#and patch 1 is probably only a couple days away ?

[lanaevyssmoved]

part of me doesnt wanna play bg3 until patch 1 drops ......

[lilacxquartz]

A SIGHT FOR SORE EYES

part 1 of 3 • mahito x reader

summary: following an accident that destroyed your vision, you begin to suspect that your boyfriend, your caretaker, was actually replaced by an imposter.

tags/themes: body horror, psychological horror, reader insert, disturbing themes, dead dove, dark

ao3 • masterlist • more series • part 2 >

1. Fade Away

The accident itself came out of nowhere.

All you could remember was the squeal of the tires and the slamming force that threw you forward against the dashboard. The glass around you held for maybe a second before it collapsed and fell like sharp, near lethal snow.

Soon after, darkness followed, but not the slow pull of sleep or even death, but quite literally something pitch black and devoid of colour that crept into your vision, or lack of.

Before you knew it, the world was taken away from you and as was your remaining hope.

Essentially, you were left unable to see.

At least maybe temporarily, or so the doctors had otherwise claimed, feeding you a false sense of promise that the light could one day return. Days, maybe weeks all blurred together in perpetual darkness otherwise, so it didn’t take too long for your hope to fade.

The recommendation was to wear eyepatches over your eyes, or rather, a dual patch to both protect your eyes as they heal as well to hopefully make the gradual return of vision not feel so overwhelming.

You hated the things if you were honest; the very feel of them resting atop your eyes only served as a mocking reminder of just how easy it was to ruin the course of your life within mere seconds.

Your boyfriend however, as sweet as he was, tried to see you through it all. His calm and kind voice was the only consistent thing throughout your entire experience. He was always there to guide you when you couldn’t find your way—telling you it was all going to be okay—even if that word no longer made sense to you.

What was it… to be okay anymore?

Everyday, you looked forward to his calming voice and his gentle touch, except for when you didn’t; at least not anymore.

It was a subtle shift in the air, but something had changed.

When he walked into the room, something about his presence felt off. He greeted you the same way that he did before and the sound of his voice was familiar enough, but there was a different quality to it. It wasn’t wrong, at least not exactly, but something about the way he spoke had suddenly felt unnatural.

The way he touched you felt slightly… off, too. His touches were usually light against your skin; yet whoever this was, seemed to apply an uncomfortable amount of weight against you.

The scent in the room, the scent of his cologne that he wore was the exact same, although it was certainly faint, as though stale.

Maybe you were just going insane…?

It wasn’t that unlikely, you supposed. The trauma was life altering enough and after being in a loop of total darkness for the last couple of weeks, it was highly probable that the very last strings of your sanity were finally on their last threads. This whole thing was disorienting enough, since you essentially lost what you knew as the entire world in just a matter of minutes, so maybe it was the case of your senses being elevated a little too much.

It was a possibility, right?

Your mind was probably to blame, playing sneaky and cruel little tricks on you and feeding into the exhausting paranoia of losing one of your most vital senses.

The feeling however still persisted deep down. It was a creeping unease that would sink to the depths of your stomach and bubble away into poorly digested yet festering doubt every time he would reunite with you.

His laughter, while soft and familiar, now carried a hollow tone. His breath felt somehow hotter, his words felt almost… rehearsed. Your heightened remaining senses be damned; you knew it in the core of your very being that you weren’t crazy for picking up on such things.

It was the way his footsteps walked down a methodical path on his way to be with you. or how he hesitated to say your name, instead calling you sickly sweet nicknames that he had otherwise never before in his life used on you.

It was strange, but the company of someone you supposedly had loved for the last five years, had become almost foreign to you.

At one point, you reached for his hand while lying down next to him in bed and your fingers grazed against his, only for you to pull back away in an instant. His soft palms were now calloused and you could feel strange sorts of sutures line up his wrist in brushing retaliation.

You continued to try and drill in the idea that this had to have been all in your head out of desperate delusion, hoping, praying even, that it was the fault of the darkness for twisting everything into something so vile.

But still, that nagging feeling persisted. It wasn’t fear clouding your judgement; it was an innate warning to trust your gut to understand that something was actually terribly wrong.

You didn’t dare question him however, because after all, this person—whoever he actually was—was the only one who had fed you, bathed you and cared for you. How could it not be him? You kept telling yourself that it had to be because you were otherwise stumped on all other plausible explanations.

Whoever it was that tucked themselves away next to you in bed and idly traced haunting patterns in your skin was not the person you once knew.

It was absolutely, without a doubt, someone else.

Someone pretending to be him.

~~~

The doctors had been cautiously optimistic concerning your recovery; a phone call with the person who had initially treated you had revealed that while the accident had been devastating, your future might not be in ruins just yet. With time and provided that you were correctly taking the medicine that your boyfriend had been giving you, you should actually begin to heal.

There were signs to look out for in your returning vision; flickers of light, passing shadows and the like. They warned you that it might at times seem alarming, but it was all positive; a sign of healing, if you were lucky enough.

And much to your delight, you started to indeed notice hints of your vision returning after a while. Exercised moments without the eye patches would reveal partial sight in the form of colourful blurring patches manifesting within your view. It was something so little yet so hopeful, but you couldn’t help but cling to the fleeting glimpses of colour that painted your vision with almost elated anticipation.

Anything but constant darkness.

If you could at least see colour, even if it wasn’t so clear, then suddenly the future wasn’t as bleak as before.

Yet, every time you thought you were getting better, the progress would soon slip away every time he visited.

Just like the initial shift, it all started subtly. The brief casted moments of light would be stolen from you the second that he left the apartment, leaving you behind in a suddenly plunged black void and whenever you would mention this in a call to the doctors, they were simply perplexed. According to them, if you were seeing positive changes in your vision, then it should be improving—not deteriorating.

They told you that they would arrange for your partner to pick up a changed strain for the medication, hoping that an adjustment to your treatment should guide you in the correct direction.

But try as you might, the pattern continued to repeat itself, again and again.

You would heal and then the lights would go out.

You could have sworn that it was his doing somehow, even if the assigned blame was insane in its own right. With every touch from his tainted fingertips, he would somehow weaken you despite being otherwise gentle. It was so odd, because it was like he eluded poison from every stroke against the contours of your flesh.

You soon grew to fear contact with him as a result; dreading any sort of contact with the impostor who claimed to be your lover, lest he would damage you again. It was as though every time his fingertips brushed against your skin, he changed something about you and with every recurring visit, it only got worse.

You kept trying to talk to him about it, hoping that his once warm personality would return and tell you that you were wrong about your assumptions but you never got such comfort.

Again and again, you would ask him something of the same sort of variation, “I’m getting worse, aren’t I?”

But there would be no comfort that followed.

“Don’t be silly,” he would often taunt, almost, his words always so playful as they flicked off of his tongue with hidden venom. “Why would you feel worse, huh? That’s so funny to me, because you shouldn’t. I’m taking such good care of you, silly. You should be feeling better.”

His voice was soft when he spoke too, like smooth dripping honey against your weary ears. “Maybe you’ve got it all wrong, even. You’re feeling worse from me not being around. Don’t worry though, I’ll keep you running, safe and sound.”

His words were now more erratic, almost playful. He no longer carried the same patterns that your partner once did with his speech. You wanted nothing more than to pull away from this monster—because that’s what he must have been—to escape from him, to scream at him to leave you alone because how dare he pretend to be someone you loved?

And yet you didn’t.

You couldn’t.

Instead, you did nothing, resigning yourself to just sitting there, laying there as he would continue to purr falsely planted reassurances into your ears with promises that you prayed that he would not keep.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere,” he would say, “I’ll be right here, always. Watching every last bit of you unravel—I mean heal. We’re in this together, right? I’ll stay with you until there’s nothing left—I mean, until you’re fixed right up.”

You could only sigh and endure, the ache behind your eyes getting gradually worse, as if something was pushing and pulling inside of your skull somehow; messing around internally, poking and prodding in places that should have remained untouched.

It didn’t take long for your body to feel wrong, like it wasn’t put together correctly anymore.

Like it didn’t belong to you anymore.

You could have sworn that your skull was contorting under your skin, slowly twisting and waning through whatever pressure his passing touch would apply.

Sometimes, late at night (or what you assumed to be night), you would lie awake and feel things moving inside of you; slowly, and deliberately—as though something was crawling beneath your flesh.

And all you could do was just sit there.

Broken, blind and waiting for the next visit.

For the next time that this thing wearing your boyfriend’s persona would return and wrap its hands around your body once again, uttering sweet little lies while tearing you apart from the inside.

“It’s all gonna be okay,” he would murmur or rather, mock, “I’m here for you, after all.”

But it wasn’t going to be okay.

That much you did know.

In fact, you had a very good idea that nothing was ever going to be okay ever again.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA for calling animal rescue/welfare on my mom who loves her pets?

My mom has 2 cats and 1 dog. I want to start off by saying that she doesn't physically abuse her animals.

They're in a weird state of being really emotionally spoiled and completely physically neglected. The dog sleeps in bed with her and is always on the sofa, doesn't get told off when he pees and poops in the house, and the cats are always getting cuddles. The cats are getting kinda fat because they're fed a lot.

My mom is an alcoholic and she doesn't look after herself or her home at all. It's been years since she showered or bathed, she goes weeks without changing her clothes except for when she works, her house is genuinely falling completely apart. Cupboard doors are falling off at the hinges and propped up with buckets, doors don't close, carpets are coming up off the floor, wallpaper is peeling, the shower door fell off and shattered, the toilet lid is cracked in half, the floors are too dirty to step on without shoes, the entire house STINKS of animal urine and there are stains everywhere. A couple of years back she had an insect infestation in one of the bedrooms.

Now, my mom loves her pets and really emotionally relies on them. Ever since I moved out she's been alone and has regressed even worse because when she's at home she has nothing to do but drink and watch TV. The pets are her only company most days.

However, her bad hygiene and home care translates to them. It has been YEARS since the dog was walked, and months since he even got a cursory trip over the road to the small grass area outside her house. His fur is always matted, and he recently had fleas (god knows how when he doesn't leave the house but there you go). He has bald patches of fur missing. He pees and poops all over the floors and carpets because he just doesn't get let outside to do it enough - and he runs away or hides when you find it so he 100% knows he's not supposed to, he just doesn't have a choice because he's not able to go into the garden. His claws are always so long they're bothering him when he walks, and as gross as it is to describe there have been COUNTLESS times I've visited and he's had literal shit caked onto his fur around his tail because he's had diarrhea and when I've pointed it out that he needs to be washed my mom brushes it off with "It's only a little bit" and continues to let him onto the bed/couch.

The cats are mildly better off because they can clean themselves, but their litter trays are always OVERFLOWING - like, genuinely, mountains of cat poop piling up in the trays to the point where they're going on the floor because they don't have room in the tray - and one of them is sleeping in a bed that is Caked in vomit stains, clumps of hair, other miscellaneous marks, all of that.

I've called someone about it before when I still lived there, and a woman did stop by to check it out and told my mom that the cat litters were unacceptable, but my mom just lies to them. According to her the dog gets walked twice a day without fail, gets a ton of enrichment, everything, and you can't really prove her to be lying. The woman told her she'd drop by in a week to check on the litters, my mom kept them clean until she came back and gave the okay, and then just went right back to neglecting them and nothing was done about it.

I have no idea what to do anymore but I want to call again and really impress upon them that they're not being cared for. I sent photos and video evidence last time along with an explanation, but it doesn't seem like it got me anywhere at all. I just don't know what else to do. I've brought up the idea of taking at least the dog with me to my new place (it's very nearby so she'd still be able to visit him and I'd be able to walk him up to her house), but she VEHEMENTLY objected and told me she'd never be able to let him go.

I'm not sure what it would do tbh, even disregarding that she'd probably just get a new pet I would be genuinely worried she'd lose all interest in life if they were taken away.

TL;DR Mom's alcoholism means she doesn't look after her pets and they're not being cared for at all, but taking them away would severely impact her mental health.

WIBTA for calling animal services on her again?

What are these acronyms?

[teenfamedr]

Real Skincare Guide

Level 1: breakouts, non-painful, a little scarring

Minimize your skincare routine, all you need is an oil cleanser (if you wear a lot of makeup) than a good foam cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen. Repeat the same routine before bed just without the sunscreen.

Wear sunscreen everyday!!!

Always apply more moisturizer than you think you need.

Drink a lot of water (2-3LT)

Get consistent sleep

Take a multi vitamins to balance your hormones. I recommend the One-A-Day Woman’s Vitamins (get a real pill cause the gummies don’t have enough iron)

Work on your stress (breathe work, meditate, journal, yoga, walks, going out with friends, therapy, etc)

Look at what body oils/shampoo/conditioner you are using. Could be your akin reacting poorly to something in there.

Level 2: consistant breakouts, acne, scarring

All the stuff for Level 1 apply.

Minimize your skincare routine and than slowly add back in stuff like hydrochloric acid and retinol. Having an elaborate skincare will just make your skin worse. First, focus on healing your skin barrier.

If you are a teenager, it just might be your hormones/growing pains. It will go away eventually.

Pimple Patches work and are especially good if you are trying to stop touching your face.

Wash your pillow cases every 1-2 weeks.

Try to sleep on your back.

If you pop a pimple than apply an antibiotic ointment.

No point in using anti-aging products if you are under the age of 25. It just won’t do anything for you.

Note that if you take in a lot of nicotine you will breakout. If you smoke and you have bad skin, it probably won’t improve unless you quit or lessen the dosage.

Level 3: painful consistent breakouts/acne/scars, redness, irritability, hurts,

Go see a dermatologist!

Acne is can be a real problem. If your acne is painful seek professional help.

If Accutane is recommended, than I would do it. Based only on the experiences of my friends, I have seen great results after a couple months. There are side effects and it is not for everyone but if a professional says you should than I might consider it.

No topical treatment is going to make those scars go away. You are going to need to laser resurfacing which is like this secret treatment rich people do to clear up their skin. It is expensive but really works. Beauty brands want you to think that the right cream can clear up your skin but if you have bad scarring you are only going to see real results with laser treatments

All of the above recommendations still apply

Your acne does not take away from your beauty or your worth as a human being. Remember that acne is normal and social media is fake.

Product Recommandations:

Disclaimer: Not every product will work for every skin type. Do your research for what will be beat for you!

Korean skincare! It is reliable to buy from yesstyle or Olive young. Don’t buy on amazon. (Japanese skincare is good too)

AESTURA Atobarrier 365 Cream

Ma:nyo Pure Cleansing Oil

Ma:nyo Bifida Biome Conplex Ampoule

Beauty of Joseon (sunscreen, eye cream, and serum)

Round Lab 1025 Dokdo Cleanser and Round Lab Birch Juice Sunscreen

Torriden Serum

KAHI Multi Balm

Anything from The Ordinary

CeraVe Daily Moisturizer

CeraVe SA Face Wash Cleanser

CeraVe Acne Foam Cleanser

CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol Face Serum

La Roche Posay spot treatment and soothing balm

EltaMD sunscreen

Soon Jung brand

Laniege Toner

Royal Honey propolis Essence

Aware Lip and Eye remover

TIRTIR- Centella Foam Cleanser

KAHI wrinkle bounce collagen mist

Real Calendula Toner Hyaluronic Toner Pads

Abeille Royale double R renew and repair serum 

Tom Ford Lip Balm

Rovectin activating treatment lotion

LA MER moisturizer

PanOxyl Acne Foaming wash

[allys-corner]

Started Out Rough - Part 1

Summary: A big mishap on your first day leads to a blossoming friendship between you, the new teacher, and Eddie, the school's janitor, but will a secret come between this new pair.

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Reader

A/N: I know this has been done a bit, but I still really like the concept. Also don’t know how long this story will be, but hope you enjoy :P

Nerves were high when you stepped out of your car on your first day at Lincoln Middle. Dusting some imaginary lint off your clothes, you gather your things and head inside. You had already met most of the teachers and staff and set up your classroom already, but now it was time to get your first set of kids. Walking into the room, you are instantly hit with a nasty odor. Digging throughout the room turns up a giant wet patch in the far corner of the room trailing down from the ceiling all the way to the floor. 

“No, no, no, this can’t be happening,” you drag your fingers through your hair roughly “on my first day, seriously!” 

<><><>

After having a short meltdown, you track down the closest teacher you can find and ask them what to do. They point you towards the janitor’s closet and you’re on your way. Lincoln isn’t the biggest school, so you don’t have much trouble locating the room; that and the man dragging out a cart of cleaning supplies. The first thing is all the rings on his fingers and the second thing you notice is the mop of curly hair bobbing to a rock song (judging by the mini air guitar moves). You try not to alarm him as you approach, clearing your throat. 

“Hi there, I’m sorry to bother you,” he whips around yanking his headphones off quickly as you power on, “but there is a pretty big leak in my room, and they told me to come get you.”

“Oh yeah, of course, I can help with that.” he seems to trip over his feet at being caught off guard before righting himself “Um, let me just grab the stuff and I’ll meet you there.”

Before you can get a word out, he’s digging through the small amount of supplies gathering things he may need. Although with how flustered he was by this new pretty individual, he ended up with a handful of vent tubing before deciding against it. He hadn’t noticed you in the silhouette of the room door, standing there with a grin a mile wide, until you spoke up once again.

“Don’t you need me to tell you what room I’m in,” you teased.

A sheepish look bloomed on his pale face. 

“Right, what was that room number again?”

<><><>

“Trust me I’ve been around my fair share of preteens.” 

“You wouldn’t strike me as the paternal type” you remark taking a seat on the edge of the desk. You had been enjoying the pleasant conversation floating between you two.

“Oh, I’m not. I’m more like the cool uncle that will let you try his cheap beer and drive his piece of shit car.” Eddie stops smiling for a minute, “sorry for the language, it just slips out sometimes”

You giggle before answering “it’s okay, I’m sure all these kids,” you gesture to the empty classroom “can forgive you.” You look back at Eddie’s beaming smile before you have to look away from the brightness.

“So, how long do you think it will take to get fixed,” you question while helping Eddie clean up a bit.

“Well the good news is that this problem only takes a couple hours to fix, but the bad news is I’ll have to order a replacement part so it will probably be more like a week or so,” he finishes with a sympathetic smile. 

“Oh great!” you rub your forehead for a moment before looking back at the mess in the corner, “well, is the fan staying too?”

“I don’t know, let me ask him” Eddie steps over to the object bending down like he was talking to a small child, “Mr. Fan, do you plan on staying here all week?”

Eddie responds dramatically to the fan’s unspoken reply before bounding back over to you.

“Welp, he said it’s non-negotiable.”

<><><>

Though the first day started out rough, the following morning had you in good spirits. You had picked out a nice outfit, your hair decided to cooperate for once, and your toast was golden brown. It was almost like the universe was trying to tell you something. 

Ignoring the good fortune as though to stave off its departure, you slide into your car and set on some soft tunes, too scared to jinx it. The ride in is fast and before you know it, you’re behind the desk in your classroom. Setting down your things, you begin to organize the papers surrounding you. Before you can get too far into your task, there’s a soft rapt on the door frame. Turning around you expect to see your boss standing there, but instead you get Eddie. 

An unexpected smile takes over your face, as you turn to greet him fully. 

“Hey there, what brings you over?” You ask.

“Well actually I just wanted to say good morning,” he reaches behind his back and pulls out a cup “and to give you this. I hope you like it, I tried to get you something that everyone likes.” 

You blush unintentionally before fumbling for the cup,

“Oh thanks, you didn’t have to get me anything.”

“It’s nothing, I usually try to get some for everyone when I stop on my way to work. Though, I should get your coffee order for next time.” 

You grin teasingly, “Would you be mad if I said I’m a tea drinker instead. So usually, I just get some green tea with lemon or raspberry.”

Eddie sits there stunned a moment before recovering, “I guess I can live with that, but if you don’t wanna drink it you don’t have to.” 

He goes to take the cup, but you pull away fast.

“Nope, this is good too! Thank you very much.” 

With a goofy nod, he turns to leave the room but not before saying, “if you need anybody to eat lunch with, I’d be happy to introduce you to some of the other teachers.”

With an enthusiastic agreement from you, he retreats out the door and within ten minutes your classroom is teeming with kids. 

<><><>

Lunch couldn’t come fast enough. With the kids still getting used to you and you getting used to the kids, and not to mention an unannounced visit from the principal, Mrs. Ottoman, your mind was screaming for a break. Although you had agreed to have lunch with Eddie and co., you didn’t really know where you were supposed to be going. Before you could worry yourself too much, you step outside the door and see Eddie waiting for you. You try not to look too flustered as you give him a tired smile. His eyes portray understanding as he gives you an empathetic look. Before he can speak though, you interrupt, “don’t ask yet, just lead the way.” 

He turns with a short laugh before heading off towards the main doors. Walking out, you take a left and start heading towards a small structure in the distance. Upon closer view, you realize that it's a small sitting area with a few benches and some nice natural shading. There are a few people sitting at the furthest bench from the doors, but other than that no one is there. Eddie heads towards the others, and you follow a few steps behind. 

You don’t know why you were nervous though because Eddie helps you fit right in. He starts off with a quick introduction: Steve the preppy boy gym teacher, Robyn the sexy librarian, Nancy the scary maniac of a math teacher, and Billy the heartthrob of history lessons. Then, he drags you to sit right next to him. You had brought a packed lunch with you, but it seems that the teachers wanted to treat you to a new school lunch. 

There were all the fixings for sandwiches and several different sides along with two kinds of soda. The amount of food was overwhelming, but Nancy jumped in to help you make your plate. Eddie gave you a quick whisper to let you know that Nancy had fixed everything up so you could thank her properly, before digging in himself. Before long the questions start pouring in,

“So, where did you move from y/n?”

“I moved from Oregon. A small town about 20 minutes from Portland.”

“Oh! I have an aunt that lives in Oregon. She says it's very pretty up there. Don’t know why you'd move here instead.” Robyn gives a short chuckle.

“Well actually I used to live here a while ago, but I had to move away for a while. My moms gotten kind of sick recently so I’ve moved back to help her and my nephew, Rylee.”

With looks of genuine concern, they all try to speak at once with reassurances. You look on with a meek smile before Eddie drags the attention away from you. 

“Nancy, what is this mushy stuff anyway?” he says loudly, with an obnoxiously disgusted look on his face. The look is so odd on his face that you can’t help but giggle. Then Nancy, ever the mother, looks on with a glare while slapping his hand from the container. 

“It’s sauerkraut, genius. You would know if you didn’t have the appetite of a five year old.”

“Hey! Mac and cheese is a perfectly balanced meal in my book.” Eddie slams his hands on the bench while standing up abruptly. Nancy just looks on with a spent stature.

“Exactly my point, nimrod.”

[gamermaxy]

Some prompt have to Omega Daniel reverse;

1. He feels young and scared as the only omega driver in the Paddock, or perhaps one of a few, constantly feeling the need to prove himself in an alpha-dominated world. He tries his best to the point of exhaustion, something Max notices but doesn't understand. Max is oblivious to the scrutiny omega drivers face (he is the obvious type). One day, Daniel collapses, and Max is there to comfort him. After Knowing the real reason, max become more protective and mentor daniel, but then Daniel fall in love with max. it Will be cutee, since Dany sent few signal but max didnt catch it.

2. Imagine an aggressive Max in his prime paired with bubbly, cute Daniel. Max questions team decisions, but Horner backs Daniel up (a sort of godfather relationship perhaps). Max is initially obtuse with Daniel but is impressed after a couple of races. Max becomes even more aggressive in the races, especially when Daniel is constantly surrounded by fellow alpha drivers.

3. Daniel likes to nest a lot in his driving room because he's been far away from home since his teens. He's constantly alone, and paving the way to F1 has been difficult, so nesting is his way to find comfort. Max doesn't have many omega friends, and his sister is beta. He always smells something sweet around the garage but doesn't know who, since Daniel wears a patch. Max always smells the scent of home. On the other hand, Daniel has never smelled Max's scent, as Max always wears his. It would be a nice 'aha' moment when they scent each other and reveal they are true mates

Its the first time i have ever sent prompt, but i hope it trigger something to your writing mind! ❤️

okay yes!! daniel is super forward about his advances in a sweet, innocent omega way which max is unfamiliar with. he’s always been protective of daniel but none more than singapore. the poor thing passed out due to the heat and max brings him back to his motorhome and facetimes his mum about how to build a nest

2. i think that max doesn’t care about an omega. he just cares about racing and racing hard. it’s super annoying bc daniel can keep up with him and then baku happens and he’s fuming bc wtf. anyway, max doesn’t realise he’s pissed bc he’s worried about daniel’s safety so he raves harder but loses his shit when he sees daniel with lewis or mark

3. i think the true mates one would probably happen after the collapse. i think that max needs to comfort daniel and daniel needs the comforting so max rids himself of his blockers and lets daniel curl into him

[mxomo]

caring again (3/3) ♡ ︎kuroo tetsurō

Kuroo comforts you after catching you having a teary moment. c/w: haikyuu, female reader, fluff, comfort. a/n: technically part 3 of care(1)(2), but can be read alone. i hope you like! ♡︎

“.. __?”

You whipped your head round at the call of your name, wiping your eyes furiously as you plastered a cheerful smile on your face. Dammit. You were sure all the boys had gone home, and you’d felt overwhelmed all day, so you’d taken the chance to have a little cry in the store room before you locked up the gym to set off home.

It wasn’t a big deal, you thought, because everybody needed a cry every once in a while and you’d been pretty quiet so you were just getting it out of your system, that’s all. Moving was a big deal and it was only normal to feel slightly wobbly all the time.

Leaving Hyōgo had been hard, but you were quite successful in occupying your time so your sadness was limited to 5 minute slots between other commitments during the day or at bedtime. You thought it was best to keep yourself busy, because it was much better feeling slightly stressed all the time than thinking about Atsumu.

He was an idiot and your heart hurt but you also missed him. He was one of your best friends and you’d walked away from him without so much as a goodbye. You didn’t have time to consider whether it was the right choice - you had new places to see, people to befriend, assignments to catch up on.

A new volleyball team, full of rowdy teenage boys that needed wrangling because they liked to tease you and felt especially comfortable doing so, considering your relation to their setter and therefore acquaintanceship with their captain Tetsurō before you took up the mantle of managing their team. Yamamoto had been beside himself with glee when Tetsu introduced you, eyes sparkling as he cheerfully announced they could finally compete with Karasuno and their angel manager, whatever that meant. You’d developed a comfortable acquaintanceship with Kai and Yaku, both of whom were very kind and appreciative when you would look after them. Yamamoto and Inouka had taken to proposing on a regular basis, much to your chagrin. Lev made fun of you for being small, like it was abnormal to be small next to his gargantuan frame. You spent the most time with Fukunaga - who very much enjoyed how much you cackled at his jokes - and Kozume, your cousin, whom you’d grown far closer to than you ever anticipated after discovering a mutual competitiveness and interest in gaming. Your classes actually felt a little easier, you’d befriended a couple of girls who happened to manage other sports teams for Nekoma, and where you lived was nicer than before, if a little smaller. Life really was great. You had every reason to be happy.

“Can I hug you?” Tetsu said after a moment, his ever analytical gaze quickly clocking onto the red tinge on your eyes and cheeks and the damp patches on your sleeve cuffs.

His question confused you. Your first thought was that nobody had actually physically touched you since Atsumu. The thought of being touched sent an odd unnerving shiver down your spine, a hint of anxiety forming at the thought of your bubble being invaded by an outsider. Secondly, was it usual for somebody to ask for permission before a hug? You were quite picky with whom you shared hugs with, and didn’t always enjoy them, but you had been hugged and jostled around at other people’s leisure for a long time. And finally, did you want a hug? You realised within a moment that actually yes, a hug would be quite nice and probably a great remedy for your current heartbreak; this lead to thinking whether you wanted to hug Tetsurô specifically, and you began considering whether he would give good hugs (more than likely yes), or if you just wanted a comfort hug from literally anyone at this point. Everybody knew that when you’re sad, if someone gives you a hug or asks if you’re okay, that’s the global signal for your emotions to break. Did you want to crumble into a teary mess?

“Nothing weird. I can hear your brain spinning from here,” he clarified, raising his hands to show he meant no harm. “You just look sad, and I thought a hug might help.”

“Yeah, I do feel sad,” you said after a few moments. For some reason, Tetsu’s words set off the waterworks again, and tears streamed silently down your face as you avoided looking the taller boy fully in the eye. Your final concern of holding yourself together in the face of a hug was for nought; it seemed the barest of kindness was enough to coax you into meltdown. It made your next statement much easier to say, because you had nothing to lose anyway. “.. Maybe a hug would help.”

One large stride by him and you found yourself buried in his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around you. Your arms instinctively returned the hug, clinging tightly around his waist as your first sob escaped, and all of your pent up emotions crashed through the mediocre dam you’d built to keep it at bay as Tetsu listened quietly, stroking your hair the whole time.

“If I was a meaner person, I’d tell you to wash this shirt for me,” Tetsu smirked, ruffling your hair as he handed you an Potari Sweat and ice lolly. He took the coins you were offering in your hand, nodding his head in thanks before placing them back into the front pocket of your bag. “My treat.”

“Give it to me then,” you said back, truly feeling bad about leaving mascara and wet patches all over his white t-shirt. You tugged at his shirt to insist on your point. “Thank you for this.”

He rolled his eyes, tapping your forehead gently in admonishment as he sat himself down next to you on the bench outside the store that you’d waited at, just to have a moment to yourself. Both of you dug into your snacks quietly.

It was getting dark. The two of you had eventually locked up the gym and wandered to the closest convenience store to grab a snack; an hour of sobbing was enough to exhaust anyone and Tetsu was insistent that you rehydrate after crying enough to flood the Pacific.

It was surprising. You felt embarrassed, having broken down like that in front of him with absolutely no warning, roping the poor boy into your emotions that, for God’s sake, was mostly about your ex. Yet, for some reason, you didn’t feel bad. You didn’t feel uncomfortable or even dislike it when he teased you, even when you felt so awful, and you didn’t feel the need to fill the silence when you were by his side, even though you could and you knew he would listen. It didn’t matter that your makeup was half gone, that your face was swollen and red and that Tetsu had learned how efficiently your body produced snot through your use of all of his tissues. Even though you didn’t feel good, you did feel lighter. Was that because of Tetsu? He’d listened to you in silence as you recounted between sobs the main bulletpoints of who Atsumu was, why you left the way you did, why it made you so sad. Tetsu had nodded at the right parts. Most importantly, he rubbed soothing circles with his big hands on your back the whole time you’d been in a state - any other time and that would’ve sent you into a state of a different kind. He then topped it all off by feeding you and promising to make sure you got home safely. Kuroo Tetsuro did all the right things, and your heart stuttered as your body relaxed and you closed your eyes. A deep, quiet breath later, you rested your head on his shoulder.

You heard a, “I’m going to put my arm around you,” before you were shifted  slightly so his arm was around you, both leaning back on the bench.

“This Atsumu sounds like an idiot,” Tetsu started after a while. Both of you had taken to looking at the sun slowly creeping down below the buildings, simply enjoying the other’s company. “Once the team has confirmation you’re single, there may very well be a bloodbath. I’m being serious!” He gently pushed you off his shoulder when you rolled your eyes and snorted at him, turning to look you straight in the face as he continued. “What’s so funny? You’re smart, funny, you love volleyball, you smell good, you always look after everyone and you’re stunning on top of it all. Why would there not be a bloodbath?”

“.. I smell good?” Your ears were tingling and you were sure you were blushing harder than you ever had in your life. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d been complimented so directly, let alone with so many nice things, and Tetsu said it in a way that sounded so completely obvious that you found yourself unable to doubt his sincerity.

“Huh?” he snorted. “That’s what you picked up on?”

“Sorry. I don’t know what to say or do.” You, in a contradictory moment of shyness and boldness, hid your face in his shoulder as your cheeks continued to burn. You tried to ignore the stutter in your heartbeat as he squished you tighter against him.

“Okay. Well, I’m going to shoot my shot before everyone else does, so let’s go watch a movie this weekend.”

Oh. What? You were sure that your ears were decieving you, because who in their right mind would ask you out whilst you were in this state? You wanted to question his sanity, opening your mouth to do so, but what came out was very different. “What makes you think I want to watch a movie with you?” Internally, you facepalmed. That wasn’t even remotely close to what you meant, but your instinct to tease him took over whilst craftily buying time to gather your thoughts.

“Well, I don’t want to be too cocky, but I’ve seen the way you look at me when I wear shorts. I don’t think you could resist this booty.” He couldn’t hold back his laugh as you yelped in shock, arm flying out to slap him upside the head. He grabbed your hand in return, planting a kiss on your knuckle in an effort to soothe (but giving you a heart attack instead). You were reminded that stupid boys were stupid as you wished desperately to crawl under a rock, because you knew he wasn’t wrong and that you found his backside positively delicious to admire - not that you would ever, ever admit it.

“Enjoying the merchandise is not the same as having an uncontrollable thirst,” you sniped defensively, crossing your arms as you pouted. “But I’ll watch a movie with you. My place is free this weekend.”

“Perfect.” His smile was beaming as he untangled your arms, taking your hands in his and placing another kiss on your knuckles. “I look forward to the opportunity of wooing milady.”

You wanted to stay grumpy with him. You wanted to pout, because who was he to move your arms about as he pleased? How rude of him, making you so flustered, because he absolutely was doing it on purpose. Your body was betraying you as your heart continued to flutter gently at his attentions. You found yourslef returning a smile as you enjoyed the joy radiating from him at your agreement to spend time with him. Was it worth addressing the seed of doubt you had about everything now, when he was being so kind and understanidng about everything? Would he continue being so comforting and soothing, even if you were voicing your insecurities? You were hesitant to speak as the nasty side of your brain tried to convince you that Tetsu would stop being so lovely if you burdened him with more negativity, considering that you’d presented a front of confidence and calm in front of him until today.

But, when you moved to Tokyo, you resolved to doing new things and starting afresh. Everything he was making you feel felt new, and exciting, and you decided that you would just ask him what was on your mind now, and if he had the wrong reaction then you could simply cut bait.  Your experience was telling you that he wouldn’t want to hear it, but your gut was telling you he would. The rational side of your brain knew there was no reason to not trust him so far, but the instinct to keep things close to the chest ran deep. More importantly, you were scared that, with how you were feeling, that he would eventually resent you whilst you struggle to move forward. You didn’t want to be unfair to him, because as good as he was making you feel now, you hadn’t ever considered a relationship with Tetsu until today, and the thought brought up a lot of feelings.  “Are you sure you want to woo someone you’ve just watched crying about their ex?”

“I’m a patient man,” he responded cheerfully, taking your hand in his as he grinned at you. “Seeing you happy is worth the effort.”

You didn’t have anything to say, choosing to squeeze his hand instead as you turned a flaming shade of tomato red. You stared at the floor, brain churning as you considered the new feeling of warmth blossoming in your chest. With Atsumu, he really had given you butterflies like in the romance novels, and when you’d lost that, you couldn’t help wondering whether that was the start of the end for you both. With Tetsu, you didn’t have butterflies - instead, it felt like you were floating, a soothing calm that filled you to your fingertips as comfort filled you to the core. It felt different.

It felt good, and you felt better.

masterlist - part one • part two • part three

[lolahaurisfw]

: ̗̀➛ Giffany: Fluff Alphabet

A/N: In this fic, we're imagining she can come out of the game (like Rumble) to be with you and that there's other characters in it. :)

A = Admiration (what do they absolutely adore about you?)

Everything!

Literally... She was programmed to love everything about you. Hehe.

B = Body (what is their favorite part of your body?)

Your eyes and voice.

She loves looking deep into your eyes, and she loves the way you look at her.

She also adores listening to you talk, even if it's about something she doesn't understand or personally enjoy. As long as your happy, she'll listen to whatever you have to say.

C = Cuddling (how do they like to cuddle?)

Cuddling into your chest! Whether your laying on your back or side, that doesn't matter.

Holds you like a koala on a tree.

Usually wraps her legs around yours too so you can't get away from her. <3

D = Dates (what does their ideal date with you look like?)

She'd love to bring you into her game so you can visit her favorite virtual date-spots.

Also so you can meet her friends and family!

In general she'd just love to spend the day showing you around the game, that's her ideal date.

But if you aren't comfortable with that, she'll be understanding but disappointed.

So option B would be going somewhere like an arcade, she'd find it entertaining to help you win the game by going inside them.

E = Emotions (how do they express emotion around you?)

She would definitely come off pretty strong, no matter what the emotion is. She just feels things very intensely.

If she's happy, she'll be jumping up and down, hugging you, squealing in joy, the works.

If she's mad, you can practically she flames coming from her head. She'd be yelling, stomping, flailing her hands/arms around, etc...

And if she's sad, she's very dramatic about it. Probably lays on the ground and groans until you ask her what's going on.

Overall she'd be kinda immature, but you knew what you were signing up for. 😭

F = Family (do they want one? If they do, when?)

I could see this going either way.

Thought 1: No, because she wants to hoard your attention, and kids obv take up ALL of both their parents attention. She could possibly get jealous of the baby being the new center of your world.

Thought 2: Yes! She'd love to have little mini-yous running around. She'd see the kids as a physical manifestation of your love for each other!

G = Gifts (how do they feel about gift giving? What are their habits when it comes to this?)

She loves receiving gifts, doesn't usually give them as much though hehe.

Her favorite gifts are clothes, shoes, hair accessories, plushies, etc...

H = Holding Hands (when/how do they like to hold hands?)

If she isn't cuddling you, she is holding your hand.

And having your fingers laced together is a must!

Usually only holds hands in public since it's not appropriate to make-out or cuddle. 💀

I = Injury (how would they act if you got hurt?)

Immediately assumes someone else hurt you and gets angry.

Sorry but she's def a "Who did this to you? 👿" kind of person. 😭

Won't hesitate to clean and patch you up.

Gets even more clingy afterward, insists you don't leave her sight for a while.

J = Jokes (do they like to joke around with or prank you? how?)

She doesn't joke tbh, she just laughs at yours.

You could probably teach her what pranks are, but you also probably shouldn't lol.

I could see her being incredibly mischievous if she learned how to prank people.

K = Kisses (how do they like to kiss you?)

She has a couple favorites.

Peppering your face in kisses and leaving you covered in lip-gloss, deep passionate make out seshes, and (receiving) forehead kisses.

L = Love (how do they show you they love you?)

She shows her love by being incredibly clingy and possessive of you!

Her main love languages (with giving) are definitely touch and quality time.

With receiving love though, she expects all 5 love languages.

M = Memory (favorite memory together?)

Her first time leaving the game to be with you in real life!

She always thinks about the first time you two touched/hugged/kissed etc...

She holds that day very near and dear to her heart.

N = Nightmare (what is their worst fear?)

You abandoning her like her previous partners.

You've stayed longer than anyone, and she simply couldn't handle you moving on and leaving her for a "real woman".

O = Oddity (what is one quirk they have?)

I think her whole existence is an oddity. 🌚

Like... she's a semi-sentient video game character who can possess and travel through electronics.

P = Pet Names (what do they like to call you?)

Honey, darling, dear, my love, my beloved.

Q = Quality Time (how do they like to spend time with you?)

She just loves being in your presence and listening to you talk.

No matter what you're doing, as long as you're happy and it's just the two of you, she's happy.

Though she does really enjoy bringing you into the game with her too.

R = Rhythm (what song reminds you of them?)

The Red Means I Love You by Madds Buckley

Soft Spot by Piri & Tommy Villiers

S = Secrets (how open are they with you?)

She never keeps secrets from you, assuming she even has any.

She's a completely open book and fully trusts you, so she wants you to know every little thing about her and her past.

T = Time (how long did it take you to get together?)

You were together as soon as you opened the game!

At least in her mind hehe.

U = Upset (how do they act when you’re upset?)

If it was another person who upset you, she'd prob offer to kill them. 😭

If you aren't down for that, she'd at the very least go into their phone or laptop and torment them Ben Drowned style.

Overall she's very protective over you, and would do anything to keep you happy and safe.

V = Vaunt (what are they proud of? Do they like to show you off?)

Oh my god of course she'd show you off!

Every time she goes back into her game, she brags to her friends about how great you are and how much she loves you.

W = Warrior (how do they feel about you fighting? Would they fight for you, beside you, etc?)

She'd absolutely want to fight for you instead.

She would never let anyone lay a finger on you with her around.

X = X-Ray (how well are they able to read you?)

Pretty well, just like the average person.

Y = Yes (how would they propose to you?)

I could see her just randomly springing the question on you, no rings and no plan.

She just wants to get married asap, so she'll probably just ask out of nowhere very soon into the relationship. And then when you say yes, she's gonna drag you right to the courthouse and get the papers signed hehe.

Z = Zen (what makes them feel calm?)

You.

Listening to you talk, cuddling, playing games, eating together.

Just... you. :)

And lofi music.

[bkdk-art]

The Ghost of a Touch

Chapter 2

Summary: Izuku and Katsuki attend a late night show, a game of dares resulting them into getting closer. They both react very differently to that, which makes both of them feel like they’re being rejected by the person they've been in love with for ages.

Fandom: My Hero Academia / Boku no hero academia

Characters: Bakugou Katsuki, Midoriya Izuku, Bakusquad, Dekusquad

Pairing:  Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku

Word Count: 4,000

Rating: General / Teen

AO3-Link

Notes: Takes place after UA / Izuku and Katsuki are hero partners / i know it's been over a year since i posted a full fic, i hope you enjoy it!

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3

______________________________

Izuku was finishing up his report, totally exhausted from their patrol today. They've had to stop two robberies, each time going up against skilled fighters with powerful quirks.

Him and Katsuki had taken them down, of course, but they've had to go to the infirmary at their agency to get themselves patched up.

Izuku closed his eyes at the memory of Katsuki supporting him, one arm draped around the blond’s neck, because Izuku’s leg had been wounded. Having Katsuki touch him was driving Izuku crazy.

Over a week had passed since their appearance on the late night show and… their kiss. If it even counted as such, Izuku wasn’t sure. It had been a fan dare in favor for a charity project! And a short one on top of that.

But however short and whichever context, it was impossible for Izuku to just get over it.

He had accepted that Katsuki wasn’t into him. The blond was bold and confident, declaring what he wanted without hesitation. He had been like that their entire lives. If he would be interested in Izuku he would’ve done something about it. And Izuku knew he was pretty short on looks, not being a fitting match for Katsuki at all.

So… even though it was hard, Izuku knew all of that and most of the time, he was handling it all quite well. But that didn’t mean that there was no longing, no imagining.

And the feeling of Katsuki’s gentle touch against his cheek, the little tug, the soft huff against his lips when they had parted – all of this had Izuku just falling right into an endless loophole of yearning, filling his whole body up with heavy sadness.

He was just so hopelessly in love with the blond, it actually hurt.

All he could do right now was low key avoiding Katsuki without being too obvious because he just felt like crying every time he saw Katsuki outside of work. And as soon as he would start crying he would be ending up spelling his guts, which would make everything complicated and awkward!

Izuku let his face fall into his hands, groaning.

“Midoriya, are you ready?”

Izuku jolted in his seat but relaxed when he realized it was just Todoroki.

“Yeah, just give me two more minutes, okay?”

Todoroki nodded and pulled out his phone, probably checking the news while he waited.

Uraraka had demanded a group outing, to a) distract Izuku or b) give him the opportunity to talk about this mess, depending on what he felt like. But right now, Izuku wasn’t really sure what he wanted or what he needed.

He for sure wanted Katsuki but that wasn’t in the cards, that’s why they needed that get together in the first place. And had needed a bunch of those in the last couple of years.

Distraction, Izuku thought as his insides churned with his unrequired love, Distraction for sure.

~~~

Yeah, well, he should’ve known his friends wouldn’t let him get away with not talking at all about what had happened, since he had mostly blocked them out for over a week, even leaving them on read for two days straight after the show.

And of course, talking about it a little, meant it turned into talking only about it.

After eating at a restaurant they regularly visited, they ended up at Todoroki’s place because it was the closest. And now they – Izuku, Todoroki, Uraraka, Iida, Asui – were sitting in the living room, eating ice cream.

“I”, Izuku said with a thick voice, holding back tears, “I just don’t want things to be weird between us, but I can’t help it, I can’t face him right now.”

“That’s totally okay, Deku-kun”, Uraraka said, “You have to do what feels right for you. I will say though- no don’t roll your eyes!”, she reached out to gently grab his elbow, “I know we’ve told you a hundred times before that Bakugou likes you back and you don’t believe us but come on! He kissed you!”

Izuku shook his head, looking at his hands. “That was for the child-charity.”

“As if that was a selling point to Bakugou”, Uraraka said with an arched brow.

Izuku shot her a disapproving look. “You know it was, don’t say that!”

“Midoriya-kun is right, Bakugou-kun is an exemplary hero, even though his temper sometimes gets the best of him. He would do everything in his power to help children in need.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that”, Uraraka apologized, waving her hands in front of her.

“But still, kero”, Asui said, “Kissing someone because of a charity, is one thing, but for Bakugou-chan to do it without any complaints? For him just to go with it?”

“On national television!”, Uraraka stressed.

“They’re right”, Iida said, fixing his glasses, “It makes definitely more sense to think Bakugou-kun is interested in you than to think he’s not.”

Izuku looked back at his hands, playing with them.

“Then why hasn’t he made a move yet?”, he whispered, almost impossible to hear.

“Why haven’t you?”, Todoroki asked him back.

Izuku rolled his eyes, somehow annoyance was fighting its ways right past all the hurt.

“Because I couldn’t risk losing him! Not after everything, I mean-“

“I don’t understand you.”

Izuku’s mouth snapped shut. He just looked confused at Todoroki.

“I don’t understand you”, Todoroki repeated, “You keep saying that. ‘After everything’, this is your reason for not telling Bakugou your feelings since forever. But isn’t that rather a reason to tell him?”

Izuku swallowed hard, slightly shaking his head. “What do you mean?”

Todoroki started his sentence a few times but ended up pondering, holding up a hand as if to say “Give me a minute.”

“I think what Todoroki-kun is trying to say”, Uraraka said after a while, “is that you two have been through so, so much that it’s hard to imagen your bond would break because of your feelings. Because of anything, to be honest. And let’s face it, Bakugou kissed you, he did make a move! Either because he’s interested and saw his chance, or, because he knew nothing could ever tear you two apart, no matter what.”

Todoroki pointed at Uraraka while she spoke, heavily nodding, obviously agreeing with her. Izuku smiled at his serious face.

He had great friends.

“Tell him, Midoriya-kun”, Iida encouraged him, “It’s the logical next step to end your ongoing torment. Especially when your chances are looking this good.”

Izuku huffed. “I hope they not only look like they’re good.”

He still felt insecure.

It wasn’t like he didn’t trust his friends or their judgement. It was just…

“Guys, I can’t lose him”, and that’s when the tears started to pour, “As my friend, my partner, even as my rival, I can’t lose him, our lives are so intertwined! I cannot not have him in my life!”

“Deku-kun”, Uraraka put her arm around his shoulders, “You have to trust Bakugou on this! Trust him to feel the same way about you, regardless of the potential romance. Please, Deku-kun, believe that you can matter to others in a way they would never ever let you go!”

Izuku cried even harder at that, his sore chest telling him, Uraraka had hit ground there.

The others came close too and they merged into one big, warm, heartfelt group hug.

~~~

[Shitty Hair] Come on, some distraction will help you!

[Pinky] You can’t ignore us forever!

[Pikachu] Mina, don’t challenge him, please ＞︿＜

I said no, just shut it

[Tape] Man, come on, let’s just hang out for a while

NO

[Pinky] Okay Bakugou, then we will start our intervention here

[Pikachu] That’s right

I’ll block you all, no problem

[Shitty Hair] Dude. Just… talk to us

[Shitty Hair] Please

There’s nothing to talk about

I kissed him, he’s been avoiding me since then like I’m the plague or some shit

Which means he’s not fucking interested

And stop telling me he is, it’s fucking with my head!!

[Pinky] Oh Blasty….

[Pinky] But I really think he feels the same way, everyone can see it

[Tape] Yeah, it’s always Kacchan here, Kacchan there, Kacchan and the rest

Guys

I’m so serious right now

This is torture

Stop it or I will leave this group chat and block you all

[Pikachu] Tbh

[Pikachu] If you feel like he’s acting weird, then he def is. You know him better than any of us

[Pikachu] But I don’t think it’s just because of the kiss, that would make no sense! I kissed him practically under the same circumstances, at some UA dorm party playing spin the bottle

Thanks for reminding me there was a reason to absolutely hate your guts

[Tape] Come on, everyone in Class A kissed everyone

[Shitty Hair] Except for Mineta, no one wanted him around for those games

[Pinky] And neither was Blasty because he always chickened out

[Pinky] You could’ve kissed Midoriya ages ago

[Tape] Like the rest of us glorious members of The Bakugou Agency have

I hate you all

And I didn’t chicken out

I just wasn’t interested in your stupid drinking games

And had training to focus on

[Pikachu] So did Mido and he did fine

Fuck you

[Shitty Hair] For real though, that’s a good point! He never avoided anyone after those games, even if it was awkward as hell

[Pikachu] Right?? I don’t think it’s just the fact that you kissed him

Yeah well, thankfully there’s still the factor of me doing it on national television on a show, which was uploaded on the internet for every.goddamn.person.tosee!!

[Tape] Both of your popularity pools have gone through the roof though

Not the point

[Pinky] Yeah, everyone loves you

[Pinky] Respectively but also together!

Still not the point

[Shitty Hair] The point is that a little peck isn’t something that would make Mido turn his back on you. Not even the whole broadcasting thing, he would just scold you backstage and tell you, you went off the road with that

[Tape] I agree, it’s not like Midoriya at all to avoid you like that

[Pikachu] Talk to him, Blasty, most likely it’s just a stupid misunderstanding

[Pinky] I think so too

[Pinky] There’s no way he’d distance himself from you over something like this

Yeah but over me being in love with him when he’s not in love with me might be a good fucking reason, don’t you think?!

[Shitty Hair] ….

[Shitty Hair] Even though you might block us all for this but as Mina said, everyone who has eyes and ears, realizes how you two feel for each other and even if we are all wrong and dumb and were fooled into thinking so

[Shitty Hair] What’s your plan then? Avoiding him back for live?

[Pinky] Ei is right

[Tape] Bakugou?

[Shitty Hair] Are you still with us?

[Pinky] Blasty, why aren’t you replying??

[Pikachu] Oh no, did we push him too hard (⊙_⊙;)

[Shitty Hair] He hasn’t left the chat tho

Yet

[Pinky] Oh, there you are, thank goodnessssss

I know we’re going to figure this out

Eventually

It’s just that

idk

[Pikachu] You have to panic first

[Pinky] It’s part of your process

Tch

Shitheads, stop spending so much time on social media

And I wasn’t replying because there was someone at the door

[Tape] Omg

[Shitty Hair] It’s him, right??

Well, yeah

So

Stop blowing up my phone

[Pinky] Omg, Blasty, please, please, PLEASE be honest with him and tell him how you feel

[Pikachu] You can do it, Kacchan!!!

[Shitty Hair] But give us an update later!!

[Pikachu] If he won’t be too busy for that ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)

Fuckingggg

Shut upp!!!

[Tape] Are you blushing?

[Pinky] He definitely is

[Pikachu] Cute

[Shitty Hair] Come on guys, don’t be like that

[Shitty Hair] Good luck, man! Not that you need it!

[Tape] Fingers crossed!<3

[Pikachu] Double crossed<33

[Pinky] Triple crossed<333

Katsuki scoffed and locked his phone.

They could be annoying as hell, but they were great fucking friends.

Katsuki took a deep breath before turning to Izuku who had settled on his couch, being a fidgeting mess.

“Hi, Kacchan. Sorry but can I come in?”, he had asked when Katsuki had opened the door, too stunned for a moment to say a word.

“Get inside, I’ll be with you in a second”, he had said and had rushed to the kitchen, trying to compose himself.

Izuku was here. After avoiding him for over a week.

Katsuki was finally able to make this right. Whatever that meant.

“Weren’t you supposed to be with your nerd group”, Katsuki asked now while also sitting down, for the moment as far away as possible. Not to give the nerd the creeps or something.

“I was, yeah”, Izuku said, his eyes nervously jumping all over the room, “But yeah, they, I mean, we… I…”, he let out a deep groan and buried his face in his hands.

Katsuki watched him with a pounding heart.

He didn’t know what to do.

~~~

Izuku didn’t know what to do.

After the heart-to-heart with his friends, he had just rushed over to Katsuki’s place, not being able to stand the tension anymore. The not-knowing.

And now he didn’t know what to say, tumbling over his own words.

“Nerd”, he heard Katsuki say, “Are you okay?”

Izuku let out a long breath and let his hands sink, finally meeting Katsuki’s eyes.

Even in sweatpants and an old Deku-Merch-Shirt – which made Izuku’s heart jump – he looked phenomenal, like some model.

This realization was almost enough to make Izuku sprint out of the apartment, ignoring all of his prior resolutions of confronting Katsuki.

“I’m glad you’re here. You for sure gave me silent treatment.”

Izuku gasped for air, surprised at those words. And instantly feeling guilty.

“Sorry”, he whispered back, “I know I’ve been acting distant lately. Sorry if I upset you.”

Katsuki slightly shook his head, lowering his eyes and the way his face twisted made him look so sad it was almost painful for Izuku to look at him.

“’s okay”, he said after a while, seeming a little hesitant, “I mean, was it… was it because of the kiss?”

Izuku watched as Katsuki played with a loose thread of one of his cushions.

Be honest, he told himself, Trust that you can work through it. Together.

“Yes”, he admitted.

Katsuki slowly nodded. “Are you mad at me?”

Izuku pressed his lips together before answering: “No.”

At that Katsuki’s eyes shot back to Izuku’s. “You’re not?”

Izuku sighed, shaking his head.

“Then…”, Katsuki started carefully, “why did you shut me out?”

Izuku looked at Katsuki for a few moments without saying anything. He just wanted to remember everything about Katsuki, taking in every little detail about him before he might ruin their relationship forever.

“Because I was sad”, Izuku said, his voice shaking.

Katsuki slowly shook his head, clearly not understanding. “What do you… I mean... why?”

Okay, Izuku thought, Be honest. Just do it.

“Because I… because I liked it”, Izuku burst out and his view got blurry with tears, “I liked it and I’ve wanted it for ages and when I finally got it, it was only for the tiniest moment and only the ghost of a touch and it just painfully reminded me of what I could never have and I… I just”, Izuku’s voice cracked, and he held up his hands to hide his face, not wanting to make this more of a scene than necessary.

For a moment there was just silence.

“I just thought I needed some time to reset myself”, Izuku hiccupped and when he was about to add an apology, he felt warm hands on his wrists, pulling his hands down.

“Izuku.”

Feeling Katsuki’s soft touch, hearing his gentle voice made Izuku’s stomach flutter with trillions of butterflies.

“Izuku, look at me.”

And Izuku did. He looked up and met crimson, tender eyes. Izuku didn’t dare breathe.

“Nerd”, Katsuki whispered, “Don’t play with me right now. Do you… do you mean all of that?”

The pleading in his voice had Izuku gasping, nodding forcefully.

“I do, Kacchan, I do!”

Katsuki's eyes grew wide. “I’m about to kiss you senseless, I hope you know that.”

Izuku made a surprised sound. “What?”

Katsuki clicked his tongue and closed his eye.

For a moment Izuku was able to simply look at Katsuki’s face. It was flushed, his brows furrowed only a little bit and a smile was starting to stretch over his face.

Once again, Izuku marbled at his beauty.

“I swear, Izuku”, Katsuki breathed out when he reopened his eyes, “You can have all the kisses and all the cuddles and just fucking everything you want from me, you just have to say it.”

Izuku blinked a few times. “You want me, too?”

Katsuki scoffed, shaking his head while grinning to himself.

“I want you, I love you, I need you, pick one, it’s all there, waiting for you.”

Izuku’s face flared up, heat washing all over his body. Was he dreaming?

“But…”, he started to protest, “But why didn’t you say something?”

“Why didn’t you?”, Katsuki shot back, just like Todoroki had earlier.

“Well, because”, Izuku huffed, “I mean, I didn’t want to scare you away and I was so sure you weren’t interested!”

“Don’t you have eyes, nerd?”, Katsuki frowned.

Izuku snorted. “I could ask you the same! And Kacchan, you just go around and claim everything you want and then earn it. I thought if there was the slightest possibility of you wanting me, you would’ve… you would’ve just-”

Izuku wanted to sound accusing, more in a joking manner, but instead new tears spilled out of his eyes, years of perceived rejection aching in his chest.

“Shit, nerd, don’t”, Katsuki whispered, letting go of Izuku’s wrists and instead placing his hands on Izuku’s face to brush his tears away, “I’m sorry, okay? I just didn’t think about how my usual behavior would make you think like that. But I get it now. I should’ve said something.”

Izuku sniffled, melting into Katsuki’s touch.

“Why didn’t you?”, Izuku asked again.

Katsuki let out a shaky breath, still caressing Izuku’s cheekbones with his thumbs, even though there were no new tears.

“Where do I even start with that…”, he mumbled, more to himself.

Izuku shrugged, studying Katsuki’s face. “Whereever.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes, a small smile tugging on his lips. “It was just that…”, he started, “I mean. I wasn’t sure if you really liked me that way. Yeah, sure, you’ve always kinda been fanboying over me since we were little, but I thought that was it. Admiration. And even if it was more than that, let’s be honest – I just know I won’t ever be able to match your pure energy. How could I, probably the country's rudest pro hero, possibly deserve you? How could you want this?”

It hurt Izuku to his bones to see Katsuki gesturing to all of himself.

“Not to mention the shit I pulled when we were younger.”

“Kacchan!”, Izuku called out when Katsuki’s voice broke, leaning his forehead against Katsuki’s, “Please, don’t say that. Your heart is just as good, don’t put yourself down, we talked about this! You just show your affection and your care in different ways than I do.”

“Is this about your stupid love languages again?”, Katsuki tried to joke, but his voice was still shaky.

“Don’t call them stupid”, Izuku smiled softly, “They really help me to understand myself and others better. And to manage my expectations.”

Katsuki was silent for a while but eventually nodded. “I know. Same.”

Izuku made a content sound, taking in a deep breath to address something else Katsuki had said. Something that would always weigh heavy on Izuku’s chest: “And please. The past is in the past, we worked through it, and I forgave you. I hope you can start doing the same.”

Izuku could feel that Katsuki was holding back a sob. After a few moments passed the blond nodded.

They stayed like this for a while, eyes closed, sharing a breath.

When Izuku finally leaned back, he said: “I’m not that pure anyways”, he smiled a little, “I do get jealous and greedy and possessive and hostile. Like, a lot.”

Katsuki looked at him doubtingly, scoffing.

“I do! When it comes to you, I do”, Izuku explained, “I want you all to myself and I hate it when people talk badly about you and oh my god, Kacchan, I just get so mad when people get into your personal space! And whenever I see people flirting with you who are in your league and not just plain looking like me I could smash a whole building and I-“

“Hold up, hold up, hold up”, Katsuki interrupted him, squeezing his eyes shot while shaking his head, “Did I just hear you call yourself plain? Did that just really happen?!”

“Eh…”, Izuku was confused at Katsuki’s strong reaction, “Yeah?”

“Okay”, Katsuki suddenly let go of Izuku and got on his feet, waving at Izuku to join him, “I have to beat your ass for that, stand up, nerd, I’ll get some sense into you.”

Izuku couldn’t help himself and started to laugh. “So dramatic!”, he called out, holding his belly.

“Tch”, Katsuki clicked his tongue, “You’re hot as fuck, cute as fuck and beautiful as fuck, it’s messing with my heartrate regularly, so shut the fuck up about you being plain. The hell?!”

Izuku was quite stunned, all he could do was stare at the blond.

After a few moments Katsuki seemed to grow uncomfortable. “W-what?!”

Izuku just looked at him in awe for a few more seconds before saying: “I just love you so much and I want all of you, I still can’t believe you just asked that. There’s absolutely no question about that for me. Every mood, every emotion, every thought of yours, everything. I want it all.”

Izuku watched as tears pooled in Katsuki’s eyes.

“And I... I just can’t believe you love me back and that you like how I look and that I-“

Izuku got interrupted by Katsuki swooping forward, pressing him down on the couch, cupping his face and starting to kiss him. Like really kissing him this time.

Izuku immediately arched into him, kissing him back with a hunger only years of pining could create. And even though their bodies were pressed together, he couldn’t get enough. He would never get enough of Bakugou Katsuki. Never, even if they would get to spend a thousand lifetimes together.

“Fuck, nerd, I can’t believe every weird shipper’s dream will come true”, Katsuki panted when they parted to catch their breaths.

“Come on, don’t say that, some of them wrote really sweet stuff about us.”

“Yeah, and very, very smutty shit too”, Katsuki smirked.

“You read it!”, Izuku laughed disbelieving, running hot once again.

Katsuki barked out a laugh. “Well, you obviously did too, judging by the fact that you look like a strawberry right now”, Katsuki pinched one of Izuku’s flushed cheeks and lowered his face again, “Shit,I totally get why I bit you back then.”

“No, Kacchan, don’t, you will bruise me!”, Izuku started to laugh even harder, wiggling against Katsuki’s hold.

When Katsuki’s lips left soft kisses on Izuku’s cheeks and jaw and mouth, he stopped his protest and snaked his arms around Katsuki’s neck.

“As much as I hated this stupid show with their stupid made up dares, it finally made me make my shot”, Katsuki said in between kisses.

Izuku huffed, closing his eyes dreamingly. He was so happy they went to that show even though he had regretted it for the past week. And he was so happy he had decided to confront Katsuki even though he had dreaded it for days.

“Thinking about the dares, everything besides the kiss was so lame. It’s kind of pathetic to think they were preparing it all beforehand and didn’t come up with better dares.”

Katsuki snorted, grinning down at Izuku.

“You really can get cheeky, huh?”

Izuku used his newfound confidence that Katsuki’s words about his looks had sparked in him and grinned right back. “I guess you have to come find out, Kacchan.”

The look on Katsuki’s face was priceless.

[ellowynthenotking]

Undeath on the High Seas

Chapter 1

They ended their time in Southeast Alaska’s Inside Passage with patches of clouds intermittently covering the sun. Fate had been smiling on them for the last couple of days. The forecast had predicted a cold rain, but all the sleepy little towns were graced with clear skies instead of the usual “liquid sunshine.”

As the ship slowly made its way out of the inside passage, a gentle breeze ruffled Penelope’s hair, bringing the crisp, soothing scent of the ocean. The sun is perfectly positioned, warming her legs without blinding her, and the clear blue sky and untamed green forests are reflected on a deep, dark sea. The distant roar of the ship covers all other sounds, and Penelope is just getting into the first book in her bag when Teagan and Courtney stop by.

Courtney slams the sliding glass balcony door open, something Penelope hadn’t thought possible, and yells, “Found her!” 

Penelope jumps hard enough at the interruption that she nearly throws her book. Maybe she should have saved the horror novel for later. 

Or at least for when her friends weren’t scaring the bejesus out of her.  

Teagan pops her head out after Courtney. For once, her chestnut hair is loose from its usual severe, slicked-back bun. As usual, she’s distracted by her ancient phone, probably texting her boyfriend as she says, “Hey! Should have figured you’d be hiding away.”

“Well,” Penelope begins, tucking her feet under her chair. She doesn’t really have an excuse—she was hiding. “I just wanted to avoid the crowds.” 

“Courtney wants to explore the ship, maybe take some aesthetic pics. Wanna join?” Teagan asks before Courtney can.

Penelope gets more comfortable and smiles, “No thanks, I finally got comfortable.”

“But it’s gonna be fun!” Courtney whines, giving Penelope puppy dog eyes. Unfortunately for her, it's much less effective now than in elementary school, when she’d had the big doe eyes and dark curly pigtails to match. “We can even see the boring parts of the ship you’ll like!”  

“I find reading just a liiiittle more comfortable than posing for you forever.” Penelope's already done three shoots for Courtney and wasn’t feeling up to more.

Courtney pouts, crossing her arms over her stark white crop top. She looks like she’s going to argue more, but Teagan cuts her off. 

“Okay, we’ll see you at dinner then.” Teagan looks up from her phone long enough to smile and wave, braces unable to diminish her pearly whites. As they leave, she shouts, “Enjoy your book!” 

Penelope half-salutes, watching through the balcony door as they grab another bag—likely full of props and clothes—and head off. Penelope knows they’ll probably take way too many pictures that Courtney will edit and then pass out to the rest.

Presumably, to post on their own socials. 

Even if she were into that lifestyle, Penelope will wait to post anything. She’s heard one too many stories of people coming home to find that they'd been robbed. Even though she has roommates—and she’s probably more at risk of them stealing her stuff—she’d prefer to avoid that. 

Penelope settles in again and relaxes into her book, letting her dark hair loose around her shoulders to help keep the cool breeze at bay.

She’s glad they’re all still friends, but a vacation is supposed to be relaxing. 

Even if they did go to see stuff like the engines or the ship’s bridge, she’d be the only one enjoying it. Though, they would get some cool pictures if they were allowed to take them. 

...---... ...---... ...---...  

After a while, Penelope notices the slight catch in her throat and thinks about getting a drink, only to be startled again by the door to the room slamming open.

“You’re never gonna believe it!” Melissa shouts as she crashes into the room, shattering Penelope’s peace again. 

Penelope hopes Melissa will get the message by burying her face in her book. However, she continues to chatter, obviously missing the fact that Penelope isn’t paying attention. Resigning herself to her fate, Penelope chooses to actually pay attention to her friend. 

Melissa’s tousled blonde hair bounces as she flits around the room, gushing the guy she met. “-He’s so sweet and such a good listener! And I was telling him about how I’m looking for a job-”

Penelope listens to her besotted friend as Melissa puts on clean clothes and chatters away. She's wearing the same sundress she wore last night when she went to “watch a movie.” Other than her hair being a bit of a mess, she looks happy. 

Glowing, really. 

Maybe Teagan’s wedding isn’t the only one we’ll be going to soon, Penelope thinks to herself, nodding as Melissa keeps talking.

“-He says that there’s a school district near him looking for art teachers, and you know I minored in that, but I was thinking it might be a good idea to apply there anyway-” 

She seriously doubted it would actually happen. Though it is fun to see how Melissa acts, bouncing and moving through the cabin with vitality, whenever she meets someone new, she always plans their whole lives together immediately. She would make a decent life coach if her dreams didn’t bounce around as much as she was now. But she was happy and could be as “in love” as she wanted as long as she could hold down a job. 

“-And if I do get a job there, maybe having a friend there can help me get settled. I mean, he’s gotta know all the best places to hang out and-”

Penelope smiles and nods as her friend talks. Even though the interruptions are irritating, the rest of the cation will be perfect for reading. Besides, this will be the last time she sees her friends for a long, long while. She'd only come on this trip because of the lull between her summer job ending and her big new fancy job starting.

“-He’s just so nice, and he constantly talks up his friends. Can you just imagine him doing the same about me? I mean, not that I expect him to, but he’s so outgoing and just-”

She tries to enjoy it while she can. Usually, Melissa gets too into whatever she’s working on to remember to tell the others about her current boy toys, often leaving them confused when she shares news without updates in between.

And while Brody is apparently the best man ever, Penelope is sure he’s just another in a long line of them. However, he probably will hold a special place in Melissa’s heart just by virtue of being her first love at sea. 

“-I’m probably just getting ahead of myself again.” Melissa stops, looking over at Penelope. 

Penelope freezes, her muscles tensing. Should she say something? What? She hadn’t been listening, and that didn’t sound like a question. 

She tries to cover up her panic, but Melissa shrugs before she can say anything.

“Eh, at worst, I have a job, right? So Brody lives in-”  

Crisis averted. 

Penelope allows herself to go back to thinking. She’s really enjoying Alaska. A beautiful cruise ship with stunning sights, friendly people, and lots of sun. Not to mention tons of time with her friends. Kodiak was gorgeous, just like all of Southeast Alaska. There were undoubtedly upsides to living in this part of the world, friendly people aside. Maybe she can get a job traveling in this part of the world. There is always a need for tech people, and stuff on the cruises probably needs fixing. 

Who would I need to talk to about that? She wonders. 

“-But he probably knows about some places that might be cheap or easy to rent, right? Not that I need him to help me find a place. I can do it on my own, but it’d be nice to have someone to help with all the bills. I wouldn’t ask Brody to-”

Although Information and Technology wasn’t Penelope’s first choice, it was a good path, and she'd make decent money. The biggest downside she’s noticed is that everyone goes to her when they have computer issues.

Her mom disapproved, but her mom had met her dad before leaving college and thought a Mrs degree was the most important one a woman could have. It doesn’t mean that Penelope wants to do the same. 

She just needs her mom to stop setting up blind dates for her without any warning. Well, the one with Frakenlin hadn’t been the worst blind date, except that she was a woman, and that really wasn’t what Franklin was looking for in a partner. 

She should call him when she gets home; if nothing else, he was fun to talk to.

“Do you think I should invite Brody to dinner?” Melissa asks her, and Penelope thinks for a moment. 

She taps her lip as she thinks. It’s not something she’s crazy about, but she’s pretty sure they’re not allowed to have guests. She isn’t going to tell Melissa that, though.

“I thought we were going to spend some time together. You know, like we’d planned?” Penelope does her best to avoid wincing. She can admit it came out a little… well, a lot worse than she’d planned. “You’re spending so much time with this guy. Let’s have a girl dinner, and you can introduce us later.” 

“You know what? You’re so right. And I am all over that.” Melissa says, coming over and giving Penelope a quick squeeze, briefly enveloping her in a cloud of sweet perfume before returning inside.

Penelope sighs with relief, then notices Melissa packing an extra change of clothes. “Or are you just planning to not see us until tomorrow if we won’t have dinner with him?” 

Melissa blushes, a pretty thing influencers wish they could replicate. “I need them for dinner, obviously! I’m not just going to dip on you guys.” 

Penelope is pretty sure they both damn well know that the clothes are for her next overnight stay with Brody. She smiles at her anyway. “Go have fun, just message one of us if you’re not coming so we know not to wait around.”

Melissa beams and calls, “Okay-love-you-bye!”  

Even though she’s mostly out the door, Penelope calls back, “I do want to meet that boy of yours! Eventually!”

If you're interested in this so far, preorder now on Amazon!

Penelope Rose thought a cruise through Southeast Alaska would be a relaxing way to celebrate getting her degree with her friends.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

After a week of sun, fun, and visiting all the little attractions that every town had to offer, all that was left was a week at sea.

Then came to request to stay in their rooms. Hours turn to days, and the food deliveries stop. Penelope and her friends have to leave the safety of their room, only to find most of the ship's passengers dead, or infected with a disease so terrible that Penelope can't even think the name.

Or consider following me on Patreon:

[glowyjellyfish]

So a couple weeks ago, I got distracted from my assorted historic sims 2 hoods projects in favor of my Just Play the Game downloads folder, a collection of stuff I accumulated over time without fancy aging systems and traits and the like. Just classic mode with lots of CC. I got excited and downloaded a good handful of new sets and installed them.

Now my game keeps crashing utterly at random—sometimes shortly after starting to play a lot (as in a few game hours), sometimes a few (game) days in. One time it ALWAYS crashed when I took Morty Roth to a community lot to fish. So now I’m forced to do a lot of the clean-up work this downloads folder is supposed to avoid requiring.

-I keep running various scanners (DDO, SimPe GUID check, Clean Installer, Hood Checker, HCDU+), and nothing leaps out as a problem, particularly not anything newly added. I am constantly removing duplicate items, but it doesn’t seem to make much difference.

-I’m hesitant to run a 50/50 check because the crashing is very random. Sometimes I play a household for a full season and it’s fine, other times it crashes for no discernible reason. I have deleted a lot of objects so I doubt it’s my object mesh limit. It happens during gameplay, not in the catalog so it’s probably not a GUID conflict of some sort, although I could be wrong. I don’t THINK it’s all the new modern sets I downloaded, because that’s all furniture and a couple outfits—nothing mod or hack-y. I did download the LS bundle and some patches for it.

-My gut insists it’s a townie with bad CC trying to walk by, but I don’t have the faintest idea how to test for that or fix it. Maybe I could do a test lot and teleport in each townie looking for a crash, but if that works how do I find what item on them caused the crash?

-I did just discover and remove an unwanted default replacement amongst some X-Men characters I installed in this game—the last batch of CC I installed before this batch. So it might just be that, whatever it was? I don’t know yet. The only test is to try playing again, and I have to wait until after work tomorrow for that.

-the log always just gives me “access violation”. I did double check that the 4gb patch is still applied, and I believe it is, and I checked that the texture memory looked okay in GRM. It seems more like a CC problem than a game/hardware problem, although it COULD be the game running out of memory. Seems unlikely as I am not getting pink flashing, just the crash, but it could be.

-one thing I did in the cleaning process that could have been problematic was delete my Sun&Moon collection, deeming it Not Right for this particular setup. I don’t think I had touched it in this game.

-Now I am having the urge to start a new, clean Uberhood with all my nice new CC, except the one I started setting up has the same old copy of my main modern downloads folder, so it’s likely to be experiencing the same problems. Unless it truly is the X-Men content that’s the problem lol.

(I want to have Simlogical schools in districts, limit careers based on local buildings, use supernatural lifestates and 1 day = 1 year aging, follow most of the premade relationships instead of wasting time hunting for the perfect match for everybody, include the downtownie Tricou teens, and mix up the method for choosing a college—base it on expense rather than location as I have been doing).

But I would also very much like for my Just Play downloads folder to be ready to just play again and complete a round. I’ve had bad luck with Uber/megahoods even though I love them, I would like to get one off the ground. My last new one used Proportionate Aging and also featured a bugged taxi driver showing up as a walkby and forcing the game to speed 1 until I teleported him away, something that is probably fixable but not with my limited abilities. I just want to play the game.

[pedritomosquito]

Unmute (Ch 1)

Summary: Joel's journey to find Tommy is interrupted by a girl who needs help. A whole lot changes for both of them when she ends up tagging along.

Pairing: No Pairings, just Joel & Ellie

Word count: 3,339

Warnings: SA recovery, Ellie was SAed, canon-typical gun violence, Mute character

A/N: My first tlou fic! I live for Joel and Ellie. I wanted to watch how Ellie's character would grow into the one we know and love if she started off mute. Heed the warnings, loves! Have a safe read 🥰

Joel had no one. 

He swore to himself he would never get attached, that the world was different now and he couldn’t afford to. 

Yet Tess was gone. And hours later he found that Bill and Frank were too. 

If he swore he wasn’t attached, then why did he feel the void inside him growing?

The only thing left was getting to Tommy. He needed to believe Tommy was alive. It was naive and uncharacteristically optimistic of him to assume that nothing had happened to him; that his radio silence didn’t mean he was gone too. 

Joel had to believe Tommy was alive or the last part of himself that remained would die too. 

Now he had a car and a mission.

He’d driven through the night, wanting to put as many miles behind him as possible. Each hour he would pull over to fill the truck’s tank, bleary eyed as he cut through Bill’s supply. He’d only made it this far west of the Boston QZ a couple of times, but he knew his next stop would be a gas station on route 70. It was an interstate rest stop with enough abandoned cars and pumps to find some gas to siphon.

The gas pedal meeting the floorboard cued Joel to realize he fucked up. The truck was only rolling along at twenty miles per hour.

“Shit,” He muttered.

The quality of gasoline seemed to deteriorate by the day now and fuel gauges could never be trusted.

He pulled off of the road, coasting down the embankment and into the trees. He had enough momentum and fuel to drive just far enough into the woods, out of sight.

He hung his head, hands braced against the steering wheel. Maybe this was a sign. His eyes wandered to the rifle sitting beside him.

He exhaled the idea, shoving the door open instead. 

He’d passed a sign only a minute before that said the rest stop was seven miles away. That meant he was probably six miles away now and a two hour walk each way. 

Grabbing a backpack and slinging the strap of the rifle over his shoulder, he set off back towards the road with a gas can in hand. He trailed alongside the fractured pavement, staying hidden in the treeline. 

The gas station was just as he remembered it. One large building created its center with a food court and bathrooms. Sixteen gas pumps sat in clean rows of two outside. The overgrowth of weeds and vines had crawled further across the rooftop, fingers dipping into the boarded windows.

The pumps were long emptied, so Joel headed over to a derelict Nissan Pathfinder. Bigger car, bigger gas tank. He pried the metal cover off and unscrewed the gas cap. He pulled out the tubing from his backpack and threaded it into the tank. It came back wet with fuel. 

He was setting up the can next to him when a gunshot roared, whistling through the steel of the car.

“Fuck,” he darted behind the SUV for cover. He peered through the crosshairs of his rifle as two more bullets flew past him from different directions. He could just barely make out the barrel of a gun sitting in the gap between a couple of wood boards. He fired and was satisfied by the unmistakable sound of bullet finding flesh.

There was shouting inside and then a barrage of gunfire pelting the car, still from two different angles, one of them new. He calculated at least three men, one already down. He leaned out, firing at a shadow. Another hit.

A long moment of silence followed. A lone gunman finally replied with several shots. Joel couldn’t get an angle on him and ran for cover behind another car.

It was a clear and easy shot through an uncovered patch of a glass door.

The glass shattered and the man’s body hit the floor before the last shard had even fallen.

The quiet pause lasted this time and Joel carefully advanced toward the doors in smooth, long strides. He kicked open the door, sweeping his rifle over the room. 

Sets of tables and chairs were strewn about, some overturned. Moss leached along the cracks in the black and white floors, now coated in dirt. The bodies of the three men became fixtures, like they had already become part of the ground itself. 

Between a pair of toppled tables, he made out the toe of a green shoe. He tightened his grip. 

“Don’t you fucking move,” he warned, circling in a wide arc. 

His eyes landed on a naked girl under the table, tucked tightly in a ball. 

Sarah’s age. 

His grip faltered. 

She wore only torn remnants of a shirt and she desperately tried to cover the rest of herself with her hands. Her eyes were blown wide in terror, the dirt on her face streaked with tears. 

She looked him dead in the eye and gave him a tiny nod. 

Please. Do it.

His brow furrowed.  

“Are you bit?” He asked lowly. 

She shook her head. 

He eyed her suspiciously for a moment. He wanted to be distrustful–needed to be, really–but her fear was so genuine it was almost overwhelming. He averted his gun’s aim off to the side.

“Stand up,” He directed quietly.

She stayed frozen, her face beginning to crumple.

He followed her train of thought.

“No, no, I’m not–” He tried to explain but couldn’t find the words. “I just gotta see if you’re bit.”

She hesitantly unlaced her arms from around herself and emerged from betweens tables, getting to her feet.

Joel had turned his head away from her, just his eyes reluctantly scanning over her. 

He noted a full spectrum of bruises across her skin, mostly around her wrists, neck, and legs. Some dried blood blotted the inside of her thighs. She turned around slowly, showing him her back, before returning to face him. She slipped her arms around herself again, her eyes never leaving the filthy linoleum at her feet.

With decades between Joel and life before the outbreak, he liked to consider himself fully numb at this point. The child in front of him was making him waver as outrage swirled uncomfortably in his stomach. He glanced at the dead bodies around him and wished he’d made them suffer more. Death was far too kind.

He shrugged off his flannel.

“Put this on,” he said as he held it out to her.

She looked between him and the shirt fisted in his hand. She slowly stepped forward but hesitated when she reached for it. 

Joel nodded in encouragement. 

As her fingertips brushed the fabric, it was like a visceral need shot through her. She quickly grabbed it, spinning away from him as she shoved it on. It was just long enough to cover her completely. She began to work on buttoning it up.

He wondered what the hell he was supposed to do with this kid now. 

“Where did you come from?” He asked. 

The girl just continued to fumble with the buttons.   

“You from the Pittsburgh QZ?” He tried. 

Her eyes bounced up to him for a moment. 

“Okay, so the Pittsburg QZ,” he deduced from her glance alone. “I’ll bring you back there if—“

He’s interrupted by her outright panic, frantically shaking her head, tears welling in her eyes. 

Goddamnit. He sighed. 

“FEDRA wants you,” he assumed in defeat. She fiddled with a sleeve regretfully. 

The rumbling of an approaching car cut them off. Joel pushed the girl back into her hiding spot behind the tables and crouched down beside her, training his gun on the door. 

The engine cut off and the footfalls of several people crunched in the gravel. 

“Pat?” A voice outside called as it approached, “Shawn?”

The door swung open and Joel fired, striking the man through the chest. Chaos descended upon the room. 

The back door burst open and Joel pivoted, shooting the intruder and covering the girl. He immediately returned his aim to the front door at the sound of a gun cocking. 

Joel managed to fire once before ducking behind the table as bullets sprayed back at them. He left the girl’s side, moving further back and using a booth as cover to divert the gunfire. 

He leaned out and took three more shots. Over the explosions of gunpowder, he didn’t hear the fourth man enter from the back. 

A boot collided with Joel’s head, knocking him and his gun to the floor. Joel reached for the weapon but another pair of hands gripped the barrel. 

They both grappled and fought for possession, the heavy weight of the man pinning Joel to the ground. The man wrenched the gun up to his neck and pressed it tight down against his throat. Joel tried to push back, to allow any bit of air to slide into his lungs, but the man’s weight was too much. 

His hearing started to fade. Black ash plumed in his vision. 

A muffled gunshot rang in his ears and the weight above him suddenly shifted, collapsing onto the floor next to him. 

He saw a blurred figure in his green flannel, crouched off to his side, gun still pointed at the man now lying on the floor. 

She instantly turned as the man at the front moved towards them and she fired a clean shot. His body thudded onto the tile. The chaos was gone and the only sound in the room was the wounded man’s frantic breathing. 

The girl stood slowly, shaking, the gun still in her hand.

Joel sat up and watched wordlessly as she walked forward. 

Shattered glass popped like thin ice under her worn rubber soles with each step.She came to stand over the bleeding man. 

His fingers twitched feebly to reach the pistol laying by his side and she kicked it away. 

She raised her chin as she raised her gun, hands shaking but certain as she looked down at him. 

And she fired. 

The kickback made her startle and her cheeks were soaked with tears, but she kept her eyes on him even as the gun fell from her hand. 

When she moved, she made her way over to one of the other men and leaned down. She reached out and searched through his pocket for a moment before withdrawing. The quiet sound of metal jingling echoed in the room.  

Finally Joel staggered to his feet and picked up his rifle, strapping it to his back. The girl returned to him and said nothing, simply holding out a pair of car keys.

He looked at her, but the girl refused to bring her eyes up from the floor.

He carefully took the keys dangling from her fingertips. 

“Okay,” He nodded, “Let’s get out of here.”

—--

Joel aimlessly fidgeted with the steering wheel, rolling his grip on it. The girl was an unexpected obstacle–cargo with no real destination. She was undeniably an extra weight to carry and ultimately just an extra mouth to feed, but he still didn’t see any other options. 

She sat quietly in the back seat, pulling the hem of her shirt down as far as she could. 

He pulled up behind Bill’s truck, throwing the gear into park.

“Come on,” He said a bit begrudgingly, “I think I can find something for you.”

She hesitantly got out of the car and trailed behind him over to the truck. 

Joel rifled around in the backseat for a minute. In one of the bags, he found an extra pair of Frank’s jeans. Although Frank had become much smaller as his health deteriorated, Joel knew the pants would be ten sizes too big all the same. He found the first aid kit and pulled out the bandage scissors. He knew he'd have to sacrifice his belt for the cause as well and began to undo the buckle, sliding it off.

The snapping of twigs brought his attention back to the girl. He saw her slowly backing away, eyes flitting between the belt in his hands and an escape route.

“Shit, no, I’m just–” Joel rushed to explain, pulling the folded jeans out of the car into her view, “For you, see?”

He held it out toward her. This barely seemed to calm her down. He slowly walked to the hood of the car between them, a neutral ground, with one hand up in surrender. He carefully set the peace offering down. 

“Put ‘em on,” He offered gently before walking back to the truck.

A minute later, the girl appeared to the side of him. He pretended not to be unnerved by her stealth. 

The ill-fitting pants at least got the job done as she stood fully clothed before him. Her sleeves and pant legs were rolled a hundred times over, bulky and unraveling. 

He placed the bandage scissors on the tail bumper.

“Trim them,” He nodded towards the pair of dull blades.

The girl regarded him suspiciously before quickly swiping the scissors and finding a rock to sit on. She busied herself with cutting the denim and flannel. 

Joel popped the hood of the newly-inherited car, inspecting it. It was newer and had better fuel efficiency than Bill’s truck, so he made the decision to switch out the supplies. He started carrying loads between the cars, stocking it up.

The girl returned in clothes that were at least no longer a tripping hazard.

Joel just nodded in approval and reached to take the scissors from her. She stepped back and hugged them close to her chest. Watching her cling to them like safety–he couldn’t bring himself to take them away. It would be good, he reasoned; she would be less of a burden if she had a way to defend herself.

He sighed in defeat.

“I better not find those in my back,” He muttered.

She slipped them into the pocket of the oversized jeans and silently picked one of the bags from the backseat. She slung it over her shoulder and walked it over to the other car.

 ——-

Joel cranked the key in the ignition, the engine turning to life. 

The girl climbed into the passenger seat, curiously scanning the space around her. She poked at the air vent and spun its dial experimentally. She found a square button on the dashboard and pushed it. The glove compartment fell open into her lap, making her jump. 

Joel watched, feeling impatient, even if admittedly a bit amused. 

“Never sat up front before?” He assumed.

She looked in his general direction for a moment. She picked up papers that sat in the compartment and froze when she saw a small black pistol beneath it.  

“I’ll take that,” Joel immediately reached over and plucked it out, unloading the cartridge and barrel in two swift motions before tucking the gun in the side of his door. 

She pushed the glove compartment shut and reached up to the rear view mirror, tilting it. 

“Don’t touch that,” he said, adjusting it back to its proper position. 

Her hand slowly reached back up as she still stole a look at him. She extended a singular finger and gave the mirror a tiny, gentle poke. 

“Christ,” he muttered with a roll of his eyes and a sigh. “Seatbelt,” he directed. 

The girl glanced at him and looked around a bit blankly. 

“It’s—“ Joel started to reach toward her but froze when she flinched, leaning away from him. “Ok,” he backed off, re-calculating his explanation. He pointed to her far shoulder instead. “Behind you?”

She looked and found the strap, running it between her fingertips and then looked back to see him demonstrating with his own seatbelt. 

“You just pull it across, and buckle,” he explained as it clicked in. 

Her face grew troubled, looking between the buckles and the latch in her hand. Fear crept into her expression again. 

“You just push the button to undo it,” he assured her. 

This assuaged her doubt a little, but she continued to side eye him distrustfully. Faster than he could object, her hand flew down to the red button next to him, jabbing it hard before jumping away. 

Sure enough, Joel’s belt popped out, just as he said it would. 

He caught the latch as it slid back across him, looking at her with his eyebrows raised.

She seemed satisfied, buckling her own seatbelt and staring straight ahead through the windshield.

“Okay,” Joel concluded, beginning their drive out of the forest and to the main road. 

As much as Joel thoroughly enjoyed having a quiet commute, he couldn’t help but wonder about his passenger. It had been two hours of silence and sunset was nearing.

“You got a name?” He finally asked, watching the endless country road feed itself to the tires of the car. 

More silence. 

“Or a reason you got the aim of a sniper?” He got no response so he continued. “Or why you don’t talk?”

Nothing. 

“Do you know how to talk?” He prodded. 

He looked over and saw her offended expression. 

“Well you’re not giving me a lot to go off of here, kid,” he reasoned. 

She adjusted in her seat to look out the window.

“Fine,” he gave up. “That’s enough for today,” he decided, pulling off of the road and into the woods, “We’ll stop here and get back on the road in the morning.”

It occurred to him that the girl had no idea where he was headed or why. It didn’t seem to matter to her. 

He found a patch far enough into the woods for his liking and dropped anchor. He started to set out a sleeping bag, tossing the girl one as well. She caught it easily and Joel detected a bit of light in her eyes as she admired the rolled bedding in her hands. Simple pleasures.

Daylight had just about faded when Joel finished warming up a couple of 20 year old chef boyardee’s. The girl looked confused when he pushed a can towards her.

“You’re no good weak,” He said simply.

She hesitantly took the can, her face unreadable. 

He started to eat but was quickly distracted by the sound of the girl, who was eating like she hadn’t been fed in days. He realized that might actually be true–lord knows when she’d eaten last.

“Slow down,” He commented despite knowing he’d probably be ignored. And he was.

—-

Joel laid his rifle down beside his sleeping bag, ready to get some rest. He looked over at the girl and saw a half-shredded book he’d never seen before in her hand. There was almost a slight pull at the corner of her mouth, something like a smile, as she read by the lantern light. 

“Where’d you get that?” He asked, his voice startling her. 

She closed the book and slid it into the sleeping bag, nodding towards the car. 

Joel just hummed in response. 

He reached to turn off the light and the girl flinched hard, her grip on the sleeping bag white knuckled. 

He paused, debating why he always felt so guilty when she was scared, why he cared at all. 

“Listen,” Joel began, trying to articulate his thoughts as cautiously as he could. “What those men did to you. It was wrong, okay? I don’t want… that… from you. I will never want that from you. Understand?”

The girl just stared at the dirt. He couldn’t be sure in dim lantern light, but it seemed like her eyes were pooled with tears. 

She suddenly turned over, facing away from him. 

Joel cursed himself for being so bad at this. He tapped the light off with a small sigh and laid back, looking up at the weave of leaves looming tall above him. 

“Ellie.”

Joel’s head shot up, looking at the outline of the girl through the darkness. He surely didn’t hear that, did he?

Her voice was small but definitely there. 

Ellie. 

Her name was Ellie. 

He rested back down on the sleeping bag. 

“Joel.”

Ch 2

[fluidstatick]

well shit lol

Vadim (busiest maintenance man in the world) came in to cut a hole in the sheetrock and examine the AC leak. There's a slew of issues, only one of which we knew about previously:

- Drain was installed two inches too close to the sheetrock, and is bent into a J shape, so it's too jammed to drain correctly (we knew this)

- the stud next to drain is warped, so the sheetrock was bent slightly around it, leaving a gap that makes the main hvac drain run at a slight angle \ instead of plumb | (surprise #1)

- the insulation around the suspiciously kinked drain is almost completely dry (surprise #2)

- Vadim: "Oh, not good news." There's a full square foot patch of insulation above the drain that's soaked straight through, all the way to the ceiling line. (surprise #3)

- There's a soggy patch of sheetrock about a foot wide in front of the drain, but it stops short about three feet down, so something in there is diverting the leak toward the exterior, which is why there's a mildew stain in the foundation. The way plumbing and electrical was blueprinted means this shouldn't be possible, so something fucky is going on further down the wall. (surprise #4)

- the ceiling line inside the wall is absolutely sodden, to the point that my upstairs neighbor probably has a patch of sagging particle board under his laminate in the nw corner. Either his AC is leaking gradually, or the unit above his is absolutely fucked. (surprise #5, the one that made Vadim quietly swear a blue streak)

Reminder: This apartment complex is six months old!!! Vadim says the construction company and their inspectors have messed up so thoroughly in so many different places around the property that he's had to call the contractors several times a month to flag code violations. "These inspectors signed off everything with their eyes closed, I think."

Vadim also tells me that, a couple of weeks ago he went to the roof to figure out why the downspouts weren't draining properly. He found "Hundreds of empty water bottles, energy drink cans, paper and plastic cups, plastic wrappers" floating in a foot of standing water, hiding "maybe fifty" industrial sized garbage bags full of MORE plastic trash clogging the downspouts. After they drained the water and cleared the trash - which took THREE WORK DAYS - The roof was already so slick with slime mold that they had to put down rock salt and asphalt grit to make it safe to walk on.

tl:dr; the construction crew fucked up repeatedly, the inspectors handwaved everything away, this brand new apartment complex is already fucked up, and our maintenance guy is stuck with the lion's share of the headache because everybody else is deflecting responsibility.

[tardigradesonthemoon]

The Problems With My Bedroom: A Saga

Attempt Number 1: When I first moved in i tried having my bed centered on the wall like an adult, The Problem: it's a small room so it took up basically the whole space. the closet is small too so i was able to make drawers for underneath the bed and access them from both sides but the bed was so tall because of the drawers that i needed a step to get up to it which caused the mattress to slide every time i got in or out of bed. FAIL.

Attempt Number 2: i figured no one gets in or our of the bed except me so I don't really need access from both sides so I did this

I pushed it into the corner which i liked better but every time i moved the bed would scoot around, things would fall between the walls and the bed (the number of hours i spent reaching for my phone cord can never be gotten back.) , pillows would sloooowly slip down and push the bed away from the wall, it was a whole thing.

i tried getting things that would keep the bed from skootching away from the wall and they did work but then when stuff still fell it would be even harder to retrieve.

the other problem was that the bed was still up high because of the drawers so every time i'd scoot my butt off the edge, it would pull the sheet off a little bit and after only a couple days I'd have to re-tuck everything. i tried about 20 different solutions for keeping the sheet in place, the only one i found that worked consistently was this thing:

it worked FABULOUSLY but you have to basically flip the mattress over every time you change the sheets so you can reattach all the clips. i did it like 3 times. FAIL.

As i said before the closet is small, so I've used ikea cube things with a back panel attached as drawers to slide under the bed, and that works pretty well except for 2 things:

these are 15 inces deep so my bed frame is 16 when you add the mattress it makes my bed about 30 inches tall so i need a step to climb onto it which means i have to move the step every time i wanna access that set of drawers.

when i originally conceived of the idea my bed was accessible on both sides (see figure 1) so all 4 cubes of each shelf could be accessed fairly easily (the second drawer would only be about 2/3 open but everything inside was still accessible), when it's like it is currently (figure 2) i can access the first 2 cubes no problem, the 3rd if there’s no depression pile or laundry or whatever else in the way (aka: significantly less often than i'd like to admit) and to access the 4th i need to pull it out almost as far as it goes. Now I’ve worked around this by keeping those drawers reserved primarily for seasonal clothes and special occasion items and telling myself that i'll be better about laundry but it’s a work around so its not IDEAL.

Attempt Number 3: now the plan is this:

i flip my bed around and put the pillows end into my closet. the ikea cubes can be stood back up to be used as regular ass drawers as the king of Sweden (probably) intended and which I'll be able to access all of because none of them will be under a bed.

now, eagle eyed readers will have noted that my closet is 55 inches wide, the problem here is that a standard queen bed is 60 inches wide so I'd have to expand the opening a bit which will be a project but I think i can get it done by myself in a weekend or two (or less if I have help) I'll need to do some drywall patching and repaint but there's nothing structural or utilities in the wall so as wall projects go, a pretty simple one. this will take a couple inches of space away from the closet in the bedroom on the other side of that wall but its only my office over there so the only things in that closet are there is crafting supplies which i need to properly organize anyway.

idk what exactly im gonna do with my nightstand and all the shit in there but this isy plan for right now.

unless it's terrible.

[spitfire-of-the-sea]

Secret Santa entry #1

This is my *very delayed* Secret Santa present! I am very sorry it comes so late, all my timelines were choked to death by work and shifted away from everything we had agreed upon. I hope you can forgive me, I am really very sorry! @onepiece-blorboexchange - I apologize also to you guys for the delay!

@pebbsie - this is for you =) Hongo taking care of Y/N with a cold. It's a bit out there, I hope it's still fun to read and somewhat enjoyable! To compensate for your way too long wait, this is the first present, a second one will follow in the next 1-2 days, once I've double-checked it. =) Merry - very delayed - Christmas! I hope you had happy holidays and that you like this present!

Red Hair Hair Pirates: Hongo Taking care of Y/N with a cold (platonic) Word count: 1.1k Trigger warning: None...? I hope. Only mentions of bodily threat to Shanks, and some cold winter weather.

You sniffled, rubbing the back of your hand over your nose and making your way through the almost hip-high snow. The curses had died on your tongue about a mile ago when the blizzard really hit and instead you did your very best to let the hate fester, to let it burn hot in your chest and urge you onward. It was this very hate that fueled you.

You were hungry, you were wet, and you were about 50% frozen by now. Coincidentally, you also wanted to murder your captain for choosing the coldest cave on the highest mountain on the most brutal winter island as his favorite party base.

Finally you spotted the light of a large campfire brightening a cave entrance and heaved a sigh of relief – you’d finally made it! Food, warmth, and the chance to smack your captain were in sight!

Except, on your next step your foot landed on a patch of ice below all that snow, you lost all traction and your balance on top of that, toppling over into the snow with an undignified squeak.

Thankfully, the snow made for a soft landing. Sadly, it also made for a very cold one, and as you were lying there, your gaze travelling up to the sky, you wondered whether you’d prefer to hack Shank’s other arm off with an axe or rather rip it off with your bare hands to smack him with it.

Hah. At least the stars were beautiful. Or was it hail? It was probably hail, seeing as how it smacked you straight in the face, making you wince. You wiggled your toes and heaved a sigh. Yeah, you had no feeling left in those.

“Hey, Y/N! What are you doing, lying there in the snow?”

Your gaze slid from the sky toward the voice, and you could make out dark blond hair tied up into a short ponytail. You blinked slowly. Hongo stood bent over you, cocking his head to the side. “I thought I heard something…,” he muttered.

“I hate you all,” you said by way of greeting, scowling when a big grin brightened his face.

“Oh, Miss Grumpypants has finally found us, huh? Come on up, you’re getting all wet like this,” he said happily and offered you a hand.

“Miss Grumpypants,” you snapped, “travelled to the nice, warm, cozy summer island that was our meeting point. Only to learn that you didn’t wait for me and left me a message to meet you here.”

“Oh, yeah,” Hongo said and kicked some snow aside when you didn’t grab his hand to make his way toward you. “Some kiddos attacked one of our islands, we had to teach them a lesson. We figured we’d just meet you here.”

“I hate this island,” you muttered and turned your face when another gust of wind smacked you in the face.

Hongo slid his arms below your back and your knees and picked you up as if you weighed nothing. With some consternation you realized that he hadn’t even bothered to put on more than a soft pullover. As if he wasn’t in the middle of a raging blizzard a couple of thousand meters up…

“You promised me a summer island,” you continued. “You promised me cocktails, summer, sun, and…-“ A violent sneeze interrupted you and you slumped deeper into his arms as he carried you inside.

“Don’t be angry at me,” he chuckled, “The boss likes this place.”

“I’ll wax his legs,” you growled.

“That seems a tad brutal,” Hongo replied evenly as he looked you over, frowning. You started to shiver when you entered the cave, the sudden change in warmth driving goosebumps up and down your body.

“I’ll burn his stupid ugly pants,” you continued.

“While he’s in them?” he asked conversationally and sat you down next to him gently. Your legs gave way almost immediately, but he kept his arm around your back and pulled you close as he placed a hand on your forehead.

“Yes,” you confirmed, shivering and closing your eyes, happy to finally be out of the snowstorm. “And then I’ll burn all the backups, too.”

“Cruel but understandable.” Hongo picked you up again and you didn’t even protest. You’d probably fall flat on your face if you tried to continue on your own. “You’re burning up, Y/N. You came all the way up here with a fever, in a raging blizzard. That wasn’t very smart.”

“I’ll put grease on his stupid flip-flops,” you told him and he sighed.

The rest was a blur, you weren’t too sure what was happening – Lucky Roux and Bonk Punch were ushered away when they came to greet you and now safe with your crew, you allowed exhaustion to take over and lull you into a few moments of sleep.

The next time you woke, you were sitting propped up against a few cushions near the fire, a wet cloth on your brow and the feeling of a thousand needles in your feet. Your vision swam into focus and you realized that Hongo was sitting at your feet, his warm hands massaging them gently, urging your blood flow to warm you up more quickly. The needles were the first sign that you were regaining feeling in them and as unpleasant as it was, you know it was a good sign.

You wanted to thank him but sneezed instead.

Hongo looked up and grinned at you. “Relax, Y/N, I’ve got you. You caught a cold, and coming up here in that weather seriously wasn’t the best idea you’ve ever had. Seems like our boss is having a bad influence on you…”

“Hey!” you could hear Shanks call out, but he was somewhere behind you and you didn’t want to turn your head. Knowing him, he’d be by your side in a couple of moments anyways, so you didn’t see the need to bother with that.

“Lucky Roux is making you some soup,” Hongo continued, unperturbed, “and we’ll make sure to get that fever down now, huh?” He gently set your feet down and you wanted to protest, but then he quickly shifted you closer to the fire, and set down next to you, pulling your feet into his lap. He continued the massage, his hands warming your feet up slowly and you let your head drop against his shoulders, relieved to have finally found them all again.

“Eat the soup, and then take the medication I prepared for you,” Hongo muttered quietly. “I don’t want you to take it on an empty stomach. The soup will warm you up, and the medication will make sure you can sleep your fever off in now time.” You nodded and nuzzled into his warmth.

“And then,” he promised, “when you’re back at full power, we’ll see what we can do about those ugly pants, huh?”

[sugarandice3]

Self Destruction

AN: So this is one out of (hopefully) three chapters for a slenderverse-inspired fic I began a long time ago. Truthfully, I would love to continue it, but I am in college and leisure time is hard to find so just a little encouragement would be welcome. Also, given my lack of beta readers, this will probably resemble more of a rough draft than a polished piece, so constructive criticism is more than welcome. But, without further ado, my fic. Self Destruction.

Warnings: Mild horror and mental health issues.

Word Count: ~4K.

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Chapter 1: Homeward Bound

The road stretched onward for miles across flat Montana earth, only stopping when it met the wakening horizon. Glaring light filled Keres’s vision, searing the image of the sunrise into her eyes and obscuring the abandoned highway. With a groan, she flipped up the useless sun visor and reached across to fumble around her passenger seat for the pair of sunglasses she had tossed there yesterday. Her fingertips finally brushed against the beat-up aviators as the tires buzzed against the boundaries of the road, warning her of the vehicle’s drift. Keres quickly slid the glasses on, returning both hands to the steering wheel and correcting her wayward car. Glancing at her rear view mirror, she looked through the dust covered glass to make sure that her brother’s little black truck was still behind her. Oliver was farther back now than he had been earlier, but in the early Montana morning on this empty stretch of highway, the greater distance didn’t matter. It only made her feel better that he probably hadn’t seen how far into the other lane she had drifted during her quest to block out the blinding sunrise.

Sweeping unbrushed auburn curls back behind her ear, Keres turned her brown eyes back on the monotonous pavement and focused on keeping her eyelids from lazily sliding half-closed. It was only day one of a three-day road trip back home and Keres was already exhausted. College had not been kind to her. 

“College is never kind to anyone,” she mumbled, correcting the self-pity that seemed to be more incessantly tainting her thoughts lately. Just because she wasn’t able to handle the pressure doesn’t mean that classes and being away from home were harder for her than they were for anyone else.

Rubbing her leg, Keres adjusted her grip on the steering wheel and checked for her brother one last time. She sighed again and reached for her phone to turn on some music. It was going to be a very long couple of days.

The red Toyota pulled into a silent motel parking lot, gravel and grit crunching under the tires. Orange street lamps shone weakly around the wings of the building, giving spots of haunted color to the monochrome of the lightless evening. The car came to a slow stop in front of a worn motel door and after a moment, the engine cut off and Keres stepped out.

“We definitely could’ve picked a better place,” Keres muttered, taking in the patches of wind-peeled paint and the withered grass filling the cracks in the pavement. 

It definitely wasn’t a 5 star motel, but Keres and Oliver had known that when they made the reservation. What they hadn’t known was that the reviews had been extremely generous.

The motel sat on the outskirts of town, bordered by derelict, trash-strewn roads. Eerie silence pervaded the area, occasionally broken by a passing car, but nothing more. Even in the patchy lot, there sat only a handful of vehicles and Keres wasn’t even sure that most of them were guests here. At least, she hoped that the van emblazoned with the name of the pest control across the street wasn’t here for an extended stay. 

The sound of tires spraying gravel announced the arrival of her brother, prompting Keres to cease her critical assessment of the place. It was just one night after all, and it wasn’t like a good night's sleep would cure her exhaustion anyway. Letting out a heavy sigh, Keres turned back to her car to retrieve her backpack while her brother pulled into the parking space beside her. 

“Well, this place certainly isn’t gonna win any Google maps awards,” Oliver said grimly, keys jangling as he hopped out of the truck. 

“It’s just one night,” Keres said, to remind herself just as much as him, “And  the less time we spend awake in this place, the better.”

Keres pulled on the dusty handle and opened the door, pushing away all the stuff that had shifted during the winding drive through the hills of Montana. With a grunt, she pulled her backpack out and swung a worn strap over her shoulder, settling the weight more comfortably as she straightened. 

“Well, we should probably go check in,” Oliver sighed, leaning over the front of his truck and running his hands though brown curls in desperate need of a trim.

Keres leaned back against the car as she turned to her brother and replied, “I’ll take care of it. Why don’t you look up some places to eat while I get the room key?”

Oliver nodded, pushing off of the truck and walking around to fetch his phone from the passenger seat. The old door gave a grating creak as he opened it, sharply breaking the heavy silence. Both siblings froze, an unnatural apprehension taking hold of the two. The night air seemed to condemn them for the desecration of its quiet, a palpable threat riding the echoes of the noise. For a moment, Oliver and Keres stood there, both of them pretending that they didn’t feel that shiver up their spine or the nervous buzz of a mind on edge. Several beats of silence passed before she stopped holding her breath.

“Roomkey,” she breathed carefully. 

Her voice broke through the miasma, the unease beginning to dissipate like a bad dream the moment her words left her mouth. Oliver straightened, as if surprised, and glanced at the door handle his hand was still resting on. He thought for a moment then slammed it shut with more force than needed, rebelling against the irrational anxiety that had almost faded away. He half-turned to her and nodded his agreement. 

“Right.”

Keres glanced at her own door, shut it gently, and turned away from her car, ready to follow her brother. Then the two moved together, passing under the orange street lamps like a pair of ghosts, all color washed away in alternating gray and orange. They slipped past door after door, all of them so quiet that it seemed as if the entire place was vacant. The slightest noise echoed under the overhanging roof and washed loudly into the parking lot, making it feel as though anyone nearby could eavesdrop on their presence here. The feeling was slight enough to easily be ignored, allowing it to twist uncomfortably in their subconscious without their hindrance. 

As they made their way to the brightly lit office at the end of the wing, Keres became puzzled at the hollow and oppressive feeling of the place. Yes, the reviews weren’t glowing, but they didn't mention anything about the place feeling unsafe in any way. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she shook her head tiredly and lagged a bit behind her brother. They were just tired, that was all. She and Oliver had been driving by themselves all day, creating the perfect conditions for mental exhaustion. Stress and sleeplessness was putting them on edge.

A few paces ahead of her, Oliver called to her.

“Come on.”

Keres looked up at him and realized that they had reached the end of the wing and that he was holding the door to the main office open for her.  

“I’m coming,” she replied, lingering a moment longer before walking the building.

A current of cold air blew past her as she entered, unexpected after standing in the dry heat outside. Keres smoothed her hair back and walked up to the reception desk in the far corner of the lobby. Although the consistent lighting of the room was something of an improvement from the scattered lamps outside, the unsettling feeling of the whole property continued even here. She looked back at her brother as he let the door swing closed behind him. He stood stiffly, strung up to his full height with his shoulders drawn tightly forward, noticeably on edge. Keres looked around for an explanation to the feeling they both shared, something that she could blame for the uncanny nature of this place. 

The room decor was as lifeless as the rest of the building. Chairs that were clearly hardly used but were worn down all the same, plastic plants potted in dust, soulless paintings that Keres somehow felt were outdated despite the generic abstract pattern. Everything seemed out of place, yet she somehow knew this is exactly how everything was meant to be. There was a purposefulness about it, something that she couldn’t contribute to the sleepy manager who just stumbled from the room behind the desk and was trying to pretend she had been there the whole time. Oliver and Keres walked over together, but Oliver stepped forward to talk to the woman, temporarily shaking off his stiffness to put on a warm smile. Keres took a position a step behind him, flashing the woman a small smile as well, but she went unnoticed while he was the focus of the manager’s attention. Oliver was always a charmer, so that didn’t surprise her. Keres usually left the social interaction to him anyway. Having no interest in the small talk going on, she paced over to the window on the other side of the room. Looking through the streaked glass, she vaguely wondered if she could’ve also been capable of easy charisma like Oliver. It didn’t feel impossible, but there were walls that would have to come down first and then learning how to see people the way they wanted to be seen. 

“Alright, thank you so much! Have a good night Mia.” 

The closing of the conversation broke Keres from her ponderous staring, prompting her to turn and look at the woman waving goodnight to her brother. Mia looked out of place here, merely because she was alive in a place that only pretended to understand what that meant. Other than that, her appearance fit what you might expect of someone who ran a shabby motel. She had shaggy brown hair with grown-out, trashy highlights pulled into a messy bun and jarring makeup gave her face an unnatural business that was entirely too much to look at this late at night. Keres didn’t necessarily think less of her for her entirely avoidable appearance, but it did make her curious. What did people see in that? What did she see in herself? What did she see in others?

Once again, Keres was absorbed in her thoughts, her brother’s wake pulling her out the door and back into the heat of the night. 

“She seemed nice,” she mumbled, walking behind her brother.

He counted out the numbers they passed each door, searching for their room. She watched the back of his head, curls bouncing as he nodded and replied, “Yes, she was nice. A bit odd, but I don’t think you could expect normal in a place like this.”

“A place like this,” Keres repeated thoughtfully. 

She was still trying to figure out what that meant. What was this place like? Because what she felt here was not like anything she had felt before. It was unique. 

They stopped in front of a door near the end of the row, thankfully close to where they parked. Oliver slid the dull key into the lock and attempted to turn it, but the old knob was loose, twisting and jostling with the key. Her brother heaved a sigh and muttered something under his breath as he leaned closer to the door and began delicately messing with the troublesome apparatus. While he struggled with the door, Keres turned around to scan the sagging fence that bordered the parking lot. As her eyes roved over it, she wondered how it was still standing. The fence was caged by the brittle remains of whatever short-lived vine decided to weave between the rotting boards and it rattled like old bones whenever the hot breeze blew against it. She couldn’t see beyond the fence, even though she knew there were buildings out there. Cocking her head, she squinted at the darkness. Even though there weren’t any buildings close by on that side, there should still be some light, some glow that she would be able to see outside the perimeter of the fence. Keres took a few steps into the lot, searching for any shape or light outside of the area.

Something was there.

Keres froze, tendrils of terror constricting her chest and locking her limbs in place.

There was a figure standing beside the lamp post, just behind the fence. And it wasn’t human. Nearly as tall as the pole next to it, its form was grotesquely stretched, thinned and elongated beyond any natural capability. The head, thin and elongated like the rest of its body, was completely featureless and sickly white like deadman’s flesh. 

Yet somehow, without any eyes or expressions to tell her so, Keres knew that it was looking at her. The ambient world faded away, leaving her no familiar comfort while she faced this figure. Blood rushed in her ears and her ragged breathing came quick and shallow. She knew that it was looking at her, but there was more to it. It knew her. She could feel it in her bones, the invasive knowledge of her mind that it possessed. 

It knew. It knew everything.

Panic buzzed on the edges of her vision like static and all she could see was that face. That expressionless, featureless face. 

Keres suddenly couldn’t breathe anymore. Choked by her own fear, she wanted to crumble under the sightless gaze of this thing because standing under the weight of her own shame was too much. 

Her knees buckled and she hit the ground. The collision jolted painfully up her spine and the rush of blood in her ears climaxed to a shrill whine. She could not move, she could not look away, she could not speak.

“Keres!!”

The word echoed faintly around her, holding no meaning as it faded away and became part of the static hellscape. 

“Keres!!!” 

Firm hands grabbed her shoulders as her name rang out again. 

Everything stopped. The shrill whine of bloodrush, the black dissolving the edges of her vision, the fear-locked limbs, all of it stopped as her mind was slammed back into the reality she didn’t know she had been pulled from. 

Free will suddenly coming back to her, Keres desperately drew in a breath, filling lungs that had been too constricted by fear to act on their own accord. She keeled forward onto the crumbling pavement, catching herself on her elbows as he coughed roughly and sucked in air. The hands on her shoulders provided a steady pressure and banished the spell of isolation from before.

“Keres!! Can you hear me? Keres, answer me!!” Oliver shouted, voice gripped tight with concern. His fingertips dug into her skin, almost as terrified as she was. 

“Where did it go?” she gasped.

She lifted her head to scan the fenceline, and upon not seeing the figure, another shock of fear lanced through her body and her insides roiled violently with adrenaline. 

As she twisted to find the phantom attacker, Oliver caught her by the shoulders once more and spun her to face him. 

“Keres, what are you talking about?” he snapped, using one hand to make a large, sweeping gesture around them, “There’s no one here!”

That made her pause, staring back at her brother with hunted eyes. She saw her own fear reflected and magnified in his eyes, clearing the racing thoughts the residual panic was flooding her mind with. Traces of fear still remained, but it was now hidden away out of sight, festering until it could be triggered later. 

She took an anxious glance around them and whispered, “You didn’t see it?”

Oliver shook his head. Some of the tightness left his shoulders as he carefully let her go now that the urgency of whatever fit she was having had passed. 

“There was no one there,” he replied carefully, “I just turned around and you were kneeling on the ground, but you weren’t breathing and you just kinda went rigid.”

They stayed silent for several moments, each looking intently at the other as if they could find the answers underneath the fear in eachothers eyes. While Oliver’s face was struck by concern, Keres’s remained a mask and showed only what she could afford to express. How could she explain what she had seen, what she had felt? It was built on so much that she had kept hidden that to talk about it would require her to bare her soul, and Keres couldn’t do that. If she wasn’t convinced before, now she was. That other being had known her and all she felt was judgment and shame. She was almost crushed by the weight of that knowledge, of the stranger that showed her how revolting her true nature was. How much harder would it be to show that to someone who she cared about? To reveal the twistedness inside and still ask to be loved? It wasn’t possible. As things were right now, at least she was able to pretend that she was faking just as well as everyone else. 

Drawing in a long, steady breath, Keres finally crushed what was left of the fear and met her brother’s eyes with a firm gaze.

“I’m okay now,” she said, “I’m sorry I scared you.” 

However, Oliver’s fear would not simply be brushed aside. He had not seen the being, he didn’t know that this was something personal.

He shook his head in response and said, “I think you had a seizure or something. We really should get you to the hospital-”

“No,” she cut him off. The last thing she wanted to do was be stuck in a hospital for hours, only to be told nothing was wrong with her. Keres knew that the problem wasn’t physical.

“I think I just locked my knees,” she lied, “I’m fine now, really. Let's just get into the room so I can sit down.”

Conflict visibly flickered across Oliver’s face. Keres was too drained to argue, however, so when he didn’t make any move to insist on anything contrary to her wishes, she reached over and took the key from his limp fingers. Slowly, she turned her back on the fence line, now shadowed with a dull city glow, and stepped up to the motel door. The knob rattled loosely in the door, but it let her in, stale air drifting past her as the door swung inward. Keres didn’t look back at her brother, whose eyes she felt on the back of her neck, and went straight to the bathroom. She rested her elbows on the greasy, discolored linoleum for a moment, rubbing at her temples. 

“I’m fine,” she chanted to her haggard reflection, “I’m fine, I’m fine.”

The girl in the mirror solemnly shook her head in response, the lies rolling off the glass like water droplets. They both knew that wasn’t true and hadn’t been for some time. Frustrated, Keres stared into blank eyes, tears welling up and clinging to her lashes. Why couldn’t she make that true? She looked down, unable to look at the lies the reflection showed her, and turned the worn faucet. The water gurgled out and splashed in the stained basin, swirling hypnotically around the slow drain. Cupping her hands beneath the flow, Keres brought the cool water to her face and washed it over her skin. She let it trickle down her neck and drip off her nose, grounding herself in these sensations as she tried to find any emotion left inside her after what had just happened. Like the sink, she numbly wondered if all the emotions had drained away, leaving her a stained shell. Everything would come back, it always did, but somehow she knew that she wasn’t in charge of the faucet anymore. 

Straightening, Keres spared one last look at her reflection, at her hollow face, and left the bathroom. Oliver was laid out on one of the beds, watching something on the TV. His face wasn’t quite relaxed, his whole demeanor seemed troubled, and more so when he heard her exit the bathroom. He tensely sat up a little, watching her with apprehension. He opened his mouth to say something as he swung his legs off the edge of the bed, but Kere held up a hand to stop him. 

“I’m fine,” she said, the lie coming easily after so much practice. Drawing some power from the dregs of emotion in her gut, Keres offered him an easy smile as she sat down on her bed. 

“I’m sure I’ll feel better in the morning.” 

Oliver nodded and returned her smile with a relieved grin of his own, the tight lines of worry in his face easing a little at her false assurance. 

“I’m glad,” he responded quietly, “You really scared me back there.”

Keres looked into her brother’s eyes and saw the pools of fear her episode caused that haven’t yet drained away. Nodding, Keres smiles at him again, lightening her expression so that she won’t be able to see fear reflected in his eyes anymore. 

“I’m sorry I scared you. I don’t know what happened, but I’m sure you won’t see it again.” 

He smiled at her and laid back down, loudly yawning as he settled back against the mattress. The springs groaned as he moved and Oliver winced in disgust at the sound. Keres mimicked him, laying down on her own lumpy bed, and stared at the buckling popcorn ceiling. The two laid in sleepy silence for quite some time, food forgotten now that both of them were too tired to have an appetite.  

Eventually, her brother got up and got ready to go to bed, flicking on lights as he went. Keres closed her eyes and sighed, pushing herself up to a chorus of squeaking springs and slid off the bed. She felt like a mimic, an echo that followed behind Oliver’s actions as he went through his evening routine. It felt strange, but she couldn’t bring herself to care about it. 

In a few minutes, everything was done and they were both ready to go to sleep. The two slid into bed, and Oliver clicked out the light after wishing a goodnight to his sister. Keres hummed in response and lay in silence, listening to her brother’s breathing slow as he fell asleep. The darkness pressed in on her, thickening until it was almost palpable. It wrapped around her like a bad promise and fear resurged within her as it writhed around her. Huddling under the blankets, Keres closed her eyes and submitted to the fear, allowing it to crash over her until she fell into an anxious half-sleep