#literally ari opens their mouth and i have to pause a second and take a deep breath. nothing he can't sing he sounds so good in everything | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

letsbenditlikebennett · 3 years ago

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FroYO What The F&*% Is Up, Kyle? || Ariana & Kyle

TIMING: Before Kyle did Bex a big yikes PARTIES: @darkh0wl & @letsbenditlikebennett SUMMARY: Just two wolves who sniffed each other out in a yogurt shop, as you do.

Okay, so maybe it was winter and maybe it was too cold for frozen yogurt. But a craving is a craving, so Kyle had to satisfy it. He headed down to Flagg’s Froyo, avoided the sticky tiles inside the shop, and found a table with his cup that was honestly more topping than yogurt. He leaned back in his chair, eating specifically the popping boba one at a time. Kyle closed his eyes for a moment, relishing in the mouthfeel of boba, but he could smell...something. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what, but there was a familiar sort of smell. His brow furrowed as he breathed in deeper and looked around for the source of the smell.

The only reason her frozen yogurt hadn’t melted had to be due to the temperature alone. Even with talking through what she was feeling, Ariana still found visiting Chloe had left her feeling heavier. Like so many other effort she’d made to help others, it just seemed to crumble in her hands. At this point, she wasn’t sure which felt worse-- trying to help or not trying at all. She had stopped by here after class as a means of killing time. Athena was out at the sorority house planning some sort of event and the thought of just hanging around the apartment alone felt like too much. At least here, the constant thrum of background noise kept her somewhat stable. She stirred around her frozen yogurt with her spoon yet again and almost didn’t even pick up on the smell until it was practically hitting her in the face. Her head whipped up as she saw a guy not much older than her standing in front of her who was undoubtedly also a wolf. It was likely what drew him over to her to begin with. “You can sit,” she said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, “I’m Ari. Take it your nose brought you this way?”

Kyle didn’t honestly know what his game plan was once he was already headed toward the other table. He didn’t know why he was following this scent or what it even was. Now that he was standing in front of this girl, he felt like a major creep, but she seemed excited. Kyle did as she said and sat across from her in a bit of a daze. She smelled so familiar. Like home in a way that Kyle hadn’t really experienced before. Sure, he’d smelled the same thing out and about before--in passing, on full moons, maybe on some patrons at the bar--but never in a context that meant anything. “Uh, I’m Kyle. What do you mean my nose brought me this way? How did you know?”

As Kyle took a seat with her, Ariana quirked a brow up. Almost immediately it was easy to tell he hadn’t met another wolf before. How new was he to this? Hopefully not quite as out of the loop as Luis. Even there, she wasn’t even sure how good her help did. She swirled some of the strawberry froyo around in the cup and shook her head. “Like, literally, your nose brought you here. It’s a wolf thing,” she said nonchalantly. Sure, this was serious, but she couldn’t beat around the bush. Not right now. It was too exhausting, but she did quickly add, “You do know what you are, right?”

The bold, blunt statement of, “It’s a wolf thing,” caught Kyle off guard. He couldn’t help the look of surprise that washed over his face. He hadn’t met another, he’d just sort of figured everything out on his own, trial and error style. Kyle set his cup of froyo toppings down and ran a hand through his hair. Was she--was Ari a wolf, too? Or how had she known? He sighed in mild annoyance. “Of course I know what I am. But how did you know? Are you--y’know, a wolf, too?” He paused for just a beat before adding, “Or are you, like, a mindreader?”

It was hard to keep a straight face as Kyle was clearly taken aback by her words. Ariana had never been so great at the whole beating around the bush thing. It didn’t help that it was also the exhausting route and she was already pretty tired. Then he was asking if she was a wolf or a mind reader and she shook her head. Oh, Kyle. She’d only just met him, but this felt like a very Kyle thing to do based on all the internet memes. “Both,” she said to him with a nearly convincing serious face before a smirk broke out. “Okay, just a wolf. But you made that way too easy.” If he couldn’t immediately discern she was also a wolf, she had the feeling he was still new to all of this. Or at least he hadn’t met other wolves before. “So, how long have you been-- well, you know?” She made a little claw motion with her hands as she asked the last part.

For a second, Kyle’s mouth hung open in surprise. A mind reader?! That was incredible, and already his mind was churning with a hundred questions. But then Ari was smirking and his excitement waned. “Wait, so you’re not a mind reader? Bummer. That sounds dope as hell.” The pieces were clicking together now. Why Kyle could smell her so well, why she smelled so familiar, and even why he felt so oddly at ease with her. He tried to shove that last feeling down. He was a lone wolf and no one was going to change that. “Oh, me? I’ve been a wolf since high school. But I’m kind of the only one I know. Or, I guess I was until I met you.” He shrugged, brow furrowing as he looked back down at his froyo. A creeping question lurked at the back of his mind. Would things be different if he’d met someone sooner? Would he have become a part of some kind of pack? The thought unsettled him in a way he couldn’t pin down, so he cleared his throat and began talking again. “What about you? How long have you been…?” he mimicked the claw motion with a hand, a smirk crossing his face now, too.

Ariana almost felt bad that Kyle had seemingly fallen for her joke about mind reading. As cool as that skill may have been, there was a lot she preferred not to know. That and the world was loud enough already. Especially closer to a full moon. She didn’t need the additional ruckus of other people’s thoughts filling her head. “No, definitely not a mind reader,” she said as she shook her head, “Wolves are cooler anyway.” As she took a bite of her lemon raspberry froyo she could see him beginning to understand. So, he wasn’t necessarily too new to this wolf thing, but new enough that he didn’t know others like them. “High school… how old are you now? Had to be a tough change to make during high school, but you seem to have a pretty good grip of the whole wolf thing.” At least as much as she could tell from their current setting. Hell, at least he knew what he was already and wasn’t trying to actively push her away. She found herself laughing a bit as he mirrored her own motions. “I was born a wolf,” she explained, “My parents were wolves, too. I didn’t really- It wasn’t until recently I actually got to meet others like us. I was pretty young when my parents died.” Murdered would have been a more accurate term, but Kyle seemed comfortable with her, it was probably best to not totally freak him out. “Have you been staying safe? Do you have a good place to spend the full moons?”

“Dang, I was starting to hope this whole being a wolf thing had the added bonus of mind reading. Like, maybe I just had to unlock more levels,” Kyle said, grinning. “You’re right, though. Wolves are cooler.” He took another bite of his topping cup and nodded along with what Ari was saying. She was right. It had been a hard transition in high school. He was just figuring himself out and then he had added being a wolf on top of it. It had shaped him, for better or worse, into sort of who he was now. “I’m 22,” he said and shrugged. “I feel like I have a pretty good hold on things. Give or take.” Take. It was definitely take, but he’d just met this wolf. He didn’t want her to know too too much. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. So Ari had had a long time to practice this whole wolf thing. Maybe that’s why she was so calm about talking about this over froyo. He had questions to ask about being born a wolf--he hadn’t even really thought about werewolves being born, though it made sense--but then Ari casually dropped it on him that her parents were dead. Any smile from his face slowly fell and he let his spoon sink back into his cup. “Oh-- I-- I’m sorry about your parents. I can’t imagine that’s easy, on top of being a wolf.” But she pressed on with questions, so Kyle did his best to oblige her. “What do you mean good place?” he asked. “I mean, I’m staying as safe as I can in a weird town like this. I’m kind of just...driving to the edge of town during a full moon, and I just roam the forest, you know? Usually, I make it all the way out of town, too.” Oops, had that been too much? She didn’t need to know how fragile his grip on control was. Not now.

So Kyle wasn’t too much older than she was, though she had kind of guessed as much. Ariana was eager to have another wolf that was her age to hang out with. Part of her immediately thought that Kyle and Luis would probably get along well. “Nice, I just turned 19 a few weeks ago,” she told him with a smile, “That’s pretty amazing. It’s always a give and take sort of thing, but easier to stay safe if you have a better grasp of the whole thing. I think really riding into it helps?” It was hard to control something you denied, which at least Luis was past that phase. She could tell Kyle seemed surprised she had been born a wolf. So, outside of being a wolf and her being the first one he’d met, he really wasn’t all that well versed in this stuff. That was okay, she’d fill him on everything he needed to know. Plus, she’d introduce him to the others which would give him a whole little community. She took another big bite of her yogurt before she realized he was apologizing. No matter how much she’d heard it, she was always thrown off. “Oh, it’s fin- I’m okay,” she assured easily, “My older sister had always taken good care of me. Don’t get me wrong, losing family sucks, but like, I’m okay. And I think the wolf stuff is a little easier if you don’t know anything else, you know?” Or, at least it felt like she was starting to be. She’d had plenty of time to grieve her parents, it was the more recent losses that seemed to haunt her recently, but she was healing. She was having more good days than bad and that was something, right? She shook those thoughts away and answered his question. “A good place far away from town where you can just be a wolf without worrying about others,” she explained, “It sounds like you have a pretty good setup in place though. Still, I wouldn't mind having someone to hang out with on the full moon. I go pretty deep out into the forest. I have a few different spots I rotate between to keep hunters from catching onto where I am. So if you wanted to join…” She didn’t want to force him, but she’d feel a lot more secure that the other wolves were staying out of trouble if they were together.

So, Ari was younger than Kyle and clearly in better control over the wolf thing. That made him feel unexpectedly bad, never mind that she had had way more time to gain control. He nodded along with what she said about embracing the wolf thing. “Yeah, I agree. The whole being ashamed of what I am thing, it’s--it’s not for me. I like being a wolf. It’s way cool.” He took another bite of his toppings, popping boba in his mouth one by one as he listened to Ari speak about her family. That was heavy. He wouldn’t be coping as well as she seemed to be, that was for sure. “Still,” he said, once his mouth was empty, “it’s not easy and I’m sorry you have to go through that. I’m glad you’re doing okay with it.” He balked at the offer to join her on a full moon. That wasn’t something he’d ever considered. What if he hurt her? It wouldn’t be intentional, sure, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a possibility. He barely knew her. How could he even be sure she wasn’t somehow working with hunters? That was a ridiculous thought, though. One that Kyle brushed aside as he considered her offer. “Uh,” he started. Did he want to say yes? Did he want to commit to something he was probably going to regret later? “I don’t know,” he said, his brows pulling together. “I think I’ve been doing pretty good by myself. I haven’t seen any hunters. I’ll think about it, though.” He wouldn’t think about it. Kyle had already made his decision, whether he would admit that to himself or not. He didn’t want to be connected to someone who could possibly count on him. Not now. The circumstances didn’t feel right. He was a lone wolf, and he didn’t want to change that now. Ari seemed nice enough, but he didn’t want to be vulnerable in front of someone else.

Ariana found okay to be a fairly relative thing. She’d had nearly sixteen years to cope with what had happened to her family. Even Celeste, Sammy, Winn… time had passed. There were still days where a memory or thought could throw her for a loop, but she could manage easier now. She could keep moving forward even though her life would no longer look like she had always pictured it. She could adjust, mostly because she had to. She’d always had to adjust in some way or another and grief, pain-- it wasn’t all that different except in the fact it was harder. “Thanks,” she said as she moved some mochi around with her spoon. She wasn’t sure what else to say so she eagerly awaited his answer about joining her on the full moon, only to be disappointed. For some reason, he’d rather spend the moon alone even though instinct seemed to pull them together. “Oh,” she started slowly, “I mean, I have too, just thought it’d be nice to spend it hunting together. See who can catch the biggest buck and all that.” She wasn’t sure why the rejection stung so she busied herself with her yogurt again momentarily. When she really thought about it, all she really wanted was to help and have it go well. She wanted to fulfill that purpose of bridging the supernatural worlds together in a way Celeste had started, but Celeste had always been so much better with people. What would she do? A joke to lighten the mood was all Ariana could come up with. “What,” she said with a smirk that felt forced, “You think I’ll slow you down or something?”

Kyle’s lips pressed into a thin line. He didn’t miss that Ari had genuinely wanted him to join her on the full moon. After what he’d done to his mother… He shuddered and tried to play it off by setting his spoon down and mumbling something about brain freeze. That bought him enough time to consider her request even more fully. He hadn’t known that other wolves hunted on the full moon. It made sense, but he hadn’t really considered it for himself. Would they eat the deer they took down? Kyle wrinkled his nose at the thought. “Do you eat the deer?” he asked, prodding at his frozen yogurt. That didn’t sound like the most appetizing way to go about things, but he didn’t want to judge Ari too harshly. “I’ve never hunted anything. I guess I’m almost worried you’d speed me up,” he said with a chuckle. “I usually just...run, I guess.” He didn’t really think about it, he just went to the forest and let himself go. He let himself forget all of his human worries and just be free. Most of the time, he was in the woods, anyway. Sometimes, he didn’t quite make it out of town. But even then, he just spent the night chasing rabbits or the occasional stray cat. He never caught them, but he had fun trying.

Ariana watched Kyle carefully as she tried to make sense of his body language. It seemed as if he was considering her offer at the very least though she couldn’t be too sure. As she set her own nearly finished yogurt down, confusion crossed her features. Her head tilted curiously and her eyes widened a bit that he asked if she ate the deer. The answer seemed obvious though when he mentioned he just ran, concern started brewing in her stomach. “Uhm, yeah,” she looked around carefully before lowering her voice to a whisper, “The full moon makes us kind of bloodthirsty and all. Better deer than the alternative. So, I fuck off deep into the forest and just let instinct take over.” The thought of just running didn’t quite add up to werewolf nature though and she had the feeling he wasn’t being entirely truthful with her. While she didn’t necessarily want to call him out and push him away when he likely needed her experience, she had to bring it up somehow. “You just… run,” she asked slowly. Her wide eyes didn’t do much to hide her disbelief as she started to fiddle with her spoon again. “That’s… I really think you should join me. I’d really enjoy the company and we’re kind of pack creatures by nature and all.” Her mind briefly thought of Luis who was also new to this and went through struggles she couldn’t quite understand. She sat up a little straighter and quickly added, “Actually, I have a friend I want you to meet. He’s-- well, he’s really new to all of this and trying to figure things out. Since I’ve always been like this, I kind of worry I can’t really relate to him as well as he needs, you know?”

Kyle had to take a moment to process that Ari ate the deer. He hadn’t eaten--...had he? The creeping realization that, in fact, he probably had eaten the stray cats and wild rabbits he chased made his stomach flip. He set the cup of yogurt down and nudged it away from himself. How many missing cat posters had been put up because of him? Kyle swallowed thickly and bit his lower lip. “I--I’m not sure. I mean, I don’t eat--or I didn’t think I ate things like that? Maybe I do? I don’t know. I’m not new new to this, but I don’t know if I’m the right candidate to--what did you say? Fuck off into the woods?” He didn’t know who this friend Ari spoke of was, but Kyle knew that he couldn’t relate to them either. He hadn’t exactly embraced pack life as much as he’d just embraced the idea of being a wolf. Ari had a point that they were social creatures by nature, but the thought of being so tied down in such a specific manner had Kyle feeling uneasy at best. “I guess I could meet your friend I--I don’t know. I don’t want to disappoint, but I don’t think I’m any help, you know? You’re kind of the only wolf I’ve really met. I don’t have experience on that front. I don’t know that I could be relatable in the way he needs, I guess.”

There was no hiding the wide eyed look that crossed her face when Kyle said he didn’t think he ate things. Ariana knew that couldn’t be true, not when the full moon had such a hold over them that made them basically insatiable. Even with her memory of her full moons crystal clear, there was no denying the hold it had on her. How the hunt was the only thing that drove her during those midnight hours until she reached contentment and fell asleep cozily on the forest floor. “Right,” she said slowly, “You probably do eat things… it’s like-- the full moon makes us pretty much bloodthirsty and hungry, but not like, to each other. Pack instinct kind of kicks in there.” Her voice was low but her hushed tone was serious. The yogurt cup was long since forgotten on the table and she watched him carefully with concern in her eyes. “I think you two would get along. It’s not necessarily about tips, but it’s a pretty big life change to go through. Everyone could use someone who knows what they’re going through.” Really, Luis could use all the support he could get though now she found herself worried for Kyle, too. She noticed the sun was getting lower in the sky and glanced down at her watch before she fumbled in her bag to grab a pen and paper. She quickly scrawled down her number and told him, “This isn’t the best place to talk, but text me soon, okay? We can go for a hike if nothing else.” She only half meant that. She had every intention of working on wolf things with him, but she didn’t want to scare him off just yet. “I’m supposed to meet my girlfriend soon, but take care, okay? This town can be dangerous for people like us.”

#wickedswriting #kyle #froYO wtf is up kyle #parental death tw #sibling death tw #both tws are mentions

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aswallowssong · 4 years ago

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Second Child, Restless Child

Chapter 9 - The Devil Whispered Lies

@valkyrie-5583

Read on AO3

If I told y'all I got engaged and that's why this chapter is literally a billion years late, would that make it better??

Jokes aside (not really a joke, I did get engaged, I just hid it in the notes a few weeks ago) spring break is one week away for this teacher, and my goal is to write a whole bunch so I can not have to post chapters like... 2 months apart.

Let me know what you think of this one!! Have a lovely day!!

Continuation of chapter 8 - Heaven Knows How Hard I Tried. The Keystone Killer has given Kit a lot to think about; including some things she wasn't quite counting on.

Kit wasn’t quite listening when they walked back into the precinct. Her conversation with JJ earlier in the day had helped. If JJ had met pushback, but now she was allowed to be a full part of the BAU team, she should stand up for herself. The director himself saw all of her reports, she could tell Ramos she disagreed with him. Especially if, for the time being, her work was good enough for the literal director of the whole FBI.

But her talk with Hotch outside of Harbin’s house hadn’t done her a lot of good. Her mind was still reeling from the events of the last hour, she still hadn’t slept since Friday night, and it was actively Sunday.

What brought her back to reality was Morgan’s voice, deep and steady at the front of their group. It caught her up to the present so quickly she almost stopped short, which would have sent Hotch right into her.

“Well, that's got to be a first. A killer actually leading us to another killer.”

“Come on,” Gideon said from further back, “we all know they make the best profilers. They admire each other's work.”

“Ya, but usually from afar,” Elle said as they spilled into the conference room.

Kit didn’t even let herself imagine sitting down. There was no way she would be able to stay awake when she had nothing of value to add. At this point, she was waiting to get back on the jet and back to her apartment. The image of Claudia was twisting in her mind, and she couldn’t help the desperate need she had to see Monty face to face.

Hotch didn’t let her stay in her head for very long. “At least we got Harbin off the street. All right, let's review. What do we know about the Keystone Killer?”

He’s killing women at an alarming rate.

“Well, we know that he's not dead or in jail,” Elle offered.

Gideon continued. “Enjoys taunting the game.”

“Ya,” Morgan agreed easily. “He's in complete control.”

Reid was quick to add on, statistics rattling from him easier than Kit was even keeping her eyes open. “He strangled seven women in the 1980's, stopped for eighteen years, and then began again suffocating them. Ten percent of all violent crimes are caused by strangulation, it only takes eleven pounds of pressure to fully incapacitate your victim and if you hang on for at least fifty seconds, they will never recover.”

“Yeah,” Kit said, stopping short once she’d realized the words had come from her mouth, not someone else’s. Everyone’s eyes were on her, and she took a moment before she voiced the fact her brain had produced for her, however reluctantly. “It’s one of the most lethal forms of violence. Victims can be unconscious in a matter of ten seconds.”

Hotch shook his head, confusion pushing from his before he said, “When you suffocate someone you actually have less control over their death. It's actually more passive because the killer doesn't feel the life leaving the body.”

“He's changed almost everything that he does,” Elle said. She was lost, mild annoyance and confusions coming off her in waves. Elle had joined the team just as JJ did, and Kit wondered if she ever felt as completely baffled as she herself felt.

In that moment, it felt like the answer could be yes, and that was comforting.

Gideon took over then, speaking to them as a whole in a series of questions. “Why why why why? What? I mean, what's he getting out of this new M. O.? Where's his payoff? You got Carla Bromwell, she sustains a significant head injury. Blitz attacks suggest disorganization, no self-confidence. This is a guy who walks into seven victims' homes prior to this. There was no forced entry at any of the scenes. Where's the loss of confidence?”

There was a beat of silence, and she really hoped anyone had any idea. It was moments like these that made Kit feel the most out of her element. She had no idea why the Keystone Killer would want to kill anyone anyway, how could she know why he would change his methods?

“He would never change the way he kills by choice,” Ryan said, breaking the silence.

“What?”

Ryan spoke again, confident in a way the rest of the team lacked. “We've been operating under the assumption that he purposely changed his M. O.”

It was like something physically snapped into place. Kit looked around as everyone was suddenly much more engaged.

“You're saying he changed because he had to change?” Gideon asked.

“He knocked her unconscious. And it wasn't to scare.”

Elle seemed to be catching on, and Kit wished selfishly she wasn’t. “Because he couldn't control her physically while she was awake.”

Ryan nodded. “He could be incapacitated.”

Gideon latched back on. “At least partially.”

“Maybe an injury.”

“Or a stroke,” Hotch added, and Gideon started nodding. “Either way you're gonna have to have medical records. Agreed?”

It took her more than a few seconds to notice that no one had said anything else, and she looked over at Gideon, who was looking directly at her.

Why is he looking at me? He never looks at me? We have a spoken rule to not look at one another during cases so why is he looking right at me?

“Colghain?” he said, and she shook her head. He most certainly was looking at her for an answer, and everyone else had gone quiet so she could answer.

“Yeah.” She said, and she saw Ryan raise an eyebrow in annoyance before she stumbled over herself to continue her answer. “Yeah, yes, sorry. Yes. There would be injury reports, charts, notes, scripts. It’s a lot of records, depending on who your doctor is and what hospital you’re at.”

There was another pause before they were all nodding, taking in what she’d said and running with it.

Morgan was first to speak. “Okay, so what are we talking about? This had to have happened after the middle of 1988 in Philadelphia?”

Gideon nodded, first at Kit, and then to Morgan. “Somebody who fits the rest of the profile.”

“It's a lot of hospital records,” Reid said, also looking towards Kit, who nodded her affirmation. “There’s hoards of people going into ERs every day for exactly those sorts of things. It’ll be a huge pool.”

He smiled at her, and she found herself taken a bit aback, but returned his grin with a shy one of her own.

“Call our girl Friday,” Gideon said, directed to Morgan, and as the flurry of movement and new hope danced through the room, she found herself feeling much less tired than she did before.

She’d been helpful. Gideon had known she was an expert about something and asked for her agreement and input before simply inserting a thought.

Her feelings were incredibly jumbled as she stood there, waiting for directions. Gideon’s affirmation made her feel better than she thought it would, considering they didn’t usually talk if not to argue. JJ’s conversation still lingered in the back of her mind, and she wanted to talk to Ramos. If JJ could stand up to the coms department and get what she wanted, why couldn’t she stand up to Ramos?

But Claudia filled the leftover space in her consciousness, and she didn’t know if she could fight for more time with the BAU, or to try to be more fully integrated, or whatever it was that she actually wanted if the cases were going to stay with her.

To scare her. To make her feel like she needed to know that her sisters were alright, even though there was no way to do that while knees deep in a case.

What do you even want, Kody? What do you want?

She didn’t have an answer for herself.

-----

Kit stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom of the precinct and splashed another cupful of water onto her face, holding her cheeks in her hands a moment before looking up at her reflection.

You look exhausted.

Monty’s voice, as always, chided her. Sometimes she wished the voice of her overinvolved consciousness was her brother Al instead. Alaska couldn’t be bothered over things like that. His biggest qualm in life was the fact that his name was Alaska, and it had been quickly remedied by Ari telling him he could just go by Alex at school.

You’ve got bigger problems than that. You’re having a moment in a police precinct in Philly while the rest of your team waits on a comprehensive file to be faxed.

A feeling of dread shot through her chest at the realization that Monty didn’t even know she was gone. She’d been so tired and so incredibly thrown by Garcia’s text, and then Hotch’s insistence that she was on the jet that she hadn’t thought to walk down and tell Ari she was leaving. He’d been on the clinic floor; out of sight, out of mind. Then she was on the jet, and then at the crime scene.

She hadn’t even sent a text.

Hell, she hadn’t even really slept since then. Her time in the jet and her few minutes in the car were nowhere near what she needed, and with all the feelings and thoughts she had flying around her head, she was surprised she hadn’t crashed. She was definitely feeling “Big Feelings,” and she didn’t have time for it.

Ari and Monty always helped the big feelings. They had to be wondering where she was. Why hadn’t they called her? Or texted? They had to be worried. Girls didn’t just go missing in the middle of the day.

But they do. And worse, they’re murdered too. Right out of nowhere for no reason at all. People are sick, Kody. They kill for pleasure. They kidnap for pleasure. They’ll take anyone at any time.

She had her phone out and dialed in record time.

“Penelope’s hotline for all things truth. Speak and know.”

“Garcia.” She swiped at her eyes. When had she started crying? “I need a favor.”

“Oh, Kit, hey.” Her voice was as sunny as always. “I’ve got that file almost through, the medical was-”

“It’s not about the case.”

There was silence on the other line for a moment. “Oh?”

“If I gave you the first and last name, could you trace a cell phone?”

“A cell phone? As long as it’s registered to the same name, yeah, I can. Why?”

“Virginia.” She said. “Virginia Colghain.”

She didn’t know why she picked Ginny. Something inside her said that Seese, George, and Lina would be at home with their mam. Ginny lived in the city, and Kit couldn’t call her.

Ginny didn’t know she was in the field. Ginny didn’t even know she’d been paired with the BAU.

“Where should it be? Just so I know what I’m looking for.”

“Probably the US Attorney's office.”

“Which branch?”

“The one in the district. On fourth street.”

Garcia hummed as she typed, the clicking of her keystrokes halting as she said, “Wait. Wait, Colghain?”

Kit bit her lip. She was sort of hoping Garcia wouldn’t notice.

Which is stupid, because of course she’d notice.

“Yes.”

“Virginia Colghain?”

“Yes, Garcia, can you track it or not?” Kit glanced at herself in the mirror, letting her reflection ground her. She tugged at one braid, and then the other with her free hand before wiping at her eyes again.

The clicking started again before Garcia said, “Virginia Colghain’s phone is, in fact, inside the US Attorney’s office on fourth street.”

Kit breathed a sigh of relief. While it wasn’t proof that Ginny was okay, it certainly helped Kit’s nerves. “Thanks, Penelope. Sorry about that.”

“Sure, my sweet clover. But, why don’t you just call her and ask where she is? I’m going to assume that’s one of your many many siblings.”

Because I haven’t quite told her I’m working with the BAU now, or going in the field again, and I’m not ready to have that conversation with her just yet, considering no one knows but Ari and Monty.

“I don’t want to interrupt her at work, I just needed to know she was okay.”

Garcia was quiet again before saying, “You know, we’ll get him. My system has faxed almost all the papers now, and then you can go bring him in.”

Kit took a breath, glancing again at the reflection in the mirror. She almost didn’t recognize the face staring back at her. Had she always looked so sad?

“Thanks, Pen,” she said quietly. “I, um. I’ve gotta go.”

“Go fight crime, clover. But, hey,” Penelope’s voice took on a different quality. A serious one. “You and I should talk when you get back.”

She sighed, but nodded. “Okay… bye, Penelope.”

Kit hung up the phone.

Ginny was fine. She knew that it was a given, and she probably just looked like a crazy, paranoid moron, but she also knew deep down that Penelope didn’t care. Maybe she understood.

Before she could convince herself otherwise she hit the first position speed dial, pacing a bit in front of the sinks as it rang.

“Dia dhuit?” Came Monty’s groggy, listless voice over the line, and Kit nearly burst into tears at the combination of her sister’s voice, her real voice, and their mother tongue.

“Monty.”

“Yeah, it’s me. Where are you? Thought you were in the living room, but I only hear you on the phone.”

Kit wiped at a stray tear trailing down her cheek. There was no way she was keeping it together when she finally got home.

Monty’s accented Irish was thicker than it normally was. Her voice was lower too, telling of the fact that she quite possibly woke her twin up. She bit back a bit of guilt, her own voice launching into a language just for them.

“I’m sorry, I woke you, didn't I?”

“It’s alright, I’ll go back when we’re done. Where are you?”

“Are you feeling any better?” She was stalling. “When was the last time you took-”

“Dakota.” Kit stopped in her tracks. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Everything is fine.”

“But why are you crying?”

Damn it.

She tried to keep any tremor out of her voice, but she knew Monty would always be able to tell. “I’m not.”

“Why are you calling me, crying-”

Kit sighed, her pacing stopping dead in its tracks as she tried to keep herself together. “Everything is okay. I’m not hurt. I’m fine. Everyone is fine. I needed to hear your voice.”

The coughing across the line was grating, and then, “Kody, where are you? What are you talking about? What’s going on?”

“I…” Kit started, steadying herself with a hand on the counter. “We’re in Pennsylvania.”

“You’re what?”

“It’s fine, I had to leave overnight. We’re on a case.”

“You didn’t call,” Monty said, obviously upset. “You didn’t even send a text. Ari was at the bureau last night, too, why-” She cut herself off to cough, the line being muffled as Monty pulled away from the speaker.

Kit ran her hand down her face. This wasn’t the conversation she needed to be having. She should have called Ari. He tended to be a little more level headed when he was upset.

“Why wouldn’t you say anything?” Monty finally asked, voice much rougher than before. “What if something happened?”

“Nothing is going to happen,” Kit said, her voice more steady than she felt it should be. “I’m sorry, Mont. I’m so sorry. I know I should have told you.”

“Why…” Monty trailed for a moment before she said quietly, “Why did you call now?”

Claudia’s face flashed to the front of her mind, and then Monty’s; the reflection of her own staring back at her in the mirror.

“I needed to hear your voice. I had to know you were alright.”

Another moment of silence passed before Monty asked, “Something happened, didn’t it?”

Kit sighed, sniffling quietly before letting out another, deeper sigh. “I don’t know if I can do this, Mont.”

The door to the bathroom swung open, JJ standing on the other side.

“Hey, the whole file finally came through, we’re meeting in the- are you crying?”

Kit’s head whipped around to look at JJ square, and she hastily wiped under her eyes. “No, I, um. I’ll be right there.”

JJ tilted her head, but nodded and shut the door again. The air between the twins crackled quietly before Kit cleared her throat.

“I have to go. I… hopefully I’ll be home tonight. I’m sorry, Montana. I am.”

“Kody, wait-”

“I love you, Mont, I’m so sorry.”

“You can’t just say those things and then go put yourself in danger! You can’t do that to me! I-”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I-” The door to the bathroom was pounded on. “Lep! Let’s go!”

Derek.

“Dakota!”

“I’m sorry. I love you.”

Before Monty could say anything else, Kit snapped her phone shut.

------

Her leg bounced as she sat in the SUV in between Reid and Elle. She was twisting at the hem of her shirt, and some of the threads had ripped and stretched. It was keeping her from pulling on her hair though, so she didn’t care about that. Ginny could sew it for her when they got back to DC.

If Ginny’s still there. Anyone could grab her at any time. Anyone could-

“Are you okay?” Reid asked quietly, his eyes locked on her fingers as they tugged at the material.

She stilled her hands immediately, feeling the concern dripping from his tone.

“Yeah,” she said. “Just… tired.”

“You could probably sit out if you need to,” he said, not noticing the way her face had started to heat up. Everyone in the SUV was actively pretending they couldn’t hear their conversation, but Kit knew better.

“I don’t need to,” she said quickly. “I just want to get home, so the faster we cuff this creep, the better."

"Because of your sister?"

"What?"

How could he have possibly known what you were thinking about Ginny? Did you say something? Did-

"Your sister's sick, right?"

She stared at him for a moment before it clicked. He wasn't talking about Ginny. Of course he wasn't, the only one that knew about her minor meltdown was Garcia. Monty being sick was common knowledge.

"Oh," she said. "Yeah. And because he's, you know." She gestured vaguely. "Murdering women."

Elle laughed quietly next to her, nodding as she said, “Right, there’s that. We’ll get him. Right, Gideon?”

“Oh, we’ll get him,” Gideon said, sending more anticipatory energy into the world than usual. Kit didn’t have to think about the implications of that, though, as the SUV came to a halt outside a two story home.

They got out of the van quickly, all thoughts of Monty and going home gone as they strapped into Kevlar vests and double checked their weapons.

“I believe Walter Kern is in Sylvia Gooden's home now,” Gideon said, addressing the five of them and the SWAT captain. “Hotch confirmed he left the community center hours ago, and Kern's car's parked on the next block.”

“I want Walter Kern alive,” Ryan said quickly, and the SWAT captain nodded at his request. “I'll stand by for the word.”

“Reid, Greenaway, I'll call you when we've secured Kern. Morgan, Colghain, you’re with me and Ryan. Okay, let's move out.”

“Yeah,” Elle said, watching them as they walked away, Kit trailing just behind.

It didn’t feel right to her that she was going and Elle was staying back, but that was one of the reasons she was even on the team.

Or, working with them, at least. There’d been too many conversations surrounding that topic for her to understand her feelings about it.

They crept towards the house, pausing as the SWAT team pried the door open. Gideon led and Kit held the rear, covering and watching to make sure that nothing happened to them. Team or not, they were her responsibility.

They weren’t in the house for very long before they could hear Gooden crying for help on the second floor. Every movement they made was succinct, and within seconds they were in the room.

“Don't move! Don't move!” Gideon yelled, all weapons drawn at Kern as he tried to hold a plastic bag over Gooden’s face.

They scuffled for a moment, Morgan able to knock Kern’s gun out of the way before holding his arms behind his back. “Down on your knees! Down! Don't move!”

Kit held her gun steady, shifting into a position that allowed her to still have a sightline on Kern; at least until he was cuffed. Not that she believed he could get out of Morgan’s hold.

Gideon spoke quickly into the com, letting Reid and Elle know that Gooden was alive, and Kern was secure.

Morgan struggled a bit to keep Kern’s hands together, and Kit didn’t change her aim. “Cuff him, Morgan.”

“Gideon, I need your cuffs, man,” he said over his shoulder.

Gideon didn’t move right away, but Kit didn’t take her eyes off Kern. She couldn’t until she knew he didn’t have any chance of getting away.

“Why don't you do this? I'll take care of her.” Gideon had spoken to Ryan, who had clearly been soothing Gooden until that moment.

"That's enough. Now get up,” Morgan said, passing him off so Ryan could cuff him. “You got him?”

“Ya, I got him,” Ryan said, and Kit lowered her weapon as she heard the click of the cuffs secure around Kern’s wrists.

“Colghain,” Gideon said, “Some help, please.”

Kit turned quickly, realizing that Sylvia Gooden, who had just been nearly suffocated, was still crying and panicking with flex cuffs around her wrists.

She wasn’t done yet.

The two steps to the bed were swift, and Gideon stepped aside as she spoke to the traumatized woman. “Hi, my name is Kit. I’m a nurse, and I’m going to check and make sure you’re okay. Is it alright if I touch you?”

Gooden looked up at her for a moment before she nodded stiffly, taking a deep breath before dissolving into hysterics.

Kit grabbed her hands and squeezed gently, giving the older woman a small smile despite all the crazy going on around them.

“You’re going to be okay,” she said. “I promise. It’s all going to be okay.”

-----

Kit sat next to Reid on the jet, which was odd, because she normally tried to keep herself as far away from everyone as possible. She’d gotten a very strange read off of Hotch, though, who had secluded himself in the corner she usually would have taken, so she figured the conversation would keep her awake if anything else.

It didn’t stop her from propping a blue notebook open in her lap and tapping at it quietly with her pen. They were laughing at a story Ryan was telling about Gideon that made him seem almost human, and the laughter she shared was genuine. Gideon had stepped aside for her to take the lead with Gooden, which meant he was going to be true to his word when they were in the field. Stay out of each other’s way, and things will be fine.

She just hoped it would last.

“What goes in that notebook?”

She looked up at Reid’s voice, noticing that while she’d allowed herself to be in her own head for fifteen seconds, everyone had splintered into their own conversations. Elle had even walked away from them, and was now engaged in a quiet conversation with Hotch.

“Hm?”

He nodded down at the blue notebook in her lap. “What goes in there? I’ve only ever seen the red one, and that’s where you write all of our medical information, and things that happen to us medically during cases. Like when I was sick in New Jersey. But that didn’t happen this time, nothing did, and that notebook is blue, and it’s much more worn, and -” He stopped short, frowning. “I’m rambling.”

She shook her head quickly. “No, it’s alright. I don’t mind. I was waiting for you to be done before I answered your question.”

Reid’s eyes widened a bit, his jaw dropping for just a moment before he seemed to right himself. “Most people don’t wait until I’m done.”

“It’s a skill I picked up in college. It’s hard to help someone if you won’t listen to their entire story.”

“Huh,” he said. He seemed to think on that for a moment before he said, “So, what’s it for?”

She blinked up at him. “Oh.”

She hadn’t thought she’d actually have to answer. She was sort of hoping that he would talk himself in circles until he was on another topic completely. He’d done it a few times over the short time she’d known him.

“Oh?”

“Well, it’s sort of personal,” she settled on.

“Like a journal? A diary?”

If he noticed she was blushing, he didn’t let on. “A little bit, it’s like-” She stopped short as she saw JJ move from her seat towards the coffee machine, and her brain flipped a completely different switch. “Sorry, I need to talk to JJ,” she said, and before he could protest, she’d dropped the notebook on her seat and was across the short length of the plane.

“Hey, JJ,” she said, causing the blonde to turn around and smile.

“Hey, coffee?”

“No, actually I-” She hadn’t quite thought the rest out. “I um.”

She found her hands grabbing for the ends of her hair, but she stopped herself before she could start tugging. She was far too late on her meds, which were officially out of whack, considering the fact that she hadn’t slept in two days. She wasn’t even sure what day it was.

“Is today Sunday?” She said, which was not at all how she’d intended to start the conversation she wanted to have.

JJ laughed. “I have no idea. Maybe? When we left it was the middle of the night, so I would need to check my phone.”

“Right,” Kit said, easing a bit and giving a quiet laugh of her own. “I um. Well, I wanted to tell you that I thought about what you said.”

JJ tilted her head, eyebrows pulling together. “What I said?”

“What you said about pushing back.”

“Ah,” JJ said, eyes flashing with recognition. “And?”

“I… Claudia really threw me.”

Her head tilted before she said, “The woman they found under the bed?”

Kit shivered. “Yeah.” She didn’t regard the moment with fondness.

JJ didn’t seem to notice. She thought for a moment before shrugging. “I heard Morgan telling Gideon that you were incredible with her. That you didn’t leave when EMS got there because she didn’t want you to.”

Kit shook her head quickly, deflecting the praise. “I didn’t really do anything. She just… I don’t think she wanted all those men around her without another woman around.”

“And you were that woman for her.”

Kit stopped for a moment, watching JJ’s eyes soften. She was going to deflect again - insist that she’d done exactly what anyone else would have done, but something stopped her.

“I want to be here,” she heard herself saying. She hadn’t had time to process it herself, but it seemed she was going to do it outloud, in real time. “I want to be a part of this, but I’m scared. Because there will be more Claudias. And more Sylvias… And more Kerns.” She moved a hand to play with the seam at the hip of her slacks. “And we won’t always get there in time. I won’t always get there in time.”

The two women stood in silence for a moment before JJ reached out and took Kit’s right hand off her braid, squeezing it gently between her own fingers.

“But we’ll always try. And sometimes?” She shrugged. “We win.”

Kit took a deep breath, allowing that thought to fill her senses. Sylvia Gooden was alive. Claudia was alive. Kern lost.

“I think you should talk to Hotch when we get back. Not now. You look exhausted.”

They both laughed, Kit’s a little lackluster. “It’s that obvious?”

“You’ve got two black eyes.”

“Damn.” Kit shook her head, averting her eyes from JJ’s before saying, “Thank you. For listening and telling me what you knew and for making me feel like I deserve to be here.”

JJ nodded, saying simply, “You do.” She gestured to the coffee machine again. “You sure you don’t want some?”

Kit laughed, shaking her head again. “No, really, I shouldn’t. My body doesn’t know what time it is already, I think that would put me in dangerous territory.”

She stood on the Red Line platform, struggling to keep her eyes open. She pinched the skin between her thumb and forefinger, trying anything subtle to get her from point A to point B as quickly as possible. It was already dark, and she didn’t need to fall asleep on the train, or worse, while standing and waiting for the train.

That would really cap this weekend. Falling asleep on the train, missing your stop, getting abducted…

“Do you have a headache?”

“Ah!” She jumped, turning over her shoulder and swearing loudly. “Reid, what the hell?”

“Sorry!” He said, ducking just a bit, as if he was worried she was going to strike him. “That pressure point is effective in relieving headaches, grounding panic attacks, and quelling nausea. Are you sick?”

She groaned and rolled her eyes. “No, that’s not- I know exactly what this pressure point is used for Spencer, what the hell are you doing here? At my train stop? Again? I told you that I don’t-”

“I wanted to make sure you got home safely,” he said quickly, cutting her off before she could really get going. The anxious sincerity flooding off of him stopped her long enough for him to continue. “The odds of being accosted on the Red Line are significantly lower than the Blue, but you’re exhausted, and this case made you nervous, so I just wanted to be sure you…” He slowed, a dark flush rising in his cheeks. “Got home safe. Which I’m sure you can on your own, because your field scores dwarf mine. I, um…”

He had stuttered to a halt.

He’s embarrassed. And he wanted to help you.

She didn’t have time or energy to process the fact that he’d most definitely profiled her. The sentiment was sort of touching.

Sort of, as far as Spencer Reid was concerned.

“This… isn’t a Gideon thing?”

Reid chuckled quietly, shoving his hands into his pockets. “No. It’s, ah, a me thing. Gideon offered me a ride home, but I said no.”

She tilted her head at him, frowning as the train squealed into the station. “No shit?”

He laughed again, shaking his head and offering a small smile, his cheeks still flushed, but relief in his eyes. “No shit.”

“...Fine. But only because I’m really tired… You know, you could have said all this, or offered, in the bullpen, right? You didn’t have to follow me to the train like a stalker.”

The blush flooded his cheeks again, and he shrugged, unable to meet her eyes. “I didn’t want you to yell at me or something in front of everyone else.”

Her heart sank.

Look what you’ve done, Kody. You made him anxious to be alone with you because he thinks you’re some crazy person that’s going to fly off the handle.

Well, aren’t you?

“I wouldn’t do that, Spencer,” She said, starting towards the train door. “I appreciate the concern… thanks.”

He looked up, eyes flashing a combination of relief and hesitance. “Oh. Yeah. Ah, yeah, sure.”

They sat down inside the train, Kit immediately leaning her head against the window. She sighed, closing her eyes.

Maybe Reid isn’t so bad. Maybe he’ll stay quiet, or read the whole way and you can actually get a short-

“You know, there’s a staggering amount of germs on the window on a DC train. Approximately 45% of people…”

-----

Spencer stalked away from her door, his long legs making him look somewhat like a baby giraffe as he turned to descend the stairs. He gave a last, incredibly awkward wave.

“See you tomorrow, Dakota,” he said.

She fought back the instinct to groan. “Bye Reid, thanks.”

He grinned as his head slipped below her sight line and she let out a sigh, her entire body seeming to settle into exhaustion. It was late, and dark, and hopefully she would be able to slip into the apartment and deal with her siblings in the morning before she left for work. She’d talk to Monty then, and Ari at the clinic, and everything would be fine.

She’d need to call Ginny, but she could do that in the morning as well. She needed to sleep first. Sleep, and then deal with whatever came.

Her hand fumbled a bit with the key as she tried to fit it correctly into the door, eyes dry and tired and brain scrambled. The residual jittery, anxious feeling of both the case and messing the the time on her medication wasn’t helping her fine motor skills, and she’d nearly resigned to search through her backpack for the flashlight she kept when the doorknob was ripped away from her hand, the door flying open.

Something hard slammed into her body, arms wrapping around her in a vice grip and knocking the wind out of her.

Instead of words, there were hitching sobs from her attacker. Congested sounding, sad, and overly frustrated, matched with hot tears that were falling onto her shoulder. She took a breath, wrapping her arms around Monty and holding her as close as she could.

“Shh, it’s okay, dair, I’m okay,” she mumbled quietly, feeling her twin’s arms tighten around her.

“Don't… ever do that,” Monty managed, voice gravely and tearful. “Never, ever.”

“Oi, Mont, what-” Ari turned the corner, making eye contact with Kit over their sister’s shoulder. She watched physical tension release in his shoulders. “Ah. Okay. Mont, deirfiúr, come in and close the door. She’s okay. We’re fine.”

The mixing of languages wrapped around Kit, filling her like a breath she hadn’t taken in days. Monty let go, rubbing furiously at her streaming eyes as she walked back through the door, settling down on their couch and curling herself into a ball.

Ari pulled Kit through the door, looking at Monty and shaking his head. There was no need for the mix now, they could speak as they did among themselves. “Ah, no, get up. Come on. She’s tired, you’re sick. Bed. Now.”

Kit didn’t know how it happened, but they all ended up in Ari’s bed. Granted, it was the biggest. He didn’t share a room, and he was significantly taller than both she and Monty had ever hoped to be. They’d slept all together as children often, and when they were first living in the district on the floor at Ginny’s, they ended up in some sort of pile of limbs the nights they all worked the same shifts.

Now they rarely did. Six months before when they were back at home after Al needed to get his appendix out. A year before that when their Grandad had died. Before that? She wasn’t sure she remembered.

Monty’s head rested on her chest, quiet congested snoring coming from her in even breaths. Her face was flushed; from fever or crying, Kit wasn’t sure.

She’d been nearly pulled into Ari’s lap, and now her head rested on his stomach, rising and falling just slightly as he slept.

Regardless of how incredibly exhausted she was, she forced herself to stay awake and listen. To feel them breathing. To be sure they were there, and alive.

JJ’s words played in her head.

You do.

She deserved to be with the BAU. She deserved to be there.

Her senses focused back in on her cúpla, and the stress she’d caused them. The fear. The anxiety.

But do you really want to be?

-----

It's me again!

The plan right now is to make each season (year?) a different story, with a different song as the title and lyrics for the chapters. I'm a music person, this is the only way I operate.

If you've heard a song that made you feel feelings, hit me with it!

#Brenna writes things #or at least she tries #Second Child Restless Child #SCRC #Criminal Minds #Criminal Minds Fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #Gaelic/Irish #OC #female oc #it happened y'all I'm posting again #let's hope it sticks

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helkiedustballs · 4 years ago

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Mental Illness and the Horror Genre

An exploratory essay by Emma L. Gilbert

The relationship between horror media and mental illness is messy, and on many occasions outright screwed up. Today, I’m going to take you through various examples of horror films that utilize mental illnesses and disabilities, often as a central theme, and examine how exactly mental illness is used to benefit the tone of each film, and how some of them may or may not use it in a distasteful fashion.

Without further ado, here we go!

“Psycho” is the earliest film I know of at the moment that utilizes mental illness explicitly as a sort of evil or “villain”. The big reveal is that the character Norman Bates’s late mother developed as another personality inside his head which, very clearly, resembles Dissociative Identity Disorder (we will actually be talking about DID more than once today, as it appears to be the most common mental condition used in horror movies next to psychosis or schizophrenia).

I can only assume in the time of “Psycho’s” release, this portrayal was considered anything but realistic to general audiences (The term “psycho” is even considered a slur nowadays by a fair few mental health experts and activists). Mentally ill individuals were but a disturbed fantasy in the minds of the public, and in many ways they still are.

In more modern times, mental illnesses on the “scarier” side (like DID) are seldom understood or spoken about, and this makes them a very easy target to use as driving scare factors in horror films. We fear what we don’t understand, we know this, we’re talking about it a lot nowadays, but movies similar to “Psycho” that use such things as plot material for their stories still get made so carelessly.

Let’s dive into another example more thoroughly:

“Midsommar” is a 2019 horror film directed by Ari Aster, the man behind “Hereditary” (which we will also be discussing). I know a lot of people love this movie, just like people love “Psycho”. It won just about every award from Fangoria’s 2020 “Chainsaw Awards”, which are completely fan influenced. But it completely missed the mark for me because of a couple instances involving disabilities. And while these instances are miniscule, it’s the fact that they are so miniscule, so “tossed in”, that bothers me.

My first problem begins at the start of the movie. We open with our lead fretting over an ominous email sent to her by her mentally ill sister, which is all well and good. But the ultimate result of this situation is that she was right to be worried, as her sister had hooked herself up to a car exhaust pipe which she used to poison herself and their parents, resulting in the death of all three.

This is… extreme. And while it’s absolutely okay to be extreme (I’m one of those horror fans that enjoys a little extremity), it’s peculiar, and yet not so peculiar, to have it alongside the aspect of the opening I’m about to explain.

The illness of the sister character is specifically labeled as bipolar disorder. Why is this specifically a problem for me? Mentally ill people can be dangerous, that’s an indisputable fact. But I’m gonna pause “Midsommar” here, because it’s a good time to shift over to a movie that I believe suffers the same problem.

“Split”, both in the title movie and in the ensemble “Glass”, refers to anti-hero Kevin Crumb’s disorder as Dissociative Identity Disorder (there it is again!). This was a problem since the very conception of the first film, because it’s doing that thing where a mental disorder is used explicitly to make the villain of a horror film scarier. And while the character of Kevin isn’t ultimately seen as evil, the film still misconstrues many things about DID in order to keep its creep factor (like, people don’t wind up with evil alter egos who kidnap and kill people in a cult-like fashion, and people with DID do not go through extreme physical altercations when different personalities take the front).

This was many folks’ first introduction to the very concept of DID, just like back in the 60s with “Psycho”, and the movie does little to deter the audience from taking what they are seeing as factual. It really drives home the fact that Kevin has this disorder that is real, using that perceived realism to enforce the horror of its story. It uses a lot of typical “professional” imagery and dialogue, such as namedropping the disorder and having the character attend a therapist regularly on-screen. These things in film tend to equate in the general ignorant public’s mind to something bordering on or outright factual. While I choose to believe most people recognize the easy potential for illegitimacy in fictional movies, I still notice, even in myself, how further research is seldom enacted, and the information granted by that movie remains present in the back of our minds.

I’m not trying to say this is entirely the fault of the team behind “Split”, because I believe people should be responsible for recognizing that not everything they see is true, no matter how legit it looks. But the fact is that people are stupid and do take stuff like this as fact whether they realize it or not, and I think that filmmakers and storytellers should hold a little responsibility for making sure their highly fictionalized portrayals of real things (especially real people) don’t get taken as hard fact. Easy resources for understanding complex mental conditions are not popular enough or offered enough to garner the public’s attention; I’m sure someone would rather watch “Split” instead of reading a textbook on DID studies.

All that being said, let’s go back to “Midsommar”. The mention of bipolar disorder is a one-time occurrence, but it still sticks out to me; both because I noticed a trend in Aster’s films of using mental illness explicitly (like I said, “Hereditary” comes later), and that this diagnosis is used at the ultimate expense of the sister.

Throughout the movie, Terri (the sister) is seen as a scary, taunting ghost through Dani (the lead)’s eyes. She is only ever depicted as that terrifying last picture of her, with tubes taped to her mouth and their parents beside her. She also seems to be looking right at Dani in these sequences, too, if I’m remembering correctly. It’s a fearful memory; her sister is a villain.

Using a disorder described as a “mental disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, concentration, and ability to carry out daily tasks” to tie to a character that was unhinged enough to plug herself into a car exhaust pipe to kill herself and her family seems… like a reach, to me, at least. She would’ve had to plan that out- it takes serious dedication, supplies, thought, and time to pull that off. Bipolar people can be prone to sudden outbursts, not necessarily to planning and executing an intricate double homicide/suicide.

What I’m trying to say is that there’s no way bipolar disorder was the sole cause here. There were clearly more “things” she had going on, but the only thing they say is that she’s bipolar, therefore suggesting that is the reason behind what she did, and then treat her like a vengeful ghost the rest of the movie.

There is perfectly good reason for Dani to see her sister as something sinister, though. Literally the only aspect of this plot point that messes it up for me is that we have a “diagnosis”. It doesn’t feel right to me to use such a common and non-extreme illness for the sake of being like “ooh check this out, this is a real mental illness and mentally ill people do bad stuff sometimes, look at that! Look!” It’s lame, and unkind, and, like “Split”, borders on irresponsible. It’s times like this where a character’s mental condition could use a little more ambiguity, especially when it’s literally never brought up again. It’s so nonchalant, so careless, and that’s what bothers me.

Now, I’m gonna move away from mental illness alone for a hot second and explore how “Midsommar” treats its other disabled character.

“Midsommar” depicts an explicitly inbred character with a facial deformity named Ruben who lives with the Swedish cult and is treated like a sort of “higher being”. They are clearly treated with care, but through the gaze of the American characters, we see them as off-putting. And, again, this framing makes sense, as Ruben was purposefully conceived through incest because of some misguided religious belief that disabled people are closer to clarity.

But, stop; what is this portrayal doing, again? It is doing that thing where it uses a disabled character to give us the creeps. And this is made worse when Ruben goes on to kill and skin one of the American characters, and then wear his face as a mask.

Okay, listen. It’s wrong of the cult to purposefully bring a very physically and mentally challenged individual into the world for religious reasons, but that’s not relevant to my point. Yeah, it’s weird, but people like that character are real- and, no matter how they came to be, they’re here now. Why are we always looking at these people with pity or fear, and normalizing that reaction? It can be jarring to see someone who looks like that, sure, but they’re a person, and should be treated like one.

Oh, and not to mention having Ruben wear the skinned face of a “normal” person is absolutely representative of wanting to “look like everybody else”, which is a screwed-up narrative especially when you’re using the disabled person as a straight-up monster. I get the whole “skin the fool” thing, that was funny, but did we have to do that? This is Ruben’s “normal”, and that’s not an awful thing.

Before we reach “Hereditary”, I’d like to say that the utilization of deformed people as killers and monsters in horror is, I think, arguably more prevalent and inescapable than the use of mental illness by itself. It’s present to a point where we just have to deal with it and the amount of irreplaceably iconic villains with facial deformities, but I’d like to believe that we can do better and move past that. Make a monster, not a person.

Let’s get cracking on “Hereditary” now, which I think uses mental illness as a much more core aspect to its story than “Midsommar”. Again, Aster makes it clear out the gate that our evil character (the grandmother) was indeed mentally ill, and this is, again, used at the character’s expense.

Now, I wanna keep this short, because with how much I went off talking about “Split” and “Midsommar”, I think that what I find troublesome about a movie called “Hereditary” about a mentally ill cultist grandmother passing on her “lifestyle” to her family is rather obvious.

I mostly want to discuss the character of Charlie, because her portrayal is what bugs me the most. My gripe with her is that she is very obviously autistic, or something along those lines, which is framed as a creepy thing about her. She’s supposed to be some kind of “chosen one” that her grandmother wanted, and I guess this was grounds to have her be the “creepy one”. But this can be done without making the character blatantly mentally compromised (and before anyone comes for me, I’m autistic, and despite the many wonderful things about it, it also does hinder me from some basic things in life, so, yeah, it’s compromising). It’s just so tacky, uninspired, and tired.

In regards to other characters, we see Annie speak of how her grandmother suffered from mental conditions (I can’t recall whether or not one was specifically named), and then watch her exhibit various “scary” symptoms herself (trying to set her son on fire, etc.), which grow worse post-Charlie’s death as she is wracked with grief. Annie’s case isn’t quite as terrible as things such as “Split”, as she never actually does anything, only attempts and then snaps herself out of it (before the end of the movie where everything goes to hell, of course). My main problems, as mentioned, are with Charlie and the grandmother, mostly Charlie. I just wanted to attempt to cover all “Hereditary’s” portrayals at least briefly before moving on to my next subject.

Now that I’m done being mad, let’s explore another recent horror film that uses mental illness as a core aspect.

“Daniel Isn’t Real” is a 2019 film by Adam Egypt Mortimer about a boy (Luke) who experiences a traumatic event as a young child, which he copes with by manifesting an imaginary friend named Daniel. Daniel doesn’t stick around, though, as he tricks Luke into poisoning his mother, almost killing her, and resulting in the two locking Daniel away.

It’s incredibly easy to decipher the, once again, use of DID symptoms. One could easily push this movie aside due to this fact, as clearly, the mental illness is used as the spooky horror thing again. But I’m of the belief that this film handles itself a little better than the likes of “Split”, and here’s why.

It’s a bad thing to use mental illness as your villain, unless you do it right, and there is a way to do that. Luke (the mentally ill person) isn’t the villain, Daniel (the mental illness symptom) is, just like Kevin isn’t “Split’s” villain, but the important difference is that, in “Daniel Isn’t Real”, the audience sympathizes realistically with Luke, doesn’t turn his illness into something extremely outlandish. In “Split”, the audience is following the heroine, who is terrified of the outside force that is Kevin and his personalities. “Split’s” DID is otherworldly and threatening. “Daniel Isn’t Real’s” DID is threatening, but something the audience and Luke hold hands through and fight together.

Aside from some muddy metaphorical aspects (assuming I’m reading it right) and the use of some racial stereotypes common in horror films, “Daniel Isn’t Real” is on the upper end of horror featuring mental illness.

It is also worth noting that there is actually a specific mental illness brought to attention in the film, schizophrenia, as Luke is seen reading a book about it once he starts realizing he’s losing control of Daniel. But this is merely a suggestion, as he doesn’t actually know what is going on in his head and we never get an official declaration of his condition. This brief clip pretty much only helped in solidifying my perception of the story as about mental illness first, and a demonic imaginary friend second. If you ask me, I think dissociative identity disorder fits more with the film than schizophrenia, but my knowledge on both of these disorders is relatively “bare basics”, so take that with a grain of salt. And besides, from this point on I’m going to be looking at the portrayal mainly as an undefined trauma induced condition.

I view Daniel as a visual representation of Luke’s mental condition. He is rude, and childish, and malicious, nothing like who Luke is, who wants nothing more than to get rid of him. Mental illness can feel like there is some evil thing in your brain telling you awful things and threatening your existence, and Daniel represents this feeling perfectly.

Going even deeper, the movie opens with a shooter entering a small café and massacring multiple patrons and themself. One of the things that causes Daniel to manifest is Luke, having left his home where his parents are shouting at one another non-stop, coming face to face with the dead shooter. It is later revealed that Daniel, an ancient demonic “imaginary friend”, was inhabiting the shooter at the time, thus making him the cause of the massacre. And he chose Luke as his next host on that fateful day.

Pause now. We’ve got a blatant mental illness metaphor, and it’s the direct cause of a murder. Why am I more lenient on this and hard on things like “Midsommar”? It’s because this detail plays into what I view as a very interesting interpretation of mental conditions and their preceding trauma.

Looking past Daniel being a demon, I see this as the shooter struggling with the same or a similar type of mental condition caused by a past trauma. This person was sick, as all terrorists of this breed are. Again, this narrative is helped by the fact that we are following Luke and not someone on the outside of his problem, and therefor understand the real lack of control had by anyone Daniel (A.K.A. mental illness) has touched, and, more importantly, the helplessness they feel.

Am I saying people who enact gun violence are partially innocent and have no free will? No, that’s stupid. The real point of me bringing this up is simply that I find it interesting how the film looks at trauma as sort of a contagion. Hurt people can hurt people, and traumatized people can traumatize people. Whatever “demons” that killer hosted were passed on to Luke- and, if the film wanted to go for a broader subject and ditch the singular evil imaginary friend concept, passed onto many others, too. But, it didn’t, and I think that works best, as symptoms like Daniel typically only manifest in young children, assuming you wanna go with the DID/schizophrenia reading, which is what the film offers to us.

We see experiences and fears felt by everyone who has mental illnesses portrayed visually in “Daniel Isn’t Real”, sometimes feeling like a mixed bag of different symptoms from different mental conditions. I see myself and my own experiences in Luke, and it feels good to see the mentally ill person as the hero, and the mental illness being at least mainly a threat to the mentally ill person rather than the outside world, which is how it is more often than not.

And while the movie ends on a sad note, actually quite similar to Kevin’s end in “Glass”, what it does with its runtime is, for the most part, what I want to see more of in terms of mental illness in horror.

Like I said at the beginning, we’re an easy target. Autistic, obsessive compulsive, anxious, depressed people like me are scary when you have no idea what you’re looking at. Yes, we can be dangerous sometimes, but to nobody more than ourselves. But much more than dangerous, we’re scary to ourselves.

I’ve lived in terror for long periods of time before due to my mental illnesses, and I’ve had this thought; “why doesn’t someone make a horror movie where the mentally ill person is the protagonist, and the mental illness is the monster?” “Daniel Isn’t Real” executed this idea almost perfectly, if not for the fact that Daniel was out to hurt other people, because what’s scarier than a person with a realistic mental condition hurting other people? Ooooo.

Living with mental illness can feel like a horror movie all on its own. The horror is in my head, and I can’t kill it, only keep it at bay, control it. And I think that is scarier than any Norman Bates, than any Kevin Crumb, than any Ruben. To live with a force in your head that wants nothing more than you for to be in misery is a horrific reality worse than any killer.

And before I close, I want to comment on one more little detail. I’m much more critical on recent movies that work with this subject matter than I am on older movies; that’s why I had so much to say about the Aster films and “Split” and so little about “Psycho”. This is because I understand how invisible the very concept of mental illness was in everyday society in “Psycho’s” time. It wasn’t just an easy target, it was a given, and nobody writing these films had any idea of what they were doing or the seedling of thought to look into it. It was that alien.

Today, we are talking about mental illness so much, and yet we are still so careless with what we use it for in our media. It is blasphemous to me that directors and writers still insist on using mentally ill people as villains and creepy characters. Mental illness is such a complex experience that deserves to be explored from the viewpoint of those of us who live with it, not as a toy for the bigshot horror director of the hour to toss around like a hot potato.

There was an excuse in the 1960s. There is no excuse now. We can do better.

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undecidedpersonality · 4 years ago

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Writer’s Month 2020 Day Eighteen: Myths

Title: “Southern Myth Busters”

By: Nalijah Daniels

Word Count: 1439

Genre: Fiction - Contemporary

Being the daughter of myth-busters located in Louisiana is starting to get less and less interesting. I’ve started to blame the constant humidity for my parents going crazy and becoming obsessed with debunking the most obscure mysteries of the Southern United States. We’ve traveled across the rest of the country for the juiciest stories in the North or West but most of them are focused around our region and home state.

When I meet new people, most of them assume that my parent’s profession would cause me to have a horrible school life. More specifically, they think that I get bullied all the time. I’ve literally heard people say to my parents, “Poor Lila, public schooling must be tough for her. The kids are brutal these days.” It’s quite the opposite, actually. I’m the lonely kid in the teen coming-of-age films because my parents are practically famous and everyone has tried their hand at being my fake friend in hopes of being able to wiggle their way into the Noami and Darryl Tomford’s life. For what reasons? I still can’t figure that out. No matter the reason, I refuse to let it happen.

The latest student on the conquest of becoming a Tomford pal: Ari Mandell. He’s been one of the smartest kids in my grade since God knows when, yet has managed to be a part of the popular crowd since middle school. My school isn’t entirely clique-y, but if he wasn’t attractive, he wouldn’t be in, what I call, The Upper Crust. They party every Friday and Saturday night and make an ass of themselves in class because they can. The teachers somehow buy into their popularity bullshit too and praise them like celebrities, even though The Upper Crust kids interrupt their class with stupid jokes. Except for Ari. The teachers love Ari the most. That’s why it sucks to have five of my six classes with him––he has five opportunities to prove that he’s better than me. That’s why it irks me even more that his plan, whatever it is, to be buddy-buddy with my parents is working.

Until my parents and I were about to set off on our next myth-trip to Northeast New Orleans, I had no idea Ari was in the picture. I wasn’t able to slam the door on his face because I had no idea he knocked. We were sitting around the breakfast table, t-minus ten minutes until we would pile in the RV and leave out on our three hour ride when my dad said,

“By the way, Lila sweetheart, we’re picking up Ari Mandell on the way out.”

I nearly choked on my breakfast. There was no way my dad was telling the truth. How did he know this specific statement would mess with my head. “You said what now?” I asked, my eyes darting between my dad and mom’s eyes. My dad’s tell was scratching his mustache. My mom’s tell was her nose twitching like a rabbit’s. They were both still, annoying and smug smiles plastered on their faces because they knew what they were doing. “Why are we picking up Ari Mandell?” I finally asked.

“Because, I’m good friends with his father, Karl, and he was telling me about how Ari is going to major in forensic sciences and is considering taking a gap year for an internship. I told Karl that joining two myth busting geniuses would definitely set Ari apart in his studies, so he’s joining us to see if he’s really into it. We didn’t tell you until just now because we knew you’d complain and convince us to change our minds but it’s too late now. So grab your bags Lila-bug and let’s hit the road.”

On the road I refused to talk to Ari. I managed to go an entire two hours without doing so at least before I couldn’t stand his calm composure of acting like there wasn’t a problem with him being in my vicinity.

“Is there a purpose in you being here?” I asked. I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back against the bench cushion. I hope I looked as intimidating as I meant to be.

He paused for a second, his movements slow as he looked up from his phone at me. It took a whole five second for his left eyebrow to lift all the way. His words were even slow as he replied, “I don’t… get… what you mean.”

I rolled my eyes and leaned toward him over the RV’s back table where we were both doing homework. He told me fifteen minutes into the trip he’d be willing to help me work if I needed it. I don’t need homework help. I rephrased my original question, “Why are you trying to mooch up to my parents? Did your friends put you up to this because they knew The Nerd would be able to wiggle his way onto an episode of Southern Myth Busting with the Tomfords? Can’t you not be the best at something for once in your goddamn life?”

Regret coursed through my body as soon as I saw the look on his face. First his mouth was open, then it turned into a frown when his shoulders dropped. I expected him to get up and walk away. The front of the RV wasn’t that far away, we would still be able to see each other, but I never expected him to just sit there. I opened my mouth a couple of times, willing apologetic words to come out. Instead all I could do was hang my head and press my palms to my eyes.

I heard Ari chuckle, two low-pitched puffs of air, and I peeked through my fingers to look up at him. Although his face was turned, looking out the window, I could tell he was upset by his tightened jaw. It was his turn to cross his arms.

“I’m not just some wimp who let’s people walk all over me. I don’t think many people at school realize that. You obviously don’t and honestly, Lila, I thought you were better than that. I thought you were above the hierarchy of who can’t hang with whom but you’re proving to be just like everyone else.”

He shook his head and finally made eye contact with me but I dropped my eyes to my lap, focusing intensely on twisting the eraser of my mechanical pencil. He chuckled again, a bit louder this time but I didn’t look up to see his expression. “You know, that is quite a myth of its own.”

Looking up now I cocked my head to the left, my lips twisted to the right. When he understood that I didn’t understand, he continued. “Here we are on a roadtrip to investigate some long standing myth when really, the real myths are right at our high school. Right here between you and I. Let’s investigate that, huh? To be honest, I don’t think either of us have ever been truthful with ourselves or to others.”

I sighed and let my shoulders drop, I couldn’t be defensive any longer. Especially not after being an asshole. “Listen, Ari, I’m sorry for… I don’t know, assuming that you’re something that you’re not. Or that you allow yourself to be less than what you are. I’ve been––,” I paused and squeezed my eyes shut, as if not making eye contact would make the next thing I said less true. “I’ve been jealous of you for a while. You make being smart and cool look so easy. Everyone likes you because you are actually an interesting person. People only ever like me because I’m the daughter of a world famous daytime TV myth busting couple,” I shrugged my shoulders and sighed, “I guess I just wish my life was a little easier, like yours.”

“Isn’t that amazing,” he said softly, his light colored eyes smiling at mine once I worked up the courage to look him in the eyes again. “It’s so much more beautiful when the mysteries solve themselves. We can get somewhere with this. My life isn’t ‘easy’ being cool and smart,” he snorted, “It’s just that our lives are set up differently. I believe, though, that we can work together to figure out the full truths both of us hold. We can learn a lot from each other. Does that sound like a plan?”

I smiled, my cheekbones tight from the last few minutes of an embarrassment pinched face. “I think that’s an amazing plan. It would be nice to have at least one friend when I graduate.”

#writersmonth2020 #new writers on tumblr #writer #myths #writing prompt #prompt fill #southern myth busters #my ocs #original writing #second day of catching up from moving in a couple of days ago

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something-tofightfor · 5 years ago

Text

Skin

Pairing: Logan Delos x Reader

Word count: 2431

Rating: M (language… lil bit of zest)

Author’s Note: This is answering an ask from @its-my-little-dumpster-fire

I didn’t skimp.

Tagging:

@banditthewriter @breanime @obscurilicious @madamrogersstorytelling @suchatinyinfinity @chibiyanai @songtoyou @ethereal-heavcns @editboutique @marauderskeeper @drinix @ilkaeliseb @delicatelilyflower @king4thesirens @blah-blah-fuckit-shit @ymariejp @mr-robot-x @rageshots @shinebrightlikeafanbase @littlemermaidprobz @zaffrenotes @introvertedlibrary @writing-for-a-chance @yesixoxo @ilikebeachessushiandsmallanimals @likeorions @swiftyhowlz @dylanobrusso @luminex3 @malik-payne @lexxierave @lynne1993 @elanor-of-imladris @bucky-is-my-precious @traeumerinwitzhelden @mfackenthal @weallhaveadestiny @ladyblablabla @sweetybuzz25 @dreamwritesimagines @thesumofmychoices @audreychaz @tc-elliot @dreams-with-thoughts @kind-wolf @gollyderek @honeyydippaa @thesandbeneathmytoes @geeksareunique @the-blind-assassin-12 @benbarnestongue @its-my-little-dumpster-fire @binbonsadoration @ificouldhelpyouforget @nananananananananananabatman @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @bellastellaluna @agentlingerie @elioelioeli0 @wangmangagavroche @projectcampbell @christinawxxx

“Are you almost done in here?” Logan was standing in the doorway, one shoulder pushed up against the frame and both of his arms crossed over his bare chest. “You’ve -”

“Logan, there are two sinks.” You gritted your teeth as you spoke, narrowing your eyes at him in the mirror. “You can just…”

“Hey.” He stepped into the large bathroom, stopping directly behind you and wrapped one arm around your waist before planting a kiss on your bare shoulder. “Shouldn’t do that, it’s gonna give you wrinkles.” You were silent for a few seconds and then a loud groan left your lips, head dropping down so that your chin was near your chest.

“Logan.” You whined his name out, bringing your gaze back up so that you could meet his eyes in the mirror. “Of all the people to tease me, you’re going to…”

“I was just kidding.” He ran his hand up and down your arm a few times, the wedding band on his left hand catching your attention as it always did. “Even with wrinkles, you’re still going to be the -” You elbowed him gently in the midsection, cutting him off in the middle of his sentence, but you were smiling, knowing that your husband was just giving you a hard time. He laughed too, stepping away from you and to the second sink, opening the drawer to pull out a few small containers.

He might have been kidding, but he’s not wrong. You stared at your reflection in the mirror, reaching down for the fourth product in your nightly routine: moisturizer. “We’ve got that fundraiser on Friday, Logan, and I can’t…” You shook your head, using your fingers to gently smooth the cream onto the skin of your face and neck. “I’m not going to be one of those women that starts getting botox in their early 30’s and then has to keep up with it for the rest of their life, Logan. It’s expensive and it’s -”

“Expensive?” He side-eyed you in the mirror, using his fingertips to rub cleanser on his own skin in small circles, paying attention to his forehead. “Really? You’re a Delos, nothing is expensive.”

“That’s not the point and you know it.” Leaning in and peering at your reflection, you waited for the moisturizer (with retinol, something that Juliet swore would help) to fully absorb, tapping your fingers onto the counter. “Logan, you’re… you, and I’m me. I’m expected to look a certain way as your wife, and…” You shook your head, watching as he rubbed at his face with a damp cloth, cleaning it off. He patted his skin dry before opening a tub of his own moisturizer and applying some of it to his face, the movement of his long fingers capturing all of your attention.

That done, Logan washed his hands, grabbing for his toothbrush and wetting it before he applied the paste and stuck it in his mouth, turning to look at you. “Wha’?” You smiled at him, shaking your head and then picked up your tube of eye cream, applying it to your own face. That done, you sighed, picking up the final item that you’d be using - a face oil that smelled vaguely like a mixture of citrus and flowers - using the dropper to apply it to your skin before smoothing it in with your fingers. Logan paused before exiting the bathroom, but you closed your eyes without saying a word, and when you opened them again, he was gone. Asshole.

Finishing your own routine - it was only Tuesday, so you didn’t have to worry about exfoliating or using a face mask - you brushed and then flossed your teeth, turning the light off as you walked back into the bedroom you shared with Logan. You grabbed your brush before sitting on the edge of the bed, where he was already stretched out on top of the blankets with one arm folded beneath his head as he scrolled through his phone with his other hand. You’d only gotten it through your hair a few times before you felt Logan moving behind you, reaching out to take the brush from your hand as he stretched his legs out around yours, settling in behind you. “You don’t have to do that, Logan, You were already laying down.”

“I want to.” The brush moved through your hair again and you settled your hands on your lap, sitting quietly as Logan worked through the tresses, careful not to pull too hard on the ends. He finished a few minutes later, reaching over to put the brush onto the side table before he pushed your hair over one shoulder, leaning down to kiss the bare skin there again. “You ready to lay down?” You nodded, feeling him remove himself from behind you, and you reached down, pulling your shirt off and tossing it across the room in the general direction of the hamper. “Almost made it in that time.” He snickered the word as you glanced back over your shoulder at him, rolling your eyes as you laid down on your stomach, turning your head toward him. “Shoulders?” Really?

“Please.” Though you didn’t know what you’d done to deserve such special treatment, you couldn’t turn down a massage from Logan. Of all the massages you’d ever gotten, your husband’s were the most thorough - his fingers knowing exactly where and how hard to press down into your skin to make it feel good. “Lo,” you mumbled, biting down on your lower lip as he settled in against your thighs, twisting your hair off of the bare skin of your back. “What’s this for?”

“No reason,” he replied as he leaned down, applying pressure to the center of your back with his thumbs. “I just figured that after bein’ in there for almost 45 minutes and lifting all of those face products... “ He trailed off, sighing. “I’m kidding. I know you think it’s unfair.” You lifted your head slightly and Logan immediately removed one of his hands from your back, using his palm to push your face back down and onto the pillow. Hey!

“It is unfair, you drink all the time and wash your face once a day and you still look like you’re twenty five, and I use fifteen different products and drink a gallon of water every five minutes, and it just doesn’t matter.” You were whining, but he was right - you were less than excited about the fact that Logan didn’t seem to age while you felt like the exact opposite was true for you. “The fucking magazines are ruthless, Logan. It doesn’t matter what we do, they’re always looking for some crack in our relationship, some way to…”

“Look.” He pressed down on the small of your back, causing you to sigh. “We’re both getting older. I’m going to be 37 in a few months, right?” You nodded, feeling as he began to work his way back up. “It scares the hell out of me, no matter how clear or smooth or whatever my skin looks.” Logan leaned down, speaking into your ear as his hands kept moving. “I didn’t marry you because you don’t look your age. I don’t plan on trading you in for a younger version of yourself. I don’t give a shit about any of that.” He kissed you on the cheek before sitting back up, shifting his hips against your legs. “You could literally stop using every single product you own in there and I wouldn’t care. I got lucky; the one fuckin’ thing my dad passed on to me that I’ve always had going for me was good skin -”

“And a good metabolism, Delos. I’ve seen you eat.” He laughed and you felt yourself smiling, too. “It just ... I want to make sure that I’m… that you’re always proud to be seen with me.” You said it. His hands stopped moving and you used the opportunity to prop yourself up on your elbows, turning to look up at him. “I mean, I know that…”

“What do you mean?” He shook his head. “Sit up, look at me.” You did, turning to face him before you drew your knees up to your chest and resting your elbows atop them. “Why wouldn’t I be proud to be seen with you?” Heart thudding in your chest, you locked eyes with Logan.

“Logan, at Delos … you build perfection every goddamn day.” You blinked. “I’m not… that. I won’t ever be that, I’m getting old, and I’m going to change, and so whatever I can do to stop that, I will.” He looked shocked, mouth open as he watched you. “Juliet found a way to make your dad’s health improve, which is like the first step to living forever, and if I’m going to…” You trailed off, realizing how dumb you sounded. “For once, Lo, I just want to go out there and feel confident no matter where I am or what I’m doing. The park is one thing - I can’t compare to the Hosts, and that’s fine… but Tiffany in reception? Ari in R & D?” You narrowed your eyes again, chewing on your lower lip. “I’ll slather on as much fucking retinol or rosehip oil or serum as I need to to keep up with them and their ‘I drank til 2 am and got an hour of sleep but still look like I just stepped off of a runway’ looks.” Logan threw his head back and laughed loudly before moving his hands away from your back and to your arms, squeezing.

“The first time I saw you, you were sunburned in an airport with no makeup on.” He cleared his throat, all traces of laughter gone. “I couldn’t stop looking at you, even though I was so goddamn annoyed with that lady at the counter.” He waited while you rolled over before continuing, eyes on your face even though your bare chest was completely visible, too. “I felt... “ Logan closed his eyes, bringing a hand up to his face and rubbing at his eyes. “I didn’t wanna be an asshole to you.” Even then? You knew that it was a big deal for Logan - he was recovering, had changed a lot about himself at that point, but he was still imperfect - and him wanting to be nice to someone that he hadn’t known was a big deal. “I made you cry that first night we knew each other - and then fifteen minutes later, we’re kissing in the rain and you’re dragging me into bed?” Logan shook his head. “Shit like that doesn’t happen, it’s cliche, like in some fuckin’ fairytale.”

He leaned down, resting his elbows on the blankets as his body made contact with yours. “Yeah, Logan, you’re a real Prince Charming.” He wrinkled his nose and then pressed his lips against yours, one long lock of hair falling over his eye and trailing against your skin. When he pulled back again, you spent long moments staring at the man above you silently. You joked, but Logan really had swept you off of your feet, and in the three years that you’d known him, the feelings that you had for him had grown every day. There were struggles - gossip sites intent on tearing you apart, William’s presence for Emily’s sake, Logan’s duties at work - but the most difficult thing for you to get past was the feeling that what you had with him was fleeting.

You didn’t think this because you doubted Logan’s love for you, you thought it because of the way that you felt inside - when comparing yourself to those in his life and the people that wanted to be in his life. The ring on his finger didn’t deter many of them, and that’s why even though it bothered you, you put up with the nightly skincare routine, why you made it a point to exercise at least three times a week in a capacity that didn’t include being naked in Logan’s arms, and why you’d learned how to best deal with the paparazzi: because you were very aware of what you had, and didn’t want to lose it. “Hey.” Logan said your name quietly, bringing his right hand up to your left, twining his fingers with yours. “You need to stop.” He raised his eyebrow, eyes full of warmth. “I loved you before, and I love you now, and I’m going to love you when we’re both 60 and look nothing like we did when we met.” You opened your mouth to speak but Logan quieted you with a squeeze of his hand. “How many times do I have to marry you to prove it to you?” He brought your hand up to his lips, kissing the knuckle of your third finger. “Three isn’t enough?”

“Logan.” Your voice was hoarse and you felt tears rising in your eyes. “No, it’s plenty. It’s already too much.”

“It’s not.” He shook his head, lowering your hands back to the bed and then looking over at your right hand, where another ring was settled snugly on that ring finger, this one a completely different style than the other two; diamonds and rose gold - much more understated, much more you. “Because you deserve it.” He kissed you again - hard and on the mouth, stealing your breath as he always did when he kissed you without warning. “Now.” He broke the kiss, sitting up and rolling his neck, the smile on his face growing with every word he said. “I know you need to get your beauty sleep… and I do too, because even though you might -”

“Logan.” You relaxed into the bed, rolling your eyes. “Spit it out.” He grinned, his hands working their way down your stomach toward the elastic waistband of your pants.

“There are other things that are good for your skin that you can’t buy from the store.” He gripped your hips, pulling them upward and toward his, which he rolled forward. “For instance -” You pushed yourself upward, wrapping your arms around Logan’s neck as you slowly shook your head back and forth, pulling him closer to you. “Oh.”

“‘M all for trying new things, Logan.” He grinned against your lips, easing you back down onto the bed. “But if sex was going to help keep us young, we’d both be Benjamin Button, Delos.” He laughed loudly at that, hands back at your waist and pushing your shorts down as you gripped his back, lifting your lower half up to make it easier for him.

“Can’t hurt to keep trying.”

---

78 notes · View notes

strawberry-lemonade · 5 years ago

Text

here is a WIP that i will never finish

------

"Excuse me, but I happen to think Mávri gáta is hilarious. Those puns are spot on."

Aria opened her mouth and paused, before closing it again.

"Zào Fortuna has got spots right?."

"Wait were you trying to aim a pun at her, but then forgot if she had spots?

"Uh, maybe..."

"Dude, you're an idiot in every sense of the word."

Aria hung her head.

"...I know."

"That's nice."

Aria threw a pillow at her before exploding in a fit of giggles.

"Mooncaaaake! You're supposed to give me a hug and say sorry!"

Marinette sighed and blew her nails before turning to look at Aria.

"We both know how that goes down."

Aria sighed and stood up.

"Have you heard from Adrien in the past few days?"

"You know what? I haven't."

"Last time I talked to him, he told me he got a boyfriend."

"He did? Why didn't I know about that?"

"Babe, weren't you on the other line?"

"Uh... I think I fell asleep."

"Wow. You really need to stop staying up all night on commissions."

"Speaking of, any news about that stuff?"

"Well, from what I've heard, my little sister from another mister is traveling to Gotham because her fashion business has taken off. 'The mysterious designer MDC has bypassed Gabriel Agreste in the polls!'

"Well, what you heard is true-'

"I also heard that you get to stay in Wayne Manor and bring a friend. Maybe Sabine?"

"What? And risk her finding out that I parade around the city in spots every night? No thanks."

"Hm. Chloe?"

"The invitation would be wasted. She's already going to Gotham with her mom."

"What about Alya?"

"Since 2 heroes will be out of commission, Rena is going to be needed here."

"I don't know."

Aria collapsed on the bed with a groan before sitting up and smirking.

"Lila."

"Okay. Your guessing privileges have been revoked."

"Noooooo! How else will I find out who you're going to take?!"

"By asking. Like a normal person."

"How dare you assume that I'm normal."

"Now I'm beginning to wonder if I should actually tell you."

"Okay, okay! I'll shut up! Just please tell me who, so I don't have to stay up till 3, guessing."

"I wanted to ask you."

"Uh, I will give you an entire list of reasons why I shouldn't come. Plus, I don't really think they'd let me bring the cat."

"I'm asking right now, and if they say no, then I'll politely decline the invitation."

"I don't want you to miss out-"

"They replied!"

"What? Let me see!"

Aria scrambled off the chaise and scurried over to Marinette, tripping in the process.

"Wait! Let me get up!"

Aria jumped up and stumbled into the desk.

Marinette clicked the email and recited it aloud.

"Dear MDC, your friend's cat will be allowed. If you need to arrange anything to bring your cat on the plane, please do not hesitate to ask.

Aria squealed and hugged Marinette.

"Ok. If we can start packing now, I'll come with you."

"Why do we have to pack now? The trip isn't until Saturday and it's only Wednesday! Can't we just enjoy the first sleepover we've had in a month?"

"Babe, please? I hate procrastinating."

"What are you talking about? You love procrastinating!"

"I don't love it, It just happens to be my default."

"Same difference!"

"Um, no, not the same difference."

"Nyah."

-------

"Dante. I am begging you. Don't turn off the computer yet."

"Aria. it's almost 1 A.M and we both have class tomorrow."

"I knoooow! But I put my fucking heart into this, and if you turn it off right now, it will delete and I have no way of saving it."

"Aria. Go to bed now."

"Nooooo! I have to finish it!"

"Fine. But as soon as the clock gets to 1. I'm turning everything off. Just because you're my favorite doesn't mean I'll let you get away with anything."

"Boi! I let you get away with so many things! Can I not just stay up for another hour to finish a damn design?!"

"Aria?"

"Hi, Minette."

"Are you gonna stay up again while binge-ing on coffee?"

"Maybe..."

"Marinette. Please tell my idiot sister that she needs sleep too."

"Aria-"

"Noooo! My favorites are teaming up to defeat me!"

"Aria. Go. To. Bed."

"No!"

Aria jumped up, seized the computer, shot into the bathroom.

"Ha! Now you can't stop me from finishing this!"

"Okay. I give up. Marinette, she's yours now."

Dante slowly backed out of the kitchen with his arms raised.

"Aria. Come out. Please. It's not a sleepover if it's only one person. Plus I need someone to binge-watch movies with!"

"...What kind of movies?"

"Um, MIB International, Charlie's Angels, Hanna, Atomic Blonde, La Femme Nikita-"

"I'm in. Just give me a second."

The sound of shuffling around could be heard in the unusually silent house. The bathroom door opened to show a dark room a few seconds later, and Aria emerged holding a closed laptop.

"I thought it wasn't going to save?"

"Yeah uh, I lied. I just wanted to keep working."

"Geez. I bet you'll be the only person in Gotham like this."

"Well, I do try to be unique!"

"Okay, we need to finish packing."

"But what about the movies?!"

"We'll watch them while we pack."

"Yay!"

-------

Five movies and two panic attacks later:

"Mooncake! Do you know where my-"

"Beanie? Downstairs in the tardis."

"Oh my gosh, thank you! I need to take a shower, are you almost finished packing?"

"Yeah, two more outfits and I'll be done."

"Kay. My phone is charging next to the window, the password is 314159, the flashy purple app turns on the TV."

With that, Aria walked out of the room and shut the door. Not even 2 minutes later, the sound of running water could be heard, along with the song 'Consideration' blasting through the house. Marinette shook her head and laughed.

"Geez Ari. Too loud."

Marinette folded the last outfit and placed it in her suitcase. Walking over to the window, she was attacked by Aria’s cat.

“Ack! Get off!”

Marinette started to try and shake the cat off and Kiro released her leg. She jumped onto the bed and yanked her legs up to avoid any further scratches. The door slammed open to reveal a soaking wet Aria in a towel. She still had soap bubbles in her hair and it had stuck to her face while she was running.

“I heard a screech! Is everything okay?”

Marinette stared for a second longer before laughing so hard she fell off the bed.

“OH MY GOSH! Did you just- holy crap! The cat just jumped on me!”

“...are you freaking kidding me? I literally jumped out of the shower to see what in the world was going on. I thought you were being abducted.”

“I’m so sorry! I just-” Marinette collapsed into another fit of giggles.

“Okay, since you’re obviously fine, I’m gonna go finish my shower. Next time, don’t screech unless it’s an emergency. Now my clothes are wet because of my idiocy. Goodbye, Little Missy Macaron.”

Aria walked out of the room, leaving Marinette to try and clean up the water mess. She just threw a towel over the puddle.

Aria walked into the bathroom while shaking her head slowly. She picked up her phone and pressed shuffle on her playlist. Once again, a song started blasting through the house.

————

Marinette grabbed Aria’s phone and unlocked it. She pressed the purple icon that Aria had told her about and clicked the red power button at the top. Nothing happened.

Right. The TV is downstairs.

Marinette sighed and checked under the bed before leaving the safety of the mattress. She picked up her two suitcases and took them downstairs. 5 minutes later, the sound of gunshots and suspenseful music coming from the living room rivaled the pop music coming from the upstairs bathroom.

—————-

Dante, Evita, and Armando came home to three girls shouting and running around, with another standing off to the side and filming. Chloe and Alya had come over to help after Aria had gotten out of the shower. Though it quickly turned into Chloe chasing Aria around and trying to get her to put on some clothes that weren’t covered in paint, and Alya filming Marinette freaking out about losing her deodorant.

“Dante! I stole your Pikachu boxers because they were in my drawers!” Aria ran past him, a disgruntled Chloe in hot pursuit.

“Why do I care?”

“Just thought you should know in case you start looking for them while I’m gone!”

“Speaking of being gone, shouldn’t you guys get going? Your flight leaves in 4 hours.”

“Crap! Evita! Do you have work soon? Can you drive us to the airport?”

“Can’t you guys just bike?”

Aria stopped and stared at Evita incredulously. Chloe didn't slow down quick enough and slammed both girls into the ground.

“Okay, we have like, 4 bags each, and the airport is like 45 miles away. ”

“Okay. I’ll take you, but I do have to work soon so we have to go now.”

“Okay. Akiv! Stop! Do you have your bags?”

“Yes, Ari.”

“Mooncake! Are you ready?”

“I NEED DEODORANT.”

“We can get some at the airport.”

“GAH! Okay, fine. Let’s go.”

The three girls ran to give Alya a hug before they left.

“Bye Als! Love you!”

“Adios, Vixen! Te Quiero!”

“Salut Alya!”

——————-

ONE EXCRUCIATINGLY LONG CAR RIDE LATER:,

Marinette, Aria, and Chloe stepped out of the Envoy and took their bags out of the trunk.

“Zai Jian, Evita! Wǒ ài nǐ!”

“Adios Mija! Te Quiero mucho!”

Aria gave Evita a hug before slinging her book bag and purse over her shoulder and pulling her suitcase over to the entrance. The girls watched the car drive off before turning and walking into the airport.

“Ay Dios Mio…”

“What?”

“Look at the lines!” Aria gestured over to about fifty people standing in front of a counter.

“Oh, mon Dieu.”

“Um, no. Look at your tickets. We have first-class. Which is the line over there.” Chloe pointed over to a short line with only a few people.

“Oh, thank goodness.” Marinette sighed as she scanned over her plane ticket.

“Wait, really?” Aria scrambled for the small slip of paper in her wallet, accidentally dropping it.

A young male, probably around 15, picked it up. He smiled and held it out to her.

“Here you go, m’lady”

“Thanks, bro,” Aria grunted.

The boy froze for only a second, but it was long enough for her to pluck the leather contraption out of his hand and walk away with the other girls. When they were out of earshot, they all burst out laughing.

“Oh my gosh! Did you see his face when you called him ‘bro’?!”

“That was hilarious,” Aria wiped tears from her eyes.

“Welp, now we know how she keeps guys away.”

“Who knew it was so simple?”

“No. It’s simple for me. I am the Goddess of repellent. You two are mere mortals.”

“She’s right! Oh, Great One! We are unworthy of your presence, but we beg to learn your ways!” Marinette got down on one knee, with one hand over her heart and the other being held out to Aria.

“Oh, get up Mooncake. They’re looking at us crazy again.” Chloe pulled the smaller girl onto her feet and ruffled her hair.

Marinette giggled, then bowed and took Aria’s hand.

“I am forever indebted to you for teaching me.” She kissed the brunette’s hand before standing up straight again.

“Mooncake, I love you, but that was the weirdest thing you’ve ever done.”

“Thanks, Abelle.”

“No problem babe.”

Aria rolled her eyes.

“Next!”

The girls looked up to see it was their turn in line.

“Please place your bags in the designated area.” The lady behind the desk gestured to a wire container.

Marinette looked to the side and placed her suitcase into the basket. The other girls quickly followed suit.

“Names?”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“Aria Couture.”

“Chloe Bourgeois.”

The lady typed their names into the computer before waving them away. Marinette saw the dull look in her eyes and pulled out 3 macarons before whispering something and smiling.

“Excuse me, Madame? Here are a few macarons. I hope you have a nice day!”

Marinette picked up her bags and walked away with her friends. She didn’t miss the small smile that appeared on the woman’s face.

“So, what’d you do to the cookies?”

“Let’s just say the rest of her week will be much better.”

“Minette, I have absolutely no idea what you're implying, and at this point, I'm too scared to ask.”

————

“This is why I hate flying. I’m already exhausted and we haven’t even been at the airport for 2 hours.” Marinette groaned.

“We’re done with all the security stuff, and our suitcases are already boarding the plane, which basically means we can currently do whatever we want. And don’t you still need deodorant?”

“Ugh. You’re right. Let’s go.”

Aria grinned and walked towards a sandwich restaurant.

“Aria, where are you going? The toiletries place is over there.” Marinette pointed to a little kiosk next to the bathrooms.

“Come on. You didn’t really think we would get deodorant before we got food, did you?”

“...I am kind of hungry…”

“Let’s go then!”

Aria grabbed Marinette’s right hand and Chloe’s left hand and yanked them over to the restaurant.

——————

“Flight Number 763, First class, Now boarding.”

Aria jolted awake at the sound of the announcement. She looked over at Chloe and Marinette sleeping peacefully and contemplated waking them up. She'd rather not lose an eye, or two.

Chloe woke up as the brunette picked up a small pink bookbag.

“Good morning Chlo,” Aria yawned.

“...hi Ari.”

Grabbing all of their backpacks, she took the tickets and passports out and walked over to the admittance booth.

“Tickets please."

“Here,” Aria handed him all three tickets and passports.

Aria looked up at the man in the booth.

“Can we go in or do you need sleeping beauty over here to confirm something,” Aria pointed at Marinette.

“Um. You can go in…”

“Thanks, have a nice day!”

The girls walked to the plane and found their seats quickly. Chloe helped Aria set Marinette down and put the carry-on bags in the capsules above them. Both girls fell back asleep about 10 minutes after they buckled up.

——————

GOTHAM:

3 notes · View notes

jawnjendes · 6 years ago

Text

girl, you’re trouble | shawn mendes

university au, shawn x goth gf

AN: i dont love the title but whatever i guess!! let me know ur thots, Thots! ALSO theres a bit of Spanish in this (surprise, the goth gf is actually mexican) so get ur fuckin translators out

masterlist | series playlist

I woke up alone in bed, but I wasn’t alone in the apartment. Just outside the bedroom, in the living room, I heard the sounds of Shawn singing and playing guitar. A smile appeared on my tired face. It’s been a while since I heard that pretty voice. It took me a minute to process what exactly he was belting out, but it must have been new. I’ve heard all of his songs, but this one was unfamiliar to me.

“Help me, it’s like the walls are caving in

Sometimes I feel like giving up, but I just can’t

It isn’t in my blood”

With a heavy sigh, I reached for my phone on the nightstand. However, as soon as I extended my arm and tried to stretch, I felt the minor sting of my incisions. I groaned and remained lying where I was, and I waited for Shawn to get all his sad boi feelings out. Good thing I loved hearing him sing.

“Laying on the bathroom floor, feeling nothing

I’m overwhelmed and insecure, give me something

I could take to easy my mind, slowly”

Okay, that was a direct hit to the feelings I tried so hard to keep tied up in a small box in the back of my mind. I felt small and helpless all over again in a matter of seconds. I had to lie on this bed and stare at the ceiling while I waited for my boyfriend to come and help me sit up. I had to depend on someone else to get by, and I never experienced that. I needed help, and I hated it. I hated being so vulnerable. Crazy how his words could drastically change my mood. And I literally just woke up.

Out of sheer spite (to whom, I don’t know), I dug my elbows into the mattress and attempted to pick up my head and shoulders. I felt the strain below my belly button, where the biggest incision was located, but I still tried to sit up on my own. Then, a sharp pain went through where I was cut into, and I groaned through gritted teeth. I dropped my head back and took a deep breath. I can do this.

Shawn’s guitar playing suddenly stopped. “Honey?”

Okay, I can’t do this.

I took another deep breath and tried to erase the frustration from my face as the door to the room opened. Shawn dashed inside and approached me.

“Are you okay? What happened?” he asked, looking up and down at my body like he was expecting me to be bleeding.

“Nothing, I was just trying to sit up,” I replied monotonously.

“Well, why didn’t you call me? I was just right outside the door.” Without even asking, he leaned down to wrap an arm around my back and moved me into a sitting up position. I felt a bit stupid.

I decided to change the subject. “Was that a new song I heard?”

“Yeah, something that hit all of a sudden,” he said. “What’d you think?”

Carefully, I shifted so my legs hung over the edge of the mattress. “I liked it a lot. I was happy to hear you sing again.”

Now I was able to reach for my phone on the nightstand. I had a new text from my mom, saying that she and my dad landed in Toronto. A deep pit formed in my stomach.

“My parents are in the city,” I said, my eyes widening.

Shawn didn’t reciprocate my nerves. “That’s great! Do they need a ride from the airport?”

“No!” I answered too quickly. “Uh… If you pick them up and I’m not there, they’ll be upset that I didn’t personally welcome them here. And if I do go with you, they’ll freak out because I’m not taking better care of myself post-surgery. Just let them get a Lyft.”

“Okay, then…”

For the first time in weeks, I got myself ready. Yeah, I was in the hospital for a week and a half, but exams season was prior to that event. I had been looking raggedy for a while now. My face was a little sunken in from the dramatic weight drop I experienced from my diet, but I didn’t look Dead dead. I brushed my teeth and straightened my hair, and I felt good about it. Plus, I was glad to discover I still had the skill to almost effortlessly draw on inner and outer wings on my eyes. I mean, I had one eye done successfully...

Shawn was watching me in the bathroom, leaning against the doorway with a smile on his face. I pretended to be too busy drawing on my other wing to acknowledge him for about five seconds. The pressure was a bit much.

“Can I help you, my dear?” I asked, finally drawing the outline of my wing.

“You just look so pretty,” he said mindlessly. “And you’re so good at putting on makeup.”

I chuckled. “It’s just eyeliner.”

Then the subject changed. “So… I know I’ve asked, but I still don’t know the answer. What are your parents like?”

I never knew how to answer a question like that without sounding like an ungrateful child. “Um… my mom’s an Aries and my dad is an Aquarius…”

“Babe.”

“My mom’s name is Lucy, and my dad’s name is Ed,” I tried again. “They’ll talk to each other in Spanish if they don’t want people around them to know what they’re saying. A lot of people say I’m a mix of both of them. Uh, they’re swayed by actions and not words. They know you make me happy, so they should be nice.”

“Should?” Shawn repeated. “Uh, okay. Noted. My parents and sister are coming over too. Like, a little bit later. So it’ll be a big happy family time.”

“Fun!”

Oh god. If there was anything in my body, I’d shit myself.

For once, the two of us were dressed in something other than pajamas. I mean, I still had on black sweats, but I had on my black long sleeve with a rose embroidered on the chest. It was nicer than a t-shirt, in my opinion. Plus, it went well with Shawn’s black floral button up and black jeans. His outfit was a bit more colorful, but I was a little giddy that we had an unplanned theme going on.

My parents came over first. I heard the knock on the door and made tense eye contact with my boyfriend. Then, I remembered one last bit to tell him.

“Oh, uh… my father doesn’t appreciate names like Gomez Addams, Alice Cooper, Gene Simmons… y’know what I mean?” I said, snaking my arm around Shawn’s waist so we could walk to the front door.

“Why would I call him that?” he asked, confused.

“It’s just his… aesthetic? Appearance? He’s serious about it, and he doesn’t like people poking fun at it, even if it’s not malicious. Tell that to your family too.”

Shawn nodded, but he still seemed confused. I would have explained more, but another well-timed knock on the door distracted me.

“You can just wait on the couch if you want,” he told me as we strolled through the hallway.

“No, I don’t want you facing them alone.”

It’s cute how he thought I was joking. But I was not leaving him alone as long as my parents were here.

“Oh!” I interjected. “One more thing! Do not mention my birth control or my Prozac. They’ll flip their shit if they find out!”

“Shit, okay…”

When we got to the door, I answered. My mother practically screamed.

“Mija! Mi chiquita!” She hugged me around the shoulders, causing the fuzz from her fluffy pink coat to get in my mouth. For once, she was able to reach my shoulders because she was wearing sparkly, silver wedges.

She leaned back and smiled at me, tears welling up in her dark brown eyes. My mom didn’t exactly look young for her age, but she certainly dressed like it. Under her pink coat, she had a lavender dress on and white tights. Not only that, she had dyed her hair a lighter brown in the time that I had been away from home. It was a surprise, but it suited her.

“Love the hair,” I told her with a smile.

She kissed me on the cheek, leaving behind a pink lip stain. “Thank you, mija. Your hair has gotten really long! And you’ve lost weight!”

There it is.

My father was clad in a black leather jacket, a grey t-shirt and black jeans. He had on a black beanie, which covered his full head of dark hair. Last time I saw him, he was clean shaven, but now he had a decent amount of scruff on his chin. He was as tall as Shawn, but way less muscular. He held out a hand to him, and that was when I noticed his nails were also painted black. Haven’t seen that in a hot minute.

“How ya doing?” he greeted. “I’m Ed, and this is my wife, Lucy.”

Shawn shook his hand and smiled. I could tell he was nervous. “Nice to meet you.” He held his hand out to my mom next, but she pulled him into a hug.

“It’s so wonderful to meet you, honey,” she told him, returning his nervous smile.

“You too.” Shawn was pleasantly surprised by the gesture.

Dad hugged me as tight as Mom did. “Mija. I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you guys,” I told them.

“Ah, it’s about time you do!” Mom said, still smiling.

And comes the first awkward pause of the week.

“Come on in!” Shawn piped up, gesturing for them to go down the hallway. “Living room is down that way. Would you guys like some water?”

“Oh, you sweetheart. Please, if you don’t mind,” Mom told him before following my dad to the living room.

That gave Shawn and I a moment alone as we went into the kitchen. It was a moment to breathe and to process everything. I looked at him, not really sure what to expect. Did he hate them already?

“You didn’t tell me your parents were polar opposites,” he told me quietly as he went to get glasses from the cabinet. “You never told me your dad was a goth.”

“You never asked,” I said, bemused.

“I’ve asked you like ten times!”

We went back to the living room with glasses of water. My mom was quick to stand up and help me sit on the couch.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be walking around so much,” she suggested.

“It’s good for me, trust me,” I replied. I wonder how much mothering I could take before I had it.

“Let me see your scars,” she said, grabbing at my shirt to look at my bandaged incisions. “Are they healing? Do they hurt at all?”

She’s my mom. What could I do? I sent my mildly embarrassed gaze over to Shawn, who was setting the glasses of water down on the coffee table. He only gave me an amused smile.

“Oh, god no!” Dad snapped, turning his head away. He coughed and gagged.

“It’s not that bad,” I told him. “It’s three holes and two lines in my tummy!”

“Nope! I can’t do blood!”

“There’s no blood!”

Mom pulled my shirt back down and sat next to Dad on the other end of the L-shaped couch. “You dress and act so scary but you can’t even look at your daughter’s wounds!”

They began to bicker in Spanish, to which I rolled my eyes at. Shawn sat down next me and we shared a look.

“Just wait,” I told him. “They’ll be done in a second. Then, they’re gonna interrogate you.”

“Great.”

Once my parents got themselves together, they simultaneously turned to us, hands folded in their laps. They moved together like robots sometimes, it was strange. But it worked for them.

“So, mija,” Mom said, “when will you be coming home?”

Oof. An unpleasant thing to talk about.

“Actually…” I trailed off. “I’m gonna be recovering til the middle of August. If I didn’t have these huge cuts under my belly button, I’d be ready to go home next week…”

Mom blinked a few times, like she hadn’t process what I said. Dad, on the other hand… his face fell. Honestly, I wasn’t too happy about this arrangement either.

“When does school start for you?” Dad asked.

“A week after I’m supposed to be recovered,” I replied. “And I have to get my dorm ready, and my professors will start setting assignments that month. Not to mention, I still have a job.”

“So you can go to work, but you can’t come home?” Mom’s warm, loving facade now vanished. Her face went hard and cold, and her eyes were daggers.

“My job isn’t that far from here,” I told her. “And I’m sitting at a desk most of the time. Trust me, I wanna go home too, but the doctor said-”

She cut across me. “The doctor said you stay con tu pinche novio, verdad? No quieres dejar ese chamaco? No quieres ver tu familia porque ya tienes novio!”

My dad gently placed his hands on her shoulders and quietly spoke to calm her down. It wouldn’t do any good, because now I was angry, and I talked back.

“Él no es chamaco! Me está cuidando, y estoy muy agradecido que me deje quedarme aquí! Sin él, hubiera estado sin hogar y varado! Ma, el doctor me dijo que no puedo viajar asi!” I raised my voice, causing Dad to hold up a warning finger.

“Don’t talk to your mother like that!”

“Pues, claro que no quieres viajar! How convenient!” Mom snapped. “Quieres quedarte con ese guey, no me mientas.”

My dad looked at my startled, confused boyfriend. “Listen, Shane-”

“Shawn,” I corrected, folding my arms.

“Sorry. Shawn. I’m sure you’re a nice guy,” Dad continued, “but we don’t know enough about you. We don’t know if this is a safe enough place for our daughter.”

Shawn sat up. “I’ll tell you anything you’d like to know, sir.”

“Nos va a mentir,” my mom spoke, looking at my dad with wide eyes. “Nos dirá que queremos oír.”

Normally, I would have kept at the Spanish, but I was over it now. Especially in front of my English speaking boyfriend. “Just give him a chance, Ma!”

Dad gave me a look like I was crazy. “Mija… she’s not wrong.”

I ignored him and turned to Shawn. “They’ve been here all of ten minutes and they already think you’re a liar. They think you’re forcing me to stay here or something.”

“Hey, we did not say that!” Mom pointed a manicured finger at me.

“It’s gonna lead to that! You’re always going to the worst case scenario!”

“Well, you’re still sick! He could leave or kick you out!”

Shawn spoke up. “Um… with all due respect, I wouldn’t do anything like that. I care so much about your daughter, I wouldn’t even think about leaving her like this, especially since…” He paused and glanced at me once. “I already knew how I felt about your daughter, but her time in the hospital made it even more clear. I love her… so much. All I wanna do is make sure she’s okay and healthy. And I wanna make her happy, too.”

That was all… the sweetest shit ever. But my mother still had a skeptical look on her face. My dad had his eyes narrowed, but he spoke next.

“I can see that. She told us that you slept at the hospital, saw her through to her surgery. Even before that, you stayed despite her health issues. I think that’s a good man.”

My faith was restored and shattered again with every word. “Despite my health issues?” I repeated.

“Ay, mija,” Mom said with a sigh, “you of all people should know how much of a hassle it is to deal with your sickness.”

“Well, Shawn doesn’t see me as someone who’s sick. He never has.”

“It’s really no hassle,” he added. “If anything, she pushes me to eat better.”

“And I only get sick if I eat the wrong thing. Most of the time, I’m fine.”

Mom scoffed. “You were in the hospital. Obviously, you did something wrong!”

Heard those words before… every time I was in the bathroom at my parents’ house. It was my fault. I felt defeated, so I sat back and pinched the bridge of my nose. It was hard to keep my body relaxed when I was so tense and frustrated. Of course, my silence prompted my mom to keep talking… to Shawn.

“As a child, whenever she got mad, she told us she was going to run away to Canada,” she recalled with a chuckle. “And she did! She got a scholarship offer from UCLA, but she chose to run here instead.”

I didn’t run away. I chose the place I actually applied to, and it was Toronto.

“How was I supposed to look after her? What would happen if she got sick?”

I got sick here, and it was handled. I knew how to handle my own burdens. Part of being chronically sick is learning to live with it. Part of it was always being seen as sick to some people. That happened whether you want it to or not.

“Aside from that,” Dad added, “we were also worried about the type of person she might end up with. She’ll pick whoever she picks, obviously. We just don’t wanna see her with someone who’ll influence her the wrong way. I’m sure she’s told you, but she’s had some rough relationships in the past.”

Shawn nodded. “Oh yeah. I know all about Luca.”

“Who’s Luca?”

God fuckign-

Keeping secrets from my parents was not allowed when I lived with them. It was hard trying to find privacy, much less ask for it. If I wanted to keep something for myself, then I was hiding something and that was bad. I couldn’t even keep a journal without worrying that they’ll read it behind my back. They were always able to get stuff out of me anyway… because they’re my parents, and they want to help, and I can only trust them and no one else. They did everything for me, the least I could do was reveal personal information so they knew every little thing that was going on with me.

Don’t even get me started on how offended they would get if I didn’t want to talk about certain things. I wanted time to sit with my depression when it started happening, only for my parents to literally ground me because I kept it from them. My mom was upset because I didn’t tell her about Shawn from the moment I laid eyes on him. So when I told them that I did not want to talk about my past thing with Luca, they weren’t exactly thrilled.

Thankfully, Shawn’s family finally made it over. That meant that my parents had to put on their civil customer service attitudes. Anyway, I finally met Shawn’s dad and sister, Manny and Aaliyah. I was still in a physical state I didn’t want to be in, but this was much better than when I was on morphine and hitting on my boyfriend.

Within minutes, our parents were bragging about their kids. Not in a way where they were trying to one up each other, more like they were proving their kids were good together. My mom let go of some of her skepticism as Karen gushed about her son. Karen also brought up that she was at the hospital with me, which started up that conversation.

“Okay, mija,” Mom said, looking at me. “How bad was this infection? I couldn’t understand the texts you sent me.”

“Before or after the surgery?” I asked.

“Pues, los dos.”

I spent about twenty minutes explaining the infection, the antibiotics, and the trip to the emergency room.

“So what happened? Why did you get that infection?” Dad asked.

“She stopped taking care of herself,” Mom answered for me. “I’m assuming you and your vato go out a lot. ¿Están comiendo pura basura, verdad?”

“No es cierto!” I argued, but I had to remember the other witnesses in the room. “Sometimes, these things just happen. I was really upset to that I spent so much time taking care of myself, only to end up having surgery. But everything went well. The surgery was successful, and I’m okay.”

I could still see fire in my mother’s eyes, but she held her tongue. It was just another argument to be had later. It was a little embarrassing, having Shawn’s family witness the tension and underlying rage. The only person who seemed entertained by it was Aaliyah.

“And after the surgery?” Dad asked, gesturing for me to continue. “You had another infection?”

“Just on the incision,” I replied. “That was take care of with antibiotics.”

“That’s not what your texts said.”

“Huh?”

Now, I remember sending my parents updates on my condition, despite the fact that they were without their phones literally the entire time I was in the hospital. I knew I sent them the text about having a surgical site infection.

Shawn spoke up, his voice soft. “Honey…”

I turned to him, but he was looking at the floor now. His jaw was clenched, like he was holding something back. He was silent long enough for his mom to speak up.

“You did have an infection, yes,” she said, “but that was a few days after… The day after your surgery, you went into shock. They found out you were hemorrhaging, and they took you into the OR again. If they didn’t catch it when they did, you could have died.”

I only stared silently, my mouth half open. My mom gasped and clutched her chest, horrified. Dad was rubbing his hands together, trying to process what was spoken. Aaliyah had her mouth wide open, like the greatest tea was being spilled. Manny and Shawn were both looking down at the floor.

“Holy crap,” Aaliyah whispered, breaking the silence.

“Why did nobody tell me this?” I finally asked.

“The fever and the drugs made you delirious,” Shawn explained, picking his head back up. “They told you, but you probably don’t remember. Sometimes you didn’t even recognize me. And I sent most of the texts to your parents. Figured they would want to know.”

Every word was like a hammer to my chest. Now that I was thinking about it, my hospital memories were fuzzy. If there was something I did remember, it was my boyfriend sitting at my bedside for days. Also, his nightmares made a lot more sense now. It was my fault.

It’s all my fault.

That night, I lied awake. Again. Shawn frequently thrashed and yelled in his sleep. I found myself wondering if I would actually wake up again.

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes blurb #shawn mendes smut #fourtristattoosspring #shawn x goth gf #im not gonna lie........ i dont love this chapter #it play differently in my head #and the original draft was a disaster #and i didnt even hit all the points i wanted to get at with her parents #but things need to keep going bc it only gets more intense from here!!!!#but also!!!!#i feel like i havent written enough fluffy shit abt goth gf feelin her mushy feelios for mr sunshine over there!!!!!!!!!#and things are gonna get....... intense!!!!!!!!#FUCK!#whatever here it is take her as she is!!!!!!

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katlyn1948 · 5 years ago

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Only Human: Part 8: Epilogue “The Family of Storm’s End”

Here is the epilogue!! So I am like seriously considering a sequel for this with the children that Arya and Gendry have, but it won't be a multi chapter (I say that, but let's be real, it probably will be) and may just be a one shot. I have had this idea for like a future story with the kids of Arya and Gendry, so I may decided to write that in the near future. I also want to give an update on AUJ. I have about half of the next chapter written and am planning on uploading around 4th of July weekend. But let me know, seriously, if you guys want to more of Bella and her siblings (note: she had four other siblings). I just have to have a big family for them, considering Arya comes from one and I feel like Gendry would want one. Also, this part was literally put together because I was at Pride all weekend here in Florida and I am hella exhausted. My feet hurt, but my heart is screaming with joy! This was my first Pride parade and I loved it!! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this and let me know what you think! As always, happy reading!!

Epilogue: The Family of Storm’s End

It had been six moons since Arya showed up at Storm’s End and she was finally beginning to settle with ease. It had taken some time for her to become familiar with routine, but once she did she found it embracing. For most of her life she had been on the run; trying to escape the demons of her past. Now that she had time to still, she appreciated the life that was around her. She was still that uncage wolf that she would always be, and Gendry understood that.

The first moon in Storm’s End had been hard on Arya and all she wanted to do was escape. She had gotten up in the dead of night in no more than in her sleeping gown and made her way to the busy shores. She needed to look out at the sea; to see the waves crash against the side of the castle. She had missed the open waters and running a ship.

She didn’t want to have an excuse to run away, so she had given her ship to Aries. He was very much like her and couldn’t sit still for long. He wanted to continue what she started and find west of Westeros. Arya had given him her blessing and gave her ship to him for good measure. He was grateful and had promised to return it in one piece. Aires’ lover, Donovan had intended to go with him but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work in the kitchens at the castle.

It was a momentous goodbye. Arya, Sienna, and Alyse had joined Donovan at the dock at Griffin’s Roost. Gendry had been hesitant, but agreed to let Arya take young Bella, so long as he joined them. There were tears and laughter as they watched their dear friend depart on his journey. Donovan had been a mess, tears and snot running down his face. Arya couldn’t help but laugh at the confusion upon Gendry’s face.

Later that night, when they were staying at the inn half way between Storm’s End and Griffin’s Roost, Arya had explained to her stupid bull that Donovan and Aries were very much like his Uncle Renly and preferred the company of men. His cheeks went bright red and they laughed through the night.

There were more times since, that she would wake and sneak out of the castle to sit on the sands and watch the reflection of the moon on the water.

By the time the third moon came, Gendry had begun to sense Arya’s absence in the bed beside him. He woke just shortly after she had made her escape and had a feeling on where she would be. He made his way out of the castle and around to the beaches below. He saw her small figure sitting on the shore just before the waves could reach her feet. She had her knees pulled up to her chest with her chin resting atop of them.

There hadn’t been too many times in Arya’s life where someone could sneak up on her, but that night, Gendry had. She was startled by his sudden presence beside her but was glad that he finally was able to find her. She rested her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her small frame.

“You finally found me.” She said to him, pressing further into him.

Gendry sighed, “Aye. It only took three moons.”

Arya gave a small chuckle and continued to gaze out at the sea.

“And what about Bella?” She asked after short time of silence.

“I woke Sienna before I left. She is watching her.” Gendry paused. He knew why she was on the beach, but he needed to hear it from her.

“What is going on Arya? Do you regret staying?” He asked her.

Arya lifted her head from his shoulder and looked him dead in the eyes.

“I do not regret anything. I…I just miss it. I miss the freedom it allowed me to have; being on the sea. I just feel like I am suffocating at times.” She confessed.

Gendry placed a small kiss on her lips.

“If you need time, I will give it to you. If you have to escape for a few weeks at a time, let me know. I will never hold you back.”

Arya returned a kiss to him, the smile on her face never leaving.

“I know you will never hold me back, but there is someone who will, and she is sound asleep in her cot up there,” Arya pointed to the castle towering above them.

Gendry let out a laugh, “Yes, because she is a demanding babe. I’ve seen you feed her, she eats like your teat will run away! And even though she loves her mother, I’m sure that Alyse and Sienna will be more than happy to help with her, if ever you feel the need to escape for a bit.”

Arya ley out a sigh, “I know they would, but I just can’t leave her. Not yet. Maybe when she is older, where she doesn’t rely on me as much. But for now, I stay here with her and with you.”

“If you say so.” Gendry teased.

Arya gave him a slight shove and they stayed there on the beach for some time, just watching the waves move against the sandy shore. By the time they decided to return, the sun was just beginning to rise above the horizon.

That was three moons back and Arya was now able to spend her time wisely. She trained young men and women in the art of water dancing and was even teaching Alyse a few things to protect herself as any woman should know how to.

She even helped Gendry in the day to day runnings of the castle. A few of the liege lords were weary but took her in with open arms. There was one liege lord who had questioned the parentage of Bella, and Arya was quick to let him know otherwise.

“Call my child a bastard again, Lord Estermont, and I can promise that my dagger won’t miss your head a second time.” She had told him coldly.

Her Cat’s Paw dagger has stuck in a banister right behind the lord’s head. She had thrown it at him the moment that word left his mouth. His face went pale and he gave a quick nod of his head. She never heard that word come out of his mouth again.

After that moment, the lords new better than to question Lady Arya Stark.

Mya had a harder shell to crack. She was extremely protective of her brother and doubted Arya’s intentions on more than one occasion. She didn’t fully trust Arya and it would take time for her to completely open herself up to her.

Arya knew that Mya was would be the oil to her water. They didn’t seem to mesh well with one another and avoided each other at all costs. Mya even started to avoid Gendry, consider Arya was always with him. They hardly spoke and last full conversation they had was when Arya first arrived.

Mya fully believed that Arya would disappear on night, and never return; breaking her brother’s heart like she had just a few years prior.

When Gendry came to her one night asking for her advice in marriage, she quickly tried to shut down the idea.

“Don’t be stupid, little brother. If she didn’t want to marry you then, she doesn’t want to marry you now. What is the difference?” She chastised.

“The difference, Mya, is that we have a child together and I truly believe that she’ll stay. The people love her and even the lords have come around. She won’t leave Bella, at least not yet, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her.” Gendry confessed.

Mya groaned in frustration. Gendry had told her about the night he found Arya on the beach. He told her the conversation that they had nearly three moons ago. She had told him then to not be surprised if he woke and Arya was truly gone. She even called him an idiot for allowing her to leave like that, if she chose to.

“Do what you want, Gendry. I don’t care. Just don’t come to me when she leaves again.” Mya stormed out her own room and headed towards the kitchens. It had become her favorite place here of late, and it was the only place in the castle where she could drink her ale without any interruptions. But that night she was joined by none other than Arya Stark.

She was waiting for her at a small table seated by the hearth where the cooks baked their bread. There were only two seats and Arya was occupying one of them. She had two goblets of ale sitting atop the table; one in her hand and the other in front of the empty seat.

“Seven hells, can I have not one place to myself?” Mya exclaimed.

“I am not staying long, just want to talk.” Arya explained.

Mya took the seat across from her and downed the goblet of ale. She grabbed the near by pitcher and refilled her cup.

“What do you want to talk about?” Mya’s tone was a bit harsh and she didn’t care.

“I know what Gendry asked you. I have had a feeling he’s been wanting to ask me again for some time. Well, that and I also found a small box in his chest that housed a ring. That stupid bull! I don’t need a ring.” Arya took a sip of her goblet and cringed at the taste. She never really liked ale, she preferred wine, but thought it best to have Mya’s favorite drink for the situation.

“So, you are going to say no.” It wasn’t a question.

Arya cocked her head and raised her left eyebrow, “I never said that. I just said that I didn’t need a ring.”

Mya was beginning to get frustrated with the conversation and wanted nothing more than escape the suffocating interaction.

“What do you want, Arya? Do you want my blessing? Well, sorry, I won’t give it. I worry for him and I worry that you’ll break his heart again. I can’t have that.” Mya confessed, her voice slightly cracking.

“I know how it is to worry and to protect your brother. I did the same with mine and in the end, he became more broken than before. But I want you to know that I will never hurt him again. I’ve thought about leave for some time when Bella gets older, but the more I think about it, the more I hate the idea. I can’t leave him. Not again. I love Gendry and I want to marry him.” Arya opened her heart to Mya, hoping that she would believe the words that she was saying.

Mya sighed. She could hear the truth behind Arya’s words and it aggravated her. She wanted so hard not to believe her, but she couldn’t help but see the emotion on Arya’s face. There in front of her, sat a girl that had become vulnerable, when it was nearly impossible for her to do so.

“Alright. But if you do anything to hurt him, I promise I will gut you myself.” Mya stated.

Arya let out a small chuckle, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The two women remained in the kitchens for a time, just talking and genuinely getting to know one another.

After their conversation, Mya had begun to care for Arya like any sister would and started to truly believe that she was here to stay.

She enjoyed watching her brother and Arya interact. She could see the true love that each of them had for the other. She could see the way Gendry would stare adoringly at Arya when she would be in the training yard or how Arya would look at Gendry when he was in the forge working on whatever weapon a liege lord had ordered.

It was the type of love that she hadn’t seen and hoped that she would never lose to see.

She even began to love Bella in a way that she didn’t know she was capable of. It was a different kind of love than the one she had for her brother or even Arya. This love was that of a mother and child, and even though Bella wasn’t hers, she would love her just as fiercely as her parents did.

They had become a family, the lot of them. It wasn’t just Arya, Gendry and Bella. It was Alyse, Sienna, Donovan, and Mya too.

Arya didn’t think that she would be this lucky and gain a family that loved her just as much as her other family had. It was perfect for her, and she didn’t need anyone else.

So, just a moon later, she married Gendry with only her family in attendance. She didn’t need a large party or celebration, all she needed were the people that mattered most to her. Even her brother, the king and her sister, the queen were in attendance. She had sent a raven beyond the wall to let Jon know of her nuptials and had received one back congratulating her on her happiness. Gendry had also received a letter from Jon, which he had yet to share with Arya.

The wedded, celebrated, and bedded; becoming joined as husband and wife.

Several years had gone by and Jon had been given a pardon to visit Arya on Bella’s third nameday. It had been a happy surprise and one that Arya would never forget. Jon stayed with them for three weeks and when the time came to bid farewell, Arya had cried into his chest as if she were a little girl.

“I’ll see you again. Take care, and make sure you keep Gendry in his place.” Jon had smiled to her.

Arya nodded and gave her big brother a soft kiss of the cheek.

She saw Jon leave the gates and didn’t tear her gaze from his back until he had disappeared over the horizon.

She wiped the tears from her face and made her way to the training yard.

Gendry knew better than to disturb her when she was emotional and thought it best to avoid her. Although Bella had yet to learn that skill.

She toddled down to the yard and grasped her mother’s leg.

“Don’t cry, mama.” She whined into Arya’s leg.

Arya lifted her child into her arms, hugging her.

“I’m not, my sweet. Now, where is your father? He should have been watching you.”

As if summoned, Gendry had made his appearance.

“Bella, what have I told you about wondering off. I’m sorry, Arya, she is a quick one. Much like you.” He leaned forward and planted a kiss of her lips.

“Mhh, she is like me. I just hope the next one is like you.” Arya said smoothly.

It had taken Gendry several moments to realize what Arya had said. His eyes widened, and his mouth became slightly agape.

“Are you certain?”

Arya nodded, “The maester confirmed that I may be three moons along.”

Gendry’s face broke out into a wide grin. He lifted Arya into his arms, with Bella still in Arya’s. The two girls giggled as they were being twirled around.

He gently set them down on the ground and Gendry gave Arya another sweet kiss.

“Eww, papa!” Bella squealed.

Gendry laughed and turned his attention to Bella, “I’ll show you eww.”

He began to tickle her profusely, giving her small kisses on her cheeks. Bella giggled and wiggled out of Arya’s arms, running away from her father. Gendry followed behind her, chasing her into the main courtyard.

Arya smiled at the pair and couldn’t help but feel her heart swell with joy, and although the thought of another babe had scared her, she was truly excited to see what the future help for the family of Storm’s End.

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#Gendry Baratheon #gendry x arya #gendry/arya #Arya Stark #arya x gendry #arya #got #forgie #epilogue #sequel #maybe #got s8

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katedoesfics · 5 years ago

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Breath of the Resistance: Chapter 7

The drive from the desert to Zora’s Domain was the longest stretch of their trip which meant that they would once again need to stop for the night before continuing on to the last leg. Zelda was willing to stop this time, and even more willing to share a room with Link.

“I was thinking,” she said as they walked across the motel parking lot. “I want my alias to be Ari Sentara.”

“Ari Sentara?”

“A girl I used to know in school.”

“We don’t need fake identities yet,” he said. “If Dorian is involved, he’ll get suspicious if we use fake names.”

Zelda hung her head. “Damn. I really wanted to try out being a redhead.”

Link smiled. “Redhead, huh?”

“You have something against redheads?”

He shook his head. “Not at all. I had a crush on this redhead girl when I was little.”

“Oh, that’s it. You have a thing for redheads.”

“Whatever.”

Zelda grinned. “You’re blushing.”

Link’s pace quickened. “No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are,” Zelda teased.

“You’re immature.”

“You’re immature,” Zelda mocked.

Link rolled his eyes and leaned against the front desk, speaking to the young woman who stood at the computer. She smiled and giggled when he spoke and flipped her hair over her shoulder. Zelda watched curiously at the interaction until Link returned to her side a moment later, his hands shoved in his pockets.

“We’ve got time to kill.” He sniffed at the air, catching a whiff of something good, and followed his nose down to where he hoped he would find food.

“Where are you going?” Zelda called after him.

“I’m hungry.”

Zelda didn’t bother to follow him. Instead, she wandered down the hallways and mosied about in the lobby, studying the random collection of paintings hung on the walls. It wasn’t long before Link returned. He stood at her side, chewing rather obnoxiously. Zelda turned and gawked at the plate of food in his hands.

“Where the hell did you get all that?”

“The kitchen,” he said simply. “It was free.”

“Free? How did you manage that?” She picked some grapes off of the plate and popped them into her mouth.

“That’s a good question,” he said, peering at the painting on the wall. “We were just talking. I said I was waiting for a room. She gave me a plate of food.” He paused for a moment as he came to a realization. “I think the girl behind the counter was trying to hit on me.”

“Wow.”

Link turned to Zelda, raising a questionable brow. He took a bite of a danish.

“Is that typical? Do women just throw themselves at you like that?

Link grinned and shrugged as he took another bite. “What can I say? I’m sexy.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Hm.” Link turned back to the painting thoughtfully.

“What?”

“Do you think they’ll make some burgers? I could go for a burger.”

“Amazing,” Zelda muttered. “Is that all you think about? Some days, you hardly say two words to me, but when it comes to food, you don’t shut your mouth.”

“I’m sorry,” Link said as he finished off the danish. “Should I talk more?”

“Just be honest,” Zelda said, crossing her arms. “You think I’m a bitch.”

Link practically choked on the second danish he attempted to devour. Once he cleared his airways, he continued with the danish.

“You didn’t answer,” Zelda said, narrowing her eyes at him.

Link shrugged. “What do you want me to say?”

“Anything! Like, a normal conversation.”

“That wasn’t in the job description,” he said. “I’m just here to make sure you don’t get killed.”

“Right,” Zelda muttered. “Of course.”

Link sighed. “What do you want from me? I have a pretty important job. Life or death, you know? Save the world from some evil bastard that somehow keeps coming back over and over and oh, use this magic sword to do it, and if you fail, Hyrule is dead. But don’t worry, this is what you were born to do. Literally. You’ve been training your whole life and shoved into a job you’re expected to just do. You got this. If your ancestors could do it, so can you. No pressure.”

Zelda turned her gaze to the painting, though she wasn’t really interested in it anymore. She hadn’t realized how similarly Link felt, and just how much they were both pressured into doing something without a second thought. Neither of them had a choice in the matter and were expected to just put their own lives on the line. And the more she realized the severity of the situation, the more daunting and hopeless it all seemed.

“I guess I never considered that,” she said softly. “You seem to have it all together.”

Link finished off his second danish. “Good, that’s how it should seem. I don’t get to have it anything but together.”

“For what it’s worth,” Zelda started. “You don’t have to around me, you know. We’re in this together, and whatever. So, might as well make the best of it.”

Link shrugged. “Might as well.”

“I’m sorry for being a bitch.”

Link smirked. “Oh, wow, and I thought this was nice Zelda the whole time.”

Zelda rolled her eyes.

“Apology accepted,” he said rather smugly.

The woman behind the desk called to them and she smiled flirtatiously as she handed Link the key. Zelda followed him down the hallway until they got into their room and she collapsed with a sigh onto one of the beds.

“These motels are getting old,” she said. “I’ll be glad when we get to Zora’s Domain.” Zelda propped herself up on her elbow. “I bet you’re eager to get there, too,” she said with a grin.

“Why would I be?”

“To see Mipha,” Zelda said, as if it were obvious.

“Oh. Sure.”

“She likes you.”

“Apparently all the women do.”

Zelda rolled her eyes. “Right, of course, because you’re sexy.”

Link sat on the edge of his bed and grinned at her. “Thanks.”

“I wasn’t calling you sexy.”

“But you just did.”

“No! I was… what you said… in the lobby.”

“Right. Duh.”

“You never answered my question the other day,” Zelda said quickly. She pulled out her phone and pretended to busy herself on it in an attempt to hide the blush on her face. “Do you like her?”

“I’m madly in love with her.”

Zelda looked up and met his gaze. “You are?”

Link grinned. “Yes. We’re going to get married and have little half Zora babies.”

Zelda wrinkled her nose at him and turned back to her phone.

“Jealous?”

“Hylia, no.”

Link folded his arms across his chest. “Don’t ever talk to me and my children again.”

Zelda tossed her phone onto the bed. “Well, don’t lead her on if you’re not,” she said.

“Thanks, I needed relationship advice. You’re so wise.”

“Stop talking,” Zelda muttered. She leaned over and turned off the light. She listened as Link shuffled around in the other bed.

“So, Ari has red hair?” Link’s voice said.

“Yeah.”

“Hm.”

Zelda turned over and smiled.

*****

This time, when Link awoke, Zelda was still sleeping soundly in the other bed. He watched her sleep for a moment before sitting up and stretching his arms. He reached behind him to grab a pillow and threw it across the room at Zelda. Zelda groaned and swatted at the air with her hand before opening her eyes and, upon seeing Link awake, she groaned once more.

“It’s too early,” she said as she pulled the blankets over her shoulder.

“If we leave now, we can get there around noon,” Link informed her. “We still have a few hours to drive.”

“What’s the hurry?” Zelda said, turning over in the bed. “It’s not like there’s some impending doom on our horizon or anything.”

Link pulled the blankets off of her as he walked by the bed. “I’ll see you down there,” he said. “I’m getting food.”

In the dining room, Link grabbed himself a couple of danishes. He walked back towards the lobby, happily eating his breakfast, and leaned against the front desk to check out.

“Where’s your girlfriend?” the woman asked with a smile.

“Ha. Please.” Link slapped his payment down on the desk.

“Oh, come on,” the woman said. “You know how many guys would kill to be with her?”

“Well, I know her father pretty well,” Link said. “And I’m not in any hurry to die.”

The woman laughed. “As the daughter of Hyrule’s ruler, I’m sure she doesn’t have much of a say with who she ends up with, anyway.”

Link took a bite of his danish and chewed it slowly. “You think they still do that? Arranged marriages?”

The woman shrugged. “Her ancestors have ruled since the dawn of Hyrule,” she said. “I’m sure that’s a matter they take very seriously. Gotta keep those good bloodlines going, you know?”

“Hm.” Link looked up as Zelda came around the corner.

“Let’s go,” she said with a yawn.

“Good luck,” the woman behind the desk said to Link with a wide grin.

Zelda followed Link quickly out of the motel and across the parking lot.

“Good luck?” she echoed. “Why did she say that?”

“No idea,” Link muttered. “She’s crazy.”

Once more, they got into the car and Link pulled out on the road, following the highway north towards Zora’s Domain. They talked casually to pass the time; Link about his childhood on the farm, Zelda about her antics in the palace. To Link’s surprise, she had a way of getting into as much trouble as he had, keeping the guards in the castle constantly on their toes.

As Link predicted, it was just after noon when they finally pulled off the highway and followed the road to Zora’s Domain. Sidon and Mipha were waiting just outside the palace as Link and Zelda approached, and Sidon immediately took Zelda’s hand in his with a bow.

“Princess Zelda,” he said. “I trust you had a nice trip?”

“Link’s not the worst company to have,” she said with a smirk towards Link. “It was fine.”

“Let’s not waste a minute,” Sidon said with a burst of energy. “I’m excited to see this Divine Beast once it’s activated.”

Link and Zelda followed Sidon and Mipha up to the reservoir where Vah Ruta slept. Zelda followed Sidon to the main control panel, and just as she did with the other three Divine Beasts, she placed the Sheikah slate on the panel and within moments, Vah Ruta came to life. Sidon spoke excitedly at her side as the Divine Beast started to move about. It’s large trunk lifted in the air and water spewed out of it.

“Everything seems to be just fine,” Zelda said as she returned the slate. “I just need to make sure Mipha can control it without any problems.” She looked around, now realizing that she and Sidon were alone. Sidon walked ahead across the Divine Beast and Zelda trotted over to his side.

“I’m sure she’ll have no problem with Vah Ruta,” Sidon said. “She’s been very excited to see this thing in action.” He stopped and looked out with a smile.

Zelda followed his gaze to Vah Ruta’s trunk where Link and Mipha stood talking together. She watched them for a moment, wondering what they were talking about. It seemed to Zelda that perhaps Link had the same feelings that Mipha had for him. It seemed rather odd. And what was more strange was the sinking feeling in Zelda’s chest; a combination of disappointment and even jealousy.

But why should she feel that way?

“You see it, too, then,” Sidon said, interrupting her thoughts.

Zelda turned to him as Sidon continued.

“Muzu tells her time after time that she has no business with the Hylians. But you know how our elder Zora are. They hold grudges.” Sidon smiled to Zelda. “For what it’s worth, my father and I believe in strengthening our alliance with your father. That’s why Mipha is involved in the SFU. You have our support no matter what.”

“Thank you, Sidon,” Zelda said softly. She mulled over what Link had told her the other day. If Dorian was a double agent, they were all in danger, including Mipha and the Zoras. Zelda knew how their relationship with the Zoras had been strained over the years. If the Zora found out that the Hylians let in a double agent, the country would be torn once more, and they could not afford that with Ganon’s undoubted return on the horizon. Being involved in with the SFU only put Mipha in danger. For the sake of her safety and the safety of all the Zora, perhaps it was best if Mipha were no longer involved in the impending war.

#breath of the resistance #botr7 #chapter 7 #loz #legend of zelda #botw #breath of the wild #fic #fanfic

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letswritefuriously · 5 years ago

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Episode 1x1 of My Nameless WIP

Part one

(I still need a name for this WIP btw if anybody has some ideas.) Now, I know that this post is gonna be long, but don’t be daunted! Please just check it out, see what you think! There’s gonna be three parts to this episode, so if you wanna keep reading, ask to be tagged/follow me! (Preferably both). Remember to give me feedback!

Scene 1

It’s late at night; probably about 10pm. It’s a full moon, so the night is bright and the sky is full of stars. An old, abandoned house sits under the milky way, two stories high with faded white paint, one of those triangular pointed roof above a window thingies. The leaves of a low hanging tree blow in the wind, brushing a tall, spiky fence.

Running very fast, two people vault over the fence, making it rattle, and then continue to run towards the house.

Scene 2

There is a shot from the inside of the two people entering the house. They flick torches on, and reveal themselves to be ALICIA (African America, 19, short, stylish) and ETHAN (African American, 19, tall, nerdy but sill cool TM). ALICIA pulls out a phone and begins to record.

A shot from the camera’s point of view; it focuses on Ethan, who waves. The expression on his face is almost condescending; as if he is playing with a small child.

ALICIA (turning the camera to selfie mode): Haunted house number 8.

ETHAN (off screen): I’m really beginning to think this is a waste of a gap year.

ALICIA (smacking him): Shut up. (Turns back to the camera). Up the stairs?

ETHAN (off screen): This isn’t a freaking vidchat!

ALICIA (ignoring him): Up the stairs! (She wags a finger at the camera). If I fall through some floorboards, you’re paying for my not-so-free healthcare.

ETHAN (Muttering from some distance away): She got no money.

ALICIA flips the bird at him, and then flips the camera back around so that we can see him walking up the stairs, which creak ominously. He is clearly oblivious of the profanity.

Scene 3

ALICIA is receiving a boost from ETHAN up through the pointy window thingy (oh god someone tell me what they’re called please). She clambers onto the roof, and then offers her hand to ETHAN, who ignores it and pulls himself up.

ALICIA: I can do that. Just so you know. I’m just smart, and didn’t want to fall.

ETHAN (snorting): Sure you could.

ALICIA: Just because I don’t have to go around displaying my fragile masculinity-

ETHAN: You must have VERY fragile masculinity, as it’s not there at all.

ALICIA shoves him, and he nearly falls off the roof.

ETHAN (after he has recovered): If I fell, you wouldn’t be able to blame it on Tahlia, and you’d be the one paying.

ALICIA: Yeah, ye- Oh! Tahlia! She pulls her phone back out, and hits record. (To ETHAN). Scooch, you gotta be in the picture. (She turns to the camera). Hey Tahlia! We’re back!

ETHAN: ‘Sup.

ALICIA: It’s confirmed! She opens her mouth, and then looks at ETHAN expectantly.

ETHAN: Do we have to do this is every time?

ALICIA: Yes!

TOGETHER: Not haunted!

ETHAN: Just go to sleep, trash monkey. If this wreck ain’t haunted, I’m sure your bedroom isn’t either.

ALICIA: What he said. Love ya! I miss you so much!

ETHAN (half-heartedly): Bye!

ALICIA finishes the recording.

ALICIA: I’ll send it in the morning, she’ll be asleep by now.

ETHAN: For God’s sake, she’s 10, if she’s NOT awake she’s a freaking wimp.

ALICIA: Hey, you know how strict Mom’s rules are.

ETHAN mutters something that sounds suspiciously like ‘sleep before you see her drunk and sobbing’. If ALICIA hears him, she pretends not to.

ALICIA (sighing): I do wish I could see her again.

ETHAN: You could just say sorry, you know.

ALICIA: I meant Tahlia, not Mom.

ETHAN: My point still stands.

ALICIA (as if she hadn’t even heard him): I don’t even remember what we were fighting about now.

ETHAN: ‘Course ya don’t.

ALICIA: I’m not gonna be the first to apologise, though.

There’s a long pause. After a few moments, ALICIA leans her head on ETHAN’s shoulder.

ALICIA (yawning): It’s only like eight years until she graduates, anyway... Her eyes drift shut.

There is a very, very long pause.

ETHAN: Yeah. Only eight years.

And we cut to black.

Scene 4

Title card.

Scene 5

The screen is suddenly split open by bright rays of bold sunlight. The camera catches on what appears to be a military base; multiple chain-link fences, a big lot of khaki jeeps and black SUVs, plane hangars and large, threatening buildings.

It seems to be abandoned; empty plane hangars, no patrols, the cars are covered in layers of dust.

The camera refocuses on a small figure, lying on a hill about two-hundred metres back. The figure is wearing dust-coloured clothing over what appears to be a black wetsuit.

Looking closer at their face, we can see that it is ARI (androgyne, 19, badass). His eyes are completely focused on the facility ahead of him. At his waist hang two boomerangs, unadorned and wooden. He raises a pair of binoculars and scans the facility.

ARI (speaking into a UHF radio): Agent queer, reporting nothing at 1400. Over.

VOICE (crackling over the UHF): Ari, cut the s***. What’s up?

ARI: What I said; literally nothing. There is literally nothing going on here. Over.

VOICE: Quit it with the overs. Please tell me you haven’t been staring at the bloody clouds for eight hours.

ARI looks over at a half-empty pack of marshmallows and a lighter next to him.

ARI: Uh... not exactly.

VOICE: Goddammit Ari, this is exactly why you lost you squad.

ARI (innocently): I thought I lost my squad because I was ‘a danger to everyone around me.’

VOICE: Same difference.

There is a pause.

ARI (bringing the UHF very close to his face): You gotta say f***ing over, man. How else am I supposed to know if you’re done?

VOICE: You just wait until I f***ing pause. Like I did just then; you didn’t say over.

ARI: Well, s***.

VOICE: Moooooood. You can hear somebody yelling at the VOICE from the other end of the UHF. Once it’s over, VOICE begins to giggle a bit, but manages to hold most of it back. So your point is there’s nothing.

ARI: Yep.

VOICE: Great, that’s you done for today. The next shift’ll be there in about half-an-hour-

ARI: About that.

VOICE: Oh goddammit, here we go.

ARI: It’s empty. I’m going in.

VOICE: S***. Indistinctly, you can hear him calling for his superiors. Ari, you know what happened last time-

ARI: Yup. And I literally see no downside-

VOICE: You got demoted-

ARI: Aaaand now I don’t have to work with anyone else. He begins to take off his khaki shirt.

VOICE: Look, you little s***, we’ve got another team on the way-

ARI: That other team isn’t going to get here for an hour. There is literally nothing you can do to stop me, so, you might as well just not tell anyone at your end.

Indistinctly you can hear VOICE talking to people on the other end.

ARI: I hate you. He is now wearing only the black wetsuit. He chucks the UHF into the dirt next to him. He grabs one last marshmallow, stuffing it in his mouth, and then army rolls forward. Almost immediately, his body begins to shake, and then shrink. Before he has completed the first complete roll, he is a desert mouse. He quickly scampers down the hill.

The camera comes to focus on the abandoned UHF.

VOICE: Ari? Ari!

Scene 6

The wind blow dust through the deserted military base as ARI hops through the chain link in the form of a mouse. He rests for a moment, and then continues to hop along.

There is a shot of an empty hangar, which ARI hops through. He comes to a door. With a nervous glance around, he becomes himself again, and then jiggles the handle. It’s locked.

ARI reaches into his-

ARI: S***. No pockets.

He drops his hands and turns to slowly look around the hangar. The camera catches on a toolbox on the other side.

There’s a pause.

Scene 7

ARI is now holding a piece of wire and a small metal tool. He picks the lock. A second later, he jiggles the handle again. The door opens this time, and he slips inside. The door closes behind him, and for a few seconds, all you can hear is the wind, as the camera gets further and further away.

Scene 8

A perfectly sterile, completely white hallway stretches away from the camera, until it intersects with another corridor. The corridor is lined with doors, and the top half is separated from the bottom half by a long silver line across the wall. There is complete and utter silence, for a very long moment.

A fly buzzes across the corridor.

Silence.

It buzzes back. The moment it reaches the other side, there is a sound similar to that of an electric fence zapping you, and ARI tumbles onto the floor. As he stand up, he shakes himself and shudders. Apparently being a fly is not too pleasant.

He looks around and then raises a hand to sliver line on the wall. With a stifled yelp, he withdraws it; a close-up on his knuckles shows them to be an angry red.

ARI: Daaaaammn. They thought this out. He closes his eyes and concentrates, but nothing happens. Kill me now.

He walks down the corridor, making no attempt to sneak; with the black of his wetsuit like clothing jarring against the white walls, he’d be spotted immediately, and nobody is here anyway.

He tries the first door he comes across. It’s unlocked, and he steps inside.

Scene 9

Inside is a white room just like the last, except for the fact that in the centre, it has a table filled with people. They all look up at ARI.

ARI (immediately adopting a serious face): Oh! Sorry I didn’t realise a meeting was in session, I’ve got an urgent message for the-

Twenty guns aim at his face.

ARI: Oh... He laughs nervously. ...I wasn’t aware that you were in the business of killing your employEES-

His voice rises to a yell as twenty safeties click off and manages to shut the door just as bullets slam into it.

Scene 10

ARI sprints down the hallway, and all the EXECUTIVES pour into the corridor and take aim. ARI turns down a corridor to the sound of reports.

ARI: Come on, shift dammit!

He does not shift. The camera cuts to a tracking shot of the EXECUTIVES running after him, trying unsuccessfully to shoot and run. One speaks rapidly into their phone.

EXECUTIVE 1: We got a security threat, Building 3, Sector 5-

Cut back to mid shot of ARI bursting through a door.

Scene 11

ARI bursts into the sunlight of the Hangar he came into originally, only now, it’s filled with at least fifty SOLDIERS. They haven’t looked in his direction yet though, and mid-leap, he shifts into a fly again.

The EXECUTIVES burst through the door he came through a few seconds ago, EXECUTIVE 1 still babbling on the phone. All the SOLDIERS guns train on them, and they put their hands up.

EXECUTIVE 2: Don’t shoot! Our spy is here somewhere.

EXECUTIVE 1 (still on the phone): ...orders to kill on sight...

EXECUTIVE 2 (to EXECUTIVE 1): This is a suspected C-O-N, give the lockdown code.

As EXECUTIVE 1 begins to rattle off numbers, the camera cuts to a close up of ARI as a fly, listening avidly.

EXECUTIVE 1: Two-three-oh, six-five-two-

ARI’s fly-face contorts in horror as he realises what is happening, and he buzzes off-

EXECUTIVE 1: Six-three-one, two-seven-five.

A fine, glittering silver and grey powder sprays explosively from the ceiling, and there is another zapping sound, as, with a yelp, ARI sprawls onto the tarmac near the opening of the hangar.

ARI (squeaking): Hi! Bullets begin to fly and he ducks around the corner. As he runs, he curses. Oh-crap-I’m-screwed-ohnoohno-I’mgonnadie- The camera cuts to the chain-link fence rapidly approaching. OH S***! He squeezes his eyes shut and jumps-

And slow motion, bird’s eye, low angle, mid shot, high angle, extreme close-up on his foot-

Right as it shifts into a jaguar’s paw.

The shot speeds back up to normal motion as ARI’s paws leave the ground, propelling him into the air and over the fence in one, graceful leap, the SOLDIERS slowing down before they run into the fence. EXECUTIVE 2 presses his face to the chain-link, curling his hands around the wires with a feral snarl, baring some very inhuman teeth. His face, inexplicably, is covered in fresh blisters.

Scene 12

SOLDIERS from a different section of the base stream through the gates, but the jaguar that is ARI is already at the crest of the hill where he was staking out the base earlier. He grabs his cloths and backpack in his teeth, and, with one last, longing look at the pack of marshmallows, continues his sprint.

A fleet of jeeps peels out of the base’s front gates, their trailers filled with SOLDIERS.

ARI stops running and shifts back to human form, looking desperately over his shoulder at the rapidly approaching jeeps. He slings his bag over his shoulders and reaches down, pulling the camouflage cover off a motorbike.

The fleet of jeeps appear, roaring, over the top of the hill, churning up dust.

ARI kicks the bike to life, shoots one last look over his shoulder, and guns the engine, speeding off.

The SOLDIERS aim the sights of their guns around the side of the jeeps and take aim, but he has too much of head-start. He speeds out of sight down the side of hill, and he’s away.

There’s a close-up of ARI’s face; he’s smiling.

ARI (under his breath): Ha, suckers. Then, no longer under his breath; Ha! Suckers! HE grins and pumps a fist in the air-

Scene 13

ARI flops onto tiny bed in a cruddy motel room.

ARI: Stupid, stupid, stupid! He balls his fists over his eyes and then tears them through his hair. This is why nobody likes you. Tears begin to stream from his eyes, but he doesn’t make any sound. You’re so – I’m so stupid.

He pulls a pillow over his eyes and shakes with silent tears. The camera slowly zooms out.

And we cut to black.

ARI (VO): I’ll find a way to fix this.

Scene 14

ALICIA is sitting on her laptop at the kitchen table in a log cabin, completely motionless, except for her fingers, deftly moving over the trackpad.

An extreme close-up on her face show that she’s frowning, chewing her lip with urgency. Her eyes look like they’re about to flood with tears, but she sniffs violently and blinks several times, tilting her head back. She sits like that for a moment, but is interrupted by her phone chiming.

She starts and immediately picks it up, her whole face lighting up with joy. It’s only a new alert though, and her shoulders slump. She chucks it back down on the table, and then flinches at the thump it makes, quickly picking it back up to make sure the screen isn’t cracked.

She sighs and looks back at her screen, slouching back in her chair.

ALICIA (barely audible): Come on, you know this.

ETHAN walks into the room, leaning over her shoulder. She swats him away and tilts the screen so he can’t see.

ALICIA (sort of playfully, but not really): Hey! Don’t look over my shoulder!

ETHAN: You’re literally just doing your mojo stuff, what’s the big-

ALICIA (irritably): It’s psychology, not mojo.

ETHAN (holding his hands up): Okay, okay. I thought you said you were going out...?

ALICIA: I AM, okay? Just get off my back, I gotta finish this.

ETHAN (backing off): I’m not on your back. Calm down, you’re already a few days ahead of the course.

ALICIA: I just need to-

ETHAN reaches over her shoulder and closes the laptop.

ALICIA (practically apoplectic): Hey! No, no no, you can’t do that, it hasn’t saved my progress-

ETHAN: You were on question one.

ALICIA: I had work to do! I NEEDED to-

ETHAN: Hey, calm down. No you didn’t. Go relax or something.

ALICIA (eyes practically popping out with rage): What, be like YOU?! Just never do anything and never get anywhere? ETHAN flinches, and ALICIA’s face falls as she realises what she’s said. I didn’t mean it-

ETHAN (eyes on the ground, muttering): It’s okay. It is clearly not okay. Just... He hands her his wallet. ...Go nightclubbing or something. Take a break.

ALICIA smiles nervously.

ALICIA: I’m really sorry, I’ll just-

ETHAN: It’s fine.

ALICIA: I feel really bad though... You know I didn’t mean it, right? How can I make it up?

ETHAN: Just go and have some fun. He folds her fingers around his wallet.

ALICIA: Um... ETHAN shoots her a glare. Fine. Let’s make a deal. If I ‘have some fun’, you finish up your college applications.

ETHAN: You drive a hard bargain. He thinks. Fine. (Playfully) Just get out.

ALICIA (walking to the door): Going, going!

ETHAN: And don’t drink!

ALICIA: You told me to have some fun!

ETHAN: Non-drug-involved fun!

ALICIA shuts the door behind her, and the smile on ETHAN’s face immediately falls. He collapses onto the chair that ALICIA was sitting in, and stays there for a long moment.

A second later, he reaches over the table and grabs himself a bag of chips. He shakes his head and grimaces, opening the laptop again.

Scene 15

ARI walks into a shop, with a sign above it dubbing it ‘face the rainbow’. Once inside, it is clear that it is a gay bar – people sitting in couples, fairly dark, with a drag queen singing in the back.

ARI immediately takes a seat at the bar.

ARI: Cheapest thing you sell, thanks.

THE BARTENDER nods at him, and turns around to get it. STRANGER, clearly drunk, flops down on a seat next to ARI.

STRANGER: Hey, handsome. My buddies bet me I wouldn’t be able to make conversation with the finest guy in the bar. Wanna buy some drinks with their money?

ARI: Great, I’ve been running off cheap beer for a month. (To THE BARTENDER) Make that the most expensive thing, thanks! (Back to STRANGER) So you know, though, I’ve only agreed to conversation. Don’t get any ideas.

STRANGER (putting his hand on ARI’s thigh): So what... what are your plans for tonight?

ARI: Nothing, although I might commit a felony if you don’t remove your hand from my leg right now.

STRANGER: Come on... don’t be like that... Tonight’ll be better if you re-

ARI: I’m not into that. Move your hand.

STRANGER: Come on, why would you be at a bar if you didn’t want to?

ARI: To have a freaking drink. This is your last chance, mate; Move. Your. Goddamn. Hand.

STRANGER: I’m sure you’ll want me once I-

Quick as a flash, ARI grabs his middle finger, jerking it back suddenly to the sound of a large crack. STRANGER yelps. THE BARTENDER looks up suddenly.

ARI: What? He wouldn’t move his hand.

STRANGER staggers off. THE BARTENDER continues to look back and forth between them.

ARI: Can I please just have a drink?

THE BARTENDER shrugs and continues to make the cocktail.

ARI: Oh, he even left his wallet here. How nice. (To THE BARTENDER) Make that two of those, thanks!

Scene 16

ALICIA is riding her bike out of the camping ground where the log cabin they were renting was. It’s twilight, and she’s going to have to ride fast if she wants to get to her destination before dark.

The bike’s wheels squeak on the road; it’s the only sound that cuts through the evening air. A bird gives a single warning, and everything is quiet. And then-

There is a crash from a little way into the woods, nearly making ALICIA fall off her bike. She puts her foot down to steady herself, and there’s another crash. Then silence.

ALICIA: ...H-Hello? The silence continues. Hello? A strange music comes from the woods, halfway between moaning and screaming, causing her to yelp and drop her bike, crashing, to the ground. The music stops. ALICIA takes a step forward. Who’s there?!

She takes another step off the side of the road, but then pauses.

ALICIA (berating herself): You’re not a white kid, Alicia. She picks up her bike, and shoots a longing glance at the woods-

A deer comes springing out of woods and misses her by a few metres. ALICIA shrieks, and then stops, looking around to make sure nobody heard. The silence presses in once again.

ALICIA (under her breath): If an abandoned house isn’t haunted, then a... She looks around. ...Deserted, creepy-ass road isn’t haunted. She gets back on her bike and continues to ride.

With her back turned to the woods, ALICIA doesn’t notice that the trees have been lit up a strange, eerie green.

Scene 17

ALICIA padlocks her bike to the bike-rack, humming ‘We will rock you’ by Queen, and occasionally singing a lyric or two under her breath.

ALICIA (half-humming, half-singing): Buddy... big noise... blood on your face... big disgrace...

She walks along the street for about enters the bar; a different drag queen is singing, and she waves hello. She walks up to the bar.

FEMALE BARTENDER (the shift has changed it’s been two hours do you really expect the BARTENDER to stay there that long?!) (Flirtatiously btw): Aren’t you a little young to be in here?

ALICIA (also flirtatiously): Who’s checking? She leans in. Who says I’m here to drink, anyway?

FEMALE BARTENDER wags a finger.

FEMALE BARTENDER: Don’t pretend you have any clue how to flirt. But she’s already getting her a drink. Just sit over there – she motions to the back – so that nobody... important sees you.

ALICIA: I think the most important person already has seen me.

FEMALE BARTENDER: I mean cops, you jackass. Sit your ass down.

ALICIA winks and walks away with her drink.

Scene 18

Camera cuts to ARI, who is practically asleep on the bar top. He arrived at ‘Face the Rainbow’ at 6pm for the tail end of the happy hour. It’s now 8pm, and THE STRANGER had a fair amount of money in his wallet.

To say the least; ARI is as drunk as a skunk.

He’s getting some pretty strange looks from onlookers. There are about three empty glasses next to him; clearly, FEMALE BARTENDER stopped bothering a little while ago.

FEMALE BARTENDER (coming over): Are you meeting someone, or are you just depressed?

ARI (raising his head): Ugh... He blinks multiple times... I think I might be meeting... someone?

FEMALE BARTENDER: Dude... I stopped giving you drinks like an half-an-hour ago, why the f*** are you still here? She thinks for a moment, and then becomes concerned. Do you have a way to get home?

ARI doesn’t move from where he put his head back on the counter, except to raise his thumb. FEMALE BARTENDER sighs.

FEMALE BARTENDER: So... you ARE meeting someone... have you even looked to see if they’re here?

ARI raises his head to give her a look with the most sarcasm it is possible to fit onto a human’s facial features. After a moment, he realises he hasn’t, and then looks around the room slowly, like a turtle.

ARI: ...Nope... They said they’d be here at... He taps his fingers on the bar top. Six hours? He frowns. What time is it now?

FEMALE BARTENDER (chuckling): It’s 8. Go home.

ARI nods slowly, and looks around the bar again. He’s just about to stand up, when he whips around again, nearly falling over. The camera catches on ALICIA, sitting the corner.

Thanks for reading! Follow me and ask to be tagged for more content! All feedback is appreciated!

#writing #my writing #writeblr #writers #writblr #screenplay #creative writing #original writing #original content #amwriting #letswritefuriously

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darley1101 · 6 years ago

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Halloween Trick

A/N I love writing the creepy, spooky, and angst-riddled, which makes October and Halloween an exciting time for me. I had several prompts come in that sort of melded together into this one shot. It started with a request from @endlessly-searching-for-you “What God awful demon possessed you to wear that?” “There will be a lot of screaming tonight.” and “The legend said it only goes after virgins...so sucks to be you I guess.” Right after her request came in I got one from @choicesfan44 for a heated argument between Chris x Aria/MC, followed by an anonymous one for them to go to a haunted house. How could I not combine those three requests together? Especially since Braidwood Manor is nearby.

Characters: Aria/MC, Abbie, Kaitlyn, Zack, Tyler, Chris and Becca (Please note that Chris is technically with Becca but very much has feelings for Aria)

Setting: This is set during The Freshmen. I am taking some liberty with the time frame, so Chris is still bumbling through his so called 'relationship' with Becca.

Rating/Warning: Mature readers only. Strong language

Halloween Tricks

“The moon has awoken with the sleep of the sun, the light has been broken; the spell has begun.” -Midgard Morningstar

Uncertainty flickered across eighteen year old Aria Forbes pretty features as she studied her reflection in the full length mirror that was fixed to the back of her closet door. She barely recognized the creature staring back; which was the point she supposed since it was Halloween. “You need to let your hair down Ari,” her best friend Kaitlyn had told her. “Like, literally let your hair down. And it won't kill you to let Abbie do your make up. You've moped over Chris long enough.” It had been futile to protest because deep down Aria knew Kaitlyn was right, she had spent the last two months either crying or moping around over some guy that had ditched her for a sorority girl who put out. Silently acknowledging that Kaitlyn was right didn't keep Aria from wanting to just spend the evening curled up with a feel good romance novel that made her forget her bruised ego and cracked heart. In the end, she had caved under pressure and quietly sat on a stool while Kaitlyn did something with her long brown hair and Abbie, like the artist she was, transformed her face from fresh faced to sultry. She'd even submitted to putting on the over sized orange sweatshirt with a jack-o-lantern face printed on the front that Kaitlyn insisted counted as a costume. Now, as she stood before the mirror, staring at the end result, she doesn't know if she can go through with whatever plans Kaitlyn cooked up. She wanted to wipe the make up off, exchange the Halloween sweatshirt for the old flannel shirt she'd stolen from her dad, and hide under the covers.

“Don't even think about it,” Abbie warned from the doorway, her arms crossed over chest and her eyes steely with determination. “I am not going to be stuck partaking in whatever Halloween hi-jinx Kaitlyn has planned without some back up.”

“I don't like Halloween,” Aria sighed. She turned away from the mirror and strode across the room to plop down on her bed. “Do you know how many times bigger kids stole my candy? Or how many parties I was intentionally excluded from in high school?” Her nose wrinkled up at the unpleasant memories. In grade school she had been the smallest and the slowest, which made her an easy target for the bigger, meaner kids out to steal as much candy as possible. In junior high and school she had been persona non grata thanks to her mom being the high school principal; nobody wanted to date, befriend, or invite Mrs. Forbes precious daughter. To say her formative years had been lonely was an understatement. It was probably why she latched on to her suite mates as quickly as she had. Especially Chris Powell. Her cheeks flushed, thinking of the fool she'd mad of herself over him. Their first night in the suite she had let Kaitlyn talk her into a drinking game that had led to her inviting Chris back to her room. She'd been just drunk enough to make a complete fool of herself by rambling about her pathetic high school experience and how she was probably the only virgin in her graduating class. The V word had been like throwing ice water on Chris. He'd gone form hot and heavy to Mr. Cuddly.

“Girl, you're preaching to the choir. The last time I went out on Halloween I ended up covered in what I pray was fake blood and not something those assholes picked up from the butcher shop.” A visible shudder rippled through Abbie's slender body. “My parents used to try to make me take my younger sister...childhood experiences and memories...” she paused to roll her eyes, “but we usually found some church having a fall festival and then hit up Wal-mart for a bag of mixed candy so mom wouldn't question us.”

Bending slightly at the waist, Aria tugged on the black above the knee socks Kaitlyn had given to her when she'd forced the sweatshirt. Apparently they, too, were part of the so called costume. The only thing Aria could figure out was she was supposed to be some sort of sexy pumpkin. Didn't Kaitlyn realize pumpkins weren't sexy? “Think we can get away with talking Kaitlyn into something similar?”

“Yeah right.” Abbie rolled her soft brown eyes before moving to stand in front of the mirror. She leaned forward, patting her middle finger next to her eye where a clump of glitter had settled. “She's not in it for the candy, she's in for the scare. I overheard Zack telling Tyler that she was bragging about knowing how to get into Braidwood Manor.”

“Braidwood Manor?” A chill rippled down Aria's spine. Why did that name sound so familiar?

“Yeah. It's this abandoned estate about fifteen minutes from here. Supposedly its haunted.” Abbie continued to pat at the glitter, spreading it up into her hairline. If Aria was a sexy pumpkin, then Abbie was a sweet ghost with a fetish for glitter. “And supposedly that's where we're all going tonight.”

“We?” Aria's heart lurched and a familiar panic started tightening in her chest. Please don't let Chris or Becca be part of that we. For about five seconds Aria had thought Chris liked her, that maybe just maybe a boy was looking at her and actually seeing her. Ha. What an idiot she had been. The same night she worked up her courage to tell him that she liked him, he hooked up with the blonde bitch that had dumped iced coffee on her the first day of the semester. Becca Davenport, president of some stupid sorority that wore too much pink and so beautiful it hurt. Chris had wasted no time in sliding in Becca's designer silk sheets, leaving Aria confused, heart broken, and a pathetic mess that cried at night when she thought her suite mates were sleeping. College was turning out to be another round of high school.

“Yeah. And before you ask...I don't know who all that entails. I think half of Hartfeld goes. Its sort of a right of passage. Seeing which students last the longest.” Abbie turned from the mirror, a sympathetic look on her face. “If they do show up, maybe we can push her down a set of stairs and blame it on a ghost.”

Aria let out a small laugh. “We can't do that Abbie.”

“Uh, yeah, we can. Bitch has it coming. She's a heinous troll.”

“Whose a heinous troll?” Kaitlyn demanded. She breezed into the room in a cloud of colored hair spray and Victoria Secret's Love Spell. “Ohh. Wait. Let me guess.” She cocked her head to the side, chewing black lip stick off her lower lip. “You wouldn't happen to be talking about Becca would you?”

“What gave it away? Heinous, troll, or bitch?” There was no ignoring the sarcasm in Abbie's voice or the tension that was crunching up her features. “Seriously, Kait, if that bitch is there...”

Kaitlyn chewed off the remainder of her lipstick, her gaze dropping to the floor before darting up to meet Aria's. “Look, I didn't invite either of them but I can't guarantee that they won't show. Darren knows, plus going to Braidwood Manor on Halloween is a Hartfeld tradition.”

Swallowing the lump of dismay that was threatening to form in her throat, Aria forced a wobbly smile. “Who cares about Chris and Becca? They deserve each other.” The words tasted sour on her tongue, a lie she told herself to ease the pain of rejection. It seldom worked and now was no exception. Despite his unholy attraction to Becca 'Queen Bitch' Davenport, Chris was a nice guy. He deserved better than the blonde viper he was currently sleeping with.

“That's the spirit!” Kaitlyn exclaimed clapping her hands together in excitement. “Okay, let me put on some more lipstick and we can blow this joint.” An excited squeal followed her out the door.

“You're getting better,” Abbie murmured. “I almost believed you this time.” Aria opened her mouth to deny the accusation but let her lip fall into a sad smile. What was the point in arguing against a truth she had just acknowledged herself? “And my offer to be the friendly ghost that does the world a favor by pushing her down a staircase still stands.”

A real smile spread across Aria's lips as she hooked her arm through Abbie's and motioned for her other best friend to lead the way. “Shall we see if that opportunity arises?”

“We shall,” Abbie laughed. Her laugh faltered when they entered the living area of their suite and found Chris chatting with Tyler while Becca stood nearby with a scowl fixed on her face. “Great,” she muttered. Aria started to pull back, to retreat to her room and lock the door. “Oh hell no,” Abbie whispered, “I'm not going to let you give that bitch the satisfaction of you running and hiding.”

“I don't think I can deal with her tonight,” Aria pleaded. She tugged her arm, trying to free herself from Abbie's grip but it was pointless. The other girl had an iron grip.

“There will be a lot of screaming tonight,” Zack squealed, his eyes shining bright with a feverish sort of excitement. “A guy in my lit class said you can practically hear the ghosts of the children crying out for help. Can you imagine...being murdered by your own mother because she wanted to protect you?” Chris responded with something Aria couldn't hear over the buzzing in her ears. Why did he have to look so good? His tall, athletic form was garbed in the traditional Grease T Bird uniform of dark washed jeans, white t shirt, and black leather jacket. Of course Becca was dressed to perfection as a Pink Lady. It was enough to make Aria gag.

“Ew.” Becca let out a sneer, her full lips twisting into a ugly grimace that made her look a lot like the heinous troll Abbie insisted she was. “What god awful demon possessed you to wear that?” It took Aria a moment to realize that she was the one Becca was talking to. “Would their name happen to be Abbie?”

“Actually,” Kaitlyn cleared her throat, “I'm the one who picked it out and I happen to think she looks amazing.” The smaller, petite girl strode over and wrapped an arm around Aria's waist. A defiant look crossed her face. “Don't you agree Chris? Doesn't Aria look amazing?”

“Yeah,” Chris answered softly, his blue eyes colliding with Aria's. For a moment the connection Aria had felt that first night sparked to life, holding them hostage.

“Whatever. It's not like she's going to last long at Braidwood Manor.” Becca rolled her eyes. A wicked grin stretched across her pink lips. “The house, specifically the mother, loves girls like Aria.”

“What's that supposed to mean,”Abbie demanded.

“Oh. Haven't you heard. One of the things the mother was trying to protect her precious daughters from was the wicked, delights of the flesh. She couldn't stand the idea of her innocent daughters succumbing to lust. So... she protected them by killing them. So now that's what the house craves.” Her grin spread even further as she leaned forward, her gaze fixed on Aria. “The legend says it only goes after virgins...so sucks to be you I guess.”

It felt as though ice cold water had been thrown on Aria. Everything in her froze. How the hell did Becca know that she was a virgin? And then it hit her. Chris. Chris had told Becca about that first night and how Aria had chickened out on having sex because she wanted her first time to be special. “You're such a fucking asshole,” she screamed, blood rushing to her pale cheeks. “I can't believe I ever thought you were...” Her lower lip started to tremble and the room started to blur. She could hear Becca laughing. Abbie threatening to punch someone's lights out. And Kaitlyn...Kaitlyn was rubbing small circles on her back, telling her it was going to be alright. Aria jerked away. “It's not going to be alright,” she sobbed. “I'm sick to death of not feeling good enough, of people acting like there's something wrong with me because I don't...I'm not...I'm not Becca.” She spun around to glare at Chris. “I trusted you. I thought you were at least my friend. Turns out you're just like her!” She jabbed a finger at Becca.

“And what would that be Aria? Beautiful? Popular?”

It took every ounce of her will power not to walk across the living room and smack Becca across the face. “No, an empty shell of a human being who makes up for her own short comings by trying to make others feel bad about themselves.”

“I'm not...that isn't me,” Chris protested.

Aria snorted. “Right.” She pushed past Abbie and yanked open the door to the stairs that led up to the roof. Her feet thundered against the wood, her eyes burning as her tears liquefied her mascara and eyeliner. She let out a gasp as the cool autumn air hit her, a strong gust of wind pushing her hair off her face. Wrapping her arms around her middle she ignored her chattering teeth and stood staring out across campus. Students of all ages were running around in various forms of costumes, laughing and having a good time. If not for Becca, she would have been one of them. It was pathetic that she was letting one person ruin her night but that was her middle name: Aria “Pathetic” Forbes. She let out a sound of disgust. Was this really the person she wanted to continue to be?

“Can we talk?”

Her body stiffened at the sound of Chris's voice. She should have known that he would follow her outside. It seemed to be a pattern. Becca would make her feel like crap, she would run off and Chris would follow. In the past she had used it as an opportunity to beg him to pick her, to choose her. He never did. His loyalty to Becca was baffling. “You're the last person I want to talk to,” she bit out, tightening her arms around her middle. Her fingers twisted into the soft fabric of Kaitlyn's sweatshirt. “Why don't you go run your mouth to Becca some more. You seem to be good at that.”

“That's fair,” Chris sighed. “But I'm not going anywhere until we talk. Not until you let me apologize.”

“What is there to talk about?” Her fingers twisted tighter into the fabric, pulling at it. “Every chance she gets, Becca makes my life a living hell. A lot of times right in front of you. And you're either too blind to see it or you just don't care. Either way, don't you dare stand there apologizing for sharing personal information with someone who openly hates me.” Untangling her right hand, Aria reached up and wiped at her cheeks, grimacing at the smears of black that were left on her fingertips. She could only imagine the mess her face was. All of Abbie's hard work down the drain. “You know,” she whispered, “I am sick to death of being made to feel bad for being nice or wanting to wait for the right person.”

“There's nothing wrong with being nice or waiting Ari.” His voice was closer, so close she could feel the heat radiating off his body. “I need you to know I didn't tell Becca. Not directly. Darren and I were talking about why I pulled back from you. I told him I didn't want to hurt you, that I'm not in a good place for a serious relationship and that's what you deserve. I didn't want to be that guy who took advantage or for you to look back and regret your first time because you threw it away on a guy who doesn't know what he wants.”

His words cut to the quick. It would have hurt less if he had told her that he had intentionally told Becca. “You need to leave,” she whispered. “You say you don't want to hurt me but you being here, telling me these things, knowing that you're going to walk out the door with Becca...that hurts. It hurts more than you will ever know. So please, if you care about my feelings as much as you claim...just go.”

There was a pregnant pause, silence hanging heavy between them, before the weight of his jacket settled on her shoulders and the soft sound of the door clicking shut echoed in her ears. Aria bit back a sob, burying her face in the still warm leather. No matter how many times they did this song and dance, she couldn't bring herself to let him go. It wasn't an obsession, she'd considered that. It was more like this awareness that there was something between them that could be magical if he would just give it half a shot. Instead, they both spent their nights miserable. Her crying alone in her bed while he lay next to someone who was mean for sport.

Tagging people I think might enjoy: @mysteli @brightpinkpeppercorn @theroyalweisme @kinkykingliam @fullbeaumonty @cocomaxley @annekebbphotography @bobasheebaby @brightpinkpeppercorn @captain-kingliamsqueen @ehkw1989 @fluffy-marshmallow-heart @innerpostmentality @kennaxval @katurrade @kawairinrin

Chris x MC tag: @maxattack-powell @starstruckpixelberryhistoryvoid @syltti78 @jellybean-marshmellow @flowerpowell

Perma tag: @debramcg1106 @josieschoices @speedyoperarascalparty @zackzilberg @christopher-powell @tmarie82 @mfackenthal @hamulau @endlessly-searching-for-you @damienazariostan @drakelover78 @penguininapinktuxedo @stopforamoment @writtenbycandy @lizeboredom @alicars @leelee10898 @choicesfannatalie @liamxs-world @katurrade @jadedpixiescribbles @indiacater @gardeningourmet @boneandfur @blackcatkita @umccall71 @eileendannie @choiceslife @hopefulmoonobject @hellospunkiebrewster

#pixelberrychoices #choices fics #choices the freshmen #choices chris x mc #darley1101 writes

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possiblelove · 3 years ago

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okay i'm doing this but i'm like a teeny tiny bit wine and a lot of something else drunk so please excuse any incoherency

i skimmed through this again before posting and oh my god i don't remember writing half of this ari i'm so sorry but i did adore the story

“Not playing spin the bottle and yet the white boy still wants to watch two girls kiss,”

sklaskahkd disappointed but not surprised at all

Peter raises a brow that you ignore, so instead of arguing with you, he holds up your legs effortlessly so that he can sit on the bench.

i- ok then ig treat me like a rag doll why don't you *squints*

“What’s wrong with my name on your ass?” you slide your sunglasses up to glare at him. “How am I supposed to explain that to anyone?” He narrows his eyes. “With honesty. It’s a tribute. Y/N owns this ass.” “Hey, no one owns this ass but me.” “What’s all this about owning Peter’s ass? Because I’m pretty sure that title belongs to me.”

this might be my favourite exchange in this chapter i'm cackling

“Biochem is kicking my ass,”

no cause i'm doing a chem unit rn and i hate it peter i totally get it i hate hate hate

You’re surprised when Peter hands you a hibiscus and rose-flavored kombucha, your favorite.

i really wanna try this now i've had hibiscus tea and i looooved it i love your writing so much like it so descriptive and alskskdj i'm so obsessed

“Aww, but you always take such good care of me, babe,” the boy retaliates, tugging a strand of your hair to loop around his fingers.

if he knows about le crush then thats so mean of him i'd not know what to do

(within thirty minutes record time, which Peter relays to you later on)

oooh look at that i'm a record breaker

You close your eyes preemptively, accepting a drunken kiss, but he merely informs you about how he’s leaving to greet a friend.

NOOO WHY thats so. i feel so bad for her

giving the girl a hug.

girl hugs are so nice i love girls

“So who is she fucking?” quips another classmate, who Peter vaguely recognizes. Adam? Ash?

literally fuck off u random white boy ew

It didn’t help that Peter’s debilitating crush on her since they were sixteen had yet to fade away.

aww but also slightly funny but also shes mine back off petre

“To be fair, that’s exactly how he got into bars without ever having a fake freshman year.”

it cos he magical i had a friend who would just walk in and never get stopped it was so sick

“Don’t lie, Y/N.”

y tho i can lie if i damn well want to

Peter pauses for a second then nods in agreement. “Fucker’s on his own tonight.”

i smile i love supporting collective abandonment

You’re sure that you must be asleep, but the feeling of Peter’s hands caressing your jaw feels all too real, and so does his mouth on yours. When you open your eyes, he pulls back after noticing the wide disposition in your face. Shock? Disgust?

plsslkajskjdlsk not shock and disgust

“To be fair, you kissed me first,” Peter points out.

blinking

When he looks at you, his head is backlit by the bluish hue of your color-changing lamp, descending to a warmer pink. Suddenly you feel the pit of your stomach twist like a knife has gone through your gut. But the blood trickles so sweetly, you decide, which is why you lean in again.

im so serious you're writing is so mindblowingly vivid and just amazing i have no words like. i can feeel everything and i resonate with the reader so much its insane i literally love you so much im sobbing

“No! That’s not what I—“ You cut off his stammers with a peck on the lips.

lol he's such a nerd i love him your honour

PSA : ari you are 'your honour' in this situationship

“Tell me what you want and I’ll do it,” Peter whispers into your collarbone.

i am absolutely feral i need to find that one meme ill stick it at the end of this when i do i promise its my fav thing ever

“Kudos for sexual health.”

its so peter parker its painful sklaskdjlk

“I like hearing you,” he reassures you. “And I like feeling your teeth,” you murmur, eyes half-lidded.

TEETH

Sober me is going to kill me.

so true bestie but what she doesn't know yet cant hurt her i'm having so much fun with this i'm not even sorry about it also she needs to clean up the spill on the cushion i'm too invested in this so its going on the floor for now

You react sensitively to his touch, letting his calloused hands take off your bra as if he’s peeling the last layer of hell off of you.

"peeling the last layer of hell off" might just be the best way i've heard taking a bra off being described

The sound of it alone makes the butterfly squirm of your stomach spread to the rest of your body in fluttering chaos.

*insert meme im too lazy to find right now* i promise ill put it at the end also im so sorry this is getting really long

You want to stare at Peter, see him through all different angles like a surveillance camera in the corner of your bedroom just so you can admire the fluidity of his movements and the way his back muscles flex like the ebb and flow of an ocean current.

actual god-like level of description

A pistolwhip to your face followed by a kiss.

I SCREAMED ALSKAKLFJDFIHI

Peter is a good boy because he listens.

SUCH A GOOD BOY

And you do, and it feels rhapsodic, the way your body elates from the touch of the golden boy whose skin is sewing itself into yours.

IM ON MY HANDS AND KNEES BOWING DOWN TO YOU i'm sorry i've been yelling i forgot to turn off the caps lock

it makes him wonder how the hell he’s been seeing you for the whole time you’ve been friends.

because you're stupid peter you silly silly boy

What you don’t realize is how much you loved brown eyes.

bias because i've got brown eyes but theres a tiny scar in one of them so i'm better than peter which is why i'm going to steal MJ for myself, peter and harry can cry about it

im done now thank you so much for writing this i love everything you write and i always think i've found a new favourite but then you write something else and i'm like no this is my fav and its an endless cycle v ouroboros of me i think i think i spelled that right

pistolwhip is my new fav song so merci beaucoup for that

here’s the meme:) it’s both of them i couldn’t decide but i feel they both encapsulate the range of feelings felt.

PISTOLWHIP | i. ykwim?

synopsis: peter parker is in love with his high school best friend, michelle jones, and you are in love with peter’s roommate, harry osborn. when mj and harry start dating, you and peter test your limits in a situation that “benefits” the both of you. how far will the two of you go to satisfy each others’ loneliness?

inspired by the anime kuzu no honkai.

genres: university au, friends to lovers, friends with benefits, fake dating, unrequited love

warnings: explicit content (18+), alcohol usage, bisexual antics

wc: 6.1k

series m.list / main m.list / join the taglist

“Truth or dare.”

“Fuck off, Parker.”

“C’mon! Please? You’re lucky that Betty didn’t make us do spin the bottle.”

“Hey!”

“Bets, it’s totally okay to explore your sexuality even if the only means is to play spin the bottle,” you sneer towards the blonde, who pouts her bottom lip far enough for you to see the glitter in her lip gloss.

You live for these nights. Nights in Harry’s penthouse apartment in which all of you would get belligerently drunk, to the point of skinny-dipping in the rooftop pool with way too many White Claws in your system to even attempt your usual butterfly stroke.

Keep reading

#i love this so much i’m going to read all of itttt forever

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chantelle-x0x · 7 years ago

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Birthday! - Chris x MC (Ariana)

Masterlist Note: MC was never given a birthday in TF/TS so, I wanna give her a birthday based in book 3 TF. This is fluff and angst so YAY. *cringe*

Summery: It’s MC’s (Ariana) birthday and her friends have an ideal day out with her, but that all gets turned around when Chris comes home from a late night meeting and forgets it Ariana’s birthday altogether.

Ariana was getting ready for her birthday party at the club in downtown. Zack had been sweet enough to organise a birthday and Kaitlyn had come up the dress code; Black, silver, pink and purple. Ariana chose a tight fitting dress that was mid thigh in length. It was light pink with lace sleeves, which had a low back and small black jewels on the waist area. She added a pair of 6 inch black stilettos given she was 5′2. And then left her room with a small black clutch.

She met Tyler, Abbie and Kaitlyn in the living room but Zack was nowhere in sight.

“Zack’s idea yet he isn’t here.” Ariana rolled her eyes and let out a small laugh. “Did I hear my name?” Abbie, Tyler and Ariana all turned around in unison.

Zack was dressed in full black. “Damn Zack, when did you become a bodyguard?” Kaitlyn said mockingly. Zack gave a dramatic gasp. “Kaitlyn, I’m not a bodyguard. I just appreciate the colour black.”

“Hey Ariana, can we go yet? I don’t think waiting for Chris is worth it.” Ariana couldn’t help but get defensive. After all, he was her boyfriend. “He’ll be here.” Ariana was so certain that he would. “He told me he wouldn’t let his meeting run too late. I believe that he’ll be here by 8:00.” Ariana forced a small smile. “Jeez Ari, no need to get defensive. I’m just saying that it’s 7:55 and he’s not here yet.”

As if on cue, they heard keys jingle and the door to the suite opened revealing Chris. As the door closed Ariana gave him a huge hug and a peck on the lips.

“Damn Ariana. What are you all dressed up for?” Confusion crossed Chris’ face. Ariana opened her mouth but no sound came out. She was at a loss for words. Lucky for her, Kaitlyn stepped in before it became too awkward.

Everyone moved to the living room because they were also waiting for James and Zig.

“Oh god Chris. You’re joking right?” Ariana fell into the couch. If she spoke it probably wouldn’t have been as awkward as it was right now. While Chris and Kaitlyn were looking at each other, Tyler, Abbie, Zack and Ariana were looking at one and other then at Chris and Kaitlyn. The silence was thick with awkwardness, and if felt as if you could cut it with a knife.

Ariana stood up and approached Chris, cupping his cheek and looking intently into his eyes while giving him a gentle yet saddened smile. She lowered her voice to merely a whisper. “Chris, do you really not remember what today is?” Her voice breaking towards the end of that sentence. Chris looked as if he really was trying to remember what today was, but it just wouldn’t come to him. He shook his head. Tears welling up in her eyes, she had to step away from him.

Ariana took a couple of deep breaths trying hard to compose herself. She closed her eyes tight. “Umm, how about we give you guys some privacy?” Abbie’s suggestion was more like a rhetorical question. Abbie led the others out of the suite, leaving Chris and Ariana alone together to hopefully give them time to solve this issue.

About 10 seconds later, Tyler came running into the suite and through the door both Ariana and Chris could see Abbie glaring at Tyler.

“Did you forget something?” Ariana had opened her eyes by this time and was looking over at Tyler heading into his room. “Uh, I forgot to take a waterproof jacket or umbrella. It’s raining outside.” Chris was now looking at Tyler, and Ariana nodded her head a little. As soon as he went back outside, Ariana and Chris could hear Abbie telling him off for interrupting Chris and Ariana’s conversation. Obviously assuming they were talking.

Ariana and Chris looked at each other as the door closed again. “Ariana, please tell me what’s going on.” Chris gave her a pleading look. Ariana couldn’t keep all the tears that were filled with pain in anymore. There were tears that started rolling down her cheeks.

She took a deep breath and looked into his bright blue eyes that were now filled with both, confusion and sorrow. She finally managed to find her voice. Her voice trembled as she spoke. “Chris, today is m-my.” She gave a frustrated sigh because she couldn’t find a way to say this without making him feel bad. She looked down at her hands and said the rest of that sentence, “my birthday.”

She shifted her gaze back to his eyes that were now looking apologetic. “Oh my god Ariana. I’m so sorry.” His facial expression softened, but in a sad way. Ariana tried her best to give him a smile. She smiled a small smile, but it was slowly leaving her face. That’s when she broke down.

She cried endlessly.

Her mind was racing.

Anger, hurt and sadness engulfed her.

Chris tried to hold her close, but she pushed him away. Her eyes were filled with anger and disappointment. “How could you forget Chris!?” Her voice broke. It was filled with sadness and anger. “I’m sorry!” Chris didn’t mean to sound harsh, but he did. “I literally just forgot!” Ariana shook her head. “Chris, this.” She couldn’t stop her tears as much as she tried. She took another deep breath and the tears started to slow down. “I can’t believe you forgot it was my birthday.” Chris moved closer to her. “I’m sorry. It just slipped my mind.” Ariana let out a sarcastic laugh. “Something like this shouldn’t just slip your mind Chris.”

Chris looked at her with guilt. “I-I just can’t do this right now Chris. I haven’t felt this hurt and this much pain for a really long time.” She started crying again. This time harder. Chris’ breath hitched and Ariana ran out. She totally forgot about how much her feet were going to want her to pay the next day. She just wanted to get out. Leave everything behind and go.

The rain was extremely heavy when she ran out of the suite. Her friends were shocked, and all of them had a tinge of anger towards Chris.

Ariana ran to the middle of campus. Being a Saturday it was usually quiet, but today it was empty due to the rain. She sat on the edge of the fountain and cried.

She didn’t care that her makeup was smudged.

She didn’t care that her hair was soaked.

She didn’t care that her dress was ruined.

She only cared that Chris forgot her birthday. This was supposed to be her favourite day of the year with her friends. Having a party with her friends, then spending time with her favourite person on the entire planet. All that was ruined. Somehow she thought it was her fault.

Maybe I put too much pressure on him.

Maybe he wanted out of the relationship so he ‘accidentally’ forgot.

Maybe he just stopped caring

Just then, she saw a figure running towards her. It was blurry not only because of the rain, but of the tears. It was Chris. Ariana got up and started towards Chris.

They stopped in front of each other and all Chris could do was pull her close. He embraced her tightly and she returned the embrace. Then she pulled away. Chris thought it was because she wanted to leave their relationship. He cursed himself for doing this to her. He had hurt her enough. Instead, to his surprise, she pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss.

After pulling away—catching his breath, he gently pressed his forehead against hers and whispered, “I love you. I am so so so sorry Ariana. You deserve so much more than me.” Ariana pulled him into another kiss. A slower one this time. She pulled back and whispered to him, “I love you too. It’s okay. I’m sorry. I really shouldn’t have run out like that.” This time he pulled her into a kiss. One that left her dazed. Once her head became clear of fog, she entwined their hands and told him one last thing. “And for the record Chris, I don’t think anyone could make me as angry as you can.” She paused and he stopped to look at her, feeling like he already knew what she was going to say next. “But at the same time, no one can ever make me the happiest person besides you. I can’t imagine my life without you. And hopefully, I never have to. I love you so much Chris.”

She smiled at him.

He smiled back at her.

All he could manage to say was, “And I love you so much more than you could ever know.”

#chris x mc #chris powell #choices #choices stories you play #the sophomore #the freshmen

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skylcrfallon · 7 years ago

Text

Saying Goodbye

Tagged: Ariel Hale, Lydia Martin, Peter Hale, Nate Sinclair

Location: A shed in the woods.

Time Frame: December 3rd, twenty-seventeen at 8:30pm.

Notes:

Ariel.: Sighing softly, the werewolf began to head outside towards the woods area, her and Lyds had been planning to head out towards there to try and see if they could find any evidence regarding the horsemen, but she honestly didn't have a clue as to what they could find other than possible foot or horse prints, but she knew that they would most likely be rather subtle about their whereabouts. Once she did make it there, she looked around for the strawberry blonde, a smile on her lips once she does see the girl that she has always considered to be like a little sibling, especially after everything that happened with her real older sister. "Hey! You ready to try and hunt these guys down?" She questions, bouncing on her heels slightly.

Lydia: Ever since her talk with Stiles, Lydia felt like she had been doing a lot better recently. She was in a much better place than she had been in months- maybe even a year or so. While Lydia was definitely still going through her struggles, she at least felt like she was strong enough to overcome them with time. Her mind felt way better and she was ready to start getting out there and working on saving the town from Beacon Hills. Ariel was the first person Lydia thought of asking, since the two had grown incredibly close since they'd first met. Ariel was the big sister Lydia did not have, and even though the words were unspoken she really meant a lot to Lydia. "I'm always ready." Lydia said with a firm nod and a small smile, her heels digging into the dirt beneath her feet as she began walking. Lydia wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for but she kept her guard up and only stopped when something caught her eye in the corner. "Did you see that?" Lydia whispered, instinctively grabbing Ariel's hand and holding it tightly as she took a step back.

Ariel.: Nodding her head with a grin, she claps her hands excitedly and begins to walk with Lydia, wrapping an arm around the others absentmindedly. Eyes scanned the area carefully as she took each step, the majority of the direction that she was looking was actually down for the prints, but every so often, she would use her werewolf vision to check and see if maybe there was something hiding around them, but so far, it seemed like nothing. When she heard Lydia whisper to her, Ariel quickly looked up and furrowed her eyebrows, picking up on the sound of leaves nearby cracking every time someone took a step. "Stay here, I think someone's out there." She responds in a whisper and pulls away from Lyds carefully to walk towards the edge of where they were, looking around. "I don't see anyt-hey!" Within seconds of seeing the person, they made sure to make their way to her quickly, hitting her upside the head with something to knock her out at least.

Lydia: Lydia immediately wanted to refuse when Ariel told her to stay where she was, but the werewolf had started walking away before Lydia got the chance. She slowly followed behind Ariel just in case and once she spotted another person, it was like the world started moving too fast for Lydia to keep up with. Before she could make her way towards Ariel completely, Lydia saw her friend being knocked on the ground by someone with glowing eyes. Lydia was ready to let out a defensive scream and attack back, her hands steady in front of her as she took a deep breath and opened her mouth but she didn’t even manage to get any noise out before she felt claws in her throat. Lydia coughed up blood, falling to the ground as she held onto her kneck and was completely unable to make a sound. The next thing she knew she was being knocked out and fell right next to Ariel, and Lydia remembered the feeling of death quickly approaching her- one of them was going to die and Lydia just prayed it was her and not Ariel. That’s all she thought about as her eyes closed and she felt her body being dragged somewhere.

Ariel.: Despite the fact that she had been hit rather hard, she still had her eyes open for a few moments, watching as Lydia gets knocked out as well, her whole body telling her to help her, but for some reason, whatever they had used had rendered her paralyzed, most likely from kanima venom, but how did they get that in the first place? After finally waking up a few minutes later, she groans and looks around slowly, trying to get up, but there seemed to be chains around her wrists and ankles, mountain ash spread around in a circle where her and Lyds sat in separate chairs. "Lydia! Lyds!" Ari whispers loudly, still looking around frantically to see how they can get out.

Lydia: When Lydia finally opened her eyes, she found herself being chained to a chair and the scene was all too similar to the night she was killed by hunters. Lydia was panicking inside but she did her best not to show her fear, her main concern being the fact that her and Ariel needed to make it out alive. A cold drop of blood hit the bare skin on Lydia’s thigh and she brought her hand up to where the blood came from, only then remembering she’d been clawed in the throat. “A-Ariel.” Lydia croaked, although she wasn’t able to say much else. She couldn’t use her voice to scream which rendered her useless as she was chained up. Lydia looked over towards Ariel and flinched when she heard someone coming closer to them. “You girls were trying to stop the horsemen, weren’t you? I know people like you. The do-gooders in this town. Well you’re not going to stop them this time. You can’t, because I’m starving and they promised that I’d be taken care of if I keep them safe.” The man said. Lydia could tell he was out of his mind, but she couldn’t speak to try and convince him otherwise. And she still felt the familiar death seeping into her system which terrified her. She didn’t want to die, but above all else she didn’t want to witness someone who became like a sister to her die either. But what could she do to help? Lydia couldn’t speak or move.

Ariel.: Turning her head quickly when she did notice the blood, she tried to pull herself out of the chains, but her healing was taking too long and all she could do was wiggle her fingers a bit, it wasn't enough, she had to go and make sure that she was alright before they left this place as soon as possible, something was obviously not right at all and the werewolf was going to make sure that Lyds got out of here. Making a face when she hears a deep voice begin to talk, Ariel slowly looks over and instinctively growls, eyes narrowing. "You don't know anything and you are so wrong, we will destroy them and you. This town will continue to be safe because of people like us." She states in a harsh voice at him, still attempting to get out of the chains. "You do realise that once they are destroyed, you will be back to stuck with nothing, right? We could actually help you, but only if you let us go." Ariel honestly muses, the kinder side of her only barely showing to let him know that he was still a threat, but she was offering a way out of this if he was smart.

Lydia: “You’re lying!” The werewolf snapped back at Ariel. Lydia watched in horror as she continued to desperately try and break free from the chains. There wasn’t anything else she could do to help and the fact that her banshee feelings were telling her someone in the room was going to die scared her to no end. If she couldn’t do something to help, there was a chance it could be Ariel who passed. Lydia just kept praying that it would be her as she shut her eyes tightly and shook her head. “I’m told to only kill one of you, though. The other is going to be saved as a warning. Tell the rest of your friends to back off or they’ll all be next.” He paused as he looked between both girls. “So, which one of you is it going to be?” After he spoke again, Lydia immediately began flailing around in her chair in an attempt to tell the werewolf that she would offer herself up. “M-me. Please.” She tried to croak out but due to the injured vocal chords her voice was barely audible. If only one of them was getting out alive, Lydia wanted it to be Ariel. She had so much life in her and really deserved to continue living. Lydia was prepared to die for her friend wholeheartedly but she was struggling to get the words out.

Ariel.: "How could I be??" She yells back at him, eyes slightly narrowing a bit more. "We don't want to fight anyone if we don't have to, but if it comes to a last resort because you think that helping them will automatically make you one of them in which they will always fully protect you, then you couldn't be more wrong!" The blonde states, still subtly looking around to try and find an escape hatch that they could get out of, the feelings in her arms and legs beginning to come back to her. Furrowing her eyebrows when he mentions that he was only going to kill one of them, she automatically nods her head. "Me." Ariel responds and turns over to where Lydia was, making a face. "Lyds no, you can't. It'll be okay, take me instead of her and just let her go." She muses the last words at him, taking in a deep breath, she knew that Lydia still had so much to live for, she didn't deserve this, none of them did and Ariel was going to continue to protect each and every one that she cared for until her last breath.

Lydia: Lydia was starting to get lightheaded from the amount of blood she was losing and the fact that she just kept shaking her head at a rapid pace. It only increased once she heard Ariel offer herself up, and her voice was much more heard. Lydia watched in horror as the werewolf smirked and went towards Ariel. “P-please.” Lydia pleaded, this time finding the strength to speak a little louder. Lydia had tears in her eyes as she looked at Ariel, already knowing this was going to be the last time she saw her friend. Memories of the two of them were literally flashing in front of Lydia and her heart was breaking into a million pieces. “Sorry, sweetheart. If what I’ve heard about Lydia Martin is true then seeing your friend die in front of you will break you enough. I’ll kill her and let you do the job on yourself afterwords.” Lydia was still shaking her head and tears were steaming down her face. She wanted to help save them so badly, it was physically killing her. “N-no. Ariel. I-I am so sorry. Please don’t.” She hoped her friend could hear her, because at this point Lydia already knew what was going to happen. She could feel it.

Ariel.: Narrowing her eyes as she watched him begin to march towards her, she took in a deep breath and resisted the urge to growl at him, knowing that despite the fact that he said one of them was going to die, she was also willing to try and see if they could both get out of here alive. "Lydia, I am so..sorry, I can't let you die again, you don't deserve this." She whispers towards her with a reassuring smile on her lips. "You will not do anything to her, alright? Just let her go after and leave everyone else alone, your job will be done." She comments, and once he gets just a couple inches closer, she quickly stands up, breaking from the chains and throwing a hard punch to his jaw, she had meant to deflect the next hit, but with that vulnerable spot open where she quickly changed her aim, she felt something plunge into her chest and oh, did it sting like hell. With a gasp, blue eyes completely widened, Ariel looked down at the spot on her chest where a large knife was, yellow liquid dripping from the end of it as her face paled and she collapsed onto the floor, coughing hard.

Lydia: "No, no, no!" Lydia shook her head furiously at Ariel. How could the werewolf think that Lydia deserved life over her? That just wasn't right, and it didn't make sense to Lydia. Ariel was such a good person, and a light in Beacon Hills as well as to everyone around her. Ariel had personally managed to put a smile on Lydia's face in the darkest times, meanwhile all Lydia did was bring death and destruction everywhere she went. No way in hell was her life more valuable than Ariel's. "Please don't do this. Ariel, please." Lydia begged, practically sobbing at this point. She watched in horror as the werewolf stabbed Ariel. Immediately, Lydia felt the pain in her chest. "Ariel!" Lydia yelled, although that was enough to make the room spin for Lydia. She was definitely fading in and out, but she watched the werewolf run into the distance as soon as he was done with Ariel. Lydia could slowly feel her friends soul leaving her body and she couldn't even do anything to try and help. "I'm so sorry." Lydia whispered through her sobs, knowing she shouldn't be using her voice but she needed Ariel to know this before she died. "I'm so sorry." She repeated, again all of her words coming out in a whisper. She couldn't scream to save Ariel and that was going to haunt her for the rest of her life. But forcing herself to speak was making Lydia weaker and her head fell back as she was on the verge of passing out.

Peter sped through town, foot heavy on the pedal propelling him so fast the police scanners couldn't pick him up. She called him. It had been on purpose, it had to be. She was somewhere and needed his help. He should have been on watch, he should have followed her. One dropped word was enough to let him know where she was. The rest didn't matter. Peter arrived as quick as he could, bolting out of the car without stopping the engine, without looking back at his opened door. His nose picked up her scent. The trail that lead him right to her, ignoring the body that pushed past him, rubbing against his jacket. When he turned into the room, it felt as though his whole world had come crushing down. It was the Hale fire all over again, and yet somehow worse. "No, no no no no..." he muttered, lurching forward to scoop his girl up into his arms, not a single care thrown Lydia's direction, "It's okay. Daddy's here, Daddy's got you..." A stab wound should have been nothing. Should have healed from it in no time. But the pungent stench of yellow wolfsbane seeped from her wound and he shook his head, running his shaking hand over her hair. It was too late. "Ariel, it's going to be okay," it wasn't, "I've got you. I'm going to protect you."

Ariel.: She hadn't meant to get hurt, the plan that she had come up with whilst talking to the other werewolf, was that she was going to inform her dad about this and get him to attack the other since he didn't seem to be on agreeing terms with both of them kept alive and let go, but her anger got the better of her as she attacked him and tried to fight him off as she waited for Peter to get here, praying that he would make it in time, but after feeling the knife go through her chest and her collapsing onto the floor, the blonde just stares over at Lydia, shaking her head softly. "It's ok-okay, L-L-Lyds. I promise." She responds, with the smallest of smiles that she could manage at that moment. "Thank you....for being..an amazing friend, and honora-ary sister." Ariel states, letting out a small breath of relief when she finally does see Peter, tears beginning to fall. "Daddy." She mumbles in a soft voice, eyes threatening to close. "I'm so sorry, I tried..I tried." Ariel nods her head, looking over to where Lydia and now Nate were. "Get t-t-them to safety, please."

Nate: Nate hadn’t been back in town for longer than a day and already his connection with Lydia was going crazy. He didn’t know what was happening, but he knew that she was in pain by the unbelievable burning in his throat and the terrible sinking feeling in his cheat. He let his connection guide him straight to her, and when he stumbled upon the scene he was honestly in shock as he stared at Ariel on the ground and then to Lydia. He didn’t know who the random man was, but he didn’t care as he quickly ran to Lydia’s side and tried to access her situation. He could feel that Ariel was going to die, and he didn’t want to interrupt the moment. It was clear that it wasn’t his place, and Lydia needed medical attention right now. He pressed his lips together as he sighed quietly and gently lifted her up, careful not to hurt her as he looked at Ariel on the ground one last time before carrying her out.

Peter shook his head, ignoring anything about the two who clearly had themselves handled as he continued to stroke his hand over Ariel's golden locks, his face betraying the calm words he spilled. "Shh, Ariel. It's okay. You did good. You did so good, Ariel. It's going to be okay. I'm just going to get you to safety, alright?" he implored, gathering her up more securely in his arms and for a moment he started to believe his own words. He could do it. He was Peter Hale, he would be able to save her. Nevermind the creeping stench of death that seemed to clutch at her every limb. He was the Alpha of Beacon Hills. There was nothing he could not do. Ariel would be okay.

Ariel.: Blinking slowly as she watched Nate begin to pick up Lydia, Ariel used her free hand that wasn't on the wound, to try and reach over to them, knowing that this was the last time that she could ever see them again, but as they left, she looked back over at Peter and shook her head. "It's t-t-o late. I'm sorry. At least..you won't have to w-worry about me anymore, yeah?" She makes a face and slowly nods her head, the burning sensation from the wolfsbane now completely enveloping her body. "Dad? I forgive you." Ariel whispers, eyes slowly closing as she draws in her last breath, her limbs going loose.

Peter: "Don't. Don't speak, Ariel..." he said, the normally collected and cool voice shaken with something he couldn't quite comprehend. Something he hadn't felt since the flames had licked against his flesh, drowning him in pain and the screams of his family. And as his daughter's body went limp in his arms, Peter clutched at her as if it would keep her from sailing away. "No, no, no. Ariel, no," he muttered, rocking her back and forth as a hand patted her cheek, trying to wake her as if she had merely fallen asleep, "Ariel, don't. No. No, no, NO! Ariel! Ariel, please!" Peter's voice came out in broken waves, matching the tears now welling up in his killers eyes. But no matter how anguished his cries or how forcefully he shook her, his daughter would not wake. And with a final call of her name he curled in on her, holding her body close as he should have done the day she was born. Had he known...had he been able to see her...had it not been for her mother or his pride. Peter threw his head back, eyes glowing vibrantly as he let out a terrible, keening howl of despair. It was all he knew to do. This immeasurable pain had seeped into his body and refused to let him loose, no matter how many times he roared over Ariel's frame. The last howl coming out as a sob as he curled against her again, rocking back and forth with his forehead pressed against the now cooling skin of his daughter. He couldn't deal with this pain. This, terrifying echo of the thing he'd already lost once before that somehow rocked his being worse than anything had before. And so Peter grabbed onto the only thing that made sense to him. Vengeance. Rage. The wolf raised his head, nose pulling at the air in search of the scent. The man who killed his daughter, and anyone involved with him, would surely pay.

Peter let out a guttural, sobbing roar that seemed to shake the room. Everyone in Beacon Hills would know his pain. His wide, glowing eyes flashed a pale red for a moment. An echo of the power he once had. But it was enough. He latched onto it, feeding it his anguish, his hatred, his overwhelming sense of loss and the beast gobbled it up. Peter stood, gently setting his daughter down back against the pavement as his body twisted, snapped, and jutted outwards. Clothes tore from him as he grew into a familiar, grotesque form that had once terrorized Beacon Hills. Claws extended far beyond normal as he turned, completely lost to his beast, to his vengeance, and tore from the room. Searing eyes searched for a moment before leaping through a high window, landing on the cold earth outside. The beast was free, and as it caught the scent of the unfortunate soul who thought to end a life that held meaning to Peter Hale, he let out another echoing howl. Another echo, of the Alpha that could command all others, but this time it was a death knell ringing through the town before the great, black beast charged into the night.

#Saying Goodbye #Chatzy #death mention tw #death tw #injury tw

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