things. “Jason?”

Conner snorts. “The more things change…”

“—I just don’t think it makes sense to leave me in an alternate universe with people I don’t know,” comes a child’s voice, only barely petulant, and Allie’s distracted from her search. “Can’t I be protected at—home? Don’t you have superpowers?”

“Yeah, but you’re extra squishy human right now, Korv,” says a fond-sounding Conner. A Conner who is not her Conner, or at least not the one holding her. It’s a Conner carrying a little boy piggy-back who looks about her age, walking down a set of stairs. Hm. She had gotten flown in through an entrance directly into the cave. It had been really cool.

“And the true dynamic duo is reunited,” mutters another pretty boy, trailing behind. He catches Allie’s eye and smiles.

Allie wants to die. Just how many beautiful people’s company can she be expected to endure?

“Reunited?” Allie redirects her attention. She looks at the little boy who looks back at her with equal discernment, and doesn’t recognize him though the preternatural canniness is viscerally familiar. “We’ve met?”

The Even More Beautiful Man clears his throat. “You and Korvin met the last time you were both in this universe, Allie.” He sounds slightly constipated. Unfortunately, it doesn’t diminish his charm.

“Yeah, and now it’s something something, latent agents of chaos and order, multiversal shenanigans never letting up, achieving balance in the force,” says Korvin’s Conner. “Easiest if you and Allie are in the same place for the time being while the rest of us do clean up. You two even each other out, existentially speaking.”

“That’s a stupid explanation,” Korvin grumbles. He darts another look at Allie, scans the cave.

Anything his Conner might say in response is drowned out by the sound of a motorcycle engine echoing, and Allie’s attention is stolen by the figure on the bike, who, besides Conner, is the only one she recognizes thus far. Though that’s not saying much.

Jason—or this universe’s version of him, and wow this is all getting confusing—eyeballs her once he’s parked and takes his helmet off, hair mussed and a little sweaty. He gives a little wave. “Hey, Allie.”

“Hi,” she replies, and she can feel her cheeks reddening again. She turns away.

“No memories at all?” asks Jason in a tone of confirmation more than interrogation, and she’s not a hundred percent on who he’s talking to, but she decides it’s not her. Besides, he should already know this since her Jason is the one that initiated contact with him about her coming here.

Conner answers. “Nothing past the age she is now.” He rubs his hand on her back.

Time to lean in.

“I’m seven,” she announces in her best ‘I’m baby’ impression.

“Me too,” says Korvin.

“Fascinating,” says the pretty boy. “You had at least a ten year age gap last time.”

“So, this is a situation that is potentially hilarious, and I’d love to stick around for multiple reasons not even to do with the hilarity, but unfortunately there’s a time crunch.” Korvin’s Conner sounds genuinely apologetic.

“Ditto.” Conner is similarly regretful. “Believe me, I want to hang around, and you are wicked cute as a kid—” he directs this part at Allie “—but the universe-saving thing. Kind of pressing.”

“They’ll be safe here,” assures the oldest man in a gruff voice. He’s handsome, but in a dad kind of way where he looks like he needs a nap and a shave. Allie bets he gives really good hugs if you’re able to surprise one out of him.

“Hopefully less mayhem than last time,” says the Even More Beautiful Man with a laugh. “Admittedly not a high bar to clear, though.”

Everyone has been extremely vague about what had happened the last time Allie had universe-hopped, her Jason especially, and he had seemed to know the most. Maybe she’ll get some answers here.

“This is child abandonment, I’m pretty sure,” protests Korvin when his Conner detaches him and sets him down. His Conner winces deeply.

“I’ll be back, Korv,” he promises, crouched down to eye level and more serious than an adult making those kinds of promises to a kid usually is.

“Hm,” is all Korvin says.

“You too, now, Allie,” says her Conner. He’s wearing a reassuring expression. “Back soon.”

She doesn’t put up a fuss this time, though she feels a little silly standing there in the Wonder Woman t-shirt her Jason had given her—older-hers, apparently, and she swims in it even with the hem tied in a knot at her waist—and the jeans and shoes that had been hastily purchased in her home universe.

The two Conners eye each other, and then Korvin’s Conner says, “Good to know I can pull off a nose ring.”

Her Conner scoffs. “I can pull off anything.”

Korvin’s Conner grins. “It's true, I can.”

“See you in a bit, Allie.”

“Real soon, Korv.”

The two of them have some universe-traveling bracelet doohickey and vanish in short order, and Allie looks around the gathered inhabitants of the Batcave—seriously such a stupid name—and then at Korvin, who looks back at her, and, in unspoken agreement, they move closer to each other.

“I think this means we’re best friends now,” she says solemnly.

Korvin nods back with equal solemnity.

The Even More Beautiful Man squats down and smiles at them. “Either of you hungry?”

“Is Steph here?” Allie ignores him and peers around the cave for effect. ”Or Duke?”

“Steph and Duke?” Korvin asks her, also ignoring the Even More Beautiful Man.

“They're nice,” Allie informs him. ”And Steph's really pretty.”

The Even More Beautiful Man makes a noise in the back of his throat, apparently of confusion or dismay, because he quickly clears it and that noise is different. “Steph's wrapping some things up and Duke has class. He'll be back for dinner.”

“Oh.” Allie stops looking around. She still doesn't look at the Even More Beautiful Man; it'd be like looking at the sun if the sun wasn't an indifferent ball of burning gas and instead actively liked you.

“Who are you, anyway?” says Korvin to the Even More Beautiful Man, though Allie notices that he doesn't look at him straight on. Still. Respect.

The Even More Beautiful Man smiles again. “I'm Dick—”

Allie chokes, shares a frantic glance with Korvin.

“That's a bad word,” Korvin accuses instantly.

“I can't say that, I'll get in trouble,” Allie follows up.

“Are you trying to get us in trouble?”

“That's not nice.”

“You shouldn’t try and trick people.”

“I don’t like this.”

Korvin latches onto her hand; she squeezes back. They shuffle even closer to one another.

The pretty boy is clearly biting his cheek in order not to laugh, his face pinking. Dick—and not only is everyone pretty here, the bad names aren’t limited to places, apparently—just stares at them, shell-shocked.

“I—it’s not a bad word, my name is—Dick is short for Richard. It’s a nickname.” He sounds thoroughly lost.

“Sure, Mr Richard,” returns Korvin derisively.

The pretty boy loses it at the same time as Jason bursts into a full-on cackle and Dick’s expression turns to one of horror. Allie, trying not to observe everyone else laughing so that she doesn’t crack, manages instead to make eye contact with the old guy, who gives her the most subdued yet intense smile she’s ever seen, causing her to reflexively smile back.

“His name really is Dick,” the old guy says, subdued-amused. Wow, everything about this guy is subdued, but strictly in a lurking-under-the-surface kinda way. “I’m Bruce. Allie, you’ve met Jason. Korvin, you’ve met Tim. The others will be by eventually and we’ll do further introductions as needed.”

Smart, not offering up information until it’s immediately relevant. Also, paranoid. Allie notices Bruce noticing that she notices, and, judging by the grip on her hand, Korvin notices, too.

“Holy shit, this is great,” Jason wheezes.

“Language,” Tim wheezes back, setting them both off again.

With an air of trying to regain his equilibrium, Dick looks to her and Korvin, jokes, “What, you’re not going to reprimand Jason for using a bad word?”

Korvin scuffs his foot on the concrete, looking down, hand swinging in hers. “Not my business.”

Allie, feeling a little emboldened by the general good humor, interprets: “He’s not trying to make us say anything bad, so it’d be rude to reprimand.” Then, enunciating as clearly as possible, she continues, “And we have fucking manners.”

Even Dick loses the ability to hold it together in the face of such impeccable logic; he snorts loudly, claps a hand over his mouth.

Korvin grins and laughs, then, and Allie grins back.

[deathbxnny]

☆《The hidden Gem.(Yanqing x Edel Raid!Reader)》☆

-----♡

A/N: So, this is brought to you by the Yanqing Anon! They wanted a nice one-shot inspired by this post, so here it is! A special thanks to the great Anon in question!<33

Summary: You've been in a relationship with Yanqing for a while now, yet never mentioned yourself being of the Edel Raid race. One day, however, this unexpectedly changes, as you were forced to reveal yourself in order to protect your lover.

Content: mentions of injury and battle, angst, fluff, established relationship

Reader has she/her pronouns!

((Not fully proofread!))

-----♡

You felt worry and fear strike your heart, once you heard the news of a very bad Mara-struck attack somewhere on the ship. You weren't afraid of the enemies themselves necessarily, but rather for your boyfriend, who was most likely sent out to deal with them too.

And whilst you knew, that he could handle himself just fine, you still had this odd feeling, that something had gone wrong. That something happened to him.

You pushed your way through the thick crowd of guards and workers, your eyes squinting to see where your general Jing Yuan was. The panic was clear in everyone's faces, as they tried getting everything under control. And admidst the chaos, stood the ever so calm general you and Yanqing called your master and caretaker. You moved faster towards the man now, his name leaving your lips in slight panic.

He looked up from where he was standing, his eyes narrowing in confusion, when you finally reached him panting. "(Y/N)? What are you doing here? You should be in a safe zone right now." The man said sternly, obviously not amused by your appearance here. And you didn't necessarily blame him either, considering that you were no warrior here, despite the abilities you were hiding.

You didn't mean to keep them a secret either, as you did trust Jing Yuan and Yanqing with your life... yet your past experiences made you hide them away from everyone. The last thing you wanted was for someone to use you and see you only as a tool, a weapon.

"I know, I'm sorry Master Jing Yuan. But I'm worried about Yanqing. Something happened to him, I know it did." You said loudly over the buzzing of the chaotic crowd. Yet he still didn't seem convinced. "Have some trust in his abilities. You know what he's capable of." "I'm not underestimating him, I'd never dare it. But I still would like to know where he is at the moment." You pleaded, as you chased after the man, who now began heading for his office. You stumbled to catch up to him, until your hand grabbed onto his sleeve. "(Y/N), I won't repeat myself. It's too dangerous for you out here." The man said, giving you a stern, yet soft gaze.

He understood how much you loved and cared for Yanqing, but he knew the young boy wouldn't be happy seeing you out here either. Before you could retaliate however, a guard suddenly came up to you both, bleeding and panting.

"General Jing Yuan! I come from the North, our forces have been completely destroyed by powerful enemies. We beg for back up. Lieutenant Yanqing has been heavily injured as well..." The man trailed off, as he collapsed, a couple healers quickly coming in to help the guard.

Your body moved faster than your mind did, as you turned to run in the direction the guard came from. But an arm on your shoulder stopped you in your tracks roughly. "(Y/N)-!" Jing Yuan could barely get your name out, before you just spun out of his hold and continued sprinting out of the building.

You knew you'd get in trouble for that later on, but you had worse things to worry about. And that was getting to you boyfriend, before it was too late.

---

You panted, as you ran through the endless paths and roads, up and down stairs, over bridges. You had to find him, you just had to. From some injured guards on your way there, you were able to roughly pin point Yanqing's location. The more it took you to get to him, the more dread began filling you.

But then you finally saw him. He was laying on the ground against a container, his hand gripping his side painfully, as he bled. He was panting heavily, his eyes closed to stabilise his breathing, when he opened them weakly at your warm hands pressing down on his wound as well.

"(Y/N)... you shouldn't... be here. Get away, before they... come back." He coughed, blood falling from his lips, as his other hand weakly fell on yours. You frowned and shook your head, tears brimming in your eyes at the horrible state he was in. You've never seen him like this before and you never wanted to either.

"No, I can't leave you here. I've come here to save you." "You can't, you... don't know how to fight." He simply said, his hand tightening around yours with a stern look in his lidded eyes. He was fighting so hard to stay awake for you, but it was obvious that he was losing way too much. You thought for a moment about what to do next, when you heard the sound of enemies approaching you.

It had to be done. There was no other choice.

"You're right... I can't fight. But you can... do you trust me Yanqing?" "With my life." As the words weakly left his lips, a bright flash went off, surrounding and engulfing you both in warm light. He closed his eyes in surprise, before realising that he was rushing with power and strength once more.

When he opened his eyes again, he noticed that you were gone and that he was holding onto a long, beautiful sword. "(Y/N)...?" "Be careful. They're coming. You'll get your answers later." Your voice softly said in his mind, which made him act quickly and trust your words.

He felt powerful and strong, as he wielded the weapon with ease, striking down enemy after enemy with unbelievable ease. He was always a very skilled and strong warrior, but this was on another level. He was confused on what was going on, his mind trying to piece all of this together, until he concluded that the weapon somehow was you. He didn't know how you did it, but he definitely wanted to find out.

By the time he destroyed all the enemies, Jing Yuan and his backup finally showed up. Yanqing didn't feel fatigued or weak at all anymore, as he just stood there lightly panting. "Yanqing! Where is (Y/N)?-" He once more could barely get your name out, when you transformed right back to normal. Yanqing blinked in surprise, as the blade morphed back into your form.

You stumbled for a moment, not being used to turning anymore, before quickly hiding yourself a little behind Yanqing from the angry, yet baffled look on the generals face. The older man quickly waved the guards off to help the injured and civilians who still might be left, before approaching you two with a small frown.

"Care to explain what is going on here?" The general asked sternly, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down at you. Yanqing stood infront you protectively with worry, though he was also very curious about what just happened earlier. You hesitated for a moment, before finally speaking up.

"I... belong to a rare race called the "Edel Raid". We are able to turn into weapons and merge with humans we call "Pledgers". I'm sorry for keeping this from you. I didn't want to, but I was scared and worried..." You trailed off quietly, as Yanqing turned to you with a furrow in his brows. His hands reached for your shoulders, obvious confusion radiating off of him. "Why? Do you not trust us?"

"No, no, that's not it! I do trust you! It's just that... our kind is usually treated as nothing more than tools for battle... and our humanity gets disregarded." You said and watched as a flicker of anger ran through Yanqing's eyes, his hand wrapping around you to pull you into his strong embrace. "I see... don't worry. I won't let anyone hurt you. The general won't let anything happen either!" Yanqing said, as the older man hummed and nodded in agreement.

Once you calmed down, you three began walking back to the safe zone, your hand tightly holding onto Yanqing's. "You spoke of merging with humans earlier... is that what you did with Yanqing?" Jing Yuan enquired curiously, making you look up at him and nod. "Yeah, that's exactly what I did. We can only react with one human at a time, so Yanqing is the only one who can wield me now." You hummed, as the boy gave you a warm smile of pride.

He felt honoured, that you chose him of all people to react with. He silently swore, that he'd train much harder from now on so that he can control and wield you even better. It's the least he could do for you, after you practically saved his life.

"I see... and where do you gain your power from?" The older general asked curiously, obviously interested in your abilities. You stopped walking, to pull back your hair, revealing a beautiful gem on the back of your neck. "All of my power is stored in this gem right here." You explained, making Yanqing lightly trace it in awe. You were truly beautiful to him.

"I swear I'll train harder to become stronger for you, my crane... you could join me as well in some sessions!" Yanqing said with new found motivation, but was stopped by the general shaking his head with a frown on his lips.

"You'll have to wait for a month on that one I'm afraid." He said, making both of you look at him in confusion. "Why so, Master Jing Yuan?" "You are grounded for an entire month for disobeying my orders and leaving the safe zones." Jing Yuan said, as he simply kept on walking, ignoring your whines and pleas for him to take it back.

But at the end of the day, you two were finally glad to be back in eachothers embrace, safe and sound. And that's all that's all that mattered.

-----♡

A/N: Alright! I hope this was good enough! Thank you Yanqing Anon again for this phenomenal idea!<33

[127luvr]

Round & Round

Jung Sungchan x Male Reader

In which feelings you never knew you had finally bubble up to the surface on the first day of filming Nct Universe

Warnings: panic attack, angst

The set is buzzing with life. Dozens of conversations bouncing off of each other from across the room where the camera crew set up. You feel your heart race as you stand next to Sungchan—your head barely reaching his shoulder as he stands straight. With his hands behind his back as he bounces back and forth on his heels.

“How do you feel, (Y/n)? They’re finally freeing you from the basement.” The joke catches you off guard, causing an unrecognizable feeling to settle in your stomach. Your eyes widen a little as you catch the look on his face—giddy and excited as if he didn’t catch the damage his comment had made on your demeanor. “We finally get to introduce the rest of you guys to the world—no more hiding. Isn’t that exciting—” He finally looks down at you, catching how pale you’ve turned compared to this morning. “(Y/n)?”

The director claps his hands, holding a stack of papers that were stapled together under his armpit. He’s quite short, eyes covered with brown strands of hair as he introduces his crew to you. It’s mostly out of courtesy, making the rookies feel more comfortable as it was one of their first times filming something like this. It’s still a little unsettling for you. How comfortable Sungchan and Shotaro feel in front of the camera compared to how you feel. Alienated. Washed out against the fluorescent lights that filled the ceiling and the lighting the filming crew brought with them.

“Okay guys just as we practiced. As soon as you hear Sungchan’s line—start walking. The order will be Shohei, Seunghan, Eunseok and lastly, (Y/n). After that you won’t need our guidance, I want it as authentic as possible.” With a bow you’re all behind the door, your hand gripping onto the end of Eunseok’s shirt in a fit of anxiety.

Shohei walks into the room, unafraid and confident. He is the first to announce himself to Sungchan and Shotaro—who look like pros next to each other. His introduction is followed by Seunghan’s—who keeps his face covered for half of the time as a nervous habit. You state your name and age, digging your nails into the palm of your hand—away from the camera.

“Next is a self introductory quiz!”

Without warning, you feel your legs walk out of the room, overwhelmed by all of the cameras that were faced towards the six of you all every moment. You don’t stop walking until you get to the nearest practice room, sinking to the floor as soon as you manage to get the heavy door shut. You try to calm your nerves, teeth chattering as you hug yourself to calm down. You feel disoriented as you lick your dry lips in an attempt to cure your dry mouth. No amount of counting to five could calm you down now.

“(Y/n)?” There’s a shy knock on the door that startles you, Sungchan’s small voice barely carrying itself through the metal door. Your arm feels like dead weight when you try and unravel itself from your shape. It’s useless as you rock and forth, choking up when you try and call out to him. “Hey, I’m going to come in, okay? I need to make sure you’re okay.”

When Sungchan comes in he is immediately next to you, large hands sprawled out on the cold floor as he balances himself on his knees. He is quick to replace your arms with his own, whispering into your ear—his cool breath grounding you to reality.

“It’s okay, (Y/n). I’m here. You’re here.” You push him off of you, feeling stuffy as you breathed his cologne in. In a moment’s notice you’re standing—towering over Sungchan for once as he is trying to figure what changed so suddenly.

“You left me Sungchan.” He finally stands, dusting his hands off on his dress pants. “You debuted in Nct knowing we were supposed to be all together. You and Shotaro abandoned me for three years. It’s not the same anymore—you don’t even try to see me anymore. You don’t have back to back schedules, Sungchan. You’re not as busy as some of the members are. Mark is in every damn group under the sun and he makes time for Haechan—he makes time for things he loves. You don’t even even have a set unit and you leave me with single word messages for weeks. No updates on how you’re doing—what you’re doing—what you’re practicing. I don’t get it.”

Sungchan swallows dryly, frowning deeply as he paces around.

“(Y/n), you don’t know how hard it’s been without you. Especially in the beginning when they didn’t let us reach out to anyone. We weren’t allowed to do anything—god I spent so many nights not being able to sleep. Wanting to go back to you even if it meant delaying my debut even more.” He stops pacing, turning his head towards you in panic. “Would you have wanted that? I’ve spent so long wondering what you would’ve wanted me to do, (Y/n). But you know we have no say in this, it’s so useless—fighting back.” You clench your jaw tight, still shivering as you keep your arms wrapped tightly around yourself.

There are no words exchanged between the two of you for a few minutes. It takes a while for the hostile air in the practice room to dissipate, left with only the sound of the AC coursing through the vents above.

“I’m sorry that I lashed out at you. I shouldn’t have said some of those things, it was uncalled for. You didn’t know I was feeling like that—how would you? That’s not another shot at you by the way—” You let out an embarrassed groan, covering your flushed face with your long sleeves. “I’m really happy that you got to have your debut and all your schedules… I just miss you.”

Sungchan quietly anticipates for the other shoe to drop, light on his feet when he realizes that there was no but to the rest of your apology. He lets out a shaky breath, one he doesn’t know he’s been holding.

“I’m sorry I didn’t reach out to you more. I know you, (Y/n), I know that even a text saying I’m busy would’ve gone a long way. Honestly, that’s all on me.” You punch his shoulder playfully, tired of hearing him blame himself. “I missed you too, by the way.”

[naffeclipse]

Ok, finally I can sit down and write this!! XD

Ahhh, what a chapter! Lots of new info, a new routine is starting to set in, and we had a bit of a surprise there at the end!!

So first off, we have that slow testing of the waters that is now a little more hopeful and I love it! So much of this chapter had me smiling widely and made my heart melt at so many points!

Like, first of all how the hunter teases the boys for "showing off" hehe! And it got me thinking! Because it never quite occurred to me how much they must have been holding back physically! Obviously they were careful not to exhibit any obviously demonic features, but the fact is that they never really went beyond what an animatronic their size should have been capable of. Always kept at a speed that seemed possible for their form when y/n was paying attention. never did anything that seemed far out of their reach. And when those things must have been so easy if they could have just done it, I bet it got at least a bit tiring hiding what comes naturally for them. It must be so freeing to be able to truly be themselves now! And of course, if they get the chance to show off a little in order to impress their heart haha!

And Oh. My gosh. The moment when Moon was startled by the crossbow! It caught my attention because aside from losing y/n (physically or metaphorically), the boys have not really shown fear. They themselves admit it's not something they tend to feel. They're always on the lookout and not easily taken by surprise, but they could have encountered at least a couple hunters before the one in the cornfield. They know what happens during an exorcism so there must be some instinctual fear when it comes to a hunter's weapons. But even more than that, I wonder if this is similar to y/n's fear of them growing bored and deciding to kill them in the future. But the boys may have imagined worse scenarios in which the hunter decides they actually are a danger and decides to take them by surprise, an attack when they least expect it. Even if they don't truly believe something like that will happen (and they could likely tell because of the heartbeat), the thoughts might have lingered and the sound of the unhooked crossbow put them on edge. (And in some way, that does confirm to y/n that they do consider them a strong person. They have seen them slay other cryptids, after all. So just what would it look like if the hunter, unhindered by the panic and the trauma that came from a demonic encountered, decided to play the long game to hunt them)

But then! Then when y/n realizes what exactly is happening they use the same words that Eclipse used to calm them!! And God if that isn’t such a neat little reversal of the dynamic so far. A promise that despite being someone that could hurt them the must, they will not. And it’s also a way to show the boys they accept their earlier reassurances. Trust is barely building, but Eclipse has repeated “You are safe” as basically a plea. To give them a chance. To beg y/n not to reject them. To try and not to be the source of their distress. And now the hunter is sincerely using those words back. As an apology and a promise. As reassurance. It’s like a direct response to the times the boys said it and I love it so much! 

And ooooo we get a conversation about the doppelgänger! Oh I can just imagine now, what their point of view must have been a couple of chapters ago. Before the reveal, the cryptid’s words were just an inconceivable (at least when in denial) lie and its dying scream just a way to hurt and mock them. But then it turned into a reality. How close the expression it mimicked must have looked to reality. The brief chase through the gully an eternity as every hope they had of this working out fine seemed to be disintegrating. And even when the worst had passed, the next whole day they just had no certainty that they would be allowed to stay at all. None of them are happy that the doppelgänger was right about how the reveal would go, but as y/n affirms, that was then and now is now. At the very least, it’s yet another way in which the hunter can see Sun and Moon’s more complex being.

(sidenote: Moon then not even shifting when y/n handles the holy water!! He believes them! They’re safe and the water in the in their heart’s hands presents no more danger to them than the unloaded crossbow! That’s just giving me so many feelings! ;w; )

Oh ho! We also get some more info about the sacred rules! I have some theories about Paahlott but at this point they’re pretty vague for what we know XD I have to wonder how she was able to summon them and why they all agreed to the sacred rules. Maybe their views were all already aligned with what she proposed, since other demons like Shoh seem to hold no fondness for the innocence of children. The defenders of the sacred rules at least seem to rather enjoy and care for the little ones on their own accord, rather than just protecting them with indifference! Lots to think about! Oh and also, it’s so sweet how the boys talk about their family and how they are already considering who would love y/n immediately. It’s such a needed pinch of domesticity sprinkled over the wild last couple of days!

I am also so here for the reflections the hunter makes as they see their true form once again! Knowing that there is good to be witnessed among cryptids, but also knowing that means the sadism is so much worse from those that chose it. Because now it’s not a belief that cryptids are merely mindless and driven by instinct like animals. Some might be, but demons certainly aren’t. So it gives much more significance to both acts of kindness and malice.

And ooooooh that vow and the saltshaker comes up again! In the very next sense in fact! I’m just trying to think of what possible scenarios the hunter might find themselves in to consider breaking the vow. Maybe during an attack the only way to protect themselves would be a salt circle. Maybe, there would be no likely way to perform an exorcism without affecting the boys so y/n keeps them at bay and tries to do it themselves so that they can save Vanessa without risk of losing the boys, even if it places the hunter at great risk themselves. Hmmmm!

And DFKGHSKLÑ the almost kiss though!! Boys please! XD I know they are very eager but gotta slow down a bit there kjdhgfjh And it’s a bit funny but it makes a lot of sense y/n isn’t ready yet, because, even with all the demonic cryptid situation, they have very literally spent a lot of time alone before they met the boys. I bet they didn’t really try for a serious relationship after the incident of their past, and with the animatronic friend it probably didn’t cross their mind as a possibility so far (maybe it would have eventually, but it wasn’t happening soon XD) Now everything is out in the open, Sun and Moon basically confessed to them right after the reveal and the realization that they already have been living together and know and care for each other so much is hitting them in the face all of a sudden! It’s familiar but new, just like everything about the situation, so I can’t blame them for panicking a little haha! Like, that’s a whole kiss!

But aaaahhh then it leads to such a show of trust! ;o; Eclipse says “You are scared” and so the hunter does what absolutely shows that’s not the case. This is the heart eating demon. The one that caused them nightmares after they saw him destroying the rake and consuming its heart. And they show them. They might not realize it, just meaning to get them to listen more closely and tell them that it’s excitement, not fear, but it’s still very much placing all the sharp bits of this demon so close to them. The sharp grin right up to their chest. And knowing fully that they will not be harmed. The boys will not try to rip their heart out. They are allowed close. Closer than anyone else. Because the hunter wants and trusts them to be.

But ough then the pain of knowing what happened to Henry! ;O; He thought he was dealing with Bonnie! No doubt the others had spoken about him! So there must not be actual info about him in the book. I wonder if it was written before the cornfield demon found him. Or if maybe in the book there is research that could be helpful, although it could be misleading if it was lying all along. And oof, of course, that would bring back some doubts. The fate of Henry’s daughter was decided because he trusted the wrong demon. Who’s to say another couldn’t do the same? And ah, it aches but it’s actually a good instinct for y/n to keep it in mind. They are deciding to trust, but not blindly. They already did that and it brought a lot of pain, even if it also brought a lot of good. Now they are considering all the evidence, which tells them the boys are sincere, but they won’t let themselves fall into denial. That’s something their heart probably couldn’t take if they ended up being wrong after all.

And then we continue with Vanessa! Oh these GPS marks have me so intrigued. Is she asking for help and the demon interfering? Is the demon setting a trap? What in the world does it mean! Hmmmm. Aaaah, I’m so worried about her! Not only is she suffering a lot, but what Eclipse said about exorcisms doesn’t bode well for her. As a hunter she must have a lot of strength and will to live, but it must be very tough to remain strong after the sheer amount of time she has been possessed. She must be incredibly tired D: Hhhhhhh knowing how Deep Dreams ends reassures me a little but oooough I can’t help but think it would be just as likely a scenario that she doesn’t make it. And how sad it would be. For y/n, who has been fretting over her, having to do what they must to vanish the demon, but in doing so sealing their friend’s fate. AAAAA the suspense!

But that’s just something you are great at, Naff! You always keep us on our toes! X3

And talking about keeping us on our toes! Oh I just knew those three strangers were not just gonna be passingly mentioned but I didn’t expect FEI to suddenly decide they were actually gonna do something about this! I have so many questions about this organization. Surely, if they are affiliated to the Pizzaplex and knew of both the demon and the vessel (maybe even the makers of the vessel), then it wouldn’t have taken so long to confirm right? The hunters certainly knew what to look for. So why? Were they using y/n as a test for the boys? Were they expecting the demon to kill them and when that didn’t happen they sent someone to take care of it? Just what is their deal?

And oh my gosh when I say that as soon as the female hunter started talking I immediately thought of Cafaro XD And then I gasped and pointed at her name when it came up gñklfjhsgñhj Like hello! Glad to see you! Time to get punched again! Okay bye! You are so lucky that in this life y/n is not a vigilante ready to stab your heart, but a very kind, life-treasuring soul! (Though they do both have a knife when fighting her which is a fun coincidence XD)

(side note (wow only 2 sidenotes this comment kdfhjg) : also very interested in that seal! I know y/n threw it to the ground, but maybe if they find out what it is, it could be used to force the demon into a vessel different then Vanessa, if they can lure it out! Then use that to exorcize it!)

Ok, ok, last thing I wanted to comment on was Singh! Aaahhh it was a bit bittersweet hearing him talk. The fact that he was so genuine about it. He so desperately wanted to save y/n and was trying to be reassuring. Like, he doesn’t blame them from the start. And even if he doesn’t listen, he pays attention. He notices the hand on y/n’s shoulder and assumes it means they are not free to speak. But also he does not miss the way in which Sun is protective of them, although he doesn’t stop to consider it as the others keep pressing the matter. Then when he is holding the hunter, he keeps trying to tell them that they don’t have to be scared anymore! Because they might be resisting out of the fear of retaliation from the demon! Or just because they’re confused because of the possession! And then, when he’s the only one conscious, and he sees them getting away he pleads with the demon! To just let them go and not hurt them. That they don’t have to do this! And wow, of course that would resonate with y/n. We hear similar words in the vampire episode. The hunter wanted to free someone else from their perceived suffering. Pleading to let them help. Help them stop them from hurting others. It’s pure kindness. If it was hatred or fear he might have let them just go without bringing attention to himself and risk the demon’s wrath. But he chose what he had as a last attempt of what he thought was the right thing to do.

And then, when there is no reason for the cryptid to pretend, he hears them ask their question. And he doesn’t know the meaning of it. This is another reality that will accompany the hunter if they let Eclipse stay. Allowing this means losing their source of income (even if they are already well off), and the organization that facilitates their job. What they have been all this time will become 10 times harder. So the boys ask again if they are sure. And y/n does not hesitate. And Singh’s world has been tilted. He might soon deny what he heard as a trick, but the doubt has probably been planted! He’ll be left to think about it all. Three hunters faced off against a demon and though the demon won, none of them are dead after all. 

I… got a lot of feelings for this side character that reminds us slightly of the hunter huh? kfdjhglskdjfg

But well, that’s all I have for now! Awesome chapter like always, Naff! I am so, so excited for what comes next and I just know it’s gonna have me clutching my heart! <3

Chaotik, I've been rereading this over and over and I'm not normal about your thoughts at all aldsfjalsdfasfd

Oh yeah, the boys get to behave more like themselves now that Y/N knows! It's a weight off of their shoulders and one less stress to worry about. Also, Y/N likes it!

"So just what would it look like if the hunter, unhindered by the panic and the trauma that came from a demonic encountered, decided to play the long game to hunt them)" <<< The boys have seen Y/N slay cryptids, monsters, and it would break their non-existent heart to see Y/N with that set look, committed to the hunt, focused on them.

AHH YESSS! I'm so happy you took note of how much that means to the boys to hear Y/N say "You're safe." It's such a fundamental moment because, yeah, that's exactly what the boys said to them, but now, it's from them. They mean it. It's true. They're all safe!!!

The doppelganger was a ghost haunting Eclipse for all that time, but now that the worst has passed and Y/N affirms that it might have gotten one little detail right, it never told them about this. About things being okay. And they are okay ♥

Oh ho, I'm glad you like Paahlott and the little lore drops! You're right that the demonic cryptids who agreed to the sacred rules already held affection for little ones. It was for their kindness that Paahlott summoned them. Likewise, Eclipse always had a tender spot for children, and the sacred rules were a simple thing to bind themselves to.

Yes, some cryptids have sentient were others are more mindless/animal-like, but demonic cryptids are a special case, and noting that they can choose good and evil (relatively for cryptids) is another blow for Y/N and their past trauma. The cornfield demon really is a special kind of cruel, but to balance that out, there's Eclipse, who's a very special kind of caring.

I am eyeing your theories on the vow and saltshaker so hard rn hehehe

Ahahah, yup, this is very new for Y/N, and sudden. There's a reason Y/N was pretty obvious to a robot kissing their injuries better. Y/N wanted to show their own love and trust and very real, reciprocated feelings. Y/N is feeling a lot, but it's not fear for their dear friend.

"That’s something their heart probably couldn’t take if they ended up being wrong after all." <<< Keep that in your back pocket for later :)

Ahhhh, thank you, babe! I know I've been teasing Vanessa for so long now, but we're gonna see her soon. Real soon.

About F.E.I.—They knew Y/N was traveling with a demonic cryptid for a long time. Another thing about F.E.I. is that they don't tell their employees everything. That's why the three hunters were so concerned/angry about Y/N.

Ahahha, I love your reaction to Cafaro! She's a fan-favorite (very punchable alsdjflasdf)

Oh ho, that's the last time that seal appears hehe

Ah, babe, I'm so happy you like Singh! He was really important to write for this scene. A lot of cryptid hunters are in Y/N's same boat of experiencing cryptid-related trauma, and most do it for good reasons, even Cafaro and Rowe despite their rough demeanor in that situation. They're people. Good people. Singh was truly concerned for Y/N and to hear that maybe Y/N isn't in danger after all, around a demonic cryptid, changed everything.

There are going to be consequences with F.E.I., unfortunately, but Y/N has chosen Eclipse.

Ahhh, thank you, babe! I always look forward to your comments! They bring me so much joy! ♥