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zepuckinghockey · 1 year ago

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It's NHL wedding season! I'm aware of 10 NHLers who got married over the July 7-8, 2023 weekend as well as two related weddings. As best as I can, I've listed them out including as many verified player guests as I could find. Shoutout to the server for helping me ID a lot of generic looking faces. I've got some teams listed for context.

Feel free to let me know of people I've missed! This list has been edited on September 9th. I'm pretty sure wedding season is over, but feel free to message me with someone I missed.

June 16th, 2023 Weddings:

Kyle Clague - Sabres Notable Guests: Nolan Patrick

July 4th, 2023 Weddings:

Colin Blackwell - Hawks Notable Guests: Alex Kerfoot

July 6th, 2023 Weddings:

Tyler Bertuzzi - Red Wings Notable Guests: Michael Rasumussen, Zach Nastasiuk

July 7th, 2023 Weddings:

Alex Nedeljkovic - currently Penguins (previously Canes, Red Wings) Notable Attendees: Scott Wedgewood

Jordan Binnington - Blues Notable Attendees: Jordan Kyrou, Marco Scandella, Sammy Blais, Faulk, Perron, Logan Brown, Joshua Leivo, Vince Dunn, Robby Fabbri, Joel Edmundson, Robert Thomas, Oskar Sundqvist, Colton Parayko, Jake Walman

July 8th, 2023 Weddings:

Tyson Barrie - currently on the Preds (previously: Oilers, Leafs, Avs) Notable Attendees: everyone. Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Mitch Marner, Zach Hyman, Connor McDavid, Alex Kerfoot, John Tavares, Jack Campbell, Justin Holl, Evander Kane, Darnell Nurse, Mike Smith, Bayne Pettinger, Tyler Ennis, Colin Wilson, Michael Hutchinson, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Cody Ceci, Evan Bouchard, Luke Schenn, Devin Shore, Gabe Landeskog

Vinni Lettieri - currently on the Wild (previously Ducks) Notable Attendees: Trevor Zegras, Jake Bischoff, Tony DeAngelo, Jimmy Vesey, Kevin Hayes, Brady Skjei, Kevin Shattenkirk, John Gibson, Zach Bogosian, Sam Carrick, Jake Gardiner, James van Riemsdyk

Sam Reinhart - currently on the Panthers (previously Sabres) Notable Attendees: Mason Marchment, Brandon Montour, Owen Tippett

Chandler Stephenson - currently on the Knights (previously Caps) Notable Attendees: Will Carrier, Reilley Smith, Mark Stone, Cody Eakin, Jack Eichel, Alex Tuch

Sam Girard - currently on the Avs (previously Preds) Notable Attendees: Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Ryan Graves

Dylan Gambrell - currently on the Leafs (previously Sharks, Sens) Notable Attendees: Mathieu Joseph, Austin Watson (thanks anon!)

Gustav Forsling - currently on the Panthers Notable Attendees: Alex Wennberg, Marcus Hogberg, Patric Hornquist, Lucas Carlsson, Erik Gustafsson

Tyler Motte - (Rangers, Blue Jackets, Blackhawks, Senators, Canucks) Notable Attendees: Brock Boesser

Brett Richie - (Yotes, Flames)

Emerance Maschmeyer & Genevieve Lacasse - WoHo Olympic gold medalists Notable Attendees: Sarah Nurse, Erin Ambrose, Laura Stacey, Marie-Philip Poulin, Haley Irwin, just like all the big woho names

Dominik Tiffels - German hockey player Notable Attendees: Leon Draisaitl

Frankie Borrelli - Barstool Sports and Fore Play Golf Notable Attendees: Brock Nelson, Matt Martin, Adam Pelech, Scott Mayfield, Josh Bailey - info thanks to @barzyblogbabe

Morgan Reilly - Leafs Notable Attendees: his wife Tessa Virtue

July 13th, 2023 Weddings:

Dryden Hunt - Rangers Notable Guests: Kyle Burroughs

July 15th, 2023 Weddings:

Tyler Seguin - Stars (Bruins) Notable Guests: Jamie Benn, John Klingberg, Scott Wedgewood, Jesse Blacker, Mason Marchment, Ty Dellandrea, Justin Dowling

Luke Kunin - (Sharks, Wild) Notable Attendees: Colton Sissons, Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk, (Taryn Tkachuk)

AJ Greer - Bruins (Avs, Devils) Notable Attendees: Scott Kosmachuk

Andy Andreoff - (Kings, Flyers, Islanders) Notable Attendees: Sean Couturier, Scott Laughton, Shayne Gostibehere, Erik Gudbranson, Milan Lucic

Juuso Valimaki - Coyotes

July 16, 2023 Weddings:

Kevin Hayes - Blues (Flyers, Rangers, Jets) Notable Attendees: Johnny Gaudreau, Tony DeAngelo, Brady Skjei, Jimmy Vesey

July 20th, 2023 Weddings:

Lawson Crouse - Coyotes Notable Attendees: Phil Kessel, Shayne Gostibehere, Liam O'Brien, Nick Schmaltz, Darcy Kuemper, Taylor Hall, Jacob Bryson, Travis Konecny

July 21st, 2023 Weddings:

Nicolas Aube-Kubel - Caps (Avs) Notable Attendees: Anthony Mantha, Julien Gauthier

Brady Tkachuk - Sens Notable Attendees: Matthew Tkachuk, Josh Norris, Thomas Chabot, Mark Stone, Mathieu Joseph, Luke Kunin, Christian Fischer, Ryan Donato, Robert Thomas, Alex Debrincat, Cam Talbot, Nick Holden, Quinn Hughes, Jack Hughes, Luke Hughes, Jake Sanderson, Shane Pinto, Dylan Gambrell, Colin White, Jacob Chychrun, Kevin Hayes

Juuse Saros - Predators Notable Attendees: Eeli Tolvanen, Kevin Lankinen

Tanner Jeannot - Lightning Notable Attendees: Brett Howden, Noah Gregor, Jayden Halbgewachs, Jeremy Lauzon, Alex Carrier

July 22nd, 2023 Weddings:

Alex Kerfoot - Coyotes (Maple Leafs) Notable Attendees: Justin Holl, Colin Blackwell, John Tavares, Morgan Reilly, Michael Bunting, Mitch Marner, Jake Muzzin

Nick Paul - Lightning (Senators) Notable Attendees: Chris Driedger, Drake Batherson, Thomas Chabot, Anthony Cirelli, Alex Killorn

Keith Kinkaid - (Devils, Canadiens, Rangers, Bruins, Avs)

July 24th, 2023 Weddings:

Anthony Mantha - Capitals Notable Guests: Nicholas Aube-Kubel, Julien Gauthier, Nick Jensen, Jonathan Benier

July 27th, 2023 Weddings:

Pavel Zacha - Bruins (Devils) Notable Attendees: Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt

July 28th, 2023 Weddings:

Karson Kuhlman - Islanders (Kraken, Jets) Notable Guests: Kasimir Kaskiskuo

July 29th, 2023 Weddings:

Connor Murphy - Blackhawks (Coyotes) Notable Attendees: Sean Kuraly, Anthony Duclair, Dylan Strome, Jonathan Toews, Alex Debrincat, Taylor Raddysh, Mackenzie Entwistle, Brandon Hagel

Mitch Marner - Leafs Notable Attendees: Best Boy Zeus 🐶, Matt Martin, James Van Riemsdyk, Jake Gardiner, Tyler Bozak, Connor Brown, Justin Holl, Nazem Kadri, Willy Nylander, Zach Bogosian, Kyle Clifford, Jake Muzzin, Auston Matthews, Alex Kerfoot, Michael Bunting, Freddie Anderson, Rasmus Sandin, Morgan Reilly, Tyson Barrie, Connor Carrick, Joe Thorton, Patrick Marleau, Zach Hyman, Jack Campbell, TJ Brodie, Tyler Ennis, John Tavares, Timothy Liljegren

Ethan Bear - Canucks (Oilers, Hurricanes) Notable Attendees: Mat Barzal, Caleb Jones, Jujhar Khaira, Riley Stillman, Thatcher Demko, Austin Strand

Boone Jenner - Blue Jackets Notable Attendees: Zach Werenski, Seth Jones, Nick Blankenburg, Cole Sillinger, David Savard, Andrew Peeke, Scott Laughton, Elvis Merzlikins, Erik Gubranson

July 30th, 2023 Weddings:

Ryan Donato - Blackhawks (Kraken, Bruins) Notable Attendees: Jared McCann, Yanni Gourde, Matty Beniers, Adam Fox

August 3rd, 2023 Weddings:

Kevin Lankinen - Predators Notable Guests: Eeli Tolvanen

August 4th, 2023 Weddings:

Taylor Raddysh - Blackhawks (Lightning) Notable Guests: Dylan Strome, Connor Murphy, Anthony Cirelli

Kevin Hayes (2.0) - still Blues (Flyers, Rangers, Jets) Notable Guests: Keith Yandle, Scott Laughton, Shayne Gostibhere, Travis Sanheim, James van Riemsdyk, Brady Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk, Johnny Gaudreau, JT Miller, Zach Sanford, Tony DeAngelo, Brian Dumoulin, Brady Skjei, Paul Carey

August 5th, 2023 Weddings:

Conor Garland - Canucks (Coyotes) Notable Guests: Ryan Donato, Jakob Chychrun, Clayton Keller

Brendan Dillon - Jets (Capitals) Notable Guests: Tom Wilson, TJ Oshie, Jordie Benn, Jamie Benn, Trevor van Riemsdyke, Nic Dowd, Nick Jensen

Charlie McAvoy - Bruins Notable Guests: Hampus Lindholm, AJ Greer, Connor Clifton, Noel Acciari, Taylor Hall, Conor Sheary, Brad Marchand, Jake Debrusk, Matt Gryzeleyk, Derek Forbort, Brandon Carlo, David Krejci, Tuukka Rask, Jeremy Swayman, Charlie Coyle, Krug Torey, Matthew Tkachuk, Casey Fitzgerald, Colin White, Patrice Bergeron

Austin Watson - Senators Notable Guests: Cam Talbot, Anton Forsberg, Jarred Tinordi, Nick Paul, DJ Smith, Dylan Gambrell, Nick Holden, Thomas Chabot

Gage Quinney - Knights Notable Guests: Zach Whitecloud, Nicolas Roy, Jake Bischoff

Micke Rosell - player agent Notable Guests: William Nylander, Alex Nylander, Sam Ersson, Marcus Bjork

Joonas Johansson - Avs

August 6th, 2023 Weddings:

Dylan Larkin - Red Wings Notable Guests: Sam Gagner, Tyler Bertuzzi, Trevor Zegras, Kyle Connor, Troy Stecher, Marc Staal, Jeff Petry, Darren Helm, Zach Werenski, Mitchell Stephens, Riley Sheahan, Cole Caufield, Jack Hughes

August 11th, 2023 Weddings:

Shea Theodore - Knights Notable Guests: Ryan Reaves, Marc-Andre Fleury, Nick Holden, Mark Stone, Chandler Stephenson, Alex Tuch, Dylan Strome, Erik Haula, Jaycob Megna, Will Carrier, Jack Eichel, Alex Pietrangelo

Ryan Hartman - Wild Notable Guests: Matt Dumba, Marcus Foligno, Jared Spurgeon, Cam Talbot, Kirill Kaprizov, Jordan Greenway, Jon Merrill, Alex Goligoski, Jake Middleton, Mason Shaw, Calen Addison, Nick Schmalt, Matthew Boldy, Brandon Duhaime, Connor Dewar, Luke Kunin

August 12th, 2023 Weddings:

Chris Kreider - Rangers Notable Guests: Mika Zibanejad

#tyson barrie #sidney crosby #connor mcdavid #chandler stephenson #leon draisaitl #mitch marner #trevor zegras #mark stone #brandon montour #sam reinhart #and so many more #text #wedding #jordan binnington #tony deangelo #evander kane

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scullysexual · 1 month ago

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We'll Meet Beyond The Shore.

Somewhere beyond the sea, she’s there watching for me, and if I could fly like a bird on high, then straight into her arms I’d go sailing.

Tags and Warnings: Major character death, enemies to friends (to lovers), doomed lovers.

ao3

Chapter Three: The Training Centre.

Four is always dressed similarly each year, usually it is fish themed. They receive a bit of noise when their chariot rides out but it’s not much to put a dent in anything, that will fall to them in the interviews after training, and Skinner when he hunts for sponsors. He says as much when they climb down from the chariots. Mulder holds out his hand to help Dana but she ignores it.

She’s still annoyed at him.

That night they retire to their new prison- the training centre which is to be their home for the next 5 days. Like the train, Dana stays out of the way. In the morning, Monica knocks on her door and tells her breakfast is ready.

“Don’t neglect the survival stations,” Skinner tells them as they board the elevator and ride down towards the basement. “They’re just as useful as the combat stations.”

Dana nods, Mulder lets out a “We’ll remember to head there first.”

The elevator doors open. Another closed door lies ahead of them.

“I’m not allowed in,” Skinner tells them. “I’ll see you at dinner.” Before the elevator doors can close he says one final thing. “Stick together.”

Dana is about to protest.

“I mean it. Stick together.” And then he is gone, the elevator shooting upwards at a rapid speed.

Dana groans. Where has Skinner got the notion that they’re a pair from?

There’s a tap against her shoulder and Dana looks towards Mulder. He holds his hand out to her.

“Let’s call a truce,” he says. “We don’t have to be friends but we can be friendly.”

Without much choice, Dana shakes his hand. It lasts no longer than 5 seconds before she is pulling away.

The training room is a gymnasium filled 24+ stations sporting different needs to suit a person. It had barely just turned 10am yet everyone seemed to be here. Districts One and Two were already standing together. Alliances will be decided by most of them later but it is almost custom for One and Two to align automatically. Later they’ll choose their third district to join them and Dana hopes it isn’t her.

The TV on the train didn’t do their sizes much justice. Even One, the wealthiest district, Tom Colton and Phoebe Green both tower over her. They have nothing on Mulder, however, who appears to be the tallest here.

The head trainer explains the different stations, explains the rules of the training room specifying that we are not to fight one another- “Save that for the arena,” she says earning the approval of the careers and then she sends them on their way.

“Where do you want to go first?” Mulder asks her but Dana doesn’t answer. Her eyes land on the small crafting station and she wanders over to that, Mulder following like an obedient puppy.

Rope sits on the side and Dana grabs it immediately. She gets to work on tying knots, creating a net. Mulder watches her.

“For catching fish?” he asks.

“And people.” She gives a little glance towards the careers who take it in turns practicing with the steel weapons. Mulder looks towards them too.

“You could trap them,” he says and Dana nods. “Guess I’ll have to watch my step.” He grins at her and Dana can’t help but grin back.

She sets the nets aside. She picks up the remainder of rope and some bark. With time, and if she’s unable to get her hands on steel, she could make her fishhooks with this stuff.

She feels eyes on her and looks over to find Tom watching her and Mulder.

“You need to do something,” she says to Mulder.

“Like what? I don’t know how to make the stuff you’re making.” He picks up her discarded net, showing it to her.

“You have to have other skills. Throw an axe or throw a weight. They’re watching.”

She lets Mulder decide what he’s going to do, focusing her attention on how to make the rope wrap securely around the bark.

Mulder is gone when she looks up, headed in the direction of the careers. Dana watches, as do the careers, as Mulder picks up the last long-axe. He holds it like it weighs no heavier than a stick. Colton pulls Spender away from the dummy and Mulder resets it. They all give him space, watching as the dummy charges towards him. Mulder swings the axe, the blade slicing halfway through the dummy’s side. He drags the dummy forward then kicks it in it’s stomach, wrenching his axe free and sending the dummy flying where it lies limply on the floor.

Dana finds herself impressed, as far the careers but their attention hasn’t wavered yet.

“Just gonna grab these,” Mulder says reaching up above Diana Fowley’s head. He walks back over to where Dana is.

“How was that?” Mulder asks. His face says he is unsure. How could one be unsure of what?

“Pretty good,” Dana tells him honestly. “I’ll remember to stay away from you and your axe.” She smiles at him, recalling his joke from earlier. He smiles back.

“I think it’s your turn,” he says.

“My fishhooks aren’t ready.”

Mulder holds out two large steel fishhooks in both hands.

“Grabbed these for you.”

Dana stares at them and then takes one. She threads the rope through the eye and tightens it. Confident it wasn’t about to fly loose she stands up and wanders over to the same station Mulder and the careers were just using. She presses the reset button and the dummy, rebuilt from it’s tumble with Mulder, stands before her. Just like with Mulder, it charges towards her. She spins the fishhook around, letting physics allow it to gather as much force behind it before she’s slamming it through the air where the arrow pierces the side of the dummy’s head. She pulls the dummy towards her and yanks out the hook.

She ignores the careers and walks back towards Mulder who lets out an astonished “Wow…”

“Yeah well, I’ll only be able to accomplish that if they have the steel ones in the arena.”

“They’re in here, they might. You know, I also saw a trident over there.”

Dana stops. No, they wouldn’t put a trident in the arena. Maybe Skinner can get one sponsored but that’s unlikely. But what if…Technically there’s only two people who would be able to use it. Do the Gamemakers want her to use it? She looks back at the careers. They’ve stopped staring at them now and instead the two girls are messing around with said trident. She looks up at the room, where the Gamemakers have been watching them from above, to find them staring directly at her.

“No,” she says to Mulder. “I’ll save it for the private session.”

.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.

No person has ever scared him like Dana Scully.

She works on crafting her nets and her fishhooks, practises swinging both the bark and steel ones around. Dummies are mutilated by each one. She doesn’t practice her traps, however, that would give too much away.

Mulder builds a fire, swims in the pool off to the side, lifts some weights. He is useless in comparison. He doesn’t think he’s going to last a single day in the arena.

He and Scully are taking it in turns on some plant identification game when Tom Colton from District One starts making some noise. He pushes Seven’s boy to the floor, ranting and raving about stealing his dagger. A sliver of light hits his eye and he finds the 12 year old from Eight hanging from the ceiling, a smirk across her face and a dagger in her hands.

He nudges Scully.

“Look,” he says pointing up towards the little girl.

They both watch as she swings like a monkey across the ceiling and quietly places the dagger back on the weapons rack before scurrying off to hide once more.

“It’s on the rack, you idiot,” says Phoebe pointing to the dagger.

Tom shakes his head confused. “I swear it was on me…”

Once the training day is over they join Skinner and Reyes on floor four for dinner.

“Any thoughts on who you’re allying with?” Skinner asks.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” says Mulder. “The careers. They’re our best chance at survival.”

“This again…” Scully mutters to herself.

“They were impressed by us on day 1. I think we have a good chance.”

Skinner looks at Scully. “Scully?”

Scully sighs. “Emily. The little girl from District Eight.” Mulder scoffs and Scully scowls at him. “What? She’s better than either of us thought.”

“So she stole Colton’s knife and can shoot at stuff with a slingshot? What good is that gonna be to anyone out in the arena? You need to ally with someone who can look after themselves.”

“What if it was Samantha?” Scully says so quietly he almost misses it.

“What?” he asks because he knows she didn’t just ask what he thought she asked.

“I said what if it was Samantha. Wouldn’t you have wanted someone like me to protect her? Maybe then she wouldn’t have died straight away.”

He goes cold. There’s a buzzing in his ears and gooseflesh is prickling his arm even as his palms grow clammy.

Skinner and Reyes have both gone quiet. Even Scully is looking at him with a hint of remorse.

“This is how this is gonna work,” he says slowly, his voice low and dangerous. “No one brings up Samantha. Ever. Is that clear?” Scully nods, her eyes downcast. He looks to Skinner and Reyes and repeats, “Is that clear?”

“It’s clear,” says Skinner. Reyes nods.

“Good.” He stands, pushing his near full plate of food away. “I’ll ally with the careers.” He looks down at Scully darkly. “She can take the girl.” With that, he leaves.

.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.

Maybe she should apologise but Dana can’t apologise for what she’s not sorry for. She was right. What if it was Samantha. She can give Emily a chance, not let her get slaughtered two seconds in.

The door to the roof opens and it’s Skinner.

“You found the roof?” he asks even though the answer is clear. He leans next to her but far enough away to allow her space.

“You think I’m making the wrong decision allying with Emily,” Dana says.

“I think Mulder has a point.”

She goes to argue but Skinner interrupts her.

“And so do you.”

She closes her mouth.

“It’s normal for tributes of the same district not to get along. It’s normal for them to not ally together. Most do but you get some who don’t. I say, let Mulder win his way with the careers and you ally with whoever you want.”

Dana looks down at the lights below, the buzzing city, people the size of ants, cars beeping even though it was almost 11pm.

“They’ll come after me first,” she says quietly.

“You don’t know that. From what I hear you’re pretty strong. They’ll go for the weaklings first.”

“But I’m competition.”

Skinner exhales. “Yes, you are.”

“I’ll get an average score tomorrow,” she says, a plan formalising in her mind. “If I’m neither a threat nor weak, they might leave me alone for a bit.”

“I think that is an excellent plan,” Skinner agrees.

“Tell Mulder to do is axe thing. I think the Gamemakers will really like that.”

She slips away then, back inside, a plan formed.

.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.

He hasn’t spoken a word to her since last night. He can’t. He shimmers with anger at her words still. They sit next to each other, waiting to be called, but neither say a word.

“Fox Mulder,” an assistant calls.

Mulder stands, he almost speaks to Scully, a quick “Wish me luck” before he remembers they’re not on speaking terms.

He enters the room. There’s no panel waiting like he was expecting. Instead there’s just a small woman in the corner and the Gamemakers are up in their booth. They’re not even watching.

Whatever, Mulder thinks reaching for his axe. Let’s get this over with.

He takes his anger out on the poor dummy. Anger towards Scully, anger towards his parents, anger towards the Capitol. The dummy ends with a missing arm, a bashed in leg, a half decapitated head. He picks up the 200kg weight and launches it across the room, a scream following. It hits the rack, weapons clattering to the ground. That felt good. He wants to do it again.

He leaves, closing the door behind him. He locks eyes with Scully and doesn’t say a word.

.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.

It’s her turn.

Dana follows the assistant into the room. Whatever she was expecting it wasn’t this. Where’s the panel?

She sees what remains of Mulder’s dummy, a weight atop of the rack. She looks up at the booth and they’re not even watching. How can they judge something if they’re not even looking?

Whatever, focus.

Dana picks up her fishhooks from under the weight. Bastard Mulder and his bastard weights, she curses. The rope is stuck under it and the weight is too heavy to move on her own. She looks at the woman in the corner but she makes no effort to come and help.

Fantastic. Mulder has sabotaged her.

She leaves her fishhooks stuck and retrieves her net instead. She ties one end of the rope to a hook in the wall and sets up her triggers. She resets the dummy and lets it wander over her net where the trap is triggered and the dummy gets tangled up in the net.

With Tom’s dagger, she stabs the dummy in its foot, incapacitating it, before finally ending its fake misery with a pierce to the throat with the middle tip of the trident. When she looks up at the booth still none of them are paying any attention to her.

She should leave but she’s just done all that and no one was watching.

“Hey!” she yells up at them and all conversations cease. All of them look at her for the first time as if just realising she’s been in the room this entire time.

“You’re welcome.”

And then she leaves, slamming the door behind her.

Later that night, the four of them sit in the lounge as the results are televised. One by one they flash a photo of the tribute and then the score. Colton, Phoebe, Spender, Diana score between 8 and 10 as expected. Mulder scrapes an 8 which earns him a well done by Skinner. Dana waits for her score. Hopefully it’s a 7 at best, an 8 at worst.

Her pictures flashes and then her score.

11.

They gave her an 11.

“But they weren’t even watching,” says Dana shocked. “I had to shout at them.”

“Someone must have been,” says Mulder breaking his vow of silence.

The other tributes’ scores appear. Most get 5, a boy from 10 also gets an 8. Little Emily scores a 7 but at the end it is clear that Dana got the highest score.

11. She was sure to make herself a target now.

#the x files #txf fic #xfiles fanfiction #hunger games au #scullysexualwrites

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applcrumbl · 1 year ago

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Joy Rider

Just Friends

Pairing: JJ Maybank x Reader Warnings: Strong Language, Mention of abuse (no direct description, just in passing), Mention of ill mental health and suicidal thoughts, (again, only in passing), JJ just Pining over Reader. Word Count: 2K Author’s Note: please bare in mind that these are not chapters! You can read them however you like, skip the ones that don’t interest you etc. It’s okay not to read absolutely everything.

Summary: A glimpse into Reader and JJ’s friendship.

There is blue as far as she can see to one side, and the comforting scenes of Kildare island to the other. She can taste the salt from the ocean as it sprays her in its path up to the sandy shore. With it wafts the smell from the barbeque that her friends cook. She feels the cold water up to her knees, her inner thighs burning with friction from the board. Waves crash against sandy shores and the sound of gulls fly over her head. She sits on her board, back to the beach and once again in her own world.

It’s peaceful, relaxing, and exactly what she needs after a day out on the surf. The waves had died down now, so she only rocked gently on the water.

“Hey Reef,” John B shouts from the beach, tongs in hand like a proper BBQ dad, He calls louder, fighting against the sound of Kiara and Pope laughing, “Whaddya want? There’s a burger left?”

She doesn’t answer, not hearing the calls of her name from the coastline.

“Y/N,” He tries again, to no avail, “Jesus Christ, will you go get her?”

“Why do I have to?” JJ asks, sipping his freshly opened beer, “I literally just dried off.”

“You’re still soaking wet.” Kiara deadpans, spooning coleslaw onto a paper plate.

JJ huffs and walks along the pier, handing his bottle to the girl before jumping off the end. He swims to her, hands clinging to her board for stabilisation.

JJ Maybank was a caring person, but never one that particularly showed it. He did everything for his friends, and would always be there for them, but he wouldn’t tell them that. He wouldn’t chase you up when you didn’t answer a message, but he would plan a stop past your house to invite you out. He wouldn’t specifically say to call him when you got home safe, but you’d know that you probably should.

It was different with her, his twin flame, his best friend. They’d grown up together, she lived in the house next door to his. They were each other's first sleepover, first fight, first friend, first kiss - though She swears that hers was with Colton Ashby in the first grade.

She’d always been there, so there was no need for defensive JJ. She’d seen it all, and he’d seen all of her. Of course, there were secrets. She never knew how bad it got after his mother left, the bruises that littered his skin from the age of 13. He never knew about the nights she cried herself to sleep with the want to never wake up. But, neither of them felt like there was information lacking. They had one another, at any time, any place, any point.

He was more caring towards her than he ever had been towards the rest of the Pogues. And his opinions never changed when she moved from the cut to figure eight - despite his inherent hatred for the rich southern side of the island. He was happy that she’d crawled from the depths, and that her uncle had invited her to stay with him whilst her parents were gone. Gone where? Nobody knew. Yet she didn’t really care.

She was the glue that bound the group together. Without her, he never would have spoken to John B - much too territorial over his one best friend. If she hadn’t got her first job at Heywards, then Pope wouldn’t have been in the picture either. And even though he can’t quite remember how Kiara got involved, he’d happily put it down to her doing too. She was the exact definition of both a Kook and a Pogue.

He owed her everything, but she was the only person that he would ever let know that. But, even then his mouth kept shut.

“Foods ready,” he says, prodding her thigh on the open water, “time to come in.”

Her eyes don’t open, “Gimme 5 more Jayj”

“Dude, you’re literally turning into a prune,” he jokes, lifting her leg from the sea, toes wrinkled from the water, “Your age is finally catching up to the rest of us”

There were precisely 3 days of age between the pair of them, but JJ would never let her forget it. Probably because without her, then he’d be the youngest, and something about that just didn’t sit right with him.

“Stop, I'm gonna fall off my board,” She laughs, to which JJ makes a face, “Don’t-”

In one fell swoop, the blond lifts her leg higher, tipping over their buoyant aid, and knocking her into the water. She pops up from the depths, gasping for air.

He smirks, “I said it was time to go in”

The girl glowers at him, eyes thin and testing. She climbs back on the board and begins to paddle back to shore, leaving JJ in the sea.

“You can swim back yourself.” She shouts behind her.

“I don’t see what the problem is!”

“Of course, you don’t.”

“Then enlighten me, JJ.”

The Maybank boy scoffs, running his hand over an open jaw. “Colton Ashby?”

She doesn’t reply with words, instead an expression on her face. ‘Yeah, and?’ It reads, eyebrows furrowed and eyes wide.

“He’s a Kook!”

“I’m a Kook?”

“You haven’t always been, you don’t count” He bats back her attempt to change the conversation topic, “I can’t believe you’re going on a date with Colton fucking Ashby. That is so dumb.”

Her eyes roll so hard to the back of her head that it looks as though they may never come back around again. “Oh my god!” She exasperates, “It is not dumb! It’s sweet, and I’m excited to go.”

JJ sits on her barely-made bed. Her family circumstance may have changed, and he uncle may have provided a new life for her, but nothing about the girl had changed. She was still the same messy teenager that she’d always been. She grabs the dress laid out on her desk chair. She was never one for dresses on a casual day, but that night felt special. She wanted to put in the effort.

“He was my first kiss, y’know” she points out, sliding into her bathroom to slip into her outfit. “It’s like a full circle moment.”

“First of all, he wasn’t your first kiss. I was. Second of all-”

“You were not my first kiss, stop saying that!”

“Uh, yes I was. We were 4 and sat on your old tyre swing.”

The bathroom door opens, and She steps out, clothes in hand. She dumps them in the hamper next to her. “I smell bullshit.” She sits at the vanity direct from the bed, watching JJ in the mirror. He takes in her floaty dress, almost shocked to see her ins something so, girly.

“I smell truth-shit” He tries to counteract but fails miserably. “So many women would kill to say that they kissed me. You should really jump on that. Maybe you’d get a better date than Colton Ashby”

She stops her lipgloss application to eye him in the mirror. “This is really bothering you.” She observes, smacking her lips together and reapplying the cap.

“I don’t want my best friend running off with some Kook, just because he was her first kiss” He moans, throwing his body back onto her bed, “By that logic, you should be running away with me.”

‘Yeah and I’d bet you’d love that,” she replies, “Can you put this on me?

She holds out a necklace. Small, golden, expensive from afar. But, up close you could see where the colour was tarnishing, and the plastic seed dull. JJ had bought it for her 15th birthday. The first and only gift he’d actually bought her, not stolen. A cheap tourist shop shell pendant with a fake pearl in the middle. But she loved it.

And she was going to wear it on her date with one of the richest Kooks in Kildare.

JJ’s fingers struggle with the clasp for a while before it finally hooks to the small chain link. She adjusts the pendant on her chest, making sure it lines up perfectly with the V-neckline of her dress. She stands to observe herself in the mirror. “This is fine, right? We’re not going anywhere too fancy I think”

He can only stutter a response, still taken aback by the fact that she’s actually still going. Taken aback by the fact that she’s put effort into the way she looks, for him. There is a hint of jealousy too, but he swiftly ignores it. “Yeah, you, uh- You look great.”

“Man of many words, Jayj”

The date was fine, not that she was avoiding another opportunity to go out with the dark-haired boy, but not that she was gasping for one either. It was simply an experience that she had and one that she probably wouldn’t ask for again.

Colton was nice, he paid for their food, he picked her up and dropped her home. He even complimented her looks several times throughout the night. She was extremely flattered - but there was nothing else there.

You can really tell when you’re not into someone, because it doesn’t matter how kind they’re being, or attractive they are, or if you have boatloads in common, you will still only notice the negatives. And they will still be made much bigger than they actually are. You will still ‘get the ick’

She hated the shoes he wore. They were too polished and clean. He had loose hair sticking from his gelled-back quiff. She didn’t like that he ordered wine for the table. He mentioned JJ’s necklace, and how it looked like it was a little past its prime. Albeit, this was his way of flirting - offering to buy her a brand new, more expensive one - but everything just rubbed her the wrong way.

“So I doubt you’re meeting him again?” Kiara questioned, using the tree as an anchor to rock the hammock they were both laying in.

“Yeah, definitely not.” She sighs, “Should’ve kept him as my first kiss and no more”

“JJ will be happy then.” Pope pipes up from the camping chair next to the hammock. His flat-brimmed cap was pulled down over his eyes to shield him from the sun.

Kie shoots him a look with her eyes that Y/N misses, it’s a shock that Pope catches it.

“How do you mean?”

Pope stutters, ”I just mean that he’s quite territorial,” His words are danced around, like he has more to say - but won't, “He likes his time with you, and a boyfriend would take that time away.”

She exhales through her nose, “Yeah, I suppose.”

A loud smash erupts from inside The Chateau, causing the three to jump. John B shouts out not to worry, and that JJ had just dropped a mug. They return back to the conversation.

“Man, that’s Y/N's favourite mug - she’s going to kill you” John B continues, directly to his friend, “You’re supposed to be courting the girl, not pushing her away”

“I’m not courting her, we’re just friends!” JJ exclaims, kneeling to pick up the broken shards of ceramic. Though John B was right on one thing, this was Y/N's favourite mug. “I’ve literally known her my whole life, it’s not like that”

“Are you sure? Cos, her date pissed you off a whole lot”

“Ashby’s just a dick. She can do better.” He explains, “Besides, the date didn’t even go well. She told me.”

A horn honks twice from outside, catching John B’s attention. He looks through the dusty panes of the window to see who it is.

“Is that why he’s just come to pick her up?”

JJ pushes past him, eager to get a glimpse from the window. John B laughs at him as Kiara climbs into the passenger seat of her mother’s car. JJ kisses his teeth, “Ha. Ha. Funny”

“Y’know for someone who is strictly friends with the girl, you sure care a lot about her being with anyone that isn’t you.”

A feminine voice calls his name from outside, and JJ jumps at the opportunity to answer it, practically sprinting outside at her back and call.

“And will jump to her every move.” He observes, speaking only to himself.

masterlist | taglist

#applcrumbl #writing #jj maybank #jj maybank fluff #jj maybank imagine #jj maybank smut #jj maybank angst #outer banks #Joy Rider

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gachaclubideas · 1 year ago

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Love confession

After criminal case save the world, Riley Colton suggests to the members of The Bureau that they are going to Pacific Bay to relax and everyone agreed.

When Riley and the others in Pacific Bay, the members of Pacific Bay Police Department were happy to see Riley. (Amy immediately tackle hug Riley)

While the members of Pacific Bay Police Department and The Bureau were introducing each other, Riley drag Hannah into the other room because he wants to talk her in private.

In the evening, everyone was having fun at Ocean Shore. Jack tells Lars that he's going to confess his love to Riley.

When Jack saw Riley was there. Hannah gave a laptop to Jack which was attached to a mic that Riley was holding

At first, Jack was confused but when the music came

Song (2:23-2:50)

(Riley sing this in Japanese btw)

Turn out Riley wants to confess his love to Jack for a long time. So she asked Hannah to make a create a translation that whatever Riley said something in Japanese, words will translate to English in the laptop.

(I hope this is good because I'm not good at writing a story)

#gacha club #criminal case #criminal case game #criminal case oc #jack archer

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larsnicklas · 7 months ago

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actual first star this game shld go to colton sissons for missing a clear shot on an empty net 🙏🙏 he remembered his peaceful days growing up on the beautiful vancouver north shore betwixt the mountains and the sea and for a moment was so overcome with emotion that he was forced to shoot just a little bit wide so the canucks cld bring joy to his cursed little hometown

no like nobody on this team except maybe arty and brock and perhaps millsy had any business winning this game….. he really did return to his childhood and pulled his release JUST wide…… and brock and lindy did the rest… this is so pdo merchants of them but actually after knocking over pete for no reason earlier and not getting penalized i knew in my heart this would pan out. puck don’t lie

#meg.askbox

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cagenewman · 2 years ago

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WHO: Cage & @tommybrowning

WHERE: Lake Malory

WHEN: Volunteer Week, April 2023

The upside of running your own business? When you wanted to take the afternoon off to go stand knee-deep in lake water, pulling up old lures and untangling line from the reeds, you could do that. The downside was that he knew he was going to have to work twice as hard the next week to get back on top of his paper work and personal projects, but... it was worth it. Lake Malory was one of Cage's favorite things about Merrock. Sometimes he spent whole afternoons out on the water with Colton, or fishing on the banks with one of his brothers. Other times, when he needed to clear his head, he would just take a drive, walk out to sit on the dock and think. It only seemed fitting that he would volunteer his time that week to cleaning it up, whenever he could.

Right in that moment, Cage was holed up along the shore, about six inches deep in churned up water, fishing waders doing their job of keeping him dry as he used his pocket knife to slice through a tangled line, wanting to do his best get it off of the fallen tree that it had completely tangled in when he heard the sounds of someone else nearby, glancing up, and then doing a double take. Of all the people to have ended up at the lake that day... Cordelia's brother.

#writing with thomas #thomas 001

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tedturneriscrazy · 2 years ago

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If anyone following me remembers, I have written a few stories involving Kite Nye and Sabrina, two OCs from @nikkydash. And you may also remember my ongoing story with these two, Date Night, which currently has two chapters.

Well, today I present to you, not chapter 3, but a standalone story based on an idea I've had kicking around in my head for a long time. This one features mostly just Sabrina, and I tackle something new in my writing: horror!

I had hoped to get this out closer around Nikky's birthday, but better late than never, I suppose.

Anyways, enjoy!

Sabrina's Nightmare

Sabrina had no idea what the fuck was going on, and she didn’t like it one bit.

She stood in the doorway of the entrance of what seemed to be an abandoned building, the door being nowhere in sight. She tried looking back into the building, but was met only with inky blackness. She felt around her pants pockets for her phone, but could not find it. Instead, bringing her hands back out, she realized that she was holding a cheap lighter in her right hand, the color of which could not be distinguished in the dim light. She tried igniting the lighter, but all it could manage was a few weak sparks, refusing to give her a steady flame.

Feeling unease growing in the pit of her stomach, Sabrina slipped the lighter back into her pocket and looked out toward the surrounding environment, which appeared to be a sandy beach right next to the ocean. From this distance, the sand on the beach seemed oddly…pristine, with not a single sign of life or so much as a rock, though the sand did form a few small dunes which dotted the length of the beach. Waves crashed onto the shore with mild force and steady regularity, mimicking the labored breathing of someone with emphysema. Looking to the sky revealed that it was nighttime, the weak glow of the moon obscured by considerable cloud cover. Looking to her right, she was able to make out the faint, blurry silhouette of what appeared to be a city, shrouded in a mix of low light and thick fog. The night air was calm but bitterly cold, and Sabrina could easily see her breath.

A lot of it, in fact.

It was at this point that Sabrina realized that, for some reason, she was panting and her heart was pounding, as if she had been running furiously just moments before. She couldn’t for the life of her figure out why she would have been running. Was she trying to catch someone? Unlikely. Sabrina figured she’d remember giving chase to someone, probably because they owed her money. Since it was also unlikely that she was running on a cold night wearing decidedly not-workout-appropriate clothing for her health, it had to be that she was running from someone or something. But who? Or what?

The cops? Nah. There would have been either the flashing red and blue lights of their cars or white beams from flashlights, and there was only the moon’s meager pallor. Gangsters? Also probably not the case. Getting fake married to Kite had caused that one to back off for the most part, and Sabrina had surprisingly managed to be a good girl and avoid pissing off any others lately. She mentally flipped through her list of enemies, rivals, and various other people whose feathers she had ruffled in the past, but nothing was ringing any bells. Baffling.

There was also a nagging feeling that she had been with someone and ended up separating from them. But who would it have been? Kite? Day? A friend from work? An ex? Briefly she thought of Colton Chadwick and immediately pushed him out of her mind. While she had no doubt he would have bolted as soon as things started going south, the way they had broken up had kinda sorta resulted in him being run out of town in humiliating fashion, never to be seen again. So, probably not him.

Continuing to mull over her situation, Sabrina began to walk toward the beach, the only logical place there seemed to go. Whatever need there was to run had apparently passed, which was good because she could already feel the burn of having done so for a while. As the rush subsided and her heart rate lowered, she started to feel the sting of the chilly night air and shivered a little. God, she hated the cold. Why didn’t she have a jacket? It seemed weird that she would go anywhere in such weather without one. She couldn’t figure out if she had merely forgotten it or if she had left it behind in haste to get away from…whatever it was she was supposedly getting away from.

There were so many details that Sabrina was missing here. This sort of thing happened whenever she got particularly wasted or high, yet she felt stone cold sober and uncomfortably alert. In fact, for whatever reason, she was very much on edge, her fight-or-flight response feeling like it was on a hair trigger. Either she was going to fuck up the first poor hapless motherfucker who snuck up on her, or she was gonna book it out of there so fast Usain Bolt would be envious.

Okay, Sabrina, she thought to herself. It’s time to calm down a little.

With that, she took a deep breath in, then counted to four in her head, and then let a ragged breath out in a thick white plume, counting to four again. After repeating this several times, Sabrina was able to…maybe not exactly calm down, but at least get into a better headspace than she was previously.

Thanks, BJ, she thought offhandedly. I guess video games do teach you practical things, after all.

She continued making her way to the beach. After struggling through the sand for what felt like hours, which were almost certainly just minutes, she found herself atop one of the fun sized dunes and stopped, taking in the ocean’s waves. In more fun circumstances she might have taken off her shoes and made her way up to the shoreline, but as cold as the air was, the water would undoubtedly be freezing and manage to soak her feet to the bone. Once again she found her thoughts drifting, this time thinking that she should maybe take Kite on a moonlit beach walk sometime. Yeah, they’d eat that up for sure. They were a sucker for romantic shit like that.

Ugh, focus, dammit! This wasn’t the time!

Sabrina shook her head violently and gave her face a smack for good measure. She could plan romantic getaways with her fake spouse later, once she figured out this whole mess.

She looked around the beach now that she was properly on it. Back when Sabrina was a kid, she and Day had been “volunteered” by their parents to participate in a Saturday morning beach cleanup (come to think of it, they had to wake up so early in the morning it was just about as dark and cold as it was here and now). After hours of scouring the beach for garbage, the sand was still littered with various bits of detritus washed up from the ocean, and plenty of black specks dotted the lighter colored beige sand.

This beach, however, was quite different. Even up close, there only seemed to be pure white sand, unspoiled by a single piece of debris. Not so much as a broken fragment of shell, scrap of seaweed, or even a piece of trash left by careless beachgoers. It was as if it was devoid of life entirely, and could easily be mistaken for a desert were it not for the proximity of the ocean and the cloudy night sky. Looking in either direction, it also seemed to be as endless as it was lifeless, with no obvious endpoint on either horizon.

Not finding anything helpful along the beach, Sabrina turned her attention to the city. Obfuscated as it was by fog and darkness, it was everything she could do to even discern that there might be a city in that direction, not a single pinprick of light from a building managing to break through. Even so, for some reason looking at it filled her with deep dread, and as she considered the possibility of going toward it, her heart began to race, the dread swiftly turning into terror.

Now what prompted all this, then? While she still couldn’t think of any plausible answers, she had a feeling that, whatever she was running from, it probably came from the city, and/or claimed it as a home base.

At any rate, it was clear that Silent Hill was off-limits. Since standing around wasn’t accomplishing anything, and she wasn’t about to walk into the frigid sea into a watery grave, that left the choice of picking a direction on the beach and walking that way in the hopes of finding…something. Looking to her left and right, Sabrina finally decided to go left.

She walked along the beach for a while, once again struggling to move through the sand. It was unclear how much of it was the inherent difficulty of gaining a foothold in sand and how much was from being cold and exhausted, but this trek was proving to be a right pain in the ass. Sabrina considered moving closer to the shoreline, where the water mixed with the sand would undoubtedly provide more solid ground, but decided she didn’t want to risk getting hit with waves and possibly getting hypothermia. This moonlit walk on the beach was not turning out to be all it was cracked up to be.

As if all that wasn’t enough, an intense wind began to blow, which hit Sabrina with a full frontal assault and stopped her in her tracks. The lack of a jacket was proving to be particularly troublesome now, and as an added bonus it felt like knives were flying directly into her face, particularly digging into her eyes and nostrils. Sabrina raised her arms in front of her face to brace from the wind and what was surely the sand traveling along with it. However, she chanced a glance downward, and for all the ferocity of this wind, the sand wasn’t stirring at all. Just as she began to question this phenomenon, the wind suddenly stopped.

Well this was fucking unusual.

Granted, Sabrina was no stranger to magic and supernatural phenomena. After all, she had cavorted with undead mobsters and was currently (fake) married to a powerful magic user. Safe to say, she had, as the kids would say, seen some shit. But gale force winds that affect a person but not the surrounding environment? That was a new experience, she had to admit. Even the wildest magic she had seen tended to follow, y'know, physics.

However, as she continued to contemplate what had happened, a distant bell rang in her memory. She recalled a story that Kite had told her where they were on a trip to Ireland. They were visiting a castle that was alleged to be haunted, and they decided to have a bit of fun. They found a hiding place, waited for some tourists to pass by, then used their magic to pretend that the passage was inhabited by ghosts and banshees. The performance must have been quite convincing, because the tourists had fled in "abject pants-pissing terror" (Kite's words). Sabrina had laughed to the point of tears at this anecdote, and remembered thinking, Damn, I know how to pick em.

With this recollection, things were clicking into place, and for once she had an inkling of what could be happening. As this idea came to her, the wind began to blow again, this time at her back. It was only now that she realized that her hair was down, since the wind slapped it in her face. Once again, the sand remained unmoved, though as the wind passed through her ears, she heard something new: a faint voice(?) whispering, "...b r i n a…"

And just like that, the underlying unease and fear mostly melted away, replaced with exasperation and mild amusement. "Okay, very funny, Kite!" Sabrina called out. "You got me good! Come on out!"

As she stood triumphant, congratulating herself for figuring things out, the wind changed direction from behind her to coming in at her right. This time the voice was louder and more substantial: "S A B R I N A A A a a a a…"

"Yeah, I get it!" Sabrina shouted back. "Ooh, spooky ghosts and shit! But the jig is up! Come out and conjure up some fire, I'm turning into a fuckin' icicle over here!"

With this, the wind once again suddenly stopped. It wasn’t the only thing, however. The sound of the waves crashing onto the shore had also been silenced. Sabrina chanced a look at the water, and saw that it had gone completely still, without so much as a ripple on the surface. Then it began to lighten in color and take on a more solid appearance, slowly at first, then rapidly spreading across and expanding, otherwise remaining still. Before long, the water had reached this state as far as she could see.

The goddamn ocean had frozen over.

“Okay, Kite, this isn’t funny anymore! Enough’s enough!” Sabrina shouted again, panic creeping into her voice and chest. By now she no longer truly believed this was Kite’s doing. Rather, she may have been clinging desperately to any shred of hope that it still might be the case.

Coming in to extinguish that bit of hope was what felt like a hand rest on her left shoulder behind her. Accompanying this was the coldest sensation Sabrina had ever felt, as if the hand was soaked in liquid nitrogen and dripping it all over. This cold sensation moved its way up to her ear, where she heard a voice…no, it wasn’t really a voice. It was as if the words had been spoken and she understood what was said, but there was no sound of a voice speaking them.

You have yet to experience true cold…

Sabrina immediately clenched her fist and spun around to deck whoever it was behind her. However, she only ended up punching thin air, as whoever (or whatever) was standing there was nowhere to be seen.

“Show yourself, asshole!” she screamed, “Enough of these bullshit magic tricks!”

Behind you…

Slowly Sabrina turned back around and finally saw, standing about fifty feet away, the source of the not-voice: a somewhat tall, thin figure, about six foot even, wearing a long coat and a wide-brimmed hat. They appeared to be the color of the misty shroud draping the city, save for their face, which was a stark white. Sabrina could not discern any finer details about them; even their face was a blank canvas until they suddenly opened their eyes, which appeared to be the same color as their clothing and the city.

No, that wasn’t quite right. On closer inspection, the eyes, clothes, and mist weren’t simply the same color; it seemed like they were all the same substance. What was more, it seemed like there was continuity of pattern between all of these as the figure swayed in the currently nonexistent wind, like the visual effects of plaid in certain old cartoons where the outline of the characters or objects moved along while the plaid remained still in a background layer.

The feelings of terror and dread that Sabrina felt while contemplating going toward the city returned with greater intensity. Not only that, but the already-cold surroundings dropped even further in temperature, nowhere near the liquid nitrogen levels when the unknown entity grabbed her shoulder, but certainly Antarctic at the very least. Yet despite this, she found that she did not–could not, in fact–shiver in response. Aside from the jackhammering of her heartbeat and worryingly faint breath, she couldn’t move at all. It was as if the air had become so cold that she had, in fact, literally frozen in place.

But the worst part? All of this was familiar. Like she had experienced it before. Not that long ago, even.

Sabrina now remembered who she was running from.

And she was in deep shit.

Slowly, the figure began to advance toward Sabrina, the plaid effect becoming even more apparent as they did so. They were not walking so much as leisurely floating in her direction. Considering they had been right behind her only moments before, it was clear that this was not their top speed. For that matter, they were literally grabbing her then, so why all this? Was this thing enjoying fucking with her?

“Who are you? What are you? What do you want with me?!” Sabrina tried to say these things, but it seemed her vocal cords were frozen along with the rest of her body, because the words didn’t come out.

Right, probably should have expected that.

Succumb…

Succumb? What were they talking about?

Surrender…to the mists…

They were much closer now, and soon they would be within arm's reach in spite of their glacial pace. As if in anticipation, they stretched out their right hand. However, instead of motioning to grab Sabrina, they held their hand out, as if inviting her to take it.

C'mon, move, goddamnit! Sabrina thought to herself, trying to will her limbs to move. As thoroughly fucked as she seemed, she had no intention of surrendering to the mists at the behest of bootleg Slenderman. Do not go gentle into that good night and all that.

Yet her body remained stubbornly immobile. This was not ideal.

Just give in…it will be easier…and your suffering will end…

"Blow me, fuckface!"

To Sabrina's surprise (and perhaps the figure's), she could hear and feel these words forcefully escape her mouth. Not only that, but she found that she could move her arms again, and she could feel her legs itching to bolt. Wasting no time feeling out her newly regained mobility, she turned around and sprinted.

Despite the sand shifting under her feet, she was able to put some distance between herself and the figure. She chanced a look back, and saw that the figure began floating toward her again, hand still outstretched, though they apparently didn't see the need to up their speed to match Sabrina's. Rather than dwell on how unsettling this was, she chose instead to focus on what to do next to take advantage of this head start. Perhaps she could just get far enough ahead to lose them, or she could find a safe place to hide, or–

Or she could trip.

This was not one of the options she had considered, but it was the one she ended up taking. As she was running, her foot caught on something, and she ended up falling on her face. Fortunately she was able to close her eyes, though she still ended up with a mouthful of sand. She pushed herself up quickly, irritation building upon her already considerable fear, anxiety, and stress at the current situation. What had the fucking audacity to trip her up at a time like this?!

Sabrina looked down at her feet and saw the answer: a stray piece of driftwood, sticking out of the sand proudly. She was convinced that it wasn't there before, but this wasn't the time to think about that. Instead, it was time for a new plan.

The flight portion of this encounter was over. Now it was time for the fight.

Spitting out sand, Sabrina drew herself up and grabbed the piece of driftwood, pulling it out of the sand. It was about forearm length, somewhat heavy, and, miraculously, very dry. Perfect size for swinging.

As she appraised the wood, she saw the figure draw closer, almost upon her thanks to her unscheduled stop. Knowing her luck, they were probably incorporeal, so a blunt instrument alone would probably not do much. So how could she augment this thing?

And then Sabrina remembered the lighter in her pocket. Sure, it failed to light before, but maybe it would work now? As slim of a chance as it was, it was better than none. She drew the lighter out of her pocket and tried to ignite it.

Come on, come on…she thought to herself, as the lighter continued to give her pathetic sparks. Then, after what felt like a hundred attempts and teetering on the verge of despair, there it was: a small flame, holding steady and illuminating its surroundings. For once, Sabrina felt triumphant. It was a tiny flame, but it would do nicely.

As the figure drew closer still, she took the flame to the end of the wood. Before long, the wood was glowing dimly at the tip, to Sabrina's delight. Sure, it wasn't exactly the roaring fire she might have hoped for, but the heat and light would still be enough to dispel the figure. Speaking of which, they managed to approach somewhat over arm's length, with more demotivational rhetoric:

Fighting is pointless…embrace your fate…

"Embrace this, you creepy asshole!" Sabrina shouted, and swung the lighted wood down upon them with full force.

The glowing tip, subdued as it was, seemed to do its job. The figure was bisected cleanly down the middle, and they began to dissipate, emitting a horrible psychic scream. All of the worst sounds Sabrina could think of put together paled in comparison to how awful the screaming was, but it didn't matter. To Sabrina, this was the sound of victory. She had gotten herself out of yet another scrape thanks to the miracle that was fire.

…is what she thought for all of five seconds.

As the figure dissipated, they seemed to be absorbed back into the mist, which began drawing in closer. Sabrina turned to run, but the mist was also drawing in from that direction, and, in fact, all directions. The wind had started up again, howling furiously and calling her name.

Sabrina…Sabrina…

Panic once again began to set in. Sabrina swung the wood around wildly, desperately trying in vain to keep the mist back, screaming in frustration and terror.

"Stay the fuck away from me!" she cried, her swings slowly becoming weaker. In response, the voice seemed only to grow louder.

Sabrinaaaa…SABRINAAAAA…

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Tears had begun to flow from her eyes, blurring her vision as the mist had begun to embrace her. It was cold. So very cold…

SABRINAAAA!...SABRINAAAAAA!...

"Sabrina! Sabrina! Wake up!"

Sabrina felt someone shaking her shoulders. However, rather than an icy grip, they were warm, soft, gentle hands. Kite's hands.

Upon this realization, Sabrina’s eyes shot open. Her vision was blurry, and she could feel moisture on her cheeks. Still, she was able to take in the surroundings and realize where she was: not a dark, mist-filled beach, but the bedroom she shared with Kite, who was currently looking at her with a rather concerned expression on their face.

“Sabrina? Are you okay?” Kite asked. “Talk to me!” If their expression didn’t make it clear how worried they were, their voice certainly did.

While Sabrina struggled to form a response, she felt a sudden breeze, and she shivered in response. For a split second, it was as if she was back at the beach. Before she could scream, however, that notion passed, and instead she mumbled indistinctly.

“What was that?” Kite asked, this time in a gentler tone of voice.

“Cold,” Sabrina managed. She felt the breeze again, but it was much less harsh than the beach winds had been, and certainly nowhere near as cold as the mists or the figure’s grip. This was in spite of her dress shirt and pants having been replaced with the tank top and shorts that were her usual sleepwear. Gradually, she was coming back to reality.

“Oh! The fan!” Kite said. They jumped up from the bed, walked over to the running fan nearby, and turned it off. “Sorry, it was getting a bit stuffy in here.”

“‘S alright,” Sabrina murmured, rubbing her eyes and wiping away the tears that had accumulated on her face. “And I’m fine, by the way. Just had a bad dream, is all.”

“To say the least,” Kite said. “You were thrashing and yelling pretty loudly at the end there.”

“Oh, uh, sorry about that,” Sabrina said. “Didn’t mean to wake you with my bullshit.”

“Never mind that, darling, I’m more worried about your mental state.” Somehow this made Sabrina feel worse than if they were annoyed at being awakened.

“I told you I’m fine, okay? Just a nightmare. Nothing special. I have ‘em all the time, you know this.”

“You were screaming and crying and swinging your arms around for dear life, I’d hardly call that ‘nothing special.’” Kite said sternly, hands on their hips completing the stern teacher look (though Sabrina’s teachers never stood over her wearing a sparkly peach nightgown–at least not outside certain dreams…). “Now then…” They sat back down on the bed next to Sabrina, then gingerly rested their hand on top of hers. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Sabrina, not exactly eager to relive whatever that might have been, was fully prepared to end the discussion with a definitive “No.” Then she made one fatal mistake: looking up at Kite’s face. So kind, so sympathetic, so ready to listen, so earnest in their desire to help their fake wife.

Goddamnit.

“Well, if it’ll make you stop asking…”

She then recounted everything in the dream that she could recall, which was a surprisingly difficult task, because many of the details were fading rather quickly from her mind. Still, she was able to tell Kite about the most important things: the beach, the city in the distance, the figure, the mist, and, of course, how cold everything was. Kite listened patiently and didn’t interrupt her, only chiming in once Sabrina had finished.

“Holy shit, that sounds terrifying!” Kite exclaimed. “Alone and separated on a dark beach, surrounded by mist, with a creepy figure slowly chasing you? No wonder you were reacting so violently.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Sabrina agreed absentmindedly. While she was still shaken by the dream, recounting it to Kite had helped her put distance from it, knowing that it was over. Suddenly, she was hit with inspiration. “Y’know, I still don’t remember who I was with before it all went down, but I think it might have been you, after all.”

“And what makes you say that?” Kite asked, a single eyebrow cocked in curiosity.

Without hesitation, Sabrina answered, “It’s because you always keep me warm.”

A surprised look crossed Kite’s face. Even in the moonlight Sabrina could tell that their face was flushing quickly and deeply. Soon she felt the heat rush to their own cheeks as she realized what she had just said. Damn, how was she so smooth at a time like this? She was honestly impressed with herself.

Just as quickly, though, a loving smile crept along Kite’s face. “Well, in that case, how about I warm you up after such a frigid ordeal?” they asked.

Sabrina returned their smile with a wide one of their own. “Hmm, I’d like that very much, actually.”

They laid back down on the bed, Kite drawing their arms protectively around Sabrina, who wrapped her own around their waist. Kite pressed Sabrina’s head close to their chest, and she eagerly leaned into it. As she drifted back to sleep, her last sensations were the feeling of Kite stroking her hair and the reassuring sound of their heartbeat.

It was good to be warm.

#nikky dash #sabrina #kite nye #kabrina #my wriitng #horror

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bloomgrove · 2 years ago

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+*. @cryptiique + fjord ` { the ease of breath that enters his lungs now that he’s liberated his family with help from a found one is not entirely an outcome free of strife. he can tell from his eldest brother Colton’s, and his sister Calliope too, that defeat lingers in their eyes. they feel responsible to have nearly doomed the family to an eternal lacklustre life as a warning for the rest of whom may encounter the now conquered gorgon.

there’s confidence in knowing that Calliope looks at him with those eyes and feels shame for not being able to shield him from the horrors of what their family may have become but, it is Colton that holds haughty frustration. it wasn’t supposed to be you. that is the statement that is conveyed through his sibling’s gaze that hits him like an arrow through the chest and Caduceus knows that as much as Colton may clash with him now it is a shame that will heal over time.

they both knew that one was never meant to leave the grove, but who was Caduceus to deny people help? this thing between them as siblings will pass.

but what nearly shakes him to the core is how his half-orc friend is holding up through all that's happened. what began as an enlightening discovery of a childhood name wrought of unpleasant memories reborn into one that symbolises protection, everything else that came after seemed to wade into the ocean and start their descent into the dark fathoms below.

he felt the sudden weight of the air between them change the closer the Clays, his family, spoke of leaving the Stones to return back to the Blooming Grove. he felt the distance even when they were merely a feet or two parallel from each other before the campfire, with Clarabelle on his lap and his family and the Nein around them. he knows they both caught a glimpse of each other’s eyes but his smile, beginning to form would find a gaze averted and his heart nearly sank. did… he do something wrong?

for the first time in a very long time, Caduceus said nothing and let silence speak for itself. offering a facade of gentle gaiety to the people around him that night until he woke up the morning after having pranked Calliope, and observed his friends do some truly unspeakable things — moving furniture in people’s houses — in the empty abodes of the Stone’s still mostly petrified temple the evening prior.

but his chest doesn’t feel good and he decides to go walking along the shore, hood up and studying the few sand dollars he’s collected in the last half hour.

#dw about matching the length!#i got descriptive adfsadf.#also filling in some gaps from the episodes and creating some for angst needs >:3c #cryptiique #+*. ic `#+*. paragraph `

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thinkingsmart · 2 months ago

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Colton 🦉 18740 You will never cross the ocean .. if you refuse to let go of the shore. 💙💫 https://ift.tt/Jw2HzfZ

#jttlpgroup #quotes #words of wisdom #life quotes #quoteoftheday #positive thinking #positive #positive thoughts #positive quotes #thinking smart #Blue 💙#Colton 🦉#Ocean 🌊#Quotes 💬🎯

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quoria · 5 months ago

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Chapter 1.13: Fake It 'Till You Make It

Just as Sasha had predicted, Kaleb was on the southern shore of the massive river that divided Quoria - although calling it a true shore was generous. The original sand and silt had eroded away over a century ago. The city had done its best to preserve what was left of the shoreline with a low, sheer wall of concrete concrete; but when that had proved an eyesore, they’d covered it up with cobblestone.

Colton could relate. At times he felt he’d never truly escape his past, and that people who looked closely couldn’t help but find the rough patches where the conman in him shone through. He could only hope that Kaleb wasn’t one of those people.

“Kaleb!” Colton called out, straining to focus on the situation at hand. He couldn’t stop thinking about finally getting the necklace back, about this case finally coming to a close. It had only been two days, but it felt as though it had lasted months.

Kaleb had been leaning on the railing of the retaining wall, looking out at the river. The hustle and bustle of the city was nothing more than distant background noise here. He turned when Colton called, looking briefly surprised to be addressed. “Colton! What a pleasant surprise. I didn’t take you for someone who likes to slow down and enjoy the scenery.”

Kaleb’s tone was cheerful, friendly even, but Colton couldn’t help but think that Kaleb sounded suspicious of him. Was he projecting, because he knew Kaleb was guilty? He hoped so. The alternative - Kaleb knowing that he was up to something - was too nerve wracking a thought to linger on.

“I was looking for you, actually!” Colton said, because all the best lies started with a kernel of truth. He hurried the rest of the way over to Kaleb, and lowered his voice as if he were divulging a secret. “I saw you at the bar last night, and didn’t see if you got out okay when the watch rolled in.”

“I thought I saw you there. You were with Jude, weren’t you? She throws a good punch.” Kaleb said with a laugh.

“Yeah! And you were with, uh - I don’t actually know who you were with.” Colton said, with a veneer of forced cheer.

“It doesn’t matter,” Kaleb said dismissively. “I was just there for the entertainment.”

Colton didn’t like how Kaleb described betting on (or against) Jude’s match as entertainment. His palms felt sweaty, and there was a bad taste in his mouth.

“But you did make it out okay?” he forced himself to ask, repeating his initial question.

“Oh yes, I’m perfectly fine,” Kaleb assured him. “Someone erased the scores from the wall before the watch could get a good look, so there was no solid evidence of an organized fight. They kicked a few people out for being drunk and disorderly, but there was no real harm done.”

Normally, Colton rooted against the watch. They stuck their nose in everyone’s business, and frankly, as an ex-conman, some habits (like fleeing from the authorities) were hard to break. But in this particular case, he was disappointed that no one had seen any real consequences. After meeting Jude, it was obvious to him that the bulk of the fighters were only participating because they desperately needed the money. There was no sport in something like that. Not unless one happened to be the sort of wildly rich person who enjoyed watching poor folks beat the snot out of each other. Few people who were down on their luck had the skills to be a conman like he had been.

“That’s a pretty lucky break,” Colton said, wondering just how long he could hold Kaleb here with conversation alone. Another minute or two at best, if he had to guess. That wasn’t nearly enough time for Sasha to get back home, let alone search Kaleb’s room.

“It was,” Kaleb said, smiling briefly. “Thank you for checking in on me. It was nice seeing you again.”

“It was nice to see you too,” Colton said. It was clear to Colton that the conversation was rapidly dwindling down to obligatory pleasantries. He needed to think of something, and fast. He was certain that Kaleb trusted him to some degree, and he could exploit that trust…but Kaleb was also a politically powerful individual, and if anything went wrong with his and Sasha’s plan, there would be hell to pay for it.

On the other hand, Kaleb was getting ready to walk away. If he said anything, it would have to be now.

“Oh! I almost forgot - Sasha said he was looking for you? I met him outside Miss Fortuna’s place. Someone smashed all the windows in, and he was pretty upset about it. It was actually a little scary,” Colton admitted with a sheepish laugh. “I was so glad to see you weren’t in lockup that it slipped my mind.”

Kaleb was frowning, but Colton had his full attention. Presumably because Sasha was terribly sweet on Miss Fortuna, and had enough political power to start real trouble over it. The lie had just enough truth behind it to hold some real weight, although the implication that Sasha was about to start a whole mess of trouble for Kaleb helped too. People didn’t look too closely at the details when they were panicked.

“Did he say where he was going?” Kaleb asked. Colton didn’t think he’d ever heard Kaleb sound so concerned before, and he would’ve felt bad about it if he wasn’t certain that Kaleb had been the one to smash Miss Fortuna’s windows in the first place. It wouldn’t look good for Citarik to have two of their nobles starting an incident abroad, and it would look even worse for the guilty party involved.

“I’m not sure. He kind of ran off in a huff,” Colton said apologetically. He tried to look as though he were thinking awfully hard. And he was! But he was thinking about how sending Kaleb on a hopeless errand would buy more time for Sasha. “I think he mentioned something about the embassy?”

“Thank you,” Kaleb said quickly. “I should go see if he needs any help.”

“Good luck! I hope you catch whoever broke those windows.” Colton said on reflex, immediately mad at himself for being so cheeky. He hoped it had come out sounding genuine.

Thankfully for him, Kaleb left in too much of a hurry to pay his comment any mind. It could still come back to bite him later, but if Sasha worked quickly, then it wasn’t something he was going to have to worry about.

Colton lingered to watch Kaleb disappear in the direction of the Embassy before starting towards the meeting place Sasha had picked out; An old building that was due to be torn down any day now. Construction workers wouldn’t be a problem on weekends like today, and they wouldn’t have to worry about the building coming down around their ears either. Plus it was secluded, which was the most important part. If anyone saw Sasha handing off the necklace, they might get the wrong idea. Or worse, tell Kaleb what they saw.

The historic district of the city was littered with old buildings, and Colton saw more and more of them as he made his way further in. Lots of brick buildings and old gas lamps that had been refitted with light bulbs. A lot of preservation work went into the main street, but not so much the side streets and the old suburbs. There was even a famous old city watch station still in operation, although he went out of his way to avoid that.

Still, Colton couldn’t shake the sense that he was being followed. At first his nerves made him think it was Kaleb, but that didn’t make sense. Kaleb had believed him so completely that he’d practically run off, and in the right direction too. That meant someone else was tailing him, or he was developing a sense of sudden, onset paranoia.

Likely the latter. And if he was wrong, well, that was something he could get looked into. In an attempt to lure out his pursuer, Colton ducked into one of the many worn out alleyways that littered this district. As soon as he was sure he was out of sight, he sprinted to the other end and turned the corner, pressing himself back up against the dirty wall.

A pair of footsteps stopped at the mouth of the alleyway, and then suddenly started up again as someone sprinted down the end of the alley. Bracing himself for the worst, Colton waited until they had just turned the corner to jump out in front of them.

Oliver shrieked and tried to course correct, but ended up tripping over his own feet and sprawling onto the ground.

“Oliver!” Colton said, immensely relieved to find that the man was not Kaleb, or some cutpurse with a knife. Jumping out in front of a potentially armed stranger was a terrible idea.

“Don’t jump out at people like that!” Oliver said as he got to his feet, dusting off the front of his uniform. Judging by the way he was moving, he had a few new scrapes beneath it.

“Don’t tail people!” Colton shot back. “Why are you following me?”

Oliver flushed red up to the tips of his ears, embarrassed. Clearly getting caught had not been a part of the plan. And there was no way to deny what he’d been up to either, not after following Colton down a deserted alleyway in the middle of old town.

“I’m just doing my job.” He said weakly.

“Yeah? Who told you to follow me?” Colton demanded. Oliver was silent, so he tried again. “There’s no way it’s legal for you stick your nose in my personal life without a reason. It’s harassment, at least.”

“It’s not!” Oliver said, visibly unable to contain himself. “Mabre said you might’ve gotten yourself into trouble, and that I should watch you. It’s like protective custody, without the custody part.”

“I didn’t ask for your help. And I don’t want it.” The fact that Mabre knew something was amiss was troubling. But even so, this case was about to be solved just as soon as Oliver minded his own business. That was the watch for you. It was like they were making it their personal mission to bother him.

“But-”

“No! Go back to Mabre right now and tell her to knock it off, or I’m going to file a formal complaint with the watch captains.” Colton was not going to do any such thing, but apparently the threat of getting the captains involved at all was enough to make Oliver back down.

“We haven’t done anything wrong. Filing a complaint will just make a lot of paperwork,” Oliver said, wilting somewhat at the idea of it.

“It’ll leave a mark on your records if it goes through,” Colton said. “And I’m willing to file as many complaints as it takes. You can’t just follow people around without asking! It’s- It’s unethical!” He had no idea if that was true, but he was upset, and he knew that officers hated having words like unethical and immoral thrown at them. Especially in writing.

“I don’t think it is…” Oliver said, looking more and more worn down as the conversation went on. “I’m just trying to help you, Colton.”

“And I appreciate that, I do. But I don’t need your help right now. I don’t know what you and Mabre think is going on, but I don’t want you following me around like some sort of criminal. It’s not a good look, Oliver! I get that I used to be a conman, but I’m trying to do better now, and getting followed around by an officer in uniform is not going to help me. People are going to think I’m up to something, or that I’m dangerous!” Despite Oliver’s bad timing, he was genuinely upset about being followed without his consent. The watch had made him plenty nervous back when he was actually doing cons, and that anxiety had never gone away.

“I’m sorry,” Oliver said, defeated. He looked very much like a dog that had gotten into the bin and been caught in the act.

“Just go. I need a little time alone right now.”

Oliver looked like he wanted to say something else, but he closed his mouth and shuffled off towards the main street.

Colton waited for Oliver’s footsteps to fade into the distance, and took a few deep breaths. In, out. In, out.

He could be upset about this later. Right now he needed to find Sasha.

The feeling that he was being followed lingered even after he course corrected and started moving again. He stuck to the back alleys the best he was able, even though he knew that he’d caught the person tailing him already. A few extra twists and turns made him feel more secure, so he took them wherever it was possible.

The meeting place was an old, brick hotel that had long since fallen into disrepair. Colton lingered in the nearest alleyway, but plucked up the courage to enter after one last glance behind him. He hurried to the front door and pushed it open, stepping inside.

Dust was everywhere, and he could clearly see a set of footprints on the floor. Sasha’s, he hoped. He followed them behind the front counter, past the abandoned keyrack, and into the manager's office.

There were footprints everywhere in this room, as if someone had been pacing around the old desk in the center. He noticed that one set of footprints went behind the door.

He turned to look, but something hard smacked into his temple. His vision flickered as he fell to the floor, and he caught a glimpse of expensive, leather shoes before everything turned to black.

Chapter 1.12 ↢ || ↣ Chapter 1.14

#quoria #web serial #writing #webserial #quoria serial #quoriaserial

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