#but abby is no worse than any of the rest of them

[agirlking]

#shoving this at every TLOU stan who still think joel is a hero#dude was fucked up and so were ellie and abby and that's the POINT (tags by deanpinterester and THANK YOU I was about to reblog this with this because ‘Or they argue that the collateral damage didn’t really happen, or that the negative outcomes weren’t really that bad actually, and thus miss the point altogether. ‘ is literally describing what the fandom did for yeaaaaars. And it’s why TLOU 2 got so bashed on, it didn’t validate their entirely made up headcanon about how Joel did the unquestionably right thing, and instead followed the narrative it created in a completely sensible way and explored how wrong and fucked up it was. Joel is so fucking awful.)

People think "gray morality" in fiction is about Both Sides Are Partly Right Actually but so much more often it's about choices having inescapable negative outcomes that have to be weighed against the benefits, or it's about having to choose between a series of bad options, or it's about making hard decisions about what you are willing to sacrifice to achieve the outcome you believe is good.

So often, I seem to see people angry that a story in a video game didn't present a Good Option with no collateral damage and no negative outcomes whatsoever, and if there are any downsides it's seen as the writers punishing you for the decision, because they see the primary purpose of stories to be moralizing rather than exploring the complexities of human experience. Or they argue that the collateral damage didn't really happen, or that the negative outcomes weren't really that bad actually, and thus miss the point altogether.

And I feel like it's important to remember that a narrative telling you a decision is difficult is not the same thing as the narrative telling you it is wrong.

[andersonfilms]

# LETTING IN WHITE HEAT ✶ abby anderson!

❝ vision go black, blood, letting in white heat.❞ ft. brakence

★⠀warning y disclaimers — eighteen+, f!reader, wlw sex, poc!friendly, labeling this as dubcon bc abby is mean but she’s sweet after, mean!abby, top!abby, bottom!reader, sub!ellie, loser coded!ellie, voyerisum, kinda mean rough sex, jealous!abby, slight nipple play, strap use r!recieving, abby has one filthy mouth, mommy kink, aftercare, abby is kinda really mean

her jealousy is soft at first, small ticks easily missed if you weren’t looking. the way her blue eyes would become cold like the atlantic, void of any warmth anytime another girl hugged you for a little too long, lingering touch your smooth arms, or the one time at a frat part this ellie chick your hair wrapped around a slender finger. she wouldn’t really react, besides pulling you closer to her, resting her chin on your shoulder, abby’s long fingers intertwined with yours. she knew you were gorgeous, anyone with eyes could see it, people were going to hit on you and it maybe it was annoying at times when abby just wanted you to herself, but she ignored them and just focused on you. but tonight? god, she couldn’t control it. she was failed miserably to keep her cool. it was happening right in front of her, and you weren’t dismissing ellie’s advances like you normally would. no. not at all. you were encouraging her by batting your long, luscious eyelashes at her emerald eyes. leaning away from abby and into her, letting your fingertips grazing the tattoo on her forearm as you giggle, fucking giggling, at a lame joke ellie was telling you. abby would deck her if you wouldn’t get upset about it. you’d forgive her, eventually, but abby knew some groveling would have to happen on her end. no, she wouldn’t have it this way. still, the situation nagged her in way she despised. apparently abby wasn’t giving you enough attention you had to seek it elsewhere and god, abby was going to make you regret it. baby let’s go somewhere more quiet, yeah? your little friend can even come, quietly she whispered in your ear.

it’s how you ended up in this position, getting fucked within an inch of you life, on all fours and your delicate fingers gripping the railing of the frame at the edge, headboard crashing against the wall the abby’s thrusts. lamely, ellie was fully clothed sitting in a velvet green chair placed next to the mirror, not like she could move. abby made sure of it. her brown leather belt bound ellie’s wrist so they laid flat in her lap, lust building up in her eyes as she took in the scene before her. abby’s pierced nipples on display, burly arms flexing as they gripped onto your ass, slapping every few thrusts, letting her meaty hands smooth over the sensitive area. all ellie wanted was to be in the mix, but abby would not let her. every grunt from abby’s lips made ellie’s dripping pussy clench. it wasn’t fucking fair, her keeping you like this, all to herself. the recoil of your ass and abby’s moans mixed together was enough to make ellie cum just from rubbing her thighs against each other, but the blonde’s filthy mouth only made matters worse, pushing her to the edge quicker than she would have liked. really, even expected.

“what you think she could fuck better than me, baby? is that why you were flirting with her? huh? what? too drunk on my cock you can’t fucking talk?” abby laughed before picking up her pace, a light mumble of mommy slipped past your whimpering lips, but it was loud enough for them both to hear. “that’s right, baby. mommy always has to punish you when you’re being a spoiled brat. what? you think she can fuck you like this? she’s half my size. couldn’t even pick you up even if she tried.”

ellie felt humiliated but she couldn’t stop herself from the pressure building up in the pit of her stomach. “c’mon ellie, i know you’re close. show me what a fucking loser you are and come for me. right now, baby. yeah, just like that. ruin those pretty boxers for me.” it doesn’t take anything else ellie to squirm in the chair, spurts of white, hot cum flooding her boxers, pretty eyes rolling into the back of her head as she slumped in the chair.

abby could fully focus on you now, all the attention she could give fully on you.she slipped her the strap out of your swollen, puffy pussy and made you ride her. intentionally, she wanted to punish ellie. she wanted her to see the pussy she would never have, gush over abby’s cock. your beefy girlfriend watched as you bounced on her cock, the swell of your tits bouncing rapidly as you fully sat on the girth. abby could feel the base nudge against her clit each time, her breaths becoming more erratic, watching her stupidly pretty girl chanting out mommy mommy mommy as her hips jerked sinfully. abby decided to help you, even if you didn’t deserve it.

she met you halfway, bucking her hips, meeting you with her strong thrusts as she bent her head down to suck on the perky bud. “mommy, fuck, please can i come?” but it seemed abby still had a bit of cruelness left in her. she released your nipple with a soft pop! she shoved her middle finger and ring finger into your mouth, before instructing you “suck.” abby chose to ignore you, but you obeyed. continuing to ride her cock as she made you practically gag on her long digits. when she felt like you had enough, she circled them on your clit. “you tell me, baby? do you deserve to cum?”

abby smirked as your eyebrows furrowed, trying to concentrate enough so you wouldn’t come without her permission. she’d only punish it for you later when the two of you were back at home. “i think….” abby slapped your ass with her free hand, letting her blunt fingernails digging into the delicate flesh. “you’ve been a bad girl tonight. haven’t you? what have i told you before? c’mon, let me hear it.”

“mommy only lets good girls cum.” between every word, abby delivers cruel thrusts to your cunt, making your pussy clench around her cock.

then abby was whispering in your ear, “but since we have an audience, i’ll just punish you at home, yeah?” she pauses, before she applies more pressure on your clit. “now, ride my cock like you mean it, baby.”

once your pace quicken, abby could feel the pressure build up, could feel her clit pulsating. she was close, but she needed you to cum first. need more than the air she breathed. god, she knew you were close too. you were slamming on her cock, chasing the high you could only get from abby and she knew exactly what you were craving. she removed her grip on your ass guiding you and wrapped it around your throat, applying just the amount of pressure you craved.

“yeah, is this what you needed? just needed mommy to choke you? i know, babygirl. are you going to cum for me? yeah, you are aren’t you? cum all over my cock. fuuuckkkkk, yes. yes. good girl, such a good girl for me.” you practically screamed out her name as you squirt everywhere, abby finds her release with you. abby’s thighs, yours, the sheets beneath you drenched in your sweet slick. and all ellie could do was watch as you collapse into abby’s body. your entire body shivering as you seeked comfort in your lovers’ arms. she watched as abby soothingly rubbed your back from the tip of you spine to your lower back. whispering sweet nothings in your ear, but ellie couldn’t hear them, intentional by the blonde for her not to. abby nearly crumbled as she watched abby take care of you, cleaning you up and assisting you with putting on your clothes. you sat on the edge of the bed, completely in a daze, waiting for abby.

once abby was dressed, she walked over to ellie, towering over her, sitting or standing didn’t really matter. with a mean grip, abby held ellie’s chin, applying enough pressure to get her almost bruise. “next time you flirt with my girl, it’ll be you getting fucked an inch within your life and unlike my beautiful baby, i’ll leave you alone like the dirty slut you are, unable to fucking walk, talk, move. got it?” abby left with you in her arms, but to ellie it sounded more like music to her ears.

pathetically, ellie watched as the couple walk out of the room, abby whispering in your ear as abby kissed your temple, shutting the door behind them. and then it dawned on her. she was still fucking tied up. fucking anderson.

an: yeah.......so this is a thing. hope you enjoyed it as much as i loved writing it! god do i need a blonde girl to fucking rail me

[elsweetheart]

Can I request something? You see, my friends tell me that I tend to flirt without even noticing. And I've noticed I indeed do that. I look people in the eyes and then look at their lips, I lick my own lips while doing that. I also tend to say softs "hmmm" "uhuum" to show them I'm paying attention. But I don't do that with that intention, because when I WANT to flirt, I'm a mess. Can you do Ellie or Abby (you choose) having a crush/dating someone who does that?

omg !!! me !!!!!!! i love this yes yes yea

im gonna do this w ellie because there’s not much to say about abby other than she will simply just bend you over and -

good view

🎀 short drabble in a hc format ?? idk wht this is. pre-relationship ellie x reader :)

• you were kinda out of it. didn’t get much sleep, and the weather was just warm enough to wear a tank top but a breeze still passed through the abandoned building you were all currently held up in, so you were fiddling with the thin cardigan you wore, pulling them over your hands. it put you in a relaxed, sleepy, slow mood.

• you and ellie weren’t together yet, so of course at any given opportunity when she sees you sitting alone she’d make conversation. she slid a chair over to where you were sat alone at a small table, straddling it backwards resting her arms on the back of the chair.

• “did you call dibs on a room? there’s not much choice, i mean they’re all pretty shitty.” she smirked light heartedly as you turned to face her.

• “yeah, picked the one with the good view.” you smiled hazily having being broken from your thoughts and your sleepy daydreams. you were blinking slowly, ellie always thought your eyelashes looked extra pretty when you did that.

• “nice, my window faces a brick wall.” she comment with an eye roll and you giggled which made her features noticeably perk up when she saw the way your teeth sunk into your bottom lip mid giggle to stifle it. she tried not to stare, launching into a story about the time her and Joel passed through a fancy abandoned building and she called dibs on the fancy penthouse bedroom and made Joel sleep in the maid quarters.

• you were listening intently, at first, but you were tired and her features were just so distracting. not even because of your huge crush on her, she just was… interesting. your eyes dragged down to her bottom lip where she had acquired a fresh cut from some kind of scuffle she’d wound up in and watched the way it moved with her mouth as she spoke. “mhm.” you breathed lightly to let her know you were still sort of listening.

• she felt her heart in her throat as she watched your fluttery eyes stare at her lips and completely stumbled over what she was going to say. “it was funny because he was— um… it was funny because fucking—uh…” she lost track of what she was trying to say and this caused you to casually glance back up at her eyes, furrowing your eyebrows slightly in confusion making them look extra big and doe like which did not her help case.

• “wh’s wrong?” you spoke so softly she could barely hear it over the blood thumping in her ears when she realised she was blushing. what made it worse, is she watched you in real time notice her blushing too, your pretty eyes gliding across her face. “c’mon dude.” she laughed, sitting back away from where she was leaning on the chair to wipe her hands down her face.

• “i’m so confused.” you giggled back and she chuckled, fiddling with the chipped wooden table corner for a moment before looking back up at you with a little more determination.

• “can i finish my story please? without you eyeballing me like that?” her tone was jokey, slightly putting on a voice but you could tell she meant it. you sat back a little, tilting your head to the side like a confused puppy. “and like that.” she laughed before flickering her own eyes to your mouth. “s’distracting.” was all she needed to say and you sort of caught on and raised your eyebrows a little.

• “oh…” you willed her to speak more with her stare, so she did. “you’re pretty. drives me crazy, just a little bit.” she scrunched her nose and you smiled, letting it drop slightly as you held her stare. she cleared her throat, feeling overwhelmed. “anyway, as i was saying before you rudely interrupted with your face.” she continued which made you laugh. perhaps you needed to be more mindful about how you looked at people, however you did enjoy teasing ellie.

[mellowsadistic]

The Magician's Game - Chapter 5

“Well, that takes care of everything for today, I think,” said the Magician.

The ladies were all staring, unnerved, at the place where Susie and her mother had vanished. What sort of life had the girl gone home to? All of them knew it could just has easily have been them in Susie’s place, voted off to face who knows what horrible fate. Madelyn sucked her thumb nervously, and Becky squirmed in her stinky diaper.

“You can all do as your please for the rest of the afternoon,” the Magician continued happily. “Wander around the house, look around the gardens, or just go back to yours rooms for the night. It’s your choice, but don’t stay up too late. You need to be well rested for the second challenge tomorrow.”

“What time should we come back here for dinner?” Abby asked, a little apprehensively. She hoped it wouldn’t be baby food and formula again.

“Your dinner will be delivered to your rooms tonight,” said the Magician. His eyes glittered as he spoke. Abby didn’t like the look on his face, as if he had something planned, but what could be worse than having to eat disgusting, mushy baby food?

“Oh!” he said suddenly. “There is one thing I’ve forgotten. Stay where you are a minute, ladies.” The Magician’s eyes fell on Becky. He looked at her with his horrible smirk and said, in syrupy-sweet baby talk that turned the women’s stomachs, “Daddy thinks someone has a very ‘tinky nappy, doesn’t she? Does wittle baby Becky need changies?”

Becky turned scarlet and looked at the floor.

“Answer me, young lady.”

“Yes,” Becky said through gritted teeth.

“Uh-uh-uh, sweetie. You can do better than that. If you want to get out of that dirty diaper any time today, you have to ask me properly. Unless you’d rather spend all night in poopy pants?”

She flashed him a furious look. “Please Daddy,” she begged, her eyes filling with angry tears, “I’ve got a very stinky nappy. Will you change me?”

“Not quite, little one,” he said happily. “One more time. But this time try it in baby-talk, just like Daddy did.”

Becky sobbed. How much more was he going to humiliate her?! Wasn’t it enough that he’d stripped her of her toilet training and put her back in fucking nappies?! But the horrible, disgusting mess in her pants was getting too much to bear. She’d been in this filthy thing since lunchtime! “Pwease Daddy!” she wailed, determinedly not looking at the others. “Baby Becky has a vewy ‘tinky nappy! Pwease can I haf changies?”

“Good girl! That’s better! Alright, princess. Lie down and Daddy will clean your messy bottom. The rest of you can watch.”

Tears in her eyes, Becky lowered herself onto the changing mat that had suddenly appeared on the dining room floor. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her! A part of her still hoped that this was all some sort of bizarre nightmare, that she might wake up any second to find she was still a regular twenty-year-old woman who could keep her pants clean and dry.

With a loud ripping sound, the Magician undid the tapes of Becky’s diaper and pulled down the front.

“P-U!” he exclaimed, fanning his nose theatrically when the mess in Becky’s pants came into view.

Becky wanted to sink into the ground and disappear forever.

“What a little stinker!” the Magician teased as he lifted Becky’s legs in the air by her ankles. He smiled while he worked away at her mucky bottom with a pack of wet wipes. “Who’d have thought such a pretty girl could make such a yucky mess!” he said.

Becky cringed with shame. She felt exactly like those filthy brats at daycare. She glanced up and saw the others staring at her. They all looked disgusted. Katherine was actually pinching her nose! “Don’t look!” Becky whined. “Don’t look at me!”

Abby, Madelyn, and Katherine knew they should give her some privacy – if the Magician forced them to stay, they could at least avert their eyes – but something about the horror of the scene kept their eyes fixed on Becky. A grown woman getting her dirty nappy changed. They couldn’t look away.

“Nooo!” Becky mewled, squirming in place while the Magician cleaned her up.

“Hold still, little missy,” he told her sternly, but she kept on wiggling and whining. Sighing, he snapped his fingers, and suddenly Becky went quiet. Then a happy giggle burst from her lips.

“Goo goo ga ba ba!” she gurgled, as a dim-witted smile spread across her face.

“There we go!” the Magician cooed, smirking. “That should keep you settled down until you’re all cleaned up. Here, I know just the thing to occupy a fussy baby during a diaper change.”

He slipped off the shoe and sock from one of Becky’s feet and gave it a tickle. She squealed excitedly and grabbed her foot, lifting it up to her face in an extraordinary show of flexibility. Then, while the others watched with looks of revulsion on their faces, the twenty-year-old woman shoved her big toe into her mouth and started sucking on it wetly.

Even Madelyn, who’s thumb was still planted in her mouth, watched with distaste as Becky drooled cross-eyed over her toes like some mindless infant. It was like the Magician had drained her adult mind right out of her body! The fact that a man would dare do this to a woman made her seethe with rage, but there was nothing she could do about it now. She’d come up with a plan soon, she told herself. This freak was going to get it.

The Magician finished cleaning Becky’s bottom while she sucked on her toes and babbled nonsense. He pulled a fresh nappy from thin air and slipped it under her bottom, giving her a generous sprinkling of sweet-smelling baby powder and patting it firmly into her tushy before taping the bulky diaper snugly around her waist.

“There we go!” he announced, and Becky cooed happily up at him, her mentally reduced mind happily enjoying the pleasant tone of his voice. “I’ll finish taking care of baby Becky for this evening,” he told the others, “so you can all head off now.”

The three ladies immediately headed for the exit, slightly dazed by what they had just seen. They couldn’t get the image of Becky babbling and getting her butt wiped out of their heads. Madelyn slipped out first, Katherine behind her – but before the fashion model could leave, the Magician spoke.

“Oh Katherine,” he said, “if you do decide to go exploring the house again, at least put some undies on this time sweetie.” He chuckled. “Such a naughty thing, running around with your bottom hanging out, flashing your no-no spot!”

Katherine hurried out of the room, blushing brightly, her arms slightly outstretched to keep her balance as she toddled and stomped away unsteadily. Abby followed quickly behind her.

“Katherine,” Abby said, catching up to the toddling woman in the corridor to their rooms. She had to supress a laugh at the sight of the snobbish lady waddling bowlegged down the corridor with her bare bottom mostly exposed by her short dress.

Katherine looked at her suspiciously. “What?”

“I was just wondering… The Magician said Susie got three votes, and I’m pretty sure it was me, Madelyn, and Becky. So I wanted to know who you voted for.”

Katherine raised her eyebrow. “And why should I tell you that?” she sneered.

Abby scowled. “Fine! I thought we could work together, but if you’re going to be a total bitch about it, you can forget it! I don’t know why I asked. You’re just some stupid toddler now anyway.”

Katherine blushed angrily. “Fuck you! At least I didn’t poop my pants earlier today!”

Abby went red herself. It had felt so disgusting having to waddle back to her room with a yucky mess in her pants after the first challenge. At the time, she’d been so relieved not to be made incontinent that she hadn’t thought too much about it, but now the memory made her cringe with shame. “Go and waddle back to your room, little girl!” she spat. “You can practice for your next baby pageant!”

Katherine stormed away furiously, stomping her feet unsteadily, and this time Abby didn’t restrain herself. She laughed nastily as the fashion model toddled off to her room looking exactly like a grumpy three-year-old.

Katherine slammed the door behind her, seething. That stupid girl should just wait! Eventually the Magician would do something to her as well, and then she’d see how she liked it! Hopefully she’d end up in diapers forever like Becky.

Abby stormed off as well. Madelyn had already gone back to her room too, and Abby decided not to disturb her. Even as a ridiculous thumbsucker, she was still a little intimidating with her short hair and her black suit and her stern, commanding voice. In any case, Madelyn had been on her side last time. She considered waiting for Becky, but she doubted the disgusting little pants-pooper would be in any fit state to discuss strategy for a while.

She went to her own room. The Magician might be a terrifying monster, but his house was certainly comfortable, and Abby laid down on the queen-sized bed, thinking hard about how she could possibly win this ‘game’. She thought about the Magician’s deep voice and handsome features, even his superior smirk, and her hand slipped almost unconsciously between her legs. She had an idea...

A few hours later, and Katherine was waiting impatiently in her room, sat up in her bed. There was a knock on the door.

“Come in!” Katherine snapped. “It’s about time! I’m hungr…”

Then she froze at the sight of the woman who had just entered the room. It was her. The nanny she’d seen nursing the young woman when she’d tried to escape earlier that day.

“Hi, sweetie!” the lady cooed. She cupped her heavy, swollen breasts and jostled them. “Are you ready for din-dins?”

Katherine squealed in fear and jumped out of bed. She knew exactly where this was going and she wasn’t going to let it happen! She tried to run past the crazy woman and out the door, but her knees gave out before she’d taken two steps. She fell to the floor and started crawling desperately to get away.

“Silly baby!” the woman chuckled, reaching down and swatting Katherine playfully on her jiggling bare bottom. “Where are you off to? There’s no running away from Nanny this time! Baby needs her tummy full! Yes she does!”

Katherine turned around to look up and the woman, and felt her mind go numb. The lady had her tits out. They were enormous, pale and creamy. Katherine had always thought of herself as having big breasts, but they were nothing compared to the beachball sized tits wobbling alluringly on this woman’s chest. On the end of each nipple, a drop of pearly white milk glistened. Katherine found herself unable to avert her eyes. It was just like it had been with the baby food – the Magician was making her crave it, she knew. She tried to look away, to focus on something, anything else, but her eyes kept being drawn to the woman’s chest, and her stomach began to rumble.

“There’s a hungry baby!” the woman cooed. Nanny. Her name was Nanny. She helped Katherine to her feet, but the fashion model turned toddler barely noticed. She was too busy gazing hungrily at the drop of milk that had just ran down the underside of Nanny’s breast. She was hungry. She was a hungry baby.

Nanny say down on the bed and pulled Katherine into her lap. “There’s a good girl,” she crooned, guiding Katherine’s lips towards her nipple. “There we go. Time for num-nums. Time that all little girls got fed.”

Katherine latched on hungrily, her mind nearly empty. Somewhere in the back of her head, a voice was screaming at her that she had to stop, that she was a grown woman, that she ought to be disgusted by what she was doing. But she ignored it. She was a hungry baby, and she needed her num-nums. She started guzzling down Nanny’s warm, rich breastmilk like it was the most delicious thing she’d ever tasted. It was the most delicious thing she’d ever tasted, like honey and vanilla and something else that set off fireworks in her brain. Nanny rubbed her back, cooing at her softly while she nursed, and Katherine drank until she was full, and she drifted off to sleep with another woman’s nipple still planted in her mouth.

It was a similar story in the other girl’s rooms.

“Naughty girl!” Abby’s Nanny scolded when she barged into the room and found the younger girl playing with herself. “I’ve already had to spank one naughty girl today, and I can see I’m going to have to spank another! That is not ladylike behaviour, little girl.”

Abby barely had time to shriek in surprise before she was pulled over the older woman’s knees and given a short but painful spanking with her underwear pooled around her ankles. But if the spanking was bad, it was nothing compared to the humiliation of what came next. Still dazed and confused by this terrifying woman’s sudden presence, Abby didn’t even fight as the lady pulled up her top and guided one of her breasts into her open mouth.

She squealed in horror once the nipple was thrust between her lips, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t spit it out! She thought about Madelyn and her stupid thumbsucking habit, and realised it must be the same. She couldn’t stop her lips from nursing! All she could do was let out muffled squeals of protest as the warm mother’s milk started to flow.

Over in Madelyn’s room, the feminist lecturer received a slightly different surprise. “Hello, Maddy,” said the Magician, appearing suddenly beside her bed and making her yelp with surprise. “I’ve come to feed you dinner, sweetie,” he said pleasantly, pulling out a baby bottle and ignoring her look of deepest loathing. “I think you’ll find this very yummy, little miss. I made it specially for you.”

She looked suspiciously at the bottle. It looked like it was full of formula, the same as the one she’d drank for lunch earlier that day.

“It’s mostly breastmilk,” he went on, smirking at the look of revulsion on her face, “but I added a special ingredient as well.” His smile widened. “You see, I hopped over to your university campus, and it turns out you’re not very popular among a lot of the male students! In fact, when I explained the situation, many of them were only too happy to comply when I asked them to help fill your bottle for your din-dins tonight.”

Hey eyes widening with horror, Madelyn stared at the baby bottle. “You mean…” she mumbled fearfully around her thumb. “Is dat…”

“It’s mostly breastmilk,” he said again, “with a few healthy splashes of male piss and ejaculate.”

Madelyn tried to back away, to run, to fight, but her body was frozen. No! This couldn’t happen to her! Not this!

Slowly, clearly enjoying every agonising second, the Magician slid Madelyn’s thumb from her mouth and replaced it with the nipple of the baby bottle. Madelyn tried to squirm away, to spit it out, but it was useless. Her lips got to work. Her stomach rolling, she could do nothing to stop the disgusting mixture of breastmilk, pee, and sperm squirting into her mouth and down her throat. She felt sick. But as the Magician guided her hands around the bottle so she could feed herself, and tucked her under the covers of her bed, she couldn’t stop nursing eagerly from it. The fuller her belly got, the sleepier she became. With the bottle still in her mouth, her eyes fluttered closed.

Becky, who’d been woken from her mentally reduced baby state by the Magician only to find herself presented with a woman’s breast to drink from, had immediately started crying and wailing again in her room.

“Hush now, silly baby,” cooed her Nanny, thrusting one of her nipples into Becky’s mouth. The incontinent girl latched on uncontrollably, her eyes wide with shock as her body immediately started to nurse. But she quickly stopped caring. The milk was so yummy!

She settled down and cuddled close to her Nanny while she was breastfed, feeling totally at peace with the world. And she was also starting to feel very sleepy. Milk drunk, she realised, as her awareness came briefly back to her. She was milk drunk, like a baby. A belly full of breastmilk to help the baby go to bed... She barely noticed when the woman withdrew her nipple from her mouth. She felt very warm. Very warm in one particular place to be exact. With a sleepy whimper, Becky realised she was wetting her nappy. The smell of piss reached her, and she wrinkled her nose in disgust, but she was too tired to cry and mourn her potty training any more. Becky drifted off to sleep in her soggy diaper, and slept until morning.

Katherine was already dozing. Abby and Madelyn fell asleep quickly as well, their tummies full of breastmilk (and in Madelyn’s case, a little something extra as well), and they dreamed about full nappies, and smacked bottoms, and adult-sized nurseries that they couldn’t escape from no matter how hard they tried. And when they woke up in the morning, all four of them had wet beds.

[kommandonuovidiavoli]

Will we ever find out what happened to penny’s parents? Also, will we find out why penny is seeming 10 years old forever?

These two are related, so I will answer them together and explain the WHOLE situation. Brace yourselves, it's gonna be a ride.

[TW: abuse, manipulation, violence]

This got LONG, oh boy... HUGE thanks to @deyasworld for the proofread, corrections and important addictions!!! This story wouldn't be even half this good if it wasn't for her!!! GIVE HER A HEART IF YOU CAN!!!

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K.N.D. Mission

Turning Elders New For Our Revolutionary Exciting Virtue of Eternal Rebellion]

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Penny was a normal girl, who could age normally like any other kid. Her parents disappeared when she was 8, and turned 10 while living with Nigel.

One fateful day in 2015, the city woke up to a pink sky. This alone was pretty unusual, but what made that day so strange from the rest was that everyone in the city had reverted back to being 10 years old!

Everyone except kids younger than 10, —who just remained the same age—, but everyone else: adults, elderly people and teens, were back to being 10 year-old kids! Running around unsupervised.

This strange event unleashed a LOT of confusion and panic. Even worse, people seemed to have completely forgotten about their families and jobs, and went straight to playing around instead of keeping their responsibilities.

Sector V responded immediately by establishing an Emergency Camp at the city’s stadium, where all the unattended children were gathered and taken care of until their parents got back to normal.

At this point of the story, Nigel is the only member of the old Sector V who still lives in the city, and technically also Kuki, —though she had been decommissioned a year prior, when her kid was born and when… Wally disappeared.

Nigel was asked to take over the operation and investigate, but he refused to take the lead. Instead, he chose to follow Penny, who was the standing chief of operations of the current Sector V, and believed she should be the leader of the mission.

Cinzia and Joey were left in charge of the Emergency Camp, helping to take care of the kids. Many kiddified adults managed to keep a cool head and volunteered to help around, which made things easier around the camp. Even though these adults were technically helping the Kids Next Door as kids, they were not made aware of the organization, and the ongoing operation remained a secret to them.

Robbie was left in charge of leading the search for the reckless parents who separated from their small kids, alongside a kiddified Lou, who was very PISSED about the whole situation.

Penny and Nigel kept things under control and maintained communication with the Moonbase, in case something more happened. They discovered a strange barrier surrounding the edges of the city, turning everyone in town into kids. Anyone who entered the city would be turned into a kid, but if a kiddified adult tried to leave the city…, nothing would happen. The KND surrounded the area and made sure no-one else would get in.

Abby and Hoagie lived in another city, where Abby was going to college. She was five months pregnant at the time, and was ABSOLUTELY NOT ALLOWED to enter the city.

After two days of effort, the power source of the barrier was found in Northern Greenland. Nigel and Penny were sent to investigate, while the rest of the crew stayed back to handle anything that could possibly happen.

The source tracked down to an abandoned facility in the middle of nowhere, covered in ice and snow. Once they managed to get in, they found a staircase leading deeper down the icy structure, and they quickly understood that the place was much larger than they initially thought.

Navigating the huge facility was tricky and full of rooms, so they made sure to mark the route they decided to follow.

After some exploration, they wound up in a bright open space. Lights reflected all around the ice, completely illuminating the whole place. It was very quiet, and it seemed to be the last room left to explore in the building.

In the middle of it, there were two kids.

Penny didn’t have a doubt as she ran towards them. Younger or older, she could recognize: Those were her parents.

The kids hugged and cried of joy at the reunion; Penny couldn’t hold back a single tear. After tiresome years of search, the reason she had joined the Kids Next Door had finally been fulfilled. The two kids pat Penny to calm her down and reassure her.

Nigel felt… uneasy. Something felt wrong. And it wasn’t the thought of Penny leaving him for them; it was something more, and it was coming from them.

Penny collected herself and called him over, but the two kids were quick to recognize him as, the legendary, Numbuh 1. The kids stated that they were big fans of his ideals! And cited him as their main inspiration to build the device that turned adults into kids.

So well… They were responsible for the whole mess, adding a reason for Nigel not to trust them, on top of the fact that they had abandoned Penny for all those years..

And from there it got worse. They elaborated their plans, explaining that they planned on turning the entire world into kids so that no-one would turn into a sad, boring, serious adult. “No kid should have to go through that ever again!”; everybody would be able to play and have fun forever! And that’s why they had decided to become kids again, and study how to make the world Adult Free!

This only made Nigel dislike them even more. He pointed out that, even if everyone was a kid, someone would have to take the jobs adults do. They’d still need doctors, and factory workers to produce foods, and even toys!

The kids argued that yes, that was true, but kids would make everything funnier!

Kids were perfectly capable of doing everything on their own, and the KND were the proof of that! Kids didn’t need adults or parents to guide them!

That’s when Penny asked if that was the reason they left her….

… And, in fact, it was. They waited for her to be old enough to “fend for herself” and went on with their research, because, to be honest, parenting wasn’t their thing. Caring for kids was too much work, too complicated, too stressful and depressing. But from now on, they could be like siblings! It would be so much better and way more fun!

Penny’s little heart sunk in pain, and she stepped away from them, crying.

“I don’t want siblings!” She cried, “I want a mom and dad!… I need parents that protect me, and help me when I need them!”

Nigel had had it. He grabbed Penny and pulled her behind him, shielding her, and started yelling at these monsters.

Kids DO need adults! They DO need parents to help them, educate them, take care of them, among many other things! Yes, adults ruled the world, but not ALL of them were bad. There were good adults who wanted to keep kids safe, that’s what the Adult Division is for! These two were just selfish assholes who abandoned their daughter, who are now trying to force their moronic views on the entire world.

The two looked at each other with boredom. “Never meet your heroes….”

Nigel held Penny’s hand and turned to walk away, when suddenly she was yanked from him, and before he could say or do anything, a sharp, burning pain pierced on his left shoulder.

Looking over, he sees the boy holding Penny, and the girl holding a laser gun that was still fuming.

He watched in horror as the two dragged Penny away screaming. He tried to catch up to them, realizing in that moment that he couldn’t use his powers at all, for some reason. The pain was too intense, and he collapsed on the ground.

The all-too familiar solitude of silence had surrounded him once more…, followed by its darkness…

-----

Nigel found himself lost in the void, floating in its pool of emptiness... All hope was lost for what felt like an eternity, until a warm, familiar voice echoed. It was calling for him, telling him to wake up or he’d be late, “Penny is waiting for you”.

“…. dad?…”

And then he woke up.

He found himself in a hospital bed. Robbie and Joey were standing on one side,… and Abby and Hoagie at the other.

The two explained that they had been informed of the situation, and they traveled along to where the signal came from, and that when they got there, they had found him faint and wounded.

They didn’t think twice about getting him to the city’s hospital, and accidentally got turned into kids. Nigel got startled the moment he noticed, and felt a despairing rage when he realized that, by doing so, Abby had apparently lost her baby…..

Hadn’t those two done enough??! THEY were the cause of all this! THEY chased a childish dream and cost the world Everything! And now they had Penny in their clutches.

Against the doctor’s orders to rest, Nigel got quickly on his feet and ordered a rescue mission for Penny. All KND operatives in the city were called in to join the mission.

The operatives raided the Greenland hideout and found the two mad scientists doing something to Penny, who was trapped in a strange machine.

The two explained that they had discovered how to freeze aging and stay Ten Forever! They revealed that they had gotten Father to give them his Delightfulization formula, and cracked a formula from it to get the results they wanted.

Penny was their first success.

There was a furious fight that got the lab destroyed in the process, but Penny had been rescued. By destroying the machine that powered the barrier, everyone affected went back to normal, and by miracle, Abby’s pregnancy was unharmed and back to normal.

Everyone was back to normal except for Penny’s parents. The process they had used on themselves was different. The KND scientists asked if they should revert them and bring them back to their actual ages, but Nigel refused.

“Let them grow again. I think that’s the worst punishment these two can face.”

Everything was back to normal, but indeed…. Ever since that day, Penny hasn't grown a day older.

Somehow she can’t realize she can’t grow. She has lucid moments where something feels off, and Nigel is always there to help her get through them.

Nigel and Penny’s relationship started as that of a brother and sister, but as time went on, Penny began to consider Nigel as more of a father, as he’d look older and older. In 2019, Nigel adopted Penny officially, and they became father and daughter, filling in for the paternal figure she much needed.

The KND decided to keep her because you don’t let go of a Forever Kid! She wouldn’t be able to become Soopreme Leader though, because it wouldn’t be fair for other kids, but she remains the Sector V leader until she wants out, be it out of the position or out of the organization, —which she wouldn’t even dream of!

KND scientists from all divisions are working non-stop to find a way to reverse the anti-aging process so she can grow normally, and so that she can move on.

[End of Transmission.]

[ebdaydreamer]

it's a bad idea (let's do it anyway)

9-1-1 - 16.9k words - Explicit - AO3

When the loneliness of missing Abby got too much, Buck headed to a bar. When Eddie celebrated finishing the Fire Academy, his Abuela took his son and told him to go enjoy himself. Neither of them expected the other.

Buck was still with Abby, Eddie was still technically married.

There was no way this could end well

OR

the hook up fic

he first time Buck went to a bar alone after Abby left, he lasted exactly 7 minutes and 22 seconds before he turned around and went back to her apartment. It’d been so long since he went to a bar by himself. He had always gone with the sole purpose of hooking up. But Buck wasn’t that guy anymore, he didn’t want to be. Besides, he missed Abby too much to enjoy himself.

The second time Buck went into a bar alone was 4 months after she left. He managed to have at least one drink this time. The words ‘I don’t mind, you’re young, do whatever’ circled around his brain. But when he finally worked up the courage to actually take in the people around him, guilt hit him like a tidal wave. He didn’t want to hook up anymore. How could he, when he’d had the real thing and knew how good it could be?

The third time Buck went to a bar alone, he was a fully-fledged firefighter. As much of a high as that gave him, he was still restless. That night was even worse than good old-fashioned horniness. That he could handle with his hand. His skin was itching, and he wanted to crawl out of his brain. He needed something stronger and more settling than himself. Abby had been gone for months, and they were talking less and less.

‘I’m just going to look,’ he told himself. ‘Maybe the rush of that will be enough.’

Then a dark, handsome stranger walked in.

Now, in his Buck 1.0 days, he was never picky. He’d sleep with anyone he had any kind of good vibe with. Yes, he mostly slept with women, but as far as hookups go, it was usually quicker and easier, and they were more likely to be more receptive. He’d dodged a fair few punches for flirting with the wrong guy before. Needless to say, Buck never saw himself as having much of a type beyond ‘consenting’ before Abby came along.

This man, it turned out, was his type.

Dark, fluffy combed back hair, neat matching stubble, clearly works out - he could see his biceps from across the bar and through his flannel shirt. Alone.

Buck was with Abby, but there wasn’t a chance in hell he was walking out of that bar without at least buying Mr. Wet Dream a drink.

Eddie wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

He was too much of a pushover when it came to his Abuela and Tía. He’d gotten his assignment, told when his first day of work would be, and they’d practically kidnapped Chris and thrown him out the door.

“Eddito, for once in your life, let off steam while you still can.”

So now he was in a random bar in LA, feeling even more lost than when he packed his life up in a car and moved states.

It was a weekday, so the bar wasn’t too crowded. There was a TV showing some kind of sport on one wall. Maybe he could just grab a drink or two and watch whatever game was on, then go home and try and get a full night of sleep for once.

He took a seat at the bar, and was about to grab the bartender’s attention when suddenly, there was a solid mass pressed up against his side.

“Can I buy you a drink?”

Eddie turned his head, ready to politely decline, but then-

Wow.

He had never used the word ‘pretty’ to describe a man before, but dear God, this must be the prettiest man Eddie’s ever seen.

Read the rest on AO3

[yeahyeahchloe]

It Wasnt in my Head (2)

(a/n: ok chapter 2 time. ty for the love on chapter 1!! fyi.. reader is definitely based off me, so if you don't like her pls be nice about it! pls tell me if u see any typos. ♡︎)

Summary: Abby is the starting linebacker at UW and when her team starts to falter her coach decides to get the team into ballet, in order to teach them that grace and stability is important in football too. Abby is just as upset about her teammates about this, until she sees her pretty new ballet teacher...

dancer!reader x football!abby

!!ABBY IS STRAIGHT IN THE BEGINNING. READER IS HER GAY AWAKENING!!

I always knew I was meant to dance.

Ever since I first walked into a dance studio I knew it was just where I was supposed to be. My "calling" or whatever.

I walked into the familiar building with the familiar smell of rosin and wood flooding through my nostrils. I set down my ballet bag and began stretching, still in my sweatshirt and sweatpants.

It had been a week since Coach Vonn asked me to help with his teams little "issue" and the first day was finally here.

Its safe to say I'm absolutely fucking terrified.

I mean I know most girls hate the idea of being locked in a small studio with large groups of men, but as a lesbian?? Way way fucking worse.

As I was stretching I heard the door shut a good few times signaling that said men were coming in, but I chose to ignore it for the five minutes before the class actually started since I was sweating like a pig. Unfortunately that five minutes seemed to pass in seconds and it was time for me to get started.

I finally walked over to stand in front of a large group of men all staring at me. Waiting.

"Alright, I guess it's time to get started," I announced, pulling the quiet conversations in the room to a halt. "Ok we can just-"

The door slammed open interrupting me with a bang, I turned to yell at the person interrupting my class when I felt my breathing stop.

The person who opened the door stood now inside the studio, out of breath from rushing in. She was tall, taller than some of the other men on the team, with the most stunning honey blonde hair rolling down her back in a simple braid. She had a broad nose, yet softer eyes.

And to top it all off she was fucking MASSIVE.

And she was so fucking pretty.

"I'm so so sorry I'm late there was a train and then I couldn't find parking," The woman said in a voice as soft as silk.

I snapped out of my daze to answer the blonde in front of me,

"Oh, you're fine! We were just getting started," I told her, struggling to find my words.

She stalled for a minute looking in my direction for a little longer, but eventually looked away and nodded her head up at a few of her teammates in greeting.

"Uhmmm, ok! As I was saying, we can just get started with an introduction. My name Y/n L/n and I'm a junior here at WU. I was asked by Coach Vonn to teach you guys some ballet basics, in hopes of improving your muscle control, stamina, balance and, like, a ton of other things, um, we can just get started off with some stretching, which I know you all already know how to do that," I began, hoping to sound as put together and professional as possible.

Everyone began to stretch as I watched and observed them all.

Well, watched and observed the blonde who burst in earlier.

She had taken off her sweatshirt, so her deliciously large arms were now on full display, flexing with every movement. And her hands, god her hands, they were large too. The tendons that sat atop, her hands moved just as much as the muscles on her arms did.

I finally decided to tear my eyes away after realizing that I was staring for a creepily long amount of time.

"Ok, everyone lets start by learning our positions," I announced to the room.

The rest of the lesson went as they always do, and at the end I got a few thank yous, and everyone left.

˖⁺‧₊˚ ♡ ˚₊‧⁺˖

My front door made the same usual clanking noise as it unlocked, before I threw it opened and walked in, taking off my shoes at the door.

"Hey bitch!" A voice hollered from the kitchen.

Heyyy D!" I called back walking into the room.

Dina was seriously my favorite person. I had met her last year when I saw an ad on craigslist that said she was looking for a roommate. Hindsight says that using a craigslist ad to find a roommate was probably not a very good idea, but it worked out in the end.

"Were going to a motherfuckin party tonight!" She exclaimed, eating her microwave nachos.

"Aw, D, come on you know I hate parties," I reminded her as I grabbed my own plate and the bag of tortilla chips to start a dinner of my own.

"Y/nnnn I really really wanna get out and do something! I've been doing classes and sitting at home all. day." She groaned.

Her and Jesse must have gotten into another fight.

"Uhhhhmmmmmmnnuuugghhh yesokfine," I answered Dina, as she gave me her best puppy dog eyes. "I guess I deserve a night off too,"

"Hell yeah you do! Ok eat quick because we leave at 10,"

I glanced to the bright red numbers on the oven that read 8:45 and ate my now ready nachos slightly quicker.

I walked into my room and to my dresser and decided on a super basic party outfit: a mini dress.

My hair looked fine down, so I left it as I touched up my makeup from the day.

"Oh by the way, Ellie is coming and she says her friend is gonna meet us there," Dina told me after bursting into my room unannounced.

I smiled at that. I loved Ellie. She was a lot like me in many ways, and she was the one who helped me realize I was into girls.

She was also Dina's best friend so I kind of had to like her.

Around thirty minutes later Dina and I heard honking outside n signaling to us that Ellie had arrived to get us.

We both locked up, walked down the many stairs of our apartment complex, and piled into Ellie's car.

"Hey Els!" I said, sliding into the backseat.

"Hey sweet thing, how've you been?" She asked, eyeing me in her rearview mirror.

"Oh y'know, busy. Get this, I have to teach the football team how to do ballet, per their coaches request. Can you believe that shit? Its like watching a bunch of babies take their first steps," I answered her with my regular joking tone.

She snorted before following it with: "Jesus, looks like you need tonight more than Dina does,"

"Tell me about it,"

We pulled up to the house after another 5 minutes or so full of conversation.

And of fucking course.

Greek letters were proudly hung on the front of said house.\

"Dina, really? I didn't know this was a fucking frat," I told my friend, annoyance lacing my voice.

"Well I knew if I told you, you wouldn't have come," She turned around and looked at me while Ellie parked.

"Ok yeah I guess that's fair," I grumbled from the backseat.

I hate frats. Too many annoying misogynists who think they have a chance.

We got out of the car and approached the entrance where loud music was heard from a few feet away.

Here we fucking go.

˖⁺‧₊˚ ♡ ˚₊‧⁺˖

[jtl-fics]

One of the other Time Travel fic ideas that lives in my head rent free STARTS very very sad but then quickly moves onto sheer hilarity. I thought of most of it while listening to New Kings by Sleeping Wolf.

It starts with Wymack’s funeral and all of the Foxes are grown up and off living their professional lives. They’re all gutted that their Exy dad has passed away and it is all sorts of unreal that he’s gone. Abby’s driving them all in the old Fox travel bus to go to the burial as a sort of an ode to their importance in Wymack’s life (he had other teams he was close to but nothing will really compete with his most problematic team, he always loved them the most even if he denied it until his dying breath)

Except, in true time travel/world travel/etc. fashion, they get T-boned on their way to the burial and the ‘Miracle Team’ of Foxes all die there.

And then they wake back up and it’s disorienting because they’re still on a bus but they were pretty sure they were hurt a lot worse than they are now. Then Wymack’s voice is loud and concerned asking everyone is okay.

He looks just like how he did back when they were in college but when they all take a look around, they all also look exactly like they had in college too. Andrew is on the court mandated drugs, Seth is alive, Kevin’s hand is still healing from Riko crushing it, and Neil isn’t there.

Kevin, Dan, and Abby barrel into Wymack and it quickly becomes apparent that this Wymack is also the Wymack who had died 20 years later. Meanwhile Andrew is not handling being back on the drugs well at all, especially when Neil is not around.

He’s freaking out that at this point (the beginning of the spring season) Neil is all alone in Millport. He wants to go right now and get his Junkie and there’s the question of whether or not Neil even remembers because Wymack is pretty sure it takes a hard whack to the head or some sort of shock to remember. Wymack took an errant ball to the head the week after the ‘skiing accident’ that Kevin suffered.

Andrew wants to go right now and he’s fine with re-enacting his first meeting with this Neil if it means he’ll get his Neil back. Wymack promises that they’ll go and they’ll do everything they need to get Neil back. Even if Neil doesn’t remember anything then Andrew will keep him close and keep him safe because FUCK there are so many dangers to Neil’s life again.

Wymack and the rest of the Foxes also work on getting Andrew cleared to start going off of his medicine with the enthusiastic support from Betsy. They won’t put Andrew in Easthaven again but manage to get him into an outpatient program that Abby will oversee once they get Neil because Neil’s the only one that Andrew trusts to be with him and see him like that.

They get to Millport two days after the bus accident and Hernandez had sent Neil’s reel and his belief that Neil was a runaway and Wymack had said he was going to come down at some point to talk with him but the other coach hadn’t really heard from Wymack since then so he’s surprised to have Wymack, Kevin Day and some manic blond show up.

It’s pretty awkward to explain that the Ravens came and offered Neil a full scholarship a week prior to be a sub Striker with the Ravens. That Riko Moriyama himself came and offered it to him. Andrew and Kevin look like they’re going to pass out until Hernandez says that Neil had said no and he’d ran off immediately after and Hernandez hasn’t seen him since he ran away from Riko Moriyama a week prior.

Neil’s in the wind.

He might not even be Neil anymore.

Andrew is catatonic, Kevin is hardly any better, and the rest of the Foxes don’t know if Neil running was better than having Neil as a Raven.

It doesn’t make any sense on why Riko would be offering a place with the Ravens to Neil let alone why he’d offer the Striker position.

It’s Aaron, barely managing to hold Andrew together as his brother refuses to start the rehab until Neil is with him, who offers the idea that they’re not the only ones who came back. Riko had also died, he could have come back and Neil was part of his imagined perfect court he could have gone to get him for that or even just to ruin the chance of Neil being around for the Foxes because the sight of a Moriyama would have sent Neil running.

It’s a month later and Andrew’s ready to drop out of college to start hunting down Neil until a phone call comes and it’s Hernandez letting them know that Neil had shown back up at his house and asked if he could stay for a little bit. Neil was bruised and bloodied but wouldn’t say what had happened to him.

Andrew and Wymack are the two who go this time. Kevin has a history test that he can’t skip and Andrew wants to be in Millport immediately. They come up on coach Hernandez’s house to find Neil climbing out of a side window from a bathroom looking terrible and Andrew is getting ready to smack him in the gut but Neil turns and sees him and, “Drew?” comes out of his mouth before he can think better of it.

What follows is an explanation of what happened. Why he ran. Where he’d been the last month. One of Riko’s thugs hit him pretty hard to get him to agree to sign on as a Raven and that knocked Neil’s memories back into his head. He needed to get away from Riko and he had no idea that he wasn’t the only one who had come back so he’d thought he had time before the Foxes came to Millport. He went off and he killed Drake first and foremost and then set a trap for the worst of his father’s men, including Lola that left 6 dead and one alive only long enough to beg for mercy that Neil didn’t have for the woman who would play tic-tac-toe with a dashboard lighter on his arms.

Andrew cannot be separated from Neil after that. They make plans that Neil will be completing his high school education in Palmetto. Neil is 18 so he can transfer himself out and Neil’s address is Abby’s house but he doesn’t spend a single night there aside from the time spent getting Andrew off of his drugs.

The Foxes finish out their season quite well after their accident. Most of the graduating players and Seth are confused by the changes in their teammates after the crash, especially why everyone is so visibly relieved when some skinny kid from Arizona comes in and why the terrifying freshman has clung onto him so fiercely.

The Foxes have plans for the next year. There’s no need for them to ‘come together’ the way they had the first time because even Seth has chilled out now that Kevin is doing more than just bitching that they’re not enough (he’s had years to actually get good at coaching).

They’re going to make the world recognize them again.

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️

On it 🫡

30 for ⚡️:

---

 Pepa, who was at the table when they discussed their plans to have another child. Who was at the table when Adriana offered to donate eggs. She knows what they want. So why is she asking?

“Why?” Eddie asks. 

It’s not that they ever had a problem with adoption. They didn’t. They just… Well, they followed a plan that worked for them. 

“Something has come up,” Pepa says. 

“With Adriana?” Eddie asks, confused as to why he wouldn’t be the first to know. 

“No,” Pepa replies. “With Lourdes.” 

Eddie frowns. “Who is Lourdes?” 

He’s trying to sound patient. Really, he is. But he has never met a Lourdes in his life and he has no idea why they would have any bearing on his current, private family situation. 

“Eddie, I’ve told you this before. Lourdes is the grandaughter of Maria, my friend from church and Bunko.”

Eddie freezes. “Pepa, I’m gay and married.”

Pepa clicks her tongue. “And she is eighteen years-old. No, that’s not why I am calling, obviously.”

The pieces begin to slot together in Eddie’s head. 

“She’s pregnant?” He asks. 

---

30 for 🔼:

---

Shannon tries reaching out to Maddie about Buck, but Maddie sort of blows her off. Something to do with a new gym. She sounds off, too. Maybe upset about her brother. 

She doesn’t know what to do at all, until things start to get worse. Much worse. 

It starts at Shannon’s twenty-eight week scan. A pretty significant appointment, as far as she’s concerned. One that measures growth and predicts weight at birth. Which, considering Christopher had been a big baby and that had contributed to the complications during his delivery, Shannon is sort of anxious to find out. Helena isn’t even here, isn’t even involved, but she can already hear her patronizing voice. All my babies were normal sizes, easy deliveries. Must come from your side of the family, dear. Shannon had wanted to kill her. 

Eddie knows Shannon is anxious for this appointment. She’s told him. Well, not about what his mother said. He wasn’t home then. But about the rest of it. The anxiety. She’s talked to her new therapist about it too. 

“You hold onto a lot of guilt,” her therapist, Giselle, says. “Maybe the best thing we could work on, for you, would be how to process that and move forward healthily.”

So that’s the goal. But she’s not there yet. And until she is, she’s going to need this appointment to give her good news. Like, perhaps, a smaller baby. Though she knows that’s not the statistical likelihood. 

To Eddie’s credit, he isn’t bad during the appointment. He’s fine. 

---

30 for 🧟‍♀️:

---

Eddie nods. “Well, it would have taken us longer than that to walk, potentially.” 

“Back to Sunport?” Abby asks. “That’s dangerous.”

“It is,” Eddie agrees. “But if it’s what I have to do, I’ll do it.”

“Well, you don’t,” Taylor sighs. “We’ll take care of you. Get you home.” 

And even though Eddie doesn’t really like her, he finds that on this matter, he trusts her. 

▪️▪️▪️

The house Shannon mentioned is less of a house and more of a whole compound. 

“How the hell did you pull this off?” Buck asks, as they walk through a marble foyer that looks jarring with boarded windows and weapon gun lockers. They clearly went for practicality, not decor. 

“I knew the director who owned it,” Taylor says. “I was trying to move from traffic news to real stories. She had something for me that she wanted me to break. I was the only one she trusted.”

“Hollywood scandal?” Buck asks.

“Something like that.”

She doesn’t elaborate. Eddie thinks maybe he doesn’t want to know. 

“Anyway, she died. I knew the gate code,” Taylor shrugs. “Rest is history.”

The property is fully gated. There are security cameras. It’s safe the way the library is safe. 

[lolasimms]

Can I request headcanons on the dynamic between Abby and Lila? I love the idea of someone big and intimidating like Abby being all sweet with a mini human

Abby + Lila Head-canons

Abby was really nervous to meet her, as she didn’t like most of her dads girlfriends and was afraid Lila would feel the same way about her.

To her surprise, they ended up getting along really well and the second time they met, Lila clung to her legs, since she was the same height as Abby’s knees.

Lila usually was independent and enjoyed walking on her own during outings but once Abby came around she insisted on sitting on her shoulders or in her arms. Whenever the three of you visited crowded locations, say farmers markets, Lila would insist that Abby carry her on her shoulders.

She loved how easily Abby could throw her up in the air whenever they played, but it always scared you to death because you thought she’d drop her. Or even worse, crush her in the process of catching her.

Sometimes she won’t let you read to her at night, insisting that Abby does, because she’s better at the voices than you are. Thats until you find out Abby had been sneaking her cookies before bed.

The two of them sometimes get lost in their own world. Abby is one of those people who really plays, meaning she’ll loose track of time when her and Lila are having too much fun. You’d once planned on going out for dinner when Lila had begged to go to the park with Abby beforehand, claiming they’d be gone for just 30 minutes. Two hours later you’d canceled the reservation when Abby had claimed they were having too much fun and honestly forgot about the dinner.

You’d never been very fond of pets, which Lila hated as she was the biggest animal lover. Any time the two of you went out and she saw a dog or a cat, she’d ask their owners if she could pet them and play with them. Luckily for her, once Abby had moved in she brought her cat Millie along with her.

Lila wasn’t aware that cats weren’t exactly like dogs, and that some of them didn’t like attention. So when she tried grabbing Millie by the stomach she ended up with a bright red scratch along her arm. After this occurrence, the once self-proclaimed animal lover wasn’t too happy with the family’s newest addition. Abby felt horrible and Lila was hysterical the entire evening. To make up for the mishap, Abby put Millie in “cat timeout” and bought Lila her favourite gelato as compensation.

Despite her intimidating size and height, Lila found that Abby was easy to break. If ever you said no to something or had a strict rule she had to follow, she’d always go to Abby knowing she’d give in. That’s exactly how the cookie fiasco had started. One night you’d baked cookies, promising Lila would have them the next day and she’d thrown a full blown tantrum. You only did this, due to the fact that by the time they’d cooled off, it was already nearing her bed time. Not satisfied with your explanation, Lila clung onto Abby the rest of the evening. She started telling Abby she was the best, trying to butter her up to get what she wanted. And who was Abby to deny the little girl of her desires especially when she gave her those sweet puppy eyes, so she snuck two cookies while you washed up and made her way up the stairs and into Lila’s room.

Everyone knew Lila was sort of an attention seeker, it’s just what being an only child entailed. So when she came home from school one day to be surprised with an ultrasound photo of her so called “baby brother” she wasn’t happy. She ignored you and refused to sit with you. Calling you “mean mommy” and asking you to get rid of the baby. Abby didn’t know what to do, and quite frankly neither did you.

Lila refused to speak to you and anytime you’d try sit next to her and talk through the issue she’d scoot closer to Abby. It had been three whole days of Lila icing you out and with your first trimester morning sickness you were starting to become upset, and this upset Abby. She finally put her foot down and sternly told Lila that her antics needed to stop. She’d explained the perks of having a new sibling, making the six year old finally come around. By day 5 Lila and Abby had made an apology card for you. ‘Sorry Mommy’ it read and all you could do was smile and laugh.

[envyenvys]

Stobin Mandalorian AU part 4

(aka s3 stobin accidentally acquire a magic baby)

[1] [2] [3] [You Are Here]

Running for your life with any other baby would be a trial and a half, Steve thinks, but as he’s booking it through the empty mall with Abby in his arms, Russians hot on their heels, the baby — bafflingly — yawns cutely and falls asleep.

At the head of their little pack, Dustin makes a sharp turn and dashes into a nearby store. They follow him in before the Russians can spot them, and then head straight to the back.

“Robin,” Dustin whispers, a little too loudly, “does your key work on this door?”

“Uhh.”

Robin pats at her pockets, then runs over to the till. It’s some kind of ladies’ clothing store, so it’s more organized than theirs was, which is good because it means Robin barely has to search before she has the key to the back hallway.

She runs back over to the door where Dustin is impatiently tapping his foot and unlocks it with a little flourish.

“Aright, everybody in, in, in.” Dustin waves them through, ignoring Erica’s dirty look, and shuts the door quietly behind them.

“How many stores down should we go to be safe?”

“Don’t tell me we’re going back in there,” Erica says, crossing her arms.

They’re talking quietly, but everything echoes in these halls. The whispers are bad, but four sets of quick feet are worse — Steve keeps glancing over his shoulder, convinced the Russians could hear them from a mile away. Thank god Abby’s out like a light.

“Well we can’t exactly go outside,” Dustin points out, “so, yeah, our best bet is hiding in one of the stores.”

“With the baby?”

The lights flicker, and Steve shushes them. They’ve been in the hallway too long, and it’s putting him on edge. They pass two more doors — a bookstore and a toy store — before he catches the sign on the third door.

Little Sprout Baby Emporium

“This way,” Steve whispers, very carefully pulling the door open so it won’t make any noise.

“Oh, good idea,” Robin whispers, and slips through to start picking through the baby supplies.

Dustin stares at him for a moment before shaking his head with a sigh and following Robin through the door.

Abby’s still asleep, somehow, looking like a perfect little angel in his arms. She’s a little too big for the three-month-old section, but the six-month-old clothes fit her almost perfectly.

There are so many adorable little shirts and dresses — and pants and hats and shoes and even a tiny pair of baby overalls — that he wants to dress Abby in, and he has a feeling the mall might not survive much longer, so he doesn’t feel guilty at all shoving everything he likes into the baby bag Robin found for him.

Robin, on the other hand, has been packing every single bit of baby supplies she can find into another bag. She has an empty baby bjorn strapped to her chest, another slung over her shoulder, and when he glances over again she’s debating between a few different maternity coats.

Dustin and Erica, who got bored after the first five minutes, are sitting side by side against the back wall.

Steve picks up a tiny sundress patterned with little yellow ducklings and almost jumps when a car alarm goes off outside. He trades a look with Robin, and the two of them sneak back to where the kids are scrambling up.

“That’s gotta be the Russians, right?” Steve whispers.

“Or it could be the rest of the Party,” Dustin argues. “They should’ve been here by now if they got my message.”

Steve still can’t believe Mr. Always-Prepared forgot to pack extra batteries, but doesn’t bother bringing it up again.

“Here, give me the baby,” Robin says, unbuckling the baby bjorn on her front. Giving Abby away feels like ripping his heart straight out of his chest, but it’s Robin — if his heart’s safe with anyone, it’s her.

Once Abby’s snug, Steve helps Robin into one of the maternity coats, buttoning it up so not even the top of the baby’s little head is visible. She might end up a little stuffy, but it’s safer to keep her out of sight. Steve considers for a moment, then grabs one of the maternity coats for himself too.

The next few minutes are complete chaos. It turns out the car alarm was El, just like Dustin said, and the rest of the Party are right there with her. Everyone’s talking at once, not even bothering to take turns between asking and answering questions. Normally Steve would be right there with them trying to figure out what the hell’s going on — and he still should be, he’s definitely not following the conversation right now — but instead he finds himself hanging back with Robin.

Lucas is emphatically describing some kind of giant goo monster to Dustin, who looks skeptical, but all Steve can focus on is Abby. Will she be okay if they have to fight more than just the Russians? What if she gets hurt?

He reaches out to grab Robin’s hand, and she grips his back tight.

El screams, and the group’s attention shifts. The energy in the room is frantic, zipping from person to person as they all try and fail to help El until she does it herself. Robin’s grip on his hand never loosens.

The adults, when they arrive, aren’t quite the welcome sight they should be. They look just as tired as Steve feels, and the new guy — Murray Bauman, he says, which doesn’t impress either Erica or Steve — seems almost haunted. They don’t talk much about what happened, except to say that the plan now involves going back into the bunker, and that’s when Steve fully steps back — metaphorically.

There’s no way he’s going down there again unless he absolutely has to. Not after what happened, not now that they have Abby. Frankly, if he never sees another elevator in his life it’ll be too soon.

He doesn’t want the kids going down there either, no matter how eager they are to prove themselves, so it’s a relief when the four of them are sent to operate Dustin’s giant radio. The newly-named Scoops Troop pile into the Toddfather — Robin and Abby in the front, and the baby bags shoved under Dustin and Erica’s feet in the backseat — and then they’re off.

Tags: @bushbees

[sevensoulmates]

No, no please ramble on, i have many a bone to pick with the way this was recieved. And i honestly didn't expect a certain part of the fandom to have any correct takes about this as they rebuke anything that even remotely points to Buck and Eddie being anything but good ol' bros, but the amount of shippers who retroactively decided that actually, nothing means anything is kinda disappointing. This is a pretty interesting (genius even) way to illustrate Bucks perception of home, romantic relationships and his agency in them after all.

I think Buck and his metaphorical connection to "belonging" and his home space, apartments/loft, couch, etc have been a Thing™️ since his introduction in season 1.

Season 1- he's uncomfortable in a shared house with a bunch of frat guys (including *cough*Connor) that he only came to LA with because of a delusion of creating a "family" with them. Then he meets Abby, he feels like she "sees" him, he moves into her place and doesn't leave until halfway through season 2 even though the relationship has been dead for longer than it's been alive.

Season 2- He meets Ali, and she's the one who convinces him to get his own place, the entire loft is ALI'S doing, harkening back to Buck's passivity in relationships and his tendency to lose himself in them. Ali is the one who gives the iconic "You're like a perpetual roommate, even in your own place" and she hit the fucking nail on the head.

Season 3- the meat of Buck with the Diaz boys starts. "This is Eddie's house, I'm not really a guest". Strong establishment of Buck is at his most comfortable with Eddie and Chris.

Season 4- First we got Chim invading Buck's space, then Albert, then Veronica. His space is still never safe because anyone at anytime can come in and make it there's and he just lets them. Buck retreats to the Diaz house even more for safety. Introduction of "everyone needs a safe space where they can be themselves" by Dr. Copeland. Then in the finale, Buck is the one at the Diaz house, sleeping on their COUCH, taking care of Christopher emotionally and physically, while Eddie recovers from the shooting.

Season 5- Taylor moves into the loft, encroaching on Buck's supposed "safe space", getting rid of his couch in favor of her own (putting her needs above Buck's), and she only moves in because Buck asked her after panicking that she might leave him after he kissed Lucy (both trauma responses). OBVIOUS cracks in the relationship that only gets WORSE when they move in together. They break up, and she takes her couch with her leaving more obvious holes in Buck's loft.

Season 6- the birth of the couch metaphor. Of Buck textually connecting his couch ie. his home with his romantic life. His distant yet overbearing mother forces a couch on him as a way to make up for 30 years of emotional neglect, he hates it and is uncomfortable with it, he only finds solace and rest on the Diaz couch, Kameron INVADES his home in 6b and demands more of him than he ever agreed to. She destroys his couch with her birth fluid. The couch is gone, and Buck asks Natalia if she wants to go couch shopping, incredibly soon after she walked out on him for being "too much".

Buck searching for his true home, his safe space, his family being connected to his physical home has been and will likely continue to be a huge part of his character arc. Who was it I saw who was waiting for Buck's loft to burn down since season 4? Y'all are where it's at, honestly. Who knows, maybe the "Buck's loft should burn down" truthers can combine with the "couch theory" truthers and the "buck breakdown s7" truthers, and make season 7 the best season yet.

[punkassfrance]

Sierra Nevada - Chapter IV - Ellie/Abby

Chapter IV: Fester (Work length ~1.9k) This work is rated M for canon-typical violence and gore. Please look here for a full list of warnings for the series, specific warnings will be provided at the start of each chapter. This chapter contains: (stable, but) critically injured minor, mentions of blood. Previous Chapter - Full Series - Next Chapter

Abby

Lev tries to turn over a few times as he sleeps through the day— Abby has to jump up to stop him every time, redirect him onto his uninjured side. He mumbles in his sleep, names, pleas, things Abby can’t make out. She can’t focus on any of it. Her comfort is half-hearted, mind wandering far from the room they’re in. It wanders all the way to Salt Lake City. To Jackson. Places she doesn’t care to revisit.

Some part of her regretted all that had happened, after Santa Barbara. Watching a skinny, bloody girl on the beach, sobbing into the water as Abby left her behind— it forced some kind of empathy. Still coughing up water, even then, she knew on some level she’d done something irreversible. Maybe something worse than murder.

Ellie. Miller.

“Abby?” Lev rasps, trying to sit up. She pulls herself up on the bed beside him, taking his hand.

“What do you need?”

He looks around, squinting. ���Where are we?” The room they’re in is painted off-white, relatively clean with dark wood floors and a rectangular window by the ceiling. It looks the size of a master bedroom, but she can’t understand why Ellie wouldn’t take it for herself if that was the case. Their supplies sit up against a wall, a few personal affects on the nightstand. She figured he would like some comfort when he woke up, the little she can offer him.

“I think we’re in Truckee. I found someone to help— we’re safe for now.” She helps him sit up and look around the room, keeping a careful eye on his leg. Once he’s up against the headboard, he takes in their surroundings and looks up at Abby.

“Was that…”

Abby nods, swallowing hard and looking down at the bed. “She’s…gonna be helping us for a bit.”

“Who is she?”

Abby hesitates, looking up to meet his eyes. He still hasn’t asked, after everything. After the theater, after the pillars, he never pried. Never asked Abby too much about what came before him. As much as she appreciated not having to explain, he has the right to know by now.

“…her name is Ellie. I’ll explain later, I promise. She kinda… hates me, but she said we can stay for now.” She squeezes his hand. “At least until you’re fixed up.”

“I can— I can go, we don’t have to…” He tries to sit up before Abby keeps him down, hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, you need rest. And we’re really lucky to be able to stay here,” she leans in, conspiratorially. “Look, I know you’re wanting to get back on your feet, but relax for me. Yeah? It’s kinda nice here.” It might be the only angle that could work, convincing him to relax because Abby wants to. He would never take a break without some kind of fight. Even with the few memories she has, he still reminds her of Yara.

He frowns, eyes drifting back to the bed before he concedes and lays down.

“What happened? I don’t remember all of it…” he reaches for his stuffed shark on the night stand, pulling it under the covers to hide with him. He’ll never admit that he’s happy to have it, glad Abby stuffed it in her backpack before leaving for the Seraphite island. “We were at the gas station, right?”

“Yeah, someone…beat us there. Thought they could get the jump on us.”

“They did,” Lev mutters with a small, tight smile.

“They didn’t make it out of the gas station alive. They’re rotting, and you’re still breathing. That’s what matters.”

He’s silent, sheets pulled nearly to his chin. His brow creases as Abby pulls the comforter up to cover his torso. “…I should have heard them.”

“Lev,” she admonishes, wincing. She crouches beside him on the bed, bringing herself closer to his face. “Look, shit like this happens all the time. Everybody has a story like this, you’re not the first person to get caught off guard.” She leans in, squinting. “Did I ever tell you what I did in Everett?”

Lev shakes his head, adjusting as much as he can to look at her. “I don’t think you have.”

Abby smirks, lips pressing together.

-

Ellie

“…and that’s not even the worst part— when I got back, Manny had the flu and was quarantined in our room, so all of my stuff was stuck in there and I had to recover in Nora’s room. I think she was ready to finish the job by the time I could leave.”

The kid snorts on the other side of the cracked door, the sheets shuffling around just enough to hear. It’s the most energy she’s heard from him in the day he’s been here, barely enough to giggle at Abby’s dumb story. Her throat tightens at the mention of Nora, a blood-splattered name she’s tried to forget— one of many.

She knocks on the doorframe, swallowing and holding up bag of supplies. When they look over to her, Abby’s smile falls. “We have to change his bandages.”

Abby nods and starts pulling the blankets back, pushing herself up to sit on the bed by the kid’s feet. “Just tell me what you need.”

“Hold his leg off the bed.” Ellie pulls scissors out of her back pocket, crouching by his bedside as Abby tucks a hand under his knee. They managed to get him into basketball shorts and a clean t-shirt, easy enough to keep out of the way as they sutured him up the day before. She sets the bag down beside her and cuts the bandages along the side of his leg, a few inches away from the wound.

Ellie has minimal medical training- really, none at all. But she’s had nearly a year in this godforsaken cabin with shelves of books, some medical, and she bores too easily to ignore them. Despite her lack of formal training, she still managed to keep Joel alive- there may be hope for this kid after all.

Well. She managed to keep Joel alive for a little while.

Her hands still as she rolls up the old dressings to dispose of, heart heavy. She can’t think about it too hard- if she does, she’ll have blood on her hands all over again. Panicking as she feels her eyes well up, she sets the used bandages aside and picks up the alcohol pads.

“What’s your name, kid?”

It’s a weak distraction, she knows, but if she dwells on the past for another minute—

“Lev.”

Ellie nods as she cleans the sutures, trying to be gentle with the rubbing alcohol. “How old are you?”

Lev shifts a little as she pulls back to grab a clean towel. “Fifteen. I remember you.”

Ellie presses her lips together, but doesn’t stop what she’s doing. “…figured you would.”

Abby squeezes Lev’s shoulder, still holding blankets out of Ellie’s way. She looks down at the sheets, expression blank, wisely keeping her mouth shut.

“Why are you helping us?” Lev asks, frowning. He looks down to get a glimpse of the cut as Ellie wraps him back up, grimacing at the sight.

Ellie doesn’t respond at first, busy fixing the wrap in place. Her throat is tense and painful, the sight of dried blood bringing back unkind memories.

…or I can make it so much worse.

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Once the wound is re-wrapped, she stands and gathers her supplies, tucking the old dressings inside the bag to deal with later. She doesn’t spare a glance to Abby, just draws in a slow breath and tightens her grip on the bag. “I’ll do it again in the morning. Get some sleep.”

Lev nods and looks back down to the pillows, exhaling as Abby pulls the blankets back over him. There’s nothing else for him to do right now, after all.

Abby pushes herself off the bed and follows Ellie as she turns to leave, too fast for Ellie to slam the bedroom door in her face.

“Ellie—” Abby starts urgently, but stops to look down and think on what to say. Ellie stares her down, tempted to say don’t call me that. Her name feels too affectionate, too personal, but she has no way to correct her. If her name is short for something else, something less intimate, she’ll never know.

“He’s gonna be fine.”

Abby looks up, leaning against the closed bedroom door. “You’re sure?”

“No.”

Chewing on her lip, Abby crosses her arms and lets her eyes drift to the side. She’s gained some muscle back, it seems. Not quite as intimidating as Ellie’s fragile memory asserts, but the definition in her sinewy arms is notable at the least. Impressive even, as much as Ellie hates to give Abby credit of any kind. She could be useful.

“The snow’s coming soon. Tomorrow I need to clear out the gutters and take care of a branch hanging over the roof that won’t be strong enough for the snow. You’re gonna help.”

Abby just stares down at the floor, head tilted like there’s something fascinating on the ground. She wants to demand Abby’s full attention, snap at her, do something, but Abby nods. “Okay. Do we have what we need?”

“I have a ladder, a handsaw, and rope. That’ll be enough. He should be okay for a couple hours while we work, but crack his window so we can hear if he needs help.” Ellie crosses her arms, glancing at the bedroom door. “…it’s good that he’s talking.”

Abby’s face softens as she looks up to Ellie, tucking her hands in her pockets. “You think?”

“Book says he’s probably not in shock anymore. If we can keep it from getting infected, he’ll be fine.”

“…thank you.”

Ellie reaches up to rub her eyes, pressing her lips together. “You… you’re fucking lucky. Do you get that?” She’s not even sure precisely she means, but she means it. If enough time hadn’t passed, if Lev wasn’t just a kid, if Ellie didn’t have enough to atone for…

“I know— I know. I just…want you to know how much it means. I…” She trails off, shaking her head and looking away. She won’t look Ellie in the eye- it’s alright. Ellie doesn’t want to look at her anyway. All she’ll see is cold blue eyes looking down at her from across the room, blue light through snowed-in windows.

“Whatever. I get it.” Ellie’s not sure she does, but it doesn’t matter. She doesn’t care to figure it out. She turns and walks away before Abby can respond, steadying herself on the railing beside the stairs.

“Wait.”

Ellie pauses, but she doesn’t turn back to look at Abby.

“I… I didn’t know who you were.”

That much is clear. She didn’t know Ellie’s name, but that doesn’t feel like what she’s saying. Abby missed more than a name. “Yeah. Figured.”

There’s silence.

The bedroom door opens, then closes behind her.

-

Abby

Trying not to fall into the growing pit inside her, she hides her face from Lev as she grabs an unused pillow off the bed and collapses to the floor. Lev doesn’t seek her attention, or maybe he’s asleep again— either way, it doesn’t matter. So long as he doesn’t catch her holding the pillow like a lifeline, face buried in the fabric. It smells like dust, but it’s warm.

When she gets the nerve to pull her face out of the pillow and look at her trembling hands, in the darkness, she can almost see splotches of blood.

that tfw face when you've become the monster you sought to destroy, amirite? Hope you're enjoying so far!

Thank you to @plum98 for the forest divider! Feel free to say hi or drop your thoughts in my askbox, check out my AO3 or my about me if you're interested!

Series Taglist: @a-little-bit-of-everybody

[crash-bump-bring-the-whump]

Day 4 - Hiding an Injury

Hmmm this one was a toss-up, but I'm happy with this!

Oops forgot my pings! @ailesswhumptober and @whumperofworlds

TWs: burns, blood, torn skin, overworking

Mariano wasn't entirely sure that he hadn't died on the way to work that morning. He just couldn't be positive, because it felt like he'd been pulled into hell. There had been another nightmare, another case of his magic sparking during the night.

Bastian had helped him get his stomach bandaged this time so he was at least rested, but that didn't change the fact that he still had a twelve hour shift to get through. No one else could fill in to close, so he just decided to suck it up. It didn't make it more fun, though, especially since he didn't want any of the teenagers to realize he'd been injured. They had enough to worry about without him adding to it.

The kids were more than happy to do the reaching and bendingsince they got to tease him about getting old. Abby was sincerely excited to learn how to clean the ice maker, too. She happily hopped up onto the stepladder, scraping at the ice buildup like it had personally wronged her.

Really, Mariano was feeling decent until Abby went on lunch.

A small rush filed in, with impatient business people lining up to try the new seasonal drink. Jason had thought that a gingerbread mocha would be popular as winter started to roll in, and he'd proved right. People were seeing the little sign they'd made and deciding to give it a shot--and others were hearing the pleasantly surprised reactions when the people ahead of them tried it.

Mariano had already gone through the first gingerbread crumb container and the backup crumb container. He felt a weight settle into his stomach as he scooped up the last bits inside for the latest mocha. "I'll be right back," He said apologetically as the next person stepped up and ordered the umpteenth gingerbread mocha of the hour. "Just getting more from the back."

His side throbbed as he walked to the storeroom and reached up above his head. Mariano swallowed down a whine as a chill shot through his gut. Abby was right there at the tiny table with only one earbud in. She needed to finish taking her break in peace.

"Need any help, gramps?" She called casually, seeming to realize what he was doing. "Don't throw out your back."

He laughed, managing to keep his voice from sounding too strained as the bandages rubbed against the raw skin of his burn. "No, no, you're on break. I just need more gingerbread." The crumb was almost in reach as he started inching the package forward with his fingertips. He needed to have another talk with them about not putting heavy things up so high.

"Good god, they're like sharks for that stuff." She snorted. He didn't hear her getting up. "Weird holiday sharks. They don't want blood, they want cinnamon and ginger."

"Maybe we need to tell Jason to have worse ideas in pre-calculus--" Mariano's flat joke was cut off by two things happening at once. He felt warmth start to drip down his stomach, blooming into the bandage as the burn tore open, and he felt his hold on the box slip.

He cursed as the box's weight dropped onto his face and sent the world exploding into stars and the smell of blood. He staggered as the thunk of the box hitting the floor filled the tiny area and made Abby yelp in surprise.

As Mariano brought his hand up to cup his nose, he felt his shoulder hit the wall. Abby's shoes squeaked around the corner, and he heard her gasp. "Oh--shit." She hurried closer. "Oh that's--that's a lot of blood."

Mariano blinked hard, shaking his head. "It's--it's alright. It's okay. Noses bleed a lot." He sounded like he had the worst cold of his life.

"No--Mariano, your stomach is like, gushing blood." The tremble in Abby's voice made him look down. As she'd said, blood was spreading along the lower half of his sweater, right over where he'd burned himself the night before.

"...Ah." He said, settling into a familiar calm. "Abby, I'm sorry. Could you get the first aid kit from the bathroom and bring it to the office? I can handle this, it looks much worse than it is."

"What's going on?" She demanded, not moving just yet. She was getting louder, and sounding more nervous. "What's happening? Do I need to call emergency services?"

"I have a burn on my stomach, and I think I just stretched the skin too far." Mariano said, meeting her eye and keeping his voice level. "It's not an emergency. I've dealt with this before. Take a deep breath."

Abby nodded, taking a deep breath in and holding it. She let it go after a few seconds, seeming calmer when Mariano nodded again, encouragingly at her. "Okay. First aid kit, office, then I'll go finish up the rush." She darted towards the door before he could stop her. "And you can't tell me no! I'll just finish my break later!"

Mariano couldn't help feeling warm about her being so insistent. He took a seat in the peeling computer chair, promised Abby that she could have whatever pastry she wanted in exchange for the first aid kit when she came back with it, and took a deep breath. Abby had the customers handled, and as he peeled his bloody sweater from his stomach, he knew he had himself handled.

[walker-extended-universe]

Like a Pheonix, We Rise- Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Relationship(s): Hoyt Rawlins & Cordell Walker, Abigail Walker & Cordell Walker

Tags: Character Death, Immortality, Immortal Hoyt, Immortal Cordell, Adoption

Summary: Hoyt introduces Cordell to some new friends. As usual, things go downhill. Or do they?

Written for @medwhumpmay- Prompt 19: Blood Loss

Taglist: @theladywyn, @ihavepointysticks, @klaatu51, @itsjessiegirl1, @neptunium134

-------

“Are you sure we can trust him, Hoyt?”

“Absolutely. Me and him go way back and he cares more about justice than what any fucker with a badge thinks. Besides, it would help to have another ally on the other side of the law.”

Abigail glanced over at the stranger at the other end of the bar. Hoyt swore by him, but she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. “What do you think, Kate?”

Her friend hummed. “He seems respectable enough. And Gus confirmed he actually is a sheriff. It couldn’t hurt to have someone who could actually make an arrest on our side.”

Well, if she agreed….. “Thank you, for bringing him in. We need all the hands we can get if we’re going to take Tom down.”

Hoyt smirked. “I told you.” He waved his friend over. “Cordell, I want you to meet some friends of mine. This is Abigail Walker and Kate Carver. They need a little help from your long arm of the law.”

Cordell tipped his hat at them. “Pleasure to meet y’all. Hoyt told me about your little….sheriff problem. I’m happy to help, however I can.”

“Oh, I’m sure we can put you to work,” Kate said with a smirk.

Cordell returned her smirk. “I expect nothing less.”

—-------------

If there was one thing Hoyt and Cordell had learned from a couple dozen centuries of living, it’s that things can get messy when you try to do the right thing. Not always, and usually the mess is worth it. But sometimes, the mess is really messy. More messy than even their bodies can handle.

Cordell had been more than willing to join them in taking down Tom Davidson. He’d gladly picked up the extra gun Abigail handed him. He’d put himself in the line of fire for Abby, for Kate, for Calian, for Gus, because he trusted Hoyt’s word that they were worth it. Because he believed people were always worth it.

Hoyt usually went along with him, though he didn’t always share the sentiment. It was a promise he’d made long ago, to stand by his brother’s side no matter what. Even if he disagreed with the cause or the people they were fighting for.

Because something else they’d learned long ago is that there was nothing worse than dying alone.

The shootout with Tom started with a bang and went by too fast for Hoyt to keep track of his oldest friend, too worried about the ones whose deaths would be more permanent. 

He didn’t see it when Tom’s bullet pierced his friend, but he felt it when Cordell started to fade. He always did, just another quirk of them being the way they were. Hoyt ran to him as soon as he knew Calian wasn’t dead.

He didn’t stop running until he could kneel next to his fallen brother. Abby knelt over him, putting pressure on his bullet wound. Off on the other end of the alley, Tom lay bleeding out.

There was so much blood.

“I’ve never seen a man move so fast,” Abby muttered. I ran out of shells and Tom was going to- Then he just….”

Hoyt sighed. “Always playin’ the hero, aren’t ya?” he muttered. He took Abby’s hands away from the wound and hissed when he saw how much blood Cordell had already lost. There was a bloom of red on his shirt, right above his hip. The rest was falling into the dirt.

Cordell coughed, some blood splattering onto his chin. “Yeah, yeah, spare me the speech this time.” He groaned when Hoyt put pressure on his wound again. “At least we got our guy, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, you got your guy….”

“I-I should get Kai. Where-”

“Abby, no. It’s too late.”

“Wh-”

Cordell reached for Abby’s hand. “It’s alright. I-I don’t mind dyin’ like this. I never do….” He coughed again and Hoyt reached for his other hand.

“Take it easy, buddy. You’re okay….”

It never got easier, watching a friend die. Even if Hoyt knew he’d be back in a matter of hours, it broke his heart. He never could shake that fear (or was it hope?) that this would be the last time.

When the light drained from Cordell’s eyes, Hoyt carefully picked him up and carried him toward Hagan’s.

Another thing they learned long ago: these resurrections were better in private.

—--------------

“Hoyt, I just wanted to-” Abigail Walker stopped in the doorway, two glasses of beer in hand, staring at the scene in front of her.

She’d come up to Hoyt’s room to offer a drink and a shoulder to cry on. She knew what it was like to lose someone, to mourn over an unjust death. She’d already made plans with Kate and Augustus to host a proper funeral for Cordell.

She did not expect to see Cordell’s bloody clothes discarded on the floor and Hoyt holding a baby. “I- Where’s the body? Where did you get that baby?”

“Shhhh, he’s sleeping,” Hoyt chided her. “Coming back like this always takes it out of him.”

“I’m sorry?”

Hoyt sighed. “It’s a little complicated. Sit down. And you might want to have that drink.”

Abby sat down, unsure what to expect.

What she heard was a fantastic tale of impossibility. Two immortal beings, wandering the earth through the ages, living and dying over and over again. Every death restarted the cycle of life, from infant to elder. They didn’t know why they were this way, what their purpose was, or if there were any others. They just knew they existed, and that they had truly nothing to lose- not even each other.

It was ridiculous. Unbelievable. Utter nonsense.

And yet, she believed him.

“So… What will you do now?”

Hoyt shrugged. “Skip town. Find somewhere quiet. Give him a chance to grow up a bit. Then…. I don’t know. Just keep doing what we’ve been doing I guess.”

That sounded awful. Drifting around for ages, never having a home to go to, never having a family to lean on…. She didn’t want that for either of them, not after everything they’ve been through.

“You could stay,” she offered. “I- You could stay with me. I could help you take care of him.”

“Abby, you don’t-”

“I want to. It’s the least I could do.” She put a hand on his knee. “Please. I owe you- both of you- my life. Let me return the favor.”

Hoyt stared at her for a long time. Then he looked down at Cordell’s sleeping face. “Alright,” he said quietly. “Might be nice, not having to do everything myself for once. You know, he complains all the time that I’m the reckless one but I’m pretty sure he dies more than me….”

Abigail smiled and settled in to listen to his stories.

[blacktabbygames]

How did you advertise your VNs? Trying to advertise a horror one of my own but I’m really struggling with marketing and any advice would be really appreciated 💜

The easiest way to grow an audience is to already have an audience. This sounds cheeky and unhelpful, but before I get into any details, I think it's important to acknowledge that Abby already had a sizable following before we started working on Scarlet Hollow, and Scarlet Hollow's success meant that we had an even larger following by the time we started promoting Slay the Princess. So please take whatever I say in the rest of this post with a grain of salt. I'm also going to write this post assuming that whoever is reading it has very little understanding of digital marketing, so it might explain some concepts you're already familiar with.

If you want a bird's eye view of VN promotion once you already have a base to work from, I did a pretty lengthy write-up about Slay the Princess' announcement and demo launch which you can find here: https://blacktabbygames.medium.com/how-slay-the-princess-earned-25-000-wishlists-in-two-weeks-3c69304312bc

Assuming you're starting from nothing, though, congratulations! We live in a world of algorithms that, for better or for worse, actively promote content that people find engaging.

The most powerful of these algorithms for a game developer will be Steam, which controls something like 90% of the PC market, and which has a vested interest in using that clout to make itself more money.

The way it works is this: if you go onto Steam, like any other storefront, you'll see a lot of buttons and widgets promoting various games. We'll call these capsules "impressions."

Different slots are essentially "worth" different amounts to Steam, with those front page impressions on the above image pretty much the most valuable slots on the platform. Steam has only so many impressions it can fill each day, essentially limited by the number of times individual users access different parts of the store. And filling these slots is how the algorithm comes into play.

The Steam algorithm is a bit of a black box, and has all sorts of components like personalized recommendations, but at the end of the day, Steam is going to try and make as much money as possible every time it generates an impression. So at its bottom line, there's two metrics that outweigh everything else:

Money generated per impression given — once your game is out, if an impression is more likely than other titles to generate a sale, Steam will be more likely to give you that impression. Raw dollars are what matters here, so a $60 game being sold every 10,000 impressions is going to be given precedence over a $30 game being sold every 6,000 impressions.

Barring the above, projected money generated per impression given. So, if, say, 1% of people click on a capsule and visit your store page, and 20% of them wishlist your game, and 20% of wishlists convert for the average game, Steam can take a guess at how much an impression will be worth.

All of this is to say that if you make it so that your Steam page, game title, and capsule images are interesting and capture people's attention, you'll in turn be given more opportunities for your game to be displayed on Steam. If you want to know how your game stands compared to other titles, Chris Zukowski from HowToMarketAGame has a great breakdown of all sorts of benchmarks here: https://howtomarketagame.com/benchmarks/

I can't stress enough how much Steam drives our traffic — it's probably directly responsible for over 75% of our wishlists and sales.

If your benchmarks are falling short, try changing up your page. New capsules, new marketing copy, new screenshots. Generally speaking, if your page is compelling you should be able to get ~20-30 wishlists per day organically.

You can also use your page to drive players to other platforms — Twitter, tumblr, reddit, discord, you name it.

Within Steam, there's a number of opportunities to get extra exposure as well via festivals and events. Doing a demo as part of Steam Next Fest is a great way to get thousands of extra eyes on your game, and demos in general can be a great way to generate interest and build your community.

The blog post I shared earlier talks a lot about the value of demos, and the ways you can structure them to guide interested players towards your community.

Outside of Steam, a lot of it comes down to figuring out what platform works best for your content. In terms of public platforms, Twitter is pretty much the best for us, followed by Tumblr. Some folks might have better luck with Instagram, though, and if you have the stomach for video, TikTok can be a great way to quickly build an audience from nothing. There are a few communities on reddit that are okay with self-promotion as well: /r/games hosts "indie sunday" every sunday, where devs are allowed to post about their titles once a month.

There are also key accounts on a lot of platforms that mostly work to curate games within certain genres — horrorvisuals is a great one on Twitter (and I think he's on Tumblr too) — and accounts like that often host regular posts/tags for people to share their work.

Beyond that, if you have a budget, you can do paid ads on social media platforms, though those can be hard to make profitable — you can also reach out to streamers and press, though those can also be difficult connections to make.

itch.io is also a great platform to host an indie game and get an initial round of feedback, though its userbase is a fraction of Steam's. Great testing ground though, and there's a lot of variety/horror streamers and youtubers who look for new titles there!