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justkending · 6 months ago

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Mr. & Mrs. Hunt (Chapter 4/7)

Mini-Series Summary: Two of the most stubborn people in the group partnered together for an undercover mission are also the two people with the most hatred for each other, so what could go wrong? Or is it, what COULDN’T go wrong?…

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger Reader

Word Count: 3900+

A/N Note: Only a few more chapters to go (I think, but we're both lost on how long this series will be.) Thank you guys for reading and as always, thank you for the love and support!

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Chapter 4:

Y/N's POV

It wasn’t him. It was 100% me. I did this to myself. I built a wall so quickly around him because I didn’t want to like the man behind my misery.

My teammates knew enough about my backstory to think they had an idea of my reason for joining SHIELD: helping the little guy because, at one point, you were the little guy—the manipulated guy—the one who no one saved, so you had to save yourself—and now anyone else who can’t do it for themselves.

Yet, there were so many other things I kept for myself, and things files couldn’t tell you. No files existed of them, and I’m glad because I didn’t want the pity.

James Buchanan Barnes was the reason behind my abuse. Not personally, but my abuser was obsessed with his accomplishments under the German and Russian terrorist organizations and wanted to make a female, more skilled, discrete, and sleeker version of the Winter Soldier.

Who fucking didn’t, right? God, every goddamn evil bastard on this godforsaken shit show of a planet wants to remake something that was a once in a lifetime kind of thing and crack more than a few eggs to get to that point. Selfish asshole…

Being constantly compared to him and then beaten for not hitting the unreachable mark of the man I was ‘of no comparison to’ after years of trying to hit that standard, and then being asked to be on a team with him? A lot of emotions hit me like a train when I got that news.

Will I amount to being the trained spy and agent I am for Shield with him by my side? Will he make me look like a completely pointless addition to the team? After five years of already working with the Avengers and then learning who the Winter Solider was? Steve’s best friend and probably the only person he could relate to in their journey? All the way to having to work with him… The change-up was instantaneous, where I would have begged for baby steps.

Then again, when has the world made it easy for me?

So yes. I was an ass and kept him further than arm's length away to stay safe from learning that he was a good guy when I wasn’t ready to like him yet. I had a lot of trauma I never thought I’d have to work through with the infamous man himself, and that irritation and annoyance just continued when he finally matched my energy, and we never strayed from that relationship until… now.

And here he was, genuinely asking what HE did wrong when I was the reason for our enemies’ plot line.

“Bucky, I don’t think I can talk about this right now,” I breathed out slowly, feeling the tears prick in my eyes.

It had been a minute since I cried and felt this vulnerable, and I couldn’t seem to stop it. I think subconsciously, I didn’t want to stop it, but my mind was begging my body to hold out until he was out of the room.

“Y/N, if I did something to you, I didn’t realize-”

“You wouldn’t have known,” I whisper, not trusting my voice to stay steady, but also not wanting to put anymore of the blame on him from here on out.

He wasn’t a bad guy.

He had proved himself time and time again to be a really good guy. Even when he broke and decided he hated me back, he still had his moments when he put it aside and showed chivalry. I admired him for it even when I ignored the admiration.

Makes it hard to fully hate a guy who made sure ladies weren’t opening any doors for themselves. Or a man who remembered Morgan’s birthday and bought her an ice cream cake before stealing Steve’s shield to sled down a hill her dad told her not to. Or a man you treat like absolute shit 99% of the time, and he still checks on you when you have nightmares, and he grabs water and an ice pack and helps you even out your breathing before waiting for you to go back to sleep.

I didn’t ask him for the help, and he never mentioned the handful of times he fell into the routine of soothing me back to sleep. Never brought it up, never made me feel like I owed him, and never hinted at remembering such kindness.

But now?

“You wouldn’t have known why it started this way to begin with. And you likely won’t,” I sigh, breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth before turning around; a lot more put together, even if it was just a mask I had learned to put on most of my life.

“I don’t understand,” Bucky furrowed his eyebrows at my disposition.

“I don’t expect you to, but maybe we should go to sleep and talk about it later. It’s getting late, and you have to go to your ‘job’ tomorrow,” I say with hand quotes. “We have to keep the ruse going.”

“A few hours of sleep doesn’t affect me,” Bucky shook his head, and I could see him itching to put his hands back on me, but he held back. “Please. I need to know what the hell I did.”

“Again, Bucky,” I say sternly this time, all emotion I’m struggling to keep at bay shoved down. “You are not at fault, and tomorrow I’ll talk to you, but for now, I need to sleep on it.”

He read my face for lies, and I kept it neutral. I wasn’t going to break here. Now was not the time. I needed space to think about how I was going to approach this after so long of avoiding it and being put on the spot wasn’t going to work for me.

“Ok,” he said, softer than I think I ever heard him talk. His eyes were soft and sensitive, and I didn’t know how I felt about it…

He turned and walked out of my room, gently shutting the door behind him and turning off the overhead light he had originally flashed on.

I didn’t instantly head straight to bed. I stared at the doorway in the dark, seeing the faint silhouette of the barrier between us. He was still on the other side, and I could hear his heart rate higher than normal.

This was affecting him more than I thought it would. Why was he so worried about what I thought of him? He didn’t seem bothered by my disinterest in the past. Or at least I didn’t figure he did.

____________________

When I woke up, Bucky was already gone. His truck, normally in the driveway, was missing, and I knew he had taken off for our mission report.

Thankful, I took the time to make my coffee, sit on the front porch, and watch the neighborhood take on its morning routine.

People were on runs with their family dogs, moms were doing their morning walks with strollers, some neighbors were out already tending to their gardens, and everything suburban seemed to be on track.

Towards the end of my cup, I notice Ms. Bauer coming back from her jog she must have taken earlier than the others.

“Oh, hello, neighbor!” she shouted when she spotted me, uniformly checking our house like her head was on a swivel if she heard a pen drop in it.

Still in her jog, she sashayed over to my lawn, and I mumbled, “Here we go,” smiling at her as she followed the sidewalk to our steps.

“How are you doing today, Bethanne?” I grin standing from my patio chair and going down the steps to meet her at the bottom of the flight. “Is there a run club I didn’t know about? You’re the 10th person I’ve seen getting a head start on their steps for the day.”

She laughed and waved a hand at me before taking an earbud out, pausing her music on her watch, and placing her hands on her hips as she looked up at me.

“There is actually a mommy and me walking club on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Depending on the weather, of course, but who knows,” she grinned up at me. “Maybe you can be joining it sooner than you thought.”

“Maybe not as soon as you think,” I laughed, holding my mug tighter with both hands so I wouldn’t strangle her instead and leaning on the banister. “We wanted at least a year in the house by ourselves before we add another set of feet to the chaos,” I scrunch my nose and add, “but I’m excited for the day Beau and I have a mini-version of us running around here.”

“Speaking of Beau,” she grins, looking to the driveway. “Where is he today? He’s usually home with you most of the time, right?”

“Oh, it was time for him to get back to work. He took off for a few weeks to get moved in and spend time with me before we had to get back to the real world,” I answer as planned.

“That’s right. I think I remember you guys talking about that at the first block party,” she nodded, watching me carefully for slip-ups. “Can you believe it’s only been two weeks of you guys here? I feel like you two have been a part of the community for at least a year.”

“You’re sweet,” I gush convincingly and look out to the neighborhood for effect. “You guys have really taken us in as your family, and you don’t know how much I appreciate it. We appreciate it,” I correct and look off in the distance like I’m thinking of my sweet, doting husband when, in reality, I was thinking of the day this mission was over and I could carry on with my normal life. “I don’t think I’ve mentioned this. Beau isn’t one to really talk about it, but his family life wasn’t the best. They’ve practically been strangers since he turned 18.”

“Oh, is that so?” she inched up, feeding on the new (fake) information.

I nod. “When we started dating, my family took him in as his own- well, I only had my dad around for most of my life, but they got along really well. He passed three years ago,” I give a tight-lipped look as I look down at my feet in sadness. “They developed a bond, which wasn’t hard considering who my dad was. He was the best, though we might be biased in thinking that. Taught Beau how to do a lot of things dads are supposed to teach their sons. Well,” I sniffle for added effect. “Anyway, we’re kinda on our own now. No extended family we’re close with, and with my dad’s passing, it’s really just us. So when I say we’re grateful for y’all’s hospitality, I mean it.”

She seemed to buy it, as much as an undercover convict could, and smiled kindly up at me before placing a hand on my arm.

“Of course, sweetheart. We’re just lucky you two are some of the good ones. You’d be surprised who’s come in and hasn’t made the cut. Lawns in disarray, unfriendly attitudes, and you know the list,” she winks and rolls her shoulders back before stretching in her spot. “Speaking of being lovely neighbors, how would you and Beau feel about a dinner at our house? Reggie and I have been talking about having you over for quite some time now, and I think we can finally host.” Before I could ask, she stopped me and explained. “Kitchen renovation. It was and still is a pain in my ass, but it should be doable for a small dinner.”

“That sounds lovely,” I beam as much as I could act. It was the perfect next step, and the bait had been taken, but a part of me wanted to settle things with Bucky in our personal dispute before we put on our masks for the two main perpetrators. “Let me check with him and see what his schedule will look like now. He’s getting some new orders today, and some things are changing in the company. We’ll know more tonight. But we will for sure make it work.”

___________

After Bethanne told me some useless neighborhood gossip, she excused herself, and I went back inside to get ready for the day and consider how I would approach Bucky on our issue.

I knew it was time to be truthful, even if I dreaded it. Bucky had proven time and time again that he wasn’t the enemy, and I needed to deal with my issues. I was tired of wasting energy on hatred and anger, and these last two weeks proved that Bucky wasn’t the one who should have been receiving the blunt force end of my trauma.

I had until four in the evening to come up with an idea of how I wanted to go about it, but I had stress cleaned instead and couldn’t come up with a non-terrifying way to approach this life-changing conversation.

Finally, I found it best we get dinner in the town over (as not to have any peaking eyes or eavesdropping ears as we dive into my life story I hadn’t indulged to near anyone before), and I would talk to Bucky there. However, plans changed when Bucky came home.

From my spot in the kitchen, I heard him shout in his domesticated voice across the street, “No, that sounds perfect! We’d love to!” The door opened just as he finished his sentence, and his voice became clearer.

I moved around the island and slowly walked toward the door to get a view of who he was talking to, and I noticed Bethanne at her mailbox waving to Bucky.

I furrowed my eyebrows at the obvious commitment he put us in, and after he waved back, he shut the door behind him, looking at me, and dropped the act quickly.

“What did you just agree to?” I asked, nodding my head behind him.

He looked me up and down, and I almost forgot I had picked a new, semi-fancier sundress for our “surprise anniversary dinner” (at least the front I was trying to put on for getting out of town without too much suspicion).

(Make whatever color you please or change it in your mind if you want! I'm choosing to pick it as a darker red.)

“You look nice,” he says as his eyes trail back up to my own, and I swear I see him take a gulp.

“What did you agree to?” I asked again, focused more on what he had decided for us regarding Bethanne.

His previous shocked face faded away, and he rolled his eyes slightly before throwing his work bag to the side.

“Bethanne invited us to dinner. I said yes because we need to build a relationship with them,” he replied stoically, as if my question was dumb and pointless.

I just stared at him and let my “personal vendetta” look rest on my face. He studied me and had the decency to shrink ever so slightly.

“What?”

“What happened to discussing things first?” I said in an eerily calm voice.

“I didn’t think accepting dinner at a home we’ve been trying to get inside of for the last two weeks is something we’d have to discuss.” And now he straightens up, throwing his empty arms to the side.

A few seconds later, I yelled, “You dipshit!” in a muffled grunt, keeping my voice down as much as I could handle and balling my fists in anger.

His eyebrows shoot up and he huffs with his chest puffed out as he marches to me. I see the intent in his eyes, and I start walking away towards the opposite room closest, needing a minute not to lose my shit, and if I have to look into his stupid azure eyes like he wants to read everything passing through my mind, I’ll break.

“Don’t walk away from me,” he growls, and I shoot him a look over my shoulder as I shift my pace and head down the hallway to the bedrooms. “Y/N, stop being a stubborn ass and-”

“Unless you want a heel thrown at your head, and you’re welcome for being civil about this, I suggest you leave me alone,” I shout behind me, turn sharply to the left, and go to my room.

“I don’t even know what THIS is! You looked at me like you wanted to kill me when I walked in, and I haven’t even talked to you today besides updates about work,” he said just as I slammed the door in his face. “Oh, real mature. Shut the door like an adolescent. Wait, I forgot. You are one…” He mumbles the last part and I hear him lean on the door.

Instantly, I whip the door open, and he doesn’t have time to predict his next move. He falls flat on his back on the wood floors of my room, only padded by a thin oriental rug I made Tony buy me.

He’s winded from the fall and clutches his chest as I bend down next to him and say, “I said. Leave. Me. The. Fuck. Alone.” I stare at him for a second, solidifying my threat. I stand to walk out and only give him a glance as I pass the doorway.

_____________

Bucky’s POV:

I left her the fuck alone.

I may have been royally pissed (that is a blatant ass understatement), but something about the look in Y/N’s eyes told me not to push unless I wanted to wake up with my head no longer attached to my body.

I was too scared to leave her room in fear I’d run into her when she wasn’t ready and risk taking the chances of the guillotine earlier, so I sat on her bed and tried to rack my brain to where I slipped up to cause whatever the hell I walked in to…

I knew almost instantly and realized what a stupid, simple mistake it was. Bethanne asking me to dinner set her off, I knew. But her comment about talking with each other before making decisions told me my mistake.

Something happened I didn’t know of, and I may have just fucked whatever it was up. As for what it is? No goddamn clue. But using context clues and just basic reading of the body language, Y/N had already made a plan, and I threw it out the window, likely.

I heard footsteps before I could think further, and Y/N appeared in the doorway, taking a deep breath. She would have convinced me she was going to be civil if it wasn’t for her history, but I was excited to see which lane she chose.

“One thing before I bite my tongue,” she says in almost a whisper, like she’s trying to keep her frustrations at bay. “You make me want to shave my head like Britney Spears in 2007 75% of the time. This moment was almost a tipping point for that kind of outcome..” She lets out a long breath like she passed the test of keeping it together.

Surprisingly a lot more tame than I was expecting.

“Glad you got that out of your system. Now, please tell me what the hell happened?” I asked, keeping my guard up in case she resorted to her typical insults and fury.

“Oh, now you want to communicate,” she mocks and walks to the bed, harshly sitting next to me but leaving a copious amount of space between us.

I let it slide because I know she’s fighting bigger demons, like the urge to insult me, until I personally dig my own grave and say goodbye to my cruel reality.

“Bethanne was goading us,” she answers, thankfully getting right to the point. “Something about her proposition seemed off, and I wanted to clear some things up with you before we jumped on the offer.”

I nodded my head, seeing that my instantaneous reply wasn’t thought out. That was on me, yes, but she also reacted extremely dramatically, expressing an odd feeling about the interaction instead of hard proof.

“What did she ask, and what was off about it?” I question, trying to stay mission based because something seemed off still.

“It wasn’t what it was but how she was asking. Something in her tone and the way she was looking at our house and me. Like she was trying to take in detail after detail up close. Checking for cracks in the foundation,” she answers and turns to me just slightly. “She also said her kitchen was under renovation, and something felt off about it.”

“The vibes about our neighbor getting a kitchen renovation made you knock the wind out of me when you opened your door?” I said before I could think, but I didn’t budge, my furrowed eyebrows aimed at her.

She matches my glare and turns her body fully to me.

“It seemed like an excuse,” she answers slowly.

“To what? Host a dinner? That’s kind of the opposite effect. Who would want to host a dinner when you have kitchen renovations? It means they trust us if they’re willing to let us see a house that’s not perfect like the front they put on.”

‘That’s what you get from it, but I think they just planted a little seed of their own.”

“What do you even mean?”

“Kitchen Reno? That’s an excuse to say, ‘Oh, Charlotte, I can’t cook the chicken pot pie I was going to make for you two because our new oven hasn’t been delivered and installed yet. You know? Because we have the kitchen under renovation? I completely forgot,’” She acted in a convincing Bethanne impersonation and then quickly turned back to serious.

“You got that from a kitchen reno comment?” I deadpanned after a minute.

“I got that from understanding women masterminds who know how to manipulate a situation. I am that woman, so I think I can read them pretty well,” she says confidently back.

Touché.

“And what if you’re wrong?” Her bitchface grew at my question.

“First off, I’m not. Second off, even if I was wrong, we are supposed to consult each other about accepting invitations into the house of our suspect enemies,” she ran a hand through her hair, which I notice now looks styled differently. Did she curl it or have it blown out? And yes, I know what a blowout is. I have women friends and coworkers.

Yeah… I was in the wrong here, and that’s on me. I wasn’t thinking. I also had a long day snooping around for more information about this whole operation, but it isn’t necessarily an excuse… It’s not like I haven’t worked on a case like this in the past. I mean, minus being fictitiously married to a coworker.

“I’m sorry,” I say, and she gives me a weird look. “What?”

“I wasn’t expecting an apology,” she says, standing slowly and straightening her dress.

“I know when to accept I made a mistake,” I shrug and stand as well.

She studies my face like there's a retort that’s going to follow, but I just stare at her silently, communicating that I’m set on my apology.

“Ok…” she drags out, watching me as she steps toward the door. “Well, I guess we need to get ready for tonight. Considering we have dinner. With our neighbors. And we need to set up bugs if possible.”

“Guess so,” I nod, crossing my arms.

She stops suddenly and looks at me with a look of realization. “You’re in my room.” She steps to the side, leaving room for me to leave, and avoids eye contact.

She’s still acting weird, but I need to change and get my head in the game for tonight, so I walk out with a subtle head nod as I leave.

Marvel Tags:

@thejourneyneverendsx @death-unbecomes-you @mythos-writes @srrymydood @xa-dia @redhairedfeistynerd @morganclaire4 @connie326 @captain-asguard @mollygetssherlockcoffee @teenagedreams-bucky @shower-me-with-roses @livstilinski @basicallylool @starryeyeseunbyul

My Lovelies Forever:

@natura1phenomenon @lauravicente @kakakatey @traceyaudette @notyourtypicalrose @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce @sandlee44 @thorne93 @thefaithfulwriter1 @essie1876 @greyeyedsmile14 @capsiclehan @xostephanie @averyrogers83 @awesomenursingstudent @gh0stgurl @cs-please @jjlevin @rainbowkisses31 @deannotmoose @their-bibliophile @kitkatd7 @willowbleedsonpaper @mariaenchanted @snffbeebee @couldabeenamermaid @rebekahdawkins @alyispunk @billyseye @hallecarey1

Bucky Barnes Tags:

@chloe-skywalker @charmedbysarge @jbarness @bellamy-barnes @katiaw2 @aikeia @stopjustlovethemcu @enchantedbarnes

Mr. & Mrs. Hunt Series:

@jackiehollanderr @mrs-bucky-barnes-73 @theroyalmanatee @wintrsoldrluvr @alexakeyloveloki @learisa @bxckybxrnes24 @lillianacristina @selella @heletsmelovehim

#bucky barnes x avenger reader insert #bucky barnes x reader insert #bucky barnes mini series #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x avenger reader #justkending #marvel #marvel mini series #bucky barnes #Bucky Barnes

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glitterguts13 · 2 months ago

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Dan Heng struggling in labor but he’s egg-bound? 👀 Just leaving that here

Honestly, I'm ashamed of myself for not thinking of this sooner!

This isn't supposed to be happening.

"Try to relax as much as you can." another cup of warm water is poured down his aching back while Himeko whispers gentle encouragements. The bathroom was small enough, but with five people crammed inside it was downright claustrophobic.

Eyes closed, a low, pained hum slipping from his throat, Dan Heng clings a little tighter onto Caelus, face buried into his neck.

This wasn't supposed to be happening.

He wasn't supposed to be able to have children, and he certainly wasn't supposed to be egg-bound of all things.

"How far are we from the nearest port?" Dan Heng finally pulls away, dark circles under his puffy, tear-stained eyes.

"Pom-Pom says a day and a half, at the least." March paces nervously right outside the bathroom door, chewing her lip.

"I'm not going to make it another day and a half-" A strangled moan catches in his chest, a soft sob bursting out as his swollen belly contracts around the stubborn egg once more.

"You're going to be just fine," Himeko asserts, "We'll figure this out."

"It's been three days!" voice cracking with emotion, Dan Heng finally feels himself breaking down, "It's not coming out...its stuck...I'm going to die, my baby is going to die with me-" his body locks up, a long, desperate wail filling the little bathroom.

Himeko and Welt share a look, the older man carefully hooking his arms under Dan Heng's and hauling him upright. The distressed dragon struggles weakly, barely able to stand on his trembling legs. A trickle of blood trails behind him as he's taken from the warmth of the tub to the cold sheets of a nearby room.

"Stop-stop...please..." he sobs, pride crushed to dust under his feet. The egg sat heavy in his hips, the rounded bottom barely peeking from his leaking hole.

"I'm sorry...I promise, it'll be over soon." being laid onto the bed, Caelus crawls beside of him, running his fingers through his soaking wet hair and smoothing it from his plaid face.

Himeko gives an order to March before shutting the door, and Welt positions himself next to the shivering dragon. Large hands cup the top of his swollen middle, and without warning, he presses down.

Eyes going wide, legs kicking out, Dan Heng screams.

"I'm sorry, I really am," Welt clenches his teeth, pressing down once more.

"Stop! Stop! You're going to break it-!" he screams again, the right ring of muscles starts to burn as the egg is forced lower.

"It's right there...it's stuck on your hips...if we could just get it past it will come right out."

"Just kill me!" the young man sobs.

"Take his legs, hold them back and far as you can." Himeko takes one side, Caelus on the other. Dan Heng finds he lacks the strength to protest, his hips burning wildly as his legs are pulled apart and back, framing his heaving belly.

"Push with me Dan Heng," Welt orders, his hands pressing down as Dan Heng's womb contracts once more. Teeth sinking into his lip, Dan Heng throws his head back, pushing with what little power his exhausted body still held.

All at once, he feels something crack, a pop, and his head is swimming, vision blurring to black.

"Shit."

"Fuck! Was that-"

"Enough, both of you." Himeko hisses, letting go of Dan Heng's leg and pulling him close to her chest.

"It's over...it's over now." she whispers. He sobs weakly, head falling back.

"The egg-"

"Is safe. You did it, you did so well." she smiles softly, allowing Caelus to bring the round, pearlescent object into Dan Heng's line of sight.

Lying him down, she quickly hurries to the bedroom door. Tired eyes closing, all he hears his her whispering frantically to March and Pom Pom to reach the next port quickly.

His hips had broken from the force, but the egg was safe and sound.

#mpreg #mpreg birth #honkai star rail #eggpreg #dan heng #himeko #march 7th #hsr caelus #welt yang

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beatrixstonehill2 · 5 months ago

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"Holy crap, I feel incredible! Only one month into the Stealth Detrans Challenge and I'm having a blast! Soooo happy my boyfriend convinced me to do this! For those who aren't keeping up, I met Darren about three months ago on Tinder and even on our first date he was gushing about this challenge and how he'd love to see me try it. I only giggled and nodded along, telling him I'll think about it..... sure enough only a couple months later I actually decided to give in! Seeing the other girls do it definitely helped, watching them gradually change and try, but fail to hide their masculinization. It seemed simple enough.... Stop my hormones, start taking testosterone instead, and see how long I can go before I can't hide that I'm detransitioning and becoming a guy. Most girls only last a few months before it's way too obvious....

I'm not sure if I'm even gonna last that long! My body knows what it wants and now that it's finally tasted T, it's like I'm being fast-tracked through male puberty! It's totally wild to watch. Since I started blockers and hormones so young I've never had, like, any T in my system. My hips grew big, my ass got nice and fat, and of course my breasts became huge and perfect for guys to play with. My cock never got bigger than an inch, but after a month on testosterone it's already six inches fully erect! I can finally jerk off! I could only rub it before. Not only that, but my balls are getting really big. They used to be tiny and useless, now they're as big as eggs, full of glorious cum! I ejaculate these huge, thick, milky ropes of cum, sometimes a dozen per orgasm, especially right when I wake up and relieve my morning wood, which can take three or four orgasms before my erections finally stop.

I'm already failing to hide my cock. I can hardly wear jeans or shorts because I get erections constantly. It's humiliating having to run to the women's room, make sure nobody's around, put some porn on my phone and jerk off in a stall really fast. I usually just watch something that gets me going fast, like pregnant college girls giving birth as they suck cock and get ass fucked. I've almost gotten caught a few times.... Now I even pee standing up so it's even more obvious that a guy is using the ladies' room. If the noise of me beating my cock wasn't obvious enough, watching porn like some hopeless gooner with zero impulse control.

I never used to watch porn, and I only masturbated a couple times a week. Now I jerk off over a dozen times a day, sometimes in my car when I'm out driving, or I'll even hide behind bushes or trees at the park and rub one out if my erections ache enough. How can other guys stand this? And to think my cock is only just starting its growth, most 'girls' who do this challenge wind up with cocks somewhere between ten and fifteen inches. I...... kind of love the idea of having a massive cock, showing everyone I'm a man no matter how much I doll myself up and train my voice..... speaking of which. Yes, my voice is just starting to crack! I am SO hyped! Pretty soon I'm going to need to voice train if I'm going to convince anyone I'm supposedly a girl. Already my friends and coworkers are looking at me funny when I talk. Some of them smirk when I open my mouth, as they go from eyeing the bulge in my shorts to my newly cracking voice. They can tell deep down what I'm secretly doing.

My bf is really happy I decided to do this challenge, but even more so that I'm detransitioning in general. He told me on our first date he's bi but prefers men. I shrugged and joked that if he's sure I could always be a guy if he really wants me to be. He definitely took me up on that offer! Pretty soon my facial hair will come in. My body hair is already getting thicker and coming in faster. I'm getting new hair up my belly and it's starting to grow on my breasts! It's looking like I'm meant to be a really hairy guy. Always knew I took more after my dad.... And speaking of my breasts, I've started telling my friends I'm thinking of getting a reduction. I'm asking them how they feel about me going really small, that I'm self-conscious of being so big breasted. They seem to love the idea. A couple of them even straight up said I'd look amazing totally flat-chested. I just smiled big and said, "Oh! You think so, too?"

Now it's only a matter of time until my passing days are numbered.... Once my beard really comes in and my voice gets way deeper I'm gonna get top surgery. You know, I'd get it now but I'd hate to spoil the challenge so early! Half the fun is watching people wonder if I'm detransing or not. I'm having so much fun I already convinced two trans girls at my university to do the challenge, too! We're hoping many more will follow. There's nothing naughtier than having the perfect body as a trans girl, going through all the work of going on blockers and never missing your hrt, developing your dream body. Perfect hips, perfect ass, perfect tits and a beautiful face/voice to match, only to throw it all away because the thought of becoming a guy makes your cock super hard.... Guess that shows how male I really am. All I can think with is my dick!"

#detrans kink #mtf detrans kink #mtftm kink #mtftm detrans #mtftm jackoff fuel #mtftm nsft #fakegirl

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13as07 · 8 months ago

Text

Spitting Image #3

(Gaara Sabaku)

[Artwork is not mine! Credit to Tamengkay]

Requested by: Myself

Word Count: 3,874

Warnings and/or Pre-Notes:

Should I do a prequel of their night together? Hmm… probably

———————————————————————

The opal eyes my son inherited from his father are staring back at me from the door frame of my apartment. "Yoshiki isn't here right now," I mutter, clinging to the door I've cracked open.

"I know. Shikadai and Inojin were playing with him at the flower shop when I stopped. I stopped at the flower shop, on the way, for these," Gaara races out, shoving one of the fancy bouquets toward me. Ino and I tease that it's the 'I fucked up' bouquet since its starting price is twelve thousand yen.

"The thought is appreciated but flowers aren't a good present for a nine-month-old," I point out, a ting of sadness aching in my chest. Yoshiki has officially been out in the world longer than I carried him for.

It's been about two months since Gaara met his son and since we met Yoshiki's family. The Hokage keeps randomly showing up, never going longer than a week without appearing back in the village. More often than not he's only gone three or four days, and while he's away his older sister tends to show up.

The extra help is nice, for the most part. I'm still a bit on edge about letting Temari help though. I don't like someone I barely know around my kid, even if it is his Aunt.

The only person stressing me out more than Temari is Gaara himself. He seems cold most of the time, definitely not the blushing 'oh my this is happening' guy he was the night we spent together. He also seems to not know what he's doing, which I get if it wasn't for the older son he has. It leaves room for speculation.

That and I can only imagine how the sand village is reacting. It's a good half-a-day trip either way, and with him spending so much time in the Leaf I'm sure his council isn't too happy, especially since rumor has it our council isn't too happy with his constant appearance.

Pair all that with the constant shove of money in my face and it doesn't sit too well in the gut. I know he's doing it in good nature, the fancy dinners, constantly buying new things for Yoshiki and leaving money around the house when I deny it from him. I know it's all meant in good faith... I think, but it stresses me out too.

I don't need Gaara to take care of us, to take care of me. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Yoshiki's father can offer him the nicer things in life and a part of me is glad that he wants to. But it still stresses me out. It makes me feel like he's setting himself up for a 'you owe me'. Another worry that doesn't get stomached too well.

I haven't used any of the money Gaara keeps leaving behind. I have been saving it though, squirreling it away, keeping it as a little nesting egg in case Yoshiki and I do have to make a run for it. My father might have kept me blind to the Shinobi world but he didn't keep me blind from ways to keep myself safe. Rule number one: always have a packed to-go bag and an exit plan. At the rate things are going, that might just come in handy.

"I know that," Gaara says a bit defensively, pressing the flowers to his chest before leaning them back towards me. "I got them for you," he mutters, eyes jumping around the apartment I'm in the middle of cleaning. "What is it that you are doing?"

"Cleaning," I answer, eyeing the flowers. Is Gaara acting suspicious or am I being paranoid? We shall see. "Yoshiki has grown out of his pre-me clothes and some of the other outfits he has so I'm going through them. Whatever Konah and his wife don't want is going to be taken to the women's shelter."

"Pre-me?"

"It's short for premature. Yoshiki was born just short of thirty weeks. He was really small, three point two pounds. He's doing good now. His doctors say he's still a bit underweight but it's nothing to worry too much about. Just something to monitor." During my rant I've shuffled away from the door, focusing on folding more of Yosh's clothes and placing them in the box to bring Konah.

"I was born premature," Gaara whispers, following behind me to watch as I fold.

"My mother was too, so the chances of Yoshiki being a pre-me was always there. Besides that's a thing that comes from the mother's DNA, so don't work yourself up over it."

"I was not going to," he murmurs, eyes jumping around the small space as his cheeks slowly dust themselves pink. I hum in disagreement, carefully watching as Gaara makes the short walk from the living room to the kitchen. "Where do you keep your vases?"

"I don't have any vases."

"What do you mean you 'do not have a vase'?" He asks, face scrunched up as he looks at me.

"Exactly what it sounds like. I don't own a vase. Never have cause I've never needed one."

"I am going to get you a vase."

"You really don't need to, Gaara. I don't need a vase and I don't need flowers. I appreciate the gesture but I'm good," I tell him, panic banging around my chest at the thought of him buying me something else, much less more flowers.

His head tilts and his face scrunches more before he shakes his head. "I am going to get you a vase," Gaara says more to himself than me, nodding in agreement with himself. "And new cups," he mutters, opening the cabinet, being met with the mix-match cups I've somehow gained over the years. "You shall have a vase and new cups next time I stop by."

"I really, really don't need a vase and those cups work just as well as any others. I don't need new cups or anything else from you. I'm doing fine for myself and my son."

"Our son."

"My son," I repeat, feeling like I'm going to throw up despite the hardass tone I've managed to maintain.

Gaara blinks at me a couple of times, seeming a bit dumb-founded and looking it as he stares, still holding the 'I fucked up' bouquet. "As you wish," he mutters, finally back in motion. He sets the flowers down before opening random drawers in search of something. When he finds it - a pad of paper and a pen - he goes to work scribbling on it. "Nonetheless, I shall walk around and make a list of things you two need."

I let out a laugh of disbelief, clothes completely forgotten because of the madman's words. "No, you are not. I already told you -"

"If you wish me to stay out of your room I will, but yes, I am going to figure out what it is that the mother of my child and our son needs," Gaara freezes for a second, imaginary eyebrows jumping up. "My apologies, what your son needs."

"Are you being a smart-alec right now?" I ask, another disbelieving laugh leaving my lips. "Is that what you're doing?"

"No," he says matter-of-factly. "You are not okay with me referring to Yoshiki as something we share, so I will avert from doing so."

"Dumbass," I mumble under my breath, turning my attention back to the pile of clothes I'm giving away. "I got knocked up by a dumbass."

————————————

"I'm just saying, Gaara is being a little much," I grumble, messing with my keys in search of the one that unlocks my front door.

"And I'm just saying, Gaara wants to take care of you. What's the harm in letting him?" Ino asks, her eyes are shiny with amusement.

"If you like the idea so much, ask him to take care of you," I groan, finally managing to get the key in the lock.

She laughs focusing on the grocery bags she's shifting in her arms. "Ya let me just ask Gaara to give me a baby too. I'm sure that'll go over well. Honestly, I still don't know how you managed to talk him into bed."

"You and me both," I mumble, pushing the door and leaving it open for Ino to follow. She does follow after me, silence flaking between us as we head towards the kitchen to place my groceries down.

"Welcome home!" Shinki calls out, racing into the kitchen to greet us. "Oh! Hello Auntie Ino!"

As Ino greets him, I head back out to the living room in search of Yoshiki. Panic starts to rise a bit when I don't find him - or Gaara.

The panic doesn't last long though, the two of them falling into view when I push Yosh's nursery door open. Gaara looks uneasy as he sits in the rocking chair, my - our - son fast asleep on his chest. "Hello," he calls, stiffening when our son stirs in his sleep.

"Hello," I echo, softly closing the door before I head towards them. "You know you can lay him in his crib," I tell him, carefully picking Yoshiki off his chest.

Gaara stiffens again, face scrunching up as he inches forward. "I am aware. I did not wish to."

A smile weighs on my lips as I cuddle with my son, pressing soft kisses to his head as I rock the sleeping boy. "Do you want him back when I'm done?"

He blinks at me in his slow way, his face slowly softening as he thinks. "Yes," he mutters, relaxing in the rocking chair again. "I enjoy our time here."

"I'm glad," I hum, soaking in my greeting to Yoshiki for another beat before I gently lay him back on his father's chest. "Yoshiki enjoys it when Shinki and you are here too."

"Do you enjoy when we're here?" Gaara asks, eyes locked on me, his stone-face expression on it like usual.

I think about it for a moment, trying to decide what answer to give: honestly or sugar-coated. "I enjoy spending time with Shinki, he's a sweet kid. I absolutely adore him. I'm happy the two of you are in Yoshiki's life." Both, that works.

"Are you happy we're in your life?"

"Yes," I answer before I have the chance to fully think about it. It's not a lie, I do enjoy having the Sand Shinobis around. I truly adore Shinki and like having him around. Gaara isn't terrible to have around either, it's nice having an extra set of hands, to have a man for Yoshiki to grow up looking up to, and I might have grown a bit fond of the flowers and the pale blue vase he got me.

He nods to himself, slowly rocking himself and Yosh in the chair as he spaces out. "How was your grocery shopping trip with Ino?" He finally murmurs, opal eyes set on me in their intense way. I swear Gaara can't look at anything calmly.

"It was alright. I think I'm going to make homemade ramen for dinner. I'm thinking of topping it with pork and boiled eggs."

Another spaced-out look and agreeing nod. "You should wait until Yoshiki wakes up so I can help you."

"I think I'm capable of - "

"- I know," Gaara cuts me off, eyes scrunched in a way that makes the markings of his eyes stand out. "I am aware you are capable of a lot of things. I am here to help, so I shall help. I wish you would let me help you more often."

I open my mouth to respond but get cut off again, this time by a knock at the door. "Hey, mamas," Ino's voice rings out as she opens the door, slowly poking her head into the room. "I have a meeting soon so I'm going to head out. Shinki is working on putting the groceries away. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Enjoy your meeting, I'll see you later," I call back, waving at my friend before she pulls the door closed again.

"Let me help with dinner," Gaara butts in once the door is closed, ending my attempt to respond before I can even start it. "I want my sons to see me helping around the house. It is not fair for you to work all day and then come home to do the household duties. Let me help."

I let out a long sigh, crossing my arms over my chest as my eyes jump around the nursery. "Fine, you can help with dinner," I say, giving in to Gaara's request.

I suppose there's no harm in letting him help more around the house, especially since he and his son spend most of their time in the village here. Of course they don't sleep here, it's only a small two-bedroom apartment, but if they're not sleeping or spending time with friends and family in the village, they are here. Which means they're here most of the day.

As I leave Yosh's room, thoughts of getting a bigger apartment cross my mind. Should I start looking for a three-bedroom or a four-bedroom? Probably a three-bedroom, I don't think Shinki would mind sharing a room with his younger brother... maybe. I'll just look for both. After all, at the rate we're going Gaara isn't going to let up anytime soon.

————————————

"You're doing that thing again," I grumble, shifting the strainer back and forth to shake the water out of the noodles I'm prepping for dinner.

"What thing?" Gaara asks, his eyes still intensely on me as they have been for the last ten minutes. I swear he hasn't even blinked during the time.

"That thing where you sit there and stare at me. You did it during..." My mouth snaps closed, not sure how to refer to our night together so long again. Not really, it's only been eighteen months. Though a lot has changed in that year and a half. "Our time together," I murmur, shaking the strainer harder.

"Did what?"

"Just sit there and stare. Even in my drunk stupor, it creeped me out a bit."

Gaara finally blinks a few times, slow and steady as he thinks of his response. "You are a very beautiful woman. Besides, I like to look at the mother of my children."

The plural use of the word makes the strainer tumble from my hands, crashing into the sink as I lean down to rest my weight against the edge of it.

"Are you okay?" Shinki asks, his head popping up from the wood blocks he and Yoshiki are playing with. Shinki is trying his hardest to teach his younger brother how to spell his name. I don't think he has grasped the concept of how young Yosh is yet. Still, it's been cute watching him try.

"Yes, sweetie. We're fine," I call before letting out a silent sigh, my eyes snap closed as the sink edge digs into my palms. "What the fuck, Gaara?" I hiss out quietly, refusing to let the boys see me lose my temper with their father.

"What?" He asks, blinking in his slow 'trying to comprehend' way that's starting to piss me off.

"Child, the mother of your child. Singular, one, I have had one baby. In total. Not just one of your sons, one in total."

"Yes, I know that," he says, face scrunching in lack of understanding. "But you are the closest thing to a mother Shinki has known, and I fully intend to get you pregnant again. Perhaps we will have a daughter this time."

"What the hell, Gaara?!" I yell before I can stop myself, snapping my eyes open and standing up straight.

"There is no need to yell. It is not something I plan on doing soon. There are things we need to get in order."

"Like what?" I hiss quietly, shifting closer so it's easier to keep my tone quiet. I don't need the boys noticing the fit heating up, and Shinki's glancing eyes let me know he's starting too.

"Well, I would like to get Yoshiki and you situated in the Sand Village, again not anytime soon if you don't wish it but preferably within the next couple of months. Then we will need to get the events in place for the wedding and of course the papers to update Shinki's adoption order. Then the matter of getting pregnant again. I do not mind the age gap between the boys but I think it would be best to have our next child sometime before Yoshiki is three or four."

"Get out." The words come out airy, disbelief and anger rooted in my mind.

"What?"

"Get out," I repeat, anger quickly outweighing my disbelief. "I need you to get out of my sight. I need you out of my home, I need you out of the village. I need you as far away from me as humanly possible. Get out, now."

"What is it that I've - "

"Get out!" I repeat, shouting at him now. My hands jump forward, connecting with his chest before I start shoving him out of the kitchen. "Out! Get out! Get away from me! Get away from my son! Go away!" I yell, continuing to shove him.

"I do not understand what it is that - " Gaara tries to say, his hands jumping up and gently cupping my elbows, he's not even trying to stop my shoving.

"I swear to the lord I'm going to stab you, Gaara. Go away," I shriek, tugging myself from his grip before slamming the front door open. Once the door is open, I go back to shoving him out of the house, leaving the Sand Hokage in the hallway before slamming and locking the door shut.

When I turn back around, Yoshiki is crying and screaming in fear because of my yelling. Shinki is wide-eyed and his mouth hangs open as he stares at me. "I swear," I mutter under my breath, taking quick steps towards my son. I swoop down, picking him up before I try rocking him. "It's okay, Yosh. I know, I know. Mommy is sorry for yelling. Everything is okay," I coo, shifting us back and forth as I rub his back.

"Are you kicking me out too?" Shinki's soft voice calls out, the volume being his failing attempt to hide his sadness.

"No, no. Of course not, sweetie," I continue to coo, my fake calmness aimed at him instead of Yoshiki. "I'll never kick you out of my home, okay? You're always welcome here," I continue to soothe, dropping the arm not holding Yosh down so I can run my fingers through Shinki's hair.

"This is a safe space for you, Love. I'm sorry I've made it unsafe," I continue to soothe the older boy, placing his younger brother back on the ground now that he's calmed down. I fall to my knees in front of Shinki, wrapping my arms around him and pressing his head to my shoulder. "How about we put Yosh in his high chair and you can help me make dinner, okay?"

"Okay," the older boy whispers into my shoulder, willingly laying his head down now. "I'm sorry Papa upset you."

"You don't have to be sorry for him. Just because I'm mad at Gaara doesn't mean I'm mad at you, Sweetie," I tell him, littering the side of his head with kisses. "Let's finish making dinner now, okay?"

"Okay."

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Ino lets out a loud chuckle, hunching over the counter as she giggles. "I'm sorry, it's really not funny... except it is."

A groan escapes me as I lay my head on the counter, rolling over my fight with Gaara again. "I do not know what is funny," Sai says, looking quite confused as his head switches between his wife and me. "I think it is nice that Gaara wants another child."

"My dear," Ino says, wrapping herself around Sai's arm. "Gaara's bluntness is what's funny. They barely know each other, they are nowhere near close enough to get married, let alone have another child together."

"Well, why not?" He asks, head tilting as he looks at his wife. "Gaara is here about as much as he's away. They practically live together and already have one child together. The only person in the village who knows Gaara better than her is Temari... well, and possibly Naruto. It seems that the only way they are not married is by the law of the Great Nations."

Now it's my turn to giggle at Ino's unaware father of her child. "Well," she starts, mouth gaping like a fish as she struggles with her words. "The... there's not the emotional part of it. No one should marry someone they don't love, Sai."

"Are you blind, my love?"

"What?!" Ino shrieks, letting go of Sai's arm.

"Please calm down. I meant it in a joking way, not literally. I am just saying it is obvious that Gaara enjoys her company."

"What do you mean?" I ask, turning my attention away from the hissy fit Ino is throwing.

"Like I said before, Gaara spends a lot of time in the village. I am aware it is to see Yoshiki, but he seems quite interested in taking care of you as well. If he did not love you, why would he be interested in your specific needs? Personally, if I was not interested in the mother of my child, my sole focus would be on my child. I would not care about the mother is all I'm saying. My child's needs would be met and that's it."

Ino's lecture about the hypothetical situation goes into full swing, a few groans of manners and politeness thrown into the mix. As she gets after her husband, I replay Sai's words in my head. Maybe he had a point, or maybe he didn't. I don't know.

Gaara's and Shinki's constant travels have been weighing on my mind recently though. They travel to and from the village at least once a week, if not twice. It would be a lot easier on them if we all lived in the same village, and well... it would be easier for Yoshiki and me to move to the Hidden Sand than Gaara and Shinki moving here. After all, Gaara is their Hokage, and leaving that job wouldn't be easy or smart, financially.

"Maybe I will," I mutter, letting out another sigh.

"Maybe you will what?" Ino asks, stalling her discussion with Sai.

"Maybe Yoshiki and I will move to the Sand Village. It's the least I can do since Gaara is doing so much for us. Besides, it would be easier for me to get a new job at the same pay I have now than it would be for him."

Ino and Sia fall quiet for a couple of minutes, the weight of my words hovering over them as much as it's hovering over me. Ino finally pipes up, saying "Whatever you choose to do, we'll support you. Always."

I swear I'm never drinking a margarita for the rest of my life.

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#naruto shippuden #naruto shippuden oneshot #naruto shippuden x reader #Gaara Sabaku x reader #Gaara sabaku #Gaara sabaku oneshot #gaara x reader #Gaara oneshot

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icannotgetoverbirds · 6 months ago

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buckle up, this one's a doozy

Idk if it's actually a doozy, but this is the story of how I deconverted from a cult and got my egg cracked at approximately the same time, all thanks to... weed.

Let's set the scene, shall we?

It is December 22nd, 2021. The pandemic has been raging for nearly two years at this point. I am, at this point, still a believing mormon. That said, my attendance to church meetings has been incredibly spotty, with the most reliable method to get me to worship being choir practice.

I am laying in my bed in the evening, and of all possible things, I am thinking about weed. Namely, the church's policy about weed, and the absolute failure that is the war on drugs, and my personal belief system (and also about whether or not I should try weed for my anxiety disorder).

What's mormonism's policy on weed, you ask? Well, it's surprisingly liberal for a whole-ass cult, but still has enough nonsense for the events of this story to play out. To put it simply, you can absolutely use weed for medicinal purposes, but recreational purposes is a big no-no.

This, of course, presents a dilemma: where do you draw the line between recreational and medicinal use, especially in the case of, say, using it to medicate an anxiety disorder? I'm sure that the Church-Approved™ conclusion is "That's between you and The Lord, figure it out yourself, good luck!" I don't remember if I came to that conclusion or not, but I know for a fact that my "prove beyond a shadow of a doubt before you make an important decision based off of Feelings Supposedly From God Or The Holy Spirit" ass would not have been satisfied with that answer.

So I think about it in terms of politics, and logic, and science. After all, science is just our frail and minuscule way of comprehending all that Our Father Who Art In Heaven has created, right? So if Our Father Who Art In Heaven can't give me a straight answer, science surely can.

I come to a few conclusions. First of all, there are very few people, if any, who are qualified to draw that line. I am not included in that group of people. Secondly, nobody in their right goddamned mind would so much as try to draw that line unless they have some serious qualifications in the variety of fields that it applies to. Third of all, and this is where shit starts to unravel very fucking quickly: who in the goddamned fuck are a bunch of old white men who've probably never seen a gram of weed in their entire lives to think themselves qualified to draw that line?

The shelf cracks. The prophets are fallible, even in this day and age. Not only are they fallible, but whoever made this decision is a FUCKING DUMBASS. God must be looking down at them and shaking his head disapprovingly, huh?

So I think to myself, yknow what, this is a stupid fucking rule. And my autistic-disregard-for-stupid-fucking-rules-having-ass was not about to tolerate it. So what do I do? Metaphorically speaking, I chuck it out the window. Who cares? I'm gonna do weed for my anxiety, and if anybody tells me that I'm disobeying god, I can tell them that god doesn't fucking give a shit about weed if he's as kind and loving as the prophets say he is.

A moment passes.

Now wait just a goddamned second! If I'm chucking this rule out the window, isn't there something else I should re-examine? If I'm disregarding what the prophets have said for my own pleasure and recreation, isn't there something regarding the lives, livelihoods, and joie de vivre of countless other people, myself included, that I should be looking at?

Suddenly, the years of (pent-up and suppressed) sheer fucking indignation of the way queer people have been othered by the church hits me all at once, full fucking force. I am angry, angrier than I have ever been. Abso-fucking-lutely not. No. If the prophets are wrong about weed, then they're DEFINITELY wrong about queer people.

And in this moment, I make a decision. "Until the mormon leaders get their shit together, I'm out! I'm fucking done! I'm gonna go live it up and get blazed out of my gourd for shits and giggles, and maybe I'll try a tiny sip of beer, and by god I am going to transition-"

"HEY WAIT JUST A GODDAMNED SECOND"

[Plain text ID: Text in a large, bold, italicized red font that reads "HEY WAIT JUST A GODDAMNED SECOND"]

Shelf shattered, omelette made of my egg, life ruined for the better.

The next morning, I come out to my mom and sister. I still believe in god and mormonism and yadda yadda, I just think the leadership needs to get their heads out of their asses.

Not long after, I decide to finally check out exmormon spaces. Yknow, get the full experience.

I am bombarded with "HOLY FUCK IT'S A CULT. IT RUINED MY LIFE. IT RUINED YOUR LIFE. IT TORE MY FAMILY APART. IT'S NOT EVEN REAL. READ THE CES LETTER, CHECK MORMONISM AGAINST THE BITE MODEL. THINK FOR YOUR GODDAMNED SELF FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE."

I check the sources provided. Well, I'll be damned. They weren't kidding, that mormonism sure can cult started by a con man. At this point, I am now beyond the point of no return. There's no going back. I have seen the light. I want out forever, I want my records removed, mom pick me up I'm scared.

My family never looks at me the same way again :>

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d1xonss · 7 months ago

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Desert Rose

Chapter 45 ~ All Good things Must come to an End

✧ Pairing : Daryl Dixon x Rose

✧ Era : Season 4

✧ Word Count : 5.8k

In this chapter ~ After living in the newfound community for six whole months, things seem to still be going strong. Relationships had been built, responsibilities had been taken care of, and for the most part, everyone was happy. Though...it can't always stay that way forever.

The smell of cooking meat and eggs filled my senses as I allowed my mind wander for the fifth time that morning alone. Time was a fickle thing, always somehow getting away from me in the end as it was always hard to keep track of and catch. But I couldn't help but try and count the days, knowing that sometime in the upcoming dates would mark six whole months since our community first started. And it still to this day couldn't be more perfect.

I found myself to be very content with where I was in life right now, I was happy, only growing closer with the people we surrounded ourselves with. Though I knew if my past self could see me now, she would be screaming at me. Like I'm talking absolutely losing her shit screaming at me, knowing how much I couldn't trust people in the beginning. But allowing myself out of my shell was probably the best thing that could've ever happened to me. I had never had a family like this before, and I found that I tried to cherish it whenever I got the chance, especially recently.

"Oh, careful it's going to burn!" Carol's somewhat panicked voice spoke up from beside me.

I snapped out of it in an instant, "Shit," I quietly cursed and took the meat off of the makeshift stove, waving my hand over it to get rid of the smoke as it fizzled down.

She peeked around me for a moment and smiled to herself, "You saved it." she said in slight relief before laughing lightly, "What's got you so distracted?"

I glanced over at her as I began to plate the cooked breakfast, "All good things, I promise. I was just...thinking about how far we've come. How happy I am."

Her smile got wider, "We have come pretty far, huh?" she asked while wrapping an arm around my shoulders, looking out to all the people chatting and doing their own thing beyond where we stood.

"We're lucky." I stated as I finished scooping up the food.

She looked back over at me, "Yeah, we are. Couldn't imagine it working out any better than this," she agreed as she gave my shoulder a squeeze, before pulling away to go back to her own pan, "Who's that plate for?"

"Rick." I stated, "I know if I don't give this to him, he won't eat anything at all. I'll just be a sec, you got it handled?" I asked knowingly.

Her only response was to give me a certain look as I laughed to myself, grabbing the plate and heading down to where I knew Rick would be busying himself this morning. These days he seemed to be constantly staying down near the gates, managing the crops we had planted and taking care of the animals we somehow managed to find. In my opinion he didn't really give himself a break and was overworking to the max.

Getting up at the ass crack of dawn just to get a head start on feeding the pigs and checking the vegetables, it's something that he didn't need to be doing. And he knew it too. But he was too stubborn to slow down or take it easy, so I just let him be.

I spotted him in the distance as I slowly walked down the small hill, heading towards the grass to see him filling up the water in the stables. His arms shook slightly as he lifted the weight of the gallons of water, sweat dripping off his forehead as he tried to wipe it on the sleeve of his shirt.

"Hey, Old McDonald!" I yelled to get his attention.

He whipped his head towards me, and a smile broke out onto his face as he squinted his eyes from the blinding sun behind my head, "Yeah, Rosie?" he asked.

I made my way closer to him and let out a small breath, holding out the plate, "Breakfast." I said simply.

"No, I can't, my hands are filthy." he said while looking down at the dirt and mud that was coated everywhere along his palms, under his fingernails.

I frowned, "Okay." I said while grabbing some of the meat in my hand and holding it up towards his face.

He raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing?"

"You said your hands are filthy, but you need to eat...so eat." I said while holding my hand closer to his mouth, dangling the meat from my grasp.

"I'll eat later." he replied.

My eyes narrowed as I wasn't budging and he only sighed in response, slowly opening his mouth anyway. I smiled in victory and dropped the meat in his mouth, listening in as he informed me of the things that needed to be adjusted down here in the fields. It was quite the boring topic of choice, but I only wanted to make sure he actually ate something seeing as he was baking in the hot sun constantly.

Though there were times we had to speak a little louder because of the walkers piled up along the fence, snarling and banging on the flimsy barrier, making too much damn noise. There were a lot of them, and although we had people clearing them every day, they still seemed to be a problem. It had never been an issue before now, but I figured with the amount of noise and people we had behind the gates, it only drew more of them closer.

Suddenly, Rick and I seemed to momentarily stop our conversation when we heard a pair footsteps approaching, the two of us turning around to see Carl coming our way rather quickly like he was late.

He smiled at me before looking towards his dad, "You didn't wake me up." he spoke a little out of breath.

"Cause I knew you were up all night reading comics with a flashlight." he stated with a raised eyebrow.

Both boys then slowly looked toward me knowingly. Carl had a smirk on his face while Rick didn't look the least bit amused as I held my hands up in surrender, "What the hell are you looking at me for?"

"You're the one who got him the comics Ro." Rick stated with a tilt of his head.

"Hey," I said pointing at him, "Michonne got him some of those comics too, why don't you yell at her."

He tried to suppress a chuckle, "Well, she's not here, so you're the only one I can blame right now."

I placed a hand over my heart in mock offense, "Well, that's hurtful." I stated, causing them both to laugh, "You know what, I should've let you starve." I said while placing the paper plate on the thick wooden fence.

"Now that's hurtful." Rick stated, his tone still dripping with sarcasm.

I just raised my hands again with a smirk on my face, "Enjoy your father son bonding time." I winked before backing away.

However, Carl caught my arm before I could get too far, leaning in to whisper in my ear, "Can you still get me some more on your next run?"

I gave him a pointed look, "Just don't tell your dad and we're good." I warned.

He gave me a smile and nodded excitedly, all while letting go of my arm so I could make my way back up towards the prison. As I slowly approached Carol's station again, a few people were quick to notice my presence, greeting me with praises and smiles on their faces. I managed to be as polite as I could considering how early it was, but the attention Daryl and I were getting was only getting worse.

After I went out with him on that hunt just a few weeks ago, I've been getting out more frequently to help out, and to say the people in the community were grateful would be an understatement. Everywhere we went, we would get stopped to talk, or just a simple thank you as we walked by. We both weren't used to the amount of attention, but I tried my best to hide it. I simply smiled at all the good morning's being thrown my way as I approached Carol again to help her finish up.

"Still aren't getting used to it huh?" she smirked, not taking her eyes off the food in front of her.

It's like she read my goddamn mind.

I sighed, "I don't think I'll ever get used to it." I admitted, "But the funny thing is, Daryl's a lot more awkward than I am so it's worth it to see him squirm a little."

She looked up, "Oh, speak of the devil."

I followed her line of sight once she spoke to see the man himself making his way over to us. There of course were a few greetings as he passed by and I almost busted out laughing at his facial expressions. He didn't know how to respond, giving only a simple nod as he passed through the group of people. Though I felt a big grin spread to my face as I saw his eyes light up when he caught sight of me, his pace picking up the smallest bit.

"Mornin." he drawled, leaning over to kiss my cheek.

"Hey, Daryl!" a woman greeted as she passed the three of us.

He pulled away from me and looked over to the woman who said it, only to look back at me with wide eyes and an annoyed look to his face, "This still happenin to you?"

"Worse." I responded, "Just wait for it." I said while briefly holding up my pointer finger.

Not a second later, a teenage boy passed us in a slight rush, "Goodmorning Rose!" he still managed to call out.

I smiled in response before it quickly dropped again as I looked back at Daryl with the same look he gave me earlier, hearing him chuckle at me as he leaned over the small stove. "Smells good." he commented while looking to see the food we were making.

"Goodmorning Dixons!" a man yelled as he walked by.

Carol looked up to see our faces and laughed lightly to herself, "Just so you know, I liked you two first."

Daryl scoffed a little, "Stop." he muttered, tossing some of the meat in his mouth before continuing, "Ya know, Rick brought a lot of them in too. Wasn't just us."

"Not recently," she responded, "Give the strangers sanctuary, keeping people fed, you're going to have to learn to live with the love." she then turned to look at me, "Even you." she smirked.

"Hey, I'm trying here. Just don't like the attention, it makes me feel...itchy."

"Itchy?" she questioned.

I paused for a moment before nodding more confidently, "Yeah."

"Right," she said before taking the meat off of the stovetop again, "Anyway, I need to show you both something quick, Patrick would you mind taking over?" she asked a teenage boy who was standing too far away from us.

"Yes ma'am." he said politely.

I began to move around the grill, walking towards Daryl who snaked an arm around my waist. I glanced up at him and saw him take the bowl he was eating out of, putting the rim of it up to his mouth to get a huge bite of meat. My brows furrowed, and when he looked down at me and caught me staring, he opened his mouth full of food.

I scrunched up my face, "Gross." I muttered, trying to hold back a chuckle while lightly pushing his face away from me.

"Yer gross." he retorted.

I narrowed my eyes at him, "I swear, I'm married to a child." I laughed.

He gave me a cheeky smile and began to chew to say something else, but the kid, Patrick, cleared his throat suddenly as if to get our attention. The two of us turned to look at him, and he immediately got flustered and nervous when just making eye contact.

"Uh...Mr. and Mrs. Dixon? I just um...wanted to thank you for bringing the deer's back yesterday. I mean... it was a real treat, and I would be honored to shake your hands."

Daryl and I seemed to share some kind of look. I couldn't tell if it was one of humor or one of dread, but either way I had to bite back another laugh as I pulled away from Daryl's grasp, shaking his hand with a small smile.

Daryl, however, wasn't as polite.

As I backed away from Patrick, he looked at me as if he needed confirmation to which I just nodded. But I clearly didn't know what was coming. He then one by one, licked his fingers clean from the meat and used that same hand to shake his firmly. I pressed my lips together to suppress a laugh that threatened to escape as I saw the look on the poor kid's face. Daryl gave him a smug smile before letting go and placing his arm back around my waist so we could follow behind Carol.

I had to wait for a moment or two so we were far enough away, before I couldn't help but laugh quietly to myself. "What?" Daryl asked almost instantly with a small smirk of his own.

I only shook my head, "That was terrible."

"Ah, but ya thought it was funny." he pointed out, giving my side a small squeeze, as if it was his goal to get me to laugh all along.

I rolled my eyes playfully in response as we continued to walk, feeling him place a small kiss on the side of my head. We followed the woman until she suddenly stopped while looking out at the closest fence, the walkers still surrounding it and trying to get through. From an outsider's perspective, it seemed like we were hardly making a dent when in reality we had people out there taking care of them constantly.

"About today," she started, "I don't know if we're gonna be able to spare a lot of people for the run." she said as she gestured to the amount of people already working on clearing the walkers.

"We won't need too many." I reassured, "Plus that place is good to go, we're going to clear it today."

"Yeah," she nodded, "The thing is, we had a pretty big build up overnight. Dozens more towards tower three, and it's getting as bad as last month. They don't spread out anymore."

Daryl spoke up, "With more of us sittin here, we're drawin more of 'em out. Ya get enough of those damn fence-clingers, they start to herd up."

"Pushing against the fences again," I voiced my thoughts out loud, "That had been a bitch to deal with these past few weeks."

"Yeah, it has," Carol agreed, "It's manageable, but unless we get ahead of it, not for long." she spoke before looking towards Daryl, "Sorry pookie." she said before sending a knowing wink my way.

I smiled to myself as I tried not to show too much of a reaction at the nickname Carol had recently given him. Her sole purpose was to get on his nerves and it worked every time without fail, and I personally thought it was hilarious. He scoffed in response, pushing her arm lightly as she walked away from us to go back and finish up whatever she was cooking for the time being. The moment she was out of earshot, I started to laugh quietly to myself.

When my eyes finally moved back up to his face, he was already glaring at me, "Aw pookie." I said while poking his cheek lightly.

He sighed and stood there for a moment as a few beats of silence passed, before he quickly picked me up in one swift motion and tossed me over his shoulder. A small squeal escaped me because of how fast everything happened, feeling him begin to spin me around to I would get dizzy. My protests meant nothing to him as I tried to smack him in order for him to put me back down, but that only seemed to edge him on further, chuckling to himself at his own actions.

"Put me down!" I yelled as my stomach hurt from laughter.

"Quit callin me that." he countered back, beginning to spin me the other way.

My breath caught in my throat as I felt all the blood rushing to my head, "Okay, okay, I give." I spoke slightly out of breath.

He then slowly stopped spinning and carefully lowered himself to put me back down onto my feet. I felt myself sway a little to try and catch my balance, but the whole world was still spinning around me in a nauseating way. He let out another laugh as he placed both of his hands on my arms to help steady me.

"Ya know, I don't really know why I married you. Yer kinda annoying." he joked as he flicked the tip of my nose gently.

My mouth dropped at his words in mock offense, "Well, you're no saint Daryl Dixon, plus there's plenty of other people around here." I gestured to the group around us.

He pretended to look around, scrunching up his face in through for a moment before looking back at me, "Nah...none of 'em are you." he said sweetly before placing a soft kiss on my lips.

I smiled into the kiss, pulling away briefly to mumble, "Damn right." before bringing him in again. He brought his hands to the side of my face and deepened the kiss, feeling his lip slightly upturning into a smirk. But he pulled away before either one of us could get too carried away, leaving a few lingering pecks in the process.

"Alright, we gotta stop or we're gonna be late for that run." he huffed.

I nodded my head in silent agreement, knowing that was nothing but the truth. We headed back towards the cars where a few others were gathering their things, getting a few vehicles ready to head out. Daryl parted from me to pull his bike up closer, leaving me to load the bed of the pickup truck, filling it as much as I could with a few weapons and supplies. Though my eyes glanced up once I saw some movement heading toward me, seeing Tyreese breaking away from his sister before heading my way to place a few things in the back alongside me.

"You're coming along too?" I questioned with a smile on my face.

He shrugged, "Yeah, I figured why not. It's been a while since I've been on a run, and plus you know it's gonna be entertaining when you're going."

I gently pushed his arm, "Oh whatever." I muttered and he smiled at me, before making his way back over to Sasha.

My gaze followed him for only a moment before something to the left pulled my attention away. Zach and Beth stood off to the side, talking quietly with each other before he came along with the rest of us. It was the first time he was coming with us to a place like this, his very first time on a run really and I understood completely why he wanted to see her again before we headed out. Although it seemed like she didn't see the big deal behind it as I watched her shrug it off, feeling Daryl come back next to me to witness the end of the conversation.

She kissed him once more before fully walking away, "Aren't you gonna say goodbye?" he asked.

"Nope!" she yelled over her shoulder, smiling brightly as she passed me, "Bye, Ro."

I nodded to her with a small smile, "It's like a damn romance novel." Daryl grumbled out loud as he zipped up his bag, causing me to hit his arm lightly to get him to stop talking.

But the kid's head snapped over towards him as he clearly heard his hushed words, "Oh you're one to talk." he clapped back.

Daryl glared pointedly at him, pulling away from the truck to approach him and Zach's eyes widened, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." he quickly stuttered out before speed walking in the other direction.

Daryl watched him scurry away for a moment before turning back towards me with a smug smile on his face, "Be nice." I scolded lightly with a roll of my eyes, shutting the bed of the truck with a slam.

He shook his head, "Nah, I only like bein nice to you."

I sighed as I placed my hands on my hips, "Okay... then just be civil." I offered.

He scoffed, "Even that's pushin it."

"Daryl." I warned.

"Rosie." he mocked.

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Like I said, a child. I'm married to a child."

"Oh, but ya love me anyways." he said with a goofy grin.

His smile only made me smile, "Yeah, I guess I do." I admitted as I walked over and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, "Like a damn romance novel." I whispered with a smirk before walking back towards the others to finally get the show on the road.

Once we got the okay from everyone, Daryl hopped on his bike and held out a hand to help me on the back of it like always. We made our way towards the front gate in a formed line with the cars trailing behind us, and that's when I noticed Rick and Carl were talking with a familiar face. I smiled to myself when I saw Michonne, knowing she must've just gotten back from a run.

To this day she was still looking for The Governor and hasn't given up yet. It honestly broke my heart seeing how much she wanted to find and put an end to him, staying out for longer periods of time now only to come back for a day or two, before she was leaving again. But I supposed it only made me cherish the times when she was here before she disappeared all over again.

The loud rumble of the motorcycle approaching seemed to catch both of their attention as Daryl barely had a chance to slow the thing to a stop before I was quickly hopping off to greet her. She smiled brightly the moment she caught my eye.

"Well, well, look who's back." I said while quickly wrapping my arms around her in a tight hug.

She gave me a gentle squeeze, "It's good to be back." she confirmed, pulling away to wrap an arm around my shoulder and looked towards Daryl, "Didn't find him." she said simply while looking back and forth between the two of us.

"Glad to see you in one piece." Daryl nodded.

She smiled slightly and continued, "I'm thinking of looking over near Macon...it's worth a shot."

"Seventy miles of walkers, ya might run into a few unneighborly types. Is it?" Daryl asked with squinted eyes.

She didn't respond right away, not knowing for sure if all the things she was putting herself through was truly worth it. It must've been a constant conflict in her mind.

I found myself speaking up again to fill the silence after a moment, knowing she didn't need to decide right now. "We're heading out to check the Big Spot a couple miles from here, the one we were talking about. Just to see." I informed Rick.

"Yeah, I got to go out and check the snares. I don't want to lose whatever we catch to the walkers." he replied.

My eyes glanced back to Michonne who still had her arm wrapped around me, bumping her hip with mine to grab her attention, "Why don't you come with us?" I asked.

She smiled down at me and nodded, "Alright...I'll go."

Carl then spoke up for the first time with a slight frown on his face, "But you just got here." he complained.

"And I'll be back." she assured, letting go of me and making her way back to one of the cars with her bag still crossed over her shoulders.

I made eye contact with the kid and noticed the new comic books clutched tightly in his hands, smirking to myself, "I'll keep an eye out." I spoke quietly to him as I gestured to what was in his arms.

He smiled at me and nodded eagerly before I turned back around to hop on the back of Daryl's bike again. As I adjusted myself on the back, placing my hands around his middle, I looked up to Rick as he gave me a small smile, "Stay safe." he said, receiving a nod from us in return.

Daryl started his bike back up, watching as Rick jogged a little towards the gates to open them up for us. I tried to ignore the snarls of the walkers around us once we made it outside the safety of the prison. It seemed like they've tripled, and the groups only kept getting bigger. Their dead eyes followed us as we quickly drove past them, attempting to reach out for us slowly before we were just out of reach.

I rested my chin on Daryl's shoulder and closed my eyes as the wind hit my face and blew my hair wildly behind me. He took one of his hands and gave my thigh a squeeze before putting it back on the handle, revving his engine a bit as the vehicles behind us stayed close. I smiled at his actions and placed a kiss on his shoulder before closing my eyes again, trying to relax for this longer ride ahead of us.

After driving down the long and windy roads we finally made it to the Big Spot, quickly grabbing the weapons we needed from the back of the truck to check out the oddly quiet place. Each of us stayed silent as we made it up to the large double doors of the place, trying to pinpoint the number of walkers in the area. The parking lot was completely trashed, tents and tarps were set up all around as we silently weaved through them, double checking our surroundings.

Once we got up to the door, Daryl peered into one of the big windows before banging his elbow against it loudly to see how many of them were inside. You could barely see though the glass with how dirty it had become over the months.

"Just give it a second." he said to all of us, leaning his head against the building to try and listen for them as he sat propped up near the glass.

I walked over to the other window just a few feet away and attempted to glance inside, seeing nothing as I moved to put my ear up to it to try and listen for any walkers as well, but I couldn't hear a thing. The building was quite large, knowing that there could be a fair amount inside that we would have to clear out before anything.

I absentmindedly walked back towards where the rest of them were waiting, sitting myself down on the edge of the window. Daryl scooted a bit closer to me the moment I sat down, feeling him giving my leg a light tap as we waited for any kind of noise coming from inside.

Zach then came around the corner, "Okay, I think I got it." he announced.

Michonne tilted her head a bit as she stepped closer as well, "Got what?"

I nodded towards the man, "Zach's been trying to guess what Daryl did before the outbreak."

"He's been tryin to guess for like six weeks." Daryl muttered to me, though Zach still heard him clearly.

"Yeah, I'm pacing myself." he said in defense while taking a seat on the other side of me, "One shot a day."

Daryl nodded over to him, "Alright, shoot."

"Well, the way you are at the prison, you being on the council. You being able to track, you're helping people but you're still being kind of...surly."

I snorted which earned a light nudge from Daryl as Zach continued, "Okay, big swing here...homicide cop." he spoke confidently.

Michonne instantly began to laugh somewhat loudly to herself upon hearing the assumption, and Daryl squinted his eyes at her, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," she shook her head, "Makes perfect sense."

Daryl then cleared his throat as he nodded, "Actually the man's right; undercover."

My head whipped over in his direction with a shocked expression, using my job as a copout so he could mess with the kid a little bit more. He only gave me a pointed look as if to say play along and I rolled my eyes, but didn't say anything as I let the man have his fun.

"Come on, really?" Zach excitedly said.

"Yep...I mean I don't like ta talk about it cause...it's a lot of heavy shit, ya know?" he said before turning his head to hide the small smirk growing on his face.

"Really?" Zach asked again.

"Mhm, that's where I met this lovely lady right here." he continued on as he wrapped his arm around me, "Went through a lot together, only brought us closer."

I couldn't help but scoff at the amount of bullshit coming out of his mouth, but I still didn't say a thing. Though at this point Daryl's voice was dripping with obvious sarcasm and Zach caught on after a moment and sighed to himself.

"Okay, I'll just keep guessing I guess." he muttered.

"Yeah, you keep doin that." Daryl replied.

I knocked Zach's foot with mine as I got his attention, "Hey, if it makes you feel better, not everything that came out of his mouth was a load of shit." He seemed to perk up at that. "I was actually an undercover cop."

"No shit?" he asked.

"No shit." I confirmed.

That seemed to lift his spirits a little, "What's your most badass story?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but that's when a walker finally made its way towards the window as it clawed at the glass, signaling that it was time to head in. I glanced back and forth between him and the people beginning to make their way towards the entrance.

"Maybe some other time." I suggested and he nodded in return.

I hopped off and headed towards the front door along with everyone else, trailing behind Sasha and Tyreese as they began to go over the things we needed to look out for. "You ready to do this detective?" I asked Daryl, nudging his arm as I passed by.

He scoffed but nodded anyway, "Let's get this done."

We easily took out the walkers that piled up towards the front quickly and quietly, Sasha grabbing a hold of a cart as she voiced the main things to grab on our imaginary list. I followed her actions as I grabbed a shopping cart as well, slowly making my way through the isles to grab the things I needed the most. Some new clothes, flashlights, batteries, I even found some new arrows that were practically brand new, nearly shining in the sunlight with how perfect they were.

Though I seemed to stop in my tracks when I turned around a sharp corner, spotting something that made me visibly freeze. There was a small section in the women's hygiene that were packed full of pregnancy tests. They seemed to be untouched. collecting dust as I stared at them, biting my lip in though while eyed them intently, debating if I should grab a few or not. I mean, mistakes happen every day.

Eventually I just shook my head as I made up my mind, grabbing a couple in my hands and placing them in my jacket pocket. I knew for a fact that there was absolutely no way, but it was nice to have a few on hand just in case I ever got a scare. My fear of the unknown was worse than practically anything else.

Though I suddenly heard some hurried footsteps approaching from right behind me rather quickly. Almost too quickly. The sound causing me to practically throw myself away from the shelf as I whipped around to see who it was.

Glenn stopped dead in his tracks with confusion written all over his face, scanning me before glancing over towards what I was standing right in front of. His eyes got wide as he connected the jots in his head, his mouth falling open as he began to frantically point between me and the wall of tests.

I immediately shook my head and went up to him, "No, no, stop, I'm- I'm not-"

"Then why the hell did you jump out of your skin when I walked around the corner? Does Daryl know? How far along do you think you are?" he asked hurriedly.

I couldn't tell if he was excited, completely panicked, or both. But regardless what he thought was not true in the slightest, causing me to shake my head again, "Glenn honey, I'm not pregnant. I just...I don't know, just figured it was nice to have a few just in case, you know? I swear on my life, I'm not, you don't need to freak out." I finished with a somewhat nervous laugh.

He then sighed in obvious relief, "God Ro, don't do that."

"You're the one jumping to conclusions." I spoke.

He chuckled lightly, "Yeah...yeah, I guess so."

Though I calmed his nerves the smallest bit, I could still clearly see that there was something else bothering him. Something that caused him to freak out the way that he did, similar to how he acted when he found out Lori was pregnant way back on the farm. The thought caused me to stare at him for a moment, knowing something wasn't completely right.

Then, as if reading my mind, he asked quietly, "Can I...have one of those?"

My eyes widened in surprise, "Oh my God, Maggie-"

"I- I don't know, but she's late and uh...we're both kind of freaking out." he admitted, "I was supposed to keep my mouth shut since she didn't want anyone to panic...but when was the last time I ever kept my mouth shut." he finished with a forced laugh.

I nodded silently in understanding, wordlessly handing him one from out of my pockets as he muttered a small "thanks." I didn't know what to say to help ease his mind, I didn't know if there was anything that I could say. But I knew I had to say something.

"Hey, listen...neither of you know what's going to happen. But just know that...everything's going to be okay, and I'm right here for whenever you need me." I finished with a smile.

"But how can you know that? I mean...with what happened to Lori-"

"Don't." I quickly interrupted him, "She didn't have Hershel...and she had to have an emergency c-section. And clearly, I didn't know the first thing about that so... she-"

He shook his head as he realized what he had just said, stopping me from continuing as he placed a hand on my shoulder, "I'm sorry," he whispered, "I shouldn't have brought that up, I'm sorry."

I shook my head, "It's okay," I assured, "But please just trust me on this. Everything's going to be fine."

He looked at me for a moment, before nodding with a small smile, "Okay." he whispered.

However, seconds after the words left his mouth, we heard the sound of glass breaking. The sounds that followed were even worse. A loud crash echoed throughout the entire store, followed by a painful and terrified scream. Glenn and I just looked at each other for a brief second before taking off towards the commotion, and I hoped it wasn't as bad as it sounded. But then again, all good things must come to an end.

~ Thanks for reading!

Taglist - @justareader95 @hayley1998 @ryoujoking @sipsthecoffee @winterassassin1804 @marsmallow433 @catlalice @writingstreetspirit

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nalyra-dreaming · 7 months ago

Note

Something something about the sequence of "Marius de Romanus, Venitian contemporary of Tintoretto's", "The Groan" and "I serve a god" in the very same dialogue exchange + Real Rashid + Marius burning Eudoxia's acolyte Rashid + Eudoxia wanting to take TWMBK for herself + the way Children of the Millennia worshipped Akasha + Teskhamen being part of Akasha's original cult, the founder of the Talamasca and Marius' maker + the Talamasca finding Marius' painting + these paintings hanging in Dubai

I sound schizophreinc but I swear I'm not. I feel like I'm onto something that I can't fully grasp yet but something like the show merging the concept of Marius and the Talamasca together somehow??? I don't know I need to watch S2 right now😭😭😭

Alright *cracks knuckles* :)

So I am (not sure if you know but probably) firmly in the team "Marius is somewhere around and TWMBK are in the basement. And Lestat is probably there in his coma as well.".

For me (myself and I) all the hints point to that.

The painting, the comment re the prime minister, the groan, Fareed, Armand's little comment re serving a god. If the groan is Armand being annoyed or TWMBK will be something that will be interesting to see, but...

I really do not think you schizophrenic :)))

Marius has ties to the Talamasca (Raymond Galant), not only through his maker (though that is indeed a rather strong tie) but also through his contacts to it through the ages.

I absolutely believe that some of his painting will play a rather important role still in the show(s), especially since the set design emphasizes their meaning so much.

So yes. Marius' painting(s) in Dubai. I would bet anything that there are (at least a few) more in the basement. I would bet a lot that there is more than furniture in the basement, too. (In fact I think @cbrownjc might be right on the track in their fic installment, but that just as a note, this aligns to 99% with what I expect as well^^).

It's just the setup of it all. It carries meaning.

Like, Armand wouldn't hang that painting if some things haven't happened. And, as much as he loves/hates/wants Lestat... would he say Lestat is a god? Then again, him being sun-proof (and Louis not) puts us in such an interesting time frame in the books.... and that little easter-egg/hint with the "Book of Hours", too... because remember where that was mentioned?? Right, in Memnoch. By DAVID. David, who implies that they, aka the Talamasca, were tracking said Book of Hours... which had been lost in Berlin in the Second World War. (Btw, I will forever and for all time adore them if Louis just happens to lose some luggage with that darn book on his and Claudia's travels. Seriously. Please.)

Fareed and Seth... and Gregory. And Teskhamen. And Raymond. Hesketh. The Talamasca. Gregory's pharmaceutical empire and Fareed's research. (Which could easily produce special medicine for Daniel). Seth, Akasha's son. The paintings in the living room depicting "mother and daughter"... and "twins".

It's all connected.

And I mean.... knowing the last books... it's not really a far stretch that Marius is involved with the Talamasca. Leads them even, maybe :))))

The show is building up the lore in a quite incredible way, imho. I just hope they do not lose sight of all the threads, because this... if it unfolds over the next seasons as I suspect it will??? ... will be breathtaking.

#Anonymous #asks #ask nalyra #amc iwtv #iwtv #amc interview with the vampire #interview with the vampire amc #iwtv amc #iwtv 2022 #interview with the vampire #the vampire chronicles #vc #vampire chronicles #marius de romanus #iwtv marius #talamasca #vc lore #iwtv lore

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prinvessdior · 5 months ago

Text

okay I decided to upload the first chapter here but please head to here for full updates :3!

CW: mentioned panic attack/ anxiety lots of it. Mentioned gun (never used) panicking. Kinda a bitchy bitch? Idk

(Y/n) wakes up in her new home headed to school. (Y/n) can’t help but click on an early morning live stream of the ninja. She keeps watching one specifically though. Weird things happen..

My alarm screaming at the crack of dawn is something I thought I should be used to by now. It apparently was not as I rolled over, burrito-fied in my blankets. Blindly reaching for my blaring phone I haphazardly press around on the screen. The alarm shuts off and I groan rubbing the sleep out of my bleary eyes.

The early morning sun casts a sheen of yellowish orange across the expanse of my room. Given it wasn’t really a room yet. Boxes stacked and filled the corners of my room, remnants of what I had left to unpack. A soft knock on my door has me (begrudgingly) sitting up.

My dad pops his head in through my door after I mumble a sleepy, “Come in.”

His black curls bounce as he swivels his head to find me still in bed. “Mornin’ babygirl.” He affectionately greets sending me a soft smile when I catch his gaze. I yawn holding a hand over my mouth to cover my manners and the noise.

“Morning Dad.” I pull the covers over my body once again the winter air sneaking in from my bedroom window when Dad cracks it open.

In his hand is a plate stacked with pancakes, eggs and bacon I hum happily as the smells wafts when he sets the plate on the table next to my bed. The only thing I bothered to unpack.

“Big day! Being the new girl is gonna be a lot, especially you so a special breakfast for my favorite daughter.”

I smiled tiredly, “But I’m your only daughter?” I reminded with a frown, he frowns taking a seat at the foot of my bed.

“Whatever.”

Dad digs in the pockets of his pink sleeping robe, I snort to myself that he’s still sleeping with that thing. I could vaguely make out the sound of something jingling.

He presented me with a set of car keys, blown wide awake I threw my covers off I started at dad wide eyed. “Hiram says since its your last year of high school, and almost an official adult, that you deserved some freedom.”

My smile grew in size, I all but snatched the keys throwing my arms around Dad, “Dad! Thankyouthankyou I’ll call dad after school and thank him too!” He chuckled returning my attack of a hug with one arm his free hand ruffling my hair.

I pulled away to inspect the keys closer, turning them over in my hand a few times. Oh! I’d seen these before!

“Oh God this is the car Mr. Cyrus gifted to dad right?” I asked remembering way back when Dad was first starting his school Mr. Cyrus Borg had donated a lot of cash to get it started, I can remember Dad repaying him with his own class at the school and dad got a car out of it, cool.

Dad nodded standing up, “Yeah, so don’t break it.” I huffed rolling my eyes.

“Eat up princess, I’m riding along I need the car for work. Regroup in twenty.” Dad gave me a goofy salute, leaving me alone in my half unpacked room once again.

Humming a song I stood from my bed, first order of business was to take care of the rats nest on my head. I opened the door that connected my bathroom to my room, which by the way, so cool! Back in the village all the home’s layouts had been exactly the same, copy and paste. It was a nice change, what can I say I am a simple girl.

I had only managed to fully unpack the bathroom. Kicking an emptied box out of my way, assessing my appearance in the mirror. Huffing, I quickly slid a brush through my hair securing it into a low ponytail with one too many hair ties, I brushed my teeth.

Next on the agenda was Dads “special new girl breakfast”. Bounding on my bed taking my phone along with me, unplugging it from the charger. I ate in semi-silence as I scrolled through social media. I flicked through friends from private school seeing some girls I used to preform with preparing to go on vacation for winter break. There was the usual news, weather, and people posting their mornings on their stories.

An account I had followed years ago piqued my interest. The twitter account; a Secret Ninja force fan account specifically. Awhile ago when Hiram’s college first opened I remember Dad telling me about how it’d been attacked by..

I squinted at my phone as if the fan account would help me remember.

Whatever it was years ago anyways I was barley thirteen I think. Sighing thumb hovering over the notification at the top of my phone. The account was livestreaming.

“Early Morning skirmish with the Ninja!!”

Sure, an enthusiastic title, seemed like they had been live for awhile. I glanced to the time on my phone.

‘Who goes live at 6:32 in the morning’

About to scroll, I needed to be getting dressed for school anyways. I was still in my pajamas for gods sake. I had to pack my school bag, I barley had seven minutes to get dressed and meet dad outside, wanted to test drive my new baby too, I frowned.

I clicked on the livestream.

The footage was grainy at best, camera flying between each of the ninja. The ninja themselves were gathered around a group of people, I couldn’t tell the gender of the people they seemed to be deescalating a robbery situation. There was a lot of noise the audio was choppy and shitty too, barley registering what was being said.

This “fan account” sure had a shitty phone

I thought to myself as the commotion grew louder.

The cameraman tilting to an angle possibly hiding behind something as they continued to film. There were just enough context clues for me to discern the robbers had guns. I placed a hand over my mouth, suddenly remembering that this was real. A live stream happening somewhere across ninjago city.

Oh shit.

In my momentary anxiety attack, noises of fighting was enough for me to nervously glance back down to my phone. From what I could tell there was an eruption of color. So much so I had to turn away from my phone and shield my eyes, too bright even through a screen. The colors dissipated and assuming the streamer started explaining the whole ordeal. The teen’s voice yelled about how the Water and Green ninja had disarmed the robbers of their guns. The camera quickly switched away from the ninja as police sirens approached making it hard to hear again, the teen continued to yap praises for the ninja.

My gaze flicked over his shoulder to the aftermath, I could barley make out the green one with the robbers apprehended in tow making his way to the approaching police. I clicked off the stream my phone falling to rest on my stomach.

“Woah.”

Dad yelled my name from somewhere downstairs and I shot up from bed still clad in my pajamas.

“Shit!”

▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎

Three minutes was the fastest I’d ever gotten dressed I think. After hastily throwing on a light pink sweater, over my pj shorts I put on some thick winter leggings. Grabbing my phone I hovered over the sleep button gnawing on my bottom lip, overthinking. It was really weird how I’d went completely braindead not thinking before doing something.

What.. what was I doing before clicking on that livestream? I held a hand to my head wincing from a sudden oncoming headache.

Dad called my name louder this time, “C’mon babygirl! We’re gonna run late!”

“Coming!”

Breaking out of my overthinking with a shake of my head ridding the ache with it. I plucked my favorite winter jacket that sat atop a few boxes of clothes. I grimaced at all the unpacking I still have to do. Sliding the pink-inner-woolen fabric over my arms and zipping it all the way, I slid my phone into my pocket zipping that up too. I snatched my shiny new car keys off the bedside table along with my schoolbag lazily thrown over my shoulder and left my semi-room.

Hopping two steps at a time I met dad by the door; he was looking down at me then back to his watch.

“Twenty-seven minutes, seriously?”

I nodded even more serious, “Seriously, takes a lot to look this good.”

Dad snorted and rolled his eyes, holding the front door open for me. I grinned walking out into the chilly early morning air. Seriously Dad told me how cold the city gets in winter but seriously?

Fumbling to retrieve the keys with half frozen fingers, my grin grew as we approached the silver SUV. Sure, it was a soccer mom car but a car nonetheless.

Sliding into the drivers side I hurriedly turned the ignition over desperate for the warm air. Dad entered a few seconds after I threw my bag with my phone inside, Its better out of sight while I’m driving anyways, to the backseats. Dad takes control of the radio as I back out of the driveway.

Whatever song spills softly from the cars speakers as I pulled to the main city road. Dad nudges my arm to grab my attention I hum in query.

“Did you grab your sheet music?” he asked

I groaned hitting the side of the steering wheel. I had completely forgotten about it, I meant to pack it before I got dressed but well.. plus, wouldn’t the kids think it’s weird if I’m walking around school with oldie sheet music? I grew up singing, dad says I was born with a Tony Award in my chubby baby hands. Hell, Hiram has a school on our shared musical expertise.

“I.. forgot.”

Hoping that was the best answer, Especially because I didn’t want dad to know my thought about his oldie music it’d hurt his feelings if I voiced my feelings about it being weird.

Dad brushes it off, “I’ll remind you tomorrow.” I release an anxious breath. Fingers tapping on the wheel as we paused at a red light.

“Anyway, Hiram has a new assistant.” Dad finger quotes the word assistant “Basically this kid found out about Hiram’s daughter was transferring to ninjago high. She emailed for months begging Hiram to offer her help.”

I nodded half listening, “So dad got me a friend? Peachy..” I muttered with a gritted smile sinking down into the seat as a newfound bubble of anxiety enclosed itself around my head.

I sighed through my nose stepping on the gas once the light flicked to green once again. The song switch to ‘Walking on Sunshine.’

Nope. Not very sunshiny.

▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎

LeRoy stole my baby, my silver suv baby that I’d only known for fifteen minutes but my point still stands. Dad told me Hiram’s “assistant”’s name was actually Sapphire, pretty like the stone. He then sped away blasting some musical soundtrack I couldn’t quite catch. Leaving me to turn and face my impending doom.

I stood dumbly on the bottom of the stairs. Watching as groups of students and loners pass me. Some would give me weird looks as they did. I would too, seeing a new kid standing like an idiot at the bottom of the steps in forty degree cold.

Before I could gather my thoughts and stop the oncoming panic attack. Someone approaches me calling out my name I snap my blurry vision up to the feminine voice. The girl looked no older than me, I tilted my head confused but thankful she broke me out of my panic.

“Uh— yeah that’s me.” God. Why’d I sound so small.

The girl smiles down at me from her elevated height on the stairs. At this angle I was able to see her bleached, maybe too bleached blonde hair. Dark jet black roots poking back out from the dye job.

Bad dye job girl had on pure white earmuffs, her whole outfit was white actually. Save for the light gold puffer jacket she wore. My gaze flicked to my own jacket, my favorite jacket. Mine definitely was cheaper and I remember saving up for at least a month. I’d spent a pretty penny on it, bad dye job girl was pretty too I guess.

“Hey! I’m Sapphire!” the fake blonde smiled bigger though it wavered at the corners, she outstretched her hand to mine.

I smiled too, putting my hand in hers. “Hi! It’s so nice to meet you! I’m so sorry I feel so bad my dads dumped me on you.” We shook before releasing hands, she pulled hers back quicker than I expected. Students stopped whispering and staring too I noticed.

Sapphire shrugs, “It’s not a big deal especially for that– oh let me see your chart.” She cleared her throat and I fished my phone from my jackets pocket. Pulling up a screenshot of my classes. Sapphire’s mittenened hand all but snatched my phone. She made a noise I couldn’t decipher and tossed the phone back.

I fumbled to catch it.

We made our way into the school, through the front doors. Sapphire toured me around the school. It was humorous how huge this place was. It had every room a school could need, even actual locker rooms with stalls. Surely gym wouldn’t be so bad then.

Sapphire asked, well demanded for my phone again, I complied. I watched as she put her phone number in my contacts, swiping out her own phone. She message me a map of the school, this time handing my phone back to me.

Maybe she’s just antisocial.

I wondered as bad dye job girl ranted on about the school, I was only half listening. She asked about Hiram’s school and I had to tune myself back in. I tried my best to answer all of her, really creepily detailed questions but the lack of information seemed to ignore her as she pulled a face.

Yeah. Total personality switch.

I grimaced.

As we walked I had to pause to look around the school. Circling back to the school being huge, Yeah it was massive. Multiple buildings for everything almost, one of the three story buildings was just a library in itself! Maybe I could rot away to study there. All the buildings connected so we didn’t have to track back outside to the cold and I got to bask in the heat of the hallways.

“So, do you do anything with music like your dads?” Sapphire asked after she was finished talking about herself, how we got to talking only about her I had no clue.

I nodded anyway.

“Yeah, Dads had me classically trained for singing ever since I was able to hold a note. I play some instruments too.” I explained a relaxed, easier smile growing. All that panic from before harmoniously melting away as I spoke of my favorite thing, what I grew up with.

Sapphire nodded satisfied with my answer this time. Sapphire stopped suddenly and so did I. She gestured to the door which was my first class for the day before she spoke again.

“You should join the choir, we had some weirdos drop out. So we need people to hum and sway in the background or whatever.” She seemed uninterested. Her suggestion didn’t seem like a question.

Shitshitshit

She tossed her bleached hair over her shoulder, turning her hand palm down to inspect her nails. I shifted awkwardly on my feet anxiously tapping the heel of my foot into the ceramic floor. Anxiety please you’re not actually being put on the spot. But.. what answer would she prefer? I didn’t mind being in the back of the choir, I came back to the city to be successful on my own without anyone else’s help, not even dads.

Sapphire’s obstinate blue gaze jumped to mine and I stumbled over my words gasping out any response.

“Fun!! Or Uh- sounds fun yeah I’ll join!”

An even more awkward smile spread across my lips. I spat out a yes befofe I could really even think about it. What is with it with me and spontaneity today??god so stupid.

Sapphire however, seemed to enjoy my response as an amused smile rose to her mouth. “Great! We get together on Friday’s after school.”

A bell ringing pulled us out of the awkward conversation, ha saved by the bell. Sapphire sighed stepping back

“I’ll see you later, shoot me a text if there’s any trouble.” She called out a few feet away, bidding me goodbye with an almost princess-esqe wave.

I returned the wave with the best smile I could muster. As she turned a corner my smile fell.

Aren’t choirs supposed to have auditions for newcomers?

My hand fell down to my side as I mentally slapped myself I wanted to scream.

The damn sheet music!!

#series x the movie #megafic #lloyd garmadon x reader #but he’s not here yet lmfao #ninjago lloyd x reader #ninjago lloyd garmadon #lloyd garmadon x you #pls comment and give me feedback :((#begging for beta readers/ collaborators etc #lyna’s hofah #lyna wrote this

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kyngsley01 · 1 year ago

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plsplspls go into more detail about your silly little au, i need them for my brainrot(only if you want to ofc ^^!)

*Cracks knuckles* Buckle tf up bc this au has been rotting my tofu brain for several days now <3

SO. Personality switch au? Or alignment switch au? Not sure what to call it. But all we know is that Scarab is yellow and almost nice now and Prismo is well… Nightmo.

Nightmo loves messing around and twisting the wishes of his visitors in the worst ways possible. Nobody likes this freak, but it’s hard to not develop a sick sense of humor when you can’t even use the time cube-provided tv because of how bright the screen is! Dude’s just sitting up in here all by himself in the dark most of the time.

Scarab (or Goldie, which I’m going to call him sometimes to differentiate between him and OG!Scarab) is a god auditor… if you can really even call him that. The guy majorly sucks at his job, often failing to catch his quarry because he’s weak to sob stories. The guy ultimately wants to do good by both the multiverse but also all beings who reside in them, which is really hard when you’re supposed to be an unfeeling space cop. Orbo’s on his ass about his failed missions all the time, which leads him to picking up Nightmo’s bounty (the guy really needs a breakthrough, okay ;-;?)

So anyways, Nobody has been able to catch and contain the rogue wish master, bc, like, he can simply poof you away into some god awful forbidden corner of the multiverse, always making sure to snatch the offender’s crystal beforehand so they’re stuck. Worse, if he finds you interesting enough, he’d toy with his hunters-turned-captives until he’d get bored and resort to the same measure mentioned previously. Goldie knows that he’s got like. No chance against this guy, so what does he do?

He makes a wish. Simply surrender himself to the vessel to be turned into the Citadel. Simple enough right?

Nightmo, obviously, seriously misconstrues Goldie’s wish.

“Oh~? Which ‘vessel’ am I supposed to surrender myself to, bug?”

“W-what? Obviously the one in my hand! What other vessel is there?”

Needless to say Nightmo’s been itching to get out there in the multiverse, but he wouldn’t be able to do much squished into that pitiful egg, but that pretty, /shiny/ body of Goldie’s? Oh, that would do just fine~

Wish granted! Goldie’s stuck with the worst mind-roomate ever until he can physically bring himself back to headquarters to turn the wish master in for his heinous crimes! Which, with Nightmo at the steering wheel, was not going to happen anytime soon. Loopholes are so fun to exploit~!

Shenanigans ensue 💕

#ask #au #goldieverse #my art

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lovelykil · 7 months ago

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CHAPTER 2: SCHEDULE.

note; titles were never my forte (ヽ´ω`) ...

beginning

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ . . .

12 years later. . .

I lift myself off my bed and slip on my slippers. It's currently 6 AM and school starts at 8. I stumble over to my door and turn the knob then open it slowly. I yawn.

useless, it's a word that lingers in my head a lot. I step inside my bathroom and close the door.

It's simply letters put together but yet I find myself feeling completely motionless when I hear it. I spit out the minty white paste and wash my mouth, then set my toothbrush in its holder. My eyes narrow upward when I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand.

there's a plant right behind me, it's a Satoru green bamboo plant. It stares at me through the mirror, begging for my assistance. The leaves now turning a yellowish decaying color that screamed in agony. I can feel its pain through this glass I look over my shoulder and my eyes narrow to its pot.

pots are similar to homes for plants, there are different types of pots.. big ones, small ones, really detailed ones, and bland ones. My eyes move up.

my brain starts to go places again, bad places.

my eyes shut close when I remember then open wide. I return my gaze to the mirror then open the bathroom door and turn off the light, all in one swift move. The plant stays put, weeping in the dark after I left.

I wonder why that plant was still there, I mean after all, it was my mother's favorite.

I hurry back to my room to change into my uniform, rummaging through piles of clothes I've yet to put away. Once I find my long sleeve I slip it on then my skirt and lastly my stockings. They are plain black nothing too fancy I do attend a regular high school.

I go to my body mirror and observe my hair, big and curly. There are some days I wish I looked like those girls with luscious blond beauty pin-straight hair or pretty dazzling wavy hair, but other days I learn to deal with it. My curls weren't my biggest problem anyway.

I twirl a strain of hair and watch it coil back, my feet move elsewhere now as I pick up my shoulder bag. You know those bags with several different pockets and kinda just look cool, like you're in some old adventure film.

I like a good vintage look but these unifroms aren't doing it for me.

I make my way out of my bedroom and into the kitchen, time to make breakfast.

because I'm the only woman in the house I'm expected to start breakfast for my father and brother. I found it awfully offensive at first but when you get yelled out several times you just learn to deal with it.

I could poison my father anytime I wanted, but I haven't.

I watch the egg sizzle in the small pot when I crack the egg open, it bubbles from the heat provided below. I sprinkle a little seasoning for flavor.

6:50 AM.

breakfast has been served and ready for the two idiots in our house. I leave their plates on the small table, it's hot now but not for too long since they enjoy their slumber.

they can eat it cold for all I care.

I grab my food and consume it in the kitchen, the atmosphere in there is so quiet and peaceful. The sun barely has come out to say hello so it's rather dim but I don't mind, I've grown accustomed to the night. Me and the moon are friends. Best friends.

7:05 AM.

I make a list of what is needed in the home, mostly a grocery list. I'll have to stop by the store to pick up ingredients for today and possibly for the week. My pencil moves swiftly as I write with precision on the Kuromi-themed sheet of paper. I sneak an earbud in my ear and turn up the volume. I begin to bop my head lightly and smile.

7:45 AM.

I live somewhat close to my school so I take my leave later than most students, at least I'm grateful for that. My steps are slow and long as I trudge my way across the sideway and onto another. Music blasts in my ears, making the neurons in my brain send direct orders to make my fingers tap against the bag hung over my shoulder. I trap myself in the fantasy world I've made in my mind and within minutes I arrive at school.

I stand outside on the school campus, looking up at the huge structure. Students pass me by as they laugh and giggle at one another and eventually find their way inside. I remain focused on the building, I can feel my heart clench in my chest at a single thought.

there was nothing big about this school.. it was merely just a regular, normal high school. It is where I belonged, yes, somewhere... regular.

#𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺𝘬𝘪𝘭 ᯓ★#i wanna make a playlist for this story #im sure I'll think of something #boku no hero academia #mha x reader #izuku midoriya x reader #izuku midoriya #izuku x reader #ᯓ ᡣ𐭩

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writefinch · 2 years ago

Text

Communion

(cn: piss, foot stuff)

It clicked for me about a month ago, years after it had become apparent to the people who knew me, but I'm not short-sighted and self-pitying enough to think that meant I'd wasted time or could've made the leap sooner. If I was less kind to myself I'd say 'boy, I had the maps and I knew the landmarks so how'd I end up in the wilderness so long' but I was sailing through fog, and you know what? When I saw that landmass looming in the distance, I sailed towards it.

I didn't know totally what it meant, still don't in fact. Last year I joked about being a cis boy dyke, and since then I've struck the 'cis' and I'm shaky on the 'boy' and the part that was a joke was the truest thing of all. Am I a boy? Maybe. A woman? I don't think so. A man? I truly fucking hope not. A good girl? Put a collar on me and we'll see.

The thing about fog is that you can't just step back and get a big picture view of everything. My instincts tell me that if I want to figure things out I should look at them at a remove, see where it fits into everything around it, map things out and move forward cautiously. That's what I want to do, it's what I've always done, but fog makes it impossible. You have to get in close if you want to see things, you can't keep it at a distance.

I couldn't move ahead and start hormones right away, not for a few months, for reasons I won't get into here. Delays don't sit well with me brain because I know my brain and I don't trust it, I don't trust it not to treat this like some other big rewarding involving project like learning Polish or playing Go, decide we're too busy and it's too scary and shove the whole thing into a mental oubliette to never see the light of day again. Sure, my friends call me Charlotte now and I've got she/her next to my Discord username, but I wanted something stronger, I wanted something that would cut into me.

I can't remember the name of the first trans woman I knew as a person, rather than as a punchline to a cruel joke. It was on Tumblr and it must have been after 2015 because I remember she had an Undyne avatar, but maybe not, because surely Violet, the "boy" I'd been practically engaged to, had come out as trans at that point? Surely I knew Skeeter, that poor, vicious mess of a girl well enough by then? It must have been earlier than that, the ponies had turned me queer by 2013 at the latest.

No, no, the Undyne-avatar lady was the first time I saw someone I knew be openly *Marxist-Leninist*, she was just also trans.

Anyway I don't know what it was, but even though I was rock-solid confident in being cis and a guy (a guy or a dude, it never bought me any joy to think of myself as a 'man'), something about trans women just really stuck with me. I found their stories compelling, I found their experiences interesting and oddly relatable, though I didn't suffer dysphoria as I thought they described it. I made friends with some trans girls, some of my friends became trans girls, and suddenly most of my friends were trans girls. I burned at injustices done to them, I bought hormones for friends, donated to trans street medic projects, helped newly-cracked eggs get in touch with DIY medding sources, y'know, normal cis ally stuff.

Recently, I realized that I loved trans women. I fucking love them so much. I fucking love all of the varied and fractious transfemme communities that have allowed me to be a part of them, as nothing more than a cis guy who draws a lot of porn. I'm not going to say anything about Blahaj and Bridget and pink coding socks because I know the girl who fucking hates that silly terminally-online stereotype and I know the girl who *is* that silly terminally online stereotype and I love them both and love so many trans girls in all their aspects between and beyond those boundaries. I have never found myself so close to any group of people, so filled with admiration and wonder and love and lust for them, so overjoyed by their trust and friendship and confidence in me, so blessed to call myself a friend and contemporary, as I have of the trans women in my life.

I had accepted some time ago, with no pain and more than a little pride, that I would admire them but be apart from them, that my place would be as a welcome guest, that I would be among them but not one of them, and--

A crack has opened within me to let the light seep in.

I'm one of them. I really am one of them, they're mine and I am theirs and I never want to let this go, this revelation is a gift that I'm barely beginning to comprehend and I can't bear the thought that I might let it pass me by and slouch back into darkness.

So, I would bring a change upon myself, in a way that was small but could not be un-changed, a vow that could not be forgotten, only consciously recanted.

I cut out a lot of the idea before I brought it up, mostly out of time and expedience. I thought of a prayer to Inanna, but that felt like a clumsy thing to rush, and I decided I'd make a shrine to her only once I had the wisdom to pay Her proper respects. I liked the idea of getting caned or whipped in a purifying way first, but that felt too much like regular kink, just inspiration for another drawing. The idea of doing the ritual under psychedelics intrigued me but, well, I've never done anything but amphetamines and poppers before, and I didn't want to dull the experience of either the ritual or the drugs by combining the two under my own inexperience - though, I did include poppers.

Alice, Emily and Lily - not their real names but you get the picture - were very good about it. They told me it was a cute idea, and we met up at Emily's ground-floor studio flat on Sunday night. We'd have been playing board games anyway, and they even seemed a little excited by the idea, even if they weren't buzzing from anticipation like me.

I'd only worn the clothes once since I'd bought them - black tights, a knee-length straight skirt, a black blouse - but my heart didn't pound like that the first time I put them on. I shaved my face upwards and against the grain, my skin still annoyingly stubble-grey, but that would show much less in the candlelight.

When I stepped out of Emily's bathroom the girls had already set things up, candles and all. They were sitting on chairs in a semi-circle, backlit by flickering orange candlelight. As I approached they got stage giggles; I did too, it felt infectious.

Once the giggles had cleared, Alice, in the middle, asked me to state my name and purpose.

'My name is Sophie, and I am here to recieve communion.'

'Very well,' said Alice, and pointed to a spot between their chairs marked in white tape. I knelt there, a bowl of water to one side and a small bag at the other.

I turned to Lily, bowed my head, and asked her if I could wash her feet. She nodded, and I took the bowl and wash cloth and gently cleaned her feet with warm water. Once they were clean and free of sweat and sock lint, I bent down to dry them with my hair. She nodded her approval, and I asked Emily if I could do the same for her. Likewise I cleaned her feet and likewise dried them with my hair. Alice did not get her feet out, for me nor anyone, and instead allowed me to lick her shiny black boots, which only had the faintest hint of grit to them.

Once I had performed the ablutions, the girls daubed me. Alice held my jaw firm in one hand as she applied mascara to each of my lashes with the other, Emily let me rest my chin on her fingertip as she painted my lips a vibrant red, and Lily stroked my hair as she marked my cheeks with blush. They cooed and called me pretty, and Lily's blush felt superfluous.

I presented each of them with a gift: An Adventure Time tarot deck for Lily, a sharpening stone for Emily, a guide to mushrooms for Alice. They accepted the gifts, and gave me gifts in return: a simple black choker from Lily, a bottle of amyl nitrite from Emily, a stack of trans zines from Alice. My voice cracked a little as I thanked them, and cracked a little more after they watched me take a few long, heady hits from the poppers bottle.

Alice asked me if I was ready to recieve communion; I begged her, please, yes.

She took a blister pack of 2mg estradiol and popped out a single blue pill. I knelt and looked up at her, eyes open, heart thumping, mouth wide.

She placed the tiny pill on my tongue and said, 'Sophie, this bread is your flesh, which is given to you.'

Then, she stood up, unzipped her jeans, pulled her limp cock out of her underwear and pushed it between my lips, which I wrapped tight around it.

'Sophie, this wine is your blood, drink this in rememberance of yourself.'

It took her a moment to start pissing, and her urine immediately washed the pill down my throat. It tasted fucking disgusting, almost as salty as seawater with that weird, almost chemical aftertaste. It turned my stomach, and I felt euphoric as I sucked it down.

After that they praised me and called me a girl and a faggot and a whore, and I kept sucking Alice's cock until Emily wanted a blowjob too, and from there it turned into regular lesbian sex, Lily's chastity cage clinking fruitlessly against mine as Emily went around biting us both and Alice had me lick her armpit clean of sweat, fingering and kissing and pinching until we all got tired enough to start watching movies in Emily's bed.

I got up and fetched drinks and sandwiches for everyone and something happened between aftercare, the aftermath of a religious service, and an after-action report. They all kept calling me a pretty girl, which I *really* liked, and Alice asked me how the whole thing had turned out, if I felt anything had changed, and I had to eat two salami and cucumber sandwiches before I could figure out my answer.

Something had changed, but the change had happened months ago, and it had taken communion for me to see it. It didn't clear up my questions or reveal hidden knowledge, I don't know if I'm a she/her boy or a he/him girl, I don't know if I'm actually a woman or just not at all a man, I don't know if this is a thing I've become or if I've been this all along and it's taken this long to discover it. I don't even know if I've really settled on Sophie.

All I got from communion, from this sacred connection of love and knowledge from other trans girls to me, was surety in the things I already kinda knew:

I'm transgender as fuck and I'm a big fucking dyke.

#stories

280 notes · View notes

azucar-skull · 3 months ago

Text

ROTLOU - Mikey Oneshot

It's here!!!!!!! I told myself not to do this but if I have to suffer so do you!

Here's Mikey portraying as Sarah from TLOU. The story follows the HBO script to a T cuz I'm lazy and fuck you-- djdjghdfkgh

Genre: Horror

Word Count: 9073

TWs: Blood, gore, character death, gun violence, PTSD, panic attack, all the bad shit

ROTLOU Masterpost

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

Mikey arises in the morning, wind gently flowing through the curtains of his bedroom window. Sunlight spills onto his face as his eyes flutter open at the sound of a car revving up and driving off, a dog barking after it.

Mikey glances around his room, decorated in personality and art supplies before he cautiously peers at the digital clock on his nightstand. 7:08 am.

Mikey springs out of bed, following the sounds of Leo’s alarm clock going off that Leo often slept past. He hurries over to Leo’s bedroom door and knocks alertingly.

“Alarm.”, Mikey calls out. He hears a soft grunt from inside. “Alarm!”

“I’m up, I’m up.”, Leo stirs past the door. Good. He has to get up for work soon.

Mikey and his brothers have grown quite a lot. The brothers are in their 20s by now, the days of the Kraang invasion are over. The days of mutants and yokai hiding from the human world are over too. And while it would be nice to confide in the solace of their old lair, the brothers found it difficult to stay after Splinter’s passing. They moved out towards the calm northeast side of New York in the Astoria district. They got a house, right next to April’s elderly parents. And the brothers themselves have all gotten new jobs, for now is a time of peace and there is no need for ninja stuff anymore. As much as Mikey misses the action, this was nice.

Donnie and Mikey have been doing their own kind of freelance work. Mikey with his art, and Donnie with his tech and repairs. Donnie’s also picked up a fascination for survivalist prepping, the other brothers have grown concerned but don’t bother to pry. Dealing with an alien invasion and near end-of-the-world will leave a permanent mark on you. Mikey has been indulging into his craft, scrapping for enough money to enroll in an art school. He’s been making some good progress. As for Raph and Leo, they became contractors. Helping with constructions and such, especially given their muscle. They always seem to be busy, rushing out in the morning and returning home worn and tired late in the night.

But not today. It’s Leo’s birthday. And Mikey wanted to do something special for him. Mikey makes his way downstairs to the kitchen and turns on the radio as he starts up on breakfast. He cracks a few eggs into the pan, scrambling and frying them up as Donnie steps into the kitchen and starts brewing himself coffee. Mikey pauses his egg frying to search the cabinets for the pancake mix.

…At least…it should be there. But as Mikey searches, there’s no bright blue pancake box to be found. Right on cue, Leo heads down the stairs, buckling his belt buckle.

“Where’s the pancake mix?”, Mikey asks, not looking away from the cabinets, in a tone that implies Leo was supposed to buy some during their last grocery run.

“Oh, was I…”, Leo stirs, still waking up. “...Yeah, I was. Sorry.”

“I was gonna make you birthday pancakes.”, Mikey sighs. He mutters under his breath as he forgets the pancakes and grabs the orange juice from the fridge, “I swear…”

“You know I don’t really like pancakes.”, Leo hums as he pours himself some of the coffee that Donnie brewed.

Mikey scoffs a laugh. “I know you don’t like them. It was for my benefit.”, he smirks as he pours a glass of orange juice.

Mikey turns to Leo with the orange juice as Leo turns to him with his coffee. Mikey glances at Leo’s mug before insisting.

“Vitamin C.”, he points out.

Leo begrudgingly nods, taking the glass as Mikey heads back to his eggs that he’s abandoned on the stove for the last 5 minutes. Leo winces at the bright taste of the juice and goes back to his coffee.

“You, uh, get your homework done?”, Leo asks.

Mikey rolls his eyes with a wry smile as he turns to Leo. Of course, he has. He’s always been. Taking up GE classes at the local community college as he works on building his art portfolio. Mikey doesn’t get why his older brothers still feel the need to baby him. He shakes his head, turning back to the eggs.

“Fractions?”, Leo adds. It gets a chuckle out of Mikey. Leo smiles back at the sound of his little brother’s laughter.

Mikey finishes the eggs, dishing them out at the dining table where Donnie is already seated, sipping his coffee and scrolling through his phone. Mikey and Leo sit down beside him, eating their breakfast.

“How old are you again?”, Mikey turns to Leo.

“26.”, Leo answers through bits of his eggs.

“Gonna have to wear diapers soon.”

“Who says I don’t already?”

Mikey hums, nodding at Leo. On the inside, Mikey suppresses a chuckle. It’s how the two have developed their playful banter these days, ragging each other on. Leo picks at something in his teeth. He glances down at it on his finger.

“Shell.”

“Calcium.”, Mikey smiles wide, his mouth full of scrambled eggs. Donnie winces in disgust.

“Lovely.”, the softshell comments.

Then the sound of large footsteps make their way in through the door. Raph. Leo glances at the sound’s direction.

“Is there enough for Raph?”

“Well, there would have been…”, Mikey draws. Raph usually heads out early in the morning to go work out at the gym in lieu of having a dojo readily available anymore.

Raph smiles as he strides into the kitchen, playfully nudging Leo’s shoulder. “Ayy! You’re still alive, you old fucker.”, he taunts, making his way to the fridge.

“Aw, he loves you.”, Donnie snarks with a smile.

“He’s dependent on me, it’s not the same.”, Leo mumbles.

“I think it’s the same.”

“It’s definitely the same.”, Raph adds, grabbing a plate and glancing at the empty pan on the stove. He spins around to Mikey. “I thought we was havin’ pancakes.”

Mikey snickers as Leo pauses his chewing and glances up at the oldest. He shrugs.

“We’ll pick you something up on the road.” Then he adds, “Concrete guys gonna be there?”

Raph hums, heading for the fridge, “Yeah, they said maybe.”

“Maybe? We can’t frame until we pour. We’re not getting paid until we frame.”

Raph grabs some leftover wings, sniffing it to see if it’s still good. “Well, we could bring someone else on, get the job done faster.”

Leo immediately shakes his head, turning back to his food. “No, no. I’m not splitting this job. I barely wanna split it with you.” He looks back up. “We could work a double.”

Mikey pauses, glancing over at the slider. “Literally? Today?”, he hisses.

“I know. I’d be done by nine.”, Leo assures before turning to Raph. “By nine, right?”

Raph glances at Leo, then at Mikey. “...Yeah.”

Not convinced by Raph’s answer, Mikey brings his pleading eyes over to Leo who picks up on it quickly.

“I’ll bring back a cake.”, he nods. “I promise.”

Mikey sighs, turning back to his food and keeps eating. The silence in the room allows the radio to be overheard. Music no longer playing, but instead a news report.

“...continued disturbances in Jakarta, but are advising US citizens…”

Leo ponders at the report, sipping his coffee. “Jakarta. Where is that, Middle East?”

Raph hums, thinking. “Doesn’ ring a bell. It’s definitely a country. Or maybe part of Asia?”

Donnie scoffs. “Jakarta isn’t a country. Being a part of Asia isn’t mutually exclusive with being a country, and in fact, it’s the capital of Indonesia.”

Raph chuckles at his genius younger brother. “Shit. Hope for us yet.”

On cue, the microwave beeps, signaling Raph’s food is ready. Leo stirs, clasping his hand at a wrist watch that isn’t there and digs into his pockets for his phone to check the time.

“Finish up quick, we’ll drop you off.”, Leo says, getting up and bringing his dishes to the sink.

“I’m still eating my eggshells.”, Mikey retorts.

“You got seven minutes.”

“Your t-shirt’s inside out.”

Leo glances down at his shirt, noticing the inseams sticking out. He sighs in defeat, hurrying off as he tugs off his shirt.

“Shit…”

Raph chuckles, chewing on his chicken wings. He smiles and shakes his head, turning to Mikey and Donnie.

“He’s losin’ it.”

Mikey laughs at Raph’s banter as Donnie shakes his head. The brothers finish their food and hurry off to get ready for the day. Mikey runs up to his room and grabs his bag to head to his classes. He glances down the stairway to make sure his brothers don’t notice as he dips into Leo’s room. He turns off the fan that’s always running and digs through the drawers. He brings out Leo’s favorite watch, a watch that’s been broken for a long while. Then he grabs some of the cash from Leo’s drawers. Mikey would pay to repair it himself, if only his freelancing gig has been merciful. No one wants to commission art from him. He sighs at the thought, ignoring his own self-doubts as he sets the cash down on the table. Then his eyes set on Leo’s pocket knife that’s kept in the drawers. Mikey opens up the blade, seeing the beautiful engravings, running his finger across it. Mikey is pulled out of his trance at the sound of a car honking.

“Mikey!”, Leo beckons from outside.

Mikey quick tucks the knife back in the drawer, grabbing the cash and watch and slips them into his pocket as he hurries out of the house. As he heads out the door, he hears a familiar friendly voice call over.

“Hey, neighbor!”, old Kirby O’Neil smiles. He sits on the lawn in front of his house with his very elderly mother in law in her wheelchair beside him.

“Oh, hi.”, Mikey smiles politely.

Kirby nods, turning to force feed his mother in law, referred by everyone as Nana, some biscuits he had on a plate. The old woman is barely there anymore, staring off into the distance.

“Uh, Carol was asking after you, since you haven’t been over in a while.”, Kirby says.

Now, Mikey loves April’s parents. They’re the sweetest. But his politeness does have its limits and Mikey would like to allot time for his art instead. He turns to Leo, who’s packing up the back of the pick-up truck with equipment, for support. But Leo gives Mikey a stern look.

“Make ‘em happy.”, he mutters.

Mikey sighs, forcing a smile as he turns back to Kirby. “I could come by after class. But just for like…a little bit?”

“Oh, she’ll take whatcha got.”, Kirby chuckles. “Y’all can bake, whatever. Speakin’ of…we got a lotta extra here.”, Kirby turns and picks up the plate of biscuits. “Y’all—y’all want some biscuits?”

Mikey smirks, thinking of a way to rag Leo. “Leo, you love biscuits.”, he smiles at his brother.

Leo stirs, glancing at the conversation. Kirby carefully helps Nana wipe a crumb off her face and poke it back in her mouth. Leo winces in disgust.

“...I do.”, Leo drawls. “But I’m on Atkins.”

“On what now?”, Kirby asks.

“It’s uh— You know what? We gotta run, but Mikey will be by later. He’ll stay as long as you want.”, Leo smiles. “Tell you all about Atkins.”

“Great! I’ll let Carol know.”, Kirby grins.

Mikey scoffs at his brother and the smooth playoff he just pulled. The brothers start to pile into the truck. He shakes his head with a grin as Leo opens the door for him.

“Solid.”, is all he says as he climbs into the backseat with Raph. Leo and Donnie taking the front seats.

Donnie sits up in the driver’s, buckling his seatbelt with a lit cigarette in his mouth. “Can’t tell you how exciting it was listening to that fucking conversation.”, he drawls.

“Put that out.”, Leo snarks.

Donnie rolls his eyes as he puts out the cigarette and tosses it. “Happy birthday to you.”

The truck starts, driving off. Just a normal mundane September day.

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

Mikey sits in his English 101 class, listening to the professor’s lectures as he goes over his notes. Bored out of his mind, he starts doodling on the edge of the pages. He pauses his doodling when he notices a light reflecting onto his hand. He glances at the reflective light before looking up at the culprit.

A student in the row in front of him, adjacent to the right. They’re wearing a shiny metallic bracelet on their wrist. The student doesn’t look like they are paying much attention to the lecture. Staring blankly at the front, their writing hand still and pressing the pen against their notebook that the ink begins to pool. Their bracelet wrist twitching rhythmically, reflecting light off of it.

Mikey stares with curiosity before suddenly the dismissal bell rings and all train of thoughts leave him. He hastily tucks his notes away and gets up to leave with the rush of the other students, ignoring the professor shouting out the homework among all the rush.

Mikey hurries out off campus to the bus stop before it can leave without him. He steps in, paying the fee and riding the bus to a part of town he doesn’t visit much. But he knows where he’s going, noting the clockwork repair shop as he crosses the street. There’s a large crowd of people off to the side, enjoying their meals from the surrounding food trucks and picnic tables.

He smiles at the man behind the counter, a radio softly playing music in a language Mikey doesn’t know. He asks the man to take a look at the watch. The man pries the watch open, looking at the gears for a few minutes as Mikey asks how much the repair is.

“...Twenty.”, the man says.

“That’s it?”

The man smiles, looking up at Mikey. “Okay, thirty.”

Mikey grins at the man’s joke. “Twenty’s good.”, he says as he digs through his backpack for the money and sets it on the counter.

“It’s a spring. I’ll do it right now.”

Mikey nods, swinging his backpack over his shoulders as he looks around the shop. Eyeing the peculiar clocks on display. He hears sirens rush past, but it’s nothing abnormal from the bustling sounds of the city. He stirs a bit at the sound of a wailing fire truck following close behind but pays no mind. Doesn’t even notice the SWAT car tailing them as well. The man sighs.

“All day, I swear.”, he mutters.

Suddenly, a woman appears past the beaded curtains. She looks as if she’s seen a ghost, glancing between the man and Mikey.

“We’re closing.”, the woman says, rushing to the door to flip the sign.

“Huh?”, the man turns to her.

She says something in Arabic before continuing. “We’re done for today.”

“It’s 3:15, we close at 7.”, the man gestures to one of the many clocks.

The woman hisses at him in Arabic again. She turns to Mikey, gently ushering him out the door. “I’m very sorry. He cannot finish.”

“I’m already finished!”

The woman shouts at the man in Arabic again as the man puts the watch in a box and hands it to her. The woman shoves the box into Mikey’s hands and escorts him to the door. “You should go home.”, she warns.

Mikey steps out the door as the woman shuts it behind him, quickly closing all the shutters in a hurry. As he turns back to the street, he notices a strange emptiness. The crowd of people by the food trucks are gone, some things left behind in a hurry. It is an eerie sight from the once bustling city just a few minutes ago.

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

Mikey heads back home and hurries over to his neighbors, feeling a bit more relaxed when he is greeted by Carol’s kind smile.

“There you are, sweetie.”

“Sorry.”, Mikey smiles.

“I was getting worried.”

“I was getting something for my brother.”

Mikey steps inside, taking in the old grandma-aesthetic of the place. A familiar creature bounds up to him, chirping delightfully. Mikey crouches down to pet them.

“Hi, Mayhem.”, he smiles, greeting the yokai creature. But his mind is still filled with worry. He turns back to Carol.

“Hey, is everything okay? Like, on the news?”, he asks.

“Like what, hon?”

“Well, n-no, there was just…a lot of police and stuff on the road today.”

“Well, that’s true every day, innit?”, Carol turns to him. “People out there need to get right with Jesus. 3 nails, plus 1 cross, equals 4-given.” She pushes past the barn doors into the kitchen as Mikey leans in. “I was thinking we could make some cookies.”

“Chocolate chip?”

“Raisin.”, Carol grins excitedly, picking up a baking tray.

Mikey makes a face as he pauses in the doorway. Not a look of disgust, but not a polite smile either.

Mikey and Carol bake the cookies together, the box turtle working on his homework at the dining table as the cookies bake. Carol tries to feed her old mother, muttering some comments as she walks past to take the cookies out of the oven. Mikey pauses his homework, sighing and glancing around the house. He gets up and heads to the living room and peruses the shelf full of DVDs.

“You wanna give me a hand?”, Carol calls out.

“Be right there!”, Mikey calls back as he continues searching the shelf. Perhaps he can find a movie for him and his brothers to watch tonight. Something Leo would like for his birthday.

He hears a small croaking behind him, probably just Nana. Mikey’s still surprised she’s even still kicking. Perhaps she’ll break the record for oldest person alive.

Breaking his train of thought, he spots something that he knows Leo would enjoy. Curtis and Viper 2. He picks the DVD case off the shelf, glancing at it for a moment before heading back to the kitchen.

“Hey, Mrs. O’Neil? Could I borrow this?”, he asks, showing the movie to her.

Carol puts on her glasses as she glances over the cover. “Yeah, sure. It’s one of Kirby’s.”

Mikey quickly thinks of an excuse to leave. “You know what? My brothers are gonna be back real soon. I should go.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, you’re taking some cookies.”

Mikey packs his bag, stuffing the DVD and cookies inside as he heads out to leave. But then he hears Mayhem whining. He glances over to see the yokai sitting and tilting their head at Nana. Maybe she’s finally reached her limit afterall. Though, Mayhem’s reaction is strange.

Mikey heads out the door to go back to his place when he hears rumbling from overhead. There’s no thick clouds or signs of thunder, but Mikey’s curiosity is answered when a fleet of jets zip by, heading somewhere. That’s odd. Maybe there’s some kind of air show happening?

Mikey can’t think of another reason why military jets like that are here.

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

It’s getting late and Mikey’s getting annoyed. Flipping through a magazine on the couch in his pajamas as his brothers’ dinners get cold. The TV quietly plays the news, some report about violent attacks happening in the city and some sort of…street drug? Mikey’s not really paying attention. Soon he hears the sounds of keys and the door opening. Raph and Leo walk in, Donnie nowhere to be found and is probably at some bar again. Mikey sighs as his two older brothers enter.

“You locked the door for once.”, Raph mumbles. “Good job.”

“Yeah.”, Mikey hums, turning the TV off.

Leo slouches onto the couch beside the youngest, worn out and exhausted.

“It’s 10.”, Mikey spat.

“I know.”, Leo sighs. “They…gave us the wrong size for the headers… That doesn’t mean anything to you, I’m sorry.”

“Where’s the cake?”

Leo sighs again, ragged and tired. “Shit…”

“C’mon, man…”, Mikey whines.

“I’ll get us one tomorrow.”

“Swear, or you don’t get your present.”

Leo perks up. “You got me a present?”

“Swear.”

“On my life.”, Leo blinks.

Mikey smiles cheekily as he digs behind the couch pillow to bring out the box. Raph sits down in the chair next to the two, sighing with exhaustion as well. Mikey hands the box to Leo who hums and presses his lips in amusement.

“Wow.”, he drawls. Then he opens the lid. And stops. Staring.

Mikey grins warmly. “Fixed it for you.”

Leo takes the watch, glancing at it. Then his brows furrow as he places the watch against his tympana. He looks more concerned.

“Did you?”

“What?!”, Mikey’s smile drops as he reaches for the watch.

“I don’t hear anything…”

The watch is fine, ticking away. Mikey sighs in relief and relaxes, Leo and Raph chuckling back. Mikey scoffs.

“That was lame. You’re lame.”

“Yeah, I know.”, Leo smiles, looking proudly at the watch. “Where’d you get the money for this?”

“Drugs. I sell hardcore drugs.”

Raph chuckles. “Better than what we do.”

“It was only $20, which I stole from you.”, Mikey explains. Leo turns to him with suspicion. “I could’ve stolen 60, but I put the change back because I’m an honest thief.” Leo hums, relaxing. “Besides, it’s the thought that counts. And you were never gonna do it for yourself, so…”

Leo stares at him for a moment, Mikey can see the thoughts swirling in his mind. He turns back to his watch, fixing it on his wrist. “Thank you.”, he murmurs softly.

Mikey smiles, full of warmth for his brother. Then he remembers. “Oh! There’s one more.”, he says, digging in the couch cushions again. His smile widens more when Leo practically snatches it out of his hands, Raph leading in as well.

“Borrowed it from the O’Neils.”, Mikey says.

“Ohhh, this is the one with the deleted scenes.”, Raph drawls.

“Yeah, imagine how bad those have to be.”, Mikey nods, tapping Leo’s shoulder. “C’mon, pop it in. While it’s still your birthday.”

Leo gets up and puts the movie in before sitting back down on the couch, Mikey snuggling in close.

“Don’t fall asleep.”, Leo mutters.

“Course I won’t. It’s too riveting.”, Mikey teases, wrapping his arms around Leo and leaning against his plastron.

The movie plays, the night getting late. Mikey’s eyes start to droop. He knows he promised Leo he wouldn’t fall asleep but…

It wouldn’t hurt to shut his eyes for a bit.

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

There’s a rumbling. Low and quiet. But it gets louder and louder. Mikey stirs in his sleep, annoyed to be woken up. Sirens start wailing. Then suddenly…there’s a dull boom. Mikey snaps his eyes open and looks around. …How did he get in his room? Did one of his brothers put him to bed? Another dull boom, dogs barking, car alarms going off. Mikey glances at the clock, 2:16 am.

There’s light flickering through the window and before Mikey knows it, the house starts rattling against a helicopter flying low overhead. Mikey gets up, now more worried. Thoughts begin swarming in his head, thoughts from earlier in the day and all the little signs he’s noticed. Is New York under attack again? Are there villains afoot? A war?

Mikey steps out of his bedroom, heading for his brothers’ rooms. “Raph? Leo? Donnie?”

He searches their rooms, but he’s home alone. Where did his brothers go? Did Donnie get himself in trouble again at the bar? Where are they at this hour? The house rattles again, more helicopters, more jets, more dull booms in the distance.

“Guys?!”, Mikey calls out again, ignoring the strain in his voice as he rushes down the stairs. He needs his brothers. He needs to find out what is happening.

The house is still empty. There’s a car screeching outside as it speeds off in a hurry. Mikey quickly glances around before reaching for the TV remote and turning it on, hoping that there’s something on the news to explain what is going on. But he is met with a droning beep and an automatic security system showing some white text on the black screen.

“Stay indoors. Law enforcement and emergency services are in the area and will be in contact with further instructions.”, the TV repeats in a loop.

An overwhelming sense of dread floods through Mikey’s veins before suddenly there’s a loud bang on the sliding glass door. Mikey screams as he jumps, turning to he sound. There, Mayhem is pressed against the glass, shrilling with worry. Mikey heads up to the front door where Mayhem runs up to him, whimpering and getting behind him as if to shield themself.

“Shh, shh…”, Mikey hushes, crouching down. “Easy. Easy, Mayhem. What are you doing out here, little guy?”

Mikey glances around at the empty street. He gets up, searching around for any clues. Mayhem shrills in warning but doesn’t dare to follow Mikey. Mikey looks up and sees another helicopter flying low overhead, searching for something. Mikey does his best to push down his fears, trying to think rationally on what to do next. He decides his next course of action should be tending to the panicked yokai still screeching after him.

He picks up Mayhem, stroking their head gently as he walks over to the O’Neil’s house.

“Come on, Mayhem. Let’s get you home.”, Mikey hushes. Maybe he could stick with the neighbors until his brothers get back.

Yet Mayhem is hesitant, whimpering and whining before climbing out of Mikey’s arms and jumps off, running away. Mikey calls for them, trying to grab them but only manages to grab the collar before it slinks off the yokai. Mikey has no choice but to head to the O’Neils and tell them what happened. Hoping they would have some answers about what’s going on.

Yet when Mikey approaches the house, he notices the door is wide open. The rug leading to the door is all scrunched up and a dog leash lies abandoned on the ground. Was Carol going to take Mayhem on a walk? No…something else happened here. Mikey steps in the house, looking around carefully.

“...Mrs. O’Neil?”, he calls out.

No response.

Mikey hears faint clanking coming from the kitchen. The sense of dread pools in his stomach, knotting and twisting with fear. But he must push forward. He’s a ninja! He’s just…out of touch. That’s all. No biggie.

Mikey cautiously approaches the kitchen, setting Mayhem’s collar down. He hears another boom in the distance, a car alarm going off. He whips around to it, afraid someone or…something will jump out to attack him. Mikey takes a shaky breath as his vision blurs from tears forming in his eyes. He approaches the kitchen again, mustering the courage to keep going.

“M-Mrs. O’Neil…?”

He opens the barn doors. Then nearly falls when his shoes slip on something. Something wet. Shining and deep deep deep red.

Mikey’s eyes grow wide as there’s a horrendous change in the atmosphere. The copper scent is strong and foul. His eyes naturally follow the large thick trail of blood to…to Mr. O’Neil. Propped up against the fridge, frozen in terror and staring wide-eyed at Mikey with plea.

“...help me.”, the man whispers.

Kirby’s tank top was covered in blood, bleeding profusely from his shoulder. The man looked in shock, unwilling to move. Mikey felt the same as his jaw dropped, stepping closer to the old man. Kirby flicked his eyes over to the side. And Mikey’s eyes followed.

There on the ground, Carol’s body lays lifeless. And…And Nana…she’s hunched over, digging her teeth into her daughter’s neck. Nana’s breathing was raspy and uneven. The elderly woman slowly pried her teeth away to look up at Mikey, and he almost threw up at what he saw. Vines. Orange life-like vines, like roots. Curling and stretching. Becoming entangled in Carol’s neck wound. Mikey gulped dryly, pushing down the bile that threatened to rise up his throat.

Nana’s breathing gets more frantic, hungry. She staggers to a stand with strength her old frail body never had before. Mikey instinctively felt himself walking backwards towards the barn doors. Then the old woman screams, charging at Mikey with unnatural speed and flailing her arms. Mikey takes that cue to run.

He runs as fast as he can out the door, frantically trying to think of a plan. He needs his brothers, his weapon, something!

As he runs out the door, his vision floods with headlights as a truck screeches to a stop in front of him. His brothers. Mikey feels a wave of relief wash over him that dissipates just as fast when he senses the urgency in his brothers’ voices.

“Get in the truck! Right now!!!”, Leo yells as he jumps out the passenger seat and runs over to Mikey, grabbing his arm. “Move!”

Leo’s holding a wrench like it’s a weapon. Similarly, Raph has a bat and Donnie…is that a police rifle—

A deep seated screech comes from the O’Neil’s house. Nana comes stumbling out before her back gives way and snaps, tumbling down the steps. There’s a tense pause for a moment. Then suddenly, her head snaps back up and she’s crawling. Scrambling for the brothers and screaming wildly. Then she gets up into a stand, sprinting.

Donnie aims his rifle as Raph draws the bat back. “What are we doing, Leo?!”, Donnie shouts.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Leo winds up the wrench and swings across the old woman’s face as she tries to attack him. His face full of rage and Mikey has never seen before. He looks bloodthirsty. And Nana…sweet old Nana…she’s…

Leo’s face drops when he looks into Mikey’s fearful eyes. He quickly drops the wrench and hurries up to his little brother, cupping his face in his large calloused hands.

“...y-you killed her…”, Mikey mutters as tears drop down his face.

“Mikey, I’m sorry.”, Leo hushes, pulling his brother in close.

“Guys, we gotta go.”, Raph calls out, hearing the sirens in the distance.

Leo nods, quickly pulling back from the hug to cup Mikey’s face again and leaning in to get his full attention.

“Mikey, listen to me. It’s not just the O’Neils. But we’re gonna be brave,” the leader assures, “and we’re going to get out of this—”

A big bright light of explosions erupts across the street. Mikey whines as Leo quickly wraps his arms back around his little brother as if to shield him. Donnie and Raph quickly get back in the truck.

“Hey, let’s go! Come on!”, Raph beckons.

“Get in.”, Leo ushers as he pushes Mikey into the back seat with Donnie before heading for the passenger’s seat.

“Boys?!”, a woman’s voice calls out across the street. Their other neighbor, Denise, hurrying out in her pajamas with a flashlight in hand.

“DENISE YOU GET BACK INSIDE THE HOUSE!”, Leo demands with such vigor and urgency, it makes Mikey flinch. “YOU LOCK YOUR DOORS! NOW!!!”

“C’mon, c’mon, get in!”, Raph calls for his brother, starting up the truck.

Leo quickly gets in as Raph screeches the car around in a U-turn around the cul-de-sac. As the truck turns around, the brothers all hear a croaking groan as the O’Neils (who should be dead) come stumbling out of their house.

“Seatbelts on. Hold on.”, Raph warns.

Raph charges forward with no regard for the elderly couple. The couple that was once so kind to them, surprisingly taking it pretty well when April introduced the mutant turtle brothers to them, now being rammed over and left for dead on the street.

“Jesus Christ, boys!”, Mikey hears Denise gripe as she hurries to check on Kirby lying on the ground. More distance explosions ring out, illuminating Carol as she charges for Denise, ripping her apart. Donnie grabs Mikey’s shoulders and pulls him back around from staring out the back window.

“You take 70—”, Leo guides.

“71, I know.”, Raph spats.

A flock of police cars speed by them at the intersection as the truck turns the opposite direction. After much silence, collecting his thoughts, Mikey finally finds the voice he needs to speak again past the quivering of his lips.

“Guys—”

“We don’t know.”, Leo answers right away.

“They’re saying it’s a virus.”, Donnie supplies. “Some kind of parasite.”

“Is it from some villains?”, Mikey asks, cautious.

“We don’t…know.”, Leo presses.

“Are we sick?”

“No. Of course not.”, Raph assures.

“Why did things blow up?”

His question is unanswered as Leo sighs with frustration, fiddling with the radio.

“No cellphone. No radio.”, he mutters. “A minute ago, the newsman wouldn’t shut up.”

“How do you know?”, Mikey presses for answers again.

“What?”

“How do you know we’re not sick?”

Leo turns to him when he hears the way Mikey’s voice starts to falter. Donnie picks up the question for him.

“They’re saying it’s mostly people in the city.”, the genius of the 4 explains. “That’s why they got the highway blocked off.”

Mikey doesn’t feel too convinced. He just watched the world fall apart all over again. He’s growing tired of being the optimist when it’s nothing but disaster after disaster ever since the turtles were tots. Mikey glances up and sees fire in the distance. A whole house just being burned down into nothing and no firefighters tending to it.

“God…it’s Jimmy’s place.”, Leo comments. The kind farmer who would sometimes share his harvest with the brothers. Mikey liked him. Liked exploring new recipes with him. And now…

Mikey stares at the fiery glow in thought, pondering the events that have happened. Wondering where it all went so wrong.

“...The O’Neils would take Nana into the city.”, he reasons. “To the hospital for stuff.”

“That’s right, they would. That’s probably why.”, Leo nods from up front.

“But…you’d have to go a lot…right?”

Raph glances at Mikey’s tearful face from the rear view mirror. “We’re fine. Trust me.”

“...alright…”, Mikey mutters softly, almost inaudibly.

Sirens ring out, louder and louder. Mikey doesn’t know how much longer he can stand that noise. Or if he’ll even be able to hear it so nonchalantly any more. The brothers have all been on edge over the years, but to ignore the sounds of shrilling children and sirens and gunfire…you can’t come back from that. Even the sudden barking sound of laughter from a passerby is enough to make Mikey jolt.

The brothers come across a family on the side of the road, their car broken down. The father shouts at them, waving his arms wildly for help. Raph slows down the truck. Leo snaps his head at him.

“What are you doing?!”, he hisses.

“They got a kid, Leo.”, Raph gripes.

“We’ve got our own family too. Keep driving.”

“We could put them in the back…”, Mikey supplies. But no one hears him. The father shouts more frantically as the truck passes by them, pleading. Mikey stares at the family through the back window, his eyes pooling up with tears once more.

“...Somebody else will come along.”, Leo mutters.

To see his brothers acting like this…it makes Mikey’s heart shatter. They’re supposed to be heroes. They’re supposed to help everyone in need. What’s changing? Why is everything changing?!

Mikey cries, unable to hold back his fears anymore. Donnie wraps his arm around Mikey’s shoulder and pulls him away from the window, tugging him close in a hug. Mikey sobs harder as he leans into Donnie’s embrace. Raph and Leo glance at each other from the front, a look that says they’re both sorry and racked with guilt. Donnie hushes, murmuring words of comfort as he rubs Mikey’s shoulder up and down. Then Mikey feels something being pressed into his hand.

Leo’s pocket knife. How did Donnie get this? Mikey sniffles, unsheathing the blade and glossing over the beautiful engraving. He looks up at Donnie who gives him a soft reassuring smile. The softshell clasps the knife closed into Mikey’s hand, and the youngest slips it into his pocket.

As the truck continues to drive, the rushing sound of cars honking fills the air. The horizon unveils dead stop traffic packed to the brim on the freeway.

“Fuck! Everybody had the same fucking idea!”, Leo gripes.

Raph slams the horn several times as a few cars try to abort the freeway before they get trapped. “I can’t get through this! Fuck!”

“Alright, alright. Let’s think it through, we’ll think it through.”, Leo stammers. “Alright, take the field. We’ll cut across and pick up on the…on the west side.”

“Yeahyeahyeahyeah. West, west, alright. Alright, hang on.”, Raph babbles, jerking the car a hard right.

As the truck begins to traverse the bumpy grass terrain, a few cars follow as well. Everyone panicking and trying to find somewhere safe from all this chaos. But they get up over the hill to reveal the freeway blocked off by military.

“Shit! Fucking army.”, Leo hisses under his breath.

“Isn’t that good?”, Mikey points out.

“It’s good for them,”, Raph gripes. “But that’s the highway we’re tryin’ to get to.”

A few cars speed past the truck, still determined to find safety. Leo sighs, quickly trying to come up with another plan.

“Alright, keep moving. Head north.”, he suggests.

Raph shakes his head, “Could be a lot of people…”

“Well, we can’t go south…we can’t go east, we can’t go west. Where the hell else are we supposed to go?”

Raph doesn’t answer, biting his lip as he gets lost in thought. Leo loses his patience.

“Raph, come on!”

Raph shakes his head again, slamming on the gas and steering a hard right. The horizon now shows a town in the distance, illuminated by their lights. Leo nods.

“Yeah…Yeah I know that place. This can work.”

“Yeah? But then what?”, Raph asks.

“I don’t know. Detroit. Then Canada. Just far, far as we can.”, the slider insists. “How much gas?”

Raph glances down at it. “Three-quarter tank.”

“Go through town. Then up and cut across Rochester, 90 to Buffalo. Past the border. Then we’re out.”

It sounds like a solid plan. Solid enough, at least. No one is in the mood to argue when Raph and Leo are ready to start grabbing each other by the throat. But a spiraling thought enters Mikey’s mind. Something that makes his blood run cold.

“...Maybe it’s everywhere.”, he speaks up. “Maybe there’s nowhere to go.”

No one answers that, afraid to admit the truth. Then suddenly there is a screeching rumbling noise overhead. Raph snaps his head up at it.

“What the fuck?!”

The noise gets louder and louder still. Donnie flinches, pressing his goggles against his tympanas to block out the noise. Mikey turns to the back window as sees a fleet of commercial planes rushing in for emergency landings, trying to get to somewhere safe. Up ahead, a swarm of cop cars zip by, people running around to seek shelter.

“Son of a bitch, we gotta go around.”, Leo mutters.

“Grab somethin’!”, Raph calls to his brothers.

Without much chance to react, the truck swerves right through an alleyway. Mikey latches on to Donnie’s arm and Donnie holds him in return. The sound of screams and terror fill the air. Another turn, and it’s like they’re in a maze. Cars zig-zagging around any space they can find to navigate the chaos and get away. People running around, alone yet together in their fears.

“Alright, keep going. Keep going.”, Leo assures. But then he hears tires screeching to the left. “SHIT! RAPH!!!”

Another car slams on its brakes to avoid hitting the truck, honking at them. Yet Raph presses the gas more and keeps driving. But he slows down quickly when a swarm of people rush out of a store, some of them grabbing each other and ripping each other apart. Like what…Like what the O’Neils did to Denise.

“Raph, you can’t stop here.”, Leo waves his arm out.

Raph gestures his arm to the crowd. “I can’t drive through ‘em all—”

“Are you serious?! Just keep going!!!”

Raph pushes forward but then suddenly glass shatters. The theater up ahead on the right. Windows broken down as people flood out. Screaming in a panic, screaming with insanity and intent to rip each other open. The crowd blocks the street.

“Go go go.”, Leo mutters. Then his voice rises in urgency. “Back, back, back, BACK, BACK!!”

“Raph’s tryin’!!!”

Raph puts the car in reverse, turning around to look out the back window. He sends a comforting smile to the two younger brothers in the back before focusing on saving his family.

“Raph, go faster! We gotta go!”, Leo urges.

“Leo, I’m tryin’! There’s nowhere to fuckin’ go!”

“Find an alley!”

“What alley?!”

People run from the scene, hurrying to get out of the way. Two men are wrestling each other in the middle of the street, tossing and turning. Out from the sky, a plane screeches. Tilting and tilting and tilting. The A team is still arguing with each other.

“There’s people everywhere!”

“Roll the fuck over them! We gotta get off this street now!”

“That’s what I’m tryin’ to do, Leo!”

“We’re going to be okay. Just keep driving.”

Mikey still watches the plane closely. Watches as it gets bigger and brighter in view. The panicked civilians take notice too. Mikey whips his head up to the front.

“Guys?!”, he calls out over their bickering.

The two snap their heads up at the plane, realizing the disaster before it even strikes. The brothers become overwhelmed with fear.

“Holy…shit…”, Raph hisses.

“Move…”, Leo beckons. “Move!!!”

The plane heads for the ground, the crowd of people now starting to run the opposite direction as the truck shifts forward again. A few of the people are stopped and tackled to the ground by the sick and insane. Then suddenly the plane nosedives into the ground and explodes into a bright burst of light. Mikey ducks down into Donnie’s arms as the two huddle close together. The force of the impact sending sharp debris to fly at bullet speed for miles. A shrapnel of blades from the plane’s jets crash into the back window and the truck swerves before tumbling over. Mikey screams as he’s crashed against the ceiling.

Then everything goes black.

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

All sound is muffled. Lights are a blur. Mikey barely stirs at the sirens and gunshots ringing out all around. Barely notices what’s happening as his head spins. He hears someone shuffling around the now upside down truck, reaching out for his torso and shaking him.

“Mikey…”, Leo calls out. “Mikey!”

Mikey jolts, his attention coming back quick as sounds flood his tympanas. Leo sighs with the smallest ounce of relief.

“Stay right there. Don’t move.”, Leo orders. He turns around to the driver’s seat. “Raph, you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.”, Raph grunts.

“Donnie?”

“Could be better.”, Donnie groans as he crawls out the broken window. “Anyone injured?”

Mikey’s breathing picks up as he starts to remember what’s going on. Despite all that, he leans back and turns around to the shattered back window and peers out into the street. No one was running anymore. Just bodies, a bunch of dead bodies in the street. Fire surrounding the terrain. One…monster was tearing into one of the corpses, stuffing the organs into its face like they haven’t eaten in years.

“Mikey…”, Leo calls to him, grabbing his leg in a bid for his attention. Mikey turns to him. “Don’t look. You look at me, okay?”

Leo helps Mikey move his legs that are twisted underneath (overneath?) the car seats. He winces, holding back tears. He didn’t realize how much pain he is in.

“I’m sorry, hermano, I know, I know.”, Leo soothes. He reaches forward to scoop his baby brother up. “Come here. Put your arms around me.”

Mikey sobs from the pain. As much as he hates being babied by his older brothers, there were some moments, like this one, where he just doesn’t care. He wants them to worry and coddle him. To let them shield him from the traumas and hide away. Just riding out the waves until they wash over.

“Come here, come here.”, Leo ushers as he pulls Mikey in close, choking back tears of his own. “I got you. I got— I got you. I got you.”

Leo drags Mikey out the broken window that Donnie escaped from as the softshell is now on the other side of the truck, helping Raph get out as well. Leo goes to set Mikey down on the ground to which Mikey’s loose and twisted ankle flops. Mikey whines, grasping Leo’s shoulder to keep the weight off of it. Leo takes notice of his pain.

“Are you okay?”

“Mm-mm.”, Mikey shakes his head.

“Are you okay?”, Leo presses again for an answer.

“My ankle.”

“Alright, okay.”, Leo nods, hoisting Mikey up a bit more.

“We gotta get off the street!”, Donnie calls out, reading his rifle.

Suddenly a police car speeds over to them and crashes right into the truck that they were just in moments ago and the engines explode into flames. Leo glances at Mikey for the smallest moment before turning to the flames.

“Donnie?! Raph!!”, he yells.

Framed through the fire, Leo and Mikey could see the others searching around before spotting them.

“Head to the river! We’ll find a way!”, Raph calls out.

Leo hesitates for a moment and rightfully so. Mikey doesn’t want them to get separated either. They need to stick together.

“Get him outta here, Leo! Go!”

Without leaving room to argue, Raph and Donnie take off running. Leo turns back to Mikey, hoisting him up still.

“W-We can’t leave them!”, Mikey begs.

“They’ll be fine. Can you run?”, Leo asks.

Mikey glances down at his legs, slightly annoyed as if Leo’s already forgotten that his ankle is fucking broken.

“N-no.”

Leo heaves a sigh. Not a moment’s hesitation and he sweeps Mikey off his feet, cradling his little brother close to his plastron. Mikey hates the way he trembles like a leaf in his big brother’s arms.

“You keep your eyes on me.”, Leo demands in a serious tone.

“O-okay.”, Mikey breathes.

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

“And don’t look anywhere else.”

“No.”

“Alright.”

Mikey wraps his arms around Leo’s neck and ducks his head into his brother’s plastron as Leo holds onto him tighter. Thank pizza supreme for their mutant strength. Leo has no trouble as he runs down the alley, looking for a way out. Mikey peers over Leo’s shoulders for a moment at the fiery crash behind them before ducking his head back down, trying to keep his panicked breathing in check before it makes things worse. But he can’t help the hitches in his voice. The two turn the corner.

And it was a mistake.

Bodies all around, each being torn into by a monster. Some of the corpses are still alive, staring wide eyed and gazes piercing into Mikey’s soul the same way Kirby did. Leo nudges Mikey’s head, making him tear his eyes away. The box turtle obliges, staring down and not daring to look anywhere else. He feels Leo start stumbling back. And then full on sprinting, turning around. Mikey’s eyes glance up for a moment to see one of the monsters standing up and charging after them.

Leo kicks the nearest door in and hurries through as the monster shouts and chases them down. The two duck into a mom-n-pop diner as Leo sprints down the corridor. The monster stumbles over a cart with no regard to itself or its surroundings, solely focused on its target and nothing else. Mikey gasps in fear, frantically grabbing on to Leo’s shirt to hang on tighter. The monster jumps up off a booth to grab them but Leo is faster. The monster collapses onto the ground yet wastes no time getting back up again.

Leo makes his way through the kitchen now, heading for the exit. The monster crashes into a wall of glasses and plates beside them, slowing it down just enough for the brothers to escape. Leo kicks down the exit and sprints across the open field as the monster charges towards them. Mikey whines in fear, clutching his arms around Leo for dear life. The monster is quickly gaining speed. Closer and closer and closer—

BANG!!

The monster falls to the ground with a thud like a ragdoll and Leo stutters to a stop, staring at the damn thing to make sure it’s dead. Mikey heaves as he ducks into Leo’s shoulders, struggling to catch his breath.

“It’s okay, baby brother. You’re safe.”, Leo hushes, holding him closer.

He turns around to keep walking before a light shines over him.

“Don’t move!”

Mikey turns to the light, seeing a soldier point his rifle at them. There’s other military nearby.

“M-My brother’s hurt!”, Leo calls out. “His ankle—”

“Stop right there!”, the soldier commands.

Leo takes a step back, softening his voice. “...Okay. Take it easy. We’re not sick!”

The soldier lowers his weapon, pressing into his walkie. “I got two civilians by the river, one of ‘em injured.” The radio beeps. “Ankle.”

Finally they’re safe. They’re going to be okay. They’re going to make it out of this mess. Mikey breathes, turning to Leo.

“W-w-what about Raph and Donnie?”, his voice quivers.

“We’re going to get you somewhere safe first.”, Leo soothes. “Then we’ll go back for them, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I’m sorry, repeat?”, the soldier speaks to the radio as if offended. The two snap their heads over to him, Leo stepping closer. The soldier immediately points his rifle up again. “Hey! No one told you to move!”, he warns. Then back to the radio. “Yes, sir.”

A pause.

“Yes, sir.”

And then another. The soldier lowers his rifle.

“...Yes, sir.”

With resolve, the rifle aims at the two again. They don’t even need mind meld to know what’s about to happen. Mikey clings to Leo tighter as Leo starts to step back, shaking his head.

“We’re not sick.”, he pleads.

The soldier approaches slowly.

“Sir…”

Slowly…

“WE’RE NOT SICK!!!”, Leo screams as he turns around but it’s too late. Rapid shots are and Mikey shrills as the two collapse to the ground, Mikey tumbling away from Leo’s arms.

Mikey gasps and sputters, before he knows it, he’s coughing up blood. His breathing kicks up as his heart races, a burning pain on his side sputtering blood everywhere. He puts his hands on it in a feeble attempt to stop the bleeding but it hurts.

The soldier slowly approaches his brother and Mikey is rendered useless to stop him. Leo turns, putting his hands up.

“I’m sorry.”, the soldier says with an infliction in his tone.

“Please, don’t.”, Leo begs.

A loud gunshot is fired and the soldier collapses to the ground. Raph and Donnie approach with Donnie’s rifle still aimed at the soldier. Leo gets up, lifting his shirt to see that the bullet grazed him in his side. But the older brothers’ eyes are not on him. They’re on Mikey.

“...Oh God…”, Raph breathes.

Mikey tries to get his voice to work but he can’t. He doesn’t have to though, Leo spins around and stares at him too. The medic of the group scrambles over to his little brother.

“Oh no…No, no. No.”, he mutters, shushing Mikey as he approaches. “Okay…You’re okay. Y-You’re okay, move your hand, baby brother. Move your hand.”

Mikey does, gulping as he tries to catch his breath. But he could see it on Leo’s face, he doesn’t have much time left, does he? He could feel himself getting weak. He becomes more panicked. He doesn’t want to go. He doesn’t want to die. He can’t die! Not like this!

Without a moment’s hesitation, Leo swoops in to pick him up and it hurts like all fucking hell. Like Mikey’s on fire from the inside out. The youngest screams, pushing Leo back instinctively to stop the pain.

“I know, baby boy, I know, I know I know I know.”, Leo babbles. “I know it hurts.”

Mikey glances down, whining as he sees the blood spilling out of him more and more, taking his life with it. Leo presses his hands against Mikey’s wounds.

“Alright. Don’t look down, look up, look up.”, Leo urges. “Come on, Mikey. You’re okay, you’re okay.” His voice crumbles a bit as Mikey pushes him back more. It hurts so bad, he can’t take it anymore.

“I know I know I know I know, baby boy, I know I know.”, Leo babbles again as he becomes covered in his brother’s blood. “I know this hurts. You’re going to be okay. Alright…Mikey…Mikey, Mikey, listen to me.”

Mikey gasps for air that keeps leaving his lungs. He’s becoming tired. He feels the world start to spin, his brother’s voice echoing.

“I gotta get you up, okay?”, Leo urges sternly. “I gotta get you up.” Mikey shakes his head in despair but he knows he’s not getting his way. “Alright? Now, come on. You come on. I know, Mikey.”

Mikey screams in agony as Leo lifts him upright. The box turtle digging his nails into the slider. Trying to resist.

“No, no. I know I know I know I know I know I know.”, Leo repeats again like a broken record, his voice rising in pained urgency as he turns to the older brothers. “DONNIE! RAPH! HELP ME!!!”

Mikey gasps for air once more…but then he stops. All surrounding light fading. All surrounding sound fading. Himself...fading...

The older brothers stare down at the two. Raph already wailing in tears as Donnie stares back at his twin with despair.

“...Leo…”, he murmurs.

Leo pays them no mind, turning back to the youngest. “Come on, baby boy. I gotta get you up. C-Come on.”, he mutters.

But he feels the way Mikey’s body goes limp in his arms, his own dropping down as his head flops back. Eyes blank and slightly closed. He tries to ignore it as he tugs Mikey’s legs closer to scoop him up. Leo’s eyes water without his consent, sniffling and crying.

“Come on, we’ll get up. Come on, baby boy…”, he heaves. “C-....Come on… come— …Please…”

But he knows it. They all know it. Leo wraps his arms around Mikey’s body, rocking him back and forth as if to soothe the aching soul inside. He cradles his little baby brother in close, rocking and rocking and rocking. For he knows. Mikey is just…

Gone.

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

Deadass started crying after writing this and stormed over to my little brother with no context like, "Don't you ever fucking die on me, got it?"

This new AU has me in a chokehold. Dw, it doesn't mean FCAU is not getting any love. I'm finishing that fuck. Plus, there's nothing new and crazy to add to this AU. It follows the exact same script as the show/game. I will be tweaking a few things tho which I'll discuss later. For now. Cry with me. =')

Reblogging helps artists! Same thing applies to writing!

#rotlou #rottmnt #tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #teenage mutant ninja turtles #fanfic #writing #one shot

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