#need to meat it up and make sure it's all good before blindly posting in a moment of excitement

[citrine-elephant]

got my ass beat (written down the plot successfully) and instead of accepting fate (relaxing), i still crawl after blacking out (taking a small break) bcuz i'm stubborn (stubborn)

[twigg96]

Food Poisoning

Daddy! Daryl X Reader

Place: Alexandria

Warnings: Literally food poisoning, vomit, a little fart joke, Kids being kids about being sick, Sickness

POV - You

Summary - After having stew with some tainted meat in it your three kiddos (Phoenix - 11, Beau - 6, and Lillian - 2) get a bad case of food poisoning. Just as kids do Beau comes in to tell his parents exactly what happened feeling traumatized and violated after he "threwed up".

The night had started off so genuinely nice. Normal even. For the turn that is. You had made dinner from the rabbit and squirrel Daryl hunted earlier in the day. It had been a hotter day than either of you realized it would be. But you never let that deter you from your duties. Daryl had warned you that the heat of the day may have spoilt some of the meat. And that he had lost one of the rabbits. He got a bad shot on it and when he finally found it, it was long dead with an arrow deep in its broken leg. He simply added it to his string not thinking anything of it. Wasn’t until later in the hunt he thought better of it and decided to chuck it… well he thought he tossed the right one at least. After a while he wasn’t so sure anymore. So he asked you to be extra vigilant while cooking that night. To sniff the meat and make sure nothing was camping out inside before tossing it in the fire to be cooked. 

You had listened. Truly you did. You had washed and smelled the meat as you cleaned and skinned it. Nothing smelled bad and so you went as far as to make a little stew for the whole community with the meat and some of Rick’s vegetables he grew in his garden. Everyone in the community seemed to love it. They ate it up vigorously and basked in the post fullness bliss of a good meal. You watched your kids play out in the yard with the other neighborhood children. When night fell after the kids had gone to bed, you and Daryl even felt adventurous enough to get a little handsy before falling into blissful sleep. 

Or that’s what the archer would have liked to have happened. But seeing as he was ripped from the calming embrace of sleep in the midst of REM he would have to argue otherwise… “Daddy…” A small and timid voice had called out into the darkness of the night. At first Daryl had believed it was just part of his dream. The one where none of the hell they lived in existed and he and his family lived in the peace he once knew. “Daddy…” The voice whispered nearer this time. Cutting straight through the lovely dream he had been having. Blinking awake slowly Daryl growled, slapping around blindly for the electric lamp sitting on the bedside table. With a click Daryl’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest. Beau stood a mere two inches away from the edge of the bed, only his head could be seen poking from over the side as he clutched his teddy bear close to his chest. “Daddy.” Beau whispered shakily, his lip pouting out and his eyes wide and full of tears. “Yeah?” Daryl mumbled tiredly as he tried to put together why his son was in his room in the dead of night. Sitting up in bed, the sheets falling to his exposed chest he looked over to you and sighed. You were starting to stir. Blinking away the garish light. Damn… you needed all the sleep you could get.

 “What… what do you want, Beau?” Daryl asked tiredly, reaching over you to grab a cigarette from your end table. “Well..” Beau started shuffling his feet anxiously. Daryl cocked a brow at the towheaded boy placing the cig in his mouth and flicking the lighter trying to get it to light. “Daddy… I threwed up.” He mumbled with a sob.” The words froze Daryl in his place. Maybe he it was just his foggy sleep deprived brain that was miss hearing what his son just said. But as his wife sat up stare at the two of them like they both started to grow wings and speak in tongues Daryl knew that he had heard correctly. “What?” You asked rubbing your eyes. Beau sobbed nodding. “Lillian threwed up first! Phoenix got up to check on her and she threwed up on the floor!” Beau sobbed helplessly. The both of you stared at Beau in disbelief and disgust. “So…” you ventured to ask, crawling over to your husband’s side of the bed. “Did you throw up Beau?” The little blonde nods swiping away fat tears and it isn’t until then that Daryl is able to make out the new stains on his son’s shirt and pants. “After I farted on the floor.” He whined. Daryl and you share a confused look. Farted… on the floor? What the hell does that mean? OH FUCK NO. Pulling his cigarette from his mouth Daryl gaped at Beau. “What do ya mean… farted on the flo- Beau!” He huffed twisting to the side of the bed. “Did ya shit on the floor?!” he hissed. Feeling your hand on his arm he tried to calm down but the sound of their youngest starting to scream and cry from their shared room and their eldest yelling “Mommy! Daddy! Lilly needs a bath!” was all too overwhelming for him at the moment. “Daryl.” Your calming voice drowned out the madness as your hand squeezed his. “I’ll work on cleaning up. Just… find a bucket… or two… and get them bathed and back in bed. Please. We got this, we’ve been through worse.” And suddenly Daryl knew. You were right. You always were. 

Standing with a groan, Daryl was grateful that he was wearing just boxers when Beau walked directly into his legs for a hug. God… kids and their need to be touched when they're sick. Scooping him into his arms Daryl sighed the smell of vomit was strong, but nothing he couldn’t handle after the hell they’ve lived through. “Sure ya don’t want me ta clean up too? I can-” Daryl muttered walking towards the door, Beau’s head already nuzzled under his chin seeking some semblance of comfort. “Daryl.” You had chided, cutting him off. “We’re a team. I got it, don’t worry.” With a small nod he hummed walking into the kid’s room to access the damage… and it was worse than he imagined. Scowling he sighed not seeing either of his daughters. “Phoenix!” He yelled, shuffling Beau in his arms, starting to search for them. The piercing wail of his two year old would normally have been terrifying given the world they live in but seeing as she was in the bathroom with his eldest at the moment he was simply annoyed. The water for the tap was running and when he popped his head in to see what was happening he rolled his eyes and groaned. “Phoenix… baby. Are you tryin’ ta drown yer sister?” He muttered trying so hard to make light of the situation. Phoenix’s head whipped around as she stared at him, the tub getting dangerously full as she held a fully clothed Lilly in the tub. 

Moving to place Beau on the floor Daryl kneeled beside Phoenix, turning the tap off and taking Lilly into his arms, sopping wet and all. “I was just trying to get her and her clothes clean, dad.” Phoenix whispered looking slightly ashamed and embarrassed. Taking a deep breath Daryl sighed, bouncing the screaming toddler doing his best not to emulate his own father in this situation by screaming in the face of his own children. “T-Thank you…” He bit out. It was a start at least that’s what he assumed. “Now… do me a favor…” He muttered lowly. “Get some towels for me, and some clean pajamas for all you kids and come back. Yer all gettin’ a damned bath.” 

It wasn’t until the early morning light streamed through the blinds that the rancid smell finally seemed to be mostly gone. You had done your best to clean everything up with only homemade vinegar as your main cleaning supply as everything else was running low. The windows were wide open despite the cool weather but even that didn’t deter your three hellions from getting some sleep. The two of you had decided to simply toss and burn the sheets and pajamas the kids had been sleeping in and just use old ones until you could find new ones on a run. As the two of you stood side by side watching the fire in the brisk morning air you couldn’t help but laugh. “Wha’?” Daryl nearly hissed, glaring at you. “Nothing… just… kinda feels normal ya know? We haven’t had to do that since before the turn when Phoenix was little.” You whispered thinking of the time Phoenix had simply crawled into your bed and proceeded to vomit all over Daryl like she was in the exorcist. Daryl stared into the fire but a small smile crossed his lips. “Yeah… suppose so…” Holding your hand he began to rub his thumb along the back of your hand. Any sense of normalcy in this life was better than none he assumed.

[chloecherrysip]

all the pain will change into a memory of when we were amazing (mario & luigi-centric post-movie fic, part 2!)

(Part one can be found here!)

(Thanks again to everyone who read the first part and was so sweet about it! Here's the continuation. This is a shorter interlude with Mario and Luigi's family before we get to the main "meat" of the story AKA Mario and Luigi talking on their own in the third part, coming soon. I hope you enjoy, and I appreciate any thoughts/feedback. I will get this uploaded on AO3 as soon as I can as well, if you'd prefer to read over there.)

+

“Hey-o!” 

Things had been so quiet on their long, long, long trek back home that the sudden noise made Mario stiffen as they shuffled through the door, every nerve on high alert for a breathless few seconds. Luigi, who had practically sleepwalked the last block with his head leaned against Mario’s head, using his brother's hat as a makeshift pillow, started too, mumbling a greeting that barely resembled the English language, waving at the front door before realizing he was turned around and swaying around to face the warm light of the dining room instead. It looked like dinner was already over, dishes and silverware being cleared away.

“Look who finally decided to show up! Brooklyn’s brand-new heroes!” Uncle Arthur raised a nearly empty glass of what looked like wine in laughing celebration. “What, you save the city from a bunch of weird turtle goons one time and you’re too good to share a meal with us regular bums?” 

“They were helping with the cleanup,” Aunt Marie hissed, swatting him hard enough to elicit a yelp. “Where were you out there, huh?” She smiled warmly at Mario and Luigi on her way to the kitchen. “Sorry we couldn’t wait any longer. Gramps and Mia needed to get to bed. But don’t worry, we saved plenty!”

“Probably too busy signing autographs for all the bella signore,” Uncle Tony guffawed. “Hard to blame ‘em! Better enjoy it before they figure out you’re plumbers with no money!”

“Heh, yeah. Caught us fair and square,” Mario said, managing a weak laugh. Luigi let loose a tiny, snorting chuckle too, although whether that was because he was backing Mario up or just blindly mimicking what he heard, too lost in his own sleepy little world, Mario wasn’t sure. They were still holding onto one another, which they’d maintained the entire walk back except in places where it was impossible to proceed in that way (ladders and the like). That way, a repeat of the stairs incident couldn’t happen, and Mario had known exactly when Luigi was getting shaky enough to need a break. He squeezed his brother’s hand as a way to check in. It took a few seconds, but Luigi squeezed back gently, which was a small relief.

“Is that the boys!?” Without any further warning, their mother barreled out of the kitchen like a runaway train. She grabbed them in both arms, her shaking grip tight enough that both brothers wheezed from a sudden lack of air. “Oddio, where have you been? You already vanished on us once! My old heart can’t take much more of this.” 

“You’re not that old, Ma,” Luigi murmured, patting her shoulder.

“Sorry,” Mario said as clearly as he could manage with his face smothered in her hair. “Didn’t mean to make ya worry. Just, uh, lost track of time, that’s all.”

“What happened?” That was Dad, moving slower to catch up with her, his brow creased deep. “Are you all right?”

“Never been better!” Luigi insisted, overly bright. The bone-crushing hug had woken him up a little, but now he was using his I’m definitely lying but maybe if I speak at a much higher volume, no one will be able to tell voice. “We were just, y’know, real busy making sure everyone on the block could still…flush their toilets! Everyone forgets how important that is. Can ya believe it?”

“And we had to make sure our friends got home safely too,” Mario jumped in, rubbing his mom’s back with his free hand as she continued to hold on for dear life. You get temporarily swallowed by a giant, man-eating plant in front of your parents one time… “But we’re definitely not going anywhere for the rest of the night, and Aunt Marie said something about leftover food, if you can forgive us…?”

“Of course, of course.” She finally stepped back, but not before one good, firm pinch of the cheek between her fingers for each of them. “You’ve worked so hard, my brave boys. You must be about ready to turn inside out from hunger already. Sit, sit, I’ll bring it to you—”

“Actually, Ma,” Mario interjected as gingerly as possible. “It’s been a really, really long day. Could we, uh, maybe take the food in our room? I know, I know, you don’t like that, but if anything gets messy, I’ll take care of it, promise—” 

“Ya can’t be serious!” Uncle Tony spoke up all of a sudden, his chair screeching against the floor as he jumped up. “You two still gotta give us the whole rundown of where ya been! Where did that angry, spikey dragon-turtle-guy even come from?”

“And the tiny kid who looked like a big ole mushroom with legs!” Uncle Arthur added.

“What about that giant monkey in the tie?” Aunt Marie piped up, half-laughing in sheer disbelief as she came back into the room. “He could talk! And not just little words, no — if I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was hittin’ on me.”

“Look, I get it, I get it,” Mario insisted as good-naturedly as he could manage. He started to inch towards the hallway with Luigi in tow, who he could feel becoming jittery from all the new noise. All he needed was a few good, firm excuses, a clear escape route, and they were home-free. “It was pretty crazy stuff, right? But seriously, we’re dead on our feet as it is—” 

“Then sit down already and take a load off!” Uncle Tony insisted right back. “We’ll make coffee!” 

“Nooooo, no coffee for me. Now!? I-I think I might shake right out of my skin if, “Luigi started to joke, only to squeak when Uncle Tony grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to steer him around anyway.

“C’moooon! A story like this can’t wait,” Uncle Arthur groaned. “This is the wildest thing that’s happened since Gramps’ teeth were eaten by that dog on the subway! Have some pity for your elders and their boring lives.” 

“We’ll tell ya all about it tomorrow, I swear!” Mario said a little louder, desperately trying to sound casual even as the words scraped up his throat. It was too loud, too bright. A new wave of dizziness swam over him; everything was starting to seem more and more like a dream, his vision smearing at the edges. The only thing that still felt solid, real was his hold on Luigi. He stayed focused on it like a lifeline, even as they were jostled around. “And you’ll understand then why we need to sleep for a million years and then some, I swear, ‘cause we, we’ve really gone through the ringer here...”

“Don’t you think you’ll feel better if you just sit down for a minute?” Ma asked, smiling warmly. “Besides, I wanted to know a little more about that princess—”

“Ya gotta eat anyway!” Uncle Arthur downed what was left of his glass in one swig. “Don’t make us beg!” 

“Forget the coffee. We’ll break out the Sangiovese and that’ll loosen you up real good,” Uncle Tony snickered.

Their uncle grabbed at Luigi again, pulling him along harder this time — hard enough that he panicked, his flailing hand struggling for a better grip on Mario’s before they were ripped apart. And that reminded Mario’s fuzzy, exhausted brain of something. A feeling he didn’t know how to describe in words but that cut into him like a knife between his ribs just the same, bone-deep and blindsiding and instantly overwhelming. He thought of—

(pink clouds and faint swirling light and green pipes and weird wind tunnels he could practically swim through and black shadows like soot in the air and lava glowing and Luigi shouting his name, Luigi panicking as he tried to calm him down, Luigi’s hand warm and snug against his because nothing could hurt them if they were together and nothing was going to separate them as long as Mario was strong enough, steady enough to make it that way but then there was a sound like thunder and the pressure grew and grew and grew and grew and GREW AND)

His body acted on its own. With both hands, he wrenched Luigi back towards him a few stumbling steps, out of Uncle Tony’s hands. “No!” He yelled, a hoarse, guttural sound. 

Silence, save for car horns on the street outside.

Clarity came over Mario in a slow, creeping wave, quickly turning into a feeling of horror as he registered the way everyone had frozen in place around him, staring with wide, frightened eyes. Even their parents looked stricken. Luigi’s tired expression had flooded with worry too, but there was a glint of something warmer there as well — understanding. I felt it, his eyes said to Mario, as clear as day. I remembered too.

“I-I’m sorry, but we really, REALLY need to take a rain check, all right?” That was Luigi, breaking the silence, talking way more assertively than he usually ever did at home. Most of the time, the others drowned him out, but now, he had everyone’s undivided attention, insistently pointing with his one free hand that wasn’t still clinging to Mario’s. “We, me and Mario here, are a little loopy, all right? Not thinking straight in the least! It’s been a hard day — a hard couple of days! Three days, in fact! Maybe three days, or two! Heck, I don’t even know what day it is anymore! That’s how out of whack we are! Do ya get it already!?” 

“Easy there, Lu,” Mario whispered. There was so much frantic gesturing going on that Luigi was starting to throw himself off-balance, swaying dangerously. He still felt ashamed, raw inside from the outburst, but Luigi jumping in had lessened it to the point that he could breathe again, at least. His amazing brother really was full of surprises today, it seemed. “But he’s right. I…it’s just been a lot."

Some glances were shared around the table. Surprisingly, it was Uncle Tony who spoke up first. 

“Y’know what? You do look like you’d be shoo-ins for a zombie movie, no makeup needed.” He clapped them lightly on the shoulders one more time and then sat back down with a backwards wave of the hand. “Don’t worry about us. Go on, get out of here.”

“Get plenty of rest,” Aunt Marie said, her smile plainly apologetic. 

“Man, that just gave me deja-vu like nobody’s business,” Uncle Arthur laughed. “Remember when they were tiny, Tony? We couldn’t peel them off each other for anything in the world.” 

“Oh man, do I,” Tony snorted. “Not without them scratching and screeching like stray cats! Might as well have made you two — whaddya call it again? — conjoined twins and saved a couple steps.” 

“There was that one time we were babysitting at the park down the street—” 

Mario didn’t hear the rest of the conversation. “Come on,” a familiar, gruff voice said near his ear, followed by two large arms herding him and Luigi away, their mother following close behind. “Get yourselves into the kitchen already.”

“I’m sorry, Dad,” Mario couldn’t help but insist once they were there, heels squeaking on the faded linoleum. Several of his stern talking-to’s over the years had started out much like this in the past; speaking up right away and defending himself before the inevitable yelling happened was practically second nature. “I didn’t mean to yell, I swear, it was just—”

“Never mind that,” the older man cut him off. There was something soft in his tone, softer than Mario could remember hearing it before, and that was when he realized that he'd misread the situation entirely. His dad's eyes were dark with concern, not anger. "Now come on. Give me your gloves, and shoes too. Both of you."

Mario and Luigi glanced at each other and then down at themselves in confused unison, dimly registering that yes, they were still wearing all of that, having forgotten to take everything off at the door like they usually did. Some slow shuffling later, and it was gathered in a pile. Their dad plucked their hats off their heads as well (also missed), tucking everything in the sturdy crook of one arm. He used his free hand to ruffle their hair and pat their faces, one after the other.

"You did good out there," he said, "but what matters most is that you're all right. That's always gonna be what matters most to us. I just," he swallowed slowly, thickly, "I want to make sure you both know that."

For one very brittle moment, as his dad held his face in his big, warm palm, Mario genuinely didn't trust himself to not start either laughing or sobbing right then and there — maybe a crazy mixture of both. The feeling passed, thankfully, but he still managed a wobbly smile, a small nod.

“Now go and wash up. Ma will get the food ready.” Sure enough, their mother was already bustling around like a madwoman, plates clattering and half-empty pots simmering again on the stove. “Luigi, you first. Datti una mossa.” 

“Yessir!” Luigi looked back at Mario before going, a tired, reassuring, still slightly worried look that said I’ll see you in a couple of minutes, okay? Mario reflected it back, and their dad walked Luigi out of the room, towards the hallway.

“Just promise me you’ll tell us what happened tomorrow, all right?” Mario's attention returned to his mother, who was finishing stirring some reheated sauce with a little too much shaky speed before coming over to him, smushing his cheeks in both hands. “I don’t care how old you two get. You're still my babies, and babies shouldn't keep secrets from their poor mother."

“I promise, I promise! You’re gonna pop my teeth out, Ma!” Mario half-laughed, gently tugging at her wrists so he could talk more clearly. “Definitely tomorrow, okay? Right now, I…I don’t know if I could tell ya if I tried. It’s just a crazy blur, and I really gotta process it all myself, still. We just need a little time."

“I understand.” She drew him into another hug. Mario couldn’t help but sink into the familiar warmth, clinging to her. He’d been so worried about Luigi that he’d never even considered the idea that he might never see his parents again either. The realization hit harder than he’d anticipated. “Besides, I know I have nothing to worry about when you two are together. You do such a good job of looking after your brother.” 

(Or even worse, what if he’d been able to come home in the end — but alone? What if he’d had to sit his parents down and tell them that Luigi was…) 

There it was again — that sudden, sour feeling of wanting to cry, such a heavy wave inside him that he had to clench his teeth to the point of pain to hold back a gasp.

Stupid, he thought bitterly, almost angrily. What did he even have to be crying about? Once again, he weathered the rush, kept the walls intact by a hair. He closed his eyes and just let himself be held.

“Of course, Ma,” he croaked. “Always.” 

[skywalkerstyles]

Skald(Bakugou x Reader)

Part one:

Warnings: werewolf Bakugou, arranged marriage, Viking Bakugou, slightly out of character Bakugou, A/B/O verse, soulmate verse, love triangles

Summary: an alliance is made between the werewolves and humans. That’s all I can say for now

“She’s mad and she’s magic. There’s no lie in her fire.” -Charles Bukowski

“Every single part, is who you’re meant to be, and you were meant for me, and you’re everything I need.” -Skylar Grey

Y/N kicked Asger hard, sending her sparring partner to the ground. She smirked, righting herself and sheathing her sword once more.

“‘S good Your highness. You get better every day.” She basked in the praise. It felt good to be acknowledged as more than just the Chieftain's daughter. She was a warrior, just like her brothers and sisters. “Next time though,” he barreled into her, knocking her to the ground. “Plant your feet. Never let the enemy give you a surprise.” He reached down, helping her back up.

“Thank you Asger. It means a lot that you’re willing to spar with me.” Not many of their clan would. She was.....she was the Chieftain's daughter. If she got hurt heads would inevitably roll. He smiled, nudging her gently.

“Don’t tell your father I was rough with you and we’re good eh?” She laughed. He pulled out his drinking horn, taking a drink of mead before handing it to her. She drank from it gratefully.

“Y/N!” She rolled her eyes, hearing the loud bark of her father. Chief Hagen was a huge man. 6’7, dark hair braided down his back and shaved down the sides, a burly beard and rosy nose. He was intimidating beyond words and Asger quickly turned on his heel after snatching his gourd back.

“faðir(father)” she reached for him as he wrapped an arm around her and hugged her tightly to him, kissing the top of her head.

“barnið mitt(my child). Was Asger rough with you?” He asked. Y/N shook her head.

“No. He just told me to make sure my feet are planted and sparred me a bit.” Hagen nodded, eyes following Asger’s retreating form. He sighed, looking back at his daughter with a smile.

“Your mother and I have something we would like to discuss with you. Will you come home?” She nodded, following behind her father.

Their home was the largest in the village. A big stone building with wooden posts and a solid foundation. Oydis, Y/N’s mother, was outside, shelling green beans with her grandmother. Nana Rhigda smiled at her as they approached.

“Nana.” Y/N said, stopping to kiss the older woman on the cheek. Her skin was withered and cold beneath her lips.

“Sweet girl,” her mother said, garnering her attention away from her grandmother. “We need to speak with you privately”. Oydis held out her hand, gripping her daughter firmly as the three of them walked into their home.

Katsuki was shifting back into human form when his father came to collect him. The boy was pulling his trousers up his legs when he turned and saw him, Chieftain of their clan, walking towards him. Katsuki paused his movements, set on edge by the look on his father’s face.

“Good hunt Katsuki?” he asked. Katsuki nodded.

“Three deer. ‘Spose itll be good for winter once the women dry the meat out.” He had caught two of them. He loved the thrill of the chase, attacking something, wrestling it to the ground and tearing it apart with his fangs. The power was intoxicating.

“That’s good...care to go for a walk?” this surprised Katsuki further. He was never asked to go on walks with his father unless the conversation was serious and needed to be away from prying eyes. Katsuki followed him down the stony path towards the ocean, where the long boats sat on shore, gazing out at the horizon.

“Is everything alright?” he asked. His father nodded.

“The pack is doing very well. We’re thriving actually. But you know as well as I do that, that can change in a moment.” He snapped his fingers. “‘S why alliances are so important. Especially for Werepeople. We aren’t human. And humans can be fickle things. They let fear run their heart and they hate anything they don’t understand.” they stopped infront of one of the boats, His turned to look at him fully. “‘S why I’ve made an alliance with the Helvig Clan...you’re to marry their eldest daughter, Y/N, within a fortnight.” Katsuki’s heart nearly burst out of his chest, he looked at his father with wide eyes.

“W...What?”

“No….I...I’m not ready to marry.” Y/N said, shaking her head. Oydis put her arm around her daughter, rubbing her thumb against Y/N’s shoulder to try and calm her. Her father stood in front of her, face stern and unchanging.

“It’s already been decided.” Hagen said. “It….Its our life on the line sweetheart. Or family. Our tribe. This alliance is a powerful one. With Werepeople on our side we can be unstoppable.” Y/N shook her head, tears falling down her face.

“I don’t...I don’t want to marry someone I don’t love.” Hagen swallowed hard. He loved all of his children, and if there was another way, he would take it over his daughter’s tears in a heartbeat. “You will meet Katsuki tonight at dinner.”

Hana waited by their tree. It was a little after the time they had set to meet and she worried. Katsuki was never late. Not when it came to meeting, their secret moments when they could be alone together.

She was picking petals off a flower when she heard his familiar footfalls, turning to launch herself into his arms. He caught her and held her tightly, pressing soft kisses to the skin of her neck.

“Hello my love.” he whispered. His heart was breaking but he kept up his composure. It was Hana he wanted to marry, to be with. But those dreams had been shattered with one conversation.

“Katsu?” she whispered, pulling back from him, she kissed his cheeks, as he rested his forehead against hers. She smelled heavenly. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re going to hate me.” he mumbled. She shook her head.

“Never darling. What’s wrong?” He took her in, studied her dark hair, the bright blue eyes, soft pink lips. What other woman could compare to her. The girl he had loved for three years now.

“I’m to be married.” Hana felt as though someone had struck her hard across the face.

“W..What?”

“An alliance. I’m to be married within a fortnight.” Now Hana couldn’t stop her own tears. Katsuki held her close.

“I love you.” she cried into his shoulder. He nodded, swallowing thickly.

“I know.”

Y/N was nervous. She had never been interested in anyone and no one had ever fancied her before. But her mother and grandmother bathed her, washed her hair and placed perfume on her body. They put a crown of white lilies in her hair and a maroon satin dress on her. Oydis placed her hand on her daughter’s rosy cheek.

“You look beautiful my girl. Absolutely stunning.” Hagen stuck his head into the room, mouth parting slightly when he saw his eldest daughter. Gone was the tomboy he adored, now stood before him a young maiden, ready to be married off. It broke his heart a little.

“They,” he cleared his throat. “They’re here. Is the meal prepped?” Hagen couldn’t look at his daughter. He would cry and he couldn’t do that.

“Everything is ready son,” Rhagid said, waving him away. “Bring them in and we will bring her out.”

It was a smaller village than their own, but it looked quite cozy. Katsuki walked stiffly beside his father, as His father led him to the largest of the long houses. Before knocking He turned to Katsuki.

“I know this is hard for you son….but with time comes love. If you don’t love her now you will. It did for me and your mother.” Katsuki looked at him in shock.

“You...you and mom were-”

“Arranged? Yes. And I was a horrible husband in the beginning….” he ran a hand through his hair. “I loved another before her you see? And I kept going back to her. I didn’t….I refused to see how it hurt your mother. Until the day she threatened me with divorce. We managed to work things out, and I fell for her madly. But in the beginning I never gave her a chance.” he placed a hand on his son’s shoulder, looking him in the eyes. “All I’m asking is, give her a chance. You’re a good man. Be a better man than I was to your mumma.”

Hagen opened the door to his home widely and warmly, smiling at the fellow Chief and nodding in respect. He looked at the boy that would be marrying his daughter. He was about 5’7, blonde spikey hair, and brilliant red eyes. He nodded at Hagen who did the same in return before welcoming them in.

“Smile darling. It’s not the end of the world.” Oydis said softly to her daughter. Hagen shouted from the main area, bidding them to come. The women stood, the older two exiting first and then, the girl to be married.

Katsuki’s breath came out sharp and short when his eyes met his bride’s for the first time. She was a beauty, beyond anything he could have imagined her being But there was something else, something warm that he had never felt with Hana. This woman’s scent called to him, it was of honey and brown sugar, of lilies and roses. It was intoxicating.

“May I present my daughter? Y/N.” Hagen took his daughter’s hand, bringing her forward. Katsuki felt his father’s hand on his back, pushing him forward as well. Hagen reached out, holding his hand out for Katsuki, who took it blindly, he was still gazing at his wife to be. When Hagen placed their hands together, warmth shot up Katsuki’s arm, causing him to shiver. Y/N’s eyes went wide and her breath stuttered, she was most likely feeling the same thing he was. When she finally looked him in the eye he nodded, an unreadable expression on his face.

“Hello.”

Dinner was an event. The men were rowdy. Y/N’s brothers talking and laughing loudly with Katsuki and his father. Katsuki liked to boast and brag. That was the first thing she noticed about him. He bragged about his victories and hunts, pridefully puffing out his chest. Hagen seemed to get along well with Katsuki’s father and that eased Y/N’s fears a little. Her father would never give her to someone who could hurt her. He loved his girl too much and she was the only daughter.

Katsuki sat close to her but didn’t speak much to her, and when she tried to engage him, he cast her off, rolling his eyes. But with one stern look from his father he stopped, swallowing hard as he looked down at her.

“After dinner, we can go for a ride. I mean….if you’re not chicken shit?” Werewolves courted in a different way than humans, usually going for hunts and runs together to bond. But a werewolf had never been mated to a human before, so Katsuki was a little lost. But if she would trust him enough to go for a ride, maybe things could be good. If they could not be lovers, they could be allies.

Y/N smiled, nodding her head. “Will you shift?” she asked. Katsuki snorted, taking her hand in his.

“Of course. It’s the only way you’d be able to keep up.” she narrowed her eyes slightly, challenging him a bit.

“Don’t underestimate me.” he laughed again, placing an awkward kiss to her cheek. This surprises even him, he hadn’t meant to be so forward. But he didnt mind her. She was kind and could keep up with his banter. So she had that going for her.

“I would never.” the two of them stood, unnoticed by the dinning party, who were telling stories and passing around the drinking gourd. Katsuki led her outside and they walked the small path towards the woods. Once shrouded in darkness he let go of her hands, taking a few steps back away from her.

“Look away. Don’t want you to see.” Y/N turned, squeezing her eyes shut as she began to hear the snap and crack of bone, Katsuki’s grunts and growls becoming more and more animalistic as the snapping increased. And then there was silence.

Y/N felt breath, hot and heavy on the back of her neck and then something wet nudging her.

Katsuki was worried that seeing him in wolf form would frighten her. But she gazed at him curiously, studying him. He wished he could speak to her, but she would’t hear him. She wasn’t a wolf, there was no link there.

“You are….magnificent.” she whispered. He was huge, with shaggy yellow fur, his red eyes glowing as he watched her. She reached out, hesitating just as she was about to touch him, Katsuki bowed his head, grumbling lowly when she scratched behind his ears. She made him feel dizzy, lightheaded.

“Be a better man than me.” Katsuki decided he would. He would treat his little wife with respect at least. He would do the best he could.

[professor-tammi]

since I’m sleep deprived and america is too asleep to stop me I’m going to spam fe text posts (I said that but I just wrote a pointless essay instead),

so I like trying gently suggesting irl gamer friends play FE3H, and while I have succeeded to get people to play it exactly 0 times thus far (I really do try), I’m not sure how to deal with the great conundrum of suggesting the best starting route to them if by some miracle I succeed one day

because the game very much pushes the Eagles as the first choice, and this is because Koei / IntSys want -- expect -- you to play SS first. of course, what happens in practice is that anyone who goes with the Eagles ends up playing CF first and CF is the one route that straight-up makes no sense if you haven’t played one of the other routes beforehand; I wish it was locked to NG+ or something, but it’s sadly not

people who play CF first tend to come away thinking that Rhea Evil and Bad, Church Evil and Bad, Edelgard Did Nothing Wrong, because they don’t realize that much of what Edelgard says is straight-up propaganda. and, I mean, to be fair, there is something to be said for that? it’s a disconcerting mirror of how people react to real life situations. and it’s always eerie to see how easy it is for people to blindly believe false information, be it fictional or not. but. it’s also rather depressing and I don’t need more reminders of that! so, since most people aren’t going to play the game more than once (if that), I think it’s best to steer people away from CF first

so that leaves AM and VW. AM is by far the best route to start with, imo, because it has fantastic twists that work particularly well if you haven’t done the other routes (the Flame Emperor reveal hits hardest on AM by a long shot, as does the time-skip, since Dimitri is so drastically changed by it) and also because it is the most complete-feeling story. well, and because it’s the best route in the game from a storytelling standpoint: FE3H’s strength is very much in the character writing and AM is a proper character-focused story, as opposed to the other routes

I tend to think of VW as “SS but more fun and with an actual lord character, and also you can’t end up on CF”, so I typically recommend it for players more interested in the lore. ... I say that, but, I don’t know why you’d ever choose lore over characters for a game like FE3H, so I think what actually happens when I tell people “you should play AM for a character-focused story and VW if you want to know the lore” is that they go “well, the Lions seem boring, and Claude seems fun, so I’ll play VW,”

and I can see where this comes from because. to be perfectly frank. if I hadn’t spoiled myself on aspects of 3H beforehand I know I would’ve picked Eagles first, and not Lions. Dimitri is easily the least interesting-seeming lord at a glance; if you watched the E3 trailer before playing the game (or simply interacted with the fandom beforehand), you’d have a good reason to choose Lions as you’d know that something happens to make him different and that’s a great character hook! but the average person goes in blind and that can be both a blessing and a problem

the rest of the Lions being largely very grounded characters is also a hindrance for first-glance appeal, because, again, the average person is more easily drawn to funny gimmicks, which the Lions largely lack. Eagles give you Social Anxiety Girl, Dumb Guy Who Wants to Punch Things, Mr Always Asleep, etc; Deer give you The Funny Lord, Lazy Pigtails Gal, Horrible Haircut, Muscley Meat-Eater Man, etc; these are flat but easy-to-understand interpretations. conversely, I feel the only real quick-hook character the Lions have is Sylvain. and, to be clear, all of these characters are very much characters first and gimmicks second, save for Bernadetta and Raphael, but what matters for the house choice is that first impression

I personally love more grounded characters, so I was also drawn to the Lions in this sense, and I’m very thankful they’re not particularly gimmicky and just written to be... characters. but a lot of other people’s first take on the Lions is just going to be, “oh, these guys don’t seem very fun compared to the others. why would I ever choose this house?” (yes -- this is an actual reaction I’ve seen, from several people)

anyhow I guess what I need to do is stop trying to be vaguely unbiased and just tell people outright to Play Azure Moon Before Anything Else because I think unless you really double down on AM being good very few people will ever think to play it first... and I’m a little sad about that. honestly.

[deviantartdramanow]

Oh since miss 'butthurt that taking out of context boo hoo" Triagonal is whining, HERE'S THE FULL CONVERSATION, courtesy of the user in our discord chat. Now, tell the court Triagonal, how did you get THIS conversation confused with MAYANDKIRBY AS THE USER. Now lets go one step further to dig the 'you are a goddamn liar and here's proof.' knife in deeper gang. THE DAY OF TALL'S FIRST EVER SUSPENSION: https://deviantartdramanow.tumblr.com/post/684629065916874752/small-w-for-us-tall-has-got-suspended-for-who (First anon to announce the good news. Hmmmm, those dates sure do LINE UP with the conversation! So no faking the dates there! This checks out.) Now, on to mayandkirby's 'banning' that Trigonal is trying to make us believe they meant instead, pfft. https://deviantartdramanow.tumblr.com/post/683682458554843136/lol-around-may-5th-or-6th-edt-time-zone May 5th or 6th. WAY before Tall's suspension. And it shows this person was actively talking with Triagonal, giving them PROOF of Tall's bullshit and wishing Triagonal would see Tall is toxic and not a good person and her journals NEED to be reported. So it's not like they barely talked to them. And again, SUBJECT WAS ABOUT TALL, NOT MAYANDKIRBY. Why bring up that user at all? If they broke the rules, oh well.  Also dipshit, if "Mayandkirby is the mod." why the fuck are they allowing 'dirt' on mayandkirby and talking in a different typing style, not shoving 'tons of pictures of may from pokemon into responses' and linking 'anime or megatron scenes.' ? My friend, use that fucking barely buzzing lump of hamburger meat in your skull for once. Take the L, you lost this trial. (tossing this part in since your 'alt' oh i mean 'LIVE IN FRIEND' keeps saying this fucking blog is owned by Mayandkirby. Lmao.)  Jury finds Triagonal a guilty stupid fucking lying manipulating idiot and a clown. Her punishment is to wear clown makeup as she walks through the streets as everyone points and laughs at her empty skulled response when she was caught playing both sides of the field and being a backstabber to both sides. She is to honk her nose and do a dance for those she greets going: "I am Triagonal; the top clown of DA, do not trust me, I have 400 alts and always say they live with me or know me in some shape or form incase someone asks my friendship with empty alts. I am always right in my mind, and I am guilty of what those who show proof say. I am scared of this blog hence why I stalk it all the time. And the forum goers have every right to expose my past misdeeds since I love to pick on minors and glorify the hag that is TallTherify29. I defended her more than anyone else, and let others suffer as I looked the other way. I said I protected others when all I did was say lies and instead blindly ran to her aid as others suffered in silence and cried in depression from Tall's horrible deeds. I am the ultimate lying jester. Shame on me. Unwatch me I am the worst person ever. I am Triagonal the clown, and I bring the circus to you all honk honk!" *Slams gavel.* Now lets all go get some booze, too annoying dealing with the circus act that is this bitch right now. Learn your place next time chump.

[dustofbrokenheart]

The Covenant: Top Anon

Pogue Parry x Reader

Word Count: 2,288

Summary: You have a loyal follower who comments on every post under your food blog. Just who is your favorite follower and why is the new grocery boy kinda cute too?

It was a new year and the start of a new you. Well, that is, a you who was trying new things.

In the past, you always made resolutions, but that spirit ran out before the month of January was even done. But after the particularly rough time of the past year, you swore that this time would be different, that you would make a serious effort to do something new.

It was that determination that led your current situation—your kitchen countertops were covered with ingredients and cooking utensils, your cell phone resting on a near by tripod for filming purposes.

The goal for this year was to try running a blog, and since you were a bit of a foodie, it made a lot of sense to center the blog around cooking and food. The idea came to you quickly; the hard part was deciding on a name, which took a while.

Eventually, you settled on The Foodiest. Naming was not one of your strong suits, but it was enough to get the point clearly across to potential viewers.

Choosing the layout design was on the same level of easy as deciding and didn’t take more than a day or two to implement on your site. Thank goodness for the existence of pre-made layout templates that saved you the effort of having to code everything yourself.  

With of the work on that end finished, the day had finally come for you to actually cook something to post about. Seeing as how January was a cold, winter month, you chose to make mashed sweet potatoes. Not only was it one of your favorite winter side dishes, it wasn’t hard to make either, giving you the confidence that even if your writing was lackluster, at least the food would look good.

Most of the blogs you were familiar with used a combination of text and photos for readers to follow along with, but you were going to try video in place of images. You sometimes struggled to copy based on what was shown in the photo, especially when you first started cooking, so you hoped video would make it easier on budding chefs who came across your content.

Luckily, the video would be sped up and lapsed for the final post to spare people from having to watch the monotonous parts in full length.

Hands on your hips, you surveyed everything one last time to make sure it was all ready. With a satisfied nod you reached forward to tap the large, red record button on the phone.  

You debated whether or not to talk while filming but decided against it. You were nervous enough posting to the blog without having the added stress of talking.

Everything happened in its regular order: you started by peeling and chopping the potatoes, a basic step, but you took your time doing it, paranoid as ever that you would cut yourself with the knife. Next you boiled the bright orange chunks in a pot of water; then put them in a mixing bowl once they were cooked. And finally used an electric mixer to blend it all nice and smooth, adding in milk, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  

Swiping your pointer finger through the finished product, you hummed with delight at the delicious, sweet taste. You pulled out a presentable bowl from the cupboard and spooned some orange fluff into it for the final reveal. Reaching blindly towards the far end of the counter you grabbed a bag of pecans to top off the mashed sweet potatoes. You scrutinized it and added more pecans for good measure.

Doing something in front of a camera was very different than doing the same thing on a normal day. Tension leeched out of your shoulders and you exhaled loudly with your head leaned back. A sense of pride warmed your chest, especially as you returned your gaze to the picturesque bowl. It looked great and tasted even better.

There was a large portion of leftovers because the recipes you used were collected from family and meant to feed small armies of people. You did your best to eat what you could and made plans sharing the rest with friends and coworkers later.

A few days after you published the post, you decided to check the stats on your account dashboard to see what the public response to it was, if there was any at all. Google analytics was useful for counting the total number of views it received while the blog site itself tracked the likes and… a comment?

Initial shock gave way to a bolt of excitement that had your fingers tingling with energy. You clicked to read it, wondering what it may say. Fingers crossed it was something good, whether it came in the form of a compliment or some constructive criticism.

Anonymous: wow good job

The chair creaked as you sat back slowly. You didn’t know how to read that, there wasn’t a whole lot to go on. Wow good job, said sarcastically? Wow good job, said excitedly? It didn’t help that the commenter didn’t believe in using punctuation either. And since it was submitted anonymously, there was no easy way to track down who sent it.

But maybe you were being too paranoid about it. You decided to take it as a compliment and cracked your fingers before firing off a response.

Foodiest: Thanks anon! I had a lot of fun with this dish. Hope you tune in for the next one :)

Anonymous never followed up with that particular exchange but they commented on every post without fail for the next two months.

Anonymous: nevr had white chili before it was good

Anonymous: the stuffed pepper were good

Anonymous: good call with the shrimp

Of course, all of the messages were sent as anonymous, so there was no 100% guarantee that it was the same person, but your gut feeling told you that it was. Who else had no respect for grammar rules and religiously used ‘good’ as their only descriptor?

You grew to expect, and enjoy, the weekly comment left by anon and made sure to leave a nice response in return. It was hard not to feel a connection to someone who took the time to try your recipes and leave a nice message. If only you could figure out who it was or at least have a name for them besides anonymous.

Foodiest: I’m glad you liked the recipe! My gramma swore by mayo when making grilled cheese. Thanks for always liking my stuff, if you ever want to talk more feel free to message me!

There. Maybe that would make them feel comfortable to give you their name you thought as you powered down your laptop for the night.

You spent the next couple of days leading up to the new post planning on what recipe to cook. Yep. Definitely not hoping for more information about anon.

For this newest post you decided to make some Indian curry, one of your favorites. Even long after you finished cooking, taping, and cleaning, the potent scent of spices was still heavy in the air, like aromatic nirvana that had your mouth watering even with a full stomach.

You tried your best not to refresh the post every few minutes to see if anon commented but it was tough. It turned out that you didn’t have to wait long as they left a comment within twenty minutes.

Anonymous: havent cooked this yet but looks good. Never really had indian before so have to go buy the stufff first – po

Anon finally gave up a name! You let out a happy noise and read it again. Po… short and to the point, just like all of the previous responses had led you to think about them. There was no time to waste, you hurried to write back, initial typos all over the place as the words out-paced your fingers.

Foodiest: Hi Po! It’s nice to have a name to put with your words. I would recommend going to an Asian Market for the spices, they’re more likely to carry them. Let me know how it goes for you :)

Since that conversation, Po and you chatted frequently about the weekly recipe choice, whether or not it looked good and if Po had plans to make it themselves, which they often did. Po seemed to like all types of food; vegetarian, meats, drinks, desserts, even ethnic dishes from places as far off as Bolivia and Morocco.

And the longer you two talked, the more frequent the messaging became. Whereas in the beginning Po would only submit a compliment that you would follow up with a ‘thank you’, it had turned into lengthy back and forths that took up a majority of the comment section for each post. More followers joined as the months went by and you hoped that they weren’t intimidated by your blatant favoritism but it was just so easy to talk with Po. If you were being honest with yourself though, it wasn’t only that it was easy… you genuinely liked talking to them.

Every time you made a new post it was difficult to not refresh the page every few minutes to see if they had left a message. And when they did, it was like a shot of electricity straight into the system where your heart would jolt and your face would flood with heat. You were hesitant to say it was a crush given that you didn’t know what they actually looked like and the computer screen barrier made it so you were content to define it as friendship.

Pushing those thoughts aside, you grabbed your wallet and keys while putting on shoes so you could make a quick run to the store. You had big plans to make some buffalo chicken wings for the blog this week and you needed to stop by the store to pick up some ingredients that you didn’t have, namely Frank’s Original Red for the buffalo sauce and blue cheese for the dip. Being an adult and responsible for your own grocery shopping was a chore at times. 

Luckily, Winter had thawed out into Spring so there was no need for you to warm up or car or scrape your windows. You just hopped in and drove the four blocks it took to get to the store. The plan was to cross the stuff for the wings off of your list first and then browse around for some good snacks to tide you over for the next week or so. Things were going according to plan until you saw him.

A tall boy wearing an employee apron stood in front of the cracker section, his jaw line and soft looking long hair catching your eye. Then he reached up to the tallest shelf to restock some boxes his arms flexing slightly to show off his heavy biceps and his shirt rode up, exposing deep cut ridges in his lower abdomen. To put it simply, you were starstruck.

He finished with the boxes he had in-hand and went to grab more from the cart at his side when you noticed your blatant ogling. Rather than confront you about it he merely smiled and moved out of the way so that you could get to the brand that you wanted. Choking from embarrassment, you kept your head down and threw a box of Goldfish into your shopping cart, speeding to get out of the aisle and his presence.

The store was a small local business and you frequented enough to know most of the workers there but you didn’t recognize this one, meaning that he must be new. What a way to make a first impression on him. Clearly your constitution was no match for his rugged, good looks. Then he was polite enough not to comment on you objectifying him which somehow made you feel even worse about it.

You decided to end the shopping trip almost immediately knowing that you were too spooked to continue shopping lest you run into him again.

You rolled the shopping cart into an open check-out lane and started putting your things on the conveyor for the cashier to scan. It just so happened that you knew the cashier—she was a middle-aged lady who’d been at the store for nearly two years. “Hi, Y/N. Find everything you needed?”

“Hey, Eva. Yes, I did.” You tried to steady yourself. Eva had a notoriously sharp eye and wouldn’t hesitate to question you if you looked off.

She left you alone today, engaging in normal chit chat, until she had trouble scanning the bottle of Frank’s hot sauce. Eva frowned when it didn’t want to scan and tried again but the bottle slipped from her hands and the neck of it shattered. Eva cursed and huffed, hurrying to throw the bottle into the trash before more leaked onto the register.

“I am so sorry, hun! I’ll get you another.”

“It was an accident,” you assured. “I can get it myself—"

“Not a problem,” she assured you with a wink. She pulled a walkie from her hip and spoke into it. “Hey, bring me a bottle of Frank’s Original Red Hot Sauce. Quick.”

You barely had time to don your awkward smile as she talked about how her neighbor’s dog kept pooping in her yard when the guy from the cracker aisle walked up behind Eva and handed a bottle of hot sauce to her. She took it and patted his back to get him to move forward.

“Thanks, hun. Y/N this is the new grocery boy—”

“Pogue,” he interrupted. “My name is Pogue.”

_______________

Another fic where they know each other but don’t know that they do. This time featuring Pogue and his fandom accepted interest in food. I picture him to have bad messaging skills — his fingers struggle with those tiny phone buttons. 

[ultraintrovertedgryffindor]

She’s Real - Patrick Hockstetter (IT)

Literally no idea why, I have nothing else to post right now and I made this when I was having a bad day.

It’s Patrick, don’t expect anything good or wholesome to come from this. That’s the warning.

~~~~~~~~~~

It was a normal school day for Patrick, terrorizing the Losers, being Henry’s right hand man, wondering when he’s ascend to the heavens to truly take the role of god that he knew he was. Yep, just a normal day.

Something felt different though, he could feel it and he wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was the unfamiliar face he saw walking down the halls of the school.

Patrick had never seen this girl before, she must’ve been new. Fresh meat, he thought. The only other new kid was Ben, and they always had trouble finding him. Little bastard had skills for avoiding people.

Henry looked over at Patrick, they both had sinister smiles painted on their faces. Vic and Reggie blindly followed behind them, preparing themselves to do some terrorizing.

The girl jumped when her locker suddenly closed shut, revealing Henry and the rest of the gang.

She had heard of the bullies as soon as she entered the school grounds, mostly from Bill who told her he liked targeting the weaker kids, those including new students as well.

“Well, well, well. Look who we have here.” Henry sneered. “New girl, huh?”

The girl simply nodded, already not looking forward to the conversation.

“I assume you just moved into town?” He smiled.

The girl got really nervous when she heard the supposed bully’s sweet tone, knowing that he was apparently known for being cruel. She didn’t want to fall for his game, but she wanted to give them all the benefit of the doubt, being an open-minded person.

The girl forced a weak smile and nodded. “Moved here a few days ago.” Her voice cracked slightly, making her subtly clear her voice.

Patrick grinned. He heard the waver in her voice that the others didn’t, he could feel that she was nervous just in the presence of them. He looked her up and down, admiring her figure and immediately daydreaming about how he’d use this girl.

“What’s your name?” Henry asked.

“Avery.”

Patrick’s grin quickly left his face, a flood of memories coming back to him all at once, making his knees buckle slightly. Thankfully, no one noticed.

The rest of the bullies all watched in confusion as Henry kept up a somewhat decent conversation with Avery, not even insulting her once.

Patrick just wanted to get out of there so he could harass some Loser. He let out a sigh of frustration as soon as they walked away, and stormed up to Henry. “What the fuck was that? Why’d you keep talking to that cunt?”

“She seemed nice.” Reggie mumbled out, him quickly shutting up when Patrick threw him a harsh glare.

“I have a plan.” Henry started. “The chick’s a people pleaser, that much I can tell. So, she’s probably easy.”

The rest of the group finally understood his ulterior motive, but Patrick still felt rage inside of him.

“We’ll stay nice, for now. We’ll invite her to the dump and we’ll all get our turn with her.” Henry high fived the group, Patrick reluctantly giving one back.

He didn’t like it, not one bit. Avery was the only other real person that threatened him, but he took care of that. Now, he felt like the universe was against him, bringing another real person into the world without his say. Including the same name as his baby brother.

He needed to do something about it, and quick. That girl was not going to take his world away from him.

It took every ounce of willpower from Patrick to not snap the girl’s neck over the past week. Henry’s plan was being played out perfectly though. They had successfully gained Avery’s trust and friendship, and they actually got along. She didn’t know what kids were talking about when they called the group monsters. They sure didn’t act like monsters, not to her at least.

Avery noticed Patrick staring at her from the corner of her eye. He did that a lot. It kind of made her nervous, despite hanging out with the creepiest guys in the school. There was just something about his intense blue eyes, like he was staring into her soul.

She had always thought Patrick to be handsome, looking past his creepiness. The staring making her nervous, possibly in a good way. But she felt a darkness about him, that made her stay away from her attraction.

Patrick blinked when Henry snapped his fingers in front of his face. “The fuck’s up with you? Staring off into space or some shit.” Henry barked out.

Patrick scowled. “I’m fuckin’ bored just sitting here.”

Henry suddenly had an idea and grinned. “You know what? Why don’t we skip?”

Avery laughed. “And go where?”

“We have a special place where we hang out.” Henry nudged her shoulder. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

Patrick had no idea why he didn’t want this to happen. Usually, he’d be all for Henry’s cruel plans, loving them as well. But the thought of all the boys taking their turns with Avery made him sick.

Avery hummed in thought. 

Say no. Say no.

“Sure, why not?” She shrugged and giggled.

Fuck.

All the boys and Avery piled into Reggie’s car, quickly speeding off from the school parking lot.

Henry made Avery sit in the back with him. Vic and Reggie were nervous by how Patrick kept glaring at Henry every once in a while. But they kept quiet.

Patrick hopped out of the vehicle with a huff, slamming the door shut.

Henry was like a leech, staying by Avery’s side without letting go. It made Patrick angry, but he kept it to himself. He just had to wait it out.

“Wow.” Avery awed, looking around. “Besides being a literal dump, this is actually a cool place to hang out.”

Henry wore an evil smirk that made Avery uncomfortable when she turned around to look at him, especially the next words that came out of his mouth. “Okay boys, who wants to go first?”

“What?” Avery stuttered.

Henry strolled over to the now scared girl, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. “Did you really think we were friends? We just wanna fuck you.”

Avery’s eyes widened, pushing the boy away harshly, making him scowl. “Get the fuck away from me!”

“This’ll go a lot easier if you just cooperate, doll.”

Patrick sighed when he saw her frightened face. “Let her be, Henry.”

Henry turned around to face his friend slowly. “The fuck did you just say, Hockstetter?”

Patrick was annoyed, storming up to the boy with the mullet and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. “I said, leave Avery the fuck alone.” He spat, making Henry scared.

Vic and Reggie were shocked at Patrick’s actions, cowering in fear just like their leader. “Get the fuck outta here!” Patrick yelled at all the boys.

Henry quickly ran to the car, the other two following suit and driving off in a hurry.

After Patrick forced all his friends to leave, he turned back to Avery who was wearing a shocked and scared expression. “Why’d you do that?” She asked.

“I couldn’t let those assholes hurt you.” Patrick fussed, not even hiding that fact that he was pissed about it.

Avery paled. “Oh...” She paused, “well, thank you then.”

Patrick walked over to her and carefully sat her down. “I was actually hoping that you would’ve said no to coming here.”

“Why? Why’d you do this for me?”

Patrick looked Avery straight in the eyes, with that same intense stare, making her blush. “You’re different. I can feel it.”

Avery furrowed her brows. “Different? I’m just a girl.”

Patrick shook his head. “No...you’re real.”

Before Avery could ask what that meant, Patrick leaned in and planted a rough kiss on her lips. Avery was shocked. She knew she shouldn’t have enjoyed it, but she did and relaxed into the kiss.

Patrick brought a large hand up to her neck and squeezed gently, making sure not to hurt her. He pulled away slightly to whisper two words that made Avery confused. “I’m sorry...”

Avery’s eyes widened when she felt both Patrick’s hands squeeze her throat tightly, blocking her airways.

Patrick pulled away from the kiss to look at her with slight remorse. “You are real, Avery. And because you’re real, you threaten me.”

Avery was too busy trying to claw Patrick’s hands away to even register what he was saying.

“If you weren’t different, maybe things could be okay. But you’re not. Only I can be here, that’s why I had to kill my baby brother. He would’ve done the same to me if he ever got the chance.”

Soon, Avery stopped trying to fight. Her face was turning purple, her eyes turning blood red. Patrick remembered his brother’s face when he suffocated. It strangely...beautiful.

Patrick watched as Avery’s arms pitifully fell limp to her sides and her eyes rolling to the back of her head. She stopped moving. She stopped trying to gasp for air.

It was a few seconds that Patrick held on, but then he slowly released his grip. He felt a sense of a accomplishment when the girl didn’t move, at all.

Patrick didn’t have to worry anymore. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry, I don’t know what y’all expected🙃

[dropoutparty]

ngc ramblings part 3- chapter 5

here we are at part 3!!! sorry this one took so long, i originally was gonna make this post include entropy and extus (along with finally talking about face in depth) but it was so fuckin long that im splitting it into 2 different posts! the next part isnt done yet but im like almost halfway done so it shouldnt be too much longer until its out! also before we get into this one:

tw for: death, animal death, and suicide. pls take care of urself and don't read this if those things are triggering for u <3

ok lets get on with the post

at the start of entropy zach doesnt waste any time getting right to the point. this place is bigger than the other planets so far, and zach says the music this time around is a melody that “started out normal but then got distorted” played by a violin sounding instrument. even tho i do sometimes forget that this is supposed to be a creepypasta im not surprised that he said it made him feel depressed and unnerved lmao. anyways, this planet has all new level types in it!! no reused ones!! ok now this is epic. the bosses this time around are megalon, battra, and mechagodzilla, but itll be a good while before we get to those guys because this chapter is long as hell holy shit?? buckle up babez <33 now, before i get into the meat of things as usual im gonna talk abt the planet name! entropy basically means “a lack of order/predictability or a gradual decline into disorder” and that's very accurate to this part of the story. at this point, red is pissed off and is getting desperate, which means from here on out things are going to be getting more intense and more unstable. this world is the turning point in the overall story, basically.

now with that out of the way, zach first goes to the worlds quiz level as usual! this time something was different. usually, in the quiz levels there would be goofy ass music playin in the bg (specifically the GH1D0RA cheat music, if you wanna like listen to it ig?) but from here on out its been replaced by the music from the games password screen, which zach called creepy earlier on in the pasta. im gonna glaze over the quiz again this time, but when we get to the next planet ill talk about all of the quizzes in depth all at once. basically all you need to know for now abt what happens here is face asks “do you like mothra?” and when zach picks no (after going on a tangent abt how mothra sucks lmao,, bro i swear im good at the game my controllers just messed up /s), face enters bastard mode and goes “TOO BAD!” and boom now zach cant play as anyone but mothra. zach is pissed for now but little does he know this is just going to become an even more epic gamer bc of this,, youll never get better at something if you never try and all that.

after that, zach moves on to the first level type- the forest. immediately zach gets an eerie feeling from this level bc he has some kinda fear involving forests at night (i can think of a reason why but ill have to talk abt that later just to be sure). hes also not feelin great about being forced to play as mothra, so the pressure of it all is def starting to get to him by now. the music in the forest is woodwinds followed by slow, rhythmic drums and chiming bells. must have been some ominous woodwinds and bells bc it made him feel like he was intruding somewhere he shouldnt be (oh rlly?? u dont say,, everything up until now has been fine /s). getting into the level itself, eventually zach comes across some weird deer-like monsters just vibing and scares them away when he gets close. later in the level he finds more of these weird deer along with a sloth-like creature on some of the trees and some raptor dudes killing some of the deer. zach shoots one of the raptors but thats about it. nothing really happened in this level but zach noted that he didnt feel like he was playing a video game, but instead it felt more like he was exploring a forest in another dimension. thats interesting for reasons ill ~get to later~ (yall must be so tired of hearing that by now omg,, i know im tired of saying it at least. i was gonna wait until after replay to talk about things but i severely underestimated how long this whole project would be, so i might make a post for the “more on that later” stuff before i get into replay. let me know what u think i should do).

anyways, the next thing zach checks out is the first tv screen level so far. these levels just play an animation with some music in the background, and theres a different animation per level. this time around the animation is of a kid with a beaver(?) head licking a lollipop and the music is the GH1D0RA music that the quiz levels used to use. the only thing of note here is that zach says he had a shirt that looked just like that when he was a kid. after that, were off to some of the weirdest fuckin levels in this whole thing imo- the hourglass levels. these levels have an entirely brown color palette, with grandfather clocks standing in the background (the level appears to be in like a hallway or something) and various time measuring things floating in the air. the music is the same as the board (ig cosby just didnt feel like thinking of what theme this place would have lol). after a little bit zach was rlly happy to see actual enemies from the normal game show up! these are basically like aircraft, tanks, etc. thats not the main attraction here tho, bc this level has its own unique mechanic! this mechanic is the colored hourglass items you can pick up. there are three of them, a blue one that slows time down and makes enemies from the past appear, a red one that speeds up time and makes enemies from the future appear, and a green one that made the time flow normally and spawned enemies from the normal game. zach found the blue one first, which caused a bunch of prehistoric enemies based on real animals to show up. after that he found a green one and fought normal enemies again, and then he found a red hourglass. the future enemies here look like aliens to me, and zach says that one enemy reminds him of something he saw in a book once. eventually, a special future creature showed up and zach was suddenly in a boss battle! or a mini boss battle? that description is probably more accurate. this guy doesnt have a face, and he can only attack by shooting a beam from his face, it sure does look cool! after zach beat it tho, he was off to the next level type, which is basically a toxic waste dump.

zach called it grungy and inhospitable, with the music being a synth ambient loop that made him feel dizzy while he listened to it. this is important because this is the first instance of the game making zach feel something *physically*, not just psychologically. all of the enemies here are mutated to some degree, with him first seeing green mummies with bird skulls coming out from vats of toxic slutch and a brownish cow skeleton monster with spider legs. later zach comes across a deer from the woods, drinking some toxic slutch (delinchous). zach got close to it to try making it stopped but suddenly some enemies came out of nowhere and scared it into running right off a ledge and into the slutch. rip :pensive:. after that zach found more mutated enemies (i.e some things with tentacles and some other deformed thing with human teeth) before he finally gets to the end of the level, where theres another miniboss waiting for him!! this ones a toxic sludge monster with a whale skull who attacks with a mouth projectile and by charging into you. the monster sank into the slutch and thats all for this level babeyy!

the next level is another forest, but this time its winter! its still at night, but this time zach doesnt feel off put, which he mostly attributes to the music. he describes it as a gentle, calm song that almost sounded romantic. the entire first segment of this level had no enemies in it, but dw this level is interesting i swear. the next segment starts out just as empty as the last one, but this time its silent. that is, until the music from “unforgiving cold” starts playing. yaa you remember that place!! i think i said it was less interesting than i remembered but its interesting again now bc it was foreshadowing these levels!! anyways soon after the music started up, zach started to come across tons of frozen bodies of the deer from earlier. some were mutilated, some werent, but they were all frozen and covered in snow. eventually zach does come across something living though, a sloth creature from earlier! its just vibing when suddenly the winter versions of the raptors from earlier rush in and fuckin obliterate the sloth thing. those things just blindly try killing everything in sight, and even start fighting themselves before zach finally gets to the last part of the level.

now this is where shit starts to get crayzay. this part opens up to a big empty field with a full moon and the nice music from earlier back. despite the nice music tho, zach immediately starts feeling dread and eventually he finds a lake. the lake comes down from the sky and starts to crack like an egg, a humanoid figure curled up in the fetus position dropping into the lake below and the moon halves disintegrated. this spawned the moon beast, the hardest challenge zachs had to deal with so far. after he finally defeats it, the screen goes to black and the name “melissa” is on screen, written in red. after that, the screen then says kys. the word kill then fills up the screen, layering over itself until it forms a picture of reds face. its now that we finally get to hear abt the whole melissa thing (which makes it sound like shes been mentioned in the pasta before this but thats not what i mean lmao). to summarize, zach had a middle school gf named melissa (also bro middle school?? wadda hell) who often went into “episodes” where she would stare off, expressionless, before trembling and putting her face in her hands. she and zach hung out in a field at night a lot but one night she just stared at the moon the whole time before running into traffic and dying.

NOW its finally later!!! were not done with entropy yet, but this is the end of part one of entropy so i wanna just take a little break to talk about things so far. this planet is FULL of symbolism and foreshadowing. to start off, i think a lot of the questions face asks at the beginning foreshadow things that happen. some examples are “is time slipping though your fingers?” which could allude to the time levels, “do you have any regrets?” which i think obviously foreshadows the whole melissa thing, “is it safe to go out at night?” and “do you find it hard to sleep at night?” both follow the same kinda theme, which i think relates to how the melissa incident happened at night, specifically out at night. i dont think the forest levels have anything too important in them, other than to introduce the presence of an innocent, harmless creature that doesnt deserve what happens to it later (aka the deer things) which might symbolize melissa. more evidence for this symbolizing melissa comes from the encounter with the deer in the toxic dump and the winter forest, where in the former zach tries to stop it from hurting itself but is too late, being forced to watch it die, and in the latter the same innocent thing from earlier is found dead close to where the real incident took place. the two big themes to keep in mind here are death and time, more specifically the past. most of the enemies here are either made from bones or kill other enemies, there's a dedicated time level referencing things that zach remembers seeing at one point (aka that one alien zach recognized), the beaver head had the same shirt as child zach did, it all connects to zachs past and the death of melissa. as for the moon beast, its the most obvious reference for reasons ive already explained. i dont really know what the moon cracking open and dropping a curled up human into the lake could mean other than some other thing melissa related, but i *do* think that the fact that the moon beast is the most difficult thing zach has faced so far is symbolic of the fact that the trauma from this event has followed him throughout his entire life, and its something he struggles with daily. it could even be the reason why he said no when face asked if he could sleep easily at night. the moon beast also has some black fur around its neck, which i think is meant to represent a tire track, referencing and/or mocking the way melissa died.

its so cool how this entire part of the story builds up to and foreshadows the bomb it drops at the end of the part, giving people something to look back on. a lot of ppl say that as soon as the melissa stuff gets introduced the story goes down in quality, and i do somewhat agree with that sentiment, especially if they want the story to actually be scary, but i think the direction the story goes from this point on is so unique and cool. it does follow the whole “theres a ghost in the game” troupe (even tho it was probably seen as a spin on that originally) but it doesnt do the same cliches as so many other gaming creepypastas do and it really takes the concept and makes it its own. i just think its neat,,,

anyways im done gushing abt this story, lets get on with part 2 of extus!! basically zach has a fuckin panic attack and, after taking a few minutes to calm himself down when its over, he decides that he has to finish the game now because if he doesnt its just going to haunt him for the rest of his life. zach has now realized that the game is “alive” and can somehow see his thoughts and memories, so understandably hes pretty freaked out by it at this point. when he keeps playing, the first thing he does is check out another tv screen level. this time, the animation is of a fish dude just kinda standing there with his mouth flapping open and closed and the music is the neptune board music from the original game. the only reason i can think of for why this is here is maybe the game is mocking zach for the panic attack he just had (bc when u have a panic attack you feel like you can barely breathe, if ur lucky enough to have never had one before and u dont know) but thats abt it. its probably just a random goofy thing cosby threw in there.

anyways, the next actual level is the first labyrinth level. this time around, its a gold labyrinth specifically. the music in these levels is a slow, ominous drum beat with female vocals occasionally coming in and (basically from here on out) the monster zach plays as is now half the size it used to be. i think this shows how zachs feeling at this point, like this whole thing isnt just being a big strong monster and beating up enemies any more, he feels small and scared and helpless in the face of something potentially dangerous that he doesnt understand maybe his confusion about the game is the reason *why* theres so many labyrinth levels here in the first place. anyways im getting ahead of myself. personally, i think the aesthetic of the gold labyrinth is very similar to the green temples back on trance. while trance had a more circular and soft theme to it's architecture and sculpture, entropys is much more square or rectangle oriented. despite this, i think that the golden mazes at least are another religious kind of building, and the architecture is just different because theyre two different cultures who just happen to worship the same spiritual figure (aka melissa. did i say that earlier? i think i did,, if i didnt well the religions worship melissa, not knowing she's a dead human or anything. probably).

moving on, zach notes how the gold labyrinth would probably have been impossible to navigate as any of the other monsters, so turns out face being an asshole was a blessing in disguise after all huh? anyways this place is full of weird gold monsters, lava/fire traps, and stone faces (both in more of an easter island head style and in the regular feminine headshot weve seen so far). zach comes across two feminine heads, one that is more adult looking and pure gold, and another one that looks much younger and whos eyes have red irises and blue scleras. this statue apparently looks a lot like melissa did on the night she died, so zach leaves it pretty quickly. i *think* this is the first time we see the color blue associated with melissa? if it isnt sorry abt that, its been a couple days since i worked on ngcr so ive forgotten some of the smaller or more subtle things by now. GOD i keep getting side tracked ANYWAYS eventually zach finds a non-gold enemy and sees it get picked up by like an arcade crane claw. hes curious so he follows the claw, only to see the monster be put in a big gold cauldron and walk out the side of it as a gold monster.

gonna be honest, no idea what the hell this could mean. like? theres been no themes of corruption or good things becoming evil so far so this just kinda. exists,, yea idk lol. im not part of like any discord servers or anything so all this theorizing and analysis has just been me, maybe getting some small ideas from like random youtube comments or something, so if something ive said so far has been unanimously disagreed with somewhere i dont know about it. thats also why this isnt really a definitive or comprehensive analysis (even tho im trying to be as comprehensive as i can).

anyways zach finds the exit soon after and hes on to the next level type (there's so fucking many of them ik dont worry weve almost gotten to all of them now), the indigo cliffs. the background of these levels is similar to the blue mountains from trance, but now the moon and clouds from the toxic dump background is also here (and colored indigo to match). the music here is just a deep rumbling noise. the first “enemies” he sees here are just a bunch of multicolored little guys coming out of a hole in the ground and jumping off a cliff. were continuing the death theme yall!! anyways zach continues, flying over some more weird creatures (tho some of them just look like dinosaurs lol) before he sees a bunch more of the multicolored guys out and about but this time theyre getting grabbed by birds!! wadda heel!!! zach comments on how the multicolored dudes seem eager to die and thinks maybe the moon has something to do with it (like melissa dude wat!!!! that's crazy /s). at the end of the level there were some more multicolored dudes just walking into a creatures mouth so zach attacked the thing and killed it and the levels over yay!

now its time for the bosses babeyy!!! first zach fights battra (basically an evil moth kaiju), the music is varans theme. battra starts off in his larvae form, where he basically just fought by running into you and shooting stuff at you. while fighting this form, zach noticed that the game buffed mothra because his gamer skillz were too cringe lmaoo. he beats the larvae form and battra goes into his second form, where hes basically a stronger clone of mothra (misogyny). zach fights battra and has fun doing it (for once,, good for him) and he wins yay! next hes fighting megalon (a big beetle/bug kaiju), whos music was gigans theme. im tired when im writing this so ill just give you zachs description of how he fought: “strong, persistent, but dumb”. after this, zach checks out the last tv screen of entropy. this time, it shows a big buff guy with a sack over his head hit a womans head with a sledgehammer while shes tied to a table or something. the music for it was the password theme. i think this is probably here because red is getting angrier? like this guy is still here after i triggered his ptsd?? what the hell!!!

anyways before we get to the last boss we have one last level type to get through- the shadow labyrinth. at this point, zach starts to feel drained because no shit sherlock you just had a panic attack and youve been playing this game for fuckin several hours at this point of course youre fuckin drained. anyways zach enters the shadow labyrinth, which is a black recolor of the gold labyrinth. the music is “evil ambience” similar to unforgiving colds music but distinctly different apparently. there werent any enemies so zach just kinda wandered for a while until the lights turned off, darkening the whole screen and (secretly) spawning tons of spooky enemies thatll chase and hit mothra in the dark. eventually the lights came back on and zach started scrambling to the exit. when the lights turned back off, zach was able to find one of the melissa looking statues and stood next to it. it warded off the monsters while the lights were off, so zach was safe. i think this shows 2 things: 1) its a little more validation for my “religion in this world worships melissa” theory and 2) it foreshadows the way melissa wants to protect zach at the end of the game. zach beat the shadow labyrinth a lot faster than the gold one so were done with all the stages now!! now theres only the last boss and red and were done with entropy!

the last boss is mechagodzilla, but when zach starts the level, normal godzilla is there instead!! its whatever tho bc soon the disguise is gone and its just pretty much the normal mechagodzilla fight (but now hes got a gay beam). at about half health tho, mechagodzillas sprite breaks into pieces like gezoras did way back on earth and reforms into not-mechagodzilla. even tho it looks uncanny (and the usage of the face statue on the front is probably there to further mock zach bc melissa) zach beats it p easily and now its time for the chase. ba dum ba dum thats the sound of a chase.

as usual tho, before i get to the red chase its time to talk about entropy as a planet!! i think the best way to describe the layout is “a big forest with a toxic waste dump in it takes up half the planet while the other half is a large religious temple/labyrinth with a dangerous underbelly”. there doesnt seem to be any intelligent life there now (its all dead by now probably) but there was at some point at least because imean the huge labyrinth is there dude!!! i dont have much to say for this section tbh bc i feel like i've already said everything i wanted to, so its time for the chase ig!!

basically the chase with red here takes place in a labyrinth level bc of course it does. this labyrinth, however, seems to be made of some kind of organic matter. is it flesh? organs? nondescript viscera? idk but it's pulsating and bloody. also this time red has wings too!! anyways, basically zach avoids red throughout the maze, red breaks through one of the walls with his big alien tongue, and zach gets to the end of the maze. nothing crazy happens at the end of this chapter (i think it was crazy enough as is) so thats the end of that and now its time for the penultimate planet- extus.

[imagineclaireandjamie]

Shielded. Chapter Four

Happy Sunday all, back to the usually scheduling this week. I hope you enjoy the next week of lockdown with Jamie and Claire <3 Mod MBD.

Anonymous said to imagineclaireandjamie: 

It does not matter what you bear, but how you bear it. [Seneca]

CHAPTER FOUR: WEEK TWO - Home and Away.

As Monday rolled around again, the weekend having passed by in a blur, Claire sat at the breakfast table with a fresh cup of coffee in her hands. Having ventured down during the day on both Saturday and Sunday, she had hoped to bump into Jamie and pass on her thanks to his generosity but he had been out before sunrise each day and she had been asleep before he’d returned home.

Resolute, however, she chose to spend her day downstairs and hopefully get something on for dinner before he came back so she could at least start the week off right.

Fate, however, wasn’t on her side. By 10pm, with the lasagne tucked away, wrapped in foil, in the fridge, she covered her mouth with a yawn and pulled herself up the stairs to bed.

The crash and smashing of a glass bought her out of her sleep as the clock beside her bed clicked over to 3am. Pulling herself from beneath the sheets, she crept downstairs, eager not to scare him as she approached the kitchen.

“Couldn’t sleep?” She asked, knowing full well he had only just returned home.

He was stood by the sink, cold lasagna on the countertop and his mucky boots still on his feet. With the fork held to his mouth, he smiled as he took another bite of the pasta, chewed and then shook his head. “I havena ever been the best sleeper but it’s lambing season, aye? One of them got into bother and I couldna leave her until I knew she was safe.”

“And she made it?”

“Aye. I was luckier tonight than I was at the weekend.”

“Oh, dear...that doesn’t sound good.”

“It’s the job, I’m afraid. If I didna lose at least a handful a year I’d be shocked.”

It was the first real (and longest) conversation they’d had since she’d arrived and she was suddenly grateful for the company. He was calm, grounded and relaxed in the way a lot of city dwellers weren’t. She could tell in the slump of his shoulders that it didn’t matter how long and awkward his day was, how messy or how little sleep he had gotten the night before, he was still weightless almost, free of the constraint modern living brought to most.

“I wanted to say thank you,” she broke in, remembering the reason she’d half-blindly stumbled down in the middle of the night, “you’ve been so amazing - to get me materials for a garden, that’s...above and beyond the call of duty.”

“Ach,” shaking his head, he finished the last of his supper, balled the tin foil up and placed it in the bin, “dinna fash yersel’ about that. It’s no’ a problem.”

He was embarrassed, she could tell. Abashed, his accent had become incredibly thick and almost impossible to understand. But it was quiet enough here that there was no background noise to blot out his sentence and luckily she didn’t have to ask him to repeat himself.

“Well, nonetheless,” ignoring the slight reddening of his cheeks she continued, “I am very grateful to you. For everything.”

With nothing more to say between them, she waved, smiled and backed off, feeling strangely pleased with herself for breaking the silence between them. Hopefully, she thought as she climbed the stairs back to her room, there would be some evenings in the future when they could eat together and she could show her appreciation by making him something warm and fresh.

-- --

By mid-week, she had yet to see Jamie again. His work was intense, and yet, despite that, he had still managed to begin construction of her tiny garden.

In her haste she had forgotten that she wasn’t allowed outside the house and, as she’d watched the greenhouse foundations being laid, she had become almost inconsolable about the fact that she probably wouldn’t get the chance to tend to any of the produce grown in it.

She knew, however, that safety was more important than new hobbies and she chose, instead, to make detailed lists of the daily needs of each of the seeds and plants Jamie had procured for her.

She started with the tomatoes and grapes, which needed to be contained within the glass walls in order to collect enough light and heat to survive. She noted water levels, soil PH and balance and daily rituals which would need to be abided by in order for the best crop to be formed. It filled most of her days and when the sun went down, she’d swap her notepad for the computer as she researched all the differences she might see in her fruit and veg determined all by the way they were treated as they grew.

Though she had never been an artist, she started to search for youtube videos on how botanical art could be created. Having no coloured pencil crayons or watercolours, she stuck to pencil sketches and began to leave more post-it’s, this time with future predictions on what the garden might produce for the household.

Once again Jamie enjoyed coming home. There had only been a few days lapse in her communications but when he didn’t see her for days, it was the one thing he could rely on to buoy his spirits.

They were different, in so many ways, but on a subconscious level, he pondered to himself at night as he held the drawing of some rare cabbage in his hands, Jamie felt as if they had very many similar quirks. He’d been pleased that his idea to leave her be for as long as she needed had been a success and was grateful she felt at home enough to reform her life around his. Her asking for the garden made him realise how easy it might be for someone else to fit into his own life without causing him much grief.

It was only a small thing, but to him it had made a huge difference. Having lived alone for so long, he had almost forgotten how malleable people could be. Though, he thought as he rifled around in the fridge for more pre-made meals, he had probably just gotten lucky with Claire.

The thought also occurred to him that she had been inadvertently raised more suited to this life than her old one, but he didn’t know enough about her to advance on the notion.

It wasn’t until late on Thursday when they came face to face together. After another heavy day and late night, Jamie finally toe-ed off his work boots at nearly midnight and made his way, quietly, through to the kitchen.

He had not expected to nearly bump straight into Claire has she dished up what looked like a very tasty stir fry.

“I thought you might be sick of reheating pasta dishes, so I thought I’d try and wait for you this time.”

“Ye didna have to, it’s very late.” He scratched the back of his neck bashfully, even she couldn;t find the truth in his words and she smiled as she placed a fresh bottle of soy sauce in the centre of the table. “But this does smell delicious.”

“It’s taken me a few attempts to hone it, but I’ve been practicing most evenings this week to try and get it perfect, flavour as well as how long I need to cook the veg for.”

“What’s the meat?” He asked, watching as his stomach rumbled audibly.”

“I used the duck, I hope you don’t mind. I used chicken earlier in the week but I couldn’t seem to get it as tender as I wanted it and a few forums online suggested that duck might be a better substitute if I wanted meat with a bit more moisture.”

“Perfect. Use any meat you want from the freeze, for anything. Honestly, I forget most of the time what I’ve got in there.”

Placing several bowls filled with various meats, vegetables and sides, she went back to the sink to wash the remaining stickiness of her hands before beckoning him to start without her. “I had hoped you weren’t saving anything for a special occasion.”

“Ach, I think the virus has put pay to anything like that for a while,” he began, filling his plate with noodles, duck and beansprouts, “my sister - she lives in Canada now - had planned a summer visit, but we’re no’ sure of anything at the moment.”

“Is she the one in the photo,” Claire enquired, taking a mouthful of her own concoction and swallowing back the relief when it tasted nice - a mixture of sweet and savory that wasn’t as overpowering or as dry as it had been earlier on in the day when she’d made the first of the final tests. “The one with brown hair?”

“Aye, she is. Her partner, Ian, got a job out there a few years ago and they emigrated. We talk as often as we can on Skype and FaceTime but it’s become sporadic recently wi’ my erratic work hours. She’s a nurse, ya see, and works odd shift patterns too. But we try and keep in touch at least once a month.”

“Do you miss her?”

“I didna really think about it, we were close....until we werena. Then they moved away and I fell into a new routine.”

He had begun to speak without thinking, filling up the silence with answers to her questions as they ate in between conversation. He had, though, had the forethought to stop before giving too much away. The thought hurt his heart and he had to inhale between a bite of his dinner to gather himself back up. He knew, given time, that he would be alright with sharing his past (as he hoped she would be with hers) but tonight wasn’t the night for revelations.

Sensing his reluctance to continue, she moved on, understanding that she herself wasn’t in a place to open up about her own family life.

“I can imagine Skype is about the only way most are communicating at the moment.” Sighing, she started to collect the empty dishes and load the dishwasher. “I’m quite grateful, actually, that I don’t have anyone to keep in touch with. It’s all...quite scary.”

It was the first time Jamie had consciously thought about the pandemic, being cut off from the outside world had its benefits and he felt relieved that he could separate himself from the constant barrage of news that he supposed others would be exposed to. He realised that both he and Claire were unique now, part of a smaller section of society where being remote was almost a blessing rather than a curse.

“If you ever need to talk, lass,” standing, he helped to clean up the remaining mess from dinner, his hand almost brushing against hers as he wiped the countertop down, breaking only to hover for a second before returning to his job, “ye know where I am. Please dinna think you have nobody...if yer concerned, aye?”

“Thank you Jamie.” Pulling her fleece cardigan across her chest she walked slowly to the kitchen door, pausing for a second in the doorway just to make sure she’d left nothing out to go cold and mouldy overnight. “The same to you. I’m a good listener, I promise, if you ever need to talk, or if you need any help.”

She’d been thinking about his life on the farm for a few days now, watching the rolling hills out of her window, seeing the sheep and cattle on the horizon and -very occasionally- seeing the silhouette of him roaming his land. There was little she could do from indoors, she knew, but there had been chores around the house that she could potentially complete. Putting herself to task, she had learned new basic kitchen skills but only this morning she’d noticed the beginnings of a hole on the seam of his trousers as they dried on the rail in the courtyard and she thought it might be something she could tend to...should he be alright with it.

Leaving with the quiet settling calmly between them, she noted the relaxing of the muscles in his face as he smiled and nodded as she turned and carried herself to bed.

Resting against the faux-marble worktop, Jamie closed his eyes as he waited for the soft slam of her bedroom door before he followed her up. She just might, he thought to himself as he undressed himself, taking a towel from his radiator and making his way to the shower, be better equipped for this life than I am.

[outlier-rookie]

Of Blood And Greatness - Chapter 3

Chapter 3/?? - Settling In With Some Concerns

AO3 Link

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26305741/chapters/71331201

***

The next few chapters might be a bit slow pace wise because I want to build up a few more interactions between Reader and the Gang members. Don’t worry, we’ll get to the action soon enough.

TRIGGER WARNING: Anxiety/Panic Attack

***

“Wow (Y/N)! You’re as strong as Uncle Arthur!” (Y/N) paused long enough to shoot Jack a cheeky grin as they continued their path towards the horses, slowly carrying the last hay bale. The tall skittish fella, Kieran, had tried to offer to take the bales instead but (Y/N) was insistent that it wasn’t that heavy and they were no stranger to hard work and heavy lifting. Miss Karen had also had a good laugh with the other girls about the teen putting the likes of Bill and Sean to shame with how much heavy lifting they did around camp. Mrs. Grimshaw, as scary as she was at times, was also quick to praise (Y/N)’s hard work and help with the camp chores.

It had been a few days since everything that happened up near Cattail Pond and as the teen feared, Dutch was less than pleased with the total sum brought back to camp. But like Arthur had promised he was also understanding and despite (Y/N) feeling like they hadn’t delivered on their promise, Dutch welcomed them into the ragtag family of outlaws with a speech and fanciful words of things only getting better from here.

Still, the teen spent their days mulling over their failure with a hollow feeling sitting in the pit of their stomach. Mr. Hosea had sat next to them by the campfire one night with stew in hand and talked about nothing in particular. He started telling short stories from the gang's past and it didn’t click until the teen was falling asleep that night but the stories all had similar feelings to their blunder with the money. (Y/N) fell asleep smiling at the stars that night, putting the memory of Dutch’s ill-concealed disappointment behind them.

***

“Arthur! Welcome back son.” Dutch was sat by his tent smoking a cigar as Arthur led (Y/N) over to him. “So!” he started, standing with his arms extended; whether it was meant in a divine or welcoming manner, (Y/N) wasn’t entirely sure. “How’d your little excursion go?”

“’Fraid we ain’t getting to Tahiti or Australia with what we recovered.” The grizzled outlaw started. “Seems that someone else got to the stash before young (Y/N) here and took most of what we had.” Something in the teen's stomach dropped as the light in Dutch’s eyes seemed to dim slightly. The dark-haired man hummed and folded one arm across his chest, the other bringing his cigar back to his lips. He paused for a moment breathing slowly, the smoke flowing past his lips before being taken by the breeze.

“How much did you get then?” He finally asked

“Would have had ‘bout one third.”

“’Would have’?” (Y/N) shifted nervously and refused to meet Dutch’s eyes, ashamed that they had disappointed this man.

“O’Drisscols.” Arthur replied. “Weren’t the kids' fault. They ambushed us as we were crossing Cumberland Falls. Some of the money went over the falls. Didn’t want to risk staying around in case the law came snooping around. Was a pretty big scene.”

“I see.”

(Y/N) timidly raised their head to find Dutch’s piercing eyes once again focused on them. An old but familiar feeling of helplessness gnawed at their insides, causing their stomach to twist. As their instincts yelled at them to hide, Arthur stepped forward slightly and half placed himself between them and Dutch.

“It wasn’t their fault Dutch.”

“And you can be absolutely sure about that Arthur?”

“As a matter of fact, I can. If they was working with the O’Driscolls to set a trap, then they would have shot me and not three of Colm’s boys.”

Dutch actually seemed surprised by this.

“Sounds like they weren’t embellishing their skills with a gun.” Hosea’s smoother voice was like a cool balm on (Y/N)’s nearly fried nerves.

“Damn right. Them idiots didn’t know what hit em. Kid put them all down with one bullet each.” Arthur replied, stepping back some. An unexpected swift and heavy pat on the back sent the teen stumbling slightly and (Y/N) swore they saw a slight grin on Arthur’s face.

***

“You ok there?” (Y/N nearly dropped the horse brush they were using, as Charles’ deep voice startled them out of their thoughts.

“Y-Yeah! Sorry, was just thinking. Did you uh, need something Mr. Charles?” Charles smiled and the minor change in his breathing suggested silent laughter.

“You can just call me Charles you know.” (Y/N) scrunched their face-up made a noise that was a mix between disagreement and something a bit lighter than disgust which drew another silent laugh from Charles before he continued. “Pearson was complaining that the camps getting low on meat so I offered to go hunting for him. You’ve got a good eye and steady hands so I figured I’d ask if you’d like to come.”

“Really?” Excitement bubbled up inside at the thought of being able to do more than just chores around the camp. (Y/N) could only lug so much water and carry so many sacks before it got repetitive and boring. They weren’t strong enough to properly chop firewood and Mrs. Grimshaw and practically chased them away from laundry and sewing after the first hour. “When you leaving?”

“As soon as possible. I’ll ready the horses while you grab your gun.”

“R-Right! Just give me five. I need to check my satchel.”

With a soft ‘Alright’ from Charles, (Y/N) dropped the horse brush by the hitching post and jogged across the camp towards the medicine wagon. A ratty lean-to was set up next to it and under it an old bedroll. It wasn’t a whole lot but it was more than they had before joining the gang. The well-used bedroll wasn’t nearly as soft as their bed back at Estelle’s home. A small framed photograph of the woman peeked out from under the corner of the bedroll. The faint reminder of the woman who could be sweet as honey one moment and mean enough to give an angry Mrs. Grimshaw a run for her money brought a familiar pang of guilt to the teen. Bitterly they pushed the feelings and memories away and turned the picture over, hiding away from the loving eyes of a woman hundreds or thousands of miles away.

(Y/N) blindly stuffed a few items in their satchel and reached for their gun. Their fingers had barely grazed the sun-warmed metal before they jerked their hand back as if it had burnt. Glassy blue eyes stared blankly at the gun laying on the ground, seemingly mocking them from its pathetic position.

Stupid child.

What were you expecting?

These people were outlaws.

They were no stranger to killing other people.

If you want to survive in their world, it's either shoot first or get dead.

It was hard to breathe as (Y/N) felt their chest tighten like a red hot metal vice had been wrapped around their chest. An old familiar panic started settling into their whole being, starting in their stomach before it wrapped its tendrils around their bones before boring its way into their throat and brain. The air itself caught in their throat and their vision was starting to blur slightly when a hot and heavy pressure made its presence known when it landed solidly on the teen's shoulder.

“Woah there! ‘Sokay! ‘Sokay kid, you’re alright ya hear?” The voice was deep and familiar and most importantly grounding. Still, it took a second for the pressure on their chest to dissipate enough and allow a cool, fresh breath to fill their burning lungs. Blinking, (Y/N) realised that some tears had gathered in their eyes and quickly moved to brush them away, sniffling as they did. Finally, they were able to look up as see Arthur crouching next to them, his brows furrowed gently as he watched them.

“Everything alright Arthur?” (Y/N)’s eyes flicked up to the approaching figure of Hosea.

“We’re fine Hosea. I just startled them is all.” Arthur replied easily. Hosea stood by for a moment before slowly approaching the teen, not too dissimilar to how one would approach a scared animal.

“You alright?” His soft, aged voice reminded the teen of Estelle once more.

“Y-Yeah.” They mumbled. “’M sorry. Dunno what came over me.” They looked away from the two men, eyes once again landing on their repeater as once again a wave of hot white anger flowed through their veins. A weight in their dominant hand drew their attention and (Y/N) suddenly understood why Arthur and Hosea were acting so cautious towards them.

In their hand was their trusty knife, the bronze metal gleaming dangerously in the sunlight. It quickly dawned on the teen that they had pulled it on reflex when Arthur had startled them. A hot flush of shame and embarrassment flooded through them as they frantically shoved the knife back into its sheath.

“Those are some damn fine reflexes you got kid.” Arthur said. The words may have formed a compliment but the tone was wrong and questioning. (Y/N) didn’t want to answer. They just groaned out a vague noise of agreement and pointedly avoided looking at the two men and finished packing their satchel. Slinging the strap over their shoulder the teen all but bolted past Arthur and Hosea making their way back to the horses where Charles stood waiting, making some final adjustments to Taima’s saddle. His movements held some extra tension and (Y/N) just knew that he had seen their little incident and the heat returned to their chest.

“Ain’t we going to go? Mr. Pearson needs meat, doesn’t he?” They snapped.

“You don’t have to come if you-”

“I’m fine!” They cut him off. “Come on.” They huffed, barely resisting the urge to stamp their foot. They were fifteen and basically a grown-up and grown-ups didn’t stomp their feet like toddlers when they were angry. A heavy hand was placed on their shoulder once more.

“Alright then kid.” Arthur said. His gruff voice was uncharacteristically soft. “Mount up. And let’s get goin’.” Gently, Arthur nudged them towards Fortuna who nickered and shoved her nose into (Y/N)’s chest. The mare huffed as the teen half-heartedly scratched her cheeks before silently climbing on. Fortuna shook her mane out and turned as much as she could, keeping an eye on her rider. She let loose another whine as she tried to nose (Y/N) again.

“I’m alright girl.” The whispered, pulling a carrot from one of the many pockets in their satchel and offering it to the worrisome mare. Fortuna took the carrot without protest and calmed as (Y/N) stroked her neck. Tugging on the reins, (Y/N) directed the mare’s head towards the path out of camp. Charles and Arthur were on the backs of Taima and Admiral. Not obviously watching them but also doing exactly that with incredible obviousness for two seasoned outlaws. Huffing, the teen kicked and urged Fortuna forward

***

I started hitting a wall with this chapter towards the end so the ending may feel somewhat abrupt. I didn’t have the energy to beta read this or whatever so all mistakes are mine.

I have a better plan for what will happen in the next chapter or two

[itgetsdarksometimes35]

The Maid

Warnings: Non con, dub con, sex pollen, kidnapping, daddy kink, one wears clothes, one doesn’t, spanking, hair pulling, 18+

Word Count: 4,248

Pairings: Dark!Thor x Reader

Prompts: Pirates and all the warnings. 

Summary: Reader sold herself as a maid on Loki Laufeyson’s ship so she could support her family back home. One night intruders come onto the ship.

~ indicates a time change

- indicates a POV change

A/N: This is a late submission to @sherrybaby14​ mini b-day challenge. Happy late, lovely, I hope you accept and love this late present. I am officially all caught up and I’ll be posting tomorrow. I sadly will not be posting for a bit, though, after that. Finals and life demands suck, but I’ll write when I can. Love you guys, thanks for understanding, and I hope you enjoy! :) 

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Being the only girl on a ship didn’t have many perks. Sure, nobody ever got into a drunken fight with you or expected you to fight in a battle or help in a raid, but you were the mother of about 50 disgusting men. They threw their clothes at you to wash, stained with blood, feces, and urine, and left messes. You cared for them when they were sick. They constantly grabbed at you like the last piece of meat at dinner and were never grateful. Your days consisted of waking up hours before the rest of the crew, making breakfast, which typically woke everyone up, cleaned until it was time to make lunch, went back to cleaning until dinner, and cleaning until you passed out from exhaustion. On days a raid would happen you’d have to work on a docked ship and later give medical care. On the days where you attacked at sea you were to hide in your quarters. Never was there a battle lost or fought on your ship, but you were ordered to stay safe regardless. 

Your leader, Captain Loki Laufeyson, was an evil crook. Sure, all pirates were, but he was extra cruel. He stole, lied, and killed people who trusted him. You were painfully awaiting the day where he would finally sell his own crew out to save his ass. 

You being the only girl was entirely his doing. He purchased you a few years back in your village. Your father had died of infection and your mother had become extremely sick herself and wouldn’t survive much longer and now could no longer work. You had 9 younger siblings who would die during the harsh winters if you weren’t able to find food soon. You could’ve gotten a job locally, but time wasn’t on your side, you needed money fast, and none of the menial work they gave women wouldn’t do. The good paying jobs all asked for hardworking, big men. The eldest boy in your family was 7. Without any other option, you went to town and auction yourself off to pirates who needed a woman, or more, for any reason. You had hoped you wouldn’t be wanted for that. They paid big money and you would give it to your family for food and medicine while the others got local jobs to continue to support themselves. You didn’t expect to see your family again, so you let your brothers know they were now the men of the house and let your sisters know they needed to step up. The goodbye was painful, the youngest clung to your skirts while the older ones held back tears and forced smiles, promising mom would be okay and that they’d find good jobs to help out. Your mother wasn’t aware of any of it while she lay in her bed, looking off. 

“Goodbye, ma.” You said kissing her sweaty forehead, caressing her hair back. 

Soon you were at the docs, on a podium, while strange, dirty, loud men shouted numbers. Some were drunk and stumbled over their words while others were pointed and well spoken. Among the ladder was a man who sat at the very front. He started at you with eyes as blue as the water he sails on, long hair as dark as his thoughts.

 “Five thousand pound silver.” The crowd hushed. They looked around for the maniac that would pay that much for one maid. Your eyes widnes at the mysterious man as a sinister smile graced his God-like features. You turned to the auctioneer who donned the same surprise as you. 

He shook out of the shock and yelled, “Going once, going twice...Sold!” A man in rags helped usher you off the podium while another lead a blonde girl on next as the number calls started again. Your legs moved on their own accord as your mind swam. Why had he paid so much for you? What was his plan? 

You were lead to the pirate and a banker who would handle the money. A few small brown bags sat on the table where the banker sat filing out papers. He grabbed them before turning to you. “Who do I make the remaining money out to?” You told him your family’s name and he scribbled on two pieces of paper. He stamped one before handing it to the man who’d just bought you. “Here you are, Captain Laufeyson, enjoy your new lady.” 

You continued looking forward as your body began to shake from fear. From the corner of your eye you saw him turn to you with the same smile he wore minutes before. “That I will.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You opened your eyes suddenly, looking around the darkness. Your body typically woke you up like clockwork to get the day started, but that’s not why you were currently up. You heard a noise. The wood of the floorboards above you creaked. Who could possibly be up? Every night the men filled their bellies up with food, wine, and beer and passed out; the smell of more food being their only source awakening. You swung your legs out of bed carefully and grabbed the unlit oil lamp on your dresser of items. You reached into one of the drawers and pulled out a lighter and fed the lamp the flame as it illuminated the small room. You slowly crept to the door, praying the wood wouldn’t betray you. 

You pulled the door open and looked out with the lamp lighting your view. Seeing nobody there you crept out more until you were at the stairs. You couldn’t see past them and your heart beat in your chest like a hammer. Maybe you should turn back. Go back to sleep, pretend you heard nothing. The thoughts ran in your head as you debated what to do next when you heard it. Heard them. Voices. You quickly blew out the candle and was thrown into darkness again. You crouched down and leaned on the bottom step, listening. 

“Find what you can and take it. I want this mission to be quick and easy, find the hammer, burn the ship down, and leave. If you find anyone awake, kill them. My brother will pay for what he stole from me.”

Fuck. Footsteps continued walking around upstairs and your mind raced. You were being invaded. But surely by the wrong ship, Loki had no brother. Or maybe he did, he never spoke to you. You didn’t know what he stole from people or who he stole from, you just knew he left behind countless enemies that were bound to come back one day. But they never did, until now. 

You had to think fast, the ship would be up in flames soon and if you’re found awake you’ll be killed. You couldn’t jump overboard, you’d definitely drown. Your only hope was the ship’s one lifeboat, the one Loki kept around for himself and a few men that’d he take with him to help row him to safety if the ship were to ever have an emergency. It was a long shot, the odds weren’t in your favor at all, but if you waited for the flames to wake everyone the lifeboat would be filled and gone. If you acted now, you’d be in the boat ready to sail off the minute the invaders burned the ship and retreated back to their own. 

Rowing couldn’t be that hard and you had to be close to land. You had just finished a raid hours ago, you just needed a map. Maybe a compass and some food to last you. You stood and slowly crept to your room to retrieve a small brown sack with a map and compass in it, you’d stolen it in your first year on the ship, saying you’d run away back to your family; you never found the guts. It was still dark so you felt around blindly until you felt it hidden in your drawer. Then you walked  fast, but carefully, back out and to the stairs where you listened for movement. Upstairs in the kitchen was a basket of fruit the men had gotten while on land. You’d have to be fast. The kitchen was all the way on the other side, and you had no idea what these men looked like or where they were. 

Slowly, while clutching the bag tighter, you made your way up the stairs. You looked around, using the moon as light, before deciding the coast was clear. You stepped onto the deck, the cold night made the wood feel like ice on your bare feet. You were used to the heat of the underdeck, never had you left your room in such immodest conditions, wearing just a thin nightgown and underwear. Your cheeks burned with embarrassment of being found like this as you carried on to the kitchen.

You got into the kitchen and felt for the fruit, using muscle memory to navigate around the room. You stepped very timidly in your search, you were all too aware of the fact that there were plenty of things that made loud noises in here. Then you felt the bowl and took a few fruits before putting it in your bag. You start walking out when a loud clang echoes throughout the kitchen and pain radiated through your foot. You kicked a pot.

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A noise rang in Thor’s ears and stopped his search short. He boarded his brother’s ship with 3 other men in search of the hammer his brother had stolen from him, the object that was worth more than gold that he had found on a journey. He looked up at his crew member, Heimdall, and the both nodded to each other. They both inched closer and closer to the source of the noise, drew their swords, then pushed the door open. The moonlight pushed in and illuminated the room. In the middle of it was a black pot on the floor. 

“It may have fallen by itself. Stranger has happened.” Heimdall commented. 

Thor grunted in an answer, but didn’t leave, moving deeper into the kitchen. He kept his sword at attention before him, ready to swing. As he continued looking, Heimdall stepped outside to keep watch as Stephen Strange walked up to him, yielding the object they were all there to retrieve. 

“I found the hammer,” he said holding it up to Heimdall, the light bouncing off it, “Cocky bastard had it unprotected in his trophy room.” Stephen announced looking into the kitchen and seeing someone crawling. His eyebrows raised as he looked closer into the dark room.

Thor turned the last corner before standing up completely, sighing in defeat. “I guess it did fall by itself.” 

Stephen smiled as the small body continued to crawl slowly backward toward the door, obviously oblivious to the two men that stood behind her. “Not quite, Captain,” the body stiffened at the close voice. “I think we found our culprit.”

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You hadn’t heard them, you were too focused on the man with long blonde hair to notice the two other men that stood behind you. The hair on your body stood to a point and your body was frozen in place. You stared ahead as you felt the heat of the man behind you. 

“What do you mean-” 

The blonde, their captain, stopped short when he saw you. His eyes matched that of your own captain’s but he was much bigger. You could see the muscles work to hold the heavy sword that the captain held onto, his beard was light across his stunned face. He was beautiful. And he was going to kill you. 

The blonde shook his head and looked above you to his men. “Heimdall, go find Holgun and you guys start the fire. We’ve gotten my hammer, now it’s time to finish what my brother started.” He turned to the one holding the hammer. “Hand me my hammer and go with them.” 

The brown haired man walked to the blonde holding out the hammer, never taking his glaring eyes off of you. “What about her?” 

The captain looked to you before responding, “I’ll deal with her.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next thing you knew, you were on a lifeboat and the ship you had called home for years now was up in flames. The only lifeboat on the ship was set on fire, so there was no way of escape now. The men you were with rowed away from the flames as screams and panic filled your ears. You still clung to the brown bag as you curled up into yourself on the boat floor. Every once in a while the captain, Thor as the men have called him several times, will look at you. 

Stephen looks back at you before looking at Thor, who was still looking at you. “You said to kill anyone who was awake. She was awake; why are we taking her back? She should be dead.” The other men glanced back as well before turning their attention back to rowing. 

“She’ll come in handy.” Thor smiled at you before turning to Stephen. “Don’t question your captain, Stephen.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It didn’t take long before you were back at Thor’s ship. It was like Loki’s only this one looked newer. It was definitely in better condition, he probably had more than one maid. The men got out of the boat and onto the ship, stretching as the morning glow of the sun coming up cascading onto the main deck. Few other crew members were up and moving things along to get the day started. They seemed less barbaric than the men you were used to babysitting, these men looked like they knew how to care for themselves. 

Thor helped you from the lifeboat and lingered even after you were steady on your feet. You looked up at him before looking at the bag in your hands. A gust of wind went by, making you shiver; it was then that you remembered how exposed you were. You wrapped your hands around your body, and Thor must’ve noticed this gesture because he hugged you to him. 

“You’re freezing. Here, follow me.” As Thor led you around more and more eyes looked to you. Hungry eyes took in your scandalous appearance, not once did you see another girl. Something told you these men hadn’t seen a girl in years, especially in this type of attire. 

You were led into a big room, at least double the size of what you were used to. Thor set down his hammer on a dresser before pulling socks and a jacket out. Both items entirely too big for you. 

“I’m sorry, it’s all I have,” Thor said scratching the back of his neck, sounding ashamed, “Not any women who would be able to share clothes with either.” He handed you the items and watched as you timidly pulled the clothes on. 

“T-thank you…” Your voice didn’t sound like yours. 

Thor nodded and looked at your bag. He seemed to just notice it as he took it from you, looking at the contents within. He looked at you before smiling. “You wanted to run?”

You nodded meeting his gaze. 

“Did my brother didn’t treat you right did he? Never did know how to care for a woman properly.”

Oh, he thought…

“No,” You said a little too loud, “I was only his maid. We never...I never…” You trailed off, before looking down at your hands. They were sweaty from holding the bag for so long. 

“But he wanted to. He tried didn’t he?” 

You stayed silent. Thor seemed to know his brother, you didn’t need to answer him. The night Loki took you back to the ship he had tried, but you cried and begged. You thought he wouldn’t let you go, what would you be able to do? You couldn’t run and even though Loki was no match for his brother, he could’ve overpowered you in an instant. And you were on a ship with at least 50 men who wouldn’t mind helping their captain, you shook at the thought. Loki had spared you, though. He just doubled his efforts to make your job as his maid harder, refusing to buy another maid. 

“My brother is anything but merciful, my lady. You held value in his heart, if you hadn’t he would’ve killed you after refusing him. I’m afraid we’re similar in that way.” The way he said that didn’t settle well with you. It felt like a threat. “I don’t blame him though,” Thor stepped closer and touched your cheek, “You are a gorgeous little thing. Something like that can’t just be let go so easily..”

You shrugged away from Thor and he retreated his hand. He smiled at you as you looked up again. “Right well, I’m afraid being on my ship and serving no purpose is prohibited.” His voice dripped venom as he stalked closer to you, backing you into a wall. 

“What d-do you want from me?”

“Mmm, I think you know.” Thor gripped the hem of your nightgown, slowly hiking it up. 

Your hand flew to his hand, trying to stop his efforts. “Captain, please, don’t. I can do anything else, just don’t…” Tears threatened to fall from your eyes as you looked up at Thor, pleading with him. 

He sighed before letting your gown go and stepping back a bit. “Fine.” He turned behind him. “Go into that cabinet. Inside is a cleaning powder, liquid powders mess up the wood on my ship. Use that and scrub the floor in here. Then move on to other rooms.” 

You looked stunned at his relent, waiting for the trick to be revealed. With Loki you had screamed and begged for hours, Thor just gave in. Then again, he did seem more level-headed than his brother.

You walked to the cabinet and found a small jar with powder inside. It was a strange place to keep cleaning supplies, but you weren’t one to judge. You were thankful you were able to keep your innocence. 

“I’m going to go and talk with my crew. I’ll take it you know what your doing?” You nodded again. “Good.” With that Thor was gone leaving you with the sweet smelling powder. It burned your throat but it wasn’t unbearable, you’d had worse done to you. You looked into the cabinet again and found a rag. You dumped some of the powder on the rag and started scrubbing the floor. As you did, more of it wafted to your face and into your lungs and nose. You coughed and looked to the floor. There was no difference. What the heck? You thought. Maybe you need water? 

You stepped into the room connected to the Captain’s room and found a pail of water. You grabbed it and pulled it to the main room where you were sitting. When you made to sit, your thigh brushed your core and you whimpered. It felt good. You had no idea why, but it left a hunger within you. You tried to ignore it, not wanting Thor to think you were useless by not doing the one job you've been doing for years now. You wet the rag before dumping more of the powder on the now damp rag. More powder went to your face and your hunger grew. You scrubbed the floor harder, trying to do anything to ignore it. You looked to the floor and again saw no difference. Maybe Thor would see one and you just didn’t, the floor looked pretty clean before doing this anyway. 

You moved on and the powder continued flying around you. Soon you were sweating, the heat in your core growing all around your body. The more you ignored it the bigger it grew. The powder was soon gone and you tried to stand to go let Thor know you needed more. As you did, your pussy screamed with need as it brushed your thigh again. You moaned out in frustration before wiping the sweat from you. You took painful steps outside the room to find Thor and found the deck even busier than before. As you stepped out more men looked to you, stopping what they were doing and licking their chops like an animal. What you would do to be devoured in that moment…No. This wasn’t you. Whatever was happening you’d figure out later. Right now you needed Thor. 

Almost on cue, Thor stepped in front of you, grabbing your arms and keeping you upright. Your legs felt as if they’d give out as him hands seemed to cool the fire in you for just a moment. “Finished?” Thor looked down at you with beautiful eyes. He was so good looking…

“Y-yeah. I need more, uhm, powder. I ran out. I’m sorry…” You mouth felt dry and you couldn’t seem to focus on your words. 

“No, I think you’ve had enough, my lady.”

“What? But you said-”

“I know but you don’t look like you can continue, not in your state at least…”

His eyes trailed down your body and back up. His eyes darkened as he watched your thighs rub together. You needed a release. 

“Water. I need water, I’m so hot. Why is it so hot?” 

Thor chuckled before reaching at a table beside him. He handed you the goblet that was filled with wine. You gulped it down, but it did nothing for the dying thirst you felt or the unbearable heat you felt. You started gasping as another wave of heat hit you, your core ached and you felt your panties getting wetter by the second. You gripped Thor’s jacket that was on you and fumbled to take it off. That still gave you no release, even the socks’ removal felt like nothing. All the while Thor looked at you with amusement. You narrowed your eyes at him.  “Thor, what did you do to me?”

“Nothing that wouldn’t help you.” He looked around the ship and saw his crew looking on in curiosity. He pulled you closer to him, his carnal and territorial instincts kicking in at the sight of men sizing up his meal. 

“Thor, please, help me.” 

“Don’t worry, baby, we’re getting to that.” 

Thor gripped the collar of your nightgown and pulled. The fabric tore all the way down, exposing your boobs to Thor and his crew. The cool breeze felt amazing on your fiery skin, but there was still a flame that didn’t extinguish all the way. You made to cover yourself but Thor held your wrists in his strong hand. With the other he ripped your panties from you, leaving you completely bare for everyone to see. You moaned as another wave crashed into your body. 

“I know, I know, I’m right here, baby.” Thor shushed you as he turned and bent your body over a table. Your drenched pussy was on full display for him. He rubbed his crotch to yours and you cried out. You needed him inside you. Now. 

“Thor, please..”

“Mmmm, please what?” He grinded harder into you.

“Please, fuck me.”

Thor fake gasped in surprise. “In front of all these people? Tsk, tsk, tsk, I expected more decency from you.”

“Thor, PLEASE!” You begged for him to touch you, do anything. 

He chuckled. “Alright, baby, if you say so.”

With that Thor shoved himself in. You felt a sharp pain as he broke the barrier of your innocence, and you cried out. 

“It’s okay, shhh, that’s right, take daddy’s big cock. He’ll make you feel better, don’t you worry.” Thor continued his hard pace, with each thrust your fire was slowly dying out. But another was forming within you, it had you backing up into Thor, trying to appease it. 

“Nuh uh,” Thor slapped your ass, “You asked me to fuck you, baby, so let me fuck you.” His hand danced along your hip down to where you both were connected. He rubbed tight circles on your clit that had you moaning out louder. Thor continued slapping your ass, loving the way you squeezed his cock when you did. His thrusts and fingers were working you closer and closer to bliss.

Finally your breath hitched and you were crumbling over the edge, eyes shutting in euphoria. Thor grunted above you as he drew his hand away from you clit and up to your hip, crushing into you even faster, chasing his release. He grabbed your hair and pulled you up to him so he could whisper in your ear. 

“Fuck, your sweet little cunt is gonna make me cum baby. Your squeezing me so tight, milking me for everything I’ve got. You want me to cum inside you?”

When you didn’t answer he spanked your ass again. 

“Answer me when I talk to you.” He growled. 

“Yes, I want you to cum in me!” 

“Yes what?”

“Yes, daddy!”

“That a girl.”

A few more thrusts and Thor was cumming deep in your squelching cunt. Your pussy ached from the abuse and your thighs were sticky with both you and Thor’s release that was leaking out of you from around his member. As Thor pulled out, you realized in your daze he was still fully clothed with just his cock hanging out. He looked around at the men who were still watching in awe. 

“Enjoy the show boys?” He looked to you and smiled while stroking his hardening member. “How about round two?”

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@jtargaryen18​

[srhlsx]

CHAPTER 6

master | ch. 5 | ch. 7

(Y/n),

Break up with Oikawa. Everyone knows he deserves better than you and you’re just dating him for the clout. You can’t seem to keep your legs closed and it wouldn’t be surprising if you were letting the whole volleyball team hit it as well. Oikawa is a gentleman and deserves to be with a lady who will be respectful and show him the love he deserves, not a cold-hearted wench who can’t express any emotions-

You crumbled the piece of paper that you found in your locker. This one was a little more formal, written on nice stationary paper with neat handwriting. The person obviously took their time with their words but it would be time that was wasted.

You had become really good at blindly tossing these notes over your shoulder and into the trash. You heard a distinct swish as the crumbled paper landed with the other garbage and was out of your sight forever. Letting out a sigh, you grabbed your bag and hurried outside to the athletic trainers office, Oikawa had asked you to come with him when his knee had been acting up again.

“You should get it checked out.”

Oikawa sat on an exam table waiting to be seen by the school athletic trainer. The student trainers had tried to look, but at your insistence they left to find their superior. Oikawa had tried to argue that it wasn’t necessary, but all it took was you giving the second year students a stern look and they realized who exactly they would rather listen to.

“What do you think I’m doing now?” Oikawa grumbled, flexing the foot that was propped up while the other one dangled off the ledge of the table. He groaned a little bit when you grabbed his foot, pressed lightly on his knee to keep his leg straight, and then lifted his entire leg up. You could see him trying to contain the wince on his face.

“See?” You said, gently setting his leg back down on the table. “That’s not normal, Tooru. You need to see a doctor.”

“Yes, ma’am~” He sneered into your face closely, making you roll your eyes and push him away. Being around him so much, you were picking up Iwaizumi’s habit of rolling your eyes almost every time Oikawa spoke. “I just want to get cleared for today, I hate missing practice matches.”

“Well, you’re not going to play in any matches, practice or otherwise, if you keep this up.” You grumbled, looking around the medical room as the door opened and an older woman walked in, followed close by the two second years you had reprimanded earlier.

She hummed in agreement, going over to Oikawa and giving his knee a good look. “She’s right,” She said after poking around and getting Oikawa to flex his leg in different ways. “It’s nothing major right now, but keep an eye on it. Let’s ice it for twenty minutes, then we’ll get you back to practice?”

Oikawa groaned loudly, covering his face with his hands and falling back on the medical table dramatically. The woman and her students left to get what was needed and you joined Oikawa on the table, hopping up to sit by where his head lay.

“If you don’t take care of yourself, this whole scheme of yours won’t matter anyways and you’ll have wasted my time.” You teased, brushing his hair away from his face so he’d look up at you. He moved his hands and laced them together to rest on his stomach, squinting from the glare of the fluorescent lights. “And I hate when people waste my time.”

He smiled up at you, a rare Oikawa smile that he actually meant although it didn’t totally reach his eyes. “Thanks, (Y/n).” He said, looking back down at his knee. “You’re a good friend.”

You nodded, leaning back on your hands a little while you both waited. “You owe me, prettyboy.”

When Oikawa opened the doors to the gymnasium a few steps ahead of you, you immediately heard a small chorus of shrill cries when he walked through. Fuck, that really is annoying. 

You saw that there were two teams on the court, Seijoh players were wearing bright green jerseys while the other team had red ones. Oikawa walked up to the coaches who stood there with smug looks on their faces while the opposing team seemed to shift like a storm cloud had formed over them. You followed behind with Oikawa’s bags, having carried them for him into the gym, and stopped next to him as he explained to his coach that he was good to play. 

You heard a few girls continue to shriek from the balcony of the gym, part of a small audience that had formed to watch the practice match going on. Oikawa waved awkwardly up at them and you could instantly see the discomfort in his face, you turned around as well and also waved at the girls. Immediately, their faces dropped and their giddy cries of glee were silenced. 

Oikawa took off his warm up jacket and made a show of draping it over your shoulders. You were not really interested in drawing attention to yourself at this time and you weren’t interested in any petty displays of dominance, but you couldn’t help the little smirk that formed on your face at the sudden silence from the girls above. Maybe you really were scary.

You were still stewing over your concerns for Oikawa’s knee, he had walked over on it very gently and you had half a mind to tell someone on the team about it. As he turned to walk over to the area he could warm up in, you tugged lightly at the back of his shirt to get his attention. “Hey, go a little easy on it? It’s just practice.”

Oikawa looked at you over his shoulder and reached up to ruffle your hair affectionately. He smiled, one of his fake smiles this time, and spoke. “Oh (y/n), you of all people know it’s never just practice.”

- - - - -

The ball blasted past Oikawa after the red haired boy hit it. It was a shock to everyone and the lack of immediate reaction was no surprise. In fact, no one was really sure what had even happened for a few moments.

The scorekeeper flipped the last point over and the whistle blew to signal the end of the practice match. Karasuno had beaten Seijoh in a surprising upset, two sets to one.

Knowing that there was going to be some kind of follow-up, you turned abruptly on your feet and moved to head out of the gym and wait for Oikawa and Iwaizumi to join you to walk home. You figured giving them a little bit of time to clean and talk over the match wasn’t something you needed to be a part of. Finding a spot on a bench outside under a tree a few meters from the gym entrance.

You were scrolling through your phone when you heard the voices approach. They were distinctly female and very much not trying to keep their volume down. 

“-just standing there the whole time.”

“Well at least she got to wear his jacket, that’s more than you can say.”

“I still can’t believe it, I mean she just broke up with that basketball player that graduated.”

“I know, totally stealing Oikawa from everyone else. Like, chill out on the boyfriends, yeah?”

“That other guy wasn’t even that cute, they dated for so- oop!”

You looked up from your phone when you heard the surprised noise one of them had made and saw the girls standing just a few feet from you and looking wholly embarrassed. You gave them a look, lazily glancing at them from head to toe - unimpressed - before looking back down at your phone again. 

“Oh my god, you fucking dumbass.” One of them whispered as they scurried past you, doing their best to avoid looking at you, their faces clearly flushed.

You let out a sigh, already forgetting about the words spoken about you as you scrolled through your social media feed. You double tapped a few images friends and family members had posted, sending a few funny memes to Ichika, then clicking over to look at your own profile. You’d had to do a serious overhaul when things with Oikawa became known, the main one having to be that you turned off comments since the absolute spamming of them on your posted images had nearly shut down your account.

You had no idea that posting one picture of Oikawa, at his insistence since it would look believable for the two of you to be posting about one another, would cause such an uproar. It was a picture of him standing a few feet before the camera in your backyard on the day he came up with the plan, your massive dog was jumping up on him and had knocked the sunglasses off his head and you managed to catch a candid photo of it.

When you posted it, tagging him by username, you had no idea that within hours your profile would explode. Your follower count nearly tripled from the already high number you had, mostly girls requesting to follow you, and the sudden outpouring of comments filled with heart emojis and infinite X’s and O’s made your head spin. When you reset the password after getting kicked out of the account, you immediately made the changes to avoid it happening again.

“Kids these days and their phones,” You looked up at the sound of Oikawa’s scolding. He was walking with Iwaizumi towards you and you stood up to meet them so you could make the journey home.

“You boys look hungry,” You said, handing Oikawa his jacket from earlier. “How about I treat you to some meat buns?”

Oikawa cheered and skipped ahead happily, chanting some kind of made-up song about you which made you laugh. You looked over at Iwaizumi who was shaking his head at his friend’s antics although not scowling for once. You nudged him with your elbow, smiling up at him as he continued to chuckle. 

“C’mon, Iwa.” You looped your arm with his and attempted to drag him to catch up. “Oh, have you done the calc homework yet?”

“Sorta,” He shrugged, hands in his pockets but not making a move to pull away from your grasp as you squeezed his arm to get his attention. “Looked at it but haven’t started.”

“Okay, same. Wanna work on it together? Two brains are better than one, right?” You asked, seeing him nod in agreement. You looked forward again to see Oikawa continue to skip ahead of you. “Let’s make sure he doesn’t get hit by a car.”

“Would that really be so terrible?”

[masjestickingdom]

Parallel Lives

Pairing: NCT x reader

Genre: Lighthearted, slight fluff, one shot 

Summary: You’re a studious university who’s on summer break, spending your spare moments with your best friend. After a random statement is thrown into the conversation, you and your friend wonder what it’s like to be in NCT’s position. Little do you know that your idols are simultaneously pondering about your position as a normal college student.

Note: Here’s a simple, sweet scenario that I wrote! Even though it’s simple, I really wanted to post this because it’s a nice, exciting thought to have a crossover conversation... Imagine if you were thinking about the same thing at the same time of your favorite idol! Anyway, I also thought it was important to post this to point towards the life experiences everyone has. While this story doesn’t cover every one of those experiences, I think it covers the bigger topics (youth, hate, missing out on experiences, dreams, etc) that I personally think about a lot, so I hope you enjoy! 

______________________________________________________________ 

   As a university student, you have worked your butt off to get good grades and make connections with your professors, upperclassmen, and peers. When you were a high school student, you didn’t care about any of that. In fact, you were the shy one and you got away with it because, hey, it was high school. Fast forward a few years ahead and here you are in the present day, socializing with every human being you could possibly get in touch with. What for, though?

   “For what are we grinding this hard?” you wonder out loud, grabbing your nth piece of chicken.

   Your friend sighs in agreement, spreads out her long legs over the table you both paid for, and rests them adjacent to the boxes of chicken and coke you ordered over half an hour ago.

   Exams are finally over, and you decide to spend the night on the balcony with your roommate, who’s also your best friend, before your two-month internship, which you earned in part to your networking skills. It’s a nice, breezy summer night. It’s one of those nights you want to enjoy in peace and quiet, staring off into the limitless expanse of the dark, but shimmery sky.

   You reach out for another piece of chicken when your friend chuckles at something on her phone.

   “What?” you ask with your mouth nearly full.

   “Nothing, it’s just this really funny meme about NCT,” your friend says with glee. “Very relatable, by the way.”

   NCT, one of the hottest international sensations taking the world by storm alongside living legends, BTS and BlackPink, according to news outlets, is a name you haven’t heard in a while. Personally, you used to be an avid fan since the SMRookies days. You kept up with the appearances they made as trainees in EXO’s EXO 90:2014 series, the cameos in music videos (including the ones in EXO 90:2014), the variety show Mickey Mouse Club, and the videos SM Entertainment would randomly post. As time went on, sadly, the determination to be informed of the latest news withered as your priorities changed upon entering your sophomore year of high school. Sure, you heard news here and there and occasionally checked out their social media accounts, but when you entered college, that was a territory you failed to explore. Other than awards and comebacks, you hadn’t heard much of NCT once you had indulged yourself in your studies, and everyone else around you were doing the same thing.

   It has been quite some time since you were curious about the idols. Your friend’s sudden comment on them resurfaced old fangirl feelings, luring you into an interesting discussion of NCT, idols, and life in general.

   “Another exam to go until graduation, another test to assess loyalty, another test closer to our deathbeds,” you mumble grumpily.

   At the abrupt foul tone that consumed your voice, your friend raised her eyebrows questioningly.

   “And an internship to be a prospect of a permanent employee for some company to work for others--exciting, right?” you said sarcastically before you took a long sip of ice-cold, refreshing coke, which did nothing to restore your mood.

   Understanding what you were getting at, your best friend calmly nodded.

   “They’re living their best lives,” she says, referring to NCT.

   You let a bitter smile form on your lips as memories about mistreatment and mismanagement whiz past your mind. “Or behind the curtains..."

   “They could be just like us,” your friend finishes off. “Tired, overworked, maybe even frustrated.”

   A soft smile overtakes your bitter one. “But probably in a different way.”

   “What would it be like to be an idol?” your friend sighs dreamingly.

   “What would it be like to be a college student?” a silver haired boy ponders aloud.

   His purple haired younger friend, Haechan, who’s grilling meat, replies ambiguously, “Stressful, Yuta. Pretty stressful.”

   “Probably fun too,” green haired Jaehyun chimes in. “Engaging with lots of people the first few weeks of school, trying out different clubs, and finding a way to fit in--that all sounds fun to me.”

   The optimistic boy joins Haechan in the adventure of grilling meat, switching with Taeyong’s position as a meat griller. While the rest of the boys prepare the dining table, placing the setting with kitchen utensils and side dishes being prepared by Taeyong, Doyoung, and Johnny, Yuta admires the busy streets of the city, listening for the distant sounds of cars honking and pedestrians screaming, with the cool night air breezing past his newly dyed hair. It certainly is one of the best ways he and the members could possibly enjoy the rare moments of freedom.

   At the sound of a whistle, Yuta is pulled from his cloud of thoughts, and he looks over his shoulder, nodding to his not-so-secret favorite member of the group at the simple gesture of a hand that urged him to go inside and help bring out the dishes.

   “We’ll never experience the glamor of getting dolled up almost everyday,” you state solemnly.

   “Or have fans,” your friend pitches in.

   “Or see famous celebrities literally every day.”

   “Or experience the trainee days, everyone trying to bring everyone down, or haters trying to drag you out once you gain fame.”

   You throw a strange glance at your friend for that last statement.

   “What?” she says, shrugging nonchalantly. “We need drama in our lives, or else life’s boring.”

   Shaking your head, you chuckle at her unique take on an abstract concept.

   A moment of silence engulfs the two of you as both of you fall deep in your thoughts.

   There was never a quiet moment under the roof of NCT, and tonight is no exception.

   “Hey, isn’t the beef really good?” Yuta’s favorite member, Mark, speaks, delighted at the flavors bursting in his mouth.

   “Haechan, don’t you dare pull a prank on us with coke and vinegar ever again,” Taeyong scolds the youngest member, recovering from his gagging session, while Johnny and Taeil are still chugging down glasses of water to get rid of the aftertaste. “Is it really necessary to do any of this?”

   “Sorry, mom, my hand itched,” the prankster smiles innocently.

   “Didn’t Haechan grow a lot?” you bring up, breaking the quietness.

   Your friend gulps down her coke before pointing out, “Isn’t he the same age as us?”

   Your crane your neck, your head now tilting sideways. “He is?”

   “Crazy, isn’t it?” your friend responds. “The majority of the Dreamies are the same age as us.”

   “Yuta, didn’t you say something about college?” Mark asks, chowing down pieces of watermelon.

   The older boy nods. “Wouldn’t it be fun to experience it? None of us went to college.”

   Taeyong uncomfortably shifts on the bench at the mention of college. 

    Like Yuta mentioned, none of the members of NCT went to college and probably won’t go because it’s not a likely option, considering their packed schedules. He knows that the mere mention of it can bring down the mood because for them, college represents the definition of normalcy, the life of a normal person, and with them not going to college or graduating high school, he doesn’t want them to have a chance to regret or have second thoughts.

   “Imagine if they visited our college for one day,” your friend mused.

   Extending your short arm to pour yourself another cup of coke, you wheeze between your breaths, “Hey, I bet that the professors would ask for autographs.”

   “Yeah, I think we wouldn’t stand a chance in the classes,” Johnny laughs, adding ice to his coke. “They would be too advanced for us to understand anything.”

   Yes, Taeyong let the conversation flow. He even joined in on the conversation a few times. He didn’t want to ruin the mood by switching the topic in a way that could be nothing short of a very obvious attempt, and if he didn’t say something, his group members, his family, would notice.

  “It would be nice to make new friends, right?” Yuta expresses. “New people to dance with, sing with, do sports with..."

   “I think Yuta’s tired of our awful soccer skills,” Jaehyun replies humorously.

   “I feel like they would say that they would want to make new friends, but it all depends on your personality,” you say, tucking your hands behind your head. “I only have you.”

   Your friend laughs, replicating your movements. “Loser, I’m on the same boat as you.”

   “Wouldn’t it be nice to go to game rooms or comic book stores?” Mark carries on as he stretches his arms out to the sky.

   “Wouldn’t it be nice to be your own karaoke room or be able to dance the trends?” you fancy.

   “Or be the trend,” your friend adds.

   “I just want to sleep,” Johnny murmurs, lazily dragging his feet across the floor to the cushioned bench placed against the white walls. Turning his large body so that his body faces the wall, he hugs an available pillow with his legs and remarks, “Idol or student, you don’t get to sleep that much.”

   “It would be nice to work hard for something that you know you want to do,” you dream. “We have no clue what to do in the future. Most of us blindly study and get internships.”

   Just then, a bright stream of light passes your eyes, and your eyes widen.

   “Did you see that? That was a shooting star!” Jungwoo exclaims, his eyes mirroring the sparkling trail.

   Everyone looks up at the sky even though the moment has well passed.

   “We’re living under the same sky as them, so how are our worlds so different?” you say without much energy, staring at the now dark sky. “I bet they were pitted against each other at some point in their trainee lives, but here they are in this world. Years of friendship, what would that be like?”

   Slightly offended, your friend sits up from her resting position. “Hey, we’ve been friends since middle school.”

   “Do you remember the time when you were young and saw your favorite artists on tv?” Doyoung reminisces.

   “They’re the reasons why I became one,” Haechan concurs.

   Taeyong thoughtfully fixates his eyes on where the shooting star once was, his arms acting accordingly.

   “They were so young when they were casted,” you whisper. “It’s kind of sad when you think about it.”

   Another wave of silence overwhelms you. Your friend spares another look at you and watches you stretch your hands to the sky, hands shaped as if you are taking a snapshot of your view.

   She responds with a quiet voice of her own, “Some of them didn’t even plan on being an idol.”

   Taeyong’s hands retract to his sides. “I remember when I first met you guys. I’m really glad that we have each other.”

   The sappy moment comes to an abrupt end when Johnny’s snores take over.

   You turn your head over to your friend who is fast asleep.

   Eyes averting to the inky sky once again, you contemplate quietly, “I wonder what they’re doing now.”

   Meanwhile, the boys are trying to stuff a sock in Johnny’s mouth to muffle his snores. Taeyong, not participating, stays in the background and enjoys the last bit of their night of freedom.

[porkchop-ao3]

A Thrill I’ve Never Known (Chapter 56)

Brandywine Drop

Arthur and reader have some much needed respite away from the crumbling gang. We also meet a familiar face! Warning for some animal death/hunting-ish.

Tagging @emily-strange ❤

(All chapters tagged with #ATINK and also posted on Ao3, username PorkChop)

-

We set up a campsite with Arthur's tent at Brandywine Drop, a short distance away from the huge waterfall and as far from the train tracks and trail as possible. We were set up under the cover of a patch of trees with a clearing big enough for us to set up a little fire. It was evening time once we were settled, with Rayna chewing on some wild carrots I'd pulled up for her, and Arthur heating up some cans by the fire for us. It was a little late to find something to hunt for meat so it'd be a light and bland supper, but it didn't matter. I played with Rayna's mane while she ate, listening to the peaceful sounds around me; it was a wonderful place. The constant shhh of the waterfall put me at ease, coupled with the familiar crackling licks of the fire and the sound of birds singing a final song before they found a place to roost for the night, it made the tension in my shoulders fall away as I stood there by my horse and my love. This is how life is meant to be, I thought.

I suddenly remembered the letter in my pocket from that morning, and looked over my shoulder at Arthur. He was prodding at the contents of a can with a fork, trying to stir the congealed substance to heat it evenly. I reached inside my pocket and retrieved the letter, looking down at it for a moment before walking over to him. I held it out to him silently, and he glanced at it before meeting my eyes.

"This came for you this morning," I told him. He took the letter from me and looked at the writing on the front. I could tell by the slight shift in his eyes that he knew who it was from. "It feels like there's something inside," I added. 

Arthur tore open the letter and knocked it against his palm. I was correct in my guess that it was a ring, it fell into his hand and he stared at it for a while before unfolding the letter. He tilted it towards the fire to get some better light to read it with and I wandered away, back to Rayna, to give him some privacy. He didn't need me standing over him as he processed whatever she'd written.

I scratched Rayna under her chin and kissed her nose, whispering to her soft words of affection. She'd been neglected a little bit by myself over the past week or so, and she needed some love. I didn't want her thinking that Kieran was her new papa or something, considering the time he put in making sure that she and the other animals were happy. 

Barely a minute passed and I heard the sound of folding paper. I looked over my shoulder and Arthur was staring at the ring again, a mild frown on his face. He must've been hurting but I didn't know how to comfort him. How does one comfort a lover who is hurting over a previous one? It was an odd situation. 

"I don't really know the right customs when it comes to these things… but I feel like it'd be in bad taste to–" he began, then stopped and met my eyes. "She's giving me this back because she thinks it'll help her forget about me, I think," he clarified, holding the ring up to me. 

My heart did something funny when I saw him like he was; happening to be on one knee as he crouched by the fire, now showing me a ring. The mental leap I made made me ache with some kind of longing. I pushed it away, for the time being.

"She put in her letter that maybe I should give it to someone else. Maybe even you," he continued. "I feel that's a little… odd. Considering I bought it for her all those years back. But I guess… do you want it?" He asked, a slight shrug coming with his words. I couldn't help but laugh. 

"No," I breathed, shaking my head but grinning. I walked back over to him, bending over and cupping his face, tilting it so I could kiss him. "I don't want Mary's old ring. But thank you."

"I thought as much," he murmured, tucking the ring away in his satchel, "I thought I'd ask in case you thought it was pretty, or something, but it wouldn't be special," he shrugged. 

"Special?" I repeated, a little unsure of what he meant.

"It was her… you know I asked her to marry me," he said very quietly, looking away from me. I nodded even though he wouldn't see it. He took a breath and met my eyes again, "I plan on buying you a ring of your own when that happens," he said, his tone light and casual, yet making my entire body burst with tingles and adrenaline. 

"When that happens?" I repeated, choking the words out. Arthur's face seemed to pale as he realised what he'd said. 

"If, when, I don't– you know what I– shit, I didn't mean anything by that. That was just a slip of the tongue. I just meant I… I wouldn't propose to someone with the same ring I did with someone else, it was just a general statement, I wasn't–" oh, he was panicking. I snickered and pressed my fingers to his mouth. 

"It's okay. I understand," I nodded. 

"I guess I… I love you and I can't imagine not loving you, that just slipped out like it was a normal thing to say," he justified, his eyes comically wide. I shook my head in amusement and carefully lowered myself down to sit next to him on the ground. I wondered how I'd get up again but that was a problem for later.

"It's alright. I'm not gonna take that too seriously," I sighed, leaning into his side. "This is an odd situation and you were just trying to say the right thing."

"Perhaps I'll… I'll sell it," he shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe you could give it to John?" I suggested. "Perhaps one day he and Abigail could have a use for it, you know?"

"You think?"

"Abigail loves him. They're working things out, it seems. Aren't they?"

"Yeah, they are," he nodded, sitting down properly on his backside and wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "Maybe you're right. If he's got any sense he'll marry that woman. He ain't ever gonna find someone else who'll put up with him," he snorted.

"I think that would be sweet, if you gave it to him. That way, someone gets to use the ring and it ain't odd… plus I get my own ring, when the time comes," I smirked mischievously. "I like sapphires, by the way."

"Sapphires," he chuckled breathily, "noted. You know, that bracelet Penelope gave to me was sapphires."

"It was?"

"I still got it, you want it?" He asked. I chuckled and shook my head.

"The money's more important," I said.

"Well, she said it would be worth some," he nodded.

"My mama had a beautiful necklace with a sapphire in it, had to sell it, though. I always begged her to wear it," I told him, fondly recalling it. "Was only allowed to once, I remember," I lifted one finger. 

"When was that?"

"My tenth birthday, we went to the park in Saint Denis, I was dressed up in my best frock. Mama said now that I was in double figures she needed to see if I was grown up enough to wear such a special necklace. I was so scared of losing it all day that I never asked to wear it again," I laughed, and Arthur chuckled too. "Couple years later we sold it, keeping a roof over our heads was more important, you know?" I added, and Arthur nodded. 

"I suppose, lookin' for silver linings and all, at least we ain't gotta worry about losing no roof, living how we do," he sighed. 

I nodded slowly. "And I think I prefer having no fixed abode. Don't know for sure why, but I like this," I gestured around us. "Always have. Much more now I ain't alone." 

Arthur scrubbed his hand up and down my arm and then shifted forwards to retrieve the cans from the fire. He used a pair of sticks as pincers to lift them out carefully, placing them on the ground in front of us. He sighed down at our dinner.

"How we splitting this, you want beans or peas, or shall we have half and half each?" He asked.

"Half and half?" I shrugged. 

"Alright, here you go," he handed me a spoon from his satchel and I started on my half of the peas while he went at the beans. It was certainly no banquet but it was something warm to fill our bellies. 

"So, Colm's dead, I tried to throttle Micah… what a day this has been. Sadie told me that you and Dutch had a disagreement at the saloon earlier," I delicately broached the subject. 

"That why you went and spoke to him?" He asked. Aw, shit.

"Yeah, I guess," I shrugged. I sensed him looking at me. "I just didn't want him treating you like crap because of me, so I went and told him that it's just me who wants us to leave."

"That ain't true," he protested.

"Yeah, I know. But it's simpler if Dutch thinks that."

"He ain't gonna be good to you, he thinks you're against him like that," he warned, and I shrugged carelessly. And I really didn't care. Dutch could fuck himself, to be frank.

"Whatever, just let me take the load off of you. You don't need him doubting you, you've got enough to worry about," I muttered, shaking my head and shovelling some more peas into my mouth. "I'm more interested in how you're feeling. He must've upset you."

"Just felt like he was throwing the past twenty years back in my face. I figure I've spent so long earning his trust and proving myself to him, and all it takes is me wanting the best for the woman I love for him to tell me that I ain't loyal. Maybe I ain't loyal to him no more, I don't know," he shrugged his shoulders, "if I'm not, that's only because he's been acting crazy."

"If he wants everyone to blindly trust him, no matter what, he's gotta do better," I shrugged. "I don't trust him to have everyone's best interests at heart. If it was me running this gang, I'd've given John a bunch of money and told him to get lost with Abigail and Jack by now. The poor kid got kidnapped and he's been shot at in his own home at least twice," I used the term 'home' very lightly, but it was true nonetheless.

"We could probably afford to do it, too. John's brought in plenty of work, ain't like he hasn't earned his cut," Arthur mused under his breath, a bean falling off of his fork down his shirt when he paused before putting it in his mouth. He sighed and scrubbed a hand over the mark it left.

I looked down into my can. "I do understand why you can't leave, when I think about these things," I told him quietly. "I don't think I could live with myself either, if we ran off and left everyone else in this mess."

Arthur met eyes when I looked up at him. He didn't say anything but I saw him relax a bit, read relief in his eyes. I could tell it put him at ease to learn that I was on a similar page to him. We ate for a while longer and then swapped cans, and finished off the last of the peas and beans between us.

"How's your leg?" He asked, leaning back on one elbow, head tilting towards the sky where the stars were out.

"Getting there. You saw me walking without my cane today. That weren't on purpose, I forgot it, but maybe I don't need it no more," I replied, leaning back on my hands and looking down at my outstretched legs before joining him in looking at the sky.

"Just be careful, princess," he whispered. There was a stretch of silence before he spoke again, "I'm still hungry after that. Maybe I'll go out in the morning and get us some proper food," he said, and I chuckled.

"You ain't got no more food?" 

"I got some biscuits, not many though. Prob'ly not enough for two," he told me. I reached over and patted his belly.

"I won't ask for none," I assured him with a grin.

"You sure? I'd feel bad eating them in front of you," he said.

"I had some chocolate earlier, and I never shared it with you. Go for it."

"Where'd you get chocolate?" He asked, sitting up and retrieving the snack from his satchel.

"Pearson gave it to me, bless him."

"Pearson never gives me chocolate," he muttered to himself and I snorted, shaking my head.

It was quiet save for the crunching of Arthur's biscuits, and I leaned back, lying on the ground so I could watch the stars again. I felt sleepy and at peace. It was so good to be alone with Arthur, just quietly enjoying his company, completely alone for the first time in weeks. I wore an easy smile and released a content sigh, prompting Arthur to look at me.

"That's more like it. It's real good seeing you smile," he commented, brushing the biscuit crumbs from his short beard.

"It's just nice here. So peaceful," I noted, and he looked around and nodded. 

"I keep thinking I can hear Karen yelling, drunk, or Micah winding somebody up. Mind's playing tricks on me, it's just the waterfall," he said, shaking his head. 

"You sure? They ain't found us, have they?" I joked, making a show of looking around. Arthur laughed and laid down next to me, rolling over to half lean over me. He held himself up with his hand beside me, leaning down to kiss my forehead, then the tip of my nose.

"You look so pretty when you're happy. Not that you ain't pretty all the time, but when you're like this… makes me wanna wrap you up in my arms and keep you there," he said in a low, rumbling tone. I cupped his face and connected our mouths for a slow, open-mouthed kiss. 

It went on for some time, we lost ourselves in it indulgently, always letting the background of our surroundings slip away when we kissed like that. I could do it for hours. It might've been one of my favourite things to do with him. Arthur shifted so his elbow held him up and his free hand could go to my waist, his thumb rubbing the spot back and forth, his fingers squeezing in my shirt. I was hazy with adoration in moments, bringing one hand to his torso where I wrapped it around his suspender. 

When we broke away for air, Arthur's voice was gravelly and deep, almost a mere vibration in my ears.

"This is making me want you too much. Since the other day my thoughts ain't been anything close to pure–" he began, hearing himself and chuckling. "Sorry. I can't stop thinking about it. I wanna take you, out here, so I can watch your face while I make you feel good."

"I'm still– my monthly ain't finished," I whispered, though I was immediately turned on.

"I ain't squeamish," he said without missing a beat and I gasped and barked out a shocked laugh, smacking him lightly on the arm. He parted from me a bit so he could see my face properly.

"Arthur! That's so…" I laughed, shaking my head, not knowing what to say. "Dirty! In more than one sense."

"I'm sorry, I'm getting carried away again. You do that to me," he said, his cheeks reddening.

"It's okay. I just think– what a mess," I snickered, feeling my own face heat up with embarrassment. Arthur breathed a laugh too and laid down on his back next to me.

"You're probably right," he sighed. "It was worth a shot."

"Dirty boy," I muttered in faux-reprimand. 

"Only since I met you," he retorted accusingly.

"I was a virgin when I met you, remember that?"

"What're you insinuating, that I'm the one who's turnin' you dirty?" He smirked at me and I chuckled.

"I don't know. Either way I'm not complaining."

"Mm, me neither."

His hand brushed against mine and he linked our pinky fingers. We were quiet for some time, and I was the one to tentatively break the silence.

"Mm, you know, if we were to go inside that tent…" I began, trailing off quietly. 

"Yes?" His voice rose in pitch playfully.

"I might not be able to offer you the full fun and games, but I've got a perfectly serviceable pair of hands," I squeaked. He hummed a sultry laugh.

"Miss Jemima," he breathed, shaking his head in false disapproval. 

"Is that a refusal?" I questioned. Arthur laughed breathily and rolled over onto his front enough to push himself to his knees. I watched him from my spot on the ground with a wide smile on my face. 

"Sweetheart, I'm in no fit state to refuse anything from you. Come on," he jerked his head playfully towards the tent and I snickered, sitting up and shuffling along with him inside.

-

I awoke to an empty bedroll beside me. I noticed the little piece of paper laying atop it quick enough not to panic over Arthur's absence, and plucked it up to read it. 

Gone hunting for some breakfast, back soon. Won't go far. 

Love, Arthur

I folded the note and slipped it away in my satchel, its sentimental value manifesting itself in an instant despite being something so simple. It had the memories of such a beautiful place and a peaceful night attached to it, of course.

I scooted out of the tent; the fire was going strong, Arthur had obviously tended to it before he left so I'd wake up to some warmth. It wasn't the warmest climate this far north. I warmed myself there for a few moments before tackling the act of getting to my feet. It was trickier than it looked without the ability to bend my leg as far as I needed to, but I got there in the end and headed away from our campsite into the woods to take care of some morning business. Then I headed towards the water to clean up a bit and splash some water on my face. The place looked different in the daylight, with the vivid violet snowdrops dotting the foliage and the sun glinting off the churned up surface of the water by the waterfall. 

I looked out across the river to the other side, taking in the trees that surrounded me. Movement caught my eye between them, all the way across the other side of the water. I stepped a little way to the left so I could see better, and spotted two figures in the trees. A gunshot made me jump, but it sounded like a varmint rifle so I wasn't too alarmed. I'd used one enough over the years to recognise its particular sound; less full-bodied than most rifles and almost a little hollow sounding.

I squinted and leaned forwards, trying to make out the figures. I was certain one of them was Arthur, recognising his blue shirt, but he was with someone else. A woman. From all the way across the river she looked a bit like Abigail, but there was no reason why she would be out here. 

I decided to investigate. I glanced back at our campsite and ensured that nothing valuable was left unattended, and whistled for Rayna who immediately closed the space between us. I used my good leg in her stirrup to lift myself onto her, side-saddle, and clicked at her to get moving. I crossed the water at the shallowest point, Rayna's big hooves thu-dunking and splashing through noisily. I followed the path around into the part shrouded by trees, hearing their voices as I got closer. 

"Get ahold of its legs, have a firm grip, give it a hard pull. Straight down," Arthur was explaining. I didn't want to creep up on them but I also felt strange shouting out, so I waited until I was close enough for them to notice.

Arthur turned, his face brightening with a smile once he saw me. The woman hadn't noticed, focusing on skinning the rabbit in her hands. She tore the skin off in one clean pull, a technique I'd never had much success with myself, but she seemed to do okay. 

"Darlin', you're up," Arthur greeted. 

"I saw you from across the water," I said, suddenly feeling a little odd about having sought him out. I hoped he didn't think I didn't trust him.  

"Oh, hello there," the woman said when she noticed my arrival. I smiled at her as Arthur approached and helped me down off of Rayna, his hands on my waist as I slid off ensuring that I wouldn't land too hard on my feet and hurt myself.

"Hi," I replied, taking in her appearance. She looked slim and tired, her skin a little sallow and dirtied with mud. Her smile was weak behind her politeness, but she was pretty. 

"This is Mrs. Balfour, she lives in a house just up there," Arthur introduced her, pointing up the path. "I came across her when I was looking for game."

"Charlotte," she nodded, reaching her hand out towards me, then spotting the rabbit blood on it and thinking better of it, "you must be Mr. Morgan's partner. My sincerest apologies, it's my fault you're having to wait for your breakfast," she chuckled weakly.

"Oh, not at all," I shook my head.

"He was helping me find some food, he taught me how to skin this rabbit," she said, holding up the animal. "My… my husband passed, and I've been struggling ever since. Well, we were struggling before he died but that's a different story," she shook her head, looking off in the direction of her home.

"I'm so sorry," I frowned. She gave me a small, grateful smile.

"I haven't eaten in days, but this will keep me going. Thank you so much," she turned to Arthur. 

"Don't mention it," he said, gesturing with his hand for her to start heading back. "Let us walk you back." 

I tagged along with them, sounding for Rayna to follow and taking hold of her reins.

"Did your husband do all the hunting?" I gently asked, concerned about her lack of knowledge when living so far out of civilisation. 

"Tried to. Neither of us were any good, as I said to Arthur, we were City folk," she sighed, "just looking for some new escape. I don't know the first thing about hunting, can't even fire a gun properly."

Arthur and I glanced at each other, sharing the same look of worry. 

"You should probably learn… no use me teaching you how to skin an animal if you can't catch any," Arthur suggested and she nodded her head, looking down at her feet.

Rayna suddenly dug her feet in, pulling on the slack of the reins, whinnying in distress. A moment later there was a gasp from Charlotte and then a choir of wailing howls from above. My blood ran cold, I'd never heard that sound so close and I swivelled to see three wolves up on the slope, looking right at us. I froze in place, my legs going numb as Rayna tore the reins from my slack hand and understandably bolted in the other direction, a second before the wolves pounced forwards. 

Instinct sent my hand to my holster, pulling free my revolver and fumbling to pull back the hammer. This was why sidearms stayed loaded. A series of gunshots sounded before I fired, I watched one wolf slam into the ground and slide down, a second wounded. I aimed at the third and shot, missing a couple of times before finally landing a shot in the animal's chest, sending it down before unloading the remainder of my shots into it for good measure while Arthur finished off the others.

There were a few moments of still silence once the wolves were finished. Adrenaline made my hands throb and my head pound; I turned to look at Charlotte and Arthur with wide eyes.

"I would be dead now, if it weren't for you two," she breathed, shaking her head and shoving her hand into her hair, "I'm completely hopeless." 

I shook my head, "you just need to practice shooting. I had to learn on my own years ago, I just kept trying. It gets easier, becomes second nature almost, aiming right," I told her in a tone I hoped would reassure her. 

"Okay," she sighed and nodded, and we carried on towards her home. 

I fell back a little to walk with Arthur, and spoke to him quietly. "Perhaps we could help her. Teach her how to shoot properly," I suggested.

"I was thinking the same thing," he nodded. "She just needs to eat right now but we could come back in a few days."

I nodded in agreement, then we reached the house. It was a pretty spot, right near the waterfall, neatly tucked away between trees and cliffs. Quiet and picturesque. I would've envied her if she wasn't so alone and struggling.

"I would invite you in, but I'm dead on my feet," she told us, breathing a little laugh. "But please, if you two are ever out this way again, do come and visit."

"Of course," I said, and Arthur nodded too. 

"It was nice meeting you both."

"You too, you take care ma'am," Arthur tipped his hat at her and I dipped my head politely.

"Thank you, for this," she looked at Arthur sincerely and Arthur awkwardly shifted on his feet. 

"Ain't no trouble," he shook his head.

"It's the kindest thing anyone's done for us since we… I appreciate it, a lot," she told him. "Enjoy the rest of your trip."

"Thank you," Arthur nodded, then Charlotte closed the door.

Arthur and I looked at each other then headed away. 

"That was good of you," I told him, hooking my hand over the arm he offered. "You're a sweet man."

"I just did what anyone would've done. She was starving," he shook his head dismissively but I didn't let him get away with it. I reached up to kiss his cheek.

"It was a kind thing, I'm proud of you," I said, smiling up at him, "this is why I love you."

He met my eyes, his own softening and warming. 

We reached the wolves and paused. "I guess this can be breakfast," I said.

"I suppose. And lunch, and dinner…" he chuckled, "better than letting it go to waste."

And so we set to work skinning and butchering the wolves. The pelts weren't in great shape, torn up by bullet holes evident of a panic, but they'd still come in useful around camp for extra warmth when the temperature dropped, as it occasionally did at the new camp. I stocked Rayna's back with the three pelts while Arthur finished cutting the usable meat from the animals, wrapping them up and distributing them between our satchels and the saddlebags. When we were done we took a moment to wash our hands in the river, cleaning away the blood and grease before mounting up together and heading back towards our campsite.

[kumeko]

Title: reconnections

A/N: Written for the Choi Sandwich zine, featuring the twins and MC. Unfortunately the zine got cancelled. @naoface drew some cute polaroid shots for this fic, I hope they’re posted somewhere for you to see—they’re really cute!

…

…

…

…

“I have a garden.” Saeyoung crossed his hands, taking in the grassy lot behind his yard. A brown fence, paint peeling off it in places, surrounded the yard on three sides. On the right, his neighbour’s tree gave a small patch of shade, the only relief from the summer heat. “No, wait, I have a backyard?”

 “Yeah.” MC raised a brow, hand on her hip. Dressed in a ratty t-shirt and shorts, she looked ready to tackle any dirty job. A grey pair of gloves hung loosely in her free hand and he wondered if Yoosung had given them to her. “Have you never looked out your window?”

 Gesturing at himself, Saeyoung shot her a dry look. “Spy. Super-secret spy. I didn’t even think the windows could open.”

“Ugh.” MC shivered, even as she took the brunt of the June heat. “No wonder the AC is on blast all the time.” Donning her gloves, she peered around the corner of his house, at the narrow path leading between the front and the back. Automatically, her voice took a kinder, softer tone. “Do you need help?”

 A low voice mumbled something and Saeyoung resisted the urge to look. His brother’s voice was as quiet as he remembered, swallowed up by every other sound on the planet; as though he wasn’t sure he could make a noise, as though he’d be punished if anyone heard him. It had been one thing when this had happened when they were younger; now it seemed like it would never go away.

 But his brother was free: free of Rika’s grasp, free from their mother’s words, free from their father’s threats. And maybe one day his words would be free too, to be as loud as a shout. At least, it could be louder than the squeaky tire on the wheelbarrow as Saeran made his way into the backyard.

 “Ohhh, pansies.” MC stood next to his brother, leaning past him to pick up a tray of small purple and blue flowers. “My favourite.” Looking over the assorted flowers in the barrow, she glanced at Saeran. “Which one’s yours?”

 Saeran gave her a shy smile. Picking up a small green pot, he answered, “Roses. Blue ones the most.”

 “I never knew they could be blue.” MC examined the flowers eagerly. Putting back the tray she picked, she rolled up her sleeves. “Alright, let’s get at it. These flowers aren’t going to plant themselves.”

 The thought struck Saeyoung. “What if they could?”

 “…I mean, your robots are amazing, but that kinda robs the fun of planting.” MC shook her head, already disregarding the idea. She glanced at the neatly trimmed grass, free of weeds, and looked at Saeyoung again. “Wait, is that why your backyard isn’t a jungle?”

 “Buzz!” He crossed his arms in front of him. “I didn’t even know it existed ‘til now.”

 “Then who?” MC stroked her chin, perplexed. “A pair of wild goats acting like a lawnmower?”

 A trowel in hand, Saeran quietly suggested, “Vanderwood?”

 Simultaneously, Saeyoung and MC turned to each other, their mouths in an ‘o’ shape. “That’s it!”

 -x-

 “Hit X!” Saeyoung shouted, his eyes glued to the TV screen. His fingers pressed buttons on the controller faster than Saeran could see them. “That’ll make you go faster.”

 “Right. X.” Saeran swallowed, not quite sure how he ended up in this situation. On this couch. He was flanked with his brother on one side and MC on the other. They pressed against his body every now and then, their warmth surprising him each time. Looking down at the black thing in his hands, he looked for an X.

 “On the right.” MC tore her eyes away from the screen long enough to point it out to him. While she wasn’t as competitive as his brother, she gave as good as she got, and most matches ended up as a tie between the pair.

 And maybe that’s where his troubles started; when he complimented MC for winning a battle. Somehow, they had taken that as a desire to join, and before he knew it, he was sitting here, squished between the two with a strange black controller in his hands. He gripped it awkwardly, trying to remember what buttons the pair had told him to click, rapid-fire-like as though their words were bullets and they had to get through a clip. X? Square? Triangle?

 On the wide screen in front of him, his car zigzagged down the racetrack. At least, he hoped it was his car. There were so many on the screen he sometimes lost track of which was his. Beside him, the only sounds he could hear were the quick pressing of buttons and soft cursing as his brother and MC took turns to glare at each other. Blindly, he tapped a button. The wrong move—his car spun, hitting a rainbow prism.

 “Hit the left button!” MC yelled, her body leaning right as her car drifted around a corner. She tended to do that a lot, moving as though she was actually in the car, while Saeyoung barely budged from his spot.

 Left. Left. Which button was it? Saeran pressed every button he could see when suddenly the split screen in front of him glowed white. His car sailed across the finish line and, beside him, Saeyoung dropped his controller.

 “What?” Saeyoung stared at Saeran, then at the screen. “How?”

 “Wow! Way to go!” MC wrapped an arm around him, hugging him tightly before letting go. “You won!”

 “I did?” Saeran turned back to the screen, to the image of his car running over the finish line once more. He’d won. Joy swelled up in him and maybe there was a point to these games his brother played.

 “Again.” Picking up his controller, Saeyoung glared at the screen. “We’re doing this again.”

 -x-

 Click.

 With a scowl, Saeyoung looked up from his circuit board, fully expecting a polaroid camera in his face. Ever since MC had found it in his mess of a junk room, buried beneath broken gadgets and abandoned tool kits, it had been practically glued to her fingers. He could count the number of times he’d woken up to that dreaded click, to her devious smile as she caught him in one terrible pose after the other.

 This was not one of those times. No one was in front of him, with a camera or otherwise.

 Saeyoung blinked. That was odd. Another click sounded off and he turned his head to find MC on the other side of the room, huddled next to Saeran. His brother was clutching the instant camera in his hands, lowering the viewfinder from his eyes as MC quickly grabbed the photo and started fanning it.

 “You’re really good at this,” MC whispered conspiratorially, leaning close to Saeran. “Saeyoung usually wakes up at this point.”

 In front of the pair was their unwitting mark: a sleeping Vanderwood. Saeyoung snickered. Finally, someone else. Though, seriously, Vandy slept like the dead, not even so much as stirring at all the noise. No wonder he made such easy prey.

 “He’s always been a light sleeper,” Saeran explained, a pleased note in his voice. His fingers nervously played with the hem of his shirt, his other hand tightening its grip on the camera. Hesitantly, he pressed, “The photo…”

 “The photo?” MC repeated, turning to him.

 Embarrassed, he trailed off and shook his head. The tips of his ears turned red. “Nevermind.”

 “It’s a really good photo,” MC chirped, answering his unspoken question. She had a talent for that, Saeyoung had noticed, for reading inbetween the lines, for finding the hidden things. “Vandy almost looks like a model in it.”

 And this time, the hidden thing she found was Saeran’s smile. A small, quiet thing, and Saeyoung tried not to stare. His brother’s smiles were rare, dragged out only after much cajoling, and Saeyoung wished he had the camera now, could snap a picture and freeze it in time. “Really?”

 “Yeah, really.” MC looked at the camera. “You should just keep it—you’ll make better use of it than me.”

 Surprised, Saeran shook his head. He held out the camera, trying to return it to her. “I couldn’t—”

 “I stole it from Saeyoung anyways. So it’s just going home.” Insistent, MC pressed the camera back into his hands.

 “But—”

 Brokering no disagreement, she quickly clasped her hands behind her back before he could push the camera back to her. “I want to see more of your photos. They’re great."

 Saeran stared at the camera, then at her. Her smile didn’t waver and his lips tugged up slightly. He lowered his eyes, unable to think of a response, unable to say anything but a mumbled thanks.

 “Great!” After affectionately bumping shoulders with him, MC pulled out a marker. A mischeivious grin on her face, she slowly stalked toward Vanderwood. “Take a photo of him after I’m done.”

 -x-

 “Revenge,” Saeyoung stated, pacing back and forth in front of a whiteboard. He rapped a pointer against the word, written in bright red letters and underlined three times. “That is what the goal is, gentlemen.”

 “I am definitely not a part of this,” Vanderwood called out from the kitchen. The sound of sizzling meat and the warm scent of spices drifted into the living room and Saeran pinched himself.

 The smell remained. He inhaled deeply. There was something unbelievable about it all, about Vanderwood coming in every day to cook. To clean. To make beds and do all of the other things that Saeran had read about in the rare book Saeyoung used to sneak into their bedroom. And all of this was just for them, for a pair of people who shouldn’t have existed.

 There was a part of him that was sure he was still trapped in a dark room, dreaming about a happy future, but his brother was here. Vanderwood was here. MC was here and Saeran’s imagination had never been good enough to conjure up kind people like her.

 “Vanderwood will—” Saeyoung continued, as though he hadn’t heard anything.

 Not having any of it, Vanderwood yelled louder, “Once this is done, I’m leaving!”

 “You are the linchpin to the plan!” Saeyoung retorted, disregarding his friend’s(? Saeran wasn’t really clear on their relationship) wishes as usual. Dressed in a military uniform, his brother looked prepared for war. He glared at a picture of MC stuck to the whiteboard. “This is the only way we’re taking her down.”

 It sounded very serious and Saeran swallowed. Saeyoung looked ready to fight. Timidly, he raised his hand.

 Saeyoung pointed at him. “Yes, private?”

 Private. That sounded even worse. “Will this hurt MC?”

 His brother’s eyes widened. Setting down his pointer, he shook his head slowly. “No, we won’t hurt her.”

 “Good.” Sighing with relief, Saeran relaxed. MC was his friend, another word he had never dreamed of using before. MC was his friend and he didn’t want his brother and his friend to be at crosshairs with one another.

 “We’re just going to crush the pranking spirit out of her.” The pointer was back in his hand, and with it, Saeyoung’s military voice. Using magnets, he stuck several more pictures onto the whiteboard. One of his beloved gaming chair, dyed a neon green. Another of Vanderwood’s face, covered in drawings. Each picture was more embarrassing than the last and Saeyoung banged his hand against the wall. “The chicken nugget incident. The waterbed assassination. We have suffered too many defeats, men. Far too many. And while I have avenged each one, this cannot continue.”

 He pulled off his hat, revealing a terrible dye job that made his hair a nauseating yellow. Gripping his hat tightly, he closed his eyes shamefully. “This prank is the final straw. We shall destroy MC so badly, she shall never prank in this house again.”

 Turning back to the whiteboard, he rested a hand on the top of it. “And for this, I have devised the world’s, nay, the universe’s greatest prank.” Deftly, he flipped the board. “I call this the—”

 Saeyoung stared at the board. Saeran stared at the board. And while he couldn’t be certain about it, he was certain Vanderwood had poked his head out to stare at it as well.

 Whatever plans Saeyoung had made were gone. In their place, MC had drawn herself in red, her fingers in a V shape as she grinned victoriously.

 -x-

 MC’s head lolled, her body sinking into the plush couch. Saeyoung rolled his eyes as his friend swayed left and right, her eyes struggling to stay open as she lost the battle against sleep. “And you picked the movie,” he grumbled half-heartedly, already moving the chip bowl away from her before she could spill it. Saeran had the popcorn bowl, so at least that was safe.

 “I…can…watch…” she mumbled, blinking furiously as she tried to watch Back to the Future.

 Or was it Back to the Future II? To be perfectly honest, Saeyoung wasn’t sure just where they were in the marathon right now. Not that it really mattered, this rewatch wasn’t so much for him but for Saeran, the next step in a slow effort to get him up to speed on pop culture.

 “Just sleep,” Saeyoung sighed, glancing at Saeran. Completely hooked on the movie, his brother watched the screen with rapt attention. The popcorn remained untouched and Saeyoung wasn’t sure if his brother hated it or if he didn’t realize that it was okay, that he could eat it.

 Almost all of their interactions were like that, a vein of uncertainty of intentions and understanding. Turning to MC, he whispered, “Could you—”

 He didn’t bother to finish the question. MC was fast asleep now, softly snoring as she leaned back into the couch. A small dribble of drool escaped the side of her mouth and Saeyoung tried not to laugh. Oh, this would be the perfect picture.

 A perfect revenge.

 -x-

 “Saeran?” Shielding his eyes from the sun, Saeyoung winced as he stepped outside. Damn, it was bright outside. And hot too. The air felt stuffy and humid and he missed the dry aftertaste his air conditioner gave him. Even if MC and Vanderwood complained about it, it was far better than this heat.

 Padding down the stone path to the backyard, Saeyoung guessed his brother was on their side of the argument as he found Saeran more often outside than in. It was a good thing. After all those years of darkness, it was a good thing. Just as MC’s suggestion to garden was also a good one. Saeyoung stopped walking once he spotted Saeran watering the flowers. His brother really liked them, especially the roses. As usual, he was quietly talking to the plants as he tended them and Saeyoung wondered what he was saying.

 Good things? Bad things? Did he like living here with his brother? Hate it? Almost all of their interactions had this level of awkwardness in them, two people learning to live together once again. It was a discovery of likes and dislikes, of habits and personalities. Of the space between them. It was easier when MC was with them, helping them navigate the waters.

 It was harder when it was like now, just the two of them. The gap between them felt obvious in the sunlight. Saeyoung took a hesitant step forward. By now, the garden felt like Saeran’s private place, the flowers mostly maintained by him. Just walking in the backyard felt like an intrusion.

 Spotting him, Saeran stopped watering. “Saeyoung?”

 It was strange. They were mirror images of one another, at one time. Even now, with Saeran’s hair colour back to normal, they still looked almost the same. But there were differences—Saeran’s face was leaner, sharper, and no matter how much he ate, his skin clung to his bones. Clearing his throat, Saeyoung smiled. “The flowers look good.”

 “Thank you.” Saeran ducked his head bashfully, a reddish tint to his ears.

 “No problem.” He could just hit his head against the wall—what was with that stiff, formal response?

 With nothing to add, Saeran returned to watering and silence fell between them. For once, Saeyoung couldn’t think of a single joke, a single jest to lighten the mood. Quietly, he walked up to his brother, coming to a stop next to the roses. “You like them, right?”

 “Yeah.” Saeran looked at him. His eyes darted to the roses, then back to him. Lowering his lids, he bit his lip before mumbling, “You’re kinda like a rose.”

 “A rose?” Flattered, Saeyoung loosened his collar and ran a hand through his hair. Posing, he winked. “I am beautiful.”

 “No, not that,” Saeran interrupted, a nervous smile playing on his lips. “You’re…you’re both thorny.”

 “…huh?” Was that an insult? Did his brother hate living here, and this was his passive-aggressive way of telling him? Saeyoung’s jaw fell slack, not sure how to respond.

 “Er—ummm…” Saeran clutched the watering can tightly, his nervous smile turning into a panicked one. His words came out in a rush. “That was a joke. Did I do it wrong?”

 “A joke?” Saeyoung blinked blankly at his brother. Saeran had made a joke about him. A terrible one, but a joke nonetheless. Laughter bubbled up inside him and he collapsed to his knees.

 Saeran crouched net to him, freaking out. “Are you okay? Vanderwood said to try—I’m sorry—”

 Before his brother could go off on a tangent, he interrupted him. “Good one.” Taking a deep breath, Saeyoung calmed down. He slung an arm around his brother, hugging them tight. Maybe they were still learning to connect, but they were getting there. They were going to be okay. “Really funny.”

 Above them was a bright blue sky and he remembered those early days when they used to watch the clouds, dreaming of ice cream and warm families. A dream that had come true, in a fashion. They had the RFA, they had Vanderwood, they had MC. A family of their own. Sitting down, he chuckled. “Now I gotta watch out for your pranks, huh?”

 Caught, Saeran turned red and Saeyoung grinned.