#esp after NONE OF THEM SAID GOODBYE | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

whumpmatsus · 3 years ago

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Sup fam! 👋 while I'm still organizing my own list of ways to torments the bois, I thought I'd send my first request in! Not exactly sure how the different combos can work, but maybe 19 for Ichimatsu? 😼

Definitely more to come lol 😹 but I'll make sure to spread them out so you don't feel overwhelmed. Thank you so much, I caaaare yooooou 💞💞💞

Ultimate Whump Writing Meme! / ACCEPTING!

19. Grief/mourning

OHOHO I can't wait to see your list! X3c

the combos are pretty easy, I can see where they might be confusing tho! some of them don't have letters along with the number which means it's not a 'category', it's just its own thing, but if it does have letters to go with it, you can choose one of those letters.

LIKE, say if you sent a request for a character with 1A, the 1 is "acute infectious disease", which is like, pretty broad and contains a TON of different diseases, which have their own letters. so if you just sent 1 by itself I'd spin the wheel to see which illness I felt like giving the character, but if you specify 1A, that means the request is for the character suffering from a cold!

another example, 6 is the "broken bones" category, you can send that to let me choose which bone I wanna break, but there's also the choice of different ones so if you send, ohhh, 6A, that means you want the character to have a broken rib

SO YEAH I can see where it's a lil confusing but I hope I explained it ok!!

(send ALL THE REQUESTS you could never overwhelm me XD)

anyways I've seen this idea done a couple times but I haven't seen anyone put an Iro spin on it and I was craving that Iro content sooooo...

TRIGGER WARNING though, for animal death! tread lightly <3

Ichimatsu has been sitting outside for hours holding the body.

It was a surprise to everyone when he came home carrying a heap of fluffy orange fur, not moving or breathing. Ichimatsu himself looked no different than usual, his half-lidded expression, probably too in shock to have an actual response. He was immediately crowded around, everyone asking questions, and all he could do was explain in that soft-spoken voice he uses when he’s trying not to cry.

He didn’t even really know what happened himself. He just told them he hadn’t seen ESP Kitty for a few days, and then tonight he went out to feed all his cats�� and there was his precious friend in the alley. Surrounded by a bunch of his other cats, almost like they were protecting him, and moving only once Ichimatsu approached.

The tears started to form when he talked about picking ESP Kitty up, seeing the cat’s eyes open to look up at him. And ESP Kitty let out a weak meow, closed his eyes, and died in Ichimatsu’s arms. “It was like he was waiting for me,” Ichimatsu said bitterly, and the tears began to drip down. “Like he was just hanging on long enough to say goodbye.”

Then he pushed past all of his brothers, went out the back door, and has been sitting on the grass outside ever since.

None of them really know what to do or how to handle this. It’s the first time one of Ichimatsu’s cats has passed away, and especially one who he was so close to; who they were all so close to, to be honest. They’ve all kind of hung back, thinking he needs some time alone to process everything. After all, Ichimatsu likes to be left alone at the best of times, and none of them can imagine him reacting positively to their company right now.

However, when it’s time to get ready for bed, around midnight when they all start to get tired, Ichimatsu hasn’t come back inside. It’s not exactly freezing outside, but it’s certainly a chilly fall evening, and they’re starting to worry that he might be losing himself in his grief.

Before any of them can actually agree on who would be the best fit to go check on him, Karamatsu’s volunteered to take first crack at it. Tonight it seems like he’s the one not taking no for an answer rather than caving to everyone else. The rest of them look at each other with a silent exchange of words, and eventually come to the conclusion that, as kind and sensitive as Karamatsu is, he may be able to at least get Ichimatsu to come inside. If not, he’ll be back with a fresh bruise and someone else can give it a try.

So Karamatsu throws his hoodie on, grabs one of their thicker spare blankets, and heads outside.

Predictably, Ichimatsu is sitting in the same spot as he was the last time any of them looked out. He’s huddled in the grass near the back steps, curled up with his knees hugged against himself, with ESP Kitty’s body cradled to his chest. His head is ducked down at an angle that doesn’t allow anyone to see an expression.

Karamatsu shivers a bit when he steps out ― glad he thought to bring the blanket with him. He doesn’t say a word as he lowers himself down next to his little brother, and gently drapes the blanket around Ichimatsu’s shoulders.

The way Ichimatsu’s frame shudders suggests that he didn’t realize how cold he was until he now has something warm around him. He doesn’t really lift his head.

That’s not really promising, but Karamatsu has never been one to just give up, particularly when one of his brothers is in such a bad state. He shifts around a little, trying to get comfortable, lightly nudging his knee against Ichimatsu’s.

At last Ichimatsu speaks up in a mumble. “I don’t want to talk, Karamatsu.”

“You don’t have to.” Karamatsu matches his brother’s volume, slightly caught off guard that Ichimatsu has actually called him by name. “I just wanted to check on you. Everyone’s worried. It’s getting cold out, and you didn’t even come in to eat dinner.”

“Wasn’t hungry. And I’m warmer now. So there’s nothing to worry about.”

There is, though. There’s always something to worry about when people are mourning the loss of someone or something important to them. Although the rest of the brothers understand they can’t just tell Ichimatsu not to grieve (and that they can’t just not grieve themselves), ignoring his own wellbeing isn’t going to help a damn thing.

Karamatsu sits in silence for a moment, side by side with his little brother, before glancing over to take stock of the scene. Now that he’s closer, he can see tear tracks on Ichimatsu’s cheeks, that his eyes are red and puffy from crying. ESP Kitty’s body is resting there in his arms like the two of them were made for each other. If it weren’t for the fact that the cat isn’t breathing, it might look like he was just asleep.

Perhaps what makes Karamatsu best for the job is that he wasn’t as close to ESP Kitty as some of the others. He was still recovering from other injuries while the rest of the family bonded with him. That’s not to say that he doesn’t care about the cat, because of course he loved ESP Kitty as much as his brothers. But he doesn’t have as strong an emotional attachment, so he may not fall to pieces the way, say, Choromatsu might. Hopefully, that means it will be easier for him to comfort Ichimatsu.

He lifts a hand and reaches over, giving delicate pets between ESP Kitty’s ears; he almost expects Ichimatsu to jerk away or slap his hand. It doesn’t happen. Though he flinches a little, he doesn’t stop Karamatsu from touching his friend.

“You know,” he muses, “I didn’t know this little fellow as well as the rest of you did. I regret that. Do you think I could hold him for a moment?”

That’s what gets a reaction from Ichimatsu. The fourth eldest violently shakes his head, clutching the cat closer to him as if he feels the need to protect the cat. “No. I can’t let go of him. I can’t put him down.”

Karamatsu tilts his head, and pulls his hand away both to avoid distressing Ichimatsu further and to rub his brother’s back. He doesn’t say anything, just making sure Ichimatsu sees the inquisitive head tilt.

“I can’t let go of him,” Ichimatsu repeats. The tears start anew, spilling down his face. “If I let go…” He crumples in on himself, holding ESP Kitty as close as he possibly can. “If I let go… then he’s really gone…”

His voice breaks and raises half an octave on those last few words. He starts to sob again, pressing his forehead against the top of ESP Kitty’s head.

Karamatsu hesitates to lead Ichimatsu into a hug, fearing it won’t be tolerated well, then quickly bridges the gap once Ichimatsu leans in against him. For a long time, he holds Ichimatsu close, stroking his hair and rubbing his shoulder and letting him cry.

He doesn’t know quite what to say. Everything he says either sounds cruel or patronizing in his head.

So he’s quiet for a while, simply allowing Ichimatsu to weep, embracing his brother tightly like that will take all the pain away. He knows it won’t. And he doesn’t want to take the pain away; this kind of loss should hurt, and it’s almost a good thing that Ichimatsu can still feel pain. It means that his depression isn’t blocking him from feeling anything, that he’s still in touch with his emotions even if he has trouble with it sometimes.

Besides… if he’s going to come through his grief, it can’t just be shoved down and forgotten about. He remembers what he’s told Ichimatsu before, that sometimes when it hurts, the only thing to do is let it hurt so that it can be healed. Nothing good comes from wanting to deny one’s emotions, regardless of what they are.

He brushes a kiss over the top of Ichimatsu’s head. “He’s gone either way,” Karamatsu sighs, and he feels almost like a monster to say that. But what happens if Ichimatsu keeps holding on, never letting go? He’ll stay stuck. He’ll rot in the past and he’ll lose himself and the rest of them will lose their brother. He has to accept that, as tragic and painful as it is, his friend isn’t with them anymore.

Ichimatsu’s cries have faded to dull whimpers, stinging eyes as he wipes his tears against the shoulder of Karamatsu’s hoodie. “I… I know…” He blinks and looks down, petting ESP Kitty’s back. “But it hurts. I want him back. I’m so angry… I don’t even know what happened to him. Was he sick and I didn’t notice? Did he get hurt and I can’t see it? I promised I’d take care of him… that I’d never let anything happen to him… and now… I wasn’t there…”

“You were always there,” Karamatsu reassures, tracing lines between Ichimatsu’s shoulder blades. “You’re always there for all of your cats. I know it hurts not knowing what happened, but… whatever happened, it wasn’t your fault. You took such good care of him, and he loved you so much.”

“He was my best friend.” Ichimatsu sniffles and draws in a shaky breath. “It was just so fucking… easy… with him. He never judged me or thought I was a freak or cared about anything everybody else cares about. All he knew was that I kept him fed and I loved him and that was it.”

Karamatsu nods. That’s just the way animals are, he thinks. Animals and babies; they don’t have any ability to judge, and as long as someone takes care of them and treats them well, they love unconditionally. “He loved you, Ichimatsu. You made his life the best it could be. I understand you don’t want anyone to know this, but… you have a very good heart.”

That gets a brief, mirthless laugh from his little brother. His fingers continue to pet down ESP Kitty’s back, and he sniffles again. “He used to curl up and purr really loud when I pet him like this. And there was that time… I got all jealous because he was following Totty around…” He lets out another laugh, a few more tears falling down his cheeks. “And…”

“And it turned out Jyushimatsu had put a cat treat in Totty’s hoodie pocket to prank you,” Karamatsu chuckles. “Totty was taking his hoodie off at the end of the day, and it fell out, and you almost throttled him because you thought he was the one pranking you!”

Ichimatsu’s laughing a little harder, still crying the whole time. “Oh, my God. I was so pissed. I scooped up ESP Kitty and went to my little corner and didn’t talk to Jyushi for the rest of the night. Then the next morning Jyushi held up ESP Kitty and apologized in that stupid voice, like he always does.”

Karamatsu lets out a breath and tugs the blanket a bit tighter around Ichimatsu’s shoulders. “Jyushimatsu could never get ESP Kitty’s meow right, either. Which is funny, because he and Osomatsu are the best mimics of us all.”

“Yeah, no. ESP Kitty had the best meow. And the best purr.” Ichimatsu’s hand shifts upwards, scratching behind the cat’s ears. “He always knew when I was sad. If I was having a bad day and he was around, he’d come and curl up in my lap and purr like a Goddamn motorboat. And I dunno why, but… it always made me feel better. I could listen to him purring and feel it against my stomach for hours.”

“It was special, you’re right.” Another shiver from Ichimatsu makes a light bulb go off in Karamatsu’s head. “I remember… when it was raining or snowing, you would always bring him inside the house. And Mommy doesn’t like the cats inside overnight, but you convinced her to make an exception. It’s getting awfully cold out tonight.”

He tilts his head down, just a little, just enough that he can bring his little brother’s eyes to meet his. “… Ichimatsu. Why don’t we bring him inside?”

Ichimatsu’s face scrunches up, and more tears start a new cascade down his face. His grip around ESP Kitty tightens… but he nods.

“Y… yeah. Okay. He can warm up… and… e-everyone else… can say goodbye.” He allows Karamatsu to carefully guide him to his feet, leaning on his big brother as they walk up the steps. “Do… do you think… Mom would let us bury him back here…?”

Karamatsu hums. “If you can convince her to let him stay in the house overnight, I think you can convince her to do anything, my brother.”

The smile Ichimatsu gives is shaky, and vanished as quickly as it came. When they get to the top steps, he pauses, turning to his older brother. “Uh… do you… do you maybe wanna hold him?”

Karamatsu gives a smile in return, sad and understanding, then he gives Ichimatsu’s shoulders a squeeze and kisses the side of his forehead. “Once we get inside, I would like that. Right now, let me hold you. Alright?”

Ichimatsu takes in a quivery breath, pressing himself in against Karamatsu’s side in search of support. He knows by now that he’ll get it, even when he doesn’t really want it, but especially when he truly needs it. “Th… thanks, Karamatsu.”

So they head into the house. There’s grief behind them and grief ahead ― for how long, who knows?

At least Ichimatsu feels better walking into it with his brothers by his side than walking into it alone.

#Osomatsu san #whump #Iromatsu #Ichimatsu #Karamatsu #animal death #angst #grief #mourning #loss #I HOPE YOU KNOW I CRIED LIKE A FUCKING BABY KATSUMI #R.I.P. Esp Kitty you were a special boy :'c

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nuoc7mia · 3 years ago

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hi so I actually made this post months ago when I was fist reading Tokyo revengers (thank you Mandy), but I just finished this post today :3 most of this post isn’t rlly insightful--I'm either just screaming or rehashing takes that most people here have already made

warnings ofc for major manga spoilers although I also haven’t caught up on the last five-ten chapters:

look ik current!mikey could easily kill me, but he’s so cute:

rlly makes you wonder what happened when you look back after reading more recent chapters ahaha :’D but anyways, give him his flag!!!

(again I wrote this in June--I contradict myself later in this word dump LOL)

this moment was just so funny to me I'm sorry LMAO (’love & peace’)

hngjksnfgs I love this panel so much :((( sometimes with all of the action going on and how they act or are drawn, I forget that they’re just middle schoolers trying to navigate through life. and here’s mikey who has the weight of the entire gang--literal lives--on his shoulders, and is constantly depended on by the members as this ray of shining light. people literally are filled with relief when they see him during fights bc THE mikey is here to take over and he HAS to win the match, right? which is kind of interesting now that I think about it, because there’s also takemichi, who’s mentally 27 and still struggling to carry the weight of his loved ones’ lives on his shoulders. if a 27-year-old can’t be responsible for the lives of others--if I, a 19-year-old, can’t cope with the weight of my own--then how could we expect mikey to be strong with everything that happened around him added onto the weight of the gang? looking back now, I think what happened to mikey in the future makes sense, as odd/cheesy/out-of-the-blue as it originally seemed in my head.

nothing new but I fucking hate kisaki overall and I'm so glad he never got a redemption arc because there was nothing about him that could be saved

(this was an extremely harsh take but again I'm never forgetting what he did to everyone just bc he was pining over a girl from elementary school)

this panel ALSO messed me up, esp after reading some more recent chapters :( I think takemichi said once that he liked talking to mikey the most because he always feels at peace with him and described his eyes to be this calm sea (which almost reminds me of giyuu and his 11th form: dead calm) (I also might be remembering wrong bc I can’t find the chapter I saw it on). but it feels so double-sided if that makes sense? like with that peace comes a never-ending emptiness because he’s constantly consumed by whatever darkness he has in him (sorry for another kny comparison but it feels similar to muichirou before his whole arc), and so he looks so detached and empty. it’s actually kind of jarring at times when the panel zooms into his eyes because you really feel like you’re going to drown in them, but the way it’s cross-hatched is unsettling--like it’s more chaotic and fuzzy inside his mind. + if you compare the dullness in his eyes with the clarity of the other characters, especially takemichi, it’s as if he knows that there’s no future for him, or at least no future with the others. I ended up crying when he was grabbing onto takemichi and asking to be saved, because that’s the first time that we see any sort of light/reflection in his eyes (of hope, honestly), as well as the first time that he reaches out to have someone shoulder his own burdens + truly be vulnerable + depend on someone else rather than letting others depend on him.

(this rant is the result of me hate-reading the comments after every chapter on *******):

sometimes idk what some ppl want from takemichi LOL. actually, no, I do know exactly what they want: a strong mc who they can experience the story through and who solves the problem with the physical manifestation of their strength (the typical shounen protag). but that’s not the point of tokyo revengers imo, and if you’re expecting that, I think you’re missing the whole story ????? like the power comes from the fact that he’s an average person who continues to fight despite the knowledge that he has, the weaknesses that he’s constantly forced to reckon with, and the general helplessness + hopelessness that he feels. he just wants to protect the ppl who he cares for, and that desire trumps physical power or charisma. THAT’S what makes him strong and that’s ultimately what changes the course of things in the story (because we already have powers like mikey who still fall into darkness despite his physical strength). obviously it wouldn’t hurt to make takemichi more assertive in different ways and not see him get absolutely pummeled LOL, but that’s also how wakui chose to enforce his themes

also I'd like to make some more literal points:

1. the manga itself is really long, but when you think about the time frame, there’s not actually much time for takemichi to achieve everything he wants and grow stronger, esp with all of the plot twists that are thrown at him.

2. his main goal was never to physically grow stronger, but just to prevent hina’s death (and later Mikey’s). it was always to talk someone out of doing something or preventing a major event from occurring, which doesn’t ACTUALLY need power to be achieved

(ofc he rarely, if ever, achieves to make it happen, but the effort counts n is there)

3. the dude is constantly carrying the weight of his friends’ deaths on his shoulders SDHFSLD LEAVE HIM ALONE ;; i’d just shut down if I were in his shoes and try to forget that toman was ever a thing

4. mentally speaking, the guy’s 27 LMAO the last time he really fought was back in middle school, which means he has absolutely little to none of those skills left

once again, I have nothing insightful to offer; I simply like the way this panel was drawn

spouting nonsense out of my butt with this one: ngl it took me a while to get used to this art style? like I thought it was UGLY LMAOOO. but when I did, I really came to appreciate how the mangaka colors things in and uses lines to create movement on each page. for instance, here, you can FEEL the energy of toman not just from the speech and the action, but with the lines that wakui chooses to leave uncolored on the members’ uniforms and hair + how the trees are shaded (which is vertical and for me personally it adds a lot more pressure/force, like they’re bursting with energy). everyone and everything feels so alive !!! but at the same time, their art is so clean... SO FREAKING CLEAN. I just love it o<--<

stop it....... STOP IT......... if I don’t get my 100% happy ending I will bawl. (yes I'm aware that this will probably/definitely not happy and yes I have tissues ready for the final arc)

also timeskip!kazutora, inupi, and chifuyu all in one place........ goodbye!

on a side note: I think I'm just gonna be a manga only at this rate bc I tried watching the first episode and got impatient waiting for all of the big action skjdfskjdh but maybe it was bc I wasn’t in the best mood / head-space at the time LOL

(I've let this sit in my head a bit longer and yeah, manga only <3)

I needed to end this photo dump with this exact panel because I had to put my phone down and mentally take a walk after seeing inupi in heels.

honorable mention goes to ponytail!baji and toman founder!baji bc they’re both engrained in my mind forever. likewise with high school!chifuyu ;; he looks like he jumped out of a shoujo manga or some kind of slice-of-life

#moon babbles #moon reads tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers spoilers #if you actually managed to read that all then I'll love you till the end of time (to kingdom come as red velvet beautifully sings)#I swear I'll catch up soon ;; I'm just burnt out after cramming ti all in and distracted with the other series that I wanna start/catch up o #rlly freaking pysched tho esp after seeing the reactions in the Tokyo rev discord LOL #I probably should let this sit for a bit longer before posting #but I don't want this sitting in my drafts for any longer and my head is swimming from this messy format

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hangjie · 6 years ago

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friend or foe? [ five hargreeves ]

anonymous said: hiya! i got this idea where the reader and five were friends before he went to the future and shes completely normal. then she finds out that he went to future without saying goodbye and all that stuff, the commission erased her memory of five and brainwashed her into thinking five was a bad guy and she was trained to kill and hunt him down. so when five came back to the past she also did and they fight and stuff then ends with her regained her memories back and yea sorry if i made zero sense

summary: reader is brainwashed by the commission and is given the mission to kill five

warnings: a bit of swearing, mentions of death, and violence in this christian household (?)

word count: 2,995

author’s note: i kinda changed it up a bit and i’m so sorry that i suck esp the fight scenes and ending huhu i literally didn’t know how to end it and how to make things suspenseful oof. also the relationship between five and reader is purely platonic! also this is lowkey kinda like stucky HAHAHAHAHAHA OMG ;(

(reader only knows five and not the rest of the hargreeves siblings due to the brainwash hehe just so y’all know)

─── • ° *｡✧ ───

space.

foggy.

time.

betrayal.

family.

five.

my footsteps echo throughout the pavement as i walk through the darkness of the night. i grip my gun tightly in my hand and making sure that my knife is tucked underneath my blazer. i don’t care how cold the temperature is or how my pants are getting caught in puddles.

i have a mission,

and it is to kill number five.

growing up, we were best friends and were inseperable. we would hang out nearly everyday and most of the time, five would show me his powers and tell me all about his adventures in the umbrella academy.

we considered each other as family.

that is until he killed my family and left me behind to rot in my misery.

that fucking coward.

despite the unfortunate events of my life, something good came out of it. i was approached by someone by the name of ‘the handler,’ who offered to take me under her wing, knowing that i was an orphan and didn’t have any family left.

after that, things changed.

the handler took me to the temps commission, where it would become my home and workplace for the rest of my life. as a child, the handler was my only family and she trained me to one day become the best assassin the commission offers and to one day murder my ex best friend.

i glance at my watch, seeing the small green dot come into range.

bingo.

i fasten my steps and i would glance at my watch from tome to time to check if i was in the right direction and to my surprise, it brought me to the umbrella academy.

small flashes of light come in my vision, but i shake my head and try to ignore it. ‘focus, (y/n). you’re so close to tasting victory,’ my mind speaks.

i sigh deeply before sneaking in the academy. fortunately, as i sneak in, no one is around and the lights were down low.

i make my way towards the living room of the academy. i look around and see nothing, but a low flame burning in the fireplace, illuminating the room. as i try to find wherever five is, i notice a figure laying on the couch.

i instantly take out my knife, not daring to use my gun since it will make a loud noise and will alert the others if shot. i approach the couch slowly and quietly as possible, but the flashes of light appear yet again. i could feel my head aching, the temples of my head burning, and my hands shaking, making me nearly drop the knife and hunch over in pain.

‘jesus christ, (y/n)! you’re such a weak shit,’ my mind scolds me. ‘get your ass up and finish the damn mission.’

i sigh deeply as the flashes of light begin to disappear and when i glance back towards the couch to see if the figure was still there, it wasn’t.

a sudden force collides with the side of my body, making me drop to the ground and lose my grip on the knife. i try to get up, but someone throws themself at me and straddles my waist, pinning me to the ground. i try to reach for my knife, but the person grabs my wrists and pins them above me, securing me in place. i try to break free from their grip, but they held my wrists so tight that i couldn’t move even a bit.

the person leans their head closer to mine and their face drops when they see me. he has dark brown hair, a scruffy stubble, and was wearing this weird ninja like outfit.

“(y/n)?”

i hit my forehead with all my might and he stumbles back in pain, losing his grip on me and clutches his head in pain. i quickly pick up my knife from the ground and take out my gun, aiming it at him.

“hey, woah, woah, woah. (y/n), what’s going on?” the man asks, holding his hands up with a confused expression on his face.

“who are you and how the hell do you know me?!”

“w-what? what are you talking about? it’s me, diego. we’ve known each other since we were kids.” he sighs and casts a worried glance at me. “seriously, (y/n). what’s wrong? you suddenly show up with a gun and—“

“enough with the bullshit!” i shout, not caring if the other people in the house heard me. “where’s number five?”

“is this what this is all about?” ‘diego’ asks. “(y/n), i—“

“i said, ‘where’s five’?!”

diego is silent, unable to answer my question, making me roll my eyes and place my hand on the trigger.

“i shouldn’t have waste my time on you. you’re fucking worthless.”

right before i was about to pull the trigger, a loud sound echoes in the room and something pushes my hand away from diego as i shoot, making me miss.

i stand right back up and see the man of the hour. five’s green eyes are masked with worry and shock as he looks at me up and down, clearly surprised to see me after 20 years.

i smirk evilly and cross my arms against my chest. “well, isn’t it my ‘best friend’?” i put away the gun and approach him with an evil smirk.

five is silent, continuing to stare at me. “you haven’t aged a bit,” i say, a sarcastic smile playing on my lips. “after 20 years, you still look like the number five that left me alone without even saying goodbye.” five finally snaps from his stare. “(y/n), i-i’m sorry. i didn’t have a choice. i—“

“bullshit!” i shout. “you murdered my parents and then killed me by disappearing when i needed you the most!” five looks at me confusingly. “murdered your parents? (y/n), i never did that. i didn’t even know your parents are gone!”

i feel tears running down my cheeks and i quickly wipe them away, pulling out my gun and placing the tip on five’s forehead, making five shut up. “you don’t need to apologize to me, five,” i smile evilly. “because you’re going to apologize to them when you open your eyes.”

right before i could pull the trigger, someone kicks my hand, making me lose the grip on the gun yet again. i feel my back collide with the wall when i feel someone kick me in the stomach. i groan, sitting up and franctically looking for my gun and five, but none are to be seen. i look ahead and see that two other people standing in front of me, a dark-skinned woman with ombré locks and a big tall buff man.

i stand up, glaring at them and when they saw me, their expressions matched diego’s earlier after he noticed me.

“oh my god, (y/n). i—“

i immediately tackle the woman, making her hit her head pretty hard and drop to the ground, groaning in pain. “what is it with this family knowing me?” i huff, rolling my eyes.

the buff man tries to get me off of her, but i grab my knife and pierce it through his right hand which was on my shoulder. he shouts in pain and clutches his hand. i kick him in the stomach, making him fall back and i grab the lamp perched on a nearby table beside the couch and hit the man on the head with it. he then drops to the ground unconscious. i spot my gun on the ground beside the man and pick it up.

as soon as the man is unconscious, a knife comes flying towards my direction. i barely manage to duck, the knife scraping my cheek. i see a figure out of the corner of my eye and i smirk when i see it’s diego.

“i hope you put up a good fight this time.” i take out my knife and immediately swing it in his direction. he dodges my swing and i continue to do so in fast steps.

when his back is pressed against the wall, he ducks from my swing and moves away from me, pinning me then to the wall. i chuckle. “isn’t this a little early? at least take me to dinner.” he rolls his eyes and says, “in your dreams.”

“good to know.”

i knee him in the groin and he lets go of me, his back facing me. i take another swing at him and manage to cut the side of his face. he slouches in pain and i take the opportunity to hit the back of his knee. a loud snap! is heard and he groans, barely sitting up from the ground before i punch him, knocking him out.

i feel something hitting the back of my head. i clutch my head and when i turn around, the dark skinned woman from earlier tackles me, both of us toppling over the couch behind me.

luckily, i manage to get on top of her after our fall. i straddle her waist and wrap my hand around her neck, pressing tightly on her throat. her eyes start to turn red and her face slowly becomes pale, short wheezes and whimpers leaving her mouth. she claws at my hands in an attempt to lose my grip on her, leaving scratches on my hands. “this was too easy.” i chuckle darkly, tightening my grip on her.

her eyes slowly begin to close, but before they could fully close, i hear someone shout my name. i turn around and see five.

“(y/n), you don’t have to do this,” he says, cautiously. “let’s make a deal. you let go of allison and we’ll talk, no interruptions, no running away, no space jumping. just the two of us.”

i look back at the woman underneath me who is near to passing out and debate with myself whether or not i should let go of her. this could be a trick for all i know. nevertheless, i sigh frustratedly and let go of her throat and stand up. allison coughs and gasps for air, trying to get the air back to her lungs.

five sighs and smiles in relief when i release allison. i approach him with my eyebrow raised and my arms crossed against my chest.

five’s eyes scan the unconscious bodies of his brothers and the shaking and coughing body of allison. “w-why are you doing this, (y/n)?” he motions towards his siblings, voice shaky with sadness. “this isn’t like you at all.”

“‘why am i doing this?’” i ask in disbelief, cackling. “you, of all people, should know why i’m doing this. you murdered my family!”

“no, i didn’t! don’t you see? the commission brainwashed you.” he then pulls out a small black notebook. when i see the notebook, i feel the hairs on the nack of my neck stand and i feel goosebumps arise on my skin.

“w-where did you get that?”

“i space jumped to the commission and ‘borrowed’ this for a while.” he starts to flip through the notebook. “cha-cha and hazel said ‘hi’, by the way.” he quickly rolls his eyes and continue to pass through pages until he stops and begins to read out loud.”

“space. foggy.” the flashes of light appear and intensify, almost making my vision all white. my head starts to pound unmercifully and painfully, alongside a loud piercing buzzing noise and the burning feeling of my temples. “time. betrayal.” i double over in pain, squeezing my eyes shut and one hand clutching my head while the other tries to block out the buzzing sound. “family. five.”

“shut up. shut up. shut up!” i scream, pulling out my gun and aim for five’s leg, pulling the trigger. he groans, kneeling and clutching the open wound on his leg, trying to get the bleeding to stop.

even though he literally got shot in the leg, he continues to read off the simple yet painful words written on the notebook, repeating them over and over again, doubling my pain every second.

the white lights become so blinding that i feel like i’m going to go blind. the headache is so unbearable that my fingernails are clawing the coffee table in front of me. the buzzing noise becomes so loud that i can hear nothing else except that. my temples feel like they are on fire and the veins on my temples are visible and popping out. the pain and sounds continue until i hear a voice speak out.

“i heard a rumor that you were brainwashed by the commission.”

and that was all it took.

i sit in a chair, it’s leather rubbing against my arms and legs that were bounded to the legs and armrests of the chair. i feel another punch come contact with my face, but i didn’t feel anything. i was numb to the punches and kicks they gave me because they suddenly show up and take me away from my home.

“for the last time,” the tall pale woman in a 80’s sundress says, impatience evident in her voice. “who is this?” she points to the picture in her hands.

his emerald green eyes that were always pleading with mine to give in to his mischievous plans were masked with a black and white mask. his hair that was always messy and filled with dirt is slicked back and practically shining for the camera. his wide smile that is always on his face when we were alone or when we are on our rendezvous is seen on the picture.

“that’s my best friend, five hargreeves,” i say, glaring up at the woman before another punch comes into contact with my cheek by the man standing beside the woman.

i spit out the blood pooling from my mouth as the woman sighs frustratedly. “this is useless.” she is silent and is frozen on her tracks before she whispers something to the man. the man nods and reclines my chair, making me look up at the ceiling.

i feel the hands on the man on my face, steadying my face as he ties leather straps around my head, making my head bound to the chair and unable to move.

“hey, hey. what’s going on?” i ask, but before i could ask more questions, they shove a mouth guard to my mouth, muffling my words and sounds.

the woman shushes me, a fake smile playing on her lips as i hear a loud piercing sound of a machine. “shh. it’s okay, (y/n).” i feel a metallic object clamping around my temples as the woman says, “it’ll just take a second,” before i feel my body go numb and my mind burning from the electricity cursing through me, screaming for my dear life.

it has been a few hours and i don’t feel anything. i don’t even feel the pain, the electric shock, or the numbness of my body. i don’t even feel tired or scared.

they untie the leather straps off my forehead and take away the mouth guard. the man puts the chair back into its original position, making me come face to face with the woman.

she looks at me, eyes filled with hope, a picture of a masked boy in her hands. “now, tell me again. who is this?” i try to search my brain for any possible answers as to who it is, but none. “no, you tell me. who is that?”

she smirks evilly and chuckles darkly before telling me all about the boy.

“this, right here, is five hargreeves or otherwise known as number five. you are his best friend, but he killed your parents, not us, without even saying goodbye and he managed to do so because he teleported to the future. he is a very bad man and he is a danger to us all because he’s changing the timeline.” she takes a step closer to me, practically bouncing on her toes. “i’m going to take you up because you, my dear (y/n), are going to hunt him down for me and kill him.”

i gasp as all the memories and truths of my life flood back into my mind, the white light, buzzing sound, burning ache in my temples, and pounding headache fading away.

i was brainwashed by the commission.

my entire life is one big lie.

when my vision is back to normal, i scan the room and see allison tending to five’s wound with luther and diego tending to themselves beside them.

“five?” they all turn their attention towards me as i stand up with tears threatening to fall. “i remember.”

five groans in pain and gets up from his seat, despite allison’s objections and limps towards me, bringing me into a hug. i wrap my arms tightly around his torso, soft sobs escaping my lips and my tears staining five’s blazer. he shushes me, lightly rocking our bodies back and forth as his hand rubs my back comfortingly.

when we finally pull away from each other, i wipe my tears, saying, “i’m sorry, five. i’m so sorry that i hurt you and your family.”

“hey, hey, hey. don’t beat yourself up.” he places his hands on my shoulders, lightly shaking me. “it’s the commission’s fault, not yours. so, don’t blame yourself.”

i genuinely smile, bringing five back in for another hug. “i’ve missed you.” i feel five smile on my neck. “glad to have you back.”

after we pulled away, i approach the three siblings, apologizing for my behavior and how i hurt them. the three of them just brushed it off and diego even said, “you’re not the first one to do this,” making us all laugh.

we make sure to tend to everyone’s wounds and when everyone was patched up, we start catching up on all of our adventures and what each of us missed for the past 20 years.

it’s like nothing changed at all.

MASTERLIST

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aneverlandboi · 5 years ago

Text

A Belated Birthday

From: Ned [0.01am]

happy birthday dude!!

From: Ned [0.23am]

I can’t believe ur asleep!

From: MJ [2.35am]

Happy birthday, dork. I’ll give you your present tomorrow x

From: MJ [2.35am]

well, today x

From: MJ [2.37am]

I guess you’re asleep. Night xx

From: Ned [8.43am]

hey where r u?

From: Ned [8.49am]

ur going to be late on ur birthday?

From: MJ [8.50am]

Let me guess. Missed the bus? Let me know when you’ll be here x

From: MJ [9.00am]

When you can. Don’t text and swing!

From: Ned [9.00am]

dude, we’re waiting for you??

From: MJ [9.01am]

Also try not to get hit by a car x

Missed Call From: Ned [9.10am]

Missed Call From: MJ [9.11am]

From: MJ [9.20am]

Okay, you’re officially late. Not that Harrington is surprised.

From: MJ [9.20am]

That felt harsh, esp considering its your birthday. Sorry xx

From: MJ [9.22am]

Are you okay?x

From: MJ [9.46am]

If you don’t message one of us soon, we’ll contact May!

From: Ned [9.52am]

are you okay??? has something happened????? pls message me!!

From: MJ [10.34am]

Not that you can’t take care of yourself, but you’re not answering and I’m getting concerned. Gonna get Ned to check w May if ur okay. Don’t blame me if she spills some embarrassing secretxx

Peter scrolled through the stream of messages on his phone, mood souring with every passing second. The nurses at the hospital hadn’t been willing to let him even look at his phone for hours after he’d been brought in, even with it buzzing almost incessantly. Luckily, with a police escort and a couple of agents from SHIELD, he’d skipped the queue, and after a few pointed comments, the doctors had managed to patch him up without removing his mask, although Peter guessed they now knew he was white and skinny, and that they could probably figure out his rough age from, like, body proportions and stuff. Although ‘Spider-Man is young white man’ probably wouldn’t be the biggest reveal in the world. That was only, like, one in six million people, or something.

His phone buzzed again. A news report.

Because you follow ‘Spider-Man’ in the News:

The Daily Bugle: Spider-Man hospitalised after brawl with crime boss Kingpin.

Well, it wasn’t a surprise that the news had gotten out. Plenty of people had seen him get thrown out of a twenty-third-story window, and then there were the kind bystanders who called an ambulance when he’d crashed onto the pavement from about the tenth floor when his webbing snapped. Then there were the medics, and everyone at the hospital who had seen him come in with police and SHIELD escorts, who weren’t exactly subtle, even if his suit had been covered up. It was a miracle it had taken this long for the news to be released!

Incoming Call From: MJ

Peter hit answer and held the phone against his head with his shoulder.

“Peter?!” MJ asked as soon as the call connected, “Are you okay?”

Peter thought for a moment and swallowed. The drugs were already wearing off, but his tongue still felt a bit heavy.

“I’m okay, I suppose,” he answered vaguely, trying not to worry her, “Just had a bit of trouble on patrol.”

“You got thrown out of a window, dude!” Ned’s voice was slightly muffled. It took Peter a moment to realise he was on speakerphone.

“Where are you guys?” he asked nervously. He didn’t want to accidentally mention Spider-Man if they were sat in the middle of the cafeteria.

“We’re bunking off school to come see you,” Ned said lightly, “We’re in the park a block from school waiting for a bus to Manhattan.”

Peter sighed, then realised he was chewing on his lip.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, guys,” Peter said uncertainly, “There’s a lot of news cameras outside the door, so you guys wouldn’t be able to get in without being seen, and then everyone would be harassing you guys to see if you know who I am.”

“We could climb in the window,” MJ said suddenly. Peter wasn’t entirely sure if she was joking. “You could lower some webbing, and we could climb up it. Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your webbing.”

Peter laughed at that, then, pulling his mask down over his face, leant to look out the window. He couldn’t see much – he could only lean so far without risking pulling over the heart-monitor he was attached to – but he could definitely see some figures camping outside, cameras aimed at the window. He considered waving to them, or maybe flipping them off, but the part of him that had actually paid attention during the super-hero PR crash course with Miss Potts made him reconsider.

“Unfortunately, I’ve got some creeps aiming cameras at my window, so you’d be spotted anyway.”

He heard MJ sigh in irritation and found himself smiling slightly, in spite of himself. It was good to feel wanted.

“Well, this isn’t exactly the birthday celebration I had planned.”

Peter sat back, making sure he was clear of the window before pulling his mask up and replying.

“You had something planned?” Peter asked, feeling a flash of guilt. If he’d managed to beat Kingpin, or even if he’d just been more cautious and fled when the flash-bangs went off, none of this would have happened.

“No,”MJ said hurriedly. Peter grinned. “Quick, Ned, cancel the marching band!”

Again, Peter found himself laughing, clutching his side to avoid splitting the stitching. He could only thank God for his enhanced regeneration. He’d probably end up getting out of hospital by tomorrow, assuming the doctors didn’t try and cut him up to figure out how he worked. Not that he was paranoid about men in white coats – and women, for that matter, since MJ would kill him if he even internally implied that women couldn’t be doctors, and they were just as scary when they were dissecting you. But again, not that he was paranoid, just… sensibly wary.

“But seriously, guys. I’m already getting better. I’ll probably be out of here first thing tomorrow, if I can get through the crowd of reporters.”

“You could always climb out the window,” MJ pointed out, “Though if you were going to do that, you don’t need to wait to get discharged. You could just sneak out at night and go home.”

Peter’s mind immediately came up with an alternative arrangement – more of a daydream, really – which had him sneaking out, turning up at MJ’s window at night and… well, staying the night was a pretty good euphemism. Before he could get properly distracted by the idea, a knock at the door startled him.

“I’ve got to go,” Peter said hurriedly, already pulling his mask down, “I’ll see you guys tomorrow!”

“Okay, b–” Ned’s goodbye became distant as MJ turned off speakerphone.

“See you tomorrow, dork. Try not to break any more bones.”

Peter grinned.

“I’ll try. Love you.”

He hit the button to end the call, took a breath, then called out to whoever was stood outside. The door opened and Happy walked in alongside the doctor that had been treating Peter.

“Hey, Happy. Doc,” Peter said in greeting, nodding to the two of them.

“How are you feeling, uh, Spider-Man?” Happy asked. Peter shrugged.

“Like I got thrown out of a twenty-third-story window last night.”

“I must say,” the doctor said, looking over Peter’s medical chart with a raised eyebrow, “You’ve recuperated a lot quicker than I’d have expected. Even simply surviving fall like that is impressive, but you’re already healing up quite nicely.”

Peter nodded.

“Yeah, uh, enhanced regeneration,” he said wryly, “I heal up really quickly.”

The doctor raised his other eyebrow, then nodded. Peter supposed that when you were dealing with super-heroes, doctors just got used to hearing things like that.

“So,” Peter said, glancing between the two of them, “gimme the verdict, doc. When do you think I’ll be out of here?”

On the plus side, the doctors did not, in fact, cut Peter up and figure out how he worked. On the downside, he was kept for a lot longer than he’d intended. Peter supposed it was something about the idea that “this person just got thrown out of a twenty-third story window” that made doctors less willing to release said person, even if the person was actually medically fit to be discharged. So it was already 11pm the day after his birthday before Peter was officially discharged, herded past the throng of reporters and down a corridor by SHIELD agents, plunked inside the oh-so-subtle posh black sedans with heavily tinted window that government agents seemed to use, and driven through numerous back-alleys in a convoy of identical cars. SHIELD, and Fury in particular, seemed very determined to prevent any possibility of Peter’s identity being leaked.

Speaking of Fury…

“So, Parker.”

“Mister Fury.”

There was a moment’s silence as Peter tried to decide where to look on Fury’s face. It was a question he still hadn’t properly answered, even after a number of meetings with the director. His working eye? Or did that make a thing out of his missing eye? His nose? Or was that weird? Staring at his lips was definitelyweird. It was one advantage of the mask, that Fury didn’t know Peter was testing out looking at different parts of his face.

“What happened with Kingpin?” Fury asked, looking at Peter with what the boy assumed was his version of disappointment. It didn’t look particularly different to his usual expression.

“His people had a lot more weapons than I’d expected,” Peter admitted, “The flash-bangs took me by surprise.”

Fury frowned.

“And the machine-gun turrets hidden in the ceiling were a nice touch,” Peter added, a little defensively.

“Stark tech?” Fury guessed. Peter shrugged.

“I didn’t pay that much attention to the branding while they were shooting at me, but I’d say so.”

“How the hell did Kingpin get his hands on Stark tech?”

Peter was about to answer when he realised it was probably a rhetorical question.

“I’ll ask him next time I – ”

“No,” Fury said firmly, “Keep out of Kingpin’s way.”

Peter blinked in surprise.

“We’ll put eyes on him and wait until he gets more tech. Then we can find out where he gets it from…”

“And cut off a source of heavy weaponry,” Peter finished, nodding. “Smart plan.”

“I know,” Fury said flatly, “That’s why I came up with it.”

Peter shut his mouth.

“And if by some miracle it’s not Beck’s people, the source might be able to get into contact with them.”

Peter nodded, biting his tongue from saying something else obvious.

The car stopped suddenly.

“This is your stop.”

Peter leant over to look out the window.

“This is Brooklyn,” Peter corrected, “I’m over in Queens.”

He turned back to see Fury looking at him, expression blank.

“Get out the car, Parker.”

Peter got out the car.

It wasn’t that Peter had been planning on going to MJ’s house that evening, but since Fury had dropped him off in Brooklyn, and her house was pretty much on the way to his if you were heading into Queens from that direction, it kind of ended up with Peter perched on a lamppost opposite her house anyway. He could pop in, say hi, then head back and get a stern talking-to from May about the importance of not being thrown out of windows. Or, Peter realised with a flash of inspiration, he could put off the lecture for a little longer and stay the night at MJ’s… Share a bed with his girlfriend, or get shouted at by his aunt. It was a really tough decision to make. Honestly, he was torn.

The light in MJ’s room flickered on, and Peter saw her silhouette appear at the window. Then the window slid open. The decision had really been made for him, in that case, because it would just be ungentlemanly to leave a lady at her window in the cold night.

Sure, Peter had been perched outside her window for a good half an hour waiting for just that excuse, and then – because his legs were aching and he was quickly getting bored of waiting – he’d texted her to get her to come to the window, but that was all really neither here nor there, and he could just not mention that bit to May when he saw her in the morning. Or he could just head straight to school and put the lecture off for another day! That was much better.

#fanfic #Because its our boys birthday #Happy Birthday Peter Parker #And yes I know I'm late

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gelunnucifera · 5 years ago

Text

just gonna dump some random critrole thoughts/questions (potential spoilers for both campaigns):

-It was implied that Tary's first time speaking gnomish to a gnome was when Scanlan's troupe visited when he was younger. If circumstance had been better when he met "the meatman" (i.e. not so dire in character, not overwhelming for Sam out of character), how would tary have reacted to seeing Scanlan again?

-When Beau and Yasha talked with Trent Ikithon, neither of them gave their name. However, when parting, Ikithon said goodbye to Yasha by name. Was this just a slip up from Matt, or a hint at what that wisdom save was about?

-The first syllable of falchion is "fall" as in what happens when you jump off a cliff, not "fal-" like fallible. It's a round "A" sound, not a nasal "A" sound.

-Is the number 12 and/or 5 (pentagonal faces, 12 faces) important for the Kryn? Do those numbers show up in designs of their armor, buildings, etc? Do buildings in the center of the city have religious motifs in the shape of the dodecahedron?

-I am still upset that Vecna did not try to entice Percy into being his champion, esp after they killed Delilah. As a demigod of secrets and hidden knowledge, Percy would have been an obvious choice if he weren't so positively influenced by the rest of VM (I can imagine a scenaria where Orthax wasnt destroyed going down this path)

-Because the deities exist and make themselves known, the cultures across Exandria (and most dnd worlds, really) seem to become more similar to each other. There may be slight differences, but by and large, all major cultures (except Rosohna and possibly the Aashari, both of whom do not really follow the main pantheon) have similar relationshipbs with death, values systems, economic systems, perspectives on magic, governmental structures, etc. Even Marquet, with its clearly Persian influence, follows what is predominantly a fantasy-skinned western Christianocentric philosophy to life and society.

-Molly had a tarot deck, implying that there is an established secular structure for fortune telling. How did it develop, and does it have anything to do with decks of many things (esp given that the deck of many things item is based on our tarot)?

-Where are the common dialects? And I don't mean what is basically standard common with the various accents overlaid on the phonemic choices, I mean more subtle word-choice nuance. Like, where are cultures that refer to all alcohol as ale? Where are the nations that got into a fight because of a misinterpreted "quite" or "fairly"? Or cultures with specific slang that none of the PCs understand? Why is common so universal in a world with such slow travel and communication systems?

-There is a jester card in the deck of many things. Just saying.

-Everyone jokes about Essik riding a segway, but I always imagine it like one of the Beriozka dancers (video)

#critical role

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monohart · 6 years ago

Text

bread. (highschool!au)

ft. hwang hyunjin, bread and angst-fluff.

chan bet you couldn’t make bread

you bet you could

changbin put 50 bucks for can’t

actually

everyone betted against you, including your boyfriend hyunjin

he gave you a wink from the other side of the room and you didn’t know whether to laugh or cry

he wasn’t kidding when he warned you last night that if you bet against them, they’re either all for you, or all against you

you couldn’t even take out your anger on him for being so annoying without being too obvious

because hyunjin wasn’t a fan of pda... or any publicity for that matter

so it was silly but none of the others knew you two were going out

y’all been dating in secret for almost a full year

“i just don’t wanna share you with the others”

it was a pathetic excuse but the relationship was between you two only so who cares if nobody else knew

right??

anyway

you didn’t spend most an entire summer learning to bread and pastries with your aunt to Lose the bet

but long story short you won the bet and you were like the tax collector that day

changbin lowkey thought you were pretty cool hated you from then

in the afternoon, hyunjin ditched soccer practice to hang out with you because he was kinda very extremely super proud that you pulled through with the bet and showed the boys what you were capable of

the entire time they ate your bread he was just like

wow... damn i’m lucky

you had lots of assignments to get through so he came to help

you guys didn’t really have a secret hideout so you brought him home.

one thing led to another and

y’all ended up snuggling on your carpet

he was in his soccer gear aka Dirty™ so you didn’t let him on the bed

but at the same time you were so deprived of getting pampered by him so the carpet had to do

“but now i’ve dirtied your carpet, haven’t i?”

you punch him and he laughs his stupid cute little laugh :<

you send him off right before dinner because y’all didn’t want parents to start asking questions about you two

seungmin was your neighbour and should be coming home from soccer practice (the one hyunjin ditched) so the goodbye was short and sweet

you watch him sprint down the street and turn to you just before disappearing around the corner, to blow you another kiss

he was a soft baby to you but when it came to his friends the most he could do was sit next to you and tease you till no end

and quite often his teasing made you really quite genuinely annoyed at him bc

lol hwang hyunjin is a lil shit have you seen him

sometimes you hated him for being such an ass in front of his friends

but then you think of the soft moments like when y’all cuddle and kiss and go on secret dates... you always forgive him in the end.

not too long later everything happened, you had the urge to make bread again.

and this time you wanted to bake one just for him!!!

also bc your first anniversary was coming up yo it should be cute and special right? :))

you didn’t tell him your plans and neither of you spoke about the special day.

you decide it was all gonna be a surprise.

when the day came, you got up extra early to make sure you made the perfect loaf.

you weren’t disappointed with your results!!! it looked and smelt amazing and hyunjin would love it

you took the earlier bus to get to school bc you were gonna wait outside the gym for him bc he had compulsory gym training.

thankfully you knew only hyunjin and woojin were gonna be at the session so you really only had to avoid one person

that was woojin

oof

poor woojin lol he was kinda happy to see u but you pretended to not hear him through your headphones

when hyunjin walked out, your heart dropped like 10-fold bc he had like 29475959 friends from his other classes with him

so you yell out his name and pass the well-wrapped loaf to him

he did that dick move where he smiled and halfassed a nod to you and continue walking with his friends

honestly.. honestly honestly.. you were a bit like :/

only because he seemed indifferent to see you and stuff

but like ok whatever at least he took it

but you also had another present for him which was a card and letter you spent a lot of time on

so you push past his friends to walk beside him ask if y’all could perhaps talk

“we’re talking now, aren’t we?”

and his friend who you weren’t familiar with butts in right there and goes all “ooo another suitor?? another girlfriend?? damnnn.. hwang hyunjin you dAWG”

a..another girlfriend..?

you didn’t even have time to process what he said bc that “friend” clapped hyunjin’s shoulder

and

and he dropped the loaf

y’all watched as it rolled down the stairs and the wrapping tore in half so the loaf tumbled out onto the dirty corridor floor

his friends started laughing and someone at the bottom of the staircase kicked the loaf around like a soccer ball

you look at hyunjin and he was laughing along with his friends??? ??

you ripped the letter you wrote into pieces and threw it at his face

and he looked at you in shock and surprise but

you left immediately

lowkey bumped into woojin on the way to class

but you left him in the dust because you just felt so so so humiliated and hurt

it was lunchtime

seungmin and felix were a bit confused as to why you walked straight past their table to sit with your other friends

hyunjin was still confused poor baby actually completely forgot about your anniversary so he thought you made another bet to make bread

you had history class with him after lunch, but you moved to the front of the classroom

which is somewhere he would never sit.

he kept throwing pieces of paper at you to ask why you were all the way at the front

even got some people to pass notes to you

all of which you ignored

it took him until last period to figure out why you were giving him the cold shoulder

he was sitting in physical education class — watching some documentary about dance or smth

and obvs his headass wasnt paying the slightest bit attention to the film but he was thinking of you instead

and why you wore a permanent frown since the start of the day

while thinking of you he suddenly realised the date

then all the events of the day rushed into his mind all at once - from you waiting outside the gym, to the loaf incident, to your expression as you blind sided him and the boys the entire day

without asking for permission he ran out of class and straight to your chemistry class where y’all were doing filtration tests

and he stormed into the lab, spotting you immediately

you were working with minho, your lab partner, in the far corner, and y’all were giggling over a joke or smth but as soon as you saw hyunjin you turned away immediately

and it really broke his heart because he knew he was the reason why you were so uncomfortable

by then, the entire class was asking hyunjin why he was there

but all he could see was you trying to exit out the back

and he had no idea what came over him

but the entire class started screaming (esp minho) when he ran up to you and hugged you tightly

obvs like you were still mad at him so you knee-d him lol

and the entire class continued screaming (esp minho) as you pushed him out of the classroom and shut the door on him

needless to say the rest of the lab session was Super Awkward and minho tried not to make eye contact with you

(in case he gets knee-d too right)

by the end of the day you still couldn’t get over how the entire day was ruined and you rushed home before the bell rang bc u just had enough and some alone time was much nneeded

when the doorbell rang after dinnertime you wanted to cry because you were the only one at home

and you had to answer it because what if it was something urgent

but

what if it was hyunjin... who you didn’t want to see...

it was hyunjin ofc

he was wearing his sports gear and it seem like he was just out for a run

you started to close the door but he did that cheesy thing where he pushed it open again

and before you could speak, he kneeled down

you panic for a moment

but he got himself together and apologised.

because he knew since day one how important anniversaries were to you and he really had no excuse for forgetting, and he realises how you much like crap you must’ve felt when his other gym friends made fun of you and your gift and he was so unforgivably sorry because he laughed with them

he really shouldn’t have

but he did because they were just a couple of dumb teenage guys who liked to joke around without a care in the world

you see that he was really struggling and stumbling over his words

and deep down you knew how much you meant to him and how scared he was of losing you

you pulled him up and hugged him because you didn’t want him to continue or else you’d start crying real hard

so you kissed him to finally shut him up

but you hadn’t forgiven him yet so he was still hesitant to return your kiss but you cupped his cheeks and bite his cute fat lips that were just a little fatter because you were squishing his cheeks

you tell him that you really really didn’t want to hide your relationship anymore and he nodded without hesitation and then you tell him you’d forgive him if he kissed you properly

he didn’t hesitate at all uwu

after a really long time hhh y’all finally parted to Breathe a lil... gosh

you stare at his lips and see them all swollen and rosy and it made you shy bc Girl you did That hhhh

and he’s looking at you in the same way bc yours were swollen too and y’all stand there holding onto each other for who knows how long but then he wanted to kiss you again and you wanted him to kiss you too so he did

by the time y’all pulled away Again y’all were breathing and laughing and crying and laughing and just feeling all the emotions at once

and he rested his forehead against yours and tells you he’ll make you a loaf of bread instead

and you cry just a bit harder which sends him off too

w-why is he such a baby :(

not that you were complaining though.. because he tells you that he’s really been a better version of himself since he met you

and all the worries and things that make you scared about relationships just seemed irrelevant

because you and him were in this together

and it was the best feeling ever.

#hhhh #hwang hyunjin #hyunjin #stray kids #stray kids scenarios #stray kids imagines #hyunjin scenarios #hyunjin imagines #hyunjin angst #hyunjin fluff #stray kids fluff #stray kids angst #stray kids hyunjin

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startwithbrooklyn · 3 years ago

Text

THE GREAT ND REWATCH OF 2021 / OCTOBER 5, 2019 // return of josh

oooookay folks! that's a wrap! below are my comments about tonight's ep + additional expansions on previously stated opinions. i'm not combining s2 ep 1 with this bc s2 is dead to me! so is s3! i only did this to gather up all these loose thoughts i had when this show with its one lonely season became such a comfort to me that i developed a second consciousness about it. but with these posts i am done! the evil is defeated! i will carry on through the 3rd and hopefully final season of nancy drew with less emotion and better spirits. thank god.

-"talk to owen" nancy firstly thinks of talking to owen only to see what happens w the agleaca; saying goodbye comes as sorta an afterthought mirroring tiffany's possession of george. yet nancy was unable to say goodbe to owen just like w kate. knowing this reveal about kate, i wonder if this was foreshadowing that something big will be revealed about him later? unlikely but still

-nancy + the reality of broken things: 'totems' like broken sand glass sculpture (good place) to show you it's not a dream; "owen broke that" ghost trap to ground him to reality, like how she reached for her locket in the good place, lucy's charm, ace's bear ('totems' idea borrowed from inception)

-george has never been an affectionate person, even with other women- so why does pda with nick suddenly become so important?

-lots of comments about ryan + women but what about carson/kate and karen? again with the hypocritical (interestingly, there is an aspect of violence to women connected with ryan (even though that violence is not his fault); but its not like kate or karen fared well either)

-ryan feels useless- relationships with women as stated by nancy- he seeks to redeem himself by showing up where nancy goes to prove he is good to have around/necessary/needed - but now that he is attempting to act as a parent he has to break through nancy's defenses all over again- firstly she didnt really consider him any kind of threat bc he comes off as incompetent- ie bad business deals- i think i mentioned last ep, their hauntings equalize them as they both attempt to gain peace by searching for answers but now ryan has changed the terms of engagement so he's back to square one, with carson. (which is how we find them s2 cowering in ryans car stalking nancy together)

-ryan's relationship to nancy exposes an interesting layer here. so far she doesnt know about nick/george but they still hold the cards (ie george gets one over on nick's ex/"the new girl") with the revelation of ryan being nancys father, nancy gains an interesting trump card in navigating the social fallout of being nick's ex. like george would take the new spot but then nancy comes out with george's ex in a much higher category. this plays out later on in the ep when george confronts ryan. george wants to talk about "them" but ryan shows up completely focused on nancy, thus illustrating the trump

-"i thought it was whitney with another insipid question" to me this sounds like whitney took bess's advice earlier about "asking aunt diana what she wants" (only to learn it actually annoyed the hell out of diana lmaoo)

-"then you need to fight for it" this hearkens nancy earlier by asking "arent you in by virtue of dna?" the test was positive; she is a marvin just like nancy is a hudson. thats not a fact that they can change. however, diana really acts like it can be changed- and in s2 we see it does change. its interesting for bess to be told to fight to be in a family she's already in and also foiled by nancy trying to fight her way out of her own family. would like to see bess stand up to diana and say something. i mean, she exists. as much as she may want to erase bess from the family, diana cannot erase her existence

-hannah's rolled up sleeves 💙

-"previous keepers records" -from s2- were those not her parents??

-mistaken murderers- everyone incorrectly assumes lucy was murdered just as they assume the agleaca killed owen

-even if owen weren't the price, how can they pay the toll without one of the people who called? i mean if it was anything other than owen and he still died they still wouldve been fucked

-"you don't need to check, i'm not even driving!" okay and giving up the goss. cassidy is me. lmfaoooo

-wonder if this locked marvin industries box will ever come back

-UNPOPULAR OPINION: george's confrontation with ryan comes waytoo late to do anything. i think i brought this up in an earlier post. its literally just her screaming at him now. like he is clocked out moved on. you know a good time for this scene? in the claw when he comes by to "check on her". hes vulnerable, fresh from rehab. and she has a chit over him for punching bookcases/the fuckin country club deal. therewould have been a perfect time to confront ryan on what happened- "what you did to me" okay sis. you admitted ep 1 you werent in hs anymore. youre of age now. admit you fucked up. take the L to force him to swallow the bigger L. and imagine how much more powerful the scene would have been- in george's domain, literally her own office, something ryan doesnt even have because HE DOESNT DO SHIT. ryan is SO EASY to trap but nobody notices. instead they have george try to get some kind of apology out of him when hes already done with that, and only for the sake of her establishing a new relaionship to boot. imagine how much more empowered she would feel if she just got that closure for herself- because she needed it, not so she could trot straight back to nick being all proud of calling a grown man to some random estate only to scream at him in a parking lot and have accomplished nothing. 🤦🏼‍♀️

-i get patrice thinking nancy is lucy but yeahhhhh this isnt how dementia works 😬

-i almost cant with nance and josh. how do you save your would-be murderer? (+ lucy's best friend and brother are in jail, her mom is lost to her mentally; all she has left is nancy and ryan)

-tbh i had no idea how to spell agleaca until bess said "theres no i in agleaca!" i thought it was igleaka like 😂

-damn how george just stares at nicks hand and then gets out herself is just so sad (like she immediately rectifies it but still...)

-"curiosity" part II; nancy who comes back to the sea after her mother died in it- agleaca drawn to lucy's trauma/to agleaca, lucy died fir "love"- would nancy be willing to risk the same? // this is also one of nancy's "mirroring mom" moments: winning sea queen, going to the velvet masque, getting caught by celia, having a "chat" with everett, and "falling" off the bluffs

-the collector 🎵👌🏻

-i wonder if there's any significance to the locations/means of their deaths; nancy's is pretty straight forward in terms of where and how, but why george and nick drowning, in the truck specifically? drowning in love? idk. ace's at the claw i get, but he gets himself caught? in what precisely? what does the fish hook mean? and bess's makes the least sense- burning alive? in the marvin estate? maybe the agleaca picked the most painful death for the marvin blood relation? idk. up for debate lmk ya thoughts

and lastly:

-i remember seeing this ending for the first time and i had just been traumatized by avengers endgame and since black widow is also a redhead seeing that shit at the bottom of the cliff it was like 😰😰😰 TOO SOON

-random thoughts-

these are just things i noticed, feel free to grapple with them or take note of them for extrapolation in s3 (lord knows i wont be) they probably belonged in recaps for previous eps but i either didnt find them in my notebook or couldnt fit them in

•nancy and truth/the perception of truth: using facts to suit theories instead of creating theories to suit facts- nancy often plays with the perception of truth and the details that fall between the steps; but she is also a victim to them by people who also know how to play the game (ie Carson) ex lying about the dress (tea cups and knives, trash got picked up, bail paid 1 hr ago) her inferences can be off from what others tell her ("people always lie") but she can also come to the wrong conclusions organically (carsons trial) more willing to believe the best in others/wanting them to be innocent (think nick ep 1) but later finding out the truths hurts more so she chooses to isolate herself and avoid involving others to be spared pain

•maybe i'm dumb, but who is "mr marvin" exactly? owen? the bald guy from the funeral? this comes from the guy who takes sailboats out like ep 4ish and says "ive worked for the marvins 20 years" she compliments the ship, he says "mr marvin and i just took her out this morning" so?? who is that? plus last ep just saying cassidy and isaac are her "late husbands children" dows thet mean sebastian? like did diana marry in? i feel like it would be odd for her to so embrace the "marvin way" if she wasnt a true born marvin

•ik college becomes a more s2 topic but none of the crew have ever been to college 🤔

•nick + the relationships with people whose reputations are tarnished: tiffany with investigating the hudsons/marvins, josh with murder/attempted murder, kate and 'stealing'/lying about nancy (esp compared to her almost preternatural kindness i mentioned before), george and her mom/family's reputations --> this kind of segues into nick + the concept of believing people you love could be capable of horrific things- accidental or on purpose (see- having to tell his family what happened)

•at the beginning, nancy kind of seems to be the "i'm sorry you're upset" kind of apologist and knows it. she also doesnt usually apologize earnestly bc shes never really sorry (she always has to get what she needs first ie coins mess) and she doesnt want to lie; to me it seems she doesnt like to bother with other people bc they require certain cues/niceties that are often lies- they ask "how are you" without meaning it, they dont really want an honest response except "fine", they dont like it when you call them out on fakeness, etc/ they require apologies for their bruised feelings even if youre right (and nancy can be pretty rude/nasty if provoked- a harshness unsoftened by sympathy)

•cont'd from the good place ep- since kate apparently means nothing to nancy anymore according to last ep ("stop calling her my mother") is her policy of "always seek the truth" now null and void? this mantra is now tainted bc the person who gave it to her broke it so much. can nancy disengage w it now? does she fall from grace to be complicit in "mysteries" of her own like everyone else? does she lose some of her "god-like" holier than thou act bc she is now literally born and raised in the "darkness" of sins/ugly truths like everyone else's? (ie truth is ugly but not to nancy, until now)

•did lucy disappear because her "murder" was finally solved? or simply because her trauma was addressed- she never meant to tell anyone about her suicide plans, the twisted trauma of which was too great to contain/unable to move on due to "sin" - or unable to move on because secret of nancy's parentage still remained? "lucy never wanted me to figure out how she died" she only wanted nancy to figure out her parentage without solving the mystery, yet did lucy see/witness nancy's revelation at the claw, or with carson, or even ryan? waiting for karen/josh to know? or just vanished?

•concept of imperfect mom figures- lucy, kate, celia, victoria, even karen- who all struggle with failings

•since karen dispelled one of lucy's attempts at nancy's haunting at the garden party, is that proof she isn't haunting karen?

•the crew + needing adult help: george's possession and victoria, club busted and owen, car accident and mcginnis, thom and cipher, larkspur lane and sal, bones and john, agleaca and hannah

•everett is always sitting- at his home office, at dinner, at yacht club (wonder if that was his actor + had to do with his recasting?)

-dad talk-

•both her dads think negatively on her "girl detective" thing but ryan sees use in it as a means to get answers, carson would never 'use' her in that way

•nancy + carson : suffering

"what about what i wanted?" + carson being imprisoned for weeks but she immediately rejects him (the DAY he gets his freedom no less) with no regard to his suffering (caused by herdiary!!) in regards to her own from this new knowledge (she does suffer a lot- "almost dying is my new normal" but still)/ the "thankless job" of parenting

•nancy + adults - connected to cop thing a few posts earlier : nancy is v precocious and smart for her age- she is "old enough" but also has trouble with the "adults" in her life- fathers, moms, karen, and cops letting her down but depends heavily on "adults" she cantrust- hannah gruen, john sander, lisbeth- highlighting her youth and occasional naiveté; nancy is unafraid to hold adults accountable for their actions (ie karen) but also loses them as allies along the way. both hannah and john are very nonthreatening and also experts in their fields, while her fathers and karen are revealed to be "just another brick in the wall" average, capable of mistakes, and not the people she expects them to be, while characters like john and hannah can only benefit nancy because either they do not mean as much to her or have no reason/nothing to gain by lying; they are purposefully shown to be small, demure, gentle, and nonthreatening as foils/opposed to karen, ryan, and josh whom she previously trusted; carson (+kate) is nonviolent as well but has the biggest betrayal which is perceived as an act of violence to her very personhood/shattering who she thought she was so she cannot be that anymore (admits truths to john "everytime i dig i hurt everyone" and hannah-agleaca) : unclear if redemption is possible for anyone :

•nancy bonds with carson over loss and then ryan over haunting. but actually, nancy rejects carson over loss bc she wanted to say goodbye and wasnt allowed to- so carson was with kate but nancy was not. nancy and ryan are more equals about haunting bc they both start around the same time and conclude together as well [nancy and ryan bond over thinking their parents conspired to kill lucy- think sitting on the floor at velvet masque] nancy is appreciated by ryan for her ability to get answers- he has no qualms about going through her/outside of police bc he wants results/instant gratification and thinks nancy is more so the expert in her field/respects her even through her age- once again acknowledging she is braver than he is (think lucy + claw parking lot) and her portent in the car freaks him out bc shes usually always in control, esp with him

•bc nancy was told "you can't be afraid of the truth" until she was / ironic bc shes braver than him except when the truth is they are related then she's scared to tell him while he actually starts to take some initiative

•nancy picked "the wrong person" to help her through her grief in her dad's eyes like her mom's best friend was somehow a better choice? carson truly "parents" nancy even during grief and haunting (which she rejects) whereas nancy and ryan are really equals in all their situations which is actually better for her and easier for her to maintain- nancy's expectations are low so anything that ryan gives is a bonus. nancy's expectations of carson were shattered by his lies so now she has nothing to connect with him about- they could barely even connect when sharing the same grief- carson actually very hypocritical hence nancy's upset at karen revelation yet carson doesn't agree bc hes the "adult" and shes the "child" not realizing she hadnt been one for a long time (hidden staircase perhaps?) whereas ryan better treats her with lack of controlling parental nature bc he is impressed with her competence before he receives that knowledge; "lucy was smarter than me too" acknowledging her intellect negates his ability to "parent" ie control her to leave him solely with caring about her wellbeing in her situations + aftermath - i honestly dont think carson would ever admit that shes smarter than him* bc he thinks shes not "all grown up" yet ("youve kept me on the bench for years"); ryan is more willing to meet her where she's at which is so important for all her good relationships - ace, owen, etc

*carson asks for nancy to figure out "who to trust" in ep 12, finally admitting that she is useful/ie acknowledging that her skills/abilities do help, are necessary, and can in fact save lives --> this is then s2 follow up by working for him (but it takes him that long)

•ryan/nancy/carson venn diagram - using sex to escape trauma

•if not carson vs ryan then what about celia and everett vs patrice (and josh)? at this point in the narrative, do you think ryan's parents would take his side should the knowledge become public (without their involvement), or deny nancy?

•"we were a family" + the disruption of family dinner- kate was really the one holding that family together and her death makes it unsustainable

okay!! that's all folks! i have exhausted my plethora of nancy drew thoughts + knowledge. you will never have to hear from me again!! TYSSM 😘

#brooklyn's ND primer #nancy drew cw #the Great Rewatch of 2021 #you best start believing in ghost stories miss drew - you're in one

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mega-aggron · 6 years ago

Note

ask meme 1-140

i almost forgot to throw this under a read more oops

3 Fearsinsignificance, being a burden, violence

3 things I lovepokemon, friends, nice shades of blue

2 turns ongood hugger, beard

2 turns offsmoking/drugs, aggression

My best frienddon’t really have One but the ol grunge contrast boys and the dcc + jared and me squad are all v important to me

Sexual orientationjust like… so fucking gay dude

How tall am I6′3″ / 190cm

What do I miss right nowa lot of my friends have moved out for the summer

Favourite colorturquoise / teal

Do I have a crushnot like… super consciously……. but i think i’m still working through some subconscious stuff……………..

Favourite placetough one. idk i’m good pretty much anywhere my friends are. if food’s there it’s also a plus

What am I listening to right nowmake it happen - john splithoff

Shoe sizesame as the number of this question

Eye colorblue

Hair colorbrownish blond naturally, front top is currently a faded green / bleach blond (i need to redye…. i’m not too huge a fan of the bleach blond look but others seem to like it on me)

Meaning behind my URLbig ol’ pokeboy

Favourite songall time is a tough one, my usual answer is bandages by hey rosetta! but i’m also super partial to lorde’s hard feelings / loveless and paramore’s last hope among others

Favourite bandtop 3: paramore, chvrches, hey rosetta!

How I feel right nowkinda wistful. just got back from 16 days of travel with some of my closest friends and it’s been a noticeable change in tone coming back to this coast and reacclimating to not being surrounded by friends for literally every waking moment.

Someone I lovemy mom? is that a cop out answer

My current relationship statussingle as ever

My relationship with my parentsmom and stepdad a+, dad irrelevant

Favourite seasoni usually answer summer bc it has my birthday and i was always off of school but i think i have a new fondness for spring

Tattoos and piercing i havenone

Tattoos and piercing i wantnot sure yet. probably no piercings but maybe some song lyric or video game related tattoos

The reasons I joined Tumblra friend was like “you seem like a tumblr person” so i got one but then i asked to follow her and she said she actually didn’t have one so i got stuck in this eternal sinkhole

Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night ” texts?i did like once when i was talking to a guy from tinder like a year and a half ago but then he ghosted me lmao

Have I ever kissed the last person you texted?it’s my sibling so like yes in a “love you, take care” goodbye way but not in the manner this question was supposed to be answered

How long does it take me to get ready in the morning?if i’m showering like 45 minutes, otherwise as little as 10

Have you shaved your legs in the past three days?nope

Where am I right now?back in my apartment after two weeks on the west coast and two days at my parents’ home

Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level?reasonable i guess? gotta protect those ears man, hearing loss is no joke

Do I live with my Mom and Dad?nope. haven’t since summer before junior year

Am I excited for anything?just visited a whole bunch of apartments today and i filled out an intent to lease form for one of them so that’s exciting

Do I have someone of the opposite sex I can tell everything to?idk? at some points in my life i have but at this point i don’t really tell everything everything to like… anyone lol

How often do I wear a fake smile?[paramore’s fake happy playing in the distance]

If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?sara bareilles? the mcelboys? idk

What do I think about most?usually i don’t have one specific thing i think about a lot. as of late one of them has been….. trying to sort through some Gay Emotions re: stopping myself from falling for a straight friend again and trying to break that cycle and i think i’ve finally done it [lmao expect a /tagged/personal post sometime soon]

Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?depends. i get that Sweet Validation from being in front of it but i also really value behind the scenes work

What was the last lie I told?i couldn’t tell ya. haven’t had to tell one recently

Do I perfer talking on the phone or video chatting online?if it’s with friends i’m fine with either? theres always something nice about seeing someone’s face but it’s not necessarily an all-the-time thing

Do I believe in ghosts? How about aliens?ghosts: not reallyaliens: hell yeah

Do I believe in magic?in a young girl’s heart?(nah but showmanship is a hell of a skill)

Do I believe in luck?nah

What’s the weather like right now?it’s dark and i’m not opening my windowit’ll probably be 94 degrees by the time i post this after i sleep and wake up to finish more questions

What was the last book I’ve read?my brother’s husband by gengoroh tagame! just some good gay content that i found in portland at a giant bookstore that i recognized from tumblr. can’t wait for volume 2 to come out in september

Do I have any nicknames?friends sometimes call me 7, and i get called steve occasionally and really dislike it

Do I spend money or save it?mostly save. though i kinda splurged on this travel trip because it’s the last time i’m gonna be able to do something like this for quite a while.

Can I touch my nose with a tounge?no i’m apparently medically tongue tied so i can’t stick my tongue out that far

Favourite animal?i really like sea otters! also elephants and chinchillas and dogs

What was I doing last night at 12 AM?being jet lagged

What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it?nsp’s cover of everybody wants to rule the world

What is my favorite word?idk i have a list of cool sounding words on my phonedynamo is the first one on that list so i’ll roll with that

My top 5 blogs on tumblrah

If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say?just fuckin.... have empathy once in a while

Do I have any relatives in jail?i don’t think so? i think my dad might’ve been in/out of jail at some point bc he never pays child support but i haven’t talked to him in years so idk

What is my current desktop picture?(attached at the bottom of this post)

Had sex?no

Bought condoms?no they just gave them out for free at college and then i don’t have a use for them

Gotten pregnant?that seems.... difficult

Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain?not that i can recall

Had job?yeah, a few over my college years and now a more permanent one coming up

Smoked weed?no and i don’t plan on it

Smoked cigarettes?no and i don’t plan on it

Drank alcohol?yep

Am I a vegetarian/vegan?nope

Been overweight?uh i was a super “chunky” baby as i am often told

Been underweight?i think i’ve teetered on that line a few times esp. as i was hitting growth spurts but i’m past that now

Gotten my heart broken?yeah quite a few timesnot in like the “relationship that went south” way but just falling for straight guys over and over and the inevitability of what that comes with

Been to prom?yeah it was fun

Been in airplane?tons. i’ve been on 5 in the past 2 weeks

Learned another language?i learned a fair bit of chinese in middle/high school. still retain more of it than i expected to. tried learning korean on duolingo for a bit but i don’t think that course is quite there yet on the platform

Wore make up?not that i recall? unless like facepaint counts

Dyed my hair?plenty! probably gonna do it again soon

Had a surgery?i had my wisdom teeth taken out, i think that’s about it

Met someone famous?winston and i met mat kearney before a concert in march so that was cool

Stalked someone on a social network?it’s easier than you’d think

Been fishing?yes but not in the past like 10 years

Been rejected by a crush?every time babey

What do I want for birthday?UHHHHHHHH wowzers idk. new apartment furnishings maybe?

Do I like my handwriting?it’s ok! not my fave i’ve seen but still good

Where do I want to live when older?dunno yet! probably a big city of some sort but likely not nyc or la

Have I ever got caught sneaking out or doing anything bad?not in recent memory anyway.

What I’m really bad atwidowmaker

What my greatest achievments arewinning hackmit probably? also i graduated so that’s fun

The meanest thing somebody has ever said to menot today, satan

What I’d do if I won in a lotteryinvest, donate, splurge

What do I like about myselfi like to think that i’m friendly? and pretty good at avoiding conflict

My closest Tumblr friendgrunge contrast bois

Any question you’d like??

Are you outgoing or shy?shy for the most part around people i don’t know. occasional bursts of outgoing if i need to meet people but that’s few and far between

What kind of people are you attracted to?people who make me laugh and look like they give good hugs. bonus for beards and being bigger than me.

Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now?probs not but who knows! i’m open to the possibility but not exactly looking right now so odds are low i guess

Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable?depends on who with? but also i just like... can’t contribute much beyond theorycrafting lmao

Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with?noa and i had a p deep talk driving from mt. hood to multnomah falls

What does the most recent text that you sent say?“uh slateport city”

What are your 5 favorite songs right now?as of late i’ve listened to a lot of sophie by the altogether, somebody else by the 1975, 200% by akdong musician, happy pills by norah jones, and swag午覺 by outlander

Do you like it when people play with your hair?i guess i don’t really mind it? but it’s not something i think about often

Do you think there is life on other planets?hopefully!! i just think that’s a super cool concept and the statistical likeliness of it is so high

Do you like bubble baths?have not had one in like 13 years but i imagine they’d still be just as nice

Do you like your neighbors?yeah they’re like my best friends

Where would you like to travel?japan (likely tokyo) and dubai (once they make being gay not prison-worthy and uhhhhh stop exploiting basically slave labor thanks)

Favorite part of your daily routine?i like just aimlessly browsing the web and pursuing what interests me

What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with?my frame i guess. i just don’t like being so thin but thems the bones i’ve got

What do you do when you wake up?wait until the last possible second before getting out of bed and dressed

Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker?idk??? i think i’m fine rn but i guess i wouldn’t mind a bit darker or like... at least the ability to tan instead of burn lmao

Do you ever want to get married?i think so!

If your hair long enough for a pony tail?some parts of it are surprisingly long but since my sides/back are short it’s not conducive to a ponytail. not that i’d really want that anyway

Would you rather live without TV or music?tv easily

Have you ever liked someone and never told them?it’s usually like... fall for someone who’s straight or otherwise unavailable, try to avoid feeling that way, fail, watch as feelings gradually become so overwhelming i get anxiety, tell said person, get rejectedexcept replace usually with alwaysso yeah i typically end up telling people i like them but it’s usually prefaced with “i know you can’t do anything about this but” and then ensuring we can still “just be friends”the cycle sucks but i figure it’s better to let someone know why i’ve been acting weird instead of just having them think i’m strange

What are your favorite stores to shop in?uniqlo for fashion, target for feeling a strange sense of comfort

Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?i want to say yes but i also know i have very limited patience for people who show no remorse or do something extremely heinous

Do you smile at strangers?sometimes i do a small grin just so i don’t look like i’m glaring (thanks resting bitch face)

Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about?i don’t think so???

Ever wished you were someone else?transiently i guess?

Favourite makeup brand?don’t use it

Last thing you ate?cheeky nando’s with the fam for dinner last night

Ever won a competition? For what?i won hackmit with a few friends for doing a cool coding thing! and a battle of the bands with the hip hop orchestra to open for lil dicky and t-pain. also i won a beauty pageant freshman year lmao

Ever been in love? i don’t think so. my usual interpretation of this is “reciprocated and romantic” which hasn’t happened yet

Facebook or Twitter?fb for messenger, twitter for content at this point

Twitter or Tumblr?tumblr i think, i just know the ins and outs here better than most other platforms

Are you watching tv right now?nope

What colour are your towels?gray or teal

Favourite ice cream flavour?vanilla is a good ol’ reliable. also a fan of moose tracks, cookie dough, mint chocolate chip, watermelon... the list is endless

First person you talked to today?line

Last person you talked to today?line (it’s like the only text i’ve sent since i woke up two hours ago)

Name a person you hate?tr*mp

Name a person you love?deja vu?

Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now?see 127

Do you tan a lot?NO I BURN

Have any pets?parents have a dog named zoe and i love her. i don’t own any myself

Do you type fast?i can? but i’m often laying on my side only using one hand to type so oops

Do you regret anything from your past?i dunno... a lot of the mistakes i’ve made help me get here today. so i’m not too worried.

Ever broken someone’s heart?not that i’m aware of. i’ve rejected a couple people before but that’s about it

Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt?yes.

Is cheating ever okay?no. though i used to think it was like 8000% unforgiveable like you cheat once, i cut you out of my life, but i saw an interesting video exploring why people cheat and possible ways to fix a relationship after an affair which helped change my thinking. it’s still a WILDLY super shitty thing to do and i would never, but it’s not a final nail in the coffin to me any more. but still an EXTREMELY quick way to shatter trust

Do you believe in true love?not like a fairy tale, but i do believe that you can reach a point of pure trust and love and support with a partner

What your zodiac sign?leo

Do you believe in ghosts?deja vu pt. two electric boogalooi don’t think so

Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page?“Dad! Dad, are you listening?!”(followed by “They put tempura in sushi in Canada!”) from my brother’s husbandand here’s the image of my desktop bg, sorry for the black borders idk what’s up with that

#caqtuscomics #ty for indulging me winston #ask bobzco #about me

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pornosophical · 6 years ago

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Deathstalker

hi yes so this is a big ol’ excerpt from these über-pulpy space opera trash books that I love and it’s also fucking #goals because oh my god. that final scene cutting comment—and also the world-building is some low-key genius

“Now, is there any other business?”

The ceiling high above the throne exploded, and debris rained down through the shifting mists. The maids-in-waiting leapt up and sheltered the Empress’s body with their own. Sharp-edged rubble cut their pale flesh and blood flowed, but none of them flinched. The court screamed and panicked, milling this way and that in their fear and confusion. Dram drew his sword and gun and looked about him for an enemy. And out of the smoke and mists above the throne dropped a dozen long lines, down which slid men and women dressed in leathers and chains. They hit the water and stepped quickly aside to make way for others coming down after them. Dram looked at the dozen guns facing his one and stood very still. The newcomers gestured for him to drop his gun and sword, and he did, watching expressionless as they disappeared into the dark waters and were gone. Kit SummerIsle dropped his sword without waiting to be told. The maids moved a little away from Lionstone to form a defensive circle around the throne, staring at the newcomers with unblinking insect eyes. The courtiers were all shouting and talking at once, and one word rose again and again above the rest.

Elves … the elves have found us. …

“Honor to the Esper Liberation Front!” shouted one of the newcomers, a young woman in battered leathers and far too many chains, over a T-shirt bearing the legend “Born To Burn.” She was short and stocky, with muscles bulging on her bare arms. Her long dark hair was full of knotted ribbons, and she might have been pretty if her eyes hadn’t been alight with the fire of the true fanatic. Other elves gathered around her; half trained their guns on the quieting court, the others on the throne. Lionstone watched in silence from behind her maids, her eyes full of fury. Neither she nor Dram nor anyone in the court was foolish enough to go up against energy weapons.

The esper terrorists looked hard and roughly used, but the chains holding their leathers together were freshly polished, and they all wore bright colors on their faces and in their hair. Most of them were young, some barely out of their teens, but they all had scars somewhere on their bare skin. The Empire used espers harshly, which was why so many died or went rogue. Most died. There were very few old espers. The elf wearing the “Born To Burn” T-shirt stepped forward and bowed mockingly to the silent court.

“Sorry about the mess, but a good entrance is so important. Now be good boys and girls, and do as you’re told, and you’ll be able to leave here with all your major organs intact and still attached in the right places. Annoy us, and we’ll think of something amusing to do to you. And some of us have a really nasty sense of humor. Being an outlaw can do that to you.”

She turned to look at Lionstone. “Relax, dear, we’re not here to kill you. We’ve come for one of our own. Now do you want to step down from that throne, or would you rather be thrown down?”

Lionstone rose to her feet and stepped down into the dark waters with icy dignity. The maids moved immediately to surround her. The elf ignored them all and crouched down beside the throne, running her hands carefully over the black iron studded with jade.

“Do you have a name, traitor?” said the Empress.

“Stevie Blue; not at all pleased to meet you.”

“My guards will be here soon. There is no way you can hope to escape.”

“Your guards are currently being run in circles by associates of ours. Your only protectors are those poor mind-burned souls acting as your maids, and the esp-blocker built into your throne. Ah, got it.”

She slid back a recessed panel in the side of the throne and carefully removed a translucent cube the size of her head. An esp-blocker was really quite a simple device: the living brain of an esper, removed from its body and held in suspension. A low current passed constantly through the frontal lobes, keeping the brain awake and aware and functioning, using its esp to prevent any other esper abilities from functioning in its vicinity. Just another hell the Empire made, and the only real defense against a rogue esper. Or an elf.

Stevie Blue lifted the cube above her head and brought it down with savage force on the arm of the throne. The fragile container shattered, and the brain tissue fell apart, already dying. The bloody tissues slipped down the side of the throne and dripped into the water.

“Be at peace, my friend,” said Stevie softly. “The fight goes on.” She turned her gaze on Lionstone again. “That’s one less soul living in a hell you made for them.”

Lionstone smiled. “I’ll get another. There’s no shortage of donors.”

She broke off as the elf took a step forward and then stopped herself. Stevie Blue looked at her coldly. “I could kill you now, Lionstone. Any of us could. We want your death so badly we can taste it. We dream about it at night and wake to plan new ways of taking it. One day we’ll take your precious Empire apart stone by stone till there’s nowhere left for you to hide, and then we’ll come for you. But if we were to kill you now, while you’re weak and helpless, you’d just be replaced by another from your corrupt line, and the new Emperor would order massive reprisals among the esper community. Thousands would die, and thousands more would suffer. But we didn’t want to leave without giving you some indication of our true feelings for you. So we brought you a little present.”

She reached back and a large cream pie was placed in her hand. Stevie Blue grinned at Lionstone’s shocked expression, and then aimed and threw the pie with one easy motion. It hit Lionstone squarely in the face, and she fell back a step, clawing at the mess on her face.

Stevie laughed. “You’d be justified in calling for reprisals over an assassination attempt, but over a pie in the face? You’d just look extremely petty. Not to mention weak. Goodbye, Lionstone. It’s been a pleasure.”

Lionstone glared past the thick swirls of cream and pointed a quivering finger at the elves. “Kill them! Kill them all!”

The maids sprang to obey. They surged forward, steel claws shooting out from under their fingernails, and the elves went to meet them, manifesting their abilities. Stevie Blue wrapped herself in fire, living flames of pure heat, but the maids jumped her anyway. They were beyond such weaknesses as pain or fear. Stevie disappeared beneath the clawing figures, and the other elves raced to help her. The maids split up to greet them. They fell upon the first two espers and tore them apart with their unnatural strength. Blood flew on the air as the elves screamed and died. One esper gestured desperately, and the maids stopped suddenly as though they’d slammed into an invisible wall. And then they stumbled forward again as the wall collapsed. Stevie Blue’s flames flickered and went out. Lionstone laughed and sat upon her throne again.

“You didn’t really think I’d trust my safety to just the one esp-blocker, did you?” She had to shout the last part over rising screams as the maids moved among the desperate elves. Disrupters fired, but the maids moved too quickly to be hit. Then they were among the elves, and it was too dangerous to use the guns anymore. The maids leapt among the espers like wolves in the fold, tearing at defenseless flesh with their clawed hands and stuffing the bloody meat into their mouths. They were hungry. One esper stuck his gun in a maid’s mouth and fired it. The maid’s head exploded, spraying bloody gobbets everywhere. Another maid appeared behind the esper and wrapped her arms around him in a bearhug. The esper’s ribs collapsed and drove inward, piercing his heart and lungs. The remaining elves tried to run, but the maids were everywhere. The elves fell, one by one, until finally only one man remained free. He ran toward the throne and tried to fire his disrupter, but the energy crystal was still recharging. He threw the useless gun aside and drew his sword. A maid jumped him and pulled him down into the water. She held him under and watched impersonally as he drowned. He kicked and struggled, and then his sword thrust up out of the water and slammed into the maid’s belly. The force of the blow threw her back, and the esper burst up out of the water, coughing and choking. He fixed his gaze on Lionstone again and hefted his sword. He moved forward, and the maid jumped him from behind. She concentrated in the way she’d been taught, and the shrapnel bomb set inside her body exploded. Both she and the elf were torn apart by the blast, and blood and shrapnel rained down for long moments.

Blue, crouching torn and bloodied in the water at the base of the throne. She’d managed to draw her sword, but her hand was trembling violently from the shock and pain of her wounds. She stumbled forward, forcing herself on, her bloody mouth set and determined. Dram stepped in behind her and ran her through with his sword. Stevie Blue fell to her knees. She whimpered, and blood ran from her mouth. Dram pulled his sword out and she shook once, as though at a sudden chill. Lionstone stepped down from her throne to kneel before her. She had an ornate silver dagger in her hand. She leaned forward till her face was right before the esper’s.

“Have you nothing left to say to me, elf? About how weak I am, or how clever you were? No last declaration for the cause?”

Stevie shuddered again. Blood poured down her chin. When she spoke, only the Empress could hear her.

“I’ll be back. There are lots like me. One of us will gel you. Burn in hell, bitch.”

Lionstone slid the dagger delicately into Stevie’s heart and breathed the esper’s dying exhalation into her own mouth, savoring it like a connoisseur. She pulled out the dagger, put her fingertips against the esper’s breast and pushed. Stevie Blue fell back into the dark water and lay still. Lionstone straightened up, made the dagger disappear up her sleeve again, and allowed Dram to help her up onto the throne again.

“Elves never talk,” Dram said casually. “They program their minds to self-destruct, rather than give up any secrets. If anything, you gave her an easy death.”

“You always want to spoil my fun, Dram. She died in despair. That will do for me. For the moment, I’m more interested in how that many elves got past your security defenses.”

“A good question,” said Dram. “And one which I will be putting to my staff very forcefully once this audience is over. I can only assume I have a traitor somewhere in my organization.”

“I thought that was supposed to be impossible.”

“So did I. If there is a traitor, I’ll find him.”

“I hope so, Dram,” said the Empress. “Because if I can’t trust you to protect me, what use are you?”

Dram smiled and carefully dipped a finger into the traces of cream still on her face. He tasted it thoughtfully. “Brandy buttersauce. My favorite. If nothing else, the elves do have excellent taste.”

“Of course,” said Lionstone, “just ask my maids.”

#simon green #deathstalker #empress lionstone #dram the widowmaker #stevie blue #kit summerisle

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namjoonchronicles · 7 years ago

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Crush - [BTS] Jimin!Au

Prompt: You're so cute and annoying at the same time, you keep leaving me notes but when I talk to you, you walk away ok why?—Jimin

[A/N] Who is Jimin’s noona (born before 95) here, I wanna see hands! I’m a 93-liner and I’ve fallen victim to these rude ass madafaka boys. Esp. 95s.

It is inevitable. The time that your parent is asking from you is difficult to give. You couldn’t even find time for yourself, how can you provide a time you simply do not have?

Where do I lie in my list of my priorities? —Something you asked yourself everyday. And like today, you gather yourself from the car and to your library, finding the need to unwind with the smell of books there. Hopefully finding some peace in a turmoil of substance lingering in your body.

Sobering up isn’t as easy as it sounds. Maybe you shouldn’t have drunk too much. But you needed the knockout to start feeling better about your sad and lonely life. A note fell out of your stack of books that withdrawn all your attentions from anything else.

“Noona, here’s some coffee vouchers you could use to sober up. Have fun today! —Chimchim.”

No, you do not know who Chimchim is. Or why he has been slipping these little notes in your locker, between the wipers to your car, and into your bag. A secret admirer? A fan? Me?

Chimchim always make you smile with these notes. He drops gifts ever so often, so it was fun. He did it so swiftly that you have never caught him in the act. That’s why you never knew who he was. But today, you decided to turn the game around. You decided to capture him. And you posted a plan to be at the fountain on Twitter and said, you would like to have a candy in your locker at the end of the day and how nice it would be.

To convince Chimchim you were there at the fountain, you posted a picture of your legs, dangling on the edge of it and captioned them, “Here”, that you’ve taken yesterday. And then you wait behind a pillar.

Chimchim, you are mine today.

An hour passed. You were gradually getting bored.

Maybe he isn’t coming.

But you spoke too soon. Because someone in black skinny jeans and loose Polo shirt, expensive shades and multiple ear piercings came through the opposing hall. “There you are.” You whispered. He turns around and your hands flew to your mouth because you knew exactly who it was.

It was that obnoxiously annoying little twerp who keeps running his finger through his hair and thinks he is too good looking because all these girls be flocking all over him. That twerp is none other than, Park Jimin. The freshmen who got all the noonas swaying side to side, all the noonas—except you, that is.

He continues to write on the infamous post-it notes you have collection of at home. You could see he took off the shades solely to earnestly write the lovely words for you. He even drew the little bear like emojis and little hearts at the end when you decide to surprise him with a hollering, “Hey!”

To which he responds with a wide set of eyes and he drops the pen, took the note and his bag, but left a candy behind, sprinting away. “I just...” you hurried after him, huffing, “...wanna talk.” Mashing your lips together you watched him disappear in the crowd of students, dashing pass the people, through the fountain where you said you were.

Jimin blinks rapidly, panting softly. He glanced behind a few times to see if you were there and to see if he had gotten far enough from you. “She said she was at the fountain. What the fuck,” he crouched down, resting his palm on his knee and pants more. He looks at what he could grab in that tense moment of time and cursed when he saw that he left the candy behind.

He goes to the staircase area and sat at the middle of the flight. “I’m done for.” He exhaled through his nose, mad at himself. When he took another look to the photo you post, he realised that you wore another shoe. “I’m an idiot.” He threw his head back at the obvious clue.

Jimin shut his eyes. And chanted to himself that it was okay. But it was not okay.

He had the longest crush on you. A span of three years since high school. You were the kind of girl that doesn’t go girlish to guys and it gave you a loyalty vibe. You were hardworking and is ridiculously attentive to your close friends and is kind. Jimin’s petite personality and some-what observant notices that you frown a lot. Although you seemed strong and confident on the outside, you were actually very vulnerable.

In high school, you were one of the aspiring students. But you often return home early to study by the playground, five blocks away from your house. You space out often there too. Jimin worked as a delivery guy and for his first delivering job, he had an odd address: a playground.

But on the way there, he was involved in a small accident that made a laceration mark on his elbow and his chin. However, it didn’t stop him to deliver the food. When you saw him, you didn’t think twice to tear off the tip of your white blouse and have the bleeding stop. Your knee length blouse is now a crop top because of it.

And believe it or not, Jimin still has those in his possession. He never could really thank you for what you did so he asked around which university you went to and when he found out, he started these little notes. Changed his appearance and emerge as a confident guy.

Little did he know that you weren’t the kind that would fall for that. His first attempt to talking to you went badly, because it ended with a glass of water splashing down his chin by you. Ever since then, he had been approaching you through notes signed by another name other than him, Chimchim..

But no one really told him how to move on from this.

“Everytime she cries, I want to give her a hug. Everytime she is having a hard time, I want to be there for her. But she hates me. So I have to run everytime I see her come.” Jimin spoke to himself and got out of the staircase area through the same dooe he got in.

“Stop.” You spat when he caught your eyes and attempted to run off again.

“If you run away again, I’m going to tell all the seniors you are rude and you’ll have a hard time until you graduate so don’t.” You added and Jimin turns to you but kept his eyes on the floor where he stood. “Sorry, noona.” He murmured.

“Park Jimin.” You stormed. “Yes, noona?” He answered, timidly.

Now this is the boy that everyone is terrified of. He had that expensive vibe and pouty lips fit for a model, that everyone has a hard time to resist. This boy is petite in the palms of your hand.

“Did you sent those notes to me?” You shot. He nodded, playing with fingers, still looking down.

“What are you trying to do to noona?” You tipped an eyebrow at him, crossing your arm and approached him slowly. “Nothing...” he answered in a whisper, barely heard. “Who do you think you are to be sending me those notes.” You look up at him and eventhough he is taller than you, you felt very powerful.

“Nobody.” “Look at me, Chimchim.”

At first he refused, so you had to tilt his chin up and you saw his pouty lips, sad pair of eyes that’s just screams: adorableness. “You be a good boy now okay. I’m not here to scare you, so you shouldn’t run. I just want to thank you for making me smile and bringing me home when I was shit drunk last night.”

You smiled gratefully at him and brushed your lips on his cheek before walking off. Jimin turns around to ask you, “How did noona know?”

“Your cologne. And the little notes you left before you leave my apartment.” You walked backwards and bid him goodbye, for now.

You’ve always known. But you needed a way to confirm. The cologne, the little heart and emojis. It was always been Jimin, but your pride was sceptical.

Like, let’s be honest, the hottest freshmen to date, is your admirer? And that cropped white blouse you still have at home? What would Jimin do to it?

“Maybe wear it with nothing else?” Jimin pursed his lips, his finger hooked on your belt loop, pulling you closer for a sultry kiss. “Ruin me, noona.”

#bts #jimin #fanfic #bangtan boys #park jimin #seven devils #noona net #jimin ff #jimin angst #jimin fluff #bts jimin #bangtan net #armies net #95 liners #jimin scenarios #jimin imagines #chim chim

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nebbychan · 7 years ago

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Donk and Sparrow - Halloween

Crisp and brittle leaves of all colors; scarlet, bronze, and gold all breaking off from their homes among the branches to gracefully cascade, floating along the breeze and landing on the pavement. The chill made it clear that winter was on its way, and any self-respecting Dallington resident would know that it was time to wrap their bodies in a multitude of neutral fabrics. Fall was a special time in Dallington, it signaled the end of barbecues, poolside parties, and humidity of the summer heat and announced the return of the infamous pumpkin spice lattes, succulent vegetables and fruits ripe for harvesting as citizens of all ages would charge to the nearest pumpkin patch or apple orchard to pick only the fattest and juiciest. But fall also served as a warning of the hard winter that was yet to come, temperatures were dropping faster than that of a piano at high altitude, and elderly residents would soon be packing and catching flights in Buffalo or driving to the nearest warmer states.

The worst of it all was the Christmas season.

Nebby had to relive those horrors year after year once she’d become working age, and make no mistake, the first Black Friday always left mental scars in a retail associate’s brain. She had no doubt that Tim becoming a sales floor associate at the old Sears in Pine Woods Mall will be one hell of a shocker for him. She didn’t do it in front of him, but behind the scenes she’d be crossing herself repeatedly and uttering, “En el hombre Del Padre, y Del Hijo, y Del Espíritu Santo. Amen.” Thankfully, Canny Tim had yet to fully grasp Spanish, though that doesn’t mean he didn’t know what “puta” or “cabrón” meant.

And what also served as a saving grace was the holiday that came before Christmas; Halloween.

Halloween was always a popular holiday in the states, especially in Dallington. Once a year, a massive festival would be held, honoring the town’s founding. Meanwhile, the town’s club owner and DJ, Salem had decided to pack up and go off to the mountains for the weekend. It was a strange tradition of hers; she’d pack the RV with all the essentials, and drive deep into the woods only to emerge on November 1st. No one knew why she did it, but when approached she’d instantly snap, “I just need some time to myself, okay?” Nope, definitely not suspicious at all, nope!

Of course, some punk kid would start a rumor that Salem was a serial killer or a narcotics addict, neither of which held enough evidence to prove either theories plus the addition of Nebby’s frightful gaze said otherwise. Nebby herself believed she was just writing new songs or trying to enjoy nature, she’d always remembered Salem as an avid hiker and birdwatcher. Lame activities, but someone has to have a believable hobby, right? Ann had her baking, and Nebby had her trips to the gym.

Nebby stopped by Salem’s small bungalow with croissants and parfaits, “Hey! Going on that yearly trip again?” she greeted. Salem had hoisted the last bag into her RV just as she’d approached her driveway, she smiled, “Yeah, oh hey, are those for me?” “Well who else in this town eats parfaits with pomegranates, dark chocolate mousse, and gluten-free vegan yogurt?” Nebby placed a hand on her hip and flashed a roguish grin. “Don’t you diss the good name of Velvet yogurt, its good shit and you know it.” Salem laughed as she accepted the care package, “So I hear this is gonna be Tim’s first Halloween, it kinda sucks I won’t be here to see it.” “Yeah well, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do anything with him; fucker’s still shaken up after watching IT last night.” Nebby folded her arms and scoffed, “Lost his shit at the sewer drain scene and wouldn’t keep his hands off his face to watch the rest.” “R.I.P Georgie.” Salem shook her head, “You know Tim’s a medieval solider, right? His time was really fucked up you know, and I don’t think introducing him to horror movies was a good idea, you might trigger something.” “He watched the entirety of the Exorcist without blinking an eye, matter of fact…other horror movies are just fine with him- well, except the time he got super nauseated after watching the Saw movies.” Nebby scratches her head.

“You think he might have coulrophobia?” “Canny Tim, afraid of clowns…? I’ve heard of his discomfort towards mirrors, but not clowns.” “Well, it’s a possibility. You said he couldn’t watch IT without covering his eyes.” “In his defense, I probably should’ve warned him there was gonna be a lot of child death in this…” “Well if he does, then you guys might want to be careful.” “And why do you say that?” “Well, I guess there are clowns popping up all over the country again.” “Really, are you serious? This shit again? Welp, welcome to Clownpocalyse, mother fuckers, buckle up!” “Yeah, I’d recommend carrying bear mace or something.” “I’ll add that to my grocery list.”

Salem snorted, “Anyway, I should probably start heading out before traffic starts congesting like flu season. You got your meds, right?” “Like I want to spend this year’s Halloween stuck in bed.” Nebby rolled her eyes, “you have a safe trip, okay?” “You better have some tamale ready for me when I get back.” Salem stuck her tongue out at Nebby, earning a playful expression in return. She waved goodbye as her friend pulled out and drove off. Putting her hands into her pockets, she sighed and began the walk home.

“Me? Going on a hunting trip with you! Oh no, fuck no, last time I went you nearly took an eye out!” Orion angrily pointed to his left eye. Kardok frowned and punched his shoulder, “’at was ower 700 years ago, wimp, gle ower it.” “I know you’re just going to leave me in the woods or use me as target practice.” The clone glared daggers at the centaur, folding his arms and tapping his non-bandaged foot. “Ah won’t, Ollie said Ah cooldn’t anyway.” Kardok groaned, “an’ besides, dae ye pure want tae bide haur an’ deal wit’ Zarok instead ay shootin’ deer an’ elk?” He did drive a good point, whichever minion that stayed behind had to give him a bubble bath. And bubble baths were the worst, last person to go was Oliver, and he was later found in his room rocking himself by a corner. Orion cringed, “Okay, I guess you’re right.” “’En gle packin’, yoo’re burnin’ daylecht haur.” Kardok shoved him towards the stairs, Orion stumbled and grumbled to himself as he regained balance and began walking up towards his room to pack. Oliver entered the foyer with suitcases in hand, “I’m so excit’d! A whole weekend trippeth all to ourselves!” he smiled, “and twas awfully kind of Zeal to lend us the RV, I wast almost worried we’d has’t to travel by foot!” “Aye, its bin tay lang since I’ve shot myself a braw stag ur tois.” Kardok agreed, stretching out his arms. He took the bags from Oliver and brought them outside to the RV. “Come your ways, doest that gent coequal knoweth we’re going on this trippeth?” Oliver inquired, slightly anxious.

“Ye pure techt Zarok…? Nope, has nae scooby whit we’re daein’.” “I see, then we’d best beest off ere that gent notices.” “Exactly wa Ah tauld Orion tae coorie th’ heel up…!” “Right, oh and ere we wend, may we cease at Lady Donk’s house?” “Wa dae ye want tae gang thaur?” “Just to inquire on which places maketh the best camping ground, we can’t just wend anywhere in the woods.” “Braw, an’ mebbe while we’re thaur she can hook us up wit’ some ay ‘er scran.”

Oliver grinned and once Orion finally pulled through with his luggage- even though he wound up falling down the stairs due to the weight, they headed out. Of course, there was the quick stop at Nebby’s house. Kardok stopped the RV and hopped out with the others, knocking on her front door. Lately he’d noticed the unusual change in setting, not just in this house but all over town; carved pumpkins scattered everywhere, cheap cloth with faces crudely drawn onto them, fake displays of witches and cobwebs. He’d once almost jumped at the sight of the giant spider resting on Ann’s rooftop! None of it was real, of course, but still, quite the scare! Apparently, this was for “Halloween”. Kardok had never heard of it, nor was he interested in knowing what it was about.

What also annoyed him were the inconsistent puns. Oh, the puns.

“Spooky Savings”

“Boo-ze for you”

“Three fears for discounts”

“Witches Crew”

God, if he had to endure one more pun, so help him he will go on a rampage. And wrestling with an enraged centaur was not easy. Just then, the front door opened, and standing there with a cup of tea in hand and glowering at him was Tim. He hissed, “What do you want, Bhaltair?” “Is Nebby haem?” He frowned.

“I’m afraid not, she’s gone to see Ms. Hallows at the moment.” He shook his head, “Now, please leave.” He was about to shut the door when Kardok blocked him with one of his hooves. Tim was getting frustrated, “I already told you, she’s not home, leave or I’m calling the authorities!” “Ah still need somethin’ ye ken.” Kardok said firmly, “I’m gonnae oan a huntin’ trip for th’ weekend an’ Ah need scran. Ye ken hoo te cuik sae gie tae it!” “Why you…! Well, first of all-!” But Tim stopped to think for a moment, a whole weekend without Kardok around? That means 48 hours of no hooves clattering against the pavement, no heavy breathing over his shoulder, and no threat of his magic arrows! This was perfect! And all he’d have to do was cook for him? Seems like a fair trade to him! “…fine, make yourselves at home, I’ll whip something up for you.” He sighed, slowly opening the door for him. Kardok grinned, but before entering smacked the mug out of Tim’s hand, causing the porcelain to shatter and its contents to get all over the wood flooring. Tim opened his mouth to say something, but just shook his head instead and slinked off to the kitchen.

Once he’d finished, he exited carrying with him several containers and pots all stacked together. “Alright, I’ve prepared enough food to last you the weekend, please return the containers and pots when you return, Ms. Nebula will not be happy to find that her cookware has gone missing.” Tim informed, carefully lending it to Oliver. And speak of the devil…

“What the fuck are you doing in my house?” Nebby growled.

Kardok replied, “Huntin’ trip.” “Oh. You’re going too? Well if you see Salem tell her I said hey.” She brightened up, only to immediately darken, “Next time though, wait for me to get home before you decide to invite yourself in, and for fuck’s sake, quit breaking my shit!” “Duly noted, terribly my most humble apology by the by, we’re in a drive and this trippeth wast last minute.” Oliver nodded. “Its fine, you guys go on ahead.” Nebby shooed them away. Orion stayed behind, “Hey, before I go, do you have like, a bunch of scary stories I could use? I want to try and fuck with Kardok on this trip.” “Do I look like a fucking library to you? Talk to Winston, he should hook you up.” Nebby then shoved him out. She then glanced at Tim, “What’d you make?” “Oh, not much, just some honey cakes and chicken soup.” He laughed, “But I’m glad to see you back home.”

A grin crept up on Nebby’s face, “Awesome, I’m gonna head to the store to pick up some candy for the trick-or-treaters, you wanna come? There’s a chocolate in it for you.” She offered in a sing-song voice. “Make it two cases of sugar frosted cookies and I’ll grab my coat.” Tim smirked. “You fucking pig, get upstairs.” She snorted. “You created a monster Ms. Nebula!” Tim joked. “Fuck you!” she called back as he marched up the stairs.

Tim entered his room, it’d gotten better since he’d moved in; he had some posters hung up on the wall along with the many flowers Winston would gift to him on a regular basis. It’d gotten to a point where he had hung some of them onto the ceiling; it was neat save for a few fallen petals on the carpet. He opened the sliding door to the closet, inside was as equally organized. He had coats hung based off color coordination, size, and style, shirts and pants folded neatly inside drawers, plus he had a shoe rack to better arrange his shoes, ranging from sneakers to dress shoes. Other items were found such as a laundry basket and a backpack. He took a step back to think which he’d like to take, only to settle for a dark red coat with black buttons. After slipping it on, he practically flew down the stairs and outside, grabbing a lanyard and turning the porch light on as he exited.

The lanyard wasn’t anything special as it held a cardholder which kept his license and a copy of the house key. Latching the front door shut, he entered the passenger side of Nebby’s car. She smiled, “Took you long enough.”

As they drove towards the direction of the supermarket, Tim looked out into the window. “Ms. Nebula,” He started, “Tell me more about Halloween.” “Sure, you want the short version or the long version? The long version also includes some of Dallington’s history.” She offered. “The long version, please, I want to know everything.” He answered.

“For starters, Halloween wasn’t always called that,” she began, “It has its roots in age-old European traditions, it started with the Celtics, and they called it Samhain, it was a festival consisting of bonfires and people wearing costumes and carving into vegetables to ward off ghosts. They believed that on that night, the boundary between the realms of the living and dead became blurred. So to any evil spirits, it was like a possession buffet for them.” Nebby continued, “But uh, nowadays people dress up for the fun of it…spirit of the season and all that. Anyway, Halloween didn’t come to America until the colonial times, but it wasn’t celebrated as frequently, but when it was, colonizers gathered to exchange ghost stories and start fucking shit up. At that time, they called it, All Hallows Eve. The holiday didn’t pick back up until the early 20th century during the Second World War, when kids started begging for food, marking the staple of Halloween, trick or treating. And Jack-O-Lanterns didn’t pick up until the immigration wave, thanks to the Irish.”

“But what does your town have to do with it?”

“Glad you asked, to give a better understanding, Dallington was founded by Quakers back on October 31st in 1643, before the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts. Before then, it was at first a clan of Irish, Spanish, and French immigrants, along with Native Americans and freed or escaped slaves.” She explained, “They were a small community at first, looking to help each other out and find true peace in the New World. The population was small; I’d say around 150 people- farmers and merchants before the trials. By that time, those who had managed to flee upon accusation came here to hide and later start anew. When the trials were over, on Halloween of 1693, the citizens had gathered outside Salem’s cemetery to mourn and give their respects to those who had lost their lives. Then a year later, a massive feast was held to honor them and those who had passed in their town or in the immigrant’s home countries, some female residents dressing as witches and male residents as demons…basically a middle finger to the Puritan assholes and to the bitchy group of teen girls that started the hysteria.”

“All in all, Halloween was the staple of Dallington’s history, serving as a break from the hardworking conformity.” She smiled, “Although, this is just barely scratching the surface. There’s a lot more to this town than a discount Dia de Los Muertos celebration to piss off religious conservatives.”

He blinked, “I had no idea Dallington had such a connection.” “Well, they did.” She chuckled, “Though, no town goes without its enemies. After that little stunt, in January 4th, 1694, nearby Puritan settlements launched an attack on Dallington. There weren’t any casualties, but they did try to burn down the library, which they hated the most, by the way. Yeah, they didn’t get along, like, at all. Hell, at the end of that month, they tried bringing the Witch Trials back, though it was unsuccessful.” “And why was that?” He wondered. “Easy, because all their women freaked out and moved to Dallington; and without women they couldn’t populate, so the remaining settlers basically died off, probably of dysentery or something to warrant the Darwin Award…” She answered, gripping onto the steering wheel, “Good on them, I hate Puritans.” Tim laughed, “Even if they’re not around anymore?” “Oh no, they’re still here, they’re just not called that anymore.” She shook her head.

They arrived at a nearby Halmart a while later, and after going inside, Nebby grabbed for a shopping cart and darted straight for the seasonal section. Being this was Dallington, their seasonal section was massive, as it took up nearly half of the gardening section! Stocked were bags of mixed candies, trick-or-treating pails, boxes stuffed with inflatable or cluttered decorations, and of course, costumes! Seeing as lately her hands had been tied with practically babysitting Tim, putting up with likes of Zarok, her store, and occasional trips to the gym, Nebby had little time to decide on a costume. But she decided, hey, while she was there, why not pick something out? And maybe she could include Tim in this if he wanted to. Walking through the candy aisle, she extended her arm so her hand would be knocking over all the bags, and when she began to power walk past, bags filled with candy began falling off the shelves and into her shopping basket. When she was sure her basket was filled completely, she turned towards the costumes. Tim kept close to her as they walked, completely perplexed by what she’d done.

“Hey Timmy, look at this costume!” Nebby pulled out a costume from the rack, it was contained in a bag, but the front had a picture of a person dressed in a blue tunic with white trousers and boots, and holding in his hand was a sword and a shield. It said “Breath of the Wild”, though in all honesty, everyone knew who this was. She grinned, “Do you want to dress up for Halloween? It’s not too late to get a costume!” “Isn’t dressing up a children’s activity?” he asked. “You’re never too old to dress up! I don’t understand where the fuck these bullshit adult expectations came from, just because I’m 30 doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy anything!” She retorted, “C’mon, at least try to have fun.” Tim sighed and took the bag from her, “Fine, I’ll give it a try.” “Yes!” She fist pumped in victory. As Nebby left the aisle, and Tim hadn’t noticed this before, he noticed a figure standing across from a display of inflatable ghosts, he’d only managed to catch a glimpse of a red nose and confetti-like clothing, the wide grin and light waving made Tim’s stomach flip. He was about to take a step forward to investigate when he heard her calling, “Hey Tim, are you coming? I need to pick up some bear mace.”

“O-Oh, yes, I am! Coming, Ms. Nebula!” He then exited the aisle, before he did, however, he looked back to find the figure gone. Must’ve been his imagination…or perhaps it wasn’t.

Orion stretched his arms as he’d finally finished setting up the grill Zeal had lent to them, “Thought I’d never get it done…” He’d been left alone to prepare the grill while Kardok and Oliver hunt for deer, which wasn’t at all what he’d hoped for when he’d said he’d like to go on this trip. Then again, it was either this or scrubbing Zarok’s back. And on the plus side, it was relatively tranquil in the woods; he’d almost missed the smell of pine cones and that sweet fresh air that filled his lungs. Maybe it wasn’t what he’d hoped for, but it was still nice to have proper time to relax for once in a millennia. When he’d thought about it, all he remembered was nothing but stuffy rooms and endless clashing against swords. He’d obtained many scars and bruises in his life, most come from either Kardok or Zarok himself. But just one, just for one moment, he could have a moment to rest. The first day had gone off without a hitch, though not much happened. They simply scouted the area with the little daylight they had left, finding the best common ground for deer and whatnot, Kardok had already marked which areas he’d like to visit on his map! Afterwards, they sat outside the RV and eagerly wolfed down the chicken soup Canny Tim had provided for them, and then turned in for the night. Today was more about him setting up the grill and waiting for his comrades to return from hunting, they returned earlier for lunch, and though he wasn’t a cook, he’d managed to throw some meat in between two slices of bread and call it a meal, even if it displeased the centaur. It took an entire loaf, a whole bag of cool ranch Doritos, and a jug of iced tea to get him back on the field, and it was understandable, with an anatomy as complicated as Kardok’s it’d demand the twice amount of nourishment! That’s why they packed extras.

He then turned his head in the direction of leaves rustling; thinking Kardok or Oliver had finally returned Orion opened his mouth to greet them, only for it to be someone else.

He’d seen her before on occasion, particularly when Oliver came to the club for an interview. Her ombre hair hidden in an odd looking hood; tan leather- at least he thought it was leather, adorned with horns, fur, and animal bones. Orion blinked, “Uh…hey Salem, what brings you to the campground?” “Nothin’, Nebby texted me and told me you and the guys are here to do some redneck shit.” She joked. “Redneck…?” Orion repeated. “You know, hunt and get stupidly drunk. I’ve seen it before; my Dad and Uncle Mason did it when they were young.” She laughed. “Are they here with you?” He queried, but Salem shook her head, “Nah, Uncle Mason’s six feet under and my Dad is with my Mom back in Oklahoma.” Oh, so her uncle was-?

“Sorry to hear that.” He said softly. “Its fine, he’s actually buried near my campsite, I come up here every year to pay respects. And my camp is not that far from yours, it’s about half a mile up north.” She smiles, “If you guys want to drop by and have a beer later, I’m open for it.” “That’d be great, but just a fair warning, Kardok can be an ass sometimes.” He laughed.

“He’s part horse, though it’d make more sense if it were half donkey.” “Good one! So, any reason for the weird poncho you got there?” “This…? This belonged to my Uncle Mason; I wear it whenever I come to visit him.” “You two seemed pretty close.” “Are you kidding? He was my best friend before I met Nebby and Ann! Don’t tell them I said that.” “I’ll try not to squeal,” He smirked, “But hey, before you go, do you have any scary stories?” “Why do you want to know? Are you planning on scaring Oliver?”

“More like Kardok and getting back at him for all the bullshit I endured,” He huffed, “I mean, I get it, I looked like some arrow fodder and bear half of his DNA, but the other half isn’t him!” “Let me guess, he doesn’t accept that you’re not who he wants you to be?” She sighed, “Yeah, I get it. And as a matter of fact, I do have a story for you.” She pulls up a chair and seats herself next to the fire pit.

“Alright Orion, you ever heard of the Wendigo?”

The sun had already set by the time Kardok returned, a fat and limp deer resting on horseback, a huge grin on his face. Oliver applauded, “Thee didst such a wonderful job! That deer nev'r saw it coming!” but his face then fell somber, “twas a shame we only managed to shoot one, doth thee bethink we've gone rusty?” But the centaur shook his head, “It ay practices mebbe, but definitely nae terrible.” They stopped in front of the campground, where Orion was found sitting alone by the RV. Kardok opened his mouth to ask, but was immediately stopped by the clone’s sudden remark, “Yes, the grill is ready, do what you need to do so we can eat already. I’m worn out so I can’t help, if I move another muscle I’d just fall apart!” Kardok huffed, seating himself by the fire pit and drawing out his knife to skin the deer and take its meat. Oliver stood by to take the undesirable parts and toss them aside, while also trying not to gag at the stench. Once Kardok had finished carving juicy pieces of meat, he got up to marinade them and put them in the grill.

As he did so, Oliver smiled, “Lest I so my most humble apology thee couldn't cometh, but, I trust that thee enjoyed the silence?” “I did, best three hours I’ve had in my entire existence.” He smiled back as he kicked back in his chair. But Oliver didn’t like that response, just as he was about to retort, Orion spoke up, “Seeing that it’s nighttime and we have a fire going, why don’t we exchange scary stories while we wait for the meat to cook?”

Kardok huffed, “Och yeah, there's th' Fortesque half ay heem...”

Orion rolled his eyes, “It’s a good one, I promise, and it does not involve a self-insert.” Though skeptical, the centaur seated himself back by the fire pit, mildly intrigued by that last detail. Oliver himself sat close by with as much interest. Orion grinned and rested his elbows on his legs when he crossed them, “Salem told me this story, she dropped by earlier to say hi and decided to tell me this frightening tale.”

“They say, that in these woods- for centuries even, has been inhabited by a petrifying, gruesome creature known only as the Wendigo.” He began, “She tells me that Wendigo had lived in Dallington even before the settlers arrived and started building their colony. Though, there is a way to become one of them. This spot where we reside in as of now; was once the sight of an atrocity, the worst that this town has ever seen!” Now color Kardok intrigued! “Gang oan 'en, aam listenin'!” Orion nodded and proceeded with the story, “It was back in December of 1643, the year they had settled, while most settlers stayed within its borders two families didn’t. They were simple farmers, living a mundane and monotonous routine, at least up until the winter came. It had crept up on them so quickly, that before they could expect it, their crops had nearly wasted and shriveled up. Fearful that they would starve, the husband sent his wife, infant daughter, and young sons to live with a friend in town while he, his older sons, and the neighbor and his sons stayed behind to try and salvage for any good crop that may have survived. Alas, it didn’t. By the time they decided to join the others in town it’d had all been too late, the roads had become too treacherous and it wasn’t long until they forced into the farmer’s cottage.”

“Little by little, day by day, their supplies slowly dwindled. The farmer grew more distressed as each minute that passed was another minute without food. The nights were long; the husband began to hear tapping noises, which he had at first ignored. But when food became scarce, the tapping only worsened, growing louder each night until all he could hear in his head was the tapping and the painful growls of his stomach, begging and pleading with him for nourishment,” He continued, “The farmer knew that he and the others would not live to see the first spring if they didn’t eat. On the 50th day, the farmer had a new craving, the last of their food had gone, and now, they had nothing. But he was determined to provide, but to do so have to come at a heavy price. He’d eyed his current occupants, deciding that the fattest would have to go. That night, he ventured outdoors to retrieve an axe, and then crept back inside to his second oldest room. That morning, they had food. The neighbor counted heads and asked where the second eldest went, as usually he’d be down here shoving everything down his gluttonous gullet, but no answer came from the farmer, who was busy gorging himself.”

Kardok could only cringe, he knew exactly what was going on, and dare he think a man could do such a thing to his own flesh and blood. But Orion continued much to his dismay, “But as quickly as it came, it’d gone. And so the oldest of the neighboring family was paid a visit, that morning they had meat again, but the neighbor and his sons refused to eat, they’d become afraid of the farmer. The neighbor had noticed a change in the farmer’s appearance; he’d be seen drooling frequently, he’d lick his lips whenever he stared him and his sons down. They’d tried to leave, but the threatening snow storms threatened to gobble them up, and would shove them back inside, back into the awaiting hunger of the farmer. Eventually, the snow had consumed the cottage entirely, and they knew that they would not live to see the spring. At night, the husband was spotted mumbling to himself; his skin became increasingly paler by each passing day and his hair had grayed and fallen out in clumps prematurely, his eyes would stay open and bloodshot as his hunger kept him up at night, his hands would be shaking as it held the only axe in the house, the only weapon for miles. The creaking floorboards made the neighbor and his remaining sons, knowing of what they’d eaten, beg God for forgiveness as they knew that the farmer would come for them, after all, he was hungry. There was no fighting chance against the farmer. Come spring was when the farmer’s wife returned, opening the door, only then screaming in horror when her eyes laid upon the figure that was once her husband, digging his vicious claws into and feasting on the insides of their oldest son, still breathing, clinging onto life. His eyes rolled back, his arm reach out to her as a warning.”

“It was already too late for him, and it would be too late for her if she didn’t run.” He shook his head, “And that she did, but she never made it out of those mountains. Witnesses claimed to have heard her desperate pleas for help, her cries of agony, but no one came, for they were much too afraid of meeting the same fate.”

Orion concluded, “The wendigo- the horrid creature the farmer had become, was a frightening being of Algonquian folklore, and was born when a man selfishly slaughtered and tasted human flesh in times of famine, the first taste would be nothing, but slowly his mind would only have one thought; he had to have more. And the more he’d get, then the more monstrous he’d become. And although he’d have the food he’d so craved- being at the cost of his humanity, it would never be enough to sate his gluttonous desires.” “Och aye but whit abit th' other kids…? Th' yoonger ones fa biddin wi' their mammy…?” Kardok’s eye widened. “Lucky for them, they thrived within the town’s borders, and never once did they venture past,” Orion grinned maliciously, “For fear that they too would become the meal of the wendigo.” Understandably, Kardok didn’t feel like eating and neither did Oliver, as they’d lost their appetite. Quickly, they scurried into the RV to cleanse themselves and prepare for bed, but they knew no matter how many times they washed their hair or scrubbed their bodies with soap, it wouldn’t be enough to erase the ick of the tale.

Falling asleep was a challenge as well, especially for Kardok. He lied awake, his eye still wide open. He could not erase the horrible details from his head, and why couldn’t he? He was tough! A story like this couldn’t deter him from having fun. This was his trip, his vacation! Whether it was true or not, he didn’t need to know. Maybe tomorrow when they return from the mountains he could drop by at the Gold Room downtown and drown these silly fears with a few beers.

As his eyelids grew heavy, as his muscles loosened from the pressure, and his breathing had become less anxious, he’d finally began to drift off.

But then he heard tapping.

Kardok sat up, but thought, it was just a branch. There was no wendigo here, plus, how would it still be around if no one wanted to come here? Logically, without any victims, the wendigo would’ve died of starvation. Okay, maybe they and Salem being exceptions but it was only fall! If these creatures only appeared in the winter- at least he hoped so, then he had nothing to worry about. But that wasn’t it, as the tapping continued. Kardok lied back down and shoved his pillow over his head to block out the noise, it wasn’t that he feared the wendigo, when something out of the ordinary happens; the least that could be expected was something within logic, the worst was the last thing on anyone’s mind. Perhaps there was a woodpecker or a homeless man trying to grab his attention, or perhaps it was a branch, the RV was parked under a tree, and loose branches were hanging close to the windows. Satisfied with this theory, Kardok began to relax and drift off.

But it wasn’t a branch, Kardok’s eye opened as he’d finally figured out what was causing the tapping; he’d seen Orion do it multiple times on their way here.

That was a fingernail.

Slowly, the centaur got up and reached around for a hunting knife, if it was an intruder, then he’d have something to fend them off. He was not afraid; he was Zarok’s Grand Champion! He’d seen much worse in his life, and had committed various atrocities not excluding murder. He’d ripped men apart with his bare hands, and he even shot a man’s eye out! The sound of the tapping bounced around the room, he looked down at Oliver’s sleeping figure, how in the hell could he sleep through all this?

Just as the tapping had started, it immediately stopped as Kardok then heaved a sigh of relief; finally he could rest easy now. At least, he thought so, as the tapping started back up once again, this time it was as if all the fingernails were tapping against the window rhythmically. He could tell that whatever was out there was just trying to get him to come outside, or at the very least annoy him. A sinking feeling in Kardok’s stomach forced him to edge slowly to the window; Oliver had them drawn closed before he went to sleep. As much as he liked it, he wasn’t necessarily fond of the sun getting into his eyes when he woke up in the morning. Reasonable, but considering the circumstance, it made Kardok all the more uncomfortable. With his free hand, he shakenly grasped onto the heavy fabric, the sweat that had accumulated and glossed over his palms was drenched by the curtain.

Quickly, he opened the curtain to see who it was that was annoying him. To his relief, it was Orion, hair strewn all over the place, strands sticking out into the air and covering a portion of his face- well, more so than usual. His eyes had bags under them and he was slouched over, clearly a spitting image of Fortesque. Orion yawned and whispered, “Sorry to wake you up, I had to take a leak but I think I accidentally locked myself out, could you let me in?” Kardok blinked several times, fighting the urge to grin and suppressing his laughter, for Oliver’s sake. Of course this idiot would lock himself out. Kardok quietly exited the bedroom and made his way over towards the door, careful as to not knock anything over, after all, this was Zeal’s RV.

He stretched his arms and his hand then rests on the handle, the door opened, and Kardok poked his head out, turning it to see if Orion had stayed put or was at least standing by the door, but he wasn’t there. He frowned, “Orion, Orion, whaur ur ye? Ah swear, if thes is a prenk aam gonnae make sure ye gie sponge bath duty fur lae ay th' year!” But no answer, only the wind and the crickets could be heard. Strange, where was he? He was outside just a second ago. Grumbling, he shut the door and locked it, if that’s how it was going to be then he could stay outside all night! Kardok went back to bed, and while he managed to get some sleep, it wasn’t long for the tapping to wake him up again. He reached around for the alarm clock; “Its 2 in the fucking morning, what is this man’s problem?” Kardok thought to himself, once again covering his head with the pillow to drown out the noise, “He has the entire woods to use as a bathroom and the forest floor to use as a bed, why can’t he just shut up?” The attempts were once again futile. The only way Kardok could get any sleep was if he just went out there and shut Orion up himself.

As he got up, however, Kardok realized he’d left the curtains open from the last time he’d gotten up. And his stomach dropped like an anchor when he saw that it was not Orion outside. Matter of fact, he wasn’t sure what it was!

This man- no, this creature was tall, gangly and thin. It stood there, gaunt to the point of emaciation, its desiccated skin pulled tightly over the bones. With its bones pushing out against the skin, its complexion an ashy gray, and its icy glossed eyes pushed deep into its dark sockets. It was as if it were a skeleton that had risen from beyond the grave, what lips it had was since long gone, red liquid dripping from between its fangs, though Kardok could see a long, slimy greyish-blue tongue slither out from between the gaps to lap the blood from over its yellowed fangs. And though they were separated by the glass, Kardok gagged at the horrific stench of decay. Granted, he was no stranger to the stench, but this…this wasn’t anything like it! The creature, seeing that Kardok was up, opened its mouth, matted black hair glued to the sallow skin. The maw revealed rows of its needlelike teeth, the hands were gnarly, razor-like talons, and Kardok could spot tufts of stained, matted snow-white fur. Around the neck and barely hiding beneath its fur the creature adorned a necklace made with human bones. And atop its head stood tall and proud, a set of antlers; whether they were that of a deer or elk, Kardok did not care, as he quickly sprang into action and shut the curtains tight. He turned over to Oliver who was still fast asleep, but now Kardok realized, Orion was still outside. Should he go out there? No, it was likely that Orion was a goner. But, Oliver was the kind of man who’d want everyone to stick together, “no man left behind” as they say.

To hell with it! If Orion’s gone, that’s going to be Zarok’s problem! He wasn’t going to go out there and risk dying again for this idiot! He wanted to be outside, so he had to pay the consequences. “Kardok?” he turned to see Orion up and unharmed, “What the hell are you doing? It’s 2 a.m.! Get some sleep.” Kardok blinked, how the hell was he still alive? “What're ye daein'? Ah thooght ye waur ootwith…!” He whispered angrily. “Outside…? Kardok, I’ve been in the RV this whole time, I just got up to take a piss and I came here to grab my flashlight!” Orion whispered back. So much for an honorable sacrifice, but still, it was good to see that he was unharmed. Kardok pinched his temples, “Nae, ye dornt need tae gang ootwith. Jist use th' a body we hae haur…!” “But the loo’s broken thanks to your fat ass!” Orion argued. “Jist use it, yoo're nae gonnae ootwith!” Kardok hissed. But despite his efforts, Orion grabbed the flashlight and proceeded to walk towards the door. He could’ve said nothing, he could’ve just let whatever that was out there snatch him up and gobble him whole, and yet, something within him told him he needed to say something.

Because without thinking, Kardok then blurted, “But there’s a wendigo it thaur…!”

Orion was seconds away from opening the door, he looked up at him and gave him an unamused glance, “Oh my god, Kardok, it was just a story, the wendigo are basic mythology and therefore don’t exist.” “Weel centaurs aren’t supposed tae be real an' yit haur Ah am.” Kardok crosses his arms. He did have a point there.

It seemed like whatever was out there had finally gotten fed up, as the RV began to shake. The sudden movement nearly jolted Oliver awake, while Kardok and Orion went pale as they then heard movement coming from the roof of the RV. “Its oan th' roof…! Its oan th' feckin' roof…!” Kardok panicked. “Then don’t stand there with your dick in your hands, get us out of here!” Orion pulled Kardok out of the bedroom and shoved him towards the driver’s seat. “Ah cannae drife, aam part cuddie…!” Kardok protested as he was forced to sit down, breaking the back part of the seat. “You’re going to be in half if you don’t drive, now floor it!” Orion yelled, “The force should knock this fucker off!” The centaur was fiddling with the keys, finally jamming them into the slot and turning them, but the damn engine wouldn’t turn on. Oh why, oh why did the engine have to go kaput at a time like this? Kardok kept twisting it, uttering “Come on” repeatedly, his voice cracking occasionally and nearly breaking the key when the roar of the engine along with the high beams turned on at last. Just as Kardok was about to put on his seat belt, the wendigo crawled down from the roof and onto to the windshield like a spider, its head turning a full 360˚ and tapping on the glass. Orion and Kardok let out a shriek of terror, Kardok then slamming his front right hoof into the gas pedal, the tires emitting an ugly squeal. Turning the wheel all the way, Kardok began speeding off and out of the campground, madly turning the RV to shake the creature off, but it persisted.

It was no surprise that in amidst the chaos, Oliver would wake up as he was now standing by the breakfast nook grasping onto the kitchen counter and the wooden table for dear life, fully awake and confused. “What's going on, wherefore art we leaving the camp?” But no answer from either was necessary as his eyes were now directed towards the wendigo, he screamed, “Oh mine god, what is that, what the fuck is that!” “Wendigo and it won’t come off!” Just as Kardok answered this, glass shattered in his face as the wendigo had slammed its grotesque antlers against the windshield and with just enough space to hold on, its claws reached in to grab for the closest morsel; Kardok. The centaur began screaming like Jesus was on him; Oliver sprang into action by grabbing a knife from the block, “Hence with thee, demon from hell, back to the icy void from whence thee cameth!” and sunk the blade into its wrist. Blood gushed and spurted out like a geyser, getting into Kardok and Oliver’s faces as the wendigo howled in agony, simultaneously losing its grip on the frame of the vehicle and falling off. The loud, satisfying THUD along with a tremendous bump from beneath their feet made them all sigh in relief. Orion let out a shaky breath, “Good job, Oliver, now let’s get the fuck out of these mountains.”

Way to jinx it, as now they heard sputtering, the RV was coming to a stop.

“Nae…! Nae! Nae! Nae! Nae! Dornt teel me 'at hin' hud fucked wi' th' engine!” Kardok hyperventilated. Unfortunately, it had, as within seconds, the RV had come to a complete stop. “Fuck!” He slammed his fists against the horn; the noise could be heard for miles. They couldn’t stay here, the windshield was already smashed and none of them knew how to kill a wendigo. And no doubt the creature was not too far away from them, and it wouldn’t be long until it recovered and came back for a second round.

Oliver had never seen Kardok flustered before, normally he was fearless- hell, he was Fear itself! But to see him reduced to this, it made him feel lost. Kardok was the one with all the knowledge, experience, and power to kill whatever crossed his path. But that was when they reigned in Gallowmere; this wasn’t Gallowmere, this was 21st century America and everything around them was a complete stranger to them. He didn’t know if they could kill a wendigo or not, heck, they might not live to see tomorrow if they don’t end up as a happy meal to a cannibalistic juggernaut. And rebuilding a body once it’s reduced to a chewed up, bloody mush was no easy task! Orion paced around for a moment to think; a lightbulb went off as he then whipped out a phone- a gift from Zeal he’d received a while back, and thank god, he was likely within close proximity of a telephone pole because he had bars! He switched the data on and typed into the screen. Kardok was appalled, “What're ye daein', thes is nae time tae be textin'!” “Shut up, I’m doing some research and it just might save our asses!” Orion snapped. A minute passed, and Kardok spoke up once again, “Och mah god, coorie up!” “Just a second, and…got it!” Orion beamed, “Okay, we can temporarily disarm the beast with silver blades, that knife Oliver used must’ve been made out of that. And it says here they hate fire, it’ll get pissed off but it should buy us extra time to run!” “And what about killing t, how doth we killeth t?” Oliver queried. “Stake it through the heart with a silver axe, lock it in a silver box, and bury it in a cemetery or churchyard,” Orion read the passage on his screen, “Use the axe to dismember the wendigo, salt each body part and either burn it or scatter the pieces by burying them in far, separate, and inaccessible locations like a well or lake.” “But we don't has't an axe, or knowledge of any nearby wells or waters.” Oliver shook his head. “'en that's it, we're fucked!” Kardok shouted. “Not if we leave the mountains, a small detail I left out was that the wendigo never ventures past its territory.” Orion frowned, slipping his phone into his pocket and opening the door, “We don’t have a lot of time, that wendigo might’ve healed by now, if we don’t move it’ll get in and devour us all.”

He was right, and before stepping out of the vehicle, Kardok armed himself with a few knives, a lighter, and a bottle of hair spray, just to be safe. Why he had a lighter and hairspray in his possession, no one knew, but at a time like this, it was best to keep silly questions until they were back in town. Plus, a makeshift flamethrower would be handy! Off they went, Orion using his phone’s flashlight as a means to guide him and the others towards civilization. Thanks to Kardok’s reckless driving, they weren’t that far off from the borders that separate the woods from the town.

As they wandered through the woods, the group stayed huddled together, and by that, it meant riding on Kardok’s back- Oliver in the back as the lookout, and Orion as the guide. Aside from the flashlight, it was pitch black outside. The dark clouds had swallowed the moon whole, not a star was out to light up the sky either, every tree trunk reminded Kardok of the wendigo’s horrific dried up skin, every twig that snapped beneath his hooves made his stomach jump. His upper body was shivering despite the cozy sweatshirt he had on, an icy chill breezed past him, tickling the hairs on the back on his neck and goosebumps popping from the skin. He could swear the winds were whispering his name, he wanted to stop, but he knew that if he did he’d be condemning him and his comrades to the mercy of the wendigo.

They weren’t sure how long they’d been wandering, but clearly it was too long since the sun was beginning to rise. And by the time they reached their neighborhood, it was 5 am, and they collapsed on their driveway. The men were sleep deprived due to their paranoia and therefore on edge after their walk that they’d failed to notice the squad cars outside Nebby’s house! But in all honesty, they didn’t care what happened, it was likely nothing compared to what they’d just endured.

To add insult to injury, an RV was sitting on their driveway, and out stepped Salem. “Oh hey, lost your RV?” Oliver raised his head and nodded, “We hadst an accident last night and we hadst to walketh home...” “Sorry to hear that, boys,” She consoled, “Oh, and my Uncle Mason said you guys were a lot of fun to hang out with, he wants to do this again next year!” If Orion hadn’t been as exhausted as he was, he would’ve said something snarky. But, something about that sentence didn’t make sense, besides, wasn’t her uncle dead?

Halloween night, unfortunately, Nebby’s plans to take Tim to the festival fell on its back when he’d displayed symptoms for the stomach flu. Turns out McDonald’s for dinner yesterday wasn’t a good idea, who knew his stomach could be as fragile as it is? Clearly he wasn’t lovin’ it! Still, Tim was not about to let that minor setback keep him from enjoying his first Halloween ever! He decided that he should stay behind and pass out candy while Nebby, Ann, and the rest go out to enjoy the festival downtown. After all, there was always next year. Before leaving, Nebby had set up the sofa to make it so Tim was comfortable and provided a waste basket in case he needed quick access. She’d just about finished adjusting the tiara and pencil on her costume, the others had already arrived; Ann was dressed as a ragdoll- a character named Sally, Una invited herself dressed in a spider web poncho and her hair done up in a high ponytail, Winston and Willow dressed in red jumpers with the tags, “Thing 1” and “Thing 2” on them with the tips of their hair dyed with temporary blue hair dye, and Sodreco…Sodreco was a unicorn. It took all within Tim’s power to not start laughing when he first saw it, and a good thing too, his stomach was currently in agony. “Remind me what you’re supposed to be again.” Winston looked up and down at Nebby, who posed heroically and declared, “Wonder Ramsay! I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to be Wonder Woman or Gordon Ramsay, and Tim said if I liked both, then I could be both!”

Willow giggled, “It looks strangely enough, very fitting on you! If I were a judge at the costume contest, I’d give you points for originality and creativity!” “Yeah well, if only I had a whip and a whole slew of TV shows to complete the look.” Nebby shrugged, “That would’ve been perfect.”

Winston seated himself next to Tim, who decided to rest his head on his shoulder. In response, Winston wrapped an arm around his sweetheart, “Are you sure you don’t want us to stay here and keep you company? I feel bad leaving my sweetheart alone on Halloween night.” “Its fine,” Tim smiled weakly, “I doubt there’d be a lot of ginger ale at the festival, plus, I don’t think I can keep myself standing up for more than a few minutes. And who else is going to hand out candy to those trick-or-treaters?” “Oy, Tim! You know what to give to the adults with crappy costumes, right?” Nebby called. “Ms. Nebula, I’m not handing out three year old M&M’s and bubblegum.” The archer frowned. “It was worth a shot.” She shrugged once again. Winston laughed, then gave Tim a quick peck on the lips, “Alright, I trust you. There’s always next year, I guess.” Ann joined in, “We can pick up candy for you, if you’d like.” Tim sat up, “Ooh! Yes, plenty of peanut butter cups and chocolate!” Sodreco smiled, going over to ruffle his student’s head, “You can only have them when you’re feeling better.” To which Tim pouted playfully.

Nebby, who had broken off from the group earlier, had just returned, “Alright, all doors and windows are locked, curtains are drawn, I’ve signed into Netflix, and there’s chicken soup and ginger ale ready for you on the counter.” “Thank you for your kindness.” Tim smiled warmly, “Though, if I may ask, why latch up the whole house?” “To prevent any drunken morons from breaking in; happened to me last year and it was a bitch getting all those frat boys out of my basement.” Nebby cringed, “I still remember the togas.”

Willow felt a tug on her onesie; she turned to see it was Una, whom after getting her attention pointed to the time shown on her lock screen. She concluded, “And speaking of drunks, I think we’d better get going, they’ll start coming in around 8.” “Ah fuck, you’re right.” Nebby grabbed her keys, “We’ll be back soon. Call us if there’s an emergency or if Zarok’s at the door, call Zeal.” “Have a good time.” Tim waved as she exited the house. Winston bade him goodbye by giving him another kiss, “Happy Halloween, my sweetheart, get well soon.” “And to you too, have fun, love.” He watched as he and the others left. Once they were all gone and the front door locked with a satisfying click, Tim lied back down…until he felt lightheaded. Thank god he was alone.

The first wave of trick or treaters came at least ten minutes after the group had left, and for a minute, Tim thought there wouldn’t be enough candy to last him the night. But thankfully he’d located the piles upon piles of extra candy, so all worries were set aside. This neighborhood housed a lot of kids, and he wasn’t exaggerating, there was a lot! Tim got up- on average, of 6 times every ten minutes to hand out candy. Though it may sound like an annoyance, it really wasn’t. Tim enjoyed handing out candy, and seeing them dressed in their costumes, whether store-bought or handmade made him happy. Heck, he just might be able to pull through! The last wave of trick-or-treaters came around 7:30 pm, ending with a little brunette boy dressed in the exact same costume as him. He ran through the decorations set up by Nebby on the front yard, and came to the door accompanied by his blonde mother. The boy held out his bag in excitement as Tim answered the door one final time. “Trick-or-treat!” the boy was grinning from ear to ear. Tim handed him a generous portion of candy, dropping them into the child’s bag. He swore he saw those eyes light up like stars as he looked at his mother, “Momma! Look! He’s dressed like me!” “I see that, my little warrior,” She giggled, “Now what do we say?” To which the child nodded and chirps, “Thank you, Happy Halloween!” “And to you too, have a good evening! Be safe out there!” Tim laughed as he watched the pair exit the premises. As he closed the door and locked it, he couldn’t help but feel that those two reminded him too much of his own mother and himself when he was a child. Fond memories they were, being an energetic youth yet at the same time oddly shy, the only bounds being his own imagination, which seemed almost endless. Maybe, if he’d been born another time, Tim would’ve been able to have unique memories like Trick-or-Treating. But it wasn’t like he could pick and choose when and where his life would take place.

His thoughts were interrupted by another pang of pain in his stomach, a sign that he’d been standing for too long and needed to lie down, he groaned and sulked back to the living room to lie down. Tim reached for the remote and hit the play button, continuing a movie he’d decided to watch on Netflix. The movie was called, “Halloween”, and it was about a masked serial killer that struck only on Halloween. Simple plot, but hey, it didn’t need anything grand for it to be good. According to Nebby- who recommended it, said it had a low budget but still managed to scare audiences across the country!

As the movie progressed, right as the killer was about to stab another victim to death, Tim jumped to the sound of the landline going off. Strange, he hadn’t heard that thing go off in weeks. Nebby made it abundantly clear to all telemarketers that she was not interested and to remove her from the call-list. She also had a rule about the landline, to which Tim quoted under his breath, “If it’s important, they’ll call again or leave a message.” And just as he’d predicted, after the first ring, the phone went off again. Ah, so it was important. Tim carefully got up, “Just a minute…!” Thankfully, he’d reached the phone, which was in the hallway; he picked it up and answered with a “hello”. He expected it to be either one of his friends calling to check up on him, but was instead met with heavy breathing. Now this was unusual.

Confused, Tim repeated, “Hello?” But all he could hear was heavy breathing.

This had to be Nebby calling; she was probably already drunk and butt-dialing the house. He rolled his eyes as he hung up, but before he could return to his seat, the phone rang again. Okay, this couldn’t be a butt-dial. But Tim didn’t want to answer it; he wanted to hear the voicemail. He got what he asked for, and what did this oh-so elusive voicemail consist of? If your guess was heavy breathing, then you’d be correct. This was definitely no coincidence, and Tim was now mildly annoyed. Those kids and their prank calls, ha! Tim decided that it’d be best to ignore the calls and let them go straight to voicemail. And while he felt like he’d made the right decision, he couldn’t feel as if something were off.

Two hours passed, and the calls had slowly become more frequent, and now Tim was annoyed. He couldn’t even enjoy the movie or even take a nap! Just how persistent were these kids anyhow? “That’s it, if these kids call one more time, I’m going to scream!” He grumbled. And what happened next? The phone rang. Tim growled, “That’s it!” with all the strength he could muster, he stomped over to the phone and as soon as the heavy breathing started, he let loose the angriest, most irritated scream he could conjure up. “There, see how you like having your ears bleed!” and he slammed the phone back into the receiver. He slumped back into his seat, just in time to receive a facetime call from Nebby. He answered, revealing his friend at the bar. He smiled, “Oh, Ms. Nebula! Hello!” Seeing her face calmed him down, it almost made him forget about those obnoxious calls. “Hey Tim, how’re you holding up?” She frowned, “You don’t look so good.”

“Ah, I’m a little irritated right now.” “Ah shit, is Netflix not working?” “Netflix is fine, it’s these phone calls I kept receiving.” “Are stupid kids calling the house phone?” “Yes, and they’ve been at it for two hours, I fear I’m getting more weary just thinking about it!” “Two hours? That seems a bit too dedicated if you ask me, are you sure it’s kids?” “Considering I just screamed into the speaker, I hope it is. Maybe they’ll learn their lesson.” “Oh yeah, you’re going to get a lot of those calls on Halloween, don’t worry.” “Oh! How was the festival?” “Wild, taking a break though, your boyfriend’s got the munchies and I need a drink!” “Just not too much, you have work in the morning.” “I know, I know. Okay, looks like everything’s all good here, I’ll let you go.” “Thank you, I’ll see you soon!”

Just as he hung up, lo and behold, the house phone rang once again. Tim was appalled, just how dedicated were these kids? He groaned, getting up to answer the phone, “Okay, I don’t think I’ve made myself clear; Stop. Calling. The house! What’s wrong with you? I’ve been sick like a dog all day, all I ask is for a nice night to watch movies and recover. I can’t get any of that done when you’re calling me every five seconds! If you call again, I will alert the authorities!” He was about to hang up when he heard a gruff, distorted voice, “Don’t forget to turn off the stove.” Turn off the stove? He turned his head to peak into the kitchen, and wouldn’t you know it, the stove was on. Bewildered, he set the phone to the side, and then crept over to the stove to turn it off. How did he know about the stove? And besides, the stove was already off when Nebby and the others left. These were no kids he was dealing with, but a lonely man stalking him.

Great, now he was the teenage girl home alone, just like in those horror movies!

And Tim couldn’t be more irritated. So much for a good first Halloween, it was bad enough already he was sick! He’d forgotten to hang up, as the voice then asked, “Do you like clowns, Tim? I bet you like clowns.” No, he didn’t. He didn’t like clowns, but he wasn’t about to tell this stranger that. He placed the phone back onto the receiver after hanging up yet again, now feeling slightly uncomfortable. “How did he know my name…?” Tim’s eyes widened slightly. But then his eyebrows furrowed into a frown, wait a second…He grabbed the phone and dialed the number. Zarok’s croaky voice answered, “What do you want, Andrews?” “Zarok, I know it was you calling me! Do you have any idea what time it is?” He placed a hand on his hip.

“I was, but then you screamed into my ears, you worm!” “Good, I hope I ruined your ears, now will you stop calling me?” “I did, I did stop calling you!” “Then why did you ask me if I liked clowns? I hate clowns!” It was silent on the other end, and Zarok answered in a confused tone, “You hate clowns?” “Yes! You asked me if I liked them! And before that, you told me the stove was on! Don’t tell me you broke into the house again!” It was silent again. Tim huffed, “If I look out the living room window right now, and I see you standing there, I will get Ms. Nebula’s handgun and put a bullet somewhere where the sun doesn’t shine!” He walked towards the window, pulling back the curtains to see what was in the front yard. Standing underneath a lamppost was a figure dressed in a clown suit, mask and all. It even had a phone held up to its ear. Tim grinned in triumph, getting his other phone to take a picture, “Aha! Now I’ve got you! I see you there, trying to scare me, well let’s see how you like it when squad cars are congesting your driveway!”

He then heard another voice on the line, a bit of bickering in the background and eventually, Zeal’s voice was on the line, “Hello? Timothy, is that you?” Wait. Zeal’s talking to him. There was only one person outside. “Y-Yes, yes it’s me.” He trembled.

“Timothy, it’s midnight, I’d hate to be rude, but you really shouldn’t be calling at this hour.” “O-Oh, yes, I-I understand. I’m sorry, but he’s been calling me repeatedly and…” “I see, I’m sorry about that, and Nebula told me you were sick, you poor man.” “Yes, I am. Don’t worry, I’m recovering.” “That’s good! My brother said you were about to call the police?” “N-No, I’m sorry, I think there’s someone else responsible for the calls.” “Calling you after 8 pm? Oh no, I believe you’re mistaken, Zarok is asleep at that hour. Is everything alright over there?” “Do you want my honest opinion? No. There’s a weirdo in a clown suit standing outside the house, and now…I’m afraid.” Tim looked away from the window, the curtain drawing back. Okay, okay, so there was a man stalking him, likely another if the stove was on. Zeal was beginning to sound uncomfortable, “Timothy, Timothy if you’re in danger, get out of the house! I’m going to call Nebula right now!” Tim looked at the curtain, and as tempting as it was to leave them alone and leave, he had to see if the clown was within close range of the yard. When he did, Tim was relieved to find that the clown was gone. He sighed in relief, “No, no, its fine now, the clown is gone. Besides, I know how to-“but as he turned around, he then came face to face with a rubber clown mask.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you like clowns?”

Tim let out the most bloodcurdling scream he’d ever made in his life, dropping the house phone.

Police units arrived at the Donk residence within twenty minutes after Zeal tipped off police officers and explained that a home invasion was in progress. Nebby and the others arrived later than that thanks to traffic, and were alarmed to see cars parked out in the driveway. Winston and Sodreco burst out from the backseat when they saw a masked intruder being led out in handcuffs, covered in blood. Assuming the worst, they entered to find Tim, alive and well, lying on the sofa covered in blankets giving a statement to the police. “- I’d assumed it was a prank, but when they addressed me by name I knew it was no prank.” He concluded. “Timothy!” Winston hurried over to embrace him, “Timothy, what happened?”

“Your boyfriend managed to beat up and perform a citizen’s arrest on an escaped criminal.” The officer informed him, “From the looks of it, he threw the suspect out that window,” he pointed to a shattered window, both heard Nebby outside screeching, “OH MY-! FUCK me with my own FIST! He broke my fucking window!”

“Subject wasn’t able to speak due to a brutal punch or kick to the throat, and well, let’s just say he beat him to a pulp and call it a night.” The officer chuckled, “We’ll still be collecting evidence, however.”

Winston blinked, then looked at Tim, “Sweetheart, you did all that?”

“What? I hate clowns.

#Donk and Sparrow #((had to post here since DeviantArt says the file was too big))

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