#big week for people who were growing up in the 00s

[hollenka99]

Wake up babe, new duck song just dropped.

And another one later this year???

[itsstrange]

A Little Bit Warmer

Fandom: MW, MW2, MW3

Relationship: Zombie Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley x Reader

A/N: I’ve Had This Idea Since Zombie Ghost Was First Introduced But Never Got Around To Officially Write It Down, But Now, IT’S OFFICIALLY HERE!! Had So Much Fun Writing This One.

Also, This Will Definitely Be A Mini Series! Another Thing, This Was Also Semi Inspired By Warm Bodies. 🤗

{ANY WARNING TRIGGERS WILL BE POSTED IN THE BEGINNING IF THE STORY!}

Summary: Is It Possible That There Is Such Things As Miracles? Or Does A Cold Heart Eventually Finds Its Warmth?

Word Count: 12k

Warnings: (Yes) Mentions of Blood, Mentions of Murder, Slightly Graphic Content, Guns, Knifes, etc, Slow Burn, Fluff, Angst, Zombie Protective Ghost, Jealous Zombie Ghost, Eventual Smut,

Call Sign: Kali

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ENJOY! 💀🫶

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October 18, 2026

S.C.H.Q

23:00 pm

“How low are we?”

“Low. A lot of children and families are getting sick with this damn weather,”

“What about the emergency vault? I thought we did a big score not too long ago? Filled it up with supplies?”

“Like I said Lieutenant, a lot of children and families are getting sick. It’s spreading like wildfire. And fast. The medical ward is getting overwhelmed with people that they’re down to their last case of supplies,”

“Any casualties?”

The older man sighs, rubbing at his eyebrow, “One so far,”

Fucking great.

You sigh heavily. Leaning your exhausted body against the desk. It had been such a long couple days that the moment you finally arrived at base all you wanted to do was fall asleep for a week straight. You had gone out of the safe zone with a group to try and clear more sections of the city to keep it safe, to expand your community, to make more shelter considering it kept growing as the days went by. So after 8 days of being out of the safe zone, sleeping in uncomfortable conditions, killing herds of flesh eating Zeds, killing looters, you had successfully came back to base with great news. You and your team were able to successfully recover another hot zone, another great victory where everyone in your group made it back with no injuries. No bite marks.

Yet, despite the great news you had for your leader, bad news was landed on your shoulders once again. Fucking typical with this goddamn unit. You had barely gotten off the humvee when a soldier walked towards you with a message that you were needed in the Generals office. Which resulted in you standing near General Shepherds desk as you listened with exhausted eyes that threatened to close on you.

Your long term friend, teammate, partner in crime Phillip Graves stood beside you. His own exhaustion lingering on his stubble jaw.

“When are we heading out?” You ask after a heavy exhale, hands resting on your vest as you stare at the man in front of you,

“Tomorrow. 0500,” Well there goes my beauty sleep. “You and Graves along with the rest of your squad will head up North.”

You nod at the man. Taking in all the information given. It was nothing you’ve never done before, practically done it your entire life. First stop was to head over to Lincoln Grove, where a small downtown with multiple stores stood. You’ve raided most of the stores, but some still remained untouched so it was worth checking out. Main mission was to head further down, passing the barricades of the safe zone towards Red Lines where a hospital stood somewhere in the section.

Easy enough.

Only it wasn’t. Red Lines was known for its activeness of Zeds, Lurkers, runners and Ghouls. Ghouls were rare to be seen out in the city, they mostly hid where it’s dark so they can ambush anyone who pumps warm blood. But still, even they make random appearances during the day.

Red Lines was one of the most uncontrolled sections of the city, it wasn’t where the pandemic first hit, but it was where most of the population lost their lives. It remained untouched. Every time a group went through in hopes to control it, they never came back. Not a single soul in the group would make it back.

Unfortunately, Shepherd was a stubborn old dog and continued in trying to push out every infected there is to officially claim Red Lines. Why? Because he knew by owning Red Lines he’ll have higher authority when it came to medicine. His main goal was to claim that hot section just to control what comes in and out of the hospital.

And you knew he’d do anything to own it.

“Any questions?” Shepherd asks, eyes averting from you to the man beside you, when neither spoke up he nods his head before dismissing you both,

Without another word, just another exhausted sigh falling from your lips you walk out of the man’s office then down the hallways to get out of the building to get to your private quarters. Which really was a rundown apartment complex that was right across from the business building where Shepherd stood hid.

Fifth floor to be precise. Inside the biggest office there was.

Almost every soldier from Shadow Company lived in your apartment complex. Shepherds orders. Claimed his soldiers needed to be ready and alert for anything and everything. The actual truth you knew that he just didn’t want to admit to anyone or the civilians was, he simply wanted his soldiers closer to him for better and faster protection from anyone and anything that tries to threaten him.

The thought alone makes a loud scoff leave your lips as you walk down the stairs to the first floor. Graves, who was walking beside you and speaking to you the entire time—which you obviously weren’t paying attention to— sends you a look. Brows knitted together as you both make your way out the building.

“Somethin’ funny?”

You look over to him, eyes locking for a second before you avert them back in front of you as you push through the semi broken glass doors.

“Yeah. Funny how I thought I was gonna get a good nights sleep today,” You throw in a lie. Well.. not really,

Graves snickers at your words, placing an arm around your shoulders to tug you closer to his side as you both make your way to the apartments.

“Come on up to my room and I’ll give you a good nights sleep,” Graves purrs into your ear, a scoff leaving your lips as you shove him off you,

“In your wildest dreams Philip,” After so many years of working alongside the Texan man you’ve grown use to his flirtatious comments,

Philip Graves was a man known for his words. Especially when it came to luring woman into his bedsheets, something that personally makes an acid-like taste in your tongue at the thought of it. No matter how much you need to unwind or just forget about this shitty ass world for a few minutes, you will never accept his offer. You saw Graves as a close friend, a teammate, and surprisingly a brother. And you knew he knew that too, mostly because you have rejected him multiple times, but Graves was such a stubborn man that he didn’t take no as answer. Obviously he’ll never push it, once rejected always rejected, but that didn’t mean he’d try again every so often.

No matter how many disappointments you gave him after each rejection, he never once gave up.

You knew the man was a man-whore, never one to take a relationship serious, which is why you also declined his offer. Not that you’d ever want a relationship with him. Hell, the thought of possible being in a relationship with him only made you scrunch your face in disgust. He was a friend to you, nothing else.

“Oh (Y/n) (L/n) you fill my soul just a little more each day,” Says Graves, hand planted on his chest as he pouts his bottom lip at you,

“Good. Because one of us has to be the brightness in this friendship,” You give him a smile as you walk through the black gates of the apartment complex,

Other Shadow men and woman can be found passed the gates. Some spoke to one another in the lobby, sitting on the beaten down couch, smoking, drinking, eating, cracking jokes. The apartment was everyone’s safe space. Where they can unwind, relax after completing their tasks, sleep in their proper quarters before having to get up before or at crack of dawn to start their rounds once again. Although, since civilians keep joining the team and the apartments had limited rooms, some soldiers unfortunately had to bunk with other soldiers.

Thankfully, the higher the rank one was, the privilege they had in having their own rooms. Hence, you and Graves.

You both slept on the 7th floor. Overlooking the entire safe zone. Getting a perfect view of the once beautiful city of Chicago. Yet, despite the view and the single apartment you had, you still hated the fact that you had to climb seven flights of stairs to get to your door. It was times like these that you loathed living on the highest floor.

Your legs shook as you climbed the stairs, even considered asking Graves to piggyback you to your floor but you knew that man would you haunt with that memory till the day he dies. And you knew he wouldn’t stop there. As stubborn as that man is he’ll find you in the afterlife and torment you for existence.

So, with an annoyed huff you climbed the rest of the stairs till you made it to your door.

“See you in a few hours,” You hear Graves as he walks further down the hallway, not sparing him a glance you simply wave at him as you push open your door,

Your apartment was decent. Well.. decent as it’ll ever be in times like these. Once entering the small living space, a small hallway greets you with cracked walls, the paint chipping off on either side with smudges of dirt or mud. Once walking further into the home it looked… more decent. A broken tv hung on the wall next to some windows, which some were boarded up as they didn’t have a window— which you were in the process of fixing them somehow— next, there was a single beaten down brown love seat against the wall towards the entrance. A medium coffee table stood in front of the loveseat with your AR-15 leaning against it. Then a medium size generator leaning against the opposite wall where you hung a metal bat on the wall as some sort of prize.

As mentioned, the living room seemed a little more decent, the kitchen however was just a mess with your armory. Guns and cases of bullets engulfed the kitchen. You never made or ate your food in your apartment, you mostly ate at Taz’s Diner where everyone ate together. So it was pointless to have a kitchen when it was never used for cooking, so you made it into your armory instead.

Now going towards your room where you can rest was slightly in better shape. In the center of the room laid your king size bed— something that Graves personally found for you one day while out on patrol, the ever so kind man he was. Grey and orange bedsheets laid on top of the comforter, a brick wall stood behind the bed that had a couple shelves with multiple books. It was another way to destress yourself, minus the working out or going to kill some loitering Zeds, books has always been helpful. So you’d collect as many you can find, causing you to have a mess of stacked books on your shelves.

It surprises you how they’ve managed to hold on for this long or how they haven’t collapsed on you as you slept.

A few more trinkets can be found in your room that you’ve either found or was gifted by some close friends, close civilians or Graves.

You tried to limit your collections, only wanting to keep things that seemed important or useful, yet, books were the only exception.

A metal desk leaned against the wall across the bed. Maps, bullets, a couple parts from guns, dirty rags, tape, tools and markers were scattered on the desk. Then right next to it was your window to the view of the overrun city of Chicago. Some buildings and sections of the safe zone was brought back to life, small dimmed string lights can be seen from your room, then passed the safe zone remained the cold, dark side of Chicago. Every so often you sit on your window sill, cigarette in your mouth as you scan the view, the expanding life just a few floors down, then back to the destroyed city where your mind would often get trapped in the past. Remembering nightmares you wish would vanish from your mind, including the good memories.

They were nothing but pain. It was never good to remember the past, because it reminded you what you once had, what you lost. And those were the nightmares you tried avoiding.

So, shaking the thoughts away, you shrug off your tactical vest, your heavy boots, holsters, jacket, and your tactical belt before falling face first on your mattress. Causing the poor comforter to make a loud noise from the force fall, something you could care less at the moment, all you cared for was sleep.

Nightmares or not, you were getting your sleep.

****

October 19, 2026

S. C. H. Q

0430 am

“You seen Graves?” You ask a soldier, Portman, was his name, as he sat inside a humvee. He simply points in the direction of a tent,

“The General asked to speak to him,” The young soldier says,

With knitted brows you sip your warm, very warm coffee as you make your way towards the tent. Why would he ask for him? Is he changing the plans last minute? If so why weren’t I involved in the conversation? Question after question popped in your head as you make your way through other soldiers to get to the tent. However, just as you rounded the corner of other parked vehicles you hear faint, but loud enough whispers to know people were talking to one another. Your brows knit tighter once more, trying to figure out what was being said but before you can even walk inside, Troy— one of Graves’ idiotic friends who you loathed— steps outside. His face expression showing distaste when he meets your gaze. Yet, not a moment later Graves steps outside with an oddly distant look. Brows knitted together almost in a frown, however once his eyes land on you they instantly change. As if nothing happened.

Why the fuck was Troy apart of the conversation?

“There you are! Beginning to think I had to drag your ass out of bed,” He claims as he fixes his vest,

You give both men a wary look. Your eyes averting from them to the tent behind his shoulder.

“Everything okay?” Graves shakes his head with an annoyed look,

“Busting my balls it’s all,”

“Regarding?” You ask, brow slightly raised,

“None of your concern,” Troy comments, causing you to glare at him, yet before you can argue back Graves is pulling you away from him by wrapping an arm around your shoulders,

However, you still throw the piece of shit a raised finger as you’re forced to walk away.

As Graves lead you towards the trucks you asked again if everything was alright. You knew the General was a miserable old dog at times and would give shit to anyone he decided to target, so you knew what Graves felt at the moment. However, you couldn’t wrap your head around anything Graves has done wrong in the past few days or weeks. So it just seemed off.

“Don’t worry bout’ it sugar. It’s handled,” The man smirks down at you when he sees the way a mask of annoyance hovers over your face at his pet name,

Oh how he knew how much you loathed that pet name and oh how much he loved using it to simply get a rise out of you.

“You’re lucky I’m sleep deprived otherwise I’d toss this whole cup of coffee on you,” Your comment earns a loud chuckle from him,

“Thank god to your lack of sleep then,” He claims as he wraps an arm around your shoulders to lead you both towards the humvee’s where soldiers were loading in,

After another 5 to 10 minutes of briefing the soldiers of the mission, loading the trucks of empty duffle bags for medical supplies, checking and counting ammunition for every rifle, everyone began climbing into the trucks.

Once you checked your vest multiple times, checked each component, your extra magazines, your holsters, your combat knives that you had tucked behind your back, drank your cup of coffee before pouring another one, you finally climb into the passenger seat while Graves took the drivers side.

Once signaling the man you were ready, he shifts the gear before feeling the truck moving down the road. You stare out the window, watching kids wave goodbye as their parents stood right behind them, a small smile tugs on your lips as you notice their proud, wide smiles as they wave goodbye. Yet, your heart also gets pulled on by sadness at the fact they are living in a world with such cruel conditions, instead of the happy, semi-safe world it use to be. Now, they had to fight to survive. They had to become soldiers to survive and help protect their new home.

“ETA to Red Lines is approximately an hour ladies and gentlemen. Keep your eyes pealed for any movement, safeties off once out of the safe zone,” Your thoughts are interrupted by Graves speaking into the radio,

‘Rog,’

‘Copy,’

‘Copy that sir,’

Multiple voices can be heard through the radio as they announce their confirmation.

“Get some shut eye Kali. I’ll wake you up for whatever reason,” Graves calls you by your callsign before voicing his offer, his eyes focused down the road,

No matter how heavenly that sounded, you knew it wasn’t a good idea. He needed an extra pair of eyes looking after him, after the team. Plus, if you were the last to survive Shepherd would have your head if he found out his team got killed because you wanted to get some extra sleep on the road.

“No I’m good,” You respond, slowly sipping on your coffee,

Graves turns to look at you, observing your sleep deprived frame before looking back towards the road. Just staring at you alone made him exhausted. You needed sleep and he’d forcefully put you to sleep if that’s what it took to make you catch some extra hours.

“(Y/n) seriously, gets some sleep. I’ll wake you when I need you,” He tries again, voice calm and comforting as his baby blues look into yours,

You softly chuckle, appreciating his concern, “I’m okay. M’not that tired anymore,”

That was a total lie.

Because after 10 minutes of driving down the dark, destroyed, abandoned roads of Chicago you swiftly dozed off. Empty coffee cup nearly falling out of your hands if it wasn’t for Graves’ quick reflexes.

The man slightly chuckles at you as he observes your sleeping frame before focusing his eyes back on the road. He knew you trusted him enough to be vulnerable around him, to have faith in him in keeping you both alive when one was resting. He hoped it’d remained that way. But deep down, he knew it won’t, not after today. He knew it was going to be a difficult decision if you don’t come around the new regulations that Shepherd will have back at base.

The rules made sense. But he just knew you’d be against it. And that alone brought an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach.

*****

Red Lines

0800

“Alright, Eagle 3 stays out here. Keep watch for any movement. Eagle 1 you’ll take care of building A. Find anything valuable that we need. Eagle 2 you’re with me and Lieutenant Kali. We’ll scope the bottom before making our way to the pharmacy unit,” Graves lays down the orders, looking at every soldier who simply nods back at him,

You on the other hand couldn’t help the annoyed look on your face when Troy would be tagging along with you and Graves. You’d rather much get chased by a group of Zeds than walk beside him. That man was not to be trusted by any means.

“If things get too complicated you retreat. Whatever you find is whatever we’ll take. Got it?” You join on the orders, receiving more nods from the soldiers,

“Remember. Safeties off. If anything moves you shoot to kill,” Graves says once again before sending everyone to their positions,

Meeting Graves’ gaze you send him a nod before following him up the stairs that lead to the hospital building. Once inside the lobby, Eagle 1 slowly and quietly parts away to checkout their side of the building. Guns raised and ready to fire. From the corner of your eye you watch them walk past the doors before disappearing from your sight. Once the lobby was clear to move forward, you and Graves lead the rest of the soldiers down the hallway.

As you made your way down the hospital you kept your gun tight to your shoulder, finger off the trigger but close enough to be used in case of anything. You and the group slowly and quietly searched each room. Your eyes cautiously scanned every inch of the place, noticing just how rough this hospital had gone through after the outbreak.

Hospital beds, equipment, papers, wheel chairs, broken windows, everything you can possibly think of was scattered across the floor, the hallways. The ceiling tiles were broken, wires hung from above, vines somehow made their way inside the hospital and have overtook the walls, the entire hospital was out of power but emergency lights still flashed, casting a red bright glow throughout the building.

However, the further your group walked into the building the worst everything got. Blood stains coated the floors, the walls, bodies that have been dead for months maybe years were left on the ground. Yet, what made everyone on edge and more cautious of their surroundings was how fresh some blood stains were. Everyone kept close watch on everything, every corner and every room.

Luckily, no living dead was seen, yet, causing you to reach the pharmacy wing with no issue. Although, it still didn’t mean everyone was safe, they still had to stay cautious.

Yet despite scanning the pharmacy for any danger, no one noticed a pair of white frosty eyes watching them in a dark corner the whole time. Watching a specific person in the group.

While two soldiers kept watch on the entrance of the door, the rest of you tossed as much medicine as you can into black duffel bags.

“Bronx start piling these bags on something with wheels,” You call out to the soldier who kept watch as you start on your second duffle, throwing variety of medical supplies inside,

From alcohol wipes, rubbing alcohol bottles, medical bandages, band-aides, any working thermometers, stethoscopes as a request from some doctors back at base, anything you saw that was of use you’d toss it in the bag. As you helped Graves carry another loaded bag onto a medical trolley that Bronx has brought from somewhere in the room, a faint noise coming from outside the double doors has everyone stopping.

“Anyone hear that?” Silo, another soldier that was placing pill bottles inside her duffle calls out,

“I did. We should bail Graves,” Troy claims, eyes directed at the doors,

“Negative, we’ve got orders,” You demand the soldier. Ignoring his words you continue tossing items inside the duffle,

With a grunt the man goes to place the duffle bag on the trolley, mumbling words underneath his breath which was most likely directed towards you but you continue to ignore him like any other day. As Troy placed his bag amongst the other filled bags, another noise that sounded like glass being stepped on comes from outside the doors, catching everyone’s attention again.

“I’m telling you something’s out there,” Silo repeats again, taking a step away from the doors, weapon slightly raised,

The sound of a shot gun being pumped rings in the air, “Graves, let’s bail!” Troy harshly growls as he points his gun towards the door,

Your own ears heard the noise, causing your blood to run cold. But you knew the base was running low on everything. You were already here, at least three bags worth of medical supplies, you couldn’t just leave them. Not when people, families, kids are slowly suffering and possibly dying. You had to take it back with you.

The stores that you’ve checked before coming to Red Lines were no use. Everything had been cleared, leaving every shelve empty. So you had to go back to base with something.

“We have orders Troy!” You remind the man as Graves slowly walks towards the double doors, rifle of his own pointing upwards, finger ready on the trigger for anything,

Troy only throws a scoff at you, “Fuck the orders!”

Jesus he’s more of a fucking pussy than I thought. You think to yourself as you turn to face the man, who still had his shot gun up in the air. Signs of sweat lingered on his temple.

“Fuck you! Families are at stake they need medicine!”

“That’s my point! None of this matters anymore they’re all gonna die anyways!”

Now that raised a flag.

“What?”

“Troy shut up that’s enough!” The look of panic and anger on Graves face raised more flags, what the hell were they hiding?

“What the fuck is he talking about?” Graves looks at you, that same odd look in his eyes from earlier was back, but he simply shakes his head with closed eyes,

“Nothing! Look, there’s nothing out there alright everyone just needs to stop being fucking paranoi—,”

“Phil!” You scream just as you see a large herd of Lurkers and Runners pushing through the doors,

Graves was able to slam the butt of his rifle towards the first Zed reaching towards him, sending him on the ground as he’s quick to shoot the rest.

“Aim for their heads!” You hear him scream as bullets begin flying in the small pharmaceutical,

In less than a second mayhem irrupted. Snarls, growls, screams, pained screams, bullets, windows, glass shattering can be heard in the building. Whatever medical supplies were left had been pushed off the counters or damaged by bullets as the living dead attacked. You had unloaded a whole magazine on the dead causing you to reach for your belt to grab another mag when you glance around the horrific sight unfolding in front of you. Multiple soldiers had been pinned in the corners by herds, pained screams surrounded the pharmaceutical as each soldier got mauled by the living dead.

You watched with wide eyes as you see one young soldier being dragged towards the back of the building by a herd, you go to reach for his wailing hands but before you can grab ahold of them you’re being slammed against the counter. A grunt rumbles in your throat when something digs into your hip, causing pain to travel up your side.

Turning, your met with the most gruesome face inches away from your own.

A runner in the process of forming into a Ghoul. His skin grey and rotten. Patches of skin missing or peeling from its face, blood either fresh and dry stained his entire torso. His mouth. Eyes wild and wide as it tries to latch its teeth onto you. Which you’d like to point out, most of his mouth was completely missing. Only bits and pieces of skin held it upright, giving you a disgusting and traumatic view of his teeth as he growled and snarled.

You groaned out loud as you try pushing the runner off of you. Doing your best in forcing his face away from you by placing your hand under his neck, forcing it away from you, your legs struggling to also kick him away from you. But it was no use because he was ravenous for you, causing him to use all his strength to mark you, eat you. Although, noticing how you’ll probably get bit by this piece of shit if you don’t fight hard enough, adrenaline rises in your veins, giving you enough strength to push him backwards till you slam it against the other counter. Bottles of pills, liquids of you don’t know what the fuck fall from the top shelve, some of it landing around you both or on you as you both struggle with each other.

But as you fought with the runner you somehow lose your balance, causing you to fall backwards, bringing the dead with you.

Another pained groan rumbles in your throat as the weight that falls on top of you nearly takes out all the air from your lungs, but with the little strength you had, you held the runner above you. Away from your skin. But your arms were quickly growing tired, causing an angered, frustrated, slightly fearful yell to fall from your lips. You cannot die this way.

However, before the dead can get a taste of your throat you feel him being pushed off you. Confusion settles on your face at the sudden moment, but is soon replaced with another feeling. Fear and worry as you see a tall, very tall being nearly hovering above you. The bright glowing red light illuminates his features, giving you a glimpse of a skull mask. From where you were on the ground you noticed military gear covered his entire frame, however fear—panic overtakes your body when you noticed this military man was not in fact alive. No. He was infected. The blood and slightly rotten skin was enough proof for you.

As the dead inches closer towards you, you instinctively crawl away from him. Trying to get away from him, away from his ravenous state. You even managed to throw your knife at him while crawling away, causing it to latch onto his right shoulder, yet he only pulls it off with no care in the world as he continues inching closer to you. Crawling away quickly turns into you curling into a ball when he suddenly launches at you. As you waited for the end in a tight ball, your eyes are quick to shoot open when you never see it. In fact, you turn around when you see the tall infected military man fighting off a Ghoul that was apparently fighting him to grab onto you.

Not thinking much about the odd situation you quickly rise to your feet before running to grab your rifle from the floor.

Just as you grip the gun, a pair of strong arms clasping around your shoulders brings a shriek along with a jolt from you. You go to punch the infected, but Graves quickly spins you around to look directly in your eyes.

“We gotta go!” He yells over the ongoing commotion and without any hesitation he drags you by the arm to leave the death trap,

You quickly follow him, but just as you jump over the fallen trolley you stop to quickly pick up a duffle bag that had medical supplies before continuing in following him out the building. Graves yells at you to fucking run for your life, literally, as more horrific shrieks and snarls echo throughout the hospital as you, Graves and of course Troy run down the hallways.

More bullets fly in the air as the three of you shoot any oncoming herds. Felt like a never ending nightmare, but the three of you eventually make it outside. Where Eagle 3 had been mauled to death.

“Fucking Zeds!” Graves curses underneath his breath at the horrific sight,

Blood, lots of blood coated the pavement. Limbs, ripped intestines were scattered throughout the floor, turning your stomach as you scan the gruesome scene. If you had the time you’d definitely puke your coffee and protein bars, but your life was literally at stake. No time to puke your guts.

No pun intended.

“Fucking bastards! I’ll kill you! I’ll fucking kill you! Come on!” The sound of Troy yelling like a complete maniac brings you out of your thoughts,

“Troy get your ass in the truck!” Graves yells from inside the humvee, already igniting the ignition and placing the gear in drive,

Adrenaline still coursing through your veins, you grab ahold of Troy’s tactical vest before dragging him towards the truck. Who was still yelling harmless profanities to the infected, who by the way were rapidly forcing themselves out of the building, causing you to push the idiot inside the humvee before quickly climbing inside yourself. The moment the door shuts Graves all but burns rubber on the pavement, leaving the herd of dead running after the truck.

*******

S.C.H.Q

1000 am

“I’m telling you sir, everything turned into a shit show,” Graves explains once again, exhaustion written on his face as he rests his hands on either side of his hips, “There was nothing we could’ve done. Sons of bitches ambushed us,”

“Goddamn it Graves,” Shepherd growls under his breath as he massages his forehead,

“With all do respect sir, you knew what we were walking into. That place is just damn near impossible to get through. We’re lucky enough to even stand here and tell you it was a failed mission,” You go to defend the Texan, earning a small glare from the old dog,

“Not lucky enough. Not everyone made it back,” You hear Troy behind you, feeling irritation rise in your chest. He’s been such a fucking Parrot since you’ve arrived at base,

But like usual, you ignore him, not even sparing him a glance. Yet, he still kept going. You hear him push off the wall as he walks closer to the group huddled around the Generals’ desk.

“My men would still be here if you’d just listen to me. But no! You just had to keep fucking grabbing medicine did ya!”

“Well excuse me for wanting to fucking save lives! For doing my goddamn job!” You yell back, facing the man to stare directly into those dark, coward, brown eyes of his,

“Yeah? Well look what that got us! One duffle bag filled with medical supplies that’ll not even last a week and the lives of soldiers lost because you wanted to save people who aren’t worth saving anymore!!” The moment those words left his mouth, your fist was quick to make contact with his left cheek. He stumbles backwards against some chairs.

Everything you were feeling; exhaustion, hunger, rage, adrenaline, annoyance, irritation, all of it had combined. Causing you to lash out. Physically. Besides, he’s had coming.

“That’s enough! Both of you!!” Graves once again is pulling you away from the man storming at you,

Although, Troy wasn’t close to reach or touch you because Graves had placed a firm hand on his chest, forcing him to take a step back.

“Now you listen here Lieutenants!” Shepherd announces with a dark tone, rising from his chair he fixes his uniform before walking around the desk, “I understand this is a tough situation on both your parts, but killing each other won’t bring anyone justice!”

“But what I do need is both of you to be on the same page! I’m already dealin’ with a herd of sick, panicked folks out there demanding for any sort of help! The last thing I need is to deal with both of your childlike behavior!”

You send a small glare to Shepherd from the corner of your eye before bringing your fuming orbs to the idiotic dirty blonde head. Who now sported a small gash on his bottom lip, bringing some sort of satisfaction knowing it was you who caused the small gash.

“Now I know we’re all frustrated and stressed about all this mess. But we gotta keep our heads on straight! So with that being said, Lieutenant Lennon go on and catch a breather. Lieutenant (L/N) you’re dismissed. Get some shut eye, I know you need it,” Shepherd orders with a cold, firm tone, eyes challenging you, “You’re dismissed Lieutenant. We’ll spell you later on in the night,”

You don’t argue. Mostly because Graves gives your arm a slight shove with his elbow, a message to just let it go and follow orders. So you do just that. Not sparing either men a glance you storm out the office, the door slamming shut, rattling the windows with its force. Not stopping, you head down towards the steps of the building, ignoring other soldiers standing on guard or the looks directed your way, you just kept walking till you eventually reached outside. The fresh air hitting your heated skin.

Closing your eyes, you take a deep breath through your nose. Holding it for a few seconds before exhaling deeply through your mouth.

This whole morning was a fucking shit-show and you blamed no one else other than Shepherd. If he wasn’t so obsessed in overtaking Red Lines, everyone from your squad would have been alive. If he’d just send your troop to another location that hadn’t been touched before, none of this mess would have happened.

More time is being wasted, more lives are being taken by a goddamn flu that this base has no medical care for, especially now since the mission was a failure and whatever was inside the duffle was not going to be enough. If you were feeling stressed before then this only made your shoulders heavier at the thought of multiple families slowly dying for the lack of medical care.

“I’m assuming the mission didn’t go as planned?” A soft voice coming from your left has you opening your eyes,

Sandy. One of your closest friends’ girlfriend stood beside you. Her blonde hair held in a messy bun as she wore a grey coat, light brown long sleeve underneath with some old brown timberland boots on her feet. You observed her features, trying to see any signs of sickness and immediately feeling relief when she looked completely fine. Your eyes then fall down to the little boy by her side, bright green eyes looking up at you with a wide smile. You smile down at him, ruffling his short dirty blonde locks.

“Was a fucking disaster,” You mumble under your breath, locking eyes with the woman,

She gives you a small saddened smile, one hand reaching out to your arm to give you reassurance while the other cradled her growing bump.

“All that matters now is that you’re back. That you’re alive,” Sandy states with the same warm smile,

You give her a small smile as you look down at her hand rubbing soft circles on her stomach, “How’s the nugget?”

Sandy’s smile widens, “He’s good. Kickin’ and punchin’ in there. Think he wants out already,”

You chuckle at her response, “Just like his father. Stubborn as hell,”

Sandy softly chuckles. A glimpse of sorrow hovering over her eyes at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. But you knew she was strong, stronger than you that’s for sure because she pushed down the growing ball in her throat and continued smiling at you.

“Listen.. whatever we brought it’s.. it’s not enough. So regardless if you both aren’t sick.. just go to medic. Better safe than sorry,” You tell her with a small smile, which she returns, appreciation written on her face for your constant help,

She truly did appreciate everything you’ve done for both of them after Billy had passed away. At first she didn’t need your pity, but once she saw you were determined in keeping Billy’s promise, she slowly began opening to you. A bond was soon formed between you three, and you absolutely cherished it.

After kindly declining her offer in grabbing some breakfast with them—considering that’s where they were heading in the first place before running into you— you wave them goodbye before heading towards the Shadow Company’s apartments. Looks from multiple soldiers were sent your way, word had traveled fast about the failed mission which you weren’t surprised about, but still grew annoyed for this squads loud mouth. Nothing is ever kept a secret. Yet, you held your head high, giving dark threatening glares at soldiers who dared look your way, making them look the other way with a panicked expression in their eyes.

It felt like an eternity when you finally made it to your private quarters. Once the door was shut and locked behind you. You toss your keys somewhere on a nearby couch, placed your rifle against the coffee table, start to shrug off your boots and vest before making your way towards the bedroom. Where you fall face first on the mattress, slightly rattling your shelves from the rough impact, although at that moment you could care less if they decide to give its last breath and have it crumble on top of you.

You just needed sleep.

And that’s exactly what you got. Within five or so minutes you start to drift away, the sound of heavy rain beginning to pour just outside your window helps your exhaustion take over your body, helps the stress from yours shoulders to disperse for the time being and sending you into another deep, dreamless sleep.

++++

1900

BANG!

BANG!

The loud, extremely loud noise has you bolting from your bed. Your breath uneven as you scan your surroundings. Your bedroom remained still, only the sounds of rain hitting against your window can be heard, but before you can calm yourself, convince yourself it was just another nightmare you hear it once again. Only difference it has you jumping from bed when those loud sounds were familiar sounds of gunfire. With quick movements you slip on your boots before darting outside the bedroom, you quickly grip your rifle before running out the door.

The hallways were empty, but as you hurried down the steps, it was then you began hearing muffled screams, which then grew much louder and clearer that sent a dark shiver down your spine the moment you stepped outside into the pouring rain. It was absolute chaos outside. People were desperately running from something, someone, while others sought for safety. You tried asking a civilian for answers but they only pleaded with you with a frightening look as they ran away from you

“What the fuck?” You whisper as you watch them bolt down the road, but your eyes wildly turn at the sound of more horrific screams,

Your eyes grow wide as you catch a Shadow dragging a woman by her hair as she screams and pleads with them. Immediately, you ran towards the commotion where you roughly shove the soldier away, causing him to lose his balance. “What the hell are you doing?!”

His eyes stare at you with confusion, determination, yet they also had uncertainty and fear in them, “Following orders!”

“What?!” You yell the same time when more frightful pleads and screams are heard before hearing another round of gunfire echoing down the street,

The loud, piercing noise has you flinching, but nonetheless run towards the rapid fire. Your feet come to a complete stop when you see the horrific sight in front of you. Inside a gate we’re at least five Shadows with rifles, but your stomach turns when your eyes land on the pile of bodies that were stacked upon each other. The sight alone has a gasp falling from your lips, never in a million years did you think your team would be slaughtering civilians. Civilians and..kids.

The moment you see soldiers lining another group of people, along with kids, you run towards the gated area.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” You demand out loud as you shove the soldier that was about to raise his rifle,

Taken aback by your sudden presence and sudden shove, his eyes were just as wide and frantic as yours. Even with a mask covering most of his face you can see the horror in his face. “G-General Shepherd, Lieutenant. He’s ordered a sweep of the community,”

“A what?!” You question with genuine confusion and horror,

You should have seen it coming, of course the old man would do something like this to keep himself safe and away from any sort of danger. But killing innocent lives? You knew Shepherd was crazy with his risky motives, but now, you were convinced he had finally lost it.

Yet, before you can demand him to put the rifle away and free the civilians, a loud voice is calling after you. Turning around, your met with another soldier jogging after you.

“Lieutenant (L/N), General Shepherd wants you in his office. It’s urgent,”

“Damn right it’s fucking urgent!” You growl at him then turn back to the man who still had his rifle in his hand, “I don’t know what kind of shit ass order he gave you, but that’s enough! Let these people go,”

Just as you turn to walk with the other man, a voice is calling after you, “But Lieutenant.. General Shep—,”

“General Sheperd has lost his goddamn mind!!” You yell over the pouring rain, your eyes firm and angry, “Now I’ve ordered you, to stand. Down!”

The soldier hesitates to lower his weapon, even spares a glance to the other soldiers who stood by with the same hesitance, but they all eventually lower their weapons and allow the civilians to leave from the gate. All of them sprint away with frightened screams, once you knew not a single soul was apprehended you followed the soldier to the building where the piece of shit was. Although, you couldn’t deny the uncomfortable feeling settling in the pit of your stomach, you knew something bad was soon to come.

As you made your way through the streets, the streets that were once filled with certainty, safety, and joy, were now filled with absolute darkness and silence. Only the sound of the pouring rain surrounding you can be heard, along with faint screams coming here and there. You eventually make it to the top of the building where you shove open the door to his office, causing it to roughly collide with the glass window.

“Wanna explain to me why we’re killing half the fucking community?!” You yell as you march towards the desk where the old dog sat with a grim look,

Other soldiers who were nearby took a step closer towards you, indicating they’d hold you down if you’d tried anything.

Troy stood right beside Shepherd, his hands clasped behind his back as he glared at your storming frame. You also didn’t miss the way he takes a step forward in a protective manner, which makes you tighten your hold on your rifle. Your eyes then turn to the left of the office where Graves leaned against a stack of piled cases, his own rifle hung around his neck, dangling in front of his body, but it was his eyes that had a unfamiliar dark look in them.

“Lieutenant, I need you to calm down,” Shepard orders, his voice horsed as he spoke to you,

“Calm?— calm down?! You just ordered to kill innocent lives! How the fuck do you expect me to calm down!” You scream, your voice bouncing off the walls as you step closer to the desk, but hands gripping on your elbows has you halting your steps,

“Because Lieutenant, what I’m about to tell you is something I need you to understand!” Shepherd sternly states as he slowly rises from his chair, his eyes looking at you as you shrug off the soldiers,

“Understand what?! That we’re becoming mercenaries?!”

“Understand that this goddamn flu we got going on is only becoming more of a problem!” The old man starts, he remains behind his desk as he continues, “More lives are being infected with this flu every god forsaking minute and we don’t have the medical equipment to cure it!”

You shrug your shoulders from frustration and rage, “So what?! So that means you have to start killing people for it?! What happened to isolation?! Or quarantining the sick?!”

“Quarantine won’t do any justice here!” Troy joins in, his gaze firm as he continues standing by the General’s side, “Like General Shepherd said, everyone is being infected by the second. We need to kill the sick to kill the flu!”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. You couldn’t believe Graves was allowing this! All he did was stay quiet throughout the whole argument, just switching his gaze from you to Shepherd to Troy then back to you. After everything you’ve all been through, every near death experience, this was how your relationship would end? He wouldn’t try and attempt to back you on this? How can he agree with them? How can he kill in cold blood? What happed to him?

“Does that also include children?! Innocent children?!” You yell at every man in the room, but your eyes land on Shepherd when he inhales deeply through his nose, his shoulders straightening as he looks directly in your eyes,

“Whatever it takes. Lieutenant,” Your blood boiled in your veins at his words,

Your anger, hatred, frustration, exhaustion, everything you were feeling at the moment, you let it take over. Your vision immediately gets clouded with pure white hot rage, your heart pounded in your ears, the hair on your arms raised as your hands shook.

End him. Fucking kill him! He’ll never get away this.

“You crazy old fuck!!” You yell as you raise your rifle in the air, the barrel directed towards Shepherd, his eyes wide as he stares at you,

The situation had escalated rather fast. Your finger pressed the trigger with no hesitation, igniting the chamber to go off, but just as you had raised the gun towards the man and just as you pressed it, someone is knocking the rifle out of your hands. Because of this, the bullet only clipped Shepherd on his left shoulder. Which still had him stumbling backwards against the wall as he clutched onto his injured shoulder.

Almost immediately as the rifle fell to the ground, you feel large hands grasping your arms, but you quickly fight them off by twisting from their hold and snapping one of their arms, bringing an agony scream from them. It was then you realized it was another Shadow.

Yet, just as you hurt one soldier, more pair of hands are grabbing ahold of you, forcing you to the ground but your body was filled with adrenaline, rage that you used it to push against them. You roughly knock your shoulder against another Shadow’s firm chest, sending him tumbling back towards the other that had held onto you.

The moment both of them had fell to the ground, Troy was next in grabbing onto you. He gripped your hair as he pulled your head backwards, earning a pained scream from you. He threatened you disgustingly close in your ear that only seemed to intensified your rage, so with your free arm, you let your fist connect with his face once again where you hear a cracking sound before seeing him tumbling backwards against the wall. His hands reached up to his bloody nose as he groaned in pain.

“(Y/n)! Stop!” You hear Graves’ scream, your eyes avert to the Texan, noticing then he had his rifle pointing at you but held out a hand as his blue eyes pleaded with you,

It was at his moment that you knew, he’d shoot you if ordered too.

You stared at him with hurt, angered, betrayed eyes. How can he possibly allow this to happen? Why would he allow this to happen? You knew Graves would often do so some shady stuff or risk his life in order to get the job done, but this?! This was beyond not okay. This was not the Philip Graves you knew.

“Troy don’t!” Graves yells, his eyes wide as he watches the man behind your shoulder,

The moment the words leave his mouth you quickly turn to bolt out the office just as bullets start to fly. A bullet still manages to get lodged in your right upper arm as you ran out the door, but it wasn’t enough to halt your steps, instead it only heightened your adrenaline to run faster down the hallway. That was until you see more soldier running down your way, causing you to push through a random door just as their own rifles start sending live rounds your way. It felt like an eternity of you running through the building, dodging numerous bullets with your name on it, fighting Shadows who only ended up getting their life ripped from them by your own hands, but you eventually make it out the building. Except it wasn’t in a nice way.

Just as you had gotten to the second floor of the building and were focused on running down the hallway, one of Shepherds soldiers had caught you by surprise. He had emerged from a dark corner and had tackled you against the window, shattering it on impact. You fought him for a few minutes before you see him lunge at you in frustration, sending you both flying out the window. The both of you tumble down the second floors rooftop before landing roughly on the street. You groaned heavily as you laid under the pouring rain, your entire body flared with pain as you laid on the ground gathering your breath. But a voice in your head screams at you to get up. It took some strength, but you eventually pull yourself up and off the ground.

It was then as you slowly got to your feet that you noticed the man you were fighting with didn’t have the same luck as you. He had landed on nearby humvee, where you had landed on a tent filled with crates and cardboard boxes. Still wasn’t a painless fall, but at least you survived it.

With a hand clutching onto your aching abdomen, you limp away from the building, but the moment you had gotten a few feet away from said building, more shots are being fired in the air, forcing you to run through your pain.

You ran through crowds of people who were also running scared in different directions as those sons of bitches fired away. Not caring if they shot an innocent life, not caring if they shot innocent children, they didn’t care what was in front of them just as long as they got their job done. And their job was capturing you. Alive. Alongside “sweeping” the community.

But from the looks of it they had excuses ready to share to Shepherd on why they wouldn’t be able to bring you in alive.

Fearful screams are heard all around you as you ran through terrified crowds. Slightly being shoved or tripped by the civilians as they ran anywhere to find safety, fearing for their lives. You didn’t blame them. This was supposed to be a community where it should have felt safe for them, where they can rebuilt themselves, where they can depend on to stay alive, now they tried finding any escape to survive from those murdering cunts.

You ran as fast as you can to a dark alley where it led to a barricaded tunnel, the tunnel that led outside the headquarters. A tunnel that nobody knew about. A tunnel you had created as an emergency escape, no matter the situation. Whether it was an attack from Looters, from other rival groups, from Zeds, or in your case at the moment. Being captured and killed by your very own team who you thought was your family.

With quick movements you pull apart the gate from the floor, causing a small opening to get to the other side. The muddy floor covered your tactical gear as you forced your way into the small opening, huffing and puffing as you used whatever energy you had left to escape. Just as a flashlight points down towards the alley you were already on your feet running down the tunnel. Looking behind your shoulder you see more lights running your way, which only caused you to run faster. Once out the tunnel you turn to your left to head further away from the base, careful to stick to the shadows as you see more soldiers outside the base in guard. Pointing their lights to see if they find anything, anyone.

After what seemed like eons of dodging their spotlights, you quickly run further down the streets, however, just as you thought you were at a safe distance, before you can even process it somebody had tackled you down. A loud groan falls from your lips as you land painfully on your ribs, again. The captor who had tackled you fought with you, forcing you to turn around as he tried his best in zip tying your hands together, but of course you fought back. With irritation of not being able to control your squirming frame, the soldier forces you to turn forward right before letting the butt of his rifle land a heavy strike on your face. Causing your world to spin for a hot second.

“Eagle to base, I’ve got her. I repeat, I’ve apprehended Lieutenant Kali,” You hear him say into the cold night air, your mind slightly still dazed from the brutal blow to the head,

You didn’t know what the other person in the radio orders him to do, but knew it was nothing good because you see him nod before slowly making his way towards you. You tried crawling away from him, despite the blood trickling down the side of your temple and dizziness clouding your mind, you tried your best in moving away from him. But it was no use because he was quick to grip you from your ankles before roughly dragging you against the floor till he hovered above you, however, before he can do you any more harm he’s suddenly being tackled to the ground by a dark figure.

A brutal scream is being irrupted into the dark sky as the dark figure eats away at the soldier. Fuck. Holy shit. You think to yourself as you remain frozen on the floor, watching the gory scene unfold right in front of you. It didn’t take long for the screams to die out. Just when they did, the dark figure rises from the floor and slowly turns to you. It was then you noticed it was the same Zed from earlier. The one from the hospital. Your brows knit together in confusion, not quite understanding how he was standing right in front of you, just a few feet away. Did he follow us? You think once again, but before the Zed can try and pounce at you too the sound of more Shadow Company’s soldiers come running down the street, catching both yours and the Zeds attention. Using the opportunity of him looking down at the group of soldiers running your way, you quickly rise to your feet before bolting further down the street. Away from the soldiers, away from the flesh eating zombie.

Because if it wasn’t bullets that would kill you, it would be in the cold hands of the Zed.

You ran without looking back. Not really caring where you were heading, you just knew you had to get somewhere safe. So you ran down the darken streets of Chicago, the streets that were once filled with noise and joy, now they stood in cold frozen silence as the fungus eats away at the buildings and streets. Vines overtaking numerous houses, buildings, burnt cars, making it look indeed out of a horror movie.

After running aimlessly down the roads and cutting through multiple buildings without looking behind your shoulder, you squeeze through a broken down garage door that led to the other side of the home. However, just as you managed to fit through and turned to run once again, your feet come to an abrupt stop when your eyes land on a large herd of zombies.

Neither of them had noticed you yet. But it wouldn’t be long for them to pick up your scent and started chasing you, so to avoid that at all costs, you slowly begin to backtrack your steps as quietly as possible. But just as you moved a leg you see a creeper coming from the corner, noticing how he desperately begins sniffing the air, causing his dead buddies to do the same as they try following your scent.

Panic rises in your chest as you watch them slowly turn in your direction, but before they can get a visual of you a large cold hand covers your mouth, earning a muffled scream as you feel a firm arm wrap around your shoulders and hauling you out of their sight. Fear and adrenaline rushes in your veins as you try fighting the Zed, mentally preparing that this is how you die, this is how you’ll get infected. Despite you still trying to wiggle yourself out of the strong arms, you knew this was the end. After so many years of fighting to stay alive, so many bullets you’ve caught, so many lives you took, this was your end. None of it mattered anymore.

As you continued to fight your way out of his hold, you feel the way his hand tightens around your mouth the same time he pins you closer towards his chest. Noticing the way the heard of Zeds and Creepers slowly walk past the little alleyway you both hid from. The darkness helped hide you two, but your heart hammered in your chest as you watch with wide eyes, seeing them desperately follow your scent, seeing them pick up their pace when it must be fading into the night sky. After what seemed like centuries, the Zed that held you against his chest eventually lets you go, which you are quick to take a large step away from him.

Your breath came out of your mouth in quick panicked pants. Eyes still wide as you avert them from the tall figure to the walking dead. You weighed your options. Either stay and fight off the tall one or run and risk getting chased by the rest of the herd who seemed to be in good distance, but still. You don’t know how many more of them are out there.

So, you settled on fighting the tall one. Would you win? That’s highly unlikely. But hey. You’ve survived worse situations.

Slowly backing away from the military Zed, your eyes held his white, frosty, gaze. Then, from the corner of your eye you spotted an old, rusty iron crowbar, which you quickly grip onto it. Still holding his gaze, your hands tighten their hold on the bar when you see the Zed now walking towards you, a loud, threatening growl rumbling from it. You continue taking slow steps away from it, but just as you did you hear another loud, deep, gurgling growl, only except this time it didn’t come from the dead in front of you. This time it came from behind you.

Fuck sake give me a break. You mentally curse as you slowly, oh so slowly turn around. Only to be met with a large, very, very large obese zombie. Your eyes grow wide as your mouth falls open at the monstrosity standing just a few inches from you. This night was seriously determined in ending your life one way or another.

Yet, before your life can officially come to an end, you’re suddenly being tossed backwards against the cold concrete. A pained groan vibrates in your throat as you land awkwardly, but just as you fell you see the dead soldier once again launching at the large zombie.

“The fuck?” This time you voice out your thoughts as you remain watching the way the tall soldier fights off the other zombie, as if it was preventing it from reaching you,

There’s no way. That’s clearly not happening right now. There’s no way this very dead soldier is fighting off another zombie to get it away from me. I’m just going bat-shit crazy. That’s what’s actually happening right now. You think to yourself as you continue staring at the sight in front of you, eventually, you slowly crawled away then finally jolt to your feet before once again running out of the alley. As you ran, growls echo right behind you, but you never stopped. You once again continued running till you knew it was safe to stop.

You honestly don’t know how far you got, but you eventually come to a stop when you get to a suburban area that was deserted. Your lungs burned while your ribs stabbed at your sides. The rain never ceased, in fact it only seemed to intensify as the night went on, which you then realized you had to find shelter to gather yourself, deal with your throbbing arm and dry yourself before you die of hyperthermia. That’s how much luck you had.

As you panted heavily under the pouring rain, eyes observing your surroundings to catch a glimpse of any movement, any danger, you had missed the way a dark figure blended well in the shadows of the suburban area, as well as blending his heavy footsteps with the rain. That was until you turned around to check if no one or anything was indeed following you, but the moment you turn around your entire body is jolting from fright as the tall tactical Zed stood inches away from you.

“Fuck!” You curse as you fall backwards again. Which you’d like to point out that you’ll be waking up with some serious bruises on your lower backside from the repetitive falls,

You slowly crawl away from the dead, but the more you try distancing yourself, the more it walked towards you with a faint growl. Little did you know he— it was completely irritated with you and your lack of mobility. As you remained frozen on the soaked, cold ground, while your eyes stared upwards to him, you didn’t expect him to let out a grunt before walking past you. You watch his dark figure walk towards a house behind you, he climbs up the steps with a slight limp before ramming the door open with his shoulder and walking inside. Something you definitely, definitely were not expecting. In fact, you were so confused, speechless and shocked that you remained sprawled on the floor, the heavy rain still pouring down on you.

This was beyond a fucking weird and odd night for you. However, after a long minute, you get to your feet, but you stand your ground. Your eyes darting from the opened door of the home, to down the dark, cold, pouring street, then down the street you came from. You contemplated whether you should just run, again, or… No!! That’s a terrible idea!! It’s a trap! The moment you step foot into that house he’ll just launch at you!!

The voice argues in your head as you stay standing outside in the rain. You had such wild options right now that neither of them sounded safe or great. However, the option was made for you when you hear a loud shrieking noise echoing down the dark street. Can this night get any worse? Instantly your feet are moving to the house. Yet, just as you stand on the front porch of the rundown home, your eyes squint to get a glimpse of inside the death trap, but sigh heavily when darkness is all you can see. Your eyes then scan outside, trying to see if you can find anything of use to protect yourself with, but only thing you find are pieces of rotten planks of wood that looked like they’d snap on the first hit.

So with no other option, you slowly step inside the home. Your eyes trying to see through the darkness, luckily, the moon was bright enough to cast some sort of light through the broken down windows, but it still didn’t calm your nerves. Upon entering the home, the first thing that welcomes you is the stench of dusty, murky old walls, then a flight of stairs that lead upstairs. On your left, laid a destroyed den with rotten couches that have been flipped upside down, books, glass littered the ground, then to your right you assumed was the living room since you got a glimpse of some more couches. You weren’t able to fully get a view since the sound of heavy footsteps climbing down the stairs jolts your body to action mode.

Your hands curl as you prepare yourself for what’s to come. Your eyes never leaving the dark, tall figure slowly coming down the steps. Thick silence surrounds the both of you when he finally stops at the end of the stairs, your gazes locked on each other, that’s until the dead gives a grunt before slowly turning to walk to the right, entering the living room. Again, just like outside you watch him leave with tightly knitted brows, confusion once clouding your mind. This is definitely the most weirdest thing you’ve ever experienced. You stood there, not sure of what you should do next. Your eyes then look up the steps, a debate running in your head. It was simple, either go up, lock yourself in a room and try to catch some sleep— if that ever happens— or remain downstairs to keep a close eye on his.. intentions. Although, you were convinced on what exactly his intentions were.

Eventually, after what seemed like minutes passing, a cold, uncomfortable shiver runs down your spine, making you decide in heading upstairs. You slowly walk up the steps, keeping your gaze locked behind you in case he decides to attack you from the back. Your priority wasn’t on checking upstairs for any other of his brain eating friends, you had assumed upstairs was clear since you didn’t hear any commotion upon entering the home and had seen him coming from upstairs. With a ridiculous thought, you assumed he had checked the whole house before you had stepped inside.

It was such a dumb thought that it even caused a scoff out of you as you continue making your way up the home. Your steps causing the old staircase to groan under your weight. Once up the second floor, you scan your surroundings until they settle on a door on the far end of the floor. You quickly make your way inside the room and shut the door behind you. It didn’t have a lock. Fucking perfect, but you did see a desk near the window, so with quick steps you walk towards it before dragging it towards the door with heavy grunts. You make sure to jam it right under the doorknob, it wasn’t much but you knew it’d keep him from entering while you slept. Or at least tried to get some sleep.

More time had passed by. After getting a better look of the room you chose, you realized it must’ve belonged to a male in his mid twenties, possibly in his thirties. Old playboy, alternative rock band posters hung on the walls, a mess of papers, old shoes, clothes, books, CD cases, was displayed on the wooden floor. Once discarding your wet clothes and managing to find dry clothes that shockingly fit you, which was another pair of dark jeans and a faded grey AC/DC t-shirt, you checked your injured arm. The bullet was lodged between your flesh, making it a bitch to pull out you eventually remove the piece of metal with some old scissors you found.

Definitely wasn’t sanitary nor was it not painful but what other choice did you have? After semi bandaging your arm with some shirts you finally settled under the covers.

You didn’t exactly fall asleep right away, your mind was on high alert to even let your eyes close. Every little noise you’d hear it’d sent a wave of paranoia, causing you to grip onto the wooden baseball bat you had found somewhere in the room. The paranoia never ceased, especially when you’d hear movement coming from downstairs, reminding you that you were in fact not alone.

Sleep and exhaustion does eventually force you into sleep. Little noise would often wake you, but those eventually drifted away in the air as sleep overtook you. You just prayed to god, if there is a god, that you’d wake up in the morning.

And if you did. You’d gladly escape with the first chance you’d get.

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-> Aahhhhhhhh After 3 Long Months!!!! It’s Finally Here!!!!! I Have Been Working On This One Back & Forth!!

-> Like I Said, This Is By Far The Longest Fic I’ve Ever Written. I think I Usually Always Stop Around 9k Words But This Is Definitely My Longest Yet! 😭

-> I Really Do Hope Y’all Liked This One Because… I’ve Worked On It For So Long 🙃

-> But Anyways, It’s Finally Yours To Read! Give It Some Love, Share Your Thoughts Much Love To Ya’ll & Expect More Chapters To This Mini Series! 🫶🫶

-> Turn On Post Notifications!! For More Updates!!! 🔔

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[leaawrites]

I'm sooo in love with Noel in the 00's, specifically at the concert from which they released 'Familiar to Millions' And I don't know if you could get some writing about that concert, in which Noel is very much in love with the reader and she is pregnant, and it is like something very nice since this makes him (more) in love with her and her belly :))

Familiar to Millions, but only I know you

Noel Gallagher x pregnant!reader

Summary: in which, Noel is surprised with the best gift one could ask for at a concert, his lover.

Warnings: fluff, nothing really

Wordcount: 1.1k

Masterlist

The music was loud, pulsing through her veins and making her feel alive for the first time in weeks. Weeks spent at home, alone. Without another soul beside her own and the hint of a new one on it’s way.

The news weren’t broken yet. They knew, the ones supposed to know were aware of the addition to the family they provided, but everyone else still thought they were irresponsible twenty-something lovers with no responsibilities in life besides living.

It would be the easiest way to keep their little family a secret for longer with her at home, but when the doctor told her that it’d still be alright for her and the baby to go to one last concert, she bought the plane tickets as soon as she got home. Excitement rushing through her only imagining Noel’s face when he’d see her standing backstage, cheering him on and singing and dancing like she’d usually do.

Rushing through security and past people she’d normally greet with a soft smile on her face, Y/n barely made it for the beginning of ‘Who feels love?’.

“Stupid traffic,” she cursed under her breath with every other fast step she had to take because of it, her hand supporting her belly.

Liams voice boomed through the speakers through the big stadium, guiding her where to go. Arriving behind the stage, Y/n could finally see her lover, focused on the guitar in his hands and playing as good as always, the people feeling the same.

Watching them jump and scream and sing brought back that uncomfortable feeling inside of her that she despised so much. As much as she hated to admit it, sometimes the mere thought of those people seeing Noel more often than she did through certain periods of life had her chest churning and her blood boiling. The jealousy rushing through her body then, making every other feeling of pride and joy wash away in a matter of seconds.

She hated it, but she couldn’t deny it.

When Who Feels Love? faded out, she watched Noel look out into the crowd, taking in the moment of rounds of applause for them. For him. His eyes closing for a second longer than a simple blink of the eye and a small smile forming on his face.

Almost like he could feel her eyes on him, Noel turned his head towards the backstage area, not thinking much of it. Until a familiar body crossed his sight and he had to take second look at who was standing there. Hands clasped together in front of their face, fingers moving against each other, a faint hint of clapping coming from them.

His face lit up as his eyes finally found hers, the smile etching on his lips and his spine straightening in the process of taking her in. The shirt over her body already bulging and showing a hint of what was growing. Blowing him a kiss, he let go of the neck of his guitar while Liam spoke, catching it and pressing his palm against his heart. Smiling like an idiot, he was pulled back into reality as Alan started with the beginning of Supersonic.

Looking back down, towards the ground, he couldn’t fight the small smile still embroidered on his face. In the corner of his eye he could see Liam grin at him, showing off his stupid teeth as his eyes found Y/n’s figure as well.

Moving to the rhythm and singing the words, laughing at Liam's comments throughout the set. His eyes wandered over to her more than once throughout the set. Adoration adorning his gaze and a little song of joy dancing on his heart, making it move faster to the beat of butterfly wings flapping against it.

She was there when he didn’t even ask if she could come with him. She just did it, wanting to be there for him and support him. For Noel love was a complicated thing. It was always there, but it never truly crazed his senses that anyone wanted to care for him like he read in poems and heard in songs. For him, the one always was the music and the fans - the feeling of living wildly. Though with her, he felt a peace he never experienced before. His heartbeat would fade but always still linger in the back of his head and it would just be them. Two lungs breathing together, catching air to stay alive and spent a second longer with their lover.

As soon as they said their farewells, Noel put the guitar away and rushed backstage. Rushing into her outstretched arms and picking her up, spinning them both a bit. Her head stuffed into the crook of his neck, giggling against his skin and squealing when he wouldn’t let her go again. The noises of the still cheering crowd fading away when they were wrapped into each other.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, pulling away just far enough to look at her but still hold her close to his body like he could lose her any second. “You should be in bed, why are you here?”

“Doc said it was alright when I go support you for one night still. The little one isn’t able to hear as much as of yet so it shouldn’t hurt them,” she answered, both still smiling from the adrenaline rushing through their veins. The adrenaline of seeing each other.

“But you were far enough away, right? It wasn’t too loud for you was it?” Noel started panicking, remembering the words that the doctor said to them the first time they went. What they should consider and look out for while planning their daily life. Listing every possibility that could follow a missed second of carefulness.

“It was fine,” she assured him, stroking through his hair to calm him down. “I stood far enough away from any speakers and I promise you I’m being careful.”

Noel nodded, his hands finding their way to their usual place on either side of ehr stomach, gently holding on to the bump and stroking his fingers over her skin, always waiting for a sign of the one still hiding from the world.

“I’m just worried,” he mumbled, shily looking down and avoiding her gaze.

“I know,” she said. “I’m too. But I don’t wanna have to miss you because of it.”

“As soon as this is over I’ll be all yours,” he assured her, pulling her closer once more, planting a kiss on her lips.

"You were incredible," she said, pulling away to catch her breath. "I know I say it a lot, but you are truly amazing. I mean, your vocals and everything. I swear I felt the little one move whenever you played a solo, need to do it a lot when it's finally here."

“I love you so much,” he simply answered, connecting their lips again. His smile ever present even through their close presence to one another, she could feel his happiness and love travel over to her over their lips, affecting her with his sappiness.

“I love you too, Noel,” she whispered against his lips, not wanting to part from him ever again. Not after knowing he’d react to her unannounced presence like that. He actually wanted her there.

[empressgeekt]

Trolls - Accidental Knight and the end of the world (Field of Forget-me-nots au - what if?) -PART 3!!!!

Okay, so this is a what if off of second movie of the FoF au (this post), where Barb won. This was inspired by the fic "The Beginning of the End" by AnimationFan2006 on Ao3. Pls go give it a read. I highly recommend that anyone go to look at the rest of the Field of Forgetmenots au. And I had to split it in half because I posted the first one at 2:00 am. Here is that first post! and here's part 2

Now on to the plot...

Lets jump into the ocean and at the rubble of the techno kingdom. Synth wasn't sure to count himself horribly unfortunate or incredibly lucky. He had rushed off to the restroom, during the last rave. Said rest room had been destroyed by the Rock troll subs and Synth was left unconscious after the ceiling caved in on him. He wakes up to his home destroyed and a pounding headache. For about an hour or too, he flits around looking for any other survivors. Eventually, Sharks chase him out of the reef, now that there's no guards on duty or music playing, predators are flooding into the place.

The open Ocean is tough, Synth feels tiny with all the giant fish, whales and sharks. Also very lonely, he had grow up always surrounded by people, now there was no one. He doesn't remember much of the attack, but he does remember the Rock music. Usually other tribe music wasn't played in the reef, but the few records they did have were used in school so children could learn how to identify the difference between them. Well, all the tribes but pop and the sub-genres. If Rock had turned Synth needed to find help. So he just kept swimming....and swimming...and swimming.

Its after who know how long of dodging Fish, Squids, sharks, whales, and Dolphins (He thought they were friends, yo!), exhaustion and nearly starving to death, that he decides to find fresh water. Most land creatures lived by fresh water sources right? And even better he wouldn't have to deal with sharks....Well Swimming in land had it's own issues. Fresh water had Frogs, and alligators, and unknown plants. But that wasn't even the worse part. In land rivers were flooded with Zombified techno trolls. Synth is horrified by these monsters with the faces of his friends. Thankfully however the zombies aren't as good with their hydrokinesis as Synth was, so he could defend himself. However, by this point he was running on fumes. After a particularly bad fight, he passes out and the river current carries him into the lake, where he's sucked up into a bunch of pipes and is spit out in Bridget's bathroom sink.

Bridget has had a hard few weeks. There was still no word from Poppy, and she was getting really worried. Gristle was her rock, and she loved him to bits for it, but still she found that she didn't like no knowing what was going on outside. Word of Mount Rageous falling and Vacay island was shocking and scary news, especially when you consider how big those cities are in comparison to troll village. They still weren't sure what exactly was attacking them, but Gristle has put in mass emergency protocols in to place. Meaning, stocking up on water, food and other supplies, fortifying defenses and putting up a curfew to keep their people safe. All the stress of the passed couple weeks, has Bridget unable to sleep, so she tries to calm her self with a water cup, only to turn on the sink and shriek when something other then water falls out of the faucet. Gristle is running into the bathroom hearing her shout, and they both marvel at the tiny creature that infiltrated the castle. At first Bridget thought it was troll, but the glowing skin and fins didn't fit with the troll they know. Still they notice that the little creature is wounded, so Gristle orders for a physician for the creature and a plumper to check the pipe filters, because they are clearly not doing their job.

The doctor can't really do much for the creature, as they don't know much about their physiology. However, they do try to wrap their wounds (a challenging task with the small limbs and delicate/super slippery skin) and recommend to the King and queen-in-waiting that they set up the creature in a shallow water filled tray with a padded bottom. Bridget does her best to follow the doctors orders, padded a water tray and laying the creature in the water leaving their face above water and the rest of their body submerged.

Synth eventually wakes up after a few days. He's sore and hungry, but he's alive. Even better, someone had wrapped up his wounds. He had finally found help! It takes a little effort, but Synth figures out how to flop of the lovely water dish he woke up in and walk on his fins. Bridget finds him like this and after some initial shock on both sides the two get to talking. Synth talks about how Rock trolls attacked his people and he's looking for help. Bridget learns a lot more about the troll world and with answers in hand she takes Synth and they go talk to Gristle. The Bergen king is a little unsure about what to do with the new information. Bridget wants to go out and find the rock trolls, but Gristle once more has to hold her back, since they have no idea where the rock trolls are. Still Gristle does allow Synth to stay as long as he needs, and if they every come up with a plan to save his people they'd help. At this moment, Chad and Todd enter the room, and inform Gristle and Bridget that their are some Vacationers outside of the gate asking for sanctuary.

Brandy has had a hard few weeks. She and the other mothers (plus a few single dads) had spent a few weeks on the open water, before beaching on the main land and moving on foot. Her little ones are in different states of shock. The older ones (and Labreezy), are scared but they're putting on brave faces for their younger siblings, who are missing their daddy, and about three steps from a meltdown at all times. All the mothers and single dads are pulling together to keep all the kids safe, a fact that Brandy is grateful for since nearly half of the children there are hers. She listens to the radio every night after the kids are asleep, the other's used to listen too, but when they hear of the fall of Vacay island, they stop. Brandy never stops.

Eventually, after long weeks of traveling they come across BergenTown. The rest of the group is eager to ask for aid after their food and water supplies have been completely depleted, however Brandy is hesitant. Her children are half troll. There were many nights when she and Bruce had first gotten together when she would hear him wake up crying from nightmares about the place. Living as livestock, even from just hearing about it, is no way to live. Brandy wasn't sure she could take her children in there and watch these creatures feed off her husband's people with out going mad. However, they had no more food or water. Her babies need a proper meal and a good night's rest. Brandy reluctantly agrees, but makes the other's swear not to mention her husband. Her babies might not be troll sized but she doesn't want to take chances.

After speaking with the guards, they're told that only one may come in to plead with the king. The other adults decide that Brandy should go in. She is by far the smartest of them, and she knew about bergens before coming here. Inside she is a raging kermit (seriously just because she knew about them, doesn't mean she knows how to talk to creatures who ate her children's grandparents!), however she keeps all that inside and lets the guards lead her through the town. Bergentown isn't like Vacay island. The colors are dulled and leaned more towards green then yellow and blue. The People make her feel small, Vacationers being only half the size of Bergens at best, and she couldn't imagine what it was like for Bruce to grow up here. In the corner of her eye she sees what could only be the troll tree, and she looks away quickly, not wanting to see her love's people trapped, but at the same time missing that the cage is gone and the tree is empty.

To her relief, The Bergen King is a young man, and on the smaller side. A little less intimidating then she thought he would be. Brandy thinks she's doing alright, until another bergen walks in. A girl around the same age as the king, in a fancy pink dress. The look she shares with the king is one that Brandy recognizes, young love. Then she notices what the girl is holding. A tray with a Techno troll on it. Techno Trolls usually stopped by the island every now and again, but Brandy knew they never came this far inland. For a moment she fears that she's about to witness a troll losing their lives, but then said troll speaks up, asking her name. When she answers, The Troll asked if she ran the cantina, and upon confirming she did, to her shock the troll advocates for her and the King listens. The king and the girl leaves for a moment, and Brandy approaches the troll asking if he was alright. Synth, after introducing himself, says he's as good as he's going to get. Bridget and Gristle are good hosts, and from him Brandy learns about how there's supposedly peace between the trolls and them, and from her Synth learns about the whole eating trolls thing. Which he is grossed out by but he'd been there for over a week, most of which he was unconscious for, and nothing bad has happened. Still he'll ask. The King returns and says that her people will be given sanctuary, and since he knew that she worked in the restaurant he offers for Brandy to work in the kitchens while her family is housed in the castle. She accepts the offer a little skeptical, and vows that if any trolls enter that kitchen she'd let them go.

After two weeks, Brandy is relieved to find that the peace was an actually true thing, and the kitchen staff was treated very well in BergenTown. She forms a quick friendship with Bridget, who has a habit of cleaning when stressed so she helps Brandy after dinner is served, despite practically being a princess. The Bergen girl is sweet, and it isn't too long before, Brandy is handing out advise to her that could be described as motherly. IT also helps that Bridget loves playing with the children (yea, Gristle was a little shocked by the sheer number of children he just invited into the castle). Things seem to start to settle by this point. Brandy has a way to keep a stable life for her and the kids, and for now their safe. She still misses Bruce, but she hasn't given up hope on him yet. Especially when she starts getting morning sickness. When she figures out that kid number fourteen is on the way, she laughs, because of course she and Bruce would have a child in the middle of the apocalypse. Still she keeps calm and carries on, hoping for another girl.

Back at the golf course, Demo excitedly reveals that the letter is from Hickory and that he has opened a line of communication with Pop troll prisoners, including Queen Poppy. Viva jumps on that, she wants to know everything about what's happening to her sister, and if they had seen her Dad. There's nothing in the letter about Peppy, much to her distress, and all that's on Poppy is that she was being tortured and that they want her out sooner then later. Viva is horrified, and wants to get her sister out right now, but everyone has to tell her to slow down. They need a plan first. Keith asks if they can get Branch out and the letter does mention him but Queen Barb is keeping him close, so they might not be able to. Keith is heavily disappointed.

For now all they can do is keep sending letters back and forth, slowly forming a plan to get the prisoners out. They do get something solid going. It's a long shot but it could work. However, when the subject of leave the golf course comes up, Clay becomes very vocal about not leaving, and surprisingly Viva doesn't back him up. This causes the two of them to argue, Clay wanting to know why Viva has changed her mind and suddenly wants to abandon everything they've worked for, and Viva cant' lose her sister again. Especially if she's out there being tortured (basically reversing their movie roles).

John Dory Floyd and Bruce all pull him out of the room, and start a long over due conversation. This only serves to piss Clay further off, especially when John and Bruce are agreeing that he's out of line. The middle brother just loses it at them, screaming about how he had finally found a place where he was respected as a leader, and now John has come running into his life trying to control everything, and that everyone is blind to what JD is doing, controlling them, trying to get his band back together, with made up story.

Bruce: Whoa whoa whoa, what are you talking about?

Clay: Oh so now you want to listen?!

JD: do you really think I would orchestrate the end of the world just to get Brozone back together?

Clay: Of course you would! All you've ever done is try to ruin my life with that stupid band of yours!! You did it when we were kids, but that wasn't enough for you ! You had to come back and do it again! Well guess what I'm not going to let you trick everyone and ruin everything again!

JD: I never wanted to ruin everything Clay! I want you all safe.

Clay: pfff, yeah right. You just want me to be your dancing fun boy puppet. Keep me in a little box! Never take me seriously!

JD: I didn't mean to put you in a box...

Clay: Oh, yeah then what did you mean to do? Make me into a doll?

JD: no! it was to keep you safe and get food on the table!

Clay: Don't try to make yourself into a hero here, John Dory, you were just a bossy controlling parasite. How in the world would making me a 'fun boy' keep me safe!

JD: Because the Chef never took trolls that made the others Happy! That was the whole point of the band! To make you all more important alive then on a platter! So ,you wouldn't get taken like...like...

Silence....

Floyd: John?

JD: *sigh* The last thing mom and dad told me was to take care of you.

Bruce: and the band was your way of doing that.

JD: yeah...I first I thought it would just be me, doing shows, earning money, putting food on the table. One by one you each wanted in and...*shrugges*

Clay: W-what about Grandma, she had money you didn't need to sacrifice our childhoods to put "food on the table"

JD: She was retired, sure her pension was enough for her to live off of but plus five growing boys? And that's not even covering the house bills or ya'lls school.

Clay: well, what about the perfect family harmony?

JD: What?

Clay: You know perfect family harmony? The thing we failed and then you abandoned us for !

JD: Oh...that...it wasn't my idea originally.

Clay: What?

JD: yeah, King Peppy asked me to do it. It was supposed break the cage...so we could escape...

Clay: what?!

Floyd: That's why you were so stressed...you were trying to save us...

Bruce: why did you say anything. I could've helped you. If I had understood what was going on....

JD: you would've panicked. Besides it wasn't your job to help me. I was the oldest, I had to be the leader, I had to be the one to worry, so the rest of you didn't have to.

Clay: *rolling his eyes* yeah real good job you did there.

Bruce: Clay...

Clay: Oh please, sure he's not as big of a jerk as I thought, but don't tell me you've forgotten all he did to us! He shoved us in to roles and made life hell! Floyd had issues talking about his own problems, because he was so busy dealing with ours! I couldn't even keep my hair its natural color! You couldn't even look at yourself in the mirror without having horrible thoughts about your body!

Bruce: Clay I-

JD: I'm sorry...I-I never wanted to hurt you.

Clay: Then why did you?

JD: Because I thought if I gave you roles then you wouldn't have to change yourselves. Bruce was young, handsome and obsessed with romance novels. Floyd could cry at the drop of a hat. You were always laughing or jumping onto something. I thought if I gave you labels then you wouldn't have to change for the fans. I was trying to make it easier for you. If you were wild no one would judge you. If Floyd cried no one would call him names. If Bruce flirted with a random girl it wouldn't be seen as weird. I-I just didn't think you'd out grow them so quickly....I'm sorry.

Bruce: Oh Johnny...

Clay: You-you should've told us all this.

JD: I know.

Clay: So, you really aren't here to ruin everything, to force me back...now that i'm serious?

JD: Of course not! Clay you could be and evil psychopathic murderer, and i could care less! I'm just happy you're alive! I mean after I went back and the tree was empty...

Floyd: You went back? Even after 'goodbye forever'?

JD: I didn't mean it...I always meant to come back...but when i did...no one was there. *sigh* But enough about me, there's one other critter in the room we need to address. Clay what's your issue with Keith?

Clay: Issue I don't have an issue.

Bruce: Clay, tell us what's going on.

Clay: Nothing's going on! So, what if I fucked up so bad that Branch had to go live with a foster parent and got saddled with a kid and then got turned by psycho evil queen! It's fine!

Floyd: Clay you didn't fuck up...

Clay: I did! I never left the tree! I just moved to a different pod and...never talked to Branch or grandma...I wanted to after the escape...but...I should've been there, I should've stayed with them...Branch had to find a new family and it's all my fault...

Floyd: It's not just you're fault Clay, we all left. Hell, I promised I'd go back and I never did! now Branch is gone and...*Weeps*

JD: We're gonna get him back *hugs Floyd* and nothing's going to keep us apart again. This family's going to stick together best we can from now on.

Bruce: Keith included.

Clay: I need to apologize to him...

JD: We all do...to both of them...

(wow that segment took way too long)

With the air cleared between the bio-brothers things move on a little smoother, Clay is still hesitant to leave the golf course considering the threat but he wants Branch back now two. The apology to Keith didn't go great, kid still hated all of them, but Clay wasn't hostile anymore.

Demo continued to keep writing Jovi, and soon they had a plan in place. Demo would sneak back into the city, and help Jovi move the prisoners outside the boarders, hiding them in stage equipment and shipping them out to an out of city venue for an obsure band that hired Demo as a manager. The out of city venue would be Rhonda, where a team of select trolls would be waiting to receive the escapees. Along with Jovi since it's getting harder to hide his mixed nature and he's worried about getting Zombified. The date and place is set...

What they don't know is that Debbie had intercepted their fruit bat and Barb knows all about the deal. Originally she wanted to take out Jovi immediately, however Riff suggests that she waits so she can crush all of the rebellion at the exchange. She likes this idea better, after all she had been looking for the perfect place to execute the pop queen, what better then to do so in front of her allies with the blade of her noble knight. Hickory catches wind of this, and manages to send the large amount of Rockers that Barb originally wants to intercept the trade off on a wild goose chase. He thinks he's saved the mission.

Demo enters the city with a sick stomach, he's now and enemy of the state. it's hard to interact with Val and Petra after everything. He's really glad when he meets up with Jovi to get the other's out. The prisoners or Snackpack as they were called her honestly really sweet, and he felt bad about what they went through. And shockingly amongst them was the funk princes, unturned.

Poppy isn't so sure of the hope that bubbles in her belly at the sight of two trolls that sneak into her cell late at night. Jovi has proven to be kind but she's still wary of this Demo guy, though he is amusing with all his formalities around her. Seeing her brother and friends was a balm her soul needed, though it didn't settle her fear as they were sneaked out the city. It isn't until the heat of the sun and fresh air, hit her skin outside of the city and she sees the little green trolling running into her arms do her colors begin to brighten. Poppy would Hug Keith with all she had. In the back ground she could hear the others talking with the trolls that Demo had found and came in contact with, but she didn't pay them any mind well until the whislte of and arrow shots past and someone screams. Poppy would look up and whisper in horror, "Branch?"

----

There will be a part 4

[cioud-berries]

Just Can't Get Enough || Chapter 6

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Summery:

It was hard to believe that someone who was notoriously known as a bully, like Michael Afton, had a crush on someone that wasn't some cheerleader or popular girl at school. Y/N was a total nerd but that didn't stop him from crushing on her for years. After the grace of god, when he got the chance to ask her out she was skeptical but took it. But how would others react to the strange parring?

Category:

Michael Afton x Female Reader

Chapter Warnings:

Cussing

Word count: 6,120

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Babysitting

October 5 | Friday | 7:00 AM

The news of the notorious Micheal Afton dating a straight A theater kid spread around fast. No thanks to Michael telling almost everyone he came in contact with. Y/N should’ve known this was coming, but it was her fault for not mentioning she wanted to keep things a bit more private.

When she went to school on the monday after their second date, she slowly noticed more and more people looking her way throughout the day. Some eyes were full of jealousy, some other curiosity, but mostly confusion. When she asked Michael who he told, all he could do was laugh awkwardly, chuckle and rub the back of his neck, not knowing the exact number. 

While most people just looked on from a distance, some people were brave enough to speak up. The most common question that was asked was- “Are you and Michael really dating?” Meant as a genuine question but it always comes off as an insult. Some people, mostly girls, would tell her- “He’s only using you to get a good grade, y’know?”

While it was all very discouraging for Y/N, she had Michael right there, confidently reassuring her by saying “They’re just jealous that I have such an amazing girlfriend, and they know they can never live up to it.” Most times, he’d swing his arm around her and give her a big kiss on the cheek afterwards. His physical affection was growing by the day.

Y/N’s goal was just to get through the week. Focus on classes, ignore the stare’s, and everything will hopefully calm down a bit by next week. Only one day left until the weekend. Her mother had just dropped off her and Erik off for school. It didn’t take Michael too long to find and berate her.

“Good morning my gorgeous girlfriend.” He walked up next to her, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“You are way too energetic.” She replied tiredly. She turned to him with a slight smile, “But good morning.”

Just then, Malissa Miller walked by with her posse, scoffing at the two loud enough for them to hear. Michael just glared in disgust. “Bitch” He mumbled. “I don’t know why she’s scoffing. She’s literally in a relationship.”

“Whatever.” Y/N mumbled, starting to head towards her next class.

Michael was worried that this type of thing would cause Y/N to get fed up with him and break it off. “Hey, I’m sorry.” He caught up to her. He wanted to apologize for telling nearly everyone.

“It’s not your fault. I just don’t understand why people can’t mind their own business.” She huffed irritably Michael winced slightly, feeling like he contributed to her annoyance.

He still felt at fault because she’s taking most of the criticism over something that wasn’t her fault. He should’ve just kept his mouth shut. “So what are you doing over the weekend?”

“Nothing really.” She turned over to him. “What about you? Would you want to hang out?”

He sighed, obviously annoyed. “I would love to, but my dad is dragging me to another state to pick up something he bought.”

“Well at least you’re leaving town for the weekend.” She tried to come up with some positives to make him feel better. “That should be fun!”

“Yeah, in the car with my dad for hours. So much fun.” He replied sarcastically.Y/N wasn’t sure the type of relationship he had with his dad. But she assumed it wasn’t so great seeing how he was around his father.

“Well-” She was trying to find the right words to say. “I hope you at least find some sort of entertainment.” The five minute warning bell rang, signaling they needed to get to class.

“Me too.” He said shortly, knowing he wouldn’t.

12:34 PM

Y/N’s mother was spending her day off gathering groceries for the next week. It’s not something she’d really wanted to do on her day off, but she should save herself the time later, and just do it now.

Making sure to get everything she knew her kids wanted, she headed for the cereal aisle. She knew that they were running out of Y/N’s favorite cereal and wanted to make sure she got it for her. 

She got to the aisle and walked down it, trying to find the type that Y/N liked. She was so focused on the shelf that she didn’t see the man standing there, lightly running her cart into him. 

“Oh my, I’m so sorry!” She quickly apologized to the man. She recognized the man but couldn’t put her finger on it.

He moved away from the font of her cart, not wanting the possibility of getting hit again. “It’s fine,” He put on a fake smile. He put the box of cereal in his basket.

“Oh shoot!” She exclaimed, realizing that the man just took the last box. “My daughter loves that brand.” 

“My daughter does as well.” His tone was slightly defensive, “Her babysitter quit, so I am trying to get her favorite foods to make the drive more bearable.”

“Oh well if you need a babysitter, my daughter could do it!” She quickly replied, always looking for opportunities for her kids.

“Well-” He went to voice his concerns, due to only meeting this woman less than five minutes ago. 

“Don’t worry! My daughter is a straight A student and is great with children!” She chimed in, pressuring the man to accept the offer. “She doesn’t have a car but if there was an emergency, I could always drive for whatever reason.”

The man thought about it, weighing the options. The one that stuck out most to him was how badly he didn’t want to deal with Elizabeth. He was already having to bring Michael to help him and he knew Elizabeth would throw a tantrum the whole time. He really didn’t want to deal with it.

“Fine.” He stated through gritted teeth.

“Perfect!” She exclaimed happily, pulling out a pen from her purse, ready to write all of the man’s information down.

She felt very accomplished as she continued to shop. She knew it was going to be a good opportunity for Y/N, seeing as she hasn’t gotten a job yet, and most kids her age already do.

3:04 PM

Y/N and Erik got into the car. Y/N sighed, happy that the week was finally over. Hoping that by next week, everyone would forget or not care about her and Michael being together.

“You okay honey?” Their mother asked her. 

“Yeah,” She sighed again, not sharing any detail as to why, “I’m just happy it’s the weekend. I can finally relax.” 

Their mom gripped the wheel a bit, knowing that Y/N wouldn’t like the news she was about to give. She didn’t want her kids to see her questioning her choices so she put on a smile and told her. “Well I actually got you a babysitting job over the weekend!”

“What?” She quickly yelled while Erik snickered at the situation, happy he wasn’t the one to have a job forced upon. 

“No need to be so dramatic.” She looked over at Y/N. “It's a good, easy way to make money. Plus most kids your age already have a job by now.”

“Ugh.” Y/N groaned, lowering in her seat. “Why don’t you ask me before getting me into something. What if I had something this weekend?”

“Well if it was important, I would’ve known about it.” She retorted, Y/N could tell her patience was thinning. “It was short notice but I bet you’ll get more money for that!”

“Who am I babysitting for?” She finally questioned. “The neighbors?”

“William Afton. He’s the owner of that pizza place we went to.” She said it as if it was no big deal.

“Oh my god.” Y/N whispered under her breath.

She knew that it was a small town, but the coincidence of her mom somehow getting her to babysit Michael’s little sister was kind of funny. But from what Michael has said about her, this will be a very long weekend.

“So you just told this stranger that I’d come over to his house for the weekend?” Y/N stated, obviously peeved. “What if he was some kind of creep and was lying to you?”

“Oh come on sweetheart.” Her tone was starting to show signs of annoyance. “I don’t think that’s the case. If it was, my motherly instincts would’ve kicked in. Plus I know his name, address and place of work.”

Y/N looked at Erik through the rearview mirror, knowing their mom had the motherly instincts of a Harp Seal. “How long is it for?” She finally gave in.

“From five until Sunday afternoon.” She pulled into the driveway. “I know there will be enough food for you to feed the girl and yourself but I’ll give you some extra money to order pizza.”

They all got out of the car. Y/N started heading up to her room to start packing, even though she has another few hours until she has to leave.

“Maybe bring some movies for you two to watch!” Her mom told her from the bottom of the steps. “The easiest babysitting can get is putting something on for them to watch and just leaving them to it!” She advised, remembering when she used to babysit.

Y/N made sure to bring some things she’d think Elizabeth would like, from Michael’s description. She was dreading this weekend already and it barely even started. At least she’d get to meet Michael’s notorious sister, even though she couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad thing. She wondered if that meant Michael would be there also, though she doubted it as he seemed certain he was going on that trip with his father. Or maybe I’ll deal with a miniature version of him. She thought humorously, wondering if his sister was just as troublesome as him. She was just dreading to face their father overall, unsure if he’ll recognize her from before. 

4:53 PM

Her mom pulled into the driveway of the Afton household. Many questions started to flurry around in her head. What if Elizabeth doesn’t like her? Would Michael find it weird that she was staying in her house while he wasn’t there? Does he even know it’s her babysitting? Is this going to be the worst weekend of her life? 

“Now if you need anything just call, you remember the home phone number right?” She asked, wanting to make sure she had everything.

“Of course I do,” She grabbed her bag of stuff out of the back of the car. “And if I didn’t, I know they have a phonebook.”

“Okay, well I left some money in your bag if you guys want to order pizza.” She gave Y/N an encouraging smile. “Good luck! Have fun!”

Y/N got out of the car, stopping before closing the door. “I’ll try my best. Love you” 

“Love you too sweetie!” Y/N shut the car door, heading towards the house. It didn’t take any time for her mother to quickly pull out of the driveway and leave.

Y/N grumbled, thinking that her mother could have at least waited until she went inside before leaving. She turned back towards the house, now realizing how creepy it was. It was an old plain looking house, but the thing that made it creepy was how secluded it was. It was about a quarter of a mile to get back to the main road, and even with that, it's a few miles until you get back to a populated area.

With a deep sigh, she walked up to the front door, hesitating before knocking. Slight inaudible yelling could be heard from inside the house, followed by a more clearer “Yeah” that was clearly from a younger girl. Elizabeth. 

Small footsteps can be heard running towards the door. A few clicks later and the door opened to a young girl with red hair. Y/N didn’t know what to expect she’d look like, but she definitely didn’t look like Michael or their father. She guessed that she got most of her looks from her mother. Or maybe she just got the wrong house.

“You’re Y/N, right? My babysitter?” The girl asked while keeping the door mostly closed. She peered up at Y/N with her curious green eyes.

“Uh yeah I am.” She said unsure.

The girl’s attitude immediately changed to a more welcoming one. “Come in then! You have the same name as Michael's girlfriend.” She said bluntly, like most children do.

“Oh what a coincidence.” Y/N awkwardly commented, now realizing that Michael in fact does not know that she’s babysitting. “I guess it could be a common name.”

They were both standing awkwardly in the living room, Y/N still clutching onto her bag, just in case she needs to leave for some reason. She felt bad for feeling so awkward and uncomfortable in Michael’s home. But it wasn’t Michael that caused it, it was his father.

The combination of the rumors surrounding Fredbear’s and the one time she met face to face with him made her skin crawl. She wishes she could be mad at her mother but she was just trying to do what she thought was best for her daughter.

The silence between the two was starting to get unbearable. Y/N didn’t know what to say or talk about. Thankfully enough, Elizabeth was focused on the kids show on the TV, but it was still awkward for Y/N. She would’ve been relieved if anyone but William walked in, but it was bound to happen sooner or later, she was taking care of his kid. He laid his suitcase on the ground before walking towards her.

It was obvious that William instantly recognized her from the back alley of Fredbear’s. He wondered if Michael somehow orchestrated this, but there was no way he would know Y/N’s mother. Michael was the type of boyfriend that girls hid from their parents, and William knew that. 

“Your mother said you were a straight A student?” He asked in disbelief. Y/N sharply turned to face him to answer his question.

“Yes I am.” She replied, intimidated by his demeanor. “I have my report card.” She reached into her bag to search for it. When her mom forced her to bring it, she thought it was insane. At least it came in handy.

William snatched it from her, looking over it carefully. Either she somehow forged her report card, or Michael somehow managed to find a smart friend for once. William just couldn’t believe it, he handed the card back to her. “I can help Elizabeth with her homework if need be.” She believed that Elizabeth’s homework or grades would  be the reason he cared about Y/N’s grades so much.

William ignored her comment, not caring about that at all. He walked towards the kitchen, before beginning to list off the rules to her. “Michael and I should be back by mid Sunday. I have locked all of the doors of the room’s you’re not allowed to go into. If they’re locked, don’t try to get in anyways. There should be enough food for the both of you, if you somehow eat all of it, you’ll have to pay for food. You’ll be sleeping on the couch, or floor, whichever you prefer. If anything happens, call the number on the fridge, but only call if there’s an emergency.” He finally finished, mumbling the next part under his breath. “I don’t care otherwise.”

Y/N only nodded, trying to keep note of everything. William turned towards the hallway before yelling for Michael to hurry up. Michael snapped back in response, in a room nearby.

“Hold on old man, I have to make sure I have everything!” Y/N was surprised that Michael had the guts to yell at his father like that.

Michael rushed to his father with two luggage cases in his hands, obviously too much for this very short trip they were going to be on. It took a bit too long for him to notice that Y/N was in his house, but when he did, he stopped in his tracks with a look of disbelief on his face. She wanted to laugh at how his jaw seemed to drop like a cartoon character from Looney Tunes. 

“You’re Liz’s babysitter?” He asked, still clearly in shock.

William was not paying attention to the conversation between the two, only the amount of things he’s bringing. His eyes scanned over to Michael, noticing the two luggages with him. “Michael! You don’t need that much stuff. Go put some stuff back. And hurry up, we need to leave now if we want to get to the motel by eleven.” His voice was stern and angry. Y/N assumed that Michael was getting on his last nerves even before she had arrived. 

Michael looked down at his bags, debating which bag to take back to his room. “Y/N you can sleep in my room, if you’d want!” He offered in a hopeful tone Typically, knowing that babysitters take the couch, but he was willing to bend the rules especially for her. “If you follow me I can show you around.” 

“Well only if Mr. Afton is okay with it.” She politely responded, turning towards him.

William opened his mouth to respond but was quickly cut off by Michael. “Why wouldn’t he be?” He answered for his father as if he wasn’t right there. 

“Fine,” William replied through gritted teeth. “Just be quick.”

Y/N followed Michael down the hall. With his hands full it was hard for him to open the door, so Y/N got it for him. She thought that Michael’s room would’ve been one of the ones that was off limits and was surprised that it wasn’t. 

The room looked like any teen boys would, and smelled like it too. Clothes were thrown everywhere, most likely from him packing. She felt like she shouldn’t be in there and stood awkwardly in the middle of the room as Michael threw his two luggage cases on the bed and opened them both to see how he could consolidate it all into one.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were the one watching Liz?” He asked, trying to strategically stuff everything into one case. 

“Because I didn’t know until I got in the car with my mom.” She finally laid her stuff down on the carpet, still standing in the same spot. She watched as Michael huffed aloud and forced all the clothes into one case and managed to push the luggage down so he could zip it up.“She somehow got this job for me today.”

Once he finally figured it all out, he leaned on his case to make sure it shuts all the way. He then turned to her, leaving his suitcase on the bed. “Well I’m glad that I’m able to at least have a few seconds of alone time with you.” He walked up to her, his hands drifted over towards her hips, gently pulling her closer to him.

She was very startled by his sudden closeness. She’s now realizing that this is the first time that they were alone, not in public or the car. Even though William and Elizabeth were down the hall, it seemed like they were going to be staying there. 

She could tell with the way Michael was looking at her that he wanted to kiss her, but was trying to find any signs that she felt the same way too. She put her hands up on his chest, trying to create some sort of border between the two of them.

“What should I know about Elizabeth before spending the next two days with her?” She desperately tried to change the subject. She was nervous from his sudden move, but didn’t want him to take offense to her moving away.

Michael immediately backed off, sitting down on his bed. His gaze shifted from a loving one to a more darkened look. “If you don’t want trouble, give her everything she wants.” His tone changed to a more serious one. 

“Oh lovely-” She realized that this weekend was going to be hell.

“Michael!” They both heard the scream from down the hall.

Michael didn’t even bother in responding to his father. “Well you have free range of my room. Just-” He paused, getting up and kicking some of the clothes on the ground into a pile. “Ignore the clothes everywhere.”

“Alright, we'll have a safe trip.” She silently wished him luck, especially with those hours in the same car as his dad.

He walked over to her, giving her a kiss on the cheek like normal. “I’ll try. No promises with my father driving.” He joked, giving her a soft smile afterwards.

Michael grabbed the suitcase off the bed and headed towards the door. Y/N followed but grabbed his arm before they left the room. He turned back to her in confusion before she quickly gave him a peck on the cheek. She said nothing else, but her face heated up in embarrassment.

He went from a surprised expression to a cocky grin real quick. He walked out of the room with a new found confidence, strutting down the hall with one suitcase now. William looked beyond upset at how long it took. He didn’t even say a word to Michael, only grabbed his luggage and walked out the door. 

Elizabeth got off the couch to follow her father out the door, going to wish him goodbye. She stopped in front of Y/N and Michael, looking at their faces. “You guys are gross.” She commented before walking out. Y/N and Michael exchanged a glance at this comment.

The two of them also walked outside, Michael went to go put his suitcase in the trunk while Y/N stayed on the porch. Elizabeth hugged her father goodbye. She started walking back towards Y/N before Michael jokingly whined out to her. “Not one for me?”His comment was met with an ugly glare from Elizabeth across the driveway.

The two watched from the porch as they drove away from the house, Y/N giving a polite wave. The second the car was out of sight, Elizabeth turned to her.. “So how did my dumb brother end up with someone like you?” She blurted out.

Y/N awkwardly chuckled, not knowing how to respond. “What do you mean by that?” She walked back into the house with Elizabeth following behind her.

“Someone smart!” She stated like it was obvious. Once they walked into the house, Y/N closed and locked the door. Elizabeth still stuck to her side like a thorn. “How did someone failing highschool get with someone who has all As.”

“Oh well-” She still didn’t know how to answer the question. “I guess it’s his persistence?” She said with uncertainty.

Elizabeth laughed at how Michael’s ‘persistence’ could be seen as anything other than annoying. “He makes you do his homework huh?”

“No he doesn’t.” Y/N was quick to defend him. “Yes I help him with it but he does it for the most part.”

“Uh huh.” Elizabeth replied, knowing that isn’t the case. Elizabeth plopped down onto the couch while Y/N stayed standing next to the TV.

Michael told Y/N a lot about Elizabeth’s sass, but experiencing it first hand was a different story. She was surprised about it, especially with how young Elizabeth is. “Do you really think he’s only with me for my smarts?”

Y/N was slightly scared of the answer to that question. Elizabeth is his sister. They’ve known each other for so long. So of course she knows him better, and would know if he was just using a person.

“No.” She said shortly. “But it definitely is a good benefit.”

Y/N inwardly sighed in relief. “Well that’s good at least.” She awkwardly replied, not knowing what else to say or do. Elizabeth seemed pretty interested in the random kids show that was on. 

“Have you eaten dinner yet?” She asked, thinking that it was the next best course of action.

Elizabeth kept her eyes on the TV, focused on her show. “No.”

“Do you want me to cook something?” She asked, heading to the kitchen that was right next to the living room. She wanted to see what all there was for her to cook. “Or I can just order us some pizza.” 

She perked up at the suggestion, turning her full attention to Y/N. “Pizza. As long as it’s not Fredbear's, I am sick of their pizza.” Her nose scrunched up at the thought of Fredbears pizza.

“Do they even deliver?” Y/N was pretty sure they didn’t but since Mr. Afton owns it, she might have known something Y/N didn’t.

“No, but if you called and told them it was for me-” She stated very privileged-like. “They would have someone come and bring it. It would be free too.”

“Free pizza? Why would I pass up that chance?” Y/N joked.

“No, I don’t want it!” Elizabeth whined loudly, it was almost a shout. It nearly pierced Y/N’s ears at first and she winced.

Y/N was startled by it. From how smoothly everything was going, she almost forgot about all the horror stories Michael has told. “I was only kidding…” She tried to defuse the situation before it got worse, like it always does with Michael. But in Elizabeth’s defense, Michael does antagonize her. “How about Sun’s Pizza? I’ve had it a few times, they’re pretty good!”

“If you say so.” Elizabeth turned back to her show. “I’ve never really had any other pizza than daddy’s. He always says ‘Why would I buy pizza when we can just make it for free.’” She mimicked in her best William impression.

Y/N chuckled at her impression. It was very on point. “Alright, I’ll call and order it then.” She grabbed the phonebook to find the number. “What toppings do you want? I’ll just have whatever you have.”

“Just cheese.” Elizabeth replied, her eyes seemed to light up at being able to choose what she wanted.

Y/N finished typing the number into the phone to order the pizza for them. “Alright, and what’s the address?” The worker, who was a bit too preppy for someone working on a friday night, asked.

Y/N realized she didn’t know the address since it was just her mom that drove her here. “Uh hold on.” She gently let the phone hang by its cord off the wall while she went for the fridge, remembering seeing some sort of envelope being held up by a magnet. 

She ran back to the phone, giving the pizza place the address. The worker gave her the estimated time of delivery and total. Y/N thanked the worker and hung up. “They’ll be here in about forty-five minutes.” Y/N informed Elizabeth.

A simple “Okay” is all she got back.

Since Y/N had some time to spare, she thought that it would be the perfect time to get her homework out of the way. She grabbed her bag out of the living room, bringing it to the kitchen. She set herself up on the kitchen table and started getting to work.

“Hey Elizabeth?” She asked to get her attention. “Do you have, or need any help with your homework?”

Elizabeth scoffed as if she had just been insulted. “I don’t need help with homework. I’m not stupid like Michael.” Her cockiness had surprised Y/N, but she simply shrugged it off.

“Alright then…” She went back to work. The mood swings with Elizabeth were hard to predict. She can see how Elizabeth’s constantly changing mood and Michael’s ignorance can cause them to clash a lot.

6:11 PM

She finished her homework just in time for the ringing of the doorbell. She quickly grabbed the cash her mother had given her. She opened the door to the delivery man, handing him the cash in exchange for the pizza. 

She closed the door, making sure to lock it before heading to the kitchen. Elizabeth was already up and getting plates for the two of them. She placed the pizza box down on the counter. “I don’t know how your family does dinner, but we eat in the living room and watch a movie. Or you can continue watching your show if you would prefer.” She quickly added that last sentence to avoid any possible outburst from her.

“My show already ended.” She stared blankly, grabbing the biggest slice.

Y/N took that as her saying yes to a movie. She went over to her bag grabbing out the movies for her. “I brought these with me, but now I’m realizing that some of these might be a bit too mature for you… But I have Grease, Jaws, Sta-”

Elizabeth immediately spotted the one she wanted to watch. “Grease.” Is all she said before walking into the living room, waiting for Y/N to follow with the tape.

Y/N put the other movies back and grabbed her plate of pizza. She kneeled in front of the VHS player, putting her plate on the floor before opening the VHS tape’s case. She took the tape out and put it into the player. Elizabeth already had the remote, ready to start the movie.

Y/N decided to stay on the floor, but she scooted back towards the couch so she wasn’t so close to the TV. 

“Michael loves this movie.” She told Y/N, knowing that it would embarrass Michael. “You didn’t hear that from me though.”

“Really?” Y/N asked, turning back towards Elizabeth, mouth full of pizza.

Elizabeth looked at her disgustedly for talking with a full mouth. “Yes. But he’ll pretend like he hates it.” Y/N laughed, imagining exactly how he’d react. “It always starts with ‘You’re watching this shit again?’.” Y/N nearly choked on her food at his lack of filter around Elizabeth.

Y/N swallowed her food before scolding Elizabeth. “Hey, language.”

“I’m just quoting Michael.”She defended herself. “And then he’ll sit down and watch the whole thing. I’ve also heard him singing Hopelessly Devoted in the shower a few times.”

Y/N laughed, wishing she would be able to hear that some day. “Now that I’m thinking about it, Danny Zuko and Michael have a lot of similarities.”

“Ewww!” Elizabeth exclaimed in disgust. “Don’t compare them!”

Y/N only chuckled in response. She turned back towards the TV as the movie started to play. 

8:07

By the time that the movie was over, Elizabeth had fallen asleep. Y/N had to lightly shake her to wake her up. When her eyes sluggishly opened, Y/N whispered softly to her, “Hey the movie’s over. You should go to your bedroom.” She must have been sleeping deeply because she slowly got off the couch and made her way to her room without complaining. 

Y/N went to clean up everything, wash the plates and find a place in the fridge for the leftover pizza. She picked up her homework supplies and put them back in her bag. She made sure that there was nothing else in the kitchen or living room that needed to be put back in the proper spot.

She headed down the hall towards Michael’s room. She had forgotten the mess Michael left behind. One suitcase full of clothes open on the bed, and even more strewn all over the floor. She felt awkward being in his room, especially without him there. She felt like he was invading his space even though she knew he didn’t care.

She wasn’t tired and didn’t really have anything else to do, so she thought to clean up his room for him. She knew she was going to be bored out of her mind if she didn’t have something to do.

As she started cleaning, she had a realization that not everything might be clean. Disgusted at the thought, all she could do was hope and pray that it was. Putting all of his clothes in the drawers and closed made the room look a lot better and spacious. 

Once she was done, she closed the now empty suitcase and put it in his closet. She didn’t know if it went there or not, but just wanted to put it away somewhere. While cleaning some things up along the desk, she noticed a few cassette tapes of ABBA laying around. She smiled softly as she remembered their listening session to ABBA in the car together. She went back to her bag, bringing out her own pillow and blanket that she was expecting to use on the couch. Having something familiar would help her sleep. 

She was getting ready for bed, she noticed a small teddy bear on his bed. She grabbed the bear, admiring how worn down it was. Michael must have had this and slept with it since he was a young kid. She found it cute. 

She placed the teddy bear back down in its spot, settling down into the bed. The sheets smelled like Michael, whether that was for better or for worse, but also had the strong smell of cigarette smoke. She was just hoping that it won’t stick to her and her mother starts questioning why she smells like she’s been smoking.

The pillow was uncomfortable. She tried to position it in a different way but her hand brushed against something that wasn’t fabric. She pulled it out, wondering what it was. She could tell it was a magazine but nothing else in the darkness of the room. She leaned over to turn the lamp on. 

Once her eyes adjusted she was met with boobs barely covered on the front of a playboy magazine. It took her a minute to process everything, but the second she did, she loosened her grip and held it with only the tips of her pointer finger and thumb, keeping it far away from her. Her nose scrunched up, trying her hardest not to imagine what reasons Michael could have this for.

She quickly got up from the bed and headed for the closet. Swiftly chucking it in and slamming the door shut. She looked down at her hands in disgust, then the pillow it was laying under as well. She grabbed it, throwing it in the closet with the magazine.

Leaving the room, she looked for the bathroom. Just now realizing that she doesn’t know which door led to the bathroom. She started going down the hall, trying to open the doors, all locked, even Elizabeth’s. There were only a few doors in the hallway but surprisingly all of them were not the bathroom.

Sure of the next one being the bathroom, she grabbed the doorknob and this time it actually opened. Expecting the bathroom, she was met with a dark stairwell. It was very eerie, but what basement wasn’t? She looked down into the dark abyss, wondering if the bathroom was down there. There was one more door to check so she thought to look at that one before taking a risk with the basement.

Opening the last door she was met with a small bathroom. She sighed in relief and walked in to wash her hands. It was weird that all doors except that one were locked. Mr. Afton must have left it unlocked by accident. Or maybe there was extra supplies down there that might be needed. Either way, she wasn’t going to go down there unless Elizabeth needed something. 

After drying her hands, she walked back to the room. She looked back at the closet door, a shiver running up her spine. She really shouldn’t be so surprised, yet she was. Maybe she was more surprised by the fact that he keeps it under his pillow of all places.She decided to lay her pillow at the foot of the bed, not wanting to put her pillow or head near where that thing was laying. As she drifted off to sleep she started to think about the next few days here. She thinks that Elizabeth likes her. She knows Elizabeth likes her more than Michael, but was that really saying something? She was hoping that they could become somewhat friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Overall Masterlist

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[ouiouibaguettt]

Love beneath the shirt pt.2

Jana Fernandez x Aria O’Hara (oc)

@liverpoolfan96​ here is the part2!!

warnings: no one

words: +1k

Masterlist - part.1

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ARIA’S POV:

When I messaged Jana, a week after our match, I couldn't remember ever having been so nervous in my life. I was at Lola's house that night with Carmen and Virginia, and I saw that my phone had vibrated. When I looked at it to see what was going on, I had a sudden rush of heat.

@janafernandez3 liked your story @janafernandez3 replied to your story: 😳😳

The story in question was a photo of me lifting weights that the team photographer took. "I think she has a crush on you Ari" Carmen said to me as she appeared behind me. "AHH!" I exclaimed, jumping up with my phone in my hands. "You scared me Carmen never do that again" I said with my hand in my heart after grabbing my phone in midair. "Oops?" she apologized as she sat back down next to Virgina. "Do you think I should ask her out like tomorrow night?" I asked Lola, "I think it would be good for you two to get to know each other a bit more" she said as she thought about it "And you'll be cute together" she added as she pinched my cheeks. "Yes, look at baby America and baby Spain together!" she said a little too excitedly. "Well I'll ask her then" I said with a little nervousness in my voice.

//

It was time for my meeting with Jana, I would be lying if I said I wasn't stressed. I was currently at the meeting point, looking at the latest stories and posts on instagram, when I spotted her. "Hey Jana" I said as I stood up to greet her, "Hi Aria" she said, "Are you ready to go?" I asked "Yes I'm ready, let's go I've been looking forward to this since last night" she admitted as she looked down at the ground, her cheeks flushed "Is that true?" I asked pleasantly surprised, "Of course I was looking forward to it Aria, don't doubt it" she said as she looked at me with a beautiful smile. "Thank you, your smile is very cute too" she told me as she started to walk forward. "I spoke loudly right?" I asked blushing, catching up with her "Yes but it's cute" she said.

//

I don't know how much time has passed since then but I know I don't want it to stop. "Why did you choose to be on loan this season? "she asked, "Honestly, I always looked up to my sister Kelley, growing up, and it was through her that I discovered the sport but the thing is, I'm younger and less experienced than her, so despite the games I play whether they're good or bad I get compared to her, At Gotham FC I wasn't Aria O'Hara, I was Aria, the little sister of the big star Kelley O'Hara, and that played a lot on my mind because I can't talk to my sister about it and that's how I ended up in the club office asking for a loan. "I admitted. "It must have been very complicated, but I'm glad you went on loan here in Spain," she said. "Why Atlético de Madrid anyway? Were there no other clubs? Not that I'm criticizing, I'm just wondering?" she added. "I'm glad I was loaned out here too, I must admit, I've met some very nice people" I confessed. "And I don't really know, I just know that it was a good team and that I could only get better as the season went on" I said. "Great meetings eh? Who are they?" she asked. "Virginia, Lola and Carmen are definitely nice to meet but I was surprised by this beautiful girl from Barcelona" I admitted, "Oh yeah? And what is this girl like off the field?". Hm, I don't know, what are you like off the field?" I asked with a small smile. "I don't know, I'd say, adorable, cute, nice" she said, sticking her tongue out at me. "You forgot beautiful" I admitted.

When I pulled out my phone, I was shocked to see that it was already 00:46. "Should we go? You have practice tomorrow and I don't want your team to arrive in Madrid because you didn't sleep much because of me" I asked, "Yes you're right" she said as she got up from the sand and held out her hand to help me up. "Anyway I loved this evening with you. I can't wait to do it again soon," she admitted, smiling at me, "I also enjoyed the evening with you, Jana. And I can't wait to do it again," I admitted, imitating her smile, "Go on, I think Bruna will be worried if you don't," I added, "Oops, have a good flight home and let me know when you've landed. Good night Linda" she said kissing my cheek before walking in the opposite direction of me. "Good night Jana" I said a little late.

//

"I still can't believe you flew to see a girl" is the first thing Virginia says to me when she sees me at the airport, "Wow, hello to you too how are you?" I say as I hug her. "Oops sorry, how are you? Did your flight go well?" she asked "Yes it did, my flight went well thank you" I said. "And to answer your question, what I can't believe is that it went very well and that she is also looking forward to doing it again soon" I said with great enthusiasm. "I'm glad it went well for you then" she confessed, putting her arm around my shoulders as we left the airport. "Off to the house now," she announced. "I can't wait to get back to my bed and the girls" I admitted between two yawns.

TO jana💙❤️ I'm home safe don't worry.

FROM jana💙❤️ Ok nickel, rest well tonight for your training, good night linda, x

TO jana💙❤️ Thanks, good night to you too Jana x

When I went to bed that night I had never been so happy in my life and I hope it lasts.

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[iantimony]

tuesday line go up (derogatory)

hello from the end of my workday. writing this on my office computer as i watch my simulation crash in real time in the background. convergence line go up :(

listening: astonishing legends the body on the moor part 1, for some reason astonishing legends is such good Cleaning And Organizing noise to my brain. i've raised my eyebrow at some of their conclusions sometimes but i love a good unsolved mystery that doesn't focus on true crime what i can say

more 00s, just whatever shit the spotify algorithm spits out basically..."hard and heavy headbanging tuesday afternoon". i think for brevity i am going to focus on posting only the things that stuck out to me or are ear worms at the moment, which for this week is miss murder by afi, the kill by 30 seconds to mars, and out of control by hoobastank, especially the line in the latter after the chorus that goes 'and i may never know the answer to this endless mystery' that for some reason tickles my brain.

reading: Bring Back Those Pumped Italian Sodas (Anna Hezel): i LOVE italian sodas. the candy shop on main street near me does italian sodas and it is my favorite little treat to do a hot girl walk downtown and get a little bevvy to come with me. they whip so hard. bring them back everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!

elitism is the enemy of the people (Mina Le) and the linked The machine in the garden. (Emily Sundberg) ... discourse(tm) about What Substack Is For, which means nothing to me as a non-substack user. i use a rss reader to follow a few specific substacks but i do not use the platform even a little bit. sundberg seems to disparage the list format (shoutout to miss deb perelmen who i saw in there as an example of things that are pushed on the platform now) (deb's newsletter is one of the ones i follow with my rss feed lol) slash the concept of "list of content I’m consuming" which. looks at my weekly roundup posts. lol. i do understand to an extent, though - does my weekly roundup post make me a Writer(tm)?? i would kinda agree that no not really.

this zine that i think i reblogged yesterday is very cute.

watching: i saw the new alien movie with a friend! it was really good, i enjoyed it, i did look up the jumpscares beforehand because i do not do well with those in theaters especially the big imax ones, but it ended up not being necessary - the local theater here has no imax or any of the big surround sound gimmick things, which i actually prefer, and it also means the tickets were dirt cheap. 10/10 experience. the movie itself was fun, the correct amount of peen/vag imagery that one would expect from an alien movie. important to note that the dehumanization of an android character (who is also the only black character and strongly autism coded) is a big plot thing, it is not Good that he is treated that way and that is also a plot thing but it is important to know going in so it's not a surprise (thanks to someone in a server i'm in for pointing that out, i didn't clock it as being potentially triggering when i saw it but i was like ohh yeah that does make sense to warn people about). really good cast and plot overall, there was only like one point where i was like "whyyy nooo that makes no sense, why would you do that" (without too much spoiling, the gravity turns on and off in a portion and they were just. zooming up an elevator shaft using the lack of gravity. like why would you not be staying near the ladder. you KNOW it's going to turn off at some random point. anyways), but in general the decisions the characters made were really reasonable which made it very fun to watch the consequences of like, yeah, that is also the choice i would have made, shit. the ending made me go EUGH!! in a good way. lots of good easter eggs that i probably missed some of. made me weirdly nostalgic for my dad because when i was growing up he had a life-size hyper-realistic rubber facehugger model. he used to mime getting attacked by it. my mom hated that fucking thing. it must have gotten thrown out or given away at some point. anyways, as the kids would say: it's kino

thank u celestialtourguide for ur dropout login xoxo, i have been watching a lot of 'make some noise'. i love how sometimes you can hear the crew laughing in the background.

youtubesphere:

jimmy robins: The Fallout of Watcher's Betrayal, what sparked me looking more at dropout. also found out from the comments section that sam reich is son of robert reich ??? wild

finished the george r r martin problem. basically: yeagh

dangelo wallace: not gonna link em all but his videos on chapell roan, katy perry, blake lively, and starbucks. pop culture updates that mean nothing to me. good background noise tho

mina le: underconsumption-core, travel outfits, and Paul Mescal’s shorts, the luxury of privacy & the celebrity vs. influencer paradox. my boyfriend is a proponent of the tiny inseam shorts and i wholly encourage it. more of that, please, from everyone.

made in the moment: My Crafty Boston Apartment Tour. as someone who is also just moved into my own apartment alone for the first time and is in the process of making the space feel like mine, this hits interestingly.

playing: dnd as normal. i finally got to go mask-off, was replaced by a doppleganger like six months ago and finally got to pop off and kill some guys and beat the shit out of my friends lol >:b i have also moved the game that i run to biweekly instead of weekly. i just have too much fucking things happening and dm burnout real.

making: evil eye coasters! these made me very nervous because of how streaky the underglaze is! so i did the tedious task of re-coloring in around my sgraffito lines of my [redacted] coasters. clear coated them and crossing my fingers. these coasters are also too thin, two of them are too warped to use as coasters so ill have to figure out what to do with them. maybe drilling a hole (carefully...) so i can hang them up somewhere? the [redacted] coasters are like twice the thickness so i don't think they'll be warped as bad thankfully.

i also. made. mesopotamian foot bowl :) i did not have a reference image at the time because that happened to be when the t mobile towers went down for a few hours last saturday so i kinda just freeballed it but he looks. so silly i love him. i think im gonna have to modify him, i was chatting with the studio owner about it and she was like "if you threw that bowl on a wheel you should hollow the legs out, wheel pottery twists slightly as it dries and that plus the drying rates being different will make them just pop right off", which, i can always glue them back on! but i should give him the best odds possible. bonus lil tushy

i made a BIG BOWL !! it's not really clear from the image but it's the most clay i've ever thrown at once, i think it's like. 2.5 lb?? i didn't actually weigh it first oops i should weigh it. but it's like a foot across at the top. i put it on little ball feet to use as some sort of display bowl i think.

and there's one more bowl that is really unremarkable so no picture for now.

fiber art: made a fucking. magic the gathering card cozy for a friend that my local mtg group is putting together a care package for. it's so fucking stupid i love it. not gonna post a pic of the front, it's just a dark red border to hold the card in. i might outline the swamp symbol with matching embroidery floss (or maybe navy??) to make it pop more, might also sew a small square of fabric on the inside to hide the loose ends. colors were chosen to match his main commander which is braids

eating: FINALLY finished the gyudon. um . didn't cook many more recipes. i was going to do one pot chicken meatballs with greens and deb smittenkitchen's corn bacon and parmesan pasta last night but i spent two hours wandering walmart like my ancestors wandered the desert and came home and just had leftovers lol. the cooking will commence......today after i post this and go home.

misc: the midwest is hot this week! fml! on the plus side i don't think my average energy bill in my new place will be worse than my old one despite the worse insulation based on the mid-cycle energy report email i got, on the minus side now i am not splitting that cost so technically it feels more expensive :( thankfully i have finally been finishing the process of closing my dad's accounts so i will have a little padding in my bank account, plus i think i am supposed to get the fellowship i won deposited soon?? shrug. i booked some flights using credit card points that in retrospect i should have booked with Money because of that fellowship but oh well. i am still in the Everything Is So Expensive stage of moving as i finish getting furniture and miscellaneous home goods, hence the two hour walmart wander yesterday. i still need a couch. i think i am getting a frat house walmart futon for like $150 just because it's space efficient and won't break the bank and will be easy to sell when i move out. i should probably order that before i go visit home for 3 weeks ...... anyways. that's this tuesdaypost done and dusted.

[blindrapture]

SUNDAY JUNE 26TH, 2011 ("Fears. There's the rub.")

[This is another one where the formatting on tumblr just won't work right. I recommend the Website version for the ideal read.]

10:30 AM In case you’re wondering, that last bit wasn’t, like, some demon sneaking in and writing “Rapture is coming” into my journal while I was asleep. No. I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking about what Rogers had said. So I just.. wrote it down and thought. I haven’t been talking much lately. I’m just.. I dunno. Lost in thought.

11:02 AM - Rabbit holes are key to Rapture - Rabbit holes are growing (according to Harlequin) - All this was started by…? (“Doctor Cloud?”) - This is not Rapture. Rapture is coming. I’ve done some thinking. And I’ve deduced that oh my god I need more information. I need to learn more about the things. The monsters.

Except they’re not monsters, are they? That’s what Mist the Harlequin told me. She called herself a “goddess.” Or something. But is that true? Is that false? I really don’t know. I have no way of knowing. Rogers said something about fears. Do gods have fears? I need to look into this more.

11:11 AM I wish I could get some answers. I’m gonna ask the generic family about things. About Rogers.

11:20 AM Alright, they don’t mind me writing this stuff down as we talk. “Rogers was a very good child. The doctors told us he was” mumble “we still don’t believe that. He’s just… a savant.” They might be right about that. He certainly knew a lot more about what’s going on than anyone I’d met. “We, I.. we don’t know who would want to kill him. He had no enemies, nothing to hide.” Meredith is crying. “On the way down here, Rogers was” interrupted, that was Bill, Richard doesn’t want him talking about that. Noted. “Can you not ask about Rogers, please?”

I asked about the Exodus. About America. “We heard about the Exodus when we were nearing London a few weeks ago. London was quite.. impossible for us to enter. So we turned back and found some flyers about the Exodus and Liverpool, and.. here we are. “We don’t have any real reason for going to America besides survival. England is theirs now. Staying for much longer would be stupid.” I asked about “them.” “Rogers knew a lot ab” Bill was interrupted again. Richard “Rogers called them.. there was this phrase he used a lot. Some old English word.. and then ‘abomination.’ So we just call them abominations.” ..Eldritch? When I said that, Bill’s face lit up. Hit the nail on the head, I suppose. “Whatever they are, they’re abominations, they are not of this world, not of God. They shouldn’t be here. But they are.”

I asked about the rabbit holes. “Portals to Hell, I say. I don’t care for them; we try our best to avoid them at all costs. Y’know the first one I went in took me to a world of nothing but toilets? It was this big city, industrial, completely normal. Except every time you thought you’d see a human, there was a toilet, instead. Not of this world! Ridiculous.” They have to get going somewhere soon. My last question: Camper Festival. “I’ve heard of that. I’ve heard the name, not much about it. But it’s really good. I hear it’s the best thing to come out of this apocalypse, lots of the oldies, the kind of music they don't make anymore. Listen, we’ve really got to get going.”

12:39 PM I’m looking around town. Donnie didn’t want to come. She said she’s feeling a little under the weather. I’ll make sure to look for medicine of some sort.

1:16 PM I couldn’t find anything. Returned to the inn. Wednesday can’t come any faster.

1:30 PM The innkeeper’s calling another headcount meeting.

2:00 PM Innkeeper says we’re all here, except for the deceased from yesterday. She gave her usual precautions, and said we’re having a five o’ clock curfew this time. Some people argued that the Massacrer will just kill people before then; curfews don’t matter to psychos. The innkeeper stood her ground.

2:34 PM Donnie’s really got a bad cold. She has a nasty headache and can’t stop coughing and sneezing. And I have no idea where any medicine is.

3:07 PM Taking another look in town. There’s gotta be something.

4:10 PM Noth … ..okay. It was that same old woman again. She was standing in the inn hallway. Now she’s gone. o_o; ..anyway, I found nothing. It’s nearly curfew.

5:49 PM Donnie doesn’t want me hugging her. She doesn’t want me catching whatever it is she has. Jordan is a sad spidercat now. ._.

7:24 PM I’m wondering a lot of things. What kind of cold might Donnie have? I mean, chances are it’s just a normal flu, but.. considering all these foreign creatures leaking who knows what into the atmosphere… I’m gonna try not to think about that. >_<

8:52 PM SCREAM WHERE

8:53 PM All the people are coming out of their rooms. Who screamed?

8:54 PM Innkeeper’s doing her headcount.

8:56 PM A lady from down the hall is dead. Her head was cut off entirely. Cleanly, too. I get the feeling it was our Masky. But that may be stating the obvious.

10:02 PM We were all questioned. I was here with Donnie; Donnie attested to it and I have this journal here, too. So every night, someone dies. But we’re getting out of here, and there’s gotta be somewhere around thirty of us. I think we’ll be fine. Either way, I’m getting some goddamn sleep.

(Attached: “Ah. Fears. There’s the rub. And the perfect jumping-off point for me to share another anecdote that this brings to mind. I mentioned some logs back that I had done some time in Aegyptus. Well, when I first arrived, date something like 90 CE, I knew nothing of the local languages so I feigned myself a mute and took residence in Memphis.

I hid in an abandoned store for a few weeks, stealing food and learning bits and pieces of dialogue from observing the locals. My clothes, I found lying on the street. Probably stole them too. I didn’t know how long I intended on staying, only that I refused to leave that time period, not when I knew at that point what I had just discovered– but that’s a story that requires far more context and so will have to wait awhile.

Before I knew it, I was standing before the the Great Temple of Ptah, listening to two people nearby speaking in English.

---Amazing what they do for us.

--- Pfft, yeah. All this effort. We don’t even care.

--- It’s not like we can just tell them we don’t want it.

--- Well, yeah, they’ll likely fight another war or something.

I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from until

I looked up and saw two people standing atop the front gates. Having no way to get up there, I called up to them, asking if I could speak.

Within a second, one of them suddenly appeared in front of me, the other one still climbing down. The one who had teleported bore the head of a jackal as a mask, the one climbing down wore bright white clothes with a long black beard.

The jackal-faced man asked me what I wished to discuss, throwing in a ‘mortal’ for good measure.

-- Ah, so you’re Fears, I said with much relief. This, however, only offended him.

--- What? ’Fears?’ Is that what they’re calling us now? Hey, Osiris! They’re calling us 'Fears’ now! Osiris, out of breath by the time he got to the ground, wiped sweat from his forehead and rolled his eyes.

--- Cute, but I wish they’d stick with 'god.’ I’m getting tired of all these epithets, and why do people insist on calling me a 'Lord?’ I decided to clarify.

--No, nobody’s calling you that yet. I, uh. I’m not from around here. I actually just wanted to know why you guys are speaking in English.

The two gods looked at each other in confusion. Osiris said, --- We’re not, foreign one. We speak in the ancient tongue known only to us gods. Your puny ears interpret it as whatever you’re used to.

Jackal guy added, --- But what is 'English?’ That doesn’t sound like the name of any language I’ve heard of.

-- Never mind, you answered my question, we’re good.

I didn’t want to say I was from the future; that struck me as kind of a no-no with time traveling.

--- Say, you’re a god too, aren’t you? The jackal guy asked, sounding enthusiastic.

I looked around to see if anyone was watching. No one in sight.

--..yeah. I’m Thoth.

The two of them gave a look as if they knew my secret.

--- You look awfully young today, Thoth, said Osiris. Last I saw you, you were on death’s door.

I just lowered my eyes. He laughed.

--- Unless you’re gifted with the ability to traverse time itself or something?

The two of them laughed at this until they saw my expression. Jackal-face asked if I really could. I quietly nodded. They looked at each other with awe then proceeded to ask me all kinds of questions, to which I replied by asking if we could go somewhere more private.

Before I knew it, we had been teleported to some glade within a forest who knows where. Awaiting us was a woman in a single large green garment. I was formally introduced to the whole lot: Jackal-face was known by many names including Anubis and Hades, Osiris also had the name Dis Pater, and the woman called herself Aura.

Anubis told Aura of my abilities, and I clarified that it’s not so much an ability as more of.. a possibility.

-- And I certainly can’t choose where or when I go. I go where the Empty City takes me, I guess.

Then I realized it wasn’t called that yet and the others assumed I was being poetic.

-- So what do you guys have powers over?

--- I see to every soul in the afterlife, every being that has passed away comes under my rule, declared Osiris.

--- I control the gales and the airs that come with it, followed Aura.

--- I judge people, added Anubis.

--- He and I, Osiris clarified, work in tandem. He’s the groundskeeper for the afterlife, to wax words. He is responsible for making sure none of my undead might have too much power.

-- As for me, I.. wander throughout space and time, writing and observing. I take it you guys have encountered me before?

Aura smiled and pointed at my book. --- Many times. You would never explain why your appearance altered, but you would always have that same tome.

-- Did I ever show any powers?

--- Not often. Sometimes, you could snap your fingers and take a human’s memories away, she said.

--- Oh, shouted Anubis, and you seem able to communicate with Olympus itself!

-- Olympus?

--- It’s one of the great mysteries of our kind. A sprawling jungle of houses built with materials no human has ever aspired to. It accompanied us on our journey from the stars, though we know not its ontology.

Sounded like the Empty City to me. I thought for a bit about what else to ask.

-- ..is there a god in this time by the name of Ptah?

Osiris recognized the name as belonging to the one he called Hephaestus, and then he and Anubis left to go and get him, leaving Aura and I alone to question each other.

--- Are there still gods in your time?

-- Uh-huh. You change quite a bit, though. I’m still trying to figure out who Anubis is in the future.

--- Of course we change, for many of us embody the nature of change itself. We have powers unrivaled by any beasts of the cosmos; such powers as us cannot stay stagnant.

-- Tell that to humans in power.

--- Ah, but we aren’t humans, dearest.

-- Many of us were, I’d imagine.

She looked at me funny. That’s when Anubis ran in, requesting that we come with him. Ah, but unfortunately even to proceed with this anecdote would require much context. So I’ll have to leave this note at the conversation above and urge the reading return to Jordan’s journals.”)

[PREV LOG] [TABLE OF CONTENTS] [NEXT LOG]

[ingek73]

ROYAL DISS

Snubbing the King: Why Don’t Big Stars Want to Perform at Charles’ Coronation?

A number of artists have turned down offers to perform at King Charles' coronation in May. Some theorize that the royal family's recent 'PR disasters' are partly to blame

BY HANNAH EWENS

MARCH 1, 2023

King Charles III doesn't understand why no one wants to come to his party. SAMIR HUSSEIN/WIREIMAGE

IN 1997, AFTER attending a Royal Gala evening, Geri Halliwell kissed Prince Charles on the cheek. According to royal protocol and etiquette, you’re only allowed to shake a royal’s hand, so the scandalous moment landed on the front pages of newspapers and went down in pop culture history. Now, instead of daring Ginger Spice to kiss Charles for a second time, The Spice Girls are avoiding him altogether.

The group is among a number of British pop artists who have turned down the opportunity to play at his coronation in May. Adele, Harry Styles, Robbie Williams, and Elton John were also reportedly asked to play and refused the offer. When Rolling Stone asked why, the teams for all those artists declined to comment, bar Elton John’s, who confirmed he was asked but couldn’t play due to scheduling issues. Musicians used to practically line up outside the palace to perform at any major royal event, but that has changed. The public is left wondering: Will any major star agree to play King Charles III’s coronation?

“The Nineties were so different in British pop culture. It was New Labour, everyone was playful and being a bit cheeky,” explains Michael Cragg, author of Reach For The Stars, a book about Nineties and ‘00s British pop. But, Cragg says, “that cheekiness absolutely isn’t here anymore. Now we really want to know who people are and the version of the Royal family that we’ve learned of recently through Prince Harry’s book and how the Prince Andrew scandal was handled: the reality is awful. You could not be the biggest band in the world now and walk up and plant a kiss on them and it still work.”

To perform at a royal event in 2023 would be to align yourself with blatant scandal. The recent allegations regarding Prince Andrew’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and an alleged sexual relationship with one of Epstein’s victims are still fresh in people’s minds. And so is Andrew’s disastrous 2019 BBC Newsnight interview about said claims. But before people had a chance to reconcile their feelings about Andrew, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle publicly announced that they were stepping down from royal duties. In the years since, Harry and Markle have levied several accusations against the royal family and the UK press, claiming their respective treatment of Markle led to fears for her mental and physical health. The discourse and growing divide between the couple and the Institution has been well documented in Harry’s 2023 tell-all memoir Spare and the couple’s Netflix series Harry & Meghan.

“The royal family has faced a number of PR disasters in recent times, and anyone performing at the show would have to consider whether there would be a backlash from appearing amongst their fans,” says Simon Jones, PR to Little Mix, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson.

On that same note, it would be a laughingly straightforward decision to decline an offer to perform for many artists. Kingsley Hall of political band Benefits, whose 2022 anti-monarchy single “Flag” was number one on the Official UK vinyl the week of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, explains of the British cultural temperature, “We’ve had so much exposure and negative exposure of the Royal family – jubilees, weddings, fallings out, accusations of racism, notable deaths, someone being accused of being a sexual predator – in what I would classify as a short space of time. People are sick of it and probably won’t be involved for that reason.”

For many millennial and Gen Z fans in the UK in particular, Royalism is a dirty idea. Meg, head of a leading British music PR company, notes that both Styles and Adele are at points in their careers where they need to define themselves beyond a successful decade in music. “For them right now, storytelling is really important,” says Meg, whose real/full name has been withheld by request. These big symbolic associations carry a lot of weight and literally go down in history books in bold and underlined. I can understand why there’d be a big PR discussion around artists doing it or not.”

Whereas the public had previously seen the Queen as a longstanding grandmother of the nation, Charles is not the country’s grandfather so much as a blank emblem of the royal family. “ I don’t know what there is to gain for artists by associating with him,” says Meg. “With the Queen, she was fab and glamorous to some people. Charles doesn’t add anything — there’s not a legacy of his that anyone would want to align with. It’s televised, so a lot of people will hear your songs, sure, but in terms of long-term PR strategy, I don’t know if performing would add positively to an artist’s narrative unless they were staunchly pro the monarchy.”

A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment. Rolling Stone also reached out to the BBC, which is organizing the coronation.

Crucially, this coronation is happening in a year when the UK’s cost of living crisis has dangerously peaked. Ellie (whose real/full name has been withheld by request), founder of a British pop music PR company, says, “Strip back the gold and red cloak, and you have a country where parents are choosing between feeding their kids or keeping them warm. How much money is the coronation costing the taxpayer? It feels like a political statement to play.”

Each artist who declines will naturally have their own political motivations based on their Britishness. As Adele superfan Grace Martha from London notes, Adele is a proud champion of being working class from Tottenham, one of the most ethnically diverse areas in Britain. “The pomp and money this coronation is costing doesn’t represent her values at all,” says Martha. “This issue is so specific to our culture; Americans might think, ‘Oh, she’s from London and a cockney, why wouldn’t she do it?’ But they don’t understand the nuances of different areas, cultures, and identities here. She’s for the ‘everyday person,’ and the everyday younger person in London doesn’t rate the royal family anymore.”

The colonialism of the British empire has been a major discussion point over the past two years. That is behind the struggle to secure A-List British acts, says Hak Baker, a musician from London: “Any situation where I’d bow to an openly racist colonial imperial system that refuses to apologise for its past and eradication of my people’s history I’d rather avoid with a barge pole. We are more aware of the past now. They are not exempt from recognition. I think they’re going to have a hard time.”

Han Mee of Manchester band Hot Milk agrees emphatically, calling it an “outdated institution” that does not represent modern Britain. “Leave it in the past, it’s as old, aged, and expensive as the whiskey that props it up but without the strength and merriment,” she says. “I liked Liz, but it should have died with her – the coronation is a kick in the teeth when this country has never been more of a shit show.”

The real question is: Why do the royals need this entertainment value at all? “No one’s talking about the date or the guests,” considers Meg. “The big headlines around the coronation right now are which musicians are in and which musicians are out, which underlines the importance of music and what the symbolism is of an endorsement from one of these megastar artists.” It appears that in 2023 the royal family needs musicians more than musicians need them.

[ungojirasapiente]

Snowed In (MeiRocma fanfic)

The cold wind blew through Iceberg Isle, it was a particularly cold night, more so than it normally was for the place, even the animals who were most adapted to the freezing cold of the artic could be in danger, not only that, the clouds on the horizon were dark, indicating that this wasn’t just a particularly cold wind that was going to come and go, no, there was a blizzard approaching, and Rocma knew that, that’s why she decided to stay inside her house, alongside her daughter, until the storm subsided, too bad someone else decided to come to the Iceberg uninvited.

“looks pretty awful out there, doesn’t it?” Meikai laughed, the sea wizard had become friends with Rocma some time ago and it was pretty common for him to visit the place, usually to have a friendly chat with the polar bear, usually about their daughters, Rocma thought it was pretty nice, she usually didn’t let people, especially from such faraway places, get friendly with her, but Mekai was the exceptionally rare exception, a kind and wise man that Rocma actually looked up to, the polar bear usually asking for parenting advice, which the wizard was ready to deliver, his daughter was already an adult basically, so he had plenty of experience in the parenthood department, today however, Meikai’s presence was more annoying than welcomed…

“yes, which makes me wonder why you even showed up here in the first place” Rocma scolded the wizard, Meikai usually gave a visit to the iceberg every couple of months, he was a pretty busy man, and the sea that he lived in was pretty far away, so those visits were rare and barely a couple hours long.

“well… I thought the storm wasn’t going to hit until later in the morning, but I guess I underestimated it” the wizard laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head, for such an intelligent and wise person, when he messed up, he messed up big time.

Rocma sighed in frustration, the two had been chatting for already three hours, all the while Mafuyu played with her toys and some yarn balls they had laying around, not paying much attention to what her mother and Meikai were talking about.

“I don’t know how someone like you can do something so dumb”

“everyone has few lapsus in their intelligence, it’s just a part of life, I guess” the wizard shrugged, Rocma stared, completely incredulous, she was already starting to get mad.

“lapsus, you call this a lapsus!?” 

“well, what other words could I use?”

“i…ugh” the polar bear groaned; this conversation had gotten frustrating for her.

“so… when is the storm going to stop?” Meikai asked, trying to change the topic somewhat.

“it’s already pretty close, and these ones usually last for like a whole day or two, so we aren’t going anywhere for a while”

“darn…” 

Rocma stared daggers at the wizard, like she was saying “this is your fault” without even having to mutter a single word, the wizard gave another awkward laugh to try and soften the blow, but it was like using a pillow to protect yourself against a machete. Rocma stared at the clock on the wall, it read 9:00, then she looked at her daughter.

“Mafuyu, its bed time, grab your toys and go to the bathroom to wash your teeth”

The seal girl pouted, staring at her mother with adorable anger while holding a pink ball of yarn in her flippers.

“come on Mafuyu, it’s time for bed” Rocma said again, but the little girl simply sat down, arms crossed, facing away from her mother, making a small “hmph” sound while she did it. Rocma sighed at her daughter’s attitude, even though she loved her with all her soul, she had to admit that the little seal could be pretty frustrating, this was a pretty common characteristic from children of her age, they still had energy left for like a whole week, so seemingly wasting it on sleeping seemed like a nonsensical choice.

“Mafuyu, you should listen to your mother, if you sleep well like she tells you, one day you’ll grow as strong and as big as her!” Meikai gave words of encouragement to the young seal, making her stand up and look at her mother again, with starry, hopeful eyes filled with wishes and dreams that only a child could have.

“I… yeah! If you want to grow like me, you have to get a good amount of sleep at the right time, so you should go to bed and you can continue playing tomorrow, how does that sound?” Rocma explained, her daughter nodded with enthusiasm, she quickly stored all of her toys in a small wooden chest before running to the bathroom to wash her teeth, Rocma smiled with genuine warmth at the little girl, even an aloof and cold person like her had someone that made her frozen heart melt.

“ah, children” Meikai laughed, he knew how the experience of raising one felt very well, it was tiring, stressful and a bit annoying at times, but seeing them smile, grow up and start making their own accomplishments, as small as they could be, made it all worth it.

“yeah…” Rocma smiled at the wizard, before realizing what she just did. “b-but I’m still mad at you for coming here while the storm is coming!” she quickly corrected herself, almost making a pout, like her daughter.

“like mother, like daughter” Meikai thought, laughing a bit, this time sincerely.

“w-what are you laughing at!?” Rocma scolded Meikai, a faint blush on her face.

“nothing, nothing” replied Meikai, containing a small chuckle.

A couple minutes passed, Mafuyu was already tucked in bed, her little head poking out from under the bedsheets, Rocma stood beside the bed, waiting for the little seal to fall asleep.

“good night, Mommy” Mafuyu said, Rocma smiled, crouched down and gave the seal a small kiss on her forehead.

“good night, sweety, sleep well” Rocma replied, patting her daughter on the head.

“I’ll sleep so I can grow to be big and strong like you, Momma!” the little girl replied with the enthusiasm and innocence a small kid like her could give.

Rocma smiled and nodded, she turned the lights off in the little seal’s room, before opening the door, but before she left the room, she looked back one more time to see the little seal closing her eyes and drifting into sleep, the polar bear was just making sure everything was fine one last time, a bit excessive, maybe, but it did give her the peace of mind she needed, finally, she exited the room, gently closing the door so as to not make any loud noises. Rocma came back to the entrance room of the house, Meikai was sitting there, on the floor, legs crossed, with a warm smile on his face, Rocma stared at the wizard with a bewildered expression, before giving a small smile, Meikai was an odd visitor, but if she said she didn’t like his visits, she would be a total liar, they were nice, short, most of the time, but nice, she could always trust in the sea wizard when it came to parenting advice, he always seemed to know about anything related to that task, it helped Rocma feel a bit more confident in her parenting skills.

“so, she’s already asleep?” Meikai asked, Rocma nodded in response.

“yeah, she falls asleep quite fast, but it’s hard to wake her up in the mornings” the polar bear explained, giggling a bit at the last part.

“Wadanohara’s the same, since she was a kid it was always hard to wake her up, she’s such a heavy sleeper”

Rocma gave a small laugh, but her expression changed to a more concerned one, she looked down, like she was thinking about what to say, or maybe debating if she should say it at all?

“d-did it ever scare you?” Rocma asked, Meikai looked at her, confused, prompting her to elaborate further on the question. “like, did the thought of Wadanohara growing up ever scare you? Her becoming independent and all… that”

Meikai let the question sit in his mind for a couple seconds, thinking of an answer. “well… I would be lying if I said that it didn’t…”

Rocma listened close at the wizard’s experience. “of course it scares you, you are always trying to do what’s best for them, and of course you want to see them become their own person, be independent, have a whole future ahead of them… but…it’s also sad, and scary, you raised for a great part of your life and for a great part of their lives, you are the most important thing to them…” Meikai looked down, with evident sadness in his eyes. “ and then they leave, they don’t need you as much as they did before, they can do things on their own, have their own lives, and that’s… that’s amazing, it gives you this sense of pride, of accomplishment, not only in you, but also in them, especially in them, but it’s also ironic… when they leave and go do their own lives, you also feel like a part of you is being ripped away…”

Rocma stared, waiting for Meikai to finish, he hesitated for a second, before swallowing saliva. “and you are afraid, obviously, because you don’t know what could happen to them, you’re not longer their shelter, the thing they depend on, they depend on themselves or other people that aren’t you… and that’s scary, because you don’t know what they could be going through, you don’t know if they’re safe, or if they’re feeling well, or if there’s something bad happening to them… you don’t know…”

The polar bear reflected on that, the mere thought of something happening to Mafuyu was one of Rocma’s greatest fears, she’s been through entire nights of not sleeping because of those thoughts, worse still, is that that fear wasn’t entirely based on complete paranoia, the iceberg was a dangerous place, orcas frequently attacked the coast, predators lurked around the snowy landscape, waiting for easy prey to sink their fangs on, specially other polar bears, that unlike herself, wouldn’t pass on the opportunity for an easy meal, and god knows what other kind of monsters could be hiding, waiting for their next victim. Rocma shuddered, her nightmares were made out of those sort of scenarios, she would wake up in a cold sweat, shivering at the images her brain conjured in her dreams, images of her daughter getting injured or worse by an animal or a person, and her being unable to do anything, only forced to watch as her daughter’s life was taken in front of her eyes… it was a truly horrible thought.

Meikai noticed that Rocma was trembling, gritting her teeth, tears falling out of her eyes, he, in all of his visits, had never seen the polar bear cry, she was a tough, stubborn lady that usually didn’t listen to anyone and didn’t say anything extra, just enough to state the point she tried to make, only listening to his advice on parenting, and nothing else, so seeing her tear up was something that hit the sea wizard hard…

“but at the same time, you have to remember that they are going to figure stuff out on their own, you have to trust them, they will find out a solution to their issues, they’re going to make their own future, their own destiny and if they do need you, they’ll tell you, because they love you, because you were for them, and they’re also going to be there for you when you need them.” Meikai finished his explanation, the wizard stood up and walked over to Rocma, extended his arms, and gave the crying polar bear a hug, holding her tightly in his arms.

The hug was something Rocma wasn’t expecting, normally she would be completely against the idea of being in someone’s grasp, but this time, in this rare moment of vulnerability, it was something she needed, she reciprocated the hug with another one, holding to the wizard tightly, resting her head on his shoulder, and letting the tears flow out of her eyes, she had to admit, it felt kind of good, like she felt a weigh on her shoulders being lifted, it felt relieving.

“feels better?” Meikai asked, still hugging the polar bear.

“y-y-yes” Rocma responded, doing the same, sobbing a little, her voice choked up.

Rocma stared at the clock from the wizard’s shoulder, it read 11:45, 15 minutes away from midnight, the polar bear gently undid the hug, separating herself from the wizard’s embrace, wiping the remaining tears away from her eyes.

“i-it’s pretty late already, I didn’t even know how much time had passed…” Rocma said to herself.

“it’s fine, I can find a place to sleep somewhere, you have a couch or something? I don’t really mind”

“no, you… helped me a lot, thank you, I can offer you my bed, if you’d like”

“really!... but wait, where are you going to sleep?”

“I’ll figure it out…”

“no, I can’t accept that, this is your home, I can’t just take your bed… there’s gotta be some other option”

Something came to the bear’s mind, her cheeks turned red, she quickly covered them with her paws, trying not to catch the wizard’s attention.

“are you okay?” Meikai asked, concerned for his friend.

“i-I have an idea, but don’t make it weird, okay?”

Meikai tilted his head in confusion, just what was she thinking of? Well, the plan was for them to sleep on the same bed, a bit awkward, yes, but both had to make do with what they had; besides, it was going to be for just a day or two, right?

Rocma took out her dress, hanging it in a coat hanger in her closet, she looked around the space for another article of clothing, her pajamas, or atleast the pink button-up shirt she called pajamas, after finally putting it on, she tucked herself to bed, making sure to cover her lower half with the bedsheets entirely.

“can I come inside?” Meikai asked from behind the bedroom door.

“y-yeah!” Rocma confirmed.

The wizard opened the door and entered, carrying his blazer and trousers under his arm, wearing only a pair of navy blue boxers, Rocma turned bright red at the sight of this, she couldn’t help to stare at the wizard’s surprisingly athletic build, Meikai caught wind of this and turned his head to look at the polar bear, the second he did that, Rocma turned to look away from the wizard.

“hey, don’t worry, I don’t mind if you stare” Meikai gave a smug smile.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Rocma responded, trying to hide the obvious fact that she was ogling at the sea wizard’s body.

Meikai giggled, he proceeded to leave his clothes in a chair that was placed right in front of the bed, before entering the bed, right beside Rocma, and covering himself with the sheets.

Rocma tried her best too look away from the wizard, trying not to have any sort of weird thought about the situation, Meikai was also trying his best not to have anything odd form in his mind, Rocma reached her hand and turned off the bedside lamp.

“good night” Rocma said, laying on her side, turned away from the wizard.

“good night, Rocma” Meikai said back, he was laying on his back, facing the ceiling.

Meikai could be in bed for up to half an hour before actually sleeping, it was hard for him to fall asleep, but during the night he felt Rocma turning on her bed, before feeling himself being grabbed by the polar bear’s arms and being brought closer to her, Rocma was hugging him while she was still sleeping, Meikai also turned to his side, and did the same thing, and that night, the sea wizard fell asleep faster than he expected.

-the end-

[onetwistedmiracle]

LGBTQ youth want role models. Queer elders have a lot of advice.

By Jamal Jordan, February 10, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EST

Young people in the LGBTQ community long for older role models. We found several, and they all have stories to tell.

When I think back to coming of age as a queer man, I most remember the lack of “possibility models.”I had no idea what my life could look like.

I had never seen — in real life or media — positive reflections of what it meant to grow old as a member of the LGBT+ community. Growing up in the shadow of a generation of gay men who were lost to the AIDS epidemic, I longed for something that said: You can grow old. Life will be okay.

The challenge of generational isolation is common in today’s queer youth. Young queer people without positive role models are at much higher risk for “psychological distress” in their adolescence and depression in adulthood.

When the Trevor Project, a nonprofit that provides information and crisis support to LGBTQ youth, asked young people what brings them joy, respondents consistently pointed toward examples of the future. They cited things such as, “Happy LGBT Elders,” “Queer role models” and “Learning I’m not alone and that there are more people like me” as sources of hope.

This exchange of hope goes both ways: Many older queer adults enjoy sharing their stories with younger people.

“When I talk to older people, they often feel forgotten, invisible,” says Michael Adams, chief executive of SAGE, the country’s largest LGBTQ+ aging organization. “A large part of that is because they often have no connections to young people. They have no sense that younger generations care about what they have to say and what they’ve done.”

A wide array of research suggests that finding ways to transfer wisdom from generation to generation is vital to improving the overall health of the LGBTQ community. This summer, I visited with five queer seniors across New York City to hear their stories.

Here’s what they had to say.

Bernie Brandáll, 86

Brandáll beams with pride as he shows me a photo from his early days as a traveling performer, taken sometime in the 1950s.

“I used to be gorgeous,” he says, laughing. “Now I look in the mirror, I look at my wrinkles, my skin sagging, and I don’t mind it. Do you want to know why I don’t mind it? Because I have lived a life. I can settle into this age knowing I didn’t miss a thing.”

Brandáll immigrated from Cuba to Miami with this family at age 10. He wanted to be a dancer, but faced pushback from family — particularly his older brothers, who ridiculed his “feminine tendencies,” a remnant of the homophobia rampant in both the cultures of Cuba and Miami at the time.

At 17, he moved to New York City to find work as a performer, quickly snagging a job dancing in a nightclub/cabaret show, but the dream didn’t last long — after two weeks of not being paid, the proprietor of the show “disappeared,” leaving him alone, broke and aimless.

He eventually found a day job as an elevator operator and triedperformingagain, but this time with a twist — instead of being a dancer, he would make his mark as a magician and female impersonator. A prolific scrapbooker, he takes me through decades worth of photos from his act. Looking back on images from one of his last shows, he says, gently: “I was a pretty woman.”

This work took him across the country and the world — from Las Vegas to Rio de Janeiro to Paris — and he recalls the long list of friends and lovers who instilled inhim a deep sense of contentment. “I had to be strong to build the life I wanted to live. But I’m so glad I had that strength, because I can be happy now. I did everything on this earth that I wanted to do.”

His advice for the next generation: “We are a strong people. But you have to remember that being strong is a choice.”

Guy Lawrence, 70

Lawrence feels that his whole life has been one big learning experience. “My youth was like the hippie days,” he says. “We didn’t have to think of the things that came on later, like you guys.”

“The whole world is different now,” he says with a sweeping gesture. “You didn’t have to worry about HIV, you didn’t have to worry about terrorism, you had spaces where you could go and meet other gay people — even if they were owned by the mafia. But we had them! And I feel like I spent every day discovering new things.”

He enjoys speaking to young people in the LGBT community, because he’s afraid that they are losing a sense of connection to the older people who made their current freedom possible.

Recalling, for example, the bittersweet feelings he experiences each year during Pride, he says, “I always tell young people: ‘Learn your history! And continue to create a new history so no one else can dictate what you can and cannot do.’ ”

His advice for lifelong learning: “Everything is changing day by day. Never be afraid to ask a question.”

Barbara Adams, 78

Adams learned to shoot a gun as a 4-year-old in Jacksonville, Fla. “Even then, I never wanted anyone to think of me as small,” she recounts, as we listened to smooth jazz in her home. “I always wanted to be a woman who took care of herself.”

Growing up poor and around women who suffered from loneliness, low-self worth and constant workplace sexual harassment, she knew that she had to escape. In her teen years, she saved all of her extra money in hopes of leaving. She stashedcoins and occasional dollar bills in a Chock Full o’ Nuts coffee container that she kept hidden.

She arrived in New York City in 1969 with $600, five new articles of clothing and a yellow steamer trunk. “I’m always so amazed that I did that,” she says. “I’d never seen anything other than the neighborhood where I grew up. But I knew I wanted to do something other than what my family was doing.”

So, steamer trunk in tow, and no real plan, she asked strangers to help guide her to Harlem, where she eventually found a place to stay — a tiny room in a less-than-savory boardinghouse near Central Park. “When you opened the window, there was a brick wall there — just like the movies,” she remembers, fondly.

The following decades were filled with the normal challenges — and triumphs — of adulthood: Buying her co-op, getting her heart broken, finding a stable job, making and losing friends.

“It’s hard for me to look back and remember any low moments because I always did my best to make everything fun,” she says. “I’m just so glad I wasn’t afraid to venture out to find my life, because I would’ve missed out on everything.”

Her advice for adulthood: “You get to create a life for yourself.”

Vernon and Robert Waldron, both 83

When I asked Robert and Vernon to share their most important lessons about love, their memories led to the beach in Aruba.

During the ‘80s, in the very early stages of their courtship, Robert was diagnosed with HIV. Leaving the doctor’s office in a haze, he decided to put on a strong face and immediately went home and informed Vernon. They were in the midst of preparing for their first trip together — but how could he travel like this? He felt that his life was falling apart and didn’t know what to do.

Unable to cancel plans or get refunds, they decided to go on their trip anyway. As soon as he set foot on the beach, Robert recalls, he began to sob uncontrollably as his mind filled with questions. How am I going to do this? How am I going to tell my sister? How am I going to tell my family? Am I going to survive this?

“I was sitting on the grounds of the most beautiful resort hotel,” Robert recalls. “And there were the most beautiful birds.” Finding one of his first moments of serenity since his diagnosis, he poured his heart out to Vernon — honest, for the first time, about the depths of his fears — and they cried, together.

Returning to America, Robert felt able to “face reality.” He told his family and friends, began treatment and started his path to a healthy life.

But four years later, he was diagnosed with colon cancer — and then, later, prostate cancer.

Vernon, who doesn’t speak much, finally pipes up when he recalls Robert’s hospitalization during his first cancer treatment. For weeks on end, he would stay in the hospital for the duration of visiting hours — he even bathed Robert twice a day. Doctors gave him a 50/50 chance of survival. And if he survived, he would also have to learn to walk again.

“Vernon had never seen me like this before,” Robert says, expressing his guilt. “I told him to go out, see his friends, and try to enjoy himself.”

“And I said no,” Vernon tells me, haltingly. “Because there was nowhere else I wanted to be but with him.”

Their advice for relationships: “Love, at the end of the day, is just always being there.”

washingtonpost.com © 1996-2023 The Washington Post

[the-firebird69]

We do have a couple more things to bring up and it's from around town.

--they're bringing up our son quite often and issuing threats they say they are issuing threats that they're having their people do stuff people can see it and they're accepting them you have to assist in others do too pretty soon they'll get into their reserve stocks for things no shipping is still going and they're talking about a lot of topics that are actually coming up which is different the wall is a big one these movies that are hitting the fan are there in fight is increasing on Jason and Lily and others who have these shows going on Trump has a couple but it's really Trump and Tommy f and the mob wore they started the war with these pseudo empire big topics and today they're discussing of all of it and they usually do on Saturday when it's coming flying out of them

--in addition on this road work going on around town and it's usually stalled out and it's not done right it's crappy and slow and me and frustrating and they are going really really slow so trying to figure out what the deal is and they're saying all this hard stuff but really the contractors have not been paid by the town and it's slow payments that's really what it is it's not much surprise to it it is going on now right now people are trying to increase the speed of pay and it's not really working that great the town has the money with her arguing about a couple small things in the townspeople are mad again that's who can't have you do anything you suck so damn bad they're going to get beat up and it's going to go forwards but yeah they stopped because of that and non-payment and they'll start up pretty soon again but a lot of people are complaining several boats were removed and they are positioning for Monday to remove more and they're taking a whole bunch of fisherman's village they did yesterday and the day before today they're not doing it because of high winds probably start on Monday and they will pull out a whole bunch of boats it is what they really should do and it is going on now we think they'll be done doing that by Friday

--our son has several injuries that are not really healing his hip hurts quite a bit and his back and he needs to rest he rested last time and it helped a little and not enough and he needs to heal this radiation is making a little harder but it shouldn't make it too hard but it does but that medicine is going to be gone and it will change and we know what those stats are and it's going to be like 11 tonight around 11.3 and then tomorrow it'll be 11:00 and around 10.8 tomorrow night and Monday morning 10.5 and 10:00 at night and it works out then you think the big drop will happen at around 8:00 or 7:00 which would be 4-5 or 6 days away. That would be from Monday so it'd be Sunday it should start dropping from 7:00 or 8:00 and plummet and that would be Sunday the 22nd and yes odd it's going to be right on that day almost and that's kind of when the battle starts there's a preamble on the 20th and the 21st and then it goes crazy it's really these people are losing what they think is their extortion system and it's not really the Mac proper orchestrated and they're stupid and it's kind of odd cuz the back proper are getting a little upset. It is happening now it is going on now it's very big and it's only a week away that the drop begins and we think the drop takes probably a 6 or 7 days and it's on the seventh day of the clearing out so that's 2 weeks from now that brings us to around January 1st and roughly everything will be cleared out and he would begin healing and then he would heal to the 7th or 8th and start growing now it's it happened just a little later than I thought but I did say it going to January and there it is going to get to January and a bit into it yes and he remembers too some of those problems like stuff when a little faster because the radiation went way up and it's because of Tommy f yep and we have several things happening shortly possibly tonight but we think tomorrow night the conference will drop and the southern tip is in about 10 ft 6 in and it'll take about 6 days to go underwater the carrots at Charlotte Park and tonight or tomorrow and the other series will take 2 weeks so it's about the same time January 1st once he is drop here people will be interested because the coast will be cleaned up stuff. Overgrowth and gross rotting stuff and nasty smells and brush everywhere all that will be gone

--the ocean offshore is becoming more salty it's been about 50% for a few days it's going to shoot up to 55% this weekend yeah by monday. That's a lot higher and it's needed much needed

-+couple more things in a minute

Thor Freya

Olympus

--

[poebradleyknox]

One Piece is without a doubt one of the most influential manga series and anime ever that takes place in a well-established and ever growing world of pirates and their conflicts with the World Government as they sail the seas to find the legendary treasure of the King of Pirates Gol D. Roger, The One Piece. Monkey D. Luffy is the protagonist and along with his crew: Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook and Jimbei they set sail to find the One Piece and stop anyone that gets in their way so Luffy can become King of the Pirates.

The manga series started in July of 1997, written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda and was published weekly in the Shonen Jump magazine like a lot of other popular manga series like Naruto. In the early 00’s One Piece, along with Naruto and Bleach were deemed the most popular manga series and fans across the world called them ‘The Big Three’. And as of now 516 million copies of the manga have been sold.

Almost 30 years later One Piece has still yet to come to its conclusion and still holds a massive fan base. The series spans over 1,100 chapters and 109 volumes.

In 1999 the manga was adapted into an anime series which is also still airing. Though the anime series has fans debating on the quality as the pacing of the show is incredibly slow and only covers 1 or 2 chapters per episode meaning it takes a while for the plot to develop. Things like these happen when the manga and the anime run at the same time, sometimes the anime catches up to the manga so they need to let the manga get ahead so they draw out the episodes or produce ‘filler episodes’ which are original episodes separate from the real plot. The One Piece anime has 1,119 episodes and over 100 are filler meaning 10% of the show is unnecessary to the plot but a lot of other shows are lot worse, most famously Boruto a spin-off from Naruto were 206 of the 293 episodes are fillers.

In response to the slow pacing of One Piece a website was made by fans called ‘One Pace’ which cuts down on a lot of drawn out sequences and flashbacks to things that happened the episode prior.

Weirdly, an official solution is happening because a separate animation studio, Wit Studio ,who adapted seasons 1-3 of Attack on Titan and Season 1 of Vinland Saga, are animating a reboot of One Piece called ‘The One Piece’ whilst the original ,by Toei Animation responsible for Dragon Ball, is still airing. So two separate anime’s of the the same source material will be running at the same time. They claim this reboot will take only five years to get to the Egghead Island Arc ,the portion of the story that the original is on, unlike the original’s 27 years.

There is also a live action adaptation of One Piece that is produced by Netflix and currently has 1 season but the second is in production. The live action series has 8 episodes each around an hour that covers the first 45 episodes of the anime so it’s an easy alternative if you want to watch One Piece but not commit to 1000+ episode show.

The One Piece world is fantastical, it has sea monsters, dragons, abilities you gain from eating fruit but a lot of the characters take inspiration from real life pirates and history. Blackbeard is a common antagonist of the series and as the real Blackbeard was called Edward Teach, in One Piece he is called Marshall D. Teach. Another important character is Whitebeard or Edward Newgate, he instead has Blackbeards real first name and his surname is that of Newgate Prison which held many pirates in London.

Me myself am a fan of One Piece and started the series during the Covid-19 lockdown and though at the time it had 800 something episodes I was able to catch up and that’s when I realised the poor pacing people talked about. I was able to watch hundreds of 20 minute episodes back to back for hours but when I caught up and I had to watch one 20 minute episode once a week it was a struggle when not a lot happened and then I had to wait another week for another episode for the same thing to happen so I often stop watching for a while and just let the episodes bulk up so I can binge or watch a couple every day until I catch up again.

Overall, One Piece is a great piece of media that’s going strong even after almost 30 years, it’s fun and light hearted, the characters have goals that they all strive for, the fights are entertaining, has plenty of mystery and when it needs to delves more into mature topics like corrupt governments and gender identity.

[whatsonmedia]

My Advice? Don't Go Making Assumptions 

Just Because You See People Like us, Don't Immediately Assume The Basic Obvious  Last month in September a charity came under scrutiny over a photo collage that it used as part of a campaign it was launching. Now even the charity itself came under fire for what it did the concept, in my perspective, was quite an honourable one. The basics of it was to try and educate people from making assumptions about people with disabilities based on first appearances. Now as someone who lives with a Learning Disability I totally agree with the general gist of the idea. Now just in case you are at odds with what the advert was about it was based on the negative connotations and the typical scenario thinking behind them. I'll give you a quick example of some of the things I have experienced just to give you an idea of the sort of thing I'm on about. I myself am Autistic, and as an individual on the Autistic Spectrum a lot of people have frequently gone by the belief that we simply can't cope with sudden changes in routine, don't like crowds or noisy places and prefer to be left to our own company. Or be it limited. Well first of all I will tell you exactly what I strongly believe is incorrect about all of that. First of all, I don't mind noisy crowded places, it's only when I need to think I'll go somewhere quieter. I work in a profession where the working landscape can change at any given moment and I actually like those sort of challenges and welcome them. For me, it's because I get to challenge my limits so I know what needs work and what doesn't. Occasionally I'll even change my own routine if I'm bored senseless by it. Where company is concerned I'm all for it, I even enjoy working with my colleagues as I've had moments where I've had to work alone, and I'll be straight up about it; I didn't like it at all. My reasons, I found it lonely, isolating and occasionally depressing. The basic assumption i got, and quite often was, 'we know you better than you do'. Basically I've had superiors who, for whatever reasons, believed that they knew more about my disability than I did. Like the advertisement, I had to challenge this head on, quite a bit.  Let me give you another example of an assumption I had thrown at me, and this was one that I had when I was around pre-school/play group years. Also it was one that I had absolutely no idea had even been made and only learnt about it many years later. Basically when I was a very small child and somewhere into being diagnosed on the Autistic Spectrum, my parents were told by a Specialist Doctor (or someone) that I would never be able to read, write or talk properly. In other words I would grow up going through life not being able to do an awful lot for myself and that I practically be dependent on others for life no doubt. Now you can imagine what that must've been like for my parents to have been told that, and for me to learn that many years later. Absolutely shocking. Basically, due to a serious lack of knowledge and understanding I had been completely written off for the rest of my life before I had even begun it. All because of an 'assumption' which was fuelled by negative connotations  I can recall a situation from my time at college which actually supports this. When I was doing an art course in the early 00's a female student joined after a few weeks. We were informed in advance that she was hard of hearing. Now because of her problems we altered our verbal communication aka opening our mouths more when we spoke to her and slowed our speech a little. Now there's a moment I can remember clearly, and I have mentioned this in past columns I think. Me and a couple of my course mates happened to be having a conversation and our new course mate became subject of the talk. Another girl who happened to be something of a big gob openly made snide comments saying it probably wouldn't matter if we slagged her (the heard of hearing girl) off as she's deaf and wouldn't hear it. As with all clichés the very same girl walked up behind her and I clearly recall saying how she wasn't deaf but rather just hard of hearing before pointing out that she was in fact right behind her. I then pointed her out. Little Miss Big Mouth went red with embarrassment. Oh how I giggled at the girl's stupidity and all because she assumed the girl was completely deaf. If you were to ask my advice I'd happily say this; don't underestimate my intelligence and capabilities, I can do more than you think. Next time you see a deaf person, talk to their face, not the translator. Just because someone's blind don't go thinking they can't move around independently. Read the full article

[star2sworld]

rants

I’m going to be ranting on here often. I have no one to text or talk to besides my fill in therapist I don’t even tell shit to.

Today I found out my ex bsf has a bf. So what? Good for her right? yes, but why do I find myself envying her. Envying her life. Wishing it was me in her place. She glowed up, has many friends, and even a bf now.

Schools coming up. I’m stressed about this upcoming fall. I can feel myself spiral back into my old mindset. I’m already judging myself “ am I ugly? Am I not “ How do I make it stop? idk.

So, I did my makeup. To feel better. To see if I feel pretty with makeup on. I took pictures.. they all came out horribly. The inverted filter doesn’t do me justice. I always get compliments in person though so what does this mean? I’m very confused. I can’t tell. I find myself the ugliest person to exist. I don’t know how people genuinely find me pretty. Maybe they’re lying ?

Afterwards, I went on a walk to clear my mind. I had my new headsets on blast walking with my broken phone. I saw a old couple with their dog walking and all I could think in my head was “ keep walking, don’t look, “ I felt anxious walking around them. Felt like all eyes were on me when they probably weren’t. I hate this feeling. I just want to be pretty.

I came home.. and brought my cat to my room for emotional support. Instead, she meowed to leave my room. How sad. I let her out, closed the blinds and lights and put lil peep sad mix on. I finally cried. Bawled my eyes out because I just want to feel pretty and loved. I want friends, I want to be outgoing, I want to feel happy.

As I’m listening to lil peep I get the urge to smoke it away. I’m 29 days clean. I shouldn’t throw it all away but it’s tempting. I get the urge to relapse on sh. But, I hate my old scars… I don’t think it will stop me though. Maybe I should get into a idgaf mindset.

Tbh, fuck it. I think I’m going to delete every social media I have. Yes, including tiktok. I need to work on self love. Of course I am beautiful. I have beautiful big eyes, long lashes and full lips. Idk. I feel lost in this world.

I thought I was feeling better honestly. I’ve been doing my morning routine and going on walks. Constantly doing things to get myself together. Decorated my half of my room and even worked out yesterday after a long time. But why do I feel sad today?!

UGH. what is this universe. I should listen to self-help YouTube videos. I just hate watching long videos. But, I’ll do it. I’m deleting social media after this and I’m going to only consume helpful content for a week. At least I have art next school year. It will help me relax and get back into my drawing habits :)

I am loved. I am happy. I can overcome this feeling. I am worth it. I am beautiful.

As I’m saying affirmations 5 degrees come on and I feel sad 😭😢 I changed the song to talk dirty by Jason druelo. Blasting it in my headset. I feel better already.

Yes I am pretty. Yes I’m going to make friends. Be positive sista. WHAT YOU SPEAK ABOUT YOURSELF WILL ALWAYS BE BROUGHT TO REALITY!!! Pinterest is going to be my main focus. Creating a self concept and a vision board asap tomorrow.

Worth it by 5th harmony came on Fr feeling myself 😫😫 period I feel better lol I’m a bad bitch idgaf anyone who gets to know me is special. I’m a amazing person. Going to mediate now and take my makeup off eat brush floss grow eyebrows & then sleep by 10:00 sharp !! ( hopefully )

Bye loves

[tiger85]

Storytime with Xavier

You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say STAND WITH THE CHINESE PEOPLE AGAINST THE CCP!

You both like Bi.

You: hi

Stranger: M21

You: m 37

You: How are you?

Stranger: Nice what's your darkest sexual secret

You: It wasn't full on sex, but growing up my younger sister & I did some sexual things together

Stranger: How much younger is she

You: 2 years

Stranger: That's hot me and my younger brother of 2 years have had sex since I was 10 and he was 8

You: Very hot

Stranger: My dick was just big enough for penetration

Stranger: What's your darkest sexual desire / fantasy / kink

You: I wish I had a brother to do stuff with. How often do you fuck him now?

Stranger: Basically anytime we stay the night in the same place and we can

You: Quite often then?

Stranger: Not right now but used to every weekend like a year ago

You: Well I kind of fantasize about actually fucking my sis

Stranger: That's hot

You: Why not right now?

Stranger: Live too far away

You: You moved or he did?

Stranger: Both

You: That sucks. You have someone else you fuck since he's too far away now?

Stranger: My fiance

You: Oh, I bet she doesn't know you & your bro have fucked

Stranger: Absolutely not lol

You: Probably nobody really does other than who you tell on here

Stranger: Yeah pretty much me and him didn't even talk about it until like 2 weeks ago for the first time

You: How did you manage to hide it from your parents when growing up?

You: Oh really?

Stranger: See I would just go in there while he was sleeping and start sucking him off then he would wake up and then we would f***

Stranger: And when we had bu

Stranger: When we had bunk beds we did it every night

You: very nice

Stranger: But the reason we were able to hide it from our mom was that we only did it at like 3:00 a.m.

Stranger: One time I had him on his back in a recliner with his legs around my head and f***** him so hard I miss it so much

You: On school nights you'd wake up during the night just to fuck him?

Stranger: Yes it was so hot I miss it

You: I bet you do, it sounds so hot.

Stranger: It was

You: What was the riskiest time you two ever touched or did anything?

Stranger: One time I f***** him so hard he just came while I was f****** hi

You: Damn that is hot

Stranger: For one time like 2 years ago I was 19 he was 17 he was staying the night because at the time he didn't live the same house we did. Anyway we were in the living room and I had started sucking him he just woke up and pulled off his pants when my mom walked out her room so I ran down the hallway and just stood quietly in the dark while he stayed there sleeping she grab something out of the fridge went back in her room and then we f***** and then I ran back in my room

You: Oh fuck, so close to getting caught, must have turned you on even more

Stranger: It did.

Stranger: I got another one for you

You: He must have covered up with a blanket so mom wouldn't see his cock

Stranger: He did

You: Whats the other story, this is turning me on so much

Stranger: Well one time. Back like 4 years ago I was 17 he was 15. He was staying the night and I convinced him to sleep in my room and he slept on the floor. Next to the door. Well I was sitting there eating his ass and my sister walked in My youngest sister she was probably like 10. And she was like what are you doing. And I just said that he had peed his pants and I was helping him take off his pants she believed us

You: Then when she left?

You: You fucked him, right

Stranger: Well he went to the bathroom and then put his pants in the washer like he actually had peed himself then he came back into my room and 3 hours later at like 4:00 a.m. I made sure everybody was asleep and then woke him up and f***** him again

You: Do you always fuck him raw? Or use a condom?

Stranger: Always raw

You: Cum in his ass or somewhere else?

Stranger: Always in his ass

You: You liked sucking his cock, does he have a big one?

Stranger: Yeah mine's about 9 his is like probably seven and a half but very girthy but he's a total bottom

You: He's never been inside your ass then?

Stranger: I tried one time but he didn't want to

Stranger: He's complete bottom he just likes getting f***** in the ass

You: Has he at least ate out your ass?

Stranger: Oh yeah he likes to do that he likes me to put my feet in the air so he can suck my cock and balls and eat my ass

You: Very hot.

Stranger: But both of those stories were times that we didn't even know it was risky I do have a story one time that we did it knowing it was risky

You: oh please do share, I'd love to keep in contact somewhere to hear more too if possible

Stranger: Ok

You: Did you send something besides "Ok"? I've seen it say you were typing and then stop a couple of times & then start again

Stranger: So this was probably when I was 15 he was 13 My cock was probably 7 in long. Anyway, we were watching Avatar The last Airbender in our room. It was in the middle of the day and we had family over. But I got really horny so I locked the door unfortunately made him suck my cock. This was the one and only time that we did it during the day and he was fully awake. Anyway I f***** the s*** out of him came in him and then sucked him until he came and unlocked the door and act like nothing happenede

Stranger: Forcefully not unfortunately

You: Oh wow that is so hot, I wanted to say something besides hot, but not sure anything else fits lol

Stranger: Believe me I get it. Also to give some context

Stranger: I am a tall man's man closeted straight guy

You: He really didn't want to suck you off at that time of day knowing people were home

You: I like it

Stranger: He is also tall but he is super slender and kind of has the body of a woman and is completely out of the closet so it's like I'm f****** a thin boy and it is amazing

Stranger: Femboy not thin boy

You: Oh so he is gay?

Stranger: Well he just straight up is a femboy

Stranger: Yeah

Stranger: Fem boys turn me on so much

You: Where can you keep in contact besides here?

You: Very nice

Stranger: Snap reddead1000

Stranger: Do you have any good stories like this I'd love to hear one

You: I mean my sis & I never had sex, but I do have some stories I can share.

Stranger: Plsss

You: mind if I copy & paste one I have posted on xhamster

Stranger: Sure

You: Xavier on snap then?

Stranger: Yeah

You: cool added

Stranger: Also my fantasy is to suck 5 16-year-old cocks while they piss and c** all over me

You: wow that'd be interesting

Stranger has disconnected.