#anyways normal now apologies to my normal followers who go outside

[coolguypluiplup]

TIKTOK STOP SHOWING ME ANTI BOYDYKE TIKTOKS CHALLENGE

[veltana]

The winter rebound

✦ Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Fem!Reader

✦ Word count: ~3,6k

✦ Rating: Explicit

✦ Warnings/tags: Avengers!Bucky, alcohol consumption, fluff, pwp, smut, oral (fem receiving), piv sex, safe sex, dirty talk.

✦ Summary: You go with your friend to Stark's holiday party

✦ Note: This was the first thing I wrote and published when I got back into the marvel fandom, so it's a super self-indulgent piece! But I hope you like it anyway! As always, please comment and/or reblog! Asks are always welcome!

Masterlist | AO3

It was Friday. You watched yourself in the mirror and told yourself that you would have fun tonight. Forget about your ex of five years who broke off your engagement a month before the holidays, whom you had spent the last three weeks crying over.

Tonight you were accompanying your best friend to the annual Stark holiday party, and you would not think about him once during the night, while you danced and drank yourself into a stupor.

Standing outside the huge compound made you anxious. Maybe it was too soon to meet the real world without him. No! Don’t think about that asshole! You cut yourself off before your thoughts started to spiral.

“Come on!” your friend Lily laughed. Her genuine smile was contagious and you returned it, squaring your shoulders and forcing every dumb thought down before you took her arm as the two of you made your way down the gold and red carpet. At the end, two large glass doors were opened by life-sized mechanical nutcrackers.

“I sure hope those don’t spring to life and ruin this party too,” you mumbled. Lily giggled, “Don’t worry, I helped with the software, unless Mr. Stark went a completely different direction there should be no worries.” “So there is a possibility,” you joked as the doors closed behind you.

If she answered you didn’t hear because you were too busy taking in the amazing winter-themed party. The waiters were also dressed as nutcrackers and there were dancers in amazing outfits performing all over the floor. Music played in the background and some were moving to the beat while others stood around and talked.

Honestly, you had expected more people, like at least two hundred but there were only about fifty in the huge hall. Not only the regular people, like your friend, who helped with software, hardware, management, and the day-to-day running's of the compound, but it was impossible not to notice the heroes also in attendance.

Not all of them were there, no sign of Thor or Loki, or the Guardians, but this was your first time so close to any hero ever, you would take what you could get.

“Come, I’ll introduce you to everyone,” Lily said and started to pull you along while you gazed at the shifting decorations adorning the walls, obvious to the blue eyes that followed you with interest from the bar.

Too many names spun through your brain, accompanied by the alcohol your friend had been plying you with.

Everyone you had met so far had been incredibly nice and friendly and hadn’t minded when you asked all the dumb questions about working at such a place.

Finally, it came down to the big event, meeting Mr. Stark and maybe the rest of the Avengers currently there.

Lily stepped up to her boss and greeted him and Pepper Potts like they were friends rather than her superiors and then introduced you. Not a lot of people got to shake hands with Iron Man and Pepper Potts but now you had, and it was totally normal.

“Interesting hair color,” Tony Stark pointed out. “Is it meant to look like that?” It was such an old man thing to say you could only laugh as Pepper elbowed him in the ribs. “I am sorry,” Pepper apologized but you waved it off.

“He is paying for everything I drink, so if he wants to make fun of my hair, it’s fine.” Pepper gave you a relieved look and was about to say something else when a voice interrupted.

“It looks like the Aurora Borealis.”

Bucky Barnes had appeared out of nowhere, like the skilled assassin he had been trained to be. It was like he had materialized out of thin air at your side and you jumped when he spoke.

Before you knew what you were doing, you reached out, slapping your palm against his hard chest, and said “For fuck’s sake,” while your other hand rested over the heart trying to work its way out of your chest.

Then you realized what you’d done and pulled back your hand quickly, covering your mouth. Bucky stared back at you, mouth slightly open, while Lily and Tony both cackled in amusement. “That’s what you get Barnes,” your friend pointed out.

With a crooked smile, Bucky just said, “How about I buy you a drink to make up for it?” and held out his arm. “As long as it’s crazy expensive since the old man made fun of my hair,” you shot over your shoulder at Tony as you took the offered arm.

Your friend winked at you before she returned to her conversation with Natasha Romanoff, whom you would just have to say hello to some other time.

Bucky led you the short way to the bar and you eased your way on to the chair, making sure not to get tangled in your long dress, as Bucky leaned over the bar and asked for the most expensive champagne they had.

“I’m Bucky,” he said. “I know,” you smiled at him before introducing yourself too.

In no time there were two flutes in front of you, he offered you one, saying cheers before you took the first sip. The unabashed moan that left you wasn’t meant to be sexual but Bucky stopped his glass halfway to his lips to just stare at you. It cracked you up, “Sorry,” you said, “I’ve never tasted champagne this good before.” He also took a sip, his eyes widening a little, and when he’d swallowed all he said was, “Wow.” “I could get used to this,” you took another mouth and closed your eyes.

When you opened them again you found him looking at you and it made a shiver go down your spine. For the first time in a long time, you felt desire pool in your lower belly. “Will this make up for Stark’s comment?” he asked. “It will absolutely!” you promised. “I think your hair looks great and I’m like twice his age so…” he trailed off.

“My friend, Lily, has told me about these crazy old super soldiers, but you look spry for your age,” you winked at him. “You can only imagine,” he flirted back, and your cheeks heated. You had forgotten about this, about the utter intoxication of flirting with a man and having it returned to you.

After several weeks of drought, your body suddenly knew what arousal was again and flooded you with it, making your heart beat twice as fast and your skin flush. “Oh, you want me to think of everything you can do?” you asked with a raised eyebrow. “Anything you want, doll,” he leaned forward, “But I’m sure your imagination won’t hold a candle to the real thing.” “Are you going to show me?” “If you want to,” he smirked and you felt yourself grow wetter by the second.

You leaned in too, unable to resist him and not wanting to either. You wanted to get lost in him for as long as he would have you. He finished off the rest of his champagne like it was a shot of liquor.

“Come on, I have just the place,” he smiled, holding out his hand. Not even second-guessing yourself for a moment you finished your glass and let him lead you away.

Bucky took you through a side door, into a corridor that led to the heart of the compound which was now deserted, and finally into a large room with a domed ceiling.

It looked like a cinema almost, except the screen was the whole ceiling, and in the middle of the floor was an enormous sofa-like thing that easily fit several people.

After Bucky pressed something on a side panel the room lit up with the Aurora Borealis.

You let go of his hand, staring with huge eyes at the display. Maybe you had misinterpreted his intentions and they were actually pure, not at all the filthy things you had thought this would end up being.

Never had you been happier to be wrong.

This time when he appeared out of nowhere he didn’t scare you, he gripped your waist with the vibranium arm and spun you into his chest, before using his other hand to pinch your chin between his fingers.

“I’m going to kiss you, tell me if I should stop,” he breathed. Instead of answering with words you surged up and crushed your lips against his, wrapping your arms around his neck, and pulling him impossibly closer.

It was almost like he expected you to be timid or something because, for a few seconds, he didn’t move, but then he rushed into action, moving his lips and kissing you like a man starved.

Desire flooded you, making every one of his touches feel like fire even through the fabric of your dress. He moved you backward until your knees hit the oversized sofa, and you laid down.

Bucky’s face was burning with desire as he looked down on you, before he could move or say anything you grabbed your skirt and pulled it up until it bunched around your waist so that you were able to spread your legs without restraint.

The growl erupting from his chest made you smile and you crooked your finger toward him. He knelt between your legs, grabbing your thighs to spread them even more before he leaned down over you to capture your lips again.

The action made the hard cock in his jeans brush against your heated core, making you moan into his mouth.

He pulled back, eyes wild, “Your sounds make me fucking crazy.” he groaned, moving his hands down your naked legs, caressing them and gripping them, like he couldn’t decide if he wanted to be rough or gentle.

“Hope so,” you smiled and started to tug at his suit jacket, needing to see his body. He obliged by sitting back and ridding his upper body of clothing. As soon as you could your hands splayed out across the expanse of his naked torso, feeling the hard muscles under the soft skin.

Your eyes grazed over the scars on his left shoulder but didn’t pay it any mind. The man had trauma, that was no secret, but tonight you didn’t need to delve into that. Instead, you sat up, kissing the skin you could reach and licking at his nipple, making him moan most deliciously.

He reached around you to unzip your dress and you whined when you had to move away from him to let him pull it off you. Now you were almost completely naked with the super soldier, except for the thong you wore that did little to hide anything from him, and your heels.

Without another word, he stood up and unbuttoned his pants, peeling them off and kicking off his shoes in the process, before he was back over you. Now it was his turn to taste your skin and when he closed his mouth around a nipple, using his vibranium hand to pinch the other, you released a high-pitched mewl you never heard from yourself before.

That only spurred him on, alternating between sucking and licking at you, squeezing or pinching your sensitive buds. The pleasure was too much, like you would implode or maybe even come from just him playing with your tits. You fisted the fabric under you, pushing your chest even more into him as moans and words tumbled from your lips.

“Bucky, please!” you tried forming a coherent sentence but failed. “What do you need, doll?” he asked, lips shiny with his spit as he looked up at you. “Touch me, make me come, please Bucky,” you didn’t want to wait another second for the pleasure you had missed for a lot longer than the weeks since your break up. This temporary connection with a stranger was already better than what you had experienced over several years.

“Can I taste you?” his voice was husky, filled with restrained want. “Yes!” you smiled and raised yourself on your elbows.

You watched as he kissed his way down your form, pulling off your thong and throwing it away. He grabbed your thighs and spread them wide before letting the thumb of his vibranium hand slowly drag up, separating your folds, groaning, almost whispering “Fuck, your pussy is perfect,” and leaning in to carefully lick up your spread lips. You fell back, staring up at the beautiful display as Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, one of the Avengers, ate you out with perfection.

Every move he made sent sparks through your entire body and pulled cries from you. Your hands tangled in his hair, not pulling or pushing, just needing to anchor yourself on something. Nothing would hold a candle to this for the rest of your life you suspected, because even though you had just met, Bucky Barnes took his sweet time, caressing his hands up and down your sides, down your legs, and back up again, using his tongue and lips to make your body blaze.

Your crescendo built steadily, as did your voice, the closer you got the more you pleaded and begged, even though he was doing exactly what you wanted him to. When two fingers on his right hand breached you with no problem your back bowed, the pleasure rushing through you, and when he crooked them and moved them inside you, it was everything the dam needed to break and the coil inside you snapped.

You screamed his name as the orgasm hit you like a freight train. What was even better was that he worked you through it, coaxing every last drop of pleasure out of you before you had to instead beg him to stop.

"Too much," you whimpered when the uttermost tip of his tongue gently floated across your clit. "No, darling, not enough. A man could get addicted to hearing you scream his name."

You whimpered again, your body rocking with overstimulation at every pass of his tongue. It was wonderful to hear him say those things but you needed more.

"Please tell me you have a condom so you can fuck me," you groaned and that made him stop, staring at you from between your legs before kissing up the side of your thigh to sit back on his heels before he got up. He freed himself from his underwear before he bent down to grab his pants and pulled a condom from a pocket and that gave you a chance to admire him. His cock was hard, glistening, and a lot bigger than what you were previously used to, but that only sparked more excitement in your lower stomach.

"Hands and knees, baby," he smiled and made a twirling motion with his fingers. You wasted no time rolling over, and getting into position. His flesh hand slapped your ass playfully when he knelt behind you and when you moaned he chuckled. "You like that huh?" he asked as the tip of his cock started to press into you.

He was big, you whined and whimpered with every inch he pressed into you. Maybe why he took his time eating you, because he needed you to be as aroused as possible for it to fit. You clawed at the fabric, feeling like you were having an out-of-body experience with how he filled you.

"So good, taking it all," he praised when his hips were finally flush with your ass. Trying to answer him with words was out of the question, instead, you rocked your body, feeling his cock press against everything inside you, giving you the most delicious sensation you probably ever felt.

His hand landed on your ass again and that spurred you on, starting to move a bit faster. "Look at you, fucking yourself on my cock," he sounded a little breathless and you wished you could see him. "Do you like it, darling? Do you like my cock filling you to the brim?"

Fuck, Bucky Barnes had a mouth on him you had not expected. He grabbed your hips and helped you along, starting to fuck you deep and hard, pulling almost all the way out before shoving back in again.

With every move, you cried out in sheer ecstasy. Bucky kept on telling you how good you sounded, he didn't mind at all that you were loud.

The pace was hard but not hurried, he seemed to like taking his time, not rushing through the action just to get to the finish line. But it was driving you mad, it felt like you were at the precipice constantly, ready to tip over but needing something more to do it.

Then he grabbed you around the waist and pulled you up until you were flush against his chest, his pace never stopping. "Hi, sweet thing, enjoying yourself?" he wasn't even winded and you were a panting, whimpering mess, feeling like you were about to lose it.

"Yes, Bucky, please touch me, make me come again." He kissed your shoulder, "My pleasure," was his answer and his left hand descended on your aching clit.

A shudder and a scream passed through you when he started to rub small circles over it. Suddenly you were so close to the edge you could almost taste it, and Bucky knew it too.

"That's right, come on my cock, doll. Can you do that for me? Be good and come for me?" he said between kissing up your neck, moving the arm around your waist up to grab your jaw, and turning your head to the side. The kiss was sloppy but delicious, and with the aid of his fingers and so full of his cock the orgasm took you by full force, making you shake in his grip.

He released your mouth and let the sounds you made fill up the room, pressing his mouth to the side of your head and telling you over and over again how fucking good you felt coming around him.

If he hadn’t held you up, you would have collapsed no doubt, but Bucky had no problem keeping you up as he found his own release, pressing his forehead against your neck and mumbling obscenities, his hips stuttering against your ass.

Now he was breathing heavier, holding you tight against him with both arms, letting his fingers draw random patterns on your skin.

You were in a post-orgasmic haze, only existing in that moment with no past or future, only his warm body, and a sated need. "Gonna need to let you go now, darling," he said in a low voice "Lay down." His arms loosened around you and you braced yourself with your arms and eased yourself down on your side.

Bucky got up, probably to dispose of the condom, before laying down behind you. You hadn't expected him to want to cuddle, but he draped his arm across your side, pulling you flush against him.

"You okay?" he asked in a whisper. "Fan-fucking-tastic," you answered with a small laugh and felt a million times lighter all of a sudden.

After a few minutes of laying there, you felt like you'd been gone from the party long enough, but judging by Bucky’s heavy breathing, he had fallen asleep behind you.

He didn't wake as you gathered your things. When you found the thong, you looked at it, looked over at his gorgeous form laying there, and giggled as you found his pants and stuffed the thong down his pocket.

With the help of some items in your clutch, you patched up your make-up and fixed your hair before slipping out and closing the door behind you.

It was a small miracle that you could find your way back to the party but you did and immediately went to the bar for a drink.

Lily found you minutes later and she just raised an eyebrow, you shrugged and tilted your glass towards hers, clinking them together, and then you both burst out laughing.

*

Monday rolled around and it was hard to work because you kept getting lost in the memories of Friday night.

His eyes, his scent, his voice as he said those things to you. You squeezed your legs together and stifled a low moan.

Suddenly your phone chimed and pulled you back into the real world. A text from Lily.

[So, Bucky Barnes just came by and asked for your number. I gave it, of course, just so you know!] [Okay? Did he say why he needed it?] [Apparently, you left something(????) here on Friday and he wanted to return it.] [Hmm, okay, thanks!] [What did you leave?!?!?!?] [Don't be so nosey, go back to work!]

Your stomach did a flip when the next message was from an unknown number. It had a picture attached, your thong tangled in his fingers, and the text [You left these.] For a second you imagined him using them as he got himself off. You bit your lips as you responded. [Keep them or throw them away, I have more, don't worry.] even added a little wink-emoji.

[I want to return them, personally. Are you free this afternoon?] His response was quick and very to the point.

A wonderful shudder traveled through you at the thought of seeing him again. You had meant for this to be a one-time thing, something to get you back into the world and learn to exist without your ex but there wasn't any harm in seeing where this could go, and hopefully, you would have a lot more amazing sex on top of it.

[Sure, I get off at five.]

[jamal127]

First day

Suguru Geto x reader

Warnings: None. Fluff!

Word count: 924

Authors Note: Oh. My. God. MY FIRST TIME WRITING ON TUMBLR. My 12-year-old ass on Wattpad could never. I hope she is proud. Anyway, English is not my first language, but I hope you guys enjoy it! Comments, likes, reblogs basically everything is appreciated!

It was your first day at Jujutsu Tech. You had enrolled in the one in Tokyo because it was the closest one to your home, although it was far enough. You were quite anxious it being your first day and not knowing anyone else. Earlier, you weren't quite worried about starting new schools because you had started with your best friends. But that wasn’t the case this time when your parents insisted you leave your hometown and “get out of your comfort zone" 

The welcoming ceremony was over, and the students had been assigned to their different classrooms. You were now sitting in what looked like a normal Japanese classroom. It was only six students in the classroom, including you. To your right sat a girl with a brown-haired bob. Her eyes were closed, and her head rested on the school desk. To the right of her sat two girls whispering and giggling while glimpsing towards the boys at the front. For all you knew, the girls could be crushing on the boys or making fun of them.

The two boys were sitting and talking to each other. It looked like the white-haired one with glasses was doing most of the talking with a lot of hand gestures, while the other one with his black hair tight in a bun only nodded and said simple things here and there to show that he was listening. The white-haired saw the girls looking towards them and stood up and walked towards the girls who were giggling. He introduced himself and the girls to him. At what looked like a bad attempt to impress them. There is no way the girls are going to fall for- and the girls are blushing. Wow. 

You looked back at his other friend, who was still sitting down at the desk in the front, although now he was looking towards you. Feeling awkward, you quickly looked away, trying to find somewhere else to look at without looking like a complete idiot. Even though you only had locked eyes with the boy for a moment, you couldn't help thinking he looked handsome with his hair in a bun.

Hey,” the boy had shaken you out of your thoughts as he was now sitting beside you. While exchanging formalities you found out his name was Geto, but he insisted you called him by his first name, which was Suguru. He too had moved from his hometown to come to this school. He noticed you weren’t much of a talker unlike his other friend Gojo, who was still succeeding in serenading the two girls on the other side of the classroom.

You two continued getting to know each other. You noticed you had gotten carried away while talking about your hobbies and apologized to Suguru. But unlike most people, he asked you to continue and that he found it interesting listening to you ranting about your interests. Upon hearing this you smiled while looking at him, and for a couple of seconds, the two of you just looked at each other smiling, finding comfort in each other's gazes oddly enough for two strangers. But as he was about to open his mouth to ask you something the teacher entered the classroom. Suguru returned to his seat with Gojo as your first class began.

After the school bell rang you packed your things. The two girls went out of the classroom with their arms linked, followed by Gojo and Shoko. Suguru walked right behind them but just outside the classroom door he stopped and looked back towards you who had started walking in the opposite direction. He called your name. Why did your name sound unimportant coming from everyone else but so sweet like a treat from his lips. You stopped in your tracks and turned around to Suguru walking towards you. Hopefully, he asked if you were coming to the student party later in the evening. You told him that you didn’t plan to come. Upon hearing that he seemed a bit disappointed. “But I might come by for a while if you are there,” surprised by your own boldness you look down at your shoes. When he didn’t answer you looked back up to see what was wrong. On the contrary, he was smiling. “See you later then,” Suguru turned around walking the other way. He turned back around facing you without stopping. “Don’t miss it!”

You couldn't wait for the evening to come to see him again. But why did he have this effect on you? Why couldn't his face leave your mind? Why were you so warm while you stood under the AC in the hallway? Why did you feel so dumbfounded? Even though you didn’t have the answers to these questions right now you knew that the next years would be far from boring. Maybe coming here wasn't so bad after all.

dividers by @cyberangel-graphics

©jamal127 ✧ all rights served. || 2025 (≖ᴗ≖✿)

[asheepinfrance]

i felt like trying out angst and decided on this. art was second on the poll so he was my victim oops. but also so are you! double homicide. anyways, like usual, please feel free to let me know any comments, critiques, concerns and/or silly little anecdotes. If you have any tips on how to properly express pain without sounding as goofy as this does, drop. that. shit. I'll be needing it. Thanks :)

He did this just about every time this happened, and it happened quite a bit. The routine has become well-worn the way a childhood stuffed animal does, fading what-used-to-be pinks and pastels now spattered brown with age. You’ve both got it down to the finest details: Art meets girl, he does his usual courtship strategy (following her around like a lost puppy), they go on a date that’s never followed up with a second one, and he cries into your lap about it. He claims he loves them, not that he knows exactly what that means. He certainly loves things, it’s not that that’s the issue. He loves tennis, Patrick, his grandma, you, and that’s all fine. He can never seem to pinpoint what being in love was, he just assumed he was smart enough to know. Most things came naturally to him, so why shouldn’t this?

He always apologizes when his breaths are no longer heaving, when he’s stopped wetting the cotton of your shorts with his tears and probably just a bit of snot. You always tell him not to worry, it’s not a problem, you love taking care of him and that’s all true. There is a problem, though, and it’s that this routine is about two seconds from driving you mental. You and Art have one key difference when it comes to this little dance: Art thinks he knows what love is and doesn’t, you know exactly what it is and you know he’ll never feel it back. So when he leaves, like he always does, with a mumbled ‘thank you’ and a kiss to the cheek, you have to close your eyes and pretend. Pretend to be this month’s object of affection. The latest Emily, Jessica, or whatever it may be that catches his attention.

For all your life, you can’t understand how Art doesn’t see what you do. Not necessarily in yourself, but in the two of you. After all, you two were always matching each other in some way. He found your dry humor hilarious, you found yourself giggling at just about every other word he said. He sought you out for comfort like you were a lifeline, you held him like it was a gift to have that privilege. And he knows this, because it’s what, in his head, makes you such a great friend.

When Art starts telling you about some girl named Tashi, you assume that the case will be a similar one. You prepare yourself to suit the name of Tashi, the way you’ve prepared yourself to suit all these other names. All these girls who don’t quite understand that his awkwardness is charming, and his sometimes poorly timed jokes are endearing. It almost kills you when he comes back from that stupid date and he wasn’t crying. He was beaming like he’d just seen the most gorgeous thing in the world. According to him, he had. When he sat himself on the edge of your bed, rambling on and on with moving hands and gleaming eyes, about how wonderful his stupid, saccharine life was, you pretended to listen. You gave him courtesy nods and little ‘Wow, she sounds great’s because that’s what a good, normal-feeling friend does, and he doesn’t seem to care that there’s no sign of you actually paying attention. You sit and stare at your full-length mirror, and observe. You grab your hair into a ponytail, turn side to side, observe the curve of your jaw, and decide that you’d never suit the name Tashi.

Tashi lasted months. Tashi never spoke to you outside of greetings. Tashi never laughed at him the way you did, and you could see it deflate his spirit just a little, though he’d regain it if she just looked his way. You wanted to hate her so badly, but you couldn’t. She’d done nothing wrong, technically, besides take from you what was never yours to keep. But it was yours to hold and covet during late-night movie watches, extra meal credit binge lunches, nights spent stargazing when the sky was just clear enough. He claimed to have never really noticed the stars until you made him look their way. He felt like he was yours to have in those moments of visible breaths in cold air. The worst part of it was that you understood where he was coming from, as much as you didn’t want to. She had something intangible to her, and everyone could feel it the second she walked into a room. He told you he loved her and you finally thought he was right. He told you, later that week, that they had gone stargazing when he told her so and you didn’t get a wink of sleep.

You stopped waiting on dreams that eluded you. You stopped waiting on Art to come to his senses, or maybe he had. Maybe that epiphany had been Tashi. For your own sake, you hope it was. At least she seemed worth the pain it’d cause you. Still, Tashi and Art fizzled out on their own time, not that you stayed to watch that fire burn out. Art texted you, as he always did, when they ended things, amicably and painfully bittersweet. ‘Out with friends sorry :))’ was your response, sent from the corner booth of some bar that you didn’t really want to be in. He finally started caring that night.

You and Art always matched, and he’d always noticed. He supported you in everything you did, you were front row to each and every one of his matches, screaming your head off. You bring him the pencils he always forgets to grab for notes, he brings you that spearmint gum you always snag a piece of from his room. You’d been in love with him, and he’d only just found that capacity to love you back.

You and Art always matched, even at the worst of times, because he saw the way you look at him lose that softness he’d always felt so protected by. He saw the way that mystery guy took the seat across from you at the table you both used to eat in every night, and you didn’t seem to fight him off. He saw that he got the permission to lean over and press a less-than-satisfying looking kiss to your lips, and he didn’t feel hungry anymore. You and Art always matched, because you had been left hanging in your love for him, and he was now stranded in his love for you.

[paintyoureyeswithavividmind]

close to home | chapter sixty four

close to home | chapter sixty four

plot: time continues to move on for the reader

series masterlist

Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 3,214 Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd, the passing of a beloved pet A/N: thank you for reading!! This chapter is going to feature the death of Tora. I know how much you all love her, but with all the time jumps and to continue this story, cats unfortunately do not live that long. I apologize if this is going to be trigger, and if it makes any of you feel better, I based Tora on my cat who is only 3, and I was sobbing writing this as well. So as a little pick me up, there is the beautiful and loving cat that I based Tora off of (and my bookshelf lol) at the end of this chapter

Weeks turned into months as you and Daryl worked on coming back together. By early spring, you were even more in love with and fully committed to him again. You trusted him again, which seemed to elevate Daryl in unexpected ways. He was more open with the kids and even Michonne and took a seat on the council--you declined Michonne’s offer for the hundredth time. 

By late summer, you were happier and healthier after Daryl returned to you. It was coming up on a year since you’d reunited with him, and things were almost perfect again. 

Almost.

With Tora’s age, you had her out of commission. She wasn’t allowed outside the walls, and stairs were getting too hard for her to climb. You or Daryl would have to bring her up and down. She was getting older after all these years, and you knew she wouldn’t make it to the end of the year. So you spent as much time with her as you could. She followed you around the community, cuddled with you and Daryl every night, and even with Dog. You had Siddiq look at her, of course, and you knew she was having kidney issues. But you could do nothing about it until she started showing pain.

Despite Daryl telling you it was a bad idea, you visited with Negan a few times every now and then. You meant what you said to him years ago, that you were moving past things and letting go of the anger. That meant there was room for a tiny bit of guilt for him spending the rest of his life in a cell, not that you thought he should be let out. But you went down to talk to him, and he was never an asshole to you. For whatever reason, he respected your marriage to Daryl and told you he just liked having someone to talk to. 

You knew Judith was doing the same but didn’t say anything. And Judith was Judith; she would do what she wanted anyway, just like her brother and father. 

Which was why Michonne agreed to let you and a group take her out for a hunt. She was nine now, and Michonne knew how important it was for her to know the ins and outs of the area around the community. She trusted you with Judith’s life. 

So you had Rosita, Eugene, Laura, and Aaron come out with you, as they did most of the out-of-community work anyway. Daryl was needed to help build up one of the new farming stands, so you couldn’t have him come. 

You were meant to meet them in a few minutes at the gate and could hear Judith bumping around in her room while getting ready. The two of you never seemed to get anywhere on time these days. 

“You gotta be kidding me,” You mumbled as you adjusted your belt. It was too tight around your waist. But it was notched where it always was, and then you realized it wasn’t the belt that was too tight. 

“No,” You shook your head as you walked to the mirror that hung from behind the door. You lifted your shirt and turned to the side.

“No, no.” You mumbled as you set your hands around your stomach. It was definitely sticking out more than it should’ve.

You let the shirt drop, which made you look almost normal, and then you picked the shirt up again as you thought about when you got your last period--but of course, it was never regular after the end of the world to begin with. 

“(Y/N), I’m ready to go…” Judith swung the door open but paused when she saw you. “Are you pregnant?” She yelled. 

You immediately pulled her into your room and shut the door behind her. “Do you always have to be so loud,” You said, which made her giggle. 

“Let me see.” She reached for your shirt, which you let her, and she pulled it up. “I remember how big mom’s tummy got.”

“I’m not pregnant,” You said, but you weren't so sure when you looked in the mirror. The symptoms you had for your first were surprisingly few; if it was the same, it wasn’t a wonder how you didn’t realize sooner. 

“I bet Daryl will be happy.”

“Go get your sword before I toss you out the window, missy.” 

***

“Judith!” You screamed, flicking blood off your machete. Your heart was beating faster than you ever could’ve imagined as you looked around the woods for your niece. You felt tears burn in your panic, and you looked at Rosita, who looked as desperate and scared as you. 

You followed Rosita through the woods, screaming out for Judith. You ran towards the sound when you finally heard her yelling that she was close. 

“I heard them calling, they needed our help.” Judith said. 

You looked behind her and immediately drew an arrow. Five strangers were following behind her, all out of breath and in bad shape. Dog was barking like crazy in warning, and you whistled to recall him. He sat next to you. 

Rosita and Aaron discussed with Judith as to why you couldn’t bring them back, and you watched her threaten that she wouldn’t come back. 

“We bring them.” You said. “I will talk to Michonne. I want us in group formation. There are walkers behind every damn tree.” You said. 

Eugene and Laura took the lead, while Rosita and Aaron took the back. You and Judith walked side by side with the strangers. You noticed the two quiet ones were talking in sign language, and you could pick up a few things they were discussing. 

“Hey,” You took a couple quick steps and looked at the one who heard you. You set your machete away and did your best to sign as you spoke. “I’m (Y/N). It’s been a while since I’ve signed. I wanted to reassure you that you’ll be safe. We’ll help your friend. I can’t promise anything after that.”

“I’m Kelly,” The younger one said as she signed. “This is my sister Connie.” You looked at Connie while she signed. “She said-.”

“I got the gist,” You said, then you did your best to sign again and had to spell out a few words you didn’t remember. I went to school for speech pathology before switching to medicine. It’s been a long time, though.

It’s nice to meet someone I can talk to you, Kelly always has to translate for me, Connie signed to you. You were able to understand most of it and you nodded at her, which made her smile. 

***

Daryl was the first one you saw when you walked through the gates, and you smiled, jogging up to him. Your bow clanged against his crossbow as you hugged, and he kissed you briefly before looking past you. “What’s all this?”

“Don’t ask,” You muttered. “One word. Judith.”

“Ain’ a surprise.”

You turned back to the strangers as they marveled at the community, and you saw in their faces how relieved they were. They had to have been out there for a long time. You couldn’t imagine it. After all this time, you didn’t know what you would do without the communities. 

There was a slight argument amongst the residents before Michonne showed up, and after looking them over, she had them put away into holding for the night so the council could vote in the morning. 

Daryl had more work to do, so he bid goodbye, and you walked home with Judith. 

“So when are you gonna tell him?”

“Judith.”

“What? I’m just asking. Would that mean I’m an aunt if you have a baby?”

You smiled, looked down at your niece, and then wrapped an arm around her. “No, sweetheart. It would make you cousins. You’ll be an aunt when RJ has a baby in many, many years from now.”

“But I could help you take care of it.”

“Judith.” 

“Maybe you can ask mom to help you since you don’t have any kids,” Judith asked as she looked up at you. 

You frowned slightly and tipped her hat forward to cover her eyes. “I did have a kid. I had a son. But he died in my belly.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Judith said. “Was it before?”

You nodded as you stopped by the stairs to your house. “It was.”

Judith gave you a big hug. “For what it’s worth, I think you’ll be a great mom. You’re my best friend.” 

***

You were standing in your room a few hours later naked, having just showered. Your long hair was dripping as you turned to look at yourself in the mirror. Your stomach wasn’t extended the way it would’ve been if you’d put on a bit of weight--which you’d gotten back to your regular weight after being shot--but it was just your lower belly. And it took you back to years ago with Liam, and you were this size at around five months. If you were pregnant, you’d be showing earlier. 

You pressed your hand against the swell and sighed loudly. Pregnant. After all this time, you couldn’t be, could you? Not after all these years. 

The sound of meowing caught your attention, and you quickly got dressed before walking over to the window. Tora was at the front steps, and you didn’t like the sound of her howling. Your fingers trembled as you looked at her for another second. She was pushing thirteen, which was on her breed's older side of the lifespan. 

You quickly rushed down the stairs and outside. 

“Tora, sweetie,” You said as you scooped her up in her arms. She’d been losing weight a lot in the past month. You knew her time was coming. 

She meowed quietly as she got comfortable in your arms. Living on your farm, you’d grown up around house cats and barn cats, and they all acted the same way when it was time. When they needed to say goodbye. So when you saw Tora looking up at you with those sweet, innocent eyes, you knew it was. 

Tears burned your eyes as you thought about your old treehouse and living there with her alone. How she kept you alive because you were too stubborn to let her die. And even before that, when Liam gave you to her on Christmas morning, she immediately crawled into your lap and started purring. Thirteen years was long for a cat in this world, and she spent most of it malnourished, even though you did your best. 

“(Y/N)? What’s going on?” 

You looked up at Judith with tears on your cheeks. “Can you run and get Siddiq for me, sweetie?”

Ten minutes later, Siddiq held Tora in his arms as you watched him press around her belly. When she showed discomfort and tried to scratch him, he gave her back to you. 

“I’m sorry. It’s probably the kidneys. I can use the machine on her tomorrow to take a look.”

You nodded, but you knew it wouldn’t come to that. She wasn’t going to make it through the night. 

“Do you know where Daryl is?”

“He was with Aaron. I think they were workin’ late on the farming stand.”

Siddiq said goodnight and squeezed your arm before he left, and then Judith wrapped her hand around your bicep. “Can I come with you?”

“I’m gonna bring her back here, Jude. I promise. Can you get some pillows and blankets on the couch? You know how she likes it.”

Judith nodded and ran back into the house. You sniffled a few times and started walking towards the center of the community. 

You were already crying when you saw Daryl with Aaron, working with flashlights to get the stand finished. You tried to call out his name but had to take a deep breath. Tora stirred in your arms and you shushed her, kissing the top of her head. 

“Daryl?” He turned around the moment he heard the tone of your voice, and you saw his face drop when he saw you. “Tora…she…” You broke out into tears. 

He tossed his tools aside, told Aaron he’d see him tomorrow, and then came to you. “Come on, darlin’, let’s get her home.” 

You nodded as he wrapped his arms around your shoulders and led you home.

Judith set up the couch like you asked her, and you gently set Tora on the blankets before sitting on the floor. You gently ran your hand along her body and fluffy tail, and she looked at you with those big eyes. 

Daryl sat down next to you while Judith sat on the couch. You pressed your forehead on the cushion near her paws and tried not to start scream-crying in front of Judith. You wanted to do that and throw things around and punch holes through walls. But you didn’t do any of that. 

“Why don’ ya go get ya mom, Judith? She’ll wanna be here.” 

Michonne joined you with a sorrowful look on her face. She loved Tora, although she didn’t show it. But you remembered perfectly her sneaking little bits of food to her when she thought no one was looking. 

After a little while, you let Tora sleep and leaned against the loveseat. Daryl sat beside you, and Michonne took the chair with Judith on her lap. You told them all silly stories about Tora before they knew her when she was just a kitten, and you told Judith how much her brother loved the cat and how you’d always find him stealing her every chance she got--which was something they had in common. Over the past six years, Tora often slept at the foot of Judith’s bed. 

It drew further into the night, and everyone was half asleep when Tora stirred on the couch. The bell from her collar rang as she jumped down and limped her way toward you. She curled herself up on your lap, and you gently pet her. Daryl took your other hand, and Judith and Michonne came to sit on the floor with you. 

“You’re okay,” You said through your tears. “You can sleep now. Say hi to Carl for me, okay, when you get there?”

Around two in the morning, Tora took her last breath in your arms. You sobbed, holding her body to your chest. Daryl held you while Michonne held a hysterical Judith. 

Your heart ached when Daryl tried to take her body from you, and you finally gave in. “Make sure she’s comfortable,” You sobbed. “Wrap her in her favorite blanket. Please be careful.”

“I got her, I got her,” He reassured you.

Judith came over to you and sat on your lap to hug you, and you held her tight as you both cried. 

“I wanna bury her next to Carl,” You said through tears. “I think they’d both really like that.” 

Michonne wiped away her tears, and she stood up. “Of course, we can plant some flowers. Anything you want. I’m gonna take Judith up to bed. You can sleep in my room if you want, honey.”

Judith nodded through tears as she stood up. “I wanna help bury her.”

You slowly stood up and ran your hand on the back of her head. “We’ll do it tomorrow morning before the meeting. Don’t worry, sweetie, I’ll wake you up for it.”

Your niece gave you one more big hug before Michonne led her to the stairs, and you could hear her crying on the floor above you. You sat down on the chair and hung your head in your hands. 

Footsteps caught your attention, and you looked at Daryl, who you knew was crying. He must’ve taken a few extra minutes to avoid crying in front of Judith. 

“Wrapped her up gentle, I promise,” Daryl told you and helped you up so he could hug you. “In her favorite blanket. We’ll bury her tomorrow.”

“We have to give her a funeral.” You cried into his chest. “A good one. She was my life.”

He rubbed the back of your head and kissed your forehead. “We’ll give her the best damn funeral Alexandria has ever seen, okay? Come on, let’s get to bed. Ya gotta try and sleep, darlin’.”

You didn’t want to; of course, you didn’t. But you knew you needed to, and sleep would make you forget. So you let him bring you upstairs, help you into pajamas, and then hold you while you cried yourself to sleep. 

***

The following day, Tora’s absence had you hysterically crying. It woke Daryl up, and he held you, rubbing your back and trying to help you calm down. Then your door opened, and Judith ran in. 

“I thought you left without me, and I missed it,” She started sobbing and jumped on the bed, pushing her way so she was lying between you guys.

“No, sweetie,” You cried and kissed her forehead. She cuddled up against you to cry. 

***

Aaron must’ve spread the word about Tora’s passing because your family was there as you carried her wrapped-up body to the small cemetery. Michonne must’ve woken up early to dig the grave because it was already ready and waiting next to Carl’s. 

You knelt on the ground and gently laid her body to rest. You wiped away your tears and stood up. Daryl wrapped an arm around you and nodded at Aaron, who grabbed the shovel. 

“I would like to say a few words,” Judith said as she grabbed your hand. “If everyone would please pay attention…” When everyone was, she spoke again. “I knew Tora my whole life. I heard stories about her sleeping in my crib with me. And she was the best cat I ever had. And I love her so much.”

You smiled through your tears at your niece, squeezing her hand. 

“One time when we were on the road,” Rosita said, “Before we found this place, she came up to me and sat next to me. It was weird for me because I’m a dog person. But she just sat right there. It was like she knew I needed to not be alone.” 

“I enjoyed watching her chase birds,” Eugene bowed his head. 

Your eyes filled with tears as Michonne stepped up. “She used to try and steal RJ’s food,” She laughed. “I always let her have some.”

“Thank you guys,” You said. “Thank you for helping keep her safe. She was special. And even though this is heartbreaking, I’m happy I was able to keep her safe. And she passed peacefully in my arms. Safe, and warm, and so, very loved.” 

You looked up at Daryl, the only one who hadn’t said anything. 

“I, uh.. I first met the cat when I first met (Y/N), when we almost killed each other. I remember thinkin’ she must be crazy for havin’ a cat. But Tora was good. And ‘m gonna miss her every day.” 

[noonaishere]

Music of the Heart [J.YH] - one hundred and three | what’s it like having normal parents?

Hills and mountains rolled by slowly outside the window, seeming to undulate like a blanket of green as the car sped past them. Plants by the roadside zoomed by in a fury. You sat in the passenger seat as Yunho drove, your arms folded over your body as you watched the scenery outside. The sun was setting fast and it would be dark soon.

“If you forgot something, we can just go to a convenience store and pick it up.” Yunho nodded.

“Mhm.”

“Are you sure you have everything?”

“Mhm.”

You could see him look at you out of the corner of his eye for a moment. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Mhm.”

“...T/n.”

“What?” You said, jarred from your thoughts, and turned to look at him.

He smiled gently. “Do you want to talk about it?”

You shrugged. “What would I talk about?”

“I don’t know. Your feelings? Maybe there’s something you could get off your chest before we get there.”

You sighed. “I don’t know.”

Yunho drove silently for a few moments.

“It’s just… I don’t even know if they’ll want to see me. I’m the kid that failed them, you know?”

“Hey…”

“They made that much clear when I moved out after senior year.”

“Mmm… I wasn’t there for that. What happened?”

“The night before I left, I mentioned that I wanted to move to Seoul. I don’t know what I expected, but I just wanted to see, you know? My mom threw a fucking fit-- in classic Her fashion. She also threw a bunch of stuff at me as well.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Broke a vase she loved and then blamed it on me, but I’m not the one who threw it into a wall.” You laughed. It wasn’t really funny, but there wasn’t much else you could do.

“Wow. So you told her you wanted to leave and that’s when she started throwing things?”

“No, that was about an hour into her yelling at me.”

He shook his head. “How did you leave?”

“I had found a place in Seoul the week before. Tiny hole of an apartment, the smallest place you could call an apartment and still legally charge rent for it. Then I left the day of graduation. Everyone was out so I took my chance-- found my birthday money, bought my bass back and got the fuck out of here.”

“Shit... I’m really sorry, t/n. I should have been there for you.”

“Yeah… you should have.”

“I’m sorry--”

You waved him away. “Don’t apologize again. It was in the past. It was an accident.”

Yunho got quiet and looked back at the road. That was fine with you, you wanted to sit in silence anyway. The last moments of silence you expected to have before your mother probably-but-most-likely saw you and would scream at you again.

Yunho pulled into the driveway of Intak’s home. You had no idea he had moved, and it seemed smaller than the first place, wouldn’t that be a downgrade? Granted, you had never actually seen the first place - you were very committed to blowing him off and hoping he’d get the hint and stop contacting you - but he had sent you pictures of the place since you ‘couldn’t make it.’

The door opened and he came out to greet you.

“T/n-- Yunho? You two are friends again?”

“We met again recently,” you said as you pulled your bag out of the back seat.

“Well, it’s nice to see you again, kid. How are you?” He held out his hand for Yunho to shake and he did.

“Not too bad, hyung. You?”

“Not too bad. Well, come in, let’s get caught up. I ordered in, I hope you don’t mind.”

You shrugged. “That’s fine.” 

Intak smiled awkwardly at you for a second before grabbing your bag from your hands.

“What are you doing?” You asked as he pulled it from you.

“You traveled all this way. I should be hospitable to my baby sister, no?”

You frowned at him as he walked back over to the front door. Why was he being so weird? You looked at Yunho who seemed to have a similar thought and shrugged at you.

“Come in! Come in!” Intak said as he opened the door for you.

You followed him into the house with Yunho behind you.

“So, Yunho, you’re acting now?” Your brother asked. “I always knew you could do it.”

“No you didn’t.” You immediately corrected. “You used to say he had no talent whatsoever.”

Yunho laughed.

“But what teenager has acting chops? Come on.” Intak defended himself as he led you to the spare room.

You shook your head.

“You guys can stay in here. I hope that’s okay, I only have the one spare room.”

“That’s fine.” You said.

“It’ll be just like when we had sleepovers when we were kids,” Yunho smiled.

You smiled goofily back at him before throwing your coat on the bed and following Intak into the kitchen. Yunho did the same.

“Intak, didn’t your old place have a dining room?

“And you never told me where you work. You only said you work at a recording studio.”

You paused. In trying to keep him at arm's length, you supposed you hadn’t. “Wonderland Entertainment. The same company that manages Yunho.”

“What? Wonderland--? Are you serious?” He shouted, overjoyed.

“...Yeah. I was hired as a studio bassist, but the main producer, Hongjoong, is training me to be a producer as well.”

He clapped you on the back. “That’s amazing kiddo! I’m so proud of you! And you too, Yunho, you’re both working at a major company, that’s great!”

You laughed awkwardly. 

“What about you, Intak?” Yunho asked.

“Sit, sit. Open up the takeout boxes.” 

You all sat and took the food you wanted before Intak answered.

“I’m second chair for cellos in the Korean Symphony Orchestra.”

You snorted. “Not first chair? Mom and dad forgave you for that?”

“It’s still first stand.” He pointed at you factually. “Though… mom was a bit mad.”

You nodded emphatically.

He chewed his food for a moment as he thought. “I mean… you were right. They’re never going to be happy with anything we do. Especially mom.”

“That’s why I left: why even try?”

He nodded. “That’s what I always envied about you, you punk.”

You scoffed. “What?”

“You weren’t afraid to go against what they wanted for you.”

“Intak, I was shitting my pants like every single day I had my secret bass. I was fucking petrified. I ended up under house arrest, even.”

“But you still did it.”

“When mom sold my bass, you told me I should have listened to her.”

He shook his head. “That was before I got passed over for first chair and it was all she could ever talk about. She still brings it up like I… like I killed a man or something.”

You looked at him, stunned.

“The day I told her, she just went on and on about how I didn’t try enough, it was all my fault, I must have spoken to you or something because I was clearly giving up… that’s when I realized that even if I had gotten first chair, she still would have found something to not be happy about. And… yeah, I guess I gave up a little bit…”

You nodded.

He poked at his food. “But it wasn’t not getting first chair that made me give up a little… it was her.”

You nodded again.

He looked up at you and the two of you stared at each other for a few moments.

“I don’t know what to say to that, since you were always the favorite.”

He shook his head. “Her love is so… conditional. That’s part of why I sold that house and moved here. I couldn’t take her berating me almost every day, I could never bring a girl over after not being made first chair because if she ever met any girl I was dating, she’d bring it up to her.”

“Ouch.” Yunho offered.

“Yeah. It was hard enough to be in a relationship with the stress of having to be the best, and now she was talking shit about me to the girls I was with? Who could stand that?”

“Why don’t you just move out of town?” You asked.

“Because then she’d visit me and stay over for like a week at a time and that’d be just as bad.”

You rolled your eyes. “She would.”

He nodded. “And um… I started seeing a therapist.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, a while back.”

“Because of mom?”

“Basically...” he laughed. “She suggested I call you and try to reconnect with you.”

“Ah... That’s why you started texting me more.”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you just couldn’t take a hint.”

He laughed.

You smiled a small smile.

“I wanted to apologize. When we were younger, I thought ‘being a good brother’ was trying to convince you that anything our parents wanted for us was right and good. That they really did love us, despite how they treated us.”

You nodded.

“I’m sorry for taking their side. I should have realized what was going on sooner and defended you.”

You shook your head. “You never would have realized because you were always their favorite. And you never would have defended me because it would have meant not being their favorite.”

“T/n, I--”

“No, I get it. I’m not saying you’re a bad person because of it, but I can get why someone would want to be the favorite.” You turned to Yunho. “Yunho, you’re the favorite, right?”

“You know I’m an only child.”

“Then that makes you the favorite. And being the favorite is pretty awesome, right?”

He shrugged. “Yeah, it is.”

“You wouldn’t want to not be the favorite, right?”

“I guess not.”

“Give me a real answer, damnit.”

He chuckled. “I wouldn’t want to not be the favorite, no.”

“See?” You turned back to Intak. “I get it. We were both kids and you were the golden child of our house while I was this horrible little… uncultured, selfish, urchin child from the streets who just wanted to make the kind of music she wanted, and that put me at odds with our parents who refused to understand why I even liked it.”

He nodded tentatively.

“Like, imagine if I were allowed to explore more music and more instruments as a child instead of being forcibly shackled to one I hated? And I didn’t even really hate the violin at first, I hated that I was being made to play it as if it was the only instrument that existed.” You thought for a moment. “Do you remember that big recital we both performed at when we were kids, where there were other music schools as well?”

“Yeah.”

“You didn’t know about this because you were with dad all day, but I snuck away and there was this cool oppa in one of the practice rooms last-minute practicing the timpani drums. He asked if I wanted to try and I said yes, and I stood on a crate and hit those drums like crazy and had so much fun.”

A small smile spread across Intak’s lips.

“And then mom found me, screamed at me and the boy, and dragged me out of the room by the arm.”

“Jesus christ.” Yunho breathed.

“They weren’t even rock drums, they were timpani drums! Still something that’s only used in an orchestra…”

“I remember that dad took me around to all the other dads to show off about me for that whole day. I didn’t even know where you or mom were most of the time.”

You nodded. “Yeah... Listen, I don’t begrudge you for not realizing that the way they treated us was wrong sooner, you were basically divorced from that side of them. You were up on a pedestal they built for you, all shiny and gold and perfect, and as long as you did whatever they wanted you’d stay up there. I was… according to them: purposefully lowering myself and wallowing in shit.”

He nodded. “I wish I wasn’t so blinded by what I thought was their love.”

“I mean, I guess it was their love, their love was just… contractual and had a lot of fine print. And I was the only one who ever violated the terms.”

He chuckled. “And then every time you got in trouble, sometimes it seemed like you only did it more.”

You laughed. “I mean… if I couldn’t do anything right, why not just piss them off I guess. Punk rock.”

You laughed together and ate in comfortable silence for a few moments.

“Anyway, Yunho: what’s it like having normal parents?”

Intak and Yunho both laughed.

  previous | main cast | masterlist | next

a/n: Isn’t it nice to see siblings bonding? …over how awful their parents are?

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[cabinofimagines]

2. Magnus Chase and the Gods what’s happening

Our system is 100% vibes and whatever makes us laugh the hardest -Asnyox and Danny

Will

Hey Magnus just navigate to Camp Half-Blood, Half-Blood Hill, Farm Road 3.141 Long Island, New York 11954

i’ll make sure Nico picks you up. 

Magnus

Okay, any specifics I should look for to find him?

Will

Nah, he can sense the dead from miles away. 

“He can sense the dead-? Of course he can...” Magnus muttered to himself as he shivered. Will had mentioned the weather within the borders would be maybe a light autumn- but outside of the borders, it was freezing. Even with his Frey heritage, his shorts felt a little cold.

 

“I can also sense bad fashion.” Magnus quickly turned around to come face to face with a dark-haired guy. Without introduction, the boy—probably Nico—motioned for Magnus to follow him, which he did. “Your full name is just Magnus Chase, right?” Nico asked. Magnus nodded as he saw literally nothing in front of him, just forest and trees. Nico stopped and held his hand out to touch air or something.

“I, Nico di Angelo, permit Magnus Chase to enter Camp Half-Blood, or whatever.”  Nico turned around, “You should be good to go now—wasn’t sure whether the border would stop you from getting in because you’re not Greek and all that. Anyways, go pretend to be my boyfriend, try not to die and join in the Christmas activities!” Nico walked off. 

“What.”

So Magnus began his day at Camp Half-Blood. As he made his way through the border, he laid eyes on the big house—which seemed normal enough, if it was not because of the line of hurt people right outside. 

Being the good person he was, he carefully made his way to said line and approached the one in the back. Before he even could greet the girl at the end, she turned to him, barely looking at him as she went, “Oh, Will! I thought you were inside already, they might need more hands.” 

Magnus paused before he caught up. Ah yes, people really did mistake him for Will.

“I uh, wasn’t yet. What happened?” He asked as the girl looked at him like he was stupid. 

“Harley’s two legged death race, holiday edition—wait did you skip it?” The girl gasped, “I won’t tell, but only if you heal me first.”  She then whispered. Not wanting Will to get into actual trouble, Magnus quickly healed the girl, who then thanked him and walked of after saying, “Hey, didn’t know you had instant heal! Sick!”

Magnus then made his way into the infirmary where one guy looked him over, went up to him, and whispered in his ear. “I know about the switcharoo, name’s Austin, I’m Will’s brother, I won’t snitch if you help heal the line out. You know how right?” Before Magnus nodded he was set to healing, asking each patient for details on their wounds.

”Myrmekes, you know, giant ants got us.”

“Oh, Sherman Yang decided I should be an ornament.”

“The crafting table didn’t agree with me. Nor did the glitter.”

“Archery practice.”  “Were you the target?”  “No, the instructor.” 

“A reindeer ran me over.”

“Decorating the lava wall.” “What.”  “Yeah, you should check it out!” 

So as the line grew short, Austin let Magnus go explore, kindly giving instructions to find the lava wall. 

Magnus did not know what he expected. However, somehow the words “Lava Wall” never made him think of a climbing wall with lava flowing down from it. Worse yet, multiple people were currently climbing it holding tinsel and lights, both quite flammable objects, and somehow it actually looked Chrismassy and joyful. Somehow.

“Impressive isn’t it, Will?” Some dude spoke from next to Magnus, “It reminds me of that one time dad tried to actually be there for Christmas. Hephaestus wasn’t too clear on why the trees should ‘light up’ but he at least apologized for almost setting mom on fire. Good times! Catch ya later.” 

Magnus watched the guy leave with a look of concern, but as time went by, he realized that was probably one of the lighthearted stories he’d hear. Later that day, while having lunch with Nico, the guy decided to trauma dump as if Magnus were Dr. Phil’s little helper.

“Yeah, the decoration are cool most years but this one feels less chaotic than others—though not as quiet as the winter my sister died—” Nico shrugged. “That one was not fun. There’s also that other winter when things were too quiet and we ended up fighting Bob the titan, before Percy yanked him to hell—he’s alright though don’t worry. Bob, I mean. I saw Percy a week ago and he was acting crazy.”

Magnus remembers something then. “Where’s Klaus?”

Nico looks around. “No clue. He said a friend would come over as well, some Heartstone guy?”

Magnus frowns. “Why is he here?”

“No clue,” Nico repeats. “I think Klaus is trying to drive Percy to a nervous breakdown, don’t know why. Can’t blame him either, Percy makes you wanna do that sometimes.”

“Right,” Magnus eyes Nico, picking up his trash and standing. “I’ll take a walk.”

“Will!” A girl of about fifteen approaches him and smiles. “Oh, did you get a perm? Lovely! Though I would spend less time under the sun if I were you, your hair is getting sickly lighter,” she says casually. “Anyway, today for the campfire Chiron asked me to tell you not to sing any ballads, you know what happened last time.”

Magnus stares at her still hung up on the comment about his hair but trying his best to move on. “I do. Yeah, I know everything that’s ever happened here.”

“Cool,” the girl pats his shoulder and leaves. “No one needs more drama—ah, like that one time mom came to my prom wearing the same dress as I did and said ‘See, when someone the right size wears it, it does accentuate your curves!’ Ugh, totally unnecessary I mean, she knows I wore it because my actual dress was covered in acid from the gorgon pretending to be my grandma! Anyway, toodles!”

Magnus reaches the campfire and sits next to Austin. “Gods, I know I’m no one to judge but does anyone here have a decent childhood?”

Austin laughs like he just said the funniest joke. “Good one, buddy. What’s next, a proper education?” Chiron calls Austin to the front and he rubs his hands eagerly. “Showtime!”

Magnus watches the guy step to the front and bring out a saxophone. He starts playing and Magnus recognizes it as ‘Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree’. At first he sits back and enjoys it thinking he’s finally discovered something about this camp that isn’t inherently concerning. 

The problem starts when Austin gets a bit too excited and his music starts to command everyone to leave their seats and rock around the lava wall, which is functioning as their Christmas tree.

***

It’s 10pm, Magnus has been healing the entire camp from second and three degree burns, and he’s either hallucinating or he actually saw Blitzen and another guy with a santa hat on entering the forest in the back of a bronze dragon.

“Has anyone seen a reindeer?” A camper walks up to where he’s walking holding a flip phone against their ear. “No?” They talk back into the phone. “Sorry, Percy. No yeah, I sent them over to you this morning—yeah, I,��� they spot Magnus and smile. “Oh, hi, Magnus!”

“Y/N,” Magnus waves casually. “Who the hellheim lost a reindeer?”

“You don’t wanna know,” you snort, texting someone on the flip phone. “You should tell Heartstone to make Klaus stop messing with Percy, poor guy is going bald and may be getting an ulcer.”

“He’s not the only one,” Magnus replies. “Hey, Nico told me you guy have a god around here named Mr. D?”

You hesitate. “I’m not sure you should go anywhere near him. He might not be okay with you hanging out here.”

“I’m already dead, what can he do, vaporize me? The lava wall already tried that—I can’t be burned.”

“Show off,” you state with no real annoyance. “Yeah well, he’s probably playing cards in the porch.”

“This camp needs like, a whole therapy guard—like an entire cabin for the mentally ill.”

“Oh, Magnus, sweet summer child,” you pat his shoulder. “The whole camp is for the mentally ill. See ya!”

Y/N walks away humming Rudolph the red-nose reindeer and continue to ask about the animal’s location to anyone you encounter. Magnus walks up to the big house and finds a man who can only be Mr. D sitting there and chugging down eggnog.

“Uh, hi.”

“Bill Lonely, you’re here,” Mr. D glances at the boy without even reaching his face. “What do you want?”

“I heard you sometimes give free therapy sessions—can I help?”

Mr. D snorts. “Are you a doctor?”

“No but I feel a lot of bad things when I look at your campers.”

“Join the club, kid.”

“Also my sword is good with words and if that doesn’t work I can stab them so they go to a better place. Sorta.” Magnus scratches his nose and sniffs. “So can I?”

“The clinic is all yours,” the god points to the front door. “Second door to the left, don’t touch my mini fridge.”

[clarepreed]

First Date

Story Content and Summary - 5,563 words. After recovering from the events in Stressed to Death, Ginnie and Holly are on their first official date. Despite their obvious chemistry, a freak accident threatens to tear them apart forever. Commotio cordis, on-site resuscitation.🏳️‍🌈

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Ginnie waited on a bench outside the restaurant, repeatedly wiping her damp hands on her sundress. She wasn’t sure she’d worn the right thing; she liked this dress, and she thought she looked pretty in it, but now she was worried she was too dressed up. Or not dressed up enough. Ginnie tapped her fingers on her thighs, rocking slightly on the bench.

I’m too early. I’m just going to sit here and nervously sweat, she thought. Holly will worry if I seem nervous.

Then: When do I NOT seem nervous?! 

Ginnie huffed at herself and stood, automatically smoothing her dress down in the back and patting the skirt to make sure she hadn’t dropped her wallet or her phone.

“Hey, Ginnie! Are you okay? Am I late?” Holly’s husky voice interrupted Ginnie’s spiraling train of thought.

Ginnie whirled around, her face blushing hot. Holly stopped a few steps away on the sidewalk, looking cute in slim fit brown pants and a boat necked shirt. Ginnie squeaked out: “Hi! No, you’re early! Um… I’m just nervous.”

Before Holly could reply, Ginnie blurted: “Just a normal amount of nervous. Not ‘die on the sidewalk’ nervous.”

Ginnie was looking at Holly’s nose, but she still took in the strange expression that passed over the other woman’s face.

I’m making her uncomfortable.

Ginnie opened her mouth to apologize, but Holly interrupted her, her mouth breaking into a wide smile. “I want to laugh, but I don’t know if I should.”

“Oh, please do,” Gennie said, her hands twisting in her skirt. “That’s why I said it. I joke a lot when I’m nervous.”

Holly took a step closer, her hands plunging into her pockets and then pulling them straight back out. Her eyes skimmed over Ginnie, setting off a warm tingly feeling in Ginnie’s belly. “Hey, um, you look really pretty. That’s a nice dress.”

“It has pockets!” Ginnie exclaimed, demonstrating by slipping her hand in one.

“That’s great. Uh… may I give you a hug?”

Instead of responding verbally, Ginnie lurched forward and threaded her arms around Holly’s ribs. She squeezed the taller woman tight.

“Yes,” she murmured, her lips brushing Holly’s collarbone. Holly’s arms folded around her and they stood for several seconds in silence. Finally, Ginnie said: “You smell good. Spicy?”

“You smell sweet. Like candy.”

“That’s because I ate a bunch of Jolly Ranchers on the bus.”

Holly chuckled. They were embracing for much longer than normal, or so Ginnie assumed. Not that she minded. She could hear Holly’s heart beating fast and strong beneath her ear. The other woman’s embrace was warm and firm. Tears suddenly pricked Ginnie’s eyes, and she murmured: “Thank you.”

Holly leaned back, though she didn’t release her grip on Ginnie. “Are you okay? What are you thanking me for?”

“It’s just that we haven’t seen each other since I got out of the hospital. Texting isn’t the same. Thank you for saving my life. I hope I’m not making you uncomfortable.”

“Not at all, Ginnie. I’m really glad you’re back in the city.” Holly laughed. “I was afraid you’d decide to stay with your parents. I mean, if you did, I was going to ask you out anyway. But it’s nice to have you here.”

“I’ve never dated a woman who hasn’t had at least one super long-distance relationship.”

“God, that’s so true.” Holly squeezed her and then released the hug. “Ready to eat?”

“Yes! This is my favorite restaurant!” Ginnie gushed, gesturing for Holly to follow her. “The owners are from Seoul and Atlanta. The menu is small but really varied and even my parents were happy with the food! They have the best starters… The acoustics are good inside, too. It’s never too loud. This place is my comfort restaurant. I hope you like it!”

Holly stepped up to the door and pulled it open. “After you. I looked up the menu when you suggested this place and it sounds great. Of course… I just really like food.”

There was a small line at the host stand, so they joined at the end. Ginnie pointed up at the vaulted ceiling. “They have art up there! Little sculptures of birds.”

Holly stepped close and looked up. Ginnie felt something at her side and glanced down, spotting Holly’s hand held out to her, palm up. She reached down and took it, a blush running up her chest to her face. Holly bumped her arm against Ginnie’s. “Was that smooth?”

Ginnie snorted and clapped her free hand over her mouth. 

“I made you snort,” Holly said, looking over at Ginnie. Holly pulled her pretty lips into yet another big smile. “And blush.”

Dropping her hand down to fidget with her skirt, Ginnie said: “I like you.”

Holly squeezed her hand. “I like you, too.”

“I don’t feel as shy as I thought I would,” Ginnie murmured. They were getting close to the host stand now. 

“Good. Only good vibes tonight.”

“How many?” the host asked. “Two?”

“Yes,” Ginnie and Holly spoke simultaneously.

“As soon as Tom gets over… Here he is. Enjoy your meal, ladies.”

They followed the server, walking through the dining room, still holding hands. Ginnie registered small sounds; the clink of silverware on plates, the murmur of voices, soft instrumental music. A snapping sound, followed by a sharp zzzzzzzzzt!

Something small and dark flew at them, too fast to avoid, and she heard a soft thump followed by a short huff of air from Holly. 

Holly dropped like a stone, so suddenly that Ginnie had little time to do more than clench the abruptly limp hand in her own. The weight on her arm jerked her down to one knee. Holly sprawled face down on the floor, making no effort to break her own fall.

“What the fuck was that?” she heard someone say, their voice loud in the quiet room.

“Holly?” Ginnie heard her own voice, high-pitched and wobbling with surprise and worry. She released Holly’s hand and turned to put both of her knees on the floor, her hands resting on Holly’s back. Her date lay still and silent, unresponsive to her touch or her voice. “Holly! What happened?”

Ginnie shook her, then looked up. The room fell silent; a few seconds later she heard someone tentatively call out: “Hey, is she okay?”

Crawling around to Holly’s other side, Ginnie leaned close to her face. To her shock, Holly’s big warm eyes were open, staring, seeming to look through her. Her lips were slack, a glistening line of drool stretching from the corner of her mouth down to the floor. 

“HOLLY! HOLLY!” Shouting in her panic, Ginnie dimly registered that she was kneeling on some kind of cord or rope, and she reached down to touch it. “What…”

“Is she breathing?” Tom the server asked.

Ginnie closed her eyes so she could concentrate and leaned closer, lifting the back of her hand next to Holly’s lips. She waited, her other hand coming up to stop her ear, using the closest one to listen to any sounds that might come from Holly. Eventually, however, she opened her eyes and stared up at the red-faced server. “N-no…”

“I’ll… I’ll get the manager,” Tom said, staring at them for several more seconds before scurrying away.

“Fuck the manager!” someone said. “Call 9-1-1!”

Ginnie rocked back and forth for a few seconds before she shook her head violently and reached for Holly. 

I need to put on her back, right? Ginnie pushed on Holly’s shoulder and hip, rolling her clumsily onto her side and then tipping her onto her back. Holly flopped as though her bones had dissolved. Ginnie gasped, spotting a dark stain soaking into her pants. She peed herself? That can’t be good.

“That!” a woman’s voice. The dining room was growing loud now, as people shouted and pushed back their chairs. “That thing on the floor! That’s what hit her!”

It should be me, Ginnie thought wildly, desperately trying to filter out the sounds in the room. Holly’s the one who knows what to do!

“Someone call 9-1-1, dammit!” a man shouted. A glass smashed to the floor and someone ran by in clicky-clacky high heels.

“I did! I did, I’m on the phone—”

“Miss!” A woman’s voice cut through the din. “I’m Melissa, the manager. What happened?”

Melissa crouched at Holly’s other side, then reached out to tip her head back, opening up the line of her neck. She leaned close, her ear by the unconscious woman’s slack mouth. Holly’s tan skin was growing ashen by the second, and Ginnie realized with a sick feeling that her lips were turning blue. “She’s not breathing!” the manager snapped, and then she leaned over Holly, her fingers moving along the lifeless woman’s ribcage.

Ginnie watched as the manager pressed the heels of her hands between Holly’s breasts and then pushed down hard. Holly let out another huff of air, and Melissa called out: “One!”

Numb with shock, Ginnie stared as the woman’s clasped hands pumped Holly’s chest, making her stomach pop up against the waistband of her pants. She could see the shadow of her ribcage bobbing up and down in time with the shrug of her shoulders. 

“…six, seven, eight, nine, ten—Miss? Are you comfortable giving her breaths?”

A few seconds passed, and Ginnie stammered: “Wh-what? Breaths? Yes, I…”

“Tip her head back to keep her airway open! Twenty-three, twenty-four…”

Ginnie’s hands shook as she rested one hand on Holly’s forehead, then the other on her chin. She vaguely remembered doing this years ago in her college health class. Of course, that had been a mannequin. Not happy, sexy, kind Holly.

Help her, help her, help her…

“…twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty! Pinch her nose, NOW!”

Ginnie pinched Holly’s nose and then bent over her, hesitating only a second before drawing a deep breath and sealing her mouth over Holly’s. She heard a rush of air between them as she exhaled forcefully. 

“Faster!” the manager ordered, and Ginnie gave Holly a second quick breath. Holly’s mouth was soft and damp, her skin still warm with the life that had flowed through her moments before.

Then the manager continued chest compressions. Ginnie remained hunched over Holly, her fingers pinching her nose and her other hand on Holly’s chin. She could feel her head wobbling from side to side as Melissa worked on her. Her gaze fell unbidden on Holly’s dark eyes, staring up at the ceiling. 

“Holly, Holly, Holly, Holly…” she muttered under her breath. Her own heart pounded a panicked rhythm. 

“…ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen…”

“There’s an ambulance on the way,” a man said from somewhere above her. “But my friend went looking across the road for an AED!”

“…twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!”

Ginnie was faster this time, her mouth closing over Holly’s and delivering an efficient breath that made her date’s chest rise before she broke the seal. It rose again quickly with the second breath. Holly’s forced exhale blew into Ginnie’s face as the manager resumed chest compressions.

“One, two, three, four, five, six…”

She felt herself rocking over Holly’s motionless form and made herself stop, swallowing hard. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, though Ginnie couldn’t identify what she was feeling other than panic.

“—flagged one down at the intersection! They’re coming!”

“…eighteen, nineteen, twenty…”

“An ambulance?”

“Are we in danger from the other—”

“—cops coming, too? ‘Cause—”

“Twenty-eight,” Ginnie muttered in time with the manager before dragging in a breath for Holly. She covered her lips, hoping they weren’t cooling off, that she was just imagining things. Two breaths, two lifesaving kisses.

I wanted to kiss her for real, she thought, and then blurted out: “Is she dead?”

No one answered her.

“…nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen…”

Ginnie released Holly’s nose and patted her cheek. Her voice came out quiet and broken. “Holly, Holly, Holly… No…”

“…nineteen, twenty, twenty-one…” Chest compressions looked painful, though Ginnie knew Holly couldn’t feel them now. She thought she could hear the occasional crackle when the manager’s hands forced Holly’s chest down to beat her heart.

They hurt later. They hurt a lot later. They’ll hurt her later if she—

“…thirty!”

Ginnie pinched Holly’s nose and pushed two breaths into her lungs. A tear rolled down her cheek and dripped onto Holly’s chalky face. Ginnie wiped it off with the back of her hand.

“Everyone out of the way, let the medics in!” boomed the same man looming above her.

Everything seemed to speed up. Two people in dark blue uniforms pushed through the crowd, wheeling a gurney as they hurried across the room. Someone put a hand on her shoulder and said something she didn’t understand, though when they grasped her elbow she got the idea. She found herself sitting in a chair close by as the medics relieved the manager and one of them pressed gloved fingers into Holly’s neck.

“I’m going to close service,” she heard the manager say. “Quickly. No bills, no to-go boxes. Just politely get everyone out of here. I have to call Gray and tell him…”

“What happened?” the other medic asked, though Ginnie wasn’t sure who he was talking to. He’d opened a duffel beside him and was holding a plastic piece next to Holly’s face.

“Something hit her in the chest,” Ginnie said. Her voice came out too quiet, and she cleared her throat as he slipped the plastic piece between Holly’s teeth and turned it. “Something hit her in the chest and she just… fell…”

The first medic had already started chest compressions, and his hands looked huge against Holly’s chest. She could see Holly’s chest sink and her stomach bulge up each time he rolled his shoulders down.

“That’s it!” the man with the loud voice said. A man with a bald head and broad shoulders leaned into Ginnie’s line of sight and pointed at a silver-colored hunk of metal laying on the floor. An eyelet protruded from the top with a piece of frayed rope threaded through it. Several feet away were the scattered remains of a sculpted bird. “Those fucking birds, man…”

“Strike to the chest,” the second paramedic said. He finished assembling some kind of mask with a large bulb on one end and a line of tubing that lead to what Ginnie recognized was an oxygen canister. As the first medic paused compressions, the second pressed the mask to Holly’s face, lapping his fingers over her chin. His other hand squeezed the bulb twice.

“Get her on the monitor,” the first paramedic said. “One, two, three, four, five…”

“Cops are here,” the loud man said. “Uh, wife wants me to get out of your hair; I see her waving from the door.”

“Thank you, sir,” the second medic said. He’d pulled what looked like a duffel with an old school computer monitor in the front close to Holly and then drew a pair of shears out from another bag. He snipped the neckline of Holly’s shirt without preamble, then quickly cut through to the bottom when his colleague lifted his hands. He snipped Holly’s lightweight bra down the middle and across the straps, and then compressions resumed.

Ginnie blushed as Holly’s chest and stomach came into view. The other medic cut off the rest of Holly’s shirt while the first thrust his hands rhythmically into her sternum. Holly had moderately-sized, round breasts with large aureola, which wobbled in time with each chest compression. 

“Miss?”

Ginnie blinked and looked away from Holly, toward the source of the voice.

Tom, the server, stood next to her, trying not to look at Holly. His face was pale aside from two ruddy spots on his cheeks. “Um, we are closed. I am sorry, but we need you to leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere!” Ginnie gasped, incredulous. Anger made her face go hot and a few more tears squeeze out of her eyes. “That’s my… that’s my… that’s Holly, and—”

“Not her, Tom! Jesus, go back to the front.” Melissa, the manager, stepped between Tom and Ginnie. “That’s her girlfriend!”

Ginnie looked back at Holly. The man with the mask was giving her breaths, and as soon as he laid the mask down, he reached for a large packet. He cut the top open with the shears and dumped out a set of what Ginnie recognized as defibrillator pads and leads. As the first medic continued rocking his weight into Holly’s sternum, the second tore the backing off the first pad and smoothed it onto the skin above Holly’s right breast.

Holly’s head tipped to the side. Her eyes were still open, wide and startled-looking. Her chin nodded with each compression. 

“Miss? Miss?” A hand gripped Ginnie’s shoulder, and she flinched, pulling herself out of the manager’s grip. “I’m sorry, jeez, I… What’s your name?”

The second pad went on Holly’s side, below her left breast. Shortly after, an angry-sounding alarm filled the air 

“What?” Ginnie asked. The compressions looked scarier now that Holly was half-naked. She had an athletic body, but Ginnie thought her collarbones and fingers looked delicate, and the extended line of her neck appeared fragile as the medic turned her face back upright, pressing the mask over her nose and mouth. Ginnie gripped the seat of her chair, swaying side to side.

“Your name, sweetie.”

“Ginnie.”

“Pause for analysis,” one man said.

“There’s our backup,” the second said. Two more paramedics walked quickly through the restaurant, carrying their own set of bags.

“V-fib. Charging to three-sixty.” 

Ginnie’s eyes darted from the newcomers to Holly, sprawled on her back with a medic pushing hard and fast on her chest. The medic suddenly raised his hands, and the other said: “All clear. Administering shock.”

“Ginnie, how—”

Holly’s torso jerked, and her limbs flinched. The second her body stilled, the original pair of medics switched places. Another pair of gloved hands found Holly’s chest and started forcing her sternum down toward the young woman’s heart. Steady beeping sounds emitted from the cardiac monitor.

“What have we got?” one of the new paramedics said. “I’m James, this is Sandra.”

“Chris and Scott. Witnesses say our patient, Holly, was struck in the chest by that counterweight. She was in ventricular fibrillation when we analyzed and I’ve given her one shock. James and Sandra, I need her intubated and her blood pressure.” Chris handed over Holly’s mask. “I’m going to prep a push dose of epi.”

“What?” Ginnie remembered that the manager was trying to talk to her. “What was that? I’m sorry…”

“Don’t apologize, sweetie. Do you have a ride to the hospital when it’s time?”

“A ride?” Ginnie briefly squeezed her eyes closed. “A ride to the hospital?”

“I can take you. If you came here in an Uber or something… let me drive you.”

“I rode the bus…” Ginnie pressed both of her hands to her face. She could hear one of the medics quietly counting out chest compressions.

“Okay,” Melissa said. “Why don’t you let me drive you? I’ll pull my car up behind the ambulance and we can follow them.”

“Okay,” Ginnie said. “That’s fine. That’s fine. That’s… fine.”

“Do you know how to get hold of her family?” Melissa asked. 

Ginnie dropped her hands into her lap and opened her eyes.

The view was even more frightening now. Four paramedics working on Holly. One of them injected something into Holly’s outstretched arm. Another continued to perform deep and rapid chest compressions, making Holly’s body rock and her stomach pop. A third pumped up a blood pressure cuff. The fourth, a woman, had Holly’s mouth open and a metal device wedged between her teeth. The woman held a tube in her other hand.

“Pause compressions,” she said. She was lying on her stomach, her face close to Holly’s.

Her name is Sandra.

The medic pumping Holly’s chest stopped. She saw Chris pluck a stethoscope from around his neck and plug the earpieces into his ears. Sandra quickly but carefully fed the tube down the metal device and into Holly’s throat.

Holly’s family.

“I have her mom’s number,” Ginnie said, her hands slowly reaching for her dress pocket. Chris had the bell of the stethoscope to Holly’s chest. “I… I can text her.”

“You’re in,” Chris said. “Continue chest compressions!”

Sandra unhooked the bag and used white tape to secure the tube in place, taping one end to Holly’s cheek, winding the tape around the tube and then tearing it off and pressing the end on Holly’s other cheek. She did this with a second piece of tape and then reconnected the bag. Ginnie watched her squeeze the bag between every ten or so compressions. 

Ginnie slipped her phone from her pocket, unlocking the screen automatically.

“Will you be taking her to South or Harper?” she heard the manager ask.

“Harper,” Chris said. “Pause to analyze in five, four, three, two, one… Come on, now… Still in v-fib. Charging to three-sixty.”

“While you’re texting her mother, Ginnie…” the manager paused until Ginnie looked over at her. “While you’re texting her mother, I’m going to move my car, okay?”

“Oh… k-kay.” Tears ran down her cheeks again, this time at the thought of telling Holly’s mom what had happened.

“Everyone off? Clear…. Administering shock.”

Holly bowed up and relaxed. James slid in and took over chest compressions. Ginnie noticed he had black gloves instead of blue like everyone else.

Holly’s face was more visible now that she’d been intubated. Staring eyes. Full lips parted around the tube protruding between her teeth. There was a quiet whooshing sound every time Sandra squeezed the bag. Scott leaned in with the shears and cut from the waistband of Holly’s pants down to her knee. Then he pressed his fingers into her thigh crease.

Ginnie cradled her phone in her hands, opening the messaging app. She didn’t want to contact Holly’s mom. Not while they were resuscitating her. Not while a stranger shoved his hands between her breasts. Not while a tube ran down her throat. Not while a man connected her to an IV bag. Not while her pulse points were exposed and pressed.

Not with her ashen skin and bruised chest, her staring eyes.

What the fuck do I say? ‘Hello, Mrs. Diaz Aguilar. It’s Ginnie. We spoke that one time. Um, I have bad news. There was an accident with a bird in the restaurant. I don’t know what happened, but something hit Holly in the chest and now she’s dead.’

Ginnie swayed side to side, trying not to break out into sobs as she typed out: This is Ginnie Courier. Holly had an accident. They are going to take her to Harper General.

“Administering amio,” she heard Chris say.

The paramedic’s hands on Holly’s chest made noises with each chest compression. His gloves squeaked against each other and her soft-looking skin. His weight thumped into her unresponsive body. Ginnie wondered if she would still hear puffs of air escaping her if she were closer.

Her mind trailed back to her own time in the hospital, before her parents had made it up to see her. She’d wake up and Holly was always there, holding her hand. Dozing sometimes, but waking up as soon as she stirred. She was tender, even though they were essentially strangers to each other. Strangers with crushes and a strong, if newly formed, connection. Even in her hospital bed, her chest burning with pain, Ginnie felt her body respond to Holly’s touch. Holly’s smile. Holly’s voice.

I should have tried to kiss her then, she thought. But I was afraid it was too soon.

“Analysis in thirty seconds,” Chris said. He finished cutting off Holly’s pants, leaving her in a simple pair of hip-hugging underwear. Ginnie watched him run his hands and eyes over her legs; she assumed he was looking for injuries. As soon as he released them, Holly’s legs rocked in time with the relentless thrusts to her chest. He hadn’t removed her shoes, and Ginnie realized with a pang that they were both wearing a pair of high top Converse shoes, just in different colors.

“Pause compressions for analysis…” Chris had his fingers to the crease of Holly’s thigh again, and his eyes were on the monitor. “Still in v-fib. Resume compressions while I charge to three-sixty, then I want Sandra to sub in on the next round.”

Ginnie’s thumb hovered indecisively over the “send” symbol, the digital paper airplane that would send Holly’s mother down a spiral of anguish. Her own parents hadn’t learned of what happened to her until she was already stable. It had to hit differently. Even so, her parents had been acting strange ever since. Mom was over-solicitous. Dad kept giving her money.

Holly’s body rocked under another ten chest compressions and then the paramedics all leaned back, raising their hands.

“Everyone clear? Administering shock now.”

Holly flinched, her back coming up slightly off the floor, her breasts shaking, limbs jerking. She’d barely stilled, alarms screaming, before Sandra slid into place, her hands slotting between Holly’s breasts. The cycle of compressions and breaths continued. 

Ginnie sent the text, shaking with sadness and trepidation.

“One, two, three, four…” 

Holly remained limp. Scott squeezed the bag, sending oxygen into the tube running down Holly’s throat. Chris gave her another injection. Sandra rolled her shoulders over her hands, palms pumping Holly’s sternum. Holly’s stomach bulged, and her legs rocked.

Ginnie’s phone vibrated in her hand. She looked down and saw that Holly’s mother was calling her. Instantly, she felt as though her throat had closed up.

I can’t…

“…nine, ten! One, two, three…”

“Hold compressions! Rhythm and pulse check!”

The medics pressed their fingers to Holly’s neck, wrist, and groin. That’s when Ginnie noticed her eyes were closed.

“Holly?” she whispered.

“Sinus rhythm!” Chris said, sounding excited under his professional facade. “Pulse confirmed. We’ve got her!”

What’s wrong?!!!!! Holly’s mother texted. What happened?

Holly is aliv, Ginnie texted back, her fingers clumsy. call n a minute

Then she clutched her phone to her chest, rocking as she broke down into sobs.

Days later

Ginnie paced back and forth across the waiting room, her hands busy with a plastic tangle fidget. She had the vague feeling she was bothering people, but she felt like she had to keep moving or she might explode. She kept her path as far away from other people as she could. She had a single earbud in, her favorite playlist cranked a little too loud for hearing safety. She was trying to drown out her own thoughts, though she didn’t want to put in both earbuds and miss someone calling for her.

Ginnie’s mind kept filling with terrible images: Holly staring up at her with dead eyes, Holly intubated, Holly’s bruised body sprawled out under a paramedic’s thrusting hands.

Holly is okay. Her mom said she’d let me know if anything changes. I’m going to see her in just a bit and she will be okay.

“Okay, okay, okay…” she muttered, her voice muffled underneath her mask.

“Ginnie?” A familiar woman’s voice interrupted her anxious train of thought. Ginnie looked up and spotted Holly’s mother, Gena. The older woman looked tired but happy, her gray-streaked hair pulled into a messy bun on top of her head and her generous lips drawn into a big, encouraging smile. A surgical mask dangled from her left ear. “Hey. Are you ready to come see our Holly?”

“Yes!” Ginnie blurted, quickly putting her earbud back in its case and dropping it into her bag. After a moment’s hesitation, she dropped the tangle inside as well. “Is she okay? Is she awake?”

“Yes, she’s awake. And she is doing much better.” Gena held her arms out to Ginnie. “May I have a hug?”

Ginnie nodded, her voice disappearing somewhere deep inside of her. She let Gena embrace her, her own arms sliding around the other woman’s back. Gena squeezed her tight.

“I know you said you didn’t do much, but my understanding is that when EMS arrived, you and the restaurant manager were p-performing…” There was a long pause, and when Gena continued, her voice was husky. “You were helping her. Every second was important. Thank you, Ginnie.”

Ginnie felt her face burn hot as she squeezed the other woman back. After a moment, Gena released her and leaned back to look her in the face.

“I’m not stressing you out too much, am I? Holly, bless her, was worried about stressing you out. I suppose I don’t blame her after what happened to both of you.” Gena pulled her mask back over her nose and mouth and gestured at Ginnie, apparently not noticing that Ginnie was looking everywhere but Gena’s eyes. “Come on, Holly will wonder what I’ve done with you.”

Ginnie followed Holly’s mother down the hall, her fingers worrying the strap of her crossbody bag. Eventually, they arrived at a room with Holly’s name written on the marker board next to her door.

“I’m going to go get some coffee,” Gena said. “Holly doesn’t have a roommate as of this morning, so the two of you will have a little privacy. Can I get you anything from the cafeteria?”

“No, but thank you,” Ginnie said, though her attention was already pulling her into Holly’s room. She didn’t hear Gena’s reply.

When she stepped inside, she spotted Holly instantly. Looking smaller than her true height, leaning back against pillows with her hair tied back. Her eyes were closed, full lips slightly parted. Ginnie hurried to the foot of Holly’s bed and then froze, her fingers tapping against the thumb of each hand. Holly opened her eyes and yawned.

“I’m sorry,” Ginnie blurted.

“What for?” Holly asked, yawning again.

“You’re tired. And they wouldn’t let anyone but your mom come see you in the ICU…” Ginnie felt her throat grow tight and her eyes water. “But I am really happy to see you, Holly.”

“You can take your mask off in here, Ginnie.” Holly rubbed her eyes and pushed herself up higher on the pillows, wincing. “If you want to.”

“Oh! Can I help you with something?” Ginnie asked, hurrying to Holly’s side. Then she snatched the mask off her face and crammed it in her bag. 

“No, I’m okay. But thank you for asking.” Holly reached out for Ginnie’s hand, tugging her closer. “You look pretty. But tired.”

“I’m fine.” Ginnie wrapped both of her hands around Holly’s. “How are you feeling?”

“Sore and tired,” Holly said. “But otherwise I’m really good. I have one more test and then I get out of here. It’s looking like I’m going to be fine. I guess sometimes people have to have an implanted defibrillator after something like this, but my heart is okay.”

She tipped her head at the monitor at her bedside, then gestured at the leads snaking their way out of her hospital gown. “All this stuff tickles.”

“I’m really glad you’re okay,” Ginnie whispered. A tear trailed down her cheek. “I thought you were going to die.”

“Oh, hun, please don’t cry.” Holly squeezed her hand. “I’m okay. Thank you for helping me.”

“I didn’t know what to do! If the manager hadn’t stepped in… Holly?”

“Yeah?”

“When you feel better, will you teach me what to do? I took CPR in college but I didn’t really remember…”

Holly fell silent and her cheeks flushed pink. She reached up with her free hand and tried to ruffle her hair, only to remember that it was still tied back.

“Oh, I shouldn’t have asked!” Ginnie blurted. “I wasn’t thinking…”

“No!” Holly protested, letting out a nervous laugh. “I want to teach you. When I’m not so sore, and I’m out of here. We can… practice.”

“Thank you.” Ginnie sighed. “I don’t want to feel helpless like that again.”

“Hey,” Holly said. Her face was still pink, and she gave Ginnie a sly look. “I can think of something else we can do while I’m in here.”

“Yeah?” Ginnie asked.

“Kiss me,” Holly said, her voice husky and deep. “Please?”

“Before one of us dies?” Ginnie asked. Her heart hammered in her chest, and she felt the tiniest bit lightheaded.

“Sure,” Holly said, chuckling. “Whatever, I just want to kiss you. Please.”

Ginne released Holly’s hand and stepped closer to the bed. She knew her fingers were cold, but she touched Holly anyway, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, then tracing her jaw with her fingertips. Leaning in, she pressed her lips to Holly’s.

Holly’s lips were soft and warm, and Ginnie felt her hands come up, cupping the back of Ginnie’s neck, threading lightly through her loose hair. 

Instantly, Ginnie wanted nothing more than to climb into Holly’s hospital bed and stretch out alongside her. Their lips parted simultaneously, and the kiss deepened, tongues plunging and hands clutching. Holly took an audible breath through her nose, her chest heaving.

Ginnie broke the kiss, worried by the panting sounds coming from Holly.. She kissed around her soft mouth and murmured: “I’m sorry, I’m smothering you.”

“I’m okay!” Holly protested breathlessly. “I’m not dying, that was just really good! I think we’re on to something!”

“I promise we’ll do that again when you’re out of the hospital!” Ginnie kissed the tip of Holly’s nose.

“Can we do it again now?”

-- Ginnie and Holly return in Practice.

[isolaradiale]

“It pains me to do this, but…” Mimosa hovers over her dream machine, teary-eyed with a sledgehammer in hand. The answer of how to bring this madness to an end had been clear from the start. It wasn’t the most intricate solution but rather the simplest, yet it still pained her.

Solaris only looks on expectantly, as if he had always known this was how the experiment would end. “Get it over with already, won’t you? Don’t be so dramatic, it was imperfect anyway.”

“It may have been imperfect, but it was mine! Now all I’ll have to show for it is…a scrap heap!” Before Mimosa can give herself any more time to doubt whether or not she should, she lifts the hammer high, then brings it down onto the machine with a crashing metallic thunk.

Another hit.

And another, and another, until it stops functioning entirely. The smoke that once poured out of the machine’s vents began to die down. Mimosa crumples to the floor in a heap, staring dejectedly at her creation.

The whale that had swallowed the city’s inhabitants came to a slow halt during its leisurely swim in the skies. Those in its belly felt it pause, along with the low rumbling sound that started to reverberate around them. Their nightmare creations then followed suit in the sudden pause, only to begin melting into puddles of gastric juices that flowed back from where they came from. The scenery of lands familiar to citizens also melted away, leaving them surrounded by darkness once again.

And then, rather unceremoniously, the whale itself gives one last whimper as it makes its descent from the skies above before its body disintegrates into dust. Those trapped inside its belly are left without much choice as they are forcefully ejected and the sudden light from the outside leaves them momentarily blinded. When their eyes finally adjust, they all find that they’re back in their homes, lying down on their beds, and not a single thing seems to be out of place. A quick look out the window also shows that the city itself has gone back to normal, the usual blue sky and blistering summer heat ready to greet the inhabitants.

-

A voice rings out from above the sky, echoing throughout the entire city for anyone who bothers to stop and listen, “Testing, testing…is this thing on?”

It’s Mimosa, here to give an apology!

“Right! So, how did we all enjoy my little experiment? You’re all still alive, aren’t you? Sorry about the abrupt end, but you know how these sorts of things can be…” There is no response, of course, because how could they respond in the first place?

“…Anyway! As a token of my appreciation, I’ve left you all with a little souvenir to remember your experience by! Who knows, it may just serve as a key to something important in the future! Bye for now!” With that, the voice fades.

And the citizens, upon looking under their pillows, find a single golden feather waiting for each of them. What they choose to do with it is up to them in the end.

--

Thank you for participating in our anniversary event, Phantasm Amalgam! We hope you enjoyed yourselves. Please remember to add 100 Stars to your trackers for participation!

As per Mimosa's generous gift to your characters, everyone will find a golden feather underneath their pillows to do whatever with! You can keep it or get rid of it, but it's always going to end up back in your personal inventory somehow. Enjoy!

[rmedgg]

The human who didn’t know Pt. 2

Pairing: Normie male reader x Enid Sinclair and Wednesday Addams

Chapter 2: Trip and New friends

I apologize for taking so long on getting the second part on here link to the first part is right below this so read that before this or don’t (I recommend you do) also any poll on the author notes can be disregarded as the story is already on chapter 14 so until I catch up on here they can be disregarded anyways enough ranting please enjoy

Y/n pov

"So what exactly did you mean when you said I'd be someone worth following behind? I asked Blake as he lead me through a patio area

"Exactly that, you see my pack has its own rules and traditions we follow. When we meet someone we deem strong wether it be by there character or, by their strength we follow them. As those people are usually the best leaders." He stated in a matter-of-factly tone.

"So I'm your leader now? And what's with this pack your talking about." I asked incredulously 

"Yes. My wolf pack when as I'm a werewolf or could you not tell? Either way when we turn 16 we are allowed to start or join our own packs. All you need to do is acknowledge me and we'll even get a mental link." He said with some underlying excitement in his usual monotone voice.

"What the hell am I even supposed to respond." I thought as we walked in silence for a couple of minutes to our dorm room.

Bland and boring is how I would describe the room, it was made of some sort of dark wood, the room layout itself was basic just two full size beds, two dressers and, two desks. One of each on either side of the room. On the back door there was a door that opened up to a bathroom. The front wall that you saw when entering the room was taken up by a big circular window that opened up to a balcony.

Stepping outside and onto the balcony looking out I saw that it overlooked the patio area we had walked through to get to our dorm hall. Nodding in approval.

"Hey I'm going to look around campus alright. Maybe see if I get to know some of our neighbors." I told Blake as I walked back into our room from the balcony and made my way to the door.

"Ok, just be back in an hour, as Ms.Weems is taking us along with Richard and Tommy to get stuff for our rooms." He told me

I nodded having forgotten of the other two as I exited the room, I noticed the door across from ours was open and there was music playing. I made my way across and knocked on the open door.

A 6' 2" Caucasian boy with brown hair walks towards the door.

"Can I help you?" He asks

"Ah sorry to bother you, I just wanted to introduce myself since it seems that well be neighbors."

"Oh I'm Xavier Thorpe, and you are?"

He said with a smile as  extended his hand

"I'm Y/n nice to meet you Xavier. I responded and shook his hand

"So what are you?" He asks curiously

"What do you mean?" I asked confusion probably written all over my face.

"Yeah like what type of outcast are you? What else could I mean?"  He said with a chuckle

"Oh well I guess a nerd." I said while smiling

Xavier's expression then went from a smile, to confused

"No your not understanding what I'm asking you. Like what are you? A werewolf? A siren? A vampire? A gorgon? A psychic? Or one something else?" He said

"Just a normal human just like everyone else is. " I told him annoyed

He stared at me then suddenly burst into laughter "Oh man you almost got me, no way a normie could make it into nevermore. What are you seriously?" He asked again while still laughing.

"I already told you I'm a regular human." I told him annoyed that he was laughing

He then looked up and saw that I was serious "You're actually just a normie?!" He shouted in surprise

"What the hell is a normie?" I asked

"It's a person that's just a human and not an "outcast" you know like the people this school is made for." He said now getting irritated

"Yeah outcasts like people who were bullied for being different" I responded irritated by the conversation that seemed to circle around.

"No not that type of outcasts you moron, did you even look up this school or it's history? Never mind it  doesn't matter this school is for "outcasts" such as werewolves, vampires, psychics, etc."  he said

"Well no I didn't read it I just saw outcasts and assumed it meant kids who got bullied for being different or quirky. Either way those things aren't real your just delusional." I replied quickly

"Me delusional, come on then I'll show you." He said confidently

"Alright then." I said not believing him at all.

We walked into his room. The set up was like ours, each side of the room was decorated differently. Xavier made his way to his desk, sat down and drew a spider.

"Oh man you showed me man." I said trying to hold in my laugh

"Oh shut up, and give me a second." He said focused on his drawing, his hand hovering over it, a couple seconds later it moved,and started crawling around his desk.

"Oh shit! What then hell! How'd you do that?!" I asked surprised making my way closer to his desk to get a better view.

"Ah shit man, sorry for doubting you. That's dope as hell though man." I apologized while staring at the spider

He then snapped and the spider dissolved into dust. "What your not going to freak out and insult me like others do? He asked shocked not looking at me

"Bro let's be realistic even if I wanted to do that, it would be stupid to. Since I don't know the extent of your powers for all I know you can make that shit venomous and kill me in my sleep. Plus that was dope as fuck I wish I had powers." I said awestruck as to what I just witnessed.

"Wait if he has powers does this mean that Blake was telling the truth, and was being serious. Awe shit." I thought

"Wait so your serious about being a normie?"

"Uh yeah, no powers from me. I'm able to attend since I won the scholarship. I also didn't bother reading the website as I thought it meant like Emos, goths, otakus and those types of outcasts." I said

Then I heard it laughter first soft then booming, Xavier turned to face me and he was laughing. "Oh man your a total riot, what type of dumbass applies for a school without reading its history. I can tell we'll become great friends." He said as he wiped away a tear

"Alright man I'll leave you to it I'm going to go and explore the campus and see if i can make any more friends." I said as I waved at him and left his dorm

"Alright man, I'll introduce you to my roommate whenever he gets back from town. Before I forget careful of who you go telling your a human most here have bad experiences with them and would probably put you on some sort of kill list. " said Xavier seriously

"Thanks for the heads up man, but it'll probably be announced when Ms.Weems announces the winner of the scholarship. " I said

"Well if she does I've got your back." He said seriously

"Well thank you." I said as a smile painted itself on my face

As I made my way down the hallway to the staircase, and then subsequently down the stairs into the lobby of the residence hall. Which seemed like the lobby of some high end hotel only without a receptionist. I looked around looking at the furniture. There was 2 sofas and 4 arm chairs which all seemed comfortable enough to sleep in. Along with 2 round tall tables with 2 chairs each meant to be used for studying as there were wall outlets easily accessible. At one of those tables there was a tan short male with black hair and square framed glasses. He seemed to be watching a video of some sort. So I made my way over to him.

"Hey sorry to bother you mind if I take a seat?" I asked

"Huh, you asking me?" He asked seemingly confused with a stranger coming up to him

"Yeah." I responded "my name is Y/n L/n by the way." Stretching my hand out for a handshake

"Ah sorry I'm not used to being approached, but I'm Eugene Ottinger." He said while taking my hand to shake it seeming to have relaxed a bit

"Nice to meet you Eugene, would it be fine if I take a seat?" I asked

"Likewise. Yes please be my guest." He responded quickly "if you don't mind me asking what are your thoughts on bees?" He asked enthusiastically

"Well I like the honey they make, I have also wanted to try honeycomb but I've never had the chance too. Other than that I don't have any real opinion on them. Why do you ask?"  I replied 

"Oh I just love bees, I actually want to see if I'll be allowed to make a beekeeping club." He told me passionately

"Oh that sounds cool if you do I'll be your first member if you wouldn't mind having me. So if you don't mind me asking,why you're so passionate about bees?"  I asked him

"Really that would be great Y/n. Well you see I've never really ever fit in anywhere, or had friends. Well bees have always been there for me ,it's as if they can understand me and they're very good at keeping secrets." He said a bit downcast

"I'd assume they are good at keeping secrets. Well you won't have to worry about not having friends as you've already made your first." I said smiling

"Really we're friends?" Eugene asked surprised

"Of course, why else would I have approached you." I asked chuckling

A phone started to ring  "It was nice meeting you Y/n but my mother is calling me. I'll see you around." Eugene said as he got up from his spot at the table.

"Well see you around" I replied

"Ok so I've made 2 new friend not bad Y/n not bad at all, I still got 20 minutes to go and explore might as well" I thought to myself

Getting up from my spot in the table, and walking towards the entrance doors. I push one open and make my way outside. Taking a nice deep breath of fresh air and look around taking in the surroundings. There seems to be groups of people around this patio area.

"Yeah two friends is more than enough for today." I thought, as I needed an excuse as to why I shouldn't approach any of the groups. 

Looking around I see an open table, as I make my way over to it I observe each group. There seems to be 4 main groups, can't really tell what they are maybe Blake or Xavier can tell me later. When I eventually make it up to the table I take a seat and put my head down the weather is perfect for an afternoon nap. As I'm starting to doze off a excited voice greets me.

"Hi there, I'm Enid Sinclair." Said a blonde girl with blue and pink highlights with an infectious smile

"Huh, oh nice to meet you, Enid I'm Y/n." I said trying to purge the drowsiness from almost falling asleep.

"Oh I'm sorry did I wake you? She said looking concerned

"Ah no it's fine it's probably better that I don't fall asleep I have something to do in like 15ish minutes. So I should be thanking you." I said trying to reassure her

"Oh that's good, mind if I take a seat?" She asked

"Oh you're fine." I responded

"What happened for you to get that scar?" Enid asked looking at the scar on my left eye curiously

"A bit direct aren't you?" I laughed

"Oh I'm sorry if it's a sensitive topic. I was just curious." She said panic evident in her voice

"Don't worry bout it, I actually got this somewhat recently,. I was in a fight and he got me good but I got him back." I told her

"Woah, why were you fighting him? She asked leaning in closer

"Well we were fighting in the tournament for the scholarship." I answered

"Oh right that's a thing. So what are you? I'm a werewolf" She asked changing the subject abruptly

"I'd rather keep it a secret. Sorry." I told her looking away as to not make eye contact

"Don't worry." She responded happily "Do you have an Instagram? I could get so we can stay in contact? She asked eagerly

"Yeah let me just type it in." I said as I grabbed the phone she was handing to me

"Well I have to go." she said as she got up "I'm going to go get lunch, unless you want to come with me" she smiled

"I would love to but unfortunately I have to go with my roommate, to see Ms.Weems." I stated

"Oh that sucks" her smile faltering for a second "Maybe tomorrow then?" She asked

"Yeah why not, I shouldn't have anything planned." I said

She nodded as she got up from the table we were sitting at, and walked away.

"My goodness my eyes have been blessed with this beautiful woman." I thought as I watched her walk away.

Getting up from the table, I stared to walk about towards the residence hall, as I still had 5 minutes left before I needed to be there but I think I've had enough exploring for one day. As I made my way upstairs and into my room I saw Blake laying down on his bed with his headphones on.

"You're back earlier then I expected you to be, in all honesty, I thought I was going to have to hunt you down." Said Blake with a smile.

"Oh ha ha." I said as I took a seat on my bed

"We should make our way to Ms.Weems office, no?" I asked Blake

He nodded and got up

"Let's go then" he said

Background conversations was all that was heard as we walked towards Ms.Weems office, as we walked in silence. We approached a door that had a name plate on it which stated principal's office. Blake then knocked behind the door we heard a muffled voice that told us to enter. After entering Tommy and Richard where there sitting while on there phones. Richard was the first to look up, his face immediately turned from bored to a wide smile.

"Y/n how are you man, it's as if you disappeared on us after the tournament" Richard said excited to see me

"It because he was in a coma remember idiot Ms.Weems even told us." Tommy told him without skipping a beat or looking up from his phone.

"Oh right." Richard said sheepishly

During our interaction I could see Ms.Weems was staring at us smiling happily at the bond we seemed to have made after knowing each other.

"Ok, we'll be headed down to Jericho so you guys can get decor for your rooms, please remember that you are representing Nevermore so do try no to get into fights." She said looking towards our group seriously.

Opening the top drawer of her desk she pulled out four envelopes all numbered one through four in Roman numerals

"These contain the prize money for each of you." She said as she handed them to each of us Blake receiving the one numbered 1, Tommy the one numbered two, Richard the third and me the fourth and final one.

"You guys can get whatever you may need or want. Just know towels, and other basic toiletries will be supplied for your as your dorms are the only ones with private bathrooms." Ms.Weems told us

"Will you accompany us ? Or will you just be dropping us off?" I asked

"I had planned on accompanying you, but I have a faculty meeting so I will have to drop you guys off and then when you feel your done you can just call me." She said as she got up from her desk and made her way to the door  "Let us go before it gets any later"

As we followed her to the van, I could see that the other students were staring at us as we walked through the patio area. We got into the car after walking for 5 minutes and Ms.Weems started to drive towards town. After 30 minutes of driving I saw a sign that read welcome to Jericho.

"Remember guys do not cause any trouble." Ms.Weems said in a very serious tone

"Ok." we all said practically at the same time

She then stopped in front of a furniture store. We all thanked her for the ride as we got out of the car. The town had a very creepy feel to it, it looked like a old style town that would be in a "Friday the 13th" type of movie.

"Alright let's go get furniture." I said walking towards the stores entrance

"Oh do you actually need furniture?" Asked Richard

"Yeah, you don't?" I asked looking at him incredulously

"Nah our families just bought us the stuff and sent it to us like 2 weeks ago man." He said nonchalantly

"well all I'm getting is clothes, since I didn't even have my own room back home." I told him

"So your not like us?" He said confusion on his face

"What rich? No or why else would I have applied for a scholarship?" I asked looking at there faces to see if they were joking

"Well that, and you didn't join it just to fight? Everyone who joins that scholarship is usually just to fight not for like actual financial help." He said

"Obviously he didn't idiot, he didn't even know what "outcasts" were." Said Tommy as he pulled one of Richard's rabbit ears

"Alright I'm going in, to look for a lamp and see what else might be interesting." I said as I walked into the store

"We're right behind you." Said Blake

As we wondered the store looking around I could tell that the employees were watching us intently, as if we were criminals with a record of being thief's. Eventually finding a nice desk lamp that reminded me of the one that crushes the I in Pixar movies, and paying for it. As we were walking out Blake, Tommy and Richard were looking at a couch. Without even turning around Blake asked "Do you think it would fit in our dorm?"

"I don't think it fitting in the room would be the issue, but rather how would you get it up the stairs." I told him

"Me and Richard should be able to jump it up to the balcony" Tommy said matter-of-factly

"What is our room going to be the hangout spot?" I asked

"Obviously it's bigger than our room."  Said Tommy

"Then sure go for it we'll make it fit if it doesn't." I said chuckling

"Ok." Said Blake before walking to an employee to purchase it and have it delivered to the academy

"Thank you come again." Said an employee as we left

"Well we have an hour before Weems comes and gets us. Let's get tattoos?" Said Richard looking excited

"Of what carrot muncher." Said Tommy

"Hey I'll have you know that's offensive, demon spawn." Richard said quickly "Anyway we could get our Roman numerals tatted on us. Hell I'll even pay for them." He continued

We all looked at one another and silently agreed. So we made our way to the conveniently place tattoo parlor across the street, because I mean who doesn't want to go get a tattoo after buying some furniture. As we walked in the man who was sitting at the desk, immediately smiled when he saw Richard.

"So you were able to convince them eh Richard?" The man said with a smile

"Something like that." Richard replied

After discussing where we would get the numbers we each sat at a different tattoo artists table. As we all sat down and the artists started there prep work Blake turned towards me and asked if I had though about what he had told me earlier that day.

"Look man do as you please, if your happy following a "normie" do as you please. Just think it through I wouldn't want you to be ostracized. After all I'm weaker than you" I said seriously

His laughter boomed in the small shop "Oh man you worried about me. I doubt my family would care in all honesty. Being a leader doesn't mean bring the strongest it just means you'll do what needs to be done, when it to be done."

"Normie?!" Everyone besides me and Blake yelled surprised

"Yes. I'm just a normal human being who was dumb and didn't read anything about the school." I said while smiling

"Oh man your a crazy son of a bitch man." Said the owner of the shop as his employees nodded there heads in agreement

I just laughed, and shrugged, and the artists just smiled and started to tattoo us. Tommy got his number on his trapezius, Blake got it on the left side of his neck, Richard got it on his arm, and I settled to getting it on the back of my right hand.

"Man Y/n not bad you only cried for 3/4th of the tattoo." Laughed Richard

"Yeah we'll I'm just a human, with normal pain tolerance." I responded eyes red

"Did you cry when getting all those earrings you have? Tommy said laughing

"As if these were way less painful." I responded chuckling

After Richard payed the tattoos and we tipped the artists. We decided to go to a cafe for the last 20 minutes before Ms.Weems was set to pick us up. As we walked up to the cafe named Weathervane and a bell jingled as we entered it.

"Welcome in." said a dirty blonde teenager wearing a brown shirt and red apron behind the counter.

"Hi, can I get a black coffee" asked Blake turning his head to ask what we wanted

"I'll take an ice coffee" said Tommy

"Me too" added Richard

"I'll take some green tea please." I said

"Ok coming right up." the cashier replied

We decided to take a seat at a booth with Blake and Richard on the inside, while Tommy and I were on the ends. I got up to use the bathroom quickly. After getting back and waiting a bit longer the server came over with our drinks, we thanked him as he placed them on the table. As we were silently enjoying our drinks, a drunk adult approached our table.

"Hey everyone! Look at these freaks thinking they can come to our town and act as if they're one of us." said a man as he put his hand on Tommy's shoulder causing him to tense up and turn towards the man

“Hey would you mind moving your hand from my buddies shoulder.” I asked trying to not sound as scared as I felt

“Oh tough guy aye?” He said having moved his hand from Tommy’s shoulder to the table and leaned in closer

“Hey leave those guys along Mr.Rodgers.” Said the cashier

“Oh stay the hell out of this Galpin! You fucking brat!” The now identified Mr.Rodgers yelled

Motioning my head for us to get up and leave, getting small nods from the other three as we started to get up

“Hey no need for problems sir we were just leaving anyways.” I said as I got out of the booth allowing Blake to get up too

“Oh you don’t want problems yet you had no problems coming to our town? He said as he grabbed my shoulder seeming to have gotten angrier by my statement

“Ah shit how are we going to get out of this one?” I thought as I something Blake told me earlier came to mind please work “Blake can you hear me?” I thought hopefully

“So you were paying attention to what I told you earlier.” Blake responded mentally looking at me from the corner of his eye for a split second with a small smirk

“I don’t know if it’s possible for you to communicate with Tommy and Richard somehow, if so do it and get out there’s a second exit they can use straight back and to the right. I saw it when I went to the bathroom earlier.” I relayed to him mentally

“I’ll let them know, and link them in as they’ve been part of my pack since middle school.” He reported “I was able to link them successfully sir.” he said with the tone of a solider

“Can you all here me? If so bend your right index finger in order ascending.” I said as I glanced at each of them trying to not make it obvious to the drunken older man

I looked down to Blake’s hand first and saw his finger bend, then Tommy’s and finally Richard’s. A subtle smirk made its way onto my face as I sharply exhaled trying to not laugh out of joy

“Something funny you punk.” Said the man as he shoved me back

“Run now, your all faster than me go and find Ms.Weems, or actually give me 5 minutes if I’m not out by then go and find her otherwise wait across the street.” I told them through the link

“Will you be fine?” Asked Blake mentally

“Oh please who gave you that scar? So now go!”

In the blink of an eye Blake turned around and ran towards the front door, while Richard jump over a table and ran, and Tommy turned and ran out both making there way towards the back door as the man went to grab Tommy I spartan kicked him in his stomach causing him to stumble back and focus on me.

“You’ll be fighting me.” I said with newfound confidence

“Oh I’m going to enjoy killing you, fucking freak!” He shouted as he rushed towards me

Quickly grabbing the mug that held my tea earlier I swung it and it hit him on the face landing a solid hit causing the mug to shatter against the left side of his face. Causing him to stumble the right, which i immediately followed up with a kick to the face that missed since I slipped on some drops of the tea that spilt when the mug broke. Catching myself from falling, I was able to push him down as he was trying to stand back up as he hit his face against the tough wooden flooring of the cafe a sickening crunch was heard. The empty shop was silent besides the heavy breathing of Mr.Rodgers, getting on one knee, and raising his head by his hair.

“You damn monsters thinking your superior to us, normal humans!” He said as blood pored from his obviously broken nose hatred in his eyes

“Unfortunately for you I’m just a human, I dumb normal human who didn’t know.” I whispered to him with a smile

A laugh escaped my lips as his eyes widen in shock at my statement. Know that no matter who he told they’d doubt him

“Oh and if I ever hear you talk shit about one of my friend or classmates, I’ll make sure you regret it. So I hope this makes you change your views on the Nevermore students. Since we’re 10 times more monstrous ” I said looking down at him with a smirk

“Now I hope we can put this behind us, and start on the right foot. Don’t forget to apologize to Mr.Galpin here. Sorry bout the nose.” I said as I pat his back and he just nods

“How much for the mug I destroyed?” I ask the cashier

With a surprised look “uh $4 bucks should be fine.” He replied not to sure what to say

“Sounds good I say as I put a ten on the counter. Take the change as a tip and sorry bout the mess.” I said as I turned to leave checking the time on my phone

“Oh thank you, please come again; don’t worry about the mess” He said smiling

As I made it out with 30 seconds left I made my way across and nodded towards the three boys, and motioned my head as for them to cross the road and join me

“Let’s not keep Ms.Weems waiting boys” I said as they patted my back

“That shit was dope man!!” Said Richard as slapped my back

“Ah shit that hurt you asshole!” I said while shoving him with my shoulder

“What did you tell him?” Asked Tommy

“Just that I hoped he would treat Nevermore students with respect, and that I’m a “normie” and I hoped we could put this all behind us. Oh and apologized for the broken nose.” I said as that last thing caused them to stop mid step and look at each other as I continued walking

“Oh man your rugged, where’d you learn to fight like that man?” Asked Richard excitedly

“Oh I just used to play a lot of MMA on the xbox 360 with my brothers and well play enough and having brothers you just start mimicking what you see and do in game.” I said laughing at the memories of my brother and I playing and play fighting

As we walked they just looked at me as if I’d grown a second head

“I look fine right?” I asked them

They just nodded still shocked at my earlier statement of where I had learned to fight. Ms.Weems was in her car waiting for us. I waved at her as we approached her car and got in. I was up front and the other three made there way to the back.

“So how was the trip?” Ms.Weems asked smiling

“It was fun I got a lamp and Blake ended up getting a couch for the dorm. We got tattoos and went to get something warm at the Weathervane.” I said smiling

“Oh that’s nice…. WAIT TATTOOS?!” She yelled while looking at us shocked as we just smiled and showed her

“Oh are you going to want to left over money back? I think I have like $100 bucks left.” I asked disregarding her worries about the tattoos

“No you can keep it, it is yours after all, I will be needing an explanation on the tattoos, so don’t think you’ve gotten away with it.” She stated looking at me

“When will your furniture be delivered?” She asked

“Tomorrow.” Blake stated

We pulled up to the school, thanking Ms.Weems as we exited the car and made our way to the dining hall to get some food. As we walked I noticed that Blake was to my right, Tommy to my left and Richard directly behind me, almost as if they were knights protecting a king. Causing me to smile, and make our way to the serving area and got our food I decided on some ground beef tacos with tomato, lettuce, cilantro,onion, salsa and sour cream. The others got more basic foods like two slices of cheese pizza for Richard, two chicken sandwiches for Blake and a grilled chicken salad for Tommy. As we all sat down and started to eat, I noticed Enid walking by and looking towards me so I wave at her and she does the same. At the same time I see Eugene walking with his food towards the exit.

“Eugene come and eat with us man!” I shout across the hall

He turns and walks towards us and sits down.

“This is Eugene guys, Eugene the guy with the werewolf ears is Blake my roommate, Richard is the one with the rabbit ears and Tommy is the one with the horns.” I said introducing them to one another

As the meal progressed Eugene started to open up more and more getting more comfortable as time passed. Talking more about himself and bees as we just listened and asked questions and joked around with one another. After an hour and a half of eating and conversation we decided to make our way to our dorms. As me and Blake enter our room we fall onto our beds exhausted from todays events. Then we realized we didn’t lock the door so we had to play paper, rock, scissors to see who would get up and I lost. Getting into my bed I fell asleep as soon as my head touched my pillow.

__________________________

Thank you for reading the second chapter of my book. 

There will be one more chapter that takes place prior to Wednesdays arrival and it's going to basically be the next day, then some school related things and probably building the relationships between Y/n, Enid and Xavier and possibly Rowan.

Or let me know if there's someone specific you may want to make a relationship with

[misc-obeyme]

THE THREADS THAT BIND

CHAPTER TWELVE

MASTERPOST for summary/info/chapter list

a/n: If you thought the last chapter was angsty... well, it gets worse before it gets better. But fear not! This story has a happy ending, so you know things will be resolved!

GN!MC x Barbatos | word count 1,410

Warnings: kind of a lot of angst this time, MC is crying

You woke up in the middle of the night, sitting up in bed and rubbing at your face. You had been having some kind of nightmare, but you couldn't quite remember it. You looked around the guest room and frowned. The memories of the night when you were cursed came flooding back. You had been woken by a strange nightmare then, too. One you couldn't remember.

You considered getting out of bed. You were awake now and you didn't think you could go back to sleep just yet.

But last time you had done that, you had gotten cursed which had inevitably brought you to this moment.

You were about to try to force yourself back to sleep when you felt a tug on your heart.

Right before your eyes, a teal thread manifested through your chest. It was glowing faintly, stretching out from you across the room and disappearing into the wall.

No, you thought. No, not the curse again.

But there was something different about this.

You got out of bed and left the room. The thread in your chest stretched away down the hall. You followed it.

As you walked along, the thread seemed to be absorbing into you. When you looked behind you, it wasn't there. It was connecting you to something.

The teal color indicated that it was leading you to Barbatos. But you didn't understand why or how it was happening. Certainly you were quite far away from him when you had woken in your bed, but there was no pain.

You couldn't tell if this thread was a remnant of the curse or not. It looked so similar and yet it felt so different.

Eventually you found yourself outside of Barbatos's bedroom door, the thread disappearing through it. You weren't surprised that it had brought you here. What else could have caused a magical thread like this to appear?

You considered your options. Wouldn't Barbatos be asleep right now? It was the middle of the night. You yourself were still in your pajamas, feet bare and hair mussed. But you were here. And if you left now, you might not have the courage to come back again.

You knocked on the door.

Barbatos opened it after only a moment.

Your heart squeezed hard. He was wearing the same set of green pajamas he had always been wearing when you woke up to him redirecting your dreams.

He smiled at you. He was clearly still tired and he wasn't able to mask the pain in his smile as well as he normally did. Seeing it made you feel like your heart had ruptured.

You hadn't even been paying attention to the thread in your chest, your eyes entirely on Barbatos. Now you looked down and saw that it was running through him, too.

You reached out and touched it, but your fingertips went right through it. "Do you see this, too?" you asked.

"Indeed," Barbatos said. "I do believe it is the result of a potion that was likely given to you during dinner this evening."

You looked up at him and cocked your head. "You put a potion in my drink?"

Barbatos met your eyes. "No. I think it was the Young Master who took it upon himself to do so."

You blinked. "Diavolo did it? But I didn't even notice!"

Barbatos shook his head. "The Young Master can be sneaky when he wishes to be. I apologize, MC. I should have been there to stop him."

You shuffled your feet a little. You thought about asking him why he wasn't, but it wasn't like you didn't already know. Instead you said, "It's fine. What kind of potion is it anyway?"

Barbatos opened his door a little wider and stepped aside. "Would you like to come in? We can discuss it, but you needn't stand outside my door all night."

You blushed a little, but you went inside his room. He shut the door behind you. There wasn't much in the way of furniture in Barbatos's room, so you found yourself sitting beside him on the edge of his bed.

"I am familiar with the effects of this particular potion," Barbatos said. "It manifests in different ways, but its purpose is to indicate the truth of a person's heart. If there is something that occupies the person's waking thoughts, something that consumes them, something that dominates their feelings, this potion will reveal it in some way. It is harmless. The effect of it will wear off by morning."

Both of you looked down at the thread that stretched between you. It started with you and it ended with him. There was no doubt what the potion was indicating. And yet, it only spoke of your feelings. It only revealed your heart.

You couldn't look up at Barbatos. You were sure that his expression was the same as it always was. Neutral, perhaps a tired smile, but you were too afraid that there might be a hint of pity in there, too. And that was something you didn't want to see.

"I guess it's no surprise that it showed up like this, then," you said quietly. "You already knew, though, didn't you? You didn't need this thread to show you what you already knew."

"Neither did you," Barbatos said.

You closed your eyes. "I'm sorry I lied to you before."

"You needn't apologize for that," Barbatos said. "You simply weren't ready to speak to me then."

"You're too nice," you said, the threat of tears evident in your voice. You looked up at him, then, unable to stop yourself. You weren't sure what you saw there on his face. "You're always looking out for me, always considering my feelings, but what about you? You're really good at pretending like it doesn't hurt you, but I can see that it does. Why are you so accommodating of me when it causes you so much pain?"

Barbatos was leaning toward you, as though he wanted to reach out, to hold you, but was restraining himself. "I have learned over the years that it is best to wait," he said. "That if there is something someone needs to tell me, that they will do it in their own time. I can handle the discomfort of it until they're ready."

You felt the tears begin to fall down your cheeks, hot and heavy. They were slow and thick, the heat of them seeping into your skin.

"I feel empty," you said. "I feel like there's something missing inside me. Ever since the curse was broken, it's like something just hasn't been right. I miss you. Even when I see you, I miss you. It's like you're here beside me, but you aren't really here, not like you were before. I can't explain it. It doesn't make sense. The curse was painful and it was a burden, but I almost wish…"

You covered your mouth, ashamed at what you were about to say. It was too much to consider that you almost wished you were still bound to Barbatos.

He seemed like he was about to say something, but you cut him off.

"It doesn't matter, though, does it?" you said, dropping your hand again. "I know I'm not the one in your future. How can you let yourself feel anything for anyone else when you know that person could come into your life at any moment? I've just been having a hard time dealing with it."

"MC," Barbatos said. His face was blurry through your tears, but there was no mistaking the anguish in his eyes.

You stood up abruptly, the little trail of teal light the clearest thing in your vision. "I just need more time to grieve the loss of you."

Barbatos stood up, too, reaching out for you as you turned away and practically ran out of his bedroom door.

You were relieved when he didn't come after you.

You wandered the halls of the castle. Without the thread to guide you, you realized you had no idea where your guest room was. Now that you were leaving Barbatos behind, the thread would only lead you back to him if you followed it.

You found an empty room with several sofas, sank down onto one, and let yourself cry until you ran out of tears. You considered going to look for your room, but before you had decided to do so, you had fallen asleep.

masterpost | chapter one

chapter eleven | chapter thirteen

masterlist | Thank you for reading!

[thealphashitter]

A Walk In the Park | Five X Male Reader | Chapter Three

"Oh my God, I am so, so sorry are you okay?” A familiar voice said to Five. He opened his with a groan to find the same boy from school sitting on the ground apologizing to him. Five didn't have time for this, he needed some fresh air and he needed it now.

Five quickly spotted an alley 20ft in front of him and swiftly stood up and made his way over there. He turned into the alley and spatial jumped into his secret spot in the New York State Park, a small enclosure in the forest.

Five fell on the ground and groaned, he looked around but felt sharp leaves cut at his face, most of them just grazing but a few got him good. He needed to find a new spot to teleport to.

Five stood up and looked around. One lady with a stroller walking by looked at him and walked faster down the pathway. There wasn't anybody other than him and the lady getting increasingly further away from him. Good. He needed peace and quiet. He made his way out of the bush and made his way down the path opposite to the lady. Humming a little tune as he did so.

Five had many great memories here. He would often escape the house and come here on many occasions when everything became too much for him. Sometimes his mother would take them all down here on the weekend and they'd run around and play like normal children. Sometimes they'd play hide and seek and nobody would be able to find Five until they had to go home, which only then he would reveal himself to the others. He would be very proud of himself for winning the game. Sometimes the others would get fed up with him but they still included him nonetheless. It was also one of the only times they would hang out with Victor –or as you would know as Vanya at the time– and include him in their activities.

He looked at the little pond that younger Five had always wished to fish in. There was a golden retriever with its owner playing with a dog toy by the edge of the pond. It was one of those rope ones with a knot on the ends. He gazed at the dog remembering one of his missions at the commission.

Five had been sent to kill off the father of a family. It was one of his first missions and he was around in his early 20s. He made his way down the streets of New Orleans and found himself at a townhouse. He walked up the steps and hesitated at the door before he heard a dog barking. He took a deep breath and rang the bell. He heard heavy footsteps and the door opened to reveal a very thin man with long brown hair in a white tank top and basketball shorts that looked like they were about to fall off him and reveal his ass to the world. His eyes were bloodshot and he had something rolled in paper in his other hand, probably a blunt.

Five opened his mouth to speak before he was interrupted by an older woman's voice coming from inside the house. “Adam, who is at the door?” The woman said before appearing behind Adam with a dish and a cloth in her hands, a golden retriever following close behind. Adam tossed the blunt to the side and turned around to face what Five assumes is his mother. “I dunno’ Ma, he just showed up here-” “Aidan Fischer ma’am, I was wondering if I could have a word with your husband? I'm an assistant of his boss and I was told to bring these to him immediately.” Five gestured to the briefcase that he used to travel space and time with, a smile feigning innocence on his face.

The woman quickly smiled and put the dish and cloth in one hand while extending her right hand to Five. “Dolly darling, my husband is just in the living room.” Dolly said. She disappeared for a moment and Five heard her say “Hey Pumpkin? One of your boss’s assistants is here with paperwork for you!” Dolly said. Adam stepped to the side and gestured for Five to come in and that's what he did.

Five stepped into the home, Adam closing the door behind him as he went outside, probably to look for his blunt. Five didn't care though, none of that was his concern anyway. All he needed to do was kill the man and be done with this.

Five turned into the living room and put on a smile as he greeted the man who he was about to kill. The golden retriever from earlier had curled itself up on one of the couches next to the father. “Hello there Mr. Pavlinsky, I am here because of our mutual boss, I hope you know that.” Five said to the man, honestly he was just saying random things in hopes he gets it. Luckily Mr. Pavlinsky didn't say anything about it. He seemed to be more upset about the fact he was getting work related stuff after-hours.

Mr. Pavlinsky sighed, he switched the TV off before letting out a groan and turning to face Five. “So, what does the big boss want me to have that requires you to interrupt my wonderful evening?” Mr. Pavlinsky asked, annoyance coating his words. “Well Mr. Pavlinsky, it's quite an urgent matter and he told me to get it to you right away.” Five said as he pulled out a gun from his suit and stood up, pointing it at Mr. Pavlinsky’s head. Mr. Pavlinsky's eyes widened as he put his hands up. “Hold on, we can talk about this-” Five pulled the trigger and gone was Mr. Pavlinsky. The dog beside him woke up and was now whimpering in fear but Five didn't pay much mind to him as he opened the briefcase and back at the commission he was.

Five blinked, letting the memory leave his mind. There was no need to dwell on the past. He took one last glance at the dog and owner and continued on his walk.

[the-haunted-office]

A door within the office creaks open. Orange light bleeds into the room, along with a spectacular amount of moon dust. There's the crunching of heavy boots outside, followed by a gloved hand reaching into the office. Heavy, assisted breathing can be heard from the other side of the door.

R carefully peaks their visored head into the long corridor, watching for any signs of those horrid monsters that normally reside within the remains of facilities. However, this place was... different. None of the walls looked decrepit. Neither did all the floors, nor did it smell of the remains of the poison sprayed by the spore lizards. In fact, R had never seen a place so clean before in their life.

Since they had been a great asset to the company, they upgraded their ship engine, updated their terminal and let them jet away. To be fair, they did pick a moon they've never seen before. 427-Parableus? There's not many notes on the company terminal about this moon. All it did was show up in the terminal autopilot directory, they typed it in and forced the ship to bring them here.

While they continue to peak from the doorway, a loud thumping of a giant beast begins to follow behind R. For a moment, they remain calm, hoping that the beast is yet to see them. They can't decide what the best decision is for them. They need to make quota. This place looks like it would have heaps of high quality items laying around. But this environment is incredibly disturbing to them.

The thumping stopped, forcing R to slowly turn around, hoping not to make too much noise. The Forest Guardian had frozen in place, looking directly towards R. Then came the enormous roar of the eyeless dogs, hoping to track down R's movement. The Guardian began to run, it's decaying arms stretching out for R. The dogs, feeling the vibration of the Guardian moving towards R, began to leap and follow in hopes they would receive a small, rather delectable dish.

R stepped into the corridor and slammed the door behind them. As they leaned against the door, they could feel the eyeless dog continuing to crash into the door behind them. Maybe someone would help them? Or maybe they'll find a horrid beast.

Most importantly, they hope those dogs will go away.

[ For any of your muses :)c / R / @reubyrp ]

Dorian is rather enjoying its existence. There's a lot about it to enjoy, after all. All the wondrous sights and sensations, not to mention all the little creatures inhabiting its walls. It sure does love those little humans. They're so much fun to observe and converse with. To learn about.

Well, most of them are human. Some of them are dead, though, but that's all right, they are pleasant too. Even the ones who sometimes accidentally leave pools of blood on its floor are pleasant. The ones who shoot holes in its walls are questionable, but at least they tend to apologize when it screams and they realize that it can feel pain.

Dorian has a rather good relationship with the humans who live within its walls. They all take care of each other. They protect it from dangerous outsiders and keep it nice and clean and decorated. They even feed it! That's quite nice of them. And Dorian keep them protected from the elements and provides them space in which to live. It's a nice symbiotic set-up, the way humans and buildings were meant to live together.

Now this creature who has just stepped through one of its doors... Dorian can't quite tell if it's human or not. It seems like it might be, although it's dressed a bit funny. And it's acting in a rather peculiar manner.

The Office decides to greet the potential human in a friendly manner anyway. "Hello!" it chirps, its voice seeming to come from all directions at once, or at least not from a location that can be pinpointed. "Is something bothering you there? I assure you this place is quite safe! Most of the time. I am not dangerous, at any rate. Have I frightened you? I haven't meant to, so if I have, I do apologize. Ah. My name is Dorian, and this place is, well- me. And you are welcome here. Do you require a human face to speak to? Because I can- I can call one out for you. There are plenty of them here, you see, and, um... Why are you backed up against the door like that?"

[yooglefics]

Read the new apology and I'm just 😔 like, I get what he did wasn't totally right and technically he did broke the law, BUT all the media and public harassment is so... wild. Like, why are you even holding people ( normal people whose only difference with you is their job as entertainers ) to high standards? Why are you putting a guy you don't even know ( because parasocial relationships and all ) on a pedestal and under a magnifying glass to watch his every move?

I get there is also the whole “he is a role model” aspect of it, and they're ambassadors to things about values and that is like “okay, yeah, you should be careful with your image”, BUT WHY IS HE A ROLE MODEL?

Don't get me wrong, he is inspiring to me, but I don't think he is the best one to be choose to be a role model when he talks about not worrying about school ( not that i disagree but yk ) haha and if you don't like his actions, I don't know, don't follow him? Don't listen to his music? Just ignore him? Wild concept, I know, but you don't have to engage with things you don't like. You don't have to accept that guy is a role model and follow his lead like everyone else.

And yeah, I guess the fact that one of them finally messed up is huge and that's why everyone that ever wanted to say or justify their dislike and anger towards them is going crazy about it. But, again, why do you have a guy under a microscope? Why do you care so much about his life and expect him to be completely perfect when he is also human and humans aren't perfect and make mistakes? Why is it so big just because he is an entertainer?

I get that sometimes their career plays or can play part in things. Personally, there's another idol whose actions I side eye sometimes and the fact that he is an idol plays a part in it, because I feel the lines get blurred and I've seen so many cases where famous people use their fame as an advantage to get things ( not saying this idol does, I don't know him like that lol ). Like, sometimes the power dynamics can't, and shouldn't, be ignored because maybe some one at some point can actually take advantage of it, you know?

Also, this whole thing with him and the media made me think about a situation with and actor a few years back and how it was know his stress levels were so high ( he was in a variety show and for some reason they measured his heart rate and went “uh, let's try again because this is a bit concerning” ) and all and just… I hope myg has a good support system and that he is taking care of himself.

Is a bit complicated because I'm like “there shouldn't be so many people outside the station waiting for a statement because this should be as big of a deal” but I'm also like “what's wrong with people who told off this artist on insta about making a cute animation of him outside the station and army holding his hand???” Because yes, I guess he didn't necessarily consent to being filmed, but technically it's public footage because that was even on the news ?? Is not like the picture from his brother's wedding or the ones taken out and about ???

I'm rambling now, and I wanted to end this showing you that animation because it's cute and it could soothe the heartache a bit, but I guess I'll wait to see if the artist puts it back up.

Anyway. Idk, guys, I'm always thinking about parasocial relationships and the wilderness of it all, but this week has really made me realize that maybe it is really one of those things that not a lot of people think about and that's why we should be talking about it more. So, this is my contribution to the topic, and if you haven't, you should read chappell roan post, too.

[ncfan-1]

I’ve been thinking more about Indara, and I think I have revised my opinion on her involvement in what happened on Brendok. Before, just coming off of watching Episode 7, my assessment was that she was largely blameless up until the point where she made the decision to scapegoat Mae. My opinion has changed since then. Now, I look at Indara, and my opinion has changed. She no longer seems as blameless as I felt her to be.

After all, Indara was the one in charge of their original survey mission. She was the one in charge of the Brendok team. She was the leader. What her team did while they were out on this survey mission was ultimately on her head. And Indara turned out to be a pretty weak leader, didn’t she? She would not put her foot down, would not take a stand, would not tell Sol no and then follow up by sticking to it. Instead, she lets herself be swayed into doing things that she has stated are a bad idea and outside of their mission’s purview.

Indara is right that the Coven will take all four of them going in at once as a threat. And yet when Torbin and Sol insist on following her in, she doesn’t put her foot down, doesn’t tell them once and for all that it’s not a good idea, and she will be going in alone, whether they like it or not. She knows it’s a bad idea, and yet she allows herself to be talked into acting out the bad idea anyways.

She herself tells Aniseya that they have the right to test potential Padawans, inflaming an already tense situation. But why did she say that? Indara herself says that they can’t take the idea of testing Osha (and by implication, Mae) seriously, so why on earth did she say that in the first place? Why waffle like that? Why not stick to your guns, politely apologize for intruding, and then leave without pressing the issue where the children were concerned? Sol is insisting on these things, but Sol isn’t in charge here, and Indara has rightly clocked that he is blinded by his feelings.

Indara is the one who allows this to go on as long as it does. If she had put her foot down, if she had acted as a leader, this situation would not have gotten so out of control as it ultimately does. You can tell that she doesn’t want anything to do with the Coven, and that she doesn’t think that her team should interfere with them, and yet she allows the interference to go on for so long that Torbin is finally tearing off towards the fortress because she’s allowed him to gather the information that causes him to latch onto the idea that he can go home, and from there, everything falls apart.

And then we come to the moment where she is the one who makes the call to scapegoat Mae, and while she says that she’s doing it for Osha’s sake, in context of all of this, this decision comes off as really selfish and self-serving.

Indara was the leader. She was in charge. This is the bitter truth of leadership: everything your subordinates do on your watch is on your head. But Indara doesn’t want to take responsibility. Indara doesn’t want to catch shit for what Sol and Torbin did. She thinks that she shouldn’t have to take any portion of the blame for fifty dead adults and one dead child. She could have put her foot down, could have acted as a leader, but she didn’t act as a leader then, and she refuses to step up as a leader now, and at least take responsibility for her weak leadership after the fact.

So she tells everyone that a little girl did it all. She tells everyone that there was an Evil Child on Brendok, and she killed everyone. Indara symbolically earns her death by this final act of weak leadership. She refuses to take responsibility for the consequences of her weaknesses as a leader. She tries to wash her hands of the whole thing.

But she can’t do that. Because she’s painted Mae as a murderer. Imagine if Mae emerged out into the galaxy, and she wasn’t out for revenge. If she was just trying to have a normal life. How could she possibly have a normal life, after Indara had painted her as a mass-murderer to the entire galaxy? How could she clear her name? How could she convince those around her not to turn from her in fear and disgust?

Indara symbolically earns her death by shirking responsibility for her weak leadership and scapegoating Mae instead. She told the galaxy that Mae was a murderer. Mae became a murderer by killing her.

[vagabondfromkanto]

//Been having some thoughts about the first episode and Ryuko's introduction today, and it seems highly appropriate to dump them here. So.

No but Kill la Kill does a fantastic job with establishing who its protagonist is right off the bat, in my opinion. On all accounts.

She's tough as fuck but also that facade breaks immediately as soon as she gets confused by people acting weird. Like, trying to shake her down in an alley? Logical, normal, her turf. Immediately capitulating?... energetic people?... brother-sister dynamic?... wha-a?...

They literally went "Look how badass she is! Have you looked? Okay now know that she's also a dork."

Also we immediately know that she's street smart and not that law abiding, because to intercept the steal Mataro (who steals constantly!) was trying to pull and switch up her wallet for the lemon without the boy noticing would require an experienced sleight of hand.

She's all 'come at me' when jumped by enemies she's not interested in fighting (and she proves her confidence well-founded), but she loses her cool and attacks head-on the second it gets personal.

She's hot headed and attacks head-on BUT she knows when to quit, AND she knows not to turn her back on the enemy until they're distracted (see: Fukuroda tripping).

She goes immediately from undefeatable-without-even-breaking-a-sweat to getting the shit beaten out of her.

She's a tough punk walking around with zero regards to the rules and she steals someone's moped with zero hesitation, but she comes back to leave the deliveries so that the guy can finish his job... and she returns the moped next day WITH A POLITE APOLOGY NOTE. (I fucking love her.)

She does not break down and allow herself any kind of weakness until she thinks that nobody can see her.

She barely speaks to Mako outside of what she needs to learn and actively puts up walls and dodges all attempts at being friendly, but she DOES immediately jump back in to protect her when Mako is used as a hostage. (Granted, she was going back for Satsuki anyway, but she COULD've used another route, especially when the whole school was distracted. Except that she couldn't, 'cause she's Ryuko).

Like, quite literally, these are all her fundamentals established immediately.

She's a good fighter, but she's not invincible. She's street smart and is more familiar with adversity than with friendly people. She's stubborn and reckless but she knows her limits (in later episodes every time she's about to lose she runs away - and we know that it's not just thanks to Senketsu's warnings, 'cause she does it here without him yet).

She's a delinquent but she tries to be polite and considerate (btw IMMEDIATELY followed by the second episode where she deeply apologizes for punching Bazaro despite quite frankly being well within her right to do so).

She will act cold towards you at first but she's incredibly quick to care and help (see also, for example, ep 4).

And despite us not knowing the whole story yet, it's immediately evident that she's sad as fuck underneath the cocky smirk.

99% of what she does and how she acts in the rest of the episodes is foreshadowed in the very first one. Like, they rip off the mask right away and don't leave the viewer with any delusions. Which, in a way, is what makes us want to root for her so bad, I think.