#last time i started i was like “oh yeah ill do a boring square to practice”

[lavenoon]

@naffeclipse he's getting some love (just no one pay attention to the totally no ulterior motives cigar bait-n-switch)

*self insert Aster is not a girl (he/ she) og detective au by sunnys-aesthetic!

[sixthwater]

Hello. This one is going to be a bit different. I wanted to test these subjects with a deck of mine and the energy seemed very...fluid. Like the beginning and the end are the same but checkpoints might be different, therefore this reading in particular will have to be written differently. After reading notes will be written: like this, meanwhile the reading at the time will be written normally.

Chapter Four's Subject: Scooter Braun and...Everything?

Decks Used: White Numen & Haunted House (wanted to just use haunted house, got called to use two)

Who is Scooter?

Someone who lacks balance but seems so motivated and focused that it can seem the opposite. If you look at the seven of cups all the fish are swarming this one cup so this could speak to someone hyperfixating on something new or shiny — or something that they do legitimately take interest in, but once they lose interest then they move onto the next thing. I think ultimately there is an issue with sticking to plans that he’s already placed or communicated to someone. So you could be on step five of this 20 step plan and suddenly he’s doing the same thing with a new interest and you’re left to figure it out, but he also wouldn’t want to let you go either because eventually he’ll come back around to you. I don’t get direct ill intentions (I am actively trying to harm you), it’s more like…childish lmao. It’s like someone who got pets or plants. They get bored of them and expect the life to start taking care of itself but then get upset if it gets taken away from them because like what the heck they still Wanted it hello? Just general imbalance and lack of implementing plans are the key qualities here. Does he lack earth or have stellium in water/fire houses lmao. (Oh just checked the back: page of swords reversed, poor communication)

checked his chart after this; gemini sun & mars, cap moon that is It, cancer venus and retrograded mercury. a shit ton of squares to his jupiter, harsh aspects to neptune And uranus (plus too many to make up for the soft aspects to saturn). his mercury makes no harmonious aspects and then it's retrograded. cannot comment too much but yeah it's making some sense here

How does Hollywood see him?

Very short and sweet lmao. Someone who is the ‘trusted choice’ if choosing to sign with a label (can promise good deals, long history, etcetc). However once you get past that you start to realize there’s a…I get hot and cold/on and off for some reason? There’s a song playing and the lyric I keep picking up is ‘Whether you love me or hate me’ and the rest of the song fades out. So it’s like some days you’re a favorite, some days he’s distracted. It’s like you have to keep paying attention to the fire and keep it fueled when it should be the other way around. The Moon wanted to be the last one pulled and by itself, I feel like this is background industry stuff, but something about him got found out and is not the best — I’m not really being allowed in for what it is but it’s the idea of a mask being uncovered of wolf in sheep’s clothing? Something like that.

Why is this happening? (truth or deception)

I’m just repeating myself at this point. Also some cards fell while moving them back, and two of cups reversed was under the king. So. It’s the same stuff again; a new fixation so his priorities are lying elsewhere, but since this is a common theme it’s a feeling of being tired. If you look at the art within the lovers, the main female is watching it go down. I think there was an attempt at some sort of discussion about concerns or frustrations, but this seven of wands seems to be from his point of view? It’s a bit of both; not backing down and letting him know that they’re upset, but also not backing down to complaints and feeling attacked in a way (because you could say these complaints are coming from ‘beneath’ him I guess). This page…I weirdly feel like it was a choice. She’s smirking and holding an orb. It’s kind of like an ultimatum. Like either you get it or we aren’t doing shit for/with/under you anymore. Lack of motivation/energy but it’s purposeful. Which leads us to Judgement. There’s just a lot of criticism or critique but I’m not sensing any malice? It feels very calm. Honestly this card kind of feels like Scooter walking in with his new project and they’re all the people in the back. Regardless, the overall energy is that greediness and lack of balance again. Wanting to have it all, possible worry about financial/material safety which leads to this ‘gimme’ energy. I’m curious though now soooo

Long thoughts here; the lovers + 2oC can speak to affairs, and that's what I thought but it got brushed off. A lot of things got brushed off. It felt like someone didn't want me to actually figure stuff out but I was still being allowed in, so I can see something being thrown out to the public that isn't actually the problem. What I think is happening is that an affair was spotted and it dug up a lot. Too much and accidentally dug up something deeper, which is the previous moon issue that I can't get to. So the lovers issue started this, someone thought they could use it as like, ammo? (7oW), but it didn't work. PoW might be someone else plotting therefore the sneaky yet patient energy? However judgement stays the same. KoP is having a disgusting grip of a situation leaning into a shitty ego.

How does ____ see Scooter (with many afterthoughts lmao)

Taylor: Blunt. Petty tiresome arguments, a man of financial gain and someone to work with, but not a good mix in the end || Is this current energy? I can't see why there would be current petty attacks between them because that would be more swords energy? Either way, plenty of disagreements.

Demi: Not good. Might have started off nice but eventual control issues and overbearing tendencies leaded to a lack of emotional happiness. Getting a feeling that they understood when to let people not good for them slip through their fingers and move on. They want to speak a lot about this but that’s for them to say on their own time lol. || They wanted to say a lot. They are probably going to speak up first or when they do they're not going to shut up. I also kept thinking of Kesha when reading for Demi so?????

Ariana: ...I think she was too busy with other stuff and could not. He was not her main focus LOL. She understands that she needs to do a lot of work for herself in a way, cause I’m getting this skeleton is him. Which is why he’s not like..coming up. This Tower feels more like ‘I’m already dealing with a lot are you serious’, it’s not like it’s a surprise but it’s more like, it was bound to happen but it’s just inconvenient, as the tower always is. I can’t remember her rising, is it earth lmao || Objectively, the tower is supposed to be someone who brings an unpleasant change to your life or isn't supposed to stay anyway and you know they weren't meant for you. I don't know their connection I'm only familiar with the issue of Taylor's. Was she with him and tried to leave and it didn't work cause that's the only thing I can think of (unstable), or this could just be speaking of the personal affairs going on in her life as I mentioned. Hanged Man in this case seems like someone who stays in the same situation for so long that they've turned to dust so in general, not a compatable person to her and it just is what it is

Justin: Again like explorative but scatterbrained. Not getting that Justin is very emotionally involved or distressed just like. Done. Whatever option was less annoying he would’ve chose. || I always pick up on a...unattached energy from Justin, even looking at his chart. I don't know what he's experiencing right now but he's very much 'I just don't want to think about much'

Bighit/Hybe: Uh. Um. Either he has unfinished business with them that’s he’s ignoring because he’s in child mode or they heard all this news about him and maybe he’s shirking off responsibilities and Bighit/Hybe is kind of like ‘what the heck we’re supposed to be doing these deals or running these albums through these months’ and he’s just. Not responding. Not looking too fun. A bit of it feels like, because of the visuals, he could’ve had a long deal with them but they’re probably going to also cut him off after this unless something changes (keys to the castle but it’s blocked right now). || Could also have something to do with just cutting off contracts due to appearances if the moon issue is that bad.

Overall, Demi and Taylor feel the most emotionally invested. Ariana just seems tired and wants to move onto other things. Justin does not care lmao. Bighit/Hybe is just business.

Outcome

Before I even get into this, "One Of Us" from lion king 2 is playing while i fix this up. this is a fucking joke lmao, so maybe we will find out.

This will highlight some issues within himself for him to see, so there’s a chance he’ll kick his ass into gear to fix them. Some of them. There’s a chance that he won’t be facing said issues and approaching it with the ‘well I’m aware so that’s half the battle’ mindset. So implementing the change when it shows but not completely changing himself for the better. We will not be seeing this at all, and probably no one besides those that he feels comfortable venting to? So to everyone else it’ll look like he’s ignoring all of this, which will cause some frustration and more critique, some probably more harsh than it needs to be? Is the energy I get. The four of wands feels more public than close community, so if The Moon from way before gets out to us in some way, then I can understand the need for apology because I keep getting people demanding explanation or apologies from him. This’ll just cause him to pull back more or be more selfish — it’s the normal reaction you always see in public figures where they get defensive because they feel like nothing they do is right so then reactionists come to coddle them and they prefer that company even if it goes against their inner values? Think JK Rowling. I don’t believe that will literally happen, but that’s the best comparison I can get. To get dramatic because apparently thats the energy here, The Bird & the Worm by The Used wanted to come out during this part. So definitely has something to do with that Moon from the way beginning.

and look at that, even in that song (even though it's more about mental illness), theres a reference to a man crawling away from their problems and i kept getting it in a pathetic way during the live reading, so? I would love to say that maybe scooter would be a sacrifice to protect more big bag evil dudes but honestly the energy was pretty pathetic and brat like while trying to read so

This was. Annoying lmao. I remember saying I wanted to be nosy like everyone else but goooddd I forgot how much this energy is just....blergh. As much as I like deciphering stuff and understanding people, entertainment is a bit too much for me I'll stick to listening to others or doing smaller stuff lmao

[come-on-shitty-boys]

// the king. oikawa tooru //

Warnings: mentions of death

Word Count: 1.9K

Notes: This is the final installment of the mini-series “Soldier, Poet, King” influenced by the song of the same name by The Oh Hellos.  I might make a second part to this or maybe just do a little drabble to finish it off?? i have to add the header later because my dumbass F O R G O T to make one and i wanna sleep ;-;

“You’re a monster.”

“I don’t care if you’re my husband.  I want nothing to do with you.”

“I refuse to sleep in the same bed as you.”

“You’re just like your father, only caring when it benefits you.”

Each hateful comment that you threw at him pulled the air from his lungs.  He’d never been talked to in such a way, but now, hearing those words drip like poison from the lips of his own wife was like a punch to the stomach.  Tooru knew going into the marriage that things were going to be rocky, but he didn’t expect it to be this bad.  He thought that given a few weeks, he’d be able to win you over with his charming personality and the two of you could enjoy a happy life together, ruling over one of the most powerful nations.

But, that was so far from the truth.  Any attempts at physical contact were shoved away.  Conversation was cut short by a snide remark from you, leaving the young king to sit with all of the gnawing guilt in his chest.  Because, every word that you uttered, he believed to be true.  He was a monster.  Well, maybe not him specifically, but his family was a completely different story.

There was a reason that the Oikawa family was the head of such an immense kingdom, one that stretched farther than one could ever fathom.  A feared kingdom and one with riches beyond your wildest dreams.  An intimidating military with ranks upon ranks of well-equipped soldiers.  Yes, that was the Riviere Kingdom, a kingdom that burned fear into its people and a king to match that scary demeanor.  The king that had worn the crown before Tooru, his father, was as ruthless as they come, building the once small kingdom into the powerhouse that it is today.  Smaller surrounding nations were on their knees, begging to be spared, but they were only swallowed by the overwhelming military force before there was even a chance to protest.  And that was the game for years.  Smaller nations were taken in, allowing the nation to swell in size and power, allowing it to move on to even bigger targets.  It was monstrous.  

But, it wasn’t like Tooru could do anything about it now.  What did you want him to do?  Give everyone their land back and let them break off into their own countries again?  They would starve and die.  People had become reliant on the aid of the kingdom, so who was he to just whisk that all away from them?  Everything was years in the past, he had barely been born when his father's rampage had reached its peak and he was only seven when the final obstacle was conquered, too young to think any ill of his father’s ways.

The Gledria Kingdom had been the goal from the very beginning.  It was the biggest and best, but late King Oikawa couldn’t have that, could he?  Tooru could remember that overwhelming swell of pride that his father carried as the royal family of the newly-fallen kingdom knelt before the king in defeat.  A king with weary eyes, dark circles and heavy wrinkles from years of stress, a queen with gentle features and lips that probably had the potential to carry the sweetest smile, and between them knelt a young girl, likely no older than the young prince himself.  Her eyes were puffy and there was a glisten of snot streaming from her nose, the fear evident in her body as she knelt there trembling.  

“I’d like to make a deal,” the fallen king states simply, his voice as commanding, steady, as if he was the one in charge.  “Your son, is he betrothed already?”

Tooru’s cheeks turned hot, the attention suddenly being turned to him.  “He’s not.”

“Then I would like to offer my daughter’s hand.  Before you refuse, I want you to think about what this could mean for you.  You are free of the burden of an even grander kingdom by letting us walk free and rebuild our home.  Not only that, we are now aligned with you, your majesty.  Our children will act as the peace treaty between our two kingdoms.”

It had been a tempting offer, one that was not refused.  And for ten years, the deal remained in tact.  The two lived in harmony, only engaging with one another when it was necessary.  But, things got boring and the death of King Oikawa was coming sooner rather than later.  It was his last mission.  Put an end to the Gledria Kingdom.

Tooru could still remember the look on your face when you were dragged into the castle on that fateful day.  You had been so eerily easy.  There were no tears, no pain, just emptiness hidden behind those deep eyes.  Your dress had been tattered, hair had been matted and tangled.  You looked like some kind of creature that Prince Tooru had only read about.  He could do nothing but watch as the handmaids took you away to clean the blood of your people off of your shell of a body.

Even now, years after the fall of your home, there was still hate and bitterness, but Tooru couldn’t even blame you.  On the night of your wedding, you had refused to speak to him, let alone consummate your marriage.  Shortly following the death of his father, when Prince Tooru was given his new title of King and you were crowned as his queen, there was nothing.  No words of celebration, no smiles were shared.  The tension in the air surrounding the young pair never dropped.  If you ever looked at him, it was only through narrowed eyes.  If you ever spoke to him, your words stung like a thousand wasps.  You were cold to him, refusing to even give him a chance, refusing to believe that he was not his father, refusing to believe that they were anything but the same.

The people noticed it in only a matter of months.  It was like the clouds had opened up and the sun was finally able to shine through.  After years of war, there was peace in the kingdom once again.  Aid was given to those who had lost everything and King Tooru was adament on purchasing his silks and fabrics from within the Riveire Kingdom to help support his people in an effort to get them back on their feet.  Festivals that had long since stopped from fear of the late king’s wrath, now filled the squares all over again.  From within the castle, there were nights where the merry cheers and laughter of people down in the village carried on the summer air as they rejoiced in a new sense of freedom that they hadn’t felt in a long time.  

And it was those nights that he was able to feel closest to you.  It wasn’t much, but every night that the music could be heard, he could find you on the balcony that extended from the bedroom that the two of you were meant to share.  Your hair would sway gently in the warm breeze, face aglow with moonlight, letting the night consume you in all of its beauty.  If he listened closely, he could hear you humming along to the tune of some song that he had heard you hum a million times, but would never tell him the name of.  Some nights, if he watched you long enough, Tooru could watch you slowly start to sway as you get lost in the song that echoed in your head.  

“We should go,” was all he had said to you.

It caught you off guard.  There was a sudden abruptness to his words, but the gentle tone that he always used when talking to you never left.  “What are you talking about?”

“A festival.  We should go sometime.  It could be fun, don’t you think?  Mother would never let me go when I was younger.  She thought commoners were filthy and when my father started his reign of terror, the festivals and parties stopped all together.”  Tooru leaned on the rail of the balcony a few feet away from you, giving you your space, while still being near you.  The fact that you didn’t immediately move away felt like a win in his book.  “Have you ever been to one?”

You simply nod.  You’re silent for a long time, he thinks the conversation is over until he sees your mouth open.  “We used to go all of the time.  If my father knew there was going to be a festival, he would take me.  We would dance and he’d lift me up and spin me around.  He would buy food and drinks for everyone there, so every single person could have a good time and not have to worry about expenditures.”  Tooru looked over at you as your words trailed off.  A soft smile graced your features.  It was the very first smile that he had ever seen from you, but it fell quickly.  “But that was before-”

“Yeah.  I know.”

“I really don’t think you do.  Do you really understand what your father did to us?  To every single kingdom that fell on their knees before him?  My people were slaughtered, Tooru.  I watched my parents die because your father betrayed them and you stand here and genuinely expect me to see you in a different light.  You may not be your father, but you’re still an Oikawa.  You carry all of that bloodshed on your shoulders now.  You could be the kindest king in the world, but nothing is going to reverse the past.”

“You’re right and I wish that there was something that I could do to fix everything.  If I could go back and stop him from doing what he did to your kingdom, I would do it in a heartbeat, but we didn’t know that it was coming either.  But, Y/N, we can’t keep living like this.  If you don’t want to love me, I can live with that, but I beg that you let me show you that I am more than just my father’s son.  I’m an Oikawa and that’s something that I can’t change, but I can change the feelings that come with hearing that name.  I wish nothing but the best for my people, our people, but that has to start here.”

“What are you saying?”

“Let me take you to one festival.  We can dance until your feet tire so much that I have to carry you home.  I’ll spin you around until you’re so dizzy that you can’t see straight.  We can eat and drink and laugh until your stomach hurts.  You don’t have to say yes, but I want to show you that I am King Oikawa Tooru and I am not the same person that my father was.  So, what do you say?  Will you do me the honor of being my dance partner for just one festival?”

[f33itan]

💛⚜️Pᴀʀᴛ 1: Tᴏʀᴛᴜʀᴇ ɪs Gᴏʟᴅᴇɴ⚜️💛 (From my Wattpad)

A/N: Ok, this was something a mutual of mine said here on Tumblr, and I decided to write a oneshot about it. Might be very VERY slight angst, nothing bad enough to actually be put under that umbrella though, anyways, enjoy this, and ty for the reads! :)

CW: MENTIONS OF RAPE, DEGRADATION, AND MORE FOUL WORDS THAN USUAL. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

B/N: Your Mother's boyfriend's name

M/N: Mother's name

꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂

"Oi, Y/N! Go get me another pack of beer from the store!"

"Yes father!" Damn that pig looking bitch. I'm just some fucking girl, trying to protect her mom from this demon of a person! Heck, he's not EVEN a person! He's the devil himself!! Man, I wish dad was here...

When you were in about 7th grade, your real father got killed in a massacre a couple cities over. He was not only a police officer, but a great father and husband as well. He treated you and your mother amazingly, and you thought life couldn't get anymore perfect, but soon that all went down hill. After his death, your mother's health depleted and she felt empty inside. She needed somebody else to make her complete. She decided to call an old friend from high school, and next thing you know he moved in. He seemed like a nice guy at first, but soon enough he was beating you guys mercilessly, enough to leave large bruises and scars whenever you didn't do exactly what he asked, in your eyes though, it was more of an order. You hated being ordered around, but you hated your mother getting beaten around even more. It seemed like a blessing that he hasn't tried to rape her, but god knows what he'll do, he's unpredictable

With all of this happening, you decided to tell him you were doing some "extra curricular" classes in college, but what you were actually doing was taking the Hunter's Exam and learning nen. Your biological father was kind-hearted and fun to be around, but he was also strict and sometimes a bit harsh, though he always meant well. Before his passing, all three of you would go out on the weekends to train, exercise, or do something that would enhance your body power and brain power. Because of this, all of you were exceptionally smart, and bodies all well toned. Sometimes your excursions would be going to a park and practicing a sport, driving to the snow and sledding, skiing, snowboarding, and every once in a while going to another state to zip line, try animal encounters, or take a family friendly class in that state's heritage and customs.

Since you were accustomed to hard core training and events, you thought the Hunter's Exam was quite fun, and was a test to your skills. After that, you were scouted out by a strong nen user by the name of Biscuit Krueger. You and her had lots of fun training, and with her pushing your limits to the utmost best, you turned out to be a specialist.

(Whenever I imagine myself in Hunter x Hunter, this is always my nen type and stuff LMAO)

Your power was called, Black shadow. You could have up to 10 weapons on hand, completely subjected to doing your bidding. These weapons were linked to you through blood, and they were surrounded with a substance that appeared to be black mist. The weapons you most preferred to practice with and use were your katana, blood string, and scythe. You could also make a weapon yours by cutting a fingertip and letting the blood drip onto the weapon, altering the appearance then gaining that black "mist", showing that it was now yours. The downside to this technique was that those "shadows and mist remnants" were your sleep. The darkness in your mind and the shadows all around you were taken and used for that power. In turn, you were always tired, yawning, and had bags under your eyes. Another plus side though was that you had a nen created chamber that had every weapon you owned. A girl can have some fun toys, can't she? You had tools for torture (whenever you took an opportunity to try it), many varieties of weapons, and of course, more snacks. But unlike B/N, you didn't have just fatty snacks. You had regeneration potions, healthy snacks, and special nen created "snacks" to help with different things, which all of these you had collected through pulling some strings. Your mother was worried, but you said it was all just college things. Yeah, just college things..

Ill make that pig bitch pay for what he has done to my mother!

Feitan POV -or whats going on with him- :

"What time, is it.."

"8 AM Fei!"

"Shut up, green eyes, too loud."

"Oh Fei don't be rude! It's mean!"

"That's, the point."

"Oh wait, Shalnark, what this?"

"What do you mean?"

"This... gold string?"

"OI SHALNARK, FEITAN, COME ERE' REAL QUICK!"

"Phinks, what, do you, want-" Phinks just ignored his question and pointed to the TV.

This is Channel 12, reporting live from York New City Town Square. People all over the city are claiming to be seeing a string tied to their left ring finger, leading them to some unknown destination! What is this string? Who put it there?-

"AY AY IM ON TV! THE STRING THINGY JUST LEAD ME TO THIS BEAUTIFUL GIRL AND NOW WERE DATING! SUPER AWESOME!"-

I apologize for the interference, but this string appears t be leading people to.. partners? Soulmates? Find out tomorrow morning, this is Amy Starwick from Channel 12, signing out.

"What. The. FUCK."

"OH MY GOD OH MY GOODNESS HOLY SHIT FEITAN YOU HAVE A SOULMATE!!"

"Nope-"

"YESS YOU DOOOOOOO"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP CHEERY BITCH-"

"No❤️" Since Feitan was on his last nerve with Shalnark, he decided to stomp over towards Chrollo in the main room, but Chrollo just chuckled.

"Wanna go find your soulmate? See if that things real?" Feitan just stared at the ground, lightly shifting his feet.

"Go ahead, I don't mind."

"Just, doing it, out of, curiosity."

"Mhm, curiosity, go find them." And with that, he was dismissed. Feitan wanted to say it was curiosity, but deep down he had this feeling there was something else, but what was it? It made his stomach tingle and he didn't like it one bit. He tried to ignore all of this, and just shrugged it off...

꧁꧂꧁꧂TimeSkip to Next Day꧁꧂꧁꧂

Your POV + some Feitan POV:

"Alright, today's the day, he'll be at his work, and on his break, i'll set the plan in motion.." Both me and mom don't like him, and I don't know about her, but I sure hate him, every ounce of him. The plan is simple: 1. Capture mom's boyfriend, 2. Take him to an abandoned building, 3. Torture him and get all of the answers I need, and 4. Kill him. His break is at 12, and he usually goes to get takeout every other Friday, what a pig. I'll give him a taste of his own medicine.

Time: 11:30 AM

Ok, I have everything ready. Fully energized to the utmost extent, Elixirs to bring him back in case he passes out too early, and- what? He's leaving for lunch early? PERFECT! You ran behind some buildings and hid in a two-way alleyway, waiting for him to pass by...

Here we go..

One..

Two..

THREE!

You covered his head with a sack, and took his phone out of his back pocket. Before heading over to your post, you laced the inside of the sack with some sleeping powder and pressed it against his nose and mouth. Within moments he passed out, and you typed in what you hoped to be his password, which was correct. Around 12:30, you were going to text one of his coworkers that he would be "going to a restaurant across town, and ditching work for a day, not wanting to see his stupid good for nothing girlfriend or his dumb daughter." You knew he called you both this because of going through his text messages when he wasn't looking or when he was sleeping. Little did you know that somebody was watching you from afar.

"Hmm... So, she, my, what do people, call it.. soulmate? Seems, interesting..."

Time: 12:00 PM

"Jesus, I new he was a fat ass but I didn't know he weighed this much!" You were tugging him from his legs through the back ways of York New. You wanted to find a secluded area, where once you were done with him you could just toss him somewhere for the birds and maggots to eat. After walking for what seemed like hours, you came across a set of abandoned buildings, specifically the one you laid out some extra things. A couple extra weapons, some towels, a change of clothes, a chair and some rope, a couple of flashlights, and of course, some snacks. Lucky for you, the douchebag you've been dragging around like a rag doll was still out cold, so you picked him up and tossed him on the chair, tying his wrists, ankles and neck to the chair.

"Maaannn, this is boring!! When the hell are you gonna wake up?!" As if on queue, you saw his eyes start to flutter open, and you immediately grabbed your box cutter. It wasn't a weapon used by your nen, but it was quite effective.

"What.. who.. wait- Y/N!? WHAT THE FUCK?! UNTIE ME NOW BEFORE I BEAT YOUR ASS!!" you didn't notice it, but Feitan was watching from the building over.

What, the fuck? Why she kidnap him? That pig? Why? Confusing, gotta keep, watching.

You shoved the box cutter into his left cheek, and you bathed in the glory of hearing his screams of pain.

"How does this feel, you bitch? Everything you've done to my dear mother, everything you've done to me, and heck, YOU WERE PROBABLY BEHIND MY DAD'S MURDER DURING THAT FUCKING MASSACRE!!" B/N noticed the tears in your eyes, and took this to his advantage.

"So what if I was? Both of your parents were pathetic anyways."

"NO THEY AREN'T! YOU'RE THE REASON WHY MY MOTHER'S LIKE THIS NOW! YOUR THE FUCKING REASON FOR EVERYTHING SHITTY THAT'S HAPPENED TO ME!!"

"Heh, hehe.. hahaHAHAHA! YOU KNOW GOD DAMNED WELL THAT ALL OF YOU ARE PATHETIC! WANNA KNOW WHY I GOT WITH YOUR MOM!? BECAUSE SHES HOT. AND SHE HAD GOOD MONEY FROM YOUR FUCKING DAD. YOU KNOW WHAT I WAS GONNA DO?! YOU KNOW WHY I TOOK OFF EARLY TODAY?! I WAS GONNA RAPE YOUR MOTHER AND MAKE YOU WATCH, THEN KILL BOTH OF YOU AND RUN OFF WITH ALL OF YOUR MONEY!! AND YOU KNOW WHAT'S IRONIC?! I DON'T HAVE ONE. SINGLE. FUCKING. REGRET. IF IT WASN'T FOR YOUR DAD, YOU SOULDN'T HAVE HAD THE NERVE TO DO THIS, YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABORTED!!"

You couldn't handle this anymore, tears were falling down your face rapidly as you grabbed the duct tape and closed his mouth shut.

"I don't give a fuck about what you say.. I'm going to kill you here. This is your grave. Someday, I'll join you in hell, and when I do, I'll torture you again, and the Devil will laugh. You just watch and ducking wait you, you.. PATHETIC WORTHLESS PIG ASS SLOPPY ASS NASTU FUCKING BITCH!" With that, you grabbed a couple super worms in each hand and shoved them into his ears. Even with the duct tape, you could hear his screams of agony as the worms dug deeper into his ears. You then got our your katana and slashed him across the stomach, and shoved even more worms into that open wound of his. Quickly, you poured a large bottle of the elixir you had brought over him to keep him from dying so quickly. Box cutter still in hand, you carved small lines all over his arms and legs, then ripped off the tape to hear his desperate cries. You imagined he wanted to be dead, but you didn't care. His pain and you pain mixed together and you just started laughing. You through your head back and let yourself laugh. all of the pain this man has caused you and your mom will be repayed today.

But the pressure and stress was too much to handle. Your laughing of victory soon turned into screams and more tears, as you let yourself fall to the ground, not even noticing you didn't hit it hard, something had caught you, or someone..

What the shit am I doing?

Am I really going to kill him?

What's wrong with me?

What will mother think?

What would dad do?

What am I doing with my life?

You soon snapped out of all of those negative thoughts though, as you noticed something caressing your face lightly.

"Rest, now. He, won't die, so quickly. I'm, Feitan." You were a sniffling and crying mess, so all you could do was rush into Feitan's chest and cry. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around you and held you close. He had no idea what he was doing, for he had only seen this kind of skin on skin contact in movies. So, he did what those people in the movies did.

"Don't, worry... It's all, going to be.. okay."

Word Count (Including author notes, etc) : 2251

-Wrote February 3, 2021-

Unedited sorry about that lol-

Part 1...

[jaysworlds]

T4TMA Day Five - Community

“How’s it going, Miss. James?”

Sasha carefully avoids looking up, pretending to focus on her paperwork. “Something the matter, Mr. Stoker?”

Tim laughs, pushing the stack of papers (extra work from Jon; punishment for something that had been entirely Tim’s fault) to the side so he can sit down. “I was just thinking…”

“Funny that, me too.”

“Oh? Care to share?”

“Yes, actually. I was thinking that whatever you’re planning is a terrible idea.”

“I have great ideas.” Sasha finally looks up, fixing him with a glare that she hopes is suitably withering. “I’m still dealing with the fallout from your last ‘great idea.’”

“Alright, alright, I can admit that one was flawed.” He runs a hand through his hair, seemingly unbothered by her best glare. Maybe she should work on that.

Maybe she should work on making him fear her a little more, though she has a suspicion that any attempt would probably start a prank war, and she is not looking to get fired any time soon.

“But this new one is great!”

Sasha groans. “I don’t suppose you could just leave me alone? I haven’t forgiven you yet.”

“You haven’t forgiven me? Me, your best pal?”

“Yes. You.”

Tim sighs, dramatic and long-suffering. “What cruelty. Do you want to hear my idea or not?”

Sasha groans again, smacking her head into her paperwork. She can’t admit she’s interested, though her curiosity is going to be the death of her one day.

“Fine.”

“Perfect!”

“So? Hit me.”

“Archival pride trip!”

Sasha sits up, staring at him. “Are you actually serious?”

“Yeah! London Pride is in a couple of weeks, and it would be a great bonding experience, don’t you think?”

“I think you’re mad if you think Jon will agree to that.”

Tim flaps his hand around. “I see no reason why he wouldn’t. It’s a bonding experience!”

“You said.”

“God, you’re boring. Wouldn’t it be fun, though? Just you, me, Jon, and Martin. Maybe they’d even kiss!”

Sasha snorts. “Tim, you’re living in a fantasy world.”

“Maybe we’d kiss.” He waggles his eyebrows at her, and she can’t quite supress a smile.

“How about this,” she says, because she can’t deny she’d like to watch Tim get shot out of the sky by Jon telling him going to pride would be ‘unprofessional’ or something. “If Jon says yes to us going to pride then I’ll kiss you there, alright?”

Tim grins and throws his arms around her shoulders, nearly knocking them both onto the ground. “I knew you had it in you. I’m going to get that kiss, mark my words.”

Sasha laughs and shoves him off. “I don’t think so.”

Someone clears their throat from behind them and Sasha freezes. It’s Jon, she knows it’s Jon, and if he gives her more paperwork she is going to murder Timothy Stoker.

“Hey, boss!” Tim says, standing up and brushing himself down. Sasha turns around in her chair to watch.

“You’re not on a break, Tim,” Jon says, giving him a disapproving look. Theirs is even worse than Sasha’s, and unsurprisingly Tim does not cower. “Please stop harassing Sasha. I’m sure you both have enough work to be getting on with.”

“Sure,” Tim says, wandering over and slinging an arm around their shoulders. Sasha cringes a little, but surprisingly enough Jon doesn’t shove him off. Just sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

“What is it?”

“I’ve had a wonderful idea for a group bonding exercise,” he says, steering Jon towards their office. “I’d love to talk to you about it.”

“You have five minutes,” Jon says, and then the door to his office bangs shut.

Sasha snorts. There’s no way in hell that Jon is going to agree to this.

“Hi, Sasha.”

“Hi, Martin,” Sasha says, leaning back against her desk and grinning at him. “You’re never going to guess what Tim’s trying to arrange.”

“Oh dear,” Martin says, brow furrowing. “Is it a prank war? I’m really not any good at pranks, you know. I would put salt in people’s tea, but that just seems really predictable, you know?”

Sasha laughs. “Oh, god no. I don’t think he’d announce that, just start … filling Jon’s office with plastic spiders or something. No, it’s not that.”

“Bar crawl?”

“Nope.”

“Some sort of competition?”

“Nope. I told you, you’ll never guess.”

“Fine. Tell me.”

“Archival pride trip.”

Martin laughs, almost nervously. “Jon’s never going to agree to that. Right?”

“I hope not. I’ll have to kiss Tim if he does.”

“Oh, really?” Martin frowns, getting a look in his eye that Sasha doesn’t completely like.

“Yes. What’s that look for?”

Martin gives her a little smile that she really doesn’t like. “Oh, nothing. Is Tim talking to them now?”

“Yes,” Sasha says, narrowing her eyes. “Martin Blackwood, what are you planning?”

“Nothing!” Martin says, and he’s such a bad liar. “I’m just going to, um, take Jon their cup of tea, alright?”

“Don’t encourage Tim,” Sasha says warningly, as Martin starts backing towards the office. “I mean it! You’ll make an enemy for life!”

Martin just laughs and disappears into Jon’s office.

God, why had she told him about her crush on Tim? He’s going to use that knowledge against her, she knows it.

She growls to herself and turns back to her paperwork. Might as well get something done, right?

“Sasha!” Tim announces, almost five minutes later, and she can tell by his tone of voice that he’s won. Somehow. “You’ll never guess what we, as an archive, are going to do next week.”

She groans and turns around slowly, not wanting to see the smug grin on his face. “Oh, I couldn’t guess. Please, enlighten me.”

“Our wonderful boss has decided that it will be a fantastic bonding experience if we all go to pride.”

Sasha shakes her head, turning to give Martin, just emerging from Jon’s office, her withering glare. Unlike Tim he actually shrinks a little, giving her a smile that might be apologetic, from a certain angle.

“Did you encourage him?” she growls, and Martin laughs nervously.

“I just suggested it, that’s all.”

“You are the worst,” she tells him. “I’m never trusting you again.”

Tim laughs, triumphant. “He’s my partner in crime!”

“He’s going to be your partner in suffering for this.”

“Oh, stop it. We all know you want to kiss me so bad it makes you look stupid.”

“The thought makes me feel violently ill.”

“Shame, because these lips are going to be on yours in two weeks’ time.”

Sasha turns to glare at Martin again, only to find that he’s already disappeared. Probably wise, really. Maybe she should instigate a prank war.

Tim actually brings flags into the archive over the next two weeks, and the worst part is that Jon actually lets him hang them up. She’s considering going into his office and demanding to know who’s stolen him and replaced him with a boss who actually lets Tim carry out his dumb ideas.

She has to admit it’s kind of nice, though, having the flags around. Tim has bought himself and Jon bi flags, Martin several little rainbow pins, and an enormous trans flag for all four of them that he’s somehow managed to tape to the ceiling. There’s even an ace flag on Jon’s door, and she’s considering letting him bring her a pan flag. Considering.

(She lets him, in the end. It’s not like she doesn’t have one at home, but it’s her home flag, and having one on her desk is nice, actually.)

She still doesn’t understand how he convinced Jon to let him do this, but she has a suspicion that he bribed them, though what with she isn’t sure. Maybe the flags are the bribe.

The morning of pride is … exciting, actually. Jon’s given them all the whole day off work (she thinks he must have bribed Elias. Maybe with whatever Tim bribed him with) and they’re planning to meet at Trafalgar Square. Maybe she goes a little overboard with getting dressed, but what’s the point of pride if you’re not going overboard?

Tim has gone even more overboard than she has, to be honest. He’s painted his whole face blue, purple and pink like he’s going to a gay football game, and he’s wearing a trans flag as a cape, complete with a he/him broach. It’s kind of cool, really. Not that she’d tell him that.

Martin has, predictably, gone pretty simple, just a few badges on his shirt (which reads ‘come to the gay side, we have rainbows.’ Sasha’s certain Tim bought it for him) and a little paper flag.

Jon, to her surprise, isn’t quite as straight-laced (ha) as they usually are. They’re wearing a skirt which wouldn’t meet the institute dress code and honest-to-god fishnet stockings.

“Looking good, boss!” Tim calls, when they arrive, and they give him a small, almost embarrassed smile.

“Thank you, Tim,” they say. “You too.”

Martin is, predictably, staring, and Sasha elbows him gently. As cross as she is that this is at least partially his fault she doesn’t want him to embarrass himself.

It’s a good day, actually. A really good day. Tim has brought a polaroid camera, and he insists on documenting everything. Martin has to keep the photos safe, as the only person who’s brought bag, but Tim doesn’t seem to mind.

“Right!” he says, after a few hours, and hands the camera off to Martin. “One of you owes me a kiss.”

Sasha rolls her eyes and walks over to him, perhaps a little more eagerly than normal. “I’ll try not to be sick.”

“Like you haven’t been looking forward to this for the past two weeks.”

“Talking to yourself?”

Tim laughs, pulling her closer. “Shut up and kiss me.”

And she does. He’s a good kisser, actually, and it’s nice. It’s really nice.

“See?” he says, when he pulls away. “That wasn’t so bad.”

She rolls her eyes and kisses him on the cheek. “There. That’s all you get.”

“What do I have to do to get a date as well?”

She huffs, glancing over at Martin. He grins and waves a fresh photo at her.

“I’ll think about it,” she says, finally. “Come on, let’s go.”

“That’s not a no,” Tim says, gleefully.

“Come on,” Jon says, rolling his eyes, though Sasha imagines it’s rather fond. “We can’t stand around here all day.”

“Coming, boss,” Tim says, and grins at Sasha.

And if she reaches out to link her fingers through his, then that’s nobody’s business but her own.

[juuls]

Pharmacist/Me = 1 🏆 Doctor/Nursing Staff = 0

Thank you in advance for reading this rant. I’ve been really frustrated and just needed to get this off my chest, and today at least I had a wonderful knight in a white lab coat. 🩺❤️‍🩹🥽🥼💪🏻

Content warnings and squicky squicks: (further down there is) an image of a medical vial with a clipped image of a more benign part of a syringe, health conditions (endometriosis, fibromyalgia), menstrual cycles and associated terms such as bleeding and other things, lack of empathy in my specific healthcare system, hysterectomies, pain, swearing and losing patience. Most important warning: self-administered syringes and injection discussions of legal medications (Depo-Provera) approved of by professionals and properly researched. P.S. this may sound rather Karen-like but I would never do this to someone’s face. Online ranting and acknowledging where I could do better is not the same as screaming in public for bossy requests or comps, etc. Ew.

Another ‘warning’… pharmacists being kick-ass allies and giving a damn about their patients.

I’m really annoyed because (and I know healthcare and scheduling is a clusterfuck right now, but…) for over a month now I’ve been trying to get an appointment in person to get this injectable medication that is, yes, birth control, but is also used for endometriosis in my case. And I have severe endometriosis (exacerbated severely by fibromyalgia, siiiiigh) to the point I bleed enough and lose so much I have to go to the hospital when my care is not properly preventative… like in this case, and the pain is unbelievably severe also to the point I’ve spent time in the hospital, including my 11th Christmas Eve and Day. I started this injectable medication at 13 because it was the only thing that came close to helping reduce my endometrial tissue. Even a hysterectomy wouldn’t help as much, unless they decided to go the super invasive route and remove all the organs (or parts of them) that had become ‘infected’ by the tissue. Again, tissue where it’s not supposed to be, and it causes extreme pain as the tissue tries to flush out of my body each period, even if it’s attached to, like, my pancreas. Just no. That does not work at all. No. That is not fun.

SO. I’m 31, nearing 32, and the doctor’s office knows this. I’ve had the same doctor since I was 10. Been on this medication nearly non-stop for just shy of two decades (with appropriate precautions such as bone density tests) because of the absolute severity of the pain and my inability to function when it hits… which can be months at a time of non-stop bleeding and morning sickness-level nausea and vomiting, migraines and the occasional complete inability to move—in other words, it’s debilitating.

My doctor (even the nurses, as it’s in large print at the top of my file in the system) knows all about this. They’re supposed to call me if I’m overdue by a certain margin (I get they’re busy but months and months???). But my doc’s also a bit of an airhead (albeit a smart one when he focuses) and takes forever to reply to anything on time, even when it’s a severe issue, but not severe enough to go to the hospital. But it’s gotten to the point where the nurses say to go to the ER and then the ER nurses and doctors there get SUPER pissed off (AT ME AND SOMEHOW NOT AT MY DOCTOR/NURSES AND THEIR ORDERS) at the ‘waste of time’, and it’s just a clusterfuck.

Oh yeah, and that ER visit while I was overdue for my injection? Internal intestinal bleeding along with a lovely, even if small, perforation in my fucking uterus from the growth of endometrial tissue. I MEAN COME ON — WHAT IN THE HELL. Totally preventable if they fit me in when I called literally over a month ago.

But I will not change my doctor (the other docs at the practice know what is going on and have offered to take me on, but they don’t have the experience with myself and my conditions or the history, but they can do little else because of professional conduct—it’s between myself and my doc) because he is the only one who treats me with humanity and understands fibromyalgia, endometriosis, pre-MS and pre-RhA/PsA, endo-related IBS, (ulcerative) colitis, and other neurological conditions with any degree of empathy. (See, I told you I’m a mess!) There is no way I’m switching offices in the perpetual shortage of doctors in Canada moving elsewhere for m o n e y (plus Covid-19 being a teen hooligan and constantly coming back to wreck more goddamn shit, including everyone’s sanity, then setting things on fire like the real hooligans in my village have been doing this summer — I mean… what in the hell!?!?), so with all that in mind I actually thank my lucky stars. So I put up with a lot of this shit because he treats me, besides him being an airhead, like an actual human being deserving of compassion and care and quality of life despite my severe disabilities and pain. So.

I’m usually treated really well (even if they often think I’m a nuisance for daring to be severely chronically ill/in pain all the time) so I try to be patient and good and understanding when I can.

But his STAFF (I know they’re busy and I’ve been patient but they’ve been so awful honestly to the point I cried hard enough my dad noticed my red eyes and frustration-tear fracks on my face)! And the doc himself’s inability to reply to notes on time even when urgent and when he knows the circumstances (I admit I am a bit of a hard patient so I can understand if he just kinda ignores me sometimes, honestly). But in this case I was THREE DAMN MONTHS LATE for my injection and they’ve always called in the past when I was coming due if it looked like I hadn’t scheduled an injection, so that I was all on time and squared away and didn’t risk severe pain and damage to my already-fucked hormonal system (learning I couldn’t have kids was absolutely heartbreaking, let me tell you, but even a hysterectomy in that case would solve nothing — this is by far the easiest option, especially considering how my fibromyalgia would fuck with my post-surgery recovery and leave me with lasting pain for years if not decades; sigh).

Anyway. So. After some ridiculous levels of back and forth and some truly remarkable levels of lack of compassion (she kept giving me the exact same, word for word response in a bored tone UGH) considering the severe pain I was in (I was told, in front of OTHER PATIENTS AND STAFF, that I could just wait until I talk to the doctor myself at my next phone appointment and then schedule my injection for my next MONTHLY followup — 4.5 months overdue at that point, it would’ve been — because, and I quote, ‘am used to dealing with pain because of my fibromyalgia and years of dealing with it and other conditions’ which they named in front of others!!!!!!!! what. the. fuck. But I kept my cool because I know all these people, my mom taught their kids music, they’re a fixture of the community, etc. and I refuse to be a Karen…. At least externally.

But here comes the nice part that makes me love our new (okay, he’s been here like 5 years but still, in a small town that’s pretty new lmao) pharmacist that much more. Rasik was aware of my frustration with the doctor and nurses and was even the one who brought to my attention that, at the time, I was 2 months late for my injection and he was a bit concerned since he’s privy to how much pain I exist in without throwing in one or more knives directly into my womb, ovaries, tummy, hips, and other areas my endometrial tissue has taken root. He’s such a sweetheart and he really does care for his patients— the work he does with my father’s diabetes (the tricky one where you’re not obese) management is above and beyond the call of a pharmacist and I will forever be grateful for that alone, never mind how he cares for me.

So I went in today to pick up another medication, after yet another frustrating stop-over at the nurses’ desks, and he suggested I ask for my injectable medication (it’s Depo-Provera, by the way) and the syringe plus the two tips necessary — I’m actually familiar with this since I had to learn epinephrine injections from an early age (not Epipen) and how to give testosterone daily to my ex-husband (sorry not sorry, dude, but congrats on your first kid *grouchy thumbs up*). But yeah! Legally he’s not allowed to suggest I give it to myself, but he was getting super fed up with the nurses and doctors dragging their feet and ‘being assholes with little empathy’ in his own words, so I took the hint and requested my vial plus syringe, as well as the drawing and injection gauge needles…. which he gleefully filled for me, and I reiterated that it was ‘fully my idea, not yours, Rasik, because everyone knows I’m dumb and would never think it’s you if something happened’ (I’m not dumb and I’ve given injections to others many times looool).

Long story short: HERE’S TO PHARMACISTS AROUND THE WORLD, BEING AMAZING AND CARING FOR THEIR PATIENTS AND ‘BENDING BUT NOT REALLY BENDING’ THE RULES TO MAKE SURE THEIR CLIENTS ARE CARED FOR PROPERLY. They are amazing and deserve every last bit of your courtesy, especially when they pull double duty every. single. day. because of Covid and their subsequent boosters. (i.e. boosters in the form of humans who are fucking stupid if they have no medical reason not to get the vaccine… I mean JFC.)

Rasik? You are amazing and I am 100% going to find you some Indian-Canadian (or North Indian; I believe that’s where he’s from originally) treats or desserts or make some myself after slyly asking his assistant what he leans toward liking.

Be kind to one another, yeah, but… my goodness: be kind to those who can truly make a difference in your health, sanity, and even life or death.

Pharmacists, volunteers, and frontline health workers: the true heroes of these times.

Thank you so much. So very much.

💜💙🇨🇦👨🏽‍⚕️❤️‍🩹🙏🏻

P.S. … now I just gotta stab myself intramuscularly after making sure there’s no air bubbles and etc., and swap out to the proper gauge needle (different, smaller, to draw from the vial, larger to inject so that it goes in more quickly and, oddly enough, hurts less haha). I don’t think air bubbles are as much of an issue as when injecting intravenously (ummm I have a doctor uncle and grandma nurse and nurse friends, so shush 😆). But I’ve done this for others and animals so I should be good! :)

I’m a smart enough cookie even if I’ve lost a few nibble-size pieces around the edges. 😉😘 buahaha

Cheers to my pharmacist!!!! You are amazing and I can’t wait for the pain and months and months of bleeding to settle down.

Remind me again why humans are the only mammals (animals?) with monthly fluxes? UGH wtf ever. 🙃

[e-of-west-glendia]

Wishful Thinking (Part 2)

(Because for some reason a lot of people loved part 1?! Here’s Part 1 & Part 3)

******

“You look like hell.”

Remus looked up from his book at the source of the voice. Lily was standing over him, arm propped casually against the tree he was leaning on, bag slung over her shoulder.

Remus snorted in agreement. “I feel like it, too. Move over, Lils. You’re blocking my light.”

Lily raised an eyebrow, casting a glance at the sun behind her, and then she looked back down to Remus who raised his book a bit. Gesturing at the shadow that now rested over the pages.

Lily dropped her bag on to the grass beside Remus and then sat down herself, leaning back against it.

“So what was it this time?” Lily asked.

“My Mum was sick. Looks like I caught a bit of whatever she had.” Remus said, flipping a page in his book.

Lily peaked over at him and a pang of concern shot through her for her friend. She could see the pain Remus was in. His stiff, stilted movements and slow breathing making her wince. He was always like this after he came back from home. Tired and beaten down. Even turning the pages of his book seemed to be uncomfortable.

She found herself wondering what type of illnesses his mother contracted. Surely they should take her to a hospital if they were that bad?

Lily propped herself up on her elbows, stealing a sideways look over at the book Remus was reading. She frowned, the page was the same as when she’d first arrived. Remus was staring blankly down at the book, eyes slightly unfocused and mind wandering.

Lily snapped her fingers under his nose, causing Remus to jump and give her a reproachful look. “You alright, there?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Remus said, still glaring at her.

Lily’s eyes narrowed. He was most decidedly not fine. Whatever he was thinking about, it wasn’t the book and it seemed to be bothering him.

She reached over and placed her hand across the pages, poking him in the side with her other hand.

“No, you’re not fine. You’ve been staring at the same two pages for the past ten minutes. It doesn’t take a lot to see that somethings wrong.”

Remus stared at her, considering not saying anything. Then he sighed.

“I came out to Sirius last night.”

Lily drew back and sucked in a breath, pulling herself into a seated position.

“Shit. How’d he take it? Well, I hope. Otherwise he’d be one hell of a hypocrite.”

Remus snickered. “He took it fine, just a bit shocked I guess.”

Lily snorted. “I don’t see how. You haven’t exactly been inconspicuous about it.”

Remus’ eyes narrowed, he snapped the book shut and whacked her with it. Lily scooted further back, raising her arms in mock surrender.

“What! It’s true! The only person who can’t tell that you’re into Sirius Black, is Sirius Black.”

“I should hope not,” Remus grumbled. “Might complicate a few things if he did.”

Lily let out a long suffering sigh. They’d had this conversation before and she knew exactly how it would end; with Remus denying that Sirius would ever like him. She loved him to death but sometimes he really was dumber than a rock.

“Well you’ll never know unless you ask.”

Remus laughed, dry and sarcastic. “And when was the last time you asked someone out Lily?”

Lily scowled at him. “Rude.”

“I’m not wrong, though,” Remus said with a shrug. He looked over at Lily, her arms were folded across her chest, scowl still present.

Remus sighed. “Look, even if there was a chance— and I’m not saying that there is — that we could end up together I don’t want to mess with our friendship.” Remus ran a hand through his hair, eyes dropping to his lap.

“I can’t be the one to fuck up our friend group, Lily. I just can’t,” he said softly.

He looked back up at Lily, her features had softened and her green eyes were crinkled slightly at the corners. Lily reached out and grabbed Remus’ hand, squeezing it slightly and smiling at him.

“I know and you won’t. No matter what happens between you guys, you’ll always still have each other. I might not be fond of your idiot friends but I do know that deep down— very deep down, they’re good people. Loyalty is everything to those morons, they wouldn’t trade your guy’s friendship for the world.”

“Thanks, Lily.”

“Of course.”

A soft breeze floated through the air, making strands of Lily’s hair fly around her face. Next to her a small patch of dandelion seeds floated off into the wind. Lily picked one, handing it over to Remus who looked at her in confusion.

“Yeah, no. I’m allergic to those things,” Remus said.

Lily groaned and shoved the flower into Remus’ lap anyways.

“Blow on it. They’re supposed to grant wishes.”

Remus laughed. “That’s the biggest load of garbage I’ve ever heard.”

Lily shrugged, she didn’t particularly care. Picking another dandelion for herself she said, “Can’t hurt time try can it?” She blew on the fluffy seeds, the two of them watching them scatter into the wind. Remus watched them for a second before picking up his own.

“No, I guess not,” and he sent the seeds scattering into the wind.

**********

James stared intently down at the chess board in front of him, his hand hovering above the pieces. He needed to make a move. He could of course move the Knight to E5. Then he would be able to take Sirius’ bishop. But if he did that then his bishop could be taken by a pawn in a couple of moves.

James sighed, he didn’t really have very many options. “Knight E5,” he said finally. Resolving to make up for the inevitable loss of his by taking Sirius’ rook. The Knight moved across the board of its own accord, settling on one of the white squares on the far left.

James stole a glance at Sirius, expecting to see him silently plotting his demise. Instead, Sirius wasn’t even looking at the chess board, he wasn’t looking anywhere near the table, actually.

He was staring blankly out of one of the common room windows, twirling his wand back and forth across his fingers.

“Sirius.”

Sirius looked up, he seemed mildly startled by his surroundings. “Hmm?���

James raised an eyebrow at him. “It’s your turn.”

“Oh. Right.” Sirius leaned over the board, eyes scanning the game, his mind was elsewhere, though.

James groaned, and moved the game off the table. Sirius blinked in surprise.

“Just tell me what’s the matter with you, already,” James said. “You’re making the whole game boring.”

Sirius sat back in his chair. “Nothings wrong, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bullshit,” James said irritably. “You’ve been off since you and Remus came back to the dorm last night— yes I saw you come back in,” He rolled his eyes at the shocked look on Sirius’ face. Then, something snapped into place.

“It’s Remus, isn’t it?” James asked slowly. “He told you he’s bi?”

If Sirius was shocked a second ago, he was absolutely floored now. “How on earth did you know that.”

James shrugged. “It wasn’t exactly hard to figure out, Remus wasn’t exactly inconspicuous about it. And you have absolutely no subtlety whatsoever. The real question is how did you not know?”

Sirius wasn’t sure if he should be impressed by how quickly James figured it out or offended by the comment about his lack of subtlety. He decided that both worked.

“Well maybe it just isn’t as obvious to you as it is to everyone else.”

“Oh it is,” James said, shaking his head. “Trust me.”

Sirius sighed, looping a strand of his hair around his index finger. “He started going on about some guy he’s liked for a while. The man sounds like a bloody moron, apparently he doesn’t like Remus back.”

James laughed loudly, reclining back in his chair. “Merlin, you really are a moron.”

Sirius glared at his best friend, who was still chuckling. “Am I missing something.”

“Yes,” James said, choking on the last of his laughter. “You really are.”

“Care to elaborate?”

James shook his head. “Nah, it’d be better if you figure it out on your own. Besides, Wormy and I have a bet and I’m not willing to risk 20 galleons to enlighten you.”

Sirius threw one of the cushions on the chair at James. “Arse.”

James caught it with ease and dropped it onto the floor. “You’ll thank me later.”

Sirius rolled his eyes at him, whatever it was he was pretty sure he wouldn’t thank him later for it. More than likely it was another prank, although why he didn’t know about it was a bit confusing.

A light breeze floated through the window, causing James to shiver.

“Close the window, would you,” he asked.

“Why don’t you close it yourself,” Sirius asked, already on his way to do just that.

He wrapped his fingers around the handle, prepared to close it when a flash of red caught his eye. From the common room he could see Lily and Remus sitting in the grass. Sirius watched as Lily shoved Remus, who was laughing at something she’d said. She was picking up fistfuls of grass and launching them at Remus and he used a book to shield himself.

“What’s taking you so long?” James asked, joining Sirius at the window. He followed Sirius’ gaze and laughed a bit.

Another gust of wind blew through the air, dropping a small fluffy seed into Sirius’ hair. James gently picked it out.

“What is it?” Sirius looked curiously at the small seed pinched between James’ fingers.

“A dandelion seed. Make a wish.”

Sirius gave him a funny look. “Why?”

James shrugged. “I dunno, someone once told me that dandelions grant wishes.”

“It was Lily, wasn’t it?”

James shrugged, again. “Does ur really matter? Besides, what’ve you got to lose?”

Sirius extended his hand and James dropped the seed into his palm.

“Nothing,” Sirius said, staring at the seed. “Absolutely nothing.”

Then he closed his eyes and cast the seed off into the wind.

*****

(There’s going to be one more part that I’ll probably write tomorrow buuttt we’ll see)

[datawyrms]

Ectoplasmic Bonds

Dannymay2020 Day 30: Family

“AHA! I have found you, ghost child. You are no match for my peerless intellect!”

This was weird. Not the ranting and dramatic posing in midair, that was just Technus being the weird little boaster he was. The fact he was boasting at a park with no gadgets in sight was the confusing bit. He’d expected the Box ghost or some random animal when his ghost sense rudely interrupted his Saturday, not the tech crazed monologuer. 

“I didn’t know we were playing hide and seek!” His hands glowed green, ready to blast the second his foe made a move. “I know a great place you can hide though!”

“Playing? No, we are not playing hide and seek!” the ghost crossed his arms, almost looking insulted. “We are playing BASIC HEALTH EDUCATION, for your feeble mind is clearly LACKING THIS DATA”

“Uh. What.” Danny blinked, eyebrow raising in bafflement. Blasting the ghost would probably be best, but he hadn’t even taken advantage of his blank stare.

Technus shook his head and tisked at him. “Your cousin let us know about your RECKLESS BEHAVIOUR, ghost child! It is a wonder that you haven’t collapsed!”

“My cou-Dani? Wait why would Dani be buddies with you?” the green glow snuffed out, brain struggling to figure out what was going on. Was it April first? Was this a really complicated distraction plot?

The green skinned ghost tisked again. “By being as reckless as you! Young and thinking you are invincible!”

Well that answered approximately nothing at all. Yet the ghost did seem to be serious, he was getting the distinct impression Technus was scolding him. For something. Maybe he was just having a weird dream. “I still have no idea what you’re babbling about.”

“Your education is LACKLUSTER, child! How can you not know you are starving yourself? You are more a ghost baby than a ghost child!”

“Well excuse me for not getting the ‘ghosts for dummies’ book!” he snapped back, wondering if he should go after the ghost for that baby comment.

“Ah, ah, I am not fighting a half starved toothpick! You put those fists down, child and listen to your elders!”

He was totally scolding him, what the heck. “Ghosts don’t eat, what are you even on about?”

Technus put his face in his hands. “The youth of today! So uneducated!” Yet when he looked back up he just seemed more determined. “Fear is all well and good child, but it is no replacement for ectoplasm! The state of your cousin was appalling!” He seemed to notice how Danny tensed at the mention of ‘cousin’ and continued. “She is FINE thanks to our cardboard enthusiast!”

“Well uh. Thanks for helping her out?”

“It was AVOIDABLE! If you were not so reckless in hanging around over here all the time! Do you WANT to start falling apart from lack of ectoplasm? It is distinctly UNGROOVY”

...Was he actually worried about the two half ghosts? Weird. “Errr no, I would not like to do that, thanks.” He had enough nightmares from just seeing it happen to the other clones.

“Then you must stop AVOIDING returning to the ghost zone! You have not come in over a month! Perhaps exhaustion is a thrill to you, but you take it to RIDICULOUS levels! The cousin was quite WORRIED for you, ghost child!”

Dani had managed to set Technus on him for...not going into the ghost zone. What. That was important? “I don’t think I have to-”

“YOU DO! Do you think ectoplasm will rain from the sky for you here? NUH UH. IT DOES NOT.” He seemed larger,  looming over the teenager as he pointed at him. “You might have a big battery but it will still RUN OUT. Then no more RECKLESS ghost child!”

Why did he feel so embarrassed? Why was he even letting Technus of all people chew him out? “Okay, okay! I get it!”

“GOOD. Puddles are very BORING nemeses!” He glared at the jumpsuited teenager for a moment longer before vanishing, apparently planning to keep his word on a lack of fighting.

He really, really hoped all this was just a very dumb dream. People had definitely seen the encounter, it was pretty hard to overlook two ghosts yelling in a park in the middle of the day. Mom would probably call it proof that all his fights were staged, or something fun like that. Not that the truth of ‘he came to yell at me because I’m bad at being a ghost’ was much better.

Mom’s pondering at the table in the evening shot any hope square in the chest. “I suppose they do look similar, colour scheme wise. I’m not sure it’s any proof of a familial relation though, there’s no real reason for such relationships”

Jack nodded, scratching at his jaw before adding his thoughts. “Maybe new ghosts cling to older ones at first before separating off to do their own thing? Phantom’s got some electricity powers, doesn’t he?”

“He does, they do share the tendency to never stop talking as well, come to think of it.”

It was very difficult to not respond to that remark. He was not the kind of scenery chewer Technus was! This was going to be a looooong night.

“It’s just strange. They’ve never shown to have a friendly relationship before now. If they wanted to take the town for themselves it’d make more sense to let Phantom stay ill.”

“Even ghosts want to protect the young of their species?” Jack frowned “I didn’t think the spook was actually a young spirit though.”

“True. Technus might only call him a child because of his appearance. Yet it did look like a parent scolding a child, didn’t he complain about the youth?”

“Well if we can nab one of em, we can see if they share or have similar ectoplasmic signatures! It could be an instinctive thing if they’re ‘related’ that way.”

Danny worked to suppress a groan, rubbing at his forehead. Great. Now they thought Technus was his ghost dad. All his dated references were going to be way worse now! He so wasn’t like him! The second his friends found out it was going to be their new favourite joke.

-

He never did manage to figure out how to track Dani down, instead getting surprised by her with a tackling hello.

“Does this count as a ghost attack?” he asked, smirking as the the ghost snickered at the question.

“I dono, does it? You aren’t fleeing in terror.”

“Maybe I’m just an out of towner that doesn’t believe in ghosts“

Dani shrugged before landing, taking a few glances around before shifting back to her human form. “Then I guess I’m a ghost that doesn’t believe in ghosts either.”

“New outfit?”

“Yup! And it’s all mine,” her grin was infectious as she grabbed the edge of the thick purple hoodie, fiddling with the dark lining that seemed to have a scattering of stars. “I don’t even feel cold in the zone with this on.”

“You know you don’t have to live in the ghost zone, right? Jazz can probably make up some forgotten branch of the family you’re from, or something.”

“What, and join you in tip toeing around ghost hunters that love and hate you at the same time? No way cuz. If I wanted that, I’d be with Vlad.” she paused with a frown. “Well okay, it was fake love but you get it.”

“Too well.” he shrugged, trying to ignore the rush of irritation from his parents being compared to that absolute fruit loop. “What did you drop by for then? Seeing as you sent Technus after me last time. Which I’m still mad about.”

“Oh you know, catch up with Val, enjoy some sunlight. Nothing big.” she rolled her eyes “I didn’t send him after you! I just mentioned to Boxy how you don’t go to the ghost zone much and I guess he spread it around?”

“Well thanks to that people think Technus is my dad!”

“What, he’s not?” she burst out laughing from the other half ghost’s full body shudder, ducking the half hearted snowball thrown her way.

“Oh you think it’s funny now, just wait until they start saying it about you too.”

“Nope, still funny! Besides, I already got a ghost dad.”

“You what.” he stared, but she didn’t seem to be kidding. 

“Well after the whole Boxy making sure I didn’t drop dead from lack of ectoplasm thing a lot of ghosts kinda felt bad for me?” the dismissive wave of her hand seemed a bit forced. “Way easier to deal with over there than with humans. They knew I didn’t really have a place that was mine so they let me stick around for awhile.”

“I guess that was nice of them. You sure it isn’t some trick?”

“You worry too much cuz. You really think I wouldn’t have been super suspicious at first? Already did that once!” her glare made him blush, rubbing the back of his neck. Stupid question, of course she’d be careful after Vlad. “Being a clone with no papers is way easier in the ghost zone, so spending most of my time there just makes sense.”

“Yeah, I guess it is,” He couldn’t imagine wanting to live in that green chaotic world, but he actually had a decent amount going for him on this side. Dani...didn’t.

“So yeah, basically got adopted by Nocturn. He helped me figure out the design, it’s reversible.”

“Wait wait NOCTURN? The guy who tried to put everyone to sleep to take over the world? That one?!” he sputtered, only causing his clone to laugh again.

“Yeah? Everyone likes to try and see how powerful they can be sometimes, did you take it personally?”

“Yeah a little! People could have been hurt! And he dumped me on a random rock in the ghost zone! Then tried to kill me!”

“Everyone tries to kill you.”

“Like that makes it better?! He’s a nutcase!”

“Or maybe you’ve only actually met him once? Everyone wants to try messing with Amity Park at one point. It’s just a thing to try, since you never really seriously hurt anyone.”

“Now you make it sound like the ghost attacks are my fault.” he muttered, quickly realizing Dani didn’t care if he wasn’t exactly a fan of the dream ghost.

“Well they’d come anyway because the human world is cool. Some of them are totally only coming to try stealing the town from you though, sorry cuz.” she shrugged again “Oh! Noc’s pretty impressed by your ice attacks by the way, but he’s still pretty sure Frostbite could help with a few things.”

She nicknamed him! “Noted. Uh. Maybe tell him not to do the whole take over the world and kill me thing again?”

“He won’t. One, I consider you family. Two, watching and learning from dreams is more his thing. The take over the world bit was more of a ‘sure why not give it a go’.”

She seemed so relaxed, even while his mind was yelling that she couldn’t be safe around a ghost like that. Yet she was the one who mostly lived in the ghost zone. She probably would know a lot of his foes better than he actually did...though it still rankled. “Well I’m glad you found more family over there. But I’m not inviting him for lunches.”

“You’ll have to be the one to come visit sometime! You have no idea how scared some ghosts are of you, it’s hilarious. They don’t know you’re a total dork.” She perked up when he stopped crossing his arms.

“Hey, that just makes you dork squared ya know.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“Sure it does. Or not. I’d have to ask Tuck.” he managed to keep smiling, trying not to think too hard about why he’d be considered terrifying to ghosts.

“Or you could ask your daddy” her smirk was vicious as he let out an offended squawk, flinging another snowball after her.

“Don’t even joke about that!”

“Tooooo late! Bye cuz!” her laugh was warm and carefree as she fled from her flustered cousin, vanishing as she darted behind a large bush.

Probably off to go find Valerie now then before headed back home. Still, it was good to know she had a home to go to now. Even if it was with some ghosts he usually had to beat up. Family reunions would be a whole lot messier if she kept that up. Though really, she deserved any kindness she got.

He still wasn’t going to forgive her for the Technus thing though. He was going to need to brush up on dream and sleep puns for proper retaliation. 

[lovelyirony]

'i’m the best worst thing that hasn’t happened to you yet' - for winter13 please? :)

Winter Soldier is a freelancer now. It’s surprising given the ironclad grip that Hydra had held over him, but it was...nice. To escape from their grasp, to be on the run and choosing jobs for himself. There was no RSVP checkpoint, no orders that had to be exact. 

He got a job, executed it well (forgive the pun), and sometimes had coffee afterwards. 

Of course, he took jobs from all over. As long as payment was discreet and so was the job, people were happy to pay a man who had once been a machine. 

Jobs from all over meant that there were always requirements. He had no problem disposing of members of Hydra, but SHIELD was a bit trickier. Winter Soldier reserved the right to refuse a job, and had countless times now. 

(Countless. Almost made him giddy.) 

Agent Thirteen. The newest assignment. 

The hit came from someone inside SHIELD. Which isn’t as suspicious as most would think. SHIELD is many things, but thorough is not always one of them. There are people that slip through the cracks because they get a second chance, something that Barnes thinks they could learn from ever since Jasper Sitwell has become...ill-disposed of. And Pierce has died mysteriously with files about Hydra’s involvement plastered to his chest. 

But Agent Thirteen is born-and-bred into SHIELD. Her great-aunt was the leader of it all, and she ruled with iron in her bones and a heart that cared genuinely. She stayed late nights at the office, kept a knife on her at all times, and was...surprising. 

There was a reason Hydra laid as low as it did throughout the years. 

He had heard that Agent Thirteen lived up to the expectations set upon her. But he wasn’t sure that she was deserving of the fate that someone else had in store for her. 

So he decides to move next door. Whoever was living there has moved out, so he’s moving in as Jim Wetzel. Typical first name, not last. SHIELD is the absolute queen of taking generic names, having a “just-moved-in” neighbor that’s a little too tense, a little too observant. 

Jim Smith wouldn’t do. Jim Smith is too generic. No one names their kid Jim Smith anymore, it’s like sirens wailing loudly. 

So he’s Jim Wetzel. He shakes with his right hand, smiles at the woman who says her name is Kate--it most definitely isn’t--and they exchange pleasantries. 

“When did you hear about the place? It seemed awfully...fast,” Thirteen says. 

“A friend of a friend knows some people a couple floors down, got the message from them,” Jim says with a shrug. “And now here I am. How long have you been here?” 

“Almost a year now,” she responds kindly. “Keep an eye out for the washer on the left, I don’t trust it.” 

“Good advice,” Jim says with a laugh. “See you around, Kate.” 

Kate. What a bad name in the mouth. He’s not sure if it just sounds fake or if it’s because he knows she’s not a Kate. 

He has never really moved in before. Not at this level, not for this long. He has furniture, and he went to the thrift store and bought an eclectic collection of plates and mugs, most of which are very weird. One mug might be cursed, he’s not sure yet. 

Then he sets up shop. SHIELD’s hours run from six a.m. to about eight at night, or later if you’re a very good employee. Or a very bad one. Either way, Sharon may stay later. So he has ample time to place bugs. 

The problem is that she will know all the typical places. Under the television, underneath the bed. (Which he wouldn’t do anyway, because you get...interesting noises.) 

So he has to be sneaky with places, think outside the box. 

Her apartment really is quite nice. Tasteful decorations, small portraits that are obviously faked. He finds her guns and knives, and one set of poison darts that are innocuously disguised as toothpicks in a jar. He thinks it’s cute. 

- 

Meanwhile, “Kate” is pretty fucking sure that her next-door neighbor is either a spy or a model. Potentially both. But no one that hot just “surprise” moves in, and no one can hold two boxes with one arm unless they’re Natasha, but Natasha would be smooth if she was struggling. This guy didn’t even look like it was a problem. 

So she is suspicious. 

But she is also interested in this guy. He’s her type: a little bit dangerous, nice smile, and probably looks good in navy blue. 

So when she comes home at eight-thirty, she does check her home. 

She finds one bug. She’s sure there are more in places that she would never check, and this means that this guy has been in the business a hell of a lot longer than she thought. It also means she’ll have to run facial recognition on any chance that he’s recognizable, and those chances are slim. 

But she cannot dismantle the bugs yet. She has to leave them there until she has enough evidence to be a nice neighbor and confront him with a nice dish of brownies. 

It’s odd, living in a place that you know is bugged. She knows that he didn’t touch the bedroom. Hmph. She would have. 

She smiles at him in the hallway when they wake up the same time. 

“Where you off to, Jim?” She asks, holding her briefcase. 

“Gym,” he answers. “Gotta get it in somehow, you know? What about you, work?” 

“Boring office job,” Kate answers easily. Kate does have a boring job. It’s all paperwork and accounting and the classes she would have failed if she had taken them in college. “Where do you work?” 

“Private security firm,” he answers. Which is kind of true. He is independent. “Just making sure people stay safe from threats.” 

“Important work,” Kate says lightly. “Ever go wrong?” 

“Rarely.” 

She nods, stepping forward as the elevator door opens. “Good luck today, Jim. Hope the workout goes as planned.” 

Okay. Bucky knows she’s onto him now. 

Shit. 

-

Sharon has important shit to do. 

But she is not an art student. 

So she is trying to convince Agent Jenson to draw someone for her. 

“I will buy you the good donuts,” Sharon begs. “You know I wouldn’t be doing this for any other reason.” 

“One time when you were bored you made Thea on third floor photoshop Clint into a McDonald’s ad just to see if you all could get it to Times Square and you did,” Jenson says, deadpan. “I’m not sure how Barton doesn’t get recognized, he’s gotten on national news twice.” 

“The marketing team describes him as a Florida man, we got lucky,” Sharon argues. “And Barton isn’t involved in this.” 

Agent Jenson cannot be convinced. 

But Sharon gets lucky because Coulson loves history. 

James fucking Barnes. 

Jim. 

Goddammit. She’s screwed. And it’s only Thursday. 

-

When she comes home at ten o’clock (yes she did procrastinate going home, it’s not like you can’t procrastinate death), she has a gun trained on her door. 

Right on Jim, who has a knife raised. 

“You know, why aren’t we both rational about this?” Sharon asks. “I’m sure you can talk diplomatically, Barnes.” 

“I can. But I find more truth in threats and statements rather than diplomacy. Politicians aren’t known for telling the truth.” 

“Good thing I don’t have a plan to go into politics,” Sharon says. “So let’s sit down. I’m not gonna hold this gun for twenty minutes.” 

And then they sit. That’s awkward. 

“I need to know something,” Barnes says. “And I’ll know if you’re lying.” 

“Of course you will. I’d be concerned if you didn’t,” Sharon says. “So. Why were you sent to kill me?” 

“There are rumors of you being disloyal to SHIELD. I need to know if you’re working for anyone else.” 

“No. Not ever.” He nods. 

“Who hired me?” she asks. 

“A man who goes by Crossbones,” Bucky says. 

“Oh my god,” Sharon groans. “Of fucking course it’s Rumlow...” 

Bucky freezes. He knows that name. He remembers that man. 

“New plan,” he says. “You’re gonna help me get rid of Rumlow.” 

Sharon blinks. 

She’s used to decisions being made over a series of days. This is...this is new. 

“This is personal, isn’t it?” 

“You’re smart,” Bucky says bitterly. “He’s an asshole. And I hate him a lot.” 

“Got it,” Thirteen says. “Then let’s switch it up. Draw him to where I am. I’ll take care of the rest. You’re on clean-up.” 

“I’ve never had a team-up before,” Bucky says. “But I usually think we know each other’s names.” 

“Sharon,” she says. “Bucky, right? Or do you seriously go by Jim?” 

“Not like Bucky is any better,” he mentions. “But yeah. Bucky. Pleasure doing business with you, Sharon.” 

“Better get started,” she says. 

(Oh, he’s in love.) 

[buttered-ghost-toast]

Listen, if you don't fill out all of those numbers and tell me everything about your MC I'm going to feel robbed

Oh geez, fam! ...aight. That took me a minute. But below you will find out more about my girl, Niri! 

1.      What is their favourite food?—

Cheeseburgers and carrots. 

2.       Do they have a fear of an animal? If so, what animal? –

Not a fan of snakes, lizards, frogs, sharks.

3.       What do they wear to bed? –

Shorts and a t-shirt. Sometimes nothing at all!! That had to stop when she moved into the HoL though. Brothers poppin’ in at all hours gettin’ an eyeful. Lucifer was upset. 

4.       Do they like cuddling?—

1000000000%. Niri’s a big ol’ cuddle bug. Asmo’s all about it. So is Beel. 

5.       Do they have a secret handshake with anyone? -- With Astaroth. It’s quite elaborate and they only ever do it when they decide to get up to trouble.

 6.       What do they look like? – 

She cute if I may say so myselffff (don’t judge me, she’s a self insert hah!) Mid to slightly above average height for a human female, fairly toned. Brown eyes, mid-back length hair that’s brown at the root, fades to a teal and purple under layers. Sometimes her hair will fade to a light yellowy-green. She has the hookup for dye from Barbatos who likes to procure things for her from the human realm. She also has quite a few tattoos.

 7.       Do they like chocolate? –

Only dark. She’s allergic to additives in certain milk chocolates so she doesn’t eat it much. 

 8.      What are their good and bad traits?

Good: Helpful, kind, encouraging, quite a hard worker in any task given her.

Bad: Easily swept up into trouble by others, will prioritize naps over other stuff sometimes, awfully flirtatious which gets her in hot water with Lucifer because apparently lesser demons keep poppin’ by the house with gifts also HUMAN, DID YOU REALLY JUST SAY THAT TO LORD DIAVOLO?! Oopsssssss~ Also, you know how Luci’s always doing the “MAAAAMMMOOOONNNNN…”…yeah, that’s almost always followed by “NIIIIIRIIIIIIIIII….”

 9.      Do they have any artistic talent?

Yes. She’s a musician so there’s that…and she likes to paint.

10.  What is their favourite room to be in, in the house they live in?

She likes the music room since the boys tend to spend quite a bit of time in there together, but she’s usually found in the kitchen making loads of food and baked goods…also, that’s where you’re more likely to find Beel, and she reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally likes Beel.

11.  Do they believe in luck?

To an extent. She believes that luck exists, but she thinks relying on it is a bit naïve.

12.  Can they do magic?

Like pull a rabbit out of a hat type thing? Yes. She picked up a few little tricks here and there from a friend who loves show magic. Def not the real stuff though.

13.  Do they believe in dragons?

She didn’t until she went to the Devildom. Not that they just have dragons hangin’ out all willy-nilly, but she’s heard stories from the brothers and others about dragons.

 14.  What is a pet peeve of theirs?

Rudeness and liars who don’t give up even after they’ve been caught in the lie. Also people who demand things of others as if they’re property and not living beings with feelings …this isn’t about Belphegor at all. Nope. She doesn’t have issues with him still.

15.  What was the last thing they cried about?

She was able to talk to all her bandmates at once for her weekly call home. They all just really miss each other, ok? It sucks that she has to lie to them about where she is because she knows they’re worried about her, but it was just nice to hear their voices.

16.  What is their sexuality?

Pan.

17.  Do they have a best friend? If so, who, and what makes them their best friend?

We’ll narrow this down to the Devildom. Niri gets along with everyone and literally loves all the beings she’s met and knows she could count on them for most anything, but there’s definitely a more solid feeling to her connection with Beelzebub. They sort of just get to be vulnerable and entirely open with one another and there is never judgement or ill will, even when Beel eats her secret snack stash…again.

 She’s kind of getting to that point with Astaroth as well, but she can sense he’s still a little guarded in certain aspects, and she’s not going to push.

18.  Have they ever been in a romantic relationship?

Yes, quite a few. It’s not her favorite thing to talk about since she’s been quite unlucky in that aspect, but hey, the past is the past.

19.  What does their relationship with their family look like? Are they close? Distant? Ect.

Her actual family family (with the exception of her brother) are not close in the least. They’re sort of barely on speaking terms. Her chosen family (comprised of her band and some of the closest staff) is extremely close.

20.  Do they have a pet?

No. She loves animals and had a dog up until recently, but they passed. It’s okay though, they had a good long life and it wasn’t painful for them when it happened.

21.  Do they have a familiar?

Nope. Non-magical.

22.  Are they a supernatural being?

Nope! “Boring” human, but she does seem to always find herself in weird situations that are sorta paranormal.

23.  How do they usually wear their hair?

It really just depends on the day. If she had time to work on it, it’s down and straight. If it’s a rush in the morning (read: fight for the bathroom because Beel won’t MOVE) she’ll toss it in a bun or ponytail depending on how hot it is outside. There are the odd days when she’ll just let it vibe in its natural wavy/curly state, but she kind of got fed up with the brothers calling her a sheep because it’s so fluffy.

24.  Can they play an instrument? If so, what instrument and what can they play?

Yes! She learned guitar and bass at a young age and was tinkering with drums before she was whisked away to the Devildom.

25.  What type a high schooler are/were they?

She was the quiet weird kid that didn’t quite fit in with the weird weird crowd, but also wasn’t popular. Plenty of people knew her or of her, but she mainly stuck with her group of friends and was nice to everyone.

26.  Have they ever been in a physical fight before? If so, with who? Who won?

Yes. Just small bits of violence. No one of import, tbh. But there was that one time they all went out to party at the fall and Mammon and Levi started teasing her and in her drunken state, Niri went to punch Mammon who managed to duck so she hit Levi square in the nose. He was fiiiiiiine.

27.  What is their favourite holiday?

Halloween because it’s fun, Christmas because of the togetherness, and EASTER BECAUSE MARSHMALLOW PEEPS!

 28.  If they could have one wish, what would they wish for?

A pass to go from the Devildom to the Human realm and back whenever she wants forever.

 29.  Do they wants kids? If they already have kids, do they want more?

No. Never.

 30.  Do they have a job?

Yes? Being a singer in a band is a job, right? It doesn’t always feel like a job because it’s awesome, but it’s a job.

 31.  Do they know how to drive?

Yes. She has convinced Mammon to let her drive his car on a few occasions and every time they get back he swears NEVER AGAIN. She a little speed demon.

 32.  Do they get stressed out easily?

Funny story, actually…YES. But she is pretty good at not letting it show. So on the outside she’s like la-la-la~ but inside it’s all AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~

 33.  Did they ever dye their hair before? If so, to what colour? Did they like it?

Absolutely lol. Niri has gone through a few colors in her life, but her favorite is and always will be the teal. (Fun fact: the purple came from a happy accident a few years back when she dyed over a pink shade and a layer turned out purple. She liked it so now she does it that way on purpose.)

 34.  Have they ever broken the law?

Never anything egregious, but she’s gotten tickets for stuff in the human world. Disturbing the peace, speeding, she was fined once (along with her bandmates) for a surprise free show they did in front of a train station which got a lot more attention than they were expecting and wound up shutting down a couple city blocks. Oooooooooopsss~

 35.  Do they own a plant?

She’s really bad with plants. REALLY bad. She was gifted a plant by Simeon a couple weeks into the exchange program and it took an embarrassingly long time for her to notice it was a fake plant…since he knows she sucks at keeping things alive.

 36.  Have they ever rode a horse before?

Once, and it was a terrifying experience so she just keeps her distance now.

 37.  What is their favorite gif?

anything featuring Titus Andromedon.

 38.  Do they get along with others easily?

 She tries to. It’s not always possible, but she tries, dammit!

 39.  Do they have any tattoos?

Several, yes. One arm sleeve done, starting the other arm, both thighs have massive pieces on them and both ribs done as well. There are also a few small things on her fingers and back.

 40.  If I wanted to draw them, what would be distinct physical features that I would have to know to draw them correctly?

Lotta hair. Looooooottttta hair. And heavily winged eyeliner. Big lashes.

 41.  What is their favourite breed of dog?

Huskies. They’re just so cute and sassy! And perfectly sized!! Great cuddle buddies and fun to run with!

 42.  Do they live with anyone? If so, who?

Not in the human world, but she’s got 7 kinda irritating roomies in the Devildom!

 43.  Where is their dream vacation?

She’s traveled extensively, so there isn’t anywhere she dreams of going that she hasn’t already seen. Her favorite place is anywhere mountainous and lush.

 44.  Do they know more than one language?

Yep. Niri’s a language nerd. Because she likes to speak to fans and stuff, she has set it on herself to learn as many languages as she can. She’s not perfectly fluent in all of them, but it’s a good handful that she can hold a full conversation in. She and Satan like to practice with one another around the house, despite complaints from the others.

 45.  Are they a quick learner?

Depends. Most things, yes…..math and processes requiring math, NO.

 46.  Have they ever won a contest before? If so, what for? What did they win?

No, she’s not really the luck having type.

 47.  If the world were to end in 24 hours, where would they be and who would they be with?

Probably hugging Beel. They hug often. They’re kinda always together. It’s gross according to Leviathan and Belphegor.

 48.  What does their room look like?

She didn’t change much in the room she was given at the HoL. Just added her fake plant from Simeon and a few human things…she actually got the “Hang in There” kitty poster just for kicks. Lucifer hates it.

 49.  If they could have an extinct animal for a pet, what would they have?

A dodo bird. Because they’re weird and cool.

 50.  If they got called out by someone, what would they do?

Laugh and argue probably. Depends what they’re calling her out on.

51.  Have they ever shot a gun before?

Yep. Actually enjoys shooting, it’s a fun stress reliever. She makes a point to drop by shooting ranges every once in a while back home.

 52.  Have they ever been axe throwing?

Once at a renaissance festival on an odd week of downtime. She didn’t do so well. The throwing was fine, but she never hit the target. Just be glad she didn’t hit a person either!

 53.  What is something that they want but can’t have?

At the moment, all the people she loves in one place.

 54.  Do they know how to fish?

Nope! She’s a mess with that kind of thing. Also, she doesn’t like the idea of fishing for anything herself. It makes her cry to think of the fish on the hook :<.

 55.  What is something they always wanted to do but too scared?

Hmm…Niri tries to live her life in a way that she won’t have regrets, so even if something is scary, she’ll pluck up the courage to do it. But…she still hasn’t jumped out of a plane.

 56.  Do they own their own baby pictures?

Absolutely not. She cringes thinking of the outfits her parents used to put her in, so she did her best to keep those kinds of things buried and acts like they never existed. Nope. Was never a baby. Nope.

 57.  What makes them standout among others?

Niri is a pro at pretending she’s confident, so she tends to draw attention when she walks in a room like she owns the place. Also her hair is kinda bright.

 58.  Do they like to show off?

Not really. She’s flamboyant in a sense, but she doesn’t go out of her way to call attention or to be center stage…heh.

 59.  What is their favourite song?

She can never pick, honestly. There are so many songs that are so amazing!

 60.  What would be their dream vehicle?

That’s a very good question. Probably something sitting in her garage back home. Probably being driven by one of her bandmates. Because hey, what are friends for?

 61.  What is their favourite book?

Not that she isn’t a big reader, but she doesn’t really get the time to enjoy books. There’s always something that needs attention or someplace to be and she’s required to engage, so focusing on a book or story is hard, but she’s a fan of classic novels, poetry, and Greek tragedies are always good!

 62.  Who, in their opinion, makes the best food?

She likes everything Barbatos makes and thinks Luke’s desserts are fantastic, but there’s something about a human recipe that just warms her heart, so…..herself. Lol.

 63.  Are they approachable?

Absolutely! If you can get past her intimidating resting face.

 64.  Did they ever change their appearance?

Not drastically, but she has gone through a few different phases until settling on a good one.

65.  What makes them smile?

The silliness of those around her. Thinking of good memories with family/friends. Puppies.

 66.  Do they like glowsticks?

Yes. She has a stockpile of glowsticks that the brothers keep adding to.

 67.  What is something that is simple, but always makes them smile?

Watching the brothers bicker, even if it’s getting out of hand. It reminds her of her friends and how they always pick on one another.

 68.  Are they a day or night person?

Night, usually. Not that she dislikes the daytime, but day usually has so much stuff to be done whereas night is the fun stuff that doesn’t need a schedule.

 69.  Are they allergic to anything?

Some milk chocolate, bell peppers, and certain devildom plants.

 70.  What do you, the creator of this OC, like most about them?

She’s a spunky little thing who loves to have fun and make others smile above all else.

 71.  Who is their ride or die?

In the Devildom, Beelzebub and Astaroth.

Beel for most things, and Asta for the stuff Beel won’t do.

 72.  Do they currently have a significant other? If not, are they going to get one later one?

Erm…eh…look, it’s never been officially labeled or anything, ok? Like yeah they’re kind always together and have pet names for each other and like always touch and cuddle and like snuggle up in bed together and stuffffffffffff but like, idk? Is Beel her dude? Like….do we wanna even get into that?????? I mean, maybe someday? Like…what? What was the question??

 73.  What attracts them to another person?

A genuine heart, a killer smile, and a rockin’ bod. Yeah okay look everyone can be a little shallow sometimes okay get off her case >__<.  

 74.  Who is one person that can always make them laugh?

She’s a damn fool and will laugh at ANYTHING, so it’s not hard. Everyone makes her laugh. The girl will 9 times out of 10 laugh at herself for the dumbest moments.

 75.  Have they ever partied too hard and their friends had to take them home?

Oh yes many times. Many many times.  One of the first few times she hung out (went on a date) one-on-one with Beel they had a drinking contest and as it turns out, he can really hold his devil liquor.

 76.  Who would be their cuddle buddy?

She’ll cuddle up to Beel 99.9% of the time because he’s big and warm and always happy to hold, but she also really enjoys cuddling with Asmodeus. He’s such a sweetie and he smells so nice and they just snuggle and talk and laugh and it’s a nice escape. (Loads of times there are Asmo x Niri x Asta sandwiches in Asmo’s room.)

 77.  Who would cheer them up after a long day?

She tends to go to one of the brothers depending on what kind of day it’s been. Most of the time it’s gonna be Beel because again, big/warm/happy to hold her, but there are occasions where she’ll drag Beel to one of the others’ rooms and they’ll just hang out.

 78.  If they had a nightmare, who would they run to?

I mean…Beel. Lol. He’s right there.

 79.  What object to the care for the most?

She has a picture of her friends from back home that sits on her desk. She treasures that above all while she’s down in the Devildom.

 80.  Do they like other people’s children?

Sure. Kids are fine as long as they go back to their parents after a bit.

 81.  How would they react if someone broke into their home?

Seeing as there’s always someone coming into her room regardless if she’s there or not, she probably would just shrug it off. If someone decided to have a bad lapse in judgement and break into the HoL? She wouldn’t have to lift a finger.

 82.  Does anyone make them have butterflies in their stomach?

I mean….Beel. Lol. He so big and cute! Also Diavolo because he also big and cute.

 83.  What is something that they are good at?

Crying to get out of trouble. She’s a little shit. Lol.

 84.  What is their neutral expression?

Niri kinda always looks pissed off or uninterested?  Until she smiles and you realize oh, she’s just a big ol’ faker.

 85.  Do they like to cook?

Yes. It’s one of her very favorite things to do!

 86.  What is something they can’t leave home without?

Her phone! (and Beel) but like, there’s just so much a phone can do!

 87.  Who is someone that they rely on?

Have I mentioned ever that Simeon is (or was at one time) Niri’s guardian angel? He seems to always be there and ready to help in any way, so she’s pretty reliant on him and hopes he feels the same toward her. (He does. Cue uwu’s)

 88.  Do they liked to be tickled?

Absolutely not. She’s extremely ticklish and hates being tickled. She flails and cries.

 89.  Have they ever been a sword fight before?

No. No she has not lol. Unless empty wrapping paper tubes count? She’s done that.  

 90.  What is a joke that they would find funny?

All the bad ones. All of them. Ugly laugh here we go!

 91.  Do they have a place that can go and turn off their brain?

The gardens at RAD. It’s peaceful and there’s a great  view of the sky.

 92.  What was their childhood like?

Not bad, but not memorable. There was a lot of pressure put on her to be a perfect kid, and she didn’t get to have a whole ton of fun.

 93.  What are they like as an adult?

Responsible, but definitely fun-loving. Like I mentioned before, she likes to live in a way that she won’t ever regret not having done something she wanted to do, or regret any actions she took, so she’s always got an open mind and welcomes new experiences. She’s a big ol’ kid.

 94.  Do they take criticism well?

Yes. She welcomes criticism in any form as she is always looking to be the best person she can be.

 95.  Have they ever jumped out of a plane?

No. Not yet!

 96.  Who do they like to make jokes with?

Literally anyone. A total joker. Big big clown.

 97.  Have you ever drawn them before? If you are comfortable with it, would you post a picture?

Yes! I draw Niri every once in a while. I actually need to draw her again soon! I miss that girl.

[chaoartwork]

Multivoid: Chapter 1

A fanfiction revolving around 2K, Palindrome and the alternate Zims in the aftermath of the Battlevoid arc.

Based on Invader Zim comic issues 46-49.

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

“Hey. Um. Brother?”

“Sure! What is it, brother?”

“Uh...do you...um. Do you ever worry?”

“Worry about what?”

“Well heheh! Ofcourse it’s a dumb question. But um. Do you ever worry that maybe this won’t last forever?”

“Whaaat?! Come on! Ofcourse it will last forever! We can make it last as long as you want it to!”

“But wouldn’t you want to too?”

“....Hm. You know, that’s a good question. I always pondered about that. Im guessing you might wonder about that too.”

“Wonder about what?”

“Wonder which one you really are. Which one is the real you....Hey! I got a question for you brother! Let’s say we use to be someone. But an event occurred that made you become someone else. Someone grants you the second chance to be that person again. Will you take it?”

“Hmmmm. Not entirely sure. It really depends if my original self was better than what I am now:”

“Better in what way?”

“I don’t know. Superior? More flawless? I think.”

“You seem unsure, brother.”

“Eh I don’t know. Who knows? Maybe that original me was worse than what I am now?”

“In what way?”

“Mmm not sure. Maybe evil? Careless? Dumb? Pitiful?”

“Do you really think that’s what you were?”

“I guess so. You?”

“Mm. I’m not sure either.”

“I see....”

“....I know! Let’s play! Just like old times!”

“Like old times?”

“Yeah! Like hide-and seek! I hide and you have to look for me!”

“You expect me to look for you in an area this big?”

“Uh-Huh! But it will be different! You need to find someone to convince them to come find me!”

“I don’t think that’s how the game works. Shouldn’t I be the only one to find you.”

“Yeah but it’ll get boring. Besides! It’s nice to get to know someone! Even if there’s a chance they can be sketchy!”

“Brother, I’m not sure if that’s a safe idea.”

“Aw come on, trust me! I know you can do it!”

“Hm. Fine. How do I start?”

“Well...first, you have to wake up!”

———————————————————-

Palindrome gasped a breath of water, his body violently shuddering for a few seconds as if it was springing back to life. Within a second after it happened, the heavy sensation rushed across his body. It felt as though he was about to dissipate again, but felt like his body was holding back from coming apart again. He felt his weak arms wrap around 2K as much as he could to which he timed on when he was going to catch him, making sure never to let him go.

He did not know how long he kept his eyes closed for or whether or not he really did knocked out, but few flashes of traumatic images from the battle swept through his mind for a split seconds, despite it feeling like forever and wanting to cry out on making it stop. He suddenly felt a soft nudge soon after. It felt warm and soft, interrupting the pain enough to relieve himself. Even if it was just a moment. The one who was nudging him felt small and round, having a bit of puffiness to them. He gulped down, hoping to have the strength to speak with his heart fluttering in hope on who it might be. He weakly flicked open his eyes again.

“T....2K....?”

 The blurry vision showed him what seemed like a pale blue figure instead of a light green as he had hoped. The vision slightly cleared up until he realized that the small being was softly hovering above him. The fish looking being had derpy eyes and squared buck tooth. What was that thing? Minimoose? No. That’s not his name. Why did he think that was his name? His name....is....

His breath stiffened from finally recognizing him.

“Mini....Miniwhale...? Is it really...?” He shakily reaches out, “Miniwhale...?”

“Nya,” the figure squeaked in a concerned tone and moved close in order to let him be able to rest his creator’s palm on the side of his body. Palindrome processed to make sure he really wasn’t hallucinating. No, he couldn’t be here. He just can’t. How could he have entered the Zimvoid? There’s just no absolute-

“”Nya?”

The fish Irken blinked.

“Wh...what are you...? What do you mean ‘where have I gone’? Why are you h-?”

He grunt from the unfeeling sensation rushing through his body returning, causing him to squeeze eyes shut and hug himself again.

“Nya?”

He found it impossible to respond to his subject this time, focusing more on fighting it back.

It took several seconds for it to ebb away, letting his body fully relax in exhaustion and breathe heavily.

“Nya!”

Yes I’m fully aware my bowl is very dirty thanks for reminding me at this time.

But he did not say that and instead respond weakly,

“Miniwhale. If it’s really you...please,” his eyes opened and trace back to him, “...help me.”

“Nya?”

He couldn’t tell him exactly what he needs help with. His body felt so useless that even speaking would easily tire him out. He can’t even look around the area because of how blurry his sight really was. There was really no telling when the horrible feelings were going to end. He felt like he could throw up at any moment.

“Nya...”

His heart melted by what the robot responded. He soon after started feeling him float down and nestle against his body. It made the unfeeling sensation grow numb again. He took a moment to process and choked up a bit, realizing how long it has been since he has encountered anyone close to him from his timeline. He gave out the strength to move his arm so he can rest it around him.

“Y-yeah....I missed you too.”

Miniwhale responded by nestling against his body more until he felt cozy against his creator. Palindrome wondered if he was doing this because he was trying to comfort him during the ill feeling or if it’s because he was embracing him after not seeing him for all those few months. It could maybe be both. Nonetheless, he felt his body start to shut down on him again. He wanted to beg his body so much on moving again. There was so much that he needed to know. What happened to the other Zims? What happened to the Elder? The Meat? Where’s that Zib? Where’s that alternate Dib?

2K....2K, are you still here? Did you come back too just like me? Why didn’t Miniwhale mention you or the others? Am I the only one who came back from....?

His eyes grew heavy until they closed shut to give into the unconsciousness.

...Where are you?

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

Zim can be seen laying face plant on a messy table sleeping, his drools having covered half of it. He can be heard softly snoring.

“Sir. Sir.”

There was a moment of no response.

“Hellooooo. Sirrrrr.”

“Huh! Wah!” Zim  jumps awake with pieces of styrofoams stuck on his face and quickly glanced around his lab in wonder.

“Sir. School will be starting soon.”

“Wait.” Zim processed and looked up at the ceiling, “you mean now?”

“Yyyyup.”

“WHAT?!” He exclaimed, “why didn’t you wake me up earlier?!”

The computer sighed,

“Sir, I tried to wake you up for two hours-”

“Urgh! Forget about it,” he rubbed the pieces of styrofoams off his face, “I’ll do this later. Just don’t touch any of them!”

“I am aware of that, sir. You tell me this everyday.”

“Well it’s always good to be reminded,” he hopped off his seat. “Computer! Initiate my brilliant disguise!”

The tube shot down to cover Zim’s body. It then pulled back up to show him in his human disguise. He then walks over to the elevator and goes up to the living room, to which he can see Gir watching his TV as usual.

“Your in charge of the house, Gir. Make sure Minimoose doesn’t eat them again.”

“Okie dokie!” Gir said without even looking at him and changed the channel.

There was a likely chance he didn’t even listen, but not like Zim couldn’t do anything about it. He just continued on and left his home base, walking out to the usual casual days. Basically how it was everything day. Somewhat cloudy skies, some bird flying by with some of them often time hitting a house and getting knocked unconscious. The neighbor next door always screaming in order for their husband to clearly hear them. Boy does he love this planet. But it won’t be any better until he conquers it.

 He walked passed the neighborhood and through the streets until it took him maybe half an hour to get to school, many kids having already gone inside. He walked inside the school, went passed the halls, ignoring some weird kid who was in the locker calling out nonchalantly to let him out, and was able to go inside the classroom just as soon as the school bell rang. Dib can be seen apparently not glaring at him as usual, instead scribbling on a journal.

Zim squinted, wondering what he was up to this time.

“Zim.”

The Irken flinched and turned to see Ms.Bitters behind him.

“Take your seat. Class is about to start.”

“Uh, right! Yes, Ms. Bitters!”

He went and did as she told him. Again, the school seat feeling uncomfortable as always.

“Alright, class. Today, we’re going to-“

She turned to notice Dib scribbling.

“Dib. I really do hope your not trying to write out your plans on how to get to Zim’s ‘secret alien lair’.”

The class giggles by her comment.

“Uh, no Ms. Bitter. It’s actually something different.”

“Oh? Then you might as well either stop scribbling whatever creative fantasy you always have in that big head of yours or would you like to spend more of these dragging moments of class time telling us what it is your scribbling about.”

“It’s just...have anyone noticed the stars looked off today?”

“Stars?” One kid asked in confusion.

“Yeah! For example, last night I was checking my telescope to see if Zim’s kind arrived as usual and the stars looked very different. Like...very different. There seems to be a lot more in the sky and not to mention that most of them look to be bigger than the others. Has anyone noticed that?”

“Dib, none of us aren’t into those stargazing gizmos like you do.”

“Ofcourse there is, ask Zim! He always checks to see what his kinds are up to.”

 “Hey now,” Zim narrowed, “don’t get me into this conversation!”

“Maybe there might be meteor showers tonight?” One kid suddenly guessed.

“Oh I hope so!” One girl said, “I wish for a talking pony!”

“I wish for a kitten!” Another kid said.

“I wish to be singer!”

“I wish for a world’s finest pizza!”

“I wish to be a rock-“

“Well apparently wishing on a star is part of something out of a fairy tale,” the teacher interrupted. “In life, you won’t get anything unless you decide to work hard in getting it. Now that we’re back to reality, can I now continue this section?”

The class stayed quiet.

“Good. Now then, today we’ll be talking about the Schrodinger’s Cat theory. Can anyone guess as to what it is?”

—————————————————

The school bell rings. Kids screams in happiness as they run out of school and jump out of windows as usual. Zim walks out of the door mumbling.

“What kind of dumb question is that? Of course the cat is dead! Or alive. How can a cat be both dead and alive? that’s the stupidest thing I ever heard. Dumb humans with their dumb logical sense-“

“You have something to do with it, don’t you?”

“Huh?” He turned behind him and saw Dib come out of the entrance and walk down the stair to approach him with a look of suspicions. Oh here it goes again.

“You’re plotting something, do you? Why are the night skies different tonight? Is it part of your next scheme?”

“Gee I don’t know Dib human,” Zim in annoyance, “why don’t you next time use that weak telescope of yours to see what these new stars actually are?”

“Because dad called me to go to bed before I could analyze it more. So tell me, Zim! What are they?”

“Ok first off, if they were really part of my next glorious plan, I would not tell you what they are. Second, I have not analyzed the galaxies in a while.”

“Don’t you check the galaxy every night? Like, to check what the invaders are up to and all of that?”

“WHAT?!” He exclaimed, “HOW DO YOU KNOW?!”

 “You one time complained about them doing something that was bugging you.”

“LIES! ZIM WOULD NEVER TALK ABOUT OTHER LESS SKILLED INVADERS!”

“Whatever, man. I guess I tend to forget that you’re not too active with your ambitions as usual.”

“That is also lies! Zim has become more ambitious with his great conquest to conquer your planet more than ever!”

“You mean by studying those things.”

“What things?”

“The packing pea-“

“I knew what you were talking about.”

Dib sighed and facepalmed.

“You spent the whole night studying them again?”

“They’re very important! I must know what their purpose really is!”

“Zim, you told me this for like what? The thirtieth time? And besides, what makes them so important? They’re just packing peanuts.”

YOU ARE WRONG STINK BOY! Those packing peanuts had much more potential than you should EVER know! Especially that one time!”

“One time?” Dib’s eyebrow raised.

“Yeah!” Zim smiled, “that one time when I-“

There were few seconds  of silence. Zim stopped smiling and processed.

“Ok, maybe they haven’t done anything yet, but I’m SURE they have a purpose. I just need to remember what it was!”

 “And how long exactly will that take?” Dib crosses his arms in annoyance, “you’ve been going on about it for a year now. Mostly because of that little ‘incident’. And it’s because of that incident that not only do you focus on them, you have been obsessed about them more and more.”

“And THATS because I am getting closer and closer to uncovering it’s purpose. Watch me, stink human...watch me! When I uncover the power of those styrofoams, you can no longer stop me! I will be able to conquer my planets with my BARE hands! Or feet, any of those can work.”

  Zim lets out a laughter before running off to the street. Midway, his maniacal laughter turns to a yelp of shock as a car can be heard honking in the distance and then crashing sounds are heard, with one woman screaming,

“Hey watch where you’re going, stupid kid!”

Dib stares off at the scene and sigh in annoyance.

“Of all supernatural I could be chasing, why does my main focus have to be him?”

[drunk-and-howling]

Strike Swiftly || Layla & Salva

TIMING: 2-3 days ago  PARTIES: @laylacooke​, @drunk-and-howling​  SUMMARY: Layla bears her heart and pleads for help, and Salva vows to protect her. A heartwarming friendship ensues.  CONTENT WARNINGS: Light blood/injury 

It was two days before the full moon, and Salva was feeling eerily calm, like the heavy clouds before a storm. He prowled down the sidewalk, reaching into his pocket to retrieve his Zippo and a cigarette, as his mind considered what was going to happen in 48 hours… he'd have to make some preparations around the house to wolf-proof everything, but he had some time. Salva was lost in thought as he came up on that vegan restaurant, unaware of anyone leaving. 

Layla had dropped into her favorite spot for a bite of lunch. After Ari had taken her there on the very first day they had met, the good memories and good food seemed to draw her back for more. However, as she walked out of the small cafe with her veggie burrito in hand, the redhead ran directly into a man walking near the door. Burrito hitting the ground, and Layla feeling slightly embarrassed, she quickly looked up to apologize, until she had recognized the man’s face from online, “Dude, you made me drop my burrito.” With a small pout, she bent down and picked it up, grateful it or hadn’t completely spilled out of the container it was wrapped in. She could still salvage it.

Suddenly, his route was interrupted by someone exiting the establishment (go figure that someone was leaving right as he passed). Salva started to growl something ill-tempered at her when her scent hit him like a brick wall, and his grumpy snarl subsided into animal curiosity. "Oh, sorry," he said absently, watching as she bent to pick up her food - why did this girl smell (and look) so familiar? Salva's head tilted slightly, and he leaned further toward her as she straightened, giving her another deep sniff. "... Do I know you?" 

Once Layla was upright and her food was tucked safely in her grip, she let her attention focus back on Salva. She had ignored the growl, but it did alert her to the fact that he was like her, well that and a very strong and familiar scent that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. With narrowed eyes, she looked back up at him, “It’s cool, and I…don’t think so. But you totes have one of those faces.” Realizing where she had seen him, she paused for a moment, “Now, I know why you look familiar. I’ve seen your picture online. You’re that old creepy dude who acted like a total douche when I tried to warn you about the mimes.”

Her manner made Salva instantly regret spending one of his rare apologies on her. She was definitely a wolf, that much was already certain, and he supposed he was a fool for assuming she'd be meek and apologetic like some of the other wolves around town. The older werewolf raised an eyebrow at her, and he paused to take a long drag from his cigarette. "I see that my reputation precedes me," Salva answered in a deadpan tone, hardly amused at her insults but altogether numb to them. "Where do you come from? Parents?" This can't be her…. 

“Ah, there it is.” For some reason, she wasn’t afraid of him. It was quite the opposite. Most of the other wolves she had encountered, she was intimidated by, especially Ulfric, but Salva was different. He just kind of pissed her off, and she couldn’t quite figure out why. “You know those things will kill you right?” She motioned to the cigarette, “But why am I even telling you this.” Why did he want to know where she was from or who her parents were? Did he know something or was he sent to...Wait. Layla sniffed the air again. She knew that scent. It had been repressed, aside from catching wind of it on herself. But it couldn’t be him. She didn’t even see his face, “Why do you want to know where I’m from? That’s a little weird…”

That was it… what he was looking for. A flash of recognition in Layla's face, a brief haunting, which told him everything he needed to know. Suddenly an event from long ago slammed into Salva, and he eased back into a position of relaxation, flashing his teeth in a smile. "Why does everyone I meet these days tell me what I should do with my lungs?" the man mused, and confidence oozed from his tone. "I don't need you to tell me where you're from. Your parents were those hunters in the mountains." Salva spoke quietly, but intensely, watching Layla's face for a reaction. "You're that girl that I bit all that time ago." 

The light from her eyes disappeared and her expression turned cold, “It wasn’t years...It was eleven months ago. Eleven months ago when you ruined my life and turned me into...into this thing.” Tears filled the brims of her eyes and showed through her steely gaze. This was the man, no, monster that had ruined her life. Her chance at being a normal teenager who had big plans for college, despite her parents path laid out. And all he could do was stand there with a smug grin on his face. A grin that she was quickly coming to hate, and before she could even think about what she was doing, Layla moved in, pulled back a firm fist, and laid it straight into Salva’s face as hard as she possibly could with all the pent up rage and wolf energy that resided in her tiny body.

That punch was not at all what Salva was expecting. The cigarette flew from his mouth, and he was sent staggering back, nearly falling over if not for his experience in confrontation. Once he recovered and stood, shoulders hunched in the middle of the sidewalk, Salva touched his face with two fingers, and felt blood. She just broke his fucking nose. Luckily the lunch crowd had subsided, and what few people surrounded them quickly walked away so they wouldn't be involved. Salva wiped the blood off of his face and snarled at her. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't-" Then, something made him stop. His expression turned from rage to confusion. "Who the hell taught you how to punch that hard?" 

She watched as he staggered backwards. It would have been more satisfying had he just went down, but when she had noticed that she had done some damage, Layla was pleased with herself. Violence wasn’t her thing. It never had been, but ever since becoming a wolf, she couldn’t seem to get away from it, which had broken her heart in more ways than one. She wasn’t exactly the same gentle person, she was before all of this had started on that fateful night. Knowing she was probably in trouble, she watched him closely preparing herself to run, until he stopped and posed a question, “Are you forgetting that my parents were hunters? Or could it be that because you’re technically my wolf daddy, that maybe, just maybe, you’re the reason…” It was probably a lot of things. Anger. Sadness. Frustration. She didn’t know much about Salva, except for what he had done to her that night.

Salva considered her information, blood already beginning to drip from his chin. He supposed it was accurate that her lycanthropy was founded in the Sauvage blood, and that meant she was already ahead of the game from the common mutts running around… it made sense that she had a certain strength already. If funneled correctly, this girl could be quite a force to be reckoned with, an unending wealth of destructive potential. Salva titled his chin upwards and stared at her unblinkingly. "I have to say, I'm impressed with your spunk. It takes balls to punch someone like me in the face." He took a step closer to her, retrieving another cigarette and reaching up to light it. "What's your name, pup?" 

Layla hadn’t expected him to react the way he had. He seemed more interested in her than he did the night he bit her and left her for dead. The redhead still bore the massive scar on her leg from where his fangs had ripped into her flesh. A painful reminder every time she noticed it. “Yeah, well I kinda hoped this day would come considering how you ruined my life.” Meeting Salva in person had given her a bit of relief though. The punch was cathartic, to say the least, and something she had needed. “It’s Layla. Guess you already know my last name.” She crossed her arms and continued to look him square in the face. None of the usual signs of submissiveness and respect to be found.

Salva couldn’t help but feel a little bit of pride at the hatred in her tone… he remembered that night just like she did, but to him, it was one encounter of hundreds in his lifetime, hardly worth recollecting the details. But now, his creation stood in front of him, for once, and she might as well have been a trophy of his hunter-hunting successes… living proof that his Gevaudan ancestry would live on. “Layla,” the older werewolf repeated, and the syllables rumbled from deep in his throat like a snarl. “I am Salva du Sauvage.” He took another step closer, not for one moment breaking that crucial eye contact… this little wolf had to realize who was the alpha here, no matter how stubborn she was being. “I think you and I are going to become good friends. But the next time you try to attack me, I’d prepare for a little different result, if I were you.” 

When he spoke his name, a lightbulb had gone off in her head. She knew exactly who he was. A werewolf her parents had strongly urged her to be aware of. He was a member of some of the most fearsome wolves known to man; the Gevaudan line of heritage. No wonder rage was a constant in her small form now. Sure, she had every reason to be angry, but there seemed to be a smaller nagging that lay just a little further down. Arms still crossed, she held her ground as he moved in closer. While she resented him, Layla knew she could learn a lot from him, but for now, she wanted to be away from him and the way he made her feel. With gritted teeth, she responded, “Understood.” But she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of leaving first. Shoving her shoulder into him as hard as she could with a low growl, Layla moved past him. Her heart was beating hard in her chest from both nerves and anger, but she had gotten answers to a lot of questions that had been plaguing her mind for so long thanks to their chance encounter, and only time would tell where all of this would lead.

Figuring she would prefer to leave first, Salva allowed her to, and stood steadfast as Layla walked past him and made sure their shoulders collided. Once she was melting back into the clusters of civilians, the older wolf's expression split apart in an uneven grin, teeth so tightly clamped on his cigarette that the thing was nearly chopped in half. What a perfect thing this was, meeting Layla like this. Salva rolled his shoulders, wiped his face off with his arm, and set off down the sidewalk in the opposing direction. Yes, she'll be a fine pup to teach, Salva thought, taking a deep drag and inhaling the smoke into the sunny afternoon air. And if she isn't... just add her to the body count.

[enderprtl]

Possessor & Performer

 ah! the next fic! @mine-sara-sp‘s au still has me whipped so here we go!

WARNINGS KILLJOY STABS JIGSAW A LOT, A LOT OF MENTIONS OF PAIN, RADIATING PAIN, SLIMY MENTIONS FOR A LITTLE BIT, LOTS OF SNAKE AND YARN MENTIONS, ALOT OF BINDING AND LIKE HOLDING MENTIONS.

I.

Joe sat proper in a chair across from his shadow, watch his mirror image tilt his head and follow every move he does. Killjoy sighed, 

“What good is this going to do for us?” 

“Patience. Now listen.”

Killjoy listened, playing with the thin yellow strings wrapped around his wrists, he heard the chickens begin to crow- it was dawn, they started this exercise last night. Killjoy looked surprised, causing Joe to snicker softly, 

“See what patience buys you?”

Killjoy sighed and got up, light bouncing off the glasses of both him and his summoner, “I do not, but I will see you later for our training, Joe.”

Joe sighed and got up, walking out of the house in the medieval district he held just for storage. Killjoy puffed and disappeared, leaving behind a cloud of perfect yellow triangles, off to do whatever he does when he isn’t around.

Jigsaw stood over New Hermitville, breathing heavily, watching his breath puff out in perfect yellow triangles and gray smoke. Climbing up the twisting, turning ladders of Grian’s build-off house ached every bone in his body, strange enough. Jigsaw was upset, furious even, but he kept a long smile plastered on his face. 

He had another game planned. 

Jigsaw heard tale of what Killjoy, Joe’s shadow had been doing to help his summoner. Jigsaw knew better, Jigsaw knew what the shadow was capable of, yellow yarn and all. He was getting bored, and what was a better game than causing a little row between a shadow and it’s summoner? 

Jigsaw watched the rising sun, smiling widely- this would work out perfectly. 

Killjoy didn’t really know how to spend time without Joe, he wasn’t like Murmur, who stuck to Mumbo like glue, acting as an assistant to the redstoner. He wasn’t like Shadoc either, who spent a lot of time in New New Hermitville, running errands for Bdubs and Keralis. He was definitely not like the Shadow Vex, he never wanted to look them in the eyes. He resorted to walking around the main island, especially the Civil War field. The fires still roared on from the first battle, the rising sun bouncing off the windows of the Team G headquarters. He looked over at Team S.T.A.R’s low-lying base- he never understood why Joe got involved, it was dangerous and risky and foolish. 

Pop!

Killjoy stood in the conference room of the Team G headquarters, the sun filtering through the blue windows lining the entire wall. Wind blew through the drafty hall, causing the banners to flap in the wind. The Team G banner flew proudly over the doorway, under it the three S.T.A.R banners whipping in the wind. 

Something overtook Killjoy, some sort of uncontrollable rage, something that came from nowhere- and needed to be taken out. Killjoy felt angry, so viscerally upset that he was blinded, only able to hear himself breathe, ragedded, heavy breaths.

A sword was pulled out, Killjoy screamed.

The cutting of fabric, once, twice, third, fourth, fifth- over and over, screaming furiously.

A fist banging against a wall, the now torn Team G banner holding on by threads, the concrete wall behind it buried deep with a gray, wispy sword. 

Somewhere on the field, Jigsaw swore he heard screaming. 

.

.

.

Joe kept dying, which was pretty upsetting. Somehow between this morning and mid-day, Killjoy’s mood dropped, his face set in a permanent pout. Joe swung his sword, his patience thinning quickly, the arch of his sword clashing with the sweep of Killjoy’s. Joe bared his teeth, bared his teeth, something he never did, ever, watching the pout of Killjoy’s go deeper, turning into a snarl. Joe was mad now, furious at the stupid training, at the stupid shadow. He took his sword in two hands and brought it down, not wincing at the sharp clash as Killjoy’s blade met his above the doppelganger's head. Killjoy bared his teeth in return, sunlight bouncing off his yellow glasses. Killjoy kicked Joe’s shin, pushing his summoner’s sword off his own, 

“You’re fighting dirty!”

“You’re fighting with an attitude, poet.” 

“You’re to one with an attitude!” 

Joe attempted to get up, only to get kicked down again, Killjoy’s blade meeting his neck,

“Why are you acting so-”

Joe took both his legs and kicked Killjoy square in the chest; Killjoy stumbled, allowing Joe ample time to get up and take a shaky step forward, 

“I am acting in no such way.” 

Joe swung his blade single handedly, getting the exposed shadow right in the chest. Killjoy puffed, disappearing in a cloud of gray and yellow. 

Joe swear he saw eyes behind the clouds. 

.

.

. Jigsaw smirked from the roof of the Team G headquarters, the two Joes were bickering, even if for a little. Killjoy was impatient, he knew he was. If Joe wasn’t going to bend and snap himself, Killjoy was going to make him. Jigsaw stumbled down the stairs to the conference room, looking at the chaos one trigger-happy shadow could make if something wasn’t holding him back. Jigsaw smiled,They needed to talk. ...Joe had summoned back Killjoy, apologizing for his rude behavior during training. Killjoy pressed a smile on his face and accepted the apology. They parted ways and the Performer showed up. He pulled Killjoy aside, putting a small finger over his lips, 

“Hello, Possessor.”

Killjoy growled softly, “Jigsaw. What do you want?”

“I need to chat with you, just a second, Possessor, just a second…”

Jigsaw took a seat on the edge of the shadow temple, looking over the ocean, wind whipping the yellow triangles around his head like a tornado of leaves. Killjoy stood, leaning against a pillar, the yellow threads beginning to wrap around the pillar- he was on edge, watching the Performer with disgust. Killjoy barked, 

“What did you need, I don’t have all day, you know.”

“I want to propose a deal, dear Killjoy. I’m getting bored,” Jigsaw rolled his head back, looking up at Killjoy with puppy eyes, “I want to play a game, and I need you for it.” “I’m not making any deals with you, Performer.”“Well, what if I told Joe your little secret?” “I beg your pardon?” “Wouldn’t it be a shame, Killjoy,” Jigsaw’s smile grew, yellow teeth bared, glowing like lights, “If Joe found out what you were really up too?” 

Killjoy snarled, “You wouldn’t dare.” 

“Oh, I would. Think about it, Killjoy. You help me with my little project, I keep my mouth shut.”

Killjoy frowned, pursing his lips. Jigsaw was a known manipulator, everyone knew what he did to Iskall, what he did to Mumbo. Killjoy played with the strings wrapping his wrist, watching Jigsaw with ill intent. He hummed, “Let me think about it.”

Jigsaw smirked, those stupid yellow teeth glowing in the setting sun, “Alright then.”

Pop!

Jigsaw was gone

. 

.

.

Killjoy sat in the strange clock Joe made on the field of the Concorp golf course, picking at the long yellow strings circling him as he sat poised and composed on a flat pillar. Jigsaw’s singsong voice ran circles in his head… if Joe found out what his shadow was doing…. 

Killjoy heard Joe’s senseless talking to himself as he came out of the portal, bouncing childishly, only to stop and stare at Killjoy, wide, brown eyes locking with Killjoy’s dead yellow ones. Joe chucked an ender pearl, watching it shatter and pop Joe out of the purple smoke. 

“Howdy, Killjoy.”

“Joe. You surely are chipper.”

“Just took a very good nap… You wanted to talk?”

“Yeah, about that-”

Pop!

“He wanted to tell you something!” 

Jigsaw stood there, lips rolled like a cat, hands tucked behind his back like a perfect copy of Grian. He giggled stupidly, looking at both the Joes expectantly. Killjoy stood up, the yellow yarn wrapping back around his arms like snakes, flush against his skin and glowing. Joe pulled out his sword unreasonably fast, stumbling back on his own creation, gripping the hilt with wide eyes. Killjoy growled, 

“You shouldn’t be here, Performer.”

“Oh, why? I wanna see how this pans out!” He giggled wildly, hand coming over his mouth as poshly as possible. Killjoy’s arm whipped out and yarn wrapped into a blade,

“Sit down, Joe.”

“What, Kill- I can handle myself!”

“Sit down!” Killjoy’s free hand slammed down, yellow yarn attaching to Joe and slamming him to the floor, pinned into a sitting position, Joe yelped, watching the curls of yellow yarn float and wind like hairs, long and snakelike. Killjoy snarled,

“You won’t get involved with this, Performer.” 

“Oh, I most certainly can, you didn’t say no or yes to my deal!” Jigsaw giggled again, leaning forward. 

“Leave, Jigsaw.”

Joe was struggling to get out of the thick binds, gashing at them with his blade and wiggling like a snake. Killjoy stepped closer to Jigsaw, his face getting brighter with rage. 

“Jigsaw, you are not supposed to be here. I am asking you kindly to leave.”

“You have a blade out and have your puppet bound to the floor.” 

“Your WHAT?” 

Joe had cut free, by some unknown means, standing up and rubbing his arms, obvious lash marks on his arms. Joe’s sword was covered in rope, though it was burning up with Fire Aspect. Joe stepped closer to Killjoy, some form of confused fury on his face,

“Killjoy, I would like an explanation, right now.”

“Not now, Joe.”

“Killjoy, I don’t care!”

“I SAID NOT RIGHT NOW!” 

“Killjoy, I want you to tell me, now!” 

“Joe, we currently around someone who is trying to get us to fight, he is trying to get us to play his stupid game! You are falling for it, you are playing his little game, and God help me if you kill me now and he tells you everything!”

“W...What?”

“Just shut your mouth and help me deal with him!” Killjoy was practically glowing now, his body, hair, eyes, mouth, sword. Everything was glowing, he was a second sun upon the setting sun, he was furious, 

“Just help me.”

Joe felt his body get tugged pulled to Killjoy, watching bright yarn wrapped around him like some strands of sun, his body feeling warm and then, unbelievable pain-

Pain radiated down his arms, his legs, every part of his body ached and he wanted to scream in pain, but nothing came out. Only Killjoy’s voice, glitched in and out with Joe’s strained voice,

“Come on Jigsaw, let’s play your stupid little game.”

Joe? Killjoy? Killjoy. He slashed at Jigsaw with all the force he could muster, Joe’s arms aching with each swing, each step taken was forced and painful, his legs felt like lead, his arms like jelly. Everything hurt.

Killjoy felt powerful, Joe gave in, but it was weak, he could see both of them, pulling apart and molding back together watching the yarn pull and push like a snake choking its prey. Killjoy phased in and out of Joe like a gray ghost, his own blade clashing with Joe’s bright blue. Killjoy began to feel pain radiate up his arms and legs. His puppet was failing. Killjoy growled when Joe let out a painful mewl. 

Joe begged for Killjoy to stop, using any strength he had to pull back, feeling the strings stick like slime, wrapping around any body part it could get hold of. Killjoy swung again and again, getting nicks and cuts on Jigsaw, watching the Performer back up, fumbling for his blade. Killjoy laughed, a sick cackle, 

“You’re getting rusty, Performer.”

“You’re getting aggressive.” 

Killjoy snarled. No, it wasn’t Killjoy… Joe snarled, working in tandem with Killjoy, Joe? Killjoy? Joe. Joe kicked at Jigsaw, knocking him to the floor, gashing at him with his nails, Killjoy jumped back in, holding Joe back, yarns pulling him back like a trainer pulling back a rabid tiger. Killjoy held his blade over Jigsaw, ignoring Joe’s yelling, screaming, cursing. Joe was mad, not his calm, internal anger- no, this anger was old, older than Killjoy, older than this world- this contained anger of Joe, being unleashed like a star collapsing. 

Jigsaw’s face glowed, bright white light; not from him though, he was in shock, attempt to divide like a cancer failing, resulting in him shuddering and shaking. It was Killjoy, Killjoy’s face glowed, eyes, teeth, hair, glasses. Killjoy was the sun, the stars, the moon, he lit up everything, sending thick pillars of shadow shooting out around him as the light caught the pillars of the old clock. 

If Joe was mad, Killjoy was furious. The point of the blade came down on Jigsaw’s torso, driving into the grass below, Jigsaw began to shatter, cracking around the stomach. Killjoy snarled, Joe’s screams audible,

“Don’t.”

The blade came up, then went down. Another split of dirt,

“Ever.”

Again.

“Get.”

Two this time.

“Involved.” 

Killjoy took the blade and dragged it straight across Jigsaw, watching him puff off in a cloud of gray and yellow triangles. Killjoy turned around and gasped. 

Another puff of yellow and gray. 

Joe stood there, blood dripping from his nose, hair disheveled, glasses tilted. His face glowed softly in the moon, Joe spit.

Blood.

And walked back to the nether portal, speaking into the air, absolute nothingness, but he knew. 

“We’ll talk later.” 

[thanidiel]

Big Bang Theory

Yes, she clearly recalls the moment in which her world grew into something expansive, and wide, and freeing.

She had scoffed at such sense before, had seen it before, in the way it manifested in Eldest Brother. The way his eyes grew and his brows lessened their dire weight after he began to attend school in the Village Down The Water. 

He’d rush up the twisting roads when he came back home every week’s end, dirtying the clean blue of the clothing that Mother had stitched herself from the cloth they had bartered last summer with rice slurry. His sparse whiskers collected sweat like the fat droplets of dew that came in from the mountain sky every morning.

Yes, she remembers that. And she remembers how he’d throw down the cross of his legs onto the kitchen mat like a soldier making himself welcome, swallow down the thick strips of rice noodles set in front of him, lick down his chops until every bit of the chicken fat and soy sauce dissipated. Then he’d pull off his school tunic, walk bare into the paddies, and perform what work there was to be done with frenetic spirit.

And after that, once the sun slept and once they had rubbed garlic onto their flatbread and ate their fermented eggs; once Father began to chew his stick of sugar cane and once Mother bared her dark breast to Third Sister - Eldest Brother would pull them all together with something conspiratorial. All of them: her, Second Brother, Third Brother, and Second Sister. They would sit together in the light of the fire, and Eldest Brother would insist upon a thorough, if condensed, curriculum of what had been learned the week previous. It was these days that she saw a joy in his lips and eyes that never quite reached him in times after. 

She took it in readily, as she had always taken all that had come to her, but she did not realise what it was in that joy until one night, when the Kou had demanded so much coin and food from her family that Father could no longer pay for schooling - she and Eldest Brother had spirited to town with their saved allowances. There, in the orange sun, they had bought sticky and dried persimmons and sucked on those furiously in their cheeks, washing it down with syrupy plum-wine they had excused as buying for Father. 

There, in the cool night, sprawled out and hidden in the barley fields on the outskirts, her red-cheeked sibling turned to her.

“First Sister– Hui.”

“Yes?”

A pause fell here, so needed it was. The eventual thought came out of him like a frog’s croak; a bubble of mucus slowly blowing out of the buffalo’s nose and bursting.

“Do you think I will die like this? Doing the same work as everyone before us?”

“Who am I to read the future? That’s why you were in the books.”

“And now the Kou have taken everything from me.”

“Don’t say that. You don’t know who else is around.”

“It’s true though, I wasn’t supposed to be the one to take up Father’s work. Now it looks like five of us are going to be divvied up with the rice paddies. Scraps and heritage.”

“Five? Third Sister is sickly, but not weak. Morbid, much? She’s almost to her first year.”

Another pause. She watched Eldest Brother play out the mannerisms of their Father, chasing the gulp of wine with the thunderous smack of his lips and the roll of his fat tongue around his gums and lips. He punctuated the start of his words with a loud sigh of satisfaction.

“You are the brightest, the capable one. Everything points to it. That’s why Father hasn’t accepted any offers for you yet - not until he has made a trip to the city. You’re the only one of us that reached for the gil on your Zhuazhou, you know.”

She remembers snorting at that, “So I’m bright because some stupid tradition says that I’m a money-grubber?”

“Good with money, rather. Smart. A business-woman. And what else could someone look for in a wife?”

“A wife that’s interested in sticks,” shot out easily. She and Eldest Brother were the closest of any of their siblings, nothing was kept from the other. She remembers how that came out too. They had been wandering the town together one evening when the work was little and Eldest Brother had been irritated with the sharp tongue she had driven off his flirtatious friends with - until she had spat onto the rich soil below their feet and declared she’d bleed like the rivers before ever accepting any man’s gaze upon her. After that, he was shocked in his silence. His apology was using the last month of his allowance to buy her a dusty, pale, mooncake rich with duck yolk.

“A luxury, yeah?” He dismissed so easily; as everything Eldest Brother ever did. Then he fixed her with a drunken severity. The bulb of muscle betwixt his brows jutted out like an oranda’s head, 

“You have a natural intellect like the tigers down the river, the rest of us are nothing beyond what we already are without that schooling. You’re going to be the one that makes it out of here, Hui.”

She remembers that she did not conceive how to reply to that. They swallowed the engulfing silence, of which was a grieving of the truth and all of its touch, with the rest of the bottle. After that, there was a blur of resting and intoxication that ended in Father dragging them onto their knees over a scattering of grain. Once they had cried out all of their repentance, they had gathered every dusty piece and returned it to the sacks else they would waste even more on that night.

It was only some months after that where the burden of the Kou squashed the dreams of their Father. A festival, she remembers. A festival that brought some handfuls of peoples of the Steppes, and the Sea, and Doma to their humble village. Meagre, and she recalls the way elders collected of festivals one thousand times the size of it when Doma ruled Doma, but ironically freer in these times than the south where the Kou rested their hand more heavily.

Though for play and worship, the underlying spirit of festival and foreign visitors was ultimately business. She remembers the unprecedented flow of gil from the house, Father opening his doors to all newcomers, and the way Mother and Second Sister worked for days beforehand to stack pretty parcels of mooncake stuffed with winter melon for the coming meetings. 

The mornings and afternoons were a flurry of touch, and sickness, and nothing but the flow of the Hingan they spoke below the mountains. Old, rounded, women touched her here, there, and everywhere; moving her jaw and brushing their thumbs across her cheekbones and twisting her hand over to trace her palm lines. And her lower back strained from the repetition of tea ceremony after tea ceremony she had been made to perform for both them, and their husbands, and their prospective sons.

The criticisms burned where they were laid. For the families of fishery and soil, she was too pale and delicate. For the merchants, some remarked that she was too dark and course, while others proclaimed she did not demonstrate a sufficiently practical character. The rare presence of the neighboring Raen clucked their tongues and declared her etiquette unpracticed and unsuitable to their kinsmen at home. Roegadyn pointed out the markers of ill birth in her body.

And the offers seared her soil evermoreso than the rejections. The sell-out magistrate of their village made an appearance and had plainly offered to take her out of Father’s hands as Third Wife. She remembers thinking how Eldest and Second Brother would have whipped his skin into curls for his arrogant gluttony, had they been present. Another offer was even more debasing than that - Kha had visited the family as well and placed offer as concubine, for even they would not suffer to pass heritage through non-Auri offspring. Though the one that flared her heat the most was a Kou-Decurio who had demanded to take her above all visitors, as she were such a ‘pretty girl.’

All of this, she bore silently. Finally, it was after the second week where Father and Mother released her to contemplate her future, daring not to refuse the Kou, and giving her the last days of the festival freely. 

It was there where the world truly expanded, that she remembers oh-so clearly.

There was a special visitor - a truly special visitor. A landowner from Hingashi’s famed port-city, who had paid the Ruby Tithe for the purposes of business with the Kou that could not be handled within Hingashi’s limits. They said she had come there to survey the qualities of the mountainous land between Doma and the neighboring Steppes.

She managed to convince the village girls to settle close to where the visitor was purported to be, and they huddled over their collective plate of sugar cake with furtive glances and furtive ears.

The first apparent thing was that this visitor, this woman, possessed beauty and wealth beyond anything any of the girls had seen before. 

Yes; that is a stark image in her mind to this day. The flowing silks on her person were dyed bright, with colours those of Yanxia could not think to replicate with gil or their own raw materials. Her hair was blacker, much blacker than their’s, and thin and sleek in opposition to what sprouted from their heads. Her eyes, too, shone with green like the waters instead of their brown eyes. And whereas their faces grew square, this woman possessed delicate, rounded, features. Servants and a palanquin rested nearby as she spoke with the elders; an obedient wushi behind her left side.

Something changed in her, watching that woman and hearing her haggle between the Kou and magistrate for contract of the village’s export. Or, in a most precise description, something resonated in her. It was a truly awe-inspiring affair; observing that woman. She had an arrogant manner in her, this Hui understood. The surety and dominance she exuded as the village men, red-eared like jujube fruit, ketou to her twisted an ache of want under her breast. And when she spoke of the culture of this distant Kugane, of the wealth and freedom apparently in every nook and cranny of its streets, Hui breathed it in like a caged bird set by the window. So righteously envious was Hui of this perfumed niang that her companions yanked her away with a twist of fingers along the cartilage of her ear.

That was the moment; those other girls too late in the rescue of their friend. That was the expansive breath that changed everything. It was as though she were a child with caul, freed by an attentive midwife - Eldest Brother was right. 

She was better than this, how ought she not reach for more?

This Kugane, this ziyou, if it were to breed women like this stranger as purported, then that is what she would aspire for. That is the thought that rang, and brayed, through her mind with every step that tore her farther away from that woman.

Opportunity knocks at the door only but once; she would pluck this fruit of her mind before the cold took it away.

[javocjovian]

Table Manners, SPN ABO Bingo

Title: Table Manners Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17444402/chapters/49532051 Square Filled: Voyeurism (ABO) Ship: Wincest Rating: E Tags: Blowjobs, Throat-Knotting, Face-fucking, Agoraphilia (risk of getting caught in public), Exhibitionism/Voyeurism/Martymachlia, Teasing, Forced Orgasm, Dean is a little shit, Alpha!Sam, unspecified!Dean Summary: Dean repays Sam for a fantastic face-fucking session, but a simple blow job turns kinky when Castiel arrives unexpected. Word Count: 2078

Created for @spnabobingo Beta-ed by IndridGrey

Quote:

"I think I found a case.”

Dean knew that meant 'let me read,' so he stopped talking, idly rubbing his shoulders and staring at the ceiling.

Inspired by boredom, Dean slipped roguishly out of his chair and disappeared under the table. Sam was so absorbed in his research that he hadn’t noticed—until he felt Dean undoing his jeans.

(x)

Table Manners 

It was one of those boring bunker days when Sam and Dean couldn’t find anything to hunt. Castiel was busy doing angel things, whatever those were, and there wasn’t a single thing Dean could do to the Impala. She was perfect. Bored and restless, Dean went into Sam’s room looking for something to occupy his mind.

Unfortunately, Sam was about as helpful as Castiel in the 'let's have fun' department. After Sam suggested they update the old Men of Letters’ catalog system, which would involve going through every dusty file in the place, Dean felt like banging his head on the wall.

"God, you're so boring," he groaned. Before Sam could retort, Dean sighed and said, "Guess I'll go masturbate for eight hours. Don't wait up." Dean said it as a joke, but when Sam gave him a surprisingly dirty look, Dean added, "Unless you want to join me."

Sam looked at Dean appraisingly, then put his book down.

"Oh hell yes," Dean said at once.

Within minutes they were making out on Sam's bed. Dean got naked first and, since Sam was being so agreeable, he pushed Sam down and climbed on top of him.

With Sam's enthusiastic consent, Dean was soon straddling Sam’s chest and panting, his dick down Sam's throat. Their fingers were intertwined above Sam’s head and Dean was hunched over him, rocking his hips into his mouth over and over again.

Waves of curses and praise left his lips as Sam’s warm, wet suction swallowed him up. Sam never thought he was very good at this, but Dean clearly disagreed. He was sweating and moaning in satisfaction. His muscles were taut and his thighs were quivering on either side of Sam’s neck. When he started rubbing Sam’s fingers with his own, Sam knew he was close.

"Oh fuck, Sammy...that's so good…."

Sam hollowed his cheeks and shut his eyes, letting Dean go all out. It wasn’t entirely pleasant, but the sounds Dean was making were well worth it. Dean’s mouth fell open and he came down the back of Sam’s tongue with a messy groan. Sam grabbed Dean's ass encouragingly, idly touching himself. When he pulled out Dean looked like he'd just run a mile.

“You came in my mouth, how’d you get it in my hair?” Sam asked moments later as he toweled himself off.

Dean was on his back on the bed, his eyes closed in bliss. “I’m that good,” he said with a smile. “Come here and I’ll return the favor.”

“Yeah, okay." Sam smirked. "Just let me clean up.”

Dean grunted his acknowledgement as Sam got out of bed.

But by the time Sam returned, Dean was passed out and snoring softly with his arm over his face. Sam scoffed in disbelief. He had half a mind to take care of business right next to him, but he decided he didn't have the heart. So instead he grabbed his book and laid down beside Dean.

 Dean woke up slightly confused. Once he recalled why he was naked in Sam’s bed, he grinned to himself and got up. Sam wasn't there, nor was he in his bathroom, so Dean got dressed and padded into the hallway.

He found Sam at the library table doing research on his laptop.

“Hey.”

Sam looked over his shoulder. "Good morning." He held back a smirk.

Dean smiled sheepishly. “Guess I was tired,” he apologized.

"It's fine," Sam sighed. "It's not like I haven't done that to you before."

"Yeah, when you're in heat."

Sam glanced at Dean, flushing slightly, but Dean could tell he was off the hook. Counting his blessings, he sat down beside Sam and watched him work. “You really are good at that, you know.”

Sam knew what he was talking about, and couldn't help but feel a little proud. “Yeah, I guessed that much," he teased.

Dean smiled shamelessly and stretched. “Well, I’ll still repay you.”

“Fine. But not now, I think I found a case.”

Dean knew that meant 'let me read,' so he stopped talking, idly rubbing his shoulders and staring at the ceiling. It had started to rain at some point; Dean could hear it in the background under Sam’s clacking keyboard.

Inspired by boredom, Dean slipped roguishly out of his chair and disappeared under the table. Sam was so absorbed in his research that he hadn’t noticed—until he felt Dean undoing his jeans.

The clacking stopped.

“Dean. What are you doing?”

“Just ignore me. Keep doing your research.”

“Uh-huh."

Dean could hear him smiling.

Sam sighed slightly when he felt Dean pull his boxers down, his eyes no longer absorbing a single thing he read.

“Dean...” he started, but the next thing he knew his cock was being enveloped by warmth and a smooth, slick tongue was feeling up his shaft. Sam bit back a groan.

Dean smirked internally. Sam wasn't like other Alphas—it was exceptionally hard to rile him up unless he was in heat—so anytime Dean got the upper hand, he ran with it.

He sucked Sam’s cock into his mouth, enjoying the little jumps and sighs he got out of his younger brother. He’d been doing this since they were teens, and years of experience made him dangerously proficient at pleasuring Sam. He knew all the spots that made his toes curl, and all the ways to make sure he wasn’t looking at that laptop above Dean’s head. Sure enough, he spotted Sam gripping the table rather than typing.

It took a lot to get Sam to moan, but after some extended attention to his slit—Dean knew he was somewhat of a masochist and loved the overstimulation— Sam finally broke. He moaned, and Dean fought back a smile.

The sound cut off when the bunker door opened upstairs. Dean stopped to listen and felt Sam freeze up.

Castiel’s familiar footsteps echoed down the bunker-steps.

“Hello, Sam.”

“Cas! Hi!”

Dean heard a long pause.

“...Are you alright?”

Dean grinned and resumed sucking Sam's cock under the table.

Sam's palm hit the table rather forcefully. “Uh… fine. Great! Actually. H...how are you?”

Dean could hear Sam’s jaw clenching around every word, but Dean was on an adrenaline high now and he had no intention of leaving without bringing Sam to orgasm. He heard a chair scuff behind him and Castiel sitting down to chat, despite what Dean was sure were clear signs that Sam wanted to be left alone.

 Sam and Castiel had a perfectly normal conversation while Dean hid, tormenting Sam’s cock with pleasure. It was a perfectly normal conversation to Castiel, anyway. Sam kept shutting his eyes and stuttering when Dean swallowed. When Dean played with head, Sam's voice would raise mid sentence. Every attempt to shake Castiel off failed miserably.

Then, to Dean's surprise, he felt something that usually only happened during Sam's rut, or during a really kinky fuck fest: Sam's knot was starting to swell.

“Sam? Are you…ill? You’re sweating.”

Dean swallowed a laugh.

“Actually, uh, I didn’t sleep w...well….”

He tried to kick Dean off but Dean was determined now. Sam was knotting—it was taking a little longer than usual, but he was actually knotting—and Dean was thrilled. He could feel Sam's knees shaking and he could taste precum leaking down his throat, but he was determined to see this through regardless of the consequences.

“...C...could you make some coffee? Please?”

Castiel was silent for a moment, but then he got up at last.

The chair scuffed again and Sam sighed in relief. Dean used his momentary relaxation to swallow around his knot, and Sam groaned reflexively, like he’d been holding it in for too long.

Castiel stopped.

Sam transformed it into a fake cough and Castiel went into the kitchen looking concerned. Sam really did kick Dean that time.

“You’re a monster,” he muttered to the table.

“You luffit,” Dean muttered back, his mouth full of cock.

Sam shuddered and moaned quietly. He was getting off on this. Big time. He was so close. He just needed Dean to keep using his tongue like that. Just a little more...

“Sam?”

Sam looked up quickly, biting his lip. He was about to fully knot Dean's throat. “Yeah?” His voice was higher than ever.

Castiel must have reappeared in the doorway. "Do you take cream or sugar?”

“Uh, neither...” Sam’s voice died in his throat. He clenched his jaw and shut his eyes for a split second, and before he could stop it, he came down Dean’s throat in blinding relief, fully knotting Dean's mouth.

A shockwave of pleasure made him jerk against the table. It was all the more intense for having to hide it. His eyes watered and he made a funny sound in his throat. All he wanted to do was put his head down on the table and fuck Dean’s mouth. “N...neither, Cas. Thanks!”

Castiel nodded slowly and disappeared.

Sam collapsed against his laptop, shaking. Dean kept up the suction as hard as he could, and Sam whined quietly, trembling all over in bliss.

Dean didn't dare move now, and Sam knew it. Dean was trapped—for how long, Sam didn't know. He hadn't knotted outside of a rut in a while, but it normally took a long time for it to go back down. Still, Sam could practically see the cocky, triumphant look on Dean's face.

Castiel brought Sam a cup of coffee and Sam nodded in thanks. Dean, his throat full of cock, listened as Castiel sat back down.

"Sam, you really don't look well. Are you sure you're not sick?"

Dean rumbled a silent laugh, and Sam felt the light vibrations on his sensitized knot. He nearly choked on his coffee.

"I'm sure, Cas, th...thanks."

"Perhaps, if you'd let me…"

Dean heard someone shift over the table, then Sam leaned back, dragging Dean forward slightly.

"No! Uh, really, I'll be fine. How...how were things in Heaven?"

Castiel sighed in defeat, and began to tell Sam about his latest excursion into the sandbox.

Under the table, Dean could tell that Sam had just narrowly avoided Castiel grace-touching him because, far from 'curing' Sam of his nonexistent illness, Dean was sure Castiel would have sensed exactly what was going on if he had entered Sam's mind.

After a few minutes of conversation, Dean began to feel Sam's knot deflate. Sam had gone silent, feigning interest in Castiel's story perhaps, but Dean knew he was zoning out. The post-orgasm high was hitting him. He always did this after he popped his knot—it was as if he'd used up all his energy fucking and needed a well-earned rest. Dean called it his sex hangover, and it always filled Dean with explicable pride, especially now.

Once Sam deflated fully, Dean eased him out of his mouth. Dean's throat was sore as hell but he'd never had more fun blowing Sam. He gave Sam's spent cock a lingering kiss, and smirked when he heard Sam's mug nearly topple over.

"Uh, hey, could you get me another cup?" Sam interrupted Castiel.

Castiel went silent, but he got up again.

Dean hastily redid Sam's pants and was out from under the table by the time Castiel came back with more coffee. Sam barely had time to quietly yell at him.

“Hey Cas,” Dean greeted him casually, “I didn’t realize you were here.”

Sam wanted to elbow him but he was too shaky, so he just glared at him instead. Still, the glazed look in his eyes was undeniable and it made Dean grin like an idiot.

“Oh, hello, Dean," Castiel said, clearly wondering where he'd come from. "Um, would you like some coffee?”

“Please.”

Castiel paused, as if suddenly wondering how he’d become their waiter, but then went back into the kitchen.

Sam turned on Dean at once. “I am going to kill you.”

Dean grinned victoriously. “Uh-huh. Sure you are. I’ve never heard you moan like that. Was it that good?”

Sam glared harder. Dean’s expression was so cheeky that Sam couldn’t keep it up, though. He felt better than he had in days, even if he looked like he'd just been in a hurricane. He broke into an exasperated smile.

"Next time we're inviting Cas to watch," Dean murmured playfully in Sam's ear, putting an arm around him. "You never knot out of heat, you kinky son-of-a—"

Castiel returned and Dean flew off Sam, who cleared his throat and was red in the face.

"Hey, Cas, thanks." Dean took the steaming mug from Cas without missing a beat, then sat down beside Sam.

The three of them chatted for a while and Castiel was relieved to see Sam looking much better. In fact, both Sam and Dean looked better than usual and, after a confusing bit of hostility from Sam had faded, they seemed to be getting along better than ever.

Before Castiel left he said he needed to come by for coffee more often, and Sam privately agreed.

[adambombvilivus]

Confession: I once broke into a friend’s house with malicious intent

 and it involved jelly sandwiches

Okay, so first off, I want to keep things vague and anonymous, since I don’t want this former friend to be connected in any way. Now, it’s been a good few years and more since this happened, but I’m still very paranoid and nervous and, as I hope you’ll understand from reading, traumatized from it. It was a pretty strange saga of events on my end so I would appreciate you read all the way through before judging me please.

To give the best background, I’ll start from the beginning of knowing this guy. We met in middle school, sixth grade I believe; we weren’t friends for about a year but we shared common friends and often sat together so we just got along in time, of course. This guy, this kid, seemed pretty normal in every way, for a middle schooler. Well, ��normal” among my friends and I, but we were misfits who just gathered at our own spot since we didn’t really belong to a group identity. At least that’s how I saw it, but I don’t know what the rest of them thought. We got along pretty well, finding out we shared common taste in games and music and shows we liked, and he was one of those friends, I thought, you could always trust to be real with when needed. We weren’t best friends but he was cool when it mattered.

Okay so here’s what you’ll find weird, probably: every single day, without fail, I kid you not, all anyone ever saw this dude eat was jelly sandwiches(not even peanut butter & jelly, just jelly. I always assumed it was strawberry jelly, but I never asked). All he ever said about the sandwiches is that he really loved jelly and it was homemade. I would’ve thought that someone in the faculty or something would’ve stepped in, since I knew teachers knew about it and thought it was a bit strange and unhealthy too, but he claimed he didn’t mind it at all and he seemed in good health all the time, minus regular illnesses. Not that I mind jelly sandwiches, but personally, I can’t eat something every day for more than a couple weeks in a row without getting fully sick of it for a long time, but hey, everyone is different. Oh, and I nearly forgot to put it in here, but  he had mentioned the red room all the way back then, just a couple of times. Once or twice he brought it up in conversations where we were talking about making houses in The Sims games, and he said something about this “red room” in his house that he really liked. He never described the red room, because apparently it was one of those things that was ‘embarrassing to talk about at school’, but he said it was cool and I’d probably like it if I ever saw it.

I’ve never been good with locations and addresses, so it took me until midway through high school to find out from some random situation that he had been living only a few blocks away the whole time! Both of us had lived our whole lives to that point in these homes, so that was funny to me. Since we enjoyed a lot of the same games and I had never really hung out with anyone outside of school before, I thought it would be cool to just walk over to his house and hang out for a few hours and play stuff. He seemed fully down for it and after I told my mom where he lived, she was fine with me going (I was just only 16 and it was late in the year, so it was getting dark early). Getting to his house was easy since we would just go a certain way from school that I had never walked, but it was in the neighborhood and I knew the area. That first time hanging out at his home was awkward for me but nice; we talked more than I had anticipated, about a lot of things around growing up with divorced parents and annoying older siblings and all, while he showed me some of his collections. We played games on his GameCube which I had never tried before, and his mom offered to feed me dinner, but I politely refused since we were going to have steak at home haha.

I went home and had my dinner and said I had a nice time, and that was all, nothing strange that time. When I got into bed that night I kicked myself for forgetting to ask about the red room he had mentioned years ago! I only had that little bit more to make me want to hang out again and it could be another fun thing to do or talk about, so I figured I’d bring it up the next day. He seemed pleasantly surprised that I remembered it after the years and wanted to show me next week if I came over again. Jump to that next visit, walking to his house and all, mostly the same until we had a quiet moment, and the thought came back for me to ask about the red room. He perked up and said something like’ “ooooh..right! Yeah right down here”. Same door as any of the other rooms in his house, nothing strange from in the hall; I was nervous but excited, the way you would be at anything small and silly but with years of mild curiosity behind it.

Okay, pause for a second to imagine the weirdest thing, realistically, you’d expect to see from something called “The Red Room”. I’m expecting you’ll probably imagine, like I had, that his mom just had a room where the walls were red and everything was colored red and it was some kind of hobby or something, maybe with neat art inside or whatnot.

I promise you, this...was not that.

Seriously, what my friend did was open the door, lightly push it all the way open, and walk back to his room and shut his door back closed, all without a word, but I only ever thought about that fact in following years. What I did notice first, however, was naturally, the red, but I’ll give you extra context:

First: the room was totally empty. When I say totally, I mean totally. Not so much as a small piece of forgotten trash on the carpet. It looked like the barest room of a freshly built house.

Second, the room was just a square, just a box. No closet door or sliding door, just the four equal walls.

Third, maybe the strangest of these three: Never before had I seen a room in a home with neither windows nor power outlets, or a room light on the ceiling, I don’t think.

When I say this room was just four bare walls and carpet, that is not an overstatement in any way whatsoever. I just want you to know how serious I am about everything I say here, and it’s important you really take that in before you continue reading.

Now, for what I noticed first. This room, whose doorway I was only standing in, must’ve been called the red room because of the red lighting inside. I say lighting instead of light, because I feel that more accurately conveys that there were no actual lights in this room. It wasn’t red like from a lamp, not like a glow, but similar to the way a sunset can make the outdoors look completely orange. A subtle but sure red, that lit the room like  2 o’clock sun, but there was no window, and even if there was a window, this was during the winter where it gets dark by 6 pm. If you know me, you know I am a coward and so obviously, this is uncharacteristic of me to do, but I’m guessing that I was simply in shock from anxiety to walk away. I walked into the room and I heard this sort of strange buzzing. Putting my ear against the wall, I still heard the buzzing, not much louder, but also vague machinery noises. I’d think with all of the How It’s Made I used to watch, I’d have an idea of what I heard, but nah.

Now that I had a moment to let myself absorb the oddity of this place, I turned around, walked out of the door, closed the door in the most gentlest way, walked down the hall, downstairs, and out of the front door. Like my friend, I said nothing. I was too stunned to walk home fast, I think; I mean, I was traumatized from this. Maybe it’s silly, but I’m a coward. I can’t remember much else from that night since my mind couldn’t focus on anything else. I don’t think I told my mom about it. I don’t think I slept that night or was even able to sleep. Maybe it wasn’t scary but sometimes you just have an experience that just gives you a whiplash being what you are ready to process. I hope you understand.

Just so it’s out there, I’ll go into the boring bits that I’m sure you can infer. Of course I never spoke about it. It’s not like I saw a murder. A story of a weird blank room is one thing, but I can’t tell someone that a room was illuminated by some paranormal red lighting. Yeah, I’m serious and able to open up now, but some teenager isn’t going to feel secure with being as honest-to-god as they can be and being doubted and made to feel crazy. I was already quiet, called weird, not very socially secure my whole life, maybe you can relate. As for that friend and I, well I can’t remember exactly the way we were the next day, but I think it was something along the lines of him saying he hoped I had fun and acting totally normal as before. I didn’t mention the room. I didn’t mention the room at all to anyone since this. I never went back to hang out with him again and he never asked, to my relief every day. We stayed friends through school like normal, although I had the added gift of a little well of anxiety every time he approached our group, sitting down with us eating his jelly sandwiches and joking around about stupid shit that I hate myself for laughing at and saying back then. I think other people noticed me being a little more nervous and distraught than I had been before, but nobody, even at home, ever asked what was on my mind. Most days I had only one thing to tell them regardless.

That is just how it was for a couple of years until graduation. On the last day of school he randomly told me that he hoped we could stay in contact or hang out again sometime, and I just let out a “Heh, yeah that’d be cool yeah.”, but we haven’t spoken or seen each other again after that day. Maybe the odd text counts as communication, but it never held my interest. One time out of nowhere, he texted me a jar of jelly emoji, which I never responded to; only today did I check and noticed there is no jar of jelly emoji on my phone. Neither of us had moved for a few years, so the though of that house being so close to mine that whole time never stopped making me feel uneasy, especially when we would drive near or down his street, and my mom felt like asking about him every damn time for some reason, nearly giving me a panic attack each time. Maybe if I had went to therapy or opened up about it I could’ve started an adult life after graduation, but IMO, trauma never helps anyone grow into a stronger person. Others may be stronger than me in the first place to handle these things, but I’ve never felt that concept.

To jump back into the story though, it was about a year and a few moths after graduating high school. That night still haunted me and, I don’t know, it was just a strange week in my head. I had mustered up this idea to go back but I can’t imagine why. One day after driving down his street, I noticed that the cars at his house were gone from the driveway, and my mom mentioned to me that they had been for a while and they must’ve been on vacation, since nothing suggested that they moved out (their garage was always full of clutter and they never had parked the cars in there). The next day it just came out of my mouth to say that he texted me asking to hang out at his house and catch up from the years, since they just came home from vacation and he said that I would probably like to see some souvenirs he brought home. It was a good enough lie for the time.

I knew I would be breaking in, so I sneakily grabbed a hammer before I left the house just as it would be getting dark. I don’t know why I did any of this. I was haunted, traumatized, I didn’t feel like I could talk, and I sought peace and resolution so badly. I didn’t know where their family really was, but I figured, to hell with it, if the cops show up while I’m there, I’ll tell them to check out that room or I’d plead insanity or something; I spent the past four years or so being very depressed and fixated on this surreal memory, I didn’t really give a shit.

The walk to his house was a blur from being lost in my head, but I got there anyway. I put my hoodie up as cover, but that was about it. I know I wasn’t being discreet, but again, I didn’t really care. I only barely tried the front door, and of course it was locked, so I used my hammer on their window in the front of the house. I’ve always been weak, so it took me a few swings, and being louder than I should have, to get a break, but I did it. Maybe I was too numb to feel how sore my arms were. I cleared the spiky shards around the window and turned on my phone flashlight before climbing and stumbling into the house.

Being in the kitchen, it just clicked to me to think about his jelly sandwiches. Even by that point, that’s all I ever saw him eat. When I had looked back before, I never even saw anyone else in his family eat, but I was only there twice briefly so that never stood out to me. It was almost out of frustration or anger or spite that I wanted to find a jar of his jelly and smash it with the hammer or something, just as payback for the trauma I had been living with.

I opened their fridge to look for that fuckin stuff and I found it.

Yeah I found too much of it. I found a whole entire damn refrigerator full of red jelly. That is it. Same as the room upstairs was truly empty, this refrigerator was full of nothing but red jelly. I wasn’t horrified, I was disgusted. I took a jar out and set it on the counter. Homemade fuckin jelly. The cabinets? All jelly too. Every nook and cranny for where food should’ve been had homemade red jelly. I bet I didn’t even have to tell you that. Heck, did I see any bread for making sandwiches? No, not even a loaf of white bread. Maybe they took it with them to use while away. I think I can remember laughing that they still had standard junk and cutlery drawers, and beneath their sink had everything you’d expect as well. Like a cat, I just slid that jar of jelly off of the counter and watched it shatter. It just spilled out a little liquid, but mostly still gooped up like normal jelly. I was/am so angry that things weren’t weirder than that. Was I an ass for breaking in and being angry over a family that loves their jelly. They had a whiteboard in their kitchen for reminders and such(I saw it mentioned a vacation countdown), and I erased it fully before I took a marker, and I wrote, with much anger and shakiness in my hands, ‘Too much fuckin jelly. Eat something else besides fucking jelly! Fuck you, fuck your family, fuck your jelly, fuck your window, fuck this house, and fuck your fucking boring red room!’.

I dropped the marker on the counter and let out the breath I was holding in and breathed again. I stood there for just as long as I could while the anxiety crept in and I started to shake. Sometime during that standing I heard the creaking of floorboards from upstairs. I grabbed my phone before I even grabbed my thoughts, and thus it was another blur. As I made my way just a very short distance from the kitchen to the front door, I could clearly hear footsteps down the stairs. I do remember trying my best to be quick but also as silent as possible as I left through the door and leaving it wide open. I didn’t speed up my pace nor look back. I just walked home, quite similar to that last time, no more settled or at peace. I think that’s why I have to share the story now, because clearly breaking and entering didn’t help. I didn’t even have the guts to see that room again, and I’m sorry if you wanted to know if there was anything more to it. I got home and didn’t say much of note about what I was up to, or how I explained not being gone for much time, but nothing ever became of it. I never heard of a break-in report or anything. Moving away has been the biggest relief from that place I have ever had, and the only. The only evidence I have of any of this is just what I saw with my own eyes and have as memories. Sometimes you go through things that you just have to accept and live with because you’re a lonely person and are more used to facing loneliness than the pain of distrust and different looks. I just couldn’t stand the silent guilt anymore. I have been living with this experience, but it was hitting a point to where I didn’t want to live at all. I’ll certainly never be able to see a jar of strawberry jelly again without vomiting.