#jinx please I need at least ONE person in this show to beat the fuck ass bob allegations 😭

[ideologyofone]

DID SHE CUT HER HAIR??????

[thegreymoon]

The Story of Minglan

Okay, ONE more episode and then I'm off to do important stuff. I MUST know if they passed their exam (and then I promise I'm going to go and study for my own 😢)

***

LMAO, Granny is so done with their bs 🤣🤣

***

LMAO, I love Rulan and her nice shiny backbone 🤣🤣

***

Everyone else had an entire entourage come out to meet them, but only the servants showed up for him.

Which is for the best, I suppose, the last thing he needs is his surly father and evil stepmother coming and jinxing everything in a 100-mile radius.

***

LMAO, nothing gets past granny 🤣🤣

***

"Putting a louse on top of a bald head" 🤣🤣 I am cackling 🤣🤣

I love Chinese idioms!

***

LMAO, I am reminded of Ever Night when Ning Que's ridiculous ass was taking an entrance exam and he placed top in multiple categories in spite of being a disaster 🤣🤣

***

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

HE DIDN'T PASS!! HIS STUPID ASS DIDN'T PASS THE IMPERIAL EXAM!!

I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING!! 🤣🤣

SUFFER.

***

YES, SECOND BROTHER!!

I never doubted you for a second!

***

He failed.

Also expected.

***

LMAO, this is me 🤣🤣

If you catch me back in school after my current degree, feel free to beat me with a shovel.

ALSO, WHAT ABOUT GU TINGYE? DID HE PASS? WHERE ARE HIS RESULTS?

***

LMAO, what talent?

He's as mediocre as can be! His only talent is the fact that his mother is a princess and nepotism works overtime for him.

***

LMAO, choke on your bile, bitch.

Your stupid son FAILED his exam 🤣🤣

***

Aww, no, he didn't pass 😢

I am sad. I 100% expected him and Changbai to pass.

***

NOOO DON'T MAKE ME CRY OVER A FAILED EXAM THAT ISN'T EVEN MY OWN 😭😭

***

LMAO, straight for the jugular 🤣🤣

I agree with her, though. I'm not sure how much nicer as a person she would have been if she had been born as a man (or at least as a woman in a more equal time) but she would definitely have been happier. She is certainly smarter than her idiot brother and I have no doubt she would have done better than him. Growing up as a woman in this precarious, restrictive time must have been so stifling for her.

***

Why do I feel like he's talking some dangerous garbage 😬

My guy, please don't get your entire family executed.

***

Aww, so he did come to ask about his son's results after all 😢

Gu Tingye was so sure he wouldn't but I guess even horrifically abusive parents still love their kids after all. They're just intellectually and emotionally stunted.

***

YES, WHY WAS HE NOT ON THE ROSTER?

***

WAIT. ARE THEY SERIOUSLY NOT GOING TO TELL US 🤬🤬

***

Wait, what. What the hell. What the fuck.

THE EMPEROR PERSONALLY FAILED HIM?

BECAUSE OF A GRUDGE?

***

Also, who the hell is Yang Wuduan? And was it really Gu Tingye speaking against the Emperor or someone setting him up, like they did with the brothel bill?

[plotpromptdump]

Old whumptober prompt

Explosion

“I can’t believe they let you get away with that!” Exclaimed the blonde girl laying at the foot of Blythe’s twin bed. 

“You could get away with it too if you just tried harder, Cleo. I swear. You have much better aim than you show in tests.”

“And show up the Program’s golden child? Blythe, surely you jest!”

“Stop calling me the golden child! You started that whole thing and it is the worst. We both know it's more like the red flag child. If I fuck up, I’m sure I’ll disappear like KJ.”

“They wouldn't do it. You actually have a lot more potential as a free thinking agent. And it might be the worst but I am the best. Admit it! Me resembling your best friend may have lured you to me, but you stuck around for my winning personality.”

“Or it could be… you are one of the few people not willing to backstab just to rank up a single level.”

“I refuse to backstab unless it gets me at least 5 ranks. Also, why would I put in the effort to be the best when I can ride the team’s, and your, coattails until I make enough to go to school? Get a real job. One that really helps people.” Cleo’s voice turned wistful. 

“Our team is on a winning streak. A few more and we will beat the current Program record. We make a great team,” Blythe said, clapping her friend on the back.

“Please knock on wood or something! You will jinx us like that!” Cleo groaned. 

Blythe rolled her eyes but leaned over to knock on the nearby night stand. But Cleo flailed in mock frustration. 

“That's not real wood!”

“It will have to do. It's going to be fine,” laughed Blythe. “Now move. I have to check my weapons before our job tomorrow.”

—————————————

Everything had gone to shit in a flaming baggie. The client had either lied about how hard the job would be or he also wasn't expecting the battalion that fell upon their group halfway to the extraction point. 

Blythe shouted over the commotion.

“H! How is that door coming? Kinda pinned down over here!”

“I almost have it open. Can you give me a little more time? C, I need you and R to take point while B covers the client,” a red headed man ordered.

“C should cover the client. I always take point. I’m not sure this is the time to change the script.” Blythe argued ducking behind a wall, reloading her side arm. 

“We will have to make do. Door breach in 3...2...1…” H called.

R and Cleo went through the door first entering a corridor, followed by Blyth dragging the client by the collar, with H in the rear. There was a collective sigh as the door closed behind them. 

“That gives us a little breathing room,” R laughed. 

“I… wouldn't be so sure,” Blythe said slowly looking up, moving the client behind a pillar, “take cover everyone. It's about to get messy again.”

The team continued to pick off their enemies, the hall filled with a cacophony of gunfire and dying cries. 

“B! LOOK OUT!” Cleo shouted.

In all the commotion Blythe didn’t register the faint beeping until the beeping was too fast to make moving matter. Suddenly something heavy knocked her to the ground only moments before the explosion filled the room. 

After the disorientation passed, Blythe realized the weight that pushed her down was still on her. She looked on in horror to see Cleo. And too much red. 

“I told you… you should have knocked on real wood,” came her pained voice.

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

“You performed better than expected. The circumstances were not favorable and you completed the objective wonderfully,” said the Headmaster, then continued with a smile, “I will say that you are definitely on the way to breaking the Program’s streak alright. I look forward to it. You are all dismissed.”

    With the wave of their hand the team began to file out. Only Blythe stood there, bile in her throat.

A wonderful job?

Cleo was dead and they did a WONDERFUL job?

Blythe looked down at her hand. Blood still on her gloves.

    “Yes, Blythe? Did you need something?”

    “Cl…”

    “Ah yes. Cleo was lost and it's always a shame to lose someone with potential. No matter how reluctant they seem to be to use it. But in the end I suppose she was useful wasn't she? Don't worry. You didn't lose any points.” The Headmaster stood and came around the desk to put a hand on Blythe’s shoulder. “We look forward to seeing more of your accomplishments. Go rest.You will do great things.”

Blythe stiffly nodded then turned to leave. She had to escape this room. She wanted to scream. To cry. To be sick. But that would have to wait until she was away. She already made the mistake of being weak once today. It wouldn't be happening again. It couldn't ever happen again.

[lygerastia]

emotional jinx (Nero) - Part 4

Summary:  You are Nero’s childhood friend who disappeared on him one day, leaving him heartbroken and confused: and straight into Kyrie’s arms.

Now, you have returned–and the demon hunter’s world turns around as he remembers his forgotten feelings for you. But he’s with Kyrie and… What will he do? And what will you do when Nero believes you like Dante?

Warnings: none

Chapters: 4 / 4 [Completed] 

READ IT ON AO3.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4

**

It’s been weeks since you’ve kissed Nero. And gosh you fucking missed him.

Things returned to normal: you lied to Dante about what really happened but, judging by his look, he knew better. In fact, it seemed like everyone knew what was going on between you two. But Nero and you acted as if nothing was wrong. Like you’ve reconciled as friends and he was sad because of Kyrie (which was still true, but he also had you now and it made things better). You were partners again and kicked demon ass constantly—actually, you worked even better now that you were a couple. And, well, you couldn’t keep your hands off of him whenever you found yourselves alone. He didn’t mention any rule against you two touching; and it wasn’t as if he said ‘no’. He held your hand tightly as if he didn’t want to let you go. He rubbed his thumb over your palm, comforting, trying to memorize something he has lost (and oh how many times you’ve held hands when you were kids). He was extra cute when he was staring at you longingly, most of the time his gaze lingering on your lips—you wanted to kiss him as much as he did. The first one—that fleeting breeze of a kiss—felt wonderful and new and old at the same time. It was a shame he only got a glimpse of the passion lingering inside you with that kiss...

You had to show him how much he meant to you. 

That time will come soon. For now, you were content with spending more time with him and enjoying his presence. It was all you could ask for. You didn’t want any prying eyes spying on you when you wanted to hold his hand. And the japes about how good you looked together when you rested your head on his shoulder were getting rather old. It was annoying and embarrassing—you didn’t want Kyrie to hear that he already found happiness alongside you. Either she finds out from you and Nero, or she doesn't find out at all. You didn’t want any kind of unwanted attention; you just wanted to enjoy this newfound love and uncover Nero’s secrets. He was a lovable person, romantic at heart, taking care of you just like you knew he would. He was careful and he was holding you in high regard, as if you were a glass doll he was afraid to touch.

But you could see it in his eyes: he craved you. It’s safe to say you did too.

“We’re here,” you tell him as soon as you spot the van in the distance. “Time to let go.”

“And if I don’t want to?” he purrs, teasing you by hovering above your lips—a giant shit-eating grin adorning his features.

You raised an eyebrow, “Are you ready for that?”

The young demon hunter cutely pouts, like a kicked puppy. He obviously wanted to show you to the world, to hold and kiss you without hiding. But Kyrie’s ghostly unresponsiveness lingered between you two and you didn’t want to do anything without her approval. Or, at least, to know that it was ok for her. It won’t ever be, but...

“...Well, I want you, [name].” In more ways than another.

You squeezed his hand reassuringly, then in the next moment, you let him go. You had to act like there was nothing wrong. “Come.”

You try to ignore the disappointment in his expression as you turned around and started walking toward the van. Nero followed you soon after, keeping a distance. You acted like friends again, though the smiles you had told otherwise. However, as you got closer, you noticed the group gathered outside the van. Everyone was there and, before you could question the reason why, you saw Kyrie in the middle.

Your heart stilled, and you felt Nero freeze alongside you. What was she doing here?  You risked a glance at Nero, who only had his eyes glued on the redhead.

“Nero—what do we do?” you whisper to him, willing your body to keep on moving. Nero doesn’t follow and you tug him by the arm, a bit forcefully due to your nerves.

“Why are you lagging there, slowpokes?” Dante waves a hand in the air. “You have a guest.”

An uninvited yet late guest.

“Nero—” you were beginning to panic. You weren’t ready for this. Not right now. You needed him. 

Instead, he finally finds his balls and interlaces his fingers with yours.

“This is it.”

You gasp softly at his action. He’s smiling a bit forcefully, but he’s sure of himself. He’s going to do this: for you, for himself. For lost and newfound love, for your kisses and smile. You knew it.  This was it.

**

“I want to talk to you,” Kyrie says, making eye contact with you.

“Huh? Uhh—” you weren’t sure what to say. It was out of your area of expertise and you had no idea how to react.  “Su-Sure, all three of us—”

“I only want to talk to you, [name].” The redhead is smiling so brightly, it was as if she wanted to talk to you about her grandma’s cake recipe. “With Nero—” she casts him a fleeting glance, “—I know what he thinks.”

“Kyrie—” Nero wants to say something, pleading Kyrie with his eyes (she doesn’t need another apology, but he’ll still do it until he’ll stop feeling sorry about it).

“Nero, please?” she gently touches Nero’s cheeks, her feelings pouring out of her then and there. It was too much for you to handle, so you look away.

Why did you ever let yourself get between them?

“I’m not upset,” Kyrie goes on, when it’s clearly not. But she seemed—fine. As much as someone in this situation can be. “I just have something to tell [name].” She focuses back on you and you flinch as if she slapped you. Get a hold of yourself, [name], she’s not going to murder you. “It won’t take long.”

“Come on, kid,” Dante slings an arm around Nero and starts walking away. “Let’s take a walk.” Trish gives you an encouraging smile as they're all walking away—wasn't very comforting. You only wanted to run away from all of this. Why should you talk to Kyrie? There was nothing (a lot) to be said. Panicking, you sought help—then you catch Nero’s gaze. His beautiful blue eyes stare at you lovingly, and he slightly nods.

You can do this. For us.

And yes—you can do this. For us.

You take a deep breath, “Shall we go inside?”

“I won’t take much of your time, [name].” But she nonetheless follows your lead and enters the van. You plop yourself on the couch and she gently sits on the edge of it, as if she wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. Which she most likely did.

“So...” you start, feeling awkward. However, Nero’s expression and loving gaze kept you determined and courageous to see this through.

“I don’t hate you, [name],” she starts. “I never did—and I never will.” Her smile is reassuring and you feel your body relieving itself of the tension. “You’re my friend, even if—even if Nero always came in between.” Ok, here is where it goes downhill. “I am not blaming anyone for this,” she hangs her head as if ashamed. “Maybe I’ve been selfish about it...”

“NO!” you cry, hand on heart. “I—I was the selfish one...I stole Nero from you. I honestly didn’t mean for it to happen—I-I-I was fine with you two being together even if—even if he never answered to my feelings.” You pleaded her with your eyes, wanting her to understand that she wasn’t at fault: it was all you. “Kyrie, if you still want him back, I—”

“I don’t want him back, [name],” she grabs your hand in comfort. “He made his decision. And it’d be unfair to him to—to force him.” She was right. The demon hunter chose this. He could’ve ignored his burning feelings for you and pretend all was a lie. He didn’t, though: he chose you. “I know Nero loves you. I saw it every day when he knew I wasn’t looking. Sometimes, he’d get quiet and fall into thought, as if he was trying to remember something. Or, maybe, he was trying not to forget.” Her voice dips low, “I think he was trying to keep your memory alive...”

You feel bad for letting your heart skip a beat: that sounded so romantic.

“He’d always tell me it was nothing when I asked him if anything was wrong. But I knew—” she lifts her eyes, looking at you. “I knew it was about you. And I stole him from you.”

“You did not—”

“I did. Back then. When you left. I was aware that you two—had something special going on. My sin was pretending I didn’t.”

“Huh?”

Kyrie blushes to her ears, as if she was ashamed of what she has done in the past. “I knew you liked each other. Neither of you probably noticed, but—when Nero came to me, I didn’t care. I took him for myself.”

“Oh.” It all made sense now. And, somehow, you couldn’t blame her at all. “I see…”

“Sometimes, I even imagined you wouldn’t come back,” she whispers in a low voice. “That was wrong of me. And I’m sorry.”

She was on the verge of crying and you grabbed her hands, squeezing. “No—Kyrie, you don’t need to cry! Please, you’ve got nothing to apologize for. We were kids, we—” you take a deep breath. “Nero was in love with you, whether he also had feelings for me or not. That much is true. You did nothing wrong.”

“But—”

“No, stop,” you firmly tell her. “I don’t blame you or Nero for what happened. I’m glad you two were together. And—And I’m sorry for doing this to you.”

“[name], Nero was never meant for me.” It broke your heart to hear her so sad. You wanted to turn back time, to fix this, to never fall for Nero and let them be free in love. Were you allowed to be selfish? You didn’t want to—the guilt and shame were eating at you. But—

“Can you forgive me, Kyrie?”

She smiles brightly, “I already did.” It feels as if a weight lifted off your heart with just that one sentence. You smile back, kind of unsure, kind of happy. “Can you?”

“Yeah. But—”

“I want Nero to be happy, [name]. He won’t be with me.”

“Maybe…”

“Shut up,” she playfully flicks your forehead. “It’s for the best. And I don’t regret it. You have my blessing,” she giggles. “You don’t have to hide anymore.” You look to the side, embarrassed. “And if you need embarrassing stories about Nero, you know where to come!”

“Now that I want to hear.” You two share a laugh and you feel like a butterfly, fleeing with joy. Your head is in the clouds and you want to run to Nero and kiss him straight on the lips.

“Friends?”

“Friends.”

**

Nero. Nero. NERO. “Nero!”

Your heart is soaring with joy and love and all the positive feelings in the world. You’re running, frantically attempting to determine Nero’s whereabouts. He was nowhere and you hated it—until you caught a whiff of him. You speed up, through the streets and pushing people that got in your way, until you somehow arrive in front of the true Devil May Cry. How did that happen? It felt like magic. You’ve rarely been here, preferring to crash into Nico’s van (and stay with Nero, of course). It was an interesting place, though, filled with cool stuff Dante collected over the years. A bit rundown, but…

Oh well. There he was: Nero. He was sitting on the steps alongside Dante and the group. They were all chatting and joking, but when they noticed you, they stopped and grinned in your direction. Except for Nero, who was a bit worried, unsure of what to expect. When he saw your grin, his expression turns around: a smile from ear to ear. His eyes lit up and he jumps up, ready to embrace you. You pick up the pace, eager to reach your lover. When you’re close, he opens his arms and you jump into them. He catches you easily, snaking his arms around your waist as you grab his neck for support. You bury your nose into his jacket, while he inhales the scent of your hair.

“Everything alright?” he whispers, but he already knows the answer.

“Yeah, yeah—don’t worry.”

He puts you down, gazing into your eyes like you were his everything (which you probably were).  “So—”

“Ok, lovebirds, this is all romantic and stuff, but I don’t want to hear it,” Dante clears his throat, annoyed, yet with a smile on his face.

“Now I—” Nico sighs, conflicting emotions across her face. “Now I don’t what to feel about all this...”

Fair enough—she’s Kyrie’s friend more than you were. Maybe that’s why she acted like that before, trying to warn her about your intentions (even if you weren’t planning on doing anything). Well, life goes on—and it’s not happy for everyone. You can forgive yourselves and get used to the changes. You apologized and you got a (reluctant) approval, but it was still better than nothing.

“You’ll get used to it,” Trish says sassily, hands on her hips. Was she an 'avid' supporter of you and Nero? Seemed like it. 

“I’m sorry—”

“You’ve got nothing to be ‘sorry’ about,” Dante stops you. “It’s just the way things are.” You look at the older demon hunter with new eyes—but he doesn’t let you get used to his softer side. He grins sexily and almost wiggles his eyebrows at you two as he opens his mouth, suggestively, “Well, gang, seems like we have to go.”

“What? Why?” Nico is thoroughly confused, while Lady and Trish nod like two protective mothers. They knew what was up—and you didn’t want to think that he was referring to... You glanced at your demon hunter and you notice the way he was avoiding your gaze, embarrassed. His cheeks were red and he was pursing his mouth in a way that told you he knew what this was about. No—no way...

“Enjoy the house, kiddies,” Dante shouts, laughing joyously, grabbing Nico by the arm and dragging her away (despite her protests). “Don’t break too much stuff or you’ll pay!”

Your eyes widen, staring from Dante to Nero. What was this all about? Why was Dante giving you the whole Devil May Cry? This was insane! And they weren’t all expecting to...

No.

They were gone out of sight before you could call after them and tell them that this wasn’t exactly what you wanted. But it was too late, so it was just you and Nero now, standing embraced in front of the building like two fools.

You pout at him, “What’s that all about?”

“Uhh...”

“You’re not getting in my pants that easily, Nero.” A big fat lie.

“That’s not what—” he was getting flustered and it was adorable. At least that part of him never changed. He shrugs, helpless, “I don’t know, I figured that—We’d spend some time alone, after—” He’s pleading you with his puppy eyes, “I was just trying to do something nice, I—” he sees your half-amused expression and loses it, “Don’t judge me, ok?!”

You roll your eyes, taking his hand in yours, “Well, whatever—since we’re already here...” you drawl on, trying to be as suggestive as possible (without being too aggressive). He says nothing as you pull him behind you, opening the doors to the Devil May Cry and entering the premises. You don’t have time to examine your surroundings (and enjoy the things Dante had), and your mind is certainly not focused on exploring Dante’s lair right now. You glance back at Nero meaningfully, and he’s looking back at you. You don’t know where you’re guiding him, but you’re up the stairs and next thing you know, you open a door. It’s dark inside but, through the only window in the room, come the last sun rays. They fell on Dante’s sad little bed. You stop next to it, staring at Nero; and, ever so slowly, you take off his jacket. It falls to the floor—he takes off yours, while you struggle with his shirt. When he’s done with you, he lifts his arms, allowing you to take it off. It goes on like this, your shirt, then his shoes, then yours, then his pants, then yours. When you are out of items to disrobe (save for your underwear), you study each other, as if it was uncharted territory. It wasn’t: you’ve done this all before, stripping naked and sleeping in a bed together. But you were innocent back then, and you’ve seen it all before. Yet, Nero has a lot more scars than before, fading, but still noticeable. You wondered how he saw you: as before? Different? With flaws? Too slim? Too chubby?

“You’re perfect,” he whispers, taking you by the waist and planting a sweet and much-needed kiss on your mouth. You eagerly respond, pouring all you had for him, finally free from the guilt. You kiss him as if the world ends tomorrow and you have no time to tell him how much you love him. He kisses you back as if he’s afraid of letting himself go, passionate, loving, needy, pressing. It makes you chuckle and he smiles back into the kiss, holding you ever so close. You remain without air and part, panting softly while looking at each other under a new light.

“Should we...?” you nod at the bed, feeling like a teenager. Giddy. In love. He looks positively amused and embarrassed, but he doesn’t say ‘no’. He remembers that day too, when he wanted to experiment and kiss you to see how your lips tasted like. A curiosity he never satisfied until now.

You tasted like the best food he ever had.

It was wrong of him to think of you as food, but his brain wasn’t really thinking straight right now, with you in your underwear in front of him. You matured in all the right places, you were delicious-looking—and he couldn’t wait to touch you thoroughly, to explore every inch of your skin. His fingers were tingling and he ached to touch you again, to kiss you slowly, hard, rough, sweet—in every way. He wants to find out what you like so he can please you as best as he can. He wants to know your secrets, to make new memories...

You two jump into the bed, on the side, facing each other. Your arms and hands find familiar bodies, snaking around each other and bringing your bodies close together. You stare into each other’s eyes, gazing deep—you felt your cheeks flush from the intensity of it.

God, he was so beautiful. Shame for the hair, though, even if you got used to it.

As you were thinking that, you ran your fingers through his short hair; it felt nice. You sigh, content. “This feels...” you honestly had no words, but it had to be said. You’re back to the beginnings, where everything was innocent: you were young again, looking at Nero with curiosity. You breathe him in, exhale love, and your thoughts are a jumble.

What was he thinking about now? Was he oversensitive as you were?

“Familiar?” he completes your sentence, grinning cutely.

“Yeah, I think so,” you exhale. “Do—Do you remember?”

“Of course I do.”

“What were you thinking about, back then?” You’re genuinely curious; you’ve wanted to know about this for a long time. It felt only right to ask.

“Heh, well,” he darts his eyes to the side, “things I shouldn’t say?”

You chuckle, “Seriously?”

“I was curious. Can you blame me?” “Nah. I look ravishing.”

“That you do.”

“So...” you trail off, feeling heat pooling inside your belly. Since you had one leg between his own, you could feel him slightly growing with each second, his eyes scanning your every nook and cranny. You slowly and deliberately rubbed that spot with your thigh, gently as to not hurt him. His eyes widen pleasantly, then cloud over with desire, a cocky smirk on that pretty mouth of his. “How you’ve been lately?”

He groans, a deep rumble in his throat. A bit of rolling eyes that show you how frustrating it was that you were playing innocent right now when it was obvious. Otherwise, why did you bring him here? Why did you act so hurt about him wanting to spend some time alone (honestly, he never intended to actually do something with you, but seems like you had other plans)? He didn’t mind, not one bit: he’s fantasized over this moment a long time ago, imagining how it would feel, picturing your reactions.

Nero had a feeling that reality would be better than his imagination.

“Hey, you ignoring me, Nero?”

“Ugh, shut up,” he growls, grabbing your face with his metal hand. It feels cool on your skin, but a welcomed feeling.  “You talk too much.” You do because you’re nervous about what was going to happen: but before you can voice that thought, he brings you in for a kiss. You quickly get lost into it, forgetting your nervousness and everything that might’ve changed your mind. After successfully distracting you, his hand runs down your neck, up to your shoulder, rubbing it a little while—as if trying to comfort you. You continue to indulge in the kiss, sparks flying as you open your mouth willingly to allow him access. He tests the waters a bit reluctantly, preferring to focus on your skin rather than anything else. You had no idea whether his arm had any sensors that made him feel the texture of your skin, but he seemed to enjoy himself as his fingers trailed downwards, over the curves of your hips. You shudder at the cold sensation, pulling your body closer to him, seeking his warmth. He chuckles, amused, and playfully pinches your hard nipples through your bra.

“Ah!” you gasp in his mouth, then pull away. “Nero!” but it sounds more like a moan than anything else.

“What?” He’s challenging you with his gaze—and, honestly, you are in the mood to take it. With one swift motion, taking him unguarded, you push him on his back, pinning his arms above his head as you jump on top of him. Nero lets out a huff of surprise, his lips partly opened: it just made him adorable as fuck. Yet you didn’t hope you’d maintain this position for long—he was stronger than you and he can easily topple you. He doesn’t do it, though, relaxing under your grip. But, fuck, he looked so vulnerable under you, arms raised, muscles beautifully straining, his chest and abs exposed for your enjoyment. You just wanted to lick them all, to touch them—but you felt as if he’d take advantage of you if you let his wrists loose.

Besides, you actually liked this predicament.

“Got you now, demon hunter,” you coo seductively, straddling his hips. Through the fabric of your underwear, you could see how hard he was. You bet he could feel how wet you were too. You lean over to him, inches apart from his lips. “What are you going to do?”

Cheeks flushed, he answers, vibrating with excitement, “Whatever you want to do.”

Having Nero under control was an interesting prospect; one that drove you mad with want. It had to be said, though, “Isn’t this hurting your fragile ego, Nero?”

Hey, maybe he was into some kinky shit.

“Babe, I’m enjoying this more than you can imagine,” he purrs, a spark in his eyes. You now just noticed the way he was panting, true to his words.

“Ah, so you like to be submissive?” you tease.

Nero scoffs, but the blush on his cheeks was a giveaway. “Just today.”

“Oh, yeah?” you smirk, starting to grind against him. He lets out a strangled moan, tossing his head back. You go on, grinding against his hard dick as if he was a pole. Nero doesn’t seem to dislike it, finally closing his eyes and letting you take the reigns. It was a hot view and you can’t help yourself: you also want to be touched. You let his arms go—and he immediately takes advantage of that. His hands rest on your hips; but it doesn’t feel like it’s enough. His human hand cups your titty, but he’s not satisfied with that. He expertly unhooked your bra and you let it fall on the bed. He feels much better now that he was touching your nipples, skin to skin; and you don’t waste the opportunity to run your palms over his chest and muscles. They felt amazing.

“Nero...” you breathe out his name. You had to make sure that this process was not uncomfortable for you: rubbing against fabric was not the most pleasant thing in the world to do. However, Nero was clearly enjoying himself by the way he was tossing and turning his head. As if he’d never felt something this good in his life. You doubted it—but maybe he was acting this way because of you, a person he’d dreamed of all this time and never had the opportunity to do it. “Nero?”

He opens his eyes with an annoyed groan, staring at you with half-lidded eyes. He was panting harder now as you kept on moving, harder and faster.

“What?” he sounded strained, as if he was closer to his climax. Ha ha, no way, no?

“Do you like this?”

He pinches your nipple as a way to respond, earning a hiss. “Does it look like I don’t?”

“It feels like you’re enjoying this too much. You sure you can hold on?”

“I—” he breathes out, trying to decide if he was going to lie or not. “I won’t.”

His admission drives you insane and you finally kiss him, savagely. He answers weakly, focused on your private zones touching. You grab his hair, pulling his head back, and grind against him slowly—that was the last straw for him.

“Shit, SHIT!” he calls out, wrapping his arms around your body and crushing you to his chest. You feel his dick tensing and, judging by the way he was moaning and groaning in your ear, you knew he was cumming right then and there. You weren’t disappointed; in fact, you were glad he was this eager for you and that it was you who made him feel like this. After he was finished (he did come rather violently), his grip on you loosens and you straighten, watching him unfold. He was breathing erratically, pink on his cheeks and sweat glistening on his skin. He’s taking a few minutes to catch his wits because that.was.AMAZING. And if a bit of dry-humping felt this good, then how would fucking feel like?

The white-haired demon hunter finally opens his eyes and sees your amused expression for the first time: a stupid plastered grin on your swollen lips.

It dawns on him, finally, of what happened. “Fuck, this is embarrassing,” he says, hiding his face underneath his hands.

“Oh, no, no, no,” you giggle, prying his hands off of him. “Don’t worry about it, I enjoyed it. Very much.”

“You’re just saying that—” he pouts, disappointed in himself a little bit.

“Stop it, Nero, I’m really not.” You make him look at you. “We have plenty of time from now on, don’t we?”

He’s not entirely convinced, but he doesn’t protest as you kiss him romantically.

“Yeah...” he sighs. “I’m going to make it up to you.”

“I hope so,” you laugh.

Plenty of time to discover one another.  The world was your oyster.

And you were going to enjoy the hell out of it.

–

[masterlist]

[firegrilled]

Mommas’ Boys - Part 3

@erejeanweek2k19 Prompt: Danger

Part 1 | Part 4

Summary: Jean takes it upon himself to show his whole school that he’s turned a new leaf, but he didn’t expect his and Eren’s moms to bear witness to the rather embarrassing moment.

 Glancing at her watch, Celine smiled.

“Thirty minutes to spare,” she mumbled to herself as she walked around the corner of the city block, her heels clacking with each step. Her eyes honed in on the cozy little café at the end of the block. “Carla should be proud of me this week.”

Celine was barely inside the building before she noticed her lunch date already sitting in a corner, typing furiously at a computer. Her mouth fell into a frown when she noticed Carla’s frazzled appearance. While Mrs. Jaeger was hardly the picture of business, a wrinkled shirt and barely combed hair were unusual even for her.

Rather than order a coffee she walked over to her friend, pulling up a chair.

“Someone is here early,” Celine commented, spooking Carla.

Her friend jumped in her seat, placing a hand over her chest. “Celine! I wasn’t expecting you for another hour… Wait, you’re early today!”

“Perks of managing one of the smaller branches. Same pay but much less hours and work.”

Celine rested her purse on the table as she took a seat.

“Oh I’m so glad to hear. I’m sure Jean must love that,” Carla smiled. “After being away for so long…”

Dark bags drooped under Carla’s eyes but Celine remained silent.

“Yeah, a summer turned into a year abroad but it did him a lot of good. My maman always had a firm hand. Can you believe Jean actually does the dishes and is so incredibly polite? And I haven’t heard from Erwin at all this first semester.”

“Really?” Astonishment evident in Carla’s voice. “Eren has mentioned he’s better behaved even if he’s still hanging with those same hooligans from middle school.”

Sighing, Celine nodded. “I’d heard that but he doesn’t see them after school anymore. I pick him up straight from track. He might’ve been way out of line but he was right, I wasn’t there for him so now I’m going to make sure I am.”

Carla placed her hand over Celine’s, grasping it.

“I’m so proud of you, both of you.”

“Thanks, dear. But that doesn’t explain why you’re here so early, and on a laptop no less. What’s going on?”

At that question the light behind Carla’s eyes faded. She pulled her hand back and reached into her pocket to pull out a tissue. Water formed at the edges of her eyes but she dabbed them away before they fell.

“I suppose it was only a matter of time before you found out, but Grisha… the world learned he faked the results of some of his papers. He’s lost all credibility in the scientific world and the hospital fired him for academic dishonesty. He left home a week ago and never returned,” Carla answered in a hushed tone, sorrow hanging over her words.

“Oh honey, that was his lab in the news?”

“Yes. I thought he just needed some time to clear his head but today he reached out to me. He doesn’t know when he’s coming back and he withdrew most of our savings, his savings. Now we need to move before the end of the month and I need to find a job to provide for Eren and Mikasa.”

A sob escaped Carla causing her to hunch over. She wiped away the tears as they came but she kept her voice steady.

Déjà vu hit Celine like a ton of bricks, unearthing long repressed memories. She trembled thinking about Carla’s situation but soon regained her composure. Placing a firm hand on Carla’s shoulder, she looked her right in the eyes.

“You will get through this, Carla. It’ll be long and it won’t be easy but you’ll do this. Even though it feels like your entire world was wrenched away from you, you’re gonna pull it right back and continue being the best damn mom to those kids. I’ve been in your shoes before and I’ll help you as best I can.”

Sniffing, Carla tilted her head in confusion. “You have?”

“Yes, many years ago. Jean’s dad passed away when he was just a baby and he left me with the most wonderful child to raise by myself. I know it hurts so much and you feel defeated but it’s temporary. The world won’t stop turning because he’s gone. And Eren and Mikasa won’t stop needing you. Just focus on one step at a time and everything will slowly come back into place.”

“One step at a time… I need to find a home. We at least have enough for that and a little while longer,” Carla tried to clear her mind. She took long and deep breaths until she regained her composure.

“Right, and then we can work on finding a date for you to start your new job.”

Carla snorted gracelessly at that remark.

“Start my new job? I need to find a place that’ll take a resume of ‘housewife and mother – sixteen years’.”

“Not a problem, we have an opening at my branch that I’ll hold for you,” Celine offered.

Carla’s jaw dropped.

“R-really? You’d do that for me?”

“Of course! Just focus on the other important things like your kids. They need you.”

For the first time during their conversation, Carla’s expression relaxed and the life returned to her eyes.

“Thank you so much!”

As if on cue, Celine’s phone rang. The two women glanced down to see Erwin’s picture flash across the screen, wearing his usual stern expression.

“I think I might’ve jinxed myself,” Celine sighed, ignoring her friend’s chuckling. She swiped a finger across the screen and took the call. “Hello Erwin.”

“Hi, Celine-”

“Jean again?”

“-yes. We’ve had a rather awkward situation develop and I’d like you to come down.”

Rolling her eyes, Celine gave Carla a dull stare. “Should I bring Carla? We’re currently having lunch together.”

“Ah, give her my regards. Yes, please bring her too.”

Carla cocked an eyebrow until Celina nodded at her, causing her to hang her head. “Oh, Eren…”

“Alright, we’ll be right over,” Celine confirmed. Hanging the phone up, she gestured to the door. “I’ll drive.”

The two women paid the bill and left in a rush. Much to Celine’s surprise, Carla pointed out a quicker route to the school that she was unaware of and beat her personal best time. As they pulled up to park, they saw Erwin waiting at the doors to the school.

“I hope they didn’t get in a fight again,” Celine sighed. Her son was so close to making it one semester without trouble. So damn close.

“Here’s to hoping,” Carla shook her head, unbuckling her belt.

They carefully shut the doors to the Honda Civic before joining Erwin on the sidewalk.

“Carla, Celine, I hope today has treated you well… Or at least as best as the circumstances allow,” Erwin greeted, his eyes focusing on Carla for the latter part of his statement.

“It was,” Celine said. “What happened? What did they fight about this time?”

Erwin frowned, shaking his head. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple. Good news is that the boys didn’t fight each other for once.”

Celine flinched at those words. “Come again?”

“From what I’ve gathered the boys didn’t fight each other. In fact, Jean defended Eren this morning from his friends.”

“Jean defended Eren? From what?” Celine interrogated the man, disbelief in her voice.

Eren wasn’t a boy that needed defending.

“Mr. Wagner and his little group were harassing Eren about his father,” Erwin started, pausing when Carla’s mood instantly soured. “Jean took exception to this and verbally lambasted them.”

“Oh he didn’t throw a punch, thank goodness,” Celine released a held breath, wiping her forehead she smiled.

“Correct, but he might as well have. His so-called friends saw fit to tape these to every locker in the building.”

Erwin pulled a neatly folded paper from his breast pocket, extending it to Celine. She quickly unfurled it, nearly dropping it when she saw the contents: a grainy picture of her son with large words underneath it.

“’Jean Kirschtein is a faggot’?” Celine read aloud, her blood freezing in her veins. “His friends did this?”

“Yes, we have them on camera. We currently have Jean in the office to shield him from harassment. Eren is also present since he took it upon himself to avenge Jean’s honor,” Erwin informed the mothers. He gestured to the building, “If you’d follow me we can go see them.”

Carla shook her head at the news.

Just as the three stepped towards the building, the doors swung open to reveal Levi dressed in a custodial outfit. “Erwin, get to the office. Now!”

“What?” Erwin tilted his head in confusion as they walked to the building. He quickly realized something was off when he heard the school’s PA echoing in the halls.

“…and the time we thought Connie shat himself on the bus to DC? That was Mina after she ate Taco Bell for the first time. Totally just blamed him and everyone bought it. Oh and she cheated on you Connie with Thomas. And then cheated on him with Franz who then cheated on her with Hannah,” Jean’s distinct voice announced.

Celine placed a hand over her mouth as the color drained from her face. While she listened to her son’s speech she noticed the posters lining the halls. Every locker with a picture of her son’s face with those nasty words underneath them.

“Let’s go, now,” Erwin stated, immediately power-walking for the office. He didn’t miss the smirk on Levi’s face as the janitor listened to the juicy gossip.

“But Thomas, you hypocrite, you’re the one that made out with Franz when you were both tipsy. And I just love how you told everyone you lost your virginity already. News flash, you fucked your stuffed bear Mr. Tinkles and pretended it was a big deal,” Jean continued. Repeated dull thuds could be heard in the background but Jean seemingly ignored it.

Celine kept her mouth bolted shut as she heard her son using such brazen language.

“And what about Franz? You really haven’t done too much. Besides the fact you like to pick your nose and eat the boogers. And that you wet your bed until like three years ago.”

The three adults were almost at a jogging pace when they could faintly hear someone shout, “Liar!”

“Call me what you want but I’m not a pants shitter, a toy fucker, or a cheater. Or a toy fucker. Poor Mr. Tinkles. In conclusion, fuck you three.”

Erwin and the mothers arrived at the principal’s office in time to see Hanji shoulder-checking the door. Each attempt was in vain as the wood held strong.

“Hanji, where are the keys?” Erwin asked, leading Carla and Celine inside.

Turning to reveal crooked glasses, Hanji raised a finger and opened their mouth but no words came out.

“Oh, right. Those,” Hanji eventually spoke.

Quickly retrieving the keys from their pants pocket, Hanji unlocked the door to reveal Jean sitting in Erwin’s chair facing the window with a sorrowful look while Eren was on the floor wheezing. Eren grabbed his sides while laughter wracked his body.

“Jean Alexandre Kirschtein, what have you done?” Celine asked, catching the attention of both the boys.

Jean spun around in the chair, his expression now akin to a deer in the headlights.

“Maman-!”

Carla’s eyes fell to her son who struggled to regain his composure. With a concerted effort Eren managed to stifle his laughter.

“He just straight up murdered Thomas Wagner, Mina Carolina, and Franz Kefka. Good riddance,” Eren explained, wiping a tear from his eyes. “Oh this is the best day of my life.”

Carla covered her mouth with her hand at her son’s reaction. It wasn’t disappointment or anger that kept her silent, but awe. Jean managed to bring a wide smile to her son’s face.

Erwin crossed his arms as he stepped into the room, clearing his throat. “My chair?”

Not needing to be told twice, Jean scampered away from the leather chair and into one of the plush chairs on the side. “Sorry, sir.”

“Why, Jean? They would’ve been disciplined and punished accordingly,” Erwin wondered as he pulled a pink sheet from his desk. He started scribbling on it, looking at the calendar on his desk for the date.

“No offense, sir, but they wouldn’t have learned their lesson. I know them. They’ve never known what lines shouldn’t be crossed and a suspension wouldn’t do anything. Now they know what happens when you go after low hanging fruit.”

Celine pursed her lips, processing her son’s explanation. While she didn’t know what to make of her son’s very public stunt, she was moderately impressed by his reasoning. Not that she’d ever tell him that.

“Ms. Kirschtein, you know the drill. Please sign here that you understand the reason for his detention,” Erwin said as he slipped the pink paper across the desk.

“Only a detention?” She asked.

Even Jean perked up at that news.

“Yes, he’ll be in detention Monday morning for using the intercom inappropriately and slandering students. He’ll be joined by his friends of course but this is no reason for suspension,” Erwin explained.

“Of course, thank you,” Celine nodded as she signed the line.

“You may take him home early today, I don’t wish for any further disturbances to our educational environment.”

“Okay, thank you.” Celine turned for the door when she noticed Carla. Before she could respond Carla held up her hand.

“It’s ok, I’ll get a ride with Levi. His shift should be ending soon and he was due to clean our house today. Go home Celine.”

Smiling, Celine replied. “Okay. We’ll talk about the other thing later. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything else. Now, come along Jean.”

Carla nodded.

Jean got to his feet, shoving his hands in his pocket and keeping his eyes to the ground. Before he got too far, Eren called out to him.

“Hey, Jean. Thanks,” Eren grinned at him.

Jean returned a tiny smile and shrugged. “No problem.”

Celine almost tripped upon hearing those words but thankfully caught herself. Today was really full of surprises.

To Be Continued

[chasholidays]

Could you please do a Bellamy POV of Bromans episode 8? Specifically including Clarke’s fight with Ontari because I’ve always wondered what the his and the cast’s reactions were!

Original fic here!

By the last episode of Bromans, Bellamy is generally prepared for the worst. Or, if not the worst, at least the most absurd and least good for him, personally. That’s the general Broman vibe.

Well, okay, the Clarke thing was good. Bromans is the best thing that’s happened to his relationship with her in years, but it’s unclear how much credit the show itself deserves for that. It’s not like the producers were trying to get him and Clarke together, and while the forced proximity was definitely a factor, that was entirely his and Clarke’s decision. The challenges haven’t made a huge difference, give or take the one where he had to ID Clarke’s breasts. But, again, they weren’t trying to destroy his sanity or upgrade his relationship, and it’s not like it helped with his general mental state.

So he feels pretty comfortable saying that Bromans is trying to kill him and never gives him anything good. Anything good he gets from it is incidental and unintentional. At best, the show is ridiculous.

Which means that when Murphy takes them away after breakfast on the second-to-last day, he’s expecting something especially terrible. Any deviation from the routine is usually a red flag, especially this late in the game.

“Seriously, no hints?” he asks Murphy.

Murphy glances over his shoulder. “What part of our whole vibe makes you think I’m going to give you hints? That’s not the dynamic we’ve got going. I don’t actually like you.”

“Bullshit,” says Dax. “He’s totally your favorite.”

“That doesn’t mean I like him,” Murphy shoots back, without missing a beat. “It just means I hate all you other assholes more. No offense.”

“Ah yes, the elusive inoffensive I hate all you assholes,” says Roan, dry as sand. “Very hard to pull off.”

“Whatever, I’m not telling anyone shit, so who cares what my personal ranking of favorites is? Legatus will tell you when he tells you.”

“He’ll be taking each of you aside individually,” Anya puts in. At least it’s someone’s job to be helpful. “Order will be Dax, Roan, Ilian, Bellamy. Once you’re done with Legatus, you’ll have individual interviews, and then you’ll go back to your girlfriends together. All clear?”

They chorus their agreement, used to this kind of thing by now, and speculate on what might be coming as they walk. The most convincing theory to Bellamy is that they’re doing some sort of individual physical trial, although everyone has their own idea of what he specifics will be. Roan is sure they’ll have to fight Lincoln in single combat, but Bellamy has to believe that’s not true. Lincoln would wipe the floor with him and Octavia would mock him for the rest of their lives. And, honestly, none of them are up to beating Lincoln in a fight, so there’s no way that can be it. They already have enough footage of everyone getting their asses kicked in training, they don’t need more.

But having to complete some weird strength test to prove their worthiness feels completely on brand for the show, and Bellamy can probably do that. He was in good shape before the show started, and the daily workouts and challenges definitely have him even better off. He’s not the best physical specimen on the show, but he still likes his odds to win, depending on the challenges.

Going last in any event is always a little stressful, especially when he doesn’t see the people doing it before him, but the good news is that no one’s paying any attention to what he’s up to, so he and Miller can just play Words With Friends while they wait.

It’s weird, the knowledge that he’s going to miss this. This ridiculous show and these ridiculous people. This whole ridiculous experience.

“Bellamy,” says Anya, pulling his attention from Miller. “Your turn.”

“If I die, tell Clarke to never let my sister live it down,” he says.

“Not that you love her?”

“She knows that. She might not know she killed me.” He wipes his hands on his tunic and stands, goes into the tent where Lincoln is waiting.

He and Lincoln haven’t been one-on-one very often, which is nice, if he’s honest. When they’re out in the open with all the other contestants, it’s a lot easier to remember that this is Legatus, their training master, not Lincoln, his almost brother-in-law.

“Legatus,” he says, with a nod.

The smile is all Lincoln. “Bellamy. Congratulations on making it this far, I knew you could. And I didn’t even have to cheat for you.”

“Would you tell me if you had?”

“Probably. I’d feel bad sooner or later.” He clears his throat. “Okay, real take?”

“Real take.”

It’s like flipping a switch; Lincoln’s face smooths out, going hard and serious, and suddenly he’s Legatus. “Bellamy. You have fought hard and overcome much, and now we have come to the end of the road. Tomorrow, we’ll find out if you have what it takes to earn your place among the Bromans. But no matter the outcome, you have proved yourself as a warrior.”

“Thank you.”

“In recognition of your accomplishments, I have prepared something for you. A gift.”

“A gift?” he blurts out, too surprised to remember to stay in some kind of character. “You’re giving gifts now?”

“You have done well, you deserve to be rewarded.” He claps his hands and a couple extras come in with–

Armor. Actual, real-life armor. It’s so fucking badass.

“Seriously?”

“You’ve earned it,” says Lincoln, letting probably a little too much sincerity bleed through into his voice. But he recovers fast. “Now, don’t let me down. Fight bravely tomorrow and show me what you’re made of!”

“I will.” He can’t help flashing a grin; they can cut it. “Thanks.”

Lincoln smiles back. “You’re welcome.”

*

After the unexpected gift of his own set of armor, Bellamy really isn’t sure what to expect next from the producers. It really could go anywhere at this point, so going back to the cesspit for the girls’ last challenge is actually a little disappointing. Clarke, at least, is excited, but she has a good history there. If he’d figured out how to (lowkey) cheat in as many challenges in the cesspit as she had, he’d like it too.

And it was kind of where they had their first kiss. That part was cool too. But he was hoping for something a little more dramatic.

“This should be straightforward,” Anya announces, once everyone is gathered and the shit-talking Clarke has died down. “You all know the drill by now. There are three bags, and you have to get two of them back to your pedestal. Only one bag at a time, and no one is allowed to help you. If you want to get the bag away from your competitor, you have to earn it. The winners of the first round will go on to compete against each other for the prize.”

“What is the prize?” Ontari asks.

Anya smiles her usual tight smile, like she realizes that there is no “prize” in Bromans that’s actually good. “You’ll get to pick your boyfriend’s first opponent in the emperor’s games.”

Even by their admittedly low standards, it’s pretty uninspired, but that doesn’t matter to Clarke. Clarke doesn’t need a reason to be competitive, she goes cut-throat competitive at the drop of a hat.

He really does love her.

“The first round will be Clarke versus Ontari and Gaia versus Raven,” Anya adds. “Raven, we need to check your leg in the water first.”

Bellamy leans in close to Clarke as Raven tests her brace in the water. “You know this doesn’t matter, right?”

“I know.”

“I don’t care who I fight.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t really matter.”

“Ontari is kind of scary.”

She makes a face. “A little, I guess? Not that scary.”

“All I’m saying is that the stakes could not be lower here. So you should just have fun.”

“Winning is fun,” she says, and he puts his arm around her, kisses her hair.

“I guess it is.”

On the one hand, he’s not really expecting Clarke to throw the match or anything. He knows better than to think she won’t try. But he’s hoping she won’t do anything extreme, or come up with some weird new trick that finally gets her banished from the show. It would be a real anticlimax to lose like that.

And, in Clarke’s defense, she does absolutely nothing to bend the rules. She picks up only one bag, takes it to her pedestal, glances at Ontari, then back at the bags. In theory, she’s got this–most people who win the sprint win the whole game, but Ontari’s more athletic than than Clarke and definitely fights more.

“I really hope Ontari doesn’t try to drown her,” Raven murmurs.

“I wish she was up against you or Gaia,” Bellamy admits. “I’m pretty sure she and Ontari both take this way too seriously.”

“Are you kidding? I’m going to win this. If I go up against Clarke, I’m going to crush her.”

“Yeah, but not, like, murder her.”

“Not if I don’t have to.”

“You don’t think Clarke can outrun her?” Roan asks.

“I think we’re going to find out.”

Really, the big issue is that Bellamy doesn’t actually have to watch Clarke do this very often. She did challenges when he was in “jail,” but everything else has been assisting him or ridiculous. He never had to worry the way she did about injuries, even ridiculous, historically inaccurate Broman injuries.

All he wants is for it to be over soon, so, of course, it lasts forever.

Bellamy realizes almost immediately how bad it’s going to be. He catches Clarke’s expression when Ontari jumps her, the hard, stubborn set of her jaw, a clear sign that she will stay there forever if that’s what she has to do to win.

“Someone should start a timer,” he mutters.

“A timer?” asks Gaia.

“This is going to take a while.”

“How long can you fight over a sand bag?” Raven asks, and it’s not as if she’s going to jinx it, but she’s definitely underestimating how stubborn Clarke is. But understanding starts to dawn on her (and everybody else) after about five minutes, when they’ve barely moved and Bellamy has already settled in.

“You weren’t kidding,” Ilian says, slumping down next to him.

“Honestly, we should have brought a deck of cards. Unless Dax thinks Ontari’s going to give up on this.”

“They’re going to die in that pool,” Dax says. From anyone else, Bellamy would take it as deadpan humor, but he can’t tell that Dax has a sense of humor, so they really might die in there.

“Legally we have to step in before anyone dies,” says Anya. “So let me know if you think it’s getting close.”

“None of you are making me feel better,” Bellamy grumbles.

“She’s definitely not going to drown,” Raven says, patting him on the shoulder. “And she’s probably going to win. But she’ll wear herself out and then I’ll beat her with, like, zero effort. So this is perfect for me.”

“I might beat you,” Gaia puts in. “I mean, I probably won’t. But there’s always a chance.”

Raven smiles like a shark. “Yeah, anything’s possible.”

Bellamy stops asking for updates on how long it’s been at the twenty-minute mark, mostly because he thinks hearing it is worse than not hearing it. There’s a part of him that just wants to yell to Clarke it doesn’t matter, but Ontari could end this at any time too, and she’s not, so it’s not like it’s Clarke’s responsibility to do it either. He’s not going to tell her to quit when she could win.

Still, this is getting ridiculous.

“Honestly, I’m not going to just throw it in, but she probably deserves the win just for doing this,” Raven says, after what has been at minimum forty minutes and could be as long as five hours, at this point. Time has lost all meaning. If the sun sets, he won’t be surprised.

“Is there any way you can edit it to make this look like the finals?” Bellamy asks Anya.

She seems as hypnotized as all of them, for once, but her reflexes are as sharp as ever. “Raven would kill me, so, no.”

“I’m glad we’re all just assuming I’m going to win,” says Raven. “Not that I’m not, but glad I’ve got your support.” She starts. “Wait, head’s up, Clarke is doing something.”

Bellamy’s attention snaps back to the cesspit, but it’s already almost over. Clarke must have surged forward, taking advantage of how exhausted Ontari was, and she smacks the sandbag onto the pedestal with a resounding thunk.

“Clarke wins,” says Anya, and Bellamy jumps into the water without thinking, dragging himself over to where Clarke has collapsed on top of her hard-won prize.

“Jesus, you could have just lost,” he tells her when he reaches her, laughing a little in disbelief. He saw it coming, but somehow she still surprised him.

She raises her head for a tired smile, and he pulls her arm over his shoulders, half-dragging her out of the water.

“Have you met me?” she asks.

He gives her a quick kiss. “I have, yeah. That was amazing.”

“How long was it?”

“No idea.” He kisses her hair, relieved beyond words that this happened now, when he’s allowed to kiss her as much as he wants. Ridiculous, yes, but this is the girl he fell in love with. “You know you have to do another round, right?”

“Yeah. Raven’s going to kick my ass, I’m so done.”

Raven and Roan are at the edge of the cesspit to help her up, Raven grinning ear to ear. “Fuck, I didn’t know you wanted it that much,” she teases.

“Like you don’t,” Clarke shoots back. She still looks exhausted, but Bellamy feels better with her out of the water, and even better when one of the crew has a towel he can use to try to warm her up. “Are you okay?” he murmurs, hopefully quietly enough that no one can hear it. He doesn’t need this to make it on TV.

“Tired.”

“Yeah.” He wraps her up in his arms, reveling in the fact that he can, that she wants him to. He hopes he never gets used to itl he wants to always feel this lucky to be holding her. “That was really fucking cool.”

“All I did was stay still.”

“Trust me, it was cool.”

Raven and Gaia don’t take nearly as long, of course, which means Clarke has to go again almost immediately. Anya actually steps in and makes them wait, gives Clarke some gatorade and has one of the medics clear her before she goes in again.

“I’m still going to lose,” Clarke tells him.

“You already won.” He kisses her. “Give her hell.”

Roan flashes him a smile as Clarke and Raven get set up. “We’ve done very well for ourselves, haven’t we?”

It’s not the kind of sentiment Bellamy would have expected to be feeling on the set of Bromans, but here he is. His life is, against all odds, awesome.

“Yeah,” he tells Roan. “We really did.”

*

The feeling dies the next day, at the exact second Murphy says “fascinum.”

The morning had been going pretty well up until then. They’d had an early night because Clarke was still worn out from the match with Ontari, and while her reminder that they’ll be home again soon with a real life to figure out was a little stressful, he’s pretty sure they’ll be fine.

Mostly he’s ready to be done, and he figured the games would take most of the day. He wasn’t anticipating the dick-shaped bump in the road, but he probably should have been. Dick statues are too good for Bromans to pass on. If he hadn’t had so much going on, he probably would have been realized it was happening. He would have been disappointed if they didn’t do this.

As it is, though, he kind of wants to die.

“Huh,” says Murphy, looking Bellamy up and down like this is the Roman trivia he finally cares about. Which, to be fair, it probably is. Assuming he’s like every other guy Bellamy knows who’s ever studied Latin. “I wasn’t sure you were gonna have that one off the top of your head.”

Bellamy shrugs. “I took Latin in high school, that one was a big hit with everyone. Big reactions.”

“Cool. You can share with the rest of the class.”

“Seriously?” It feels like they shouldn’t be able to do this on TV. Bromans cannot possibly be airing on HBO. It would explain where they got their budget, but it’s not an HBO show.

His dick is not going to be on TV. There’s no way.

“It’s an important part of Roman culture,” Murphy says, straight-faced.

Clarke is frowning at him. “Spill.”

His sigh will probably be cut like a dramatic pause, but mostly he’s very tired. He would rather fight Roan in single combat again. “We’re making penis charms.”

Roan’s dick is out almost before he’s even finished, before Bellamy’s even sure everyone else knows what’s happening. “My time has come!”

That sounds about right.

The problem, of course, is that it’s only Roan’s time. Roan is ready for this and excited, while the rest of them are just stripping down in front of a the entire cast and crew so they can stick their dicks into some cold plaster.

“Should we be, like–into this?” Dax asks, sounding dubious.

“If this is a kink for you, don’t tell me,” says Murphy. “I already know way more about all your dicks than I want to. Especially Roan. If you just found out this does it for you, keep it to yourself.”

“No, I mean–”

“He’s a grower,” Ontari supplies. “Not a shower.”

“Is it too late to quit this show?” Bellamy murmurs to Clarke. “We could leave, right? Hitchhike back?”

“Think about the kind of person who would pick up a hitchhiker with a flower pot on his dick,” she says. “That’s the last person you want to get a ride from.”

“I was thinking I’d beat up Miller and take his clothes first.”

“Wow, you’ve really got this figured out,” says Miller, dry. “After everything I’ve done for you?”

“Which one of us has our dick in a flower pot?” Bellamy shoots back. “I don’t have friends anymore. Just a list of people I hate. And Clarke.”

“I should probably be on the people you hate this, I’m really enjoying this.”

He glares at her. “How?”

“It’s hilarious and I get to look at your dick. What’s not to like?”

It’s hard to maintain complete annoyance when Clarke is saying nice things about his dick, which she has touched and wants to continue touching in the future. That’s an upside.

“I’m with Murphy, if this is a kink for you I don’t want to know,” he tells her, and she kisses his shoulder.

“Cool, I won’t tell you.”

Raven wants more information about fascinum because of course she does, and that conversation carries them through the end of actual molding process. Which, of course, leaves the awkward removal part, and then the cleaning up which, in a porno, would definitely involve Clarke blowing him, or possibly him, Roan, Ilian and Dax having an orgy, depending on the porno and its genre.

In real life, though, everyone is paying too much to removing their own dick pots to pay much attention to what he’s doing, and they’ve all showered together enough that the nudity isn’t even really that novel anymore. Sometimes it feels like he’s more familiar with Roan’s dick than he is his own at this point, but it’s probably just because he doesn’t have nightmares about his own dick.

“What were you expecting when you came here?” he asks the man in question.

“Hm?”

“Did you think you were going to be washing plaster off your balls?”

Roan seems to be really thinking it over, which means he might have, at some point in his life, thought about washing plaster off his dick.

Well, it’s Bellamy’s own fault for asking.

“Not this exactly, but the broad experience is what I was looking for. But I don’t see why you decided to do it, honestly,” is what he finally says.

“The Roman stuff isn’t enough of a reason?”

“This is a far more accurate experience than I was expecting, and it’s still not particularly realistic,” Roan says, not unreasonably. “I don’t think you were really expecting an authentic Roman getaway.”

“No.”

“So, what were you expecting?”

The truth, of course, was that he was expecting to spend a few weeks hanging out with his best friend and favorite person, and he’d be going slowly insane from fake PDA. It hadn’t been related to Bromans, specifically, which he had figured would be–

Kind of exactly what he got. Absurd and historically inaccurate and full of challenges he didn’t want to do and weird shit he and Clarke could laugh about later. If anything, it’s been better than he expected, even leaving aside the fact that Clarke’s actually in love with him too. He’s made friends and had fun and he may never live this down, but he could actually win, which is the best possible way to never live something down. He’s within spitting distance of being the best Broman, and if he’s not, there won’t be any shame in losing to Roan.

“Not sure,” he says, and smiles. “Nothing nearly this good.”

Roan grins and claps him on the shoulder. “That’s what I thought. Now, shall we go get our penis statues?”

Bellamy rolls his eyes. “We better, yeah.”

Only in Brome.

[injusticeff]

Chapter Eleven

Simone

My leg was shaking uncontrollably as I just stared helplessly at the hospital floor.

The suspense of having to wait to find out his condition was agonizingly painful. Nae had been trying to calm me down for the past hour and a half but my heart was still beating so fast that you could barely tell it was beating at all.

I asked the nurses about it a few times but they told me I'd have to wait for a doctor to be updated but they were just taking too fucking long. It's too late for me to be stressing like this, I haven't slept all night and I was covered in blood. Well my clothes anyway, I washed the rest off of my skin once we got to the hospital. People were looking at me like I had just killed someone but honestly, right now, I don't even care.

I could faintly feel Nae rubbing my back in circular motions to try and comfort me. She dropped everything she was doing just so she could come here and be with me. I don't think I could be more grateful, I'm not sure if I could be here waiting alone and still have my sanity. I have the man I love's blood all over me and I feel so useless like I can't even do anything to help him right now. Sane was the last word that you could compare me to.

My eyes were red and swollen from having cried so much and my nose was that shiny tint of pink you get when your nose has been blown into a tissue too much. Saying all this to say, I looked a hot ass mess. But the only thing I could really think about was Saint and the entire time I've been here, I've just been hoping and praying that he was okay and he would pull through this because of how strong he was and be cracking jokes whenever he woke up.

Imagining it all caused a slight giggle to escape my lips. I could just picture him waking up to my face and saying some corny shit like, "Is this heaven?" because that was honestly the way he is. Trying to lighten the mood even when it seemed like nothing would be able to get you out of the funk you were in. But somehow, he did it.

And I just don't want none of that to go away. We're happy and I know, for me, he'll toughen up and make it through this. I just know it. He would never leave me and Junior here.

"Are you ok?" Nae asked to finally break the silence.

But all she earned back from me was the sucking of my teeth and the shaking of my head. That was a stupid ass question and I think she knew it, she just didn't know what to say. I can't be mad at her for that but I'm definitely not answering it.

Suddenly, a person in a white lab type coat was standing in front of me causing me to immediately stand to my feet with hope in my eyes. "Are you the girlfriend of Christian Mendéz?"

"Y-Yes, is he ok?"

He gave me a knowing look causing any ounce of hope I had left to instantly vanish from my body. "One of the bullets unfortunately got itself lodged three and a half millimeters into his heart. By the time we were able to successfully remove the bullet, there had just been too much internal bleeding. We did everything we could. I'm deeply sorry for your loss."

"No..." I said this as more of a shock than a response before feeling myself unwillingly drop down to my knees, letting out a loud sob soon afterwards. "NO!"

Nae immediately rushed to my side to hold me and for some reason I wanted to push her off but in all honesty, her shoulder was so comfortable that my head didn't feel like moving. I was rocking back and forth and just kept repeating the words "no" and "please." I'm not sure exactly who I was talking to but I just couldn't stop. They slipped out as fluidly as my tears did.

This all had to be some sort of sick prank, right? I mean Saint couldn't really be gone, that doctor was probably lying to me because of Dom. There's just no way Saint could have given up like that, he's strong.

Standing up, I headed over to the reception desk with Nae attempting to pull me back but I quickly snatched out of her grip. "Hi, I need to see Christian Mendéz. Could you tell me what room he's in please?"

Instead of typing away on her keyboard to find out where he was, she gave me the same look the doctor did. Fuck this, I'll look for him myself then.

"Ma'am, I—"

I didn't even stay there to listen to whatever excuse she had to give me. She was probably in on the sick joke too, all of them were. I began to go room to room, desperately searching for my man in high hopes that they were all lying to me and being paid off. "SAINT!!" I called out with every other door I went to. "SAINT, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

It didn't take long for one of the security guards to come and grab ahold of me. "Miss, you can't be screaming like that in here." I forcefully snatched away from him too and continued my search.

"SAINT!!!"

Feeling strong arms wrap around my body and lift me up, I instantly started kicking, trying to maneuver my way out of his grasp. "Get off of me! I have to find him before something happens to him!" But instead, I was being dragged out of there for causing a 'disruption.'

"Stop. Stop, I'll take her home." I heard Nae's voice through all of the chaos and honestly, I barely remembered that she was still here.

The security guard stopped in his tracks to look down at her but that didn't stop me from attempting to get out of his hold. I had to. "Is she going to cause any more trouble if I let her go?"

"No." Nae quickly responded back while shaking her head, giving me pleading eyes. So I stopped squirming.

Once he let me go, he escorted us out of the hospital building and as soon as he was out of sight, I turned to Nae. "We have to find a way to get back in there and go get him. I don't know how but we have to."

Her eyes were glossy like she was about to cry just looking at me then her arms came out and both her hands rested on both my shoulders. "Simone, I'm so sorry." I shook my head and tried to move away, not wanting to hear anymore of the bullshit leaving everyone's mouth. But she grabbed me by my face and turned it back so that I was looking straight into her eyes. "He's gone now baby girl, I'm sorry but the hospital wouldn't lie to you unless they want a major lawsuit on their hands. He's gone." She reiterated to me causing me to close my eyes, trying not to cry again but it was no use.

"No, he can't be."

***Flashback***

He led me into his closet causing me to instantly furrow my eyes. "This is what you wanted to show me? Baby, I've seen it a million times already." I giggled out.

I know damn well Saint wasn't trying to show me his clothes like I haven't seen him in every bit of them and... might have probably definitely stripped him out of a few of them too.

He moved several of his jackets to the side causing me to widen my eyes at what I was seeing. He then got hold of a neatly cut square of plaster from the wall and removed it, revealing a shoebox just sitting there in that hidden hole.

"Damn... you must really love those shoes." But the box was of a shoe I've never even seen him wear before. Can't love a shoe that much if you never wear them, right? Now I was curious.

I looked over his shoulder as he sat the box down and opened it up. My eyes were now nearly popping out of their sockets as they focused in on the stacks of cash sitting right there in that shoebox. Has that been here the whole time and I didn't even know?

He turned around to face me with the box full of money in his hands. "I've been saving this for a while now. And if anything ever happens to me, I want to make sure you and Junior stay safe. Nobody else knows 'bout this and I wanna keep it that way, aight?"

I quickly nodded in response, not knowing anything else I could say at a moment like this. There was a whole box full of cash behind the wall in the closet that I haven't known about for months.

"This was originally just in case I needed it for something but now, this is strictly for y'all. I don't touch this money except when I'm putting more in there. There's a couple ten thousand in here but honestly I lost count after $15k."

I stumbled back, honestly a little dazed. Fifteen thousand. I've never even seen that much money in one place before, much less hidden in the closet I get dressed in every single day. "I don't want you to touch it either 'cause you know I got you but if something ever does happen—"

"Don't worry because nothing is gonna happen to you." I quickly cut him off so he could stop sitting here and jinxing himself. My comment earned a smile from him causing my own grin to start forming on my face as I leaned up and pressed my lips against his. "Thank you." I whispered against them, kissing him a few more times because I honestly didn't want to stop.

I was falling in love with this man. And hard.

***Flashback ends***

Me and Nae were in the car and when I saw her take the turn down my street, I instantly shook my head. "No, I can't—" I sighed heavily, trying to get my words together. "I can't sleep in that house. Could I maybe stay with you tonight?"

She nodded in response and turned the car around. I honestly wasn't sure how Saint's house was looking right about now since we left in such a hurry but I just couldn't be there. And I definitely wouldn't be able to get any sleep there.

It felt like too short of a drive on the way to her house but I spent it watching all of the trees and road signs go by. They were at least a distraction for a little bit. Once we got there, we both hopped out and she guided me to the front door, occasionally rubbing my back since my head was down while we walked.

"Do you have some pajamas I could borrow?" I asked once I finally realized I didn't have none over here and I definitely wasn't about to stay in these clothes all night. Luckily, I had some jeans and a couple of t-shirts over here to get dressed in tomorrow but I always slept with Saint so I never really needed anything to sleep in.

She gave my body a once over. "Well, you're definitely thicker than I am but I'm sure I could find something that fits you. I wear baggy clothes all the time." I only nodded in response. "You can take a shower in my bathroom, you know where the washcloths and towels are. You can leave your clothes on the floor, I'll put them in the wash."

I didn't do much talking but the feeling of the water from the shower head hitting my skin felt almost euphoric. I wanted to stay in here forever. Forever had to be cut short though because I stayed in there so long that the water got freezing cold and even then, I didn't come out right away.

Once I finally did have to come back to reality and get out, I got dressed and laid in Nae's bed. I'm guessing she took a shower in the other bathroom because she came back only to throw her clothes in the hamper and pick up mine to put them in the wash.

When she was done doing that, she came back in the room and grabbed one of the pillows on her bed before turning to me with a sullen expression on her face. "I figured you might want some privacy so—"

"No! Please don't leave me in here by myself. I'm not gonna be able to sleep." I quickly called out once I noticed her starting to walk out of the room.

She gave me a small reassuring smile before coming back to the bed and laying on the opposite side of me. "Come here." Holding her arm out towards me, I took the invitation and laid my head down on her chest as she began to rub circles on my back to help me fall asleep but all it did was remind me of when we were at the hospital and tears couldn't help but to fall from my eyes once there wasn't anything happening to distract me anymore.

He was really gone.

Antonio

She giggled lightly causing a smile to form on my face as I shook my head. “Nah, for real though Bree. I fuck with the way you look when your hair’s in a ponytail. You can see every little beautiful curve on your face.” I hesitated for a moment before pointing. “Like how your cheeks pop when you smile or laugh.”

“Whatever, you must tell that to all the girls huh?”

I shook my head in response. “You’re too special for me to be treating you like some other female.” My attention averted to her finger and I gestured a slight nod towards it. "I see that ring on your finger though. Congratulations ma."

I guess me saying that caused her to straighten out her face as she stared at me, as if making sure what was said was genuine but I've never been anything but genuine with her so there's not even a need to search.

"...Thank you." She gazed down at her finger with a small wistful smile. "Yea, my boyfriend just proposed to me not too long ago." After revealing that small piece of information, she slightly hesitated for a quick second before sighing causing me to furrow my eyebrows at her in question. "Why are you so nice to me? I mean the first day we met, you took the time out from your work and staff just to cheer me up."

I shrugged. "What's your point?"

"My point is why? I didn't even know you existed until you sat across from me in my booth."

Chuckling lowly, I shook my head and carefully thought out my next words before I spoke. It's true that I don't take the time to cheer every single customer up the way I did her but there was just something that drew me to her that I couldn't really explain to her nor myself. "I'm gonna let you in on a little secret," I leaned in closer to her causing her to involuntarily do the same in response, "I just wanted to see if I could make you smile. When you first came into my restaurant, I could tell something was wrong just by your vibe even though you were trying to hide it. I couldn't help myself, I wanted to put a personality to that beautiful face."

A blush slowly began to show itself on her face after everything was said causing her to cover her face to try and hide it but it was too late for that, a nigga already saw it and I would be lying if I told you that it didn't make me smile too.

Honestly, I had been waiting for the day to come where she questioned why I decided to approach her the way I did. The only simple answer I could really come up with was that she had this sort of gravitational pull about her.

And whenever we speak, I know she can see and feel the heat and desire between the both of us.

I know she doesn't want to admit it since she has a boyfriend and I'm perfectly fine with that. I've never said or did anything to disrespect what they got going on but I'm also not going to lie and say that I don't feel something when I talk to her. And I know she feels the same way just by the way she goes out of her way to come to the restaurant and talk to me just about every other week.

I even found out that the first time we met, she balled up the paper with my number on it and tossed it on the ground. She was pretty embarrassed about it when she told me but I had to let her know that she needs to learn how to trust herself. It's not like I was overstepping my boundaries or anything, I just want to be her friend.

Even if she's one of the sexiest hispanic woman I've ever seen. Everything about her is mad adorable but fortunately for me, I know how to keep it in my pants.

"You really think that about me?" She finally responded to what I had said with a blush causing me to break away from my thoughts with an amused chuckle.

As if anything I've ever said to her was a lie. "Of course I do. You dead ass one of the most interesting females I've met since I moved down here... and it's been some years."

She giggled lightly and shook her head before looking me straight in the eyes. "I know how to tell when someone's lying, you know."

"By all means then. Work your magic and let me know if I'm lying or not."

She stared at me with an unreadable gaze, a smile slowly forming on her face once she realized that I was one hundred percent about what I said. Shit, if I felt any different, I probably wouldn't be this persistent with her.

"So?" I asked with a raised eyebrow as she continued to grin at me.

Playfully rolling her eyes once she realized I wasn't backing down, she nodded as she tucked her bottom lip between her teeth. "Alright alright, you may not be lying to me this time but that doesn't mean you won't in the future."

"So you're saying there's gonna be a future with both of us in it together then?"

I earned another blush from her as she covered her face with her hands and laughed at my response. Licking over my lips, I sat there and waited for an answer expectedly causing her to remove her hands from her face and raise both of her eyebrows with a shrug. "Maybe there is, who knows? Only time will tell."

"Well you know if it was up to me, there would be. So really our future is in your hands right about now."

"Well," She lowered her voice as she leaned in a bit closer to me, "I guess we'll just have to see then, huh?"

I didn't really have any response but a nod as we both stared at each other from across the booth, although we weren't really that far from each other considering we were both leaning towards each other a bit. My eyes couldn't help but to roam her facial features as I noticed hers doing the same.

Her skin looked soft and blemish free, her hair fell perfectly draped around the shape of her face, and the way she wrinkled her nose a bit when she smiled was really doing something to me right about now.

Don't get me wrong, I want to respect what she has going on with ole dude since she's already told me so much about it but I just couldn't help myself from looking down at her lips with pure lust in my eyes. I wanted to see how they felt.

I unwillingly found myself leaning in, noticing her doing the same once I realized that our lips were nearly centimeters apart from connecting with each other. Her eyes fluttered closed as our lips came closer and closer together before she quickly reluctantly pulled back from me causing me to clear my throat and sit back as well.

"Oh. I, um, I can't do this." She stuttered out, frantically grabbing her things and standing up from the booth rapidly. I grabbed her by her wrist to stop her from going but she only looked back at me and pulled away. "I'm sorry but I-I have to go."

Hurrying out of the restaurant, she took one last glance back at me before leaving. As soon as she was out of sight, I sighed heavily and ran my hands over my face.

I really fucked up.

I didn't want things to just end the way it did so I decided to pull out my phone and shoot her a quick text, not really expecting her to respond but I still sent it anyway.

To: Bree 👸🏽

sorry if you felt like I was pressuring you or sumn, I hope it don't fuck up our friendship 💯

Tucking my phone into my pocket, I decided to stop slacking off and get back to work. My workers have definitely took notice to me suddenly disappearing from the back all of the time now. Me and Bree might just have to find a new meeting spot... if we ever even get to meet up again.

Just thinking that way caused another sigh to escape my lips before I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out and was instantly surprised that she actually texted back. To be completely honest, a nigga thought he was never going to hear from her again after this went down. Even though we didn't do anything, I know we both wanted to and I think that's what scares her.

From: Bree 👸🏽

No. It's not your fault. I'm just... really confused rn. I'll ttyl.

Confused about what? It's obvious she wanted to kiss me so I know she wasn't confused about that.

Fuck.

In the heat of the moment, I didn't even remember that she's somebody's fiancé. That probably just made things a whole lot worse for her. I don't have anything tying me down but it's different on her end.

"Hey boss, we got a customer out here that wants a refund." One of my workers abruptly interrupted my thoughts as soon as I got to the back causing me to sigh since I just came from out there.

Walking back up to the front, I approached the customer from behind the check out counter and I could already tell she was about to be on some bullshit. She had a stank look on her face that caused her wrinkles to stand out more and she was going back and forth with the cashier. Lord, please give me the strength.

"No, I don't care about your stupid policy. I want my money back now! You know what, where's your manager?"

I quickly stepped up from watching the situation with a forced smile on my face. I wasn't in the mood for this bullshit right now. "That would be me."

"Yes, I want a refund on my meal. It wasn't what I thought it was going to be and I don't like it." She showed me the plate and my face instantly straightened out as I glared at the plate with narrowed eyes then up at her with that same icy stare.

This bitch.

There wasn't even anything left on the plate except some fucking onions, peppers, and other condiments from what I'm guessing was either a chicken, steak, or shrimp fajita dish. She's trying to finesse me and I'm not going for it.

"Ma'am," I said calmly but really I was seething, "First off, ain't shit on that dish. Second, our policy clearly states that in order to be refunded, you must have at least majority of your food untouched. I'm sorry but I can't give you a refund on this, you ate everything but the toppings."

She scoffed annoyingly. "No, I didn't. My husband picked through and ate all the chicken and shrimp. I didn't eat anything—"

I cut her off with a nonchalant shrug. "Well then I guess you better call your husband up here and make him pay for the food since he ate it."

"No no no, he already paid for his food and he's not about to pay for something I didn't even eat."

"Ma'am. You're not getting a refund. Thank you and have a nice day." I said in response before turning and walking away, earning shocked glances from her and a few of my workers. When I tell y'all I'm not in the fucking mood, I mean it.

I know I definitely just fucked up big time with Bree, the last thing I need is some annoying ass customer trying to get over on me and my workers. It just wasn't the time.

To: Bree 👸🏽

look, the way we left off got me feeling some type of way. could you call me whenever you're free?

After I sent that text, I decided to just clock out and leave work early because it was clear I couldn't handle customers with my head in a bad space. And until I know me and her are okay, my attitude not going to be right at all.

Damn, I need a drink.

Nae

My shirt has been damp all day since Simone’s been on and off with her crying. I could tell she’s trying not to think about it too much but losing someone you love is hard for anyone.

It’s been a couple of days now since Saint’s death and his family was holding a funeral service. Simone didn’t want to go there alone so she asked me to come and even though I didn’t know him and his family very well, I wasn’t going to just leave her hanging at a time like this.

So what did I do? I got my ass up early as hell on the weekend, got dressed in all black and took her back to her place for a few minutes so she could grab something to wear for the event and also a few extra outfits since she didn't feel like being back in the house any time soon and I don't blame her at all.

Her boyfriend died in that house.

Of course it's technically a crime scene now but they have no leads as of now. Simone told them about her baby daddy but they couldn't find any actual evidence linking him to the crime so he's probably pretty happy with himself right about now while she can't stop crying her eyes out.

Her eyes are always swollen and glossy nowadays, I really hate seeing her like this. I wish there was something I could do to help but right now, I think letting her stay with me is the best thing that I can do for her because I know she wouldn't have anywhere else to go if I didn't.

Once she got her outfits, she didn't even stay long enough to get dressed for the funeral, she just changed in the car on the way there since her hair was already done in a low ponytail; courtesy of moí. I tried my best not to sneak any peaks out of respect but damn, does she have a nice ass body.

The car ride was silent just like most things with her have been for the past couple of days. Pulling up to the church where his family was holding the service in, she stared at the building for a few seconds before taking a deep breath, letting out a shaky exhale soon after.

"I don't know if I can do this." She finally broke the silence, her voice cracking as soon as she spoke.

I furrowed my eyebrows. I knew she might get cold feet but I really figured she'd want to be here for this. "What? Why not—"

"They're holding an open casket." She interrupted, shaking her head as a couple of stray tears fell from her eyes. "I can't see him laying there. I just want him to wake up and tell me he loves me and that he'll never leave me already." She pauses for a few seconds as her head hung low and her voice shrunk into a quiet squeak. "He said he'd never leave."

Turning off the car, I hopped out and made my way around to the passenger side where she sat before opening the car door and taking her face in both of my hands, forcing her to look me in the eye. "Just think about saying your goodbyes. You never got to but now's your chance."

"Yea, but he can't hear me so what does it matter? He's dead and he's not coming back no matter what I say or do or how much I pray for this to all be some kind of twisted nightmare."

Honestly, I had no idea what to even reply back to that because I've never had to grieve over someone I was extremely close with. Yea, I've had friends that passed but not anyone who I spent literally every waking day with. I can't even imagine the type of pain she's feeling right now so I feel like I can't even comfort her like I want to. Nothing I say can make this situation better in any way.

She let out a low sigh and got out of the car, closing the door behind her and wiping her previously crying eyes. "I have to do this for him. I have to be there every step of the way because I love... because I loved him."

Nodding in response, I gave her a quick reassuring hug and walked with her towards the entrance of the building that was just sprinkled with crosses all over. I'm not really the type to go to church so I'm not even sure how comfortable I felt right about now but I wasn't really worried about my feelings anyway.

Once we got inside, we had to sign our names in this little book then go find a seat but we didn't really have to search long because Saint's family had saved Simone a seat up front next to them. They must have known how much she meant to him and how much he meant to her.

The first thing we did was approach the casket to pay our respects and Simone seemed fine in the line going up to the stage but once she finally got in front of him and saw him laying there lifeless, she immediately broke down. I went to comfort her but stopped in my tracks when I noticed that a muscular arm had already thrown itself over her shoulder in a hug causing me to look up at the culprit. His skin was the same color as Saint's, he had a low cut beard with a few greys poking through, and tears were unwillingly falling from his eyes also even though I could tell he was trying to be strong and hold them back.

Simone hugged the man back, whispering a muffled apology into his chest. "I'm so sorry pops." That's when it clicked in my head that he was Saint's dad and was more likely in just as much pain, if not more, as Simone so I just let them have their moment as the line continued to move. His dad soon pulled away from the embrace, wiping his tears with the back of his hand and taking one last look at his son up close, leaving the both of us with a sad sniffle.

Before we left the stage, Simone kissed the tips of her fingers and then placed them on his cheek as she cried out a soft ‘I love you’ before making her way to her seat with me following closely behind her and taking the seat next to her. I felt so awkward because I didn't really know what to do or where to be or what to say. I was just a presence here for whenever she needed comforting.

Some more of his family members began to stop by us to hug Simone then quickly found their seats since service was about to begin soon. I just sat quietly throughout the entire couple of hours we were there, occasionally rubbing circles on Simone's back whenever she began to cry at something that was said about Saint.

***

We got back to my house and as soon as I got in my room, I immediately plopped down on the bed. I'm not going to lie and say I'm not tired because I'm not really used to waking up this early so my sleep schedule is all fucked up.

But for some reason, I couldn't seem to sleep so I reached over into my nightstand and pulled out one of my pre-rolled blunts. I keep a few for when I'm too lazy or too high to roll a blunt and today was one of those days.

I pulled out my lighter from the same spot, sparking up the blunt soon afterwards before letting out a slow exhale of smoke. The light grey smoke quickly blended in with the rest of the air surrounding my room as I took another long pull from it.

Simone was silently laying next to me and from the corner of my eye, I noticed her eyes averting from me to the blunt rapidly causing me to turn to her with my eyes furrowed. "What? Never seen someone smoke before or something?" I joked with her but of course, I didn't get any type of giggle in response. She didn't even crack a smile which caused my own to fade as I turned my attention back so I could take another puff, feeling the intoxicating high soon take over my body as my eyes lowered a bit. Damn, I love weed.

"Can I get a hit?" She finally spoke for the first time in a couple of hours causing my head to immediately snap towards her, my expression wild as I looked at her like she was crazy.

Did she think I was mental or something? "Girl, you buggin'. Have you forgot that you're pregnant or...?" I really don't think she's thinking things through right now, she's just grieving too much.

"I just... I just need something to take my mind off of things." She responded by fidgeting with her fingers, purposely avoiding eye contact with me as she spoke. It was good that she did though because the look on my face would probably have her feeling even more like shit.

"At the risk of your baby?"

She instantly smacked her lips and looked back up at me. "Look, I don't need your judgement right now, all I'm asking for is a hit."

Shaking my head, I shrugged and shoved the blunt towards her. "Whatever."

Once she grabbed it from me, I stood up from the bed and went to change my clothes. It wasn't really necessary but I felt like I just needed to get up and do something because that whole situation slick just pissed me off.

All I'm doing is trying to protect her and the new life she's bringing into the world but she's going off on me? I got up so I could calm down because I know it's not really her fault, she's just in a bad place right now. She's never snapped at me like that but I had to put myself in her shoes even though I don't agree with her smoking while she's pregnant.

She's an adult and can make her own decisions; even if I wanted to, I can't stop her. And I'd rather her smoke my weed than get something from one of these laced ass crackheads hanging around trying to get everyone else hooked on their shit. Like nigga, not everyone wants a sprinkle of cocaine in their weed. You got that.

I came back out into my room in a t-shirt and black basketball shorts before dropping back down onto the bed, holding my hand out so I could get my blunt back since she's had enough time to get a few hits.

"Alright, you asked for a hit. Now hand it over pothead." I laughed out, attempting to lighten the mood a bit since this day has been pretty dark; even for me.

She let out a few light coughs as she took one last hit and handed it over to me. I was about to put it to my lips when my gaze averted downward and I caught sight of how much was left, instantly making a face. This girl really smoked half the blunt in like two minutes. "Damn, chiefin' ass."

That finally earned a laugh from her causing me to do the same as I shook my head. And I couldn't help but to think, "Damn, it's been a minute since I've seen your smile." She then turned to me with an unreadable look on her face and that's when I realized that I was thinking out loud. I widened my eyes for a quick second. "Shit, I didn't mean—"

"It's ok, I know I haven't been the most fun to hang around these past few days." Her head hung low as she spoke making me grip her chin in my hand and bring her back up to face me, tears just barely forming in the brims of her eyes.

"That's not your fault. I'm not expecting you to be all happy and giddy right now, I just missed seeing you smile. That's all."

She flashed me a small forced grin and looked back down to avoid my eyes as silence swept over our conversation. I really didn't know what else to do at this point, we were both high and she was hurting so... I quickly pressed my lips against hers only to be shoved away not even a second later.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" She stood up from the bed and stared down at me with angry eyes as she wiped her mouth free of any leftover saliva. Well damn. "That was too fucking soon Nae. I just—"

She didn't even bother finishing her sentence before she stormed into my bathroom and slammed the door shut, immediately locking it afterwards. Once she was out of sight, I buried my head in my hands and let out a heavy exaggerated sigh.

What the fuck did I just do?

[nomoregraydays]

Backroads//Lonely The Brave (E.D.) - Part 1

POV: First Person

Word Count: 2057

A/N: I got this idea listening to this song. My writing skills within the wolf area are a bit rusty, so sorry if this sucks lmao

***

“If you be the sky then I’ll be the bird.”

--»--»--»

Ethan and I have continuously always tried to outdo the other in everything. Sometimes never intentionally. It’s a natural extinct. We like to challenge each other to grow stronger and make sure we’re on the top of our game. Basically, it’s training non-stop.

Now, there is one position that Ethan has me beat at. He’s a Beta, a second in command, in our pack. That is one thing in particular that I have never been able to challenge him at as he was born to be a Beta and chosen.

That is until now.

Our Luna’s second in command was captured and killed by a rival pack of rogues who banded together to get revenge, and she has now directed me as the new Beta for her. Considering I have no experience in such a role, Ethan said he’d help me out. Aka another excuse to push me more and get me alone on perimeter checks; not that he’d admit that’s the real reason he volunteered the time.

Perimeter checks are to secure our packs’ land; to keep everything in order. Only Betas clear out or other packmates who the Alpha and Luna deem worthy of the responsibility.

Today’s check was vital. There has been warning of the rogues being back. Ethan and I must lock down the traps and if necessary, to send word to the Alpha to send fighters out to stakes. Even with how serious the matters were, Ethan still managed to make it all fun and games.

“E, slow down!” I laughed, rarely out of breath as I sprinted to catch up to him.

“Betas don’t slow down, (Y/N)! Just catch up!” He yelled back, only seeming to push himself harder.

I rolled my eyes and kicked in everything I had to get side by side with him. He looked over, less shocked and more proud as a smirk spread on his lips.

I pointed to up ahead of us. “There’s another we need to lock.” I knew it wasn’t necessary as he knew where the posts were too, but sometimes he’s not paying attention.

Ethan skidded to stop, leaves and twigs flew up and fell back down by his feet, and he laughed. I shook my head as I came to stop that was less dramatic.

“You’re such an idiot sometimes. Discreet is what we’re going for, you know.” I poked his chest as I walked by and I crouched down to toss a branch into the metal that was hidden in the brush and waited to hear the snap before I reached to touch it. I used one foot to push down one of the jaws and my hands to lock in the spring again; whoever happens to step, run, or fall into this will have one hell of a day.

“But being discreet isn’t always fun. Come on, nothing ever happens.”

When I straightened back up, Ethan was attending the other we had hidden nearby. Yes, wolves are trained to fight and battle, but if we can reserve as much energy as we can, we’ll do that. Our wolves can only extend for a certain amount of time.

I shot him a look as we began to work on securing the rope net. “I bet you just jinxed us. Thanks, piss ass.”

That earned me a “hey!” before we headed out to the final post 10; each post is about five miles apart from one another. This one was the farthest from the house, about fifty miles, and it makes me a bit anxious every time we go out here. Our kind have the stamina to run at high speeds, but this is still at least a fifteen-twenty minute time span away.

“Okay, we’re good to head back.” I stated, tightening the sailor’s knot I’d made with the rope.

“Damn.” E muttered under his breath.

I rolled my eyes to hide the skip in my heartbeat that I felt at his tone; like disappointed it wouldn’t just be us in the next half hour. I’m sure Grayson and his girl are going to want to go do something together when we get back.

I didn’t say anything as we began our run back. Ethan was a bit ahead of me because I let him take the lead; I’m better with being the caboose, the rear, the one who makes sure everyone else is a group is there. It was silent for some time. I noted the amount of posts we went by to keep track.

My ear twitched a little as I heard something in the trees besides us. I didn’t slow down though. I kept up at my same speed.

‘You heard that too, right?’ I asked.

Ethan’s pace slowed down to be slightly closer to me, but not noticeably. ‘Yeah, just keep going.’

I kept my breathing at a steady pace, keeping my head straight, but I used my preferential vision, and hearing, to keep an eye on the sides. Part of me wanted to transform right now, but whatever or whoever it is, we don’t want to let them know we know they’re here.

“Ethan!” The scream left me before I could stop it when a wolf jumped out from the side and tackled him to the ground, still in human form. Ethan was quick to transform into his fairly large, dark brown coat. He stared down the wolf who stood only a few feet away.

‘(Y/N), I’m alri-‘ The other chestnut brown wolf pounced at him, going straight for the throat. He had E pinned, but Ethan kicked his hind legs into the other wolf’s gut, causing him to release. Ethan snapped back at him, ripping some fur out. There were snarls, more fur being torn out, and some blood.

Ethan laid on the ground, a gash in his side. It was large enough that our healing isn’t going to heal it fast enough for him to fight more. Whoever the fuck this wolf is was trained to fight a Beta like E. They were sent here on purpose.

I hurried to E’s side and looked into his eyes.

‘Ethan, it’s really bad.’ I stated, lightly brushing my fingers over it. His blood stained my fingers, but I didn’t care.

He winced. ‘I.. know.’

The tears were fighting there way into my eyes, but I held them back. I’m pissed. You don’t mess with anyone I’m close with or in this pack. I transformed and turned around to stare down the wolf; I hovered over E protectively. I made sure my most fierce Beta blues showed as I snapped my teeth.

‘Who the fuck sent you? Why are you on our land?’

To my surprise, a light voice chuckled. ‘You’re so cute. Protecting him. He’s not even your one.’

I narrowed my eyes and growled deeply. ‘You didn’t answer my questions, fighter.’ I spat out the last word, hoping to get under her fur.

‘I’m pretty sure you’re smart to figure it out on your own, Beta.’

I licked my canines, revealing them more now and growled once again. ‘Leave. And tell your mates to go back where they came from.’

The rest of her wolf friends came out. They had E and I surrounded completely. So, seven to one is not a great ratio.

‘How you feeling, E?’ I asked, only to him.

I didn’t get an answer. That only made my heartbeat quicken. I took one quick glance to see his eyes barely open and I could sense his breathing was low, and slow.

Oh God no. That fucking bitch!

I snarled and snapped my teeth once again, growling the loudest I had ever in my life. ‘You fucking cocky, low ranking bitch! I will gladly kill you personally.’

With all the adrenaline kicking into me, I jumped at her. I gripped her throat right away and tore back. She wasn’t having it though. Her paw claws dug into my stomach. I didn’t whimper much. I bit at what I could. Finally, I had my whole mouth clenched over her throat and I brought her up in the air and smacked her down. I tightened my jaw and the metallic taste touched my tongue. I pulled back and teared out anything vital that would have kept her breathing.

‘Alpha, Beta Ethan and I need help at post 5.’ I informed and rammed into the wolves that had started to attack Ethan in his weak state. I kept myself over E and snapped at anyone who came too close.

I noticed I never got a response from our Alpha, so I tried our Luna next. Nothing. What the Hell? Why won’t anyone respond?

I guess we’re on our own. You can do this, (Y/N).

The group licked their canines, snarling at me. They were all low rank fighters. I am a God damn Beta!

I called on the spirits to let my Beta blues shine as much as they could and growled, letting foam bubble out. I swear I could feel my body grow, every muscle and vein pulsed. ‘You’re all dead meat.’

I pounced at the wolf that was closest to me and grabbed them by their neck, then I swung them into the wolf next to us. I forced another into one of the metal jaws nearby, it’s leg got snapped down in it and trapped; any move to leave and their leg is gone for good. I noticed that three had fled; fucking cowards. But that means I still have two left.

I observed the situation more, keeping light on my feet, and I jumped at the wolf that was closest to me. I ripped at the neck and made an instant kill.

From the corner of my eye, I could see the last wolf making a move on me, but they were hit out of the way by a large branch and thrown in a tree, and the impact alone broke their back.

I watched as E collapsed to the ground, the gash in his side bigger now from it tearing when he swung.

I couldn’t stop the whimper than escaped from my throat and I took a couple deep breaths to try and calm down. Then I transformed back and went to his side.

“You’re a fucking idiot. I had them.”

“I got… your back… always.” Beads lined his forehead and sweat sheened his skin from the pain.

“Sshh. If you have my back now, you will shut up until I can get you back to the house and Claire can help the wound.”

I observed how bad it was. I was scared that any movement could make it worse, but I need to get him back or he’ll bleed out before the wolf healing can mend it completely.

“I’m going to transform back. I need you to hold onto me the best you can after I get you on my back.”

In aching pain, I transformed back into my wolf and I carefully drug E onto my back. I waited until I could feel his hands holding onto some of her fur. Then I began the twenty-five mile run back.

Every mile caused my wolf more distress. She whimpered more and more. I kept telling her to push it aside and to tell myself to just keep going.

‘(Y/N), please stop. Don’t do this to your wolf.’

I shook my head, panting aloud. ‘You need to get back, E. I’m not letting you die.’

About two miles out, there was a dash of fur next to me and I groaned. The best I could, I attacked the wolf and we tumbled around before I tore the head off. But my wolf had had enough. I came to a rolling stop and transformed back into my human form mid-air.

Ethan had held on during the kill, but the transform threw him a few feet ahead of me.

“Shit.” I muttered.

I forced myself to get up, sweat and dirt covering my shaking body. God, I feel like I just keep making his wound worse and I’ll be the reason he dies. But I was more than happy to see the pack house through the cracks of the trees’ leaves.

Next and last: Part Two

[bwicblog]

> [Part 1] Close Encounters of the Zombie Kind

[Pheres (RS) embarks on a zombie-observation expedition with his new research assistant, Laledy (SS); an ex-soldier, Faizah (BB); and a local guide, Cennef (XR). When they decide to livestream the adventure in a group chat, things, as predicted, go horribly wrong.]

EXCERPT:

XR: also, there could have been unattached larva down there

XR: where do you think they come from in the first place

RS: an oviposter, presumably, but clearly i was misguided

SS: (Storks!)

RS: a stork's oviposter

RS: hahaha

LP: The chat sure is uncharacteristically silent lately... >ooo<

LP: Or maybe I am just on at the wrong times! :o >ooo<

LP: Or maybe I am just on at the wrong times! :o >ooo<

RS: | Haha | It has Been a Quiet Day | ! |

RS: | And Now a Quiet Night |

RS: | I Expect All of Us are Busy at Work | ? |

RS: | Or Out | It is Still a Festival Week |

UV: Or because the end of the Festival Week is coming. A lot of couples are no doubt out celebrating the last nights.(edited)

RS: | Haha | Yes | ! | =:) | I Almost Wish I was Out |

LP: Ah... That does make sense. >ooo<

LP: How come you're not? >ooo<

RS: | Because I am At Work | ! | Here | Look |

SS: (Ey, pal, nonna that 'quiet night' hoofbeastshit, you're gonna up and jinx us!)

RS has attached VID345345.MOV! It's a quick pan of the camera over a dark, white-sanded desert. There's rock formations all around - a brief glimpse of a jadeblood and a brownblood, faces slightly blurred by the motion - and the sound of chattering off in the distance. The camera cuts when something whoops.

RS: | Not as Exciting as Festivities | Sadly |

RS: | But Occasionally One must Miss Them | Haha |

SS: ('It's a quiet night's, like, the last ish peeps up and say afore they get mobbed by thirty zeds and become one with the horde.)

UV: What sort of business do you have out in an area like that? If you do not mind me asking, that is.

LP: Oh! You're out in the desert? >ooo<

SS: (Bit athis, bit athat, bit a not gettin bit by zeds! (\eue/) )

SS: (Ain't sure how much Pher's up and down for spillin the deets of, tho, so: (\oxo/) )

RS: | Haha | Yes | We Are | ! |

RS: | And Our Business is Hunting Down a Lair of Zombies | So Far | In Theory |

RS: | Currently | Our Lovely Guide is Reorienting Herself |

RS: | And I Think Her Mother is Eating Something | I am Trying Not to Look | Personally |

RS: | | I am Always Up for Spilling the Deets | I am Afraid |

RS: | I Scored Dreadfully on the Internet Safety Part of My Schoolfeeds | =:B |

SS: (I'm totes watchin! (\eue/) )

SS: (Fascinatin stuff, this.)

LP: Ooh.. :o >ooo<

LP: Sounds interesting. :) >ooo<

SS: (And LUL.)

SS: (Hey, Pher, I got one a'those fancy personality questionnaires for you!)

SS: (It tells you what kinda zed you identify with most based on your credit chit code.)

UV: What sort of zombies then, if you are so willing to share?

MH: Oh he's back.

MH: Glad to see you didn't die, RS.

RS: | Mm | Pass | Laledy | ! | But Thank You |

RS: | Perhaps You can Get One of Our Friendly Resident Chat Members to Fill That Out for You | =:B |

RS: | And | We are Looking for Cuckoo Zombies | ! |

RS: | But So Far | We have Just Found a Number of Floral Zombies |

MH: The hell are cuckoo zombies.

RS: | I have Been Taking Pictures | If You'd Like to See | =:) |

RS: | | And Of Course I didn't Die | Haha |

RS: | They are Victims of Parasitic Birdwasps | ! | Their Eggs Hatch Within Dead Bodies |

RS: | And Puppet Them Until They are Large Enough to Burst Free | Which Is | Oh |

RS: | Three or So Nights | ? |

RS: | They're Very Hard to Witness in the Wild | ! |

BB: Very hard. or no one wishes to Bother with getting insects Burrowed into their skin and horns.

BB: Hard to tell.

RS: | Haha | We are Not at Risk of That | I Keep Telling You That | ! |

RS: | Adults Do Not Live This Far in the Desert |

RS: | They Need Plants to Pollinate | There are No Plants Worth Pollinating Out Here |

RS: | Have You Located the Stone Pillar Yet | By the Way | ? |

BB: Perhaps they are Busy working their day joBs. too. One might come home early. Similar to finding a quad mate in Bed with another.

RS: | | Are We the Quad Mate in This Metaphor | or the Bed | ? |

BB: Exactly.

RS: | Or | Wait | No |

RS: | Are We the Other | ? |

BB: The stone pillar is not too far away. yes.

BB: All I am trying to get across is that if there is adults. it will not Be happy with us going into its territory.

SS: (Well, that's what you've up and got walkstubs for, pal! (\eue/) )

RS: | | Oh | LP | ! | My Apologies | We have Tromped All Over Your Conversation | =:c |

SS: (And a talkbox, for your last words, ofc.)

BB: I would rather keep my walkBranches to remain walkBranches and not walkstuBs.

SS: (For that, pal, you're gonna hafta chat with the peeps what up and make dictionaries'n ish up.)

SS: (Or slang, whatevs.)

BB: I did not know that I would have to consult a dictionary to say that I wish to keep my limBs in tact.

SS: (Nah, pal, for that you'd hafta up and learn how jokes work! (\ouo/) )

RS: | Oh | Damn | I Think We Spooked Her Off |

RS: | | Somehow | Hahaha | Um |

RS: | Faizah | ! | You Worry | So Much | =:B |

RS: | Please | Relax | No One will Be Losing Limbs |

RS: | Not Even the Walkers |

RS: | Are You On Your Way Back Over | ? |

UV: Well if you did. I am still here. I was simply looking for a little more information on Cuckoo Zombies while you were occupied.

BB: I will Be Back soon enough. I am sure. I will also Be making sure that the only thing that does lose limBs is the walkers.

SS: (Yeah, pal, I totes wonder what did it?)

SS: (Bodysnatchin flapbugs what're up and puppeteerin peeps bods ain't made nobody queasy, like, ever. (\unu/) )

MH: Gross.

SS: (Soz, pal, didn't mean to give you internet cooties. (\unu/)

SS: (Leastways they ain't makin their waay outta here.)

BB: SS is an enjoyaBle fellow. in case you were wondering.

UV: The variety of species that parasitize trolls has always been rather fascinating, I thought. Of course, I have always done any observations from a distance.

SS: (Aww, pal, careful! You're gonna make my kokoro go doki doki. (\unu//) )

BB: See what I mean.

SS: (And hells yeah they are, pal!)

SS: (S'like a fun lottery system: erry time you think you're up and safe, boom! Turns out whatevs ish you're lookin at can totes be a parasite, too!)

RS: | Oh | If You are Interested | I can Stream Some of Our Expedition For You | ? |

RS: | It Doesn't Beat Real Observations | Of Course |

RS: | But If You are Interested | =:) |

SS: (I mean, like, if you up and think about it, we're parasites. Ain't like lusus naturae's the same species as you'n me.)

CC: eugh, yeah, fascinating. Tell that to all the jackwagons that get consumed in the deep woods.

CC: are you out hunting or something, RS?

UV: If it would not trouble you, Pheres. I would enjoy it. Thank you.

MH: Yup.

SS: (Well shit, pal, mb they're gettin all consumed-like on accounta they totes thought it was interestin nuff to see up and close-like. (\eue/) )

RS: | We are Out Observing | ! | No Hunting | Unless Things Get a Little Too Close |

MH: He's hunting. Or something.

RS: | Or | Mm | Feisty |

BB: Looking at things from a giant miscroscope only makes them smaller. doesn't necissarily solve anything.

SS: (Dude, huntin's for losers that up and think they can make a dif with a machete and some spuunk.)

CC: lol, I mean I guess you don't get more front row than that.

SS: (Research's how you up and figure out how to load some weedkiller into a drone and clear a whole section a'the desert.)

CC: it's easier to just get rid of them, but-- oh you're in a desert pff.

CC: I had to get rid of them in the woods, there wasn't enough space in the buildings to move safely with them there, yadda yadda. So is it just a curiosity or-- huh

SS: (And, uh, BB, soz to say, but I think you need a crash course on what microscopes do.)

SS: (Spoiler alert: Makes ish bigger.)

RS: | Ah | A Reminder to Those Who Would Rather Not See | the Dead |

RS: | Say | CC | =:B | There is a Button in the Screen | You can Press | to Make the Image Go Away |

RS: | I am Not Clear Where the Button Is | But I am Certain It Is There | ! |

CC: I don't have a problem, what are you talking about?

SS: (I'm p sure you gotta, like, choose to join the call anyhow.)

RS: | Usually Trolls Who Have to Exterminate Walkers Aren't Interested in Seeing Them Up Close | ! | They Find It | Ah |

RS: | Bothersome | ? |

SS: (It's against their religion!)

CC: oh hell no. I said extermination made it easy to move not that that was my job

SS: (The religion is bein a weenie.)

CC: ^

RS: | I am Fairly Certain It is Against the Sun Cultists Religion to Murder Walkers |

RS: | Or Is That to Burn Them | ? | It's Something |

CC: I'm a salvager show walkers all you want

RS: | | But | Ah | Good | ! |

SS: (Oh, y, pal, ofc, ain't you in the know I'm a sun cultist now?)

SS: (I got a pamphlet from that chick what stopped our van and everythin.)

SS: (Apparently I might be a saint, too.)

SS: (Ain't too clear on that bit. Do white oculars count, or do I gotta be proper dead-like?)

XR: Oh, Pherrres

CC: okay but if this turns into a drink the koolaid fest I'm out, st. SS

XR: erXR: Pheres

SS: (Nah, pal, no kool-aid! Just zed spores. Take a vine erryone, won't hurt once it gets to your pan stem!)

SS: (Wow, that weren't suspect at all.)

RS has started up a call! He's.. clearly using his cellphone to record the desert night, and the audio's been muted. They're still in the sand dunes, by the rock formation - but he turns the camera to beam into it, briefly, and then zoom in on Lal, who's speaking to his phone a few feet away.

MH: What the fuck.

CC: pretty.

RS: alright

RS: this is now on voice to speech!

RS: um

RS: voice to text?

CC: ...not the jadeblood. The desert

RS: i think!

RS: hahaha

SS: (Heyo!) Laledy waves at the same time as he sends the message, clearly speaking into his mic.

SS: (Wtf, way to kill my ego.)

MH: Rude CC.

RS: laledy is fairly pretty, i think. there's no need to be unkind!

XR: ...anyway I'.m. nearly there, is what I wanted to tell you.

CC: okay but can you blame me. This entire chat swarms people for things like that.CC: had to clarify

SS: (At least some peeps up and appreciate real beauty!)

SS: (Insert dramatic sniff here.)

RS: marvelous!

SS: (LUL)

SS: (Nah, pal, too late, I'm cryin already. (\eue/) )

CC: how many people are joining you, RS?

CC: pffff lol

UV: Seems like quite the expedition team.

SS: (Enough to form our own miniature horde once we get wasted by zeds! (^_^/) )

MH: Keep the camera running.

MH: I wanna see it.

SS: (Insert thumbs up here!)

SS: (Make sure you up and put it up on grubtube!)

CC: aw continuing research even in the after death. "Do teams remain allied after infection and passing"

XR: no. we'd all be idiot zombies.

SS: (Y, XR, but we'd be idiot zombies 2gether 4ever.)

RS: and oh, look, here's miss cennef's hound. A blurry shot of an alarmingly huge canine. Its jaws are moving, but he keeps pulling the camera back towards the ears. Eugh.

RS: uv, she's eating a floral zombie, by the way. do you want a picture?

SS: (It's the team spirit! (\ouo/) )

CC: love that optimism

RS: ... you all are talking so much

RS: heavens, we're not getting wasted by zeds, laledy

RS: can you imagine the indignity

UV: A picture would be nice, thank you Pheres.

RS: these aren't even proper zombies

CC: is it safe for animals to eat those? I always thought it fucked them up

RS: alright

-- XR has put on her own voice to text, and took her own picture of Pheres from sitting on her giant fennec fox/horned toad lusus --

SS: (I know, pal, I just thought BB needed some help w that wish fulfillment!)(edited)

XR: two can play at that

XR: anyway, I brought the zombie bait

RS: hahaha

RS: you take a picture of the zomb

RS: excellent!

XR: it smells horrid but then again, what else would it smell like

CC: sunshine and daisies

XR: sunshine smells like burning and death

XR: and some of them do have daisy strains I hear

CC: Chanel no.5(edited)

RS: but daisies smell delightful, presumably, to make up for it

UV: XR has a fair point.

XR: a little too delightful

XR: some of them snag you that way

XR: which is why I also brought masks

RS: ah, my apologies, uv

RS: i don't think i'm going to get very close to her lusus

XR: I know they're hideous but put them on

RS: how far did you say this was?

RS: they're cumbersome

SS: (Wtf is these double standards?)

SS: (I mean, I'm totes down for a mask, this ish looks totes badass and post-apocalyptic, but, like, pal.)

XR: if you get silly-panned by some floral scenter, you can't even come crying to me because that's probably the last thing you'll ever do

RS: and we're not dealing with psychogenic on- oh!

RS: you're incredibly silly

RS: but fine

XR: is smell it and lose yourself

RS: pass me a mask

XR: mask passed

XR: oh wait

XR: must document

SS: (LUL)

SS: (Dude, we can... figure that out.)

--  TOO LATE, he's already holding out his camera to take a begrudging picture of his face with the filtration mask on.  --(edited)

SS: (Uh.)

SS: (Duct tape, mb?)

-- XR has posted a picture of Laledy and Pheres in their masks --

XR: dammit

RS: smiley face

RS: haha

XR: you rob me of my glory

XR: how could you

UV: You all look like a proper zombie observation team now.

XR: all right, what's your strife

RS: oh

RS: thank you!

XR: I have a few firebombs, but I'd rather not use them

XR: they go up quick, even when there's not much to burn

SS: (Cutting sarcasm!)

RS: my amazing good looks?

RS: hahaha

XR: you're both hopeless

RS: you're being silly, cennef

SS: (Also a taser, a sword, and a wacking stick.)

XR: your hair isn't a weapon, Pheres

RS: come along! let's just get moving

XR: lovely as it is

XR: what, are you crazy? I haven't even told you what to watch or listen for

XR: hold on a moment

XR: remember, these are cuckoo zombies you wanted to see

XR: they don't behave like other ones

SS: (Idk, pal, I'm p sure he could eat me with that ish if he tried hard enough.)

XR: and god help me if you provoke them, we all have to run for it like giant spotted meowbeasts

SS: (Nah, pal, I only provoke peeps!)

XR: because they might burst prematurely

XR: and come after us all like avenging furies

XR: so we all have to be very quiet and lightfooted. They don't see well, being larvae, but since there's so many of them in one host their sense of touch is excellent.

SS: (Shit, pal, and here I was up and hyped to go hug one!)

XR: would that I were so lucky

XR: anyway, they tend to hide in hives, all curled up and waiting to gestate, unless they're hunting

XR: hence bait

SS: (Wow, you really know how to woo a guy!)

SS: (On pitch week, too. (\unu/) )

XR: Pheres why is he here

XR: no don't answer that

RS: hahaha

RS: for his stunning reparte

RS: obviously

RS: ah! no, sorry, was looking at this

XR: regardless, they should all be curled up before we get to them, but just in case one isn't, you might not see it at first. sometimes they hide in sand dunes instead of rocks. but, if one IS hidden there - what

XR: what are you looking at

RS has wandered a bit far off from the crowd! The camera's been focused on a section of stone for the past few minutes - it finally pulls away to show.. he's been sticking his arm into a crack. Alright.

SS: (Uh.)

He pulls it out a moment later, victorious, and holding what looks to be a bone.

RS:

RS: hmm

RS: never mind, not worth looking at

XR: PHERES WHAT THE HELL

SS: (Y'know that thing we were up and talkin bout with branches and stubs afore?)

XR: YOU COULD HAVE BEEN BITTEN ON THE ARM

SS: (Oh, nm, XR's got it in capslock, nm.)

XR: YOU ARE VERY LUCKY NOTHING WAS DOWN THERE

RS:

RS: cennef

RS: how small do you feel zombies get

XR: well Pheres I know it may stun you

XR: but there are dangers besides zombies

XR: like scorpion lizards

XR: however I assumed that was covered by common sense

XR: also, there could have been unattached larva down there

XR: where do you think they come from in the first place

RS: an oviposter, presumably, but clearly i was misguided

SS: (Storks!)

RS: a stork's oviposter

RS: hahaha

XR: uuuuuugh gods help me

SS: (HAH)

XR: if you are QUITE DONE being recklessXR: let's go toward the main hiveXR: and keep an eye out for florals or fungals, zombies aren't smart enough to have territory boundaries(edited)XR: so even though separate types usually won't horde together, that doesn't mean they don't stray

RS: yes, yes, right

SA: dude

XR: all right, we all need to keep our voices low

RS is not a cameraman, obviously! The footage of the stream keeps shaking as he trails behind Cennef's foxmom, and it keeps shifting away from the desert stretching out in front of them to capture things he thinks are even slightly interesting. A strangely shaped rock! Sand! A scorpion that he carefully kicks with his boot, and then scampers abruptly to the other side of foxmom when it raises its stinger in response.

XR: it's not noise, but vibration

RS: ah RS: yes

XR: you're lucky she eats those

SA: this is either the sickest shit I've ever seen or the dumbest fucking ide@ @nyone's had like ever

XR: there she goes

RS: lay out the bait now so i can catch it on camera?

XR: well I'm sure she's glad for the snack

RS: it is asolutely both, sa

SS: (Omg this is my favorite lusus now.)

RS: hahaha RS: smiley face

XR: you are both dumb and I want you to know that

SA: h@h@h@

XR: in case I die because one of you gets me killed

SS: (She eats stingerbugs AND she ain't eatin me!)

XR: yes, here's the bait, have fun with it.XR: and by that I mean set it out and then we're all retreating.

SS: (Is the bait me?)

XR: at least twenty feet.XR: no, you don't smell enough.

SS: (I'm startin to get mildly concerned about that, ngl/)

SS: (Oh, shit, a compliment!)

XR: it's this rotting meat.

SS: (My pusher ain't right broken yet after all!)

RS: i don't know if that's a compliment

SA: gross

RS: to be frank

SS: (Pher, quit tryin to crush my dreams, aight?)

RS: my apologies

RS: that was cruel and unneccessarily callous of me

XR: you have none because there are none with me involved.

XR: end of story

RS: you absolutely do not smell as much as this rotting meat

SS: (I'm glad you're a big enough person to acknowledge that, Pheres.)

RS: and that is a compliment

RS: hahaha

RS: here, hold the camera

SS: (And ofc I've up and got dreams w you, Cennef!)

SS: (They're the ones where Pher ain't here and you sacrifice me to zeds.)

RS: ah

RS: hold my phone

XR: yes, have him hold it, and then back away

Laledy takes the phone, orienting it at where he hears Pheres. It's somewhat off-angle, but gets most of the scene.

XR: I have Foxmom in case they swarm us but she can really only carry two trolls, even light as the pair of you are(edited)

Or, at least it gets most of the scene when Laledy isn't delightedly filming whatever foxmom is doing at any given moment. There is at least one candid of her yawning, with a dramatic zoom of her teeth.

XR: if you're that desperate I'll send you videos, my gods

XR: this is silly

SS: (I deffo ain't believin you, but whatevs, pal, we'll film this fascinatin ish instead.)

Insert closeup of the rotting meat, pointedly, before Laledy gives in to his actual scientific interests and films the presumed ZOMBIE LAIR.

SA: eewewwww

SA: show us the de@d ppl(edited)

XR: I will because this is just pathetic and also off - there we go

The camera sort of catches Pheres fussing extraordinarily over the meat. It is rotting. It has flies. For all that the audio isn't on, it's not hard to tell he's displeased.

XR: all right. we all need to be quiet.

He drops it --

XR: back up Pheres

XR: now

SS: (Uhhhhhhh)

XR: come back to us

SS: (Uhhhhhhhhhhh)

The screen goes white in a crackle of static, then clears as the light clears.

SA: oh shit is he getting m@uled

XR: stop fussing over the damn meat

RS: shhh i'm moving

RS: moved!

SS: (OW)

RS: you were rushing me!

XR: ugh that was loud

SS: (WHERE)

RS: you're fine!

UV: Well then.

XR: Laledy, back up with me, that might draw a rush

SS: (SURE I'M FINE, PAL, TOTES FINE.)SS: (Where are you?)(edited)

XR: can you feel my arm?

SS: (Uh-) There is some fumbling of the camera, and it's now pointed halfway at the ground.

SS: (Yeah.)(edited)

XR: pity about the footage but I'm not about to get us killed over it

XR: oh

XR: there's one

SS: (Where?)

XR: just peeking up, I see the horns and - oh

SS: (Insert more question noodles.)

XR: there's larva in the sockets

SS: (Insert more capslock.)

XR: most of the scentsponge is eaten too

SA: eeeeewwwwwwwwww

RS: oh, wow, this is amazing

SA: rs you're fucking nuts

RS: hahaha

RS: this is for science, i'll have you know

Lal fumbles the camera again, and it points vaguely in Pheres's direction.

RS: oh, wait

RS: you can't -- mm

XR: aaaaand another - and well that's just great

RS: give me that

SA: @nd presum@bly getting ur zombie rocks off

RS: wha

RS: no one is getting their rocks off

XR: there's a fungus coming and it looks it's been out here a hundred sweeps

XR: look at that growth

SS: (Love to. (\qnq/) )

SS: (Unfort Pheres is a jerk.)

The screen is back to a steady image as Pheres points it at the zombie in question. It's got purple fungus growing everywhere. And: yes, it's gross.

RS: you were rushing me

RS: that is the tragic result of rushing me

-- Cennef takes a photo of a somewhat blurry due to distance but magnificently orange fungal zombie absolutely covered in the stuff, with shreds of clothing over it --

RS: i actually move

SA: gross

SA: grooooooossssss

XR: ...okay so there's two

XR: excellent

SA: eugh does it smell

UV: Well that is quite the sight. And... Double the trouble.

SA: it looks like it smells

SS: (Yeah, pal, like sunshine and daisies. (\eue/) )

XR: fungals don't smell usually

RS: can you see it clearly

RS: uv?

XR: PHERES

SS: (Wow, pal, way to kill my pun!)

XR: I SEE THREE MORE CUCKOOS

SS: (What?)

RS: oh

RS: hm

XR: I HEAR THEM BUZZING

RS: maybe you should get on your mother

SS: (Pal, can you yell that in a way that is less mortally terrifyin??)

SA: oh shit

XR: and - no, damn you

XR: I'm taking care of the fungals, one minute, try not to die or upset the cuckoos.

RS: oh

RS: no, don't - just

RS: stay with laledy

SS: (Uh. Uh.)

RS: and i will take care of the fungals

SS: (I'm gonna stand here and not move at all.)

RS: that does seem a little wise

RS: just

RS: ah

RS: hold still

-- XR swiftly runs around and throws a firebomb at each fungal, because she knows full well those spores are very insidious and deadly and luckily both burn -- (edited)

XR: no, if those had gotten any closer we would be in spore range.

XR: too risky.

SS: (Oh, shit, I can see that at least.)

SS: (Wtf, are you tryin to burn the whole place down?)

XR: also it distracted the cuckoos, they're blind but not that blind.

XR: there's nothing around them.

XR: it won't last.

SS: (P sure they're less blind than me atm, tbh.)

SS: (Fwiw, I am totes never lettin this ish go. (\qnq/) )

XR: good for you

XR: it'll mean you're alive

SS: (This was gonna be so cool.)

SS: (Take good vids!)

SS: (Since I'ma have to rewatch later.)

SA: ...you're blind @nd you went zombie hunting?

RS: um

RS: it's a metaphor

RS: hahaha

-- XR takes a vid of herself staring disapprovingly before swinging at Pheres and the approaching zombies --

XR: ...Pheres

SS: (Pheres blinded me, on accounta his psi is effin bright af.)

XR: don't move

RS: i will move in a moment

SS: (Everythin's spots and ish.)

RS: don't worry

MH: This is the stupidest fucking zombie expedition I've ever seen.

XR: there's a fern zombie approaching

SA: oh ok

SS: (Pal, can we not make this a sitch where you get up and rushed again?)

MH: One of you are gonna get bit, or killed.

XR: and it doesn't look quite as shambling as the cuckoos

XR: who are quite enjoying the meat, at least

MH: Anyone wanna take bets on someone getting hurt.

XR: but I think they'll finish it soon

RS: no one is going to get bit

RS: for heaven's sake

RS: you will have to lose your bet, mh

MH: I said hurt, not necessarily bit.

MP: so uh

MH: Self harm counts because you're all throwing around fire bombs.

RS: did you

RS: heave-- hahaha

XR: That was me and that was for safety.

SS: (Hey, I'm totes offended!)

SS: (Cennef's throwin round -y, zacly.)

SS: (I'm too flammable for that ish.)

XR: the only thing Laledy throws are his words.

XR: which are annoying enough.

MP: dudes r hunting zeds?

SS: (Nah, pal! We're up and makin friends with em!)

MP: streaming too damn badass

SS: (Look, Pher's gonna up and hug that one!)

RS: yes

RS: thank you

XR: clearly we are cuddling up to them, as Laledy suggested

RS: finally someone appreciates it

RS: hahaha

MP: hey I'm paying you compliments here

XR: I'm a bit preoccupied with ensuring Pheres doesn't die

SS: (Or kill me. (\unu/) )

MP: defs do that dude

XR: well thank you for your suggestion

XR: how could I live without it

MP: dying fuckin sucks do not do that

XR: wow, you shock me

MP: v helpful advice I know lol

XR: however would I cope.

SS: (Shit, pal, way to ruin my plans for the night!)

SS: (How tf'm I supposed to spend my Sat now?)

XR: wait

SS: (I ain't made plans for Sunday!)

XR: wait no

MH: Who wants to lay down 50 caegers as the starting bet.

SS: (For what, how long its gonna be afore MH stages dramatic life insurance fraud schemes on all their friends?)

MH: 50 caegers on someone getting getting hurt but that's a good one too.

SA: I'll fucking take it

MH: I'll keep that scheme in mind when I make friends.

MH: 50 caeger starting bid! Who are you betting on getting hurt first?

SS: (I'm puttin 100 on 'way too long - okay, nm, pal, I was gonna make a joke bout you ain't havin none but then you up and just made it sad.)SS: (At least be, like, miffed that you're forever alone.)(edited)

MH: Nah I'm good.

XR: PHERES BEHIND YOU

SA: probs the jade tbh

RS: oh goddamnit

SA: no wait

XR: WE'RE GOING GET OVER HERE

MH: Too late, bid casted.

XR: TELEPORT

SA: d@mn

SS: (Y, pal, on accounta the jade's the one what's up and stickin his fronds into rock cracks.)

SS: (And huggin zeds.)

XR: oh fuck oh damn oh hell

SS: (Wtf???)

MH: Oh shit.

SA: ye@h I w@s @bout to ch@nge my d@mn bid

SS: (Can someone like narrate???)

MH: What's going on over there?

Good thing the audio's turned off! Because the phone's abruptly a mess of static, jerky screen, and then - white again.

XR: hhhhhhh

XR: okay it's down

XR: we need to go

BB: I would hate to be the person who would have to utter this statement.

XR: Laledy get on Foxmom I'm just going to have to chance it

BB: But I told you so.

XR: we're all light

SS: (I hate lits everything oh my god.)

MP: oh fucking shit

MH: Did someone get hurt?

XR: it'll be slow but I have two firebombs left GO GO GO

The stream turns off!

XR: SHE'S LYING DOWN GET ON HER

MP: oh shit

MH: I think someone got a zed on them(edited)

SA: did I win the bet

SS: (Y, SA, I'm totes dead.)

MP: ohhh boy oh no

SS: (This is me confirmin from beyond the grave.)

BB: Unfortunately. SS is not dead.

MH: Who got hit.

XR: PHERES PSIJUMP

SA: ty SS

SS: (That I am extra double blind now.)

XR: TELEPORT

MH: ....Shit.

XR: COME ON

MH: I think Pheres got a zed on him.

MP: ????? If he can teleport what the fuck is he doing

XR: I NETTED IT HE NEEDS TO MOVE

SA: d@ng it!

MH: Maybe he got hurt?

SA: I should@ ch@nged my bid

MH: Like really hurt.

BB: The excess narriration is doing nothing aBout the current circumstance and is only adding excess annoyance to my part.

MP: that's not a good thing dude not even a little

MH: Sucks to be you BB.

XR: ughhhhhhhh

BB: I would concur with that statement.

MH: Glad we're on the same page.

RS:

RS: / alright / ! /

RS: / no one wins a bet /

RS: / i am perfectly alive / or whatever you were betting on /

XR: you need a mediculler

RS: / perfectly fine /

RS: / and alive /

SS: (Can we go back to narratin?)

XR: you won't be if you don't get assistance

MP: what happened dude!

XR: I can't treat that and I don't think anybody in Port Mina can

BB: Which limB do I need to cut off.

XR: fuck off we aren't cutting off limbs yet

MH: But did you get HURT RS?

XR: will you all just shut up with your stupid speculations this is serious

MP: those infections get deadly intense tho

RS: / it's not serious /

XR: YES THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELPFUL INPUT

MH: RS is hurt.

RS: / calm down / cennef /

MH: I knew it.

XR: it's not right now but it could well be and it needs to be taken care of

RS: / it does not even qualify as hurt /

XR: yes it does

MH: I knew someone was going to get hurt.

RS: / i will take care of it at my hive /

XR: do not argue with me, you need treatment

SA: d@mn it

XR: no

XR: you need professional treatment or you will become a fern zombie

XR: you're VERY LUCKY that's a small wound

SA: oh shiiit

XR: but it will spread

MP: def do not do that

BB: I do Believe. even if that is true. that adding more shout poles to the pile will not solve the matter any faster.

BB: We should resort to action. and not yelling over one another.

XR: why yes thank you for being so terribly helpful as if I am not trying to think about what to do right now, however would I cope without the lot of you idiots yapping at me

MP: maybe put the chat down?

XR: Pheres who's your mediculler

XR: or no

XR: turning off voice to text now

RS: / it will be fine /

RS: / take a deep breath / cennef /

RS: / and / ah / - /

RS: / / yes / haha /

BB: So, I do Believe that we shall be making an expressed detour at the next convenient step. I will not say anything more until the injured can come Back to his senses.

MP: I mean I don't think they'll talk to each other here if they all know each otherMP: and are like in the same placeMP:MP: do they do that often

AE: Hello.

MH: Welcome to the shit show.

MH: Some fucks went and bothered zombies and someone got bit.

MH: Or scratched. I don't know.

AE: Do. Not. Touch. Zombies. That. Is. A. Bad. Idea.

AE: Don't. Do. That.

MH: You came in like an hour too late to say that.

AE: Undead. Saliva. Is. A. Primary. Source. Of. Various. Infections. Including. But. Not. Limited. To. Acute. Skinrot.

MH: Again, an hour too late.

AE: I. Was. Not. Here. One. Hour. Ago.