#emily davis imagines

[ruewrote]

𝑖 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢.

PAIRING: emily davis x fem!reader WARNINGS: yearning, no use of y/n GENRE: angsty fluff SONG INSPIRATION: war of hearts by ruelle WORD COUNT: 1.1k

navigation | ask | emily davis masterlist

you sat on the worn leather couch, legs tucked beneath you, a mug of hot chocolate in your hands. across from you, emily leaned against the window, arms crossed, staring out into the snowy landscape with a frown on her face.

it had been her idea to come to the lodge. well, technically it was a ‘group’ trip, but somehow, the two of you had ended up alone together,  it wasn't the first time.

maybe it was fate or maybe just bad luck, but it seemed like no matter what, you and emily always found yourselves in these near miss moments. so close to something more, yet never quite crossing that line.

you took a deep breath, determined not to let her moodiness affect your own. "hey," you called out, your voice soft but full of cheer, "is it just me who thinks this place is kind of magical? the snow, the fire… it's like something out of a movie."

emily glanced at you briefly, her expression unreadable, before returning her gaze to the window. "sure," she muttered, her tone flat. "if you're into that kind of thing."

you smiled despite her gruff response. it was part of her charm, after all. her grumpiness, her sarcasm. but there was something underneath the exterior that made you keep coming back. 

you just wished she’d let you in, just a little more.

setting your mug down, you got up and walked over to her side, gently nudging her shoulder. "come on, emily. can't you at least try to enjoy this? it's not every day we get to escape everything and just… be."

she shot you a sideways glance, her lips twitching like she was fighting a smile, but she quickly masked it with a sigh. "i’m here, aren’t i? isn’t that enough?"

you laughed softly, shaking your head. "i guess. but i was hoping for a little more enthusiasm." you leaned against the window beside her, close enough that your shoulder almost brushed hers. "how often do you get to unwind like this?"

emily shrugged, her dark hair falling in her face. "not really my idea of unwinding."

you frowned slightly, genuinely curious. "then what is?"

there was a long pause before emily finally answered. "i don’t know. something quieter. less people, less… stuff."

"less me?" you teased lightly, trying to keep the mood light despite the sudden tightness in your chest.

her eyes flickered toward you, and for a second, you swore you saw something soften in her expression. but just as quickly as it came, it vanished. "that’s not what i said."

you tilted your head, watching her closely. "but it’s kind of what you meant, right?"

emily groaned, running a hand through her hair. "no, it’s… i just don’t get why you’re always so… you."

you blinked, taken aback. "what is that supposed to mean?"

"you’re always… happy. always looking on the bright side. it’s exhausting sometimes." her voice was sharp, but there was something vulnerable underneath it. "like nothing ever gets to you. don’t you ever just–" she stopped herself, pressing her lips together tightly.

"feel like i’m faking it?" you finished for her softly. "like i’m too much?"

her silence was answer enough. 

you sighed, leaning your head back against the window and staring up at the wooden beams above. "it’s not that i don’t get sad or frustrated, you know. it’s just that… i try to focus on the good stuff. even when things aren’t perfect." you paused, glancing at her out of the corner of your eye. "like right now. we’re in this amazing place, and i’m here with my favorite person, so i’m choosing to enjoy it."

emily’s frown deepened, but she didn’t look away this time. her eyes lingered on you, something unreadable behind them. "you… you don’t have to be all sunshine and rainbows around me, you know."

you let out a soft laugh, not sure if that was a compliment or a critique. "i know. but that’s just how i am. and… maybe i like trying to get you to smile every now and then."

her lips twitched again, and this time, she didn’t try to hide it. "good luck with that."

for a second, the tension between you was thick. the fire crackled softly in the background, the snow outside adding to the quiet stillness of the lodge. you were standing so close now, the warmth of emily’s presence radiating through your skin. your heart thudded in your chest, a nervous flutter in your stomach as you weighed your next words.

say something. take another step.

but just as you opened your mouth, emily pulled away, breaking the moment. "i’m going to bed," she mumbled, avoiding your gaze. "it’s late."

disappointment curled in your chest, but you forced a smile. "yeah, sure. goodnight, emily."

she gave a curt nod and disappeared down the hall toward her room. you stood there for a long moment, staring at the space she’d just left, feeling like something important had just slipped through your fingers.

the next morning, the lodge was quiet, except for the soft patter of snow falling outside. you found emily in the kitchen, already dressed, her hands wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee. she didn’t say anything as you approached, but there was something different about her, like the usual wall between you had a crack in it.

"morning," you said softly, grabbing a mug for yourself.

emily glanced up at you, her brow furrowed. "i was thinking about what you said last night."

you blinked, caught off guard. "you were?"

"yeah." she hesitated, her fingers tightening around her mug. "about how you see the good in things. and how you… put up with me."

you frowned, leaning against the counter. "i don’t ‘put up’ with you, em. i like being around you. even when you’re grumpy."

she huffed a laugh, shaking her head. "you’re a weird one."

"maybe," you replied, grinning. "but i think you like that about me."

emily’s eyes met yours, for the first time in a long while, she didn’t look away. "maybe i do."

your breath caught, the air between you charged with unspoken things. you took a small step toward her, and she didn’t pull away this time. 

say something. anything.

but then, the door to the lodge burst open, and the sound of your friends’ voices filled the space. the moment was gone in an instant, emily straightening up, her face closing off again.

you sighed internally, smiling through the disappointment as you greeted the others. another almost, you thought, glancing at emily one last time. 

and this time, she smiled. just barely, but it was there.

comments and reblogs are appreciated ˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

© ruewrote 2024.

[admirationandromantics]

Never have I ever...

Yes, this was a request, and it is not proofread! Anyways, hope you like it, and I'll be working on some more this evening. Don't know if I can post tonight though, but we'll see. Trying to stay optimistic, and finally exams are over so I can actually do whatever I want. Anyways, enjoy, and requests are still open <3

Word count: 2,5 k (Unedited)

The night was still young, music playing and people chatting. Thank god the Washingtons said yes to host, because this type of mess would’ve left me in tears. And we were barely getting started. I take another sip of my drink, hoping to get that good dizzy feeling a little quicker. 

“Boo!” Josh yells, grabbing me from behind. I shriek, giving a loud scream. He’s quick to put a hand over my mouth, almost too quick. Like he was anticipating it. 

“Jeez, sorry. Don’t scream, people are gonna think I murdered you or something” 

I clutch my chest, heart still beating hard and fast. This man will be the death of me. 

“You almost did” I whisper, hitting his head. He smiles, taking my hand in the air, pulling it up to his lips. He leaves a trail of wet kisses down my wrist, each peck more sensual than the last. During this, the eye contact remains, strong blue orbs cutting through me. It’s almost as if I can see how hard he wants to ravage me. The thought alone makes me heat up, underwear getting wetter. He notices my blush, which makes his signature smirk form on his lips. Oh… he’s thinking about stuff, that dark and sinister side of him taking over. 

“Hey guys… what are you doing?” Jess yells, stopping in the doorway. I jolt away quickly, looking down at my wrist. 

“My bracelet fell off, couldn’t fasten it on my own”

She looks convinced, maybe she knows how hard they actually are to click shut. She waves her hand, signalling for us to come. 

“Okay, anyways, drinking game and both of you are joining”

“Coming” I say, looking back at Josh. We’d been dating for a while now, though we hadn’t told the others yet. We wanted to figure things out on our own first, check that we matched. If it didn’t work out, it would affect all the others, and we would rather just try to get back to normal. 

He’s still staring me down, challenging me to leave him in the dark. I smile, taking hold of his hand and dragging him with me to the living room. Everyone is sitting on either the floor or the couch. 

“So, what are we playing?” I ask, sitting down beside Sam. Josh walks over to Chris, nudging his arm to give him room on the couch. 

“Never have I ever” Ashley answers unenthusiastically. I know she thinks the game is boring, that she already knows everyone’s secrets. Well, almost everyone. Emily lines up the shot glasses, laying them on the table in the middle of the crooked circle we’ve created. 

“Quick question” Sam asks. “Can we only ask about things we’ve done before, or can I ask anything? Like even if I’ve never done it” 

“You’ve never played before?” Matt asks, looking over at her. 

“Yes I have, but there are different versions of it” 

“You can ask anything you want” Jess answers, settling everything. “I’ll start” 

“Never have I ever had a thing for someone in this room”

I watch as every single one in the room takes a shot. Hard start I guess. I look over at Josh, who gives me a wink before pouring down the content. I take a deep breath, trying to get over the taste as quickly as possible. This was gonna be a long night. We continue the game, going in a circle so everyone gets to ask a question. Beth goes after Jess. 

“Okay, never have I ever stolen something”

Mike, Matt, Jess, Hannah and Josh drink. Emily looks over at Mike with contempt before questioning him. 

“When have you ever stolen something?” 

“Stole your heart, didn’t I” he grins, kissing her on the cheek. Hannah rolls her eyes, and Jess is looking at them a little too hard. If someone decided to dig into that, I wouldn’t want to be in the room. Matt breaks the silence, asking the next question. 

“Anyways, I have a good one. Drink if you’ve had sex with someone in the room” 

Everyone but Ashely, Jess, Chris and Matt drinks. I’m actually surprised. I would’ve thought that Jess and Matt would’ve gotten it going once or twice. Ashley and Chris were no surprises though, they couldn’t even confess to each other. It would take some time for them. 

I drink down the liquid, noticing Josh doing the same thing. He smiles, a sweet one that makes no one suspicious. I look away, getting to see Sam finishing her glass. 

“Something you wanna tell me?” I tease, looking over the room. 

“You need to get me more drunk to get anything out of me” she laughs, nudging my arm. 

“Okay, my turn” Mike exclaims, grunting a little from the last shots. 

“Never have I ever used knives while having sex”

I quickly take the shot, making sure to do it as discreetly as possible. Luckily, most eyes are on Josh, as he drinks up. 

“What? Why would you do that”

“You’re sadistic!” 

“Was this your idea, or your partner’s?” 

Josh just shakes his head in response, refusing to give them a satisfactory answer. I smile at him, trying to hold my laughter as everyone is teasing him. He gives me that known sinister smirk again, sitting up, capturing everyone’s eyes with his movement. 

“I think you missed a certain other person in the room who’s also had some experience in this area. Don’t give me all the attention” 

“Jerk” I mouth to him, everyone’s heads turning to me. Matt lets out a whispering exhale, and Ashley’s holding her hand over her mouth to stop her laughter. I put my hands up as a surrender. 

“I tried something. As if you guys haven’t done freaky shit” I say, my finger pointing over every single person in the circle. 

“To build on the sex-related ones” Emily starts, shifting everyone away from me. Thank god. 

“Never have I ever been tied up” 

I nervously take another shot, but calm down as more people join this one. Both Emily and Mike join, as well as Beth. Josh licks the rim of his glass, eye contact going hard before gulping down the liquid once again. 

Hannah is next in line, and I hope for a non-sex one. She glances around the room before taking a breath, the circle waiting in anticipation. 

“Never have I ever fucked in my best friends house” 

I drink at the same time as Sam, and we look at each other wide eyed. In MY house? She had sex under my roof without me knowing. 

“You had sex in my house??” We both shout at the same time. Many others drank as well, but our joined voices make everyone burst out in laughter. 

“When was this?” I ask, and she just smiles. 

“As if you’re gonna tell me yours. I’m not spilling any more than I have to” 

“Well, I hope at least you didn’t spill too much in MY house” I smirk, and she shoves me. A  particular loud “What” followed by Josh’s laughter makes us look on the other side. 

“Dude, what the hell, I haven’t even hosted yet” Chris exclaims, arms wide in confusion. 

“Don’t worry, we were quick, you didn’t even know” he laughs, giving me a little side glance. 

“Wait, that means… The only one you could’ve done it with was-” Josh smacks a hand over his mouth, making everyone shout at him. 

“Stop!”

“We wanna hear!”

He leans over to Chris, whispering something in his ear. This makes him stop squirming, and he removes the hand carefully as everyone is waiting in anticipation. 

“So” Jess begins. “Who was it” 

“Can’t tell, bro-code” 

She throws a pillow at him, causing a small snicker to escape his lips. The room fills with sighs as they don’t get to know who the culprit is. It’s me, I know it, Josh knows it, and not Chris knows as well. He raises his eyebrows my way, and I mouth a little “sorry” back. We weren’t gone for long when it happened. Just a quick thing in his bathroom while he and Ashley tried starting up the console in the living room. 

Sam goes next, facing me with a smug look. “You know, I’m still not over the knife-thing” My eyes widen, and I look at her pleadingly. She turns to the others, loving the power she holds. 

“Never have I ever done it outside, in the snow, on Blackwood Mountain” 

I thought it was gonna be worse, but Mike and Emily must definitely have done it there. I empty the glass once again, getting more used to the taste as we keep going. Josh does the same, and suddenly, everyone has a look of realisation on them. 

“Are you fucking kidding me” Sam exclaims happily, her theories were right. I look over at Mike and Emily, their glasses in front of them still full. Shit. I capture Josh’s eyes, and he’s already realised it. We gave ourselves away. Sam is laughing hysterically, holding onto me for support. 

“Like, I knew you were having good sex, but the whole ‘he must’ve learned to use his tongue from the gods’-thing is Josh? I don’t believe it!”

“Sam, shut up” I whisper, and she throws herself backwards, trying to regulate her breathing. 

“Wow, so I’m made of the gods?” he teases from across the room, and I roll my eyes. 

“Thank god that secret didn’t last long” Chris exclaims, breathing out in relief. Half of everyone here is laughing, and the rest is looking at us, expecting to hear more. 

“I hope you talk about me like that to your friends” Mike whispers to Emily. 

“Not much to talk about dear” 

“Okay fine” I shout, making the room silent. “You want drama, I’ll give it to you” I stand up, looking down at Sam. 

“Never have I ever, done the deed with a twin” 

Her mouth opens in shock, and people turn to look at Beth, who’s a brushing mess. Got ya Sam. I sit down again, a smirk forming on my lips. “What was it you said again Sam? Something about how incredibly sexy t-mmf” She moves her hand over my mouth, letting only muffled sounds come out. She leans over to my ear, whispering. “I got you, you got me. Even?” I shake my head, ready to let the world know about the things she’s said. “You know, that’s not the only thing you’ve said about Josh” 

I give a loud sigh, rolling my eyes and pulling her hand away. “Fine” 

During the whole ordeal, I notice Mike has to refill his glass, but everyone’s eyes are still on Sam, not seeing the small action. 

Her cheeks are tomato red, and everyone continues asking questions about them, which both refuse to answer. Josh is still looking at me, a subtle smirk in the corner of his lips. His eyes don't falter, staring intensely, undressing me with his mind. His tongue wets his lips as his orbs go down… down…

“Next one!” Emily shouts, interrupting our mental fucking. Ashley is next, but doesn't have one ready yet. I lean over to Sam, smiling as I whisper. “I hope you took the last shot” 

“Asshole” I fill her cup, urging her to do it. Her cheeks are still red, though most of us are getting messier and louder. This was a lot of alcohol, and the only ones not in deep were Matt, Ashley and Mike. Mike has a high tolerance, and the others hadn’t drunk much yet. I look over at Chris, and I think he had a few too many beers before we began. He’s still thriving though. Ashley finally finds a question, and Jess hushes us. 

“Never have I ever broken in somewhere” 

Matt and Josh drink alone, everyone eager yet again for them to spill the beans. Matt starts, not being shy about it. 

“It wasn’t anything major, me and some other guys wanted to impress some girls with our skills, and the outside arena was freezing” 

Hannah and Ashley smile, they already knows where this is going, and I do too. 

“So, we managed to get the lock to the gym building open, and played inside for a couple of hours”

“And was it worth it?” Mike asks, giving him a wink. “Hell yeah!”

Everyone gives coos and whistles while Matt just shakes his head. This must be the most ‘Matty’ crime that could’ve been done. 

“What about you Josh?” Beth asks, confused by when he’d broken in. I try to remember some time I knew about, but my mind is blank. I’m also eager to know this one. 

“Well” he looks over at me again, and I give an encouraging smile. “Her apartment” 

“What?”

I don’t know when he did this. Was I home? How long ago must it have been? He has a key, and he’s had that for a while. 

“It’s not breaking in if you have a key” I say. 

“What about the time I came through the window?”

“You’ve gone through the window?” I shout. This is news to me, when did he do this? Everyone in the room holds their breath, and some, their laughter. 

“When I surprised you in the shower!”

I think back. Some weeks ago, he scared me in the shower. I figured that I just left the door open, but I guess not. I mean, he did more than scare me in there…

“You still went through the window??”

“I feel like you’re focusing on the wrong things”

“No, I’m not!”

Everyone bursts out laughing, not being able to hold it. I look around for support for my cause, but only Sam shrugs her shoulders to me. 

“I guess I’ll be breaking in somewhere tonight”

“Not breaking in if I want you there” 

“Okay guys, we’re almost done” Chris adds, and he’s right. There’s only him and Josh left now, and after that, we’ll go back to whatever conversations we had before, ready to party the rest of the night. Drinking more than we should. 

“Never have I ever cleaned up my best friends house after fucking in it”

No one drinks. 

“You’ve got to be serious, man” he whines, done with Josh’s shit. 

“Sorry dude, I’ll do it next time”

“There should not be a next time!”

“Never will there ever be a next time in Chris’s place!” he shouts, and everyone drinks in solitary. Ashley does too, and the aggravation that was there is immediately filled with flushed cheeks and silence. They’re both adorable. 

“Finally” I exclaim, getting up on my feet. 

“Wait a second” Jess interrupts my exit. “We want to know more about you and Josh!” 

“No way”

“Like, has he given you over three orgasms in a row?” 

I look back, and Josh drinks. Everyone cheers and I walk to the kitchen to grab a beer. Jesus, this was gonna be a long night.

[xetlynn]

Until Dawn- By Your Side: Chapter One, Blackwood Pines

(Josh Washington X reader)

[Prologue] [One] [Two]

Ever since that day I’ve rarely looked Jessica in the eyes. I’ll talk to her like normal, she’ll come into my room to bother me but I never initiate anything anymore. I was pretty disgusted by her actions. Same with everyone else’s. I’ve gotten extremely close with Sam because of everything too. Her, Chris and I check in with Josh a lot.

Mainly me, they just text me asking for updates since they don’t see him as often as I do. My parents have even been getting annoyed with my “behavior.” How I’m never home, barely doing my homework and treating Jessica poorly. I’m not meaning to. I really want to look at my sister and not see a bad friend, but looking back on my pictures with Beth and Hannah it’s difficult. Knowing Hannah was devastated from what they did to her, it being a stupid prank or not.

And when Josh told me his plan to have everyone come up for this winter I was skeptical on if it would be a good idea. “Are you sure, we haven’t gone up unless it was for a search party, my love.” I run my fingers through his hair, he smiles softly up at me. He was laying his head on my chest, his arms wrapped around my torso.

“My sisters would want to have fun up there. Like we always have.” He kisses my collarbone. “Are you sure there’s no other reason?” I question him, his nose twitches and I knew I already caught him in his lies. “What other reason would there be?” He decides to ask a question in return. I stare down at him with a straight face, he lifts himself off of me.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” His brows furrow and I crack a smile, grabbing his arm. “I know you better than that, my love.” I pull him down to kiss him on his lips. “What are you scheming?” Kissing him again. “I can’t believe you caught me that quick.” He entraps me in between his arms, his body laying flat on mine. I hear him take a deep breath, I knew he was wondering if he should tell me or not. Knowing him since we were children I’ve gotten to observe every little thing about him. Something he’s done with me too.

“I just maybe want to get it out of them, that they’re guilty for it.” He finally whispers out, I stay silent for a moment. I can hear his heart beat start to quicken and before he panics I speak up. “How can I help?”

I sat on the bus with Sam, she gave me one of her earbuds as we listened to what’s on her device. It’s the radio talking about the Washington twins. I notice her stare out the window. My body stiffens slightly, it’s never easy hearing updates about the twins and it be nothing new. Nothing good. Then she clicks a button switching to a video of my boyfriend. Of Josh. I smile at the sight of his face.

“Well hello friends and fans… alright let’s do that again.” He goes back up to the camera, not really zooming it in, beginning to talk once again with the same intro. “Alright. Well hello friends and fans! It’s beyond awesome to have you guys all back this year. First off, I gotta say I am super excited to welcome all my pals back to the annual Blackwood winter getaway!” He does a little cheer. “So, um… let me just let you know, let’s take a moment to address the elephant in the room for a second…” His mood switches. “I know you’re all probably worried about me and I know it’s gonna be tough on all of us going back after what happened last year, but I just want you all to know, it means… it means so much to me that we’re doing this. And I know it would mean so much to Hannah and Beth that we’re all still here together, y’know thinking of them. I really want to spend some quality time with each and every one of you and share moments we’ll never forget. For the sake of my sisters, you know?” He gives his speech, I lean into Sam further and further as I listen to him. I feel her laugh at me a little bit but I can’t help it. “Okay… so! Let’s party like we’re fucking porn stars, okay?! And make this one trip we’ll never forget, alright? Yes!” He pumps his fists up in the air. I scrunch my nose because of his wording but Sam and I both snicker at it quietly.

When the bus finally stops at Blackwood Pines, Sam and I get out together and begin to walk forward while looking around. We were told to meet here by Chris like we have many times before. “Weird, looks like we’re before him.” I smile, twirling around. She opens the gate for both of us. “Surprising. I feel like we’re the last usually.” She huffs, I hum in agreement. We then hear a noise behind us. “Hello?” Sam calls out. “Someone there?” I ask out, furrowing my eyebrows. Squinting, checking if I could possibly see anything.

After not getting anything in response we continue on. I keep checking behind us though. Thinking maybe someone was there, playing a prank on us.

Once we get to the gate there’s a note taped onto it. “Gate’s busted, climb over. -Chris.” I read out. “So he is here and didn’t meet up like we agreed.” I cross my arms, irritated. “I wonder why.” Sam whispers. We try to open the gate still but nothing budges. I sigh and head over to the rocky wall of the fence. Sam right behind me.

“I’ll boost you.” I tell her, jokingly. The wall had too many things sticking out for a boost to actually work. I squat down a tiny bit as she begins to climb. Staying there for her as support. She does a jump and I make a face but successfully she gets on top of the wall. “Alright, your turn.” She says, taking a second to breathe.

I groan but do the same thing she did. Lifting myself up, very slowly as I don’t think I have the same amount of upper body strength as her. We jump down together. I trip a little bit and she helps me so I don’t fall. Both of us chuckling. Making our way to the area we need to get to.

We pass by the sign about Indigenous people and butterfly prophesies. “Oh, cool!” Sam grins. She skims over it but we continue forward. Finally getting to where we used to meet Josh and the twins… along with Chris.

Speaking of, “Is that Chris’s bag?” I point over to the bench. Sam moves a little closer to me. “Chris?” She calls out, we go closer to the bag. “Your bags here, but where are you?” I roll my eyes.

“Are you here? You’re not in the bag are you?!” Sam asks. I hear buzzing. “His phone.” I mutter, taking it out of the pocket. “Ah ha!” Sam grins, “look who it is.” I smirk. Ashley’s name popping up on the screen.

“Hey noseys.” A voice calls from behind us and we both jump. “Chris.” Sam sighs out. “You scared us.” We both say clinging onto each other. “I’m sorry, but are either of you my secretary?” He points a finger in our faces.

Sam takes the phone from my hand and lifts it up. “It was buzzing.” She defends our choice we made to snoop through his belonging.

“Cool. Well, thanks for letting me know. I can take it from here.” He takes it from her. He checks the message and we stand there awkwardly.

“Oh! So, I found something kinda amazing.” He goes over to his bag. “What?” Sam asks and I just lean against her, tiredly. Still intrigued nonetheless.

“I’m not gonna tell you guys, you gotta see for yourselves. Come on, it’s this way.” He leads the way, I get off of Sam and we begin to walk once again. “Where?”

“Right around here. Gonna blow your minds.” He dramatically says. “Mhm, sure.” I take a breath. “Just see before you give me attitude, [Name].” He tells me.

We get around the building and we see a Wanted poster but it doesn’t show the face of the person, It was ripped off. Only the name showed. “Victor Milgram.” I read out.

“Nice. You think we’ll get a visit from America’s most wanted?” Chris asks and I nudge him for being insensitive. “Looks like someone thought so.” Sam speaks. “oh come on. This place is abandoned most of the year.” He then starts his trail once more. “Nobody comes up here.” I think about how I came here quite a few times with Josh and his parents in the search parties for the twins. Knowing that his statement unfortunately is not true.

Him saying “Ta Dah.” Gets me out of those thoughts for a moment. “Pretty rad right?”

“Yeeeeaaaah.” Sam sarcastically says. I didn’t say anything, I just gave our friend a bored expression. “Come on! Look at these beauties.”

“Beauties is not the word that comes to mind. Why is this even here?” She questions it. “Yeah, I’m not into it.” I agree with her.

“What do you mean?” He looks back to the shooting range. “What the hell is a shooting range doing at the base of a ski lodge?”

“Dude. Have you ever met Josh’s dad? [Name], you out of everyone should know why this is here.” He points to me and I frown, knowing I have to agree with this idiot who thought a gun range would blow our minds.

“Josh’s dad thinks he’s like Grizzly Adam’s or something, for sure.” I whisper to Sam. “Wanna try?” Chris offers the shot gun to both of us. I shake my head. “You go ‘head, Grizzly.” Sam jokes with him after what I just whispered to her. Both of us laughing quietly. “Alright, here goes.” He lifts up the gun, getting it ready. He shoots the first target. He then doesn’t miss a single one and I give him a small applause.

“Wow. Nice shootin’, Tex.” Sam gives him a smile. I do a small cheer for him. “Alright. I’m bad.” Chris starts dancing causing us two to give him dirty expressions. “I’m a badass!”

“I’m gonna go ahead and guess it was a wild case of beginner’s luck.” Sam teases him after his stupid dance. “Nah, I don’t think so girl.” He wags his finger before lifting the gun back up. Shooting another target and getting it. “Well, anybody and their brother could shoot a bottle that big, that close.” She chuckles.

A squirrel shows up and my eyes widen slightly hoping Chris doesn’t go for it. “Don’t do it, Chris.” I mumble but I know he heard me when I saw his gun move to a different area. “Nice shot.”

“Your ass just got saaaacked!”

“Ugh.” I grimace, walking away from them to go back to the front of the building. “You two, our rides coming.” I say, not paying attention to what they’re doing as I head forward. I hear Sam urge Chris to come on. Him whining slightly afterward. I get to the door, trying to open it but it’s locked. I hear Chris say “a year goes fast.” And immediately choose not to ask what they were talking about.

“Hey, the doors locked.” I push on it again, to show them. “Yeaaah, Josh wanted us to keep it locked. Keep people out.” Chris informs me and then I drop my shoulders remembering that conversation we had. “He said that? What people?” Sam furrows her brows.

“He said they found people sleeping in the station one time.” I tell her, vividly seeing the conversation I had with him in my head before packing for this trip. “Creepy.”

Chris shows his key and I get out of the way for him to unlock it. He gets it open and lets us in before him.

“Ah, real gentleman.” Sam goes in, me right behind her. Sam goes to the railing and looks around as I follow Chris. “I thought the car was closer.” She complains. “Guess we gotta wait.” My boyfriend’s best friend responds.

“What a crazy place to set up house. No matter how rich you are.” He stares at a Blackwood Pines poster. “They’re not so rich.” Sam disagrees. “The only bought a mountain.” She sarcastically adds in. I watch Chris walk around the room. Both of our eyes landing on a screen. It looks like cameras surrounding the Washington Cabin. I see a thing of a bedroom and then it clip back to the front of the house. I frown, confused on what we’re looking at.

The cable car sounding closer, we both join Sam back outside. “You coming?” Sam asks Chris as I get in before her. We sit beside one another. “I was gonna catch some z’s but I guess.” He makes a horrible joke. Chris sits on the other side of me.

“Here we go.” I announce as the car moves. “Right, adventure begins.” Chris smiles.

Long awaited chapter :0

Masterlist

Josh M.L.

Taglist: If you want to be added lmk!

@my1fx

[thomas-the-goat-of-satan]

I heart Until Dawn and it's collection of comically stupid characters. and I do mean all of them. and I do mean it affectionately. I just. god. the reason that anything can happen to these people At All is because, somehow, Every Single One Of Them decided that it was a good idea to accept an invite to the World's Most Suspicious Event at the World's Most Suspicious Place. "hmm!! I'm sure nothing strange or horrific is going to happen to us up on our rich friend's isolated mountain lodge; why would it?? I mean, sure, we Are going to be up there on the exact same date that we inadvertently triggered the events of his sisters' disappearance, but surely he's not upset with us about that or anything. let's go!!" seven separate people. nobody thought anything of it. it's incredible. impressive, even. I mean, I don't know. me personallyyyyy?? I probably would've received that invitation and thought, "oh, he's For Sure gonna do something to us up there, and he For Sure has the means to get away with it; I'm Not Gonna Go." but. hey. that's just me.

[slasherscream]

Can you do some more until dawn characters (yandere please) like you’re trying on clothes at the mall and ask their opinion?

YANDERE UNTIL DAWN CHARACTERS + READER IS TRYING ON CLOTHES

A/N: thank you for reading my until dawn content! it's such a small fandom these days, comments/reblogs/anon reviews/asks are appreciated as they let me know people are still reading these. 

- Josh has an excellent eye for aesthetics. He may not know all the words/names for the types of clothes you look good in but he recognizes them right away. He’ll try and describe something you should get, give up, wander off, then come back with examples of what he meant while you’re in the dressing room. If the shopping trip is under four hours he can remain locked in the entire time. This is the strength of will and character that comes with being the big brother to two little sisters who got his driving license first. He’s spent entire lifetimes at the mall hyping up the twins. He knows what to do. Overall helpfulness: 8/10.

- Sam loves spending quality time with you. Quality time is one of her preferred love languages, in fact. She picks you up for your shopping day with your favorite coffee shop order in hand, from the best place in town. She’s good with little details like that. You can always count on her to give you her honest opinion on what you pick out. She’s gentle about it, but she’ll never let you wear something she thinks is unflattering. She’s also mindful of waste consumption. With Sam’s help you wind up picking things you love, are comfortable wearing, and that you’ll actually use. Not a penny wasted, no matter how much you spend. Overall helpfulness: 10/10. 

- Chris could not possibly, in any version of reality, fix his mouth to give you a criticism about any of your choices. Let alone choices about how you will go about decorating your body. He’s lucky he gets to look at you. It’s an honor! Thank you for honoring him! Every time you step out of the dressing room you will get the exact same answer, very enthusiastically, in the same tone: “That looks GREAT, babe!” You’ll be ready to kill him thirty minutes in. Absolutely worthless feedback. You’ll have to get help from the salespeople who work there for opinions. If you want a ‘yes man’ this is your guy! Overall helpfulness: 3/10. 

Hannah is another sap. She’s more helpful than Chris, but only by the slightest margin. If something doesn’t look good she’ll be able to stutter her way around to it…. eventually. She’s nearly petrified at the thought of upsetting you. Never-mind the fact that you’ve asked her how the top looks on you five times now. “Well…. I mean… how do YOU think it looks, Y/N?” As if you’d be asking if you could come up with an opinion yourself. You’ll wind up leaving with only a few items. You’ll have to come back with a friend in a few days. You may need a new wardrobe, but if you need help picking it out, you’ll need a different set of eyes. Overall helpfulness: 4/10.

- Emily is going to be honest to the point that, yes, it will hurt your feelings a little… if you’re lucky. Mileage may vary. If you’re particularly sensitive she’ll hurt your feelings a lot. But god forbid you start trying to take someone nicer shopping with you. She’ll throw the hissy fit of the century when she finds out. Yes, when, and not if. Emily manages to find out everything you try to keep from her. Everything. On one hand you’ll wind up looking the best you’ve ever looked. Your entire wardrobe suits you perfectly. She even buys/picks out things that you’ll like, in your style, even if she finds the style personally distasteful. That’s how much she loves you. It just has to suit you, or else she will say something, and the way she says it is never very nice. You’ll look incredible, but at what cost to your mental health? Overall helpfulness: 8/10. 

- Mike isn't very enthusiastic about the activity, but likes the good boyfriend points it garners him. Thus, he will come along whenever you bid him to do so. He’s only got about two and a half hours of shopping in him though, so try and have an idea of what you want to get in your mind. Before you arrive at the stores, please. If you take a long lunch break he can go back for another two hours but this is his hard limit. Knows well enough what you already look good in. Or when something looks downright awful on you. He does struggle a little to help if you’re wanting to try a completely new style. He’s as lost as you. The more underground/alternative/particular the style you want to try is, the worse the advice gets. If you’re just doing a wardrobe refresher this is your man. Overall helpfulness: 6/10. 

- Beth makes shopping relaxing. You’ll stay as long as you need in order to get everything you need. She probably had you make a Pinterest board before you guys went out so that you’d be able to refer back to it. She knows getting into the stores can wipe your mind clean of what you needed/wanted to get. She’ll have you guys stop for lunch as well, but then you’re right back at it! She likes seeing your style evolve and change. Her feedback is honest, but gentle. It won’t ever feel like a criticism of your body, just the clothing. You walk out satisfied and always happier than when you came in together. Overall helpfulness: 10/10. 

- Jessica is in her element here. Honestly, Jessica drags you shopping with her more than you’ll ever drag her shopping. Spending time together means a lot to Jessica. She never takes it for granted. Thus, she always tries to make any activity, but especially repeat ones like shopping, fun. She probably has a shopping playlist she made for the two of you. You both wear one wireless earbud and get to movie montage with each other. Watch out if the Princess Diaries songs or something Hip-hop comes on, she’ll start dancing to make you laugh. Her feedback is upbeat and positive, but honest. She hypes you up like crazy when you come out wearing something that makes you look really hot! Wolf whistles and everything, your face will be burning up as you flee back into the safety of the dressing room. “Baby, come back! You look smoking!” Overall helpfulness: 9/10. 

- Matt knows absolutely nothing about fashion. He tries his very best to help, but he’s at a loss. Only if something very obviously doesn’t suit you will he be able to veto it for you. “I dunno… maybe it’s a little awkward in the arms or…. something?” You’ll have to take a few breaths. However, if something looks good, he can absolutely be a hype man! His eyes light up, he takes your hand, makes you do a spin. All the attention is enough to make you kick your feet and giggle. He can compliment you all day long. To his credit, he can compliment you specifically enough on what looks good. Even if it’s still a little vague. “The color of this makes you look really… wow! You know?” You’ll be able to figure out he means jewel tones make your skin look glowy one of these days. For now, at least you know your boyfriend thinks you’re gorgeous no matter what you wear. Overall helpfulness: 5/10.

[untildawnss]

until dawn characters overhearing their partner say something positive about them/their relationship

okiedokie [cracks knuckles] i had a shower to wash away the sad and now i'm ready to write the good - this took a good while because i was watching a show while writing lol

this is going to be fluff, i'll find out if anything else happens while writing this. very minor angsty and nsfw mentions.

ashley

"i don't think i've ever loved anyone as much as i love ashley. i still get butterflies when i look at her."

you tossed your phone towards ashley so she could order pizza while you were busy writing an assignment on your laptop. when she unlocked it, the chat with your best friend was still open, your last text the one about ashley. "i didn't know you were a big ol' sap." ashley shifted on the couch and leaned her head against your shoulder. "huh?" you stopped typing and furrowed your brow. "what are you talking about?" - "oh, just that text about me you sent earlier." she was already scrolling through the menu, looking for your favourite pizza. "were you snooping?" - "i didn't have to. you never close your apps." you nodded your head. it was true, you never did. "i get butterflies, too. ever since we met. maybe we're soulmates." she leaned in to kiss you.

beth

"hannah, oh my god, i'm so happy to see you. did you know that i love beth soooooo much? she's the best. i want to marry her. do you think she would want to marry me?"

beth tried to interrupt your drunken ramblings. her twin sister was on the couch next to you, snoring, and you had woken up while she was trying to clear the empty pizza boxes from the coffee table. you had immediately pulled her into a tight hug and happily babbled on about beth for a minute until you fell asleep again. beth carefully removed herself from your arms and decided that she wasn't really in the mood to clean up after you and hannah, you were perfectly capable of doing that yourself in the morning. and she was only a little offended that you had mistaken her for her sister. it was kind of fun to know how you talked about her when you thought she wasn't there.

chris

"josh, chris just texted me 'can we talk?' and i am freaking out. is he breaking up with me? please tell me he's not breaking up with me. he's honestly the best boyfriend i've ever had and i-"

josh groaned. "i told him not to text you that. chris, what's wrong with you?" you heard some crinkling, the muffled sounds of josh and chris whispering and then what sounded like a slap before josh let you know that he was handing the phone over to chris now. "hey, sorry about that. josh's hand and the back of my head just had a meet and greet." - "good for you? what the fuck was that text about, chris?" more whispering. "chris?" - "yeah, sorry. so remember how you just said that i'm the best boyfriend ever?" you sighed. "looking back, i probably wouldn't have said it if i had known you were listening." chris cleared his throat. "well, actually, i was thinking that you're the best partner i've ever had and i wanted to ask you to move in with me and so i decided to send you a text to ask you to talk about it." - "can you actually put josh back on for a second?" whispering again, until you heard josh's voice. "what's up?" - "can you tell chris that i love him and will move in with him but that he seriously needs to work on the way he brings up serious topics?"

emily

"you might not like her but i love her. she's the best thing that ever happened to me and if you just bothered to get to know her, you'd know that she's actually smart and funny and great. she actually shows up for me, do you?"

emily knew that your family hated her. they saw her as a stuck-up mean girl with expensive tastes and were worried that she was just using you until someone better came along. she hated that her relationship with you was causing all these fights with your family because they thought they knew better. this was the worst fight you'd ever had with them and she'd never heard you yell like that. "no, i'm done talking. don't bother calling again until you accept that i'm an adult and make my own decisions." emily heard you swearing before you knocked on the bedroom door and walked in. you were half-dressed, the original plan had been to go out for dinner. emily was still sitting in front of her vanity, absent-mindedly twirling a blending brush between her fingers. your phone buzzed again. "i swear to god," you muttered through clenched teeth as you declined the call. "rain check?" emily asked, already putting away the brush and looking for her make up wipes. "please." she looked at you through the mirror. "i'm sorry for asking but i think i need help getting out of this dress." - "oh, so you're flirting with me? right now?" you couldn't help but smile. "if you want me to. or you could just tell me how smart and funny and great i am while i order dinner." - "i can do that."

hannah

"dear hannah, your glasses are very cute and look really good on you. you have a really pretty face and i have a crush on you."

"dear hannah, do you want to go out with me?"

"dear hannah, you were really good as juliet in the senior year play."

"oh my god, what's this?" hannah picked up the loose papers that had slid all over the wooden floor of the living room in your new apartment. "what? oh, oh no. i thought i'd thrown those away. they're so old." - "i didn't know you had a crush on me back in high school. wow, we really could have gotten together years ago." you were on your hands and knees, trying to grab the old, unfinished love letters you had never had the courage to slip into hannah's locker or bag. "what? you liked me in high school?" - "who did you think sent you all those valentines? i didn't know you liked my glasses back then." before long both of you were on the floor, reminiscing about all the near confessions you had accidentally dodged.

jess

"we'd love to go out for drinks with you guys, but i have plans with my super hot girlfriend and i wouldn't miss it for the world and she has plans with me. oops, putting our phones on do not disturb now."

you sent the text to the group chat and turned to jess. the two of you were on the couch, wearing sweatpants and facemasks. numerous candles were illuminating the living room and there was a romcom playing on the TV. "super hot girlfriend, is that right?" jess was smiling, the hydrating sheet mask wrinkling and folding around her mouth. "oh, very." you were sipping wine through a straw. "and you'd rather be at home doing skincare and watching a movie with me?" - "are you kidding me? i get to have a few drinks, hang out with my favourite person in the world AND wake up with great skin. what more could a person want?" - "you're not so bad yourself."

josh

"ugh, i know, right? he's smart, he's hot, he's kinda weird but in that cute and quirky way and when i look at him, i want to start writing poems or love songs. it's actually disgusting how perfect i think he is."

josh and you were at a bar with a group of friends and while josh had gone to get more drinks and a few others were playing pool, one of them had taken the opportunity to tease you about the way the two of you adored each other. neither of you didn't realise that josh was already on his way back to the table and heard every word you said. he stopped for a few seconds to compose himself, thinking that you'd probably be embarrassed if you knew that he heard you talking about him. the rest of the night, josh was in a, to you, inexplicably good mood but when you asked what had him smiling like that he said that he was just having fun. you narrowed your eyes and looked at him, suspiciously. "what did you do?" - "nothing, i swear." a few hours later you were on your way home, your hand in josh's while he was swinging them back and forth. "what is up with you today? i could pass out right here and now. how are you not tired?" josh's smile was as wide as ever. "it's nothing, really. i'm just happy i met you."

matt

"i wouldn't dream of breaking uncle matt's heart. pinkie promise. when we get married you can be flower girls."

matt's nieces had begged you to play tea party with them. they were extraordinarily good at offering you tea while giving you the third degree. yes, i love your uncle matt a lot. yes, i hope your uncle matt loves me, too. yes, we live together. no, i won't break up with uncle matt. you thought meeting matt's parents for the first time would be intimidating. his nieces were almost terrifying. finally, matt came to save you when they started asking about babies. you waved goodbye to the girls. "so it's when, not if we get married?" you looked at matt and your heart skipped a beat, he was smiling warmly. "well, i mean, i guess-" you sputtered. "wait, you were listening and you let them interrogate me?" - "oh, do you want to go back and tell them how many kids we're gonna have?"

mike

"yes, i know he's handsome. like absolute dreamboat, straight out of a disney movie handsome."

"oh, you better watch your mouth, that's my boyfriend you're talking about."

"oh no, he's an only child. but i think he has cousins. doubt he left any hot for the rest of them, though."

you hadn't heard mike come home and he was trying really hard to respect your privacy but the bedroom door was ajar and you were always louder when you were talking on the phone, especially when talking to your best friend whom he was due to meet this upcoming weekend. and he couldn't deny it, he was curious what you had to say about him. mike pushed the bedroom door open slowly, you had your back to him and were scrolling on your phone with your earphones in. "busy?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe and grinning widely when you jumped and almost tumbled off the bed. "what the fuck, mike? when did you get here?" you said a quick goodbye to your friend and put your phone on the bedside table. "oh, not that long ago." he crossed his arms, still grinning at you. "but go on, what were you saying about me?" mike inched towards the bed, his face now scrunched up in mock-confusion. "something about me being super hot, i think." - "i never said super hot." he put the back of his hand against his forehead and closed his eyes, feigning hurt this time. "you wound me." then, before you knew it, he was straddling you, his lips barely an inch from yours as he was running his hands down your sides, sending a pleasant shiver down your spine. "guess i'll have to change your mind, then."

sam

"my girlfriend just opened her own gallery and i'm super proud of her. do you have anything on the menu that's fancy and says 'i love you so much, you're gonna do great' and, most importantly, is also vegan? is champagne vegan? do you have vegan champagne?"

sam heard you whispering to the hostess as she walked through the doors behind you. so that's why you wanted her to park the car. she smiled at the hostess and rolled her eyes slightly, affectionately, pointed and you and then at herself while mouthing i'm the girlfriend. the hostess nodded and asked you to wait just a few more minutes, your table was almost ready. "you know i'm just a cog in the machine and the gallery isn't actually my own, right?" sam had sauntered over and was looking at you with one eyebrow raised in amusement. "you're still an active partner and the face of the gallery. so why bother explaining?" - "oh, i'm not complaining. just wondering if you hit your head. but now i don't feel bad about letting you wine and dine me."

[ouranfics]

Who the Until Dawn Characters Voted for: ELECTION DAY SPECIAL

Hannah voted for Kamala but she needed convincing. She was absolutely going to vote for Jill Stein but Sam talked her out of it after saying that it would just give votes to Trump.

Beth voted for Kamala too, but was with her from the start. As soon as Biden dropped out of the race she kept saying it’s time for a Kamalanomenon.

Sam ABSOLUTELY voted for Kamala. SHE IS A VEGAN ROCK CLIMBER AND ANIMAL ACTIVIST. She loves the idea of taxing the rich even though her best friends are all nepo babies.

Josh probably wanted to write in himself but his state didn’t have a write in box so he just voted for Kamala.

Mike voted for RFK.

Jessica accidentally filled in the box for Trump and started panicking so she had to go back to the registration table to get another ballot. Besides this little fumble she voted for Kamala, she might not be a girls girl but she does not want the orange back in office.

Emily voted for Kamala and announces it proudly. She is so tired of old men being in office and needs a woman to be in this position of power.

Matt voted for Kamala because Emily told him to.

Chris voted for Kamala because of her clean energy initiatives, idk I headcanon him as a climate activist even though he couldn’t handle not having wifi. He is still gen z okay.

Ashley filled in the straight democrat box and turned in her ballot. She knew what she wanted.

THIS IS YOUR REMINDER TO PLEASE GO VOTE! i know technically all of these characters are canadian but i wanted to write this for the laughs u know hehe.

[nearlydawn]

until dawn masterlist

⇢ samantha giddings ⇢ ashley brown ⇢ joshua washington ⇢ christopher hartley ⇢ matthew taylor ⇢ jessica riley ⇢ emily davis ⇢ michael munroe

[llamaisllama777]

LAES,TSAMS,EAPS WEEKLY*/*DAILY REVIEW SHOW!!!!!

Okay, we had a lot of really good episodes today, so let's hurry up and talk about them!

First up, FAMILY MOMENTS! I love this thumbnail so much, especially Moon's face.. I .. I just love it!

I love how we get to learn about everyone's movie preferences. It's interesting learning these little random tidbits about them. It's fun. Also Sun...

SPY KIDS 3 IS GREAT, AND I WILL NOT HEAR OTHERWISE!!! 😡

Also, Prince of Egypt is a really good movie. You all should go watch it. Even if you aren't religious, it's really good and has some awesome animation and music. Seriously, if you haven't watched, please do. I think it's on YouTube for free???

This episode was cute.... ONTO THE TRAUMA!

Bout time, I was wondering when Nexus would try to kidnap Sun. Took longer than I expected... I wonder why? 🤔

This episode I think confirmed a theory I had...

New Moon/Nexus never cared.

I had this thought in the back of my head that Nexus never really cared about them. He never thought of them as family. He just saw them as people he was told to call family. They were NEVER his family. He never really cared. He just cared about Solar, but Solar never saw him as a brother. OOOFFFFF!

That hurts!

But I'm glad we know because DANG! The angst there!

Also, Sun is stronger than Nexus' chain ability (That ability where he forces people to the floor. I like to imagine purple chains form around the person when he uses that move)

Nexus was so close to kidnapping Sun....

BUT MONTY CAME IN STINKIN' CLUTCH!!!!!!

Monty FINALLY got to use the shotgun! He nearly killed Nexus there! Thank you, Nebula, for the starshells! The Astrals are starting to grow on me.

(Okay... maybe a was a little rash on the whole "Down with the Astrals" "Viva la revolution" thing!) Sorry, Astrals. Still don't really trust Taurus or Leo tho.

Things are getting serious! October is in like two weeks! The creator is still out there! Rez and Cetus are out there! And Dark Sun still has a stinkin' dragon! This is gonna be an exciting October! I'm so excited!

Also, thank you, Davis and Reed, for this picture of Monty with a shotty.

And lastly...

Okay, Eclipse looks like that one guy from the office that conspiracy theory guy. And Puppet just looks depressed.

Puppet really wants to catch the killer. It's really affecting her. It's the MCI incident all over again. And she clearly doesn't want anyone or herself to go through that again. Eclipse still won't watch movies with anyone. It's only a matter of time, though. The moment he says yes and joins them is the moment his redemption arc is complete for me!

So, Eclipse and Puppet have narrowed down the killer to 4 suspects. All employees of Fazbear.

1. Vincent

2. Some lady named Margo

3. A teenage intern who works in the daycare named Josh

4. And the repair man whose name I forget.

I don't think it's any of these guys. But I have a few theories on who the killer could be..

1. Michael Afton of this world. Eclipse did mention in one of the early episodes of the EAPS that the Michael of this world was/still is an employee of Fazbears.

2. Henry Emily. Just cause the angst that it would cause Puppet.

3. The Charlie of this world. Just cause again the angst it would cause Puppet being the killer of this world!

There is no way it's Wanda(the William of this world)

And I highly doubt it's Vincent or some rando employee.

It has to be someone important.

These episodes were amazing!

Davis, Reed, Kat, Valentine, you guys did amazing on these episodes again!

12/10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Extra point cause WOW!

Also shout out to this commentor for having the funniest comment on there.

Nebula, you are starting to become my favorite Astral!

Also, Patchnotes is a ship I really hope happens now!

[antlered-angel]

people don’t want complex female characters, they want shallow, mean, evil, or horrible women because it gives the illusion of complexity so they look smart pointing them out

i’m talking about a lot of characters

Misako and Nya from Ninjago

Ashley Brown from Until Dawn

Mia Winters from Resident Evil

Gwen Stacy from Spiderverse

all five of these characters are complex and beautifully written women but are often treated as bad people by their fandoms despite their complexities explaining their actions. Meanwhile characters like

Harumi from Ninjago

Emily Davis from Until Dawn

Lady Dimutrscu (can’t spell lol) and Mother Miranda from Resident Evil

are treated as girlbosses with layers upon layers of complexity despite the fact that these characters tend to be very straight forward terrible people. At most, they receive one layer of complexity (Harumi losing her family, Emily being insecure, Lady Dimutrescu being a mother, and Mother Miranda watching to revive her kid) but that isn’t enough to deem them complex characters especially in comparison to their more complex counterparts. Especially as fanon has a tendency to add more complexity than there is often as a way of glorifying them and using this as an excuse to call anyone who doesn’t like these characters sexist.

this goes to prove that fandoms do not care about having actual complex female characters. Fandoms want female characters they can imagine and fantasize fixing while treating their victims or other female characters like shit.

[ruewrote]

𝑎 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑘 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔.

PAIRING: emily davis x gn!reader WARNINGS: the basement scene, no use of y/n GENRE: angst to comfort SONG INSPIRATION: space by the dolan twins WORD COUNT: 924 REQUESTED: yes NOTE: two in one day, in my active era?

navigation | ask | emily davis masterlist

the basement was cold, but the tension in the room froze you more than the air ever could. emily sat on the counter, her back pressed against the wall, blood seeping from the gash on her shoulder. everyone stood frozen, staring at her like she was already one of them.

mike held the gun, his knuckles white around the grip as he paced. “we can’t take any chances,” he said, his voice strained. “she’s been bitten.”

emily’s face was pale, her hands trembling as she clutched her arm. “i’m fine,” she snapped, though the quiver in her voice betrayed her fear. “it’s just a bite– it’s not even the same thing!”

“you don’t know that!” ashley shouted, her voice breaking. “what if you turn into one of those things? what if you kill us all?”

emily flinched at ashley’s words, her defiance cracking, and that was when you moved.

“enough!” you shouted, stepping between emily and mike’s shaking gun. your heart hammered in your chest, but you refused to let it show. “put the gun down, mike.”

mike’s eyes darted to you, confusion and frustration battling in his expression. “are you insane? she’s bitten! she could turn!”

“then i’ll deal with it if it happens,” you said firmly, using your body as a shield between emily and the barrel of the gun. “but i’m not letting you kill her over a maybe.”

ashley scoffed, throwing her arms up. “oh, great! and when she turns and bites you first, then what? you wanna play the hero, fine, but don’t drag us all down with you!”

you turned to glare at her. “would you shut the fuck up for five seconds? she’s not turning! we don’t even know how this works. what if it’s just a wound and nothing else?”

“and what if it’s not?” mike demanded, his voice low.

you looked him in the eye, your voice steady despite the turmoil swirling inside you. “then i’ll be the first one she bites. but i’d rather risk that than let you kill her because you’re scared.”

the room fell silent. no one could meet your gaze, not even mike.

emily’s voice broke through the silence, soft and trembling. “you don’t have to do this…”

you turned to her, your expression softening. “yes, i do.”

because you loved her. because even if she didn’t know it, even if she never would, you couldn’t stand by and watch her die.

she gave you a look. wide-eyed, disbelieving, and so painfully vulnerable that your chest ached. 

“why?”

you didn’t answer, not directly. you just leaned beside her, pressing a hand gently to her good shoulder. “you’re going to be fine, em. i won’t let anything happen to you.”

mike hesitated, his hand twitching on the gun. “you’re seriously going to risk all of us for her?”

you shot him a stern look over your shoulder. “this isn’t just about her. this is about all of us. if we start turning on each other, we might as well give up now. what do you think is gonna happen if you kill her and it turns out she was fine?”

mike’s jaw clenched, his confidence cracking under the weight of your words. ashley fidgeted beside him, opening her mouth as if to argue but ends up saying nothing.

emily’s voice, softer this time, broke the uneasy silence. “they’re right, mike. if you do this, you’ll never be able to take it back.”

he glanced at emily, then at you. slowly, reluctantly, he lowered the gun completely, his shoulders sagging. “fine,” he muttered, shoving the weapon into his jacket. “but if she starts showing signs…”

“she won’t,” you cut him off, your tone leaving no room for argument.

mike huffed, but he didn’t press the issue. instead, he stormed off to the other side of the room, muttering under his breath.

you exhaled, the tension in your chest loosening just enough for you to feel the ache in your limbs. turning back to emily, you checked on her. “how bad is it?”

she shrugged weakly, wincing at the movement. “it’s not great, but i’ve had worse.”

you frowned, brushing her hair out of her face. “we’ll get it cleaned up and wrapped. you’ll be okay.”

for the first time that night, emily let her guard down, her voice breaking as she whispered, “i thought he was really going to shoot me.”

your heart clenched at the vulnerability in her tone. you wanted to reach for her hand, to comfort her, but you settled for keeping your voice steady. “i wouldn’t let that happen.”

she looked up at you, her dark eyes searching yours for something. “why do you care so much?”

you froze, the question hitting harder than you expected. the truth was there, sitting on the tip of your tongue, but you couldn’t bring yourself to say it. not now. not here.

instead, you smiled faintly. “because you of all people don’t deserve this, you didn’t choose for it to happen to you.”

emily stares at you for a moment longer before a small, almost smile tugged at her lips. she leaned her head back against the wall, exhaling shakily.

the others didn’t say much after that. the tension remained, thick and suffocating, but no one dared to challenge you again. and as you sat beside emily, quietly tending to her wound, you knew you’d made the right choice.

even if she never knew how you really felt, at least she’d be alive to never know. that was enough for now.

comments and reblogs are appreciated ˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗ @antihuntress

© ruewrote 2024.

[admirationandromantics]

Going overboard, 8: Revelation

Hope you liked yesterday's treat! Don't worry, Josh's fine (so far) so don't think about the fact that you just beat the crap out of him. It just had to happen. Anyways, the exam went okay I guess, and I have more, but the worst one is done so I'm finally ready to take care of the longer fics I've been planning on writing. So here's chapter 8, only 3 more to go now!! Remember that requests are open and my blog is always 18+ because of mature content <3

The silence is deafening, Mike sitting on one side, and me on the other. We never got close like I did with the other guys. There was mostly just a friendly comment here and there. Everything I knew about him was from when Emily talked about him, which she used to do a lot. 

“Want to tell me about Jess?” I try asking, looking up at him. 

“No.” I nod. At least I tried, but I get why he’s like this. 

“Want to tell me about Josh?” he asks, pointing his head in his direction. I look down, shaking my head in reply. I can feel my eyes water. Hours upon hours of stress built up. Mike is breathing heavily, as if to steady himself. I wonder if he’s thinking about Jess, and I wonder how everything played out for him. 

“She was taken from behind” Mike suddenly says. 

“Huh?”

“Jess.” I look at him confused. 

“We had just come to the guest cabin, and she thought some of you guys were playing a prank on her. She went outside and started shouting. I looked out at her, and I didn’t see anything, but when she came inside again…”

“What happened?” 

“The glass on the door shattered, hands grabbing her from behind, and she was dragged out. There was a rifle, and I took it. I ran after her. We went down some mines and I found her scratched up in an elevator.”

“Good lord…” I whisper, reminding him that I’m still listening. 

“Well, the wires snapped, and the elevator fell. I don’t know how far, but considering her condition at the end…”

“I’m so sorry Mike” I walk over, laying a hand on his shoulder, rubbing small circles. 

“I saw him, he walked up to the Sanatorium on the mountain.” My brows furrow. That’s a bit of a walking distance, especially to be back in time for the ‘killing Ashley or Josh’-bit. 

“The Sanatorium?”

“Yeah, and there was all of this stuff, and wolves and things.” A revelation goes through my head, and I don’t know why I questioned this before. 

“Wait, Mike. This cannot have been Josh”

He looks up at me, confusion plastered on his face. “What?”

“I was with Josh after you and Jessica went. We had to turn on some water for Sam, we played with an ouija board and… some other stuff”

“You were with him?” he points to Josh. 

“All I’m saying is, I’ve had my eye on him tonight, and when I didn’t, he was busy fucking with Ashley and Chris.” 

“So you’re saying that there is a real maniac on the mountain?” My heartbeat quickens. I forgot to think about the present, all of us now. If he killed Jess, he might kill the rest. 

“If that’s what you saw,” I whisper, looking for confirmation from him. 

“It is.” Shit, a light goes on in our heads at the same time, we need to tell the others. We need to warn them, and we need to get off this mountain. He stands up, ready to leave. 

“Okay, let’s go.” I’m about to follow when I suddenly stop, remembering the third person in the room. 

“What about Josh?”

“I didn’t think about that” he states, hand scratching his neck. As we stand in silence, a loud scream is heard. A girl, not Ashley or Sam. 

“Emily!” I shout. He looks worriedly over at me, before turning to look out the shed. 

“Here, use this if the maniac comes!” He throws me the gun, and I catch it with ease. 

“Make sure she’s okay” I urge him, and he nods before running out in the winter cold. I close the door after him, making sure that as little snow comes in as possible. 

The second I do, a low grunt is heard behind me. 

“Josh?” I ask, concern taking over me. 

“What the hell?” he groans, carefully raising his head. I run over, taking his head in my hands. I lift his hair from his forehead, noticing a bruise starting to form. Shit. 

“I’m so sorry Josh, I freaked out. You were saying stuff, and things started bubbling up and you just won’t shut up and everyone got fed up…” I start rambling, eyes feeling sore and dried up for the night. My throat is closing up, it feels dry from the cold and hurts. He just looks at me, confused like a child. 

“J-Josh? Can you hear me?”

He blinks a couple of times, several emotions overtaking him. 

“Yeah I do. You knocked me out.”

“Josh, I’m so sorry” I cry, face falling in his lap. He shifts, and I’m suddenly aware that he’s still tied up. 

“Shit, I’ll fix that for you, just… Please don’t run back to the lodge. We need to talk.” He nods approvingly. The knots the guys made are complex and many, but I manage to get them loose. When he’s free, he stands up, and I’m afraid that he’s going to run. He looks at me, his eyes soft with a tint of darkness. 

“Do, do you remember everything that happened?” I ask, slowly walking towards him. One step at a time in a careful manner. His body tenses, and I stop. I don’t want to scare him away. I look down, seeing the gun in my hands. I take a deep breath before putting it on the ground. He watches my movements carefully, seeming a little more at ease when the weapon is out of reach. 

“This was not how any of it was supposed to go down, you-” he stops, looking down, kind of ashamed. 

“I know, I know Josh, but we’ve just discovered that there are more things at stake here than your prank” I counter, taking another step. 

“I mean, we, we were together, and I didn’t want to hurt you and-”

“I know, it’s okay. I figured you weren’t quite yourself” I add, finally standing in front of him. He looks down on me, skin scraped and voice hazy, but his mind, a little clearer. A make a move, my hand going to his waist, holding lightly. Before I can proceed, both his arms swing around me, holding me tightly against his chest. I fold my arms around him, hugging tightly back. His heart is beating rapidly, breath hot against my neck as he digs his head down. I give soothing strokes on his back, trying to remind him that I’m here, I’m real and it’s okay. 

He pulls back, and I mirror his movement, not daring to do anything drastic to trigger him. His hand moves to my face, caressing my cheek with his thumb. 

“You’re here?”

“I promise I am”

“And you’re really here?” 

“Please trust me, I am here. I’m here with you” I add, taking his hand in mine and kissing him. He looks a mixed between calm and stunned, two opposites encaged in a troubled mind. “We’ll be out of here in the mor-” I start, but am interrupted by a loud scream. 

I look around the cold, dark shed. There’s nothing here. The scream comes again, like a mixture between a choking man and an angry animal. What is that? The sounds continue, seeming to get closer and closer. I look back to Josh, but his once soft blue eyes have turned dark again. His body tenses, and he moves away from me. 

“No, no, no, no, no, not them again, leave me alone!” he shouts, and I close the distance, shushing him and telling him to calm down. 

“You don’t own me! You don’t own me!”

“Josh, please” I whisper. He rips away from my grip and starts running for the doors. Crashing into them, he keeps yelling. They both open wide on the impact making slamming sounds when they hit the walls and bounce back a little. I’m about to run out to him when a large skinny creature stands beside him. I stop, stunned at the sight. It’s built like a human skeleton, just larger and wrinkly. The eyes are dark and lifeless, glossy in a gross dripping way. The mouth is giant, long teeth curving on the outside of it. Josh keeps shouting and cursing. 

“No, you don’t get to do it!”

The creature suddenly takes hold of him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. Shit shit shit. The monster slams him into the ground, knocking him completely out. I run for the gun, taking it and turning around ready to aim. They’re both gone. I run outside, not hearing anything. 

“Josh!”

“Shut up!” an unfamiliar voice says. I turn around, finding Chris with a crazy-looking old man. 

“What’s going on, are you okay, where’s Josh?” Chris asks, an arm placed on my shoulder for comfort. I don’t know how to answer. 

“I- um, there was this animal…” Another awful scream is heard in the distance and I tense up, shivers running down my spine. 

“Get back to the lodge” the man orders. 

“But Josh-” Chris protests. The man moves closer to him, talking in a low voice. 

“First, the Wendigo, he’ll render you immobile.” Wendigo???

“And then, he strips the skin of your entire body, piece by piece. And then, he keeps you alive and aware and feasts on your organs, one piece at a time” the man continues. 

“So… the lodge then” Chris admits in defeat. 

“Let’s go now, it might still be near.”  

Chris grabs hold of me, urging me to go in between the man and him. He’s got a shotgun, finger already on the trigger. We move a few paces, and I hear cracking and choking-like sounds. 

“Wait, don’t move” the man commands. I instantly stop, holding my breath while looking where I can. I don’t see anything. Chris’s hand is still on the shotgun, and I try to find the trigger on my own gun. 

“Be very quiet”

We stand still for a few seconds, until the man slowly moves forward. We follow slowly, looking around. I hear steps, a gallop like a horse approaching, and the wendigo moves swiftly towards us. 

“Run!”

We both push forward, starting on the path to the lodge. 

“Go, now, now!”

The wendigo jumps in front of us, making Chris and I hop backwards. Fire emerges beside us, and it runs into the forest again. 

“Holy shit, what the fuck!” Chris cries. My ears are on high alert, and I feel my pulse through my throat, beating quicker and harder. 

“We’re right out in the open, we need to get out of here!” the man shouts. The wendigo leaps forward again, and I only see blood as the head of the man falls off his body and onto the ground. My breath hitches, hand going over my mouth. What the fuck is going on. What is happening? 

“Chris” I tug at his sleeve, urging us to run. The wendigo stops, screaming at us. Chris aims the shotgun and shoots it. I grab his arm hard, forcing him with me. As we’re running, I hear it running behind us, catching up easily. We run under a fallen tree, and Chris stops. 

“Chris!” I shout, a few metres away. The wendigo jumps at him, but he shoots it yet again. He turns around following right behind me. A little jump down almost gets me, and I make my way down as carefully but quick as I can. Chris jumps down after me, hurting his foot in the process, but we can’t stop. 

We arrive at the lodge, but Chris grabs my clothing on my back, making me stop. The wendigo is right outside the door, screaming at us. He shoots it again, and it falls back. We try for the door, but it gets up on its feet again. I point my gun at the oil-filled barrels, pulling the trigger. 

“Down!” and I push him on the ground, covering my ears. The wendigo flies past us from the explosion, and I help him up and go for the door. 

“Guys! Open please!”

Ashley opens the door, quick to close it when we’re both inside. 

“What happened?” She looks down, noticing Chris’s sprained ankle. 

“Not here” I urge, signalling for her to help me get Chris further inside. We hear a tug at the door, and that’s enough for all of us to run. We go down the stairs to the basement, and are met with Sam, Emily and Mike. 

“Oh my god, guys. Thank god!” Emily exclaims, running to hug me. 

“What took you so long?” Sam asks Chris. She looks around, noticing some absences. “And where’s Josh? The old man?” 

“He-um…” Chris starts, but he just looks down, not managing to complete his sentence. Ashley grabs hold of him, taking him to a counter and making him lean against the wall. I put the pistol down on the table beside me. 

“That man, he’s dead” I say, Chris letting out a choked cry. “That thing, the wendigo?”

Sam nods, encouraging me to go on. “It took Josh. I was grabbing the gun, but they were gone.” I feel completely empty, tears having been used up for the night, a wave of apathy washing over me. I feel like a robot. Maybe this is what survival mode is, the body going off completely on natural instincts, no time for thinking nor grieving. I’ve grieved too many times tonight already. I won’t believe anything at all unless I see it happen. 

“No, no, no, no” Emily exclaims in needy pointless cries. 

“The flamethrower guy, he was torn apart by the wendigo” Chris explains. I try to get the picture out of my head. 

“Oh god…”

“Alright, are these all the doors?” Mike asks. Sam nods at him. 

“Are you sure?”

“What are you looking for?” 

“Another way out” 

“Mike, I really don’t think that’s a good idea. We should stay put here, until dawn.”

“What happens at dawn?” I ask. 

“Got someone on the radio, they’ll come and rescue us” Emily explains to me. 

“At least we’re safe down here” Sam continues, trying to persuade Mike. 

“Oh, yeah? All wrapped up like a little present with a bow on top, for that thing to tear us apart like it’s christmas morning?” 

“People will come for us… in the morning”

“You don’t sound so sure”

“That’s what’ll happen, right Em?” Emily looks unsure, her confidence leaving her body. 

“Yeah, I mean. Right?”

Mike rolls his eyes, walking fast around like a crazy person. “Well, you can wait, I’m leaving” he says as he walks deeper into the cellar. 

“Mike, there’s no key for the cable-car” Emily adds. Mike turns, a light switching on in his mind. “Josh! He’s gotta have it!” 

I feel my body light up by the mention of his name, but only for a second before remembering the last time I saw him. The time I didn’t do anything to save him. 

“One of his dirty little tricks, so we couldn’t get down the mountain while he orchestrated his whole thing” 

“Great, great!” Sam says disapprovingly, arms thrown in the air. 

“If that fucking thing got a hold of Josh… then… we shit out of luck.” My blood boils at the disrespect. 

“He’s still a person, Mike. Try to have some sympathy for someone being ripped apart by a fucking monster”

“That’s not what I meant, I was thinking about us here, those of us who are still alive” 

“Well, can’t you understand that he’s dead? What if I were to babble about how fucking inconvenient is was for me that Jessica was ripped apart”

“Hey, shut it!”

“No, you need to fucking think before you talk!” I yell back. 

“Both of you, lower your voices!” Sam scolds, and I hum a little sorry back to her. I walk to the other side of the room, arms crossed, eye contact with Mike. He looks defeated. I didn’t mean to touch that nerve, I’m truly sorry about Jessica, but it doesn’t hurt for him to think a little. Chris is standing in the other corner, still looking down and shaking. Emily breaks the silence. 

“It might be possible”

“What’s possible?”

“It may have taken him down to the mine” 

“What?”

“I saw some horrible stuff down there, I think it’s where that thing lives…” She stops, grabbing hold of a dark book she found. 

“Hey” Chris whispers, I look over at him. 

“Josh might not be dead, remember. The wendigo keeps its prey alive, so he might still be” 

My mind clears a bit, relief coming over me. 

“I’m going down there” Mike says. “I’m going down in that fucking monster’s bedroom and getting both Josh and the key” he continues, looking over at me. I give him an appreciative smile and mouth ‘Thank you’. 

“After that, I’m going to get us all the fuck out of here” 

The others are busy looking over the things laying out on the counter, not paying attention to his hero-speech. 

“Em, what is all that?” Sam asks. 

“Stuff from that guy’s bag”

“Is that a map?”

“That guy was prepared for anything” 

“Not quite”

“What is this place?” 

“I was down there, it was horrible” Mike explains. “There had been a cave-in, miners got trapped and like some of them survived. They got medical help and stuff at the Sanatorium, but there was also so much stuff. Like a bloodied torture chair and-”

“Hey, Michael, I would rather figure out how we’re gonna get the fuck out of here please?” Emily interrupts. 

“I’m just saying, it’s weird how much crazy shit’s gone on up here…” 

“What’s weird is that there’s a tunnel leading from the lodge to the Sanatorium, see?”

“That’s how I got back here” 

“I saw this when I was down there” she points to the nest. “That’s where it lives” 

Ashley gets a scared look on her face. “Em?” she says in a shaky voice. “Em, what is that?” 

“Huh?”

“What is that?”

Emily turns around, and for the first time, I notice a large, bloody wound on her shoulder. I uncross my arms, taking a step towards her to look closer. Ashley moves back, a panic response on her part, and Mike does the same. 

“Ash…”

“Em, oh my god, oh my god, no, no, no” Ashley chants to herself. 

“It’s nothing, it just bit me and-” 

“It bit you? What bit you?”

“The, uh, the wendigo”

“It what?” Mike chimes in. 

“It’s nothing, really, it’s not a big deal, it doesn’t even hurt anymore”

I look closer, taking her arm and turning her towards me. “Are you okay?” 

“Yes I’m okay, and it doesn’t hurt, it’s not that bad” 

“Em” Mike says firmly. “If that thing bit you…”

“I know what you’re thinking, and I’m fine” she explains, taking a step towards him. He takes a step back, and I can see the hurt in her eyes. 

“Are you?” “Yes!”

“Emily, at least let us check it out” Sam offers. 

“Emily, if the wendigo bit you, you could turn into one…”

“Oh that’s ridiculous!” Sam says. 

“Is that how it works?” I ask. 

“The man. He said it was from eating each other, remember? He said that!” 

“So if it bit her?” I ask. 

“Then she’s going to become one of them, and then she’s going to turn on us” Ashley finishes, freaking out and moving to the other side of the room. 

“You can’t be down here with us” Mike says, and Sam, Emily and I look at him in shock. 

“What?”

“Mike” I try, but Emily’s talking over me. 

“Are you kidding me?”

“You’ve got to go, you’re putting us all in danger” 

“Like hell I am!”

“Emily! You can’t stay here”

“Guys, we don’t know if it works like that” I interrupt. 

“Yeah, maybe it’s just a bite” Sam adds. 

“I’ve seen what these fuckers can do…” Chris starts. I think back to the man in the forest, his head slicing right off, body falling to the ground. “And I don’t want to see it again” I look down, unsure of what to do. What if it works that way? What if Emily turns into one of them and kills us all. 

“What is this? Guys, what are you doing?” Emily cries out, voice cracked and scared. 

“Door’s right here” Mike points. “I am letting you do this voluntarily”

“Oh no! You’re just trying to make yourself feel better about sending me to my death since you know there’s a wendigo up there ready to rip me to pieces.”

“Oh my god, will you just go?” Ashley screams in her face. “Go, get out of here!” 

Mike walks up to the table, grabbing the gun and pointing it towards Emily. 

“Woah, Mike!” I warn. “You’re not gonna shoot her” 

“Mike, put it down” Sam pleads, grabbing his arm. He shoves her away. 

“You’re gonna shoot me? Mike, me?” Emily asks, tears welling up in her eyes. 

“This is the safe-room Em” 

Emily creeps up on the bench, arms around her legs, holding herself. 

“Please”

“It’s not safe as long as you’re in it, not for us”

She starts crying, and I see Sam turning away, not bearing the sight. 

“Mike!” I try again. 

“Please don’t, please” she pleads between sobs. “Don’t do this” 

“I’m really sorry”

He stands still for a couple of seconds, before lowering the gun. “I can’t do this” he exclaims. 

“Oh my god…” Emily breathes out. 

“You did the right thing” Sam comments. 

“I hope you did” Ashley adds, still keeping a distance. Mike’s still walking to and fro in the room. 

“Maybe… for now” he says, cursing at himself. He points at her. 

“Keep an eye on her, and if you see anything weird, you know what to do” 

“Yeah”

“No one leaves, okay? It’s not safe out there. I’ll be back soon” he says as he makes his was deeper into the cellar and down the tunnels. As the door closes, Emily lets out another breath and puts her legs down. I run over to her, hugging her as she silently cries in the crook of my neck. Everyone is silent while Ashley walks through the room, again noticing the black notebook. She picks it up and starts reading. 

Emily quickly composes herself, drying the last tears and signals for me to give her a little space. I comply, moving away. 

“This says that since wendigos are mutated from humans, when they hunt us they know how to perfectly mimic their prey” 

“So, they can make human sounds? Sounds like us?” I ask, getting shivers down my spine. She doesn’t elaborate, and continues reading. 

“Oh, no, no, no, no” she starts repeating. 

“What?”

“It says that the bites are not infectious.”

“What?” Emily exclaims. I walk up to Ashley, and she hands me the book. 

“The bite doesn’t do anything” I explain. “Emily, you’re gonna be fine” 

“It says that?” 

“You’re safe, you’re not changing or dying from this. You’re gonna be fine” I repeat. 

“Fine? Mike almost shot me, is that fine?” 

“He didn’t shoot you-” Sam says in a low voice, trying to remind her of her volume. 

“And this bitch almost let him!” she points at Ashley, walking towards her. 

“That’s not fair” I add. “She was scared, and based on the little information we had, there seemed like a fairly possible chance” 

“I’m the one who’s scared” she spits back. 

“I’m sorry Emily, I’m so, so, so sorry” Ashley pleads. “I didn’t know what was going to happen, none of us did”

“There’s no excuse, there’s no excuse for this!” 

“Please, just try to understand Emily”

“Understand the palm of my hand, Bitch” she says, before slapping Ashley in the face.  Ashley holds her hand to her cheek, continues apologising and retreating into the corner. Chris is still silent, not having raised his head once since the pistol-episode. I look at him for a while, making sure he’s still present. 

“Shit” Sam exclaims. 

“What?” I ask. 

“Shit, shit, shit. We’ve got to get to Mike, like now!” 

She starts walking, and I look at the others, confused. We follow, and I make sure Chris is still with us. Luckily, Ashley’s walking beside him, helping him keep up as we move further down the dark halls.

[xetlynn]

Until Dawn- By Your Side: Chapter Two, Promise

(Joshua Washington X Reader)

[One] [Two] [Three]

“I hope this was the right thing to do.” Sam quietly says, it seemed like it was supposed to be to herself. Chris and I give her a confused expression. “What?” He questions.

“You know, getting everyone together on the anniversary.” She explains further. “I mean Josh seemed really pumped about us all doing something didn’t he.” She starts but it was more of a question in the back of her mind. I just look at her with the same expression I’ve held. “Yeah, no, he definitely did.” Chris assures her. “I haven’t seen him so excited about something in… forever.” He continues, Sam looks at me to see if that’s true and I nod my head. “Good, good.”

“It’s hard to tell with him, and I’ve kinda been worried. Only hearing updates through [Name] or you.” Sam tells the blond as I notice her avoiding eye contact with me. I mean she has every right to feel worried about him but why is she acting sort of weird with me right now. “No, no, it was a good idea.” He tells her.

“I hope everybody else feels the same way.” She whispers. “we’re here aren’t we?” I add in, leaning back. “Well thanks bros, good talk.” She playfully punches both of us. “You know what? Let’s just stop talking about what happened and enjoy the trip.” Chris suddenly tells us. “You know what? You’re right.” Sam sighs.

“You know how Josh and I met?” He switches the subject and I smile, remembering it’s because of me that we all met. “No…?”

“Ok, [Name] became my friend in second grade. Neither of us remember how or when that happened but suddenly we were just friends. In third grade Josh sat in the back of the room, I sat in the front and [Name] was also in the back with Josh. She instantly talked with him and they became friends but somehow Josh and I never knew each other existed. But the kid sitting on the other side of him started strap snapping the training bra on the girl in front of him so the teacher made him move to the front- where I was sitting.” He smiles, and I lean back, listening even though I lived through it. It’s nice to hear. “Okay, so?” Sam asks.

“So I got moved to the back!” He exclaims. “And?”

“And next to Josh, that’s how we met! And us three became friends. To this day. Well [Name] and Josh a bit more than friends now.” He chuckles, pushing me closer to Sam and I roll my eyes, shoving him back. “A match made in heaven.” Sam smirks, “Josh and Chris definitely are.” I say, laughing. Chris scoffs.

“If it weren’t for the fact that Jeanie Simmonds hit puberty like three years early and on that day decided to wear a low cut shirt that showed off her training bra. I mean who knows? You could be riding in this cable car alone or with just [Name].” He pulls out a hypothetical and I shake my head. “Right now. Or talking to some other person or persons entirely. Boom: Butterfly effect.” He does a mic drop motion with his hand. “You’re so dramatic, Chris.” I sigh.

The cable car gets to our destination and we climb out. We try to open the door but it doesn’t budge. It had been a couple minutes of trying to get the stupid thing to open. “Jessica, over here!” Sam suddenly calls and I stay in the back after hearing my sister’s name. We were supposed to come here together but after I found out she’s going after Mike, we had a huge argument and I want nothing to do with her. “Uh… are you guys having a really weird stroke?” Jess asks them.

“We’re stuck in this stupid thing.” Chris answers her. “Can you please let us out? Pretty please?” Sam asks.

“Jess, don’t play a dumb prank either, just hurry up.” I tell her, annoyed. She ignores me and presses the button, letting us out. “Oh, my God. I thought we were goners. Another ten minutes in there and I would have chewed off my own leg.” Chris exasperates. “Aw, sick, Chris.” Sam mutters. “Like I said before, you’re dramatic.” I fold my arms over my chest. “Look I got a lot of meat on my bones. This is all muscle down here.” He explains and I just walk away from them. I hear them talk about Jessica having a crush on Mike. Jessica telling them about how she’s with him.

I take my phone out and text my boyfriend. Wondering if he’s got everything set up. I don’t get a response though.

I walk behind everyone as we make our way up to the lodge until I find my way back to Chris and Sam who’s weirdly being quiet. “Chugger gonna make her big come back this weekend?” He asks me and I glare up at him. “Again with this?” I groan, both of us stop walking and I place my hands on my hips as I stand in front of him. “I’m just saying Josh found her pretty hot.” He puts his hands up defensively.

“Chris, we’re 20 years old now, Chugger no longer exists. Plus Josh still finds me hot. Obviously because we’re dating.” I scrunch my nose, irritated on this being a conversation once again. He goes to say something but has a smirk tied to his lips, I glance to Sam who was looking behind me.

Suddenly arms wrap around my waist and I’m lifted up into the air. I let out a squeal, kicking my feet. “Woah!” I get placed back on the ground and then spun around.

“Hello, my beautiful darling.” It was Josh, he pulls me into his arms and I hear him sniff my hair. I let out a laugh. “Hi, my love.” I look up and he kiss my lips. “Where have you been?” I ask him.

“Oh you know, around. Setting everything up. Or at least trying to.” He frowns. “Hm, I tried texting you.” I pull away from him.

“Sorry, haven’t really been on it much with all the running around.” He rubs the back of his head. I stare at him, my face scrunched with confusion. He’s acting weird. He gives me a wink and I roll my eyes.

We get to the stairs of the lodge.

“Man I feel like this mountain gets bigger every time I climb it.” Chris complains, he keeps walking behind me and kicking the heel of my shoe. “Oh yeah? Feels the same to me.” Josh says, grabbing my hand. “Oh come on, you grew up here. It probably feels like it’s shrinking.” Chris huffs.

“I guess that’s true.” Josh smiles, squeezing my hand. “When are you gonna install some cell towers up here? I’m getting withdrawals already.” The blond criticizes the mountain, lifting his phone in the air to try to get some sort of service.

“You got a spare million lying around and I’ll fix you right up.” Josh jokes, chuckling to himself and I smile. “Funny you should say that…” He checks his pockets as we start walking once again. “Ah I think I left it in my other jacket.” Chris points back. “Oops.” Josh shrugs. “Darn, that sucks.” I snap my fingers.

“Hey guys… Get up here okay?” Josh questions the rest of the group ahead of us.

“Yeah… well, more or less. But it’s so good to see you!” Ashley smiles to my boyfriend and then makes eye contact with me, giving a big grin. I’ve always loved Ashley. She’s a sweetheart. I’m iffy about her after the prank but Josh keeps telling me the twins would’ve wanted me to forgive them. It feels like I should be telling him that. In the beginning his anger was strong…

“Sup with him?” Josh motions to an upset looking Matt. Matt just looks away, I let out a breath. “Let’s just get inside.” I whisper, tugging Josh to come up the stairs.

“Yo yo yo! Are we gonna get things moving up here or what?” Chris asks Josh. “Yeah man!” He smiles.

He grips my hand once again and I look up at him. Wondering why he keeps doing that. “Hey… you doin’ alright?” Our friend gets serious, my eyes soften and lean closer into my boyfriend. Wanting to know the same thing even though I’m with him so much. His mind can go everywhere sometimes. “I mean I know it must be really tough without your sis-“

“Stop.” Josh warns him, letting go of my hand. “I just meant that-“

“No I know what you meant. You know seriously I’m over it and I just want us to have a good time, you know? Like we always used to.” Josh turns away from us and I frown, I know he’s not okay. I don’t know why he said he’s over it. He doesn’t have to be over it.

Chris nods his head though, “Right, Chugger could come out like she used to. But she won’t budge through this facade.” Chris pokes my side.

“Shut up about the Chugger thing already.” I throw my head back, jokingly gripping my head. “If my lady says no Chugger, that means no Chugger, sir.” Josh points a finger in our best friend’s face with a smile. Turning back around to try and open the door. “Dammit, this freaking thing.” He curses.

“It’s iced?” I ask. “What else.”

“Maybe there’s another way in.” Chris suggests. “There are a million ways in. They’re just all locked.” Josh continues to try with the door. “There’s gotta be, like, a window round the corner we can get like, get open or something.” Chris tells my boyfriend who stands up straighter at his idea.

“Wait a second, are you saying we should break in?” He questions Chris. “I don’t think it’s technically breaking in if you own the place, right?” Chris laughs.

“Hey, not if I don’t report you.” Josh jokes, making our friend nervous. “Lead the way, Cochise!” He motions him to go back down the stairs.

Once we get down Chris talks to Ashley. Josh and I watching the scene, his hand finds his way back to mine and I feel a kiss on my jawline. “I missed you.” He whispers in my ear and I smile. “I saw you three days ago.” I keeps my eyes looking ahead of me. “Three days too long.” He pulls me closer to him, kissing my neck making me laugh because it tickles.

“All right, all right, love birds. Keep it moving!” Chris orders us, shooing at us like we were cattle or a flock of birds. Instead of arguing we move it. Wanting to get inside. “Ashley was looking pretty hot today, right?” I teasingly ask the blond.

“Yeah if you don’t hit I’m sure Mike will get on that case.” Josh tells him, I pinch his hand, thinking that was a little too far. “Hey, cut it out you two.” Chris shakes his head but doesn’t lock eye contact with us. “Re-laaax I’m just checkin’ to see if there’s some blood flowin’ down there.” Josh laughs. “Tsk yeah…”

“Listen dude. Look around you. Look at these beautiful mountains. Do you see any parents?” Josh even takes a glance around him as he instructed our friend to do the same. “I mean can you imagine a more perfect, ripe scenario, just dripping with erotic possibilities? You, and Ashley, alone at last…” Josh makes up a hypothetical and I can see how these two are best friends. “You’ve laid all the groundwork… you’ve been a perfect gentleman. Now you come in for the kill!” Josh dramatically tells him. I let out a sigh at this awful conversation.

“Maybe you’re right.” Chris smiles.

“You’re a hunter bro. No fear. No mercy. I mean she won’t even know what hit her.” We walk around him and start back up to get to another way inside the lodge. “Alright, alright. I got it. Jeez.”

“You’re gross, Joshua.” I gently push him, he snickers pushing my back but we’re still holding hands. “You know I’m only messing.” He stops us to kiss me on the lips before continuing again.

“So how are we planning on breaking in to my parents lodge, bud?” Josh asks Chris. “Wait, I didn’t say I had a plan-“

“You sounded like you had a plan.” I chime in, Josh hums, agreeing with me. “You better deliver, Cochise, or else you got five lovely ladies who are gonna be freezing their bus off and last time I checked, that’s not a good way to get laid.” Josh tells him, playfully squeezing my hand and I scoff.

“All you think about is your penis.” I mumble. “Mm, maybe.” He whispers back to me. “well shoot, nobody likes cool buns.” Chris says.

Chris walks over to where an emergency axe should be but he lets out a disappointing sounding “oh.” Then he goes over to a cupboard? “Well well well. We got ourselves a thinker. Nice one.” Josh pats the thing, letting go of my hand. They push it over to the closest window. I watch them do the work.

“Who’s gonna get in there first?” Chris jokingly asks us. I shrug my shoulders. “if you want, I can do it.” I offer but Josh immediately pulls me back shaking his head in disagreement. “No, no, let Chris go.” He tells me, I look to Chris who waves it off. Climbing on the thing.

He lifts the window open and climbs inside the building. We hear a thud and him groan afterwards. I wince. “C’mon.” Josh lifts himself up and then helps me beside him but there’s barely any room. “Ugh, I’m okay!” Chris moans. “I should’ve pain more attention in climbing class…” He talks to himself. “You mean gym?” Josh furrows his brows as I laugh.

“Yeah, you know, with the climbing up the rope.” He stands up from the ground and then the light in the room shatters. “whoa.” Josh steps back, I almost slip but I catch myself. “Did I do that?” Chris asks.

“I don’t… I don’t think so. Here, use this.” Josh throws him a lighter. “Whoa- Chris, I just got an awesome idea.”

“Yeah?”

“Totally!”

“Well what is it?” Chris asks, looking up to us. “Okay. So I am pretty sure that I’ve got some deodorant in one of the bathrooms… you could use that with the lighter.” Josh tells him. “I don’t follow. How’s a stick of deodorant gonna help?”

“Spray on. It’s a can.” Josh corrects him. “Ohhh yeah, now I gotcha. “Flamethrower.”

“Just like we do with the lil army dudes.” Chris excitedly remembers and I wince at the memory. The smell of the plastic burning in my nose. “Yup. The ones we melted. Just point the spray-can at the lighter and Fwoosh!” Josh flings his arms up, almost knocking me before he grabbed onto my waist quickly. “Bye-bye frozen lock.” Chris chuckles. “Bingo.” Josh looks to the side. “Alright, so you got this. I’m gonna go sort something out- you up for hunting around in the dark for a little bit?” He asks Chris, I’m confused on what he has to sort out.

“Nope. But I’ll do it.” The blond shrugs. “Godspeed pil’grim.” Josh salutes to him before jumping down and then motioning for me to get on his back. “In the snow?” I nervously ask.

“Yes, I got you.” He says. “I… okay.” I slowly get onto his back and I feel his hands grip my thighs immediately. He makes his way back to the front of the lodge. Sam and Ashley were still sitting there. “I gotta go do something, I’ll be back.” He pats my thigh and I jump down.

“Joshua, where are you going?” I ask him in a quiet tone, we were a few feet away from the stairs still. “Just a sorting out a surprise for everyone.” He doesn’t look me in the eye and I fold my arms across my chest. “You’re acting strange, love.” I tell him.

“I’ll tell you later, I promise.” He puts his hands on my hips, pulling me closer to him. “You promise?” I raise my brows, he smiles. “Of course.” He gives me a long kiss before letting me go.

I go over to Ashley and Sam who are huddled up together. “Where’s Chris?” Ashley asks and I laugh. “He’s in the house, gonna open the door for us.” I inform them, sitting with them.

“Where’d Josh head to?” Sam speaks up and I glance off to the direction he was heading. “Um, I don’t actually know. He told me he would tell me later.” I frown, now feeling myself getting colder. “Weird.” She mumbles.

“Let’s go over to the door so we can get that fire started as soon as possible.” I pat both of them and we stand up. Walking up the stairs to the front door.

Masterlist

J. W. Masterlist

Taglist: If you want to be added lmk!

@my1fx

@scarletrosesposts

@jenepleurepasbaby

@httpvomitello

@britbratface

[gatheringbones]

best books of 2022 rec list:

fiction:

chouette by claire oshetsky

forty thousand in gehenna by cj cherryh

fierce femmes and notorious liars by kai cheng thom

sula by toni morrison

everyone in this room will someday be dead by emily r. austin

jane eyre by charlotte bronte

villette by charlotte bronte

non-fiction:

gay spirit by mark thompson

we too: stories on sex work and survival by natalie west

transgender history by susan stryker

blood marriage wine & glitter by s bear bergman

love and rage: the path to liberation through anger by lama rod owens

gay soul by mark thompson

between certain death and a possible future: queer writing on growing up in the AIDS crisis by mattilda bernstein sycamore

the man they wanted me to be: toxic masculinity and a crisis of our own making by jared yates sexton

nobody passes: rejecting the rules of gender and conformity by mattilda bernstein sycamore

cruising: an intimate history of a radical pastime by alex espinoza

gay body by mark thompson

what my bones know: a memoir of healing from complex trauma by stephanie foo

the child catchers: rescue, trafficking, and the new gospel of adoption by kathryn joyce

the opium wars: the addiction of one empire and the corruption of another by w. travis hanes III

a queer history of the united states by michael bronski

the trouble with white women by kyla schuller

what we don't talk about when we talk about fat by aubrey gordon

the feminist porn book by tristan taormino

administrations of lunacy: a story of racism and psychiatry at the midgeville asylum by mab segrest

the women's house of detention by hugh ryan

angela davis: an autobiography by angela davis

ten steps to nanette by hannah gadsby

neuroqueer heresies by nick walker

the remedy: queer and trans voices on health and healthcare by zena sharman

brilliant imperfection by eli clare

the dawn of everything: a new history of humanity by david graeber and david wengrow

tomorrow sex will be good again by katherine angel

all our trials: prisons, policing, and the feminist fight to end violence by emily l. thuma

if this is a man by primo levi

bi any other name: bisexual people speak out by lorraine hutchins

white rage: the unspoken truth of our racial divide by carol anderson

public sex: the culture of radical sex by pat califa

I'm glad my mom died by jenette mccurdy

care of: letters, connections and cures by ivan coyote

the gentrification of the mind: witness to a lost imagination by sarah schulman

skid road: on the frontier of health and homelessness in an american city, by josephine ensign

the origins of totalitarianism by hannah arendt

nice racism: how progressive white people perpetuate racial harm by robin diangelo

corrections in ink by keri blakinger

sexed up: how society sexualizes us and how we can fight back by julia serano

smash the church, smash the state! the early years of gay liberation by tommi avicolli mecca

no more police: a case for abolition by mariame kaba

until we reckon: violence, mass incarceration, and a road to repair by danielle sered

the care we dream of: liberatory & transformative justice approaches to LGBTQ+ health by zena sharman

reclaiming two-spirits: sexuality, spiritual renewal and sovereignty in native america by gregory d. smithers

the sentences that create us: crafting a writer's life in prison by Caits Meissner

[disneytva]

Variety Interviews Ayo Davis, Meredith Roberts And Emily Hart On Disney Television Animation's 40th Anniversary And What To Expect On From The Past, Present And Future

40 years ago, Disney TVA was founded on the heels of challenging outcomes with features “The Fox and the Hound” and “The Black Cauldron.”

Initially, Disney TVA was restricted from using established Disney legacy characters, but nevertheless had huge successes with new shows like “The Wuzzles” and “Adventures of the Gummi Bears,” both of which became popular in syndication. As time went on, DTVA was able to use its limited rights to create shows like “DuckTales” and “TaleSpin,” which featured Disney characters. Today, the slate has evolved to include shows that travel across Disney’s streaming, linear and digital platforms, including Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney Junior and the Disney Parks

Over the 40 years of the studio has collaborated with Walt Disney Imagineering to bring beloved Disney Afternoon characters to the parks as well Mickey And Minnie's Runaway Railway and AquaMouse for the Disney Wish and Disney Treasure cruises from the Disney Cruise & Ships Line as well collaborating with Disney Yellow Two Shoes Team to redesing some heritage characters for the WDW Passholder Magnets.

Disney TVA characters also have gone to the realm of live action. In 2019 Disney Channel brought Kim Possible to the live action world as a Disney Channel Original Movie in 2019. In Spring 2022, Walt Disney Studios brought Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers to a new generation of fans trought a meta-driven live action/animated hybrid film which won an Primetime Emmy Award for Best Feature Film.

In April 2024, it was announced that Kiara from The Lion King II: Simba's Pride created at Disney TVA will make her live action debut on the motion capture/computer animated film "Mufasa The Lion King" with the character being voiced by Blue Ivy Carter. In Fall 2023, it was announced that Blumhouse Television and Atomic Monster where developing a live action reboot of Gargoyles for Disney+.

The future of the studio looks bright as the studio is slated to debut it's 100th show overall "StuGo" in 2025, as well new interations of beloved classics like The Proud Family, Phineas And Ferb, Sofia The First and Darkwing Duck trought revivals,reboots and spin-offs in the coming years with early talks of new interations of TaleSpin, Kim Possible and Recess since Early 2023.

“We have a wildly diverse development slate because we don’t have a house style,” says Meredith Roberts, executive vice president, television animation, Disney Branded Television and CEO of Disney Television Animation “Our styles are creator-driven, so that allows for real support of the artist or creator to fulfill his or her vision. Anything is possible, whether it's CGI. (“Monsters at Work”), hand-drawn 2D (“Big City Greens”,"Primos","Hailey's On It!"), rig-based 2D (“Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur”,"Kiff") and stop-motion (“Mickey Saves Christmas”,"Rhona Who Lives By The River".). Roberts continues, “We really try and solve all the problems and develop it. We look at the scripts and the story arcs. Every project has to have a strategy behind it that will complement the slate and separate it from other things. Each project has a distinct swim lane to attract an audience. And we’ve learned to meet the kids where they are, in terms of streaming and YouTube.”

Co-viewing, the viewership that happens when adults sit down to watch a DTVA show with the kids in their lives, is part of the studio’s secret sauce and long-term strategy. Many of the shows are written with jokes and plot points for both audiences so both groups will return.

“We double down on the kids and family space,” says Roberts. “We’re not just dipping a toe in the water. We’re diving in. I think we’ve seen a lot of churn with the competition, who just don’t have the patience to develop and are for this audience, which is a very specialized kid audience and co-view audience.” ("The Witchverse", "Rhona Who Lives By The River","InterCats","Fantasy Sports") Roberts reflects: “I think one of the things I’m most proud of is how stable Disney TVA has been for the last 40 years despite a lot of outside churn of the animation industry. Many of our crews feel that Disney is their forever home. I think the excitement they have to illustrate and create with this brand has been terrific because it’s harder to be funny and clean. And nowhere are we tearing down people to get that laugh. I think that’s the beauty of a Disney animated show.”

DTVA also sought to meet kids where they are by making their audience — which is made up of the most diverse generation in history — feel seen, with series such as “Elena of Avalor,” which featured Disney’s first Latina princess, and “The Proud Family,” franchise focused on the life of a teenage Black girl.

“We do have an amazing insights team that are constantly in the field, giving us general information about how kids are watching content, what they’re into,” Emily Hart (VP of Current and Development - Disney Junior) says. “Some of those things are evolving, as we know the ways kids consume content is changing. But there are some universal truths about kids, and it’s great to have that reinforced. Kids still like a lot of the same things that we like. So, there’s a combination that we’re always tracking with every new idea, and we do pilot testing. We get to sit down and talk about the content, and we invite our creators in so they can see the kids talking about it because they’re the audience and they’re the truest test of if the story is going to work.”

Ayo Davis, president of the Disney Branded Television and VP of Current and Development at Disney Television Animation says the division is a “driving force” for memorable kids and family entertainment.

“All of us at Disney Branded Television are so proud of the studio’s 40-year legacy as it continues to entertain future generations with shows like ‘Kiff,’ ‘Big City Greens’ and ‘Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 2.0" --- Davis says.

Those creators who come to DTVA often stay for a long time, partnering with the studio on a variety of different projects or expanding on a hit and reimagining it for the next generation of viewers. “The Proud Family” was a standout in 2001 on Disney Channel. Creator and executive producer Bruce W. Smith is now working on the Emmy-winning “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder,” which is based on the original series. The show follows Penny Proud as she navigates family life and her own childhood.

“Being at Disney TVA has allowed me to realize all my artistic dreams,” says Bruce W. Smith. “As a kid, you always have hopes, thoughts, dreams, ideas and characters that can help lay out those ideas in your head. Disney has allowed me to really tap into my creative instinct, at the end of the day, you have to learn how to trust yourself. Meredith Roberts has been a true shepherd for me in all of this, allowing me to stretch my wings. Because of her belief in me and my ideas, she’s really allowed me to blossom as an artist. All that happened at DTVA.”

“They really seem to be a place that welcomes your ideas,” Dan Povenmire says of Disney TVA. “They want to find people with real strong ideas of the stories they want to tell, and then they let them tell those stories for the most part. They seem to put storytelling and characters over anything. With [‘Phineas and Ferb’], we would write jokes for the kids and the adults in the room because we knew the adults would be there too. We were just careful not to do any double entendres.”

[untildawnss]

until dawn characters overhearing their partner saying something negative about them/their relationship

just a few short drabbles about the characters' weaknesses or worse traits and how they might react to hearing a partner talking about it. and wow, this actually took a while.

kind of angsty, but the endings of most of these are kind of open for interpretation

ashley

"i don't know, i just feel like we're stuck sometimes. we're not really doing anything. it's getting kind of boring."

ashley stopped dead in front of the door to your living room. she had wanted to spend a quiet evening at home with you, like you usually did on fridays but evidently you'd had other plans. and you obviously hadn't expected her to get home early. she flexed her hands, once, twice, and opened the door. the room went quiet, you and your friends looked at ashley. "babe, you're home." you smiled, not sure whether or not ashley had heard you. "sit down, i'm gonna get you a glass of wine." you patted the couch next to you. "no thanks. i think i'd rather go and be boring," ashley grabbed her laptop from the coffee table, "in the bedroom. alone."

beth

"seriously, her sister is over all the time. i know, i know they're twins and they're close and everything but i feel like aoutsider in my own relationship sometimes because she never says no to her family and i get the short end of the stick."

beth heard your voice drifting through the open window. you were on the patio, on the phone with your best friend while hanging out the laundry. beth was in your bedroom on the floor above, changing the sheets. are you fucking kidding me? beth sucked her teeth. she knew that you knew that she'd always been the most mature and stable of the washington siblings and that they were super close. "you know," she leaned out of the window. you looked up at her, startled. "you're my family, too. and i never say no to you." - "you heard that?" you groaned. "uh, yeah, me and like the entire neighbourhood. so what's wrong with me and hannah hanging out? it's only once a week." - "nothing, it'd just be nice to be included every once in a while." beth smiled widely at you. "aw, i didn't know you wanted to hang out with us. you should have told me."

chris

"he's always doing something on his phone, sending josh some stupid video or planning another dumbass prank with him. sometimes i think he stopped maturing past the age of 16."

you heard the front door close. apparently you had missed the jingling of chris' keys while you were busy looking for a salad bowl in the kitchen. "cool, didn't know you thought that way about me." chris dropped a plastic bag on your kitchen counter. "i brought dinner, got your favourite. thought i'd come over and we could hang out, maybe watch a movie or something. but it seems like you're busy." you had turned around to face him. "chris, i didn't mean it like that. i'm sorry." he was already on his way to the door. "no, you did." - "fine, maybe i did. but it doesn't mean that i don't love you. where are you going?" he was standing in the doorway, doing fingerguns at you. "josh's place. because i'm immature like that." the door closed and you pulled out your phone. can we talk about this? you walked back to the kitchen, the smell of your favourite food filling the room. thank you for dinner. - let's talk tomorrow, like adults?

emily

"emily wants this, emily wants that. emily gets what she wants, whenever she wants. it's all about her. i think she's her own favourite person in the world and everyone else are background characters for her enjoyment."

emily's phone pinged when she received the voice message. it was intended for your best friend but you had misclicked when opening the chat without realising it. she smiled when she saw your name on the screen and eagerly tapped on the little arrow to play the message. oh. the message wasn't for her. but you had thought of her alright. was she really that bad? her phone pinged again. don't listen to that. too late, she thought. i'm sorry, i didn't mean that. but you did, she knew. because she knew she was a bitch sometimes. because she knew that she had been selfish. no, you're right. she texted back. can i have a second chance?

hannah

"can you believe it? we had a fight and now she's packing her stuff to go sleep at her sister's place. she's blowing it out of proportion. talk about overreacting. everything is drama with her."

hannah had texted her siblings to come pick her up while she was throwing clothes and toiletries into a bag. whatever you were fighting about had escalated, both of you were to blame for that. but now you couldn't even wait until she was out of the house to talk shit about her? absolutely not. she knew she was sensitive but calling her dramatic was unfair. if she stayed, neither of you would sleep tonight. both of you needed to calm down. so naturally, hannah had called her twin sister and asked if she could stay with her for a few days. and naturally, beth had gotten in her car. the place was just too small for both of you to try to avoid each other after an argument. hannah was trying to give you space but sure, she was the one overreacting, not you in the living room, knowing full well that she could hear you. "you know what? if everything's drama with me, maybe i'll do you a favour and move out." hannah zipped up her bag and made her way to the front door. she heard a clatter as you dropped your phone. "what?" hannah was putting on her shoes now. "i said," she removed the butterfly keychain from her set of keys before putting them back. "i'm moving out. we're done." she walked out of the apartment and got into beth's car.

jess

"ugh, sometimes a part of me wants to shake her and ask her to just act like a normal human being. she's not perfect, so why does she pretend to be?"

last you checked jess was in the shower for her "self care day" ritual. that usually took a while, so you put in your earphones and called a friend while you were in the kitchen preparing dinner. you had jokingly complained that her long showers would drive up the water bill because she just had to keep up that image, that she was driving herself crazy competing with no one but her own ego. you hung up when you put the dish in the oven to clean up, maybe see if jess was done in the shower and have a pre-dinner glass of wine. you walked out of the kitchen and stepped right into a small puddle in the hall. ew, wet sock. "jess, can you leave the water in the shower next time?" you walked towards the bathroom and opened the door. jess was standing there in her underwear, a towel wrapped around her head and staring at her reflection. "hey. dinner's almost ready. you want a glass of wine?" she turned around to look at you. "do you think i'm vain?" her question took you by surprise. "what?" - "do you think i'm vain? i heard you talking about me and i want to know if you think i'm vain." she looked like she was about to cry. "jess, babe, no that wasn't what i meant. it's just- you try so hard all the time but you don't even need to. i love you just the way you are. you can be a little high maintenance, though." she sighed. "i know i'm not perfect-" - "you don't need to be." - "but can i still have that glass of wine?"

josh

"i feel like his caretaker sometimes. take your meds, take care of yourself, go to bed at a reasonable hour, don't drink too much, blah blah blah. i'm so over it. at one point he has to start living for himself and not just because everyone else bends over backwards for him."

you hung up the phone and turned up the TV's volume. when you went into the kitchen to get a drink, josh was there. "hey, when did you get home?" - "while ago," he shrugged. "why didn't you say anything?" you opened the fridge, looking for something you're in the mood for. water, or maybe some wine. "heard the TV, wasn't really in the mood for that." josh tapped his heel against the cupboard behind him. "okay. you want anything?" you pointed at the contents of the fridge. "wouldn't want to be a burden." he turned his head to look at you. "wouldn't want you bending over backwards to take care of me." he clenched his teeth. "yeah, i heard that, too." you let go of the fridge door and it closed slowly. "josh, i-" you started, trying to find something to say. "it's okay. i know i'm not always the easiest person to be around. but i'm trying, i'm getting better." you reached out to touch his hand but he pulled back. "i called chris. he's coming to pick me up." - "oh, okay. when are you coming back?" - "i don't think i should."

matt

"it's like matt doesn't even have any opinions of his own. he always just agrees with me. i don't think he has made a single decision in his life, ever."

it had been a week since matt had read your message. he had been using your laptop because he had forgotten his at home and your devices were connected. he hadn't planned on reading it but saw that it was about him. he hadn't even told his sisters or ashley about it and they were usually his go to people. maybe he was bad at making decisions. he hadn't decided how to handle this situation, anyway. yeah, you'd noticed that he had pulled away and asked him if something was wrong but he had made up an excuse about an assignment he had to turn in. he was still thinking about whether to ignore that he had seen the message or try to talk to you about it when you, once again, made a decision for him. his doorbell rang and when he opened the door, there you were, smiling at him. "hey, thought i'd come over. you're done with that assignment, right? can i come in?" maybe he'd finally make a decision. "actually, no. i don't think we should see each other anymore." your face dropped. "what? why? what happened?" - "guess i'm just making a decision for the first time in my life, ever. we're over."

mike

"he's such a fucking macho sometimes. i can literally not do anything without him swooping in and taking over because he thinks he's god's gift to humanity or something. right now he's putting up a shelf because he didn't think i could handle it. it's my place."

you were in your bedroom, sending a voice message to one of your friends. mike had finished putting up the shelf and was about to knock on your bedroom door to ask you if you wanted to grab something to eat when he realised you were talking about him. wow. guess you really needed to get that off your chest. he'd always thought he was just being helpful by offering to do stuff for you. was he really that overbearing? was he a macho? mike had always thought you were grateful when you accepted his help but maybe he'd misinterpreted the way you smiled at him earlier. it did look forced but he thought it was just the stress of moving. before he could move the door opened and you were face to face with him. "mike! were you eavesdropping?" - "not on purpose! but you were kind of yelling." he shrugged. "didn't realise you thought that i was such an ass. didn't realise i was being an ass." - "you're not an ass, just-" you started. "god's gift to humanity?" he said, pretending to fix an invisible halo. "i'm sorry, i promise i will stop swooping in and taking over and wait until you ask me for help. if you still want me."

sam

"we barely spend any time together. she's always doing something, hanging out with her friends, going climbing, running or swimming. are we even in a relationship anymore or just roommates? i don't even know where she is right now."

sam was right above you, watering the plants at the top of the stairs when you walked in. you were probably talking to a family member or a friend. about her. she wasn't sure if she should say something or not. she had continued watering the same plant while listening to your conversation and the water was overflowing now. it reached her feet and soaked through her sock. "crap." downstairs she heard you mutter a quick goodbye before you called through the house. "sam? are you home?" - "yeah, i'm here." she called back from the bathroom, looking for one of the ratty towels you used for spills. you had kicked off your shoes and were walking up the stairs. "don't move, i accidentally drowned gilbert." all the plants had names. sam emerged from the bathroom and threw the towel on the ground, swiping it around with her foot to wipe up the spill. "i didn't know you were home. did you, uh, hear me just now?" sam was staring at you. "yeah," she admitted. "i don't want us to be over. but i don't want to give up who i am, either." you nodded. "i know. compromise?" sam nodded back at you. "we can try."