#and since then i have actively avoided angel beats because it made me go UGH this shit again

[polterpumpkin]

lil ramble in the tags

[tanoraqui]

okay I have to do this today because even I wouldn’t do it after the godforsaken finale airs, and it’s basically my specialty and I did spend like an hour thinking about it last night while washing dishes. Definitely partly inspired by @words-writ-in-starlight​‘s insightful post on everything Supernatural did wrong, and apologies in advance to all the characters for dragging them into anything related to Christian mythology:

Wei Wuxian’s parents die in a house fire when he’s 6(? I refuse to look anything up) months old

Jiangs are a hunter family I guess? That whole disaster of a family dynamic, except WWX dips out at some point to be idk an environmental activist bc at the time, that seems like the larger threat to the whole world. “Mom and Dad went on a hunting trip and they haven’t come back”, “bitch” “jerk”, 2 brothers in a beat-up old car, you know the drill

Jins are also an old hunting family, but more Men of Letters energy - they have a fancy bunker and do research and avoid getting their actual hands dirty. Jiang Yanli ducked out of the active hunting life a few years ago to be happily married to her peacock and settled down with a baby and she’s fine. We’re not going to bother Yanli. She’s safe and happy and doesn’t need to involved in any of this

so, WWX is the demon blood child developing exciting new abilities like telekinesis, mind control, exorcising demons by sheer force of will...etc, and Jiang Cheng is the Righteous Man. Lucifer, Michael, etc.

s1-3 probably proceeds more or less as spn canon...which I more or less remember...by the time they find their parents at the end of s1, Jiang Fengmian is...ugh, we probably shouldn’t kill him offscreen, I mean, we should probably meet him before he dies. I guess. Madam Yu lasts longer because I’m way more interested in her. But we do know that both Jiang parents are totally inclined to fling the boys into a metaphorical or literal escape boat and go hold the line for as long as possible, so...that’s spn energy...

Xue Yang is the one who’s like “fuck yeah, demon powers” and opens the gates of Hell, because I want him to have nice* things

*nice for Xue Yang

from characterization rather than memory, I’m 90% sure that Dean tried to hide his crossroads deal from Sam, but Jiang Cheng does it...better. I think it does come out, though. Right before the hellhounds do.

here’s where it starts to go farther off from spn canon. Jiang Cheng crawls his way out of the grave, gets stalked by a menacing presence that explodes windows for an episode, incidentally can’t find WWX...*Lan Wangji voice* “I’m the one who gripped you tight and raised you from Perdition” (a baller line then and a baller line now)...and then the next episode starts with them all awkwardly standing around, and JC is like, “ok well let’s go find my brother then”, and you think there’s going to be an mdzs-riffing JC+LWJ Roadtrip To Find WWX...and they’re immediately attacked by like a dozen demons

in fact, the first time we see WWX in s4 is here, wherein he goes toe to toe with an angel and...holds his own. that’s new and terrifying! also is leading a squad of demons??

because here’s the thing: for the last 3(?) months, there’s been war in hell

because unlike Some People Mooses, upon finding out that his brother’s soul was legally nearly-owned by a crossroads demon, heir-apparent-to-Satan!WWX went, “actually fuck that” and kicked open the door of Hell (metaphorically, not loosing any demons this time) and was like, “who do I have to beat the shit out of to get a specific crossroads contract around here”

this did not work, obv. He didn’t know until it was too late, Lilith had already snapped up the contract, etc. etc.

obviously he also tried to offer himself instead, and got rejected for some reason

Since Jiang Cheng died, however, there’s been a war for control of Hell. Leading one side, Lilith, the Original Babe, who wants to break all 666(?) seals keeping Lucifer bound and in the meantime, break the Righteous Man so Heaven won’t even have Michael’s destined host ready for the Final Battle. Leading the other side, Wei Wuxian, infamous upstart, who wants to rescue the Righteous Man and restore him to life, tear Lilith’s guts out through her nose, and also stop her from doing the Lucifer thing because Wen Qing explained that yes, that’s a Thing, and it’s Bad.

Wen Qing! I’ve decided to combine Bela and Ruby’s roles and let WQ be both the cool badass example of how demon deals can go Bad and the demon deliberately leading our heroes astray for most of s3-4. Wen Qing is a very new demon; she used to be some sort of herbalist/witch but then she sold her soul in a crossroads deal to cure her brother of some lingering illness. 10 years of happiness and then boom, hellhounds. WQ is so obviously competent, though, that they (Lilith, I guess?) immediately offers her a job, with the promise threat that gee, that’s a nice brother you’ve got there, even with his Designated Chronic Health Condition getting all relapse-y. It’d be such a shame if something were to...happen to him...

we find this out at some point in last s3 I guess? some Monster of the Week case involves WN as a witness or something, or possible next victim, and WQ shows up to be A Normal Amount Of Invested In This, while desperately trying to avoid actually interacting with her brother (who thinks she’s dead). YES, the truth comes out; YES there’s a tearful reunion

now in s4, Wen Ning is fine actually, health-wise, bc he maybe made a crossroads deal with Wei Wuxian personally, and Wen Qing may or may not have admitted that she’s supposed to be working for Lilith to get WWX ready to host Lucifer? Or potentially that comes out later, idk. Either way, she’s 100% his top lieutenant in this exciting Hell War they’re waging

[insert whatever the hell (ha) happened plot-wise in s4 of supernatural]

we obviously mix up the relationships, too, bc it’s like, *LWJ internal monologue* I’m too young to remember my brother Lucifer as he was before he Fell, but surely Wei Wuxian is his Heir and Destined Vessel in truth, for he is Charismatic and Charming and Makes Me Feel Things, with his Clearly Feigned Righteous Drive and Compassion for All God’s Creatures and - why does heat keep pooling in the lower abdomen of my vessel when I look at his lips, which I am definitely doing a Normal and Not-Weird Amount - I’m just keeping an eye out for the famed Silver Tongue, and not in any way wondering how it would feel in my own mouth -

it’s actually DEFINITELY plausible for Lucifer to still be released even if our designated Heir Apparent is using his demon powers to his full potential and no one’s lying to each other about their motives. You just need to let Lilith be more scary too, and especially bc by “no one” I mostly mean Wen Qing; the angels are still totally hiding the fact that they, too, want to jumpstart the shit out of this apocalypse.  LWJ decides at the last minute that that’s a bad idea actually, gets himself discorporated to send JC to intercept WWX because he accidentally releases Lucifer, etc. etc. Oh yeah, the boys were def fighting before this, bc JC has actually fairly reasonable concerns about the sort of things WWX is getting up to in his quest to become King of Hell...

SO

...I neither know nor care what happens in s5

it does end with both Lucifer and Michael locked in the cage probably, bc I rather liked that solution. Fuck both of ‘em, basically.

I was toying with the idea that WWX also found Madam Yu in whatever hellish torment she was suffering after making a deal so her idiot son(s) would survive, and she was leading forces for him in the war against Lilith as well. If she came back to life somehow, body and all, it’d probably be compelling if she offered her own body to Michael - bc it’s her lineage! - and we’re all led to believe that she’s, uh, being a bitch and actually wants to risk destroying the world in order to destroy all demons...but then she seizes back control and flings herself/Michael and Lucifer into the Pit, because she’s just That Hardcore?

which means we’d actually have had her around and having characterization for most of s4-5, too, which would be fun

More importantly, it ends with newly crowned King of Hell Wei Wuxian appointing Wen Qing as Queen-Regent and ditching to go on an indefinite honeymoon with his new angel boyfriend (they’re going to fuck for like three weeks straight, then roll up their sleeves and go conquer Heaven in the name of free will), and Jiang Cheng gets to live out his hitherto-unknown-to-himself life’s ambition to be the sugar baby of the Queen of Hell. It’s very Hades/Persephone, except he goes back down to the underworld at least once a month. He gets his own demon squad whom he trains up in all the hunting techniques and it’s gr9. Wen Qing is reforming the crossroads deal process to make it more fair to the humans.

the end

Addenda:

it should go without saying but Jiang Yanli is definitely a recurring character, like, at least once a season there’s a filler episode where they go to Jiang Yanli’s for dinner and have to get along as a family, and also do the much easier job of defeating some sort of terrible demon that gets loose in the bunker and turns the evening into a horror movie. She’s their main research/emotional check-in person, a la Bobby, more often appearing in later seasons when there’s, uhhh, more to emotionally check in about.

Jin Zixuan is actually a perfectly competent hunter; he’s just a priss and we don’t Like him

we like Mianmian, though. Oh, I guess the official Hunter’s Guild or w/e tries to declare WWX a public enemy on account of the whole “King of Hell” thing and she’s like “actually what if you’re morons and assholes?” and joins hte team in s4 or 5? Yeah.

idk how the 3zun disaster happens in this ‘verse but I do encourage it to be happening in slow motion as a recurring subplot for several seasons. NMJ is a hunter, LXC is obv an angel, and JGY is...I wanna say one of the more human monsters, like a vampire? Or, you know, something that could be born from JGS sleeping with someone/something he shouldn’t have

[xpeachesncream]

off the grid | four

summary: it was as simple as swapping places with a stranger from across the world to get away from everything back home. that is - until you meet Jimin. things become more complicated as he unfolds a new chapter in your life that you were initially trying to avoid.

pairing: reader x pjm

genre: post-college au, christmas/holiday au | angst, fluff, smut (to come)

words: 3.0k

chapter warnings: slight cussing, possible inaccurate depiction of transportation, events and whereabouts in South Korea since i only did my research thru the internet, flirty, sweet jiminie so pls tell your heart to be still

> series masterlist <

"Y/N." Jimin whined. "Just stay still for 2 more seconds, please." Jimin laughed at how much you were fidgeting as he rose his polaroid camera. He quickly snapped a photo of you sitting on the ground, in the middle of the white birch tree lane.

"I'm so happy I'm here!" You squealed as you stood up and dusted yourself off. Jimin had taken you to Nami Island for the day, being that you had talked all night about the infamous gingko trees and how beautiful they looked in pictures. Unfortunately, since it was winter, the trees barely had any leaves left, but you didn't mind. You were just happy to be there.

"Okay, come on. There's still so much more to see." He led the way with you following behind him. You continued to walk through the remaining tree lanes before heading over to the gardens and the petit french village.

"Wait, this is so pretty." You gasped, instantly posing in front of one of the colorful replica houses. Jimin snapped his picture before you decided to capture some footage for your instagram and snapchat stories.

"I'm really glad you're enjoying this."

"I hope you are too."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you've probably been here thousands of times. You must be tired of it." He shook his head and pouted.

"Nope." He chuckled. "Absolutely not."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Huh." You scratched your head. "Like Disneyland is a huge staple of LA but I'm tired of it." He shrugged.

"I don't know, this is probably a little different. We're not really waiting hours in line for rides in a super packed amusement park. Plus, waiting under the scorching hot sun? No thanks."

"Very true."

"I just enjoy being out and exploring, even if that means doing it over and over again with you. I don't mind." You smiled. The feeling you felt being around Jimin, the butterflies - you couldn't explain. It felt new, yet unreal, almost like you had to pinch yourself to remember this was actually reality. You were living it right at this moment. How could he exist as the pure, wholesome angel he was? You had no idea, and it caught you off guard every single time.

But you were scared, because when this is all over, what happens? You and Jimin go back to living life before you even knew the other existed? That'll suck.

Fuck that. You weren't trying to think of that now.

"I really do appreciate you taking me around."

"It's nothing." He flashes his pearly whites. Majority of the time, you're running to pose for the camera, already feeling completely comfortable in Jimin's presence. He took you through the village and through the gardens, where you strolled slowly side by side. His arm brushed against yours a couple of times, and you couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to experience a super affectionate and flirty Jimin. The thought kind of intrigued you. What if you were reading too deeply into this? What if he was just really nice and didn't have feelings for you like that? What if—"Y/N." You heard him call your name as he looked down at you and laughed. "Did I lose you?"

"No, sorry, I'm just taking it all in." You chuckled.

"No, that's okay. I was just saying that Jungkook fell into the bushes over there." He pointed at the shrubs.

"Wait, what?"

"He tripped and couldn't catch himself in time so he fell in there. It left an indent." He laughed.

"Are you guys always chaotic when you go out?"

"What, us? Never." He smirked. "Seriously, we aren't. But we do have our moments." His smile instantly fell when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. "Speaking of—" He quickly flashes you his phone, showing Taehyung's name on the screen. "Mind if I pick this up really quickly? Just in case the boys need me to bail them out."

"No, go for it." He smiled toothlessly before picking up the call. You both continued to walk slowly while he spoke to Taehyung on the phone. He began to laugh, his cheeks tinted with a rosy color. He rose his voice and groaned playfully, which was followed by a ton of 'okays,' 'shut ups,' and 'ughs' before finally telling Taehyung he had to go and that he would see them later. "Is everything okay?" You giggled.

"Yeah, they're just being a pain in the ass." He cleared his throat. Little did you know that Taehyung and Seokjin just spent the last couple of minutes teasing the hell out of him about you. "So, the guys wanna head to the ice skating rink tonight and told me to bring you along. Only if you wanna go, of course. No pressure."

"That sounds fun! I'll come. But, I have to warn you. I'm not very good at ice skating."

"It's okay, I'll be there. Taehyung isn't either, nor is Hoseok. I've had to hold them a couple of times." You laughed. "I'd definitely rather hold onto you than them." He quickly looked at you, realizing he let that slip out without catching himself. He felt his cheeks get hot due to the embarrassment that overcame him, but instantly felt relieved when he saw you smile and laugh at the statement. He definitely meant it though. 

"I'll be sure to not be a piece of work tonight."

"Ah, you'll be okay. I believe." The rest of the time at Nami Island was spent walking through the the rest of the garden and going through the Gapyeong Rail Park on a two-seater bike. The view was spectacular and you honestly couldn't picture doing this with anybody else. At the end of the ride, Jimin took you to get some hotteok, which was just the snack you needed after the activities and walking you had done on the island. Before leaving, you saw a musician singing at the entrance while playing his guitar. There was quite a crowd, so you gently pulled Jimin to your side to stand and watch with you.

"He's really good." You clapped quietly to yourself as he wrapped up a song. "You should go sing up there!"

"I don't sing, though."

"Really? So all those times I've heard you, you weren't singing?"

"Mmm, nope. Don't know what you're talking about."

"Please?" You pouted and clasped your hands together. Your pouty face was becoming a huge weakness for him, making it incredibly difficult to say no to you.

"Y/N, I-I don't even know if he's--" You rose your hand and dragged him to the front. You signaled to the musician that Jimin wanted to sing. Jimin politely asked if he could sing a song, which the musician happily stood aside to let him take over the mic. Jimin showed him a song on his phone and asked if he could somehow strum along to the tune. He began to sing We Don't Talk Anymore - Charlie Puth x Selena Gomez, which had your heart skipping a few beats. His voice was the most angelic thing you have ever heard and he looked so fucking good singing. At the end, he smiled sheepishly and thanked the crowd and musician before waddling back over to you. "I hope you feel special."

"Me?!"

"I obviously don't like to put my singing voice out there, but I knew it'd make you happy."

"Why not? You have such an amazing voice."

"I don't know, it's just a fun past time for me. Nothing serious."

"Well, I really like it and I wanna hear more of it." He chuckled and nodded.

"I'll see what I can do."

"Jimin." You whined.

"No promises, princess." He shrugged. "Race you to the car?" He flipped the switch and began to run off before you could even respond. You ran as much as you could because running definitely wasn't your thing, but eventually you made your way to the car, where Jimin was catching his breath.

"See, look at you. All tired from that unnecessary effort." You laugh.

"Good race." He high-fived you before unlocking the car. The ride back would be about 2 hours, so you both would be making it just in time to meet his friends at the ice skating rink. You had fallen asleep without realizing, with Jimin smiling and silently laughing to himself as he glanced over. He made sure the car was warm and comfortable enough for you, before taking one more glance at you. He didn't know how someone could be so effortlessly cute, and it's crazy, because before you came around, he was fine minding his own business. He wasn't looking for love. His last relationship ended a year ago, and he had just been taking it day by day with the boys. No negativity on his end, no bad blood, nothing.

Then, you came along. You came along and changed things for him. Quick, too. He couldn't even explain it, even if he tried. He just knew he had become undeniably attracted to everything about you and he didn't give a fuck about anyone or anything else.

"Y/N." Jimin gave you a gentle squeeze on the arm. "We're here. Are you still okay to ice skate?" You opened your eyes and fixed your position in the passenger's seat, catching his concerned facial expression.

"Yeah, I'm okay." You gave off a good stretch just to fully wake yourself up. "Shoot, I didn't even realize I fell asleep."

"That race to the car really did it to you." He laughed, making you playfully hit him on the arm. Getting out of the car, you both had to walk quite a bit before finally seeing the ice rink in view. The first person you spotted was Taehyung, but he was speaking to another tall gentleman, who was dressed in a plain white tee, light denim jacket, black distressed jeans and black chucks. He had on a black hat, where the brim covered his face pretty well.

"Jimin-ah!" The unknown gentleman yelled as he held his arms out, in which Jimin openly accepted. They hugged each other and patted each other on the back before Jimin turned to playfully smack Taehyung on the arm as his greeting.

"Hey Y/N! I'm glad you came along." Taehyung engulfed you into a hug.

"I can't miss out on ice skating!" You chuckled.

"Y/N, this is my Jin-hyung." Jimin stepped aside as Jin also held his arms out to hug you.

"Nice to meet you, Y/N." He caressed your back as you pulled away. "I'm surprised you're not sick of him yet." He tilted his head towards Jimin.

"Eh, he's not too bad." You joked, watching Jimin shake his head and bite onto his bottom lip. "Where's Jungkook?"

"Buying a snack with Hoseok." Jin replied as he dug his hands into his pockets. "Which reminds me, did you want to eat now or later Y/N?"

"It doesn't matter to me, whenever you guys want."

"Are you okay to hold off until after ice-skating?"

"Yeah!"

"Hey, why don't you ask us?" Taehyung nudged him, making him shake his head.

"It's simple. You guys don't matter. Only Y/N does." Jin winked at you.

"Stop flirting, hyung. It'll make Jimin ma--" Jimin grabbed Tae by the shirt and pushed him against the wall, pretending to beat him up. You bit your lip to prevent yourself from laughing and smiling too big, but you heard that for damn sure. As the two stopped playing and made their way back to you and Jin, Jungkook finally made it back with another gentleman dressed in a black beanie, black and white track pants, a black fitted hoodie, brown coat and sneakers. How in the hell were Jimin and all his friends so damn good looking?! You couldn't understand it for the life of you, but you sure as hell weren't complaining.

"Y/N! Jimin-ssi!" Jungkook yelled as he waddled over to you and hugged you before making his way to Jimin.

"He always calls me like that." Jimin murmured as Jungkook swung him around. Jin laughed and pointed at how ridiculous the two looked on the side.

"Y/N, Hoseok." Jin took the initiative to introduce you while Jungkook and Jimin continued to play around.

"Hi!" Hoseok waved and smiled sweetly. "You can call me Hobi."

"Nice to meet you." You tucked a strand of hair behind your ear.

"How was Nami Island?" Hoseok walked by your side as you followed the group to get your tickets and skate rentals.

"Fun! It's beautiful."

"Isn't it? I'm glad you were able to go with Jimin. It's definitely a must."

"Yeah, he's been taking me to a couple of places already. I appreciate him enough." Hoseok smirked.

"You two are cute."

"Need any help?" Before you could respond, Jimin interrupted as he walked over, already on his skates. You bent over to slip the skates on, doing your best to tighten the laces as you tied them.

"I think so." You tried to get up, but instantly stumbled on your own two feet, causing Jimin to hold your wrist.

"Woah there." He laughed and held your hands to help stabilize you as you tried to stand. "Good?"

"Yeah, I got this, no biggie." You chuckled nervously. You held onto his arm as he walked you into the rink, where Taehyung slowly took his time to try and get used to the feeling and Jungkook was already skating freely. Jin was accompanying Hobi on the side, giving him words of encouragement to get him to let go of the wall.

"Okay, take it slow and hold onto the wall until you get a feel for it." Jimin stayed by your side as you tried to get your two feet to work properly in the skates. It didn't feel too bad, but every time you got a little too excited, you squealed and clung onto the wall due to your skates betraying you. Jimin laughed and held out his hand. "Come on, you can do this Y/N." You grabbed his hand, your legs stiffening without the support of the wall.

"Ah, Jimin!" You yelped. "Please don't go too fast!"

"We're going a whopping 3 miles per hour. Maybe even less."

"I am not that slow!"

"Highly debatable." He laughed. "But it's cool because you'll become a pro in no time." He reassured you and pointed. "See! We're getting faster. Progress." You started to get the hang of it, releasing the stiffness as Jimin continued to coach you through alternating the movement with your legs. Sooner or later, you were feeling a little more comfortable as you held onto his hand and kept a solid, slow and steady pace.

"I got it!"

"Wanna try to go alone?" At this moment, Jungkook appeared in front of you, holding his hands out, signaling for you try and skate to him alone. He nodded and reassured you, watching as Jimin slowly released his hand from yours. You stood there in a slightly bent position, afraid to move an inch.

"Y/N, I promise you'll be okay! Come to me." Jungkook said. You practiced the movements you had just done not too long ago and quickly grabbed his hands as soon as it was in reach. Because of the abrupt movement to rush over, Kook had to hold onto you to make sure you wouldn't fall, making Jimin laugh.

"So cute." Jimin said as he bent over to grab his stomach while laughing. "Y/N you don't need to rush, we aren't going to leave you."

"I'm just scared!"

"You're doing great! Look at Hobi, he hasn't even left the wall. The kids are skating around him." You laughed as you began to slowly skate on your own, eyeing Hoseok and how frightened he looked while hugging the sides and damn near doing the splits trying to move from point A to point B. Jin had obviously given up on reassuring the guy, leaving him to do whatever he pleased to do at this point. You had gained more confidence as time went on, skating on your own with Jimin popping by your side every now and then. It made the hour and a half go by rather quickly, but you all were starving by the end of it.

The group decided to walk down the street to a nearby boba cafe that apparently also had really good rice bowls and snacks. The walk wasn't too bad, but your jacket wasn't thick enough to mask the cold. Jimin had taken notice of you shivering, peeling off his coat without hesitation to put on your shoulders.

"Here." He says as you grab the coat to wrap it around you tightly.

"Aren't you cold?"

"I have this cardigan on, I'll survive. I'm used to this." He smiled down at you. Entering the cafe, you all had ordered your food and drinks and sat on the barstools near the wall. Jimin stood in front of you, while Jungkook and Hoseok sat on the remaining stools next to you. Jin and Taehyung pulled up some chairs from a nearby table, and you all had faced each other to talk about the day and everyone's whereabouts. Not to mention, there was a whole Hoseok roasting session due to his performance on the ice today. Jin had discussed his plans for his late birthday celebration coming up and demanded ever so politely that you grace him with your presence.

Getting home later that night, you felt exhausted to the bone. But, you had a ton of fun and really enjoyed spending more time with Jimin and his friends. The loft was quiet, only bringing in sounds from the cars out on the nearby streets. You revisited your photos and videos from the day, smiling to yourself at the memories you were able to capture, especially of Jimin enjoying himself and having fun with you.

[Y/N] 11:38: I know I say this time and time again, but I really do appreciate everything you've been doing for me, Jimin.

[Jimin] 11:39pm: You're welcome, cutiepie. Glad you're enjoying yourself. Get a good night's rest for me. I'll see you tomorrow.

Alexa, play: Good Company x Mahalia

[starrynite7114]

snapshots: assumptions

A/N: I cannot believe I have been regularly updating, but the muse has been so strong. I would like to thank @iambabyharry​ for listening to my crazy vents about this story. 

I would just like to apologize now, there is some angst in this chapter. 

If you would like to be added to the taglist for snapshots, please let me know!

Hope you all like the update!

Taglist: @iambabyharry​; @thegirlwhowritesfics​

Masterlist

“You can’t do this,” Rafael frowned as you packed your things. Ares was lying beside Rafael, watching you as well as you placed clothes in a box. 

“Rafa, I just,” you sighed, holding the edges of the box that had your clothing. “He’s having a baby with Adelita, I don’t want to be here for that. I can’t take that.”

“You don’t even know that! It’s all assumptions at this point!” Rafael was frustrated to say the least. Your spontaneous actions were definitely causing his blood pressure to rise since he knew he would have to deal with the aftermath. Angel was going to come knocking on his door, demanding to know where you were. “You always do this, you need to communicate with him.”

“There’s no point, he would want me to stay and I can’t do that. I know it sounds selfish, but this is just like my father.” You purse your lips, taking the box down.

“Angel is madly in love with you, don’t be stupid.”

“I’m due to be in Arizona next week, there’s no changing my mind now.”

Rafael groaned. “You’re such a pain in the ass.”

“I don’t expect you to agree with my decision, but as my best friend, can’t you just show me some support here, Angel has been cheating on me.”

You always knew it was too good to be true. That the ship had sailed for Angel when it came to Adelita. She most likely rejected him and he ran to you. That thought was always at the back of your mind and you could usually keep it at bay but after everything that has occurred the last month and a half, your decision had been made.

It wasn’t a spontaneous decision. At first, you could live with the recent revelations you found out. There were other options after all if you could not have kids. But finding out still broke your heart.

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

You sat down, awaiting for the nurse to call you. After having your yearly check-up with the doctor, you decided to schedule an appointment with an OBGYN since you were much more sexually active than you have been before. No birth control as Angel specifically asked that you stopped. At first you were opposed to it, but at this point, you were ready to have children, you’ve been ready. You had your initial exam with the OBGYN 2 weeks ago and now, you were following up.

“Ms. Y/L/N,” you heard the nurse call out. 

You stood up, giving her a smile as you walked past her. She led you to one of the examination rooms, sitting on the bed. You waited for the OBGYN to come, anxiously waiting for her to come. Coming here was a bit premature, but you just wanted to make sure everything was in order. You and Angel were ready to have kids. It was a big step, considering everything that you both had going on, but there was never really a good time to have kids. 

What mattered was that you were both financially stable, to some extent, and you would be able to provide for your children. 

It frightened you, but it felt right at the same time. You couldn’t explain it, but you were ready, especially since Angel was so eager to have a child. He was going to be a great father, you just knew it. He doted over your niece whenever she was in town and you couldn’t want to see Angel with a daughter of his own.

Your OBGYN, Dr. Preci walked in, giving you a warm smile as she always did when you’ve seen her before. 

“How are you?” She greeted as she sat in front of you.

“Good, kind of eager, how are you doing?”

“I’m well, busy day as always,” she opened your folder and a quick grimace graced her face before it went back to a smile, except it looked tighter than before. 

That made your stomach churn.

“When you have sexual intercourse with your partner, do you use protection?” 

You shook your head. “No, I guess in some ways we’ve been trying to have a child.”

Dr. Preci nodded her head. “I see,” she wrote some notes down. “We checked all your lab works, which showed abnormal hormone levels, which we can easily prescribe medication for. However, your ultrasound was a bit concerning.”

“How so?”

“Well, uterine fibroids were noted in your ultrasound and with your history of irregular periods and uterine fibroids, we would like to do further testing to assure that everything is well in order.”

“Further testing?” You were frightened, did you have cancer? Your irregular periods never bothered you since it was nice to not feel pain for a long period of time. Your periods were always so painful. Whenever you did have your time of the month, you were always incapacitated due to the pain. For some reason, you always thought that this was how it was normally for everyone and Midol did help every once in a while.

“We cannot guarantee till we get further testing, but I’m afraid that you will not be able to conceive a child.”

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

You remember the day so well and after further testing, you found out 2 weeks ago that you couldn’t have children. You felt as if you were stabbed in the heart, over and over again as the words repeated in your head. Ares was your companion for 2 days, refusing to talk to Angel as you knew it would greatly disappointment him. When you finally had the courage to speak to him, your world shattered all over again.

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

Taking a deep breath, you exited your car that you parked outside of the scrapyard. You could do this. You and Angel could adopt or even discuss other options with Dr. Preci. Waving a quick hello to Chucky, you walked quickly towards the clubhouse. But you halt your steps when you see Adelita, a very pregnant Adelita with Angel. You felt your heart clench as your eyes landed on Angel, with a look of such admiration and happiness, caressing her abdomen. 

Adelita cupped his face, softly caressing it and you couldn’t breathe. Quickly, you turned around and made your way back to your car. You faintly heard Chucky call out to you, but you were in your car, already thinking of a way to leave. You were finally able to live with the fact that you couldn’t give Angel a child. But you never even thought that he could have another baby with another woman. You wouldn’t be able to stay by his side as selfish as that sounded because you wouldn’t fully have Angel.

With Adelita pregnant, that meant he must have cheated on you. She didn’t look more than 6 months and you’ve been together for close to 9 months. You felt sick to your stomach as the picture replayed in your mind.

You weren’t going to be the other woman, this just reminded you of the situation of your father and how he left you all for another woman since your mother could not conceive another child. It hit far too close to home. 

You made the decision then and there that you were leaving. You were going to break up with Angel and that unborn child could have a complete family with Angel and Adelita. 

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

That was 3 weeks ago and you’ve been playing your part with Angel since then. 

You played like nothing was wrong, but you knew Angel could tell you were pulling away. You weren’t actively avoiding him, but club business has kept him away. The movers were going to be here in an hour to bring your stuff to the moving truck and drive it to Arizona for you. Rafael was going with you to drop you off and he was gonna fly back to San Diego.

This was the cowards way out and you knew that, but you couldn’t help it. You didn’t pack up your whole apartment, just most of your clothing was going with you. The company you worked for provided your housing that was furnished. The only thing you truly needed was your own personal items.

“I am your best friend, which is why I’m trying to prevent you from making a big mistake.” Rafael helplessly watched as you went back in your closet to get another box of clothing done. 

“So you’re saying I should just suck it up and watch Angel have a baby with another woman?”

“Ugh, you’re being so difficult! Of course not, I just want you to get all your facts checked before moving to another fucking state.” Rafael has had this argument with you numerous times, but once your mind was made up, it was hard to change.

“For what?! The facts are there! How do I actually know he’s doing club business? They’re working with Adelita now.” you felt the tears well up and fall from your eyes. You never went into depth with Rafael on what the club did, it was for his own safety after all.

“Babe, I get it, but you’re overreacting without even talking to him.”  Rafael felt it was a moot point to try and sway you, but he had to try. He thought you and Angel were perfect together. If you only saw what he saw every time you were with Angel. And for a person who once threatened Angel’s position in your life, Rafael experienced first hand just how much Angel cherished you .

“You don’t get it, it never made sense. Angel’s gonna be just like my dad who left my mom cause she couldn’t conceive any longer. I’m just beating him to the punch.”

“This is actually insulting towards Angel, you think Angel is going to be just like your father? How could you even think that? Angel is nothing like your father.” 

Your father left your mother when you were younger. You never truly understood till your mother explained what happened. She didn’t try to make your father look like an awful man, he made his choice since he wanted more children. Though, your father has tried to reach out to you and your sister, he was happy with his new family and quite frankly, you didn’t want him anywhere near you. 

“I didn’t think my father was an asshole too till he never came back.”

“This is misplaced anger, I think you need to talk to Angel and straighten this out.”

“There’s no point, besides he’ll just lie to me.” Your anxiety has been at an all time high as of late. You hated how the insecurities that you’ve tried to bury for years have been plaguing your mind, no matter how hard you tried to push them away. Rafael made complete sense, you should talk to Angel, but you had nothing to offer him. Adelita was someone Angel was in love with, he told you so and now, she’s pregnant with his child, something you could never give him. Maybe you could stay by his side, but you knew you wouldn’t be able to do so. Knowing Angel has possibly cheated on you and conceived a child, that was too much for you to bear. You should have known this was something that was coming, everything was too fucking good between you two. 

“Your anxiety is really doing a number on you, I know it’s not something you can control, but he’s your best friend, you know him better than anyone.”

“I know him better than anyone, that’s why I know what he’s going to do. Angel Reyes is a charming man who knows how to get himself out of trouble,” you slightly chuckle at your own description of Angel. “I love him so much that I’m willing to let him go.”

“You’re making a big mistake babe,”

“I’ll live with the consequences.”

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

Angel quickly made his way up the stairs of your apartment, not even waiting for the elevator. He had to see you. He hasn’t seen you in a few days and all he wanted to do was hold you. It was a tough few days with the altercation with EZ then the information Happy had given them. All he wanted to do was tell you all about it as he held you. If anything, he wanted to hear all about what he missed out with you. He hadn’t spoken to you for a day since he wanted to just travel home and talk to you then. 

Opening your apartment, he was surprised that Ares didn’t greet him by the door. Even though Ares was still loyal to you, he warmed up to Angel to some extent.

“Baby!” He called out to you. 

Closing the door behind him, he removed his boots and kutte. His eyebrow raised noticing that your apartment seemed so much more bare. He knew you liked to clean every other weekend since Ares’ fur got all over your things. Usually you were at Angel’s on the weekends, but since he wanted to surprise you, he didn’t let you know he was coming back.

“Baby girl!” He figured you walked Ares or something, the dog did have far too much energy for his own good at times. 

Angel walked further inside your apartment and became nervous. Ares’ bowls were not in your kitchen. Ares had his own bowls at his house, so there was no reason for his bowls to not be there. 

“What the fuck,” he murmured as he noticed that your Keurig was no longer in the kitchen.

He was confused to say the least. He ran over to your room and there were less pillows on your bed. Your charger was not by your bedside drawer. Your computer was missing from your desk. He walked over to your closet and it was almost bare. Angel’s heart dropped. There was no way you moved. He must be in another fucking apartment. Maybe you went on a vacation or something. He couldn’t wrap his mind around you leaving without so much of a word.

“No, this is not fucking happening.” Angel wasn’t even sure what to think, all he knew was that this was a fucking nightmare and anxiety was slowly taking over his body. 

Walking out of your room, he noticed an envelope on your kitchen counter. He quickly grabbed it, ripping it open, a set of keys dropping on the counter. It was the keys to his apartment.

Opening the letter, he sank to the floor as he read it.

Angel,

I’m sorry you had to find out in this way, but I moved. Please don’t come look for me. I grabbed my stuff from your apartment, if I left anything, please just throw it away or sell it, whichever you want. Please leave my keys in the mailbox so my landlord can come collect it.

Just remember, all I want is for you to be happy and I’m glad you’ll have that with your family. I always thought that we were a fluke and you deciding to give us a chance because you didn’t want to lose our friendship, I’m grateful for that. I understand if you mistook your love for me as your friend for something more, no hard feelings. 

I will always love you, but it would be best for us to just admire one another from afar. 

You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. This isn’t on you, this is on me. I don’t deserve you and you should pursue the person you truly want to be with.

Love always, Y/N

Angel reread the letter numerous times, trying to decipher the message. Was this a cruel joke? He wasn’t fucking laughing. He crumpled the paper, refusing to believe this letter. You would talk to him, this fucking letter made no sense.

What family?

What person?

You were the only person he wanted to be with. This just made no sense to him. Who the fuck were you talking about? He’s made it clear time and time again that it was you and him from here on out. 

Did someone kidnap you? There was no fucking way, he would know. If someone kidnapped you, they would have made some noise by now. 

He took out his cellphone, dialing your number. It rang and rang, but no answer. He called you 10 times and every time, there was no answer. 

Then the thought crossed his mind, what if you left him for Gabriel?

He shook his head, that wasn’t possible. You didn’t even speak to Gabriel, there was no way you left him for another man. But the idea screamed at him at the back of his mind. 

What did your letter even mean?

Mistaking this relationship as a scheme to keep you by his side? The more he thought of the words you put in that letter, the angrier he became. He knew he did a number on you by promising to marry you when you two were older, but he always thought it was for your own good. He was going to be your last choice because you were able to experience other people and at the end you two were meant to be together. He didn’t know it would backfire so hard that you would be insecure about his feelings for you.

This was ridiculous. You weren’t going to leave him, there was no fucking way. This had to be a cruel prank. 

He fucking prayed it was a cruel prank. 

Angel got to his feet, rummaging through your apartment. He noticed that there were less things around, things you used day to day were no longer scattered around your apartment. Before Angel could even register, he left your apartment, getting on his bike and rushed to his apartment. 

Once he arrived at his apartment, he looked through his closet and drawers. As you had stated, your stuff was gone.

Angel didn’t even notice EZ was in his living room, calling out to him. EZ went inside Angel’s room and found his brother with his head in his hands, sitting down at the edge of his bed.

“Angel, you okay?”

Looking up at his younger brother, EZ saw the tears in his brother’s eyes. “She left me.” His voice cracked as he told his brother.

“What?” EZ wasn’t certain he heard correctly. 

“She fucking left me Ezekiel!” Angel shouted. “Y/N left me man,” he whispered, “she fucking left me.”

EZ watched as his brother fell apart in front of him, not believing his words. You would never leave him. You and Angel have been attached to the hip ever since you two were teenagers. With everything you’ve been through, EZ never thought you would leave him.

“There’s no way, she wouldn’t leave you.” 

Angel took out his phone again, calling you. Your voicemail was what he got once again. 

“Baby, this isn’t fucking funny. Pick up your phone, please, let’s talk. What’s going on? We can talk about this.” He pleaded before hanging up and calling you once again. Again, no answer. “Call her.” 

EZ took out his phone, calling you and much like for Angel, you didn’t answer. “Hey, you okay? Can you call me back? You have us worried here. Whatever is going on, let us help you.” He hung up, looking at Angel who was holding a letter in his hands. “She left you a letter, what did she say?”

“That we’re done.”

Angel couldn’t wrap his mind around this whole thing. What happened? He didn’t talk to you for one day and you were gone? He didn’t do anything. He knew he didn’t. You weren’t petulant enough to not speak to him just cause you two did not speak for a day.

“It makes no sense,” EZ took the letter from Angel’s hand, skimming through it. “What person? What family?” 

“I DONT FUCKING KNOW!” Angel yelled out, the situation was so fucking frustrating. “How can she fucking do this?” 

“Don’t jump to conclusions, she’ll come back. She can’t stay away from you.”

Angel nodded his head. He shouldn’t. This was going to pass, it will. He was going to call you till you got fucking tired of hearing your phone ring. Once he does, you’ll straighten it out and you’ll be back in his arms again. He didn’t even give a fuck what your reason was, he just wanted you to come back.

But you weren’t. 

You weren’t coming back.

Not this time. 

[darks-ink]

Absurdism Chapter 8

It’s the halfway point of Absurdism, chapter 8 out of 16!

Rating: Teen/K+ (a lil swearing, because teenagers, man) Warnings: - Genre: Family, Hurt/Comfort Additional Tags: Sibling Bonding, Family Bonding, Alternate Universe - Halfa Jazz AU, Jazz makes friends

[AO3] [FFN] [more Absurdism on Tumblr] First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

---

Chapter 8: Fanning the Flames

“It’s just suspicious,” Jazz whispered, voice low. She didn’t expect to be overheard, despite the crowded hallway. Some kind of craze had come upon the students, recently, and suddenly everyone was obsessed with music from some artist named Ember.

And, well. She had dealt with enough ghosts and ghostly business to consider that reason for wariness.

“It’s possible,” Sidney acknowledged, speaking through the mirror—even with everyone so distracted, she didn’t want to make it too obvious who she was talking to. “I don’t recognize the name, but I can’t say I know every ghost around.”

“I don’t expect you to.” Jazz sighed, tucked a stray bit of hair behind her ear. “It’s just… not ideal.”

“What isn’t?” a sharp voice suddenly asked, and Jazz straightened automatically. Valerie.

“Nothing,” she quickly assured, turning around to face Valerie. “It’s nothing, Valerie.”

The other girl shot her a skeptical look. It didn’t last long however, as Valerie’s eyes suddenly widened, and, oh, yeah.

Sidney.

“Jazz,” Valerie hissed, turning furious eyes back to her, “I thought you hated ghosts! I thought you agreed with me and your parents!”

She scoffed. “My parents aren’t always right, Valerie.”

Valerie eyed her for a moment longer, clearly suspicious. “I thought you were talking to yourself. Thought that was kinda weird.”

“Mh. I was talking to Sidney.” Jazz gestured at the mirror again, looking from the corner of her eye to make sure he was still there. “But, speaking of weird, what do you think of the sudden musical craze happening?”

“What, with everyone suddenly going crazy over that girl? Ember whatever?” Valerie continued to squint suspiciously, but she was clever. Jazz could see the gears turning in her head. “You were talking about that?”

“Jazz thinks that ghosts might be involved,” Sidney explained, clearly uncertain but willing to go along with Jazz. “It’s certainly possible. Ghost powers are highly varied, but brainwashing anyone who is exposed to one’s music? It is absolutely in the realm of possibility.”

“It is pretty suspicious,” Valerie allowed, inclining her head a little. She didn’t stop squinting at Jazz. “You don’t know who’s responsible for it?”

“It seems likely that the singer is a ghost. Ember McClain, I believe.” Jazz leaned against the edge of her locker, keeping an eye on both Sidney and Valerie. “Sidney hadn’t heard of her before, but there’s tons of ghosts in the Zone, so it’s definitely possible that he just missed her.”

Valerie nodded, her mouth tight and grim. “That’s… good to know. I guess I’ll have to avoid her—and her music.”

“I was planning on looking at my parents’ inventions, see if they have anything that can be used to block the brainwashing effect.” Or, well. She was going to ask Phantom if he was familiar with Ember, and if yes, how to break her power’s effect. But that might involve some Fenton invention, so. It was basically the same, right?

“Just… be careful,” Sidney urged her from the other side of the mirror. “And stay safe, Jazz.”

“I will, Sid, I promise.” She shot him a—hopefully comforting—grin. “You stay out of trouble, too.”

He nodded, and his image faded away. The mirror’s surface returned to its normal reflective state.

“Let’s get lunch,” Valerie said, voice terse. “Somewhere private.”

“Sounds good,” Jazz agreed.

The silence that fell lasted all the way until they sat down outside. The weather was getting better, but no one else had chosen to go out. Maybe they were all obsessing about Ember inside?

“So,” Valerie said, then stopped. Her shoulders were still tight, muscles tensed.

“So,” Jazz repeated, idly pushing her lunch around. “Look, Valerie. I know I’ve been teaching you about ghosts based on my parents’ expertise, but they’re not perfect. They don’t know everything.”

“And you do?” she asked, skeptically. “It’s not like they’ve been doing this for forever or anything.”

Jazz rolled her eyes. “I’m not saying that either. But… my parents decided, before they ever met ghosts, that they were all bad, all malevolent and unthinking. And every ghost they’ve heard about since? They’ve just twisted what they see to fit what they decide was the truth. They’re biased, and that’s not good. It’s unscientific.”

“Yes, because ghosts are so scientific.” Valerie shook her head, taking a bite of her own lunch. Cheap cafeteria food—not enough to keep up with her teenage metabolism, not with how active Val was as the Red Huntress.

“Fair enough,” she allowed, taking a bite of her own sandwich. “But, really. Not all ghosts are as bad as my parents suggest. Sidney, you’ve probably heard of? Fighting off bullies to protect their victims. That’s not bad, is it?”

“Could be fighting for the sake of fighting,” Valerie protested. “Building up a reputation by playing a guardian angel, and then, bam! He turns against us.”

She shook her head. “He wouldn’t. I know him.”

“Yeah, well.” Valerie gestured wildly. “There are plenty of other ghosts out there, all clearly malevolent. I mean, that dog ghost that attacked Axion Labs, that ruined mine and my dad’s lives?”

“It probably hadn’t meant to do any of that, Valerie.” Jazz softened a little, trying for a comforting tone. “It was a dog. It probably didn’t know any better.”

“So? Just because it’s an animal means that it should be allowed to run free? To cause trouble?”

“I didn’t say that,” she bit back, trying not to sound overly defensive. “It shouldn’t run around free, not if it’s just an animal. Someone should’ve stopped it. And who knows? Maybe they tried? We don’t know, do we?”

“What, someone like— like Specter and Phantom?” Valerie scoffed. “Please. Those two are sketchy as all hell.”

Were they? She supposed that they weren’t seen all that much, but still… “I don’t know, Val. I think they’re just trying to help.”

Valerie snorted dismissively. “Oh, please. They’re just doing cutesie dates in the human world, beating up their fellow ghosts. There’s nothing dependable about those two.”

Jazz felt her mind grind to a halt. “Dates?” she repeated incredulously. “Like… couple dates?”

“Uh, yeah?” Valerie raised a questioning eyebrow. “Come on, you can’t have missed it. Those two are close as anything, and everyone knows that ghosts don’t keep memories of their life, so they can’t be related. Therefore, they must be dating. Plus, they even look like they’re close to each other’s ages. Bonus.”

Jazz made a face, but she supposed Valerie had a point. As much as she hated it, the thought that people thought she and her brother—an alternate version of her brother—were dating… she couldn’t deny it, not as Jazz Fenton. She would have to talk it through with Phantom. Make sure that it become clear that they were, in fact, siblings.

Ugh. She’d heard a few vague rumors about it before, but she hadn’t realized it was this big. Now it was a whole thing.

“I guess,” she settled on, but she knew she’d been silent too long. Valerie raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment.

They ate the rest of their lunches in silence.

---

“They think we’re what?! Yuck.” Phantom made a disgusted face, his green tongue poking out. “Seriously, urk.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Jazz shivered, a little overdramatic to match with Phantom. “We need to dissuade those rumors.”

“Definitely.” Phantom shook his head, pushing one gloved hand through his hair. “Yikes. I mean, how did you even find out about that?”

“Valerie and I were talking about ghosts earlier,” Jazz explained, shrugging at Phantom’s incredulous look. “We were talking about ghosts that might be good, and she said that people thought our ghost fights were, like, dates. Apparently those rumors are kinda popular. Or, well, were. Everyone’s crazy about that one musician now.”

Phantom frowned. “Ember? That’s now?”

“So we were right?” Jazz wasn’t sure to cheer or to be disappointed that it was another major ghost attack. “Ember McClain is a ghost?”

“Yeah.” Phantom sighed, deep and heavy. “She brainwashes people to adore her, and that obsession strengthens her.”

He paused for a moment, then turned his head towards her, abruptly. “Wait. We?”

She shrugged again. “Me, Sidney, and Valerie were talking about it. Or, well. Sidney and I were talking about it, and Valerie dropped in without either of us noticing.”

Phantom made a face. “Well, that explains why the two of you were talking about ghosts. How’d she take it?”

“Not brilliantly,” Jazz admitted. “She thinks Sidney is tricking us into believing him to be nice, and like I said, she thinks that Specter and Phantom are only fighting ghosts as dates. But she listened to me explain, at least.”

“Still better than my Red, to be honest.” He scratched the back of his neck, a gesture of nervousness she could recognize as Danny’s from miles away. She wondered how that hadn’t given him away yet. “She took a while longer to even consider listening.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” Jazz sighed, tucking away a strand of hair. “But, Ember? What’s our plan?”

“We’ll have to wait.” Phantom crossed his arms, standing up to his full length. “She gets stronger when people chant for her. With the amount of people going crazy for her now, we don’t stand a chance. We’ll have to break the obsession first.”

“Okay? So how are we going to do that?”

Phantom rolled his eyes, but the corner of his mouth twitched up in what was unmistakably a smile. “Impatient, are you? Anyway, she should be dropping by sometime soon. Doing an impromptu show at the school. In my universe, Tucker did a bad rendition of her song, which broke the obsession. I’m not gonna subject this universe’s Tucker to the same, so I’ll do it myself. After that, it shouldn’t be too difficult to beat her, not with the two of us.”

She nodded. “Anything we need? Some kind of gadgets that will protect us, or Valerie?”

“Uh… Oh, yeah, actually. In my universe my parents had just invented some kind of earpieces. They were supposed to filter out spectral noise, but you can use them to communicate over longer distances as well. If you can snatch some of those, that would be super convenient. We should be safe from the regular musical brainwashing Ember can do, thanks to our half-ghost-ness, but direct attacks from her guitar can still get us.”

“Alright, I’ll look into those then.” She hoped they existed in this universe too. Sounded convenient. “So. Those earpieces, and then we wait? Do you know how long?”

He shrugged, looking apologetic. “No clue. Sorry, Jazz. I’ll hang out near Casper High so I’ll notice if she’s there. Don’t worry about your ghost sense, you’ll know when she’s there.”

“Well, if you’re sure.” She nodded, again. “I’ll get going, then. See you soon, Phantom.”

---

A strum of loud music broke the quiet of the classroom. The other students started screaming, rushed out of the classroom like their lives depended on it.

Through the chaos, Jazz caught Valerie’s look and nodded. They got up, followed the rest outside.

Jazz’ core stirred as they ran through the hallways, and she turned her head away to hide it from Valerie. When she turned back, Sidney had joined them, flying along.

They burst through the doors, stopping on the top step in front of the school. All other students had formed an enormous crowd, almost entirely black and blue, like an incomprehensible mass. And there, parked in front of them all, stood a giant podium.

“Fuck,” Valerie swore, eyes locked on the musician that stood on the foreground of the stage. Pale skin, shredded and punky black clothes, and blue hair that flared like fire.

Really, how had no one else figured out that Ember McClain was a ghost if her hair did that?

“Well, at least she’s obvious about it?” Sidney said. He grimaced. “I’m not gonna be any help here. I’ll have to leave, sorry.”

Valerie made a face, but nodded at Jazz. “I have to go too. Stay safe, Jazz.”

“You too, Val. And—” she held out her hand, revealing two shiny chrome earpieces. Fenton Phones. “Please wear these. They should block the worst of Ember’s brainwashing power.”

The other girl took them with a grateful expression. “Thanks. Make sure to wear some yourself, too.”

“Yeah, of course,” Jazz assured her, even as Valerie raced down the steps. She wouldn’t. There was no point, not now. But Valerie didn’t need to know that.

She glanced around, confirming that the immediate area was void of watchers. There were plenty of people, sure, but they were all focused on the stage, and on Ember.

Her core stirred to life, light flashing as she shifted to her ghost form. From there, it was a short burst of power to bring her to the roof of Casper High, where Phantom was waiting.

“So, the plan?” Jazz asked, touching down on the edge of the roof. She kept her eyes on Ember.

“You distract her, I’ll grab the microphone and break the obsession. After that, we should be able to take her out without too much trouble. She’s a decent fighter, and you’ll need to keep an eye on her guitar, but she’s no Spectra.”

“Gotcha.” Jazz nodded, lowering herself in a crouch. “Ready?”

Rather than answer, Phantom shot himself off of the roof. Jazz rolled her eyes but followed him with a burst of speed of her own.

Phantom dove right past Ember, but she pulled the mike away before he could reach for it. She sung on, steady and unwavering.

Alright, Jazz could admit that that was pretty impressive.

Still, she had a job to do. She followed Phantom’s example, diving low over the crowd. Rather than dart right past Ember, she raised herself earlier, extending a threatening hand coated in golden ectoplasm at her.

Ember snarled back, her hair flaring, but her song remained uninterrupted.

Black and white streaked past Ember’s other side, blue light flashing as Phantom froze the podium where he passed it.

And then, just when Jazz was preparing herself for another dive, a bolt of pink ectoplasm whizzed by her. She turned her head to gaze up, staring straight at Valerie.

She rose to up Valerie’s height, Phantom twirling around her. Valerie shifted on her board, like she scoffed, but she did lower her gun, so. Small victories.

“What?” she snapped at the two of them when they evened out with her. “Is shooting her a no-go or something?”

“Kind of,” Phantom explained, ignoring Valerie’s vicious tone. “She gets stronger when people say her name, especially if they chant it, when they’re obsessed by her. We need to break everyone’s trance, first, or else she’ll shrug off everything we can throw at her.”

Valerie scoffed. “And how do you plan on achieving that?”

“I need her microphone. I’ll do a terrible rendition of her song, and that’ll make people lose interest.” Phantom shrugged at Valerie’s incredulous look. “Trust me, I can produce some awful noises. It’ll work.”

“Ugh.” Valerie shook her head, then nodded. “Fine, whatever. I don’t trust either of you, but fine. I know which ghost here takes priority.”

Jazz shot her a brilliant smile, but Valerie seemed to ignore it. Hard to tell, with the mask she was wearing.

“Good. In that case, why don’t you take crowd control?” Phantom gestured at the enormous mass of humans below them. “Ember can force her adoring fans to do anything she wants them to. She might turn them against other humans, or attack them directly. You protect them, keep them safe, and we’ll deal with Ember.”

Valerie cocked her head, giving the impression that she was squinting at Phantom, but eventually she nodded. “Yeah, sure. Whatever. But I’m keeping an eye on you two.”

“That’s fair,” Jazz acknowledged with a loose shrug. She nodded at Phantom, who grinned back.

In almost perfect sync, they dove back down again. Phantom quickly overtook her, corkscrewing past Ember’s front. Ice crystals spiked from the podium’s edge, drawing excited yells from the public—they must’ve thought it was some kind of neat effect.

Hell, how much of this were they even noticing? That was a terrifying thought, that they didn’t even realize the kind of danger they were in.

Jazz dove past Ember’s back, discharging an ectoblast against her bare back. Ember stumbled forward, slipping on the ice that Phantom had left. She yelped, barely catching herself before she fell.

She had let go of the microphone.

Phantom had turned around in no-time, already speeding back. Ember’s eyes darted up to him, one hand flying out to grab the mike before he could.

Too slow.

The blur of black and white turned in its spot, going from horizontal to vertical like it was nothing. A decent height above the stage he stopped, the microphone held in his clenched fist.

“Hey, Amity,” he said into it. His voice crackled, the sound more echo-y and staticky than normal. “This one’s for all of you great folks.”

He winked, and Jazz knew she should be paying attention to the fight, but— but she had so few chances to watch Phantom work his magic. Besides, Ember seemed to be distracted by him as well. She frowned up at him, teeth bared in a snarl.

And then Phantom did— something. She didn’t know what, exactly. He just opened his mouth, the mike held before it, and made a noise— beyond description, really.

If she tried, she could almost make out words. But for the most part, it was a terrible sound, haunting and wailing and sharp and cutting. The sound installation couldn’t handle it either, a layer of static and screeching feedback applied over the whole thing.

It certainly seemed to do the trick. Everyone in the audience screamed, clapping their hands over their ears. Valerie’s head swirled towards Phantom, but she remained steady on her hoverboard. The earpieces must be filtering out Phantom’s noise.

Ember screeched, or, well. She looked like she was snarling and screeching, but Jazz couldn’t hear anything over Phantom’s terrible wail.

Then, suddenly, it was over. The silence was loud in the absence of Phantom’s song, and one by one, the audience lowered their hands again.

Valerie, the only one not distracted by Phantom, fired at Ember. A square hit, the ghost too occupied with her half-ghost opponents to notice the human hunter.

She stumbled on the stage, her eyes drawn towards Valerie, who had her gun raised and smoking. Ember’s fingers tightened on the neck of her guitar, and she raised her other hand threateningly.

Jazz fired a blast of golden ectoplasm against Ember’s back, then darted upwards before she could retaliate.

With Ember’s attention on Jazz, Valerie fired another shot. And when Ember turned back to the human huntress, Jazz shot again. They exchanged a few shots in that manner, until suddenly, a blue vortex interrupted the volley.

Phantom hovered above them, the uncapped Thermos held in one hand, and the microphone in the other.

“Can’t let you two have all the fun, can I?” he said, grinning a little. Valerie grumbled, but lowered her gun. She flew in closer, until all three of them hovered above the stage.

“You consider that fun, Phantom?” she asked sharply, jerking her head towards the Thermos he was capping.

He rolled his eyes. “It’s a figure of speech, chill.” He clicked the Thermos back on his belt, then held up the microphone to his mouth.

“While I’m holding this, I would like to publicly thank you for your help, huntress! So, thank you, for helping us protect Amity Park’s citizens!”

Valerie grumbled under her breath, shooting Phantom something that was probably a venomous glare. “Yeah, well. I’ll keep an eye on you two, too. Don’t think that this means anything.”

She shook her head, and the engines of her hoverboard roared to life. Apparently she had decided she couldn’t shoot them in front of all these people, as she left without another word.

“And, on a final note,” Phantom said, interrupting Jazz’ train of thought, “Amity Park! As much as Specter and I enjoy your warm welcome, we would like to make a small note to your baseless rumors!”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side. “This fantastic girl here is Specter, as most of you know! What none of you seem to realize, however, is that she’s my sister. We’re not dating, we’ve never dated, and we never will date.”

Jazz wrapped one gloved hand around the microphone, drawing it closer to herself. “Like Phantom said. Seriously, guys, we’re siblings. Please stop saying we’re dating, that’s seriously uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, anyway.” Phantom cleared his throat, then let go of her to place the microphone back on the stage. “Thanks for listening, folks, and have a good day!”

---

“Ugh,” Jazz grunted, dramatically draping herself over a rock. They were back in the woods for training, somewhere where Phantom could teach her about shields without Valerie interrupting.

“What’s up?” he asked, humor in his voice. “Life getting you down?”

“It’s no big deal,” she said, straightening herself again. “It’s just— this guy my brother is dating, you know? Something about him sets off alarm bells in my head, and I don’t know what it is.”

Phantom laughed. “That’s fair. I can’t say anything about your brother’s tastes, but I know I have had some questionable dating experiences.”

“Yeah?” She curled her legs underneath her, trying to find a comfortable spot to sit on the rock. “Come on, you can’t reference poor dates and not tell me about them!”

“Oh?” He grinned back at her, one hand lighting up green. “How about this, then. You show me a good shield, and I’ll tell you. Deal?”

“Deal!” She jumped to her feet, already pulling energy from her core. She got the principles already, how hard could it be to make an actual shield? It was just like an ectoblast, except she had to maintain it as a plane instead of firing it.

A ball of golden energy formed in her hands, and she poured in more and more energy. How much was enough?

Movement in the corner of her eye. She looked up, caught Phantom’s smirk. He raised a green hand.

Uh oh.

She raised her arms in front of her head automatically, pushing the collected energy outwards. Her core churned in her chest. Her eyes were clenched close.

No impact came.

Jazz lowered her arms, hesitantly. Phantom stood in the same spot as before, grinning widely.

A wall of golden energy, wavering and transparent, separated them.

“Good job!” he complimented her, raising a thumb. “I knew you could do it!”

She laughed a little, incredulous. Raised one hand to touch the wall, her fingers barely grazing past it. It was— energy, really. The sensation wasn’t one she could really describe. It was like energy underneath her finger, flexible and buzzing like static.

The ball of power burst like a bubble. Her core quietened, the strain of maintaining it finally gone.

“Nice,” she said, quiet. Then she turned to Phantom, grinning again. “So, about our deal…”

He groaned, but the smile didn’t leave his face. “Should’ve tempted you with embarrassing stories sooner. Urgh, alright.” Phantom folded his legs underneath himself, sitting down in the air.

Jazz eyed him for a moment, but, well. It did look more comfortable than the rock she sat on earlier. How hard could it really be?

She tugged on her core, activating her flight. Hovering just above the ground, she pulled her legs underneath herself as well, until she was in a sitting position.

Phantom waited until she was still, then nodded. “Right, so. My poor dating choices. There’s really only two, but they were pretty bold. Sam and Tucker hated me for the second one, too. Chronological order?”

“Sounds good. Save the best for last.” She grinned at him, and he stuck out his tongue, childishly.

“Okay, so. Technically this one is in two parts. My first dating experience in high school was Paulina. First, I asked her to that party all the way at the start of the year. But Dora’s necklace had slipped into my bag, and I didn’t recognize it, so when Paulina asked about it I pretended it was a gift for her. She agreed to be my date, and wore the necklace to the dance.”

“Oh no,” Jazz said, but she couldn’t hold back her laughter. “How did that go?”

“Well…” He laughed. “It was a whole thing, but she ended up passing the thing to Sam when she found out she wasn’t making Sam jealous by ‘stealing’ me. Sam got pissed at Paulina for being shallow, and she had the necklace, and, well. You can guess how that went.”

“Oh my god, did you fight a draconic version of Sam?” Now Jazz really couldn’t hold back her laughter, giggling. “Danny, that’s awful.”

“Yeah, well. That wasn’t the end of it.” He shook his head, a self-deprecating smile on his face. “So, after that disaster I figured my chances with Paulina were ruined forever. When Phantom became well-known, she started making heart-eyes at him, though. I started wondering what she would think if she found out that he and I were the same person. And then, I found out!”

Jazz gaped at him for a long moment before Phantom continued talking.

“I had just fought off this ghost, and I shifted back to human form, thinking that everyone had fled. But apparently I was wrong, because there was Paulina. And she was so excited! She promised to keep my secret, and we started dating, and it was great!”

“So how was that a bad dating experience?” Jazz asked, quirking one eyebrow. “Besides her discovering your half-ghost nature, and she didn’t even spill that secret. Did she?”

“Ha, no!” He shook his head, still grinning. “It was pretty nice while it lasted. But I discovered that apparently it wasn’t Paulina, not really. She was overshadowed by a ghost, and the only reason she was dating me was to make her actual boyfriend jealous.”

She flinched. “Uh, yikes. How could you possibly have found a worse dating experience?”

“I’m glad you asked!” Phantom clapped his hands together, clearly excited. “So, as you know, Valerie Gray absolutely hated the guts of Phantom in my universe, yes?”

“Oh, Danny, no,” Jazz said, already knowing where this was going.

“Yep!” he said, grinning manically. “My half-ghost ass decided that dating Valerie Gray, dangerous ghost huntress with a vendetta against my ghost form, was a good idea. And I still maintain that Val was great, and she was lovely as a partner.”

“How did that even end?” Jazz asked, unsure if she wanted to know. Curiosity killed the cat, and all that. “Did she find out?”

“Huh? Oh, no.” He flapped a hand, dismissive. “She broke up with me, said some vague stuff. I guess she thought it was too dangerous to date me, afraid that ghosts might target me as her partner.”

Jazz wasn’t sure what her face was doing, but whatever it was, it made Phantom laugh again. Something horrified, she thought.

“Well,” she finally tried, somewhat feebly. “I guess that that greasy biker dude that my Danny is dating isn’t the worst option, then.”

Phantom chuckled, then stopped, suddenly.

“Greasy biker dude?” he repeated, blankly. “What, like Johnny 13?”

Jazz felt her stomach plummet. Her body followed the feeling, and she thudded down on the grassy ground.

“You know him?”

He nodded, jerkily. “He dated my Jazz,” he explained, slowly. “He was giving her all kinds of items that were contaminated with his girlfriend’s power, so she was slowly possessing Jazz. Wanted her DNA so she could open the Portal for him and let out his actual girlfriend.”

“Oh my god.” Her core pulsed in her chest, agitated. “Holy shit, I gotta stop him.”

“Want a hand?” Phantom asked, unfolding himself from his sitting position. “You could probably take him, but—”

She shook her head, pushing herself up onto her feet. “No, come. You can drag Johnny away while I swear his skin off of him.”

Phantom threw back his head to laugh. “Deal,” he said, between cackles.

[survivorreelsmagicwithin]

Episode 2 - “Y'all. Vote me out fr cause I'm inactive as fronk” - Joshua (through Autumn)

I hate flag-making challenges. I will not be helpful at all, and I hope that someone else can take the reigns and lead us to victory. I honestly feel safe going into a tribal council, but I do not want to test that theory.

Next morning

With Chips and Jules working on the crest designs, I feel confident that we will do well in the challenge. Maybe not the best, but definitely not the worst. I still have the same anxious feeling that my tribe is not active enough for my taste, but I will just have to live with it for now. Besides, at least this is not immunity because that we increase my anxiety by so much. But, I keep forgetting to search the idol hunt which is my bad, but it is just so hard and long that I do not really feel like searching all the time lol

ART CHALLENGE <333 i love these challenges. Jess made my picture 110% better and its super cute. The note that she wrote with it is also hella cute and I love the whole HP aesthetics bc i never got to go to real hogwarts ;-; but i'm sure most of yall can related. The boys weren't too helpful but nick was better than jacob who is sick. Nick was way more active aka jacob said 3 sentences the entire challenge sooooo…. if we lose idk I might just save jacob anyways bc pregame relations.

Won reward, but now we have to win immunity again. I really hope that this reward helps us continue to survive. I don't want to have to vote anyone out. We've been getting first, but I really just want to survive this challenge, its known to be hard.

I think I have been stuck with the second most challenge inept tribe in the history of my ORG career. I literally said so many answers in my version of the story and Jules just fucked it up. And then they got the girl's name wrong. And then they started mixing up characters. I know I did well, but fuck these people. God. Now we need a tribe to get 0 which is very unlikely. I will just resign myself to tribal. I hope and pray that these people have some common sense and do not want to vote me out

Listen. Listen. Listen. I dang knew this story was going to be Harry Potter based. I knew in my brain and in my heart that I shouldn’t have been the one to start that thing. What do I do? Start the dang thing. Oh well. We did alright. I would be shocked if we won tho but if we don’t I’ll be relieved. I def don’t feel confident enough but I really had a lot of fun with my tribe. I really miss this and really hope that my time isn’t cut short! I feel really good about my tribe mates sincerely. And that’s kind of scary! I would hate to see any of us to go and how it’s going to affect the bond we have if we vote someone out. In this moment with Max sitting out, it may be him who goes if we go to tribal. I hope that isn’t the case. I’ve got my fingers crossed for us. Huff Puff strong!

Honestly Jules dropped the ball sis!! But it’s okay, I love her. She’s really nice and I know she tried her best. Plus she’s in an alliance with me and Owen, so we should have the numbers against Joanna or Miguel if we go to tribal. Personally, I’d prefer Joanna to go. She’s kinda domineering, but she’s also an asset in challenges thus far. She is organized and direct. I’ve also talked to her a bit more than Miguel, so I guess I don’t really care who goes.

I’m happy I didn’t fuck up the reward comp and the shit that I drew got us a win!

I really hope I don't bomb that challenge, I answered everything that Kevin talked to me about.... I think!  The rest of them tried very hard but I am SOOO glad that I asked to do my part at the end because my memory of repeating things is horrendous but I'm usually pretty good at bullshitting test answers... too bad I got some of the multiple choice stuff wrong.

I think that if we do lose I am still in a good spot on this tribe and hopefully I won't be in danger.  I feel like I'm on everyone's good side and Max kind of just disappeared so maybe we could just vote him out this round? Idk.

Hopefully we don't have to worry about it.  I smell a swap coming up pretty soon and I just hope I'm either with Owen or with some of the people from my tribe.  I have no idea if they know anyone or are close with anyone in the other houses.

I'm still feeling the closest to Lily and Kevin but I have been talking to Landen a good bit too these days so hopefully we'll be safe or we can all just agree on Max.

16 minutes later

OOOOOH IS LANDEN PAVING THE WAY FOR A MOVE TO SEND MAX PACKING???

He just told me that me, lily and kevin are precious angels that must be protected and that he likes Max when he's around too so that sounds like something... HMMM...

I can't get cocky, I always go home when I get cocky. But I like this.

my host chat saw this first (shout-out to Drewie and Dennis): Y’all I’m an idiot. I thought I only knew 2 people in this game (Owen and chips). Then I remembered I also know Jess, Autumn, and dan. Literally love and respect each of you my brain just don’t got the strongest memory no more. I’m so sorry!!!! I literally just told landen I only know 2 ppl. I’m just gonna try to not remember it happened.

Ugh.....I need to get it together.

I love my tribe talking to each other now that we have to!! Everyday I'm like damn either I'm on the bottom or I'm not the only one with piss poor social game. Ok so... the moment the hosts said we got 1 point, I started getting ready for tribal lmaaaooo. No sense crying over it either because all the tribes basically just had to show up in order to beat that

Like how could we not go to tribal with a score of ONE? That shit's embarrassing hahaha. That's like when your teacher passes the test back to everyone sitting around you but not you so you KNOW it's bad. But you know what? It's all good cause I'd rather us take the L now and get it out the way and we can all laugh about it cause losing won't be funny after long. The real question is: will Gryffindor do this the easy way or the hard way caaauusse we all know who the weakest link is. I just wanna see if someone puts two and two together without my prodding. Chips already said we voting together right and I'm like yes sir. There's no better place than being on the same page

WE WON OMG!! Jules basically gave me nothing, which is fine, i understand, but i'm so impressed that we pulled that off. Absolutely killing these reward challenges really helps!

"Y'all. Vote me out fr cause I'm inactive as fronk."

Tonight we learned Joshua is a feminist selfless man that I stan because he's volunteering to go home without me having to put his name out, which I was going to do. Like imagine if every guy had that kind of self-awareness, to recognize why he should be the vote and then embrace it instead of wreaking havoc. And wanting to see others succeed more than yourself? King shit! He knew when to hang it up and did just that. Like the number of times I've seen a vote get complicated for no fucking reason because everyone wants a fight to the death. Enough- I'm old, tired, and cannot exert too much energy at once. We got a long game ahead of us, not to mention quarantine. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you Joshua. We need more players like you and I appreciate your service

im back back BACK AGAIN with another confessional! not much has changed but a few updates for the sake of these being required :) 1. max has become even more inactive, he's not reached out to me personally since the first day and any time i messaged him after that he's sent me nothing back that i can build a convo off of, so we just have stopped speaking. Luckily this challenge only required four people and everyone else SHOWED UP!! or at least spoke about their availability, while he did not. However in his defense he said he was having some issues at home and i feel for him but his inability to connect has been an issue before he spoke about anything in our tribe chat with us. I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt but this point my relationships with the other 3 are leaps and bounds ahead of where I am at with Max. Maybe he can pick up some speed if we continue winning challenges but, it's not looking too hot. SPEAKING OF CHALLENGES, well first we lost reward AGAIN, but we won immunity.. AGAIN! thank goodness for not being first or second boot, i always love being able to avoid these early tribals and if i can get to a swap without seeing one that would be ideal, but also if we do go and maybe vote out max? wouldn't be the worst thing. Moral of the story we won and thats exciting! however.. if we didn't.. the first big push of strategic talk came up with landen when he hinted at being frustrated with max's lack of presence which I also share. I do believe if we lost me and landen could have most definitely picked up ruthie and lily to form a four against him, if he even came to tribal. That would be my ideal situation and if we continue on this tribes hopefully it gives me a nice cushion to fall on if we do lose so i dont have to entirely blow up my social game within the first few rounds by voting out someone i've built a connection with. If max can go and the remaining four hufflepuffs can make a swap I would feel good about that, and maybe in the right circumstances we could work together on the swapped tribes because i genuinely like all of these people (yes max too but in this specific scenario he wouldn't be included bc... well..) anyways to close this off i still absolutely ADORE lily, she is fun and our conversations are really good, and same goes for ruthie, hopefully i dont have to see either of them or myself go home before we can really start playing because i think we could do some damage. :) ok anyways this was longer than i thought it would be goodbye

I'm still not over the fact that I was able to answer 7 of those questions right. I have the memory of a plastic fork.  I also love that we are SAFE!

I do kind of hope things get spicy and we swap this round and become two tribes of 9. That'd be cute. I don't want VI to get bored and crack on me. BUT ALSO I think I have solid enough relationships with almost everyone on this tribe... so who knows?!

Also... these hoes really out here trying to search for an idol in PUBLIC. IN PUBLIC. WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON HERE?

Dear diary, seems like we keep winning challenges, which is great but tbh i feel like every time i give a disadvantage to my team because english is not my first Language, and so far its been a vocabulary test and a listening and speaking test. I mean I knew I signed up for school but damn. Give me some macarena  or drinking tequila challenge and I'll crush it

bippity boppity boo im back again with almost no content kdfasjhdskjfh

Ravenclaw working smarter and we keep winning, period!!! Thankful that y'all put Dan and I together....bc truly we will be unstoppable in these competitions. I kind of want to lose soon though to see how things would shake out, but I don't really have bad blood with anyone. Joanna seems passionate enough in the tribe chat and the challenges, even if she's dry in PMs. Miguel still won't give me anything other than a "how are you," but I hope the best for him in life lol

Still love Jules and Dan, and we made a three person alliance, but I haven't talked with either of them much one on one since it happened.... I really need to step the social game up eventually, but right now, I'm coasting, and maybe that's what I need before I find the time and resources in this game to strike!!

The idol hunt is hard but Dan seems onto something. Honestly he's gonna be a big threat sooner or later so he's sticking around as long as I can keep him! The last two games I've been in I've seen "goats" get dragged to the end and locked in final 3 positions, and then these perceived goats have ended up winning. so I want the big players in this game to rise to the top and fight it out in the end!

let’s say i am como we dice.. fed up with a lot :flushed: a lot meaning joshua starting to get on my nerves a bit! he’s genuinely sweet n all but.. the way he complained about us losing by putting down others work HHH pissed me off. which is why i will be voting him out hehe.. but so far my misting has worked because no one wants to vote me out! mwah

Slytherin killed the memory challenge. We thought we were all gonna flop bc all of us thought we sucked at memory stuff. um well we knocked it out of the park? Ravenclaw got 4 and huff/gryff got 1. We got 7 so oops. I do hope things turn out well for Gryffindor but no one I really know/care about is in that house so I'm not too worried. I hope they continue to lose or even hufflepuff since ravenclaw has 2 of my friends in it.

I have been TERRIBLE with confessionals but only because there's really not been much going on? I have an alliance with Dan and Owen, and even though I wrote off Joanna I was DEFINITELY wrong in doing that. Miguel is sort of the outlier. Our team is kinda iconic though? We've done so well on all the challenges. I might be the weakest link? More to come.

it's pretty sad but the whole tribe has agreed to vote max if we lose, basically he's just never around because of what's going on at home and like thats sad but... we gotta do what we gotta do *shrug*. I'm really feeling good about Hufflepuff moving forward, i've never bonded this much this easily with EVERYONE on a tribe and i just feel like if we keep winning or even if we lose and have to vote out max, we could be a great group for the future. especially i feel great about working with kevin, we dominated eve's game after eve came between us in 2020 that dastardly witch... :P (juuust kiddin. love ya!) but now we could totally do well in this game too i think.....

lily and ruthie are just so sweet and we really bond talking about pretty much anything,, especially lily is a great conversationalist and i just find it so natural to talk to them both. i'd love to work with any combination of people from hufflepuff in the future, hopefully i start sucking a little less at all these challenges. i think i did pretty great on memory :D

So here is the summary of what has happened since last time

We had a reward challenge that was drawing. Mine sucked. Apparently 3/4 so no reward.

We played Telephone. My team didnt realize that details are the most important parts of that and didnt share then with Autumn so Autumn didnt share them with me. Then I didnt know them when asked about them.

We scored 1 point and lost. Since I still have no alliance I'm scared that it could be me. So I kind of got an idea how everyone was feeling.

Juls let me know she wanted to vote Joshua and- it's not me so that's fine!

Then I was talking to Autumn about it and - OOP! Josh asked to be voted out. So unless he plays an idol I'm supposing he is leaving after asking to go.

woo my tribe won immunity!! we are safe! i’m glad bc i’m forming good relationships with ppl on my tribe. i think we all get along rly well so i hope we keep winning. the challenge was fun and i slayed bc i’m skinny mwah

Ya know what’s refreshing? Being on a tribe that actually wins!!! The last three games I’ve played I’ve been on flop ass starting tribes.

Now we’ll lose every challenge

10 minutes later

This sickening bitch just found a hidden immunity idol!!!! Good until f6 L A D I E S!!!!!!

HI BARBS SO I WAS GROUNDED SO I MISSED THE CHALLENGE BUT MY HUFFLEPUFF BABS SLAYED SM SO IM LIVING

CONFESSIONAL 2.1 —

Not much strategy has happened this episode, just simply tribal bonding! We are SlytherWINNING, getting reward and immunity this time! How wonderful.

Regarding my tribe mates, I love all three. I pray, pray, pray we make swap, i do Noh want to be a dirty bad guy and have to vote one out.. yet. Haha.

I was drunk during immunity, one full glass of rum & coke, so I am shocked that we won immunity. Honestly, I feel silly admitting I was drunk to my tribe because... if I can do that when drunk, imagine if I was sober. Competition Beast, duh.

I also gave up my run this round for the tribe to use. Was partially social, partially I just do not understand how to do the Hunt, so I might as well help the greater good. Either way, it comes off positively.

Hoping for a smooth journey for a little longer!

x nick

Joshue has basically quit at this point so I have no fear going into tribal