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summerlycoris · 3 months ago

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Is it really a birthday party if you wake up in a hospital?

Chapter 7- Are you waiting for a moment to leave?

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Current chapter- Ao3 link

Chapters in chronological order- tumblr link

There's mentions of suicide in this chapter. Nothing major, but if you want to skip it, start at 'His eyes were wide.' And finish at 'He didn't seem to know what to say, either.'

Turns out, what Mom had left to talk about, was whether Cassie should get a therapist to talk to about everything. That's why the physio had packed it in early- so Mom could go to see Cassie's case manager about this.

Cassie found this out when Mom took her into a little office a few days later, to introduce a ‘lovely lady’ to Cassie.

And Cassie was sure she was lovely. She looked lovely- except for the bags under her eyes- with her bright green eyes, short hazelnut hair, and sun-damaged face. But Cassie couldn't talk to her. Not about any of the stuff that was really bothering her.

Cassie pasted a smile on her face, and lied through her teeth- "Hello, I'm Cassie. It's nice to meet you."

The lady smiled, and introduced herself back. "Hello, I'm Ms Tyrian. It's a pleasure to meet you."

“Ms Tyrian…” Cassie had to fight not to giggle. “That's an interesting name.”

She’d seen that color, while looking through fabric swatches in the past. Technically purple- but it was really more of a red color.

Mom didn’t understand, but still seemed disproving. “Cassie?”

Meanwhile, Ms Tyrian seemed to take it in stride. “Yes, I know. It’s probably not the best color name for a therapist. Especially one who works in Hurricane sometimes- luckily, most people don’t put two and two together- no relation to the purple guy, trust me.”

“Although…” she grinned conspiratorially. “I won't lie- I respect his ability to keep kids quiet, when mine are bouncing off the walls.”

Now Cassie really couldn’t fight off her laughter. While Mom shook her head. “Too soon, Sophie…”

“Marcela, it’s been fifty years. And I’m not talking about the real missing kids anyway.”

Okay, maybe this won't be so bad. Cassie thought.

"Anyway, jokes aside. This meeting is mostly to, well, meet you today. If you've got anything on your mind, you can ask me about it, as well." She turned to Mom. "Marcela, did you want to step out for a bit and have a coffee? It'll be good for Cassie to have some privacy here."

"Oh, of course." Mom came up, and gave Cassie a quick hug. "I'll see you soon, okay." Then she was gone. And it was just Ms Tyrian and Cassie.

This room was set up with two lounge chairs that were set up like the chairs on talk shows. They were at a ninety degree turn from each other. There was a coffee table, with a cute plant on top in between the chairs. They looked comfy- but Cassie was in her own chair and couldn't transfer by herself yet. Instead of sitting near Ms Lavender, like intended, Cassie sat facing her head on. It felt odd, like she was being studied.

Ms Tyrian seemed content to just lean on the armrest of her chair, and fiddle with her cropped hair. All the while, watching Cassie. Cassie wasn't sure how this was supposed to work- was she supposed to speak first, or the counselor?

Ms Tyrian answered that question herself, by asking Cassie a question. "I'm guessing you like those games, what were they called? Freddyworld?"

"Oh no, they have a different name. I've never played them- but my dad did! He said they had a 'morbid sense of humor.' He'd let me watch him play them. My favorite was Sister Location. It, um, it wasn't my dad's favorite." She could remember her dad screaming at the screen, after the twentieth time failing Ennard Night. But Cassie had loved Circus Baby. She was so red, and cool, and cute. Circus Baby had been her favorite, before Roxy was introduced.

Ms Tyrian continued. "Your dad. I heard about what happened to him. It must've been difficult for you."

…and now they were getting into uncomfortable territory. Cassie did not want to deal with this today.

"Could we talk about something else, please." Cassie said.

Ms Tyrian seemed to get the hint. "Well, in that case, I have a question for you- do you have any goals you would like to achieve while here?"

Cassie really didn't know. "Um, mostly getting Mom off my back? I don't know… This wasn't exactly my choice." Cassie whispered that last sentence. But Ms Tyrian had heard it.

"I guess your Mom is a little worried about you. How have you been feeling, recently?"

I thought this session was ‘mainly to meet’ me?

Cassie was tempted to roll her eyes. "I've been feeling great, never better."

Ms Tyrian looked at her strangely, tilting her head. "Well, that's good news! Though, I heard you had a visitor a few days ago. An old friend of yours?"

Cassie couldn't keep looking at her. "Yeah, I did. There isn't much to say- Mom's already given you a crash course on this?"

"She did tell me that you had a best friend named Gregory, and that he'd gone missing over a year ago. Is that correct?"

"Yes. That's correct." She didn't want to talk about this. She really didn't want to talk about this. She could feel herself clenching her skirt in her hands, messing up the red sequins and turning them blue.

Ms Tyrian sat in silence for a bit, to see if Cassie would continue. When Cassie didn't, she asked a question- "What's your favorite memory with him?"

"My favorite- huh?" This threw a curveball for Cassie. She thought the next question would be something like ‘Do you really think he was here?’ Or ‘were you just so lonely, you were imagining him?’

(I'm not crazy I'm not crazy.)

"Um. I guess my favorite memory was just... His Mom was often busy, and his Dad couldn't take care of him at home anymore. He'd gotten too sick. Gregory would sometimes stay at my house.

"One day, my Dad took us all out to Sand Hollow State Park, for a weekend camping trip. Me and Gregory got to go to Jumping Rock for a swim. I was scared to dive in- I'm not good with heights… but he held my hand as we cannonballed into the lake. We all got to go fishing together- I didn't catch anything, but we had fun- we got to cook marshmallows on the campfire, tell spooky stories with Dad and Andy… it was really nice."

Cassie smoothed out the sequins in her skirt, turning them back to red. "It's not much, but I like it." She fought to keep her voice level.

Everything was silent, as Cassie kicked her legs and looked at the floor.

"That was a really nice story, Cassie. He must've been really special to you."

Cassie nodded. And no one said a word.

Until they did.

"Did you… want to talk about how you felt when he went missing?"

Cassie shook her head. She wanted out. Now.

But she didn't want to go back to bed, just to lie there thinking. She didn't want to go for a walk with Mom, who would ask her about everything. She wanted to just. Play, or draw, or do something.

"Could you take me to the playroom please? I don't want to talk anymore." Cassie asked.

Ms Tyrian thought about it. "We've only been here for about ten minutes. I can take you there, but I'll need to let your Mom know where you're going first."

She got out of her lounge chair, and went to go find Cassie's mom.

________

The playroom was nice.

It was colorful. It had toys. It had coloring sheets and drawing supplies on a table in the middle of the room. It had a tv set up against the far wall, with a couch (with a plastic cover on it) and an old video game console. Two boys were playing a racing game, and occasionally trash talking each other. A few girls were in a group, chatting. Two smaller kids were playing with dolls on the floor.

Cassie had come here a few times previously. But mostly played by herself. All the other kids seemed to already have friends.

Cassie was at the table, trying to draw something cool. She wasn't very good at drawing. She'd never been good at it. But she was determined to draw something cool. Like a motorbike with flowers all over it. The kind of bike she'd like as an adult.

But it turns out drawing a motorbike is really difficult. Especially when you don't know how. She gave up, scrunching up her attempt, and just stuck with the flowers. Anyone can draw flowers- just four petals around a circle.

She could hear Ms Tyrian and her Mom talking near the entrance. It was distracting.

She'd already heard that she would be having another session with Ms Tyrian when she got home from Salt Lake City.

Her flower only had three petals. Warped and misshapen. She scrunched up that paper too, with a frustrated growl.

Her right leg kicked under the table. Her left one just twitched and hurt.

She needed a different plan. She could color in but none of the coloring sheets looked cool enough.

Then Cassie had an idea- she could draw Roxy.

Could I?

She could! She remembered Roxy's face like the face of her hand. And she'd drawn Roxy okay in the past- or at least her head.

First, she started with big eyes, and beautiful, long eyelashes. All the better to put eyeliner on. She drew a snout underneath, making sure to add Roxys lipstick in the correct color. (She wouldn't be caught dead wearing orange! It needs to be purple!) Cassie added in Roxy's ears. And drew in her mane of hair, making sure to add the green forelock in, well, green. Afterwards, she drew in the face around her features. Then polished the picture off by adding in the stripes.

It… it wasn't perfect. Cassie had made a mistake with Roxy's snout and hair, and there was no eraser to fix it. Her face was also wonky, it had a Picasso-esque quality to it. Except this would be lucky to get fifty cents if I sold it!

Still, it looked like Roxy. Cassie was proud of her work.

"That's a really cool drawing." A boy's voice came from just beside her. Cassie nearby jumped out of her chair- she'd been so focused on drawing, she hadn't heard anyone approach.

She collected herself, and turned her face to the boy. He was also in a wheelchair, but his was not one of the hospital ones. It was dark green, and looked like it had two metal wheels on the left-hand side. Probably just to look cooler? He could move around by himself. She wasn't jealous at all.

He'd pulled up to the table, and grabbed a sheet of paper to draw on.

One of his arms- the right one- didn't seem to work right, it was bent up towards his chest, and didn't look like it could move much. He had curly black hair, brown skin, and dark brown eyes that looked like they were sparkling with joy.

Cassie broke her gaze, telling herself off for staring. And for not introducing herself. "Umm, thank you. My name is Cassie, what's your name?"

The boy looked up from his drawing. He'd drawn some stars over the paper, and what looked like a big, wonky snout drawn in green pencil in the middle. "Hello, I'm Lawrence. It's nice to meet you."

Cassie needed to pay attention when Lawrence spoke- she'd nearly missed his name, because he spoke kind of quickly, "it's nice to meet you too." A few seconds passed, as he continued drawing.

Cassie had some conflicting thoughts going through her head. On one hand, she could make a new friend. On the other, Lawrence could be like most of the other kids on the ward- gone tomorrow. Just recovering from sedation used in planned surgery, then going home the next day.

One day is hardly enough time to know anyone. "Hey, um, Lawrence? How long are you gonna be here for? I'm stuck here for another 10 days." She hoped her question wasn't too weird.

He looked up at her. "I've got about… a week here? I think? That's what Mom said. They had to fix up my leg, and want to keep me here to see if it worked."

"... Did it work?" She felt silly immediately after asking that question.

"Hopefully!" He said with a big grin. "Wanna see what they did?"

"Um, yeah. Okay." If this was surgery, he would probably be showing off a scar on his leg.

He wheeled backwards with his left arm, and spun towards her. Cassie pushed against the table to go back a bit. She couldn't turn well, so he pushed one side of her chair backwards, so she was facing him.

"Look at this!" He pulled up the leg of his shorts a bit, so Cassie could see the start of a big plaster on his upper thigh. "That's where the place they cut me open is." His right leg was held out straight, with the footrest extended.

"You broke your femur too? I've got a scar there, as well. From when they had to put a nail into the bone to hold it in place."

He scrunched his face up. "Kinda? I guess it's broken now? It hadn't been broken before the surgery."

Now Cassie felt bad. "... Did something go wrong?" She couldn't imagine how badly surgery must have gone, for a bone to get broken during it.

"Oh no, they needed to break it." He pointed to his right knee. It had a brace around it. His left knee looked slightly bent inwards. "My knee was facing the wrong way. It was getting really hard to walk. So they cut the thigh-bone" he indicated this with a chopping motion of his hand. " and straightened it. Then they put a plate in to keep it straight."

Cassie nodded. "Then, why didn't they fix this leg too." She pointed to his left leg.

"It's getting better by itself. It used to be worse on that side." He pointed to the left. "But the other leg-" he pointed back to his right leg now. "wasn't getting better- it was really bent. Here's where my toes used to be." He indicated it, by tilting his hand so that his fingers pointed inwards.

"What about your cuts?" He asked. "You said you have one too- do you still have a plaster?"

Cassie leaned away. "I can't show you mine! It's too high up- and I'm wearing leggings." Then she thought a bit more. "Actually, hold on. I've got one near my knee. Wanna see it?"

He nodded.

Cassie could hear an ‘a-hem’ noise from Mom. She turned, and both her and Ms Tyrian were looking at her.

Well, that's embarrassing. "We're just comparing scars, Mom! It's nothing weird!" Mom just tilted her head in response. Cassie turned away and rolled her eyes.

She needed to pull off her left moon boot, first. Then she rolled up the legging on that side carefully. Her leg still hurt, though. She grit her teeth, and got it over her knee. "There it is. I have one on my hip, and one here." She said, pointing out the areas. He leaned in close to see her knee scar. It looked faded, but still visible- they'd taken the stitches out while she was still in PICU. "They had to put a nail through my tibia- that's one of the big bones in the lower leg." She felt smart for knowing this- and thankful she'd read the pamphlets a few weeks ago.

"Wow, mine's gonna look like that? Once the plaster's off?"

"Um, probably? They may have to take the stitches out, first." She rolled her legging back down, and strapped up her moon boot again.

He nodded, and asked. "What happened to you? I got surgery because my knee was bent. But what about you?"

Cassie sucked in a sharp breath, as she tried to figure out what to say here. Keeping it simple was probably the best solution. "I fell from a high place. Broke both my legs- one worse than the other- one of my wrists" She held up her left wrist. It was still in a brace, so she probably didn't need to, but… "and I broke my back. I can still move my legs… kind of. But I can't walk yet."

His eyes were wide. He looked around, then leaned in close and whispered. "Did you… did you jump? My brother did…"

Cassies face would've gone white, if it could. "No no no- I fell. I would never- ummm." How do you answer a question like that? "I was in an elevator. A really old one. The wires snapped, and it fell."

He didn't seem to know what to say, either. "We-were you okay? Afterwards?"

Cassie saw the perfect opportunity to lighten the mood. "Nope- I died! You're actually talking to my ghost right now. Bet you didn't know you had the sixth sense before this moment, huh Lawrence?"

He looked at her with confusion and horror for a moment, until she couldn't keep her face straight, and burst into a cheeky grin. Then he shoved her shoulder- "Don't scare me like that!"

They both burst out laughing.

It took a while for them to calm down, and it took a bit for Lawrence to say something. "I like your skirt. It keeps catching the light."

Cassie grinned, and said "Thank you. It's got sequins all over it- red on top, blue underneath. If they're ruffled, the skirt changes color."

She ruffled it up, to showcase this, getting a "Wow, wish I had a shirt like that." Out of Lawrence. She felt proud of this skirt- she'd sewn it over the summer break, using sequin fabric. it wasn't the… easiest to coordinate with other clothes. And she knew that Mom wouldn't let her wear it to school- it was delicate, and distracting.

But when she pulled it off, she pulled it off.

"Thank you! I'd do a twirl, but I'd definitely fall over right now." She looked at his drawing, back on the table. "I like your drawing so far- is it Monty?"

"Yeah!" He looked really happy that she knew about it. "How did you know? I just started it."

"You were using green. And the snout is kinda wonky, like Monty's is in the cartoon."

"You like the cartoon too- who's your favorite character?" He asked. He was sitting on the edge of his seat in excitement. Honestly? Cassie was feeling the same way- it wasn't often she found someone else who liked any of the Freddys cartoons.

Cassie held up her Roxy drawing. He nodded. "Who's your favorite?"

"Mine's Monty!" He said, tapping his in-progress Monty drawing.

How can Monty be anyone's favorite? She thought. "Oh- what's your favorite episode?" She asked.

"I like all of them- but the best was the one where they all went to the beach, and Monty was teaching Bonnie how to surf. It looked like so much fun! What about yours?"

"My favorite one was 'The Big Race.' When Roxy was introduced. She had this snazzy racecar, and Foxy took everyone to the raceway to cheer her on… it was so cool!"

They continued gushing about the show for what felt like ages to Cassie. They talked about when Mangle was reintroduced, about the differences in the Portuguese dub and the English original, about the Easter special that only aired once, and was now only aired in Europe and South America. (They'd made a joke that people thought was referring to nine/eleven. FazEnt had to make an… interesting apology after that snafu.), about how the writing changed after they fired all the creative and got an AI to write the episodes…

("Ugh! They really screwed up the characterisation! Especially Chica's- making Chica into a health nut."

("Chica? Really?"

("Yeah! They only did it so that they could advertise Mazer-cise. You should have seen the arguments on the forum about it…")

But this conversation came to an end when Mom came to grab Cassie- "Cassie, we've got to get going now. You've been up for nearly an hour."

She looked between Mom, and Lawrence. Then back to Mom. "Do I have to go?" She whined.

Mom nodded. "You can't sit up too long- or you might hurt yourself. Cassie couldn't help but slump- I'm not a baby. But it's hard not to feel like one, when I'm constantly being put down to rest.

Lawrence helped make the situation a bit better, by saying. "How about I see you again tomorrow? We can keep talking about that Christmas special then!"

She perked up a bit. "Yeah, that'd be great. I'll see you then."

They waved to each other, as Cassie was wheeled away, back to her bed. But at least now she had something to look forward to- seeing her new friend again.

________

The next few days were quite fun.

Sure, she'd had to spend time doing her physio exercises, laying in bed, and waiting for glowing orange eyes to appear next to her while she's asleep…

But she also spent time with Lawrence. And that was enough to make up for all the other, bad things.

Scream-cryer had been discharged yesterday, so Cassie had an uninterrupted sleep last night. She also got to meet Curly for real- turns out her name was Alison. Alison had hung out with Lawrence and her for a bit two days ago. She'd also been discharged yesterday as well, which sucked. But at least they'd got to meet. She'd also been a fan of the Freddy’s cartoon, and they'd all swapped handles to the Fazfans forum. Cassie had also swapped phone numbers with Lawrence that day.

Right now, Cassie was in the cafe with Andy and Mom.

Andy had just gotten out of ‘being grounded’ (Having her fake ID confiscated and destroyed, and having her dad told what she'd been up to.) She still looked a little salty about it.

Cassie had learnt from last time, and ordered a grape soda. Andy had a milkshake, (‘Had’- she'd drank it all within ten seconds, and then got a bad case of brain freeze.) and Mom had her usual coffee.

The TV on the wall was, as usual, on the local news station. Cassie had asked them last time if they could swap to cartoons. But they didn't have cable here.

"I've been talking to your case manager last night- they'll probably be in to talk to you later- they said you've been doing a good job with your exercises, and they've confirmed you will be attending that clinic in Salt Lake City. They think you'll be able to go there in about a week, if you keep up the good work." Mom said, talking to Cassie.

Cassie grinned at that- she had been putting in a lot of effort into her physical therapy, and was glad she was getting results now. They'd even asked her yesterday to sit on the edge of her bed, and put some weight through her legs. ("This'll help strengthen the bones, while they're healing. If you do this, it'll help prepare you for weight-bearing when you go to rehab.")

"Lucky you, getting to skip out on school for another month." Andy said. Cassie stuck her tongue out at her while Mom was looking at the TV. Andy flipped her off in return.

"You say that as if you're not also skipping school- when are you going back to college?" Cassie asked.

Andy lay her head in her hands, and leaned on the table. "Tomorrow, actually. I'll be flying back for a bit, sorting out some things-" She got cut off when Mom shushed her, and pointed to the TV.

They both turned to look.

On the screen was a newscaster, standing outside the Mega Pizzaplex. In the corner was a girl's old school photo.

She had red hair, tied up with pale pink ribbons, tanned skin, and a smattering of freckles.

It was a picture of Janet Faraday.

Cassie knew, because they'd all had school photos done last year. For the yearbook- it was their last year of Intermediate school.

Her mouth went dry, and she couldn't take a breath. She didn't need to hear what they were going to say about Janet. It was already clear.

"Late last night, police found the remains of a local middle-schooler, Janet Faraday, age twelve, at the abandoned Mega Pizzaplex."

She didn't want to hear the rest. She looked at Andy. Andy's eyes were wide open, like a deer in the headlights. Cassie was sure her eyes were the same.

Instead of looking at the TV, or Mom. Cassie looked at the table and sipped her grape soda.

She didn't know what to say. Or what to think. She tried to block out everything, but still caught snippets.

"Potential copycat killer" "No known motive" "hacked communications through an old fan forum" "anonymous report a week ago" "police are investigating."

"Hey, Mom? I might head back home." Andy said, pushing back against the table.

Mom turned to Andy- "Wait, why? It's your last day here."

"Feeling kinda sick. I guess lactose intolerance, a big milkshake, and child murder don't make for a happy stomach. Cassie, I'll see you again soon." She said as she walked away.

"Andromeda, please-" but Mom's plea fell on deaf ears. Andy was gone, before Cassie could even wave goodbye.

Mom stared after her. "If she keeps behaving like this, people will think…" She whispered, then shook her head. "Cassie, do you want to have your drink elsewhere? There's that garden, it's quite quiet there."

Cassie started. She hadn't expected to be addressed suddenly. Her mind was miles away. "Yeah, that'd be great."

________

In the garden were a variety of plants. Most of them, Cassie didn't know the names of. Though she spotted a lone plumeria tree in a pot on wheels. They'd have to bring it back inside by December, before the weather got too cold. There were also some pink and white flowering hibiscus along the fence. They looked beautiful, but Cassies wished some of them were red.

Mom wheeled her over to a quiet place, near the hibiscus. There were some wooden benches there. Mom took a seat on one.

She looked really uncomfortable, smoothing out her pants legs.

"Cassie. You're going to have to be very careful." Mom said, worry lines running through her forehead. She looked older than she was.

Cassie nodded. She knew that- she would never fall for that trick again, that's for sure…

Mom sighed. "You don't understand. When you come home, I can't let you use the computer without supervision." She pursed her lips. "I'm not sure what to do about your phone…"

This surprised Cassie. "What? You're going to take away my phone? And the computer? How am I going to talk to Lawrence when I leave here? Haven't I been punished enough?"

"It's not about punishing you! Didn't you see the news report? They tricked that little girl through messages, like you. But they've also tried copying people's voices digitally, and leaving voice-mails telling people to meet them."

Cassie was dumbstruck. It's really moving quickly…

"... it was a miracle that the little boy's dad was home, and heard his own doppelganger trying to lure his son first…" Mom clenched her pants legs with her fingers. Cassie couldn't help but fidget, too.

"I just… I don't know what to do. I can't let them trick you again. But what's to say they won't turn up at our house to target you there? Should we go into witness protection? Would taking your phone even work? Or would it make it more likely you'll get stuck somewhere, unable to call for help…"

Again.

They sat in silence for a bit. Cassie bit the inside of her cheek.

"Mom, I… I think if it was after me, it would've… already found me."

She didn't want to think about what would've happened if it had "found her." But she kind of had to, now.

"It's not like hospital records can't be hacked. I've been here for weeks now. If it really wanted me dead, it would've just hacked their way into being considered my parent. Then came in while I was on the ventilator, and disconnected it."

Heck, It could've pulled out the ECMO tubes, and watched me slowly bleed to death…

Mom sobbed, burying her face in her hands. Cassie regretted saying anything. She wasn't physically close enough to grab Mom's hand, or give her a hug. She just whispered out "I'm sorry."

Mom let out a few more hiccupy sobs, then wiped her eyes and said "God, I feel so useless." She sniffled, eyes looking red.

They sat in an awkward silence for a while. Cassie wasn't emotionally close enough to her Mom, to know how to make her feel better. She just felt bad.

She sipped on her nearly forgotten soda.

Eventually, Mom stopped sniffling. "Well, you'll need a phone for Salt Lake City. So I can call you. Just… don't believe me if I say something like 'I'll meet you downtown', will you? If I come visit, I'll come meet you at the rehab center."

Cassie nodded frantically, and Mom stood up. She just looked miserable. It made Cassie feel miserable to see her like this.

But she didn't know what to say.

"I'll keep thinking about what I can do while you're away." Mom said. She grabbed Cassie and started wheeling her back inside. "I'm sorry for unloading all that on you."

"No- Mom. It's okay. Don't worry. I get why you're scared."

Cassie left her half finished drink in the cafe. Honestly? She didn't want it anymore.

Then Mom took her back to her room.

________

It was a day later. Cassie had been doing more work with the physio. More strength building. More working on her legs.

She'd gotten better at using her right leg again- she still needed the Moon Boot, and couldn't walk. But now she could put more weight onto her right leg without risking hurting it- as certified by a weight-bearing x-ray.

Her left leg was still useless. Slightly less useless, but still useless. In theory, she should be able to put weight on it- the bones should be healed enough. But she couldn't do the weight-bearing x-ray with it. Because it had buckled and nearly sent her to the floor, gasping in pain.

The physio was working on her left leg- moving it up and down with their hands, while Cassie sat on the edge of the bed, and kicked out the other leg. Mostly to have something to do.

She wasn't sure what she could do.

About that monster, anyway.

She'd talked to Andy about it over the phone last night, brainstorming different ideas on how to be safe in a post monster-escape world.

They'd come up with a few suggestions.

If it's an unknown number, it's not your friend calling.

If they ask you to a weird location, ask if you can bring an adult or a different friend. If they get weird about it, reconsider going.

Ask them something only you and them should know the answer to. If they can't answer or redirect, hang up.

Ask for a selfie. Check the dates if they send it, to make sure it's current. If they don't send one… you know the drill.

The main benefit Andy and Cassie had was that they knew what this thing looked like, and some of how it worked. It mimics people to lure them in. Then it kills them.

Other people- staff at the hospital, Mom, other parents and kids, had no idea how it worked. Only that someone was trying (and succeeding) to kill kids, was able to hack, and could maybe mimic voices? People were speculating it to be the same copycat as the recent bout of missing children- but that had stopped six months ago, with six total missing. Around the same time of that earthquake. Cassie and Andy were fairly certain this monster wasn't behind those missing kids.

("Gregory said it'd been down there for 'a really long time', and it'd been stuck behind concrete before I let it out. If it had managed to lure other kids down, it would've already been free, right?"

("Eh, maybe? They could've all got mangled by Monty before reaching the sinkhole. You said it yourself- you nearly died six ways from Sunday."

(Cassie had hummed into the phone, thinking. "I remember seeing video footage, while wearing the V.A.N.N.I mask, of a lady wearing my mask and chasing Gregory. He was one of those missing kids. Maybe she's the one that did it?")

They'd had no solid proof though. That conversation got them nowhere.

Her phone vibrated in her skorts pocket, just after she had finished up her usual weight-bearing exercise. It was too early in the day for it to be Andy- she should still be on her flight.

"Is it okay if I answer this?" The physio nodded yes, and Cassie checked if it was an unknown number. It came up with Lawrence's name. Thank goodness.

"Hey Lawrence, how are you?"

"Uhh, yeah. I'm good." He doesn't sound good. "Hey, Cassie. Did you want to meet in the garden for a bit? I just need to talk to you. In person."

This raised a bit of suspicion. "How about you come meet me here? I can't travel as easily as you can, and I'm supposed to lay down for a bit, anyway."

"Okay, but… where is 'here'?"

It took a second for Cassie to understand him. Oh, I've been to visit him once in the boys ward with Mom, and have seen him in the playroom. But I've never seen him in the girls ward.

"I'm in the girls ward. It's just two doors down to the right from the boys ward. Look for the pink butterfly on the door. If you see the operating room, you've gone too far."

"Okay, I'll see you in a few minutes, Cassie." Then he hung up. She apologized to her physio, for holding her up, then took off her back brace for a bit. She really only needed it when she was sitting, or moving. Or walking, but I can't do that yet.

The physio left, and Cassie kept her eyes peeled on the windows. They were a little tall- so she'd only be able to see the top of Lawrence's curly hair as he wheeled by them. If he looked like he'd miss the door, she'd yell out to him.

Soon, she could hear the familiar squeaking of his wheels, and see the top of his hair through the window. He didn't miss the door- coming through and spotting Cassie on her bed. She was just glad it was him.

He grinned when he saw her, and came over. She waved back, but felt a little… silly? Lazy? I should be sitting up for this.

"Hello Lawrence, sorry for being rude- I'm not supposed to sit up for a bit. Just got done with physio-stuff."

He shook his head. "That's not rude- I'll come up and join you."

Cassie quickly looked to the nurses station. It was between the girls ward, and the boys ward, and had windows facing into both wards (though, Cassie had never been able to look from the girls ward through to the boys ward- the nurses station was set up in a way where that wasn't possible.) All the nurses inside were chatting, or focused elsewhere. Still…

"I think if you do that, the nurses will get the wrong idea." She said.

He tilted his head. "What idea?"

Oh no, his parents haven't given him the talk yet?

"Umm, well, you see…" How should she word this? "Only moms and dads lay in bed next to each other." Saved it. She didn't want any weird rumors of them floating around. She didn't want to deal with Mom's sideways glances, or Andy's ribbing about it, either. She had to deal with enough of that when she and Gregory were friends.

He blinked a few times, and Cassie got really worried he'd ask something like "why?"

Instead he said. "The beds are too small for that- I meant, I'll sit at your feet. Hang on."

He pushed down the bed rail on his side, to get more room. Then stood up on his left leg, and used his left arm to pull himself onto the bed. He doesn't need a transfer board? Lucky… He then dragged up his right leg, so it could sit flat on the bed, with his left leg crossed beside it. "Ta-da! These beds are longer than they are wide, and you're short, so there's plenty of room."

"I'm not short!" She cried.

"Yes you are- you're shorter than I am." He replied.

She pouted for a bit, before saying. "Well, that's just because you're so tall!" Checkmate.

Lawrence tilted his head. "Am I?" Then thought for a bit, putting a finger under his chin. "Do you think if I jumped up, could I touch the ceiling?"

That got Cassie's brain turning too. She looked up at the ceiling, and tried to figure this out. "Hmmm, I don't know about the ceiling, but you could probably touch the top of the doorframe?"

He hummed as well. "I might try that…" then he remembered something, and his face fell. Cassie remembered how he'd sounded over the phone.

"Hey Lawrence, are you okay? You seemed really sad over the phone." She asked, keeping her voice low. Most people were out of the ward right now- only having someone down the other end playing on their phone- but it was still good to keep this private.

His eyes went wide, like a deer in the headlights. "It's just. Umm. You know the forum? One of the admins posted about a murder." Cassies face fell, too. "It was Janet. Do you remember her from school?"

Cassie remembered her.

They'd never really been ‘friends’, as much as ‘acquaintances.’ Janet and Setia had been best friends since forever- and they weren't looking for a third wheel. They didn't hang out with Cassie after school, unless they were working together on a group project. And that was different to hanging out as friends. Cassie had invited her to her birthday party last year. But Janet had been honest about not being able to go- she'd been signed up for summer camp, and it'd be running at the same time. Janet only got back from her camp the day before school started. Cassie's birthday was a week before then. So she'd never held a grudge against Janet.

They'd worked together frequently during Intermediate school, on group projects. Cassie, Janet, and Setia made a good team. No one would slack off, and they'd usually get an A on their work. Especially in drama class. When they performed an (admittedly pirated) version of Jack+Jill. It got featured in the school newsletter as an example of going 'above and beyond.' Cassie had done backstage work for that performance- making sure the music they'd made played at the right time, making the costumes. (They could have just used their regular clothes. But Cassie wanted their outfits to be special.) and helping the group paint the backdrop prior to the performance. While Janet played Jack, and Setia played Jill.

"Yeah, I knew Janet. We were in a lot of the same classes. What about you?" She'd never seen Lawrence in her classes before, but he lived in Hurricane and they were in the same grade, so he must have attended her intermediate school.

He looked a bit… embarrassed. "I… mostly had different classes than you guys do. But I know Janet from Band practice. She was amazing with the saxophone. She liked jazz music, and probably could've been part of a big, pro band after school… She was nice to me."

He fidgeted with his hair, twirling a loose coil around his finger. "I heard from one of her friends, they said she'd run away, to go to New York. So that she could chase her acting ambitions. Then later, on the news, they got a tipoff about a girl at the Pizzaplex. The police didn't believe it at first, a lady talking about a killer robot that chased her- but when they ran out of things to check, they checked there…"

They sat in heavy silence for a bit.

"What happened to her, that was nearly what happened to you too, right?" He asked. It was a rude surprise- Cassie had not told him about going to the Pizzaplex.

"How did you know?" She whispered. Her face hadn't been in the news, when discussing her case. Nobody should know yet.

He backed up a bit. "I didn't know- my Mom thought it was you, in the news. They'd talked about a different young girl getting lured in by her 'friend', falling and getting really hurt in the Pizzaplex. She would've been the same age as you, so it was probably you."

Her shoulders slumped. Great. So everyone's gonna know I was the silly girl who nearly killed herself at the Pizzaplex…

"... Yeah, that was me."

He didn't look at her, just down into his hand. "Did you see Janet there? That night?" He asked in a whisper. Cassie could hear the unasked question behind it- what happened to her?

Cassie hesitated before answering. Lawrence and her were friends, she hoped. But they'd only known each other for a few days. Would he run away screaming, and never talk to her again, if she told him what happened?

"Cassie." She looked up at him. He was now looking at her eyes. "Please tell me. I'm not stupid."

So she did. She told him about what happened to her, in low whispers. And told him that Andy had found Janet's body, and reported it to the police. She didn't need to tell him the details. No one needed to know that.

He couldn't look at her. She couldn't look at him. She could hear him sniffling.

"I can't believe it… just can't believe it…" he sobbed out, wiping tears from his eyes.

Cassie's heart broke, hearing him like this. He was usually so bubbly, bringing comfort to anyone who needed a friendly ear. But now he needed comfort.

She pushed herself up, so she was sitting. It was still hard to do by herself- part of the muscles she needed had been paralyzed, the rest were weak. But she did it anyway. She reached over to him, and put her hand on his shoulder.

He didn't say anything, just scooted closer to her. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug, which he returned. She could hear him quietly sobbing against her ear.

They stayed like that for a while, until Lawrence's alarm went off, and he had to go back to his dorm.

________

It was two days later, and things were still a little awkward. Mainly, because they hadn't talked about it. She and Lawrence had been texting each other. But not about that day, and not about Janet.

It was Lawrence's last day in hospital. And Cassie would be going to Salt Lake City in three days. So, if they wanted to talk in person and clear the air, they needed to do it today.

Cassie had already made some plans- texting Lawrence, asking if he'd meet her in the garden. Asking Mom if she could take her to the garden, and leave her there for a bit. Mom had raised an eyebrow at this request, but had said she'd do it.

So now Cassie was waiting, in the garden. Near the benches at the Hibiscus trees. The plumeria tree sat nearby, waving in the breeze.

She'd had a lot of time to think- soon, it'd be time to act. She could hear Lawrence's wheels crunching over some lost leaves.

"Hey Lawrence." She said, waving to him. He pulled up nearby, and waved back. Which was kinda useless at that point- they were within arms distance.

Even though she'd been thinking things through, worrying about it for ages, the words still stuck in her mouth. "Umm. I'm sorry. For Janet. If I hadn't let it out, it couldn't have…" the last bit got caught in her throat. "I can understand if you don't want to be friends anymore."

He looked at her as if she was talking nonsense. "Why are you sorry? You're not the one who did it- that weird robot thing did."

"But I let it out-"

"If you hadn't, it would've just got Janet to do it. You know that, right? It would've kept fishing for people until someone ate the bait." He crossed his arms, as best he could.

The weight in her chest lifted slightly. "... I guess so."

"And I still want to be friends. Hannah and Chris don't like hearing me talk forever about cartoons. But you listen- and talk back about them. And we go to the same school- once you're back, it'll be great."

She smiled slightly, and said. "It'll be great to see you again too- I wonder if I'll have any classes with you this year? You could do really well in art class."

"Maybe? I have the same art class as normal kids. We might be in the same one? And you might be in my PE class now."

Cassie hadn't thought about it- but she couldn't see herself doing PE. Not like this, anyway. "Maybe, I don't think I'll do well with dodgeball this year. What is your PE class like?"

"It's only a small class- there's seven of us in it so far. Split between grade eight and nine."

Her eyes went wide. "That is a small class. How'd that happen?"

He looked a little embarrassed. "Um, it's because I can't walk good. I nearly broke my hip doing PE in Elementary school. The teacher asked me to run cross-country. Mom got really mad, and now they keep me in a different class."

"Oh, that makes sense." She said. She wanted to lighten the mood again. "Well, if you don't have to do cross-country in that class- I'm in!" She'd always tried to play sick on cross-country days in the past.

He laughed slightly. "I only got to be in middle school for a few weeks before surgery. You haven't even been this year, huh?"

"No, not yet. I've heard it's supposed to be hell. But it can't be that different from intermediate school, right?"

"No, most kids are just the same kids they were last year. If you liked them, you'll like them. If you didn't, you won't."

Cassie nodded. Well, maybe middle school wouldn't be that great for her…

"... Even if we're not in the same classes, we should still be able to hang out at lunch, hopefully. We're in the same grade." She fidgeted awkwardly. "I'm gonna miss you. When I'm away. It's gonna be so weird being up in Salt Lake City by myself…" because she would be by herself- Mom would have work. Andy has college. And Lawrence lives down here. She wasn't a baby- she wouldn't be homesick or anything- but she would be lonely.

Lawrence came up, a bit closer. "I'll miss you too. But you'll see cool things up there- there's the Zoo! If you go there, you might see a real alligator!" He had a huge grin on his face.

"If I go and see any alligators, I'll send you a photo of them, okay." He nodded at that. Cassie could hear the sound of footsteps over the lost leaves on the floor, before she saw who was coming. It was a lady, with brown skin and straight black hair, walking over to them. This has to be Lawrence's mom.

Cassie pointed her out to him, and he turned to face her. "Hey Mom, is it that time already?"

She nodded, and asked. "Is this your little friend you've been telling me about?" She seemed to smile with her eyes. Which fitted exactly how Lawrence had described his Mom- a warm, bubbly person.

Lawrence nodded, and Cassie introduced herself. "Hello Mrs Smith. I'm Cassie."

"It's nice to meet you Cassie, I got talking to your Mom just inside."

Her eyes went wide. "She didn't say anything weird about me, did she?" Mom was full of embarrassing stories that she loved to bring out when talking to other parents.

"Well, she did tell me a story about how you used to draw yourself with a pink pencil." She said. Cassie groaned and covered her face with her hands. "She let me know you two were out here."

"Oh, do I get to go home now, Mom?" Asked Lawrence. Cassie heard nothing. He turned back to Cassie audibly- wheels crunching over leaves. Cassie pulled her hands away from her face. "I'll see you again soon- have a great time up in Salt Lake for me!"

"I will! Have a great time in school!" She said. Then Lawrence followed his Mom out, out of the garden and out of the hospital. Cassie waving behind him.

She wished she could follow him. But her arms weren't long enough to reach her wheels.

She sat there, wondering what it'd be like when she left, until Mom came back out to collect her.

~~~~~~~~

Authors note- this chapter title is also from Frente’s Labour of Love.

#five nights at freddy's #fnaf #fnaf fanfic #cassie fnaf #fnaf cassie #is it really a birthday party fanfic #summerly writes

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floridafoundationpro · 2 years ago

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Madison county, Florida foundation repair

Madison county Florida

Madison County is a rural county located in the northern part of the Florida Panhandle.The county seat is Madison and its largest city is Greenville. Madison County is known for its natural beauty with lush forests and rolling hills.The region is also known for producing some of the best agricultural products in Florida, including cotton, sugarcane, and other crops. The county is home to several historic towns and sites, including the beautiful and historic town of Greenville. Madison County is a great place to visit, explore, and take in the beauty of nature.There are many outdoor activities to enjoy while visiting, including fishing, hiking, camping, and cycling. The county is also home to several local festivals, such as the Madison County Fair and the Madison County Arts and Crafts Festival.Madison County is a great place to call home and serves as an ideal destination for those looking for a rural escape.

Hurry! Fill this form to talk to a Florida foundation pro!

* indicates required First Name Last Name Email Address * Phone Number Describe briefly what the problem seems to be Marketing Permissions Please select all the ways you would like to hear from Florida Foundation Pro: Email phone You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here. Where is Madison county in Florida and what is there to do? Madison County is a county located in the panhandle of Florida and is home to several small towns and communities. The county seat is Madison, which is known as the “heart of the Florida Panhandle”.The county is home to many outdoor recreational activities, such as fishing and hunting, as well as camping, kayaking, and more. Visitors can explore the area’s diverse terrain, including forests, swamps, and rolling hills.There are a variety of local attractions, including natural springs, museums, and historic sites. Madison County is also home to a number of wineries, craft breweries, and distilleries, and offers a variety of restaurants and shopping opportunities.Whether you’re looking for a family-friendly day trip or an outdoor adventure, Madison County has something to offer.

Should I buy a house in Madison county, FL? Purchasing a home in Madison County, FL may be an appealing option for those who seek a balance between rural and urban living. The county's close proximity to larger cities such as Tallahassee and Jacksonville, along with its abundance of outdoor activities, make it an attractive option for prospective homebuyers.Home values are relatively affordable, with median home values in the county estimated around $100,000.Furthermore, the area offers a diverse range of housing options and is home to a thriving economy with plenty of employment opportunities available.With all this in mind, it's certainly worth considering if Madison County, FL is the right fit for you and your family.What are the house foundation problems in Madison county Florida and how can they be repaired? Madison County, Florida is not immune to foundation problems in its homes. As with any structure, settling of the foundation can occur over time due to a variety of factors, including soil conditions, water seepage, and poor drainage.Common signs of foundation problems include cracking or bowing walls, sloping or uneven floors, doors and windows that stick, and water leaking in the basement or crawlspace.Fortunately, there are several ways to repair foundation problems in Madison County. A structural engineer can assess the damage and recommend the best way to repair it, such as underpinning, reinforcing the existing foundation, or replacing the foundation entirely.In addition, proper drainage, waterproofing, and soil stabilization can help to prevent further damage.By taking the necessary steps to repair existing foundation issues and prevent future problems, Madison County residents can ensure that their homes remain safe and structurally sound for years to come.Overall, Madison County, Florida is an excellent place to purchase a house.There are plenty of things to do, and the county is well known for its friendly atmosphere and excellent housing opportunities.It's important to keep in mind potential house foundation issues and take steps to repair them if necessary. With the right research and due diligence, there are plenty of reasons why Madison county is an excellent place to buy a house. Read the full article

#FL #Floridafoundationrepair #foundationrepair #Madisoncounty #Madisoncountyfloridafoundation

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bethestaryouareradio · 2 years ago

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2023 Garden Trends #1

By Cynthia Brian

“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Audrey Hepburn

Where did the year go? It seems like only yesterday that I was writing gardening goals for 2022, and it is already 2023. Time to start anew!

Happy New Year!

Every year, the Garden Media Group releases trends for the forthcoming year. The Garden Trends Report for 2023 is aptly named, I Believe in Me! Individuality and access to critical resources will be in vogue throughout these next twelve months. As an Empowerment Architect, I resonate with this craze outlined for 2023 and hope that personal expression and self-reliance will become a style, not just a fad. Our choices and lifestyles need to reflect who we are as individuals so that we become our unapologetically authentic selves in service of others.

When it comes to designing any interior or exterior place, I have always believed that to fully function for the family, the space must be personalized, reflecting the colors, shapes, objects, and souvenirs that are meaningful to the individuals living in the location. We need to feel comfortable, secure, relaxed, and rejuvenated. Home is where our heart resides. Cookie-cutter installations may be magazine-worthy, but they won’t necessarily showcase the depth, passions, and character of the dwellers.

As we begin to plan for 2023, learn about the forthcoming trends, but decide what resonates with you. Just because something is au currant, it doesn’t mean that it will empower everyone. In part one of my interpretation of the Garden Media Report, I’ve chosen a few gems that may trigger a positive possibility for you.

The report shares the smart benefits of the garden green industry which has gone electric or battery-powered more quickly than any other industry, including electric vehicles. Mowers, leaf blowers, chain saws, and other electric equipment accounted for 17% of the gardening sales in the United States in 2022. Smart garden tools are becoming as critical to gardening as shovels and picks, especially for those who are just entering the gardening arena. Although I have not tried it yet, there is a new smart device on the market that is a weeding robot. Solar-powered, it lives in the garden chopping weeds. Now that is an innovation I will be checking out as weeding my landscape requires grueling work for months on end.

Another huge trend will be shopping online for garden products. Many companies are offering not only plants for sale but identification and information for various plants. It is as easy as taking a photo of a flower, leaf, tree, or other specimen and clicking a button. Several matches will appear on the app, but it is up to you to determine which is the correct one. Other garden apps provide tips on how to plant, when to plant, and where to plant as well as healthy recipes for harvesting crops.

Because of the housing crisis with buying a home being out of reach for numerous people, ADUs (accessory dwelling units) have become popular in the past year and will continue to be in demand. Container gardening will linger as a major trend as gardens and patios become smaller. Vertical gardening, trellises, fences, and living green walls will be integral to adding privacy and protected places to enjoy nature. Millennials and Boomers are embracing vintage and mid-century patio furniture including wrought iron, retro lawn chairs, and pagoda umbrellas.

In the section called Super Agers, the Garden Trends Report boldly states that “In 2023 and beyond, 100 is the new 50!” I’m not so certain that this is a truism, but it does bode well for gardeners who want to continue being active with tilling, filling, and thrilling with nature long into their golden years. Accessibility options such as raised beds, wider paths for wheelchairs, and plants at levels that don’t require bending will allow anyone to enjoy the outdoors.

When it comes to plants, tropical and exotic are the favorites for all age groups. Orchids, bromeliads, anthuriums, birds of paradise, cordylines, Ficus, palms, philodendrons, and peace lilies are only a sampling of specimens that are attractive to Gen X, Y, Z as well as Boomers. I speculate that water features, especially creative fountains based on individual themes, will be a big focus this year. Besides the health benefits of the negative ions that running water provides to humans helping us refocus and recharge, birds and wildlife rely on them in the backyard garden for bathing and drinking.

These are just a few of the projections for our outdoor enjoyment for 2023. In my next column, I’ll offer more suggestions. Believe in tomorrow. Plan to plant a garden. Live to 100? What’s on your list?

Safety Tip:

With heavy rains projected all week, it may behoove you to fill a few sandbags in case of flooding. The Moraga Orinda Fire Department has made sand, bags, and a shovel available at the following locations:

Sand, bags, and a shovel can be found at the following locations:

Moraga

Rancho Laguna Park parking lot (2101 Camino Pablo).

Orinda

Fire Station 43 - 20 Via Las Cruces, Orinda

Fire Station 44 - 295 Orchard Road, Orinda

To ensure there is sufficient sand and bags available, they request citizens to please take only what is needed for actual or threatened flooding. Sandbags can also be obtained from local home improvement stores for a nominal price.

Photos: https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1623/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-2023-Garden-Trends-Part-1.html

Happy Gardening. Happy Growing. Happy 2023!

Raised in the vineyards of Napa County, Cynthia Brian is a New York Times best-selling author, actor, radio personality, speaker, media and writing coach as well as the Founder and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3. Tune into Cynthia’s StarStyle® Radio Broadcast at www.StarStyleRadio.com. Her newest children’s picture book, No Barnyard Bullies, from the series, Stella Bella’s Barnyard Adventures is available now at www.cynthiabrian.com/online-store For an invitation to hang out with Cynthia for fun virtual events, activities, conversations, and exclusive experiences, buy StarStyle® NFTs at https://StarStyleCommunity.com Hire Cynthia for writing projects, garden consults, and inspirational lectures. [email protected]

https://www.GoddessGardener.com

#gardentrends2023happynewyear cynthiabriangardengoddessgardenerstarstyle

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daemonhxckergrrl · 2 years ago

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privacy and photos

a little reminder for folks: photo metadata (EXIF) can contain dates, locations, device info etc. use a metadata editor like this when sharing photos

but the photo itself can betray sensitive info

you've seen that geoguesser guy figure out locations, or people zoom in on reflective surfaces (this is mostly a tv/film trope just like "enhance" but some info can be gained from certain reflections). so, think before you take a picture you wanna share, but also use tools like cropping and censoring (black box, pixellation, blur) to cut out or obscure sensitive info like faces, calendars, uniquely identifiable objects (either to you or to a location), windows, keys, etc.

most photo tools provide at least a basic way to do this. if yours doesn't then pirate photoshop or use gimp (yes ik, they really named it that) which is a free and open source alternative with a similar interface to older photoshop versions

finally, posting the same picture (or similar pictures with a caption/text that could link them) to a place with your real name attached and a place w/ a fake name will also make those identities linkable. reverse image search is a thing

#daemon.md #REPO #i'll come back and tag this properly when i remember my tags lmao #net safety #net privacy #just some friendly advice

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apocalypseornaw · 4 years ago

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Love Finds You

For the square "Arranged Marriage" on @girl-next-door-writes bingo

Mafia (ish) AU. Warnings are cursing, angst, John trying to kill the reader, Dean killing John

Word Count: 5,343

You walked through the quiet halls hearing the echo of your boots reverberate to your own ears. Something big was happening for this place to be this quiet. It was like a tomb where normally there was a solid bustle of movement. You stopped just shy of the entrance to your uncle’s study. You felt an uneasiness but pushed it down before knocking on the heavy door. “Come in” you heard his voice carry out and knew he wasn’t alone.

You straightened your jacket before pushing the door open and wasn’t at all surprised to see none other than John Winchester sitting in front of your uncle Joseph’s desk. Your eyes narrowed at the presence of the other man and you unconsciously reached to touch the gun riding at your hip and saw Joseph give the barest shake of his head “Y/N I believe you know our guest” John held his hand out but you didn’t care about the pretense of politeness you’d earned your reputation and with it had come the right to act as you saw fit so you simply folded your arms “The man whose wife was killed when his kids were young so he’s done everything in his power to stay as far away from those kids and be the poorest excuse for a father even this line of work has ever seen?”

Joseph looked taken aback but John on the other hand had the nerve to laugh “Yeah I heard she was something and she does not disappoint” you turned your eyes to your uncle “What’s all this cloak and dagger bullshit? Why is the head of the only other family in the world that comes close to your empire sitting in your office?” “As you just said dear. The Winchesters are the only other family that comes close to ours. What better way to solidify our footing than a union between the two?” you laughed harshly, the sound sharp enough to slice through the air “I know you didn’t call me here with the nerve to propose that I have anything to do with him?” “Actually my oldest son Dean has agreed to do whatever necessary to help the family succeed” John cut in so you spun around on him “So you abandon your kids bad enough to get a reputation for it, then come here to basically plot with Joseph to sell your son off like a prize stud while I’m what? The old mare you’re breeding him to? Make a whole new crop?”

“Y/N that is enough young lady!” Joseph spoke harshly, his voice filling the area as he stood to his full height. You didn’t back down catching the look of amusement John had as you stood your ground “If you expect to marry me off to solidify an empire then I am here to tell you I expect everything to be signed over to me the moment I say I do. If I’m to agree to an arranged marriage then I’m going to fucking profit from it” Joseph nodded “I’ve been wanting to retire as is” you turned your attention from him to John “I want to meet your son before the week’s end. My future husband and I need to have a long talk. My dear uncle has my number” He nodded “Yes ma’am” you spun around on your heel and marched out the office being sure to slam the door shut behind you.

You held up the pretense until you made it down to your car and only once you were pulling away from the curb did you break tears flowing freely. You knew your life would never truly be your own but now you didn’t even get a chance to try to fall in love, you were being forced to marry someone you’d never meant just to hold onto what your father had built and what you’d bled to keep intact.

It was three days later before your phone rang with a number you didn’t recognize. When you answered it you groaned inwardly at hearing John’s voice “Y/N? Dean wants to know if you’d like to meet today” “Name a time and place” you responded coldly. He reiterated the location and time so you agreed before hanging up. You stared at the phone then clicked the number you had saved on the speed dial. A woman didn’t get as far as you had without having people she could trust. The Banes twins were your right hand man and woman. You’d take them with you to the meeting along with Abaddon who was a bit of a loose cannon but she was loyal to you.

------

A few hours later you were riding in the passenger seat of Abaddon’s range rover with Alicia and Max sitting in the backseat going over a weapon’s check. “So let me get this right, you marry Winchester and your uncle’s part of the business is yours?” Max asked and you nodded. “Do we all get promotions?” Abaddon asked, her red hair gleaming in the sunlight and a barely restrained laugh pulling at her bright red lips. “Oh you all will be my team that stays in the main house with me” you replied with a sharp laugh.

When she pulled the car to a stop at the iron gate you glanced up to look into the security cameras while she spoke to the monitor that she was your security detail. A few seconds later the gate swung open so she pulled in.

The property was nice, sprawling out in front of you. The garage was open and the inside looked like a classic car collection. Just from a glance you spotted a 65 Shelby, a 70 Coronet and a drop down gorgeous 67 impala. “Please tell me those belong to Dean” you muttered without meaning to earning a laugh from the interior of your vehicle.

She drove around to the front entrance and parked where a guy motioned for her to. You clocked the gun at his side before ever getting out. It was fair enough, you were carrying same as Abaddon and Alicia while Max had more blades on him than you would’ve thought possible before meeting him. “You must be Y/N” the guy greeted you the moment your feet stepped outside the range rover.

You extended your hand with a business smile “That I am. Normally I like to know who I’m talking to?” an easy smile slipped onto his face and you got the sense he was getting a feel for you even before he said “Name’s Benjamin Lafitte ma’am. Feel free to call me Benny, Dean does” You nodded and motioned to everyone in your party in turn “This is Abaddon, Alicia and Max” they all greeted each other then Benny motioned to the door “He’s waiting in the back garden. From what we’ve heard about you formal meetings isn’t really your thing” Abaddon cut her eyes at you so you rolled your eyes before saying “I appreciate a good impression being attempted”

You followed Benny through the main house admiring some of the artwork adorning the walls. It was a nice place. When he stepped to the side to open the doors leading into the back garden a redheaded woman was standing on the other side. With a nod to her Benny made the introductions. Her name was Charlie and it earned Dean a point in your book to learn he had a few women on his team. She joined your little group as Benny led the way past two fountains, a large swimming pool and what looked to be a firing range.

Three men were standing looking out over the property at the edge of the garden. Two were clearly John’s sons while the other looked to maybe be an uncle to them. Benny whistled out and the three turned to face all of you.

While both of the younger men were good looking your eyes were glued to the shorter of the two. He had bright green eyes that were watching you curiously and just the way he held himself was an underlying sense of control to him at all times. He was gorgeous and the smirk that slipped onto his face from your attention told you that he was well aware of that fact “You must be Y/N. I’m Dean” “Nice to meet you considering we’ll be married in a couple months” you replied with a sharp laugh. The smirk on Dean’s face spread into a grin “I’ve heard a few things about you” “Good or bad?” you asked and he shrugged “Depends on the point of view”

He introduced you to the two men standing with him. One was his younger brother Sam, the other was Bobby Singer the man who’d practically taken over raising him and Sam. Once everyone knew each other’s names Dean nodded to Benny “Call inside for some drinks for our guests while me and Y/N speak in private” his eyes had never left yours but you refused to break eye contact first.

He motioned towards a trail you saw cut through the wooded area around the property “Care to take a walk?” you cut your eyes back towards Alicia, Max and Abaddon. “Yeah those three aren’t letting me out of their sight that easily” he nodded then said “Pick someone to walk with us but you’re not in any danger here. That’s why we had no problem letting you keep your weapons” you raised an eyebrow then motioned to Max “Care to take a walk with us?” he nodded and fell in step a few feet behind you and Dean giving the privacy the two of you needed but not being too far that he couldn’t be to your side quickly if needed.

The two of you walked in silence for a few moments before you broke it by asking “Dean do you even want to marry me? I mean you clearly would have plenty of options” he scoffed and cut his eyes at you “Like you’d have trouble warming your bed up there sweetheart?” you didn’t blush easily and times like this you were glad. He continued by saying “This life is all I’ve known. Between our families no one would dare step out of line and we both have morals we stand by. Innocent people don’t get hurt by us. If marrying a beautiful woman with one hell of a reputation is the cross I must bear then I believe I have fared pretty well” You laughed in earnest at that “Dean Winchester are you trying to sweet talk me?” he grinned and christ it made your stomach flip “Maybe, is it working?” you shook your head with a grin.

He stopped walking and turned to face you with all humor gone from his eyes “I just want to say even after we’re married I won’t lay a finger on you unless you want me to. I know this isn’t ideal but I’d like to think of myself as a good man and I’d like to think I could be a good husband even in this circumstance” You tilted your head slightly as you studied him. After a moment of your silence he scratched at the scruff covering his jaw “Are you gonna say anything in return or just stare at me?” you smiled and replied “Just thinking that you really are not what I expected but in the best of ways” he nodded then glanced back where Max was twirling a knife between his fingers “Think our people are playing nice?” you nodded then said “They’ve got to get used to each other”

John and Joseph alike both had plans for announcing the engagement. Meaning that between them both they had practically planned a damn ball just for a bunch of suits to get together in one room so they could flaunt that their families would be becoming one to the rest of the world. You hated the idea of being trotted around like a show horse.

“Alicia is this damned thing straight?” you asked, turning in front of the mirror. The dress had been designed for you. The color and cut was flattering, it had a slit giving you access to the knife at your thigh not that you’d need it considering Abaddon and Max would both be wearing designer suits decked out with their weapons on display and Alicia like you had a few blades hidden under her dress as well. “Will you stop fidgeting? You look beautiful” she smiled, smoothing the dress under her hands. You spared a smile in the mirror “So you do! I love that red dress” she winked “Thank you”

A knock on the door drew both of your attention so you called out “Yes?” and heard Max ask if the two of you were ready to go downstairs. You took Alicia’s arm then opened the door. Max let out a low whistle “Well you two look amazing” “Thanks Max” you smiled and ran your fingers across the lapel of his suit “You clean up pretty well too” He grinned “Abaddon is already downstairs. Y/N your in-laws were arriving so she sent me up to retrieve you” you rolled your eyes but let him lead the way downstairs.

------

You stopped at the bottom of the stairs and spotted Dean speaking to Joseph but he trailed off mid sentence when he saw you and that smile slid onto his face. Joseph said something to him so he nodded then made his way through the crowd.

When he got in front of you and Alicia he stopped. She kissed your cheek then grabbed her brother’s arm “Come on Max let’s mingle. Y/N we’ll be close enough” you watched her go then turned to Dean with a smile “So how do I look?” he let his eyes trail over your body and you felt heat rush to your face before he finally said “You look like everyone here is going to be cussing me under their breath when they find out we’re engaged” you laughed and shook your head “There’s that sweet talking streak again” he held his hand out and when you took it he asked “Is it working yet?” you rolled your eyes playfully “No but I’ll be sure to let you know when it does”

------

For the next few hours you were close to Dean’s side. You danced with him and Sam, even Bobby asked you for a dance. Abaddon was chatting with Charlie and you spotted Max and Alicia talking with Benny and another of Dean’s people. He was a pretty decent guy, easy on the eyes and easy to be around. You could’ve gotten stuck with a lot worse.

When it got close to midnight you watched as John and Joseph walked onto the stage together. Joseph took the mic first “As most of you are aware John and myself are here to announce something” he handed the mic to John who pointed where you and Dean stood so a spotlight followed “My Oldest son Dean is engaged to marry Joseph’s niece Y/N. We couldn’t be happier and wish the kids the best in the world” Dean wrapped his arm around your waist as would be expected and whispered in your ear “Like they didn’t push us into this” you laughed lightly but to anyone else it would appear just lovers whispering sweet nothings.

For the next while you clung to Dean’s arm as group after group stopped to congratulate the two of you. You found an opening and pulled him after you towards the back exit of the hall. He waved off Benny and Abaddon following you step for step.

When you finally crashed into the cool night air a nervous laugh fell from your lips “Y/N are you ok?” you nodded then said “I guess it’s just I never saw myself getting married even in this life knowing this was a possibility and honestly I don’t know what it is about you but I’m not as mad as I was” “I hope maybe one day we can love each other Y/N. Even if our life starts like this it doesn’t have to stay like this. Our marriage may have been their idea but I plan to wine and dine you even after you say I do” he replied and you raised an eyebrow “Is it a challenge or making the best of the situation?” you asked so he shrugged “Maybe I just like you”

The two of you sat down on a bench just outside watching the night sky. A shooting star went over head so you bumped Dean’s arm “Make a wish Winchester” he turned to face you and the close proximity made your heart flip again as he said “I could think of a wish or two” you smiled and leaned forward to let your lips gently brush against his. He returned the kiss fully and when you pulled away to catch your breath you whispered “Me too” before he pulled you into another kiss.

Weeks passed after the ball announcing your engagement and during that time a day didn’t go by that you and Dean didn’t speak or spend time together. The more you learned of him the more you started to realize that while you hadn’t picked him it was as if you had he was nearly a perfect match for you. The only thing was he wanted desperately to have his father’s approval but he was twice the man John was. You just wished he’d see it.

You’d also started to spend some time getting to know Sam since he would be your brother-in-law and learned he actually had been enrolled in college to be a lawyer but when his girlfriend had been killed he ended up rejoining the family. He was now seeing a woman named Eileen but didn’t want it to be public knowledge simply because he didn’t want John around her. Knowing John you didn’t blame him and offered any assistance you could in helping him spend time with her.

------

Time rolled around for your final dress fitting so you, Abaddon, Alicia and Charlie were in the private suite of the bridal shop. The dress had been made for you so it fit perfectly. You stepped up to show them and they all clapped. “You look gorgeous and that’s with just a ponytail in your hair” Charlie offered with a grin. You smiled and twirled “Think Dean will like it?” Abaddon who had wandered off to the lingerie section held up a piece and winked “I think he’d prefer you in this” . You covered your face with both hands and Alicia cracked up laughing “Twenty years! I have known you for twenty years and I have never seen you blush!”

“Have you slept with him?” Charlie asked bluntly and you nearly choked on the wine you were drinking. “I haven’t done more than kissed him” “Oh my god!” Abaddon groaned, flopping dramatically into the nearest chair “Why?” you shrugged “We’ve been getting to know each other!” Alicia raised an eyebrow “You have real feelings for him” when you didn’t respond she gasped “You’ve actually fallen in love with him haven’t you!” your eyes flew to Charlie who sipped her wine quietly. “Charlie” Abaddon spoke more as a question than as her name.

Charlie looked up from her glass “Ok so maybe he’s fallen for you too?” the three of them piled into one chair then looked back at you expectedly “So are you going to admit it?” Alicia finally asked and you shook your head “Not to either of you three”

Two weeks before you and Dean were to be married you were at your condo in the city finishing packing up. The plan was for you and him to move into a property that was between Joseph’s and the Winchesters. It was large enough that you could both have those you wanted close but have privacy also. God help you had gone from horrified at the idea of this marriage to excited for it.

It was around two in the morning but you couldn’t sleep so you had music playing while you went through some of your older clothes and waited for Abaddon to get there. You heard a window break in your bedroom and grabbed your gun off the coffee table. You didn’t expect the pipe bomb that blew the front door off the hinges and threw you across the room.

You were barely conscious when you heard a voice say “With Joseph out the way we need her dead. We need to make Dean believe rivals killed her. That boy is so in love he’ll rip through them all. Grab her and we’ll keep alive long enough he’ll kill anyone when he finally gets her body” you tried to push yourself up but a black boot came into view. You followed that boot up to look into John’s eyes. He shrugged “Nothing personal sweetheart” then kicked you hard across the face.

------

When news made it to Dean that Joseph was dead and you were missing he felt his blood run cold. “What do you mean she’s missing? I thought you three had her back!” he nearly growled at Abaddon who was standing with Max and Alicia outside of Joseph’s estate where Dean had ended up going with Benny, Charlie and Sam at his side.

“We did! God dammit, I went to get her chinese takeout! I came back and her place was a wreck and these two were calling about the alarm going off at the main house!” Abaddon didn’t back down. She realized that Dean had a right to rage. He was in love with you but you’d been her charge and friend for many years. She’d die for you and wasn’t about to let him act like her and the twins didn’t care. “Well what now?” Benny asked and Charlie raised her hand “Has anyone checked cameras leading from her place?” Sam pointed at her “Good idea. Start there backtrack if possible. Dean we will find her”

------

How long had it been since you’d been taken? Did Dean think you were dead? Was he mourning you? Was John using him as a blunt instrument in his grief?

You were leaned back against a concrete wall curled into a tight ball. Your left eye was swollen shut, the right side of your head was sore to the touch from a blow that had needed staples but the swelling had finally stopped the bleeding. You were certain you had a few cracked ribs and more than likely some internal damage.

They’d showed you Joseph’s body and while he hadn’t been your favorite he’d still had taken care of you. John had stupidly expected you to die easily. You refused to stop fighting. You owed it to everyone you cared about to stay alive as long as possible.

You heard boots coming and forced your head up. John was right outside the small cell they’d shoved you into watching you closely. “Really I hate this because you’re a perfect match for Dean but I can’t have your morals fucking up my business. Right now Dean doesn’t like innocent people getting hurt but after I kill you then track down Sam’s new girl. The two of them? Well my boys will be ready to take down anyone I put in front of them” he smiled cruelly and you laughed despite the pain it caused “What’s so funny?”

You waved your hand showing the large slices they’d cut into your arms “You still think they’re anything like you or your dead wife? Those two? They’re good they’ll never follow your lead you bastard” he smiled humorlessly “We’ll see after your body gets delivered to Dean tomorrow” “So you’re here to kill me?” you asked and he pulled his gun out in response “Sure am”

You forced yourself to your feet biting down on your tongue to squash the noises of pain wanting to creep out of your lips. You refused to die on your knees. If you were going down it would be on your feet “Then do it you son of a bitch”

You held his gaze as a shot rang out but to your surprise you didn’t feel the pain of a gunshot instead John crumpled to the ground. You collapsed to your knees rather from pain or shock you weren’t sure but when you saw Dean standing there with a gun staring at his father’s body you began to sob.

You could hear familiar voices. Abaddon,Benny, Max but blocked them out. Thanks to you, the man you loved had been forced to kill his father.

You were curled into yourself when you felt strong hands on your shoulders “Y/N come on baby” you finally looked up to see Dean kneeling next to you. “I’m sorry” you choked out and he looked confused for a second then glanced back “It’s not your fault. I love you and if I had to kill him ten times over to save you I will” he gently pressed his lips to yours, careful of your wounds, then pulled you into his lap.

When the rest of the rescue team found you Dean barely wanted anyone else to lay a hand on you. He finally let Charlie and Bobby get close enough to look over your wounds “Nothing life threatening but she needs a hospital son. Your girl’s a fighter” Bobby said with a kind smile to you. Dean’s eyes were glued to yours as he said “My soon to be wife if she’ll still have me” you nodded crying again “Of course Dean”

“It’s taken a lot to get here but I am proud to say I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride” Bobby announced and Dean pulled you into a deep kiss.

The wedding was a lot smaller than anything Joseph or John had planned. There were barely thirty people in the garden of Joseph’s or well now your estate. It suited you and Dean a lot better. When Dean pulled back he smiled down at you “I love you Y/N” “I love you too Dean”

After the reception instead of throwing your bouquet you walked over and handed it to Eileen then winked at Sam “You’re next brother in law” Dean laughed and slid an arm around your waist “You heard my wife Sammy”

@girl-next-door-writes

#spn fanfiction #supernatural fanfiction #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester x female!reader #girl next doors make me feel bingo

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bakuhoes-slut234 · 4 years ago

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Bakugou x reader smut - Meeting His Parents

A/N: Readers quirk is Electricity. Her quirk is very much like Denki's, except much weaker. Reader is in UA but in the Support Class.

_______________________________________________

"Y/N! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!" Katsuki shouted from the bottom of the dorm stairs of the support class.

"HOLD YOUR FUCKING HORSES! IM ALMOST DONE!" She shouted back.

Today, Katsuki was introducing Y/N to his parents. They don't even know that he has a girlfriend yet. He just told them that he's bringing a friend over for dinner.

Y/N made her way down the stairs, smiling at how handsome her angry floof looked.

He was wearing black skinny jeans and a dark blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and sneakers.

Y/N wore a dark blue skirt that reached her mid-thigh and a white cross-over crop top, along with a pair of black heels.

Bakugou looked up at the sound of footsteps and almost died. In his eyes, she looked absolutely breathtaking, not that he'd ever admit it to her or anyone else.

"Fina-fucking-ly" he grumbled

"Let's go Kat, I can't wait to meet your parents!" She beamed and held onto his arm.

They walked out of the dorms and in the direction of his house. They chose to walk since he lived nearby.

They stopped infront of an average looking house.

Bakugou walked up to the door and unlocked it with his spare keys and gestured for her to come in.

They got inside and took off their shoes. Bakugou put on his house slippers that were by the door and Y/N pulled her own ones from her handbag and put them on.

"WE'RE HERE!" He shouted, making Y/N winced at the volume before putting on her best smile.

A woman with spikey blonde hair and red eyes ran to the door with a scowl on her face.

"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO SHOU-" she cut herself off as she noticed Y/N. "Hi there, you must be Katsuki's friend. You're so pretty!"

"Um... Actually... I'm his girlfriend. My name's Y/N L/N but you can call me Y/N" she smiled

She looked between Y/N and Katsuki and frowned.

"You deserve so much better, you know that?" She said bluntly.

Y/N's smile faulted as the blonde woman said that.

"What the fuck you old hag!? You can't talk to my girlfriend like that!" He shouted

"I was talking to her. Y/N sweety, you can do so much better than this gremlin child." She said, making Y/N laugh.

"I think I'll stay with this gremlin thanks"

"You better fucking stay with me" Bakugou grumbled.

"Well, at least someone will deal with his shit. Thank you. You can call me Mistuki"

"Nice to meet you"

"Move you fucking hag, we've been standing at the door forever" Katsuki growled.

"Don't talk to your mother like that!" Y/N swatted his arm, earning a glare from the boy.

Mistuki showed them to the table, where the food was already set up and ready to eat. Y/N was introduced to Katsuki's dad and then they all sat down to eat.

The whole time, Mitsuki told Y/N about all of the stories from when Katsuki was a small child and after dinner, showed Y/N his baby pictures.

"Thank you for the lovely dinner Mistuki" Y/N smiled.

"It's no problem dear. It's the weekend Tommorow, correct?" She asked.

"Yeah"

"Good. You and Katsuki are staying the night then. Contact your parents to let them know, or whoever needed and then Katsuki will show you to his old room" she smiled.

"Thank you"

Y/N stood up and pulled out her phone, telling her parents that she's staying at a friend's house.

Afterwards, she went to locate her gremlin and found that he had just finished washing dishes.

"You done?" He asked and Y/N nodded.

He wiped his hands dry and then grabbed hers, dragging her down the hall.

Katsuki opened a door and motioned for her to go in first.

The room was simple, a double bed, a lot of hand posters, action figures and some clothes laying on his desk. But other than the clothes on the desk, his room was extremely clean.

Y/N walked in and day down on his bed, just looking around his room in awe.

"Here you go fuck face" he said and threw some clothes at her.

She thanked him with a kiss on the cheek and a hug.

Y/N set the clothes down onto his bed and started to pull off her shirt, but was stopped.

"Oi! What the fuck are you doing!?" He said

"What does it look like? I'm getting changed" she snapped at him

"You can't do that here! I'm still in the room!"

"It doesn't matter, we're dating and I'm not shy about my body." She said and pulled her shirt off.

She looked up to see Bakugou red faced and looking away to try and hide his blush, or give her some type of privacy, she couldn't really tell.

She was about to laugh at his red face until she took in his whole body.

He muscles were tensed, face red and looking to the side, and Y/N noticed his pants starting to tent.

She bit her lip, thinking up either a really good or really bad idea, we'll find out which one it is soon.

She slipped off the rest of her clothes, leaving on just her bra and panties.

She walked up to him, going unnoticed since he was looking away.

She placed both of her hands on his shoulders, getting his attention.

He turned to look at her and blushed, feeling his pants get tighter.

"W-what the hell?" He asked

"Let's have some fun" she suggested and pressed her hips against his.

Bakugou groaned but pushed her away gently.

Y/N frowned and stepped closer again, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He tried to look away from her again but she grabbed his chin with her thumb and index finger, forcing him to look at her.

She closed the distance between them, pressing her lips to his and hummed.

His hands found her waist and squeezed gently.

He swiped his tongue over her lower lip, asking for access, which she gave him.

Their tongues fought for dominance and surprisingly, Y/N won.

Her hands moved to the buttons of his shirt, quickly undoing them. He shrugged his shirt off as her hands got busy with the button and zipper of his pants. She quickly undid them and then broke the kiss.

She slowly moved down his body, letting her fingers graze over his toned chest and abs on her way down until she was on her knees.

She tugged on his pants, silently asking if she could remove them, to which he nodded.

Y/N quickly pulled down both his pants and boxers at the same time, releasing him from the restricting material.

She stared at the size of him, blushing profusely.

"Oi! Don't just stare" he growled, but not angrily, but more needy.

"Sorry" she said and gently wrapped her hand around his base.

She slowly pumped him, watching how he reacts.

His head rolls back as he released something that sounds like a groan and a sigh.

With a little more confidence, she let's go of him for a moment, and moved him so that he's sitting on the edge of his bed.

She sits on the floor between his legs and wraps her hand around him again, this time pumping a little faster and setting a steady pace.

Bakugou groaned and growls as Y/N speeds up her hand movements.

Suddenly, she gets an idea.

"Hey babe?" She said and he hummed in response.

"Can I use my quirk?" She asked.

He looked down at her, fear filling his eyes.

"Don't worry, I won't use it very much, I just want to try something" she explained.

Bakugou hesitantly agreed with a nod of his head.

Y/N smirked but wanted to do it when he least expected it.

She licked his tips before taking into her mouth, making him groan at the new feeling.

She swirled her tongue around him and bobbed her head on his length.

This continued for a few minutes until Y/N finally thought it was time.

She pulled him out of her mouth, making him whine and instead, gently brushed her fingers over his length.

She activated her quirk, using a tiny amount of electricity.

She sent small zaps onto him.

His hands flew into her hair, gripping tightly as he let out a moan.

Y/N took him back into her mouth, satisfied with his reaction.

She wrapped her hand around the part that would fit in her mouth and stocking him, using her quirk.

Bakugou's moans got louder and louder. His grip on her hair, painful but nothing she couldn't tolerate.

"I'm close" he moaned out.

Y/N felt him twitch in her mouth.

She let go of him and forced herself to take in his entire length.

He groaned loudly, telling her that he was almost there.

She placed a single finger, right at the base of his cock and activated her quirk, quite a lot stronger than before, but not enough to hurt him.

He gasped at the initial contact.

Y/N slowly started to pull off of him. As her mouth slowly moved off of his length, her finger traced from base to tip.

"Fuck~!" He growled loudly as he came.

Y/N made sure to keep her mouth over his tip as she let him release into her mouth.

His body shook as he reached his climax, his breath ragged, body glistening with swear and face flushed.

She swallowed the load she was given when he finally stilled and then removed him completely from her mouth.

She deactivated her quirk and then got to her feet.

Bakugou looked at her with lidded eyes, still panting.

She sat down on his leg, careful not to touch his member, knowing that he's sensitive right now.

She placed a peck on his lips and handed him his boxers.

She got up and put on his shirt that he gave to her earlier while he put on his boxers.

"W-wait" he said as she lay down on the bed

"Yeah?"

"Don't you want me to return the favour?" He asked

"Babe, I did that because I wanted to, you don't have to do it for me. Plus, seeing your face contorted in pleasure like that was enough for me" she said and went under the blanket.

"You sure?"

"Aw, you're so soft after you cum. That's cute. Normally you'd be swearing at me by now" she teased. Bakugou didn't even have enough energy to glare at her.

She patted the spot on the bed next to her

"Come on, let's go to bed"

He lay down and placed his head on her stomach, instantly falling asleep.

Y/N laughed to herself and kissed his head before dozing off.

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schmuckyschmarnes · 4 years ago

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little break

i’ve had to upload this so many times now idk wtf is happening, hopefully this one sticks

Summary: Bucky has a nightmare and you do your best to take care of him. Warnings: Unintentional choking, panic attacks, lots of fluff. Word Count: 3243

Bucky Barnes is screaming. It isn't an unusual occurrence, and while you wish you could say you had a plan in place for the nights you heard the sounds ripping themselves from his throat, the simple truth is that the same bundle of nerves that unfurl themselves inside of you on every other such occasion make sure that tonight is no exception. The logical part of your brain reassures you that just like every other night, he will eventually fall quiet, or wake, and to just wait it out. This argument wins out every time. But tonight is different. Tonight your legs have reached the door to your room before you can even begin to wrestle with reason. And as you tell yourself that the least you could do is give Bucky Barnes his dignity, your hand is turning the doorknob. And while you whisper to yourself that this man might never be able to look you in the eye again, which would be a considerable issue in your line of work, your feet pad along the corridor until you find yourself outside of his room, standing with one hand raised to his door.

“Bucky,” you call softly, as you enter the room.

It’s almost entirely dark. The bedside lamp is switched on, and a thin paperback lay discarded just out of reach of his right hand, the sharp metal of the left is curled tightly around a fistful of white bedsheets. His back shines with sweat, the tops of his boxers peek out from beneath the sheets, and his hair has fallen to the side of his face, obscuring it from view.

You feel every bit the intruder as you stand half in, half out, unsure of what your next move should be, firm in the belief that he would not want you to see him in this state. You take a few more steps into the room as he begins to groan, the sound clenching around your heart.

“Bucky,” you try again, louder. He doesn’t move. Your new angle allows you to notice his furrowed brow and clenched jaw. His mouth opens again in another hoarse scream and this time, you launch yourself forward.

“Bucky-”

The hand that reaches out to touch him falls limp against your side as you find yourself pinned to the wall, cold metal closing around your neck. You scramble frantically, legs swinging and hitting against the wall. It feels like hours before you grab his face between both hands and force his eyes to meet yours. He drops you instantly and you gasp for breath as quietly as you can, intent on not making this worse than it already is. His eyes, wild, blink rapidly, and with one, two, three, recognition slams into him and he falls to his knees beside you.

“Shit! Are you okay? Did I hurt you? Of course I hurt you, what am I saying, are you-”

“Bucky,” you interrupt in a raspy voice, dropping your hand from where it was rubbing your neck. “I’m okay. See?” You sit up a little more to convince him of your blatant lie.

“I didn’t think, I just felt someone there and-” His hand reaches out to touch you but he changes his mind almost immediately, dropping it to his side.

“I know, Bucky,” you say, crawling towards him to close the distance between you. “You had a stranger in your room-”

“Not a stranger,” he says, bitterly, and you can hear the self loathing thick in his voice as he turns and walks away from you, the artificial lights bathing the room at his request. It suddenly feels so mundane, not at all the place that houses his deepest hurts.

“-and you reacted, any of us would have done the same thing,” you continue, as if he hadn’t cut you off.

There was silence, and then “Why were you in here, anyway?” and you're combing through the question for any traces of anger as you bite your lip.

Do you tell him the truth?

“I…well, I wanted to make sure you were okay,” you say, looking up at him.

“You wanted- oh. I was screaming again, huh?” He asks, and a sudden exhaustion settles itself on his face.

“I mean, only a little,” you offer lightly, and the corner of his mouth twitches.

“Enough to warrant a visit,” he counters with raised eyebrows and you smile sheepishly in response. “I’m sorry for waking you, I’ll talk to Tony about-”

“Bucky,” you begin. “I don’t care about the noise, shut up.” You pick yourself off of the floor and shuffle over to his bed, throwing yourself down onto it. He looks at you from the other side of the room, one hand rubbing his jaw and the other, heavy metal, hanging limply before him as if he’s afraid of what it will do when he looks away. You pat the bed and he looks at you warily without moving. You pat the bed more insistently and he finds himself walking over and flinging himself onto it so that he is laying beside you.

“Do you want to ta-”

“-No,” he replies immediately, and several feelings hit him at once. Shame, and fear, and anger, and the overwhelming thought that he is the biggest burden the universe has ever delivered, and yet, in the middle of attempting to hatch a plan to leave so that his friends would not have to be so encumbered with his issues, the fingers of his flesh hand intertwine with yours.

“Okay,” you reply simply, your thumb moving soothingly across his hand. “That’s okay.”

“I’m sorry, doll” he says, after a minute of silence. “You come here to check on me and I choke you and then I’m rude-”

“-You’re right, you gotta work on how you treat guests, you didn’t even offer me a drink,” you say, turning on your side to face him, still holding onto his hand.

He huffs at your teasing, and a second later comes back with “My mother would be appalled.” And just like that, he’s Bucky, no-effort, charming, flirty Bucky. You laugh and it fills the room. Bucky smiles at the sound. He closes his eyes, and then winces, opening them back up again so quickly you almost miss it. Almost. He lets go of your hand and reaches for your neck slowly, unsure. You tilt your neck for him to let him know it's okay, and his fingers stroke the angry red marks gently. You can tell he’s about to sink into a slew of self deprecation.

You push yourself up, leaning lazily against the headboard, and pull his reluctant limbs with you so that he falls between your legs, his head resting on the softness of your belly, one arm on either side of you, the same position you’d found him in when you entered the room.

You stroke his hair gently and he looks up at you as you do, his hand clenching around the excess material of your oversized sleep shirt.

“I was in the chair,” he mumbles, voice muffled against your body.

Your fingers stop their movements and your arms attempt to pull him closer once again, failing of course, until he slides his body towards you in acquiescence and the top of his head rests under your chin.

“I’m sorry that you have to relive something so horrible,” you whisper, and your hand runs down the clammy skin of his back before making its way to his neck again, you let yourself fall into the familiar repetition.

“I deserve to remember.” It’s loaded with venom.

“James,” your hand pauses its movements just as its beginning to numb, and rests where his neck meets his shoulder. He looks up at the use of his name. You press your lips to the top of his head once, lingering, before your hand resumes its travels along his back. “You’re giving yourself a hard enough time when you’re asleep, how about you give yourself a little break when you’re awake, hm?”

He mumbles, it sounds vaguely like “Ain’t no rest for the wicked”, and is interrupted by a yawn he fails miserably to stifle. You feel the familiar clench around your heart once more. Glancing at the clock in the room, you find both hands nestled close together at the number 3.

“Hey, how about we salvage what’s left of this night?” you ask. When he only looks up at you in response, you continue. “Come on, you get in the shower so you can feel nice and fresh and we can watch some TV and no sleep will be had, how does that sound?”

“Mmph,” he replies, lolling his head dramatically against you, and you laugh as you sit up, forcing him into a sitting position with you.

“You know it’ll make you feel loads better, come on,” you say, your arms still flung loosely over his shoulders.

He whines, honest to God whines, like a child who has been asked to pack away his toys before dinner and you bite your lip to stop from laughing.

“Come on, lazy bones,” you try again, prodding his ribs, and this time he moves, albeit slowly, to swing his legs over the side of the bed.

“You’ll stay?” he asks, turning back to you, and you notice he’s not meeting your eyes.

“I’ll stay,” you promise, and it’s a second before he nods, mostly to himself, and stands up. When you hear the bathroom door open, you spring off of the bed, placing the paperback on the beside table, and begin to strip the damp sheets from the mattress and pillows. Once you’ve located a fresh set, you embrace the struggle of lifting the mattress to stretch every fitted corner against it, and before long, the bed is dressed in shades of deep plum, its soft smell warm and inviting. You bundle the old sheets together and move to leave them in the hamper when you hear it. The water is beating down relentlessly against the tile of the shower, and it almost masks the sound, but then you hear it again, an unmistakable sob.

The feeling that seizes your body when you hear Bucky’s screams takes hold of you once more. Do you let him have his privacy, or do you go and comfort him? This time, propelled by the guilt of having suggested the shower in the first place, you walk towards the bathroom and push open the door the rest of the way, to see him curled up in the corner of the shower, his head in his hands, arms on his knees, his body shaking with the force of his sobs. Your shirt is on the floor before you realise you’ve taken it off and you’re left in a crop top and underwear. You open the shower door and he looks up at you from his position on the floor, his hair sticking to his face and his eyes red.

You sit beside him and lean your head on his shoulder, trying to ignore the discomfort of the water soaking your underwear almost immediately. A particularly harsh set of sobs takes hold of him and he gasps for air.

“Oh, angel,” you murmur. You manoeuvre the both of you into a position where you can hold him from behind, legs on either side of him. “Shhh, it’s okay, Buck, you’re okay,” you repeat, pressing your lips to the skin of his back, rocking him gently. His hands grasp your arms as he continues to expel air faster than he can get it in. “It’s okay, just breathe, honey, you’re okay, come on, like me, feel how I’m moving against you, big breath in,” you prompt, heaving an exaggerated breath so that he could feel it against his back. He attempts to mimic your breath but fails, and his body shudders. “It’s okay, try again, Buck, come on, take a breath in,” you say as you take your own, this time when he follows its less shaky, and his shoulders slump as he exhales. “Good,” you praise, the word stretching itself soothingly over him like a blanket. “Again, try and hold this one for a few seconds,” you encourage, taking another breath in yourself as the water beats down on you both, and he follows, holding his breath until you instruct him to let go.

The sound of the water disappears into the back of your mind and all you can hear is your voice and his breathing for the next few minutes and eventually, he slumps against you and you use the wall behind you to catch the both of you.

You reach for the shampoo bottle nestled in the small nook in the wall and bring it down onto the floor to join you. You sweep Bucky’s hair back from his face and he lets you, his hands still clinging to one of your arms.

“I’m going to wash your hair for you, okay?” you ask, and he nods after a second, still consumed by his own thoughts. You squeeze a generous amount onto your hand and apply it to his scalp, struggling with the use of one arm but not wanting to take the other away from Bucky. Your fingers scratch against his scalp and he relaxes against you. “That feel good?” you ask with a small smile, and he nods, so you take your time with it, massaging until the soap builds a small monument on the top of his head. “Okay, we’re going to wash this out now,” you say, moving him gently back under the stream of water, and using your hand to make sure you don't leave any traces of soap.

Next, you reach for the conditioner and apply it to his ends, this time gently removing your arm from his grasp, leaving a soft kiss on his shoulder to reassure him. With both hands available to you, you ran your fingers through his hair, searching for knots to untangle, finding very few. You rinse the conditioner and the soft nutty vanilla smell fills the enclosed space. With his hair finally washed, you grab the shower gel and loofah, and you yelp quietly when you accidentally squeeze too much onto it. Bucky turns to look at what you’ve done and a small laugh escapes him.

“I didn’t realise I smelled that bad,” he croaks, raising an eyebrow, and you smile. His voice is raw from the sobbing, but he was teasing again.

“I know you didn’t, I practically forced you in here,” you deadpan, nudging him so he knew you were teasing. You rub the excess gel onto your own skin before you push him forward a little and move the loofah over his back in soft circles. You bring it to his front, washing his chest and neck, and he holds your arm briefly again when it’s within reach. You bring the loofah back under the water as you go for his arms, his legs, and there’s a brief awkward moment where you hover at his belly, and he takes it from you, answering your unasked question, and washing between his thighs. You stand to return all the bottles to their nook in the wall and Bucky joins you, unsteady on his feet for a second. You take the loofah back from him and run it over the small of his back, his butt, the backs of his legs, before rinsing it off.

“You ready?” you ask gently, and he nods, leaning his forehead against yours. You turn the shower off and reach for his hair, squeezing the excess water from it, and then do the same for yourself. The water from your body drips onto the floor as you step out of the shower first and make your way to the stack of neatly folded towels. You grab one and turn back to place it around him, and then do the same for yourself. Your hair sticks to your skin as you try to towel it off and you give up when you look up and find Bucky, having finished drying off, watching you. He walks over to the door, not waiting for you when he leaves, and returns just as quickly with a shirt and a pair of boxers. “Thank you,” you say, relieved to be able to strip off the soaked material of your underwear. He nods again before leaving to give you some privacy.

When you emerge from the bathroom dressed in his shirt, you find him wearing a new pair of boxers and standing in the corner of the room. You walk over to the freshly made bed and settle into it, moaning softly at the feel and smell of the fresh sheets coupled with the effects of the hot shower on your sore muscles. You look up at Bucky and reach out an arm, and it’s seemingly all he needs to stop eyeing the bed. The mattress dips as his body joins yours on the bed, and your fingers lace with his as you pull him over so that he’s lying against you once more.

"Thank you for changing the sheets," he says, after a few seconds of quiet. "You were right, feels nice." You hum in response, squeezing his hand.

Your eyes move to the clock and you see that it’s 4:00am. It wouldn’t be long before people began to start their day and you didn’t know where to go from here. You reach for the TV remote with your free hand and it flickers to life with the press of a button. Bucky shifts against you trying to find a comfortable position and the hand that isn’t holding his begins stroking his back as it had been before you’d suggested the shower. You’re certain you could find something decent to watch, but settle for the ridiculous infomercials with their exaggerated voiceovers, laughing every so often at the dramatic questions they pose to the audience.

Bucky’s eyes flutter shut a few times, and every time, he shakes himself awake again, yawning against you.

“Close your eyes, Buck” you murmur, brushing your lips over his forehead and lowering the volume of the TV. “Just for a second.”

He shakes his head and continues to fight the exhaustion for another ten minutes, shifting stubbornly against you, until finally, you hear his breath evening out, and his back rises and falls steadily beneath your now still hand, and the ridiculous man on the TV is driving a motorcycle over a mattress to prove how strong it is. As your own eyes begin to close you realise you’re caged in by Bucky’s arms on either side of you, and it feels safe here.

A few hours later you jolt awake at a sharp knock against the door. It takes a second for you to recognise your surroundings and you squint, trying to adjust to the light. Bucky lies beside you, flesh arm slung over your stomach, face pressed against your neck, legs tangled with yours. He doesn’t react to the noise, his breathing still calm and even. The door is pushed open and you lock eyes with Steve who takes in the scene before him with a raised eyebrow and a smile tugging at his lips.

He didn’t sleep, you mouth at him. Day off?

Steve nods once and leaves the room, closing the door behind him, and this time, Bucky stirs.

“Y/N?” he groans, and you can hear the tired in his voice. “Did you stay here all night? I’m-”

“Shhh, go back to sleep, Buck,” you whisper into his hair. You wrap an arm around his waist and wait until he settles back into your neck before you close your eyes and drift off.

#james buchanan barnes #james bucky barnes #james barnes/reader #james barnes x reader #james barnes x y/n #james barnes/yn #james barnes x you #james barnes/you #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes #bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky barnes one shot #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes drabble #fic: little break

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eldrai · 3 years ago

Text

Skeleton Crew

Whumptober 2021 - Day 4 - Prompt: Taken Hostage

masterpost / read on ao3

Character: Garcia

Warnings: guns, mentions/references to gun violence, brief description of a dead body, canon-typical references to murder. This is a heavy one.

Words: 4.3k

Summary: A late night in the office, the team in California and an unwelcome visitor.

Penelope checks the weather forecast again and is intensely jealous of the team right now – the sun in California must be nice. Certainly better than the miserable downpours lingering over D.C.

Then again, sunshine is considerably tainted by child homicide cases, so it’s a lot less pleasant than a holiday. And the time difference is a little irritating, too—she keeps blinking and time slips by just like that. Two o’clock in the morning last time she’d checked, and for them it was only late evening.

With her search algorithms booted up and running, she has little to do except wait for it to send her hits. Her screens fade into her screensaver, bubbles bouncing off each other. Maybe she should change it up a bit. The default is sort of boring, now that she thinks about it.

The door squeaks. She scoots back in her chair and spins it around.

“Kev—”

Penelope trails off.

The man standing in the doorway is a sturdy build. He stands tall as if he’s used to it and his jaw is set, mouth pressed into a thin line. She swallows. Deep brown hair cropped short, dark eyes she finds herself compelled to look into and away from, his face registers as neither familiar or threatening. There is no ID badge pinned to his shirt. No visitors’ lanyard around his neck.

He does, however, have a rifle resting across his chest.

Her mouth goes dry. His easy confidence takes on a darker edge, and she has to tear her eyes from the gun to examine his face. Memorise every unique identifier just in case—

Well.

Just in case.

“Where are they?” the man demands. She’s taken aback at how young he sounds, how unsteady it is against the rest of his posturing.

“Where are who?” Penelope asks. She inches slowly towards her phone, sat carelessly on the edge of her desk, and wipes her hands’ clamminess away on her skirt.

“Behavioural Analysis Unit,” the man says. “Says they’re here.”

There is no air in her lungs and her insides are water, heavy and twisting. “The… the unit is here, but they’re away right now.”

Whether this will enrage the man or please him – his lined forehead gives her the impression it’ll be the former – she doesn’t care. Nobody smuggles a gun like that into FBI headquarters for a friendly chat.

“I don’t believe you,” he says. “Show me.”

“…show you what?”

His knuckles blanche as his grip on the gun tightens. “Where they are! Where they’re supposed to be, I don’t – you’re lying.”

Penelope shakes her head. She can’t leave. Her phone and her computer and her everything is in this room. The team are hundreds of miles away and the bureau runs on a skeleton crew at this time of night. She knows it’s irrational – she has as much chance talking him down here as in another room – but she can’t help it.

Stall, she thinks frantically. Buy time. Buy time for… for something, she’ll come up with something. Co-operate but don’t let him take her to a secondary location (does that count if it’s in the same building? She hadn’t asked. It hadn’t occurred to her.)

“I’m not,” she promises. “I’ll show you the office, I just… well, I don’t know your name?”

The man’s face hardens. “My name.”

“If you’re waiting for the team, we’re gonna be here a while,” Penelope jokes. Her voice sounds hollow. “I didn’t mean anything, I – I – normally I don’t get many people down here, so it’s nice.”

“Just show me where they work.”

Her hand clasps around her phone but his sharp gaze catches the movement and he shifts, lifting the barrel of the gun slightly. “And leave that here.”

She does. Moving slowly, waiting for his permission – or lack of objection, seeing as he’s not much of a talker – she stands and walks out of the room with him on her heels. The artificial fluorescents and unappealing beige strike her as unfriendly. Cold. This is not somewhere she belongs.

Her body isn’t hers. She isn’t herself.

“Okay, so this isn’t going to go well for you,” Penelope says, “but just so you know, it’s really really not gonna go down well with the rest—”

Metal cracks against her skull and white-hot pain saps her vision. She stumbles forwards, slumps along the wall to keep balance. She tastes the blood before she feels it: her lip is split where she’d bitten down with the momentum.

Her eyes sting with tears as he marches her onwards with the gun brushing the sore spot.

Penelope hardly expects there to be anyone around. That doesn’t mean she’s not awfully frightened when they reach the unit without having encountered so much as a janitor. Her heart races in her chest like it’s competing with her rapid, shallow breaths.

It’s so much different when everyone is away. In the day it gives her pause, to see the bullpen so still and quiet, but at night it’s downright eerie.

The man directs her to sit at a desk. He sweeps the phone off the desk and yanks the plug out by the cord.

“Stay there, and be quiet,” he barks.

The man prowls around the bullpen, pulling out drawers and rifling through papers left on the desks, glancing at name plates. He isn’t looking for anything specifically – she doesn’t think – but it makes her nervous just the same. She wishes he was. Then he’d leave.

His hand is never far from the trigger.

When he turns his attention back to her (and she curses herself for not looking, not finding some way to contact someone and let them know about the man, a gunman, here, breaking every assumption of safety she’s ever made) he moves jerkily. Almost twitchy. His eyes don’t settle.

“Call them,” he orders.

Penelope blinks. “I don’t have my phone.”

He reaches into a pocket in his cargos and tosses a cheap cell on the desk. She reaches for it as if it’s a bomb, handles it tentatively, glancing up at him intermittently. It strikes her as a risk, to give a hostage a phone, and some painful part of her points out he must be pretty desperate.

(She doesn’t want to have sympathy for him. She doesn’t. But…)

(She doesn’t even know his name and he’s threatened her life.)

Her fingers hover over the 9 for a touch too long and he lifts the gun. Penelope moves on. Though her mind has gone blank her muscle memory kicks in and she keys in Hotch’s phone number. She’d call Morgan but if they aren’t all together, it’s… probably better to let him know about the situation.

The man. The angry man. The angry man with a large gun. That situation.

Angry. And, she thinks as she hits call, afraid.

It rings.

Rings.

What if he doesn’t answer? What’s the man going to do? What does he even want? A stone settles in her stomach and she finds herself longing for the boredom not half an hour ago. Grey skies and thunderstorms.

The man shifts. His shoulders are pulled back into a firm line and – how’s he going to react? This is going to make him more stressed, which is going to make him more vulnerable, which is going to make him more danger—

“Who is this?”

Oh thank god. Thank god.

The man puts a finger to his lips and slices his hand across his throat. Penelope nods. She sets the phone on the table and wrings her hands.

“I thought she was lying,” the man says. “The phone makes it harder but it’s… it’s okay.”

“Who are you?” Hotch asks. “What do you mean?”

The man runs a hand through his hair as he paces. “My brother didn’t do what you all said. You said he killed them and he didn’t. You’re wrong.”

“I don’t know who you are,” Hotch says, “and I don’t know who your brother is. How did you get this number?”

The man jerks his head at her. Penelope swallows. Her throat itches like sandpaper. “…Um, hi sir.”

“Garcia? What’s going on?”

“That’s how,” the man says. “That’s why you’re going to listen to me.”

Her blood runs ice cold. Agitated, the man begins to pace.

“It must be important,” Hotch says, “whatever it is you want to say, if you’ve gone to these lengths.”

“Yeah, it’s fucking important,” the man barks. “I told you. He didn’t do it. Jamie’s not like that.”

“Jamie’s your brother.”

“Don’t!” he snaps. Penelope flinches. “James, call him James, don’t—”

“James,” Hotch corrects. The line crackles with static as the phone rustles against something. It clicks. “What did James not do?”

A harsh laugh. “You put him in jail for life and… and, what, you don’t remember? Ruin enough lives that you don’t care?”

“I wouldn’t want to think of the wrong James. I remember, but James is a common name. I’m listening.”

“He’d never do that,” the man says. “That’s what everyone said. It’s true. Jamie doesn’t kill people.”

“I think my colleagues can remember James better than I do,” Hotch says carefully. “They’ll listen too. Can they talk to you as well?”

“I don’t care!”

She has the sudden thought that if she stays still enough, the man might forget she exists. That she might not exist. Just stay outside her body like this, terrified and numb and freezing and hot all at the same time.

“I need James’ surname.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course you do,” he sneers. “And then you know who I am and then everyone’s making up shit about me too.”

“So you’re presumably holding an FBI agent hostage,” Rossi interjects, “and you’re worried about your privacy now?”

A pinprick of pain at the tip of her finger. She’s bitten at the skin around her nails, hadn’t realised she was doing it.

“No, I’m worried about getting arrested for things I never did. Like James. You’d – you’d want people to stop saying things if it was you.”

“Not really,” Rossi says. “What they say about me is true. So what is it you want, you or James?”

“He’s innocent,” the man says. “I want him out of prison.”

“Wrong people. You’d want the department of justice for—”

“Shut up! Shut up! You’re not listening!”

Pallid face reddening with rage, he stalks around the table and in one swift motion yanks her hair to force her head back. She cries out in pain.

“I don’t know who you are and I don’t really care but you have to listen,” he says. “Didn’t you hear me? Didn’t the other one tell you? I’ve got Garcia, right here.”

“Sir,” Penelope says. “Please. He’s got a gun. Just listen. I just want to get home.”

“See?” the man says. He loosens his grip. “You listen or she gets hurt.”

“We understand,” Hotch says. She wonders where Morgan and Reid and Prentiss are, hopes it’s the same room. “But without a name, we can’t help James and even if we could, it’s a much longer process to release him. We don’t have a say about that.”

“Bureaucracy and all that,” Rossi says.

“James Horwat,” the man says. “Ring any bells?”

It is a quiet but distinctive noise, the way he clears his throat. “Actually, yes.”

Reid. Of course he’d remember.

She loves him to death but she really, really hopes he doesn’t put his foot in his mouth this time. Not with the gun still levelled at her.

“You do?” The man’s voice lifts.

“He was twenty-three,” Reid says. “You… so you must have been Isaac.”

Isaac. It’s strange to have a name to his face. Strange to think about his parents, about him, the decisions which must’ve gone into picking a name. All the choices that led him here tonight.

“Yeah,” the man says, “yeah, you do remember. But James didn’t do it.”

“We found the evidence in his car,” Reid says. “We didn’t find anything to contradict it, where… where should we have looked?”

Penelope doesn’t take her eyes off the gun as the man – Isaac – takes a frustrated walk around the desk before he brings himself to answer. “I don’t know. That’s your job. James never hurt them and now he’s in prison.”

“We must have gone wrong somewhere,” Hotch says. “If there’s an innocent man serving time. I think you must have some idea what happened.”

“Everyone wanted it to be Jamie,” the man says. “It was easy. To get rid of him. They just said he did it.”

“Why did they want to get rid of James?” Reid asks.

“He wasn’t right,” the man says. “In the head. He wasn’t – it wasn’t his fault that he was like that. But he never killed them. Nobody ever listened. I had to come here. That’s why. Nobody would listen.”

“I know,” Reid says. “I’m sorry. And I think, I think you might know, I think you know this isn’t a good way to do it.”

Penelope freezes.

“It’s not right,” the man says, “what they did to Jamie. I’m not gonna let you try and tell me it is. I know how it goes.”

“It isn’t,” Reid says. “It’s not right. And I want to talk to you so we can help James but I can’t do that while you’re with Garcia.”

The man glares at her, and ice runs down her spine. Reid’s voice hurts—she wants to be there, with them. Wants them here. Anything but to be alone with this man right now.

“You’re doing it now,” the man says. He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, restless. “She isn’t going anywhere until you help him. I don’t want to hurt anyone. Don’t make me.”

“So you’re… you’re there with Garcia,” Reid says. “How did you manage that? I know you don’t want to hurt her but is there—”

“It doesn’t matter!”

She flinches. His voice cuts through the silence and lingers long after he stops talking.

“Let us talk to her,” Rossi says.

Isaac takes in a long breathe and his hands settle on the rifle. His throat bobs as he swallows. She doesn’t dare look up at him. “Tell them.”

“He…” Penelope studies his face – in a word, nondescript. No details which stand out. DNA is good but she’s not getting close enough to get his hair or his skin. She doesn’t like to think why those are so valuable.

She’s going to be fine.

“…he isn’t lying. It’s okay. I’m fine, I… well, it’s kinda cold up here, do you guys always keep the office so freezing?” Penelope says. She just hopes they know what she means. Not that they’d be the ones getting her out of here, not from California, but… knowledge is power, right?

(It has to be. It’s all she has left.)

“But yeah, I’m… it’s okay. He hasn’t hurt anyone, we didn’t even run into someone.”

Her chest aches and her voice is fragile. She pokes her tongue at her split lip, where the bleeding has started up again, hates the metallic taste. Fear. There’s something wet on the back of her neck—she cringes at the tacky feeling of dried blood.

“I’m not leaving,” Isaac insists. “I know they’re gonna arrest me. I don’t care how long for. This is for Jamie.”

“It doesn’t have to be a long time.” Hotch again, calm and flat. Like this is just any other conversation. “You haven’t hurt anyone and you don’t want to, and you’re just trying to help your brother.”

“I didn’t have a choice.”

“You’ve got one now,” he says. “Just let Garcia go, and everyone will understand.”

Isaac’s face twists into something pained, and Penelope sinks down in her seat. She’s not sure whether he’ll swing into anger or sadness and not sure how he’d react to either.

“I can’t,” he insists. “I can’t, nobody is listening! I can’t.”

“This is your best way out,” Rossi says. “Take it.”

His eyes are wet. “Do you know what they said? They found ‘em with – they thought he’d hurt them. He wouldn’t. Not like that.”

“Not like what, Isaac?” Reid’s quiet, soft. It works. It occurs to her that Reid must know, must remember.

Penelope hardly dares to breathe. Isaac’s hands shake with the strength of his grip on the gun.

“Jamie wouldn’t,” Isaac repeats. “He was good. He’d never. He wouldn’t do it to them.”

“To them.”

A pained sob. He’s an ugly crier, face twisted, choking breaths. “It was just us. He didn’t do it. It wasn’t for them. Jamie didn’t do it.”

Her fingers are numb despite her blood roaring in her ears. The room is a vacuum. She can’t breathe.

“I know,” Reid says.

“No!” the man barks. Penelope jumps. He’s moving, a hand raking through his hair, heavy, thumping footsteps. “You don’t. Just stop. I’m staying here. Don’t make me hurt her.”

Just over his panting, she catches the low murmur of voices in the background. Must be on their end. Maybe it’s the others coming to find out what’s going on.

“It doesn’t have to end like this,” Reid says. “None of us want someone to get hurt, Isaac. That’s the thing. We all want this to go well. And it’s best for you if you let us have Garcia.”

Isaac shakes his head frantically. “I don’t care about me.”

“You care about Jamie,” he chances. “He wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

“Shut up.”

“Just let her go,” Reid implores. “That’s all you have to do. We’re here. We’re still listening.”

His frenzied eyes settle on her for a long time. Penelope swallows back her own fear and meets his gaze, holds it until he breaks and looks away. Not threatening. Just a look. A last ditch effort to make him recognise the humanity reflected back at him.

To save her life.

“No,” Isaac says.

“Please,” she whispers. She feels it in her throat before she hears it, hardly a sound at all. He drums his fingers on the barrel of the gun and she wonders how heavy it is.

If he hears it, he gives no indication.

“Don’t do this,” Reid says. “There’s a lot of ways to settle this and none of them are going to hurt people. Don’t you want that?”

Through gritted teeth, he snarls. “Just ‘cause I want it doesn’t mean I’ll get it.”

“Penelope – that’s Garcia – she had nothing to do with it,” Reid says. “Be angry at us. Be angry at everyone involved but she wasn’t.”

She tastes bile. He’s trying to humanise her, and they aren’t so much negotiating as just begging him not to. This is Reid’s last-ditch attempt too.

What are her last words going to be?

Penelope has so many things to think and say and do and this can’t be it, this can’t be.

The silence cracks.

She ducks down off the chair, knees landing hard on the ground, ignoring the stinging pain as she presses against the desk. Someone is screaming. Glass splinters. Penelope squeezes her eyes closed and waits for the pain.

It’s her. The screaming. It’s her and she hadn’t realised. She chokes on a ragged inhale and forces herself to stay quiet, be quiet, hide and maybe he won’t find her and it might be okay and oh god is she going to go home tonight at all.

Penelope’s hair stands on end. Everything is quiet. Too quiet. The sharp crack echoes out and a sickly silence creeps in on its absence.

A wet gurgle. Her heart jumps into her throat. She cracks an eye open and sweeps the ground for the dirty work boots.

Blood.

Jolted into action, she opens both eyes and examines herself: arms and legs first – no bleeding – chest and stomach and she reaches a hand to touch her shoulders and shouldn’t a gunshot be screaming at her? Shouldn’t she feel the rush of wet heat and the white-hot flaring pain?

Penelope gulps. Her teeth are chattering like she’s cold. Every one of her joints has turned to jelly, weak and wobbly. The ringing in her ears surges back to life.

She can’t move.

She can’t stay.

Clinging onto the edge of the desk, Penelope peers around it slowly. Bright blood speckles the carpet, growing closer and closer until the dark pool of blood soaking a rough circle. It’s not just blood. Some of it is…

Solid.

She retches.

The man’s hands are clasped around his rifle. He’s sprawled out on the ground and she traces the line of his body with her gaze. Long legs. Black cargos. Bloodsoaked shirt. Hollow neck.

His humanity ends there. Everything else is splintered: fragments of a man he used to be. No eyes or nose or mouth or brain. Just blood and pulp.

Penelope scrambles backwards, elbows scraping the ground, legs giving out beneath her. She hits the back of a table and hauls herself to her feet, clinging on it for balance as dizziness crashes over her.

She closes her eyes. Her breath comes louder, rapid and shallow, and she forces herself to exhale through her nose. Just breathe. Everything else can come later. Without vision, sound comes rushing back.

“—there?”

The phone.

Somewhere.

She staggers to the other desk and grasps the phone like a lifeline. Wipes a smear of blood off the screen and tries not to think about it. “He… he’s…”

“Garcia, are you there?”

“I’m here,” she says. “He’s dead, I’m here, I… oh my god… I’m okay. Not okay okay because there’s blood and… him… and everything everywhere but it’s not my blood and oh it’s on the ceiling, that’s never gonna come out of the carpet and yep, the walls as well, seriously, that’s never going to look the same and I don’t care about the paint, why am I talking about it I swear I’m okay—”

“Breathe, baby girl,” Morgan interjects.

Penelope sobs with relief. “Derek Morgan, you wonderful, beautiful man,” she says when she can talk past the lump in her throat. She nearly drops the phone with her shaking hands.

“Uh-huh, just stay focused on me,” he says. “You’re all right. It’s over.”

“He’s… I know, I just didn’t… there’s so much…”

“I know. We didn’t really want you to see that, but, uh…”

“Sending people inside would have stressed him and he’d have reacted unpredictably,” Hotch says. “Otherwise we would have done that.”

“They’re sending someone up there,” Morgan says. “Agents Matthews and Singh. They’ll have their ID on them.”

She blanks out for a moment, talking without registering what she’s saying, then she pulls a chair closer to the – a – desk, untouched, and boots up the computer. The old terminal rattles. Probably the fan loose in its brackets, maybe the hard drive. It doesn’t matter.

Every so often she takes a deep breath and glances behind her for the agents. Or worse. Penelope keeps her line of sight high because she cannot bear seeing that again; the cloying iron smell threatens to choke her. Her wrist aches and she lets go of the phone, working against every instinct to hold it and keep it (because it’s all she has right now he’s gone but he isn’t and what if he wasn’t alone?) by placing it on the desk.

When the monitor blinks to life, he nearly gets herself locked out by mistyping her password – her hands are wracked with fine tremors and keep hitting the wrong keys – but her luck improves when she can just use the mouse for everything. Muscle memory kicks in and she’s booting up a video call. Voices wash over her. She just – she has to see them.

And it goes all staticky. Her stomach swoops as her mind jumps to late-night horror movies, severed internet connections and dark houses, but it clears up just as fast.

The first view she has is an unflattering angle of Rossi’s neck, the man unaware for a good few seconds, and Penelope’s tears turn into a watery laughter as the usual arguments ensue: Rossi complaining about the software, Morgan calling instructions from one side and Hotch from the other, both contradicting, Reid squeezing himself into a gap in the background to catch a glimpse of her. Prentiss’s saying something about men and Penelope doesn’t need to see her to envision JJ’s eye roll. The laptop ends up in her hands as she undoes whatever settings the others have accidentally triggered.

Just their faces, faint shapes blurred through the tears, is enough to set her off again. Someone cuts off the phone call as their voices layer over one another.

“—you okay?”

“—good to see you—”

“—is that your blood—”

“—have Singh and Matthews—”

“—hey, you’re gonna make Reid cry in a second—”

“—I will not—”

She doesn’t smile but her mouth twitches upwards at the corners, more genuine than a forced grin could ever be.

It takes the agents an hour and a half to get to her – sweeping the building first, and though there’s a substantial team doing it their buildings aren’t exactly small – and they stay on with her, all of them, the whole time. Crashing from the adrenaline, she ends up with her head leaning back against the seat and listening to the ebb and flow of their conversation. And Morgan offers to stay on the phone with her after that, too, as the EMTs examine a (thankfully) superficial head wound and Matthews drives her home, and in the end Penelope has to hang up so she can have a shower before she passes out right then and there on her couch.

She lies down for a moment before she dries her hair and…

The sharp rapping jolts her awake, heart in her throat.

“Hey, Garcia?”

Penelope bolts upright and hardly stops for a millisecond to check the peephole; she opens the door and collapses into Morgan’s arms. A gentle hand running through her hair – JJ – and Prentiss on her other side, she can’t fight the tears and doesn’t try to. She’s home, really and truly. She's safe.

#whumptober2021 #no.4 #taken hostage #criminal minds #fanfic #cm fanfic #garcia #eldrai does whumptober #criminal minds fanfic #cw guns

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mt-clydesdale-poke-santuary · 3 years ago

Photo

Welcome to the Sanctuary, I’m Dr Mal and today I’ll be your tour guide giving you a in depth look at the Sanctuary’s layout.

The Sanctuary grounds are actually a lot, lot larger than most people realise. Since we have the mountain itself under our jurisdiction, we have to patrol not only the former plantation land but the tippy top of the mountain too. As you can guess, that’s quite a bit for our team to focus on and it was overwhelming when we got started all those years ago, but these days we’re a well oiled team.

The map you see is our “Simple” map with paths, buildings, rivers and bridges, as identified in the key. This is the map you’ll find on our merchandise, pamphlets, and the front page of our website. Very easy to follow and accessible to visitors of all kinds. This map will help you when you’re on the move and just going along on a tour.

This tour though will go much more in depth with the maps, locations on it, and the purpose of each outlined are. So please do keep reading to learn more about Mt Clydesdale.

Here you have our full “Working” map, as we call it. All the locations are labelled and it’s quite a bit more cluttered. Meaning it isn’t as easy to parse at a quick glance and harder to read through when you’re just getting used to the area. Usually we have this map posted at each fork in the path along our trails and at the front desk for group leaders to pick up before they start on their way.

I’ll be breaking down this map into two sections, Pokemon & Human, but first lets get used to the key and all the icons there. On this map, all the maroon areas are human related buildings, that’s where the staff works or keep our equipment while the purple sections are strictly for the pokemon. Visitors are not allowed in those areas though they can get close.

The next icon indicates our waterways, all tributaries and off-shoots of the greater St John’s river, which spans the entire length of Yerette’s Dorcan mountain range. On the grounds, the river pools in two places to create Merton Lake, with Merton Island (named after the former plantation owner) and St Bennedict Lake.

Next you’ll see a clump of grass, that’s for our cocoa crop that’s currently producing a very good crop. We’re hoping to do some experiments with it soon.

Lastly you’ll see the path indicators. The beige dots indicate visitor paths, if you book a tour with us, you’ll be taken along the entirety of the Sanctuary with stops at buildings and closer looks at some of our pokemon in their natural habitats. Not all of course but the ones who don’t have a problem with human interaction.

The maroon dots indicate staff paths, these are separate from visitors and only to be used by staff. They are usually narrower and harder to walk along if you aren’t used to them. They also tend to be overgrown due to Yerette’s energy causing plants to grow incredibly quick.

And each place the water ways are intersected indicates a bridge, some are larger than others to accommodate visitors and tour groups.

First up, let’s take a look at our Pokemon map break down each number and it’s related site.

1. Clefairy Troop’s Dance Site: When the first fairy types started coming to the area, they would enter through our staff entrance (all the way to the right there), trek up the path then across to the very peak of the mountain to perform their dance. Over time, they started spending more time in the area, and on the mountain, finally settling down as permanent residents here. Leading to...

2. The Main Fairy Type Area: After the Clefairy troop settled in, more and more fairy types started being drawn to them and started making their home on the mountain’s peak too. Though fairy types do wander down the mountain and across the Sanctuary, they greatly prefer the submit of Clydesdale and the privacy of it. Fairy types tend to be secretive when in groups and thrive in raw nature, which can be found at the peak. Every week a group of researchers trek up to take samples and run tests while checking up on the Fairy home.

3. Former Watchtower / Shrine: There was a time after the collapse of Slavery and the creation of the Sanctuary that land developers were planning on building houses into the Clydesdale mountainside. One of their first moves was to build a watchtower at the peak, but they were quickly run off by the local ghost types who still hang around the area.

The Shrine there is one dedicated by the native peoples of Yerette and once a month a contingent will come to the Sanctuary to pray and maintain the Shrine. We have been granted permission to maintain the area around it and visit the Shrine ourselves, but we are not permitted to touch it or change anything about it.

4.The Main Ghost Type Area: Now you might notice that the ghost type area is directly below the fairy type area, that’s because both types, though peaceable today, are a little leery of each other and like to keep an eye on the other. For that reason, we make daily trips out to the ghost area to check up on the pokemon and quell any tensions that might be rising.

5. Merton Island: Located in the middle of Merton Lake (both named after the former plantation owner) this is where our water types love to spend all of their time. There aren’t any man-made structures on the island anymore but we do paddle out to it once or twice a week to check on the pokemon there. Sometimes, when there’s no tours going on, we’ll take a dip with our pokemon.

6. Former Production House: These buildings are some of the few that have withstood both time and the unpredictable energy of the area. They are as old as the cocoa estate that existed before the sugar plantation and are where both were produced when the plantation was in operation. We’ve done minor structural renovations to the buildings there but otherwise, they are in the exact same condition they were always in, which is what the pokemon prefer.

7. The Main Dark Type Area: And lastly, the place where our dark types hang out and make complete annoyances (affectionate) of themselves. There’s a reason they’re the closest to where people are, right in the middle in fact. Our darks love scaring people and playing tricks on them, so maybe be on your guard when you come around that bend.

And last up, our Human related sites!

8 & 8b. Mountain Observation Sheds: 8b is how we keep an eye on the fairy types and where we rest before we make a trek out to 8. Both acting as observation platforms and having enough supplies to last at least 2 days for whoever might be up there. We trek up once a week, and on the full moon nights, we head up to 8b and wait for the Clefairy troop to start over to their Dance Site before we follow stealthily. Those dances are some of the most mesmerizing things I’ve ever seen.

9. Renovated Greenhouses: These were originally the slave barracks back in the plantation days, where there were allowed to live and do a bit of farming of their own on the poorer land. It took us nearly 3 years to reclaim those buildings from the dense brush and then another year to ensure structural safety but after that we were able to start our greenhouses.

Moni, our grass type specialist and landscaper, has their office out there to keep a eye on the crops and experimental plants, and to get some time alone with the shyer grass types there.

10. Renovated On-Site Living Quarters: These buildings were all once know as the Merton House, aka the Great House of the plantation. Not much renovation was needed to get it up to scratch and we were able to preserve some of the original architecture. This is where me (Dr Mal) and Dr Jules live as the on-site supervisors.

This is also where the recovered archives are housed and where we hold lectures on the last Saturday of every month. For more information on that, please see our service desk.

10b. Research Labs: Originally this was just a portable tent I set up when I first came on site. Today it’s a proper building where we can observe Ghost types and run a sample of tests on the effect of Yerette’s energy on them. We also have tranquilizers and extra pokeballs stored in case anything might happen with the dark types and fairy types. A designated group visits every week but I head out there a lot more often.

11. Lake Bennedict Observation Site: When tours come through, we bring them to the Observation Site first and foremost. It is the most heavily renovated building on the property as it is our showing building and where we host visitors. Unlike the living quarters, we weren’t able to preserve much of the original architecture but we were able to find a very skilled carpenter who was able to recreate some of it for us.

The main building is where we’ll give lectures on the history of the area and tell the stories of the pokemon on the land. Usually to school children. The building slightly to the back are a hostel-like section where researchers can spend the night (with proper authorization and supervision) in order to conduct experiments and collect data on the land.

We do not offer this service to non-research personnel.

12. Staff and Equipment Rooms: This is where our Staff offices and break rooms are. We have all the modern accommodations of a regular office and the health centre equipment for any onsite injuries that might occur to either pokemon or humans. These buildings are entirely new and were built to accommodate our staff, the site being chosen as it’s closer to much less used Shrine entrance and lets us keep an eye on it.

13. Entrance and Welcome Area: When you come onto the compound, you’ll be directed to our reception area where you’ll be given a run down of our rules, provided a copy of these maps, and fitted with a security tracker. In the event of you being separated from your group, we’ll be able to find you with this and it must be given back at the end of the tour.

Anyone who does not accept a security tracker will not be allowed to go on thier scheduled tour and will be asked to leave.

13b. Staff Bathrooms and Lockers: Though most staff do not live on site, this is a pretty dirty job no matter what you actually do here. Sometimes you just want a hot shower before you start off home.

14. Visitor Playpark, Snack Bar & Washrooms: One of the more overtly fun parts of the Sanctuary for visitors. We have a playpark where some of our more gentle and social pokemon hang out. Also where our Staff can be found when not tending to the Sanctuary or not in the staff rooms. The name “Playpark” is a bit of a misnomer here, this is a cleared area of the Sanctuary where buildings are clearly hidden in the trees at its edge. Here children can play with our pokemon, parents and teachers can have a break, and you can have a lovely picnic lunch. There’s nothing quite like a lazy afternoon lunch on the grass in front of the Sanctuary.

And that concludes our tour! I hope you had a good time and learned something about our Sanctuary. If you’ve got any questions, our help desk and ask box are open.

#pokemon ask blog #pokemon fanregion #pokemon sanctuary #Map #Trinidad & Tobago region

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outlanderinteyvat · 3 years ago

Text

Welcome!

My name is Ali and while I was slightly intoxicated one night (Side Note: please drink responsibly) I had an idea after I thought about what Aloy would do while almost everyone complains about her/ doesn’t use her in game. I thought the obvious answer would be to travel it’s not like they’ll ever want to use her. Thus the idea for this blog was born!

Important Note:

I will crop out your UIDs to protect your privacy

You also have the opportunity to contribute if you would like:

You can submit a photo of your own Aloy

If you’re feeling extra spicy you could co-op with others and submit a photo you all take together

Here are the Rules for the Co-Op Option:

1. There must be at least ONE Aloy in your photo; this is after all a blog dedicated to her around Teyvat 2. Extra characters are allowed and are entirely your decision; if you want to have a Raiden Shogun or a Diona go ahead as long as you have the required Aloy

3. Like Rule 2 the location of the photo is your decision

4. Get as creative as you want

5. If you want to do this but don’t have any friends to co-op with in Genshin feel free to ask me!

If you choose to contribute I look forward to your “vacation photos”

#aloy #outlanderinteyvat #genshin impact #genshin impact x horizon zero dawn #teyvat #video games

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sleepless-in-starbucks · 5 years ago

Note

Human Au, One character goes into another character's room looking for him, the closet door is open, first character peeks inside looking for second character, but instead of clothes or the second character they find... something (idk what they found) -pineapple

Alright so there’s a lot of ways this could be seen but the thing I thought first is more or less

Remy and Virgil are roommates for whatever and Virgil needs Remy for smth so he wanders into his room and he’s not there so Virgil checks the closet

Remy’s not there, and while there are some clothes, they’re in a pile on the middle of the closet floor

Lining the walls and sat on the shelves, instead, are… weapons

Guns, knives, some arrows next to what might be a fold-able bow, blow darts, etc.

There’s a box that’s ajar and seemingly holding a dozen IDs sitting next to boomerang and the only outfit that’s hung up is a pressed suit

There are FIVE pairs of sunglasses stacked on top of each other as well and Virgil just wants to know what the FUCK is going on

Remy wanders in a moment later, while Virgil’s still trying to figure out his closet, and he’s just ‘yo babes heard you calling for me- aw, fuck’

Virgil turns to Remy like ‘what??? is this???’

Remy’s ignoring him and just muttering to himself, ‘stupid nosey roommates always get in my closet… no privacy… guess I should lock it but that’s my problem… ugh I liked this one too…’

Virgil, crying in spirit: ‘PLEASE give me some sort of explanation’

Remy: ‘yeah, sure, just uh… oh look! a knife!’

Virgil, a stressed fool, turned around to look, found that, yeah, there were knives but he already knew that, and what was that sudden sting in his arm that can’t be good when did the world starting getting all wobbly and dark-

Virgil wakes up about two hours later sprawled on his bed with a little smiley-faces bandage slapped literally over his hoodie

Checking the spot beneath the hoodie + bandage reveals a little red dot that Virgil knows well enough from when he gets flu shots

He groans

His roommate drugged him after Virgil found his danger closet

Getting up a few minutes later and checking around the apartment finds an unmarked envelope filled with next month’s rent sitting on the table and all of Remy’s things completely gone and packed up- closet definitely included

Great. His ex-roommate drugged him and left after Virgil found his danger closet that is now completely unexplained and will likely never be explained

Well, Virgil can’t let that stand

He wants explanations and by gods he’s going to get them!

Even though Remy’s gone, his presence isn’t completely erased. Virgil remembers him, remembers how he acted and where he went and a few other things

(It’s an anxiety thing, that he knows all this, alright? not stalker-y or creepy or related to the fact that Remy’s cute)

It takes a few weeks, triangulating all the places he went and making calls that are… weird, at the best, and downright life-threatening at worst, but everything just makes Virgil more and more curious until he’s standing in front of an abandoned warehouse that he’s heard mentioned five times in all his calling and is his best lead as to where the hell Remy went

He manages to break in through a window that’s missing its glass pane

Virgil’s confused at first when he finds nothing but a completely empty factory, decorated skillfully with old barrels and rotting planks, but he pokes around a bit and finds a trap door under a couple of marked ‘hazardous material’ containers

(Any other day, any other place? He wouldn’t have even thought of touching them- but here and now, all he could think was ‘where would I hide my secrets? underneath the thing no one would ever touch is probably a good idea’)

He descends the ladder within, dropping into a narrow passage that leads… somewhere

He starts to walk down it when the lights that lined the walls suddenly flickered off, plunging him into complete darkness

Footsteps echo in the hall until five seconds the lights are back on and there are six different people in dark, uniform clothing pointing guns at him

Virgil puts his hands up before they’re even asking him too, confused and unsure of what the hell was happening until there’s a ripple in the ranks, the people getting pushed and nudged to the side as someone presses their way in between them, making their way to the front, and it’s-

“Remy?” Virgil says the minute he sees his former roommate, though he’s- well he’s him but also not, sunglasses there but propped up on top of his head instead of over his eyes, still in ripped jeans and a crop top but their both plain black instead of being bright, garnish colours, a coffee in his hand but in a paper cup instead of a Starbucks one

“You’re- you-” Remy looks confused, brow furrowed, but eventually he just sighs, rubbing his temple before he says, “Drop it, boys, I’ll handle it”

The people with guns obey immediately, squinting suspiciously at Virgil as they holster their guns and shuffle away. Remy’s still looking at Virgil like he doesn’t belong there (which he doesn’t, he really doesn’t)

“How’d you find me, babes?” Remy asked, finally, after the silence stretched for a while. “There are some people who would kill to get here, though I don’t really think that’s up your alley.”

“I made a lot of calls.” Virgil answered hesitantly. He didn’t like implication that he had done something impossibly hard. “And triangulated a few locations. Just… small stuff.”

“Trust me, that ain’t small. Why were you trying to find this place?”

“I wanted to know why my roommate had a closet full of weapons and convenient knock-out drugs on hand.” Virgil snapped, annoyed.

Remy half-shrugged. “Fair enough.” He turned, already starting to walk away. “Come on.”

Virgil didn’t bother asking why Remy wanted him to follow or where they were going or what was happening or anything, really, because something told him he’d figure it out soon enough

They eventually reached the end of the hallway, and Virgil had to bite back a gasp of pure shock when he saw the room they entered

The place seemed to be a fully set up agency; the room they immediately entered had smoothed rock floors that were covered in various desks and screens, lights attached to the walls and laid within the floor as well, hallways carved into the walls leading elsewhere

Most of the desks were occupied by people dressed identically to those who had held Virgil up in the hallway, working diligently in their plain outfits, guns clearly hanging against their hips and making Virgil more than a little nervous.

“Welcome… to Nowhere.” Remy said, waving at the room before turning to grin at Virgil. “We call it that because, legally, this place? It exists nowhere. The warehouse over it doesn’t even exist- not if you looked for it solely through google maps and government records, anyways.”

“Doesn’t that seem a little suspicious?”

Remy shrugged. “Google maps makes mistakes. Government systems glitch. and if anyone happens to notice, well… most of them don’t have the luck of having had been roommate’s with one of the people who know this place is real.”

Virgil knew he paled at that. “I… hate that.”

Remy nodded. “Not surprised… come on! To my office!”

Virgil felt odd, shuffling past the desks with all the workers staring untrustingly at him as Remy whistled and more or less skipped by, taking them down another hall before ushering Virgil into one of the rooms branching off of it

The room was like the rest of the place- stone walls and floors- but with only one chair in it, set up before a desk + wall of monitors and screens paired with three keyboards and two computer mice.

“Have a seat.” Remy says, sitting himself on one of the outcroppings of stone sticking out of the wall. “We have a lot to talk about.”

And I won’t go further but basically the idea is that Remy’s part of a secret organization, one that’s entrenched in enough secrets it doesn’t even have a NAME. Virgil finding the place is a feat, so, of course, he can never leave. Like it not, he’s part of this place now.

Casting is basically

Virgil: Was just some random person, now works at Nowhere because they’d probably kill him if he didn’t. Doesn’t have an actual job in the agency, just works what Remy works.

Remy: Technical support/hacker. Keeps the agency a secret and deals with all the online stuff. Goes into the field when needed (hence having an arsenal) but he’s more of a stay-at-home man. Sometimes gets apartments when he needs them, but he’s bad at keeping the company secret, so it’s not often

Roman: Remy’s field partner when he goes out. I don’t have many more details for him except that he and Remy are highkey crushing on each other, which causes problems for the sake that a) Roman thinks Remy and Virgil are together/getting together, b) Virgil thinks Remy and Roman are together/getting together, c) Remy thinks they’re both cute but not interested in him. It’s called a convoluted love triangle except they ALL get together because that’s the only thing I write hscbjch

And,,,,, that’s all I have. Hope you like it shdcfbsjdfcsd

#no thoughts whatsoever as to the others but oh well #also I put this on queue so when this posts I'll be at school #just a heads up #the cryptid speaks #the cryptid answers #ts virgil #ts roman #ts remy #ts sleep #pineapple anon

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lizallanapologist · 5 years ago

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The problematic behavior of Tomdaya stans; a thread

Some of you might not be aware of the stalkerish problematic stuff tomdaya stans have done with Tom and Zendaya’s life but it’s gotten to the point where Tom’s own brothers protect with big scrutiny every single female in Tom’s life because they fear they’re going to get bullied or harassed. This is not OK and this has to stop so we’re exposing their toxic behavior.

This is only to bring awareness and we do not condom any hate or death threats, don’t send hate to tomdaya accounts, either block them or report them but don’t bully them. Many of them might need professional help dealing with the fact that Tom and Z are not together due to the fact that they created an illusion in their heads for a long time but that doesn’t mean some of them aren’t plenty manipulative and love to get away with bullying and harassment.

If you don’t know, Tom was recently seen with another woman on his instagram, not going to say the name and please don’t try to find out about her, the relevant information is in this post and all of the private information regarding her is being protected for the same reasons. Many stans decided to apply the same treatment to her as they did to Olivia. If you don’t know what happened last year, all information is here. The fact that this kind of bullying and harassment got overlooked is horrifying.

This specific behavior doesn’t apply to all of the stans but the vast majority is on the same page.

A big thanks to all the blogs who contributed with information and their writing in this post.

STALKING

1. Tomdaya stans have made an entire thread/timeline of events in Tom and Zendaya's life that they manipulated so it can be seen as proof of them dating. They stalk every single part of their lives, from paying stalkerish apps to review their instagram activities daily to having a constant GPS to know their exact locations everyday. They ask twitter accs, owners of restaurants/stores, people close to them information about their whereabouts/the things they buy or eat/who they were with, etc.

They order their ‘’interactions’’ with specific dates and they even know information you shouldn’t know about them.

They pay for apps that helps them stalk their every move. That’s right, they take every like as proof of them being together.

They hide behind the pretext that they're celebrities and this is what they've signed up for but neither Tom nor Zendaya have signed up for constant daily harassment of their partners in life.

HARASSMENT OF PARTNERS

Tom was seen last year with a blonde girl called Olivia, everyone speculated that was his girlfriend and that was something everyone should’ve respected since it’s Tom’s life and he’s in control of it, instead, many fans including Tom H. crazy fans and tomdaya stans, decided to stalk and harass Olivia to the point she had to make her account private. They started bullying her by publicly calling her names like ‘’Olive Oil’’, ‘’Ugly old woman’’, ‘’Ugly fake bitch’’ among other names. They continuously compare her with Zendaya and write on her friends and family members’ social media and ask them to tell Olivia nasty things. You really think this is ok?

Same is happening with the girl Tom was seen with. Tom’s own brothers asked several people to take down and delete the video because they were disrupting her privacy. Many stans didn’t care and started all over again harassing the girl. (I’m not posting images or the identity of this new girl in hopes that this helps maintain a little big of privacy for her.)

However here are some examples of them harassing Olivia:

’’I saw a troubling post on twitter about this fan dming another fan saying that they’d kill her (Olivia). That they’d find a way. So that “the fans can have him all to ourselves” - source

MANIPULATING THE NARRATIVE

Tomdaya stans and some Tom Holland crazy stans love to harass Tom Holland to the point that they tag family members and friends only because he decided to go out in public with Olivia. They call him cheater, manipulator, a dumbass, made fun of him because Tom is dyslexic calling him an illiterate, mocked him and tried to cancel him in every opportunity given by manipulating everyone into thinking some of these ‘’facts’’ are true.

Many fans don’t know better and go to social media to frame Tom as a scumbag because many tomdaya stans have convinced the public of this.

This same issue occurs with Zendaya. Her known boyfriend; Jacob Elordi, is frequently called a cheater and is being investigated every five seconds on every social media, candid, interaction ever. Many fans are already calling him cheater, telling everyone Zendaya’s changed her behavior thanks to Jacob and that she needs help.

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BULLYING

The definition of cyberbullying according to Stopbullying.gov:

“Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets. Cyberbullying can occur through SMS, Text, and apps, or online in social media, forums, or gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content. Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else. It can include sharing personal or private information about someone else causing embarrassment or humiliation. Some cyberbullying crosses the line into unlawful or criminal behavior. “

Examples of cyberbullying on Tumblr from good ole Toutdesuite360:

https://toutdesuite360.tumblr.com/post/190572803098/faces-haha-ive-heard-this-has-been-memed-when

Making fun of Jacob Elordi’s wealth… but that isn’t that only thing that the Tomdaya stans have done.

She basically implied that Olivia looked like an elderly lady, and she permitted her followers to humiliate her.

Funny, that a middle aged woman who has never revealed her face on her blog is bullying a young woman.

(She may have deleted the link to save her a** on the post with the Cher pictures, but thankfully @crazypeopleonfandom took screenshots of this post; I got most of my photos from them)

The next aren’t pertaining to the ‘innocent’ Toutdesuite360, just some random jerks from Twitter/Instagram. If you have the time, you can read through them.

See the pictures above and below for reference.

Labelling Zendya, Jacob E., Tom, and Olivia as cheaters, when there was no confirmed relationship between Tom and Z, and Jacob broke up with Cari already is plain disrespectful. These are type of claims are considered slander, and I’m surprised that the people who own these accounts haven’t been rightfully sued.

And remember when I talked about the repetition of people tagging Tom and Z’s family for their ‘thoughts’? Why are you tagging Nikki in your post?

Calling Olivia, once again, a vulgar word that shouldn’t be used for any woman.

This person and many other tomdayas are harassing Zendaya and Tom by tagging them repeatedly. Now we know why Tom stopped using Twitter, and why he may be taking breaks from social media.

And, as pointed out in another point on the thread: Tom has dyslexia! I easily ignore the posts that tease him about his lips, but when it comes to his disability, that crosses the line. It is unacceptable to bully someone just because your fantasy relationship doesn’t seem so real now.

Before I finish this point, I just want to remind people that celebrities are humans too. Everyone has feelings, and even if they haven’t seen these posts, it is still harmful to post this kind of information on your account. Fans who are young (or naive) may see these posts, thus making them believe that Tom actually cheated on Z, and that Z is really with Jacob as ‘payback’ to Tom. Bullying is still an ongoing issue, and maybe you should stop harassing/humiliating people on your platform.

DEATH THREATS

Olivia, Tom and his family, friends, Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, etc. They were sent death threats as a result of a fictional ship. This is truly upsetting and we’ve shown some proof of that above and it’s truly sickening how many of them really want to attack Olivia in public only because of a few photographs.

DEBUNKING EVIDENCE

While we don’t know anything for sure, we need to trust and respect what Tom and Zendaya have said several times: they were never together and they were just friends. This is a topic that makes them feel uncomfortable and tomdaya stans decide to twist their words every time they want to clarify the situation, saying they’re hiding their relationship and that they’ve been hiding it for over 3 years.

Stop believing everything SpideyParker on YouTube says, that person desperately wants them together so they’ll do anything in their power to make it seem like that they’re ’’still together’’. All of their evidence is also nothing but scraps. I can also make a video cropping out certain individuals from the frame to make it look like Tom is with someone or I can also investigate every tiny detail to a borderline degree to make it seem like Zendaya is dating someone. It’s really easy to manipulate the truth, so don’t fall for these things so easily. Check with the real sources, Tom and Zendaya. Trust and respect what they say it’s not your job to investigate and figure their lives out.

Their evidence of the relationship is ridiculous, stuff like them wearing the same clothes,

because obviously there’s no way this jacket is in any random store in the world...This is a unique jacket, made by Tom and Z specifically...And it’s not even the same jacket. If we’re going by their logic, then

More, more, more and more.

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Robert Downey Jr. and Tom have been in a relationship for a long time...

Angourie, Remy and Tom wearing the same jacket.

I have no idea what’s going on with the freaking necklace you swear with blood that Zendaya gave him but that’s hardly something special:

Matching necklace with Olivia.

Avengers necklace.

He likes necklaces, nothing special here.

'’Tom only goes to Zendaya’s home, and only goes out with her!’’

Tom Holland went to RDJ's house to watch Black Panther with him.

Tom and RDJ facetime daily.

Obviously, his only friend is Zendaya...

Look at him and Zendaya there, wow.

‘‘Tom looks at her with heart eyes and in a very special way!’‘

Excuse me, what is he supposed to do? Ignore Zendaya and look somewhere else every time she talks?

He literally looks at everyone the same way.

‘‘He only does Spider-Man because he wants to be the Peter Parker to his Mary Jane, one of the most romantic comic book couples!’‘

I can’t believe I once read this as proof but I haven’t forgotten about it.

Interview with Tom and Laura:

“Is Zendaya’s character Mary Jane Watson?’’

Tom Holland: “No, no! This is one of those rumours, that like, we’ve all said it’s not true.

Laura Harrier: It’s not true!

Tom Holland: Like, we keep on… You guys keep building yourselves up for disappointment.

Laura Harrier: Unless we don’t know how this started? Because you guys are gonna see this movie and be like “…Ugh.” She’s Michelle!

Tom Holland: She’s a character called Michelle.

Laura Harrier: She’s playing Michelle.

Tom Holland: 100%. Hands down. Her character’s called Michelle. And she’s sort of this weird, quirky one in the friendship group that Peter has. She’s funny, but she’s super strange.

Laura Harrier: Yeah, super dry humour.

Tom Holland: She’s 100% not Mary Jane. It’s funny, everyone’s like “Is she Mary Jane?” and I’m like NO, I’M TELLING YOU! SHE’S NOT MARY JANE!

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‘‘He did the Will Smith thing with her, he loves her!’‘

‘’He only ever talks about her! He only praises her!’’

Angourie Rice.

Robert Downey Jr, 2, 3

Laura Harrier, 2

Elizabeth Olsen.

Jacob Batalon.

Chris Hemsworth.

Jake Gyllenhaal.

And the list goes on and on.

‘‘He always goes to her special events only! He only goes to her parties! He only goes to hospitals with her! He was on the set of Euphoria with her!’‘

How about, he goes out with her and everyone else in group and individually? He goes out with Harrison alone, with Jacob alone, with Laura alone, etc. I love how many of them love to leave out certain people to make everyone believe it’s only the two of them. And he doesn’t only goes to hospitals with her, he’s gone with many other people and he does it because he’s a good person, not because he’s on a date with Zendaya.

Tom AND Jacob visit Zendaya on the set of the Greatest Showman.

Tom and friends celebrating Harrison’s birthday party.

Tom on a double date.

Tom going to Joe Russo’s restaurant to get an exclusive cooking lesson from Jessica Largey.

Tom on birthday parties.

Tom, Laura, Harrison and Harry out for dinner in Brazil.

Tom, Brie Larson, Tessa Thompson, and Zachary Levi in a club in Brazil.

Tom, Laura, Jacob, Harrison in a pool party.

RDJ & Tom Holland visit Jon’s restaurant and participate on his show.

Tom Holland visits Doctor Strange’s set.

Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo, Joe Russo visit haunted attraction.

He’s a good person and loves supporting his friends.

‘‘He only has chemistry with her!’‘

Tom and RDJ’s extraordinary chemistry.

Tom and Jake’s chemistry.

Tom and Jacob’s chemistry.

Tom and Laura’s chemistry.

Tom and Daisy’s chemistry.

Tom and Chris Pratt’s chemistry.

Also Will Smith, Chris Hemsworth, etc.

Look below for Ciara and Tom’s chemistry.

Like I said before, maybe he’s a good actor and that’s it?

‘‘Their FFH kiss was too real and magical!’‘

Spoiler alert for Cherry

Fan about witnessing Tom’s kiss with Ciara Bravo:

His reaction about kissing Laura Harrier:

‘‘He LOVES touching her’‘

I’m sorry, is he supposed to be scared of touching people?

This is it. This is the big touch they always talk about and the only times they’ve ever held hands is in manips or in FFH, but that doesn’t count, those are fictional characters. Well...

Maybe he’s a touchy person. Consider that.

’’She’s the only one that knows him well!’’

How well do Zendaya, Jacob, & Laura know Tom?

I’m sure Harrison, RDJ, his friends and others know him pretty well too.

And only because he knows she likes ice cream doesn't mean she’s his ultimate soulmate or something blown out of proportion.

‘‘He’s only a gentleman with her!’‘

Tom saves Gina Rodriguez

Tom rescues fan

Karen Gillan

‘‘He looked way too in love with MJ to be fake’‘

Nope.

Nope 2

Nope 3

It’s called acting, pretty sure you guys know by now he’s good.

‘’They’re inseparable!’‘

Jacob, Tom and Harrison

Also, why is it that every female in his life is his cousin, aunt, close childhood friend or ‘’he probably hates her’’ for you?

They’ve said this multiple times but:

In an interview with Elle, Tom said he is not involved with anyone at the moment but is "definitely a relationship person." And when addressing the rumors, he says it’s uncomfortable and annoying when people ship him and Zendaya together.

Zendaya also denied the claims, telling Variety Magazine that she and Tom were simply ‘just friends’.

You can ship them if you want, as a bromance or cute chemistry, but not at the expense of someone else. Not when you violate their privacy, their lives and specially not when you bully, harass and stalk every detail of their lives.

Zendaya is clearly very happy with Jacob Elordi:

Let her have that. No, she doesn’t look miserable with him, no, he didn’t change her style or her personality. No, she doesn’t dress differently because of him. She is the same as always, she looks even happier. Let her be. This is good for her. She has every right to go out in public with her boyfriend. And for the love of god, stop commenting on her instagram posts ‘’warning’’ her that Jacob is going to cheat on her. Hopefully that won’t happen ever.

And no, they’re not going to magically ’’get back together’’ when Spider-Man 3 starts filming, stop wishing bad luck on Zendaya and Jacob’s relationship. Tom is not going to magically realize how ‘’wrong’’ he was for ‘’leaving’’ Zendaya. He never left her, he’s her friend.

All of this have gotten to the point where Tom can’t have a friendship with a female and he has to ‘’protect’’ them every time he wants to interact with them. Do you guys seriously think this is ok? Are you really a fan of his if this is how you want him to live? Controlling him all the time?

Do you realize how wrong and unfair it is for the other partner every time you comment in every single picture on instagram, twitter, etc about how ‘’cute’’ Tom and Zendaya are? About how ‘’ugly’’ Olivia is? How about when you compare Zendaya and Olivia, or every single female in Tom’s life? Or when you comment on Zendaya’s instagram telling her she is different now and that you don’t like her now because she’s changed for Jacob? Telling her that Jacob is going to cheat on her? Stop sending death threats to the partners, stop tagging their families in your ‘’evidence/proof’’ posts/tweets. Just because they don’t voice these things doesn’t mean they don’t read them.

Being sincere, if you all, as a collective; really, genuinely cared about Tom, this is the last thing you would wanna pull. In your endless obsession with thinking you have a right to dictate the life of a man simply because he's famous; actually stopped once to consider how this is possibly making Tom and Zendaya feel?? You are basically sending the message that nobody is enough, that him being happy isn't enough, that he won't ever be allowed to be happy until he gets with the person YOU think is best for him. Fucking abhorrent, how they don't have a choice on who they choose to fucking love. This is how you make a celebrity jaded. THIS is how you make a celebrity hate you. And he will, unless you stop your bullshit, and treat him; and whoever he decides to be with, like human beings.

When you focus only on two people it’s easy to believe anything, try and see the bigger picture. Allow Zendaya and Tom to enjoy their lives without harassing them and their partners.

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