#if i can figure out how to connect 2 of the cases in a way that makes plausible sense then maybe I'll post the first few chapters

[shadow-the-crow]

soo i'm sort of stuck on s4 of tma. i've somehow lost the motivation to listen to more than 1 or 2 episodes a month. and at first, i thought it was just because of the season's generally gloomy mood and me finding new fandoms, but i think i've figured out another reason.

one of the generally agreed upon rules of writing (which, of course, are meant to be broken if you know how to - but in this case i think it might have been good to respect it) is that you should give your main character a strong long-term goal. they should want something, really want something, and act in order to try and achieve that. whether the goal is killing the bad guy, finding a missing family member or maybe just getting back home to finally rest - it can be anything as long as it's important to the protagonist. this helps give a story structure and appeal, because otherwise, the protagonist tends to just passively float through a story, reacting to the events happening to them, but barely becoming active themself. in this case, the audience tends to feel as lost and confused as the protagonist seems. we're just watching the events happen, not knowing what to hope for - and also not being able to emotionally connect with the protagonist as much, since hopes and ambitions make a character more relatable.

and i think that's what's missing in s4. in s3, the crew was trying to stop the Unknowing. in s2, Jon was desperately trying to find out what the fuck was going on - who killed Gertrude, what the Fears were and so on. in s1, although you might argue it was also missing strong character ambitions, Jon and the others were at least trying to fight off the worms and not become victims of the Corruption. plus, back then, there was still the mystery of what the horrors even were.

now, in s4, there's practically no mystery left. we know exactly what the Fears are, and the statements are often a confirmation of what we already know rather than something for us and the characters to theorize about. and even the minimum goal of survival has lost a lot of relevance, since by now, Jon has lost enough vulnerability and gained enough power to not feel easily threatened by other avatars anymore.

there's a few other "goals" that might come to your mind: stopping the Extinction from emerging, freeing Martin from Peter's grasp, escaping the Institute... but none of these really function as motivations. the Extinction thing is mostly Peter's goal, Martin only agreed to protect his friends, and while him and the others are acknowledging that stopping a new Fear is probably important, they're not really acting towards it. Jon does want Martin back, but again, he doesn't act on it until the very end of the season, he just lets him do his own thing. And he does want his normal life back, to be human again and be freed from the Institute - but these goals don't even seem achievable in any way. it's like: yeah, sure, Jon would ideally like to achieve these things, but there's no possible way out by now. even after finding out he could gouge his eyes out and run away, he knows he has the responsibility to stay and fight off the Fears - and he doesn't even know if he could survive without the Eye. he'll probably never be human again. so, again, not a goal he's actually working towards, since he's aware it's not realistic at all. and sure, there are other short-term goals he has throughout the season, like travelling to Ny-Alesund and stopping the Dark cult - but plots like these are resolved after a few episodes, leaving us once again without a bigger goal.

so yeah. i'm not saying s4 is badly written - when i do listen, i'm interested, it's simply missing an element to keep me hooked and make me want to keep listening. this is how i view it, feel free to disagree with me and do tell me your arguments.

[freshcut-chetney]

okay but what if I turned what was supposed to be a quick fic surrounding *one* of Neve's case into a 2 part (maybe more???) fic with at least two other interconnected cases and also add a lil of slow burn. as a treat

[meat-loving-meat]

getting to a point in my nuclear weapons AU where I actually need to do some more detailed planning. I can only fly by the seat of my pants for so long 😭

[dearlenore]

POPULAR • S.REID

SUMMARY: when college students begin to go missing at a near by campus, the Bau are immediately called to investigate, finding you at the center of it all. The problem? You were incredibly popular and insisted you were on good terms with everyone….

PAIRING: fem!bimbo!reader x spencer

tags: reader is hyper feminine, season10!spencer, reader wears makeup, reader is a little dumb but smart academically, reader is Glinda inspired

a/n: editor is busy for the foreseeable future, can you tell I’m obsessed with season 10 Spencer…not all bimbos are dumb they’re just ditzy please 😔

w/c: 1.2k

part 2. vote for bimbo reader here

THE INTERROGATION ROOM was sterile, the air heavy with the unspoken tension between you and the agents watching from behind the two-way mirror. The Bureau had questions, and you—apparently the most beloved person on campus—had answers. Or so they hoped.

“So, can you think of any reason someone might… not like you, ma’am?”

Agent Hotchner’s voice was even, professional, but you could hear the underlying exhaustion. You’d seen that look before—men in suits who thought they had you all figured out. You almost scoffed at the absurdity of the question, placing a delicate hand over your chest as if offended by the mere suggestion.

“Oh, goodness, no! Everyone likes me.”

The confidence in your voice was unwavering, your smile effortlessly charming as you tossed your hair over your shoulder without even touching it. Years of perfect posture, social graces, and careful presentation had trained you well.

Hotch barely suppressed a sigh. He had profiled people like you before—charismatic, effortlessly likable, the kind of person who floated through life with adoring fans but very few true friends. You weren’t withholding information out of malice; you simply couldn’t fathom the idea of being disliked.

“I’m sure that’s true, ma’am, but try to think.�� He flipped through the case file, scanning notes on your social life, your connections to the missing students.

You pursed your lips, brow scrunching in genuine thought. Seconds passed. Then a full minute.

“Nope. Nothing comes to mind.” You shook your head with finality, hands resting neatly in your lap.

Hotch inhaled sharply through his nose before rising from his chair. “Thanks for the help, ma’am.” He exited the room without another word.

You sat there, slightly bewildered. Was that it? We’re you free to go?

The door swung open again before you could ponder further, revealing a much taller man with brown hair, sharp features, and a sweater vest that screamed I read for fun. He moved with a nervous sort of confidence, setting a folder on the table before settling across from you.

“Hello, ma’am. I’m Doctor Spencer Reid.”

Your head tilted slightly, considering him.

“Oh, I feel just fine, thank you.” You beamed, waving off his title dismissively.

He chuckled, the sound soft but genuine. “Not that kind of doctor—I have multiple doctorate degrees.”

“Ohhh, that makes sense.” You nodded as if you absolutely should have known that. “Gosh, forgive me, Doctor.”

“It’s just Spencer, actually.”

You smiled, something about him disarming you just enough to relax—only slightly, of course.

“Alright, Just Spencer. What can I do for you?”

“I think you’re looking at this all wrong,” he started, fingers absentmindedly tapping against the file. “You’re assuming that if someone doesn’t like you, it must be personal. But what if it’s not? What if someone resents what you represent rather than who you are?”

You blinked, caught off guard. “I… I don’t follow.”

He leaned forward slightly, keen eyes studying your microexpressions. “You’re popular. You’re well-liked, effortlessly charismatic. Maybe you’ve never had to worry about how people perceive you because it’s always been positive. But popularity breeds resentment. Even the nicest person in the world has enemies.”

Something in your stomach twisted, and you didn’t like it.

“That’s ridiculous,” you laughed, but it lacked the earlier ease.

Spencer tilted his head, a small smile forming. “Is it?”

Spencer sat across from you, fingers threading together in contemplation. The sterile glow of the interrogation room made everything feel much more serious than you liked, but he was different from the others. He wasn’t pressuring you. He wasn’t pushing. He was simply… waiting.

“Do you mean like people that are jealous of me?” you questioned, thinking harder now.

Spencer paused for a moment, considering his response before nodding. “Something like that, yeah.” He let out a quiet chuckle, something so natural and effortless that you almost forgot where you were.

That was his trick, wasn’t it? He made you feel comfortable. Like you weren’t being interrogated but rather having a friendly conversation.

You giggled, tapping a perfectly manicured nail against your chin. “Oh, then you’d have an easier time if I just listed the people who aren’t lime-green jello of me.”

A small, amused smile tugged at the corner of Spencer’s lips. “I assume that list is rather short?”

“Oh, tragically short. Practically microscopic.” You sighed dramatically, tossing your hair over your shoulder. “But can you blame them? Some people just have… it. And others don’t.”

Spencer let out another soft laugh, shaking his head as if he found you entirely fascinating. “That’s an interesting perspective. But don’t you think jealousy can lead to resentment? Maybe even aggression?”

You frowned slightly, mulling that over. “I suppose so… but no one’s ever really acted on it. I mean, sure, I’ve had some rumors spread about me, but that’s just part of the charm, isn’t it? A little scandal keeps things interesting.”

Spencer nodded, studying you intently. “And what about the missing students? Did any of them ever have issues with you? Even small ones?”

You sighed, finally showing a flicker of exasperation. “No, Spencer. I told you, I was on good terms with everyone. I make it my business to know people, to get along with them. It’s part of why I’m so well-liked.”

The way you said his name caught him off guard. He blinked, adjusting his seating slightly.

“You’re very confident in that,” he mused.

You smirked. “Confidence is key, darling. If you act like everyone loves you, they have no choice but to play along.”

Spencer tilted his head, considering your words. He had met people like you before—magnetic, effortlessly charming, floating through life in a bubble of admiration. But there was something deeper here, something underneath the carefully curated confidence.

You were almost convincing yourself.

He decided to change tactics.

“You know, I read a study once about social perception,” he started, leaning back slightly in his chair. “People who are widely adored often assume that admiration equates to genuine affection. But popularity and true friendship aren’t always the same thing.”

Your brows furrowed slightly. “Oh? And what’s the difference?”

Spencer smiled, slow and knowing. “Well, popularity is when people want to be around you. True friendship is when people care what happens when you’re not there.”

For the first time since sitting down, your smile faltered—just for a fraction of a second. And Spencer caught it.

You recovered quickly, rolling your eyes with a light laugh. “You really are a doctor, aren’t you? That sounded suspiciously like therapy.”

Spencer grinned. “Just an observation.”

You tapped your fingers against the table, sighing. “Fine, fine. There’s this one girl, Claire. She was always a little… bitter. But it was nothing serious.”

Spencer’s eyes lit up slightly. “Claire? Can you tell me more about her?”

“Oh, if you insist.” You smirked, feeling oddly at ease as Spencer coaxed more information from you. He made it feel natural, like it wasn’t an interrogation but rather a conversation you wanted to have.

Behind the glass, the rest of the team watched, impressed. You were laughing, joking, gossiping, talking about books.

“I gotta hand it to him,” Emily murmured. “I don’t think she’s even realized she’s being interviewed anymore.”

“That’s Reid for you,” Morgan added. “Guy could probably charm the truth out of a con artist if he wanted to.”

As the questioning wrapped up, Spencer closed the file in front of him and looked at you with a warm, genuine expression.

“Thank you for your help. You’ve been… surprisingly insightful.”

You grinned. “Well, I do love a good chat. Especially with charming company.”

Spencer hesitated for just a second before clearing his throat. “Speaking of company… would you want to get dinner sometime?”

Your eyes widened in amusement. “Doctor Reid… are you asking me out?”

He adjusted his sweater vest, suddenly looking a bit shy. “I—uh—well, I just thought, you know, since we had such an engaging conversation…”

You leaned forward, resting your chin in your hand with a slow smile. “How could I possibly say no?”

[demonic0angel]

Exhausted college student Danny gets mistaken for a vampire one night when he tiredly hissed at one of the bat family and showed fangs as he forgot he was eating some cherry candy that stained his teeth red. He also has pointed ears. Red Robin is on the case to track down the vampire in Gotham. He also found him kinda cute

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Tim tapped his fingers together in front of him. He leaned back in his chair and looked at his cork board, which were covered in photos of Daniel J. Nightingale, red string connecting each piece of information together to form a puzzle that he needed to solve.

It had been months, but somehow, Danny was evading Tim's every attempt to find out where he lived and whether or not he was truly a bloodsucking creature.

With how he was consistently disappearing under Tim's surveillance every time, he was beginning to think that Danny was truly a vampire.

The door opened, and Jason waltzed in and leaned over the back of his chair, his elbow narrowly digging into Tim's head. Tim yelped as his chair suddenly leaned back at a drastically new angle before he glared at him.

"... found a new victim, stalker?" Jason teased, looking at the pictures of Danny.

"... I'm not a stalker. And he's not a 'victim', he's a possibly dangerous individual that I need to find and neutralize."

Jason raised an eyebrow, looking at a picture where Danny was passed out on a park bench, a half eaten sandwich on his stomach that was being stolen away by a pigeon.

".... dangerous?" He said, his tone slightly unbelieving.

"I have reasons to believe that he's a vampire," Tim said vaguely.

Jason hummed. "Oh. So that's why you have this picture of him where his shirt's riding up over his stomach?"

Tim turned pink. "That's— that's for research! That picture is very important to me!"

"Oh, I'm sure it's important," Jason smirked. "So while you're figuring out a way to... 'neutralize' this vampire, can you try to get me this girl's phone number?" He said, picking up and waving a picture where Danny was talking to a tall, red haired woman. "She's hot."

"No!! And get out of my room!"

[pyract0]

╰┈➤Thoughts/ head cannons with HSR men!

☁︎ No specified gendered descriptions, referred to as "you"- Don't tag it as "Gn reader" just in case I make a mistake/ can be considered otherwise. ☁︎Trying out different formatting to find one I like :) ☁︎Not really any warnings, just relationship stuff- Potential spoilers for Amphoreus ! ☁︎Anaxagoras(3), Mydeimos(2), AE!Sunday(3), Moze(1) ☁︎had more ideas but forgot them by the time I got to them

╰┈➤Anaxagoras

𝖎 Slow Dancing

Despite being a man dedicated to his research and strict in nature, Anaxagoras found himself enjoying simple things with you the longer your relationship progressed. Silence was golden, a message he engraved within the rules he recited to each new figure that entered his life, yet he found himself relaxing into the gentle atmosphere of your words as you stood hand in hand. The hours the both of you spend swaying in each others embrace builds up, listening to the classical music he chose out as you let your head rest against his shoulder. Simply being wrapped in his arms, his coat placed over your shoulders as you take turns discussing whatever came to mind until you become tired. He'll then take it upon himself to bring you to your shared bedroom, whether it be walking with his arms lazily resting on your hips with his hands clasped in front of you or carrying you flush against his chest before throwing placing you on the bed.

𝖎𝖎 Cuddling

Cuddling with Anaxagoras after getting yourself a pair of matching droma onesies. You got them initially as what you believed would be a joke, pyjamas of a creature you knew he held admiration about, thinking it would be simply brushed off. Yet he took it seriously, and instead it became your new nightly routine. The fluffy hood with droopy horns that covered your face rubbing against his cheek as you nuzzle against him, discarding your usual blanket due to the thick material already holding enough warmth. What would have to be seasonal for you due to the risk of overheating would become his usual attire due to his inability to feel the temperature. Just you laying on his chest and running your fingers through his hair as he rambles on about something you can barely comprehend. You make sure for his sake his favourite droma plush is within reach on the bed for if he absentmindedly seeks comfort from the plushie. Y'all that plushie has seen some stuff.

𝖎𝖎𝖎 Physical contact

Being someone who's been derived of touch due to personal preference, Anaxagoras takes any chance he's offered at holding some form of contact with you. Cooking? he's behind you, arms on either side of you caging you between his chest and the counter as his head rests against your shoulder. Sitting somewhere reading? His head finds its way to your lap, running his pointer finger in circles on your thigh as he presses himself closer to your body. One of you are working? You're sat side by side, fingers interlocked as he fidgets with your wedding band, bringing your connected hands to his cheek to lean against. Type of person to hold your wrist as his teeth press into the flesh of your fingers/ palm, never hard enough to hurt but enough to feel the pressure that brings an odd comfort to the both of you. Habit of chewing on things (your hand or sleeves).

Can't explain how much I love this man and offended I am at how little screen time he was given. 3.2 broke me.

╰┈➤Mydeimos

𝖎"Babysitting"

Whether it was embarking on a simple walk around the market, or heading to a meeting with another Chrysos Heir, Mydeimos always found away to attract the attention of the smaller citizens. Despite his brash appearance, he had found himself growing soft towards the children, often spend more time than what you had to spare entertaining them. One day it could be hide and seek, another simply helping a lost kid return to their parents, either way you always managed to get roped into his shenanigans. First time playing with the neighbourhood kids, he grabbed one by the collar and held them before you finally reprimanded him on how not to hold kids He's a bit confused but he's got the spirit. Ends with you eventually leaving him alone with them, only to return later to find his hair messily braided with flowers threaded through the blonde strands.

𝖎𝖎 cuteness aggression

With his lack of comprehension for his own feelings at times, Mydeimos finds himself trying to express said emotions in less than favourable ways. What started as the urge to always be near you, to be making contact with your skin at every given moment you would allow, turned to him biting you. Never hard enough to draw blood or hurt for extended periods, just leaving you to feel the pressure from his jaw as blunt marks are left behind. Gravitates towards your shoulders/collar bone due to being able to hold you close, pressing the metallic tips of his gauntlets into your hips as he nips at your skin. Instead of kissing the indentations he leaves behind, instead licks them with actions similar to that of a cat. Will sometimes randomly hold your hand, kissing up your arm before biting into the flesh of your forearm.

╰┈➤AE!Sunday

𝖎 Pampering

Being someone as renowned as AE!Sunday, lacking some aspects of social understanding due to his upbringing, he opts to spoil you instead. Still uses certain terms of affection, mostly darling or love, but finds conveying his appreciation easier through the use of acts of service. It becomes a regular part of your mornings together, helping each other with small things to make the rest easier for him. Whether it's something as simple as you placing his outfit in a neat pile to spending longer perfecting his eyeliner and eyeshadow, he enjoys any simple moment you spare to give him attention. Will sit by your kitchen counter, watching you alternate between making breakfast and fastening the buckles around his wrists to ensure it doesn't slip. He often finds himself organising your stuff, moving the stuff you need for the day to an easily accessible spot so you don't have to search for them yourself. Leaves the room with a kiss to your forehead, already planning a way to show his appreciation for you, often returning with small gifts to fill where he lacks words of affection.

𝖎𝖎 Maintaining his wings

After finally finding it in himself to open up to you, to offer himself in his most vulnerable form, AE!Sunday finds comfort in you caring for his delicate wings. Starts off with his head on your lap as you sit on the edge of the bathtub, him occupying a small stool to your side. Your nails finding their way over the feathers, removing loosened and damaged ones while lathering them carefully with shampoo, rinsing them off for him before patting them dry with a fluffy towel. Turns into the both of you laying on your shared bed, arms wrapped around your waist as his head rests against your chest. Gently scratching near the base of his wings as you work on preening the otherwise perfect feathers. Having them flutter against your hand as you work over them, occasionally moving to run your finger through his hair as you listen to him talk about his latest adventure with the crew.

𝖎𝖎𝖎 Sleep

Helping each other fall asleep, reading stories or simply recalling happy moments where AE!Sunday can finally relax. Whether you simply couldn't sleep or were less exhausted physically than mentally after a long day of mishap, he took it upon himself to read you something to ease your mind and help you rest. Even if you often chose to tell him personal experiences, sometimes you would take the role of reading as he remains shaken from a nightmare. Leaning against the wall of your shared room, gently running your hand through his hair as he lay against your chest, listening to you read the lines from the book you chose. Always ends with you waking up with a terribly sore back, but seeing your lover peacefully sleeping with his arms around your waist drowns out any amount of annoyance you held.

╰┈➤Moze

𝖎 Petting you (Foxian!reader)

Moze who would kill someone for looking at him wrong, simply folds at the sight of you. Would follow you from a distance when you go out, not wishing to appear as overbearing but doesn't want the possible risk of you getting injured to occur. Watches almost curiously at the way your tail would sway in the wind, or the subtle twitch of your ears at the clash of sounds on the busy streets. Will sometimes randomly pop out and announce his presence by patting you on the head gently, sometimes rubbing the base of your ears if you're deep in thought. Never fails to scare the shit out of you at his sudden appearance, but he ignores forgets your displeased rant by the next time he does it.

On your days off, you often find place in his lap as he occasionally scratches by your ears, while you lean against his chest and attempt to nap despite the wandering hand that keeps making contact with your head. (Literally means no harm by it, just imagine a kid seeing something for the first time while being able to physically touch it instead of just admiring it.)

The first time, which is probably also the last time, he decides to run his fingers through your tail is an utter disaster. At the appearance of a stubborn leaf that for entangled in your fur, his right hand reaches out to swipe it away. Instead of simply removing the leaf as intended, the metal claws snag at your otherwise perfect coat, drawing a pained yelp from you followed by a whine as you run your hand over the spot. Jiaoqiu and Feixiao (who doesn't have a tail) who just witnessed it clench at their chests in pain as if they were also "heavily injured". From that point on when he goes to touch your tail, his right hand is in a firm hold away from the appendage.

[benevolentbones]

beach day | spencer reid x fem!reader part 2

part 1

warnings: heated kissing!!! slightly suggestive.

word count: 1.2k

a/n: here is part 2!! hope you all enjoy, thank you for the support and 200+ followers!! reblogs & comments appreciated !!

the sun was at its highest point, casting burning rays down onto the white sand. you and garcia were splashing around, emily and jj had run off to look for seashells and derek was building a mega sandcastle with jack while hotch and spencer were sat by everyone’s bags.

“i’m getting a little cold now y/n, im getting out to warm up.” garcia announced as she began to wade back out of the water, you decided that it would probably be a good idea to take a break maybe get a drink to rehydrate, so you followed the blonde back to the towels.

“honestly hotch the water is perfect are you sure you don’t want to come for a swim?” you grinned as you walked back.

“i think i’m good here.” he mumbled, smoothing down the hawaiian print shirt that adorned his tall figure.

“well in that case- lets get ice cream.” penelope chirped, as he dried herself off putting on a violently floral beach coverup over her swimsuit.

“ice cream!” jack came running back, practically leaping onto his dad, covering them both in sand.

“well that’s one way to summon a five year old.” you laughed.

hotch sent you a joking glare before picking jack up. “yeah lets get some ice cream.” he agreed passively.

“morgan, ice cream lets go hotch is buying!” penelope yelled to derek who was now two feet deep in a hole he was digging.

“wh- i never said…fine.” hotch shook his head in disapproval as he walked away, jack still in his arms, with penelope and derek in tow.

“get me my favourite!” you yelled out as they left, earning a dismissive wave from hotch.

you turned to face spencer, who had now picked up your towel and was using it to block his legs from the sun. his face was buried in his book, with only a few pages remaining.

“can i use my towel, spence.” you smiled sweetly once his doe eyes met yours.

your two piece clung to your body, saturated in sea water. little droplets of water trickled down your bare skin, spencer’s intense stare watching as they connected to each other and fell from your figure.

he cleared his throat before speaking, “i-uh yeah here.” he quickly pass your towel to you, your finger briefly skimming over his causing heat to rise in your cheeks.

you towel dried your hair, wringing your salty locks out.

spencer closed his book, setting it down on the blue cooler to his right. he eyed you, as you began to pat your torso dry, wrapping the towel around yourself, over your two piece, like you had just stepped out of the shower.

“when did you last put suncream on?” you questioned, flicking your hair off of your shoulders.

“i don’t know- maybe four hours ago.” spencer pondered.

you gasped loudly in a playful manner, immediately diving into your beach bag and pulling out your trusted factor 30 suncream.

“i- y/n i think i’m fine.”

“you’re supposed to reapply every two hours- you should know this.” you muttered, shuffling towards spencer’s seated figure.

spencer let out a small groan, although secretly he thought it was cute how concerned you were.

“stand up please.”

“i’m not moving.” a smug smile resting on his face, he wanted to test how serious you were about the application of suncream, surely you’d give up.

you let out a prolonged exhale, dispensing suncream onto your hand.

“you gave me no choice!” you exclaimed, climbing onto the beach chair. spencer’s eyes widened as you practically straddled the man, one leg resting over either side of his lap.

you pushed back his hair with one hand, gently applying the cream to his face with the other. his face burning at your close proximity, he was staring directly and your towel clad form.

once you finished applying it to his face, you reached for the bottle again, you moved down to his neck, then to his arms. at this stage spencer was compliant, doing whatever you needed of him.

“give me your arm.” you muttered, taking his forearm and rubbing in the cream on any visible skin. spencer stirred as you shifted your weight to one side, getting comfortable on his lap.

spencer knew you were a confident person, it reflected in your work on the field, but he never expected you to go this far.

“i know you’re enjoying this.” you joked, your small laugh ringing in his ears.

“s-shut up. i say you couldn’t wait to get your hands on me.” he rebutted your remark, and now it was your turn for your face to flush.

“so what if i did…” you mumbled, taking his other arm in your hand. spencer’s eyebrows furrowed as he tried to read your expression, he wasn’t certain if you meant it. so he decided to find out.

“is that why you wanted my hands all over you?” he questioned. it was a bold move, even for spencer, he couldn’t quite believe those words came from him.

this caught you off guard, you dropped spencer’s arm and stared at him, his hazel eyes stared back with intensity.

“and what if i said yes, dr.reid?” you replied, chewing your bottom lip waiting for his reply.

spencer lifted his dominant hand, slipping it under your towel to rest on your waist. you breath hitched in your throat as his warm hand came in contact with your chilled skin.

“maybe you need a top up.” he mumbled, his grasp on you not faltering.

you studied him, the fresh layer of suncream on his facing causing his skin to glow from the few rays of sun that managed to shine through the gaps of the umbrella.

your hold on the bottle of suncream loosened causing it to fall into the sand below. you brought your right hand up to his face, resting it against jaw as you smoothed your thumb over cheek.

he gave you a small smile, embracing your hold. you reluctantly leaned closer, shifting your position on him. spencer could tell what you were doing, quickly closing the gap between you and pressing his lips to yours.

it was gentle at first, a soft brush that sent shivers down spencer’s spine. you immediately brought your other hand up, running in through his hair. spencer’s grip on your waist tightened, as he brought his other to rest on your thigh.

you shuddered at his touch, your beach towel slipping away from your torso and pooling by your hips. spencer deepened the kiss, as you leaned forward, pressing your body against his. you kissed back hungrily, trailing your hands to cup his face.

spencer pulled away, taking in your features. your eyelids were heavy, your lips slightly swollen. a grin spread across his face as you leaned back in pressing a kiss to your jaw, then to below your ear.

“spence?-“ you breathed out, resting your arms around his shoulders as he continued peppering kisses along your neck before returning to your lips. spencer had wanted to kiss you for months, and now it was finally happening, he wanted to savour every moment.

his lips were soft, his kiss much more tentative this time, spencer’s hands tracing over your figure.

you both pulled back to gaze at one another, heavy breaths slipping from your lips. you could practically feel the heat radiating off of spencer. you both sat for a moment, in silence, taking in what had just happened.

“will you go for a swim with me now?” you questioned.

“i think i’ll need to after that..”

taglist!! @0108s22m @rainoftearss @potatovoyager @rac00ns-are-c00l4 @luvmia222 @shardsofmarxx @silver138 @lover-of-books-and-tea

[astrologanize]

pick a card : what you can look forward to in 2025 🔮 

*please take a moment to take a deep breath and choose the image you are most drawn towards* more 2025 content

credit to goodpngs

———-for pile 1 ⊹

the veil of fear that has been plastered to your life will finally be lifting this year. up until this year you have been on guard and on the defense as a way to avoid any fears coming to fruition. this may have manifested as you expending your energy towards strategizing and trying to be two-steps ahead at all times and/or you desperately clinging to what you have in your life and being willing to do anything to keep it in your life due to the fear of change.

as the year progresses you will be seeing situations for what they are & seeing people for who they are instead of what you want them to be. you are definitely someone who has a tendency of getting a little too in their head and viewing life as a board game rather than endless experiences for you to embrace. but you will start prioritizing yourself in a way that is conducive this year and you may even shock yourself as you stop extending & adjusting so much towards the opinions/feelings of others or certain connections. heck, you might even have a confrontation or two that's going to make you feel empowered.

work is coming through strongly for this pile so if you've been looking for a job or looking for a new job or are trying to better your performance at your job or are trying to find your way on your career path then i am seeing notable progress happening this year. some of you may start working out, changing your diet to something that is 'cleaner' or 'fresher', etc. there is something about self-discipline & work that is going to be happening for you this year that you are going to be very pleasantly surprised by.

———-for pile 2 ⊹

this pile is reminding me of a subplot that happens in the movie "the change-up" where a character is told that they're a quitter and it bothers them so much that they hardcore set out to prove themselves. there are big, big lessons of maturity that you can look forward to this year because these lessons are going to help you to move forward and will finally bring you to a new chapter. up until this year you have been quite comfortable in the bubble you have created for your life because it makes you feel like you have more going for yourself than if you were to start anew with 'nothing'. it could also be the case that you are someone who lives vicariously through others, likes being the type of person others can confide in, "those who can't do teach", struggles with creating your own life.

ngl, there is a level of self-reflection that is needed for this pile because you did get the "you should accept valid criticism" card - so try to be mindful if anyone does approach you with a critique and really be honest with yourself. by the end of the year you will be feeling positively confident in who you are, you will not be taking things so personally, and you will be focusing on creating a life that you want for yourself - just know that you're going to be wandering a bit during this time as you figure out what it is you want.

although there is nothing wrong with desiring deeper connections, this year you will be learning the art of being ~casual~, like someone who knows how to mingle and keep things so-so. you are going to have a moment this year where the realization hits you that sometimes doing less is doing more. and there will be a situation in your life where you are going to make the conscious choice to do nothing, you are going to choose to keep to yourself, you are going to choose to not address it, you are going to just stand in your power and be cool, calm, & collected, and a weight is going to fall off of you for it.

———-for pile 3 ⊹

have we been simply just hoping for the best, perhaps? it is time for that to change! it is important for you to know that any seeming obstacle you encounter this year is for the very best of reasons. up until now you have been sticking to the plans you have in place and trying to make the most of the hands you're dealt but the issue is that you choose to do whatever you think is going to cause the least amount of issues. reminds me a bit of a kid trying to appease their parents.

this year you are going to make tons of headway in terms of who you are, who you want to be, how you want to express yourself, what you like, what you want, etc. no longer shall you be keeping yourself and your life open to interpretation! you may have a fun time in terms of exploring your aesthetic, you may choose to care less about work or you may even quit a job, you're going to be figuring out what it is that you enjoy and you're going to be seeking out hobbies/events that align with such.

"as the image of myself becomes sharper in my brain and more precious, i feel less afraid someone else will erase me by denying me love." - jenny slate

^^^ as you become better acquainted with yourself your boundaries are going to become firmer which will make you adapt less to situations/people and become 'unbothered' in a *positive* sense (though at times you may feel like you're being heartless or like you're delving into apathetic territory). once again, you may really love indulging yourself this year in terms of aesthetics! like having a shopping spree for yourself or giving yourself an extravagant self-care day. regardless, you are going to be amazed by the power of self-love this year. it's the path to finding honor in oneself!

———-for pile 4 ⊹

hm...so are you a lone wolf or do you just have perpetual issues with others? cuz my goodness was this pile taking forever to read for!! the energy was absolutely refusing to come out!!! there is a heavy energy surrounding this pile and it's time we dispel all that. you are someone who has the tendency to unnecessarily burden themselves, maybe you have obligations in your life that are all-consuming to you, maybe you are someone who keeps too much to themselves, maybe you are just too darn hard on yourself. you do know that you don't have to do everything, right? just making sure...

dedicating yourself to the wrong things is coming through, maybe its certain situations or people or it's a mindset, what have you. but finally shall you be allowing light into your life and moving away from the things that are not serving you 🙏 no more repeating lessons and continuing poor cycles!!! there will be some tears shed as you unlearn and distance yourself from what you need to but it's time to let life back in, babes.

there may be someone in your life who is draining the hell out of you - a parent, a partner, a friend, a boss, and you're going to have a wake-up call that this person is never changing because they don't want to change so all your efforts of trying to appease this person are going to waste. and if that's not the case then you yourself may be someone who is stubborn and resisting the flow of life, and you're finally going to break out of your routine and live!!!!!!! no matter which case it may be, or both, you are going to realize that it is okay to not live up to whatever it is you have in your mind. maybe you'll even allow yourself to seek guidance/help from someone else! you will be lighter by the end of this year, you will be branching out and socializing, you may be accepting of any invites or even making your own plans to hang out with people :j

———-for pile 5 ⊹

ah, y'all are really trying to wrap your heads around the fact that you cannot keep living the way that you are and something has got to give. agreed! up until now you have been brushing things under the rug, you've been keeping your expectations low, you've been accepting things that are beneath you, and you've been keeping your mouth shut about all the wrong things.

you are finally going to start combing through your life and paying close attention to what is going on around you & within you. it's kind of like when you start actually trying to figure out how you do feel around certain people, how you do feel coming to work or school and how you feel being there/leaving from there, truly acknowledging what your body & spirit trying to tell you through how you feel. do you feel yourself clenching? is there tension? does it feel like something is off? after sitting with all these thoughts throughout the year, by the end of the year you are going to be speaking your mind, letting things be known, and your mental juices will be flooding with ideas.

you may run into issues this year in regards to productivity, maybe you keep having random things interfere with your errands or things you're trying to get done, maybe you leave a job or have issues within your job, there's going to be some level of disappointment but it's going to make you realize what is and is not worth doing. it's time to focus less on goals and make room for more fun outings!!!

i definitely see you parting ways and/or making a necessary decision this year that is going to pay off a lot more than you would expect. for some of you, those who are romantically interested in men, you may meet & connect with a man this year and either it will be an overall positive experience or there will be a very notably positive takeaway from the connection. for others, there is going to be a notable male figure in regards to your year that will bring something positive to your life somehow.

———-for pile 6 ⊹

this pile....hm....don't worry, you are finally going to leave the cul-de-sac that you have been stuck in. this is a year where you are going to realize that the path you are on is not the path for you.

this pile is a bit different from the rest because what you can look forward to this year is letting go of what you thought you wanted and taking a big ol' step back from what you have been doing. in due time you will know what you need to do in order to set yourself up for greatness but first you have to re-trace your steps to figure out where things veered off track.

there will be something that happens to you this year that you may in the moment perceive as a loss or a failure or a defeat but it's actually going to be a blessing in disguise.

try to avoid taking risks this year, take things slow, regroup, and trust that you will find your way.

*october is coming through as being notable for y'all in a positive way so yay for something to bear in mind <3

[thechy-fychannel]

I saw a few other blogs doing this so I thought I'd share my input on what I think would happen in the House MD universe in 2024:

the constant jokes abt house and wilson's relationship turns into the fellows jokingly writing fanfic abt their boss and his boy best friend. somewhere along the way they all get very serious abt the quality of it and it turns into a Whole Thing, a 150k+ novel that they vow to take to their graves.

house discovers the fic by accident and sends it to wilson. wilson discovers things abt himself and then he and house discover each other shortly thereafter.

house purposefully posts the fic online and credits the fellows by their entire full names so it embarrasses them more than house and wilson. It's never spoken abt again but it gets way more online attention than any of them expected.

wilson doesn't get how the Cloud works and accidentally uploads his and house's nudes to the google nest hub on his desk. He doesn't notice it until one of his sweet little old lady cancer patients points it out to him during their appointment. He throws the google nest hub into his trash can until he can figure out how to get the naked pictures off of it.

house has an alexa and abuses the hell out of it. sometimes ppl hear him screaming at someone in his office, only to walk in and find a robotic voice replying with "sorry, I didn't get that" and house throws it off the balcony.

wilson gets addicted to online shopping. house has to stage an intervention bc they do not have enough room in their closet for another pair of prada loafers and their kitchen is full of shitty gadgets that wilson bought off temu or something.

some right wing social media influencer comes in with a mysterious illness and ends up getting castrated as part of the solution. 13 personally does the procedure herself and house watches like a proud dad.

a patient reveals chase's grindr by shoving his phone at him and asking "is this you?" abt the headless profile with the ripped abs that says Dr. Feel Good, 0 feet away, in front of the rest of the team.

foreman finds the team doing tiktok dances bc house told them to learn it in order to understand their 15 yr old patient better.

chase medically murders mitch mcconnel and the entire hospital celebrates ding dong the witch is dead style.

there's a whole episode where house faces his transphobia bc of a trans patient that he connects with. the patient tells him to fuck off and go face his own problems instead of pretending to make it right by being nice to one trans person. And house does, even if he's not perfect, he really tries to do better.

13 gets her medical marijuana card and accidentally becomes the team's plug. her main customer is wilson who still supplies it to certain terminal patients. She hears "hey, can I hit your pen?" at least four times a day.

foreman buys a tesla and it blows up in the parking lot. they spend the entire episode trying to figure out who tried to kill foreman, but it turns out that teslas just do that sometimes.

there's an episode where house finds out that netflix is removing his favorite obscure tv show that ran for 2 seasons in 2002 and wilson recruits the team to hunt down a dvd copy of it without house finding out. they somehow manage to find one and spend a ridiculous amount of money on it, only to open the dvd case and find a copy of the porno wilson starred in that one time instead of the dvd of the show. park saves the day at the last minute by finding a copy of it in a box of dvds in her parents house.

[rna-world]

DEBUNKING COMMON RAIN WORLD MISINTERPRETATIONS

The target audience for this was for people who don't know too much about the game as well, so I'm going to explain things that a normal player might already know.

Rain World is known for how it simply throws you into the world with almost no tutorial, and is often praised for it.

But this lack of explanation if you do not go out of your way to find it has also lead to a lot of misinterpretations from those who did not read all the game’s available information, or misunderstood what they were being told. I used to watch some RW lore videos that would explain and summarize these things, and in the past I believed them.

I’ve since stopped doing that after having some time to actually process what I’ve been reading, and I’m here to say...

YOU ARE ALL WRONG ABOUT RAIN WORLD.

Ok, hyperbole. Not everyone believes these, and art can always be interpreted in different ways by different people, and I won’t stop you from having these beliefs. But also, there’s plenty of ingame content which completely disproves most of these unsubstantiated points from those who do not fully research the game before making videos about it.

Looking at you Tale Foundry…

The purpose of this is to pick apart some of the sadly far too common points I’ve heard many times before from Youtube videos, to Tumblr posts, to people I’ve spoken to on Discord.

Starting with my least favorite…

------

“The 5 karma were seen as sinful”

Obvious westernization of a game based off fucking Buddhism aside, there’s no ingame text directly supporting this claim. There isn’t any that says otherwise, but we have good reason to believe this isn’t the case.

The 5 natural urges, as they’re sometimes called, were NATURAL. They were what bound you to the cycle. They never worsened your life or made you a terrible person should you keep following them, but an aspect of life on the same level as suffering or ecstasy.

Hey, I’ll break down the 5 karma and their meanings to show you that they're not just "sins"

I believe the natural urges have 2 different meanings: an animalistic one, and a more “human” one.

KARMA 1 This obviously represents violence, as you see one guy stabbing the other. I believe it also represents competition and intense emotions, For example: Artificer experiencing intense grief and lashing out in violence as a result. It was not the violence that started it, but her emotions. (Yes, its Downpour. But it’s a good point.)

KARMA 2

They’re having sex. They’re fucking. They’re- ok you get it. Karma 2 represents reproduction. But, I also believe it’s desire. Joyful bodily experiences, and such. The 2 figures seen here are in a much more playful pose than if they were simply doing this only to reproduce. No, they’re having fun.

KAMRA 3 Connection. Bonding with others. Yet also trade and personal belongings. Attachment to things that are not yourself.

KARMA 4 It’s mentioned ingame that this represents gluttony It’s overindulgence, you know. Similarly to karma 2, it can also be searching for fulfillment. I'm not particularly good at telling what the meaning of this could be.

KARMA 5 Self preservation. Self preservation can come in many forms, from an animal running away from a predator or somebody getting defensive after being accused of something or being threatened, this one is rather vague about its meaning.

I do this to show that the 5 urges have very NEUTRAL meanings. It being positive or negative is entire dependant on context. They’re not sinful, get out of here with that Catholic shit!

The 5 karmas have both positive, negative, and neutral contexts which they can fit into.

------

“The ancients hated being alive”

The ancients simply hated the cycle itself and its unknowable properties, as well as being much more aware of things like karma and the urges. Rather, they valued being effortless to disconnect themselves from this cycle.

“This was an eternal dilemma to them - they were burdened by great ambition, yet deeply convinced that striving in itself was an unforgivable vice. They tried very hard to be effortless.” – Bright Green Pearl (DS)

Some practices did of course include things like starving yourself, but as mentioned by Moon, these methods proved to be mostly obsolete. Void Fluid fundamentally changed their culture from what we see. Rather, we do see the ancients enjoying life and valuing it in their own way, which is INCREDIBLY important to some of the games themes, but I’ll get into that later.

"[...]'In this vessel is the living memories of Seventeen Axes, Fifteen Spoked Wheel, of the House of Braids[…] Seventeen Axes, Fifteen Spoked Wheel nobly decided to ascend in the beginning of 1514.008, after graciously donating all (ALL!) earthly possessions to the local Iterator project (Unparalleled Innocence), and left these memories to be cherished by the carnal plane.The assorted memories and qualia include:Watching dust suspended in a ray of sun (Old age). Eating a very tasty meal (Young child). Defeating an opponent in a debate contest, and being applauded by fellow team members (Late childhood/Early adulthood).’...and the list goes on. I'm sorry, little creature, I won't read all of this - the list is six hundred and twenty items long.” – Deep Magenta (SH)

There’s quite a lot to pick apart here, I had to cut down some parts short, but even the cut parts have important details. Just not important enough for me to bring up here.

The Memory Crypts we see ingame are… well where memories are kept. The qualia (personalized experiences) is stored within these mutated fleshy neural organisms referred to as “cabinet beasts”. These of course, contain the “living memories” or qualia of those who have ascended. There are people smarter than me who have already covered these ideas of course, so I won't go TOO indepth.

The ancients greatly valued titles and achievements just as us. They still lived normal lives. As well as this, they valued personal experiences and memories of the carnal realm so much they built an entire citadel to store memories.

As we can see as well, Seventeen Axes has quite a lot of enjoyable memories from throughout their life. Eating nice food and winning a debate contest and getting validation from their peers? That sounds rather… complacent with the 3rd and 4th natural urges, doesn’t it?

I do not believe this screams “I hate being alive!” as much as people have made it out to be, and is honestly ruins part of the game’s messages of compassion and personalized experiences, especially in the game’s ending where Survivor dreams of home.

“You have no name. I once had! I was embalmed, adorned, readied for the journey. So proud. There was jubilation! My name was sung, loud and clear. Did they know? That I didn't quite leave, didn't quite stay? Should I be ashamed? That I linger here, where my memories are kept? Should I be ashamed that I now envy your flesh prison?” - Four Needles under Plentiful Leaves

This is leaning into personal theory territory, but...

I personally believe that the ancients were somewhat terrified of the unpredictability of the cycle and the fact that life would always have more suffering in it.

RW’s religion is heavily based off Buddhism. This is well known of course. The Cycle is a variation of Samsara. Now, I’m not Buddhist, and I’ve tried to do my research about some of these topics. Feel free to correct me, I’m simply going off what I know. (Also I'd love to hear what you have to say regarding your thoughts on the game!)

In Buddhism, each new life you could be taken into the body of an animal, or even end up being tortured in hell for a very, very, VERY long time if you made the wrong decisions, which made escaping it as soon as you could seem like a rather reasonable thing to do.

The ancients never fully grasped the scope of the cycle, and the prospects of having your soul wake up in the body of some miserable worm with no memory of your past or any ideas of your future might’ve seemed bleak.

Suffering is inevitable. But that doesn’t mean they hated being alive, like I said before.

------

“Rain World is post-apocalyptic.”

It really isn’t. There was never any apocalypse. The ancients simply left on their own accord, leaving behind their mark on the world that will slowly be buried once again in the ever so present cycle.

“The bones of forgotten civilizations, heaped like so many sticks.” - Two Sprouts, Twelve Brackets

The world is thriving, even. The purposed organisms left behind have evolved and taken over and become it’s own ecosystem.

The iterators are dying though. Dying very slowly, but soon they’ll all decay and everything will move on.

It’s all just another manifestation of the cycle.

------

“The creatures in Rain World cannot die”

This is definitely something I hear from people who haven’t played much of the game and only hear about it from outside sources and watch the gameplay.

Yes, it is easy to believe this. As slugcat, when you die, you wake back up again. This is entirely a gameplay thing and not actually related to the lore. Saying this might seem like I'm avoiding the question at hand here, but the rules that apply to you do not seem to apply to other creatures.

Every creature in the game has a 4 integer ID (it can go higher, but not in a standard playthrough).

This makes every creature you see an individual of sorts with its own randomized values or appearance.

As well as this, creatures spawn from specific marked dens. When you kill a creature that spawns from a certain den, the next cycle, that creature’s ID will never appear again. Instead, the den spawn is replaced by a creature of the same species with a different ID, or a new species entirely.

Through gameplay, you see that the respawn rules that apply to you do not apply to other creatures. I’ve heard many points about how these dead creatures are transported to another alternate universe where they are alive, but I really do not want to delve into that theory. You do that yourself.

Excuse my unprofessional language, but this is kind of stupid. Billions and billions of little timeline splits accounting for every single insect and microbe that dies seems far too complex of a solution. Occam's Razor and all that.

With this gameplay element you see, I also want to give LORE explanations as to why this is incredibly stupid.

1) If death had no impact, the 5 natural urges would not matter

If no creatures died, there would be no point in eating (karma 4), competing with other species (karma 1), or any form of self preservation (karma 5). Reproduction (karma 2) has no role and there would be absolutely no reason to do anything any longer. All natural processes would be useless.

2) Light Blue Pearl

The information received from the cycle is most likely from the Light Blue Pearl, found in Outskirts.

“[...]The repeating mantra is important because it symbolizes the cyclical nature of life and death, and the termination verse is a symbol for ascension above and beyond it. I don't know how familiar you are with the nature of life and death, but I imagine like all living creatures you have some intuitive knowledge? Then you know that death isn't the end - birth and death are connected to each other like a ring, or some say a spiral. Some say a spiral that in turn forms a ring. Some ramble in agonizing longevity. But the basis is agreed upon: like sleep like death, you wake up again - whether you want to or not. This is true for all living things, but some actually break the cycle. That doesn't apply to you or me though, you are too entangled in your animal struggles, and for me not breaking that cycle is an integral part of the design. Our mantras keep repeating.”

“Then you know that death isn't the end - birth and death are connected to each other like a ring, or some say a spiral. Some say a spiral that in turn forms a ring.“

This line is very misunderstood. Moon specifically mentions birth and death. She mentions death. She never brings up the notion that nothing truly dies either.

As well as this, Moon says that “some say”, implying that even the ancients weren’t sure what the cycle was either. This is more important to my point regarding how the unfathomable nature of the cycle was why the Ancients were so averse to it from above, though.

------

“Sliver of Straw found the solution.”/"There is/isn't solution"

No she didn’t.

.

.

Ok fine I’ll explain.

If you’ve played Rain World you know that the purpose of the iterators is to find the solution to the “Great Problem”, the problem of how to ascend ALL living creatures.

You’ll also know Sliver sent out the Triple Affirmative…

“[...]affirmative that a solution has been found, affirmative that the solution is portable, and affirmative that a technical implementation is possible and generally applicable. She's also one of few that has ever been confirmed as exhaustively incapacitated, or dead. We do not die easily.[…]” - Pale Yellow (SL)

After sending out this affirmative, the iterators became conflicted. They never could figure out if she really ascended and had found the solution, or if it was some sort of catastrophic error.

The answer to the Great Problem is clearly intended to be as obscured as possible. There cannot be an answer one way or the other. The themes of it and the endless tolling of the iterators would not be as impactful if we knew there was or wasn’t a solution.

“[...]Either way, after that these different factions developed, as well as a huge forensic effort to recreate and simulate Sliver of Straw's last moments. Some of the simulations were wrapped in a simulation wrapped in a simulation, in case something dangerous might happen. Nothing much has come from it.[…]“ - Pale Yellow (SL)

Here’s my favorite way of explaining what I mean…

Imagine Schrodinger's Cat, the famous thought experiment. There’s a 50/50 chance that when you open the box, you either find the Solution, or find out there is No Solution.

Except you cannot open the box. And the box is entirely theoretical and nobody’s seen it. It seems impossible, but maybe one day you’ll find that box. That’s what the Great Problem is.

Sliver apparently having found the solution would have completely broken everything. Five Pebbles wouldn’t have ended up hurting himself and Moon had Sliver finding the solution been known with certainty. He was taking a shot in the dark.

------

“Ascension is akin to suicide.”

I strongly believe this point harms the role that ascension and the void sea play in Rain World’s narrative. Ascension is meant to be a final destination, a goal you build up to and prepare for when you’ve lived every bit of life you possible could, and can now move on.

Bringing up the Memory Crypt pearl from earlier, Seventeen Axes lived an incredibly fulfilling life from what we see, and ascended happily.

As well as this, Buddhism strongly encourages those who wish to liberate themselves to discover their own path, which is also subtly shown through the gameplay, as there are many many routes you can take to Five Pebbles, Looks To The Moon, and The Depths.

I do also think this is why Five Pebbles failed. He tried to brute force his way to ascension.

Suicide implies that ascension is only meant to be a fruitless escape and that it’s wrong to ascend. I… do not want to go into why suicide is bad. It’s a strong topic and I’m just here to talk about video games. But ascension is a neutral thing that you can choose to do or not do and to wait until you’re ready.

------

Conclusion...

I really only have the time to cover these 6 misconceptions, and I believe it should be enough. There have been many others I’ve seen, such as the ancients being malicious or that there weren’t any civilizations before them, but there’s not as much to say about them, and they aren’t as common.

Rain World is a very confusing game. I’m not upset at people who think these things to be true, and I do not believe they’re stupid or don’t have any media literacy. I just wish that the people who did actually cover this game did some more looking into it, and actually discussing it with Rain World fans.

Also I should say, that during this entire discussion I have avoided talking about Downpour- RW’s DLC- as it’s more of a official fanmade project. And so much of what it says may not be entirely in line with Vanilla. Because my life isn’t easy and of course there has to be an incredibly divisive and confusing thing like this that I need to avoid bringing up so that way the conversation isn’t muddled.

Thanks if you managed to make it through all this by the way

[cherllyio]

What happened to MK’s staff? - Theory

Well to figure that out, we first have to start at the very beginning: MK’s creation:

Xiangliu: “The stone MK was made from was made by Nüwa. A remembrance from the chaos beyond. “

So, MK was made (along with the other stones) to be a “remembrance” of someone/something. Which is odd, because you usually do that for dead people… huh.

But anyway- other than that, we can figure out that in some way, MK is connected to chaos. Which could suggest that MK is actually made from the Primordial Chaos.

After all he is supposed to be a “remembrance”, and it seems like the “chaos beyond”, is a much older version of the Primordial Chaos, since the Primordial Chaos still exists.

Nezha: “The pillar is a mystic energy that holds back the Primordial Chaos.”

But if MK was made from chaos, wouldn’t that make him… unstable? Why would Nüwa create him like that?

Well, that I theorize to be because that in some Chinese religions, in this case Daoism, chaos is viewed as the only thing that can create the world:

“Chaos is understood as the state of unity and completeness which precedes and makes possible the creation of the world.”

But that still leaves us with the whole” chaos is unstable”- part.

I mean Xiangliu didn’t look that stable.

Luckily though there is actually two ways Nüwa could have held MK ”stable” long enough, till he could sacrifice himself: Wukong’s stone and MK’s destiny.

Let’s start with the Wukong’s stone thing.

I theorize MK was put in there because:

1. His destiny (which I will get to in a second) but more importantly-

 2. Wukong’s stone was nourished by heaven and earth before he was born. Meaning that Wukong’s stone is just brimming with Yin and Yang energy, aka stability.

Meaning this was the solution to keep MK from exploding the world before he was even born, which then leads us how Nüwa would have kept him stable after his birth: destiny.

I say this because destiny is often viewed as the opposite of chaos. And how do you make stability in Chinese philosophies/ mythology? By mixing two opposites together to create stability/ Yin and Yang.

Meaning this was how MK was kept stable until his inevitable death, where he would fulfill that very same destiny.

And now… MK has fulfilled his destiny, yet he is not dead.

Which means that he isn’t bound to anything anymore… but it also means he has lost the only thing that kept him stable. And now, chaos is starting to seep in.

This doesn’t mean though that MK needs to get himself a new destiny! It just means he has to figure out another way to keep that unstable part of him in check. (cough therapy)

However, if he doesn’t learn that quick enough it would uhm... do I even have to say it anymore at this point?

Anyway conclusion: Therapy

[shadow-the-crow]

soo i'm sort of stuck on s4 of tma. i've somehow lost the motivation to listen to more than 1 or 2 episodes a month. and at first, i thought it was just because of the season's generally gloomy mood and me finding new fandoms, but i think i've figured out another reason.

one of the generally agreed upon rules of writing (which, of course, are meant to be broken if you know how to - but in this case i think it might have been good to respect it) is that you should give your main character a strong long-term goal. they should want something, really want something, and act in order to try and achieve that. whether the goal is killing the bad guy, finding a missing family member or maybe just getting back home to finally rest - it can be anything as long as it's important to the protagonist. this helps give a story structure and appeal, because otherwise, the protagonist tends to just passively float through a story, reacting to the events happening to them, but barely becoming active themself. in this case, the audience tends to feel as lost and confused as the protagonist seems. we're just watching the events happen, not knowing what to hope for - and also not being able to emotionally connect with the protagonist as much, since hopes and ambitions make a character more relatable.

and i think that's what's missing in s4. in s3, the crew was trying to stop the Unknowing. in s2, Jon was desperately trying to find out what the fuck was going on - what happened to Gertrude, what the Fears were and so on. in s1, although you might argue it was also missing strong character ambitions, Jon and the others were at least trying to fight off the worms and not become victims of the Corruption. plus, back then, there was still the mystery of what the horrors even were.

now, in s4, there's practically no mystery left. we know exactly what the Fears are, and the statements are often a confirmation of what we already know rather than something for us and the characters to theorize about. and even the minimum goal of survival has lost a lot of relevance, since by now, Jon has lost enough vulnerability and gained enough power to not feel easily threatened by other avatars anymore.

there's a few other "goals" that might come to your mind: stopping the Extinction from emerging, freeing Martin from Peter's grasp, escaping the Institute... but none of these really function as motivations. the Extinction thing is mostly Peter's goal, Martin only agreed to protect his friends, and while him and the others are acknowledging that stopping a new Fear is probably important, they're not really acting towards it. Jon does want Martin back, but again, he doesn't act on it until the very end of the season, he just lets him do his own thing. And he does want his normal life back, to be human again and be freed from the Institute - but these goals don't even seem achievable in any way. it's like: yeah, sure, Jon would ideally like to achieve these things, but there's no possible way out by now. even after finding out he could gouge his eyes out and run away, he knows he has the responsibility to stay and fight off the Fears - and he doesn't even know if he could survive without the Eye. he'll probably never be human again. so, again, not a goal he's actually working towards, since he's aware it's not realistic at all. and sure, there are other short-term goals he has throughout the season, like travelling to Ny-Alesund and stopping the Dark cult - but plots like these are resolved after a few episodes, leaving us once again without a bigger goal.

so yeah. i'm not saying s4 is badly written - when i do listen, i'm interested, it's simply missing an element to keep me hooked and make me want to keep listening. this is how i view it, feel free to disagree with me and do tell me your arguments.

[plethorawrites]

HEYY I LOVE YOUR WORK SO MUCH AND I LOVE THE WAY YOU WRITE THE BATBOYS 🫶🫶 I was wondering could you write how they would react to dating a first responder (eg/ firefighter) I genuinely cant stop thinking about it haha :) but feel free to ignore this and I hope you have a good day/night wherever you are and remember to drink/eat and take care of yourself 🫶

I love this idea too!!! Sort of reminds me of Daredevil with Claire for some reason? (I only got 2 of them done, but I have ideas for the others if anyone is interested)

---___---___---___---___---___---___---___---___---_

Bruce: Meets you at GCPD fundraiser that he had planned to only attend for a few minutes, for the media, per Alfred's request before bumping into you very briefly when you both reached for the last glass of champagne off a server's tray. He lets you have it, of course, and later in the evening, Jim Gordon officially introduces you as his new partner that recently transferred from Blüdhaven.

He spoke with you briefly every once in a while during the rest of the night, asking questions about where you were raised and how long you've been a cop. He finds out it's because your dad was one and he always wanted a son, but got stuck with you instead. Then, embarrasses himself by accidentally letting: "I think you would be an interesting person to be stuck with." Slip from his lips.

Thankfully, you didn't take the comment to seriously.

Since then, he began seeing you at most of the crime scenes he was at, even though you and Jim never noticed him. He also meets you on the room, with Jim, who tells him he can trust you, which he already does because he looked into you— your perfect scores at the academy, flawless arrest record, plus your father's amazing history and numerous medals he got before retiring.

You were almost too clean, but he quickly realized it wasn't an act, you were just a truly kind-hearted cop. Which, for Gotham, was rare. He would find himself showing up to more GCPD events than usual, hoping to talk to you and sometimes flirting a bit. Lightly, though, so you weren't pressured to reciprocate.

You did, though, occasionally.

Additionally, you were stupidly smart. So, when there was a hostage situation and you two were locked in warehouse with a ton of civilians and he, as Batman, said: "You're not a bad person to be stuck with." you immediately remembered something Bruce said that was extremely similar.

Once the situation was over and everyone was safe, he went to leave, like usual, but you tugged on his cape, pulling him back. "Where do you think you're going?"

He just muttered: "I have somewhere to be." Which was an absolute lie, but usually worked on most people.

"Not without giving me some answers first," You had replied, finally letting go of his cape. "I knew there was something familiar about you. I just didn't expect a billionaire in a cushy house fighting crime."

And Alfred called it, of course. He knew you were getting suspicious with how often Bruce asked you for random favors and all the times you dropped by because you connected something back to him.

His kids, especially Dick, just cackled. Loudly. They thought it was utterly hilarious that you had figured it out by yourself.

But his embarrassment didn't last long because shortly after you discovered his secret, the two of you started dating. And to say he was happy was an understatement. He was in bliss, in a way he never thought he could have with a partner.

You understood the odd hours, his random disappearances, his obsessive nature over a case. You were the same way. The number of dinner dates that had ended when you got called or the GCPD radio he was hacked into went off, causing you both to leave the restaurant together and meet back at the crime scene in your own respective uniforms was uncountable.

The only thing he didn't like, was seeing you get hurt. You could take care of yourself, he knew, but he still sometimes worried. Okay, a lot. The only time it ever mattered was when you got grazed with a bullet and he felt his world come crumbling for the split second it took him to get to you and find out you were alright.

There were little moments he loved though, that balance out the worry. Like when you sit in his lap as he goes over a case, chewing on a pencil and offering suggestions. Or when he got to take you to more GCPD events and lean on your arm instead of trying to steal your attention from other benefactors.

He still flirted, of course. Frequently.

---

Dick: Meets you when he gets his ass handed to him on patrol. How he ended up on the sidewalk, he wasn't sure. It was a routine patrol, a few muggers, some petty thief's, a couple drug dealers. Then, out of nowhere he'd gotten attacked by some of Black Masks men, who, apparently trying to send a message.

He got it. In the form of multiple broken ribs, a busted lip, and a stab wound in his abdomen, where he was bleeding from as he fell off a roof. That definitely wasn't good for his head.

You were walking home from work when you came across him, unconscious and bleeding. Of course you knew who he was, you wouldn't have ever dared taking him back to your apartment if you didn't.

That was a challenge, admittedly. He was lean, but heavy. You managed though, after putting your jacket under his head to make him easier to drag by the foot. Thank God you lived on the first floor.

When Dick woke up, he was startled and in pain, in a place he had never been. Then, he saw you, sitting on the floor with a towel, wiping the blood away from some cuts on his arm that had the torn through his costume.

"Where am I?" he asks, sitting up on the couch and getting woozy. He was high off his ass on the pain killers you gave him. "Did I die? Is that why a pretty girl/boy is taking of me?"

You shook your head and pushed him back down. "You're not dead," you told him. "I'm trying to fix some of your injuries. Stay still."

He listened, partially because he was in pain and partially because he was compliant from the medication. "You're pretty," he mumbled as you cleaned his wounds.

"Uh huh." You ignored his words, until he fell asleep and slept for sixteen hours.

When he woke up, he said the same thing...sort of.

"It wasn't a dream?" Dick muttered rubbing his head, looking around, focusing on you. "You really are that gorgeous, I wasn't imagining it?"

Smooth, you had to admit. You gave him breakfast, answered a few questions, like how long he'd been asleep and where he was, then said he could stay a bit longer if he wasn't feeling completely better, but you had to get to work.

"I'm an EMT," you told him, putting your jacket on. "How else would I have been able to treat your copious injuries."

He scoffed at that, but secretly liked the quip. When you got back, he was gone and you assumed that was the last you'd see of him aside from in the newspaper, but no, he showed up at your door a couple of days later with torn stiches and new injuries.

Not to mention a puppy dog face you couldn't say no to.

It became typical to find him at your door late at night or in the early morning. Hell, sometimes he would already be in your apartment, looking for some pain killers and when you started shouting at him about how he scared you and you thought he was an intruder he just smirked a bit, telling you: "You should get more locks. You live on the first floor, they're dangerous."

This goes on for a few months, until one night he comes to you in such bad shape you seriously don't think he'll live through the night and you stay up for nineteen hours, worried sick as he rests, checking his pulse going back and forth wondering if you should take him to a hospital, like you knew you should, or if if you should respect his wishes and keep him here.

Eventually, you just let him stay. He was in no condition to be moved, anyway.

It was three am, when he finally woke up and you were sitting in a chair next to him, wrapped in a blanket, trying not to fall asleep. He grumbled something about pain and you couldn't tell if you were relieved or wanted to kill him yourself for scaring you so badly.

You were just so glad he was alive, you didn't even realize what you were doing when you surged forward and kissed him, cupping both of his cheeks with your warm hands.

When you pull back, your actions finally hitting you, you freeze, waiting for a response.

Dick just coughs in a bit of pain, groaning as his hand finds yours, squeezing it as tight as he could. "If I knew all I had to do to get you to kiss me was nearly dying, I would have let Deathstroke stab me months ago."

[tiredbogwitch]

Seeing as they clearly didn't know what the hell to do with Jinx/the political repercussions of her bombing the council in season 2, I'd like to explore the possibilities of how Zaun would've reacted to this that would've made way more sense than what we saw.

1. Jinx becomes an extremely controversial figure.

Few are neutral to her. This would be largely because, outside of knowing she blew up the council, no one actually knows WHY. What were her motives? Were they politically charged? Was she trying to start a war? What exactly was her goal? It was never really stated that she was infamous prior to this, but I recall in season 1 act 2 that when Vi went looking for her, people knew OF Jinx, and that she worked for Silco, but weren't really aware of any further details. So those that are aware of her connection to Silco- who objectively did make many of their lives worse with Shimmer- wouldn't be happy. They'd be scared of what will come next.

Those who don't know/don't care might fill in the blanks with their own guesses, maybe that she's some kind of activist- which would split them further into the subgroups of "Oh fuck the enforcers are gonna kill us and it's her fault" and "Finally, a war!" The second of which I'd argue would actually be a very small group. I could imagine the Jinxers being seen by the rest of Zaun as crazy radicals who don't know what they're getting themselves into/are gonna drag the rest of Zaun into danger. I think it would cause a LOT of infighting. Like a civil war inside another civil war.

How Jinx would handle this would be.... interesting. Especially if the Jinxers start making moves on their own. She never really shows much interest in activism- she works for Silco because he's her new dad, and while she doesn't seem to DISAGREE with his opinions, it doesn't seem she's all that invested in actually working to make it happen beyond just wanting to help her dad. His death seemed to take her interest with it.

Now, they could either lean into this, and make people question her motives/actions because of her clear disinterest, maybe increasing some of the controversy around her (no follow through on her action, letting Zaunites suffer the consequences, etc.), or they could make her actually take a genuine personal interest in it. But that, I think, would take a bigger arc that might be more work for arguably less payoff when considering you'd probably have to change a great deal of her character to do it, especially when you could probably achieve similar plot points/outcomes even without her intentionally becoming a political figurehead.

2. Zaun becomes fractured politically/other "symbols" of Zaun

This can be in tandem with idea 1, actually, but can still be it's own idea. Basically, after the fall of the council, and Silco's death, Zaunites are terrified. They've been run so far by Vander, Silco, and then some vague council-like oligarchy of Chem-Barons, who could be interpreted as functioning like very large gangs. The Chem-Barons have always been around, but with Silco's sudden death (and no one who was primed/expecting to replace him), this leaves a massive power vacuum that the Chem-Barons and smaller gangs are scrambling to come out on top of.

The fear of the unknown and the extreme instability would lead to people desperately throwing their lot in with whoever they think would be a better/less dangerous leader, and by extension, political symbol. Season 2 shows a bunch of new people joining the Firelights. In that case, I can imagine that before long, several new potential leaders surface, even if they didn't expect it. Namely, Ekko, Jinx, and Sevika.

Ekko because as I said, people were apparently coming to his base in droves. They don't tell us Jack shit about the Firelights besides the fact that A) Ekko leads them B) they don't fuck with Silco OR Piltover C) Piltover thinks they're terrorists and D) they look rad as fuck. That being said, considering Ekko's Everything, I think we can all gather a general picture of what the Firelights are about. Plus his cool tree would be a great symbol (@srslylini for the idea) of growth, healing, etc.

Sevika, because those that knew her as Silco's second might be hoping for some kind of stability with her. Even if they didn't like Silco, it's better the enemy you know and all that jazz. They'd feel safer with someone who at least seems to know what they're doing, even if Sevika herself has no interest in becoming a leader. I think some would just naturally gravitate towards who they see as "second in line". This could also be in connection to Jinx, as she could possibly been seen as someone who could "rein" Jinx in (again, most people don't actually KNOW Jinx, they just know OF her and that she worked for Silco and was volatile. Think how Finn referred to her as Silco's "attack dog").

Speaking of Jinx, she'd probably be treated similarly to idea 1. Extremely polarizing. Her followers would be seen as crazy, like she is. They'd be seen as warmongers and/or people who have no idea what they're getting themselves into. They'd basically be seen as the stereotypical "young rebels". The average Zaunite would see the average Jinxer as a young, angry, maybe idealistic radical who doesn't understand the cost of war. I'd argue that, again, they'd probably be the smallest and most controversial group just because most people don't necessarily WANT a war, even if they're willing to fight for it. And the suddenness of the bombing would've scared even some of the rebels who DO want war, because they weren't prepared. It wasn't a PLANNED attack, so both Zaun AND Piltover are basically caught with their pants down, which would also bring some ire from the other Zaunites.

There's another option for a faction I'd like to explore, also thanks to srslylini (thank you icon), but it takes a bit of setting up.

In a hypothetical situation in which Vi did NOT become an enforcer, I think it would happen like this: Vi hangs around in Piltover at first out of guilt/feeling like she has nowhere else to go. She's still not on board with being an enforcer, but she attends the memorial out of a sense of obligation. Her and Caitlyn have a falling out over Caitlyn calling Zaunites "animals", and here is where she storms off and goes back to Zaun, with the final words to Caitlyn that "You Pilties are all the fucking same" (or something to that effect). She's still feeling lost, and so maybe this is where she stumbles around, having maybe a similar pitfighting arc (just not as distraught, more like she's broke and angry and has to pay rent somehow so she might as well get paid to punch someone's face in). Because she's not in a massive spiral, there's unfortunately no emo arc (sad), but the bright side of this is that she's recognizable. I don't think she's FAMOUS, per say, but Babette and Ekko recognized her right off the bat in season 1 (yes you can say Ekko was really close to her, but Babette? C'mon), and considering she was older than Powder when she went off to prison, I don't think it's a stretch to assume her face was a little better-known than her sister's (especially considering she was already going on jobs, and in act 1 she gets into a fight with Deckard who I'm pretty sure knew her name, but not Powder's).

This is to say, I think a lot of the "old heads" knew who she was, especially those who liked Vander. It helps that she tattooed her name on her face LMAO. So I'd imagine she'd show up in the ring, no hair dye no makeup, and eventually after consistently knocking her opponents around and winning every time, she'd become a bit locally famous again- to the point that those same "old heads" who remember her make the connection and come looking. Maybe rumors start swirling, especially once they learn she was gone because she'd been in prison- not unheard of, and probably the first conclusion they drew when they realized she wasn't dead.

So eventually Vander's old followers/younger people who idolized him from their childhood start seeking her out. Sensationalizing her. Asking her what she's planning on doing. Is she taking back the Lanes? Will she get those Chem-Barons under control? What about Jinx? Could she hunt her down, rein her in? Hell, maybe even put her to use? Will you give us our relative safety, our security back?

And Vi, who just wanted to knock some heads around and maybe take a nap in her apartment and cry, is suddenly faced with being "Vander 2.0" and Jinx is the new "Silco 2.0" and all the weight of expectations and legacy and history and literal war and politics are being shoved in her face. She, like Jinx, is now faced with becoming a figurehead when she never wanted to be, which could lead into option 3:

3. A joint approach to Zaun

This would primarily be driven by Sevika even if she wasn't one of the possible leaders, because SOMEONE has to be the responsible adult here and it's certainly not any of these traumatized losers (affectionate). She'd be the glue to keep it all together, the reluctant team mom who WILL make this work because she WILL have Zaun even if she has to die to get it.

This could work with either Jinx and Vi, or Jinx, Vi, and Ekko (I genuinely can't imagine season 2 act 1 Ekko willingly teaming up with season 2 act 1 Jinx AND Sevika without some kind of buffer). Basically, once the other "leader candidates"/political symbols have been established, Sevika would round them up with the intention to use their influence to unite Zaun against Piltover. This would take a LOT of arguing, but ultimately I think she'd be able to get them to shut up and hear her out for a moment. Regardless of how different their beliefs are about what the "ideal Zaun" looks like, they can all agree that Piltover isn't in any of those pictures. She could convince them to set aside their own squabbling for the time being, for the greater good: aka, the independence of Zaun.

At the very least, I think she'd be able to get them to agree that Piltover coming down and hurting Zaunites in revenge shouldn't be ignored, and that they're currently a bigger threat than their fellow Zaunite. So eventually they'd reach some kind of truce: behave like a united front against Piltover, push them out of Zaun, stabilize Zaun, and then worry about tearing each other apart later. And because all of these characters- ALL of them- have shown (prior to season 2) anti-Piltover sentiments, they'd at least be able to agree that enforcers shouldn't be allowed to beat down on their people (especially in this version where Vi has better, more consistent writing lmao).

Of course, Rome wasn't built in a day, so maybe they don't reach a total agreement immediately- maybe they just agree to a ceasefire at first, but still refuse to work together. But once Caitlyn becomes a dictator? Once enforcers start gassing the streets, rounding people up, implementing martial law?

That's when the gloves would come off.

I'd imagine this could also be part of how Vi and Jinx slowly start to repair their relationship. They've got bigger fish to fry, but also, this time their enemy is connected to their own personal conflict with each other. Jinx might ask, "what happened to your enforcer girl? What happened to being a Piltie lapdog?" And Vi would essentially, in perhaps more emotionally constipated words, explain that it wasn't really about Caitlyn, it was about being needed. It was about trying to find Jinx, about trying to stop Silco, about trying to "fix" things, only realize that she couldn't. It was about trying to make things better, but that she realized the person she was trying to do that with didn't actually care. That all she wanted was to make sense of the destruction of her old life, and find meaning in a new one. And I think Jinx, too, in her own emotional constipation, would resonate with that, would understand that. It wouldn't fix things between them, but I think it'd be a start.

It could also help their relationship with Ekko. Since Vi isn't an enforcer this time, and season 1 (the One True Season) showed their sibling relationship, I think her and Ekko's bonding would be more like "reconnecting with an old friend", whereas Jinx and Ekko would have a lot of work to do, too. There'd probably be a bit of a cold war between them for a while, once Ekko agrees to help, because he knows actually talking to her would piss him off. But eventually, through Sevika's manhandling of these three, and being forced to make nice with reluctant-figurehead-Jinx, they'd connect again.

Perhaps part of a plan is for them to develop new technology for Zaun. Whether that's weapons against Piltover (unlikely on Ekko's part I think), or just safety gear/ safer city infrastructure ideas for the betterment of their people, I think eventually they'd figure themselves out, too. He'd see the Powder in her, the part he saw on that bridge, and maybe it would give him the ability to try and understand Jinx. And Jinx would realize that maybe these people in her life DO love her, DO care about her, more than just for what she used to be but for who she is now. And somewhere along the way, they'd be friends again (or they can date IDK or care man I just want them to stop trying to kill each other).

Whatever happens next is so wide in possibility that I can't possibly cover it here so this is where it ends, lol.

[astrstqr]

⸝⸝ㅤ⟡͟ ˳ WHATS IN MY BAG ?!

𓈒 ☆ ꒱ a pink miu miu tote bag! was a gift for my birthday in 2O25

𓈒 ☆ ꒱ the decor!

key charms ⭑.ᐟ a fan had gave them to me during a fan sign & i loved them ever since

photo cards ⭑.ᐟ my two photos of kwon i always keep with me. gotta keep my (secret) man close lol

hirono figures ⭑.ᐟ bought them while i was visiting paris during my first tour

𓈒 ☆ ꒱ next is the two front pockets, here you’ll find all of my little things…well some

𓈒 ☆ ꒱ first front pocket!

keys ⭑.ᐟ the keys to my mercedes benz, always a necessity and always need in hand

handsanitizer ⭑.ᐟ need i say more? practice good hygiene!

hair clips ⭑.ᐟ my hair is always getting in the way & it can be very annoying. so have to keep some on me

gum ⭑.ᐟ always got to have gum. either for long meetings and i’m just bored, or just to have my mind focus on one thing

airpods ⭑.ᐟ just backup in case my headphones die or when i want to share with someone

battery pack ⭑.ᐟ last but not least my battery pack, times where my phones are close to dying. always needed due to how much i’m in my phone lol

𓈒 ☆ ꒱ second front pocket!

my lippies ⭑.ᐟ always gotta keep my lips moisturize & juicy

travel size perfume ⭑.ᐟ can never go without smelling good. especially with my busy schedule, it’s nice to freshen up a bit

travel size mirror ⭑.ᐟ have to keep appearances. always on the move and in front of cameras, can’t get caught slipping lol

travel size toothpicks ⭑.ᐟ my smile is one my best features. always on the move, in front of cameras, and eating certain foods. can’t get caught slipping lol

𓈒 ☆ ꒱ lastly the main pocket, basically my life

𓈒 ☆ ꒱ my two phones!

pink iphone 15 pro ⭑.ᐟ my main and personal phone. here you’ll find all my contacts, games, social media etc. very cute

sliver iphone 15 pro ⭑.ᐟ my second and work phone. here you’ll find all my work emails, work contacts and so much more (can’t give everything away lol)

my camera & photo printer ⭑.ᐟ i can’t go anywhere with these, i live a fast life. i just love capturing my journey and things that makes me happy

ipad ⭑.ᐟ this is my baby, i have so many games in here and just things that’ll keep me busy during long work days/weeks

my vivienne westwood wallet ⭑.ᐟ literally holds my entire life in it i swear. to all my cards and my id

a charger ⭑.ᐟ in case my battery pack dies, or i need to charge my ipad/airpods

my headphones ⭑.ᐟ these are my life. i listen to everything in them. from music to tracks to videos etc. i love them

travel size jewelry box ⭑.ᐟ where all my jewelry goes when i’m done wearing it for the day and im not home yet. or whatever they get in the way during practice etc

my notebook & pens ⭑.ᐟ here is where i write my lyrics. whenever im out. when i get inspired i quickly jot it down so i can go back & look at it later

𓈒 ☆ ꒱ my snacks!

hot cheetos ⭑.ᐟ i love love LOVE hot chips. and they’re always my go to snack (along with the other on this list lol)

gushers ⭑.ᐟ 1. bc i always thought the name was funny & 2. they remind me of my childhood. i use to always eat them and i guess it stuck lol

gold fish crackers ⭑.ᐟ another childhood snack i can’t let go of i tried lol

travel size fan ⭑.ᐟ it’s always hot during award shows, practices, and ughh the summer heat..i hate it

a lighter ⭑.ᐟ gotta keep one on me when i wanna light up .. :P

crystals & protection spell ⭑.ᐟ i am connected with my roots heavily. dabbling in hoodoo and my ancestral practices

comb, brush & hair ties ⭑.ᐟ sometimes my hair can get wild or get in the way. gotta fix it somehow lol

﹫ib @chaaistained & @hrrtshape

[vhygoxo]

Twilight New Age

After inheriting her grandparents house in the Quileute reservation, La Push, Y/N moves to her home rez. Hoping to start a new life she is soon involved with what she thought were just old legends.

Paul Lahote x Reader

Romance | Fantasy | Drama | Angst

CHAPTER 3

<<CHP 2

The music was playing loud with the help of Embry’s subwoofer. Everyone was feeling the drinks as the group talked over one another. Only the older members sat around the bonfire. Consisting of Y/n, Quil, Kim, Emily, Leah, Sam, Embry, and Jared.

Leah and Embry sat beside y/n on either sides. Emily and Kim eventually found their way to their respective partners. Kim and Jared sat next to each other basically fondling one another. Emily and Sam were too absorbed with one another to even join the group conversation.

Almost an hour and a half had passed since Paul had left. Y/n still sat with her heart racing out of her chest as she barely finishing her first drink. Still nursing what was left in the can. Wondering anxiously when Paul would get back. Feelings in turmoil as she switched from feeling desperate to frustration at herself.

The three outside of y/n seemed to take no notice or care about the couples. It seemed that it was just something normal for the others. Y/n faded in and out of the conversation, thinking of him, then snapping into reality. She wondered if he’d even come back.

She was getting along with Leah, there were some qualities they shared, even some interests. Y/n was relieved to know she wasn’t as scary as she thought. She was one of the most welcoming and generous people out of the group aside Emily.

“So your grandma said you’re living all alone down at her old place?”

“Yeah just me out there at the moment”

“Seems a lot of work for one person. How are you handling it all?” Leah asked with serious concern. Y/n nervously laughed “I’m handling it so far yeah. It’s true it’s a lot of work for me but not much besides the house I have to look after. I’ll worry about the yard once the snow is fully melted.“

“Well if you ever need any help I live nearby your place. I’ll give you my number in case of anything. Or if you just want to hang. I’m sure you can handle but it’s still scary for a single girl to live alone there. It’s a pretty isolated area”

“Really? I appreciate that it’ll help. I’ve been worried about the recent wolf sightings in my area. Least I know you’re around”

Leah fell silent after they exchanged numbers. Embry she enjoyed as well but y/n found it hard to befriend men most of the time. It never lasted long with her guy friends in the past. Besides she wasn’t sure if she was wanting to just befriend him.

Other times she’d be really enjoying herself. But after feeling that intense connection earlier from Paul she wasn’t sure about much now. It didn’t help the fact that Embry and Leah kept bickering with one another quite loudly.

“So how are we feeling tonight y/n?” Embry asked catching her attention. He wore a soft smile on his face. “Great. How’s your night so far?” She asked earnestly with a smile as he leaned in closer. Her cheeks flushing at how close they were at the moment.

“Same here. You’re not much of a drinker are you” He asked looking down at her empty can. She shrugged her shoulders “Usually” she said as he scoffed. “Usually? Why not tonight? I thought you were having a great night” he asked with a worried look.

“I mean I am but—“ y/n trailed off nervously. Embry shook his head slightly. “But?” Gazing into his eyes he gave off a unique Intense energy. An unsuspecting darkness was hidden inside him. He must’ve noticed from Leah and y/n’s reaction how he was behaving. Leaning back slightly away from her as Leah got up to leave.

“I just…” Y/n trailed off trying to figure what to say. Explain that she somehow missed Paul even though they literally just met? She wasn’t sure If one could even call that an introduction.

“Look, I get that you’re not used to being around people like us. We can come off how do I put it. A bit scary? Intense? I dunno but personally I hope you have a good time here with all of us. In the meantime can I get you a new drink?” He offered which made y/n smile.

“Sure, thank you” she answered as Embry stood up. But before he could leave she pulled onto the edge of his sleeve. “I just wanna say I am having fun. I don’t wanna give off the impression I’m not. It’s just that I didn’t realize how tired I am y’know? But I’m sure a drink will help with that”

He smiled slightly at her nodding in acknowledgment. Leaving to get a drink out of the cooler for her y/n sat in thought. Her heart beat was still pounding loudly. The lingering energy settled over her and her heart.

It wasn’t as if she thought everyone was scary. They seemed interesting in a way she couldn’t describe. A certain mystery that she wanted to unravel about all of them. They seemed so close and familiar. It made the feeling of being a new person all the more obvious.

The evening was great so far, but with how much time had passed, she wondered if Paul would return. Would she even cross paths with Paul again? She wanted to rid herself of this inner conflict she was going through already.

Maybe then she could actually focus on her surroundings. She kept getting flashbacks to her dreams. Running in the woods wildly, the light of the moon, with the sounds of howls echoing the valleys. Chills ran down her back all the way across her spine.

Embry came with her new drink in hand. She kept harshly blinking as to help with her vision, fading in and out of reality, then back to her place in her dreams. As she reached for the can she saw a flash of fierce piercing grey eyes in her mind. Making her gasp in surprise she almost dropped her drink.

The loud noise of truck pipes echoed as a black truck rolled up. Instantly catching the attention of everyone as the driver slammed into park. Y/n once again felt a wave of chills go through her. She knew there was only one person it could be.

Paul had returned with Seth by his side. He wore a completely different outfit than the one had a few hours ago she noticed. Glancing up he found her and locked eyes instantly. She was frozen in place as he made his way down to the area.

Sam rose to greet the two as Paul kept his eyes on y/n. The rest of the group eventually stood along with y/n. At this point all y/n felt she could do was look away and stare into the fire. Feeling his intense look baring down into the side of her neck.

“Paul you made it” Sam said as he was almost instantly ignored. Embry stood beside y/n not bothered by his entrance. Paul was glaring at him, while y/n scanned Paul once more, looking upon his face closely.

“So” His voice was smooth but gruff. He had a slight smirk across his face standing in from of her. Y/n looked up as she breathed in regaining composure. All everyone else could do was watch and wait in anticipation.

“You’re her aren’t you?” Paul said in a tone that made her heart race. “Her?” She answered as he wore a stern expression. One that seemed like he wouldn’t let up. His intensity was something y/n had never experienced before.

“The one. Everyone has talked about you at least once a day since you came” He said making y/n lift an eyebrow, she felt he was somehow annoyed, at how much everyone was excited over her. “Yeah well that’s me. And you are?” She asked as he smiled slightly at her response.

“Paul” he said causing a short pause between the two. For both it felt like an eternity fit into a second. Y/n’s eyes trailed from his eyes down to his lips. Down to his neck and chest focusing on his collarbone. She was too busy taking in his features to realize he was also.

“I never got your name” he said as she felt the warmth on her face spreading. “My name is y/n… Not just the one” y/n bluntly corrected Paul. He smiled finally breaking the harsh exterior he held. “I’d hope not” he said as y/n felt somehow more at ease now that he was back.

The rest of the guys broke the conversation by pulling Paul to the drinks. Catching both of the two by surprise. Everyone erupting into conversation as y/n caught her breath. Separating into their respective corners.

She felt her nerves calmly settling down. As her heart beat steadied she sat down clutching her chest. Embry took notice as he joined her side once more. “Hey you okay?” He asked worried as she nodded her head.

“I’m fine it’s just a bit cold out here. Still getting used to it I guess” she tried to assure while he shook his head. Embry wore a thick fleece lined flannel jacket which he was trying to take off.

Leah instantly as she seen the sight and got up to intervene. Knowing how the situation would bode with a certain someone. Paul was already shooting deathly eye glares from his corner. Leah rushed over with a blanket, wrapped up y/n, before Embry could place his jacket on her.

Y/n flushed red as Leah wrapped not only the blanket but her arms around her. “Here” Leah said looking down at her, she could smell her scent waft past, which was a mix of rain and lavender. Embry frowned as he shuffled his jacket back on.

“Even from where I sat you could see how cold you are” Leah smiled teasing y/n who was bashful. As Leah rubbed her shoulders for warmth before sitting back beside her. “Thank you. I’m not used to the weather here just yet” y/n replied in a soft tone.

“Is it bad if I hope you don’t?” Leah said as she peered in close to y/n. Gazing at her through her thick lashes y/n felt flustered. Noticing how close the distance was to the two. Jared and Kim sat with Paul who was sitting on the edge of his seat.

“Now why would you hope for that? You wish for me to be freezing all the time?” y/n answered trying to focus. But Leah had her own intensity to her that y/n struggled to match. Leah in the other hand couldn’t but find her demeanour cute.

“Because. Then I wouldn’t be able to warm you up like this” Leah made y/n instantly blush heat spreading across her face. Leah sat with a sly but subtle smirk as she stifled a laugh. Quil on the other hand was sick of watching everyone fight over his cousin.

Everyone was acting different since she arrived he noticed. It was as if they all forgot how to act in the first place. When did everyone get so sweet? He rose from his seat eager to march right over. Paul determined to follow him but Sam whipped a glare to him.

The loud sound of a car arriving interrupted everyone. As they all shifted their heads to see who had pulled up. Y/n felt her heart drop into her gut in an awful way. Everything in her body told her she should flee. Instead her body froze stiff in place.

The men all stood up on alert before the truck could even fully park. Sensing something that y/n was somehow also reacting to. Paul whipped his head over to Quil then y/n. Embry left y/n’s side walking over to stand by Sam.

Quil marched over to y/n taking Embry’s place at her side. Y/n noticed Quil’s protective stance as everyone else stood up alert. Leah also rushed in front of y/n as if to block her from something.

Out from the truck was Jacob and the girl Renesmee. Y/n stiffened again as the two immediately locked eyes. Sam rushed up to meet with Jacob who walked with Renesmee in stride.

The two men began to talk in harsh but hush tones to each other. Renesmee kept her eyes on y/n who was trying to stray away from the girl. Looking down eager to avoid y/n felt utter chills throughout her body.

“Hey there. It’s me from the diner remember?” Renesmee beamed innocently with a bright smile. Strolling over past the two men and the rest of the group confidently over to y/n. Everyone eyed her with wild and fierce eyes shocked.

Y/n slightly gasped upon hearing her voice, seeing her coming over, she felt her self hesitate. Quil and Leah immediately closed ranks sliding close to one another. Shoulder to shoulder they blocked Renesmee from approaching further

“Just the other day was when we met. I’m sure Quil remembers. I didn’t think you’d be here what a nice surprise!” The girl continued as Quil nodded with a straight stern face. “Yes it’s good to see you too” he tried to dismiss her. But to no avail as she peered over and in between the two to look at y/n.

“Yes hi Renes—”

“Jacob” Paul called out in a serious tone as he hovered close by. Arms crossed as he showed obvious discontent. “Renesmee” Jacob called out making the girl look back concerned. In a brief moment she sighed and joined his side once more.

Y/n couldn’t help but notice everyone’s strange behaviour. How the energy shifted as soon as these two pulled up. But she wasn’t quite sure how to react given the mood so far. Kim and Jared looked at one another before they separated.

“C’mon y/n I think we should go for a quick cruise. Leah come with us. We’re almost out of drinks” Kim chimed in as y/n looked back up at Renesmee. A sad look upon her face as she gazed into the fire. Kim quickly linked arms with y/n pulling her away from the area.

“Em you too” Leah spoke in a firm tone as Emily nodded. The four left together explaining they’d be right back. Y/n didn’t know what Kim meant by saying there were hardly drinks. When there were at least two coolers full still. She understood there was something weird going on they didn’t want to say.

Whatever it was had to do with Renesmee somehow. Or at least Jacob she decided in her mind on the drive to the liquor store. Even the girls didn’t dare bring the two of them up. Leah drove since she didn’t have anything to drink.

As she parked the car y/n made the other two girls go inside. Wanting to sit alone with Leah for a moment. Y/n waited for Leah to light her cigarette. Watching as she exhaled her smoke into the air.

“So that was Renesmee and Jacob huh? I remember Jacob but I’m not sure who the girl is”

Y/n tried to make her intentions discreet. Leah took a long drag, thinking of what to say, she took a moment before answering. “I thought she said you met at the diner” y/n agreed but quickly dismissed her.

“But that was quick I barely spent a minute with her” Leah nodded slightly. “Yeah well that might be for the best” Leah answered as she took a drag. Her ash lighting up as she inhaled. She seemed so reserved y/n thought as she looked at her.

“For the best? What do you mean by that?” Y/n peered curiously. Wondering what could be so wrong about Renesmee. “I hardly know the girl either. Just that her and Jacob have been gone for like 3-4 years until now. The girl can be a bit much at times from what I remember” Leah continued.

“And Jacob? Is that his…” y/n trailed off unsure whether to say it out loud or not. Leah glanced over with a small smirk. “His what?” Leah questioned as y/n blushed. “I mean is that y’know… His girlfriend?“ Leah laughed slightly as she flicked her cigarette out the window.

“No that’s not his girlfriend. They’re close like…” she struggled to explain as y/n tried guessing. “His little sister?” She answered as Leah agreed. “Yeah… Yeah something like that…” Leah finished her cigarette putting it out. The two girls were coming out the store now with small bags.

Once they returned y/n noticed how they came with more bags of ice than anything. More so than the booze they were supposedly getting. She didn’t want to question since no one needed to black out tonight. Hopefully these boys weren’t black outs who’d fight each other when wasted.

“Good to see Jacob back isn’t it?” Kim brought up lightly, her and y/n sat in the back, as the other two sat quietly. “It is yeah…” Emily said drifting off onto something unrelated. The topic of Renesmee wasn’t brought up in the slightest. It was like she didn’t exist to these people.

Getting back to the beach Jacob and Renesmee were gone, everyone explained they just came for a bit, since Renesmee was supposedly tired. Jacob decided to bring her home instead. Explaining he won’t be able to make it back until another day.

Unadmittedly y/n was disappointed to know she was gone. There was something about her y/n felt she needed to uncover. Why does she keep haunting her dreams with her presence? It all wasn’t making much sense to her. Figuring if she got to know her maybe it’d explain somethings.

Jacob as well she surprisingly missed. She’d cross paths with him as a child growing up. Since him and Quil were always close, she had hardly recognized him, not like she knew him that well anyways. But it was a missed opportunity she was hoping to get another day.

She tried not to focus on it too much and instead focused on visiting here. Tonight would most likely not be different than the rest. Renesmee would likely be awaiting for her in her dreams. As she went to sit down on the logs with the rest Paul came towards her.

She felt nervous as he stepped close, in his hands were a warm blanket, looking up at him he wore a stern expression. “Have this” he said bluntly making her quickly take it in her arms. “It’s cold out tonight. You’ll need it to stay warm” he said very matter of fact. He smelt of firewood smoke and a faint smell of cologne.

“Oh okay…Thank you” she said softly as he handed her a drink, the kind she was drinking before, instead it was a fresh one. Before he walked away satisfied back to his seat. Wrapping herself in the blanket she couldn’t help but blush at the interaction. How thoughtful she thought as the rest watched closely.

The rest of the evening y/n spent with Kim and Emily. Despite y/n’s attempts hardly anyone spoke of Renesmee. The conversation always somehow leading back to Jacob. It bothered her since she was overly curious of the girl.

“So y/n what do you usually like doing around here? Now that you’re fully moved back?” Emily had asked y/n. “I mean there’s not much to do around here really. Well at least from what I remember” she said making everyone laugh.

“That’s quite true” Emily said as she calmed down. Y/n couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed for the comment. “I love going to the beach but it’s not warm out yet. Hiking too but again it’s so cold yet. I’m mainly at home unless I travel out to the city” she said trying to shift the focus off of her somehow.

“Well how about sometime this week you come over for dinner? I usually cook big meals and we’d love to have someone new come by. I can show you what we do for fun here” Emily was sincere and kind which y/n was glad for. “Yeah of course I’ll come” y/n said eagerly making the rest smile, except for Paul, who looked over to Sam and Emily concerned.

“Just let me know what kind of dishes you like. I can cook whatever it’s no issue. Since these guys hunt I usually have a variety of wild game” Emily insisted sweetly. Ignoring Paul’s glares and Sam’s concerns.

“Wow really? You guys hunt?” Y/n asked the rest of the men who were surprised by the sudden attention. “I mean yeah all the time” Embry said in a semi sarcastic tone that y/n caught. Y/n frowned slightly as she turned away. Soon as she did Paul elbowed Embry’s side harshly.

“I can bring by some meat to stock your freezer. I know you love elk meat” Quil chimed in making y/n perk up. “Really? I’d really appreciate that since I haven’t eaten it in so long” y/n said as Quil nodded.

“Wait a minute. I knew I recognized you! But I wasn’t sure from where. You’re the cousin that Quil took to prom right? What was that? Junior or sophomore year?” Jared exclaimed as he finally remembered. Both Quil and y/n’s face flushed with embarrassment.

“Yeah it was grade eleven I came out for the prom. It was a goodnight” y/n explained much to Quil’s objections. “Sorry I didn’t remember sooner. But damn that was bugging me for a while” Jared said relieved.

Everyone got a rise out of that as they shared stories of that night. “I remember because everyone thought she was your girlfriend. Awe man most of the guys were so jealous until they knew she was your cousin” Jared continued on.

It was starting to annoy Paul as much as Quil. “Yeah well I had the prettiest girl on my arm that night that’s all that mattered” Quil defended his self while the boys continued to tease him.

“That’s because you couldn’t get a real date” Embry started as the two broke into rough housing one another. “Fuck you, you didn’t even show up with a date, at least I did” he bickered as Embry tried choking him.

The conversation trailed off into what the guys wanted to show y/n. Once the two broke apart thanks to Paul. Which was just basically a variety of the sports they all played. She got along with Embry and Quil the most. Since they all had somewhat nerdy interests. Embry’s sarcastic humour was starting to rub off on her.

Y/n had started to notice Paul’s presence more with each passing moment. Eager to steal secret glances to look at him, but their eyes would meet each time, making her heart skip a beat. It was as if he was staring at her long before she could look at him.

It caught her off guard in some moments. Or how if she shifted her position and seat he’d find a way to sit directly across her. How he leaned in each time they spoke to one another so far. Just their few passing words was somehow enough for her to feel smitten.

The visit was cut short since Sam got a phone call. Apparently the majority of them work on as a type of security, for the community, Sam was one of the leadings officers. All eventually decided to leave and end the night.

“It’s not unusual for Sam and some of the guys to leave like this. It takes some getting used to” Emily explained as she sighed. Trying to hide her obvious disappointment at her fiancé leaving.

Y/n laid in bed that night tired and tipsy. Thinking back on what had happened. She was glad to have met everyone so far. But Paul stood out amongst the rest even against Renesmee. How intense she felt being near him, in some moments she felt her heart beating so loudly, thinking it’d run right out of her chest.

Paul made her feel things she never thought she could. Tossing and turning her mind was filled with Paul. Despite the erratic emotions she felt somehow at ease also. Each time she closed her eyes to sleep it was as if he was staring back at her.

A howl echoed in her mind as she was lulled to sleep. It was the first night she didn’t have a weird terrible dream. Instead only remembering comfort that came in waves and the howl that echoed.

Y/n finally felt refreshed and rested after what felt like forever. The weird dreams were really messing with her quality of sleep. Thankfully not much happened last night to disturb her. The only thing she couldn’t get her mind off was Paul. Somehow switching him for Renesmee in her mind.

It still freaked her out about the other day with Kim, how Renesmee was in the middle of the road, that she couldn’t explain. In all honesty it messed with her confidence driving. Honestly her confidence in general.

She seemed so alluring and captivating. Despite only spending a few moments with her. Coming off as somehow hauntingly sweet. It wasn’t so great thinking so much of her. Luckily she had the thought of Paul distracting her.

Getting ready for the day she continued with her chores. Continuing to clean and tend to the house. She gradually felt cooped up and uncomfortable, surrounded by chaotic mess, boxes and items left scattered everywhere. She texted Kim to see if she wanted to hang.

But after waiting a minute Kim didn’t respond. Unusual since she always answered quickly. Deciding to just suck it up she wanted to go to the book store. Have a day to herself of shopping and being spoiled.

A chance to get over her nerves and get out. She finished what was left of her chores. Putting on her coat she grabbed her keys out of the bowl by the door. Once last look in the mirror she headed out.

Leaving the house she turned to lock the door. Only to hear a ruffling noise coming from the trees. Whipping her head quickly to see a huge gray wolf, shocked she dropped her keys, but for a brief second she made eye contact.

It was true there were wolves around here! Would it leap and attack her she thought? But the serene energy she felt told her otherwise. Holding the eye contact before the beast turned running into the forest.

She stood for a moment in disbelief. And also just to make sure there weren’t anymore around. After realizing what just happened was real and not a dream she gathered herself. It was her first time seeing a real wolf. Picking up her keys and driving down the road.

The sight of the wolf made her wonder. In all seriousness y/n was spiritual especially with how she grew up. Wondering if this was the same wolf that plagued her dreams and thoughts. Her grandfather always said there was a power, a certain energy, to the wolf.

Overwhelmed y/n knew she needed to just focus on herself today. Everything since moving here was so weird and different so far. She just needed to do something normal and docile. Something that was familiar to her. Hopefully there wouldn’t be any wolves on her way back.

Driving she listened to music to calm her nerves. Getting into a better mindset she got herself a coffee through a local cafe, going through the drive thru, before heading to the stores.

Shopping around a few clothing boutiques she wandered around. Finding a new small store she explored. Not realizing it was an indigenous owned store. There was a wall filled with jewellery. Different types of beaded, dentillium, shell earrings and jewelry.

Coming across a stunning pair of wolf earrings that were beaded. It was more intricate and detailed than what she’d found. She was so taken by them the lady at the register even noticed.

“Those were all made by local artisans in the community. Every item bought a portion goes back to them”

“Really? Do you happen to know the name of who made these?” She asked as the lady who looked at the earrings. “Usually these have a tag with their names and contact info of the artist. But this is missing one” she showed the other earrings with tags.

“I’ll still get them if that’s alright” y/n insisted as the lady happily rang them up. The earrings were too pretty to pass up. Especially after that encounter with that gray wolf. These ones had a gray wolf with an orange sunset coloured background.

Reaching the bookstore she noticed it was also indigenous owned. Something she wasn’t used to where she lived with her parents. It made her excited since she needed more indigenous literature on her shelves.

The man at the counter greeted her as she entered. It was semi busy with people mingling around. Looking around she found a section dedicated to Quileute knowledge and history. Which immediately caught her interest as she went towards it.

Scanning through she found a book on Quileute myths and legends. It reminded her badly of her grandfather. Growing up when she’d be at their house he’d always tell stories. Passing them down from his grandfather to her and her cousins.

Most were stories of his time as a child. Before diving into myths and stories he knew about. She and Quil spent the most time with him out of the grandkids. He’d always take the time to explain what each story meant.

Skimming through she was entranced by the story she landed on. It reminded her of a certain story she had trouble remembering of his. Because he only told it maybe once in her lifetime. Reading the title of the chapter she began reading further.

“Myths and legends of the Quileute tribe

In times before the white man came to the country, the Quileute tribe have been a small but resilient people, with their own unique traditions and power. Recognized and respected by the surrounding communities as fierce warriors.

They are also recognized for their mysterious ‘gifts’ and so called ‘blessings’. Some say they have multiple types of strong magic and power. One being their connection to the wolves. Accounts from other surrounding tribes speak of their unnatural abilities and ties.

The Makah people specifically, have certain accounts, and stories of such abilities. For when encountering them in battle, the Quileute owned what was believed to be direwolves, which are now extinct to the modern world. They’d send them out to assist during battle. Many believed they raised and trained them among their own. But there’s no such evidence to support that.

The direwolves were said to be as big or even bigger than the average horse. A different breed of wolf that was uncommon in the Washington area. On the battlefield they would announce their arrival by howling. Sometimes striking so much fear into the enemy they’d flee.

The Quileute people say otherwise about the direwolves. Claiming that they themselves were the direwolves. Denying that they ever raised such beasts, hence no evidence, but there was no proof to support their original claim.

As a tribe they were used to human threats. Other men trying to conquer their tribe and land. All until the arrival of the ‘cold ones’, people that were made of hard stone, and an unnatural thirst for human blood.

Claiming that the reason they could shift into the powerful wolf, was to kill such horrific creatures, in order to best protect not only their people but humanity it self.”

It sounded like they were describing vampires y/n thought. She only had fuzzy faint memories of her grandfathers story. Surely she would’ve remembered if he mentioned talk of vampires.

The thought of them sent shivers down her spine. How could vampires even be real? The way her people described them made her feel scared. How would they even come across one, let alone many, and also be able to kill them?

Just how big did these wolves get to be? What was shifting exactly like? It was almost describing a werewolf. Intrigued by the idea y/n continued further.

“The cold ones were creatures born of the night. They are unnatural and forever ravenous. Wishing to only feed on human flesh, the Quileute describe them as cannibals, cursed to live forever for their sins of eating human flesh. They appeared as attractive and seductive. With cold solid skin that shimmered like the sun on the water.

Their ability to transform into wolves they say came from one man. Whose name was name was long forgotten. As was his bloodline, they say the last of his line, died honourably to save the tribe. He was named as the last shifter and last wolf of the tribe.

A cold one had strayed from his partner and the trail. Belonging to a group of French colonizers who were trapping. The man found the village first, coming across a band of women and children, bathing and washing by the river.

Legends say the last shifter had to sacrifice his self to save the tribe. Other say it was him and also his sons who died in battle. All the stories end the same way. Wth both of the cold ones being killed and burned to ash. Stating that the cold ones ate many women and children before the last wolf could stop him. Their bodies looked deflated, pale, and flat for they had no blood in their bodies”

An image was attached, a hand drawn depiction of the grimly scene, a woman being sucked at the neck with bodies surrounding. The cold one’s eyes looked dark and ominous. Her eyes were piercingly light as she dressed in fine furs.

“Found yourself a good book I see?” A familiar voice chimed behind y/n surprising her out of her trance. It was Renesmee who stood with a sweet smile. Giggling slightly at y/n’s scared reaction.

“Renesmee! I didn’t realize you were here” she replied as her nerves settled. “I seen you come in earlier but you looked interested in reading. I didn’t want to disturb you but I wanted to say hi. I wasn’t able to talk to you at the bonfire the other night”

“Yeah sorry about that we thought the cruise wouldn’t be so long. I was hoping to see you too”

“Jacob ended up wanting to leave. I think he was too tired to be honest. But anyways I heard from Jacob you recently moved back here. Is that true?” She asked with eyes full of wonder. Y/n couldn’t help but take notice of her ethereal beauty, how perfect her brown hair was, or how her skin glistened under the sunshine.

“I mean yeah but I’m not new to the area—”

“Great to hear. That means I can show you around. Y’know I’ve read this book before and it’s a great read” she said as y/n clasped the book close. “Y-Yeah it has been so far. I think I’m going to buy it actually. I want to read it more” she said her hands covering the front of the book.

“Wait… I’m not sure this is the same one I’ve read actually. Can I check the cover?” Renesmee asked as she reached to flip the book over. “Sure—“ y/n replied before her hands touched her, as they did the air from her lungs sucked out, and her field view changed before her.

She was stuck in the middle of the forest again. The same exact spot she had been stuck in the past. Another flash and the sky was no longer night but day. With a blinding sun that shined down on her.

The next was the moon flashing in her face. With the same intensity as the sun somehow. The sound of heavy footsteps on soft earth intensely struck the ground. Shocked and scared she couldn’t move not even a budge.

All she could see now, was a pair of eyes, glaring at her in the dark. Peering out through the darkness as it came forward. Gray eyes revealed to be the gray wolf once more. As he stepped out of the shadows to reveal itself.

Renesmee’s grip loosened as y/n stumbled backwards. Air rushing back into her lungs. Dropping the book to the floor suddenly. A cold sweat was running down her back as she looked up at her. Renesmee’s eyes fixed onto her neck, before looking back up at y/n, as she smiled Innocently.

“What’s wrong? I don’t want the book *that* bad. I said I read it already *remember*?” she said with such a nonchalant tone. Y/n felt her stomach instantly turn into a big huge knot. Something was *off* and she *needed* to leave.

Picking up the book Renesmee helped her with it. “Here. You have to be careful“ she said in a sweeter and much softer tone. But not enough for y/n to feel even slightly normal. Rushing to get up she felt her gut turning worser by the second. Her hand somehow brushed against hers once more.

Flashes of red filled her vision, similar to a strobe light, it made her stumble down again. “Are you sure you’re fine? You keep stumbling all over the store here” she said clutching y/n’s arm. Upon her touch she writhed away from Renesmee’s grip.

Turning around immediately she slapped a large money bill on the counter. “Thank you?” The man behind the register said as she practically ran out. Renesmee stood quiet as she watched her take off.

In a panic she ran down to her car. Only to be met with something in front of her stiff as concrete. “Woah there. You okay?” A voice said making her look up, it was Jacob his self, he held her shoulders as he helped her steady.

“Y/n?”

“Jacob?”

She asked bewildered by the encounter. “Yeah I’m okay you just surprised me” y/n replied as he smiled. “Me too. You came out pretty quickly. Like a bat out of hell. You okay?—“ he tried asking again but it only triggered her flashbacks to the vision. She could see sharp teeth snapping down, the sound of growling and snarling, as the wolves ran beside each other.

Y/n’s face drained of its colour turning her pale. Jacob noticed as he furrowed his eyebrows. “What’s wrong?” He asked with a genuine concern. His face somehow reminded her of the weird visions she was plagued with.

Renesmee stepped out of the book store. Jacob turned and greeted her like normal. But y/n fled down the path way with no shame or warning. More focused on her and her own sanity.

Y/n hopped into her car and sped home. Hoping and praying she wouldn’t come across Renesmee on the road. She so much as didn’t even want to think or utter her name. For fear of somehow summoning her.

Her grip was tight on y/n’s hand but she felt warm. At least she was warm instead of having an unnatural coldness. It actually surprised y/n she was warm, but it didn’t rid her of her suspicions, there was something about Renesmee that was different.

If she was a cold one, like she suspected, what could she even do? They were cannibals, literal blood sucking monsters, how could one defend themselves? They had to be just some stories elders told to keep kids inside.

Ridding the thought of her she hustled back home. It was raining outside, not as much as usual, it was more of a spit than anything. The smell was calming her down somewhat. Not as much as she wanted or hoped really.

There was no way she could think otherwise if she wanted to feel safe. That girl Renesmee just had to be a sweet normal human. And something else was plaguing the mind of y/n. For her to even experience something as this so often.

How far would these delusions go? It wasn’t as if she was this fascinated by such fantasy’s. Vampires never interested her much. Werewolves also she never paid attention to any fiction such as that. It was a big question on why y/n kept having such delusions.

Flashes of what she experienced kept coming to her. How Renesmee’s eyes although sweet were filled with a never ending darkness. Last she seen her eyes they were so dark. But this time they were a lighter color, a brown almost auburn, how could she never notice?

Her hands were practically shaking as she gripped the steering wheel. Driving fast she kept her eyes on the road. As the rain continued to pour down onto the ground. She could see something following her in the corner of her eye. But she dared not to look away from the road.

Although y/n wanted desperately to go back home, to her safe space, in her gut she knew it was a bad idea. Since Kim didn’t want to answer she knew who she could rely upon. Her grandmother Molly, she was a great comfort to her, anytime she was in need she answered. Even now she answered her obscure call.

“Gramma? Are you home?” She called out with clear desperation in her voice. “Yes. Whats wrong?” Was all she said to make y/n melt into a child again. “Nothing… I’m just missing you and wondering if I would be able to sleep over?” Although y/n was trying to be discreet Grandma Molly could sense her true intentions.

“I’ll be home my girl. Drive safe it’s raining out” Grandma Molly knew she’d arrive sooner than later. Y/n needed to grab clothes but she dreaded going back home. Pulling up to her driveway she sat in the car for a moment.

“Shit” y/n said out loud as she groaned. The anxious feeling churning deep in her. It’ll have to be quick but simple in and out. Stepping out she rushed to the door, still worried about the wolf from earlier, almost dropping her keys out of fear.

Getting inside the house it was quiet and undisturbed. Taking a second to pause and wait. A wave of peace fell over her in the moment. Debating if she wanted to stay and just visit her grandmother. Come home sometime later this evening. It’d be great if she could truly relax.

All until she could hear creaking floorboards in the upstairs hallway. The sound of weight shifting around the floors. A sinking feeling made her stop in her tracks.

‘What the fuck?’ She thought frozen in place again, a familiar eerie feeling washed right over her, she knew it wasn’t right to come here. A moment passed as she awaited for something she didn’t know.

Pulling her courage from somewhere in her. She grabbed the baseball bat she left hidden by the door. Y/n marched right up the stairs into her room ready to face whatever it may be. She wasn’t dumb enough to not have a weapon nearby. Especially as a young woman living alone.

Her bedroom window was open slightly with watery tracks everywhere. Nothing was taken or trashed but someone was inside. Only her bedroom was on the second floor. Who knew how to climb and then open her window?

After checking the house top to bottom with no intruder in sight. Y/n packed up a bag to go and see her grandmother. Locking every single window and door in sight before leaving.

Arriving at the house she felt relieved. This was the familiarity she has been searching for. Since y/n moved in the house her grandmother moved in with her sister Melissa. Everyone in the family called her “grandma Milly”. Who was Kim’s direct grandmother, since they were getting older, they decided it best to look after one another.

“My girl” Molly cooed as she hugged y/n tightly. Sinking into her arms she felt the comfort she needed. “What’s wrong?” She immediately asked y/n once they both let go. Shaking her head profusely “Nothings wrong. I just miss you is all” y/n answered.

Grandma Molly looked at her searching for dishonesty. Y/n didn’t feel it’d be appropriate to tell everything so far. She would eventually but for now she just wanted peace. As if she knew grandma Molly didn’t push any further. Instead bringing y/n inside for dinner.

“How are you settling into the house? Are you feeding yourself? You look pale” she fussed over y/n at the table. “I’ve been feeding myself yes—“ she tried to say before grandma Milly cut her off. “Are you sure? You look thinner than last I seen you”

“I’ve been adjusting to living alone. I don’t think I’ve withered away that much” y/n joked but the two didn’t let up. “Hm” was all Milly said as they finished dinner. Eventually she cleared everyone’s dishes. The two could sense something was up with y/n very quickly.

Settling in the living room they spent the evening watching TV together. Checking her phone she wondered about Kim. It was unusual for her to not answer. Chalking it up to her being busy, she wished she would answer, she needed her support.

“I’m going to go rest. My meds are kicking in” Milly said as she left the room. Bidding goodnight to the two girls. Y/n continued to watch tv as her grandma looked over at her with worry.

“My girl are you sure you’re okay? I don’t mind a surprise visit like this. It’s just… You seemed panicked earlier when you called” Grandma Molly pushed her. Seeing it was just the two of them alone y/n sighed in defeat.

“I mean I am fine. It’s just ever since I got here I just… I don’t know” y/n struggled to find the words. “I love the house. I’m very grateful for everything you’ve given me so far. So I don’t want come off as rude”

“I knew it! The house is too much work for you isn’t it? I was worried this would happen but I figured you wanted your own space. Quil was so adamant you get the house when we talked about it—“

“No no that’s not the issue here. The housework I can handle” y/n explained making her grandma sigh in relief. “It’s just ever since I moved in… a lot of stuff has been bothering me—“

“Oh I know you loved your grandfather. It’s a hard loss for everyone and a big adjustment—“

“I mean like actually bothering me” y/n almost spat out making Molly sit up. “What do you mean? I thought I told you to smudge the house after I left. You know it’s important especially since we cleared everything from there. You don’t want something else moving in” Milly explained as y/n sighed deeply. Figuring out the best way to explain.

“I did smudge with sweet grass even. What I’m trying to get at is my dreams have been crazy lately. And I can’t help but feel like they’re trying to tell me something. Show me something anyways…” y/n trailed off unsure on what her grandmother would say.

Molly sat quiet for a moment as she looked at y/n. “What did you see?” She asked as y/n looked up into her eyes. “The first couple of times I’m lost in the woods. I’m being chased or else I’m running to find something. I’m not sure really“

“Oh I’m sure your dreams are just reflecting how you feel here. I’m sure you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by everything” Molly tried to understand. But all y/n did was shake her head.

“I seen grandpa in one of them” y/n said making the expression on Mollys face drop completely. “What happened” she asked with quite a serious tone. “It was… strange to say the least” y/n shivered thinking back on it. Molly awaited for y/n to continue.

“Each time in my dream I’m in the same spot in the forest. Confused and lost. All of a sudden, in this one dream, someone had asked me if I was lost. I looked up and it was grandpa. He laughed, went behind a tree, he came out as his younger self” hearing this made grandma Molly gasp. And tear up at the thought as she covered her mouth.

“Aw well that tells me he’s doing well. Don’t you think so?” She asked y/n who sat quietly. A solemn look on her face told Molly otherwise. Raising her eyebrows at her granddaughter y/n gave in.

“When he left he… he was… I swear he turned into a wolf and ran into the tree line” y/n finally confessed. Y/n expected her gramdma to chalk it up to some crazy dream. That stress had been affecting her and her sleep so of course she’d dream crazy.

Instead grandma Molly sat quiet with a hand on her mouth. Staring off into the distance in deep thought. “Gramma?” She peered curious thinking it’d snap her back to the conversation.

“Have you seen Kim lately? Did she or anyone else come talk to you yet?” She asked making y/n confused. “No she didn’t answer me. What do you mean talk to me yet?” Molly sat up and held y/n’s hand in comfort.

“You must be tired. What with all your stress. For me the dream is just grandfather coming to visit you. You know how he’s always been attached to wolves and their spirit. Rest easy and have some peace of mind” Was all Molly said as she basically dismissed the conversation. Feeling like there was a blockage y/n settled with just going to bed.

There was no dream or nightmare that night as well. Maybe it really was just stress y/n thought. Eating breakfast with her two grandmothers they discussed their day ahead.

“Me and Milly here have to attend a meeting today. You’re welcome to stay here if you want while we’re gone. Fridge is stocked and the TV will be free”

Y/n knew her grandma Molly was a councillor. But grandma Milly wasn’t, she questioned what meeting they would have together, but instead of being too nosey she let it slide. She wasn’t quite sure what grandma Milly did to be honest. Besides bingo and chain smoke everywhere she went.

“Yep you’re lucky my show isn’t on today” grandma Milly teased her making the two chuckle. “No that’s okay grandma I think I ought to head home. There’s some things I left unfinished” y/n picked her fork around her breakfast. She wondered about Kim for some reason.

It was quite unusual for her not to answer y/n, especially since it’s been a whole day later, surely she wasn’t upset at her? Or even worse she was in some danger? It seemed ridiculous but y/n knew Kim was never not on her phone. The ignorance from Kim seemed deliberate.

“Well you’re always welcome to stay again anytime. Me and this girl aren’t usually this busy most days”

“I’m glad I came, I really needed this visit, thank you guys” y/n smiled at the two. Finishing up their breakfast the three departed on their separate ways. Y/n wasn’t lying about having a great visit. It’s just she left with more questions than answers.

Would nothing explain these crazy delusions she’d been having? Perhaps she needed to just focus on self care, cut out her stress somehow, to make it all stop. But it all didn’t explain the possible intruder in her home.

It wasn’t like she just dreamt up the wet muddy tracks in her room. But really what could she do about it? She lived alone and it wasn’t like her grandmother could do anything. She’d tell Quil but what would he even say or do? Most likely just call her crazy and be bothered she made him check the house.

Getting back to the house she sat in the car for a moment. Her beloved childhood home was starting to feel different. She knew the energy would change once it was just her in the house. She didn’t want to think it, but sadly, it was starting to feel unsafe.

With a deep sigh she stepped into the house. Pausing for a moment to hear anything. Doing a quick perimeter check there was no one around. In moments such as this she wish she had someone to rely on.

That evening she did what she could to cheer herself up. Deciding to clean up her room and area. Before doing a complete pampering routine, a hot bubble bath, fit with a sheet mask to keep her skin soft. Doing what she could to also make herself feel comfortable being here alone.

Watching reruns of her favourite tv shows, she kept all the TVs in the house on, as a way to fill the eerie silence. Cooking her favourite foods she settled in somewhat. Praying that her windows would stay shut tonight.

As she slept she had a very lucid dream that freaked her out. It started out with her in laying bed like usual. Opening her eyes a few times to her room like normal. Until in the corner stood a dark shadow, a woman with long hair stood, just out of sight. But y/n knew she was there watching.

As her vision faded in and out the woman eventually stepped out. The light from the window shined down on her. Only to reveal the one and only Renesmee, her eyes dark with a straight expression, her mouth slowly started to open wide.

Revealing small but sharp fangs it made y/n startle out of her sleep. As she sat up Renesmee wasn’t in the room as she thought. Her window wasn’t open and there weren’t any tracks on the floor. But her heart was racing more than ever.

It was five am and y/n couldn’t go back to sleep for the life of her. She was way too freaked out to even think of lying down. Instead she hyped her self up with many cups of coffee. She did message Quil to try and hang but no answer from that guy either.

She was already not trying to overthink about the bonfire. But now she was starting to wonder did she mess up somehow? Or maybe their friends didn’t really care about her? She wasn’t sure but it was unusual for those two to ignore her.

Everything so far was making her feel so isolated. Was it truly a good idea to come back to the rez? This was what she was trying to escape, being alone in isolation, but it seems it what’s she’s walked into. Maybe even a worser case now with the delusions.

All day she spent it on the couch, the heavy rain seemed to match her mood, as she anxiously awaited nightfall. What would await for her when she fell asleep? She didn’t even want to fathom it. Listening to the rain pour down onto the house it calmed her slightly.

Watching the tv she began to slowly drift off to sleep. Feeling somehow safer on the couch with the dim light of the grey clouds. Eyes and body heavy as her eyes fluttered shut. It’d be best to get sleep while she could. Hoping not to see Renesmee once more.

Suddenly someone was knocking and pounding on her door. In a very erratic and panicked manner it shocked her. Sitting up she checked her phone but there were no messages. No one called her either it confused her who would be there.

“Please! Open up it’s me!” The girl begged as y/n recognized the voice. Rushing to open the door to reveal a rain soaked Kim. Standing there with tears streaming as she sobbed hard. “Kim?” y/n asked worried and concerned. “I need you” Kim sobbed out as she grabbed y/n’s shoulders.

Chapter 3 is finished 🤍 Finally settled into my home after moving in a short while ago. Got caught up with writing more. I wanted to write more insight into an outsiders perspective. How shifters and vampires would look like to ordinary people. Especially the tribe’s over all insight. The next few chapters will be interesting🤍