#had an AWFUL day at work there was SO MUCH CRAP in my area

[senseiwu]

the autism allegations keep piling up

[nurgletwh]

Update part two (this is the rest of it, there isn’t any more… at the moment O.o).

February 2024

It took all of two days for my BP to return to my ‘normal’ (the value I expected and where it’s been for a few years now).

It took over a week for me to feel mostly better, and two to approach feeling normal.

Chug away through the rest of the month, but I’m not energetic at all.

March 2024

Nothing super-exciting, although I slowly but surely feel more and more drained—almost exactly the way I felt when I went in because my blood sugar was high. Which was very confusing, because it was great.

Late March-April 2024

I felt awful again. I could barely get the energy up to do anything, and I was back to sleeping all the time. 14-16 hours per day on the weekend, falling asleep in my chair when I got home from work, waking up enough to crawl into bed and go right back to sleep for the night. Which also adds up to 14-16 hours per day.

Warning: diet talk

———

Remember how I started Ozempic? It does weird things to how I perceive hunger. Add that to how well I remember to eat and…

At some point I realized that in the last three days the only things I’d eaten each day were a couple of pieces of toast w/peanut butter for breakfast, nibbled on jerky for lunch, and maybe ate some more toast for dinner.

Thinking back further, I couldn’t figure out a recent time frame where I had done better than that. I had weighed myself in early February, and remembered wondering if dropping 25lbs. (11.3kg) in eight weeks was a good idea.

Shit.

(FYI: no*, it isn’t.)

So I got my exhausted ass out of the house and grabbed a case of Ensure, multivitamins, and other snacky crap I knew I’d eat. My goal was to get things back together enough to get the energy to start fixing my diet, nothing more. I knew aiming higher wouldn’t work until after I could do something besides work and nap.

(*Experts recommend an initial weight-loss goal of 5% to 10% of your starting weight within 6 months. For me, it should have taken nearly seven months to hit that 10%. Granted, these rates are for ‘unassisted’ dieting.)

———

It took all of three days for me to feel significantly better. Not great, but better. I still didn’t have much energy, but my sleeping patterns altered drastically. I was still napping after work, but I would wake up two hours later and accomplish something before going to bed. I didn’t accomplish much, but it was more than sleeping and more sleeping.

Things slowly got better, but again, getting to “ok” was faster than getting back to “normal.”

I know I dropped off the face of the earth, but it felt like every time I announced that things went wonky but I was feeling better now and put out a few chapters, things would blow up again. I wanted to make sure things were better this time.

Which was a poor choice; I should at least have posted something that said I was fucked up but working on it. I apologize for that lack of communication, although things did blow up again…

April 26, 2024

TORNADO.

A FUCKING TORNADO WENT RIGHT THROUGH OUR WORKSITE.

FUCK FUCK FUCKITY FUCK!!!

I know I posted about it. It wasn’t very strong (HA!) by the time it came over the hill and destroyed the house at the top of it, merely (MERELY!!) tossing over a few rail cars and flipping a few semi-trailers.

We got lucky. This very same tornado absolutely wrecked Elkhorn (west of Omaha, NE).

I’ve stated I live and work in the Omaha area, so I’m not too worried about posting this, but here is an overlay of that tornado’s path on top of Apple Maps with my little blue dot while sitting at my desk.

May 2024

Most of May went fairly smoothly. I even got a little writing done!

Unfortunately, I had fallen so far behind on projects at work during all of the above that I was now trying to get caught up. Said project was over four months late at this point. I was working a bit late (not crazy-late, but about an extra hour most days) while still drained, so I didn’t have a whole lot of extra mental energy for writing.

I was, however, finally back to plotting and planning! Yay! Progress!

Until… (is anyone shocked at this point?)

The Friday before Memorial Day I felt a bit drained.

I woke up Saturday with a headache, feeling achy and sore. It didn’t get better, so I took my temperature around noon. 100.1ºF.

Wonderful.

I took a Covid test (that’s my default action to feeling crappy now), but it came back negative. Note that I wasn’t coughing, and I didn’t feel particularly short of breath or anything.

Nothing improved over Sunday, but it didn’t change much, either.

Same for Monday (Memorial Day). But this now made three days with a fever (also three consecutive negative Covid tests).

I agreed to @grumpyoldsnake’s and their friend’s demands to get my ass to a doctor the next day if I still had the fever, although I really wasn’t feeling too bad other than achy. Note: still no coughing (I promise this is important).

I woke up in the middle of the night when I heard something that sounded like a goddamn goose in my bedroom.

Have you ever woken yourself up by making some weird-ass noise that you then can’t duplicate? Even though you know you made it?

I was able to duplicate it. Without much issue. It fell under “well, that’s odd,” and I went back to sleep.

A bit later I woke up to a different weird noise, but I was sidetracked by what I heard and felt after I coughed a few times. My chest was making a sound like a freshly opened pop can. When my mouth was open, it was even worse. I could feel it bubbling away (it didn’t hurt).

Fuck.

Guess what?

PNEMONIA!!

Fuck my life.

Prior to Friday, I hadn’t been sick. They tested me for the flu; that was negative.

Pneumonia is almost always a secondary infection, not primary. You have a cold, or Covid, or bronchitis, and it turns into pneumonia when bacteria settle into your irritated bronchi.

Me, on the other hand…

I never really coughed all that much. Reviewing the blood oxygen data from my Apple Watch, I could peg when the infection started really kicking in, although it looks like something started about a week prior to that (when I did a round-trip plane trip, spending five or six hours on a plane and in an airport two days in a row…).

It took a week to get to a place where my breathing to start feeling easier, nearly two before the oxygen levels started crawling back up.

I did start coughing.

And coughing up… liquid. It was the weirdest sensation. I’d cough, and end up with a mouthful of what felt like slightly thick water. It didn’t really taste, and was nearly colorless.

I coughed that shit up for nearly three days.

I never coughed up the stuff that had any sort of color, although it did get thicker and more ‘traditional’ for stuff you cough up when you get sick. Which puts to lie that you can tell you have a chest infection by the color of the crud you cough up. :-/

It took another nearly two weeks after finishing the ten days of antibiotics to feel like my breathing was normal. The first day back to work was one hell of a reality check, though. I hadn’t been moving around much, and I knew I was short of breath, but I made it all of fifty feet from my car, then about ⅓ of the way up the stairs to my office before I had to stop. I couldn’t catch my breath and was dizzy.

That was the first time I thought, “that could have killed me.”

Not walking up the stairs, but what led to me standing on the stairs, gasping like a landed fish.

It was emphatically hammered home when I made a joking comment to a coworker that it thankfully wasn’t that bad.

Her response?

“Oh, no. Your x-ray was bad.”

>.<

I’ve been getting better. My nutrition went sideways again due to being utterly distracted, but I think that is fairly understandable. :-P

I refuse to say “I’m doing fine now!!”

Fate doesn’t need the temptation.

I hope to get back to writing. I hope even more that I can tackle the monster my inbox has become (both at AO3 and my personal email, which has been just as neglected).

Take care, everyone. Stay healthy.

[oh-snapperss]

the stories we tell, the truths untold

hey guys what if Evo was a campfire story and what if Etho was being watched?

this is part of a concept @pebbltree and i have had for well over a month now involving etho and the universe and we're really excited to share more!

art for this fic by pebbl!

Words: 5735

CW: Watchers, mild horror (no gore or blood or anything!)

Read on AO3!

for @shepscapades. you inspired us with dbhc, so we wanted to gift you the entire au. our ultimate revenge, if you will<3

------------------------------------------------

“Hey, Pause, if you’ll get wood for a fire, I’ll set up the tents?” Beef drops his bag unceremoniously on the forest floor. After a day of gathering supplies, they’re all exhausted in this new world, and with the sun steadily traveling towards the horizon, Pause had suggested they settle for the night, instead of fighting through it. Little supplies and no armor certainly didn’t lend itself to quick traveling, especially with the complete lack of villages so far. 

Pause cranes his head up to look up incredulously from where his hands are braced against his knees, breathing heavily. “Beef, we don’t have tents! What do you mean?” 

“Oh… c'mon man, it’s about the principle. I can go kill a rabbit?” Beef shrugs, then winces. “Man, walking all day… ain’t no joke.”

“The principle?” Etho has to stop where he’s sorting their few supplies just to laugh. 

“Yeah, Etho, the principle!” Beef starts picking up rocks around the area, placing them in a circle for a campfire. 

“Principle of what? Pretending we have tents?” Etho sounds incredulous, holding back a snort. Only Beef. 

“You know they called me that in–nevermind.” Beef cuts off his own joke as both Etho and Pause break into laughter. “That doesn’t work–but it’s not my fault we don’t have any!” 

“Then why would you offer–okay.  Principle it is.” Shaking his head, Pause straightens up, pulling the already worn stone axe from his back. “I’ll chop the wood, but only cause I’ve got the only axe right now. You fellas better help out.” 

“Yeah, yeah, get chopping, wood boy.” Beef retorts. 

Etho just rolls his eyes. He leans back on his knees to sit on his haunches, resting his hands on his legs for a moment. They’re dirty, covered in mud, soil, and scratches from the day so far. Later, he’ll clean them off in the river he can hear nearby, maybe even wrap them to protect the scratches, but for now he wipes his forehead off with his sleeve, glancing up through the trees. Sunlight filters through them, although shadows around their clearing are quickly growing as the night approaches. There’s a tiny breeze filtering through the woods, sending the branches into a gentle dance that Etho has always enjoyed seeing. The rustles in the foliage beyond seems to promise food and life, although he can’t see any cows or sheep yet, which is unfortunate. They’ll have to make do with the thin sleeping pallets for the night. Inhaling deeply, Etho can’t help but love how clean and new the air itself feels–it’s the fresh air of a world just freshly created by the universe, and Etho always feels slightly awed every time. 

After all, the universe loves him. His lips curl into a smile under his mask for a moment, and then he’s brought back to reality, where Beef seems to have stubbed his toe on one of the rocks he’d just placed. 

“Crap!” 

“You good?” Etho asks, trying to sort through his belongings again. Had he always had two wooden pickaxes? Why did he have two wooden pickaxes? 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Beef grumbles somewhere behind him. 

A few beats of silence, then–“Sun’s already setting… I can’t believe this.” A dull thunk of the axe hitting wood sounds, then another, and another as Pause sinks his axe into one of the smaller trees, until it finally crashes to the ground, crushing a couple bushes below. “Got us some wood!” 

Etho glances up from counting how much wheat he has. “Pause… that’s how day works. Sun rises, sun goes down...moon comes up… moon goes down…”

“I know! But it just seems fast!” Pause says, quick to rise to Etho’s banter. He grunts as he heaves the axe down on the fallen tree, before dragging them over to the circle of stones. 

“...okay. How’s the campfire going?” Beef asks, cutting both of them off. Etho twists to look at him–he’s sitting on the forest floor, glaring down at his foot as if he’d done more to it than simply whacking it on a rock. 

“I’ve got some wood. I’ll get it started,” Pause stops for a moment, glancing down to Beef with exasperation and amusement. “You good?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Beef says with a tone that says the exact opposite, before whipping his head to look at Etho. “Etho, what are you doing? We’re working hard, you’re just–sitting there!” 

“I’m supervising,” Etho corrects. “and you’re just sitting too!” 

“...wh–no, go help start the fire!” Beef waves Etho towards Pause, and Etho rolls his eyes before scooching over to help pile sticks on. There’s dirt caked into his pants, and twigs digging into his knees, but it was easier than standing fully to take the few full steps over. With the sticks and logs in the pit, he leans back, letting Pause do the actual lighting since he has the only flint between the three of them. 

For a moment, there’s silence, until the cracking of fire fills the air, and Etho sneezes at the smoke immediately blowing to his face. Beef clambers back to his feet with the air of a mortally wounded soldier, grumbling under his breath about smoke in his eyes. 

“Beefers, can you bring over the pork?” Pause asks. 

“Yeah, I got it,” Beef replies. Etho ducks instinctually, and sure enough, meat soars through the air a second later towards Pause, who catches it without missing a beat. 

“Thanks.”

“Yeah, no problem!”

And so their dinner is cooked quickly, while Etho and Beef set up torches around their area in the hopes mobs won’t dare to come near in the night. It’s an easy routine for them–Pause always cooks, Etho sets traps for more food, and Beef sets up tents… except they don’t have tents this time. Or traps, for that matter. Not yet. 

For now, pallets are laid out, and while Pause is turning the meat over, Beef rolls three logs into a triangle around the fire for them to sit on. All three of them eat unceremoniously and quickly–they haven’t had a good meal since arriving, after all. As the sun turns to brilliant pinks and oranges, Etho wipes his fingers on his pants and glances over at his bag. His fiddle is wrapped in there, and he’d love to play it, but something holds him back, this time. Beef raises his eyebrows at him, a silent request, but Etho shakes his head. 

“I shouldn’t… don’t wanna make the cuts worse on my hands.” 

Beef nods in understanding. “I have an idea for what we could do instead..” 

By now, the sun has set fully, but the world hasn’t completely darkened. Etho can just make out the leaves of the bushes drenched in deepening shadows, and the fireflies have just started to flicker into existence. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howls. Glancing up at the sky, Etho watches the final streaks of pink fade, replaced by the first of thousands of stars. As always, he smiles up at it–he knows what that star is. Home. The stars smile back as they twinkle into existence, as if greeting a friend. After a moment he tears his eyes away from the galaxy above, brought back by Beef’s statement. Both Pause and Beef are staring at him, and he realizes he must have ignored them by accident–a rarity. Usually he ignores them on purpose, just to be funny. 

“Hmm?” Etho glances between them. “Wasn’t listening, sorry.” 

“Yeah, we figured. You always do that–looking at the sky and forgetting the earth when the stars come out,” Beef says, as if it’s the most normal statement in the world. 

“...do I?” 

“Yes,” Both Pause and Beef say in unison. 

“Oh,” Etho says, and while they look back at him, as always, he offers no explanation. He clears his throat, trying to move on. “What were you saying?”

“I was suggesting something…” Beef trails off, looking to Etho as if that would make him magically know what he said. 

Etho raises his eyebrows. “Is it… sleeping?” 

“Nope!”

“I like your thinking already,” he laughs, scooting on his log just barely toward the fire. The gentle wind on his back has turned unkind in the night, serving to bite with a chill. 

“Thank you! Now hear me out, gentlemen….” Beef stops, glancing around the woods as if to make sure nothing else is listening. “Scary stories.” 

Pause nods emphatically from his own log, looking rather enamored with the idea. Rolling his eyes, Etho sets aside all hope of a full night's sleep–not that he’s ever had that with them. Not that he cares. 

Another beat of silence passes, where Etho forgets to reply, and then Beef speaks again. “C'mon guys, it’ll be fun!”

Etho settles his hands back into the rough bark, bracing himself against them. “I’m not saying otherwise…” 

Truth be told, Etho hasn’t ever really gotten the… point of scary stories, really. Sure, he’d been afraid of the occasional mob or fall, but ultimately he knew he was safe. The universe was kind, kinder than most people knew, why should he fear it? For all the campfire stories Etho had heard others swap over drinks and meals, he’d never really understood the appeal of it being scary. To him, it felt like just that–a story. Something never to be feared, just enjoyed. 

“C’mon, Etho, don’t you enjoy being scared out of your wits? Just for fun?” Pause grins, and there’s something in it that feels unfamiliar to Etho. Again, another phrase he can’t understand. The other players have always described fear in ways he’s not sure exist. 

“I mean, sure? Why not?” He settles, taking his hands off the wood and instead leaning forward to rest his elbows against his legs. The fire crackles as if laughing in the wind, sharing his sentiment that such fear doesn’t exist. Etho snorts softly in agreement. “Tell me a scary story, Pause.” 

For a moment there’s silence, broken only by the sounds of mobs out in the distance, the fire laughing, and crickets whispering, and Beef settles too, sitting on the ground in front of his log, far too close to the fire for what Etho would deem comfortable. Pause closes his eyes, and the shadows on his face, for a moment, seem to cast a warning over it. Etho’s brows furrow–he’s not sure the shadows have ever done that before. Nonetheless, the moment passes, the shadows become as friendly as the rest of the universe again, and Pause opens his eyes, glancing between Etho and Beef with a glint.

“Alright, gentlemen… gather close… gather near… and let me tell you the legend… the tragedy… of Evolution.” Pause waves one of his arms at the sky, and Etho follows his gesture, looking to the sky. Again, he smiles. Then Beef interrupts, and Etho drags his gaze away again.

“Oh come on, Pause, we’ve all heard that one!” 

“Have we?” Etho frowns… Evolution… the word is familiar, but not with the weight placed behind it. 

“Come on, Etho, everyone knows about Evo. Oldest legend in the books… ‘cept for a couple stories, I guess.” 

Etho can’t reply to that. He knows which legend is older, and he won’t confirm it. Not yet. He speaks after a moment, choosing his words carefully. “I’ve not heard it… I don’t think.” 

“What, really?” Pause tilts his head at Etho. “Out of everyone… I guess I figured you’d know all these legends by now.” 

“Nah, you know me!” Etho cracks a grin. “I’m a redstone guy! I’m no storyteller.” (That’s a lie, and they all know it.) “Tell me about it?”

The other two trade glances, then Beef shrugs and leans back against his log again. Pause nods, takes a deep breath, and begins. 

“Once upon a time… there were beings. Powerful, godly beings… ones who called themselves…” he trails off, glancing around again, even to the open sky, before reaching for a stick on the ground. “I’ll write it… just in case.” 

“In case of what?” Etho scoffs, confused. 

“In case they w̸a̸t̸c̸h̸.” Pause hisses back, and for a moment Etho is taken aback at how serious he sounds. Then he’s shaking it off, craning his head around the fire to see what Pause writes in the soil. For a moment he struggles to read it–it’s upside down for him and scrawled without care to keep it neat looking. Then he reads it out loud, just to be sure he’s read it right. 

“Watchers?” 

“Shh! You can’t invoke Their name!” Beef sounds appalled, swatting at Etho’s leg. “You don’t want Them near!”

For a moment Etho stares at him, brows furrowed, then he turns his head to see Pause looking at him with the same deadly serious expression. They can’t be serious, can they? He decides to test their theory, and dispel whatever the odd feeling in his chest is by mocking it. 

“Watcher watcher watcher watcher–” 

“Etho, no!” Pause shoots to his feet, eyes wide with… fear? Etho wonders if that’s what his eyes look like, when facing the dangers the universe won’t ever truly hurt him with. Beef doesn’t move, but he trades looks with both of them before settling.

“Etho, just hear the story!” Pause scolds, sinking back down to sit. Despite feeling rather inclined to burst into giggles, Etho obliges, crossing his legs and staying quiet. He’s intrigued, to say the least. 

“Alright, so these beings… the ones who ẉ̷͊ā̴̠t̸͎̽c̷̉ͅȟ̷̲, they’re not players, right?” Beef prompts Pause, giving him a nod.

“Right. Nobody seems to know exactly what they look like… mostly because anyone who could tell us either won’t or is dead.” Pause sighs, rolling the stick between his hands. “I think the general agreement is whatever they are, they aren’t human, or mobs, but… something different. It’s like they’re admins on steroids–they just have that kind of power, and more. And the thing is, they don’t use it how admins do.” 

“What’d’you mean?” Etho asks. There’s a stray coal burning orange by his shoe. He crushes it under his heel, and it crumbles into ash. 

“They use it… well, they use it like a toy. As far as anyone knows, they pick servers, pick players, use them as their playthings. Like entertainment.” 

“Seems a little ridiculous, if you ask me.” Beef shrugs. Still, Etho doesn’t miss the way his eyes seem a little too similar to an animal just before slaughter. 

“A lot of things seem ridiculous in this universe, until they’re true.” Etho counters, voice quieter than normal. 

Pause lets his tone slide for once. “I think that the best way to explain them… is to tell the legend of the first lost server… Evo. They say the Wa– supposedly, they found Evo. Used it as a plaything, before throwing it away.

“The thing about Evo–what really made it stand out, if you know what I mean–this server was filled with the most powerful players in the universe. Some stories say that these players came there powerful, others say that the gifts were given by the… Not-Admins.”

“I thought they just watc-looked?” Etho frowns. Something keeps him from saying that word, and he’s not sure why. 

“Not always… not on the servers they played with.” Pause glances around again, and so does Etho. By now, the sky is completely darkened, lit up by stars that… huh. Etho isn’t so sure they’re smiling, right now. He shakes it off, looking to the woods instead, where vague shadows swathe everything in it in darkness. A shiver runs down his spine, and he looks back to Pause, who continues his tale after a moment. 

“So… the players on that doomed server. There was the admin, Grian… he had wings-” 

“Like an elytra?” The woods aren’t so menacing after all, and he cracks a slight smile.

“No, like wings, Etho. Impossible wings, from the beginning.” 

“...I see.” 

Pause squints at him, then sighs. “There was Martyn… or maybe Merlin. I’m not sure what his name was, to be honest. Don’t guess it matters, now. I’m not sure what his gift was, either. But Pearl…” Pause’s tone turns almost reverent, closer to a whisper. “She was made of stardust and the universe itself, and fell from the moon.” 

This time, Etho can’t quite laugh. Made of stardust…yeah, he knows that’s possible, better than anyone else. He looks up to the sky again, and they provide no answers. 

“Netty… she could grow anything just from the force of her mind, just like that.” Pause snaps his fingers. “And not just regular plants, she could grow trees, magical things with roots to the void that should have been impossible to plant otherwise.”

Beef interrupts, eyes glinting excitedly. “-oh, I’ve heard of her! I know there was another player who could hop through time–”

“I’m getting there!” Pause says back quickly. 

“...Sorry, time hopping?” Etho’s nose wrinkles. Such a thing… he rolls his eyes. Made of stardust, sure. Time hopping? Never.

“Yeah, yeah, hold in there, I’ve not explained what made the server so special.” 

“...I thought it was the players.” 

“It was, but there was something else, another impossibility that drew them there.” Pause nods, then leans in for dramatic effect. “This server could hop forward through time itself.” 

There’s a drawn out silence again before Etho speaks. 

“Sounds like a load of mumbo jumbo to me.” Etho laughs, but it feels stifled, as if the air were trying to push it back in his throat. 

“...it’s a story, Etho. Of course it’s all mumbo jumbo.” Beef shakes his head, staring into the flames of the slowly dying fire. 

“Aren’t all stories started from truth?” Pause counters. 

Etho’s mouth falls open, perhaps to counter, but nothing comes to mind. Instead he gives a stilted nod, and his mouth closes without further argument. 

“Can I tell my story, then?” Pause rubs a hand over his face. “I’ve not even gotten to the good part yet!” 

“Yeah, yeah” Beef snorts, “Go on, scare the crap outta us.” 

“Anyways, to recap before Etho here decided to interrupt–don’t roll your eyes at me-these players were special. Blessed by the universe, or maybe something else–but they all joined together, to create a world that could jump through time itself.”

“What does that even mean?” 

In the woods, a twig snaps. Nobody hears it other than Etho, whose head flies up towards the sound, only to see nothing.

“Yeah, so this world… they started it as if the universe had only just begun, before all the resources we have today existed.” Beef glances to Pause. “At least, that’s how I heard it.” 

Pause nods in response, sketching something new in the dirt with his cheek resting on his other hand. “That’s about right. Nobody knows if the admin made a deal with them or if they found a way on their own, but… that’s what it was.” 

“That’s not possible.” Etho worries at the inside of his cheek. “Can’t go back. Not like that…” Memories filter through his head, of an age no other player should have seen, when it had simply been him and the universe, and the few animals that had come into existence at the time. To travel to that point… for something else to go back too and ẘ̷̜̃a̵̗͇̋͠t̸̢̓͒c̷̫̥̐h̸̲̀̃… his neck prickles, and he glances around. Is there a mob nearby? 

The woods are empty. 

Pause laughs, but it sounds wrong to Etho too. “Anything is possible, when you’ve been blessed like that, blessed by the very universe or void or.. whatever. When you’re being w̵̻͎͗a̵͍͚̽͘t̷͙̲͆̇̿č̴̲̭̋͠ḫ̶̃̿ẻ̷̢͉͙̃̔d̶̙̐̅̐.” … “Who knows, Etho… maybe you too.”

“Nah, man!” Immediately, his hackles are raised, which is… ridiculous. This is just a story! Some stupid campfire story meant to entertain, that someone made up lifetimes ago. And yet… he’s being… no. No. 

“I’m just saying!” Pause says, sounding far too amused for how Etho feels so wrong. 

“Go back to the story, Pause.” Beef intervenes. 

Pause grumbles under his breath, something about constant interruptions and a bad audience–and Etho can’t butt in indignantly, not this time. “Okay. So the ones who were… looking at the players, they started to intervene. They left gifts in bedrock and other impossible blocks, and the players had to follow clues to reach them. Most of the players willingly went along with it. They were scared, afraid of what could happen if they didn’t play the game how it was meant to be played. All but one. All but the admin… Grian. As the story goes, he broke the rules. Took gifts that weren’t his, the impossible blocks from builds… just a general pest, to be honest.” 

“Now hang on, I always heard he blew up the builds, and that was what upset them.” Beef interrupts. 

“Who on earth did you hear it from??” Pause raises his eyebrows, looking at Beef like he has three heads again. 

“That’s just how I’ve always heard it told!” Beef protests. “What version did you hear?” 

“The right one, obviously.”  Pause turns his chin upwards, towards the moon overhead, radiating smug energy. Beef opens his mouth to protest again, and as the two dissolve into bickering, Etho can’t help but glance upward at the sky again. 

The stars feel wrong. Etho shivers, eyes growing wide, and he’s glad his mask is firmly in place, hiding his expression. Although… the mask is just an illusion of protection, isn’t it?

Where did that thought come from? He’s always been protected under the stars. 

The back of his neck prickles again, and he whips his head down and around towards the woods. A stick cracks, and his hand travels to where his sword would be strapped to his side, if he had one. Still, there’s no movement, and Etho forces himself to turn his back to the shadows, because there’s nothing there. 

He’s being-

A scoff of breath leaves him. This is ridiculous. He’s not being ẅ̷̲̖́͘͠a̶̲̺̜͊̇̋ť̵̬c̷͎̙̜͓̆̀̿͘h̶̪̏ͅẻ̷͓͛͝d̸̪̒́̈́ͅ, there is no such thing as a Watcher, the universe loves him. That’s the mantra he repeats even as puffs of air leave him faster and his eyes sting in the smoke. 

He’s being ẅ̶̘̎͛͝a̸̗̔̿̀t̶̨̢̖́c̸̩͆́͌̕̚h̷̞̭̑͆́́̾ę̵͈̖̦̟̅̂̈́̅͐ḋ̸̻̘. 

He’s fine. 

The world comes back into focus around him, the campfire crackling merrily as Beef tosses a new log into it. Pause is speaking again, and Etho realizes the story must have continued without him. He shifts, hesitating to give into his fear–not fear, he’s never felt that before–whatever it is, but he slides off the log and in front of the fire, matching Beef’s position. It’s easier to breathe again, with his back guarded by the wood. Pause and Beef say nothing of his movements, although he can feel both their eyes on him, watchi-looking at him. 

“Just getting warm. Getting chilly out here!” Even to him, his words sound strained. 

Pause shrugs in agreement, and continues his story. This time, Etho doesn’t look at the sky for reassurance. 

“--so they’re doing the impossible, and one of the players could even hop back and forth, he called it the Downside Up–” 

“Oh, weird. I thought it was the Other Side.”

“Sorry, the Downside Up?” Etho grins without any positive emotion tied to it. “Thought this couldn’t get any more ridiculous sounding!” He’s being-

“Yeah, that’s what they called the times they left behind whenever they hopped.” Pause says, before holding the stick from earlier out to Beef. “You remember Their symbol? I can’t.” 

“Yeah, I got it,” Beef says, and he etches in the ground, brows furrowed in concentration. Etho cranes his head the opposite way as before, narrowing his eyes.

“What would they have had a symbol for?”

“To show it was from them! It was created from bedrock itself, and etched into the earth and stone and even stars.” Pause sighs. “Look, Etho, Mr. First Player–don’t look so shocked, we guessed anyway–you’ve been around a while. It’s just a story. Let it entertain you. Let me tell the story.” 

Etho purses his lips, but nods. It’s just a story. Stories are fake. Stories are rooted in truth and–no, no, this one isn’t. He takes a moment, considering, shoving away all his newfound apprehension, then seizes on another strange fact. 

“They could just.. Use bedrock?”

“Yes!” Beef’s voice rings out louder than Pause’s, but both echo through the woods for just a second. 

“Etho, they could do anything. They aren’t players, or gods, they’re beings between. Nobody knows.”

“Right.” Not players. Not gods. Simply something outside of that sphere, existing in the same universe. 

“And so they,” Pause jabs his stick at the word scratched on the ground, “started a game with their players, a wonderful game of clues and punishments and rewards. And the players played well! They played how it was meant to be played, all but one.” 

“Right… you said before. Grain, right?” 

“Grian.” Pause says, rolling his eyes. “Maybe it was Grain. That makes more sense, honestly.” 

“Yeah, Grian, Grian, the admin, whatever–him. You said he fought back?” 

“Well, not fought, exactly. More just… didn’t play by the rules. And god, he paid for it.” Pause closes his eyes, looking to the stars for a moment. “All of them paid for it.” 

“What, they punished him–sorry, everyone, just for not playing by the rules?” It feels like a warning. Because if there’s one thing Etho has never done, it’s stay within limits. Another glance at the stars, and–the stars don’t feel like home anymore. They’re ẇ̶̰̩͇̬a̸̜̘̮̰͉͉͐̓̓͘͠͝ţ̵̟̟̲͌̊̀̕c̵̡̆h̸̤͙̤̺̐̌͂i̸̛͎̹̫̿́̒̑ͅn̷͖̼͐͒̓̀̍͜͠g̶̬̣͓͊̌ͅ. 

Beef nods. “Yeah… pretty much. Thanks to the admin’s refusal to play by the rules… in the end, everyone was punished. Least, that’s what I always heard, right, Pause?”

“Yep! At first, they let the players live under a false pretense of freedom, let each of them do what they would, just left clues and portals and gifts. But finally… the players wanted to go and take on the final fight.”

“The dragon.” Etho almost rolls his eyes. The dragon fight had always felt… well, boring, compared to what the rest of the universe offered. Somewhere in his head, music plays, the song he’d listened to when he’d undertaken the dragon on his own world. It’s calming, much more entertaining to listen to than the eerie silence the End had held when he’d first gone. Supposedly, the End was much more life-filled now, but he’d not bothered to explore much of it, preferring to keep under the stars for now. 

 “...did it..go well?” he frowns. The End was untouchable, surely. 

“Supposedly, when everyone jumped through, they were separated. Alone. Screaming for their friends, only to be faced with the eyes of a beast larger than life.” Pause lowers his voice. “They fought the dragon alone, screaming for their friends, and they won anyway!” 

“Doesn’t seem so bad to me!” Etho feels a weight on his chest lighten. Sure, it was an odd punishment, to face the dragon alone, but he’d done it without issue. “How is that possible? To separate the players like that?”

“Anything is possible, if you’re being w̴̧̞͕͇̩̼̒͒̂̑͛ạ̶̢̳͎͖͎̏͒ţ̵̛̬̗̘̺̺͆͋̐̓͐č̴̪̃̋̑h̵̛̹̭͛͑͊͝͠e̶̡͖̊̏̐̓̾̏d̴̰͚̪͚̞̭̠̎̍̿̈̋̋.”

The weight of the words returns tenfold, and it’s crushing, feeling the eyes on him, knowing they’re there knowing–

He gasps for air, forcing away the fear filling him. “I thought you said not to say that out loud!”

Pause breaks into laughter. “Chill, Etho, it’s just a story! I meant it, like, for the atmosphere. It’s not real.”  

Another branch breaks, and Etho startles, eyes wide with the same fear he hadn’t understood, before. 

“Did you just get scared by a branch cracking?” Beef frowns, but seems inclined to laugh. 

“...no” 

Pause snickers, “You did!”

“No, leave it, cmon–” Etho shoves some leaves into Pause’s area, hoping one will fly into his face. Pause just shoves them back at him, snorting. 

“Awwww, scared some mythical beings might get ya?” 

“Weren’t you telling me stories have truth to them, earlier?” Etho counters, and all three of them fall silent, illuminated only by the now-mocking campfire shadows and the dim moonlight. For a moment, Etho almost thinks Pause and Beef look afraid too, sharing nervous glances into the forest and above. Then Beef clears his throat, and the moment ends. 

“Let’s move on-”

“Yeah-”

“Yep-”

“As I was saying, the promises of the universe weren’t given to the players when they defeated the dragon.” 

“Wh–promises of the-” Etho feels his heart drop from his chest. Those promises were for him, once. “You mean…” 

“Oh, you know, and the universe loves you, because you are love, all those words that beam into your head? They changed it. Made it different.” Pause shakes his head. “Powerful beings. Messing with the universe itself.”

“Again, impossible.”

“Is it?” 

Of course it is!, Etho wants to say. The universe can’t be messed with, not like that. The universe loves its players. We aren’t ever in any true danger! 

He’s not so sure, sitting in this world. 

“...what did they say?” Not that… he really wants to know, but… he needs to know. 

“Oh, well… that’s when they took the admin. Made him one of them. They say Grian threatened the other players, he changed. He became a-y’know.”

“What do you mean, one of them? I thought you said they weren’t players–” he doesn’t understand, feeling a bit dizzy. 

“They aren’t. But… he used to be, at least.” Beef shakes his head. “Took his wings, gave him new ones, took his humanity, freedom, everything. I’ve heard versions where he doesn’t remember, others where he does… some versions where he’s simply a prisoner, forever trapped in… wherever Watchers live.” 

“Don’t say the name!” Pause hisses. 

“Alright!” 

“That…” Etho doesn’t really know what to say. The hair on his arms stands straight up, and he peers into the woods. Nothing. “Good campfire story, Pause. Wanna sleep now?”

“It’s not over!” Pause grins just a little too widely. “Just now getting to the best part!”

Etho shudders, Something is w̵̨̞̽͐̉a̷̲̩͍͕͜͝t̸̢̥͕̣̠͕̄̈́c̵͚̮̝̫̓̏h̶̢͉̯̜̘͗͜ͅỉ̶̳͓̈́͂̊̉̅ͅn̷̦̹̬̰̳̘͂g̷͈͈̾. “Alright, go on.” he swallows. Just a remnant of the past. 

“Well, the admin was taken, but that leaves the other players. Three of them… Merlin, BigB, and… another. They were thrown into a vicious cycle of death, forced to kill each other over and over in games that only had one victor… one survivor. And then they do it again, and again, and again.” 

“Oh.” The rising fear stops, for a moment. Such games… impossible. At least that must be myth and nothing more. “Who was the third?” 

“Nobody knows. That was his other punishment–to be forgotten. No one knows his name, no one knows anything about him, except he and Merlin were close.” 

Again, impossibility, most likely. It’s easier for Etho to dismiss that out of hand. A player forgotten? Players can’t be forgotten by the universe. “And the others?” 

“Some of them were killed, along with the server. They set the server in ruins, burned it, destroyed it, and swallowed it wholly into the void itself, never to be visited again.” 

“Seems harsh…”

“I don’t think so. I think that was the kindest punishment,” Beef mutters. “I’d rather that than anything else, if it were me.” 

Neither Pause nor Etho have a response, and after a moment Pause clears his throat and continues. “Two escaped. Netty and another. I think… Beef is right. That was a worse punishment than dying… to live and always be w̸̡̧̺̩̻̋̊͐̔̈́͠ą̷̣̑̔̓͘͠t̸̡̘̩̳̜̉̈́̂̓̈͂c̶̯͇̘͔̣̰̫̀̃̊̈̇̈́͌̇̉h̷̝̦̩̣̲͉͑͒̊̊͑͐͋̔͜͝e̸͓͙̟̳̺͙̕d̴̲͓͂̾͗̂̚͜. To live on and be powerless against the past, stripped of the gifts given.”

“They lost their gifts?” Etho’s eyes fill with horror, and his hand edges his pack, where his own gift (or at least… part of it) resides. 

“Yep! And that’s it! That’s the legend of Evo! Cool story, right?” Pause seems… unbothered by it all. Can he not feel it? 

Etho nods weakly. “It… that’s a story, alright!” 

“C’mon, Etho, you know it’s just a story! It’s all fun!” Pause waves smoke out of his face, before pushing off the log to his feet. “Well! Good times, gentlemen. Should we sleep the mobs away before we all die a gruesome death?” 

“Probably should, yeah,” Beef follows suit, opting to flop on his log without a pallet or even a blanket. “Etho, you got first watch?” 

“Yeah, I got it,” Etho doesn’t move from his spot, just stares into the campfire. “I’ll wake you up when it’s your turn.” 

“Okay then. G'night, Etho.” Pause flops onto his pallet, and within minutes, both him and Beef are breathing steadily, completely out. 

Minutes tick by, measured only by the steady creeping of the stars above. At first, Etho tries not to think, tries not to exist, even. The fire dances softer than earlier, flames barely eating the charred sticks. He sighs, but pulls to his feet to place another log in the fire. As he turns to the pile of wood, he’s startled, turning his head so quickly his neck cracks to peer into the woods. 

There’s nothing there.

There’s something there.

He swallows back air, and it chokes him. He picks up a log and holds it like a weapon, grasped firmly between both his hands. Even so, as he revolves in one spot, peering into the trees, nothing appears. He’s alone. After a moment, as the fire dips dangerously close to spluttering out, he’s forced to lay down his flimsy protection. Kneeling down, he shoves it in, then returns to his log and flops backwards on it to stare up at his solace. 

He stares up at the stars, and the stars ẃ̶̰͎̳̤̖͔͂͗́͒ǎ̵̧ţ̴̧̧̗̙͔͓̮͗̅͋̓̑̀͐c̷̭͚̬̿̉͗́̌͠h̵̡͍̖͖̭̬̺͙̋̅͗ him back. It only takes a heartbeat for him to realize that these are not his stars. He shuts his eyes, willing them to go away, to leave him be, and when he opens them again they are still ẁ̷̪̰̳̳̩͙͙͎͚̱̓̓̌͝a̵͎͕̟͉̭̪͚̋̆̉̊̊̈́̀̎̋̔̔ͅt̷͓͔̼̱̥̯̺̺̦͆̿͌̾͜ͅċ̷̟̬̱̍h̵̘̦̮̙̬̤̘͛̅ͅị̷͍̣̝̑̀̈́͊͆͊̆̋͗͋͜ň̷̢̨̧̳͔̳̻̱͉̲͎̀̿̀̋̕ģ̸͙̠͌̈. Something cold stops his heart and he’s suffocating under their cold care, and he doesn’t understand, because the universe promised, and this is not the universe he thought he knew. 

He is being w̸͖̗̥̬̫̣̟̰̔̋́̉̋͘ǎ̵͔̳̳̖̟̲̫͔̉ț̶̼̘͇͇̫̺̗̣̱̻̩̬͊̃̈̀̒̒̔͆̓č̴̱̺̟̺͕͉͙̿̿̓̓̇̈̽̉̉͝h̴̩̝͍̩̭͐͋̿̍͑̓͋͘e̷̢̘̖͚͉̦̪̻͕̘̯̔̒́̉̓̊͋́̓̑͝ḑ̸̨̫̳̼͉̫͙̼̪͍̏́̐̽̅͝.

Hours later, when he wakes Beef with shaking hands and no words, he flops down on his pallet, and he searches one more time, for the safety and love the universe has always given. For the first time, he cannot find it.

He is being ẃ̶̧̛̛͈͙̮̗̙̦̰̙̖̗̬̭��͔̾̈̈́̊̀̏́̈́̽͑͊̽̇̇̊͗́̊͋͋̓̏̓̚͘̕͜͝ȁ̶͙̩̝͇̼͉̠̳͎̻̀͜ͅt̴̨̡̺̦͉̗̺̞̱͍͓̫̠̭͇̝̰͎̘͕̬͙̘̙̖͒́̄͒̌̉̈̄͐̅̈́͒͒̒́̈́̑̽͘̕̚ͅc̸̨̡̧̢̧̛͚͕̼̜̥̥͓̦͚͎͓͇̹̮̮̱̣̣̳̞̟̱̖̐̃͌̀̍́̀̇̿̈͆̾͛͌͐̎̈́͌̃̋͆͐́͂̀̋̋̚͘͝͝͠͠ͅh̴̢̛̛̰̥̯͉̗̄̄͆̈́̇̌̈́̊̆̀̓̄̊̍̓̐̔̄͒̽͆̊̈́̄́̐̒̕ë̴̢̢̛̛̥̼̱̹̪͇̪͕̲͕̦̫̲͓̤̲̪͓͍̙̗́́̎̔̓̉̊͗͋͆̃̐̋́̇̈́̎́̚͝d̴̹̈́͛̑̒̓̇̓̃̈́̀

[sunshine-overload]

[BSTS] Heath S5Ch5 Reward 5* Card Story

(note: B’s show is based on ‘No Longer Human’ by Ozamu Dazai)

chapter 1 -starless kitchen, dining area-

ran: This is where we eat.

hinata: Oh~ So you even have a proper eating area, and we get staff meals right? That’s so cool.

ran: That’s cause as cast members we need our bodies to be in good shape.

kongou: Ran, Hinata, sorry for the wait. Here’s your food.

hinata: Woah, this looks delicious! No seriously, is this a five star restaurant? This is so extravagant, can I really eat this?

ran: You’re still an outsider. Usually ya wouldn’t have the privilege to eat in here.

kongou: It’s fine. We can’t just leave him to starve. I’ve already heard from Mizuki that you haven’t been able to eat much lately.

ran: Ya better show your gratitude to Kongou. It’s not just anyone that gets this treatment.

hinata: Thank you so much, Kongou! You too, Ran!

kongou: You’re welcome, feel free to dig in. There’s still lots to go around.

hinata: Yay! Down the hatch it goes!

hinata: ….Mmmmm~! Holy crap, this might just be the tastiest thing I’ve ever eaten.

kongou: I’m glad to hear it.

hinata: Here I can earn money, and eat such delicious meals… This is just, how do you say it, I could ask for anything more….?

ran: Ya couldn’t ask for anything more?

hinata: Yeah that! Man, I wanna join B so bad!

ran: It’s not that simple.

hinata: Even if I give it my all?

ran: Just cause ya work hard doesn’t mean it’ll always be recognised an’ all that.

hinata: Well, I’ll do my best to the point I’ll definitely be recognised! And then, with Heath I’ll… Ah, Heath!

heath: …….

hinata: Did you come here to eat as well, Heath? Come on over, let’s eat together!

heath: …I’ll pass. I’m not in the mood.

hinata: Aw, I thought we could chat finally… He didn’t watch my performance either, even though I want to get along with him…

kongou: No need to rush things.

ran: That’s just how Heath is. The more ya chase him, the further he’ll run away.

hinata: …Is that so. Then, that just means I have to slowly spend more time with him and we’ll get along, right?

ran: Well, sure, do ya best.

-hallway-

heath: That guy’s colour, why is it so…

—end

-

chapter 2 -rehearsal room-

mokuren: Sorry, I know you’re in the middle of independent practice, but I’m coming in.

heath: …What? But it’s not your scheduled time yet, right?

mokuren: I have something I want to ask you. What do you think of Hinata?

heath: He’s whatever.

mokuren: Hmph… How vague. Just tell it to me straight whether or not you think he’s needed.

heath: Whether he joins the team or not is up to the team leader to decide. So go and ask Mizuki.

mokuren: Well that’s surprising.

heath: What is?

mokuren: In my case, what I prioritise isn’t the team, but my dance. It is true that I require a team in order to dance but… If there’s even the slightest chance that prioritising the team would result in me losing my place to dance, then there would be no point.

heath: …….

mokuren: I had thought you were of the same opinion, that’s all.

heath: Is that all then? I want to get back to rehearsing.

mokuren: Sure. I’ll do as you said and talk to Mizuki. Sorry for bothering you.

-mokuren leaves-

heath: A place I need to be… B is my…

—end

-

chapter 3 -starless backrooms-

heath: Hm…?

hinata: …I know right. Yeah, and then…

heath: This voice…

-heath eavesdrops-

hinata (on phone): Mizuki said to make me their understudy. Aha, I’m so happy I can’t even right now, I mean, I actually get to join B!

heath: ..….!

hinata (on phone): Their show today was awesome again too! Plus their stage outfits are suuuper cool! Heath’s especially! I wanna wear an outfit like his one day too~ I’m sure it would suit me, don’t you think?

-heath moves away-

heath: That guy… Just what on earth is that colour?

mizuki: Oi, what are you doing hanging out here? You better not be slacking on cleaning duty.

hinata: Sorry, Mizuki! I just had to take a phone call.

mizuki: Whatever, just get back to work already. You aint free right now.

hinata: Wait up, Mizuki!

-they leave-

heath: …I won’t give it up. Not my words, or my place to belong. For the sake of them, I will…

—end

-

chapter 4 -starless restaurant area-

saki: (I’m looking forward to the show today.)

-show starts-

-bloomed cg

heath: “Is the person pictured in the third photograph here still with us? Is the person in this photograph… actually ‘living’?”

saki: (…The delivery of his lines is so soft yet their impact is strong. I wonder if you’d call this an unsettling delivery…)

-time pass, after show, hallway-

saki: Ah, Heath-san. You did great out there.

heath: …Thanks.

saki: Are you ok…? You look a little out of breath.

heath: I’m fine. It’s nothing to do with my condition. I just used up all my energy on stage so I’m tired.

saki: Your show today really was amazing, make sure you don’t push yourself too much though.

heath: Yeah, thanks. Hey, Saki, let’s play a little game.

saki: A game? Like that ‘what if’ game we played once before?

heath: This time let’s play the ‘game of antonyms’. All you need to do is think of either an antonym or a synonym to the proposed word.

saki: This is the same game that appeared in your show isn’t it? Ok, I understand.

heath: Then, let’s start with ‘living’, what’s its antonym?

saki: (He started with a difficult word right off the bat…)

saki: …Well, typically the answer would be ‘death’ I suppose.

heath: Then, what’s the antonym to ‘death’?

saki: …What do you think it is, Heath-san?

heath: ‘Singing’. Because if I’m not able to sing, then I’d consider that death. I had thought that as long as it was for the sake of singing, then I was fine with dying. However, I managed to survive, and here I am before you today.

saki: Heath-san….

heath: So, because of that, I have to make a choice. In order for me to continue singing from now on.

—end

[breezy-cheezy]

My Friends Enjoy Reminding Me of My Many WIPs: The Tag Game

Another tag game! I prommy I worked on the fics from the last tag meme/game I've just been....school hell. :/ (Same thing for Whumptober, I'm just doing at least one a week now woooo)

Anyway finishing off my latest reblog spam with responding to this! Thank you @pencilofawesomeness for tagging me! :D

- rules: share the first line (or two or more!) of every current wip you have (that you feel comfortable sharing) and tag some writer friends! feel free to add the titles of your documents if you see fit

I'll tag others up here so y'all don't have to go through the wips yourselves if you don't wanna lol: @insertsomthinawesome , @x-i-l-verify, @wandererriha, @forwantofacalling

YALL DON'T HAVE TO it's just a fun thing <333

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Whumptober 2023: Day 13, Infection (Trigun: Twin Swap AU, Zazie POV)

(in an ideal world I woulda finished this today but hhhhsdgjkfsd nope)

There is something…strange, piercing the night-moon-dark air. We lift our head, looking through the eyes of a drone to the dark sky-sands above. Normally, those sands would glint with the eyes of Monarchs passed before us, and if it were Brood Season, the expanse would be alight with the drifting eggs of yet-to-be-hatched grubs. Yet this Moon-pass...eggs much bigger than we’ve ever seen in all our many cycles are falling down down down-

Bright. Blinding. Hot.

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Whumptober 2023: Day 9, "You're a Liar" (Trigun: Stampede)

There’s an illness rolling through the orphanage- Toma-pox, they call it. Nicholas prowls the halls, gathering up the sick kids one by one. He needs to make sure all the kids are piled into one area so they can be taken care of. And q. Cuar. Ant-eened. He thinks that's how you say it.

Miss Melanie was really tired and taking a break, so Nicholas can help with this. Sisters Clara and Beth were busy making stew for everyone. He’d already been looking for Livio, what's a couple more kids?

They tell him to be careful or he might catch it too. He just huffs and rolls his eyes. He’s too strong to get sick like everyone else.

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Whumptober 2023: Day 7, "Can you hear me?" (One Piece)

They’d stopped on an island, something-something island with a name Zoro didn’t bother to remember. They’d stopped there to restock on some supplies, since according to their Cook and Doctor, they were getting pretty low. 

Which is all well and good; Luffy in particular is always excited for someplace new to explore; their Captain needed somewhere to work off his pent up energy. Normally Zoro would go with him, but he’d somehow gotten roped into pack-mule duty for the crap Cook, while Nami helped Chopper carry his purchased supplies. He's not sure why the roles can't be switched. Random fruits and vegetables weren’t that much heavier than bandages in his opinion really…

He got angrier the more he thought about it, but not for the usual reasons.

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My Mind, My Body, My Soul, Chapter 5: Father's Lament (Genshin Impact, Daemon AU)

Today was supposed to be a good day. It was supposed to be bright, filled with joy and happy memories to be made. 

In a happier world, a safer world, maybe the Ragnvindr family would have had a wonderful party, full of smiles and cake and food and love and safety and warmth. Perhaps some drinking, since Diluc would then have been of age, and the only tragedy would be the young master of Mondstadt’s wine industry discovering how much he dislikes alcohol.

A small semi-formal dance was to be had, followed by a sweet musical number performed by the youngest Gunhildr sister. Some embarrassment, but genuine awe and excitement as that would have been the first gift given on the celebration of Diluc’s birth.

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Whumptober 2023: Day 30, Borrowed clothing, bridal carry (Twisted Wonderland)

“There! The mirror!” Divus says, relief plain in his voice. Mozus Trein looks up from the mirror in his grip, towards the Dark Mirror all their students had leapt through hours before, its surface rippling with voices coming from as if underwater. 

“OH thank goodness! We won't be sued after all-” Crowley sighs, stepping forward only to be pulled back by one of Divus’s hands on his feathered shoulder. 

-------

Whumptober 2023: Day 23, Shadows, "Who's there?" (Honkai Star Rail)

(tip toeing around spoilers so I'm not sharing the FIRST first lines haha)

They both look over to their friend to catch him staring back at them, golden eyes wide, his fingers near his mouth. He swallows on reflex, and they can tell it's more than just saliva going down his throat.

Welt's face goes pale, and he shoves the journal to the side, which March quietly takes. Welt rushes to Orion's side, cane clicking, free hand fluttering nervously about the box. “Please tell me you did not just take one of those medicine pellets.”

Orion blinks, then looks down at the box. One small object, one pill is clearly missing.

”I uh. Can tell you I did not...not take one....“ the young trailblazer says sheepishly. Welt sucks in a breath through his teeth.

[budgetbuildsystem]

I'm just a ball of anxiety right now. So I got a new job cleaning aisle in a wearhouse, pays well and the hours are pretty good. Me and my cousin both work there but she's janitorial.

Needed context: In one building there is a breakroom, a male and female bathroom, and offices that need to be done. Depending on the building, these places get dirty much faster than other buildings. Buildings 2, and 3 are the most trafficked areas. My cousin does buildings 1, 2, and usually 3 and is expected to lap them twice in 8 hours. Today she didn't do 3 at all because the manager and supervisor were going to work on it. The other janitor does building 4 and another area. Which task wise only equates to doing building 2 as both are low traffic areas.

Our manager has given her FAR too much work and has now written her up for not finishing it all. Today 2 people, our manager and our supervisor, worked solely on building 3. Well... it took them 5hours to make 2 laps. Yet my cousin is expected to make 2 laps of 2 buildings in 8 hours? And she works alone often skipping breaks and sometimes her lunch because she get reprimanded for not getting everything done (she often skips tasks in order to move on in a timely manner and has begun writing down minute accurate time stamps for every task she does to prove she physically can't get everything done.) I wasn't feeling good today and told my cousin I may need to take a point and go home.

Well my cousin messages asking where our manager is because she's not responding, I mentioned to my manager who was nearby that someone was trying to contact her and she actually was annoyed when she saw my cousin called (mind you she is awful at responding in a timely manner. Everyone struggles to contact her during the day.) . And rather than just responding told me to tell my cousin if she needs the manager she can come to building 3. I was already anxious because I could see and feel the annoyance. And I literally heard her talking crap about my cousin to the supervisor.

Well after that break I finally got sick and lost my breakfast. I let my manager know I needed to head home and her whole demeanor felt annoyed and pissed off. Her face just screamed annoyed despite her words being kind. Well I've been home a while now, still struggling with the anxiety and had told my cousin everything. Well my cousin texted a but ago saying there was a bit of an argument about their work load and our manager tried to compare buildings 1, 2, and 3 to doing 4 and the other area. MIND YOU HER AND ONE OTHER PERSON TOOK 5 HOURS TO LAP 1 BUILDING TWICE. She actually asked my cousin to leave the room after they attempted to explain that no the other guys workload is more equivalent to building 2. I was already planning on calling out tomorrow due to mental exhaustion (and now sickness) but now I'm both scared to call out and scared to go in.

That argument had been building for weeks as my cousin has desperately tried to explain that the work is too much for her but the manager never listens.

[mothmanchronicler]

prompt: industrial revolution AU. hiram is an oil baron & the riverdale cast are the disease-ridden children that run his factory. betty is inexplicably hunting jack the ripper. archie is a soldier tasked with union-busting but he ends up joining the union himself. veronica orchestrates mass voter fraud. jughead still has rabies. etc etc

The life of a street rat is not envied by many, but Jughead thinks he's got it pretty good, all things considered. A bed to lay his head at night (straw: not bad but for the rats) in a room with enough other kids crammed inside to prolong the wood stove's warmth at least halfway through the night.

He's even got himself a job that pays real money, not that company store crap that his daddy was trapped in before he kicked the bucket. Sure, his room and board is deducted straight from his salary so it's not much, but it's honest work.

Well, no, it's not really honest work either. The Lodge Textile Factory, like most work available to the likes of Jughead and his peers, pays like shit.

If Reggie's two missing fingers are a testament to quality of the work, that's shit too. At least he was lucky enough to get out with his life intact.

Dilton Doiley, poor bastard, was sucked into one of the giant looms last spring. They spent four entire days plucking pieces of him from the threads and mechanisms, at a lower pay rate because of the "loss of revenue," as one of Hiram Lodge's goons floor managers had put it.

So yeah, its shit all around.

But it's work, and a place to stay, and he makes just enough to send a measly amount back home to Jelly Bean and his ma at the end of the month. Ma says in her letters that she's using that money to put Jelly Bean through school. He hopes that's true, although he's never been one to take what his ma says at face value. He just hopes that Jelly Bean is clothed and fed and kept in good spirits.

His day begins, like all days, with the lady of the house ringing her god awful bell to wake them all up.

"Rise and shine," Mrs Bell calls, voice rough and grating at the early hour. "You best be up in the next 10 minutes or else you'll miss your company provided breakfast."

Jughead groans and it joins a chorus of the others' similar noises. He sits up, rubbing his eyes.

"Company provided breakfast my ass," Reggie grumbles from the cot beside him. "I wish they would just call it gruel, be fucking honest with us."

Gruel might even be a bit of an overstatement, if Jughead's honest with himself, but it's calories and he's never been one to turn down a free meal.

He elbows his way to the shared bathroom for a leak and a splash of questionable lukewarm water to the face.

He's got his bowl of slop breakfast and a seat at one of the uncomfortable tables in the pathetic excuse for a cafeteria when Betty Cooper slides into the seat next to him.

She's as bright eyed and bushy tailed as every, despite the hour and the paltry conditions of their lives.

"Juggie, did you see?"

He doesn't have time to ask what she's talking about before she's slamming down a copy of the newspaper in front of him. He squints at the page as Betty continues to ramble at a mile a minute.

"There were two bodies found last night, can you believe it? Exactly the same as the other. Ladies of the evening, both of them. All cut up and disemboweled. The detectives on the scene said it looked like the killer was playing some sort of grotesque game of 'cat's cradle' with their innards." Jughead drops his spoon and pushes his bowl of gruel away from him. Betty, not even taking pause, grabs it and starts shoveling it into her mouth. "They say the killers getting bolder, killing closer to populated areas. The poor bastard that came across one of the bodies was quoted as saying he say a brief glimpse of a black cloaked when he turned the corner before the killer disappeared into the night. It's lunacy, Jughead! How have they not caught this evil man yet? It's like the police can't do their jobs."

Jughead wants to know where Betty got the idea that the police are capable of doing their jobs, and what her idea of those jobs would be, but he doesn't press the issue. By the time they're being shuffled to the factory floor, Betty has moved onto theories.

"The children's games angle has me thinking," Betty continues as she settles into her spot next to him on the line and ties her hair back in a knot. "What if the killer is someone who works with kids, ya know? Like a school teacher, or or someone who works at an orphanage?"

"Hm, you know that's not a bad theory, Betts." Jughead considers. Beside him, Betty gasps. For a horrible moment, he thinks she's been dragged down by her hair into the machine, but she's just staring at him with wide eyes.

"What if the killer is one of the orphans, Jug? An exceptionally tall, quick, and brilliant orphan? The cops would stand no chance of catching them, if that were the case."

Jughead stares back with equally wide eyes.

"The perfect murder," Jughead whispers. "The perpetrator would be completely under their radar. He'd basically be-"

"Invisible," they both whisper at the same time.

tbc...

[thessalian]

Thess vs Shopping Trips

Once again, ill-advised trip to Peckham for sundries. Didn’t help that the bus stop near my house was closed. Still, I needed some bits and pieces that I can’t get in this area on the weekend, and yesterday was bus strike, so...

Two separate pharmacies got a visit. One of the chain pharmacies in the area is cheaper than the other, but the cheaper one doesn’t have a pharmacy counter, so I couldn’t get mallet-meds there. So to the cheaper one for cold meds (I have a cold and it is doing my sinuses a misery), face wash, and something to deal with the insect bites that seem to have cropped up on my right middle finger. It was crowded, and people were not paying attention to how they were blocking aisles, and it was kind of miserable. The other pharmacy for mallet-meds was worse; the queue was awful and they only had one guy working the checkout, so ... yeah. Still, at least I got everything I needed.

Then, local grocery store. I’ve been looking up easy fudge recipes - ones that don’t require constant stirring and a candy thermometer - and picked out a couple for making over the next few days. This mostly because I figure I would be in zero shape to do the regular fudge-making when I got home from today’s excursion. Thing is, first thing I found when walking into big grocery store was ... you know those hugely oversized fleecy hoodies that are basically like wearing a fleece blanket? I’ve wanted one since the weather got overly cold but all the ones I were seeing were mega-expensive. But right at the front of the shop was a rack of particularly warm sweaters and ... some of those hugely oversized fleecy hoodies that are basically like wearing a fleece blanket. At a reasonable price. Fine, the quality isn’t going to be as good, but needs must, y’know?

(Note: it says something about the situation about heating bills in this country when shops known for selling cheap essentials are putting heavy sweaters and fleecy-blanket hoodies right up front. Not particularly a good something, either.)

Anyway, shopping really only involved the fleecy-blanket hoodie, two different kinds of chocolate, some espresso powder, and strawberry preserves, which I will turn into sauce for the making of strawberry fudge. Which made a fairly interesting bundle to take to the checkout. (I would have done the self-checkout but clothing item, wanted to ensure the security tag was taken off.) Thankfully I found a till with minimal queue, and amusingly, when I looked at the lady at the till ... she bore a nametag with the same name that turns up on my official paperwork. Y’know, the one my parentals use, which isn’t generally the one I use these days. Still, rough-looking very busy day, not much heating in the supermarket, I figured it might be nice to flag up that we share a given name, skipping over the fact that I don’t generally use it much. She was very amused by that, so it was a nice transaction for both of us, and that mood seemed to have carried over to her interaction with the next customer, so go, me!

...And then on my way out, someone not looking where they were going bashed past me and kicked my cane out from under me in the process. I managed to keep my balance, though that was painful, and the guy kind of looked over but with a very annoyed look and no apology whatsoever. The world may not be entirely made of jackass, but the jackasses are really disruptive.

Finally made it home, and now there are a bunch of kids stomping around in the corridor while I have a massive sinus headache. But I am in the warm fleecy-blanket hoodie and two pairs of socks, so that’s helpful. I also have some really good sherpa fleece slipper socks coming soon, as a sort of a Yule present, since while my shark slippers are cute, the soles are crap and have twisted in really uncomfortable ways. Still, fleecy slipper socks will make all things better when they get here.

I just wish the kids would stop...

[theramblinghockeydude]

The tough days

Each day is a struggle and has it's own unique set of challenges for me, I get that and for the most part I have figured out how to maneuver myself through those challenges and remain fairly positive and happy. Then there are days when it just seems like nothing goes right and you are a complete burden to those around you and to the world. The days where you question what your purpose on this planet actually is anymore and what you have to offer others. Days and moments where shame and anger take over and you are not really sure what to do with all of it. Days when the easy thing to do would be to retreat back into your corner of your mind and never let anyone back in again because at the time, you feel like that is the only place you can feel safe. Thing is, I am no longer alone so even if I retreat to that safe area of my mind I am still a burden to others, there is no escaping that now, it is what my life has become and sometimes the weight of that is too much to bear. These are the times when your mind wanders and you think about all of your failures in life and conjure up a list of failures yet to come. Basically, your mind throws itself a pity party and you are not even sure if it has invited you or not, but you rash that party anyway and you pile on, because at the heart of it is the simple fact that some days you are not that strong. You do the things that you think will drag you out of that state of mind...listen to music, talk with God, but none of it works on this particular day because you have convinced yourself, if even for just a few hours or a day that you are completely and utterly useless and there is no talking yourself out of it. So you sit in that mental misery for as long as it has it's hold on you, hoping it just a few hours, but being hit, yet again, with the stark reality that your life as you once knew it is gone and it isn't going to return, no matter how many times you wish it so, no matter how many times others say it will, the simple fact is things have changed and there are going to be good days, bad days and utterly awful days. The trick is figuring out how to navigate those bad and awful days without letting your mind go down that rabbit hole of darkness.

I am not sure which part of all this I hate the most. The part where my mobility is crap and I am unable to do a lot of the things I used to do and am in need of help each day, or the part where I struggle mentally. The mental side of all of this is just so overwhelming sometimes and it is a place that I never saw myself. Sure, I had my struggles through life like everyone else and I was a worrier, if there was something to worry about I would do it, but this is so different. The anxiety that I now feel most days and the feeling of, what is the point, that comes and goes. I wonder to myself, am I strong enough to stay out the darkness for good? I would like to think the answer to that is yes and I feel like my faith can help me in that area, but faith alone cannot keep you out of that spot if you just simply stop trying, and that is the fear, that one day it will just all be too much and I will give up again. Definitely not a place I want to go back to, but one that I feel would be easy to go back to. I feel like it is always right there within reach, taunting me, calling me back. At the moment I have the will to not go there and not heed that call, but that little voice in my heads asks the question...will it always be that way?

So, for tonight at least the struggle wages on and I will listen to some Disciple and I will talk with God while I surf the interwebs as sleep will not come right now.

[nosuchthingasagruffalo]

Chapter 2

Incoming message from DS5. From Charlotte Janeway. To Niamh Janeway.

TEXT ONLY NO MEDIA FILE: Hi Niamh, I tried to call you earlier but you were out, how are you this week sweetie? I think deferring until next year is a good idea, going back to the same class without Amal will be too awful, next year it will be a new group and a fresh start. Have you applied for local jobs yet? I think you should have something to keep you going.

Work fine, not much time off to think which is good. Haven't really got chatting to anyone, feels a bit weird explaining things, roommate ok, Bolian so.. yeah ok. BTW guess who came in on the Klingon delegate ship? Bloody Miral Paris, and of course she had to offer me her condolences, and then look at my work and point out everything she thought was wrong with it, which gave her obvious glee, she's such a bitch. I know, I shouldn't let her get to me. Can you come and visit sometime? Seven comes by when she's in the area but she still won't let me on the Essex. I just need something more, I hate feeling so powerless, I'm just drifting....

Reply from EARTH. From Niamh Janeway. To Charlotte Janeway.

MEDIA - Daffodil and Cat

TEXT: I found this pic and thought of you ha! Yeah I'm ok, I've got a job in a coffee shop, it's nice to feel a bit anonymous, people keep asking me if I had a psychic connection with Amal, if I knew what happened. Which is crap because first - who believes that shit and second and I that crap at being a twin that the one thing I'm supposed to do I can't? Anyway Dad's been really good, we've been spending time together, which is good because Mom's kind of MIA . The Miral thing's not a big deal, don't give her the headspace. Yes I can visit - let me know when you're free?

Incoming message from IKS Kuyhala. From Miral Paris. To Thomas Paris.

TEXT ONLY NO MEDIA FILE - Hi Dad, hope you had a good weekend, did Mom like her anniversary present? You got the gold like I said right? This week's been ok, we stopped by DS9 for a few days, ran into Lottie J, she's honestly the most self important person I've ever met. Seriously she just steam rolls her way over everyone, can't wait to tell you how clever she is. Can you imagine if we had grown up together on Voyager in the Delta? The number one reason I'm glad we got home! Anyway I gave her my condolences, so awful what happened with her brother, irrespective of how obnoxious she is. Do they know what happened?

Reply from EARTH. From Thomas Paris. To Miral Paris.

AUDIO FILE "Hi honey, yes of course I got the gold! She loved it which is lucky for me haha. She actually wrote me some new codes for my next holonovel -she knows me well your mother! Just keep away from LJ when you can, it's just a personality clash, I know how close our families are probably hasn't helped with that. She's ok, it's a lot to deal with, having Kathryn Janeway as your mom, I know exactly how she feels, I was much worse as I'm sure Grandpa will be happy to explain. No it's not really clear what happened, I would stay away from anything you hear about that if I were you. Hope to see you soon honey, I'm seeing Uncle Chakotay at the weekend, I'll give him your love. Call me when you can."

****

Aboard the Essex

"Red Alert, all hands on deck" the ship shook from another hit "shields to 40%" called the Lieutenant. Seven looked around her for the Captain but though the smoke could barely make out the unconscious bodies on the floor. The ship that attacked them seemed to be smuggling stolen weapons and technology. The Ferengi captain had incorrectly assumed the Essex had come to apprehend them and had opened fire, using phasers calibrated in a way Seven hadn't seen before. "re-route power to the shield modulator" Seven called, she stumbled over to the Captain's ready room and forced the door. Abioye was slumped over his desk, breathing but unconscious. Seven opened his desk drawer to see if he had a first aid kit, she noticed his laptop was open, he seemed to have been reincrypting messages. They had all been sent but the receiving co-ordinates made no sense. Abioye groaned and Seven found a first aid hypo. The sirens stopped and the Lt Commander announced the enemy ship had been tractored. "Captain, I suggest you go to the doctor, before resuming your work. I assume it was not so pressing you can leave it for a minute? I'll close the laptop now"

"it's fine" Abioye growled as he raced to close it first. "it's just messages from Command I need to forwrd, not mission related"

"So it seems" Seven lifted an eyebrow.

****

24 years earlier....

Captain Janeway answered the chime to her quarters. "Captain I must speak with you" Seven burst in "I must apologise for today's events. I would never have suspected you of helping the Cardassians, intentionally stranding Voyager had I been performing at my optimal...my apologies, you are in your undergarments". Kathryn raised a hand "Seven, first - it's just my nightie, and more importantly - you don't need to apologise, you were tired and overwhelmed, now you're better. After all, I was completely in charge of my faculties and I believed you without question. It's me who made an error, please don't worry".

"Yes it is surprising that you didn't doubt my claims, I thought you and the Commander would have suspected me instead of each other"

"well, it's .. complicated. We've learned our lesson I can assure you, and if you're wondering I still do trust you, unendingly, maybe more so after today. Now please get some rest, you'll need it after what you've been through"

"Very well" Seven said, leaving without waiting to be dismissed. Then the door chimed again

"Honestly Seven, I'll take you off your shift tomorrow if you don't rest" Kathryn said as she opened the door to be met face to face with a very sheepish Chakotay.

"I see you've had a visitor too" he said "I feel so bad about what happened. I did, do, trust you with my life. My reaction surprised me"

"After everything that's happened you still harbour some resentment don't you?" Kathryn whispered looking into his eyes

"Maybe it's more because of everything that has happened. But do you trust me? I am in charge of your safety after all" he retorted.

"I really do" she whispered as he ran his hand over her hip. "Chakotay, we shouldn't do this, where is it getting us?" he replied "do you trust me" she looked into his eyes as his hands undid her dressing gown and pushed the straps from her nightie. "With my life" she whispered as he pushed her to the bedroom. Once inside he roughly pushed her against the wall and knelt between her legs, pulled her underwear down, hooking one leg over her shoulder and licking her fast and hard until she felt herself close to the edge. With one movement her span her round to face the mirror on her dressing table and entered her from behind, one hand gripping her neck. "I could break your neck in one second Captain, today you believed I was working against you and yet here you are offering me my chance. Do you know how messed up that is? Do you know I understand the thrill you get from walking up to the precipice? One day you'll make me snap you know" he whispered as he plunged in and out of her, Kathryn felt the thrill of possible death building up inside her as he gave her throat one final squeeze before he released her. She came crying and yelling his name, when she felt herself coming down she span to face him and kiss him deeply. "I love you, I love you I love you" she wept. A tear rolled down Chakotay's cheek as he whispered "always and forever" before he zipped himself up and left before he asked more of her than she could give. Kathryn sank to the bed and fell into a slumber.

*****

Present day

The restaurant was crowded, the Ferengi Maître D' tutted as he looked over his list of reservations. "Paris, Paris, sorry I've got a Partridge or a P'tak" he smirked as he looked at Chakotay. Chakotay sighed, rolled his eyes and pressed the latinum coin into the Ferengi's hand "ah Thomas Paris, how could I have missed it, here this way". Chakotay huffed as he slid into the booth and sipped the whisky Tom proffered him. "Seriously Tom, I don't know why you get a thrill out of being fleeced." The man opposite him smiled, his hair had greyed over the years but his eyes hadn't lost their mischievous twinkle. "It's the authentic experience, c'mon it's a bit of excitement. Plus B'Elanna refuses to come with me, apparently retro diners were as far as she was willing to push it. Surely you've had enough of the stuffy fine dining Starfleet pushes on its Admirals, I reckon Kathryn would secretly like it here".

"I don't know what Kathryn would like anymore to be honest. She's freezing me out and starting down a path I don't know I can follow. She needs a crusade, I don't think I really understood that in the Delta, all that time I thought she would be different when we got home. Then we had the kids so quickly we were focused on that and as they got older I thought there would be time to spend together. But she was back at work acting like she's Commander in Chief, and now she's chasing Amal's ghost. I was always waiting to get to know the relaxed off duty Kathryn, and now I feel like she doesn't exist".

"I'm sorry Chakotay, I really am. She does love you, in her own way. I worried about that too with B'Elel, after living on edge all those years would we still have the connection in the ordinary life in the Alpha".

"But you did Tom" Chakotay cracked a smile "I'm really happy for B'Elel, that she's found a peaceful existence with you. Peaceful isn't really a word I thought I would use about her but it's very accurate."

"It is, wish I could use the same about our daughters though" Tom groaned.

"Oh yes I heard it all from Niamh" Chakotay chuckled "two headstrong women, well three if you count Niamh although I think she's mostly siding with Lottie. I seem to remember our wives having a similar clash that was only resolved after a broken nose".

"The next one will be either yours or mine, drink your whisky - it will numb the pain you never know when a fist will fly with those two" Tom laughed.

*****

Somewhere in deep space

The Away Team beamed down to the surface. Their scanners had sent back scrambled responses, many life signs yet none, vast cities yet nothing to be seen. Kathryn looked around her at the desolate landscape. Her Tricorder too seemed to bounce off of something invisible, she wondered if it was artificial or maybe to do with the magnetic polarisation of the planet. She walked around the crater they had materialised in, searching behind the rocky outcrops until she notice an odd shaped hole in the wall. "Team, over here, it looks like an entrance", she paced closer to it. Upon inspection it was some sort of entrance, she waved her tricorder into the mouth of the opening only to hit a force field. "ouch! Well I guess we have found the mystery city, now how to we get in" she mused. She called but found no response, she wondered if she could reconfigure the wavelengths of the greeting message, with a few taps she saw her message pass through the field. "Well now we wait" she whispered.

A short while later the Away Team heard some noises from the tunnel, out came a group of women with large eyes, seemingly accustomed to seeing in the dark. They eyed her suspiciously "what have you come back for?" their leader asked.

Against Tuvok's advice Kathryn found herself and her team around a conference table deep in the labyrinth. The aliens didn't seem to be hostile but seemed wary of them. "our planets are spread across the sector, the tunnels are formed when a planet gets too close to the magnetic field of the unstable star. Inhospitable to you but our race finds them ideal. The aliens like you, the other visitors, kept getting lost, even with our maps".

"When were they here" Kathryn breathed.

"Let me calculate so I can use your terminology, hmm about two months" the leader, Spontk stated.

Kathryn took hold of a nearby Padd and selected 'Draw' Mode. "Did any of them have a marking on their face, like this?" she asked as she drew the familiar pattern, one she had traced with her finger many times.

"Yes" Spontk affirmed. "They didn't have anything to trade but were gathering information. They seemed to be a task force gathering information, but not about us, about their own kind. Apparently they did not trust those in charge".

"Amal" Kathryn whispered "what did you do?"

Flashback - two months prior

The air in the caves was thin. Or was it his lungs tightening? Amal laid down to rest, shadows danced on the walls of the tunnel from his torch. The flicker of the shadows looked like wings, Amal smiled as he remembered a story his mother had told him. From a German folk tale about a knight who travelled by boat to help a princess in distress. He had looked up a picture of the famous castle where it was set, another thing he would visit when he got home. Home, his mother would find him. She often told him a Captain never abandons a member of her crew. And she had led their little crew of six unwaveringly through life so far. Yes just a few more minutes before she came, he would just rest a little whilst he waited, he closed his eyes and felt the swaying of the boat beneath him as the beast in front pulled him through the rivers of the Alps.

[amazingphilza]

twitchcon :: cc!multiple x reader

fluff , platonic , gender neutral ! some mcyt headcanons if you were to attend twitchcon w them

cc’s included in order: tommyinnit , tubbo , ranboo , wilbur soot , philza , technoblade

cw: kinda lengthy for the minors (i think), not as much for the hags LMAO /hj

tommyinnit

this man is so excited to be at his first twitchcon & being able to hang out with all his best friends makes it a hundred times better

when he isn’t at a panel or doing meet & greets, he’s dragging you everywhere to see the whole convention center (clingyinnit)

he is just so at awe despite this not being his first convention to attend

you’d be surprised he gets tired pretty quickly & stops over to the partner lounge

you both rest for a bit against a wall in a pretty packed hallway despite it being an exclusive area to twitch partners

every time a famous streamer walks by he will yell it out and record it then vlog your reaction, even if they’re surrounded with bodyguards & trying to get to another place quickly

he’d zoom in his camera to their face at a horrible angle and be like

“oh my god it is THE ninja. ninja famous fortnite player, HELLO.”

but he gets completely ignored

then the camera pans out to you, still really zoomed in that the capture is blurry

“ninjainnit?”

“EH?”

tommy is so confused, forgetting the bit ninja did on his twitter where he renamed himself ‘ninjainnit’ for a split second

okay tommy isn’t that athletic but he will chase you and the rest of your group down a hallway if he had to

he’d probably find a toy gun from the artist alley/seller booths and shoot you and wilbur with it

but if tommy stumbles across any of the dream team, it’s about to be minecraft manhunt but irl

and he will def play his stream music while walking or smth when he’s bored (or trying to jump dream & sapnap)

** DO DO DO DO MANHUNT MUSIC **

oh my god,, now thinking about it he’s probably the one to open like random doors of empty rooms and steal stuff while you film him

like he will take a random empty glass, a bunch of pens, a freebie t-shirt, everything he sees he takes with him and you’re just panic

“tommy we’re literally not supposed to be here, and i’m stuck here filming you. it’s surely a felony in action”

“well, it’s their fault for leaving the doors open! plus this is great content. who’s the dirty crime boy now, HM?”

you’d tell wilbur about this and he’d scold tommy and threaten him with the same pen tommy stole

tommy probably would also drag you some weird event happening outside twitchcon along with tubbo and ranboo

“pokimane is giving out free pizza to everyone if we go to this one restaurant down the street!”

“we are literally gonna get bombarded. have you forgot you’re like three of twitch’s top streamers? i’d rather pay for all of our meals than try getting free pizza from pokimane against all her other fans”

“DEAL! let’s go to five guys then!”

you unfortunately end up paying for all 3 of their meals and picking on their food instead of buying your own

even with all of them making way more money than you, they still happen to be cheapskates

OR tommy will end up getting a burrito from a taco truck, immediately making a mess of himself, then proceed to complain how messy the food is to eat despite knowing what he was getting himself into before even ordering

“shit my clothes are all ruined now!”

“well that’s your fault you got a burrito, as if it’s your first time having one”

“i mean the food is good, i’m not complaining about that but i don’t think it’s that good that it’s worth costing my red and white shirt, im just saying”

tubbo

same with tommy, he is so excited

i don’t know why but i imagine him overpacking his suitcase and you making fun of him for it

anyway tubbo has his irl backpack on and streaming EVERYTHING

probably spends a lot of time at a bunch of different booths, checking out all the pointless gadgets he could buy for his stream

you’re the one to stop him from doing so

“TUBBO IT’S LITERALLY OVER TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS, STOP. DONT GET IT.”

“WHY NOT?? IT WILL BE COOL FOR MY STREAM AND I WILL USE IT EVERYDAY”

“okay theoretically speaking, how the hell are you going to even bring it home? which—let me remind you—is across the country for you and not to mention the giant ocean separating america and the uk”

“free ship-pang!!!”

“i hate to break it to you tubbo but there is no way you can get free shipping on a FIVE FOOT PC. it’s nearly as tall as you! what are you even gonna do on it, hack the government???”

the arguments are all lighthearted but eventually you give in and let him splurge over a thousand dollars in different devices he claimed he “needed”

i could honestly see him visiting the beaches in san diego and going for a swim or even renting out a boat to use for a bit :D

also he’d bring benson along with him and taking a bunch of scenic photos with it in them

i have a feeling he’s the type to schedule a spontaneous meet & greet because he was bored & gets in trouble for causing a mob in a certain part of the convention

he’s like “oh god, i did not expect this many of the bois to show up AHAHAH oops”

tubbo would def pull a lilypichu and bring his melodica or ukulele and play themes while following random people/cosplayers

at the end of the day, you’d find his bag just stuffed with crap he either got for free or bought in the convention

“how did you get all that stuff? i was with you all day??? and it’s only the first day of the convention, hello?? it looks like you’ve been collecting as if twitchcon has went on for a week already!”

“HA i have my ways, do not underestimate my powers”

lani would probably tag along for the vacation honestly

like whenever someone comes up to her giving her gifts/asking for pics, you and tubbo would tease her about how famous she is

and i dunno but something about tubbo just gives me this amusement park energy and going to legoland and spending the whole day there since it’s near by and because he can

ranboo

he is like a beacon in a sea of people, that’s it .

i honestly just see him causing as much chaos as the other two

ranboo would probably like take someone’s camera whether if they’re streaming or if it’s for the vlog, hold it up high, and point the camera directly above someone’s face

it did not matter how tall you were and if you had platform shoes on, ranboo was a skyscraper next to you

“HAHAH this is how i see you from this height, this is funny”

then he shows you the vid of the recording of him getting like an aerial view of your face

like you see your nose and all your pores and just overall a bad angle to be captured in

“OH GOD RANBOO DELETE THAT, ITS HORRIFIC”

i dunno why but i feel like he’d jump scare every person that was cosplaying as his minecraft character from behind for some reason

“BOO!”

“ranboo i’m not even remotely dressed as your skin—”

“don’t worry i’m practicing it’s fineee”

“you’re like the height of 2 people combined, i think you will be fine as is. you even intimidated the security at the front”

i feel like if he had his own panel he’d like pull up some undertale song in the middle of it and scare all the people in the crowd

“lore but in real life”

probably would get some matching keepsake with you from artist alley/the booths!

i could imagine like a cute keychain or smth :D

i feel like he’s the type to like randomly volunteer as a participant for those mini events in a booth thinking it would be funny but regrets it the moment he’s on stage

after introductions the presenter is like “okay ranboo, you will be given a random meme prompt above your head you won’t be able to see until after and you will have to make a random face to compliment it!”

and you can just tell by his facial expression he’s just thinking

oh god what have i gotten myself into

what is this game? who came up with this idea?

you’d laugh at him the whole time, even after he’s off the stage and finished with that small fiasco

“that was horrible. never again.”

“AHAHAH IT LOOKED SO AWKWARD YOU DID GREAT”

“I CROSSED MY EYES AND PUFFED MY CHEEKS BECAUSE I COULDNT THINK OF ANY OTHER FACIAL EXPRESSION. THE PROMPT ENDING UP BEING ‘WHEN TWITTER CANCELS YOU FOR USING PLASTIC STRAWS.’ AND WHEN I SAW WHAT IT WAS—LITERALLY WHAT KIND OF GAME–”

“I GOT PICTURES AND EVERYTHING ITS PERFECT AHAHAHAH”

wilbur soot

honestly with wilbur it’s slightly more chill

he already experienced twitchcon before so he’s just glad to see his friends again after so long

insists that you explore the convention yourself rather than sticking with him the whole time but you do anyway!

wilbur would probably have like a mini concert and gets you front row seats with the rest of the group

but that doesn’t mean before it that you’re not helping him set up

“y/n please– my amp is so heavy, i can carry it”

“don’t worry! i’m strong” :D

and musically talented or not, he will probably bring you and the rest of his friends up to stage to just vibe and sing a bunch of random acoustic songs

it’s not like some big concert hall stage,, i imagine more like a casual thing w a slightly higher platform from the ground yk?

after spending a long day at the convention he’d also bring everyone across the city to la jolla or smth !

you’d all probably have dinner there and chill, watching the pretty sunset

“this place is really pretty but oh my god im gonna lose my breath hiking up this stupid hill, please slow down”

and wilbur is like ??? because he’s completely fine with his long legs and everything

“just walk faster”

“no, you walk slower”

AHAHAH and for context traversing through la jolla by walking around the town is a bit hard since it’s basically on a bunch of hills (walking up from the beach to a restaurant actually is actually sm work, trust me ive been there)

wilbur honestly doesn’t spend that much time in the actual convention center, he’s probably sightseeing a bit of san diego with you instead

but i could imagine him staying at the tabletop games area playing dnd or smth

“c’mon y/n, come join!”

“uhh i’m not sure, i’m not the best at roleplay and...”

“it’s fine don’t worry!”

he’d pull you in with him and end up enjoying yourself even if it was your first time

and if you’re of age, you’d be wilbur’s +1 at the twitch partner party and make sure mans doesn’t too drunk

if it’s not too late in the night, you two would chill at the beach after the party

it’s just a nice, calming moment after all the loud music mixed with hundreds of conversations at the party

also something about like taking polaroids pictures with wilbur just seems to go hand in hand for me

i’m not sure why but you will be taking lots of pics with wilbur for sure (not necessarily you both in the photo, but of sceneries as well while you’re together!)

philza

literally a dad on vacation with his children, it doesn’t matter how old you are

need sunscreen? surprisingly has it

want a snack? probably has a small granola bar somewhere in his bag

but same with wilbur, he’s more chill like this isn’t his first time at twitchcon

omg he’d def bring you to the artist alley and just buy a bunch of fanart and stuff tho

“oh wow look phil, someone made a giant poster of the dream smp and shit!”

“holy shit that’s so good what the fuck!”

and he’s like rushing to that artist’s stall to buy a poster or print

idk why but phil seems like the person to know where he’s going all over the convention center

he probably had a copy of the directory map but yk

you just have trouble reading it bc all the signs seem to be misleading to you

nothing really crazy screams out to me of what phil would do at twitchcon besides like go to a few events, spend a bunch of time w his friends, etc

HOWEVER i could see him wasting a lot of his time at the gaming area and testing new games that are currently on the works of being developed

like “woah y/n, this vr game is sick, you should try it out!”

ngl i feel like phil would plan a visit to disneyland for everyone, like he gets the tickets and everything but once you’re at the park it’s free reign, y’all go everywhere with not much of a plan

the minors would try to cheap out phil and pay less than the others even though everyone else fully paid phil back and everything LMAO

ok but if he’s feeling nice, phil will buy everyone cotton candy/pretzels :D

and if you’re not hungry, he’d at least get you a mickey balloon

HE WILL HAVE MATCHING MICKEY EARS WITH MUMZA YES .

ALSO STAYING FOR THE FIREWORKS THOUGH OMG

just in general, best idea phil had for taking everyone to disneyland :D

technoblade

surprisingly techno is really calm despite this being like one of his first conventions

but when he finally settles in and gets comfortable, he’s showing the same energy

if you’re playfully yelling, he will yell back

however there’s still those awkward moments that are unavoidable

idk why but something about him makes me think that if you feel tired and want to go back to your hotel room, he’d go with you just to make sure you get there safe

he probably also needs a break from being around everyone else for a moment too LMAO

i could also see him searching far and wide in the artist alley for fanart of himself AHAHAH

walking around with him in the convention consists of someone yelling “BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD” every 5 minutes but you don’t really mind

something about him makes me think he’ll be forced into playing minecraft twitch rivals along with the rest of sbi or smth

and he’s like “oh god, i’m going to be on stage? and people will see my face while i play minecraft?”

“i’m sure it will be fun!”

“i mean i like being competitive and feeding my ego, but i’m not that desperate.. well”

do i imagine techno getting easily tired of being surrounded by a bunch of people and just going back to his hotel room with phil and watching some anime with him? yes

and will you watch even if you have no idea what’s going on? also yes

i feel like after a while of you guys hanging out in techno’s room, the rest of the gang will just slowly join you guys

like eventually everyone is there; you, techno, phil, wilbur, niki, tommy, tubbo, ranboo, etc

and techno is like “wha– where did you guys come from?” because his room is basically packed

and niki could be like “oh we can go if you want!”

then techno just insists that she’s fine “but who let the child get in?” clearly implying tommy’s presence

“OI!!”

eventually techno gives in with the company and someone gets a bunch of board games to play from the front desk

lots of yelling and laughing for sure

when it becomes late at night, techno is like half conscious, you’re on your phone, wilbur is staring out the window & enjoying the night view, tommy is passed out on the couch from tiredness, tubbo & ranboo is still wide awake quietly talking, and phil & niki are helping clean up the giant mess

eventually everyone brings themselves to go back to their own room except tommy who won’t budge

you give techno a look and he immediately understands what you were thinking

he rushes to the bathroom to fill up two cups with ice cold water and handed one to you

“on three?”

“okay.. one”

“two”

“three!”

then both of you pour the water on the poor child’s face

he jolts awake and saying a string of curses

“what the fuck techno? y/n too?”

“get out” is the only think techno says that before tommy rushes out with his stuff and you leave right after

a/n: i honestly can’t wait until conventions open up again though,, phil and ranboo were talking about vidcon earlier and omg.

also i kinda want to take in tommy requests but i’m not sure??? it would be both cc! and c! x gn!reader for sure tho. i love writing him to bits but who knows, maybe i’ll only stick to my ideas,, or not. send in a tommy x reader request, might do it, might not, but he’s my fav cc if you can’t tell so! :D (i dunno if i will keep it strictly platonic, but unrequited crushes and stuff are fun to write hehe,,)

edit: let’s hope i fixed all the grammar mistakes LMAO we love writing late at night :) /s /hj

[doyouknowbtsswag]

Discs|Tommyinnit|

(Takes place as actual Minecraft)

Tommy adored listening to Music since he was younger because of his older brother, Wilbur. Tommy's childhood was something special to him. He had a loving family which consisted of a father and two older twins. His father better known as Philza Minecraft was the perfect father, he was protective of his children and made sure they weren't hurt. His older twins were almost like different people. Technoblade always had his guard up and never really shown his emotional side except when he needed to, which never really happened. Techno also loved Greek Mythology and could quote almost every story by heart. Wilbur was more into making songs and singing he never really enjoyed violence, so he would play on his guitar while Techno trained.

Aside from his family life he had two best friends which were just as important. Tubbo was his right-hand man and was the first person to talk to him. His other best friend, Y/n was the person who he could always lean on and wasn't afraid to show his raw emotions. Sure he wanted to show his tuff side but the day you saw him cry was the time Tommy realized he could rely on you the most. Don't get me wrong he could rely on Tubbo as well but he made sure to put on a tough act for the boy because of his family life.

Tubbo's family was not the best, his father would always yell and neglect him, let's not leave out the fact that he's a drunk. His father always likes that but after his mom died his dad was heartbroken and it affected him he didn't pay attention to how his son felt. Being 6 years old and his mother passing away Tubbo didn't have the best childhood. So Tommy made sure Tubbo could lean on him.

Tommy was certainly the ring leader of the gang. He always suggested pranks and decided on games to play. Tommy wasn't happy he was younger than Tubbo but was happy he was older than Y/n. He always felt the need to protect you with every strength he could muster. His favorite game showed that. They played a game many kids played, the Knight, Princess, and the villain. Of course, Tommy was the knight and you were the princess tubbo would be the villain but sometimes Wilbur would play with them. Wilbur being 11 towered over them and was much stronger than the little kids which would make it 10 times more fun.

On his 7th birthday, he had a small party nothing too big, just his family, you and Tubbo. Tubbo couldn't get him much so he made Tommy a bandana. Even though Tubbo felt bad he couldn't give Tommy anything grand Tommy appreciated the bandana and put it around his neck showing Tubbo he liked it. Wilbur, Techno, and Phil gave him a copy of the family photo. It was rare to be able to take a photo so getting a copy of one made it just as great of a gift. Then the final gift was from you. You knew he loved music so you tried to get at least one rare Disc, but you managed to get two.

He stared at the Discs in amazement quickly running to the old jukebox his father owned. He put in the disc Cat. He smiled at the sound of the music, let's just say it was his favorite birthday gift he ever got. He hugged you which made you blush but you hugged back smiling. The others were awed at the sight. Wilbur managed to take a quick picture and made a mental note to get it printed out. It cost a lot but the now 12-year-old would do anything for his little brother.

A few months later Tommy woke up to arguing between his brothers and father. He silently stepped down the stairs making sure to go as slow as possible.

"What is up with you lately dad! All you do is stay in your room! You left us to take care of Tommy ever since you got that stupid letter a few months ago! Tommy hasn't noticed because of us!" Techno whisper yelled trying not to wake up Tommy which was a little too late.

"Not only that but you try to redeem yourself by giving us small gifts! Sure I appreciate it but I know why you're doing it! You don't want anyone noticing you've been acting suspicious lately" Wilbur crossed his arms.

"Keep it down you're gonna wake your brother" Phil whispered trying to stall the sudden outburst by the twins.

Tommy ran upstairs quietly putting clothes on to run to your house. He climbed out his window carefully. He would occasionally climb out his window if he was grounded to walk to Tubbo's house or your house. Right now he was on the way to yours.

It took him 10 minutes to get to your house. He grabbed a small pebble and threw it at your window. He threw 2 more before you opened the window looking down at the boy.

"Tommy what are doing here," I said watching the boy climb up to my window. He looked upset. Sitting in my bed.

"They're fighting again..."

"Whos fighting?" I asked sitting next to him.

Tommy was looking down tears streaming his face.

"My brothers and dad" He whispered. "It happened last week too but it wasn't that bad but they've been fighting more recently and I don't like it" The 7-year-old sniffled.

"Do you know what they were arguing about?" I asked placing my hands gently on his.

"My dad has been acting differently apparently" He sighed wiping his tears " I didn't notice but apparently it's so obvious to Techno and Wilbur"

"Maybe your dad is working on something really important," I said not knowing how to fully answer.

"Probably" He muttered

"Hey, I know how to cheer you up!" I said running over to one of my chests.

I looked through a few chests trying to find a music disc to play for Tommy. When I finally found it I ran to the Jukebox and put it in the slot. The disc played Chirp throughout the room. I look over and saw Tommy smiling just a bit.

"How do you have so many Discs," Tommy asked standing up walking to the Jukebox.

"My grandpa had a bunch before he died, he gave them all to me because when I was younger all we did was listen to the discs" I smiled at the memory.

"So why did you give Cat and Mellohi to me?" He asked

"Because your my favorite person in the world" I looked at him smiling I could see his face turn red which made me giggle.

"You're my favorite person in the world too," Tommy said pulling me into a hug to which I hugged him back.

"Thank you..."

"Your welcome Toms"

He pulled away from the hug and looked out the window seeing the sun slowly rise.

"Oh crap, I have to go before I get caught" He panicked running to the window.

"wait!" I ran and grabbed Chirp from the Jukebox running to the window hanging me the disc. "Take it"

"But I thought-"

"Let that disc remind you of me if you ever need to let out your feelings"

"Thank you" He smiled kissing my cheek then climbing down the house.

"Thomas!" I shouted but still smiling.

"Bye" He grinned waving

"Be safe" I whispered watching him run off to his house.

Tommy ran as fast as he could to his house before the sun could rise any longer. He climbed up to his window jumping into his room. He was holding the disc carefully when he was climbing so he didn't scratch it. He laid in bed out of breath from running but thank god he made it back before anyone noticed.

A few weeks later you suddenly stopped coming over to play with him and Tubbo. Tommy just thought you had something to do with your family as you did every so often. Days turned into weeks. He sat every night looking at the picture Wilbur took on his birthday of you guys hugging. It didn't sit right that you hadn't shown up or even sent a message that you were away. It confused him.

The next day he begged his family to take him to your house. Yes, he knew how to get to your house but he still wanted one of his brothers to go with I'm knowing his father was still busy. Tommy asked Wilbur in the morning but Wilbur said he was busy today and maybe tomorrow. Tommy had to go today no matter what so he ran to Technoblade's room knocking on the door. Only for Techno to say he was busy and not to bother him.

He sighed knowing he would have to go himself. He put his jacket on and shoes. He walked out of the house and made his way over to your house. Tommy ran to your house concerned, he had a bad feeling and wanted to make sure you were okay.

He saw your house and sprinted faster when he arrived he walked to the door seeing it partially opened. He opened the door all the way seeing the inside of the house destroyed. He walked inside looking around.

"Y/n?" He said seeing shattered glasses on the ground.

"Y/n?!" He saw blood on the ground which made his breath hitch.

"Y/N!" He ran up to your room panicked only to be faced with a pool of blood on the floor.

"No no no no no no," He said his body giving out on him making him fall to the ground blood getting on his clothes and shoes.

He didn't bother to get up and leave. He physically couldn't get up his body was in a paralyzed state so he was forced to lay where you possibly died. his breath was heavy and it was like he had no oxygen in his lungs. he wanted to cry for help but the way he was breathing, it was useless to try. He eventually passed out due to a lack of oxygen.

When he woke up it was night. He still laid in your bedroom but this time he could actually breathe. He then realized he had been gone all day and didn't know what time of night it was. Tommy slowly got up looking at his bloodied clothes. His tears silently fell as he made himself walk back to his house. He wasn't bothered by the noises of the creatures around the area. He couldn't care less if he got hurt because he had a bigger wound that no one would ever be able to fix.

The house lights were on and he saw people sitting outside. He walked closer and saw his family with worried looks on their faces. When they heard footsteps they looked to see Tommy slowly making his way to the door. Wilbur immediately ran up to the little boy pulling him into a hug.

"You had us all fucking worried!" He pulled away from the hug only then noticing the blood. "Holy shit your hurt"

Tommy just stood there no words came out of his mouth as his brother brought him inside to check his "wounds". He was sat on the kitchen counter as Phil raced to grab the first aid kit. when Wilbur went to take Tommy's shirt off to clean the "wound" He says nothing but dried blood.

"Tommy?..."

"She's gone....."

"What?"

"Y/N IS GONE!" His sudden outburst made the 14-year-old jump.

"She's dead Wilby" He sobbed Wilbur pulled the boy into a hug and tried calming down the younger boy. Tommy eventually fell asleep and Wilbur changed him into his pajamas taking the bloody clothes to the washer.

10 years later he sat in exile he lost his precious Discs and was now sent out of the land that he built with Wilbur and Tubbo when Phil went missing and Technoblade left. Wil eventually died by his own father. It was the first time he had seen Phil in 10 years only to see him kill one of the only people who stuck by him.

He then lost Tubbo who exiled him for a stupid prank he did on George's house with Ranboo. Tommy wasn't the type to snitch on someone so he took the blow for Ranboo. He had officially lost everything he ever cared about, the only thing he had left was a picture of you and him hugging when he was 7 years old.

"Tommy?...."

"Y/n?!"

------------------------------------------------------- Just thought of this randomly. ✨YOU ARE AMAZING AND PERFECT THE WAY YOU ARE! YOU ARE WORTH IT ON SO MANY LEVELS✨

[unsupervisedpanda]

Shots fired

Spencer x reader

Sitting on Spencer's couch you'd been reading one of your favorite books. It was early, at least for a weekend it was. You'd come by Spencer's hoping to catch him before a phone call from the team, however he seemed to have been gone already.

   You thought about just going home, but decided to stay and clean the already, mostly pristine apartment. It was organized in his own chaotic way. You'd slowly put away his paperwork and obsessively marked books.

  You then walked over to his nearly empty sink washing the dishes. After that it was doing his laundry and maybe make and remake his bed.

  Today was your last day off which is why you were hoping to catch him. You worked at an elementary school and taught a rambuctious group of 2nd graders. They were great kids and you loved them all dearly.

  That being said tomorrow was Monday so you had things that you needed to prepare. That is why you called Spencer and let him know you'd been there. You knew he was observant and may panic if he saw his apartment.

   "Hey Spence, it's me. I just wanted to let you know I stopped by. I love you and I'll see you when you're back. Kisses." Then you hung up.

  Nothing could have prepared you for the next day.

You woke up at 5:00am and got ready for the day. The school day didn't start until 8:30, but you wanted to catch a shower.

Swinging your legs over your bed and wobbled to the bathroom, grabbing a towel and your brush on the way. You had your clothes laid out the night before, surprisingly you were set for Monday it was Friday when you just threw your clothes on and prayed they matched.

  That being said you sauntered into the small room flipping the light on and flinching at it's brightness.

   "Ugh no! Tis to early for this." You groaned plopping the towel on the toilet.

  You stripped the overnight clothes off and turned the shower on, the steam rising from the enclosed space and into the rest of the room.

   Pulling the curtains aside you stepped in, the hot water cascading down your back and soaking your hair. The water washed away your sleepiness and you began to shampoo and condition your locks. You hummed as the suds made your hair squishy and soft. You giggled before putting your head back under the rushing water. The soap washed out gathering around your feet and down the drain.

   Once you were sure the soap was out and that your body felt refreshed, you shut the water off. Stepping out of the shower your feet padded on the shower mat. You smiled reaching over and grabbing the grey towel.

  Drying your body you then dried your hair. Once you were sure you wouldn't drip water everywhere you brushed through your damp hair.

  Spinning back to your door you wrapped the towel tightly around yourself. You needed to get dressed and you'd sleepily left the clothes in your room. Huffing you opened the door, the cool air rushing at your damp flesh, goosebumps rising.

Shivering you padded to your room and made sure the curtains were closed, windows locked, and then locking the bedroom door. You heard all sorts of stories from Penelope about how women were attacked in their own homes while they were vulnerable. No not you and not today.

   Quickly you slipped into your clothes, which happened to be a pair of black leggings and a (favorite color) dress that ended just above the knee, with a light overcoat

  You huffed before grabbing your phone. 5:45 am. Good you were on a roll. You lived about 15 minutes away from the school so you had time.

  Sliding your sneakers on you tied them before hearing your front door open. You immediately jumped up, opening your night stand, and pulling out the pistol you'd kept stashed there.

   You crept over to the door and unlocked the knob. With the way your apartment was set up you couldn't see the front door or the kitchen. Stepping into the hall you slinked down towards the living room. Once you entered you saw the back of the person kneeling in front of your fridge.

   You almost laughed out loud, but clicked the safety back on.

   "Spence you couldn't text me before coming over?" You giggled as the brunette jumped, hitting his head off the top of the fridge.

  "Ouch! Crap. I'm sorry y/n I wanted to surprise you. I figured I could stop by early enough that I won't be called in." You laughed at the male before placing the gun in another drawer in the kitchen. 

  "Awe that's sweet Spencer. What were you looking for?" You laughed walking over to him and pushing his bangs out of his face.

  "Ehm well I was looking for some coffee creamer because the barista forgot it. They were really busy." You nodded before brushing past him and to the refrigerator.

  "Ahh let's see I have hazelnut and vanilla and oh! There's some caramel, too."

   You heard him whisper a soft "Vanilla, please." Before you stood up the container in hand. Turning around you saw his eyes were downcast and your eyebrows raised in concern.

  "Spencer. Is everything alright?" He seemed to jump at the question, but nodded reaching for the bottle in your hand.

   "No. There's something bothering you, love. What happened yesterday?" His eyes widened as you placed the bottle behind him on the counter.

  "You can talk to me. You know that. Now spill, Spence." He shuddered slightly before sighing.

   "There's a case. The unsub is targeting elementary schools in the area. He targets the female employees killing them, talking about it's them or the kids. He even used a recording to lure them. Still no one is taking us seriously! We've gone to several of the schools, even the superintendent! They're refusing to shut the schools down saying that 'our employees are trained for this.'" He huffed heavily running his fingers through his hair.

  "This guy is smart y/n. He's already gone to three schools and killed 23 people and-" he choked up as he thought about the 13 children who died.

  "Spence, what school would he go for next? He's smart and calculated I'm sure. Where would he target next?" You looked at your best friend worry in your eyes. He looked up at you the gears in his head turning.

  "That's the thing y/n he's unpredictable. We thought he had a connection to one and he attacked another. We have no idea which school he'll target next. So far all of his attacks would seem random but they're not." He sighed out rubbing his face.

  "He's killed 23 people. 10 teachers and 13 children. We thought we were so close Y/n and he killed again. We can't lose. We can't let him kill again." His voice sounded so strained.

  You went to answer him when his phone beeped. He jumped slightly before pulling it out.

  "I got to go. The team needs me. I'm sorry. I love you! Be safe" he rushed kissing your forehead, before slipping out of the front door.

   Fisting your hands you sighed. This man could target your school next. Grabbing your purse and keys you rushed out the door.

     "Yes sir I understand there's no evidence or reason for him to come here but please listen to me. If we take the precautions, just until he's caught there's less likely of a chance for anyone to get hurt!

   We are an elementary school. We don't have to switch classes. We can have indoor recess, allowing the children to be safe, to learn, to have fun!

  We can have lunch in our classrooms and avoid being out in the open. This man is dangerous sir. Please."

   Your boss looked at you his eyes sharp.

  "Ms. L/n I'm sure this man is dangerous, and I'm sure you're worried but there is no reason for us to go into a panic. You may do as you wish with your class, I'll permiss it but I cannot make the other teachers to through with it. I'm sorry." You sighed but nodded.

  "Thank you Victor. I appreciate it but please inform them?" He hesitated but nodded.

  "I will."

Walking back to your classroom your shoes thudded along the tile. At least you got permission to protect your class. It was definitely something.

   Unlocking your door you pulled together today's activities. You'd have to make sure everything was prepared for if something happened.

   Going through your cupboards and closets, you emptied or organized them, to maybe hide the kids in. It wasn't much but you wanted to keep them safe.

  School would be in session soon and you needed to be sure that you were prepared.

    "Hey Lola! How are you today?" You greeted the young girl as she plopped into her desk.

  "I'm mad. Mommy told me that Skylar isn't coming to school today! And she is  like my bestest best friend!" You laughed as she threw her arms up in frustration.

   "Maybe that's what's best Little Lady. Don't worry though! We might play hide and seek later!" You said handing her a squishy ball to squeeze.

   Soon you had all of your kids for today. You may have called the parents and let them know of the risks and  Victor might not be impressed but you'd deal with his wrath later.

    Looking around you told the class of the plans today and gave them a math game to play in small groups. The door of course was locked along with the door stop.

   You gave each child an assignment, but made it a game so that they wouldn't be scared. You made Lola and Jaiden your captains who took care of their crew. If someone had to go to the bathroom you'd take a small group and leave the other group to watch the classroom. Then you'd come back and switch.

    That being said you were constantly checking in on Spencer. He didn't answer much but he did reassure you to his best ability. At least he had been.

   You didn't understand what was happening until you heard someone bump into the microphone in the office.

It made a terrible screaming noise before you heard Haley, the secretary announce that everyone had to take the school intruder precautions.

  Quickly you told the kids to go to their "bases" or hiding places. Jaiden and his team hid in the cupboards while Lola and hers hid in the closet.

  You? You stood next to the door out of sight. Earlier you'd put up a curtain so that if the guy did show up he couldn't look in.

   You heard the other kids in other classes asking what was going on and some of them were crying. You grimaced at the thought of their faces.

   You waited for a while before Victor came on.

  "I understand you are scared. I need you all to stay calm and keep the children safe. No matter what you hear, or see DO NOT leave your classrooms. Thank you that is all."

   Glancing around you began pushing some of the desks in front of the door. Then you ran over to the window and unlocked one. You didn't open it for fear of making your escape obvious. If you needed to get the kids out quickly you would.

   Pulling out your phone your dialed Spencers number. If you heard any evidence of the unsub he'd be on speed dial. That being said you told the kids to stay hidden and go over their "battle plans".

   Steadying your breathing you walked over to the door and stood next to it out of sight.

   It didn't take long before you heard screaming, a female. She was yelling about how it was the schools corrupt system that got her son killed. That if they had listened to protocol and protected him he'd still be alive.

  You gasped before calling Reid.

"Hello?" Shuddering you replied quietly.

  "The unsub is actually a woman. She has a dead son. He died in a school shooting or something similar." The other end was silent for a moment before you heard some scuffling.

   "Y/n?" You sighed as you recognised Hotch's voice.

  "Yes sir?"

"I need you to tell me what's going on." Before you could answer a loud gun shot was heard.

  "Y/n! Are you okay!" You heard Spencer panic.

   "I- I am fine. So are the kids. I don't know about the others though. The unsub. She's here Spencer and she's mad." You cried softly before another shot echoed throughout the building.

   "Y/n. We're on our way. Just stay safe. We're coming." You nodded before mumbling a soft 'okay' and hanging up.

   "YOU TEACHERS KILLED MY BABY! YOU DIDN'T PROTECT HIM! HE DIDN'T DESERVE TO DIE. HE WAS A CHILD!" you gasped as she wailed before shooting her gun again. Directly into your door.

  Gasping you waited. You heard her walk over to the door before pulling on the handle.

  "Oh. So you think you can protect them huh? With a measly door and a glass window with a fucking curtain? No way in hell."

  With that she put the gun against the glass with a 'clank'. Before you could react and loud ringing filled your ears as she pulled the trigger.

   Glass flew everywhere as the woman laughed. Thinking fast you grabbed a desk and faced it towards the window holding it in place. With her only way in temporarily blocked you called for Lola.

  "Lola honey! C'mere!" You whisper yelled as the small girl crawled out.

  "Ms. L/n what was that? It was really loud and we're scared." You smiled softly.

  "I know honey but I need you to get all of your classmates and take them to the 3rd window. Do you understand?" She nodded quickly rushing around.

   Sighing in relief you jumped when another gun shot sounded.

    Gritting your teeth you let go of the desk, glad it stayed.

   Helping Lola gather them all was much harder then you wanted it to be, but they were scared and that you understood.

   "Okay my little adventures, we're gonna do an escape mission. I want you all to climb out of this window and hide in the bushes until the good guys come okay?" They nodded and you shivered in relief. Once they were safe you could do what you needed to.

   Quickly you put them on the counter and they climbed out, the taller boys going first to help the shorter ones.

   Finally it was Lola's turn and she looked at you with big watery eyes.

  "Ms. L/n I'm scared." Your heart broke before you hugged her.

  "Me too. Don't worry though our knight is coming princess." She cried as you put her on the counter helping her out.

   "Be safe. Hide. Go!" They all nodded and ran off. As soon as you were sure they were safe you rushed to the door that connected to Mr. Groves room. Unlocking it you rushed in all the kids looked at you wide eyed.

  "Hey guys! It's okay you need to be really quiet and come with me okay?" They cried and looked over at their teacher and you nearly screamed at the sight.

He had gotten hit by a stray bullet or something and was bleeding out on the floor.

  "Okay. Okay come on. Quietly." They nodded rushing into your classroom. When you had them all you helped them out like you did your own, giving them the same instructions.

   Rushing back the other class you took off your jacket pressing it into Steve's chest.

  "Hey Steve. How are you?" You laughed awkwardly and he gurgled at you. Crying you kept pressure.

   "They're all safe. I helped them. It's okay." You smiled at him and he smiled lightly and you sobbed quietly as his life slowly seeped out onto your hands and jacket.

   Slowly pulled your hands away you jumped when you heard sniffling.

   Whipping around you looked under his desk finding a little boy.

  "Hey hey! What's your name handsome?" You asked quickly wiping the blood off.

  "C-christopher, b-but my mo-mommy calls m-me Chris." He sobbed.

   "Okay Chris why don't I help you out with your other friends?" The boy shook his head aggressively in a 'no' motion.

  "I can't." Your eyebrows raised before your eyes widened.

   "Christopher, are you paralyzed?" The boy nodded and you let out a breath.

  "Okay come here. I'll carry you." His eyes widened.

  "We, we can't go out there. The bad lady will shoot us!" You winced at his loud voice and he seemed to realize what he'd done because he began to softly cry.

   "Ahh honey it's okay. We won't move. We won't move." You hushed pulling him into you.

   You sat there for what felt like forever before you heard Derek talking down the Unsub.

  "Ma'am you don't want to do this! Put the gun down. Ma'am!" You and Christopher jumped when someone slammed into your classroom next door.

Pulling Christopher into your lap you held him close as he cried into your chest.

   "THEY KILLED HIM! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT. THEY KILLED HIM." You jumped at how close she seemed.

   Breathing out shakily you put Chris down gesturing for him to be quiet.

   Slowly you pulled yourself up. Glancing at the door connecting the rooms you saw it was partially opened.  

   Taking a deep breath you slowly made your way over jumping when the woman began to yell again.

   This was your chance. Running at the door you slammed it shut turning the lock.

   "YOU CAN'T PROTECT THEM!" She screamed slamming into the now locked door.

   Quickly you dragged a few desks to block her from entering. From there you unlocked the main door.

   "Chris, baby, I'm going to pick you up and I want you to close your eyes. Do you understand?" He nodded quickly tears bubbling up.

   "Okay come here honey." He dragged himself over to you and you quickly gathered him into your arms.

   "Okay you have to trust me. Just close your eyes." You hushed quickly and quietly opening the classroom door, as the women continued to bang and scream in yours.

   Rushing into the hall you saw Derek's eyes widen as you held Chris to your chest, the blood from Steve staining your outfit.

   "It's not mine!" You assured as you jogged to him, Chris hiding in your hair.

   "The kids are outside hiding in the bushes." You whispered once you were close enough so the woman wouldn't hear you.

   "Mr. Groves, she killed him. And Chris he's paralyzed." You informed as Derek ushered you behind him.

   "You need to get out of here. If she sees you she'll-" *BANG*

   You yelped in shock as the shot rang out.

   "Move in!" A man yelled followed by his team.

   Christopher held onto you sobbing into your dress. You held him close and hushed him, whispering reassurances into his ear.

    Derek led you outside and when you got there you were surrounded by police and EMT's.

     You handed Christopher off to one of the women, promising him he'd be okay. Then you ran over to the bushes and found both your students and Steve's.

     "Hey guys! Come one the good guys are here." You promised as Lola ran to you.

    "Hey princess." You murmured as she cried into your shoulder. The other kids surrounded you in a group hug.

     Standing up you held Lola to your chest.

    "Come on guys." You ushered them to the authorities.

     You were shocked when a woman mobbed you and began to cry as she held you and Lola.

     "Thank you! Thank you so much." She cried and you were to shocked to do anything.

     When she pulled away she held Lola's face in one hand and yours in the other.

      "You don't know me, but I know you. You saved my little boy Chris." She sniveled and you nodded.

    "Chris. Is he okay?" You asked as you set Lola down next to you keeping ahold of her hand.

     "Yes thanks to you. He's a little shaken up of course but thank you!" She continued.

     You nodded before you led her to an ambulance where Chris was sitting.

     "Hey Chris. This is Lola. You mind if she stays with you and your mom?" You asked as you brushed Lola's hair back.

    He nodded patting the spot next to him.

    "Thank you. Lola honey I'll be right back." You assured her before turning to scan the crowd, looking for Spencer. 

     When you found him you rushed to him. Calling out his name, he turned, and you ran into his arms.

    "Spencer." You wept lightly and he held you, wrapping his arms around you as he held you tightly.

    "You did it." He whispered and you nodded.

     "We did it." You told him pulling away.

   He nodded and kissed your forehead.

   "You're amazing." He murmured.

  You shuddered lightly.

    "Amazingly gross. I- I need to change. Steve..." You muttered and he nodded.

    "I think JJ might have a change of clothes.... Or I could ask Penelope?" He suggested and you nodded hating the blood on your clothes.

   Leading you towards his team mates, he kissed your forehead.

    When you got there Derek clapped you on the shoulder, congratulating you for your quick thinking.

    Hotch nodded to you in respect and Emily and JJ fretted over you.

    Emily gave you one of her shirts, and you borrowed a pair of sweats from Morgan.

    "Thanks guys." You smiled tightly as Spencer held you to his side, one arm wrapped around your waist.

    Leaning into his shoulder you closed your eyes. Today definitely didn't go to plan.

     You found out later after you asked what happened, that the woman was named Marissa Timmins. Her son was killed in a school shooting after one of the teachers snapped.

     The boy was eight. The snap occured after she found out that the man who'd killed her child was going with an insanity plea.

    That being said the gunshot you'd heard was her... well taking her life into her own hands.

    Everyone was deemed okay but were understandably shaken up. Luckily no children were harmed. Haley was being treated for a gunshot wound to her hip and Victor had been shot in the abdomen but was rushed to the hospital.

     It seemed the only casualties this time were Steve and Marissa.

   That night Spencer had taken you home and stayed with you the entire time, which the team understood. Several parents sent you thank you cards, and so did the kids. School had been cancelled for the rest of the week so you slept in, or tried to.

    The nightmares weren't helping but waking up in Spencer's arms calmed your racing heart.

     You were glad you had him. So glad. That being said Steve's funeral was on Thursday, and then despite how everyone else felt you attended Marissa's as well.

Maybe it was to see how her family saw her before she lost her child, maybe it was to try and get to know her for who she had been, or maybe it was so you could put a face to the woman who'd killed so many people.

It was closed casket for her, but the pictures showed enough. As for Steve's, well you felt terrible. Seeing his wife and two daughters, it broke your heart.

You offered your condolences and Mrs. Groves held you for a long time. She thanked you for being there for him in his final moments.

Spencer waited for you both times, ready to hold you as you sobbed.

You never understood how Spencer could do this, see people die, day in and day out but you loved him for it.

Standing on your tip toes you pecked him on the lips.

"Let's go home?" You asked and nodded walked around the car and opening your door.

"Let's go home." He confirmed kissing your cheek.

[jj-babebank]

Camp Willowdale / JJ Maybank AU / PART 2

Synopsis: Camp Willowdale is buzzing with new campers. It’s Caroline Windsor’s first year as a camp counsellor after attending the camp as a camper for ten years. Little does she know that this year Willowdale Lake is going to be a little different from what she is used to it being…

Warnings: future chapters may include curse words, mentions of drugs, mentions of alcohol, mentions of sexual activities, mentions of death.

Pairings: JJ Maybank x fem OC

Part 1 can be found here. xxx

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 2 -

Lunch was over and Pricilla organised the boys to go set up the objects for tomorrow night's scavenger hunt around the camp grounds. The boys had drawn the groups their pairs would be in charge of before leaving and JJ and Caroline had gotten Teens 2, whereas Sarah and John B had gotten Teens 1, which meant that, for better or worse, their groups would be partaking in a lot of activities together, seeing as they were both in the same age group.

The girls were given the job to set up the seating area where the bonfire was going to be, so Sarah and Caroline stuck together as they made their way towards the clearance where it was going to be held.

"Can you believe I got paired up with JJ Maybank?" Caroline sighed.

"Beats Routledge by a thousand, I can promise you that," said Sarah, still extremely disappointed, "At least Maybank looks like he takes care of himself."

Caroline chuckled at her comment. John B had also grown his hair out over the years and it was now down to his shoulders.

"He does seem like he is... in touch with nature," Caroline remarked and Sarah laughed genuinely for the first time since drawing the boy’s name out, "Maybe they won't be that bad to work with, besides, it's only nine weeks, what could go wrong?"

Sarah seemed to think for a second before her lips curled into a devious smirk, "Hey, didn't you used to have, like, the biggest crush on Maybank?"

Caroline's cheeks turned red immediately, "I don't know what you're talking about," she mumbled quickly.

Sarah started laughing, "You totally did! You lucky, lucky bitch! I wish I got paired up with my childhood crush! Instead I get to spend my last summer before moving away with snot-nosed, bug-eating Routledge... Why was the Universe on your side and not on mine?"

They walked behind the rest of the girl counsellors towards the bonfire area. When they arrived, the logs that Pricilla had informed them would be stacked up in a convenient for them to move around way, were all scattered across the ground. The pillows that were meant to go on top of them were also in disarray. All the girls looked around in confusion.

"Surely this couldn't have been the wind?" one of them said.

"Surely this was the boys." said Sarah matter-of-factly, "I'd bet 50 bucks that Routledge had something to do with this."

All the girls turned to look at her in confusion.

"What?" she protested, shrugging her shoulders, "You know I'm right."

Caroline rolled her eyes, "Boys or not, we better sort this mess out before sundown, we have cabins to set up as well."

The girls agreed, Sarah being skeptical but also finally giving in, and little by little, they set up the bonfire area. It took them a little over two hours before they started making their way back to the cabins, which they were supposed to decorate with welcome signs for the arriving campers.

Since Sarah and Caroline were both in charge of the oldest groups, their campers were meant to be sharing two cabins - one for the boys and one for the girls.

"Let's split up, I'll do the boys and you do the girls," Sarah offered, nearly shocking Caroline, "Try being as quick as you can. Meet me back out here in 15 minutes tops." she ordered before scurrying up the steps into the boys’ cabin.

Caroline rushed into the cabin next door, pleasantly surprised by Sarah's sudden determination to get work done. As she was arranging the banners and posters on the walls and ceiling, she couldn't help but think that Sarah must have had some sort of ulterior motive to being this enthusiastic about working. Sure enough, she was right.

She had barely taken a step out of the girls' cabin when Sarah spoke up, "Took you long enough. Now let's go find those stupid guys."

The sun was setting and the woods had gotten a bit chilly as Sarah lead Caroline towards where the male counsellors were supposed to be. After setting up the scavenger hunt objects, they were supposed to set up the archery area. As they were getting closer to the archery grounds, the two girls could hear the laughter of the boys in the nearby distance. Sarah pretended to gag yet again.

"Quick, around here," Caroline pulled Sarah behind the small hut where they kept all of the camp's archery supplies. From their spot they could see the guys quite clearly and could hear everything they were saying, "Remind me again why we're doing this?" Caroline whisper-yelled at Sarah.

"Because I'm still furious about their little prank," Sarah explained, "Which is why I want to prank them back."

"How are we gonna do that exactly?" asked Caroline, "By eavesdropping?"

"A good villain is one that knows the enemy's weaknesses," said Sarah, "First we listen for a bit, and then we make a plan."

Caroline couldn't help but smirk at this new side of Sarah she was seeing. She much preferred this Sarah to the constantly whining, gloating Sarah she had gotten used to over the years. Plus, being somewhat of a daredevil herself, Caroline couldn't help but find the idea of pranking the boys back exciting.

"Can you believe I got paired with Jenna Kinley?" one of the boys, Kelce, said, "Not only are we supposed to work together, but we're also meant to be taking care of babies..." he face palmed himself.

The other boys laughed.

"C'mon, Johnson, 10 year olds are hardly babies," said another one of the boys, Topper, "Besides, working with Kinley will not be nearly as scandalous as working with Hague!"

JJ spoke up next, "Aw, don't be like that, Top," he said, "Madison's not that bad!"

Topper scoffed at JJ, "Easy for you to say! You and Routledge got paired with the best girls out of the bunch! And you got the teens groups!"

Sarah and Caroline smirked at the remark.

"Boys, boys, boys," came John B's voice suddenly, "Let's put this topic behind us, I'm sure you'll all be glad to hear about what I managed to sneak into our cabin." all the boys were now staring at John B in anticipation, "16 bottles of pure, fine whiskey, m'boys. Safe to say, tonight will be a ball."

"Bingo..." Sarah and Caroline smiled mischievously at each other, the perfect prank idea forming in both of their heads.

They quietly made their way back to where all the cabins were and sat at one of the patios.

"So here's the plan," said Sarah, "We sneak into their cabin, raid Routledge's luggage and steal his bottles of whiskey. Let's go now!"

Caroline stopped her, "No, no, not now!" she hissed, "They're gonna go to their cabin before dinner and Routledge's gonna want to show them his stash! We'll sneak out during dinner. Oh, and, I suggest we throw a party of our own to this occasion."

Sarah smirked at Caroline, "I like where you're going with this, Carrie," she said, patting Caroline's shoulder before standing up to go into their cabin, "Not bad for a nerd."

Caroline sighed, there was the old Sarah again.

~~~~~~~~

“Windsor!” Caroline heard a voice behind her call out, “Been paired up for a whole day now and we still haven’t the chance to talk!”

Caroline turned around to find a beaming JJ smiling at her. Had he come over from the boys table specifically for her? She could feel her cheeks beginning to burn slightly.

“We can talk,” she said quickly.

JJ took a seat next to her on the long bench. She could feel the heat in her cheeks become even hotter. JJ didn’t seem to notice her nervousness, or awkwardness.

“How’s life been then?” he asked.

Caroline took a deep breath to soothe her nerves, looking up, only to find a smirking Sarah crossing her arms across from her at the table.

“Just the regular, nothing too special,” she said, frowning quickly at Sarah before turning to face JJ again, hoping he hadn’t noticed Sarah’s behavior.

JJ jokingly frowned, “Nothing too special? I heard you got accepted into Charleston University, that’s like super special.”

Caroline cringed internally, “Did you happen to hear anything else by any chance?”

JJ smirked, “Not sure what you’re talking about,”

Caroline wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not but she pretended to not be bothered.

“Well I hear you’re throwing a party tonight,” Caroline crossed her arms in front of her.

JJ smirked even more, “Where’d you hear that from?”

“Why?” she tempted, “Is my source wrong?”

“Hardly,” JJ bit back, standing up, “So perhaps I’ll see you there.”

With that he walked back to where the other male counsellors were sat, giving one last look at Caroline, smirk never leaving his face.

Sarah started laughing loudly, “Looks like someone’s got their eye on little Carrie,” she teased, “Lucky, lucky bitch.”

Caroline rolled her eyes at her, “Bullshit,”

Sarah leaned over the table to whisper to Caroline, “I like the way you handled the situation, we’re definitely going to be there, on more occasions than one.”

Caroline looked at her watch, “Shit, it’s getting late, we better go now!”

And with that, they snuck their way out of the Wildcat Lodge and towards the boys’ cabin.

“Crap, the door’s locked!” Sarah cursed.

Caroline looked around. One of the upper windows seemed to be open. This gave her an idea.

“Sarah, do you still do cheerleading?” she looked at the girl, a plan forming in her brain.

Sarah raised an eyebrow, “What’s that got to do with anything? And duh, how else would my legs look this good?”

Caroline’s lips turned into a grin, “Give me a lift.”

Sarah’s eyes widened, “Excuse me?”

Caroline nodded her head towards the upper window and Sarah whined, “Why’s it always me?”

Silently, they rushed into position. Sarah took her stance, her hands ready to lift up Caroline’s body. Caroline balanced herself on Sarah’s shoulders as Sarah readied her hands to push her up. In one swift motion, Caroline had pulled herself in through the upper window and was now inside the cabin. She immediately went to the door to unlock the handle from the inside so that Sarah could let herself in.

The two girls looked around the space. It was dark and the only light penetrating into it was the one from the lamps outside. Three pairs of bunk beds were sitting there, covered in unpacked suitcases, boxes and bags.

“Great,” sighed Caroline in annoyance, “How are we ever going to figure out which one’s Routledge’s?”

Sarah took a better look at all of the bunk beds again, her eyes landing on one with a particularly large suitcase with a Green Peace sign on it, “My guess is that it’s that one.”

They went over to the suitcase and Sarah nervously leaned over it, “Eurgh, bug eating Routledge better not have live animals in there,” she said as she quickly ripped open the zipper, flinching away as soon as it came undone.

“That’s it!” Caroline excitedly said, “Help me pick it up!”

The suitcase contained three changes of clothes and a large box filled with unopened bottles of whiskey, just like they had heard John B brag about by the archery area. The two girls combined all of their strength to lift the heavy box off the bed and made their way towards the door, when they heard a loud thumping sound from the back of the cabin. Something heavy had fallen in the corner of the cabin that was unlit by the outdoor lamps, making both girls slightly jump and nearly tip over the box full of alcohol. They squinted their eyes in the direction where the sound came from, however they couldn’t make out anything in the thick darkness.

“What was that?” Sarah said nervously.

“Whatever it was,” Caroline said, leading them out of the door, “We can’t wait around to find out.”

With that they were out of the cabin, closing the door behind them and making their way back to their own cabin quickly.

They hid the box inside the storage room and decided to sneak back into the Wildcat Lodge, so that nobody would question their whereabouts.

There was half an hour left until the end of dinner service as Sarah and Caroline sat back at their designated table, trying to draw as little attention to themselves as they could.

“Do you think someone saw us in there?” whispered Sarah so that only Caroline could hear.

Caroline shrugged her shoulders, “I really hope not, but I did get the weird feeling that we were being watched once we heard that noise,”

Sarah shuddered, “Yeah, major heebie jeebies in there. Glad the boys got that cabin and not us.”

Caroline rolled her eyes, “Relax, Sarah, worst case scenario is it was just one of the guys and he saw us stealing tonight’s party supplies.”

Sarah raised an eyebrow, “I swear to God if it was Routledge -”

“If it was Routledge, he wouldn’t have let us get away with it,”

“Shit, Carrie, you’re totally right!” Sarah unwillingly raised her voice, “Who do you think it was?”

Caroline shrugged again, “Honestly? I don’t think it was anyone, I just think something happened to fall down on its own.”

“Hmm… You’re probably right again.” Sarah turned to look at the big clock on the wall, “We’d better get going, we’ve got to get ready for that party you got invited to!” she winked at Caroline, smirking.

Caroline looked towards the boys table where JJ was already looking back at her, a smile dancing on his thin lips. She met his eyes and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. She decided to give him a little wave to which he happily waved back.

“Hello?” Sarah’s annoyed voice broke Caroline’s focus from JJ, “Are you coming or what? I want us to look good for when we see the guys’ disappointed faces tonight!”

Caroline sighed and followed Sarah out of the Lodge. Tonight was going to be interesting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: I know I only just uploaded the first part, but I want to establish the Camp Willowdale universe as fast as possible so that the actual story can take off and it does in the next part. I'm going to create a taglist for people who have shown interest in the story thus far, so if you want to be included, make sure to leave a reply so that I can include you in the next part.

Also if you haven't noticed so far, this story, aside from fun and romantic, will be quite campy so I hope you're into that. We've also got quite the mystery coming up so stay tuned for that as well x

Alsoooo please give me some inspiration on who I can base Caroline off, I'm kind of leaving her up to the reader's imagination so that you can just imagine yourself as her, but ideally I'd like to have someone who's picture I can use for future photos. I've got my mind set on Maia Mitchel, but feel free to drop recommendations too.

Anyways, let me know what you think this far and feel free to check out the rest of my works in my masterlist. xxx

Part 3 here

[mmimagine-40]

Pup 2

Alpha!Steve x Omega!Reader

Alpha!Bucky x Omega!Nat

W:Age Gap, abuse talk, implied rape. (most abuse is just talking about being hit, not into details about. Implied thing)

*Little note: Someone kindly pointed out that I did in fact wright the injury wrong and got my info mixed up. I’m so sorry about that. I did edit it in the last piece. But to save some time: The readers injury is not a torn ligament it is just a sprained ankle. Thanks again and enjoy. *

Steve noticed the look on her face. And her breath started to pick up. Like the attack she had this morning. “Pup, what's wrong?”, he asked. Y/n turned to look at him, tears starting to fill her eyes. “He’s here or round here. I can smell him.”, Y/n says shakingly. Steve looked around , smelling. Getting a little hint of the alpha. Looking around he didn’t see anyone near. “Hey , it’s okay. The smell is faint. It probably means he was here at some point but it gone now. “, Steve reaches over to cup Y/n’s cheeks. Wiping the tears that tried to fall. And swiping his thumbs over her skin to calm her down. “But why is it so strong to me? It smells like he’s just outside this truck.”, she asked, leaning into his touch. Steve shh’ed her , as he pulls the middle up so he can pull her closer to him. “It’s probably just your mind doing it. You're scared of him coming back. So your senses are trying to pick up on him without you knowing. So it’s taking the slight smell of the alpha and is making it stronger for you. “. Y/n just nodded as she leaned on to him. Closing her eyes. Letting the warmth of Steve’s body and his scent to wrap around her. Calming her down. Steve stayed still letting her calm. Knowing that she just needed  a minute. He tried wrapping his head around something he can do for her. At less right now , so he can show her that it is possible to fully get away from whoever this guy is. So maybe she will open up more and he can help her. Then it clicked. Something Nat used to do in college. Before her and Bucky mated, or where even a thing. Something that can fool any alphas  smells. “Pup, if you're up for it. I know something that can help. So just in case the alpha is near he won’t smell you. But that’s only if you want to. You don’t have to, I can just take us back to the cabin if you want.”, Steve says rubbing her back. Y/n sits back up looking at him. She wipes her face , as a pout still stays on her lip, “What? What is it?”. Steve took a breath , trying to think how to word this without freaking her out. “It’s a fake bond.”, Steve says. “A fake bond? What's that?”, Y/n’s eyebrows scrunched together as she looked at him. “It’s what it sounds like...basically it’s a form of scenting an omega ...or even an alpha. It makes it appear to be like a bond. But it’s not a real one. You’ll just have a fake bond mark for about a day. And it will give off the alpha scent as long as it stays on your skin. Once it disappears the scent will too.”, Steve explains. Y/n looks around as the info wraps around her head. “So you would bite me?”, She asked looking back into his eyes. Steve nodded , “Yes, But like I said this is up to you. If you don’t want to , we won’t and I’ll just take you back to the cabin.”. Y/n looked out to the dinner. Seeing people sitting around. Laughing and talking. The faint smell from the dinner makes it way to her. Making her mouth water. She starts shaking her head as she turns back to Steve. “I would like you to do the fake bond.”. “Are you sure?”, Steve asked. He was afraid if he bite down she might go into an episode and freak out and that's the last thing Steve wants to happen right now. Y/n nods her head smiling a bit, “I trust you.”. Steve smiled at her softly. He moved a bit closer to her. Being gentle to move her head to the side and move her hair out of the way. “Just say the word and I’ll stop. Okay ,Pup?”, His breath fanned over the side of her face. Only an inch above her skin. Y/n thought she would hate it. Be reminded of Brock. But she finds herself enjoying being this close to Steve. Even a light blush covering her face as she felt his nose drag along her skin to her scent gland. Her heart was beating fast and she felt tingly all over as she felt his breath breath out onto her skin. She had to bite her tongue as she felt his lips make contact on her skin. Leaving a delicate kiss over the area. Before she felt his mouth open more. His teeth graze her skin. Before softly biting down. Y/n thought it would hurt, but it didn’t. Just a light binch. But then again it’s a fake. Not a real one , breaking through the skin and scaring into her gland. Steve kissed the spot again, this time she couldn’t help the small whimper that left her lips. Steve pulled back staring down at her with half hooded eyes. The alpha in him , jumping up and down at the small noise of pleasure that left the omegas mouth. Y/n stared back at him with doe eyes. They were so close. And Steve was about to just lean down and kiss her. But the sound of a car pulling in next to them, makes him pull away. He looks to the side to see Bucky’s car pulling into the spot next to them. Steve turns back to Y/n to see her looking down as she scoots back over to her spot. Steve waits for Nat to get out of the car. Before he gets out and makes his way to help Y/n out.  She grabs his arm as they walk in front of the car. Scared she might fall , not used to the boot. “Y/n , These are my two best friends. Nat and Bucky.”, Steve introduces them. y/n waves at them. “So you're the famous Y/n , Steve talked so much about.’, Nat says holding her hand out to shake her hand. Y/n shaked it , looking down blushing. “Nat.”, Steve said out as a warning. Glaring at her. She just smirked back at him. Bucky chuckles shaking his head at his mate. “It’s nice to meet you , Y/n”, Bucky stuck his hand out to shake her hand. y/n stood looking at his hand , shocked. Not seeing the others , looking at her then at each other. Bucky's hand slowly fell. Y/n looked up to be met with his blue eyes. Like Steve but a bit darker. Looking at her concerned. She quickly looked down to mess with her hand. “Sorry, I..I’m just a bit nervous around alphas.”, She rushes out. “It’s okay. I get it. I wouldn’t want you doing anything you're uncomfortable with.”, Bucky smiled at her. Y/n’s head snapped up shocked. At his sweetness and understanding catching her off guard. “Don’t worry Bucky wouldn’t hurt a fly. Would you Bucky Bear?”, Nat says curling up around his arm. Bucky groaned , “What did I say about using that nickname out in public?”. “That you loveee itt!”, She says poking at his cheek. Y/n watch in aw, at how this omega acts around and treats her alpha. Bucky laughs as he pushes her off of him. Y/n looked towards Steve to see if this is how they always act. He was laughing , shaking his head at his friends.  “Okay, why don’t you two  go grab a table while me and Bucky put everything into the truck? Cause after we eat you’ll need medicine and will probably be tired , Pup.”, Steve says breaking the couple up and looking towards Y/n. She smiles at him nodding, before looking back to Nat. She rolled her eyes, “FIne!”. She kissed Bucky's cheek before linking her arm with Y/n making their way inside. Y/n didn’t question it. She actually felt safe with Nat. Not only because she was another Omega. But she seemed like a strong omega who takes no crap from any Alpha. 

Waiting till the pair were inside, Bukcy turned towards Steve. Smirking and raising an eyebrow. “Pup, huh?”, He teased. Steve rolled his eyes as he walked towards the cars. Opening the backdoor to put the stuff in. “It’s just a nickname , Buck.”. “Mhmm, Sure!. I saw how you were looking at her. Pulse that fake bond!”, Bucky says opening the trunk. Steve rolled his eyes again. “It’s nothing. I’m just trying to help her.”, Steve says. They start moving the stuff. “Okay , Jerk. Answer me this: When you first saw her or even talked to her how did you feel? Was your heart racing? Feel like you want to protect her and care for her? Did you feel things you never have felt before? Feeling never felt when around anyone else? ...When she first laughed did your heart smelt and you wanted to hear it more? Do you have an itchy feeling after the first time touching her? Wanting to do it again. How about how you feel right now? Seeing her walk away , even though you know she's just going to get a table?”, Bucky asked, watching Steve put the last few things in. Steve sighs as he closes the door. “What’s your point, Buck?”. Bucky runs his hand over his face as he stares at his friend. “That’s your mate , Stevie.”. Steve looked at him confused. Bucky sighed , shaking his head, “All those feelings you’re feeling , that’s how I felt when I met Nat. When I knew her only one day I felt like I had known her forever. I knew that one day she would be mine. Actually in fact , I due believe it was you who told me we looked like true mates. The way we looked at each other and acted. You pushed me to get her. ….Well now here I am. With the best mate I could ask for. So Steve listens here. You look at Y/n like how I looked at Nat. I know you think this is just to help her and cause you to have a big heart and everything that has happened to us. But I’m telling you , that girl in there. Your , ‘pup’. Will be your mate , one day. Even if that means I have to do the dirty work to make sure you don’t chicken out and lose that girl.”, bucky rambles as he rests a hand on Steve’s shoulder. Steve shakes his head. “Your wrong Buck. I have only known her for less than 24 hours. I know nothing about her. But her name. So there's no way I look at her like she is my future mate.”. Bucky shakes his head at his friend's stupidity, and just walks away from him. Steve just watches him walk away. Thinking about his words. He described perfectly how he was feeling about Y/n. Hell ,when he gave her the fake bond, images flashed in his of actually bonding with her. But there was a part of his to ignore the feelings. That they meant nothing. In honesty, Steve is afraid of being hurt again. He doesn’t know Y/n’s past. It could be so bad to scare her from mating or having a relationship with an alpha at all. Just cause she seems okay with him doesn’t mean anything. “Steve?”, Bucky called from the door. When he looked up to meet his eyes , it hit Steve. Bucky might just be right….for once in his life. 

Inside Nat and y/n take a seat at the booth the hostess pointing them two. Each sliding in on either side. “Do you and your alpha always act like that?”, Y/n asked as the women walked away. Nat’s head snapped up at her. Y/n looked down ashamed , “Sorry ,it’s just...growing up I was always taught that omegas are to just stand by their alphas till they ask them for something.”. Nat smiles at her , taking her hand to hold it. y/n looked back up at her. “It’s okay. And yeah. That's how most mates act. It’s actually very old dating for how alphas and mates act and think that.”. Y/n looked at her shocked, “really?”. ‘Yeah, Most places have omegas rights now. And parents teach their omega kids how to be strong and not let the others push them around.”, Nat explains. “There are even laws now to help omegas. To help protect them.”, Nat goes on. Y/n smiled at her , “really?”. Nat nodded smiling at her. “You must have been really closed up , if you didn’t know any of this. It’s huge in the news , even till this day. About omega’s fighting back against harmful alphas.”. She gives nats hand a squeeze to think about her past. “I wasn’t allowed to watch the tv or be on any media. I was only to clean and cook. And care for the alphas. I could do nothing else.”. Nat’s mouth drop, “oh girl, I have so much to show you...I mean that is if you’re staying around here a bit more.”. Y/n looked down at their hands biting her lip. “I would like to, I have only been here a day. But the place has grown on me.”, she says. “The town or an alpha has?”, Nat wiggles her eyebrow. Y/n giggles looking at her. Knowing she sees through her. “I mean the alpha is just a pulse.””. Nat squeals excited, “we are going to be best friends! Don’t worry I’ll help you with him. He can be a bit stupid sometimes.”. Y/n looked at her as her smile fell a bit. “I’ve never had a friend before.”. “Well girl you're in luck! Cause now you have three and good luck getting rid of us,”, Nat points out the window towards the boys, “This is going to be great! Having another girl around!”. The smile on Y/n's face widens at Nat. In less than 24 hours Y/n has finally found somewhere that really feels like home.  

The two pulled away at the notice of the two alpha’s coming closer to them. Bucky slides in next to Nat, resting his arm around her to pull her closer to him. The omega curled into her alphas side purring. y/n smiled as she watched them. Never have seen two people so in love. A bump against her shoulder , causes her to turn to look at Steve. He was smiling down at her. She never noticed how big he was till now. He was basically towering over her. Making her feel so small, but not in a bad way. In some ways , she actually liked how he was so big and strong. It made her feel safe and comfortable. ‘You okay?’ , Steve mouthed to her. Y/n smiled at him nodding. She turned back to face Bucky and Nat only to see them both smirking at them both. Y/n blushed as she looked down over the menu. 

Steve helped Y/n into the truck as they said their last goodbyes to Bucky and Nat. He waves them off as they pull out heading to their home, before hopping into the driver's side and taking off to the cabin. “ I like your friends. They are really nice and funny.”, Y/n says. “Yeah but they can be a handful sometimes. But i’m glad you had fun.”, Steve says. Y/n gives him a smile before turning to look out the window. Watching the small stores and house as they speed past. Before they disappear , as they head out of town and back up to the cabin. Which made Y/n turn her attention elsewhere. Her eyes catch the boot. She just stands there looking down at it. Steve looked over to her. Seeing her look at the boot and the sour look on her face. “What wrong, pup?”. Y/n looks up to see Steve keep looking back and forth from the road to her. Looking concerned. She turned back to look at the boot. “It’s nothing. I...I just...I’m going to be in this boot for a while and winter looks like it's about to be here any day now. I have nowhere to go.”. “Tired of me already ,pup?”, Steve chuckled. She softly laughed, shaking her head. “No, but I feel bad for leaching on you.”, Y/n says softly playing with her hands. “Pup, I told you this morning. You're injured and need some help right now. I’m here to help you. As long as it takes for you to get back on to your own feet and even after that, I’ll be here to help you…..Plus it’s nice to have the company.”, Steve says looking over at her. Y/n smiled looking up at Steve. Tears filling her eyes. Out of happiness. Blessed to have someone care so deeply about her. “Why are you so nice to me? You don’t even know anything about me. I know more about you. And you haven’t tried to hide anything or stop Bucky from telling me stories of you guys youth. Yet you haven't asked me a thing about mine.”. “I didn’t want to push you. Just let you tell me what you want. On your own time.”, Steve says. Y/n just sits there watching him. Looking over every detail of his face. “How is it you know all the right things to say? I know that you picked up that I've been abused. But you say nothing of it. Or of the alpha I was running from. You never even asked what I was doing in the woods yesterday. “, Y/n asked. Steve sighed as he put the truck in park outside the cabin. He turns to look at Y/n. Looking over her face. Images flash in his head of his mother. Steve turns back to face the steering wheel. “Growing up I had an abusive father. He forced a bond on my mother when they were young adults. After she refused to mate with him. He was the stereotypical alpha. Made his omega do everything for him. Clean , cook , get him things. Hit her if she spoke to him a certain way or didn’t do something. Or even did something he didn’t like. Ma said he wasn’t always so bad. That he was still controlling that she be the stereotypical omega. But he wasn’t as abusive. Not till I was born. He wanted a whole bunch of alpha pups. As Bucky told you, growing up I was the scrawny little kid. So much so I presented as an omega at first. And my father didn’t like that. Punished my mother for it. Then he tried to get her to have more babies. But no matter what she couldn’t get pregnant. He blamed me for it. Started becoming more abusive to us. There were countless nights when I watched him beat up my mother till she passed out and was hardly breathing. Even nights that he’d hit me. But my mother would usually change his anger to her , so he won’t hurt me. The most I got was a black eye. But Ma she had bruises everywhere , broken bones, dislocated joints, everything possible to hurt a person without killing them.” . Steve put his hand in one of his hands. As pictures flash into his head. Memories of his mother. Her black and blue face as she told him to stay strong that they would get out of this. Y/n Grabbed Steve's other hand holding it. Giving it a squeeze. She scooted closer to him. Wrapping around his arm. As she lays her head on his shoulder. Steve felt his body relax as her smell wrapped around him. He rested his head on top of hers. “What happen?”, she asked. “There was an organization that was helping omegas get away from their abuser and help them start a life for themselves. One day , after my dad left for work, my mom grabbed me and a bag with some of our things and headed to the meeting place of this organization. They helped to make it seem we were elsewhere , when we headed to New York. The people helped my ma find a job and got us into a place to stay. Helping us start a new life. I met many people like us. Including my best friend .”. “Bucky?”, Y/n asked looking up at Steve. Steve nodded, “Him, his baby sister, and his mother were also running from his abusive father. We actually move in next to each other. Our families became close. To where they are my second family. “. Y/n looked around thinking over everything that he told her. Was it really possible to true be gone from an abuser? “Did he ever find y’all?”, Y/n asked, pulling back some to face Steve. He looked at her, shaking his head. “No, he never did.”. Steve looked back to the windshield seeing small droplets appearing as dark clouds rolled in. “Come on , Pup. It looks like it’s about to rain.”, Steve says opening his door. Y/n lets go of him watching as he gets out. He turns back holding a hand out to help her. She takes it as she climbs out. “You think you can get in by yourself?”, Steve asks. Y/n nodded. “Okay , here’s the key. You can leave the door open , I'll be right behind you with the bags. “, He hands her the keys , before turning back to the back of the truck to grab the bags. Y/n makes her way into the house. Her mind was racing after what Steve told her. It made her feel a bit better and more trusting of Steve. He told her something personal. Not to get out of her what happened , but to make her know that he understands what's happening. And can help her. Thinking over his words , describing what happened to his mom. Popped up memories of her own mother. An omega as well, busied and mistreated by her mate. Memories of watching her mother lay clothes on and putting on makeup before going out to the store. Trying to cover up the marks that her father laid on her the night before. 

“Okay that's the last of it.”, Steve says. Snapping Y/n out of her thoughts. She looks up to see Steve setting the last bags down in the kitchen. He checks his watch looking at the time , before turning to grab a glass. He filled it with some water. He handed it to Y/n along with the bottle of meds Bruce gave him. “Thank you.”, Y/n says grabbing the bottle and looking over the instructions before taking them. Her attention went back to Steve after. She watched as he moved around the kitchen putting away the groceries. “His name is Brock Rumlow.”, Y/n says. Steve pauses what he’s doing turning to look at Y/n. “ His father and mine were friends. His father paid mine to have me for his son. My father agreed. I was only 15. When I was first taken Brock never touched me. Only talked to me. He was nice. Told me that if I didn’t want to mate he wouldn’t force it. That was till I turned 18. After that he started forcing himself more on me. At first he was just pushy about wanting a relationship of some kind. Then one time when I was close to hitting my heat , he started pushing me more to bond with him. After a year of saying no he changed a lot. When he brought it up again one day. I told him I just didn’t feel a connection with him. That was the first time he laid a hand on me. He slapped me across the face. Calling me a disrespectful bitch. That he gave me everything. All he’s asking is to be his mate , his omega. To bare him children. It was also the first time he..he…”. Steve dropped what he was doing rushing over to Y/n. Pulling her into a hug. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say it or anything else.”, Steve says into her hair. “It just keeps getting worse and worse. He said he would continue till I said yes. Which I never did. A month or so ago I was able to escape while he was gone. I have been running since. I stopped a few days ago , stopping to rest at the town over. But he found me so I ran into the woods , hoping it would cover my smell and I’d lose him. I was running for hours. Till I tripped over a tree root sticking out of the ground.”, Y/n finished. Tears were running down her face as she recalled the memories. Steve shushed her. “It’s okay. It’s all over now. I’ll make sure he never touches you again, pup. “. Y/n cling’ d onto Steve as she cried. Steve rubbed her back soothing her. After a bit they pulled away. Y/n looked up at Steve as he looked down at her. Whipping the tears off her face. “Come on pup. It’s been a busy day. Why don’t you lay down and rest for a bit?”, Steve asked. Y/n nodded. Steve let Y/n go in front of him as he carried the bags that carried the stuff Nat got for her. He led her to one of the guest rooms. “This can be your room to stay in while you're here. It’s right next to my room just in case you need anything.”, Steve says setting the bags down as Y/n takes a seat on the bed. Taking off the jacket and kicking off her shoe. Steve turns back to her helping her take off the boot so she’s more comfortable. He helped her get in and laid in the bed. Steve turned to leave, when a hand grabbing his wrist stopped him. “Can you stay with me? I don’t want to be alone.”, Y/n says. Steve smiles at her nodding. He took his jacket off and kicked his boots off before taking a seat on the other side of the bed. Leaning against the headboard. Y/n curled into his side. As soon as she curled around him, her eyes became heavy. As sleep started to take her.

Y/n is awoken  by a bright light shining in her eyes. As her eyes open she is met with a bright light shining through the window. She groaned , turning the other way. Into a warm chest. She opened her eyes , looking up. Seeing Steve laying there shirtless. With one arm laying over her waist. Y/n looked over all of him. In awe at his beauty. Her eyes laid on a mark on his neck. A bond mark. Y/n’s hand moved to her neck. Feeling over where her scent gland is. Feeling a sacred bond. As her fingers ran over the mark, a wave of memories hits her. Memories she doesn’t remember living. Of Steve, them claiming each other, and a life together. “Morning Pup.”, A husky voice says. Y/n looked up to see Steve’s eyes opening and smiling at her. “Morning.”, Y/n smiles back. A bunch of feelings hitting her. A warm happy feeling. One of being complete. Steve turned to look at the time. He turned back to Y/n , pulling her into him. “We have maybe 10 minutes.”, he says as he moves her to her back , kissing her. Y/n moaned into the kiss. Melting into him. Her hands moved from resting on his chest up and into his hair. Keeping him on her. Loving the feeling of his lips and never wanting him to stop kissing her. But the sound of the bedroom door open caused them to pull a part. Steve sighed as his head dropped onto Y/n’s shoulder. She laughed softly. Counting running her fingers through his hair. She leaned down kissing his check. “Mommy! Daddy!”, A voice yells running to the bed. Steve rolled off Y/n as the small child climbed onto the bed. “Buddy, what are you doing up so early?”, Steve asked, helping him up. The little boy shrugged as he made his way to Y/n. Snuggling into her. “Clearly he needed mommy cuddles, right baby?”, Y/n pulls him closer kissing his head. Which was a head full of blond hair. Being his fathers mini me. He nodded looking up at her. “But he interrupted my cuddle!”, Steve pouts. Y/n giggles , shaking her head at him, “Well if you were as cute as Grant , maybe you would have gotten some.”. Steve gasped as his hand went over his chest , acting hurt. Grant giggled watching his father. Steve snapped his eyes at him. “Oh, you think that’s funny?”. Grant nodded , giggling. Steve smirked as he reached over tickling him. He giggled harder and started kicking trying to get away from his father. Y/n’s hand shot to her stomach. Feeling the small bump. “Boy’s!”, Y/n warned. “Careful bud. You kicked sissy.” , Steve said. Stopping his attack on his son and turning to her stomach. Resting a hand over it. “Sorry Mommy. Sorry Sissy.” , Grant said moving to kiss her stomach. “It’s okay baby. You just have to be more careful next time okay?”, Y/n pulls him back up to hug him. He nods wrapping his small arms around her neck hugging her. Steve smiled as he watched them. Grant looks towards his father. Holding his hand out to pull him into the embrace too. Steve kissed his head, wrapping his arm around Grant and Y/n pulling them closer. Y/n smiled as her boys embraced her. Her eyes began to feel heavy again. As her boys snuggle closer , she lets sleep take her over. 

Y/n jumps awake. She looks around seeing that she was in the guest room. She looked over to see Steve gone from where he was sitting with her. Sounds from downstairs catch her attention. She moves the bedding sitting up and puts the boot back on to her feet. She then makes her way down stairs following the noise and delicious smells of something to the kitchen. Y/n stops in the entry watching Steve move around cooking something. She takes a seat at the table watching him cook. Thinking over the dream she had. A smile made its way onto her face. This felt like those stories she used to read. The ones talking about how when you found the one you just knew. Y/n just knew. Steve was the one.

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Part 2 of the Pup story. I’m really loving how this is coming out and I hope you guys are too! If you want to be tagged in the next part leave a comment or message me and I’ll add you. Also if you have an questions and want more info on something you can ask for it and I’ll answer or wright a little piece for it. -MM

Tags:

@woodworthti666   @chrisevanisliterallysir   @sukeraa  @bxnnywriting

[straykidsworldwild]

Duskwood

Phil Hawkins x MC

Part 1 : MC is having a horrible, horrible day and she goes to the Aurora to have a drink.

(⚠️Sad. Some swearing ⚠️)

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Heyy guys!! Here's a little Phil Hawkins one shot part 1 because there's not enough Duskwood imagines 🙈

(pictures aren't mines but I made the collage and the character aren't mines. All rights go to Duskwood creators and owners of the pics.)

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My day was total crap... I don't believe I've had such a horrible day before. Or at least, not for a long time... It feels like everything is falling apart little by little. Like nothing is meant to go normally. I woke up like any other day, and yet, it feels like I woke up in a chaotic world where everything is meant to go wrong... Since that call, everything is going downhill...

The night has fallen which means I have officially done my day. It felt like forever... Like I am in an endless loop... And since I was meant to do the closing, my day felt even longer than usual. I just finished cleaning the little restaurant I worked at and closed it. It's not a job I would want to do my whole life, even though it is nice to work in a restaurant, but I need money to pay for my college study. My mom is helping pay for them, but I'm trying to pay as much as I can on my own. Anyway... I am walking in the streets of Duskwood which are beamed by the streetlights. It is surprisingly emptier than usual. I guess it's due to the rain... Like my day wasn't cloudy enough already... I think I need a break... Yeah... I need a drink...

I walk toward a familiar building, some greenish-blueish light lightening the area. Aurora... The famous bar of Duskwood owned by my best friend's brother. I've rarely been there alone... Usually I go with the rest of the group. But I really need... Ugh... Maybe I should just go home? Isn't it too late to go there anyway? Ugh... I'm asking myself too many questions. I guess a drink really won't hurt. I reach the door before falling face to face with a sign. CLOSED. Great... I sigh disappointed as I am standing under the rain. Oh... But he is still here. Through the window, I can see a familiar figure cleaning the place. Oh well, I'm neither here nor there... I lift my hand and knock on the door of the bar. The man turned around as I got his attention. I cross my arms over my chest and notice that the rain has already soaked my hair and my vest. I must look awful... The man comes up to the door and opens it for me.

- Gorgeous! Come in before you catch a cold, tells me, the man, using that nickname he always does. I don't know why he does it... I never heard him calling other girls like this. Well, he does use pet names but not this specific one. I step in the bar and he closes the door behind me. You know I love you very much but I'm about to close so... He begins to tell me with his famous smirk despite the little fatigue I can see on his face. His hair is held up in a bun as he usually does when he works. He is wearing a white shirt, letting his huge tattoo on his neck appear, and a black trousers. By the sight of his eyes, I can tell he had a long day too...

- I just need one drink, Phil, I simply answer to my friend. My voice sounded so... Tired and flat. Phil looks at me with a slight surprise, losing slowly his smile. I guess the sound of my voice surprised him. Please... I plead to him with the same tone.

- I would never say "no" to my favorite customer, would I? He answers with a smirk. I faintly smile back at him, happy that finally something goes well. For now... He could have said "no". The two of us walk over to the bar and I sit on a stool while he goes behind the counter. We're alone in the bar since he was about to close so it's pretty quiet. The usual I guess, he tells me with his deep and calm voice.

- Actually... Whiskey. Pure, I reply, stopping him in his momentum. Phil looks back at me for a second, processing my words.

- Wow, I knew you had that wild part in you, Gorgeous, but I didn't think I would ever see it, he tells me with a surprised tone again. Yet, he doesn't seem to dislike it. Phil gets two glasses and he pours a little bit of the beverage in the glasses.

- A little more, please... I tell him with the same flat and tired voice. I stop myself from letting a long sigh out. Again, I feel his eyes burning me before he pours a little more alcohol. Thanks, I thank him.

- On the house, he tells me, leaning against the counter as he raises his glass. I was about to retort but he gave me a look, telling me he won't change his mind.

- Double thanks, I thank him again, clinking my glass with him before taking a sip. Argh... That tastes awful! I can feel the liquid burning my throat.

- So... I know I act like I am very happy to see you, which is the case, don't get me wrong, Gorgeous, he begins to tell me before rapidly correcting himself. But I also see that you're not fine, MC, Oh... I look down as I take a deep breath in. It must not be very hard to see I had a bad day then... Usually I can hide it pretty well... But right now. It's too deep, too much. I'm not even sure "bad" is a strong enough word to describe how crappy my day was. What's wrong? He asks me, sounding calm, gentle and interested, yet, with a point of concern.

- I'm okay, Phil, I softly respond to my friend while slowly shaking my head negatively.

- Mmh... This "I'm okay" sounded more like a "I'm-not-okay-but-I-am-putting-a-brave-face-on". Like a hidden call for help, he tells me gently, yet, seriously. His deep voice is just so... Irresistible, and always so calm. Who could resist it? Well... I guess at this moment I can. My mind is too bothered and busy right now. I crack a very faint smile before looking down at my glass again. I take a sip of it and lightly grimace to the taste of the drink. Who hurt you? He asks me seriously as he takes a cigarette and the lighter. Who… Why someone and not something?

- It's not about me, I respond in a whisper, lying to him. I hate talking about myself when I'm down. I don't want to bother people with my problems... I don't want to be the one to bring negative vibes. Oh no... I turn lightly my head to the side as I feel the tears coming up. I need a break... I need to break.

- Lie, he simply says. I don't look at him and I don't contradict him either. What happened? He asks again with seriousness, not letting this subject aside. I don't answer again. I can feel a lump in my throat. The tears are thick in my eyes and threatening to fall at any time now. MC, talk to me. I'm not here to judge you or... I hide my face even more as I can't stop myself from grimacing sadly. I can't take it... I let a sob out accidentally as if my body is talking for myself. I want to scream. But I can't... MC... He calls me with concern. Phil puts down his cigarette and walks around the counter to join my sides. I don't move and keep my back to him. I hate when people see me crying... Phil puts his hand on my shoulder so I could face him but I push it away, not too harshly, but not too gently either. I let another sob out as I closed my eyes. The tears are so thick and warm... There's so much emotion in them. They roll down my cheeks regularly, evacuating my pain. Without saying a word, I feel a pair of arms holding me. A chest lays against my back. My hair was all wet... His shirt must be wet too by now. It's okay, MC, I hear him whispering. I should push him away. I know how Phil is with girls... Isn't it too easy to cry in front of him and him then being too nice? I know he is my friend and my best friend's brother, but... God, I'm lost. Usually I go to Jessy or I call her. But I came here... Why? Ugh...

- I'm sorry... I whisper shakily through my sobs. I came for a drink and I ended up breaking in front of him...

- No, it's okay. Get it out, he says with a comforting and calm tone. It actually sounds weird coming from him... I know Phil for a few years and he was never like this. I mean, he is always calm but caring like this? That's rare... More than rare. Long minutes later, I slowly calm down. I am still breathing lightly shakily but I'm not sobbing anymore. Only a few tears here and there stream down my eyes. I take a deep breath in and out before wiping my cheeks. I don't remember when was the last time I cried this much... It hurts. It hurts so much. I accumulated too much. I didn't break when mom told me about my uncle's death… I guess I didn't realize what was real and happening at the moment… Or I didn't want to believe it… That built up on my nerves and… This is the result. Slowly, I pull myself away from Phil who didn't let go of me one second. I turn around to face him, but avoid his eyes. Like I thought, the top of his shirt is all wet, letting his tattoos appear a little more on his chest. I'm still confused about what just happened... That's not me to cry in front of people like this... And that's definitely not the Phil I know. Tell me what's wrong, Gorgeous, he says seriously, still wanting to know what got me in such a state. He never gives up...

- Everything, I answer back, my voice lightly breaking. I wipe my cheeks again as I clear my throat. To begin with, when I woke up this morning, I learned that my uncle had passed away during the night. He drove a truck from a country to another and... I explain to him, confessing the terrible news that started this awful day of mine. However, I couldn't bring myself to finish my sentence. I bring my hand over my heart and press on it as if it would take the pain away. Since the call... Just saying those words hurts just as much as saying them in my head. If not more...

- I'm sorry to hear that, he apologizes sincerely.

- Me too... Thanks... But that's not it, I thank him with a sad tone before lightly sniffling. After receiving my mom's call to tell me this awful news, I went to work today because I couldn't stay home. I needed to get my mind busy and to... Not think about the incident, I confess as I feel a new tear rolling down my cheek. My uncle and I were close, you know? He kind of raised me with my mom since my dad left her when she told him about me, I admit to the boy. I watch Phil frowning as he discovers a part of my life that I don't usually bring up. Why am I telling him all of this? It's not like he cares anyway... Does he? Anyway, to continue this unpleasant day, I had the pleasure to meet very unpleasant and rude customers all day long. Like this one call wasn't enough already... One of the customers said that they didn't want me as their waitress because I've got curves, some others telling me I was too long when in reality I just walked away from their table, a couple literally told me I gave them the wrong command and threw their drinks at me, and another one insulted me because there wasn't anymore sandwich like he wanted, I tell him all of this in just one single breath. Yet, you could hear how tired and hurt I am right now. I guess the death of my uncle adding this unnecessary crap was just too much at once. And to add more, my boss is cutting half my pay off because I accidentally broke a cup... A damn cup! Can this day get any worse? I finish to say as I look away, letting a heavy and shaky sight out as another tear rolls down my face. My hand is still over my heart as if I am protecting it all while trying to reject all negative emotions. Suddenly, two fingers softly come grabbing my chin and force me to lift my head up.

- Your boss is a dick, MC. Always have been, always will be, he tells me, the sound of those words sounding familiar. How many times did he already say this to me? I stopped counting... But I should listen, he is right. And f**k those customers. They're not happy? Tell them to go to another restaurant, he responds seriously. His deep voice sounds so calm despite the upset look he has on his face. Am I upsetting him or is he upset because of what happened to me today?

- Right, I kind of need to keep my job despite everything. But you can go tell them that, I respond with a small scoff, yet, trying to use sarcasm.

- Sure, give me names and faces and I'll find them, he replies playfully, yet a point of seriousness heard in his voice. I smile to his answer, appreciating his concern and protectiveness. Though, I never thought it would ever happen one day. Phil is... Not the last person I'd go to to talk but definitely not the first one either... Usually. I look away again and lightly sniffle. Phil wipes some of my tears away. His hands are so soft... It's weird. I've never seen you cry before, he whispers. I look back up at him, watching him slightly frowning. That's true... Not sure a lot of people saw me crying before either... Not even Jessy. I weakly nod before shrugging.

- How does it feel to watch a girl crying in front of you? I reply slightly playfully. Jessy's brother grabs something on the other side of the counter before handing it to me. Tissues... I take them from his hand, thanking him.

- It's painful. When it's you... It's different... Painful, he responds, taking his cigarette again. Oh... I wasn't waiting for an answer like this one. I was waiting for him to say "Can you just stop thinking for a moment?" Or "Stop crying over so little"... But none of that. I watch Phil blowing some smoke, making sure it doesn't go in my face.

- Is the womanizer Phillip Hawkins starting to be an emotional guy? I question him with a playful tone, cracking a smile. I think it's the first time today that I cracked a smile. A real one, I mean.

- No, he's the same dick, he answers, shaking his head left to right while chuckling. Oh... Of course. That would have been too surreal. I'm not going to lie, Phil is a good looking guy. His long hair, his tattoos looking so cool, his piercing, the way he dresses, his voice,... Just the way he is is attractive. The sound of his chuckle runs through my body.

- He admits it, I reply as I feel myself smiling more and more as the tears are coming to a stop. Prove it, I tell him with a daring tone. Phil leans against the counter, smirking.

- Wanna stay with me, tonight? At my place. The bed is comfy and big enough for us two, he proposes seriously to me, a point of flirt in his voice. I know he is being serious. I can hear it in his voice. And that look of his... I know girls don't refuse him generally. But I'm not them. And I don't want to end up in his bed just for one night and then nothing. That's not me... That's not who I am. That's not what I want. He can be incredibly good looking and just be his amazing self, I'll still refuse.

- I don't do one night stands, Phil, I remind him seriously.

- I know... He replies, a slight hidden note of his tone telling me he is disappointed. It's no secret that Phil has been liking me for a while. He has tried to ask me a few times before but I declined them all for... Obvious reasons. Let's do two then, he suddenly says, half joking, half serious.

- Phil! I exclaim as I chuckle.

- It's okay. I'll accept even three nights. Or more. I won't mind, Gorgeous, he continues to say, but I can tell he is joking this time. I softly laugh while shaking my head. There's that smile I love, he states, sounding satisfied with himself for making me smile. Honestly, Gorgeous, don't mind those idiots. Don't let them get to you, he advises me seriously as he finishes his whiskey.

- I don't usually. But I thought going to work was going to help me forget that awful news for a moment. I went there hoping to clear my head. I guess it was just too much today and I needed to break. Sorry it had to be you watching me like this, I answer and apologize to the boy as I take a sip of my drink. Ugh... It's the last time I take Whiskey... I lightly grimace and put the glass down.

- I'm not. If you ever have a bad day again and feel the need to talk, don't hesitate knocking on my door. Even if it's closed. It's always open for you, he tells me seriously and sincerely. Honestly, I haven't met that guy before... Where's the Phil I know?

- Thanks, Phil, I thank him before stepping down the stool. I step up twice and take him in my arms. The man envelops me back in a warm embrace, running softly his hand on my back. I pull my head away and place a kiss on his cheek as a thank you. And before you think of anything spicy, that kiss on the cheek is the farthest you'll ever have, I rapidly tell him, a point of warning in my voice, yet, using a playful tone.

- You're definitely killing me with kindness, MC. My poor heart pays dearly, he tells me with a frustrated tone before I watch him taking my glass of Whiskey. Oh... He winks and takes a sip from it. Oh yeah, drink that thing... I don't like it anyway. And I think he noticed it...

- Moh, maybe one of those girls coming here could put a bandage on it to heal it, I say with some sarcasm, yet, with some dislike heard into it. I always hated that those girls could "help" him... I mean, what do they have? What does he see in them? Before anything said, no, I'm not jealous... I just don't like him with other girls...

- They could. But will it be worth it? He answers while nodding before taking his cigarette and blowing so smoke away.

- You tell me. You're the one who can't resist "beautiful women", I reply to the man, stating his own words. Phil smiles and chuckles lightly to my comment.

- They can definitely help at a low point, he answers, agreeing. Right... Wait, at a low point?

- At a low point? What do you mean? I ask him with a confused tone.

- I can sleep with every woman that wants me. But, in the end, it will never mean anything like... Like when you're with me, he suddenly tells me, lowering his head lightly. His smile disappeared, showing seriousness. Did I hear him right? Did he just say those words? I stare at the man, confused and speechless. Me? Why...? Since when...? Ugh... He had a few drinks today, didn't he? Phil looks back up at me, but his eyes give a quick look at my lips.

- I'm sorry. I'm trying but... Are those words really coming from you or... Did you have any drinks before? I demand him seriously, yet, with a playful tone to keep a cool atmosphere. Arguing with him is the last thing I want. Phil cracks a smile but it doesn't stay long.

- I know I play a lot around with different girls. I know what you think of me. I'm a f**k boy. And I know I tried several times to get a night with you. But... It's not just a night that I want and you don't seem to see that, he replies, not denying who he is but also kind of reproaching me to not open my eyes about him. Well… How could I? If he doesn't tell me, I only see things the way I see them... I nod positively before looking down. Why do I feel a little sorry suddenly? I shouldn't... There's something different with you, MC. You're different. From all the others. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to dirty you. I don't want to play with you. I don't want to break you, he tells me gently and seriously. I slowly look back up at him and notice how close he is to me. Was he that close to me before? I can feel my heart beating like crazy down my chest. It's wrong... It feels right, but it's wrong. I know it...

- Phil... I gently whisper his name as I a look down again.

- I love you, MC, he interrupts me with his calm and deep voice. What...? I stare at him with wide eyes, surprised by the words I just heard. I didn't even know he knew how to say them… Especially while sounding sincere. He meant those words. I love you like I have never loved a woman before. And I'm not talking about loving the "pretty woman" that you are. No, I mean... He sighs. You're pretty. You're more than pretty. You're prettier than all of those girls and I am not talking just about the way you look. I just... Again, I hear Phil sighing. Despite the fast that he stays calm, I can sense some nervousness coming from him which is unusual. Phil is never nervous, especially around a woman. He is the exact opposite actually. He is pretty confident about himself. He talks easily, flirts easily… You're not a price I want to win or a pride to have f**ked in bed. You have this thing that the others don't have. You're special, he says with the same calm and slight nervous tone. Phil looks straight before him as he blows some smoke. Special... He noticed this little thing in me, which I didn't know I had…

- You really noticed that small thing in me? Because, honestly, I'm everything but special. I can assure you, I demand and tell him with a point of shiness. Wow... I didn't think I would have sounded so shy all of a sudden...

- I told you. I love you. And you know those words don't come out of my mouth easily. Actually, I don't think I ever said them to someone before, he replies seriously and gently before taking a last blow and putting out his cigarette. I stare at him, not really knowing how to react. I mean, of course it does make me feel something. There's... There are those butterflies flying in my belly. My heart is racing and my cheeks feel a little warm... Maybe a little more than a little, actually. I know I feel something for him. I can't deny it… But there's still things in the way...

- Honestly, I'm discovering another man right now. Why don't you show this side of yours to people? Pride? Male ego? I demand him with a small confused tone, yet curious.

- I am who I am, he simply answers.

- Mmh... Well, I like this Phil better, I answer him as I crack a smile. Phil looks at me and his serious face turns into a smiling one again.

- So, would you go out one night? Or during a lunch break? He proposes to me, hope heard in his voice. Oh... Well... I know your days are long and I work at night too so it'll be short but... He tells me gently, reminding us of our busy lives. Right, there's not a lot of moments where we can meet… But do I want to meet him like this? I mean, yes, I want to but… Do I want to get in something like this? In an uncertain relationship where I'll fear he goes to see someone else to distract himself from me? Despite this side of him, he is still Phil in the end...

- If you do this to only get me in your bed... I whisper, interrupting him. I hope it's not a plan of his to get me in his bed... That'll be the worst thing he could do... Especially as being my friend first...

- I do this to win your heart. As cheesy as it sounded... Nothing more, he tells me seriously, staring into my eyes. Speechless, I stare at him as well. For once in my life, I just want to do right. Especially with you… For you… Because of you... But it's only if you want to, he responds sincerely to me, looking serious. It's actually a little disturbing. Phil has always had respect for everyone, including me. He always respected that I didn't want a one time thing… What changed?

- I don't know, I whisper, confused by the situation. It's not that I don't want to be with him nor that I don't like him. On the contrary. I love Phil. But... There's few things in the way...

- Because of my past with women? He asks me, sounding really confused that I won't accept. I'm certainly the only woman telling him "no". Especially after a few tries.

- Yes... And because of my insecure self. Look at you and look at me. You own an amazing bar, I work as a waitress with a crappy boss. You look cool and get well and easily along with people, I look like that discreet and shy girl who is nothing more than being awkward. And you're my best friend's brother. And there's the age gap, which is the least that bothers me, I tell him everything that I thought on why I don't say "yes" to him. I mean... I think he can understand where I'm coming from. I hope... I don't want to lose a friend, in a way, just because of that...

- You're perfect the way you are, MC. Nobody will take that thought out of my mind, he states seriously. I notice how his eyes are alternating from my own to my lips. They keep going up and down. He seems eager...

- Right... You said it, not me, I say with a disbelieving tone, yet a playful one while I giggle. A small smile comes on my face which keeps growing more and more. I'm not going to lie, but hearing him saying those words do something inside me.

- And I believe it, he says while nodding. He does... I stare at him for a moment, the two of us plunge into a deep silence. It's not awkward... It's intense, but not awkward. I'm just so not confident with myself. What if he is playing me? And what if he is not? Ugh… I should let go sometimes... Really... I could open doors I didn't even think I had the key of.

- Tomorrow. Meet me for lunch if you're free. We can start there to see how it goes, I propose to the man which, I notice, makes him smile instantly.

- Is it a date? He asks with a smirk. Well...

- I'm not sure... Maybe... We'll see, I reply unsure, yet, smirking back at him. Yes, I'm entering his game easily... Was it right? Though, we could hear this point of shyness in my voice.

- Will I get to finally kiss you? He then asks, slowly getting even more closer to me. Oh... I can feel my heart racing a little more, hearing it beat in my ears. He's making me so nervous… Kiss me… Is that all he wants?

- Phil... I whisper his name, annoyed, as I lightly title my head on the side.

- What? I showed you a part of me, doesn't mean the other one is gone, he answers with a not so innocent tone, still smirking at me. I keep staring at him a little annoyed despite the amused smile on my face. Alright, just lunch, he says, agreeing. I nod back positively. And a hug? He rapidly asks.

- A hug? I ask, surprised and confused. Phil winks at me. I can see he is waiting for an actual answer. Oh well... Sure. Whatever. I've got to go home. It's getting late, I agree before standing up from the stool. I didn't think but, when I stood up, my face got so close to his. At this moment, when my eyes met his, it was as if the time had stopped for a second. Slow motion. It was like I couldn't remember what reality looked like. I feel my cheeks starting to burn before I look down to hide my certainly blushing face from him. Why did I have to happen to have a crush on him? Why him? Why does he make me feel this way? I clear my throat quietly and start walking towards the door.

- Be careful on your way home. Tell me once you're there, he tells me as he follows me behind.

- I will, I reply. I was about to open the door when his hand grabbed the handle first. My fingers brushed his. I retrieve my hand and let him open the door for me. Still with my cheek lightly burning from previously, I manage to cross sight with his eyes and smile at him. Thanks for the night, the drink, holding me when I cried, and for listening to me, Phil, I thank him sincerely as I weakly nod to the man.

- You're very welcome, Gorgeous, he responds with his deep and calm voice while smiling back at him. That damn smile... Goodnight, MC, he wishes me softly.

- Goodnight, Phil, I wish him back. The two of us exchange one last look and smile before I walk out of his bar. I put my hands in my pockets and walk home.

I'm not sure what exactly happened there... I went to the bar to have a drink to relax and take my mind off and I ended up with Phil holding me when I broke down and accepting to have lunch together. Will it be a date? Will it actually go somewhere? Was he being serious? So many questions burning my mind... I will see how tomorrow goes. I'll have so much to do tomorrow, anyway... Mom is certainly going to call me for the funerals, my work is going to be tiring as always, and the lunch with Phil... I wonder what Jessy will say if she knew that her brother and I are going on a... Lunch? Date? Whatever it's called... Will she be okay with... What we're doing? Will she mind if I go out with her brother? Ugh, why do I already think of things like this? I'm not there yet... Anyway... I think I just need some sleep right now, nothing more. If I manage to actually fall asleep once I'll be home and in my bed… It promises to be a long night...