#manon doe eyes firefly

[myers-meadow]

Ibuprofen: House of 1000 Corpses AU ch. 4

Title: Ibuprofen

Summary: The Firefly's have an open mic night! Manon goes to the store for the second time. Blinky belongs to @immortal-velociraptor, Selena belongs to @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better.

Warnings: oral sex, drinking. NSFW at the end.

Wordcount: 4466

Dividers by firefly-graphics

Maybe this is too soon after the other one, but I have free time and energy now, and this was SO much fun to write, so I hope you enjoy! <3

Even with another extra person in the home, the days did not get that much more chaotic. Selena was her name. She was quiet around me for the most part, but Baby took quite a liking to her. She probably thought it was nice having another girl around, a girl who was much more keen to doing the things Baby liked doing. Most nights, I’d try sleeping in Blinky’s room, but either someone woke me to make room for Selena, which I gladly gave up, or someone woke me in search of Blinky. Then I’d gather my book and button my nightgown all the way up and sneak back to Otis’ room. He never seemed to mind, if he even noticed. As the wheel of the seasons turned, so did my menstrual cycle and once again reached that point of cramping and pain and migraines that would last a good week or two. With that pain, came the need to relieve it through the only pleasure that would relax the those muscles – but after the embarrassing failure that was last time, I didn’t dare try again.

Small things happened every day; the communal spaces weren’t scary anymore, sometimes we watched a movie in the living room, and I’d sit and read a book from back home with Blinky cuddled up to my side in the lazy chair, I got a little better at doing eyeliner, Blinky got into knitting and knitted me a pair of the comfiest socks I ever wore, and sometimes Tiny helped prepare dinner (he moved slowly and carefully, but his hands were big and he could easily hold the big sweet potatoes for peeling).

Most of the family was there for lunch, including Blinky, Selena, Baby, Otis and RJ. More crowded than usual.

“What’re you all up to today?” asked Baby, as she moved through the kitchen as though she was dancing. Her new bond with Selena cheered her up quite a bit. I gathered the plates and put them in the sink.

Selena just pointed to Blinky to signal that they’d spend the day together, and Blinky cheered.

“Well, that car out back ain’t gonna fix itself,” said RJ. “I’ll be in and out all day. If I manage to get it done, I’ll sell it tomorrow.”

“I’m headin’ down to the store,” answered Otis, putting away the Nutella and his mug. He passed by me as he did and poked me a little too harshly in the side. “You comin’ with, Doe Eyes?”

It felt as though everyone’s eyes were on me, as I rubbed my pained side, eyes shifting from his to Blinky’s as though to ask for silent approval. They beamed at me.   

“Sure, why not?”

As I got ready to go out the door in front of Baby’s vanity, I mentally took note of all the chores that would be postponed until tomorrow. I did redid my hair into two braids, as the one I was wearing was pulling uncomfortably after I sat on it earlier. It felt like a real outing, an exciting, fun trip. I could do myself up a little, so I reapplied the darkest red I have, now reduced to a bit more than a stump – perhaps I could ask to stop at a place that sells make-up – and put in the small burgundy earrings. More important than lipstick, would be painkillers, actually, as another cramp made me lose my breath momentarily.

“You finally done, woman?” asked Otis from the doorway. Briskly I stood up, smoothed over my blouse and walked past him.

“Yes, sir,” I said, with only a hint of sarcasm, and grabbed my bag.

“Watch your tone.” The danger was clear in his voice.

The truck shook from the force with which I shut the door after the first time wasn’t hard enough. The cabin felt small with both of us in it. When Otis turned the key in the ignition, the usual hard rock music blared from the speakers.

“Can I put a cd in?” I asked, already rummaging in my bag to show him. “Since I got my stuff back, I have my cd’s too.”

Instead of a verbal answer, he gestured for me to put it in, and I did, turning the volume down a couple notches as I did. The familiar sounds filled the car. It wasn’t that I disliked their usual music choices, but the comfort of knowing a song so well was just different.

“We must’ve listened to this one dozens of times,” I said, almost more to myself, smiling ever so slightly, as I drummed along on my thighs. “It was Samantha’s favourite song of the album.”

The trees passed by in a blur as I lost myself in my thoughts. It was warm inside the truck, and sitting with one leg propped up helped dampen the cramps.

As the car came to an abrupt stop, I regained my senses again.

“Had a nice little daydream there, missy?” asked Otis, gently tugging my braid before climbing out of the vehicle. It was quiet at the store, thankfully.

“Hey Otis,” I started as we walked through the brightly lit vegetable aisle, “can we stop by an apothecary after this?”

“A pharmacy? Sure.”

“Thanks,” I said. We wandered through the aisles, despite my marvel at the size and diversity of brands and choices of the American supermarket, I didn’t dare wander off too much for fear of him thinking I was running. When would he stop being suspicious? Perhaps when I make my first kill, like Blinky did, not too long ago. My lip curled up in dread. Thankfully, there were many kinds of peanut butter to distract me from the heavy thoughts. Plus, it wasn’t true. Blinky was trusted and respected for longer than I had been with them.

Eventually we rounded the corner of the alcoholic drinks aisle.

“You like wine?” Otis asked, holding a bottle of red in his hand.

“Sometimes,” and I looked over the labels. “You seem more like a beer guy. Or whiskey, something very smoky.”

He chuckled. “Got me all figured out, huh? Take your pick.”

I crouched down to look at the lower bottles. “You can move on if you’re in a hurry.”

“Can’t do that, missy.”

I shrugged. “Suit yourself.” And I took my sweet time settling on a bottle of merlot.

Otis let me roam the pharmacy more independently. It was a much smaller store, with squeaky white tile floor. There was make-up too, so I took a very similar dark red lipstick to the one I had. There was spare money in my bag that they didn’t take, and Otis gave some money, so I could afford the lipstick as a little treat.

All the names of the drugs and painkillers were different and confusing, so I went up to the cashier to check with him. The guy was a little younger than me, mid-twenties, his name tag said ‘Simon’, and he had the cute longer hair that the guys in bands had these days. He was kind and throughout with his explanations about what each kind of medication did and their side-effects.

“You must be quite trained to know all this,” I said, sliding my final choice of items over the counter.

“Ah, not really. It’s my job, you know,” he said, shuffling his feet. “Are you staying in the States long?”

“Ah, don’t know yet,” I said, trying to make it sound natural. “We’re just traveling, and I’m staying with some friends, just seeing where life leads me.”

He threw a pack of mints in the paper bag he bagged the rest of the stuff in, with a wink. “Consider it a traveling gift.” And proceeded to name the total, which I paid with a combination of mine and Otis’ money.

Then we were back in the warm, stuffy car. The bags crinkled as I set them down by my feet. Otis sighed before he started the car, and turned off the music. Not his taste, probably. That’s fine. He was too quiet again, an unpleasant feeling.

“That guy was flirting with you,” he said, as he turned onto a bigger road.

“Yeah,” I said, chuckling, “he gave me mints. You want some?”

“No,” came his gruff reply. I uncapped the bottle of water, took a sip, and pried open the package of ibuprofen one handed. Threw back one of those, followed by, what the clerk explained, was the American equivalent of paracetamol. He was stewing, and whatever he was thinking, I wanted no part in it.

“What you even need that for?” he spoke up again. He sounded angry again, I probably took too long in there.

“For uhh, pain. They’re painkillers.”

“For what pain?” he replied sharply, sending me a glare. However much I didn’t want to piss him off further, I also didn’t want him to know I was menstruating. The comments he’d make would only sour my mood. The feminine weakness, my mother called it, and it affected her less than it does me. Besides, it was private. It was something no one else needed to know; not him, not Blinky, not Tiny. I stole a glance at him, and he caught it, before returning his eyes back to the road, narrowed and mean. If I refused to answer, he’d still be able to guess. He lived with Baby and Mrs. Firefly, who surely had their own monthly cycles. It’s not like he’s an idiot.

“Menstruation.”

He let out a gruff, joyless laugh, “Could’ve just said so.” And then, after I took another gulp of water, he followed up, his voice a marginally more normal. “Mama has a hot water bottle you could use.”

“That sounds very nice.” And after another silence, when we saw the house in the distance. “Thanks for taking me along with you.” I managed a small smile as I grabbed the bags and went inside, leaving him to carry the bulk of the groceries to the house.

Doing the rest of the chores was a little easier. Even just knowing I had painkillers to relieve the worst edge of the pain, helped speed me along as I diced an onion for dinner. Blinky lingered in the kitchen when we were done eating and I was washing up. I was grateful for the company.

“Did you have a good day, Blink?”

They nodded, hopping onto the dining table. “We listened to music and I did Selena’s make-up. She is white like a canvas, so it was easy to give her more colour.”

“Would you like to do my make-up tomorrow? It’s been a while since we did something like that.”

“Yes! We could match,” their wide grin was infectious.

“I tried two braids today,” I said, finishing another plate, then moving on to the forks. “So I could sort of match with your two puffs.”

They nodded, swinging their legs from the edge of the table. “Did you have a good trip with Otis?”

“I think so. He was in a bit of a mood, though, but I’m sure itll be fine with time.”

“He’s just like that sometimes.” Blinky shrugged. “He’s really trying.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” If he was trying now, with these moods, I’m fearful for how bad he was before. “Did you do anything else today?”

“Music, yes! Selena can sing really well,” they said. “She knows a lot of weird religious songs, but they are very beautiful, because she is the one who sings it. I think she’s feeling a little better now. Baby likes very different music, but Selena likes those songs too, she said she wanted to learn them.”

“That’s nice. Perhaps we should have a karaoke night or something,” I mused, drying off a plate and stacking it in the cabinet.

“What a good idea! I’ll go ask them.” And away they raced.

“Mind your step!” my warning fell on deaf ears.

A few days later it was all set up: an open mic night like we used to do when I was studying in the bars that reeked of stale beer – and thanks to Otis letting me choose a bottle of wine, there would be enough alcohol to get me through it.

RJ didn’t want to join, but Mrs. Firefly made him, so he choose to go first to get it over with. Originally I had planned to go first, but I didn’t have the energy to fight him today. He sang along with a song, but he mumbled more than he sang. Mrs. Firefly clapped and cheered along all the same. Then the mood was brightened by Spaulding and Blinky, who performed a fun carnivalesque clown number. They mimed a clown car that they climbed into. Of course Blinky was a joy to watch, but Spaulding was a convincing actor too. At the end Blinky threw roses into the crowd, and we all cheered them on. Gramps did some disgusting jokes. A small break, during which I started my second glass of wine, and a cigarette outside with Baby, who was up next. She danced and sang like an old Hollywood star, to a French oldie from the black and white pictures.

Then it was my turn, and I had debated so long on what to do, the one thing left that I could do with enough confidence was recite poems in my native language. I hadn’t spoken it in two or three months, although I read in the book each night before bed. Mrs. Firefly shone a spotlight right on me, and the silence was daunting. My tongue was an useless slab in my mouth as I stood on the stage they set up, in front of the microphone. It shouldn’t be that much different from teaching in front of a class, but even that was a good while ago. I found my voice. The words felt strange in my mouth, the sounds sharper than English, yet more meaningful and melancholic than anything the English language could express. It felt like a part of me was finally coming together again. How could I have gone this long without speaking my own language? Then it was over, after four short poems, each about one of the seasons. Beforehand Baby advised me to give a translation, but I refused, and I contemplated that decision as I exited the stage via the steps on the side. A deep breath.

Then the star of the evening, siren-song Selena, the ghost in our midst. Blinky was right, she had the voice of an angel. It was almost otherworldly the notes she hit, and the harmony and peace she exuded as she performed. Surely she had been nervous beforehand, with this strange family as her audience, but she was so natural that it felt like she had done it a thousand times before. It was sad to see her leave the stage after two songs.

After her act, the structure of the night fell apart a little. It was not even eleven, so we all sat around and took turns singing or messing around on the stage. After a third wine and being encouraged by Blinky and Selena, I danced a little with Baby.

“See, you’re not that dull if you let loose a little,” she said, giggling and pulling me along with her.

Taking a breather, I went for a cigarette outside, finding Otis there. It must be nearing one in the morning at that point. It was cold, and the music was still somewhat audible through the doors.

“You look like you’re having fun,” he said, flicking on his lighter and lighting my cigarette for me. What a gentleman. He looked different in this light, his skin warmer with the glow from the lighter in between our faces.

I pat my rosy cheeks, before plucking the cigarette from my lips and exhaling deeply. “I am. Never a dull moment in this house.”

He chuckled darkly, looking me up and down, “All it takes is a little wine, hm?”

“Tonight you’re being the stiff one, they missed you.” I pressed the cigarette between my lips to extend my hands to him, waving him closer. “Come, come,” and then when he didn’t budge, but looking amused, I pinched cigarette between my fingers so I could speak better, “You’ve been part of this family since forever, no way Baby’s not dragged you along for a dance before.”

“Out here?” he asked, flicking the ashes. I shrugged, moving my shoulders to the beat. This song was one I knew, something a little older. Otis pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning on, and took my outstretched hand by the wrist. His expression was as smug as ever, but there was something else too – something I could only guess as caution in my tipsy state. With hands joined together we stretched the arms to keep each other apart, only to push them wide and ourselves closer – the way the dance goes when you dance at weddings and birthday parties. Or perhaps at the discotheque, but I wouldn’t know, I’ve never been. His breath was warm on my face and the air was foggy between us. Still never broke eye contact. As he had me by the wrists, instead of hands, when he tried a twirl, I almost lost my footing, and then the song ended.

“Let’s go inside,” I said, laughing gently. It couldn’t have been more than a minute or two that passed, as the song betrayed the passage of time. I pressed the cigarette into the ashtray that sat on the table on the porch. “It’s cold.”

That night I shared many more dances with Blinky, Baby and Selena. Selena was not only a good singer, but she danced marvellously as well, even if she was a little shy. Baby had her own talents at luring people out of their shells. I had to tear myself away from all of them, or I would want to kiss them all so desperately bad. Wine is bad and makes my cheeks warm and my insides fill with butterflies, so it was time for bed.

Brushing my teeth as I felt like I was swaying on my feet. To prevent a headache in the morning, I chugged as much water as I could manage. Otis was already in his room, he kept the light off, as I stumbled in, feeling like the least elegant creature in the world.

“You really won’t take me up on my offer?” he asked. “Not even know, it must be near unbearable for you, to hold off for so long.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” I mumbled, pushing the tights down my legs. Should have taken my nightgown with me to the bathroom, but too late now.

He was close enough that I could smell him. Always a little bit like blood somehow, or danger, perhaps it was danger, and cigarettes and body heat. He caught me by the elbow as I wobbled pulling the stretchy nylons off my feet.

“I can make you cum like you never came before in your life.”

“Ah, no, I don’t think so,” I answered, but without the good sense to put some distance between us. “No one but me can make me cum, so don’t even bother.”

He chuckled. Danger again. “No wonder you’re like this. Wanna make a bet? I can get you there in less than fifteen minutes.”

“Not even if you tried for hours.”

“Jesus, what shitty fuckin’ boyfriends did you date?” he laughed something mean. The bed was behind me, his. His side of the room, without my book on the nightstand.

“Sure, give it a try, but I’m telling you-” And he pushed me backwards on the bed, my body bouncing back from impact. He kneeled over me and had my legs on either side of him in an instant.

“Bet you moan as sweetly as you scream,” and his hands found the hem of my panties, pulling them down. “Oh, I am keeping these.” And he threw them somewhere behind him.

“Shut up,” was the only coherent thing I managed. It’s not like I was some blushing virgin, but then again, Otis hadn’t been my partner. I looked at the clock on his nightstand. “You get fifteen minutes and not a second more.”

To get it over with, I unbuttoned and unzipped my skirt, let him help it off my hips. Ah, didn’t shave. It didn’t faze him. Reached up to help him out of his shirt, which was met with worst of his smugness. Then I unbuttoned a couple buttons of my blouse, but held up my finger.

“Don’t kiss me. I mean it.”

“Princess,” he leaned down until I could almost taste the cigarettes on his lips, “you’re full of surprises tonight.”

“Shut up.”

Laughing he leaned up and undid the rest of my blouse, pushing it open with his annoying smug smirk. Traced his finger over the black lace of my bra. I shuddered from the sensation, which only encouraged him.

“I’ve had plenty like you, those stiff, prim and proper woman, who always think they’re too good for me, and then when they’re on their back they’re begging for more like common whores.” As he spoke, he inched down my body, pressing kisses as he went, breast to stomach to just under the belly button, to- I inhaled sharply. He bit down on the sensitive skin at the innermost thigh.

“Otis, what are you-” I sounded alarmed. I thought he’d just fuck me, not do-

He sucked it until the sting faded. He chuckled, the sound of it vibrating through my spine. “Never had anyone eat you out before, darlin’?”

“No, no, not like that, you know I’m bleeding, you’re not supposed-”

“Supposed to what?” he asked, before licking a wide stripe over my vulva, the enjoyment clear in his voice. “Do this?”

This was just another form of torture. I tried closing my legs, but he gripped them tight and impossibly wide before him. Had I ever felt this exposed? My face was white hot, or rather beet red, with the swirl of a million emotions.

“What’s the matter?” he teased, flicking his tongue in between the lips. “Think I can do it after all? Don’t tell me you’re backing out so soon.”

I whimpered with every little thing he did; the hot breath that warmed me sinfully, the wetness his tongue left behind that cooled down only to warm back up in a surge of different sensations. Thick fingers spread my lips apart, for his tongue to have better access without the hair getting in the way.

“I haven’t even started yet,” he chuckled, and I covered my face with my hands. He pressed a kiss to the clit, then exploring earnestly. His tongue dipped inside so deep it stretched my tightly clenched walls. He moaned, which startled me, not only for the vibrations it sent straight to my core. Was he enjoying this? That’s not- That’s not possible.

He lapped up whatever it was that he found there, then moved up to flick his tongue at the clit, panting breaths filling the air, as I tensed, untensed, tensed again on the mattress. Pleasure welled up deep inside my lower belly, like blood from a cut.

“Fuck, you taste even sweeter than I imagined,” he said. When I peeked through my fingers, I found his intense amber eyes staring right back at me, and I couldn’t stop the gasp that left my lips. He repeated what he did, then dipping down, before softly sucking directly on the most sensitive part of me. The spasm that followed only drove my pelvis closer to his hungry mouth, but there was no way I was in control of my body.

“Just let loose, princess, you’re so tense you’re gonna bruise yourself,” Otis mumbled, before resuming his ministrations. He sucked again, a little harder, alternating between flicking his tongue, until my gasps were full on moans. Trusting that my legs would stay open, one of his hands released my hip to move down and away. When I leaned up to look, he unbuckled his belt and pushed his underwear down. His eyes were still on me, burning and unsettling even in the dim light. Never let up what he was doing, but as he wrapped his hand around his cock, his eyes flickered shut, before he too, moaned loudly. How was this possible?  

He enjoyed this. He enjoyed me. I threw my head back, moaning loudly as his he played with my clit, letting me feel his teeth, before diving down to my folds and licking them open. Wetness, whether it be mine or his, dripped onto the sheets

“Fuck, Otis,” and my hand curled into his hair, pressing my fingers into his scalp, tugging lightly. He moaned and thrust into his hand, the bed creaked. Pleasure built and built, and at the same time I was convinced it couldn’t get any higher, not any more intense, but he flicked his tongue again and again, and I barely heard my own moans over the buzzing inside my head and-

“Otis- No, no, no, no, no-”

I came, with something of a shriek. Harshly, abruptly and amazingly. Otis wrung every last drop of pleasure from my tense and tired body. When he finally stopped, he wiped his hand on the sheets, looked to the clock with a stupid shit-eating grin.

“That’s gotta be a personal record,” he said, wiping his mouth, but I couldn’t take it. I pulled the blanket over my head and curled up into a ball.

“Fuck you, Otis.” With a start, I realised I was crying. The sobs came from somewhere deep, from the diaphragm.

“Princess?”

“Just- I need to be alone,” and there was no way to stop how pathetic I sounded or how the sobs made me flinch each time I breathed. Crying after something stupid like that. How did this even happen? What a nightmare.

I heard Otis gather the pillow and blanket from the other bed and shut the door behind him. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. God. Christ. Fuck.

[house-of-slayterr]

The Family Business:

Tag: @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better @myers-meadow-selfship @oceansrose2002

Manon’s POV:

Things has be going… well for all intensive purposes. It was strange getting used to a household full of so many people. There was always noise, always chaos. But you could hide in chaos, go unnoticed as long as everyone else was making a scene. That was my only saving Grace, protecting my thinly veiled sanity.

I didn’t interact much with the self proclaimed “parents” of the family. Spaulding and I had nothing in common, nothing to say to each other. It would simply be a waste of breath. And Mama, she thought me plain. Her extravagant fashion sense easily outshining most of Texas. We exchanged pleasant hellos and nods of acknowledgement. But that was the extent of our relationship. It ended there, and I didn’t mind. It was safer to keep my distance.

I only managed to survive so to the mercy of their youngest member. Blinky, they showed me kindness. But that didn’t mean I could trust them, that would be foolish to assume. I wasn’t sure what game they were playing. Perhaps they’d get bored of me, and finally get rid of me. Which meant, I had to find my own way to protect myself. To remain whole and unscathed.

I wracked my brain for hours on end, trying to come up with the best plan to stay alive. Ingrain myself into their lives so seamlessly, it was like they never knew anything else. They may be a family of killers, but they were just that, a family. And it was clear to me they protected their own, sometimes overly so. As much as I hated the idea, it was the only thing worth a shot. I’d have to go through Otis.

But I hated the man. He tortured me like it was some sort of sick game. That ever present sadistic smile burned into my brain. I could hardly stand to be in his room, but I was hoping that would fade with time. They said time heals all wounds, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted this wound to shut just yet. Stewing over it was keeping me busy, occupied. I took a deep breath, looking in the mirror.

My outfit was quite frumpy. A long navy skirt, and a simple white blouse, with an oversized grey cardigan thrown on top. I plaited my hair into a single braid to the side. Tying it with the spool or ribbon Blinky hand gifted me. They said it was Better than hair ties, since they always got lost in her hair. The ribbon was plain, black with lace on the edges. It was pretty. I smoothed out my skirt and made my way over to Baby’s room before knocking.

I heard her music cut off as she came to open the door.

“Oh, it’s you.”

I wasn’t expecting that tone, but no matter. One offended comment wasn’t going to deter me.

“If you’re not busy, I was wondering if you could possibly help me with my make up? You see, I’m not very good at it.”

Her face light up as she pulled me into the room, sitting me down at her makeshift vanity. It was simply a mirror on a desk with fairly lights taped to it. But it worked.

“We seriously need to get you better clothes.” She commented.

“I like my clothes just fine, thank you.” I said, slightly annoyed.

“Suit yourself, but you look like a Mormon.” 

I scoffed. But none the less, I remained patient while she worked. She didn’t do anything too over the top, like Blinky would have. Not that I didn’t enjoy my time spent with the kid, but they could be a little much sometimes. It was a simply gray to black Smokey eye, with mascara and red lipstick. It was very me, and I was glad Baby was able to capture that accurately. I didn’t want to change who I was, just because this situation was forced upon me.

“There, what do you think?”

I took a long hard look in the mirror, it seemed my dark circles were dispersing a little now that I had an actual bed to sleep in. Sure it was by Otis’s side, but it was better than the floor.

“Thanks Baby, I love it.” I gave her a polite smile.

“Any particular reason you’re getting all dolled up today? Or are you just bored?”

“How could anyone be bored around here?” I joked.

“No, no reason, I just wanted to feel nice I guess. Change something up.”

“We’ll please, feel free to borrow my makeup anytime cutie”

She sent me a wink as she left her own room. I was entirely confused, because I had come to her. Why would she leave, and where was she going all of a sudden. It seemed her previous plan for the day was to just blast her music, most likely get high.

“Ok then.” I said out loud, despite the room being empty.

I didn’t want to linger too long, afraid I’d find something I didn’t want to if I started looking around. As I walked out into the hallway I was nearly knocked over, but it seems the other person defined the laws of physical and fell over instead.

“Blinky?” I asked, looking down at them sprawled out in the floor.

She quickly hopped to her feet, rushing past me.

“No time to talk, there’s a bird loose in the house!”

I watched as they dispersed around the corner, supposedly looking for a bird that had flown inside by accident. Like I said, how could anyone be bored in this house. There was always something going wrong, usually more so than it ever went right. RJ was the next of the family that I saw. I didn’t know much about the boy, expect he was rather sadistic like his brother.

I assumed he was probably the one who let the bird in. Blinky would want to find it before he would, he would surly torture the poor thing. Which would in turn, torture Blinky. It was something I picked up on quick, Blinky seemed to have an abundance of compassion for little creatures. Including plants, which they were in charge of watering outside.

“Damn woman, you look like a sexy school teacher.” RJ commented.

I raised my eyebrow at him, not sure if I was supposed to accept that as some sort of compliment.

“Thanks.” I said slowly.

I rolled my eyes when I could feel him staring at my ass as I walked away. Why were men like that? It was honestly disgusting. I made my way down to the kitchen and took out a glass, pouring myself the last of the orange juice. I heard a chuckle form the table, one that sent chills down my spine. It was Otis.

“You shouldn’t do that.” He said amused.

“Do what?” I was entirely confused, I hadn’t done anything.

“Blinky is gonna flip her lid if she finds out you drank the last cup of juice. They’ve stabbed RJ for less.”

I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. His tone didn’t read serious, and neither did that smug look on his face. But I had to remind myself of who they were, and where I was.

“I’ll get them more.” I said simply.

Surly they wouldn’t throw a tantrum over some juice.

“And how are you going to do that? You’re not allowed to leave.” He grinned like a Cheshire Cat.

“Then you’ll come with me.”

This was my in, one on one time with Otis outside of this damn house. Outside of these walls that held hunted memories of my first days here. He stood from his chair, getting closer. Almost like a predator sizing up their prey.

“Sure, and you’ll just try to run. I ain’t stupid.” He said.

“I never claimed you were. I’m not either, you know this town, you live here. Where is it you think I could run where you wouldn’t find me?” I tested.

Sure, it was bold, but it felt good to stand up to him. Little acts of defiance here and there. Breaking the roles he’d unknowingly set for us. He lifted my chin with his finger, using his other hand to steal my glass of orange juice. I looked him in the eyes, scared to look away, but not really wanted to.

“Aren’t you a smart little thing, you’ll do good to remember that”

He dropped his hand, stepping back and downing the rest do the juice in one gulp. I glared at him. Was that really necessary? I huffed, stomping my foot and turning on my heel to leave. Why did he make it so hard to be near him? Did he enjoy being lonely? Because that’s how he was going to end up that this rate.

It was touch feeling lonely in a world full of people. If anyone knew that it was me. Going unnoticed, undiscovered, being completely invisible. People never looked twice at me, what reason would they have to? I decided that maybe todays plan would be to get on Mama’s good side.

I gently knocked on her door, hearing her shout “come in”

“Hey, Otis and I are going to the store later. Did you want anything specific?” I asked politely.

“We’ll shit sugar, you don’t have to get anything special for little old me. Otis knows what I like.” She dismissed me.

But it did seem I made her happy for trying.

“Alright then, if you’re sure.”

She gave me a dazzling smile and I shut the door as I left. I didn’t particularly want to run into RJ again today, so I chose instead to go down to the basement and check on Tiny. Perhaps I could get some laundry done today. I greeted him with a polite smile and waved.

“I was gonna do some laundry, do you need anything cleaned?” I asked.

He nodded, pointing to a small pile in the corner. I went over to pick them up.

“Need anything from the store later?”

He shook his head no.

“Alright Tiny, I’ll be in and out of here all day, leave to door unlocked for me, yeah?”

He gave me a thumbs up. He was easy to talk to, considering he didn’t really talk much. But he was very good at listening, unlike somebody in this house. I grabbed a basket off the shelf and went back up stairs to collect the rest of the laundry. Everyone was already up and about for the day, so I could just go in and grab things from their hampers or piles. Sorting things was the only way I could feel in control in this situation. It made me feel useful.

Blinky almost ran right into me again, but I lifted the basket up and out of the way to stop them from hitting their head in it.

“Woah, Blinky!” I said, “maybe we shouldn’t be running in the house.” I suggested

“Right, sorry.” They muttered.

“Did you find your bird?”

“Mmhmm” they nodded. “It has a broken beak, but it will live. I let it out the window.”

I smiled.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Doing laundry?”

“Mhhhm. Was just on my way to your room.”

“Dont bother, I’ve already got mine covered. Thank you though. Hey, I was wondering if later tonight you would want to watch a movie with me?”

“Umm, sure kid. I’ll come find you when I’ve finished my chores.”

“Okie dokie artichokie!”

They skipped off down the hallway, without a single care in the world. It was strange how happy and giddy she could be all the time. Especially living in a place like this. There was still a lot o didn’t understand about them, well any of them for that matter. How did they get this way? Was it nurture or nature?

A few hours passed and I was mostly done with everything. I just had to finish my own laundry now. I didn’t have many clothes yet, only the ones I had packed for my ordinal trip. I heard a knock on the door, and turned to see Otis leaning against the door. He had that ever present smirk on his face. It’s like he didn’t know any emotions other than smug asshole.

“Ready to go Princess?” He asked.

I rolled my eyes at the nickname, simply stepping past him and out into the hall. He fallowed after me as I made my way to the front door. I didn’t get to use it much, only ever going outside if it was to help Blinky with the plants. I hesitated with my hand on the handle, I don’t know why I was nervous. Perhaps it was being stuck in a car alone with Otis. I swallowed my pride and walked out to the truck, waiting for him to unlock it and hopped into the passenger seat.

I wasn’t surprised to see one of Baby’s many CD’s on the dash board. The music was blasting in the truck, but it wasn’t awful, I just rolled down the window and let the wind hit my face. It was a good feeling, a normal feeling. Normal was hard to come by these days. He didn’t bother with small talk which I appreciated. But I kept noticing him stealing glances at me. When he parked the truck, he turned to look at me.

“No running, got it?” He said forcefully.

“Yes.”

“Damn, who pissed in your cereal this morning Princess?”

“All I said was yes.”

“It’s your tone.” He warned.

“We’ll sorry I’m not exactly excited right now.”

“You should be, you haven’t been outside in weeks. Fresh air will do you some good.”

I rolled my eyes, hoping down from the truck as I snatched the list from him. I wanted to make this trip quick. I just wanted to go home and lay back down. Getting things off the list was the easy part. But I wanted to get something extra for Blinky, since they were the only one in this god forsaken place that seemed like a decent person. Besides, they were just a kid, they deserved a little extra once in a while. I picked up two bags of candy and turned to Otis, silently asking which one.

“Didn’t know you were a Candy girl.” He mused.

“I’m not, these are for Blinky.”

I saw his eyes soften ever so slightly at that. He seemed to really care about her. From what I understand, their relationship was akin to that of a father and his daughter. At least it gave me proof that he wasn’t totally a lost cause. He had a heart, it was just shoved so far up his ass you couldn’t see it.

“Get the bears, she likes to bite the heads off first.” He commented.

How peculiar, such a minuscule detail to remember about someone. Maybe he could listen, just not to me.

“Otis, can-“ I paused, pushing the shakiness out of me, “can I ask you something?”

“I believe you just did, Sugar.”

I rolled my eyes, when he didn’t move to stop me I asked anyway.

“Why did you let Blinky save me?”

He let out a laugh, that did garner a few strange looks from passers by. Maybe this wasn’t the best place for it, but wasn’t it. I was relatively safe in public, he wouldn’t try anything here right?

“I don’t exactly let Blinky do anything, there more of the beg for forgiveness type.” He sighed, “What Blinky wants, Blinky gets, simple.”

He said it like it was the most definitive answer he’d ever given. I suppose I should be endeared by his words, but they just made me feel worse. Some part of me just wanted to hear him say it, say that he had some part in this choice.

“And if they hadn’t wanted me?”

He shrugged.

“I would have kept you around a while, none of my recent toys were nearly as fun,” he moved closer to me, towering over me with his height. “None of them scream so pretty.”

He brushed a lock of hair out of my face. I shouldn’t be trembling from fear, hatred, anxiety. So then, why was I so still. Why did I lean into his touch. His hands were warm, and I felt like a child in the cold. I closed my eyes for a second, before meeting his gaze again.

“Then I suppose I should get Blinky both of these then.”

I tried to change the topic. I didn’t like the heavy tone that hung in the air, lingering for far longer than I ever wanted. Than I was comfortable with. He let out another short laugh. There was something different about the way he backed away from me this time. That action wasn’t primal like any of the times I was in that chair. But it wasn’t gentle or sincere either. He still wanted to see me squirm and I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

Maybe Blinky was enough after all, and I wouldn’t have to go through with that foolish notion I conjured up in my worry. So what part of me was hesitating, unsatisfied. It was clear he adored them, there was never any question in his choices when it came to them. I never expected the man who was so cruel to me, to be the ‘I love my little girl’ type. One would expect him to be a terrible parent, could you blame them for that assumption? We began to walk to the checkout, but my brain was still far away.

But wasn’t he an awful parent? The government, and I bet most people would think so. He was a killer, a sadistic one at that. He didn’t seem one to show mercy. That alone is bad enough, but if there was one thing I knew about serial killers, I’d that they’re extremely charismatic. They have to be to fool so many people into thinking they’re normal. Capable of empathy. Capable of clemency and humanitarianism. Often times, their family and friends had no idea what they were.

But Blinky knew, shouldn’t that be worse? Your swapping a lie, which is objectively bad, for honesty. But that isn’t honourable in this case. It was horrifying. So why wasn’t Blinky scared of him, of their father, the man who raised them to think that all of this sick shit was normal, ok even. Isn’t that what makes him so terrible, not only is he spreading vitriol and hatred, but he was spreading his curse. Tainting them, corrupting them in the most unholy way.

I wasn’t sure how long Blinky had been with them, but it wasn’t forever. I knew that much. They’d vaguely alluded to having been in my position in the past. So what was it, Stockholm Syndrome? Was that the fate I would be made to suffer? Caring for the people who once, and probably still do want my death. But then again, how did he come to care for them this deeply, so quick? If she wasn’t made from his blood, or left to his care as a babe, then how long am I to wait.

There was something special about Blinky, something entirely contagious. But I didn’t have that, I was just… me. I hadn’t even realised we were back to the truck until I was climbing inside. But Otis didn’t turn the keys. I slowly brought my gaze to meet his.

“Whatcha thinking about pretty lady?” He asked.

But his tone was still condescending, that wasn’t a sincere complement. So why was I blushing? Why was my heart racing, betraying me?

“If this is about what I said earlier-“

“It’s not.”

I didn’t know if he’d be upset with me for dwelling on it. I was stupid to hope he’d ever share even a modicum of respect, or humility towards me.

“I was going to say, before you cut me off, that the truth is, I don’t know. I don’t know what I would have done with you. You good with that?”

I nodded. At least he wasn’t lying to me.

“Why do you care for Blinky so much?”

“They make me feel things I thought I was no longer capable of feeling. They make me better.” He said earnestly.

“Well, I’m glad you have them.”

And the conversation ended there. I just wanted to be back to the house. Back near Blinky where I was safe. I hated feeling this helpless against my situation. Of course, I could have made a scene in that store. Yelled and screamed about how he was kidnapping me. It technically wasn’t a lie, the only difference is I was already trapped. Where was there for me to go if I got out? Could I ever go back to a normal life after that? Just forget haunted by this horrible memory in my past.

“Let’s just go home.” I sighed.

Home. What a strange concept, to think this place would be where I’d stay the rest of my life. Unless by some chance we moved. But they didn’t seem like the pack up and leave type. Otis and I worked silently to unpack the groceries. And I slipped away to go find Blinky when it was done. I shouldn’t say I was surprised to find them sitting on Otis’ bed, seemingly waiting for me.

“So, how was it?” They asked excitedly.

I raised my brow, stepping into the room.

“You’re trip outside silly! I wasn’t even allowed to go out for like 4 months after I got here. He must really like you.” They concluded.

Like is a strong word, I wouldn’t necessarily go that far. I sighed.

“It was nice Blinky, I got you these.” I handed them the bag.

“You got me a gift?”

The look on their face made my heart melt. They looked like they were about to cry, they were so happy. She tore into the bag and smiled happily.

“These are my favourite! How did you know?”

“Otis helped.” I said, sitting beside them on the bad.

They engulfed me into a spine breaking hig, and I had to stifle a laugh.

“Blink, can’t breath.” I said.

“Right, sorry. I’m just- thank you. This means a lot to me.”

“It’s just candy.”

They shook their head.

“Nobody ever really gets me things. So thank you Doe Eyes.”

The name sounded much nicer coming out of their mouth. I couldn’t bring myself to hate it, it was sort of growing on me. I flopped down backwards on the bed.

“You ok?” They asked.

“Just tried.”

“We could take a nap.” They suggested.

They hopped off the bed and pulled up the covers.

“Otis won’t mind, he’s gonna be busy making dinner.”

I laughed. It was odd how domestic she made him seen. Like your average father, cooking for his family and taking care of the house. I wish that was all there was too him. But there was this darkness, this wickers, heinous, black hearted side to him. One that seemed all consuming. I was brought of of my thought when Blinky practically pounced on top of me. They really had no concept of personal space.

“No thinking, it’s sleepy time.” The giggled.

I rolled my eyes, scooting backwards on the bed, carefully to not accidentally knock them off the side. They last thing I needed right now was them hitting their head because of me. Otis would surly have my head for that. They moved with me, laying down on top of my chest. I pulled the blankets up over us and closed my eyes.

I suppose there was no safer place to sleep than beside Blinky. No one would bother us if they were actually resting for once. I hadn’t been here long, but even I picked up on the fact that they didn’t sleep much. It was almost like they were afraid too. I wrapped my arms around them, basically using them as a teddy bear. Perhaps they felt safe in my arms too.

I was surprised when I woke up and it was dark outside. How long had I slept for? There was no light on in the room, but I could see a figure in the corner. A figure I knew all to well.

“We’ll good morning sleepy head.” He whisper shouted, carful not to wake Blinky.

“What time is it?”

“Almost nine. You missed dinner, Mama wasn’t all that happy about it. But I told you you were with Blink.”

I nodded, trying to process my surroundings. Otis had a book in his hand, I wasn’t sure how he could read in this lighting, perhaps he was accustomed to the dark. I tried to move, but he made a tsk sound.

“Don’t wake them.” He warned.

His tone was low and menacing. I just nodded once more. It seems I would be stuck here until Blinky was rested. But it beat doing chores I guess. I shifted slightly to make them more comfortable, their head was at an awkward angle and I didn’t want them to wake up with a sore neck. Otis went back to reading, as if I wasn’t even there. Had he been watching us sleep earlier? I heard him sigh.

“I can hear you thinking from over here.” He muttered.

He stood up, moving to sit on the edge of the bed, presumably so he wouldn’t have to talk so loud. I felt small right now, totally helpless with the fact that I couldn’t leave. That he was holding all the cards. That he was staring down at me with those eyes that have seen so many horrors.

“You’re still scared of me.” He finally said.

“Don’t you want me to be?”

He let out an exasperated sigh. Almost as if everything I said frustrated him tremendously. But the feeling was mutual. His eyes shifted to Blinky, and he reached out to move some hair out of their eye. It was tender and soft, something I wasn’t sure he was capable off. Otis Driftwood was possibly the most confusing man on the planet. A bundle of open ended contradictions.

“You know I chose you for a reason right?”

I scoffed, he didn’t choose me. Blinky did. He made that very clear earlier.

“I could have let Baby or Spaulding handle you, but I didn’t. That should count for something.”

“Great, so you tortured me instead of them. I feel so loved right now Driftwood.”

“Shit happens, you’ll get over it. I’m not torturing you right now am I?”

Oh but he was. My skin was crawling to get away from him, but my head got all fuzzy at the thought of leaving. He gave me no reason to assume he would hurt Blinky, but you couldn’t be too careful. Sure, they were technically an adult, but they didn’t really act like it. They weren’t mature enough to handle these sort of adult things. Would she be sad if I left, if I died, if I was brutally murdered by her father in a fit of rage?

“You know, conversations only work if you respond.”

He sounded impatient.

“What am I meant to say Otis? Thank you for only torturing be a few days then having a change of heart? Tell that to my scars, they don’t know the difference.” I hissed out in a whisper.

I instinctively held Blinky closer, their presence being the only thing keeping me from blowing up in anger right now.

“Excuse me for needing time to adjust.”

“You can have all the time in the world to be mad at me little Missy. But Blinky likes you, they don’t take to too many strangers. If I even do much as think you’re going to try and run, I will kill you were you stand. Blinky or not. They’ve grown attached, which means you’re stuck with me, and I’m stuck with you. At least I’m trying to make this less miserable.”

“So you’re calling a truce?” I laughed.

The movement causing Blinky to move slightly, but I hushed them back to sleep. Softly petting her hair, which was surprisingly calming. He rolled his eyes.

“Something like that.”

“I don’t forgive you, I’ll make that very clear. But for Blinky’s sake, I’ll remain civil if you do.”

He was putting in an effort at least, and that did count for something in my book. Maybe he wasn’t entirely bad. I was terrified to think what would have happened to me if Baby had gotten to me first instead.

“Move over.” He said.

I hesitantly did so, and he crawled into his bed.

“It’s easier to sleep if they’re not running around doing god knows what.” He said tiredly.

He rolled over so his back was facing us. It took about an hour for me to fall back asleep, I wanted to make sure he was really sleeping before I felt comfortable.

Some time had passed again when I was woken up by a noise in the house. Sure, it was a stupid horror movie trope to go investigate, but if there was anything I hated, it was being a sitting duck. I carefully slid Blinky off of me and toward her father. I couldn’t lie it was kind of adorable watching them snuggle up to him so readily. I head another noise and it sounded like someone was breaking into the house. I carefully stepped out into the hallway, and it wasn’t Baby or RJ, their doors were both closed still.

There were no lights on in the house, so it wasn’t Mrs Firefly or Spaulding either. And Tiny didn’t leave the basement much, so that was unlikely. Someone had definitely broken in. I snuck around, using the dark as my cover. Who the fell would be all the way out here in the middle of the night? It’s not like we had much worth stealing. But then I thought of worse, I’m sure the Firefly’s had their enemies. They weren’t exactly pleasant company.

I tried to sneak to the kitchen, hoping at least to grab a knife to arm myself. I didn’t want to hurt anybody, but if they hurt me first I would have to. It’s not like I could just run back to Otis’s room, he’d think I was trying to leave. Damn it. There was a louder crash as the intruder knocked over a lamp in the living room. That surely would have woken someone up. I cursed under my breath.

They turned on a light and I could see them from around the corner. It was a man, probably twice my size, and shit, he was holding a knife. Definitely didn’t come here just to steal stuff. I took a step back trying to hide myself against the wall, but the floor creaked under my foot. He spotted me. I tried to make a B-line back to the room, but he caught my foot, tripping me. The crack of my body hitting the floor echoed off the wall. He tries to pull me towards him but I kept kicking.

Why wasn’t I screaming. It was liek I’d forgotten how. Like my voice was caught in my throat. Luckily for me when I landed a hit on his crotch, he let out a yowl. I saw the light from Otis’a room turn on immediately. But before I could run, the man pulled me up by my hair and held the knife to my throat threateningly. I remained painfully still so he wouldn’t accidentally cut me. Otis was in the hall now, trying to process the scene happening before him. I could hear footsteps, Blinky was certainly awake now too. Shit.

I was hoping Otis wasn’t delusional enough to blame this on me. It’s not my fault I’m a light sleeper. Or that this idiot broke into the house. I was pissed actually. I lived here now, wether I liked it or not.

“Go back in the room Blinky.” I heard Otis’s stern voice.

Yes, please stay inside the room. I didn’t need the attackers attention on them. She was surly an easier target, anyone could see that. And if Blinky got hurt, that would be blamed on me. And I’m not sure if I’d able to forgive myself for letting that happen. But Blinky was stubborn and peaked their head past the door anyway. Her eyes met mine and they widened horrified.

“I think you’ve got the wrong house.” Otis said to the intruder. “You’d do best to leave the girl.” He warned.

He was actually trying to defend me. If my head wasn’t spinning with adrenaline right now, I might have found it endearing. I saw Blinky slip back into the room, thank god. I tried to move, but he pulled me up to my feet, brining the knife even closer to my neck, I could feel the sting of the cold blade on my flesh, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

“No, I think I have the right house Driftwood. You and your little family here, killed by brother.”

“So what, you want revenge.” Otis laughed.

Why was he antagonising him right now.

“There’s only one of you, you do the math, or we’re to too stupid to go to school?”

I growled under my breath. Was he trying to get me killed? Maybe then he could put the blame on this stranger and Blinky wouldn’t hate him for it. What I hadn’t realised was he was stalling, letting the guy back him up further into the hallway until we were passed his room. Maybe he would wake RJ to help him handle this. But I wasn’t expecting what happened next.

I was suddenly dropped to the floor, the knife barley knocking my skin as it was knocked four of his hand. I held my hand to my neck, trying to slow the blood in any way possible. I dont think it was deep enough to kill me, but damn did it hurt. I flipped myself over onto my back, turning to look at the intruder so he wouldn’t be past my line of sight. But what I saw was horrifying.

There stood Blinky with a baseball bat, now covered in blood. Breathing heavily, almost like a dog who was panting. She kept saying something over and over but it didn’t sound like it was in English. As they bashed his head in, breaking bone after bone as his body and face contorted horribly. I’d never seen them like this, never thought to imagine such a thing. They were so sweet and innocent, but now I understood it better. This wasn’t Stockholm Syndrome, this was survival. They were just as capable of anyone else in this fucked up family, that much was clear.

The man’s face was entirely caved in, and practically turned to soup on the floor. Blinky had a fiery rage in their eyes, and their entire body was trembling wildly. They finally looked up to meet my eyes, and quickly threw the bag behind them. Rushing towards me. I didn’t mean to, but out of instinct I backed away. Otis was behind me, and my back hit his legs. Blinky slowed their apprch and gently knelt down beside me, grabbing my face in their bloody hands.

Without saying a single word, they pulled me into a tight hug. Even tighter than the one earlier today. I could feel there muscles tensing and untensing wildly, like they were fighting so hard to control their movements. They pulled back and looked at me again.

“I thought I was gonna loose you Doe Eyes.”

Their voice was so soft it almost broke me. How could they be so gentle with me after doing that? Killing a man without a second thought, no remorse, no hesitation. I brought my hand up to grab theirs, rubbing my hand against their bloody knuckles.

“I’m here, I’m right here.” I said softly.

Baby had come into the hall now, she probably hadn’t heard much considering she felt with her headphones on. And her taste in music was quite loud.

“What in fucks name happened here?” She asked.

“Blinky just made their first kill.” Otis said proudly.

Like it was a father talking about his child getting onto the little league team. But he wasn’t talking about that, he was talking about a man’s life. A horrible man, who most likely would have killed me. I would have to thank Blinky later. But did he say, first? They’d never killed before? They killed someone just to protect me?

“Let’s gets you cleaned up ok. Are you hurt anywhere else?” They asked, tears streaming down their face.

I shook my head.

“I’m- I’m ok. I said shakily.”

“Otis-“

“I’ll go get the first aid kit. Baby, get RJ to help you get rid of this creep. We’ll clean this up in the morning.

“Gladly.” Baby smiled.

She sent me a gentle wave as she bound down the hallway to wake the boy.

“Can you stand?”

My legs were a little shaky, the adrenaline still high, but I suppose I could manage. I would have to. I let them lead me to the bathroom where the sat me down on the toilet seat. I watched as they expertly sorted through the medical kit like they’ve done this 1000 times before.

“Baby likes to pick victims who are a challenge, I think she likes the pain.” They explained, as if they’d read my mind.

“Let me see please.”

I removed my hand from my neck.

“This is gonna sting a little, but I have to clean it.”

Their hands were a little shaky, tiny sobs trying to escape their body as they tried to focus. I hissed when the rag touched my cut, and they flinched back

“No, Blinky it’s ok… you can keep going.”

The hesitantly went back to cleaning it. The turned my head from side to side, checking for other injuries.

“I don’t think you’ll need stitches. Good thing too cause I’m not very good at them yet. The necks a delicate place.”

They moved to get some tape, cutting it into thin stripes, and stretching it vertically across the cut, bringing the skin closer together. They then wrapped a bandage around my neck for good measure. Leaving a gentle kiss where the deepest part of the cut was.

“All better?” They asked.

I had to try not to fry in front of them. I was sure if I broke down, they would loose the thin veil of composer they were working so hard to keep right now. I couldn’t bring myself to speak so I just nodded.

“Why?” The suddenly asked.

“What?”

“Why did you leave the room? Why would you go out there alone Doe, what were you thinking? What if we hadn’t- what if I didn’t wake up in time?”

Oh no. I knew where this was going. They were going to be even more afraid of falling asleep now. That’s not what I wanted.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, he’s sorry. You’re foolish.”

This that, the turned away, packing up the supplies and storming out of the bathroom. I hadn’t expected them to blow up on me like that, but they were right. It was stupid. I would surly never make that mistake again. Otis leaned against the door, but for once didn’t have that stupid look on his face. He looked concerned as I sat there utterly defeated.

“Give them time to cool off. I still remember my first kill, and I wanted nothing more than to be alone after. But she’s right, you are stupid.”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

I couldn’t hold back my tears anymore. He made his way across the room, kneeling before me.

“Are you really that unhappy here? We’re trying our best to be nice to you.”

“It’s- it’s not that. I just, you told me not to wake them, I thought I could handle it.” I cried.

He let out a guttural sound akin to a growl. It seemed the two people I thought I had figured out most in this house, we’re full of surprises. He didn’t say another word, quickly picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder. I was entirely stunned and dumbfounded, to exhausted to care at this point. I thought maybe he was going to punish me, instead he just pushed open the door to the room and threw me down on the bed.

“Get some more rest.” Was all he said, before closing the door and supposedly leaving to handle the body in the hallway.

It was much easier to fall back asleep than I thought. Blinky’s teddy bear, Sir Isaac Newton was still on the bed. I held him close as I cried myself back to sleep. Hopefully tomorrow things would go back to normal.

Otis’s POV:

Maybe I hit her upside the head one to many times. What the fuck was she thinking? I was angry when I woke up and noticed she wasn’t in my bed. I thought I had finally gotten through to her, explained that I wasn’t going to hurt her unless she made me. But what I found was even worse.

I recognised the man vaguely, when he mentioned his brother it hit me. He was one of the few people that was lucky enough to actually escape. But he wouldn’t be leaving this time, I was sure of it. I heard Blinky stir and I tried to get them to stay in the room, but as usual, curiosity got the better of them. I recognised that look in their eyes when they saw Doe Eyes. I knew it all to well.

I stalled the man as I watched Blinky head to the corner and grab my old bat. This should be fun I thought. I kept him moving towards me in the hall, egging him on so Blinky could slip past undetected. I’d never seen them so furious before, it was sort of adorable. The raised the bat and hit him harshly over the head, making him drop Doe Eyes. I had half expected them to just stop at that, I’d gladly do the honours of killing this freak.

But I couldn’t tear my eyes away as they just kept wailing on him. They were saying something in their native language, and I didn’t need to speak it to know whatever they were saying was foul. Their tiny body shake with rage as they beat him to a bloody pulp. I’d never been more proud in my entire life. I was never going to push them to kill if they didn’t want to. So long as they never judged us for it, which she never did.

She had blood splattered all over her face and arms, chunks of his brain flung into their hair. It was brutal and totally blood mess. Of course, maybe I should be checking on Doe Eyes, who was now bleeding at me feet, but I wanted to wait. Wanted to see how Blinky would respond when they snapped out of it. Be there if they began to panic. It was a likely reaction, I’ve seen them have a melt down over less. I wasn’t sure how they’d react to the sensory of warm blood being on their skin.

But I was surprised when they didn’t even seem to react, turning right back into their sweet loving self and rushing to dote on Doe Eyes. They were crying, and I couldn’t stand to watch it. I hated when Blinky cried. I took charge of the situations as Baby came out of her room. I lingered get the bathroom as Blinky patched her up. Blinky was mad, that much was obvious.

They pushed past me as they rushed out of the bathroom, stomping down the hall. I debated for a moment going after them, but I was torn when I heard Manon begin to cry as well. Fuck me, why were women so emotional. I chose instead to help her, knowing Blinky wouldn’t forgive me if I left her sitting there crying. Frankly, I was mad at her too. How could she be so reckless! I just told her Blinky would be deviated I’d something happened to her, and she goes and rushed head first into danger unprepared. Tomorrow morning I would have to train her. Teach her self defence.

I didn’t know hot to comfort her when she cried. So I did what I always do with Blinky when they’re upset, send them to their room. I closed the door behind me once we was safe and locked away. I couldn’t risk her getting hurt again so soon, or getting cold feet and finally deciding to run. So I locked the door behind me. I’d have to clean up this mess, which was the last thing I wanted to do today. And then I’d have to track down Blinky. They probably went up to the roof again to think.

Today was going to be a miserably long a day…

An: Yay, finally finished. I hope I got Manon’a character right. I tried really hard to explain how their strange relationship started blossoming 🥰

[vincent-sinclair-deserved-better]

When it's too late, you'll see, just wait

Selena's point of view of these happenings + I think she has some issues

Characters: Ghost, Blinky, Doe Eyes, Otis, RJ

Words: 2847

Content warnings: Racism, Christianity (negative, I'm also just making up a lot of stuff as I go), allusions to torture and murder

dividers by firefly-graphics

The day had been calm and quiet so far, almost unsettlingly so. Manon and I were busy with chores, Spaulding was at the gas station, Otis was working on some art project, and RJ had taken Mama and Baby shopping – I pitied him a little. What Blinky was up to was anyone’s guess, I hadn’t seen them at breakfast and couldn’t recall having ran into them since then either. I had just gone downstairs to take off the curtains for cleaning when there was a knock on the door. I froze. Manon was still working somewhere around, and neither Manon nor Blinky where anywhere in sight. 

They hadn’t left me alone with a stranger since I had gotten here and I considered just waiting, when a female, oddly off-putting voice called: “Hello? I know someone is in there, I saw you move! Answer the door right now!” 

I flinched, immediately thrown back to my time at the convent. Without even thinking about it, I went to door and opened it. “Hello? How can I help you?”  

My voice sounded strange in my head, unfamiliar, like it wasn’t actually mine. 

The woman practically shoved a photograph in my face and I had to step back a little to make out anything. It was a picture of the woman with a young man. Her son? 

“I’m looking for this boy, have you seen him?” 

My eyes settled back on her though I was hardly able to focus on her features. With a sigh, I replied: “No ma’am, I have not. Let me go ask the others, they might be able to help you.” 

The woman, visibly displeased with my response, snapped at me. “Other people live here?”  

I nodded, torn between wanting to run and my conditioning to just be quiet and bear whatever treatment was about to befall me. Just then, I saw movement in the corner of my eye and the tell-tale sound of Manon’s heels on the floor. Instinctively, I stepped aside to make space for her. 

“Can I help you?” she asked, voice even and calming as always. The woman made no move to respond, so I spoke up: “This woman is looking for someone.” 

Manon seemed to be contemplating her next action for a moment, which made sense given that neither of us had been involved in any of the family’s activities so far. “I’m not sure how much help I will be then. Perhaps Otis knows where this boy has gone.” 

“Does anyone here know anything or do you only have those heads to look pretty?” the woman hissed and I flinched at the hostility. When I went to shoot Manon a questioning look, I noticed Otis already standing behind me and jumped a little. 

The woman, seemingly startled as well, took a step back, when something above us seemed to suddenly catch her attention. 

“There you are you little brat!” she yelled, and just when I realised that she mut have seen Blinky, they already landed on the ground between the woman and us. Blinky said something I didn’t understand, and before I had time to grasp what was happening, the woman had grabbed Blinky’s arm, saying something about “mother” and “daughter” and “son”. I felt myself zoning out and even though I knew that it would probably be best to remain focused in the present situation, I just couldn’t find it in myself to care. 

Manon’s voice was still calm, always the rational one, while the woman kept yelling. Then there was Spaulding’s voice and I wondered how he had gotten here. It was so bright outside, even just looking out the door was beginning to strain my eye, so I was glad when everyone went inside. 

“Where. Is. My. Son?” the woman's voice pierced through the fog in my head, the sharpness of her voice along with the way it seemed much louder in a closed room forcing me back into reality. She was holding Blinky’s arm, who looked terrified, but Otis just laughed. 

“You think this is funny?” the woman hissed but with everyone else here it wasn’t as scary anymore. 

Otis just grinned, a cruel grin, and even though I didn’t know what had happened, it was obvious that it hadn’t been good. “Considering your sons fertilising our garden, yeah, it’s a little funny.” 

I could feel my lips stretch into a smile, even though I rationally knew that this kind of stuff shouldn’t make a person laugh. Spaulding, who I now saw was holding a gun, seemed tense, and when I glanced over to Manon I noticed her clenching her fists. Strangely enough, I didn’t feel worried. Not because I didn’t care about Blinky – I just... felt like everything would be alright. 

“You wanna know what I did to him?” Otis continues, slowly moving towards them. “I first started with cutting out his tongue, and watching him struggle not to choke on his own blood.” 

The woman stared at him with absolute horror, her grip starting to loosen, yet I couldn’t really focus on them. I was almost entranced by Otis words. “And then I started breaking his bones, hearing his gurgled pleas as he begged me to stop. Only after I skinned him alive did I grant him the mercy of death.” 

I found myself trying to imagine the whole scenario, how it would’ve been to witness it, and almost missed when the woman tried to attack Otis. Manon rushed over to Blinky and only now I realised that they were shaking and crying. They were clutching Manon like she was the only thing keeping them standing, and I cautiously walked up behind them, rubbing their back in a somewhat helpless gesture of comfort. 

Spaulding managed to knock the woman out and they brought her away, Blinky requesting for her not to be killed right away, while Manon checked them for injuries. They said they were fine, yet winced when Manon touched their arm, and my heart broke a little. However, their next words caused an emotion I had not felt before, not to that extent at least. “She’s done worse, I’m fine.” 

Never before in my life, not even in the time I had been here, had I wanted to hurt someone. I didn’t mind what the family did and ultimately was glad that they had killed the Sisters, but I hadn’t felt any regret that I hadn’t been the one to do it. 

But now, after hearing those words, the uncharacteristical coldness of Blinky’s voice, and remembering their tears and the fear in their eyes while their mother used them as a means to put pressure on us, I wanted to make her suffer. Not just watch, I wanted, needed, to do it myself. This anger inside of me was almost overwhelming and made me feel hot all over, like I was burning. People could have told me it was the fire of the devil running through my blood and I wouldn’t have cared. I couldn’t make sure that woman would go to hell after her death, but we could make her real-world experience as similar as possible. 

Despite my better judgement, I followed Blinky to where their mother had been put, and listened in on their conversation. Everything I heard only added fuel to the fire that was my rage, the things that vile woman said, Blinky’s talk about what their father had done, and how even now it was all about the dead son. 

When Blinky caught me in the hallway and scolded me I did feel bad, however. I hadn’t meant for them to catch me, but then again, I wouldn’t have wanted to keep secrets from them either. I just hadn’t meant to upset them even further. 

Before I could stop myself, the question had slipped past my lips: “What did your father do to you?” 

Like I didn’t know. Like I had never heard of the things clergymen do with children, what men do to women. In that sense, my looks protected me. No one had wanted to touch me, but other girls in the convent hadn’t been that lucky. 

“What didn’t he do to me?” Blinky replied, and their voice was filled with such a deep-seated sadness and grief it felt almost tangible. I wished it had been, I wished I could have just taken it from them and replaced it with something good. 

“We’re gonna fix this.” I said thoughtlessly, repeating empty phrases I had heard others use. 

They just shook their head at that. “I appreciate the gesture Selena, but there’s no fixing this. There’s no changing the past. What’s done is done, you move on, you get stronger. That’s the way these things work I’m afraid.” 

With that, they left, and all I could do was watch. I didn’t know how to comfort people, and besides, they were right. There was no changing the past. I knew that better than anyone else. I just wished Blinky hadn’t had to go through that, that there hadn’t been the need for them to be strong. Children should be protected. They deserved to feel safe and loved and valued. 

Yet it seemed like Blinky didn’t get that. Neither did I. Or many others I knew. I felt tears welling up in my eyes and a lump threatening to form in my throat. It was too much, the memories, the things I knew but hadn’t been aware of-  

I quietly entered the room, a set of two differently coloured eyes fixed on what didn’t even deserve to be labelled a person anymore. 

“And who are you supposed to be little girl?” she snapped, voice shaking with anger that was really only trying to cover her fear. It didn’t bother me. 

“My name is Ghost,” I said calmly, not allowing any emotion to tint my voice. “And I am here to teach you about sin and punishment.” 

“You know, they used to just stone or burn people. You will not be granted such mercy. So, as the wife – or widow – of a priest, you certainly know about the cardinal sins, right?” 

She scoffed. “You cannot scare me, girlie. I’ve been through worse.” 

“Let’s see,” I continued, unbothered by her words. “Vanity or Pride – you certainly are a proud woman, aren’t you? Seeing yourself as better than others, better than people of colour – you said it yourself, how you were embarrassed about having to raise them.” 

“Greed - again, Blinky said how they had to buy everything for themself because you apparently couldn’t be bothered to spend even a penny on them. You kept everything for yourself and your wanted children.” 

“You wouldn’t understand what it’s like to live like that,” she said. “You don’t understand how people stare, how they judge you, just because your child is the wrong colour.” 

“Just as you can’t understand what it is like to be the actual subject of that judgement and hatred,” I commented. “To be ostracised for your looks. Anyway, to continue: Lust. You cheated on your husband, right?” 

She didn’t respond, but I hadn’t expected her to. 

“Aside from the fact that in the Old Testament adultery was punished with death, I would say that it does fall under the category of lust. After all, you were evidently so controlled by your desires that you weren’t even capable of remaining faithful to your husband.” 

“And what about him?” she interrupted me. “He was even worse, the things the horny fucker did to those kids, and then the coward had the audacity to kill himself.” 

“He’s dead, there’s nothing to be done about it,” I replied. 

“Hmm... I’ll have to skip over Envy and Gluttony, I suppose. Wrath, however, is simple, you’ve shown enough of it just in the short time you have been here,” I stated. “And according to Blinky, you’ve done worse in the past.” 

“Finally, we have Sloth. I Do not know if you work or not, but you certainly failed to care for your own child, and not due to a lack of ability but simply not wanting to. Isn’t it funny how much of these could have been prevented if only you had done what you should have and been an actual mother?” 

She looked at me, eyes filled with hatred, but also fear. 

“Oh, you really think you are so smart, don’t you?” she said, with a fake laugh that was probably supposed to sound unfazed, but the obvious hatred and glimmer of fear in her eyes betrayed her. “Do you really think you, basically a child, can teach me anything? You don’t know what you are talking about.”  

I returned her gaze unwavering. “I lived in a convent for fifteen years; from the time I turned nine. And even before that, all I was told were bible stories and prayers and psalms. I was never to speak anything else. I’m still not good at finding my own words, but I do know the bible.” 

“And whyever would you as a child have been sent to a convent?” she said. 

“They thought me evil, possessed, a witch or demon,” I said, walking over to a shelf that had all kinds of tools on it.  

“Fortunately for you, Otis does seem really into the whole breaking bones thing, and I don’t think he’d appreciate me damaging his toy too much, however,” I said, grabbing a blowtorch from the shelf, “I don’t think he’ll get upset about a little bit of burning, don’t you think?” 

She stared at me wide –eyed, seemingly having believed that I had intended to merely talk, try to scare her. Her efforts to free herself had died down while I had been talking, but she did start to squirm and fight again now. I smiled. 

“I’ll be right back with you, just gotta grab the electric kettle RJ got me. I like to drink tea, you know? Don’t go anywhere.” 

I hurried over to RJ’s room, knocking because I wasn’t if he was back yet, and upon hearing his “come in” I opened the door. “Hey, I just wanted to grab the kettle and my old rosary.” 

He raised a brow. “That’s... an interesting combination. You good?” 

I nodded, digging through my back to find the box with all the religious stuff I still kept. “Yeah, I just don’t particularly like our guest.” 

He didn’t comment but did look at me with curiosity. “Anything else you need?” 

“Ice cubes, maybe? It's not that important though,” I said, and my fingers finally found the beads of the cursed rosary I had been gifted for my first communion – the only gift I had ever been given. 

The string was uncharacteristically long, and I could basically still see the blood on the beads from when I had been lashed with it. The metal crucifix glinted dauntingly, threatening to burn or cut me. 

“Hey, Ghostie,” RJ’s voice pulled me from my thoughts, and he gently put his hand on my shoulder. “You sure that whatever it is you wanna do is a good idea? You’ve been staring at that thing like it’s the devil or something.” 

I took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly, subconsciously reaching for his hand and squeezing it. “Yeah, it’s okay. It can’t hurt me anymore, there’s no one to use it on me. But I can use it, apply what I have learned through personal experience. Allow that woman to get more intimate with the religion her family and her used to hurt others.” 

“Alright, if you say so,” RJ replied, helping me to stand up. “Just... don’t overdo it, okay? Don’t want you having some kind of breakdown or relapse back to your old thought patterns.” 

“I’ll be careful,” I said, giving him a genuine smile, before turning to leave, but then I had a thought. “Actually, there is one more thing I could need your help for.” 

It seemed like the woman had tired herself out to some degree, beads of sweat collecting on her forehead and panting. I put the kettle down and switched it on, before turning to RJ. “Could you maybe just help me to... guide her into a kneeling position? And make sure she cannot run; I know she wouldn’t get far but I really don’t wanna piss off Otis.” 

He just huffed and shook his head at my request, but easily managed to do as I asked. “You want me to stay around? Just in case she tries anything.” 

I looked up at him in surprise, not having expected an offer like this. “I mean, I you don’t have anything better to do...” 

“Go for it, girl. Let’s see the furious, violent Ghost underneath all that ‘demure’ and ‘modest’ behaviour.” 

I snorted, turning on the blowtorch to carefully heat up the metal of the crucifix. “Where’d you learn those words?” 

“Why, sounding too smart for you?” he replied, openly teasing me, which didn’t happen often outside the privacy of his room. 

“Just not sounding like you,” I corrected. “Anyhow, let’s get this party started.” 

@myers-meadow @immortal-velociraptor

me: I'm gonna write something softer

also me: or you could make it at least twice as angsty as necessary :)

though the ending is kinda soft and wholesome, right?

[meadow-selfship]

OC introduction Manon "Doe Eyes"

For the AU we are writing together, @immortal-velociraptor @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better

Name: Manon, nicknamed Doe Eyes by Blinky after arriving at the Firefly House.

Age: 28

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: bisexual

Appearance: White. Likes to wear dark red lipstick. Green/grey eyes. Long black hair around tail-bone length that she keeps in either one or two braids, no fringe but plenty of soft baby hairs. Mid-size (not skinny, not quite plus-size), pear shaped. Her height is 173 cm.

Personality: Mature, reliable, gentle, polite, responsible, reserved. Soft-spoken, but beneath those surface layers rests a plethora of anger issues that occasionally bubble up to the surface (like when with victims). She is the one who reminds others of the rules, but doesn't actually care if they follow them. Due to her upbringing, she is crafty and resourceful and is often the one to get her hands dirty. Is used to being spoken-over and feeling unheard, which reflects in how her relationships with the Firefly's develop. She has trouble acknowledging that she can lose her temper and can be destructive and cruel.

Style: Formal. Wears blouses, often embroidered at the collar, tucked into long skirts. Always buttons blouses up all the way, very proper. The colours she wears are mostly black and white, a lot of all-black outfits, with occasional patterns in jewel tones; burgundy, deep purple or forest green. Wears a lot of jewelry, mostly earrings, rings and necklaces. The pieces she has are very sentimental to her and she wears them always.

Dreams: Even with all of it, what she really wants, are some things of her own. Time that is her own to do with as she please, so she can let the chores be without facing bad consequences. She wants to no longer share her belongings with people who don't ask or respect her, as that reminds her of the bad aspects her 'old' family. Above all: she wants a destiny and a life of her own.

Her past: As the eldest of her siblings, she was the one who had to be responsible, who had to step up and take care of the family. Manon was a teacher in her home country, where she taught several classes to kids and teens, mainly art and language classes. This wasn't always easy for her, as she gets overstimulated quickly, but she managed. Eventually she found a different job at a library, which she adored doing.

Method of killing: Blunt instruments, something with a nice swing and weight to it; baseball bat, hammer or axe. Whatever's around. Will experiment with torture later on.

[devil-doll13]

Moodboard Masterlist 📸

Slashers:

Brahms Heelshire

My OCs:

Abigail Williams

Witches’ Valley ⚡️ (medieval au)

Of Blood And Wine 🍷

Saturnine 🪐

Nurse’s Office 🧸 (orphanage au w/ Selena & Odile)

Death, Judgement & Three of Swords 🃏

Judith “Jude” Bell

Dawnrazor 🌅

Gold Dust Woman ⚜️

In Our Angelhood 👼

Mary On A Cross ✝️

I’d Make A Deal With God ⛪️

Death, Judgement & Three of Swords 🃏

Zachariah “Zach” Johnson

Demon Cleaner 👿

Psalm 23 📖

Dawnrazor 🌅

Cold Case In Harlem 🗞️

Death, Judgement & Three of Swords 🃏

Drinks of Choice (Zach & Cathryn) 🩸

Maxwell “Max” Holt

Givin’ The Dog A Bone 🦴

Living After Midnight 🌉

I Was A Teenage Werewolf 🕹️

Things’ll Work Out Just Fine 🐕

Strange Girl ✨ (Max x Izzy)

We Will Need Some Pizza Too 🍕(Max And Cylas)

The Fool, The Moon & Five of Cups 🃏

Ciarán 🗡️

Deathrider 💀

Adam 🌱

Treehugger 🌳

Mountains of Mars 🌋

Brand New Person 🌿

Nox Library 📚

Item 411-1

Other People’s OCs:

I’ll Be Seeing You 🕊️ (Tilly Maynard belonging to @flower-crowned-lady)

Why Don’t You Do Right? 💋 (Lauren Hayworth belonging to @flower-crowned-lady)

Caged Bird 🐦 (Anansi belonging to @flower-crowned-lady)

Ready To Blow 🔪 (Cylas Kier belonging to @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better)

Fascination Street 🌹(Manon “Doe Eyes” Driftwood belonging to @myers-meadow)

When The Sun Hits ☀️ (Eleonora Mason belonging to @rottent33th

They Say I’m Sick 🦇 (Olivier Benoit belonging to @rottent33th)

Snake Dance 🐍 (Griffin Marks belonging to @rottent33th)

By The Sea 🌊 (Calder Beachum belonging to @rottent33th)

Postscript🦞(Calder Beachum belonging to @rottent33th)

Graveflower 🪦 (Milo Vess belonging to @slaasherslut)

Graveyard Shift💀 (Milo Vess belonging to @slaasherslut)

Poltergeist 👻 (Milo Vess belonging to @slaasherslut)

Ouroboros ⚕️(Mischa belonging to @myers-meadow)

Luna 🌕 (Selena “Ghost” Firefly belonging to @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better)

Persephone 🦢 (Odile belonging to @solmints-messyocdiary)

Black Cathedral ⛪️ (The Priest belonging to @solmints-messyocdiary)

By Moots:

Abigail Williams

The Devil’s Mark 🖤 (by @rottent33th)

Shadow Dancer 🔮 (by @slaasherslut)

Abby x Knight!Clay 🗡️ (by @rottent33th, medieval au)

Style Moodboard Request (done by @myers-meadow)

Judith “Jude” Bell

Style Moodboard Request (done by @myers-meadow)

Maxwell “Max” Holt

Hunted Down 🐾 (by @rottent33th)

[myers-meadow]

Try me out sometime: House of 1000 Corpses AU

Title: Try me out sometime

Wordcount: 4450

Summary: Manon finds her footing a little - although bullying by Otis continues :). Selena is welcomed into the Firefly house <3. Blinky belongs to @immortal-velociraptor, Selena belongs to @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better.

Warnings: masturbation, canon-typical violence.

Dividers by firefly-graphics and thyming.

Enjoy!! I really hope you like this and I did it all justice;; I'm still a bit nervous but I'm really getting better about writing your OCs <3. For this, I feel that I'm slowly coming into my writing style, which is somewhat impressionist and a little fragmented at times. I tried formatting it in a way that made it easier to read, let me know if that worked. I haven't had this much fun writing in ages :)).

Another day, November was truly setting in with grey skies and colder weather. The mood dampened inside the home, and even the usually cheerful Blinky seemed less energetic. I was new here, and I still felt new, adjusting was tough, but Otis was right. Moping around won’t help a thing. So, I asked Mrs. Firefly and Baby if we could have a special movie night. All that was left, was finding Blink themselves. It was already after dinner. Chores were done, and each time I passed a mirror I was struck by the white bandage Blinky insisted I keep around the small wound from the intruder. It barely hurt, through, it was more the shock of it all. It was more that the blood stain was still vaguely visible, but that may just be my imagination.    

As if to shake me from my worries, a pretty puff of hair entered my vision.

“Hey Blinky,” I said, catching their attention. They turned around. Today they wore their hair in just one puff, but still took some time to adorn it with cute hair clips. “Mrs. Firefly asked if we wanted to see a movie with her tonight.”

“Sounds fun.” They said. Despite their facial expressions often remaining neutral, they were easy to read by now. “Is Baby joining?”

“Yes, they’re out getting popcorn for it now.”

“Is Otis coming?”

I raised my eyebrows. “No.” I said, a little too quickly.

They shrugged and almost went on their way again.

“Also, Blink,” I said. They looked up at me, and my heart squeezed in guilt. “I’m sorry about being foolish. It won’t happen again.” I waved my hand around. They nodded.

“It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re smiling again.” Their eyes crinkled as they smiled. Perhaps all is not bad in this house, especially not when I feel this lucky to have met Blinky and to get to know them better each day.

“I’m home!” yelled Baby from downstairs. The door slammed shut behind her. “Blinks, where are you? We won’t start without you!”

Blinky, excited, called dibs on the spot in the middle of the couch. Shoulder to shoulder with Baby, legs covered with the old plaid blanket. A bowl of popcorn in their lap, having a little game with Baby of slapping each other’s hands away.

“You need any help in the kitchen?” asked Mrs. Firefly, on her way to the living room, grabbing the plated chocolates.

“No, go ahead and press start, I’ll get the drinks,” I said over my shoulder as I reached for the glasses in the cupboard. Excitement buzzed inside me, fizzling like the cola that I poured into the glasses. A rare treat. I couldn’t wait to hear Blinky’s reaction when they noticed we would be watching their favourite film: American Mary.

When headed to bed, Blinky took my hand and swung it back and forth all the way to the bathroom to brush our teeth. They weren’t the only ones who were happy, as my cheeks almost hurt from smiling that much. We crawled into bed after, and in the dark, I stared at their resting form. They would wait for me to fall asleep and then find another place to sleep, as they usually did, but then, in the silence, in a warm bed – I realised Otis was right. I knew it before, probably, in the way you understand someone may be right, but then, I felt it like an ache in my entire body. Maybe I would never see my friends again or leave this house, but there is enough reason to give staying here a try. It’s nice to be needed.

Morning in the kitchen. Bleak sun shone through the windows. The heating hadn’t yet come on and I hugged my cardigan tighter around me. In about an hour the rest of the family will wake. Despite normally enjoying getting an early start, I didn’t start breakfast. Instead I rested my head on my arms, the wool scratchy against my cheek, and closed my eyes. Exhaling deeply, letting the stress of what was to come- the kettle’s hiss turned into a scream. Hurriedly I got up to turn off the heat. Good thing I grabbed more tea when Otis took me to the store. A delightfully fragrant Earl Grey. As I poured the hot water into the tea pot, I looked out the window. The fields around the house were shrouded in a thin layer of fog that seemed to move and reshape itself the more you looked at it. I averted my gaze. The sound of the pot filling up with water only punctuated the silence.

A silence that was rudely broken by the person I very specifically did not want to see early in the morning. “Morning princess.”

“Morning Otis,” I acknowledged. “What’s got you up this early?”

He shrugged and leaned his arms on the back of one of the kitchen chairs. “Has Blink been sleeping?”

“Not really. I hold them each night, but I know they slip out of bed as soon as I fall asleep.”

Otis groaned and ran his hand over his face. “Looks like we have to take more serious measures.”

“Want some tea?” I asked, already standing up to get a second mug. He took it, his larger hand easily fitting around it. I sat back down and warmed my hands on my own steaming mug.

“Are you still using my toothbrush?” he asked then, staring into the cup in front of him. When I was still in his room as little more than a toy, he’d allow me to eat, use the restroom, basic things like that; which included using his toothbrush.

“No, RJ got my stuff back from the car, so I have my own again.”

He nodded. “I thought so. No more lipstick marks on the handle.” He chuckled.

Even I smiled, it was truly some messy beginnings that we all had. It was silent again. The chair scraped over the floorboards when Otis pulled it back and sat down. To give my hands something to fidget with – still nervous in his company, I played with the hair ribbon Blinky gave me. Perhaps I could do my hair up like the older women used to do, the way my mother taught me. I undid the braid, hands not needing the brain to comb the strands apart with care. The waves from wearing the braid overnight stayed in, helped by the greasiness of my hair at this point in the week. It wasn’t always easy to find a quiet moment to have a longer shower and wash it properly.

Otis reached over the table and to play with a strand of hair, while I did the other side in a braid, to make two in total. I swat his hand away, but he grabbed the my hand, his other pinching my hair between thumb and pointer finger. He let go of my hand, thinking his message clear, and coiling the waves around his finger.

“Our conversations never go anywhere,” I said, voice neutral yet wistful.

“Except when we discuss art.” His usual smug edge was not present as he replied. Was he genuine then? Doubtful. “Come find me later today, I’m working on another project with that man who broke in the house.”

Otis was satisfied with messing with my hair and retracted his hand to take a gulp of tea. He seemed unusually contemplative today. Perhaps it was because Blinky was still not entirely back to their cheerful self, or perhaps he worried as much as I did about them. My first plait was finished. It will hold until I find a second piece of ribbon in Blinky’s room. I hadn’t entirely given up on making each of the family members grow fond of me, or at least used to me in such a way that they would notice when I’d be gone. “Sure, I’ll stop by.”

Tiny sought me out while I was dusting the tops of the shelves. Before he gave me the note he had written, he took the feather duster and did the ceiling and the top of the cabinet I was straining to reach, balancing on top of a short stool.

“Thank you, that’s so sweet of you,” I said, stepping down, and looking at the paper he pressed into my hands. It read: ‘need help with laundry’.

I looked up at him, “I’ll finish this room, then I’ll come to the basement. That ok?”

He nodded, but held the duster tight as I tried taking it from him. When I grabbed the cloth to dust the lower shelves, he worked alongside to clean the spots I couldn’t reach. Together we returned to the basement, where the air was always stale.

I opened a window first, despite the cold. It would warm up fast enough as the boiler is down here too. Tiny pointed to the bed, it was neatly made, standing bashfully in the corner furthest away from me.

“Clean sheets?” I asked. He nodded, turning his head away. When I pulled the duvet back, it was clear why. It came away with a soft sticky sound. White crusty stains littered the sheets. A slam of the door echoed through the basement as Tiny exited the basement. Poor guy, so ashamed of completely natural things. Undoing the buttons at the bottom of the duvet cover, I stripped it, and stripped the bed cover. For good measure, the pillow case too, folding the stains to the inside so I wouldn’t touch it and throwing it in the laundry basket.

As the washing machine turned on, I sank down in front of it, leaning my back against the wall, staring at the water filling the compartment, the repetitive movements and the soft thumping noise of the clothes tumbling over and over. It had been more than a month since I last did what Tiny did. Ah, there was no way to be shy about it. More than a month since I last touched myself with the intent to invoke pleasure. I hadn’t needed it to get to sleep as some other times. Of course I’d noticed, especially around that time in the middle of the menstrual cycle, but the thought of doing it in this house was unfitting. Surely the others did – they lived here. They were safe here. As for me; I would stay vigilant. Pleasure is secondary. If there was one thing I learned from the Protestant work ethic I was raised on, it was this. With a big sigh, I pulled myself up and left the washing to do itself.

Otis leaned against the door frame of his room, arms crossed, when I passed by him to get clean sheets for Tiny’s bed.

“Where were you? I thought I told you to come find me,” he tapped his fingers against his arm impatiently.

I pushed a stray strand of hair back behind my ear and looked him in the eye, eyebrow raised. “If you wanted me to meet you at two twenty-five on the dot, you should have said so.”

He pushed himself off from doorway to let me through, and closed the door behind me. “Where were you off to anyway, hm?”

“You ask that as if I leave this house.” Otis’ room looked a little different. The piles of junk were cleared away from the second bed and its position in the room had been adjusted. He said he was going to do it, but still it was a surprise he followed through. There was still a decent layer of grime on it, but progress is progress. Not that I’d want to sleep in the same room as him. Blinky seemed less picky about where they slept, but I preferred Blinky’s room above all. Their bed was comfortable, and it was a comfort to be surrounded by things that reminded me of them.

Otis stepped threateningly close, grabbed me by the shoulders, and made me walk until I stood in front of the hidden portion of his room, which was covered with a curtain. He kept some tools there, both art and torture related, and perhaps a wardrobe, but I’ve never been back there before.

“Stay,” he said, and drew the curtain to the side. He made something similar before, out of one of the people I came to the house with. My stomach churned at the sight of it. A human body, deconstructed – no: reconstructed. Remade into something half-human, half… creature? It seemingly had hooves and its head was gone.

Pushing down the nausea, I swallowed my pride and good sense like I did many times before when I was still in the chair, and said: “Once again, your use of texture is phenomenal, and the concept behind it is staggeringly original. Despite him not having a face, there is a very clear mood you’ve created. There isn’t an artwork of yours that does not manage to surprise the viewer with you attention to detail.” It felt more like repeating whatever I’d read in the art columns of the newspaper. At least I didn’t have to praise a Rothko. And despite the grim and disgusting nature of his material, he was really skilled as an artist. His control of the material showed as much. It was a mixed feeling to see such talent put to use on such macabre art, but even Van Gogh, known for bright sunflowers and vibrant blue skies, painted skeletons and dead crabs in his time.

He nodded, his smug grin replacing his earlier frown.

“What you did with the ribs is very interesting,” I tried, as he gestured for me to keep going. “Where did you get the hooves? Or did you make those too?”

“Made them with the leather of some old shoes.” His pride sounded in his voice.

“Cool. Blinky’d also like to see what you did with him, I mean, what was left of him, after she uhh-”

“Bashed his head in?” and he sounded even more proud when he spoke of them. I nodded. “They did real well.”

“Really saved my skin, yes,” I said, tight lipped, pulling on the bandage.

“Was the wound that bad?” Otis asked, standing close enough to take up my entire vision. He pushed my hand away to see the spot my skin was nicked properly.

“No, it’s just a scratch,” I said. “Blinky insisted on me keeping it on this morning, but I don’t like it. It’s a reminder of what happened.”

He gave the bandage a tug and peeked at what was underneath. “It’s fine, you didn’t even need stitches. You’ve had worse, yeah? You’re good.”

Something about his tone was off. It was too human, too much of a shift in mood from how proud he just was about his gross artwork.

I pushed his hand away. “That’s not what I mean. I’m worried more about Blink. They seemed very upset. We had a movie night yesterday so I hope it’s a bit better now, but still.”

He nodded.

“Thanks for showing me your new project. I’ll let them know to go see it if I run into them,” I said, making way to the door. “I need to finish some chores. See you at dinner. I put the stuff out to make burgers today.”

The rest of the day was uneventful. Tiny got a clean bed, we had great burgers – veggie for Blink and me, I slept in Blinky’s room but they vanished shortly after dinner. The next few days were also fine. Normal, if a word like that could be used when there was always so much happening in that house. Baby and Blinky banded together to teach me how to do eyeliner. Baby seemed to like it when I dressed up, or perhaps she thought it made me less boring. It was a good time to hang out, it felt like vignette of a previous, easier life. RJ was a menace and hid some of his flannels behind the hamper, but that had no consequences yet. The small things I did to keep myself sane.

Then, I laid in bed at night, having heard the others go to bed, the lights turn off, and Blink was off sleeping in some strange place or doing some crafts – I thought of Tiny’s stained linens and my lack of pleasure since I went on this trip around the USA. Baby probably has a drawer full of toys somewhere. As for Otis, it’s not difficult to imagine him getting off to sadistic torture. Ah, gross, really didn’t wanna think of him. I shifted beneath the sheet. The silence was deafening. There actually was a throbbing between my legs, neglected, wanting, greedy. With a hand that was uncomfortably cold, I pulled up my nightgown and slid it over my cotton panties. Cold. Nevertheless, the nerves were sensitive enough to do as they always did. I pressed a little harder, breath growing shallow. I am a human being, I reminded myself, and I deserve to feel good. As it felt better and more familiar, and my hand was warmed, I pushed my panties to the side, to feel-

The door slammed open, a stripe of light illuminating the bed were I laid, legs sprawled open. As though burned, finger covered in slick, I pulled my hand away and shifted til I laid on my side.

“Where is-” As if it couldn’t get any worse. As if I could ever have a chance of living this down, it had to be the worst person in the family to open that stupid door. He laughed tauntingly. “You were touching yourself.” The realisation was audible in his voice, but this quickly changed to amusement. “Oh, you naughty minx. Who would have thought; you, prim and proper Doe Eyes, touching herself in the dark like a sinner. Well, don’t stop on my account.”

There was no fathomable response to his words. My face and chest burned in shame and the tremble of my bottom lip did enough to let me know that speaking would only make the situation more pathetic for me. Otis sauntered over to the bed, to which I cocooned myself into a ball as tight as I possibly could. The mattress dipped as he leaned on his knee. A hand pet my arm, fingers like a spider, walking up and down on the duvet, following the line down to my but and down my legs, which was easy as I laid entirely curled up with my back to him.

“Ah, don’t tell me you’re ashamed, are you?” he chuckled. When I remained silent and frozen, he seemed to lose interest. “You haven’t seen Blinky by any chance?” he asked then, with a sigh that sounded like a tired parent after the family pet got out again.

“No,” I croaked. “Not seen them since dinner.”

Otis kneaded my bum through the fabric, with another quiet chuckle, and straightened back up. “Well, enjoy, missy. Don’t let me keep you from your nightly… activities.”

The smug smirk sounded through his words, I didn’t even have to see his stupid face and still it chased me into my restless dreams.

The day after went a little different. I slept in quite late, no one bothered me. It seemed he hadn’t told anyone else about it, which was something at least. I avoided everyone. There was a commotion too, but no one told me a thing, so I hid in the bathroom and took a long, hot shower. The worst of it all was, that I didn’t want to be ashamed. I knew it was a normal human thing to do, there’s nothing wrong with it or me. Yet, it felt terribly to have him walk in during such a vulnerable moment. For him to know something so private felt strange – even when realising that he probably satisfied his own urges in some way too, as did enough other people. Strangers, the cashier at the grocery store, the bookstore owner back home, the bassist of my favourite band… Humans, all of them. Complex humans.

The commotion came to a head late in the evening, as we had visitors. Eventually there was one left. A young woman, with hair and skin as white as a sheet. She was shy and withdrawn and was left to her own devices as the evening progressed. She came with a group of nuns, who met their maker earlier than they were planning, unsurprisingly. That must’ve been why it was so easy to avoid everyone the whole day.

Every family member stood in the hall outside the bedrooms, except Tiny, who was in the basement. They argued about what to do with the new visitor, some of them still covered in sticky half-dried blood. They were going to keep her. I didn’t want to think about what it meant about the family, or what it meant for me – to have to share Blinky’s affection and protection, and it was undeniable the girl had been through unimaginable things. I felt for her. They all said their piece, about how it could go.

“She can sleep on the couch,” said RJ.

“I’ll find her a blanket or something,” added Mrs. Firefly. “And a pillow.”

“Blinky, what do you say? Technically there’s space in my room,” said Baby, who’s eyes lit up as they did whenever something exciting was happening.

I gathered my courage to speak up, waiting until it felt like it was my turn. “What if Blinky sleeps in Baby’s room, and I find another mattress so she can have the room to herself? She seems so shy, I think it’s best to let her rest without any interference for a bit.” The family probably knew they could be quite a lot.

“This is not a bad idea. I’m worried about her,” added Blinky. “She’s very overwhelmed. Some time alone will do her good.”

Baby nodded towards Blinky, almost looking proud of them. Otis slung his bloodied arm over my shoulder, pulling me close and pressing a wet kiss to the top of my head.

“Atta girl, y’know there’s a bed just for you here,” he grinned, pointing over his shoulder to his room. I ducked underneath his arm.

“Take a shower first, you smell like death.”

Mrs. Firefly and Spaulding shared a look, “You kids got it all figured out. Goodnight, then.”

That was their cue to leave, and RJ uttered a similar goodbye before heading his own way too. The poor girl… This family of strangers and she’s already been through hell, only to end up here.

As I went downstairs, I heard Blinky, Otis and Baby talking. Blinky said something about using the new sheets, and Baby chatted about the fun she and Blink would have as this was just like a sleepover.

“Hey,” I said softly as I entered the living room, the young woman still sitting on the edge of the chair. “We have a spare room for you. I got you a change of clothes, and a towel. There’s spare ones in the bathroom, you can use whatever’s there. And you can eat all you want. Not the orange juice, though.”

They didn’t respond and avoided my eyes. I kneeled by her, careful not to touch in case it could overwhelm her.

“My name’s Manon, but some call me Doe Eyes. What’s your name?”

To that they replied, “Selena.”

“That’s wonderful. You wanna come up so I can show you the room?”

She followed when I did. It felt strange to act as a host in a house that was not my own. The neat pile of clothes (Baby’s) and the towel and washcloth sat on the bed. “If there’s anything you need, I’m in that room with Otis, Baby and Blinky are in there. The bathroom is the second door on the left. Sleep well. We won’t wake you so you can sleep in.”

I left her standing in the dark in the middle of the room, clutching her arm, looking lost. Took two steps outside, but went back to flick on the light on the nightstand, with a last nod of acknowledgement.

The bag I kept my clothes in I moved to Otis’ room before going down, and I picked out my least revealing nightgown, a soft pink with a ribbon in the front. Taking off my socks last, I crawled into the spare bed, a book already next to the pillow. The sheets were indeed different from the red ones before. Crisp with newness, a white that made me think it wasn’t going to remain that nicely white for long in this room. Otis was still washing up in his adjoined bathroom, coming out with only a towel on his hips. I was grateful to the low lighting, and pretended to be immersed in the book I’d just flipped open.

Otis stretched, yawning. “What a night, what a night, huh, Doe Eyes?”

“Sure is,” I responded, pointedly not looking at the trail of white hair from his belly button to somewhere underneath the towel. Instead of going to his own bed, he of course had to bully me some more, so he kneeled down at the side of my bed, leaning his elbows next to the pillow. Uncomfortably close, and I finally met his eyes.

“Y’know what always gets me in a good mood?”

“Torture?”

“Mhm, very good. And judging by your mood, you didn’t get off last night.” Dared to wiggle his finger at me. Somehow he sounded less mean than normal, he must really have enjoyed the killing.

My expression must’ve said it all, he just grinned.

“Well, missy,” he stood up and ruffled my hair like he could’ve done to a kid, “if you need a lil’ extra help, I’m right over there, for the whole night.” “Goodnight,” I just said, when he reached his own bed, to signal that the conversation was over. I tried reading, but it was frustrating to find my mind drifting to all softs of terrible things. If the Firefly’s kept new people around this often, what would that mean for me? If Blinky liked Selena better… But it’s not like she chose to come here, chose to have this hell of a family happen to her. My head hurt. Just when things started to be a little easier, it gets all complicated again. I snapped my book closed. Nothing to be done about it but sleep and wait for things to unfold. Otis was already snoring, so I flicked out the reading light and repeated those thoughts until I fell asleep.

[myers-meadow]

Hoon: House of 1000 Corpses AU Chapter five

Title: Hoon

Warnings: the usual. Canon-typical stuff.

Summary: Baby and Manon share a conversation, RJ goes hunting for raccoons. The Firefly house takes in a couple tourists and has their fun with them. Selena belongs to @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better, Blinky belongs to @immortal-velociraptor.

Word count: 3202

Have fun reading! It's a bit shorter because I really wanted to finish something by the weekend, and this seemed like a good place to end this.

Dividers by firefly-graphics.

First thing in the morning, I changed the sheets. The stains reminded me that the strange and unreal dream I had, was actually true. It happened.

I avoided everyone as much as I could in hopes that they would forget hearing me scream Otis’ name at two in the morning. Unfortunately, RJ walked in, gruff looking as usual, while I prepared a snack for myself.

“Think we have raccoons,” he said, without a greeting.

“Raccoons?” I asked. For a second I thought he was joking and meant whatever he heard last night, but he was as serious as ever.

“Yeah. They can sound just like humans, you know. Could be anywhere, in the attic or even in the walls. So,” he grabbed a sandwich from the bag on the table, “I’m going out to get traps.”

“Lethal ones?” I asked, worried about how Blinky would hate that.

He shrugged and walked out. But this was good news! If everyone just thinks there’s raccoons, and the hypothetical raccoons can’t get hurt – that’s an ideal situation.

“Doe Eyes,” came Baby’s sing-song voice from her room, door opened a crack, before I opened it.

“What’s up?”

She giggled, cross legged on her bed. Clothes, jewellery and make-up strewn all around the room. The whole mess must be from her preparing for the open mic night. “Wanna help me clean up?”

How suspicious. I narrowed my eyes at her, but she waved me inside.

“I haven’t cleaned your room before,” I said, cautious. “So, clothes first?”

She shrugged, grinning. I took the empty clothes hangers from her closet and hung up what was on the floor, one by one.

“If there’s some you like, you can borrow them.” Baby got up to join me in picking stuff off the floor. She plucked her hair curler from the vanity and wrapped the cord around to put it away properly.

“Thanks,” I said, knowing I wouldn’t.

“So,” she then said, the grin widening and her eyes gleaming, “you and Otis, huh?”

I froze, a top hanging off the hanger with one of its sleeves.

She giggled, throwing a scarf at my head to break me from my thoughts. “No need to be all shy about it. Plenty of women are into Otis. The whole artist type, y’know?”

“I’m sure they are,” I mumbled. “You heard?”

She nodded enthousiastically, curls bouncing. Has this family no sense of shame?

“How was it?” Her tone was as if we were high school girls discussing boys, gossiping in the back of class, and not talking about me shagging her adopted brother.

“How do you mean?” I continued my movements and hung up another dress.

“Don’t give me that.” There was an uncomfortable serious edge to her words.

I held up my hands in mock surrender. “Yeah, it was decent.” I shrugged. She raised her eyebrow at me, letting me know she heard otherwise. “Ok, fine. It was great. He was great. Now can we talk about anything else, please?”

She giggled. “I knew it! Doe Eyes and Otis, Doe Eyes and Otis, Doe Eyes and-”

“Can you shut up?” I hissed, checking if the door was really closed, which only made her laugh louder.

“Y’know I’m just messin’ with ya, Doe Eyes. Glad you finally found a way to release some of that tension.”

“I messed up, though,” I said, not being able to stop myself from dumping my issues on her now that the subject was brought up.

Her mood changed in an instant to accompany mine, more serious. She dropped the skirt she held to rub my arms. “Oh honey, I’m sure it’s no big deal. When Otis gets pussy, there’s not a lot that’ll put him off.”

Giving her a look, she tsk’ed at me.

“What did you do?” she asked.

“I cried after,” I sighed.

“Oh,” she said, already back to her cheerful self. “That good, huh? Lucky you. Wish some handsome stud would come fuck me so good I’ll cry.”

“And then I told him to fuck off and he left to sleep somewhere else.” Silence fell. She looked at me disapprovingly. “I panicked, I didn’t know what to do. It felt like it wasn’t meant to happen, and Blinky sees him as their dad, and now it’s all getting screwed up and-”

Baby gripped my shoulders, looking right at me with her icy blue eyes. “No one is gonna tell Blinky a thing.”

“Good,” I breathed, relieved. Perhaps it can be buried now, since Baby seemed to understand how it was complex enough to not make one single messy night worth all the potential chaos. We resumed our cleaning and organising. I got a small rag from the bathroom with some cleaner and wiped down her vanity mirror and the smaller mirrors in the make-up palettes that were strewn about. She had quite a few, with different colours and different purposes. There were probably a couple that Blinky liked to use, judging by the colours.

None of what she said about Otis and his relationship to sex or sexual partners made me feel any better about what happened. In fact, it made it worse to consider I’d have risked so much of my relationship with Blinky just for some stupid simple pleasures, from a man who wanted to boost his ego by proving himself as-what? Good in bed?

“If you ask me, I’d apologise to him,” said Baby, after a long silence, nodding to show her sincerity.

I stared at her, shaking my head slowly. “I’d rather forget it happened.”

She laughed, “Well, knowing him, he ain’t forgettin’ anytime soon, so better say sorry before he’s too pissy at ya.”

“Hey Selena,” I said, as I came across her in the living room. She was taking care of the floor, just on her way to empty the dustpan.

She nodded in greeting.

“Have you seen Blink around? How did they seem?”

“What do you mean. Normal?”

“I mean, if they seemed upset or anything?”

“No, don’t think so. Why?”

“Oh nothing. RJ is doing some stuff with raccoon traps, so I’m gonna try to get rid of those before Blinky notices them.” The lie slipped off my tongue with ease.

Selena nodded in understanding. “Alright, I’ll keep an eye out and let you know if I see any traps.”

“Thank you.”

Later the same day, the sun was setting, in the kitchen, gathering what I needed to make dinner.

“You’re almost as elusive to find as Ghost,” chuckled the all-too familiar voice from the doorway. He came up behind me as I reached for the cutting board, hands on either side of me on the counter.

“Otis,” I breathed, placing the board down despite the stutter in my movements.

“I was looking for you,” he said, his voice softer, leaning forward until I felt his warm breath on my ear. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

“Hm, I have,” I said, admitting it easily, and pushed open a drawer to get the knife, while still caged in his arms. Twisting around like that only backed me further into him.

“I’m not mad at you for the other night.”

“You were at first,” I said. “You talked to Baby?”

He nodded, chin brushing the top of my head. His mood was unusually soft, as if he couldn’t get any more confusing. “You’re still tense. Maybe we should give it another try,” his hand landed at my hip, giving it a reassuring squeeze, warming the skin underneath, “and we can be a bit better about it.”

I shook my head, earrings hitting my cheeks from the sudden movement. “No, thank you. I’m not interested and I think I made a mistake that night.”

His fingers dug in my hip, a reminder of the danger that stuck to his person like superglue. “How was it a mistake if it felt so good you cried?”

Giving up on cooking, I put the knife down and turned around in his arms, facing him at last, but not yet brave enough to look him in the eye. “We are very different people,” I started, trying to find the words, “I believe you’re every bit as good in bed as you say you are. And it’s amazing, truly, but it’s not… It’s not good. I can’t do things like that the way you can. You have more experience, you are good at things-”

I caught his wrists in my hands to prevent him from touching me. “But I can’t separate the heart from the body as easily as you can.” He let me swing his hands around to emphasise my words, pointing at him and then at myself. “And because you’re you, you won’t take care of my heart as you’d take care of my body, and because I’m me, I need that. I’m sorry.”

He said nothing, which was almost worse than anger. I let go of him, feeling cold, and left. “Also, Baby gave me her old vibrator, so you don’t have to worry about me being so tense anymore,” I said, before closing the door behind me. Immediately as I was on the other side of the door, I regretted it all, especially the last bit. But what is there to do now, other than wait until it blows over?

An unexpected group of tourists came to the house, sent by Spaulding, probably. Blinky was excited and lead them inside, saying how it was much nicer and warmer here, and that they could stay for dinner. Mrs. Firefly welcomed them with a wide smile in her feathery rosa robe.

“What are you standing around for, girl?” she chastised me. “Go get Baby an’ RJ.”

Baby was just as happy as Blink. We’ve not had visitors for a while, and these were from far out of state (like I was), promising lots of macabre fun. While they busied themselves with the greeting, the distracting and the flirting; and initiating Ghost in their schemes, I resigned myself to cook for six extra people. Six! As if it wasn’t a lot of work on normal days. It wasn’t my first time that we had tourists, but the first time was when Selena joined, and I had little to do with it all. This was much more similar to the evening before I woke up tied to Otis’ chair.

“Hi,” said a voice, timid, different from the other.

I turned around, peeler and sweet potato in hand. “Hey. You’re not joining the others?”

“Ah, no,” the young man scrunched up his nose and shook his head. His tone was somewhat playful. Scottish accent. “My ex is in there. He just broke up with me yesterday, but we already went on this trip, so we just kept going.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said, deciding not to look a gifted horse in the mouth, and plucked another cutting board from the drying rack. After putting the veggies in front of him, he took to it wordlessly. “Have you two been together long?”

“I suppose. I don’t even like boys much, so it was a total surprise that we got together.”

I raised my eyebrows at that. “Have you been travelling for long? Seen much of the country so far?”

He leaned on his elbows. “Not much, yet. We like taking it one day at a time, especially now that our group is falling apart. What about you? You’re not from here.”

The knife hit the chopping board a little too hard as a split a carrot in two. Forcefully I smiled at him. “No, I’m not. I’ve just been staying here.”

And then I realised, despite how sad I was to think of home, or my home country, this was home now. Was my future here? It was the closest thing I had right now, and even without the warnings echoing in my head, I wouldn’t dream of leaving.

“What’s your name?” I asked, to change the subject.

“Neil, and you?”

“Nice to meet you, Neil,” before I could finish, he interrupted me to correct his own name.

“Neil.”

“Neil,” I repeated.

“No, more like Nei-l.”

“Okay, sure. Neil.”

He shrugged, holding back a sigh. “And you were?”

Raising my eyebrows again, “Manon.”

“Manon.”

“No, more like Ma-non. Not Man-on,” I said, to frustrate him on purpose. He laughed awkwardly.

“Manon.”

“Very good.” I smiled to restore the good mood. Despite knowing the terrible things that would most likely befall these people later, it didn’t bother me enough to not go along with things as they were then.

“So, they’re a rowdy bunch out there,” he chuckled. “You’re much quieter.”

“I guess. They’re fun, though. And your bunch, how are they?”

Before he could answer, Selena and Blinky entered the kitchen.

Selena walked around the table we were cutting veggies at to say something just to me, quietly. “Where is Otis?”

“Uhm, I haven’t seen him since the afternoon,” I said, softly, but trying not to look too secretive. Ghost’s hand was cold on my shoulder.

“You two talked?” asked Blinky, bouncing on their feet, picking up some carrot from the bowl and snacking on it.

“We did, how so?”

Selena and Blinky exchanged a look. “What did you say to him?”

I halted my movements. “… Why?”

“He left in one of his big moods after noon,” said Blink. “Hasn’t let anyone know where he went or when he’d be back.”

“He wouldn’t wanna miss tonight,” I said, alarmed as it dawned on me, “but he doesn’t know we’re having guests over.”

They nodded. “Yeah, so now…”

“We wait. He’ll be back soon, I hope,” I said, already starting to worry a bit. Fuck, I caused this. Anything that goes wrong tonight will be on my shoulders.

It was an uneasy night. One thing after another. Baby was delighted with some new playthings, and both RJ and Tiny took one each – the girls. Sometime during the evening, Tiny’s one got free and it was a whole thing to recapture her – leading only to worse and stretched-out torment. There was music from Baby’s room as she messed with the boys she picked. Because the family always looks out for their own, they put Scottish Neil in Otis’ room – the one I slept in. So instead of sleeping, I kept staring at his struggling form, watching him nod off and wake again in horror, staring at the same wall I stared at. Selena was also having an interesting time probably, and I debated whether to wake her so we could sleep in her and Blinky’s room, but somewhere I felt I had to be strong. Not only strong, but to face this part of the family. Otis is not a good person. Baby is not a good person. None of them are, not really. Nor am I – something else I needed to face. And that is why it was better if Otis and I stayed like strange housemates.

Yet, in the morning, as I was cleaning yesterday’s mess as quiet as a mouse when the dawn hadn’t yet broken, when the door opened and Otis appeared in the doorway, I couldn’t stop myself.

“Otis – you’re home!” I said, putting the plates down and coming to welcome him. He looked like he hadn’t slept much, scruffier than usual. “We were all so worried about you.”

“Doe Eyes.” He sounded gruff. Then his eyes trailed around the room; the plates from dinner, the extra chairs around the table. “What went on here last night?”

“We had visitors. Six of them. Baby saved you one, he’s upstairs in your room.” Still somewhat shaken from the lack of sleep and nerves, I went over to help him out of his coat, unbuttoning it and hanging it up. He smelled of alcohol. Where had he been? A bar?

The usual smile returned to his face, he dropped the keys in the bowl and shuffled out of his shoes. “Tourists?”

“From across the seas, yeah. Baby’s had fun all night. Tiny’s girl got away for a bit too, caused quite the mess in the basement.”

“Nice to hear ya had a good time without me,” his accent was stronger, he must be tired. “Well, go on, show me the one you picked for me, sugar.”

Checking in on Neil, to let him have some water. Because I was too scared to untie him, I held the glass in front of his mouth to let him drink. While he drank, I debated whether or not to tell him Otis was home, and warn him of the oncoming torture he’d most likely endure. But what was the use?

When I moved to pull away, a sharp pain at my scalp – Neil had my loose hair clenched tightly in his fist, pulling it to get my face on his level. Tears sprung to my eyes, and a million images of long past dotted my vision.

“Let go, let go,” I said, pulling at it, only causing more pain, starting to panic, trying to pry open his fist, “let go, let go, let go, please, I mean it, let go, let go-”

And Otis stepped into the door frame. Alarmed by the look on my face as I looked behind him, Neil attempted to turn his head around. He was prevented by Otis, who stepped behind him and held his face pointed forward, his hands on his cheeks. I craned my head awkwardly to look at Otis from where I bent as Neil still gripped my hair.

“Help me,” I whispered, barely audible.

“Won’t you release the lady? Or do we have to take your hand with it?” Grinned Otis, already having the time of his life. Trailing his hand from Neil’s shoulder down to his hand, other hand reaching in his back pocket for a hunting knife, Neil was quick to release my hair. I breathed in relief and fell back onto the bed.

“Who are you?” he was scared, eyes shifting from me to Otis and back, fear clear in his voice.

“You sure done messed up, boy,” Otis threw the knife and caught it, “that was the only person in the house who wanted to help you. And now look at ‘er, she’s crying.”

I wiped the tears from my eyes, “I’m fine,” but my voice croak gave me away.

“What else you say to her?”

“N- nothing, I didn’t say nothing.”

Otis grew bored with him, stabbed the knife into the arm rest of  the chair, close enough to skin to go through Neil’s shirt, and pushed the gag back into his mouth. Then he sank down next to me on his bed, reaching out to pet my head. I fell into him, resting my head on his shoulder.

“I’m so glad you’re home,” I sighed, and for a moment, it felt like I was the one who was home. “I’m so glad you’re back home.”

He shushed me, resting his chin on my head and rubbing my back. “Now let’s get that hair tied out of the way, hm? So it won’t happen again.”

I nodded, but didn’t move to get a brush or elastic, instead dried my eyes on his filthy flannel.

[myers-meadow]

House of 1000 Corpses AU ch. 6.1: Initiation

Title: chapter 6 Initiation

Summary: Doe Eyes' initiation into the darker part of the family. Shared AU with @immortal-velociraptor and @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better, who Blinky and Selena belong to, respectively.

Wordcount: 2278

Warnings: canon-typical stuff. Gore, blood, grossness, psychological torture, cigarettes. Also: some fluff.

Trying to make chapters smaller so it's less daunting for me to write, so I cut the current chapter I'm working on in two (the thing is already longer than 5k words and I'm still going). Quite a large chunk of this was written weeks ago. Hope you enjoy <3

Divider by firefly-graphics as always.

“What you wanna do with him, princess?” Otis asked, as I finished my braid, leaving the end untied for now. It was greasy enough for it to stay decently enough. His hand that first pet my head, now warmed my thigh. “Take his fingers? His hand? Baby’d wanna scalp him, we can do that too. It’d be fitting.”

“Do you want to use him for a project?” I asked, keeping my voice quiet. The excitement was practically buzzing from Otis as he thought of the numerous ways he could torture poor Neil, but he kept his attention on me.

He hummed. “Don’t think this one’s inspiring me much. So, tell me, what’s your idea? I can tell you have some in that big brain of yours.”

“What you do with him is not up to me, you do as you like anyway.”

Glancing at panicked yet tired Neil did not give me any hope for him. His fate was sealed the moment he set foot in this house.

Otis barked out a laugh. “You’re part of this, whether you like it or not. May as well have some fun with it. Come on, Doe Eyes.”

“Okay, fine, but outside,” I said, playing with the charm on my earring.  

After telling him my idea in hushed voices in the hallway, Otis could not contain his grin – and I felt like a true part of the Firefly family, however strange that sounded. Not wanting to see or hear whatever he got up to until it was time for my part in it, I wandered the house to look for chores to do.

“Doe Eyes! There you are,” it was Blinky, who rounded the corner, rushing to get to the attic.

“Blink! What are you up to?”

“Selena said that RJ was trying to catch raccoons, but that will hurt them, so we need to save the them.”

“Ah, I’ll come with. He put traps in the attic?”

After gathering the traps, and making sure neither of us got hurt in the process, we sat in their room with a bowl of sugary cereal.

“I don’t think there’s really any raccoons,” I tried, to make sure they wouldn’t worry, “or we would’ve seen traces of them up there.”

“After all that crawling around, we have to do something fun,” they said, head already somewhere else. Resolutely they set the bowl down on the nightstand. “Baby went through her old make-up, wanna try something out?”

“Yeah, of course. I’ll be your canvas if you like.”

Blinky chatted as they did my make-up, something colourful, in pink and blue. I wasn’t allowed to talk or I’d move my face too much. At the end, they held a mirror up like they would at the hairdresser’s. “What do you think?”

“It’s so pretty, thank you. My turn next? I have an idea.”

“Oh, exciting!” They sat down, kicking their feet since they were short enough for them not to touch the floor.

“Sit still,” I warned, although that was just a formality, a habit. It didn’t matter if it takes a little longer. Dipping the brush into yellow first. I wasn’t practiced like Blinky was, but I used to paint kid’s faces sometimes, on special days at the end of the school year – colourful things.

“There, all done,” I said, trying to hide that I was proud of how good it came out. A yellow-brown butterfly, the one with many gorgeous eyes on its wings. I held the mirror up to show them. “Mein schöner Augenfalter. Do you like it?”

After dinner, it was time to do my part of the idea I had – wanted to give Neil the advantage of darkness. Nerves made my hands tremble and my heart race. I went up the stairs, feeling like each step made terrible noise from how uncoordinated my body felt, then crept in Otis’ dark room, only lit by a strip from the door that I left open to hear if anyone was coming. Neil’s chair was in the middle of the room, his back to me. The knife still stuck in the arm rest of the chair where Neil was sitting. He looked pretty beaten up, cuts all over, some even on his face and I cringed just looking at him. But now was to moment to prove my worth, my place in this family – so I kneeled down in front of the chair and pried the knife from the wood.

“Hey Neil,” I whispered. He was awake, and tried saying something through the rag in his mouth. I held my finger in front of my lips. “You gotta be very silent, okay?”

Pulling the gag down, he coughed and licked his dry lips, trying to croak out words, I shook my head.

“Quiet, or they’ll hear you.”

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like? They’re all downstairs in the living room, except Tiny, he’s in the basement. Can you remember that?” With the knife out of the way, I untied the ropes binding his wrists and torso.

“You’re all going to jail for this,” he managed to get out.

I halted my movements, raising my eyebrows at him. “Do you prefer me to leave you here?”

Neil’s eyes widened as he realised he messed up again. “I mean, you’re with them, aren’t you?”

I shook my head. “I was like you not too long ago,” and I pushed up my sleeve enough for him to see one of the scars, “but it’s fine. Even if I go to jail, it’s fine. Please just get help.”

Neil, impatient, bend down to help me undo the ropes around his ankles. He looked at me then, only nodded.

“There’s a set of car keys by the door or in one of the coat pockets. They have a dog tied outside somewhere. I’m gonna go back downstairs and try to keep everyone there for a bit – wait until I’m down, yeah? Yeah.”

And so it began. I trailed back downstairs, where I made tea with hands that shook so bad I only dared fill the cup halfway. The danger of what I did felt terrible. What if Neil really got away? What if he really went to the police and- the thought of it was too much, making my heart beat a terrible rhythm. Blinky in jail- no, never, that should never happen. Even if Blinky was safe, and Selena too, on reasonable grounds of having been imprisoned, the thought of the rest of the family torn apart and imprisoned like common criminals was a horrifying thought. They had it coming, according to some, perhaps. But no, this family was more than just- than just criminals. They were a family. It felt like they were well and truly above the law, like nothing of the morals and values of the world outside of this house applied to them. And by now, I’m part of this. I’m part of this family. I pulled the tea bag from the mug and left it for later on the counter; time to go to the living room and hope for the best.

Mrs. Firefly, Baby and Blinky occupied the couch; RJ and Ghost must be in RJ’s room. Or walking the dog. Once I reached the living, Otis pulled me to sit with him in the armchair.

“Careful with the tea,” I said, which he ignored. I sat down on the matching ottoman in front of him. Our knees bumped into each other, which only further frayed my nerves.

He leaned forward. “You’re nervous.”

I hummed as I took a first sip of the tea that was still too hot, but I needed the comfort.

“Let’s have smoke,” he said as he stood up, expecting me to follow.

The cold January wind bit my face as soon as we stepped outside. Otis got the pack of cigarettes from his pocket, let me take one first.

He chuckled as he lit it for me and I took a first, big drag.

“Shut up,” I said, before he even opened his mouth.

“Don’t you love a good hunt?” he said, choosing to ignore me. He breathed in deep. “Can already smell the fear.”

“That’s just me.”

He put his smokes away – did he take me outside just so I could smoke?

“Princess, what are you afraid of? It’s not your hide on the line.” His voice was smoother as he talked, pleasant to the ears. As I toyed with the cigarette and looked anywhere but him, he trailed his finger up my arm, teasingly. He steadied my hand, raising it to his face so he could take a drag for himself.

“You’re in a good mood and it’s making me even more nervous,” I mumbled, messing with my earrings. His hand found a spot at the back of my head, underneath the braid, and he pulled it lightly so I’d look up at him as I exhaled the smoke. His unusual amber eyes searched my face, and as he pulled at my hair, that specific spot, it was like a switch flipped. His hold was not tight, but I felt like a puppet, easy for him to manipulate, easy for him to overpower – cruel hands so tender then, so sure of their hold on me. It was an almost a primal, base feeling, something ingrained, something I couldn’t stop. With a soft gasp, my eyes flickered shut as arousal stabbed my gut unexpectedly with each small tug.

“That’s a sweet sound, princess,” he chuckled darkly. “Be patient, I’ll spoil you after I’m done with the Scot.” His breath was hot on my face, and I felt caged by his presence alone. His tongue darted out to wet his lips as he looked to mine. “You can be good and wait for me tonight, yeah?” Then he let go of my hair, and the spell was broken. Shakily, I took a last drag, staring at my boots in the mud.

As soon as I caught a glimpse of Neil’s auburn hair, I retreated to brush my teeth, even though it was rather early. In the bathroom, I stared at myself for a long while, before washing my make-up off. I looked normal. Fine. Just like any other day. It felt like I should be going grey from stress by now, but no, no such thing. A dangerous mood to be alone in, but I didn’t want to worry Blinky, and Baby would just tease me about Otis. I was already halfway down the stairs to the basement, before I realised that it was Tiny I headed to. I knocked and he opened the heavy basement door.

“Hi, Tiny, how are you? Can I stay here for a little bit? You can kick me out any time.”

His movements slow, he stepped aside to let me enter, and nodded to let me know he understood me. He handed me the book on his nightstand, even though Mrs. Firefly said he couldn’t hear well, and gestured me to sit down on his bed and read to him. The story was a simple adventure story, and halfway through, tiny laid down with his head in my lap. Not long after that, his eyes fell closed, and I replaced my thigh with the pillow, hoping he’d continue his sleep.

Immediately as I closed the basement door behind me, being careful with the noise even though Tiny wouldn’t hear, the dread and jitters were back. Right. Neil.

Up the stairs, on my way to brush my teeth a second time – just to stall, I passed Otis’ open door. He noticed me walk by, and went over to pull me inside, a knife in his hand, blood dripping on the floor.

“Nice of you to join us,” he said, grinning smugly. “All thanks to you, Neil and I had a nice time getting to know each other, didn’t we, Neil? Why don’t you say ‘thank you’ to sweet Doe Eyes for setting you free?”

Otis pulled down the gag and Neil spit out a string of profanities so vile, I flinched. “You betrayed me, you fucking cunt-”

Otis, who noticed my discomfort, shoved the gag back in his mouth, but the grin remained on his face. I’d truly done my part, and my stomach twisted itself into knots.

“Oh, Doe Eyes, come over here for a second, yeah, come ‘ere,” Otis opened his arms for me, and feeling lost and sick, I walked around Neil’s chair and right into them. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head, then rubbed my back. “You did well, real well. Couldn’t have thought of a better gift.”

“Gift?” I echoed, swallowing the bile in my throat. He released me, turning his attention back to poor Neil.

Otis chuckled. “If you wanna give the knife a try, he’s all yours.”

“No,” I said, voice firm for the first time that day.

Otis shrugged and twirled the knife in his hand. The handle was slippery with blood. “No matter.”

“I’m gonna try to sleep,” I said. “Do you know if Baby still has hers? If not, I can sleep with her if it’s quieter.”

He shook his head. “She’s gonna stretch ‘em out for a while – had a crush on the short one.” With the confidence of a jaguar, he walked around the tied man, seizing me up like he once seized Neil up. His eyes caught mine and it felt like a stab in my gut. “Don’t forget my promise, we’ll play too, tonight. I won’t be long.”

“You know Spaulding will complain if you don’t keep it down; don’t make it too late.”

[house-of-slayterr]

Out For Milk:

Blinky’s POV:

I was furious! Entirely, bloody, furious! I wasn’t sure if it was even at anyone in particular or just in general. Which was becoming more and more common recently. It was concerning.

And now there were people in my house, eating my food, taking up my space. I didn’t want to be here right now, but there was no where to go. So I simply had to grin and bear it. Our guests were practically the most well mannered bunch either.

Watching that Scottish sleezeball talking up Manon all night and getting a bit too close was making my stomach turn. I wasn’t partially hungry at the moment. And watching that made me loose my appetite entirely. I hated him and his stupid accent and his stupid face. Who did he think he is? Sitting in Otis’s chair, sitting in my fathers chair. Talking to Otis’s girl, my Doe Eyes…

When dinner was over, I wasn’t even in the mood to help the family. Sure, if the obsoletely needed my help with something, I would stop everything for them. But I just wasn’t feeling up for it right now. The torture, the screaming, the begging… the smell… it was all too much sometimes. I didn’t want to worry anyone, so I told Spaulding I wasn’t feeling well and I was gonna go lay down in my hammock.

It was good to let someone know where you were when there was strangers in the home. In case someone escaped and tried to hurt you, someone would know where you were. Which was part of the reason I was entirely fuming with unriddled rage right now. Where the hell was he. Screw my stupid swearing rule…

I wasn’t better than anyone. Certainly not for watching my language. Not after the things I’ve done. The things I’ve seen and allowed to happen. The things I’ve kept a secret. I knew the sounds would be loud in the house, RJ and Baby liked to listen to music while they tortured. And the screams were loud themselves. When I was certain I was alone I finally let it out.

“FUCK!”

I shouted as loud as I could, expelling all the air from my tiny lungs. And damn did that feel good. How did my like even get here? How did all the paths I took lead me to this lifestyle? Lead me to become a monster just like the rest of them?

But what’s even the point? You can’t undo the things you’ve done. I can’t unkill the people that have died. Unstained my hands with blood. But I didn’t feel guilty… not about most of them at least. And certainly not about that brain dead imp who attacked my Doe Eyes.

So then what the hell was I feeling guilty about? Darla? I guess she didn’t really deserve what happened to her. Her only fault was loving my brother. But then again, I was once guilty of the same crime. When I was younger, more naïve.

My mother?

No.

There was feeling there but guilt was pointedly missing. Relief. Regrets for not doing it myself. Joy.

But all this talk about guilt was making me sound like Ghost. And who am I to scold her, while doing the exact same thing myself. I didn’t even believe in a god, so then… what was I afraid of? Who was I afraid would judge me? My family wouldn’t… they love me. They loved me possibly more now. And I didn’t care about anyone else’s opinion.

Emotions were frustrating! They made no sense! They weren’t logical! They couldn’t be calculated! And I hated them! I couldn’t relax so I went to my other spot around the house, back up to the roof. I hadn’t been back up there since the day my mom came here. Perhaps I’d take a nap, stop thinking for a little while…

I heard the familiar sound of a truck door slamming and very hair on my body stood on end. I quickly sat up, rushing over to the other end of the roof and peaking over the edge. My eyes widened when I saw a tuft of white hair.

He was really home. I watched him go inside. He didn’t seem in too bad of a mood, but I was curious. Curious maybe wasn’t the primary emotion I was feeling right now. But curious none the less. I waited a second after the front door closed, and swung down from the roof. My landing getting better each time I did it.

I crept inside and stayed hidden. Which wasn’t that hard considering my size, and the fact that I almost never wore shoes unless I had to. It made being quiet easier, the exact opposite of Otis’s heavy work boots that currently slapped against the floor. How he ever managed to sneak up on Manon is beyond me. He could be quiet no more than Baby could.

I wasn’t surprised he went straight to his room. It made sense. It was night time. He must have been tired. But I was a little hurt that he didn’t stop at my room along the way, considering it was before his. I debated following him into his room, but I knew Manon was probably already asleep. And I was far too angry right now for that to be a good plan.

I didn’t want to break anything. Or more specificity her, if Otis and I got into a fight. It didn’t happen often, in fact, almost never. We’d only been in a fight once before, and it was far worse than harmless bickering. I didn’t talk to him for nearly half a month, and that wasn’t something I really wanted to do again. I sighed, gently leaning against the thin wall for a moment.

I heard a small squeak come from Manon, which meant he must have woken her up. Jerk. I pushed myself off the wall and went over to my room. I was still working on making a space for Ghost that was just her own. So I was pleasantly surprised to find the older girl wasn’t currently asleep in my bed. She’d been hanging out with RJ a lot more recently. I’m entirely convinced she must have brain damage, because no sane person would choose to sleep in RJ’s room.

I threw myself down onto the bed, bouncing for a moment from the force of it. I let out a low groan into my pillow. It felt childish which made me laugh. I was literally screaming into my pillow instead of just talking about my feelings. But maybe it was best if I slept on it, no? Let him sleep. Surely we’ll both be more level headed in the morning.

So why did I want to March threw that door and yell at him right now. Sometimes it was better to do absolutely nothing when I was trying to work on my impulse control. The second I get up to move, I can’t guarantee my feet won’t just carry me where my heart wants me to go right now. Twenty or so minutes must have passed of me just breathing face down on my bed, until a string of noise caught my attention.

Without my headphones on, I could hear sounds from Otis’s room at night sometimes. And tonight was no different, or so I thought. But I frowned when I recognised those sounds, realised the situation currently unfolding in his room. I groaned, pulling my pillow over my head and covering my ears.

It would be almost impossible to sleep now with that thought in my head. I curled my legs up into my chest and just laid like that until I feel asleep once more. If not out of exhaustion than out of sheer want to make the noises stop.

It was early the next morning and I was already up, having woken up several times throughout the night. I assumed RJ and Selena must be out walking the Dog. His door was left open and neither of them where inside, nor in the kitchen. Which I was glad for, I didn’t like having that thing in the house.

Sure it was cute, but that dog could tear me to shreds if it wanted to. And I never wanted to get close enough to find out if it liked me or not. Mama and Spaulding were in the kitchen however.

“Morning sunshine, get any sleep last night?” Cap asked me, sipping his coffee.

I shrugged, grabbing my cup that was always left down from the cabinet so I could reach it. I poured myself a glass of juice and hopped up on the counter.

“Having a good morning?” I asked lazily.

“It’s certainly morning.” He responded.

“Need any help down at the store today?”

I wanted an excuse to be out of the house. But sadly, no such excuse came.

“It’s just stock day, but if you wanna help at the odd shop later tonight, I could use a stage assistant.” He grinned.

I smiled happily into my cup. Spaulding always had a crazy scheme doing on in that bald head of his. I sometimes thought that if he had hair, all his ideas would be blocked. That’s how it felt for me sometimes. And on those days it helped to tie my hair up.

“What kind of act?” I asked.

He tapped the pull saw on the table with a smirk and my grin matched his. Ahh yes, the classic sawing your assistant in half. I imagine he picked it cause we had some fresh innards from our catch yesterday. The audience would have no idea how “real” the special effects were for the show. And that was the best part.

A magicians job was to wow the audience, keep their attention. But the assistants job was to distract them. It was like two people competing for the lead. And the audience had no idea they were playing right into your hand. Looking only where you wanted them to, seeing only what you wanted to.

I was good at keeping peoples attention, just as easily as I could disappear. People stared or ignored me, wether I liked it or not. But when I could control it, boy was that a feeling. Puppeteering the audience was a high you couldn’t quite recreate.

“I’ll be there.” I said.

He gave me a small smile before mama finally spoke up for the day.

“Need any help with your look kid? Baby took Manon to the city today for some shopping…”

“Sure Mama, I would love that.” I said.

The air in the room was comfortable until a certain white haired man walked in. I kept my head down at the table, this was one of those moments that despite my best efforts, I couldn’t just make myself not exist.

“Morning Mama, Spaulding-“ he greeted as he went to the fridge and poured himself a glass of milk.

I cringed internally. How he and RJ could just drink plain cows milk was beside me. I giggled slightly under my breath, noting my disgust at that, but not witnessing RJ bash someone’s face on the dinner table last night. Manon would be proud of me for getting out all the blood stains on the kitchen.

It wasn’t her I was mad at. That wouldn’t be fair. Her only fault is having emotions. But I wanted her to be happy. Of course, I wanted Otis to be happy too. But I couldn’t just forgive him for this so easily. I knew it was only a anger of seconds before he finally greeted me, and I didn’t want to hear it. So I quickly got up from my seat, trying to flee the room.

I spun around on my heel when a wrist caught mine in the hallway. Normally I had more tact, but right now I was in no mood to struggle with reigning in my emotions.

“Don’t touch me right now-“ I said lowly, glaring up at my father figure.

He raised an amused bro at me, but made now attempt to drop my arm.

“You’re avoiding me kid-“

“Don’t call me that right now!” I seethed a little louder.

He finally seemed to understand I wasn’t joking around. He dropped my arm but made no attempt to move or step back to give me some space. So I took a few steps back for him, afraid if I didn’t I’d lash out and hit him.

I could feel a meltdown coming and I really didn’t want to deal with that today. It was stupid to be getting this upset, but he hurt me. I was sick of just letting people hurt me.

“Blinky?” He asked a little softer.

It was rare to see Otis Driftwood be nice, let alone soft. It was like his antithesis. I groaned under my breath, grabbing his arm this time and dragging him upstairs to my room. I closed the door, and we just stood there in silence for a second.

“You’re breathing too heavy, slow down a bit-“ he offered.

“I know how to breath idiot! I don’t need your help!” I spat.

He just sighed, leaning against my dresser. I took a few deep breaths, him not daring to say anything else.

“You left…” I said softly, just barely above a whisper.

“What?” He asked.

I had to admit, despite how mad I was right now. It was still calming to hear his voice. See him. Having felt Jim to prove he was real and I wasn’t still sleeping.

“You went away and you didn’t tell anyone where you were going… when you’d be back-“ I hung my head.

Ashamed that all this anger wasn’t really fair to him. This was my issue. He shouldn’t have to cater to it, so why did I want him to? Why did I desperately crave it? That normal type of relationship a child should have with their father.

And that’s what he was. I’d accepted that in my heart only a few months after I got here. It was the relationship that made sense. Benefited both of us in very different ways. Something we both craved desperately. He too hung his head, a rare moment where it seemed like Otis Driftwood was at a loss for words.

Our family didn’t really do apologises. It wasn’t in their nature. And I’d be foolish to expect one. But it was even more foolish to underestimate Otis.

“I’m sorry Kid, I wasn’t thinking.” He said.

It sounded angry, like he was upset with himself. Which only served to make me feel worse. Revenge felt nice, sure, but hurting the people you cared about didn’t.

“I didn’t mean to ruin your mood-“ I offered quickly.

He held up a hand to stop me.

“You’re not in charge of my feelings kid. Just like I’m not in charge of yours.”

I nodded simply.

“I wasn’t gonna leave you.” He spoke up after an uncomftqbly long silence.

“I didn’t know that…”

I sighed, throwing myself back down onto my bed and staring up at the ceiling.

“I heard yelling so I came to check it out. And then you stormed off and didn’t come back for a whole day. A whole day-“

“I needed some time.”

“And that’s fine. But you could have said something. Anything… even Manon didn’t know if you were coming home. You know she cried?”

I asked, finally looking up at him for the first time in half an hour. His face looked tried, but it was scrunched up in that way where he was thinking. It was hardly a good thing for anyone involved when Otis and Baby where thinking. I sighed.

“I’m tired of people leaving me…” I admitted.

Otis tried to speak but I cut him off. I wanted to finish my thought it it would go unspoken seemingly forever.

“No. I’m not finished.”

He closed his mouth, letting me speak.

“And I’m tried of being everyone’s second choice. Selena has RJ, Mama has Spaulding, Baby has you and you have… Doe-“

I fidgeted with my fingers, letting out a laugh that was more like a scoff.

“And when you went to her first yesterday. That hurt me. A lot.”

My words just kinda fizzled out after that. I lifted my head off the bed too look at Otis who was being scarily quiet. If I’d been anyone else, I’m sure I would have been dead for talking to him like that. Cutting him off. But that was oddly reassuring, it let me know that even if we weren’t great at this exact moment, some part of him did genuinely care.

“Don’t ever leave me again.”

I said, sitting up and staring at him intensely.

“Wouldn’t dream of it kid-“ he finally said.

He sat down at the edge of the bed. Something that would seem natural to a normal father, but was award for Otis.

“I didn’t know you felt that way.” He said.

He seemed to bite off the second part of his sentence, whatever word were on his tongue being shoved down.

“You didn’t ask.”

I shrugged.

“Nobody ever does.”

I placed a hand on his in a reassuring manner.

“It’s fine, I’ll get over it. This is my issue-“

It was Otis’s turn to cut me off this time.

“As fucked up as we all are kid. This is still a family Blinky, you’re family. And as much of an asshole as I am-“

“I know.” I said softly.

I wasn’t gonna make him say it. “I care.” Was a hard phrase to say around these parts.

“You ain’t mad about Doe and I?” He asked Hopfully.

“Oh, I’m furious about that. You don’t treat her right. But I’m assuming you’ll change that after this conversation-“

He knew what that tone meant. He’d heard me use it before with my mother.

“You’re right. I ain’t being fair to her.” He sighed. “She just drives me insane-“ he admitted.

I couldn’t help but grin at that. It was kinda cute. The way I felt about my Macy. Another thing they never asked about. And maybe I was content to keep that my secret a little longer.

“Women.” I said simply.

Throwing myself back down on my bed and laughing. Otis leaned down on the bed too, the two of us just staring at the ceiling.

“Wanna get high dad?” I asked, turning my head to him.

He smiled lazily, his teeth somehow still menacing.

“Now that sounds like the best idea you’ve had all morning kid.”

An: I just wanted to start with a shorter piece that seemed less daunting to write. So this takes place after Otis comes home after storming off. I wanted to show more of a soft side to Otis. And more of Blinky when they aren’t masking. Hope you enjoyed it! Sorry it took so long to write👍 but I’m getting back it not the swing of things!

Tag: @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better @myers-meadow-selfship @queer-and-utter-chaos

[house-of-slayterr]

Random Short Imagine:

The kids are watching House of Wax for family movie night…

Selena: Who’s the hottest Sinclair brother, personally I think it’s Vincent?

Manon: Obviously it’s Bo, have you seen his ass?

Macy: Why are you looking at me? I guess Carly’s arms looked good in that tank top.

Francesca: You we’re looking at her arms? Sure…

Selena: 👀

Manon: 👀

Macy: 👀 yeah, come on babe, who’s the hottest Sinclair brother? *smirks*

Francesca: *whispers* Lester

Macy: I’m sorry what was that? We don’t need to use our inside voices right now Bumble Bee

Francesca: *blushing at that nickname because it does things to them*

Selena: What’s wrong Blink? Jonesy got your tongue?

Francesca: Surely you’re not encouraging this Doe…

Manon: *sipping her wine* oh, encourage I shall Little Bug

Selena: 👀

Manon: 👀

Macy: 👀

Francesca: STINKY TRASH BOY!!! Is that what you wanted to hear? I Francesca the most unholiest Firefly, fell in love to stinky road kill garbage boy! And his stinky animal bones and that stupid green hat, *voice getting softer and more lovey*, and that funny little accent, and those teeth that are crooked like mine *crying*

He’s just so pretty!!!

Selena: Why are you dating them again?

Macy: Because I too am in love with a stinky garbage boy *sighs* *kisses Blinky on their forehead*

Manon: I came here to watch murder boys, not see this cute bullshit *also crying*

Selena: Why do I hang out with you all?

Francesca: Because were the only people who have ever showed you sustained and continuous, love, support and affection?

Selena: Oh great, now I’m crying!

Otis, Baby, Mama and Spaulding who just got home for the evening: 👁️👄👁️

Otis: Want to go stab each other in the back of the house so we never have to see that again?

Baby: *already running off* I call first dibs!

Mama and Spaulding in sync: Children! (In a disbelief and disapproving tone)

Tag: @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better @myers-meadow-selfship @oceansrose2002

[house-of-slayterr]

The Firefly’s as Gods:

Mama: Eileithyia

- She is the goddess of childbirth and womanly pains. Her name means “she who comes to aid” much like Mama’s role in the family.

Spaulding: Momus

- Momus is the personification of satire and mockery. I think that suits Spaulding’s clowning around personality quite well.

Baby: Bia

- Bia is the godly personification of force and power. She fought beside her family and helped them win a battle against the Titans. Baby is a force to be recon with, and would do anything for her family.

Otis: Chronus

- Chronus is the leader of the first generation of titans. A fierce protector, and excellent leader. Much like Otis made his own family, and leads them to a life he sees as most fruitful. And he’s fiercely protective of what is his.

Tiny: Hyperion

- He is the Titan god of light and observation, and the tallest, most towering of all Titans. Like Hyperion, Tiny is considered a core pillar of the family.

RJ: Alastor

- He was the avenger of evil deeds and familial bloodshed. RJ doesn’t really speak much or get involved, unless it’s for the sake of his family.

Manon: Hestia

- Hestia was the eldest daughter and often assumed more of a maternal and leadership role. Hestia was the first to be devoured by her father and the last to be free. Similar to how Manon will put herself at risk to save a family member. Sadly, it’s family first, herself last with her. But she takes pride in that role, and accepts the responsibility.

Selena: Calliope

- The muse of epic poetry and lyrics. Selena was often left alone for hours and only had her voice to comfort her. Singing songs until the sun came up, and bracing herself for the next day.

Blinky: Hebe

- Hebe was the goddess of immortal youth or the prime of life. Blinky May age physically, but mentally they remain cheerful and joyous with a child like sense of wonder and adventure.

+ Macy: The Erinnyes

- They we’re cities of vengeance and retribution. They vowed to take vengeance on men who unleashed evil. Macy is a hot headed, loyal and possessive Cannibal. But she would never dare eat a woman, she preserve her taste for men who are worthy of her scorn.

Tag: @oceansrose2002 @myers-meadow-selfship @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better

[house-of-slayterr]

The girls when Otis accidentally let’s a victim escape after he lectured them about taking too long with their torture…

@vincent-sinclair-deserved-better @myers-meadow-selfship

[house-of-slayterr]

Headcannons about Blinky:

@vincent-sinclair-deserved-better @myers-meadow-selfship

They surprisingly love classical music, best to play that for them if they’re getting overstimulated and need to calm down.

They like classic horror more than modern, so Creature of the Black Lagoon, Dracula…

Blinky is asexual but they do have romantic attraction. I feel like they have a preference for women, but they don’t mind men either (not gonna lie, Otis probably scares off, and by that I means kills *?cough cough* any man Blinky is interested in. He’s totally the older brother who thinks no one is good enough for them)

Blinky doesn’t like touch unless they initiate it. So whatever you do, do not like hug them from behind or something, you can and will be stabbed 😂

Blinky does go mute for long periods of time. They weren’t really allowed to talk much with their brother, so if they’re tired or in a bad mood they won’t talk. But if they desperately need to communicate they carry around a little notebook or use basic sign language which everyone in the family learns. Spaulding is actually surprisingly good at it.

On the flip side, you bring up one of their special interests and they will not shut up. Most days Otis can handle it, but sometimes he’ll just walk away mid sentence if he’s getting annoyed. He doesn’t want to hurt them by accident. Manon and Ghost are a little better with talkative Blinky.

However, Otis will use this to his advantage and use it as a torture method for victims. If Blinky is particularly hyper that day, he’ll lock them in a room with victims for hours and just let them talk and talk until the Victim is basically begging to be killed. He thinks it’s hilarious.

Blinky loves to ask Selena for card readings. She thinks it’s the coolest thing on the planet. Any magic will really have them sitting and staring in awe.

If Ghost taught them even a minute amount of magic… watch out! They are obsessed and will learn everything they can.

They love listening to ghost sing, like literally could sit there for hours with the biggest smile on their face. Sometimes they ask Ghost to sing them to sleep on a bad day.

Bonding time with Mama is Blinky pampering her. She does her hair, makeup, nails… you name it, they’ll do it for mama. They watch old 50’s and 60’s television with her, and complement her with the old timey complements.

Bonding with Spaulding is completely different. He teaches them how to protect themself. He teaches them how to properly use a knife, or turn off the safety on guns. Teaches them how to bury a body. But they do have fun too, he’ll watch old circus performances with them. Or take them to a clown convention they heard about. He likes working with them down at the gas station cause they aren’t as grumpy as Otis, and they try their best to do their job right.

Bonding with Baby is like basic teenage girl shit. Like talking about pretty boys, gossiping about Otis. Baby loves to dress them up more feminine sometimes.

Bonding with Manon is more calm. They don’t really do much besides read together in her room. Or Blinky will ask a bunch of questions about random things and Doe Eyes will try her best to answer. Blinky totally takes naps with their head on her lap. And Manon will yell at Otis if he wakes them up. They don’t sleep often, so Doe Eyes takes their sleep schedule very seriously.

Doe will also yell at Blinky if they won’t go to sleep. Otis is not above slipping sleepy pills into their food or drink to make it happen. He does the same for Ghost if they’re keeping Blinky up, homeboy ain’t playing no games.

Blinky actually doesn’t do much killing, at least not by themselves. They prefer to just watch, or help with the disposal process. But they’re really only kill if it’s self defence, if someone says something about their autism (which the others will kill for too) or if they say something or try to attack the family. And if that last one happens, expect it to be brutal. They will show no mercy and torture that fucker for days.

But typically you can find them kicking their feet on the bed while Baby or Otis are with a victim. They’ll keep quiet and only speak of one of them asks them a question. Or to offer more ideas. They’ll also totally babysit a victim to make sure they don’t run if someone gets called away to deal with something else.

They are not allowed to be in the kitchen alone. Between how clumsy they are, and their high pain tolerance, it’s not a good combo. They’ll burn themselves on the oven or stove, cut their fingers with knives, spill hot water on themself. And after they forgot to put water in their microwave Mac and cheese once and set the whole thing on fire, Otis made an executive decision to not let them anywhere near the kitchen. They are however allowed to make coffee or tea as long as someone’s in the room with them.

Blinky is physically 18, but they act more 15-16ish. A bit of stunted growth from their autism. They’re also like tiny af, like they are 4’11 on a good day. They weigh like max 110 lbs and have a crazy metabolism. Otis once woke up on the middle of the night to see them devouring like half the fridge. Man was bewildered, where the fuck does that food go? They probably wear platforms, or if they want to feel talk, Tiny just carries them around. Like homie just Simba’s them.

Blinky is comfortable with She/Her pronouns so long as it’s only the family issuing them. If a stranger calls them that, she will bite them with no hesitation.

Blinky likes to smoke weed but not drink. And they usually only smoke at night after all the chores are done, so they can try to unwind.

[house-of-slayterr]

Mother Knows Best:

An: Blinky’s old life comes back to bite them in the ass.

Cw: ableism, mentions of suicide, child abuse and sexual assault

Blinky’s POV:

It was one of those days, where I just couldn’t explain what the problem was. Everything felt wrong, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. My stomach felt queasy and my head hurt. But I knew better than to assume these were related to physical illness. I just felt this way sometimes. Like the world was crashing down around me and all I could do was watch.

I thought I was doing a good job at hiding it, but my heart sank when Otis cornered me in the kitchen. He was the last person I wanted to talk to right now. I was pleasantly surprised when he didn’t start yelling right away. Perhaps Manon had finally gotten through to him.

“Blinky, are you- are you ok?”

“Why would you think I’m not ok?” I asked, putting on a fake smile and raising my voice a few octaves.

He sighed heavily.

“You been sitting in that damn chair all day. You didn’t even eta breakfast this morning and I haven’t seen you move in four hours.”

Had it really been four hours? Dang it, I really needed to get out of this funk.

“Otis?”

“Yes?” He asked, pulling out the dining chair across from me and sitting down.

“Do you believe in retribution?”

“Retro-what now?”

I laughed at that. I hadn’t meant to absorb some of Manon’s dialect, but it seems it was inevitable.

“Revenge, suffering the consequences of your sins?”

“Christ Blinky, have you been hanging out with Ghost again? Enough with this sins shit!“

I frowned.

“What, worried you won’t go to heaven when you die?” He asked a bit harsher than I expected.

“I wouldn’t want to, heaven sounds boring.”

“Then what’s the problem kiddo?”

“I don’t know, there’s just- I feel like-“ I sighed frustrated, raising my voice at the end “something entirely awful is going to happen and I can’t stop it.”

“Kid, nothing bad is going to happen to you on my watch. Don’t care who I have to beat up to make that clear.” He laughed.

I couldn’t help but smile at that a little. I wouldn’t say Otis was good at pep talks by any means, but he was getting better.

“And what if you’re not there to stop it?”

“Blinky, I don’t even know what it is. But I’m not leaving you kid. You’re stuck with me.”

“Forever?” I asked.

“Damn right!”

He held out his hand and gave me a little fist bump. It helped me feel a little better.

“You done stinking up the place with your worrying?”

I couldn’t help but giggle at that a little.

“Hey Otis?”

“Yes Kid?”

“The best part of my life was knowing you.” I said definitively.

I got up from my chair and walked away. I could tell he debated following after me. His feet shuffled on the floor awkwardly, but he remained seated. I went up to my secret spot on the roof. Ever since we fixed it, I wasn’t really worried about falling through again. It was the best place to go to think, not being surrounded by the walls for that house. Feeling trapped. I felt ungrateful whenever I was like this. Otis had basically saved my life, so why couldn’t I just be happy and down there with him right now? Why must my brain drag me down with its madness?

The hair on the back of my arms stood up again and I could tell something was horribly, horribly wrong. I saw a car pull up from the distance. It wasn’t often anyone drove directly out to the house, so then who sent them. I squinted my eyes at the vehicle, it was far to fancy to be a local. I leaned over the edge of the roof, crawling so I was less visible to anyone on the ground. They were wearing a big fancy hat, and my heart nearly stopped in my throat when I finally saw their face.

I scurried back on the roof and threw my hand over my mouth, trying to calm my breathing. What was my mother doing here? How did she find me?

Selena was the one to answer the door, I could here her voice clearly.

“Hello? How can I help you.”

“I’m looking for this boy, have you seen him?” My mother asked.

Supposedly holding up a picture of my brother. Selena let out a sigh.

“No ma’am, I have not, let me go ask the others. They might be able to help you.”

“Other people live here?” My mother asked.

I’m assuming Selena nodded. She wasn’t very good at impromptu concerts Akins with strangers. So she was probably itching to get as far away from my mother as possible. And frankly I didn’t blame her. My mother was a snake. A mosquito that sucked the life out of people.

I heard the click of Manon’s heels, she was supposedly grabbed by Selena.

“Can I help you?” She asked.

“This woman is looking for someone.” Selena explained.

“I’m not sure how much help I will be then. Perhaps Otis know where this boy has gone.”

I wanted to get far away from the house. Hide away somewhere where she couldn’t find me. But fate wasn’t on my side today. My mother was seemingly startled by Otis’s presence and stepped back enough to see me. I didn’t dare move my eyes off her as my breathing picked up. She ignored anything he was saying and zeroed in on me.

“There you are you little brat!” She spat at me.

Otis wasted no time. It’s didn’t take him long to figure out I was one the roof, I was the only one who lurked up there.

“Excuse me?” He challenged my mother.

I didn’t even bother using the ladder, I hurled myself over the edge, catching myself on the ledge and slowing my fall so I could land on my feet.

“Ewch adref mam.” I said simply. “There’s nothing for you here.”

I tried to keep my voice steady, but it betrayed me. Before any of us had time to react, my mother grabbed my arm harshly.

“You don’t speak to your mother that way.” She said coldly.

“I think you should remove your filthy hands from my child.” Otis warned.

I watched Manon tense beside him as she started to figure out what was going on. My mother tried to play nice, like she was some sort of hero.

“You people are sick! Taking a mothers daughter away from her. Where is my son?”

“Ma’am I really think it would be best if you leave.” Manon tried to deescalate the situation.

But it was useless, my mother was stubborn, but Otis even more so. He’d already made up his mind then and there on how this was going to go.

“Rwy'n mynd â chi yn ôl at y cythraul bach” tightening her grip on me.

I could tell it was going to leave a bruise and I started hyperventilating. Spaulding seemed to have caught on to the little altercation at the front door, because he stepped out holding his shot gun.

“I don’t know who you are, but I’m gonna give you one chance to get the fuck off my property.”

My mother had the audacity to laugh in his face.

“You people kidnap my child, and you think you can threaten me? I wonder what the sheriff will say about this.”

Spaulding didn’t waver in his stance. Doubling down and itching his finger on the trigger.

“Why don’t we go inside.” I offered.

I knew once she was inside, there would be no chance of her escaping.

“Only smart thing you’ve ever said.” She commented.

Pushing past Otis and dragging me into the house. My eyes never left Otis, silently pleading with him to help me.

“Where is my son.” She tired again.

Of course she didn’t come here looking for me. She didn’t come back for me, only him. Selena stood behind Spaulding, awkwardly shuffling on her feet. She didn’t know how to help. I knew Spaulding wouldn’t want to let off a gun in the house, it would only cause more repairs for us to make. But he would if he had to. Otis let out a curt laugh.

“You think this is funny?” My mother asked, egging him on.

“Considering your sons fertilising our garden, yeah, it’s a little funny.”

My mothers eyes widened, and her grip tightened impossibly so. I let out a wince as I felt the bone in my arm creek under get death grip. I had gotten stronger since I’d been here, but apparently not strong enough. Manon clenched her fists at her side. They had to figure out how to get her away from me before they could attack.

“You wanna know what I did to him?” Otis pushed on, stepping forward.

“I first started with cutting out his tongue, and watching him struggle not to choke on his own blood.”

My mother looked absolutely horrified that someone could do that to “her little Angel”

“And then I started breaking his bones, hearing his gurgled pleas as he begged me to stop. Only after I skinned him alive did I grant him the mercy of death.”

She finally dropped my arm, lunging forward at Otis. She was making her bed at this point, there was nothing I could say and do that would convince them to spare her at this point. Manon rushed to my side, pulling me into a hug as I finally let the tears slip. She pet my head.

“Shhhh, Blinky, it’s ok. You’re ok, I’m right here. We’re not gonna let her hurt you again.”

Selena protectively stood behind me, rubbing circles on my back. Spaulding was quick to use the end of the gun to hit my mother over her head, knocking her out. There seemed to be a silent conversation between the two men. Which was dangerous. If Otis and Spaulding were agreeing on something, nobody was safe. Both men were fiercely protective of their family.

I tried to stop my tears and I turned to look at my father.

“Don’t kill her right away. I want to talk.” I said.

“Wouldn’t dream of ending her life so quickly.” He said.

He stayed away from me. Otis couldn’t control himself when he got in a state like this. He was afraid of hurting me by accidentally, which is more than I could ever say for my mother. She did it on purpose, she enjoyed it.

“Blinky, let Doe Eyes look at your arm please.” He said a little softer.

I watched as he and Spaulding dragged my mother away to be tortured. I was used to being the one looking over injuries.

“I’m fine Doe, it really doesn’t hurt. There’s nothing you can do for a bruise.” I sighed.

“Then let me put my mind at ease.” She asked.

I nodded, letting her lead me to the couch. Selena stayed close by, not daring to leave. I winced when Manon touched my arm.

“Oh Blinky-“ she started.

“She’s down worse, I’m fine.” I said coldly.

I didn’t mean to be upset with her, I really wasn’t. I was thankful she was hear right now. But I could feel myself becoming quickly overwhelm. My mother probably blamed me for my brothers death. But it was his fault, all of this was his fault.

“I gotta go.” I said, quickly standing and running to my room.

Ghosts POV:

I was worried about Blinky. They were usually so carefree and joyous. I’d never seen them look so terrified before. Like the devil himself came to claim them. It was Heart breaking. Blinky could turn almost anything into a joke, but right now they weren’t laughing. She was crying. Full on, sobbing.

I looked to Manon for help. She was so good at keeping everyone calm and collected.

“I don’t know Ghost, I don’t know.” She said, shaking her head.

“Do you think this is like My Sisters?”

“God I hope not. I can’t stand to see one of you go through that again.”

I knew it wasn’t right, but I couldn’t help it. I followed Blinky to the room where their mother was being held. And I lurked outside the door, listening in on their conversation. Her mother was spreading profanities left in right, she was almost worse than Captain Spaulding.

“You fucking little shit! I wish I never gave birth to you?” Her mother yelled.

I was surprised to hear Blinky’s voice stay calm, not shaky like it was earlier.

“I am your mother! Have some respect.”

“You are not my mother.” Blinky said coldly.

I’ve never heard their voice like that, it was icy and devoid of emotion.

“You have never been my mother. You mean nothing to me.”

“You ungrateful bastard child.”

“Your bastard child! You did this, you’re the one who cheated on Father and had me. You’re the one who let him do those things to me.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about little girl!”

“Don’t I? You can’t seriously be that deluded. Or do you not remember all those times in the back of the church? With father with his other priest friends. Of course you wouldn’t remember, you were off being a mother to him instead.”

“Your brother needed me.”

“No, I need you!” Blinky yelled.

“I needed a mother. And you couldn’t even give me that.”

“I raised you. And you’ve never shown me any gratitude for that.”

“You raised me? I raised me. I bought my first bed, my first car, my school books, my own food. I cleaned the house, I made sure he didn’t fail in school. I was on course to make you proud, and you never showed me any gratitude for that. You never gave me anything. All you do is take mother, you’re a parasite, it’s what you do.”

“These creeps have gotten into your head.”

I peaked around the corner of the door to try and get a better look. Their mother was strapped down tightly to a chair, struggling wildly. And Blinky remained on the other side of the room, Adam crossed and with an empty look in their eyes.

“No, they saved me. They’ve protected me from people like you. People like father, and people like my brother.”

“You’re not gonna get away with this, people will know I went missing. They know I was looking for my son, and they’ll track us both down to this house.”

“Then we’ll deal with that when it comes. Enjoy your time Mother. This is the rest of it.”

They went to leave but there mother said something I couldn’t quite understand in Welsh. Blinky’s slightly odd accent made more sense now. Their mothers was much thicker.

“What did you just say to me?” They turned around, their body shaking with rage.

“I said you never should have been born you little shit. Do you know how embarrassing it was to raise a child you? I should have given you up like your father had asked, maybe then I’d be sitting at home with my two boys.”

“Oh, mother” they condescended, “father never loved you. You were convenient to him. A walking, talking green card. And he left you just the same didn’t he? When he blew his brains out in our garage, he left you nothing. He gave it all to his son. He would have taken my brother and left you cold and alone.”

“You take that back.”

Blinky crossed the room, leaning closer to their mother, and placed a hand on her face.

“But don’t worry, you’ll be with brother very soon. Say hi to dad for me will you, fy butain o fam.”

“You can’t let them kill me.”

“See that’s the beautiful thing mother, I don’t let them do anything. I don’t control them, that’s now how family is supposed to be. They’re doing this to you because they love me, something you’ll never understand. Goodbye Mother.”

The pushed themselves off the chair and stomped into the hallway. I tried to move, not to be spotted but it was useless.

“It’s not polite to listen to other people’s conversions Selena.”

There voice wasn’t loud, or threatening. It was disappointed. Something I never wanted to be aimed in my direction again. It felt bad to have Blinky displeased with me.

“What did your father do to you?” I asked.

Tears brimming in my eyes. I may have Ben sheltered, but I wasn’t stupid.

“What didn’t he do to me?” They said sadly.

“We’re gonna fix this.” I tried to lighten the mood.

“I appreciate the gesture Selena, but there’s no fixing this. There’s no changing the past. What’s done is done, you move on, you get stronger. That’s the way these things work I’m afraid.”

I felt bad watching them walk away. Felt like I should do more. But I didn’t know how to comfort them, I wasn’t good at these things. I instead turned my attention to their mother, stalking into the room.

“And who are you supposed to be little girl?” She spewed angrily.

“The names Ghost, and I’m about to be your worst nightmare. You heart Blinky, and that is unforgivable.” I said.

Of course I knew Otis wanted final say in her death. But he wouldn’t stop me from making her suffer a little first. I couldn’t comfort Blinky directly, so this was the next best thing.

Otis’s POV:

I was fuming, absolutely livid. How dare she come here, to this house. How dare she lay her hands on Blinky. I was going to break all of her fingers until she could never dream of holding anything her again. I thought their brother was awful. He’d been a right bastard, totally dipshit. But now I see where he got it from.

This thing that called itself their mother. If she thought she was going to take my Kid from me, she was dead wrong. The audacity of this bitch.

“Otis, you need to calm down.” Manon tried.

“Calm down? Calm the fuck down? How can you be calm right now? You have eyes don’t ya?”

“Yes, Otis, and we will handle this. But getting yourself all worked up isn’t going to help.”

I looked at her in disbelief. Suddenly Selena entered the room.

“What do you want Ghost?”

“Did you know Blinky’s mother was letting their father assault them?”

“What?!?” Manon and I roared at the same time.

Oh she’d done it now. It was gonna be weeks before I let this bitch die.

“I hope you dont mind, I roughed her up a little, but she’s all yours Otis. Blinky would want you to do your worst.”

I was going to, there was no question about that. I was going to make her beg for Mercy.

“Maybe I should go talk to Blinky” Manon spoke up.

“Don’t bother, I’m right here.”

We all turned to see them standing in the door way, a small backpack on their back.

“Blinky, what are you doing?” I asked.

“I can’t be here, not while she’s here. I don’t want to be in the same house as her.”

“Kid you can’t leave, where would you go?” I was getting concerned now.

They wanted to leave, leave me. I couldn’t let that happen.

“I have somewhere I can stay, please don’t worry Otis. I’ll be back home before you know it. I just- I need time. I need to think. I can’t do that if she’s right down the hall.”

“Blinky-“ Manon tried.

“I promise, I’ll be safe. I’ll keep in touch. Please.” They begged.

I let out a sigh.

“I’ve got my knives on me, if anyone tries anything I can handle it.”

I brought them in for a hug. I wasn’t much for psychical affection but it felt important in this moment.

“You better come home to me.” I said.

“Always.”

“I’m gonna make her suffer.”

“I know you will, thank you. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Selena gave Blinky a sad wave, and Manon joined in on the hug.

“You get in any trouble, you come right back here ok?”

“Ok.”

I watched stiffly as Blinky walked out the front door. Something I never wanted to see. But they were 18, they weren’t a child. They could do this.

Blinky’s POV:

It broke my heart leaving then. But I had to do this. I pulled out my cell phone and dial the one number I needed.

“Hello?” Her voice rang through the phone.

“Hey Macy, umm, I’m gonna need you to pick me up.”

“Did something happen, are you hurt?”

“I’ll explain when you get here, just please, hurry. I really need you right now.”

“Meet me at our spot.”

“I’ll be waiting. Oh and Macy-“

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too Blinky. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

Perhaps this was a good thing. I could finally meet my girlfriend Family. Learn more about her life and let her into mine. All this lying was getting to me and I couldn’t take it anymore. Maybe now was the best time to make things official. Maybe I could bring her home to Otis when this all blew over. That would be nice.

Welsh: “go home mother” “my whore of a mother”

Tag: @myers-meadow-selfship @oceansrose2002 @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better

[house-of-slayterr]

Firefly Newbies: 🥺🥰❤️

Doe Eyes: Kathrine Waterston

Ghost: Taylor Momsen

Butcher: Elise Eberle

Blinky: Vanessa Morgan

Tag: @oceansrose2002 @myers-meadow-selfship @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better

[house-of-slayterr]

Firefly Musical Theatre Episode:

These are fun to make, cause music is the best way I can convey emotions. And I think it helps give an insight on character dynamics and aesthetics.

Baby putting on a show 🥺: But I Am a Good Girl - Burlesque

Baby putting on a show Pt. 2: Roxie - Chicago

Francesca’s inner monologue pre Firefly’s: Beautiful - Heathers

Blinky at Butcher: Fight For Me - Heathers

Selena when she has a short term fling with a soon to be victim: Mein Herr - Caberet

Spaulding dismembering a victim: Thankless Job - Repo the Gentic Opera

Otis and Manon: Our Love is God - Heathers

Manon and Otis Pt. 2: By the Sea - Sweeney Todd

Ghost: Lifeboat - Heathers

Selena because she can actually sing and I’d want to hear this: Green Finch and Linnet Bird - Sweeney Todd

Macy and Blinky making this gay: Pretty Women - Sweeney Todd

Mama: Money, Money, Money - Mama Mia

Manon singing about her life Pre-Firefly’s: We Both Reached for the Gun - Chicago

Blinky’s Philosophy: Razzle Dazzle - Chicago

Macy trying to convince Blinky to try her diet: A Little Priest - Sweeney Todd

Blinky and Manon trying to comfort Selena: Tears to Shed - Corpse Bride

How everyone sees Blinky: Girl Scouts - Beetlejuice the Musical

(Selena is Lydia in this situation)

Otis and Manon’s dynamic: Hey Little Song Bird - Hadestown the Musical

Otis and Manon: Say No To This - Hamilton

(Blinky is the “announcer”)

Blinky, Doe Eyes and Selena convincing Macy to come live with the family: Let Us Adore You - Steven Universe

Francesca’s role in the family: The Dismemberment Song - Blue Kid

Selena pre firefly’s: Waving Through a Window - Dear Evan Hansen

Manon when she’s trying to figure out her place: Maybe This Time - Caberet

Spaulding and Mama: Master of the House - Les Miserables

Francesca ranting about her old family: Infected - Repo the Genetic Opera

Pt. 2: Genetic Emancipation - Repo the Genetic Opera

Tag: @oceansrose2002 @myers-meadow-selfship @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better