#open wide o earth……… episode of all time

[nicollekidman]

hbo chernobyl perfect tv

[wooziorgans]

polaroids || xmh

summary: While moving into a new apartment, Minghao finds an old box full of Polaroids. All of them are with an old band member: Y/N.

genre: angst, fluff, hurt (for right now, no comfort), idol au, gn/male reader, ex!idol reader, written mostly in the form of flashbacks.

a/n: i wrote something like this years ago and decided it would be a good concept for minghao <3. currently i have no real plans besides recounting a relationship that no longer exists, so right now this fic is mainly hurt w no comfort. but we’ll see. this chapter is based off the original so it’s very,,, reminiscent of what a 15 y/o would write and it’s not my best work. also hi, this is my first fic that im posting to tumblr yippee!!

word count: 1.3k

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─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.1 .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Most of his apartment was packed. It was time to relocate, something that was almost annual for Minghao at this point. No matter what he was doing, he craved the change in scenery. He had no idea when this habit developed, but if things were too constant he would fall into intense episodes of anxiety. It was a vice; needing constant change was Minghao’s biggest source of impurity.

The small, black box that sat on the shelf was taunting Minghao. He knew what was in it; how could he have forgotten? It was now on the floor of his closet. He closed his eyes softly for a second, to suppress any emotion he would feel as he lifted the box open. Bracing himself, he lifted the lid, breathing deeply. The photo on top was a picture of Minghao and Y/N; both were covered in snow and smiling. Minghao remembered every moment leading up to the Polaroid.

It was one of their first times playing a show up north in America. Y/N and Minghao left the tour bus to explore the snow and get a warm coffee from a café they had both been eyeing since they arrived in Chicago. Wonwoo tagged along, claiming that Seungkwan was being dramatic and needed time alone. Y/N and Minghao threw on as many layers as they could find, both of them not used to the bite of the January winds, or the feet of snow that blanketed the Earth. No one told them that along with snow, there would also be ice.

Minghao’s gloved hand was intertwined with Y/N’s bare one. Y/N had a habit of always forgetting something, especially when it came to the climate. One day it would be gloves, the next would be a scarf. The disruption in routine when it came to new weather while on tour was Y/N’s biggest downfall. Minghao would always scold them for it, worrying that he would get sick in the cold. Y/N listened each time, but these warning would slip his mind shortly after.

“Watch out for the ice,” Minghao breathed into the air of his closet. That’s what he had said all those years ago. It was another warning that went unnoticed.

Y/N didn't see the patch of ice in front of them, nor did they feel it. They hit the ice with a preoccupied foot and landed on their ass in a snow bank. Minghao came down with them, both of them landing on their backs in a snow bank beside the side walk. Flake of snow were falling on Minghao’s face. Y/N rolled over in the snow, overtop of Minghao, now letting the soft flakes fall on the back of their head.

At the realization that Y/N was on top of him, Minghao’s face got darker than it had already been from the cold. He shifted on underneath the weight of Y/N. In a moment of courage, Y/N grabbed onto the collar of Minghao’s jacket. There was a look of horror on Minghao’s face, but that changed as a snowflake fell on the tip of his nose. He smiled as it melted. More fell on his face as the snow fell harder. Y/N, always being the more forward of the pair, began to place small kisses on Minghao’s face where ever the snowflakes fell.

First, it was his nose. Y/N’s warm lips against the tip of Minghao’s cold nose sent hot shivers through his spine. His hands found their way to Y/N’s hips, and pulled them closer in the cold. Y/N backed away from Minghao’s face for a second, a wide smile forming on their face as the snowflakes fell elsewhere on Minghao’s face.

Next, it was Minghao’s forehead. Everything felt so affectionate and warm despite the freezing atmosphere around the two of them; and at that moment, any final contingency of believing that the relationship between Y/N and Minghao was strictly platonic melted away. There was no more dancing around each other, no more ignoring the hidden glances they would take at each other. This had been coming for a long time, and the waiting game was finally over.

Minghao huffed out a breathe, much like he did in the cold of Chicago all those years ago. This time, he could not see his breath as he had when he was laying in the snow with Y/N. The frown on his face was a stark juxtaposition to the bright smile that reflected off the snow.

When Minghao began giggling softly at the sensation of Y/N’s lips on his face, Y/N tilted their head carefully and placed a cautious kiss to Minghao’s cold, soft lips. Minghao froze, a little star struck. Y/N pulled back for a few seconds, breathing a little harder than before. They leaned down again to place another kiss on Minghao’s lips. This time, Minghao returned the kiss, smiling into it. Both of them began to smile even wider, completely oblivious to Wonwoo, who was watching everything that was happening. Wonwoo stood a few feet away on the sidewalk, staring.

Minghao’s hands moved from Y/N’s waist to their neck. Their neck was cold even through the fabric of Minghao’s gloves, and Minghao felt them tense up but ease back into the soft, careful touch that graced their neck. A few short kisses were placed on Minghao’s lips before Y/N pulled back smiling down him and pushed themself out of the snowbank. Y/N offered a bare hand to Minghao, who accepted it. Y/N pulled him up and into their arms. They held each other for a few long moments, trying to absorb each others warmth.

Minghao looked over Y/N’s shoulder as they just stood completely in their own little bubble. Wonwoo was behind their back, looking completely dumbfounded in shock. Minghao smiled at him shyly. "So, is this- uh?" Wonwoo still looked disoriented out of his mind as he tried to speak.

Y/N released their grip on Minghao, turning to face Wonwoo. "Yeah,” they breathe out, a trail of frost following their words. They turn to Minghao, “We’ll have to talk about it later. We can’t really ignore this anymore." Y/N grabbed Minghao’s hand and continued the little amount of distance to the coffee shop. Minghao follows like a puppy.

At one point, he would always follow them. He was the passive one, but he was the stubborn one. At one point, Minghao would have followed them to the ends of the Earth.

He realizes how much time has passed since them. There is no one to follow. Minghao has no directions, even if it’s been years. There are no directions on his GPS to lead him to Y/N. The path with Y/N became a series of wrong turns; he was so sure that Y/N was a wrong turn for years after they parted ways.

Revisiting this box for the first time in two years, Minghao isn’t so sure of that anymore.

"You two are the last two to notice," Wonwoo laughed, “Don’t let your new revelation distract you though, we’ve got a show to play tonight.” Minghao leaned down and placed a small kiss on an exposed part of Y/N’s neck. Both of them were smiling, giddy from the first move finally being made.

‘Click!' Wonwoo snapped a photo of the two of them with his Polaroid camera. They were covered in white flakes, with rosy cheeks and noses from the cold. They looked happy.

“Yeah,” Minghao breathes, “yeah.” The fatigue from the freezing air seems to have found its way back into his lungs. Minghao feels completely breathless, seated on his floor. It’s the same shortness of breath he felt in Chicago, despite doing no exercise. The cold does that to you, it leaves you asphyxiated and dumb. That’s how Minghao feels a he stares at the first Polaroid from the box, which has found its way into his hands.

He feels dumb.

[affanreacts]

CHERNOBYL Episode 3 'Open Wide O Earth' REACTION Video!

*CHERNOBYL* Episode 3 'Open Wide, O Earth' REACTION Video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=putCZ2yCEd4 Affan First Time Watching Chernobyl Episode 3 Open Wide, O Earth Reaction, Commentary and Review Video! In April 1986, the city of Chernobyl in the Soviet Union suffers one of the worst nuclear disasters in the history of mankind. Consequently, many heroes put their lives on the line in the following days, weeks and months. Valery creates a detailed plan to decontaminate Chernobyl; Lyudmilla ignores warnings about her firefighter husband's contamination. Chernobyl Complete Series Reaction 🔔Love movies? Join Affan's cinematic journey and see films like never before! 🎬 Subscribe now: https://www.youtube.com/@AffanReacts/?sub_confirmation=1 ✅ Important Links: 👉 Patreon: https://ift.tt/dGqKtC6 👉 Check Out The Merch In My Online Store: https://ift.tt/l3tC20A ✅ Stay Connected With Me: 👉 Instagram: https://ift.tt/Us9j8E7 👉 TikTok: https://ift.tt/dY6rBSp 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/PeshawariAffan ✅ For Business Inquiries: worthlessfilms9@gmail.com ============================= ✅ Recommended Playlists 👉Kung Fu Panda https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIYqkGMNlM8&list=PL7bOAQig7aKAiqUQvwZuDRikXHJKsR6iw 👉All Movies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGiahJRGbJU&list=PL7bOAQig7aKC9SxZA7GJeKJIksvPnybI9 ✅ Other Videos You Might Be Interested In Watching: 👉 Avatar The Last Airbender First Time Reaction - The Boy in the Iceberg Ep.1 | Affan Reacts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t8sVJyU6Yw 👉 Avatar The Last Airbender Reaction - My Opinion Of Aang's Character | Affan Reacts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNEzdKvKB3Y 👉 Jordan Peele's "US" (2019): Movie Reaction - First Time Watching | Affan Reacts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4tscNIKbiY 👉 "Late Night with the Devil": Horror Movie Reaction | Affan Reacts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOpHXrn-k-A ============================= ✅ About Affan Reacts: Welcome to Affan Reacts! Dive into thrilling reactions to the latest films and TV shows. Join us for genuine, engaging, and fun responses to your favorite entertainment. Subscribe and enjoy the journey with us! For collaboration and business inquiries, please use the contact information below: 📩 Email: worthlessfilms9@gmail.com 🔔Want more movie and TV show insights? Subscribe and be part of the adventure: https://www.youtube.com/@AffanReacts/?sub_confirmation=1 ===================== #chernobyl #reaction #firsttimewatching #chernobylhbo #chernobyldisaster #reactionvideo #shocking Disclaimer: I do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred from you acting or not acting as a result of watching any of my publications. You acknowledge that you use the information I provide at your own risk. Do your research. Copyright Notice: This video and my YouTube channel contain dialog, music, and images that are the property of Affan React. You are authorized to share the video link and channel and embed this video in your website or others as long as a link back to my YouTube channel is provided. © Affan Reacts via Affan Reacts https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnUDDhBPBkebetSkDDNWpVg July 25, 2024 at 06:47PM

[fan-art-ic]

Don't Stop Here

She's back. Anne is really back on Earth. She can hardly believe it.

(Picks up immediately after the episode ends) (ao3 link in reblog)

Anne can hardly believe it. Cars honked around her and every breath is heavy with unnatural smog. She meets eyes with a human stranger, who lifts a phone very quickly and stares bug-eyed at her. Not at her, no, at her family. She turns to Hop-pop, Sprig, and Polly, all scratched, bruised, tired, afraid, and looking at her with trust in their eyes. Hop-pop croaks and coughs and Anne notices her frog family's skin is graying. She has to get them out of here. Off the hood of the car, over five lanes of traffic, hopped over the guardrail, down the hill, through a sparse copse of trees, to the sidewalk under the bridge and-

"Anne?" A pink hand tugs on her wrist. "Anne, stop. Please." Her feet stumble to a stop and her socked foot lands on something sharp and cutting and she gasps.

"Anne!"

Two sets of hands catch her torso, and she faintly feels a wet touch pulling at her ankle. Her family carefully let her down, so she lands heavily on her butt instead of her nose. Anne's next breath is a punch of air and her lungs brighten with pain as she loses control of her inhales and exhales. Her eyes hurt and burn. When she wipes a dirty hand across her face, she winces as hot tears and snot sting her injuries. A light weight settles onto her back and rubs in a circular motion. Anne clings to the sensation. Between sputtering breaths, she begins to hear. "-in...and out...in...and out," Hop-pop's soothing, raspy voice repeats and then she can hear Sprig humming. It's a song Wally wrote about a silly snail getting lost and he had sung it at her Frog of the Year party. A laugh bubbles up into a sob and Anne reaches out her arms to pull all three of them close.

"I love you guys," she chokes out, and Polly pats her cheek.

"We love you too, Anne," says the polliwog, normally so energetic now wrung out and too bright-eyed. She needs to pull herself together. Anne releases her grip and her family takes a step back. She runs her hands through her hair and shakes her head, dust and dirt and surprisingly long twigs falling to the broken concrete.

"Alright, froggy fam," she begins, "I'm going to take you to meet my human fam." Sprig whoops, but he's clearly flagging.

"Yay!..."

Anne grimaces and looks at Hop-pop. The old, orange frog meets her gaze steadily, but she can tell how much he is missing his cane. "Hop-pop, you got Polly, I got Sprig?" He nods. "Alright. Let's make our way to the highway, follow along till we hit an exit, follow that till we hit town, figure out where we are, call my parents. Sound good?" No one protests and Anne helps Sprig up to her shoulder as Hop-pop collects Polly.

.

They're maybe ten minutes into their walk, and every step is a jolt to her nervous system. Her skin feels prickly, her jaw too tight, her muscles ache like never before. The pressure of her Newtopian breastplate, once reassuring, weighs her every step like a lodestone.  The heron-leather straps pinch at the underside of her arms. Sprig's cool, damp skin is refreshing against the back of her neck, but it's not slimy enough and it concerns Anne. She bites her lip and tries to time her steps so that her sneaker hits the rocks and roots, while her socked-foot hits bare earth. She isn't always successful, and everything is starting to throb. Her temples pulse loudly in her head and her knees are weak and her mouth is parched.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, Polly..." Hop-pop murmurs behind her. She can't see him, but she hears the dragging footsteps crunch the dry grass and the low comfortings of the grandfather to the polliwog. A stabbing pain shoots through her chest, and Anne forces her legs into a march. Focuses on the act of raising her thigh, swinging her calf forward, shifting her weight, repeat ad infinitum.

In seventh grade health class, there had been only one day dedicated to 'mental health issues' and something mentioned was meditative breathing. In multiple P.E. classes, Anne heard the teachers talk about making sure to breath while exercising. One, two, three. In. One, two, three. Out. Anne can do this.

.

The clouds parted a bit as they walked and the sun is nearly blinding Anne, as she squints at the sign. DALY STREET EXIT, it read in giant white text on green. Okay, so now they can get out of the weird in-between highway area they've been hiking. She points at it. "This way."

Something is mumbled behind her back.

"Huh?" She stops to turn and looks at Hop-pop. "What's up?" The elderly frog's face is twisted in a very non-confidence inspiring way.

"Well...Anne, I can't help but notice you don't have your backpack. Or...or your phone. So-" All Anne could hear was a piercing, ringing sound. Her hands clenched and unclenched.

"Right," says Anne, interrupting whatever the old frog had been saying. "Right. I don't have my backpack or phone." She blinks rapidly and Hop-pop's brow furrows deeper grooves. Her fingernails dig grooves of equal depth into her palms. "Okay, so," she claps her hands and ignores Sprig and Polly startle, "we will keep going. We will find someone kind and nice who will be willing to call my parents. End of plan."

"Great plan," Sprig yawns in her ear, and she can't help the yawn in return. It stretches her neck muscles and she yawns again for good measure. Polly yawns, then Hop-pop, then her and Polly at the same time. They all smile and the moment of brevity gets the family going again, the plan -no matter how little Anne believes in it herself- solidly in mind and the goal spurring them on. Not too much further now.

.

The sign for 7-11 flickers and there is a closed down Redbox sitting stoutly next to a ash-tray/trash can. The ad in the window advertises Berry Glam Blitz Bomb and a two for four hotdogs sale. Her stomach rumbles.

Her family is crowded together outside the storefront, and Anne doesn't know what to do. She's loathe to leave the Plantars by themselves, but maybe the cashier won't be the most cynical soul in Los Angeles. Then the frogs won't go under the risk of wandering the streets, talking to strangers. She can't bring them in though, what if the employee freaks out (like...any reasonable person confronted by talking frog people would). A clammy, orange hand taps her arm twice. She looks down.

"We'll be okay for five minutes, Anne," reassures Hop-pop. "Hand me Sprig." She doesn't hand him Sprig so much as the pink frog melts off her back and flops down next to his grandfather, but either way transfer successful. Okay now it's just time to interact with a human who isn't one of her two childhood best friends. She can't be totally out of practice right?

Marcy's eyes had been so wide when she died. Her pretty, dark brown eyes glittering from the light of Andrias' sword. From the flashing blue of the portal home. From tears.

Anne swallows roughly and steps toward the entrance. She scolds herself when the self-automated doors startle her, and she glances around the store. Someone tall and bald by the coolers, someone on the phone in the back, besides them and Anne the place is empty. Well, and the cashier. She approaches the register before she can one-eighty out the stupid doors, and she clears her throat. The cashier, a young guy with bright green and black hair and a name tag reading 'Jared', looks up from his phone.

"Hey-o, ready to check out?"

"Um, no actually," Anne starts and stops. What is she supposed to say? "I...dropped my phone and it cracked badly," she lies. "I was supposed to meet up with my mom but I can't get the dang thing to turn on." She laughs, short and high-pitched, rubbing her neck. "Is there like, a store phone I could borrow to call her?"

Jared raises his eyebrows. "No, there isn't a store phone. If you buy something I could exchange dollars for quarters, I think there's a phone booth near here." The lights are buzzing really loudly, Anne notices. She takes a deep breath.

"Sorry, that doesn't work. Could I borrow your phone?" She sees how the older guy assesses her. She sees her dirty torn school skirt, her scorched copper armor, the twigs that she can't stop finding in her hair. "Or could I give you her number? Please, I just want to get back to my mom." Jared's frown softens and his mouth opens to speak, but is cut off by a voice behind Anne.

"Annie Bone-choy?" Her neck complains at the speed she turns to look. The bald person she saw earlier. Face contorted in open surprise, finger pointed in her direction, he says in a nasally SoCal accent, "Your parents have been looking everywhere for you."

"Do I know you?" Anne asks. Bald guy shakes his head. "No. I like your parents restaurant, amazing noodles by the way, and they have your missing posters all over the front. Yours and two other girls."

"I thought you lost your phone and were meeting up with your mom," Jared unhelpful interjects. Anne looks between both of them.

"Can I please use someone's phone to call my mom?" The two adults look at each other.

"Tell me your mom's number," says Jared tentatively. Anne rattles off the ten digit code with ease. She remembers sitting in the kitchen and her mom helping her arrange plastic magnet numbers in the order of her cell phone number. Jared puts the phone on speaker and the dialing tone begins to ring. Once, twice, three times, four...

"Hi! This is Madee Boonchuy. Not here right now, please leave a message!" The messaging system beeps and Anne just shakes her head at Jared. He ends the call.

"Can you please try again?" She pleads. Jared frowns, but does as requested. The dialing rings again. And gets voice-mail, again.

"I could call the restaurant," the bald guy offers. "It's not exactly rush hour but they are open right now, right?" Anne blinks away the stinging in her eyes. She has no idea what time it is, no idea what day or month or even if it's the same year. Who knows how Amphibia time lines up with Earth time?

"Can you? Please?" He nods and pulls out his phone. A minute while he finds the contact, and now for the third time, the phone rings on speaker. Anne knows what they say about third tries, and she crosses her fingers tightly.

"Hello? Delivery or pick-up?" Familiar, accented English, and Anne has to resist falling to the floor.

"Mom," Anne whispers in Thai, and the voice on the line speaks rapidly.

"Anne? Sweetheart? Oh my god, Anne? Anne?"

"It's me Mom. It's Anne," Anne sniffs and hiccups.

Some sharp, unintelligible yelling comes out the receiver, and there is a rustling and slamming sound before Anne's mom replies, "Where are you?"

Anne blue screens for a second. "I'm..." She struggles to remember. "I'm at a 7-11."

"What? Where? What street?"

"Daly Street," Jared pipes up.

"Who is that?" Her mother says sharply.

"That's just the cashier, he was, he was helping me. Well and another guy who comes to the restaurant apparently? I uh, he says he recognized me from my posters, huh, I didn't realize I'd have any," Anne rambles.

"I'm coming to you, Anne," Her mom promises. "I'm going to hug you so much. I'm coming to you. I have to hang up now, to get in the car, but do not go. Please."

"I promise," says Anne, and when her mom ends the call, she starts crying.

.

She exits the 7-11 once she gets the bald guy and Jared to distract each other (i.e. purchasing a bottled soda), and she spots the Plantars immediately. They're on top of a parked USPS truck. When Anne peers around the vehicle to see the other side of the street, she spies the mailman making his way towards the truck. Crap.

"Guys!" She hisses through clenched teeth. She raps her knuckles against the truck's side and hear Polly yelp. "Guys, get off the truck!" A moment later, Hop-pop and Sprig land beside her, Polly in her brother's arms. Anne pulls them over to the Redbox and huddles on the side opposite to the store entrance. She steps in front of them, hoping her body will shield enough of the frogs so nobody looks closer.

"Your mom is gonna be here soon?" Sprig asks. Anne nods.

"Yep, she'll...she'll be here soon." There's no response, and there is a take-a-tab paper taped to the trash can advertising singing lessons, and it's all Anne can do to not remember the time Sasha threw a karaoke party and they all started singing badly and together, and Anne blinks and keeps talking.

"My mom will come, and she's probably in her mini-van, oh man she's gonna tear through like twenty stop signs and scare other drivers so bad," she snorts, "and maybe there'll be a loose water bottle or a chip bag in the car, and oh man, you guys don't know what sour cream and onion chips are I can't wait to show you-"

"Anne," Hop-pop cuts her off. "Don't forget to breathe." She sucks in a deep breath and feels bile creeping up her throat. She tries to swallow but her mouth is so dry it just hurts. She can't imagine how her frog family's is feeling compared to her, they must be feeling so much worse than her, and they haven't said anything yet. Anne exhales forcefully. When a hand squeezes around her own, she squeezes back reassuringly.

They all jump as a dark red mini-van screeches to a halt in front of the 7-11. The driver exits the car, not wasting time to even park, and runs towards them. "Anne!"

"Mom!!!" Anne cries and she takes only a few steps before she's barreled over.

"Anne, oh my god, thank the heavens it's you! Anne, Anne, oh my baby," Anne's mom sobs into her shoulder before pulling back. Anne stares at her mother. Lets her eyes trace the deepened wrinkles, notice the shining, brown eyes the same shade as her own, the beauty mark on her chin. Her mom's glasses are new. Anne can't remember what they'd been, but now her mom wears tortoiseshell frames.

"I like your glasses," is the first thing to tumble out of Anne's mouth, and she nearly slaps herself. Her mom laughs wetly.

"Oh, Anne, oh, I've missed you so much." Her mother folds her back into her arms. Anne hugs back as tightly as she can for a second before her mom stiffens with a surprised grunt. "And you're so much stronger, when did that happen?"

Anne smiles. "I'll tell you about it." She steps back and grabs her mom by the shoulders. They're the same height now. "I'll tell you all about it." And that means... "Mom, let me introduce you to the Plantars," Anne steps to her mom's side and reveals her froggy family.

Her mother gasps and says something in Thai that Anne doesn't know. She would bet it's one of the worse swear words. "I know it's a shock, cuz, well, two foot tall talking frogs," says Anne and motions for the trio to come a bit closer. "But they protected me, fed me, and loved me while I was stranded in their world." Hop-pop shuffles the closes with Sprig and Polly poking their heads out behind him.

Hop-pop extends his hand. "My name is Hopadiah Plantar, it's an honor to meet you Mrs. Boonchuy." Her mom looks down at the wrinkly, orange hand and then back at Anne. She nods encouragingly and her mom steels herself before meeting the hand with her own.

She gingerly shakes it. "Pleasure to meet you...Hopadiah," Anne's mom says his name carefully. "My daughter says you kept her safe?" Hop-pop nods.

"To the best of my ability," and his face gains a wry look and he rubs the back of his neck. "When she and my grandkids weren't off chasing trouble."

Anne's mom smiles tentatively. "I'm sure. Are these your grandkids here?" Sprig comes out behind Hop-pop's back and puts out his hand.

"I'm Sprig Plantar! And this is-" A loud honk interrupts him and everyone in the group startles, moving to look at the source. A silver BMW is stuck behind her mom's mini-van and the one-way street doesn't give any wiggle around room. A shout filters out of the sports car. "MOVE YOUR CAR!" Except with a lot more swears. Anne's mom sighs.

"Introductions later, let's get in the car," she instructs and everyone moves.

All the frogs hesitate as they get closer, Sprig even flinching when Anne hauls open the back seat door with a slam. She gestures inside. "C'mon guys, it's just like a wagon," Anne says. Polly hops in first and settles into the closest middle row seat. She bounces a couple times.

"It's comfy," the polliwog reports. The jerk in the BMW honks again, even longer. Sprig and Hop-pop pile in and Anne closes the door behind them. She gets into the passenger seat and the feeling of air conditioning against her skin is like. Magic wind. Super relaxing. Like insane luxury. Oh, Anne missed technology.

"Buckle up." Her mom clicks her seat belt into the lock and starts pulling away immediately. Leaving Anne to explain what 'buckle up' means, and what a seat belt is, and no she doesn't know when they were invented. The questions continue as the mini-van pulls onto the highway, but the group soon quiets down. Anne blinks slowly and looks outside the window. The trees and billboards and other cars pass by her so quickly, so much quicker than Bessie could ever go. A pang strikes her heart as Anne realizes Bessie will be all alone. She hopes the Plantar's family snail is taken care of while they're gone. Anne looks away from the window as nausea grips her throat. She's almost home. She can hold off on falling apart for just a little longer.

.

"Anne, honey, are you awake? We're home."

Anne blinks and she squeezes her eyes tight and yawns loudly and long. She hadn't realized she dozed off. "I'm...home." She opens the door and doesn't let her twinging feet deter her from getting a good look at her home. The small bushes that lined the driveway, the slightly dented mailbox, the umbrella her dad always left outside the red door. Anne drinks it all in.

For the past several months she had been in a world with fantastical flora and fauna and shocking experiences every day, but Anne feels dizzy at the sight of her home. Her eyes catch on every detail, the once too-familiar not familiar enough. The bristly door mat; the unpolished brass numbers: 301; the creaky porch step; the small, pink, clay owl figurine Anne had given to her mom for Mother's Day in fifth grade and sat tucked in the corner. Her eyelashes are sticky with tears.

"Your house is SOOOOOOOOO BIG!" Anne snorts and is grateful for Sprig. She turns around to look at the small, pink frog.

"It's pretty nice! I've loved growing up here. Three-oh-one Silver Spring Lane." A gobsmacked look.

"You have springs made of silver?" Sprig's jaw drops. Hop-pop's head pokes out of the van.

"What's this I hear of silver springs?"

Surprisingly, it's Anne's mom who answers. She laughs, and it soothes Anne, before saying, "No, Hopadiah. It's just a nice name for a road." Anne tunes out what Hop-pop replies in favor of turning back to the door.

The metal door handle is hot to touch, searing from the oppressive California heat. She breathes out in a harsh whoosh and forces herself to yank the door open. It slams against the wall and the hinges squeak. Anne hears a sound of protest from her mom, but she can't acknowledge it when there's a bullet of fluff running towards the door.

"DOMINO!" The cat jumps into Anne's arms and she catches her, swinging Domino around and around and gosh, will Anne ever stop crying today? She hides her tears in Domino's soft, white belly, and laughs as the cat wiggles around to climb up her shoulders. Domino wraps around her neck and rubs Anne's check with her cute, little face.

Anne collapses to her knees and she pulls her cat around and holds her so carefully and so, so close. Domino allows this longer than ever before, but soon she does squirm and fall to the carpet on all four feet. She chirps and purrs vacuum-like. Anne's hands move on their own accord, stroking down Domino's back, scratching all her sweet spots, reacquainting herself with her Domino, her beautiful angel baby.

"Anne, could you move your reunion a few feet more into the hallway? So we can come in?" Her mom says, her tone telling Anne she's smiling. Anne kisses her baby's head one more time before standing up and moves to the side. Ugh, her knees hurt from carpet burn. That's one thing she hadn't missed.

"Sprig, Polly, Hop-pop! Remember the killapillar?" Anne scoops up Domino and holds her out. "This is Domino One!" Sprig steps closer, squinting. He pokes at Domino's paw and she mrrps! at him. He flinches back for a second before staring deep into her eyes. Anne watches this stare-off with no small amount of amusement.

Eventually, Sprig asks, "So this Domino won't kill us for dinner?" Anne shakes her head and a leaf drifts from her hair.

"Nope!"

Sprig oh so slowly reaches a finger to Domino's long-haired back. "Oh!" He says, curling his fingers through the fur. "She's even softer than peatmoss."

Polly joins her brother and jumps up and down on her new, little legs. "Let me pet her!" Anne leans back down, but Domino wriggles out her grip and runs down the hallway, disappearing around the kitchen corner. Polly pouts. "Aw! I wanted to touch Domino One."

Anne pats her yellow bow. "Don't worry. There's plenty of time for that later."

"I believe a good use of time right now," Anne's mom says, still lingering in the open door, "would be for you to change out of your dirty clothes. Go take a shower."

Anne stares at her mom stunned. "Oh my god...," she whispers. "I shall finally be clean." Sprig laughs.

"Are there no showers where you come from?" Anne's mom asks Hop-pop as Anne still revels in the very idea of pressurized water.

"I can't say I know what a shower-whatsit is, but we did bathe," Hop-pop says archly, half at Anne's mom and half at her. Her mom nods understandingly. Then frowns.

"Do you have any spare clothes with you?" She asks and all the Plantars go wide-eyed.

"We..." Hop-pop can't finish his sentence hands twisting his ascot. Sprig looks morose and he's holding onto his slingshot tightly. Polly is similar, tugging at her frayed and dirty yellow bow. Anne's heart twinges, and she cuts in.

"We didn't exactly have time to pack our wardrobes when we came, Mom," she says. "I have piggy bank money, we can go shopping guys! You guys have to see the mall. This time, my treat," she tries to cheer up the little frogs.

Sprig and Polly perk up at the mention of visiting the mall, but Hop-pop and her mom both protest at once.

"Anne, that's mighty kind of you, but-"

"Anne, that's very generous, but-"

Both stop and her mom motions for the frog to continue. Hop-pop waits a second more before saying, "Anne, you don't need to spend your savings on us. We can make do if you just show us to a wash bucket and a needle with thread. When these get worn out, we'll cross that river when we come to it." Anne's mom then lays a hand on Hop-pop's shoulder, slightly crouching to reach. Hop-pop nods at her.

Her mom smiles before saying to him, "I can certainly show you the washing machine, but we'll figure out another set of clothes for you." Her gaze casts over Sprig, Polly, and Anne. "For all of you. And Anne," her mom walks up to her and she smiles with glistening eyes, "when did you grow up so much?" She brings Anne into a tight hug before releasing her. And boops her nose. Anne squeals. Her mom smiles. "I will pay for the shopping. Now!" She claps. "Shoes off."

Everyone looked down at their feet and noticed the frogs didn't have any. "Ah well, shoes and...shoe off. Anne, what happened to your shoe?"

Anne waves it off. "Lost it a few months ago." Her mother grumbles and Anne suspects she'll be getting a new pair of sneakers in the near future. Then it occurs to her, "Where's Dad?"

"He had to stay to make sure the delivery went smoothly since Jackson quit and everyone else messes it up," her mom explains while running her hands through Anne's hair.

Anne gasps. "No! Not Jackson."

"Yes, Jackson," replies her mom. Her fingers tug painfully through Anne's hair and come away holding a handful of leaves and twigs. "Is there an entire forest in your head? Now off you go, shower. Get the dirt off," she commands. Anne rolls her eyes.

"Yes, Mom," Anne says in Thai and kisses her cheek. She looks to the Plantars. "You guys okay with my mom showing you around the house? Show you somewhere to sit and some water?"

Hop-pop nods and Polly wiggles. "I have a mighty THIRST," she yells. Anne giggles.

"Well, alright froggy fam. See you on the flip side," and she starts to head up the steps, her fingers trailing the railing, when a cough causes her to pause. She glances back.

"Anne..." Sprig says, "welcome home."

Tears spill over her cheeks and Anne half-falls down the stairs to give him a tight hug. Quickly, other froggy arms surround the two and are joined by a pair of human arms. All together, all safe, all alive. Anne takes a deep breath, and exhales heavily. She's back home.

[blouisparadise]

Here are some great bottom Louis fics that were posted or completed during the month of June. We really hope you enjoy this list. Happy reading!

1) Until You’re Home | Explicit | 1039 words

Louis lives in London, Harry lives in Tokyo. They make it work.

2) He Holds My Paradise | Mature | 1332 words 

“What is it that you want, baby?”

“Your dick” Louis breaths out, choking on his own words, neck still covered by his boyfriend’s hand.

“And where do you want it, baby?” the Devil asks him, a satisfied smirk painting his lips. “in my pussy, please.”

3) Morning | Explicit | 1428 words 

Harry and Louis wake up and have a 'productive' morning in the shower ;)

4) Let's Go To The Beach | General Audiences | 1489 words 

Note: This fic contains no explicit smut, but since it’s omega Louis, we’ve included it. This is a sequel. Part one of this fic is #6 on this list. 

"Louis," Harry repeated.

"Right," Louis sighed. "He tried to scent me."

or the one where Louis has a meeting with an aggressive alpha and Harry calms Louis down.

5) Sweet Relief, Pretty Please | Not Rated | 1840 words 

Louis is drunk, sad and alone, and Harry is a wanker.

6) Hey Moon, Don't You Fall Down | Mature | 2574 words 

Note: The sequel to this fic is #4 on this list. 

"Make me yours," Louis opened his eyes and put his hands on Harry's shoulders. "I'm ready, alpha, always been ready for you. Since the first day we met, I was yours. Please," Louis gasped as Harry slid his fingers out of him.

or the one where Harry and Louis finally bond.

7) Nothing Like Anything | Explicit | 2614 words 

Harry is bored of his frat parties. No one interesting comes anyway.It's always drunk people, grinding in the living room, strangers trying to catch his eye. He's about to leave, just to ease his pounding head when he sees him, sinful on the dance floor and suddenly the party isn't so bad.

8) Over Exposed - Part Two| Explicit | 2840 words

Note: This fic is a sequel to this fic.

Harry and Louis take a quick break from Harry's tour to attend the VMAs, then have a night out at a club.

9) Sweet Vanilla Cream | Explicit | 2896 words 

Harry fights to resist his roommate's new omega boyfriend, Louis. Louis maybe doesn't want him to resist.

10) Take Off Your Glasses | Mature | 3742 words

Louis was enjoying his time, as he decided to spend his weekend clubbing, Louis knows no one in there, yet someone wanted to mess with him to know who's Louis the attractive boy in the black skirt.

"It’s Louie.. Sir."

11) Rose’s Fortune | Mature | 5055 words 

Note: This fic contains no explicit smut but since it’s a/b/o we’ve decided to include it in this monthly roundup.

Omega Louis takes one of his siblings to the doctors (check up, possible broken bone or possibly injections?) and the new Dr is Alpha Harry. Harry is great with kids and Louis is smitten. Harry is smitten too but attempts to act professionally and keep his distance whenever Louis visits the Drs with his siblings or to pick up his prescriptions. But Harry realises there is no reason for him not to make a move as Louis isn't under his care.

12) Dare You To Move | Not Rated | 6060 words 

The one where Harry falls in love with the omega who is the brain behind the omega march he joined.

13) Savage Garden’s Song Rules Sometimes (While Yours Always Reign Supreme) | Explicit | 6261 words 

Note: This fic is a sequel to this fic.

The morning after one too many nights of isolation for Louis Tomlinson and his hot & dangerous boy.

Aka how insanely adorkable Harry Styles could be after a sulking episode. [wordplay edition]

14) I Can Feel Your Blood Pressure Rise | Explicit | 9292 words 

"Hello, your Highness," Harry heard a familiar voice coming from behind him. Chills ran down his body as he felt the coldness of something sharp poke the back of his neck, "Turn around slowly or I'll hurt you,” the voice said in a teasing tone.

Where Louis is some sort of Robin Hood and sneaks into the King's castle, only to be fucked hard.

15) You Know What They Say | Explicit | 10323 words 

Nice guys always finish last.

16) Teenage Dream | Explicit | 10333 words

Harry and Louis get reintroduced to each other by their friends. It’s an instant connection. Now they’ve just gotta get to know each other.

17) Move So Petty (You're All I See) | Explicit | 10548 words 

Harry’s pretty content with his life. He loves his job- a veterinarian at a local clinic who’s already built up a name for himself despite his young age. He loves his gorgeous flat with its wide, open space and minimalistic, yet still homey feel. He loves his family who he talks to and visits as much as possible, not bothered by the long hours of driving to Holmes Chapel from London he endures multiple times a month. He loves his friends and his coworkers and his neighbors- especially Allison, the little old lady next door who brings him and Louis cookies on holidays and who always comments on how “strong and handsome you are, Mr. Styles,” everytime he sees her.

And most importantly, he loves Louis, just- maybe in a slightly different way.

18) When Tomorrow Comes | Explicit | 11111 words 

The one where Louis is an Omega who has been keeping himself pure for his Alpha, Harry is a traditional Alpha focusing on his studies while he waits to find his bondmate, and Niall is a sneaky bastard who keeps borrowing Louis’ clothes and never returning them.

19) Smells Like Omega Spirit | Not Rated | 11769 words 

Note: This fic contains no explicit smut, but since it’s omega Louis, we’ve included it.

Louis is an omega doing a test run on neutralizers for a class project. Every time he talks to Harry he smells completely different.

Harry is an alpha who can't figure out if he's going crazy or his sense of smell is broken, but all he wants to figure out what Louis' real scent is.

Somehow they figure it out.

20) You Kill My Mind | Explicit | 13181 words 

Harry has always been ashamed to reveal his kinks to friends and partners alike. One day he meets a man who seems perfectly designed for him and they embark on a wonderful, sex-filled exploration journey.

21) In The Heat Of The Moment | Mature | 15743 words 

When Louis unexpectedly goes into heat in maths class it takes him way too long to figure out why (it might have something to do with a certain curly haired boy sitting next to him).

22) Was In No Hurry, Had No Worries | Explicit | 21485 words 

The year is 1999 and Harry can’t stop dedicating songs to Louis on the radio. Or the one where Harry hits Louis with his car.

23) You're The Smell Before Rain, You're The Blood In My Veins | Explicit | 21945 words 

“It was him you talked about, when you used to call me late at night, saying you were missing your ex? Was it him, your important five-year long story? Was it him the person you had thought about proposing, one day?” Nick asks with a low voice, almost inaudible, almost like he’s talking to himself “He’s my boyfriend…” he whispers again, without looking up.

“I know! And you shouldn’t worry, because you don’t have a single reason to do so. He’s yours now, he’s with you. I really don’t understand why you came here, honestly” Harry says defending himself out of instinct, even if he has no reason to react like that. He just- just wishes for Nick to leave his room and go back home to Louis. Because at this point Nick has Louis and fuck, why can’t he just go fuck off for once? Doesn’t he have enough shit do deal with already? Does he really need to get into this as well? Right now?

24) Like The Earth Around The Sun | Explicit | 23600 words 

The one where Harry bursts in on Louis in heat and things only get more complicated from there.

25) The Blood of Love | Explicit | 25273 words 

Harry is a nurse and Louis is a painting worth more than a thousand words. As desire and darkness encompasses him, Harry has to learn the secrets of Thorne Hills manor before he succumbs to the mystery that surrounds him.

26) Habit | Teen & Up | 27095 words 

In which Louis is a Donna who has a soft spot for alpha Harry.

27) Let Me Carry Your Weight | Explicit | 28633 words 

Louis is fresh out of a bad relationship with someone who made him feel awful about how he looked. on his journey to better himself, he meets harry - the ridiculously attractive and fit personal trainer.

28) Robbers And Cowards | Explicit | 33237 words 

A modern day Robin Hood AU where Louis and Harry (don’t really) hate each other but they hate greedy billionaires more.

29) Caves End | Explicit | 39711 words 

The one where Harry has lost his future, Louis has lost his past, but maybe together, they can find a way through the dark.

30) Soaked In The Blood Of Angels | Explicit | 40867 words 

The boy looks drugged, caught between a man who’s almost twice his size and a girl who looks like she wouldn’t even break a sweat snapping him in half despite her small stature, eyes closed and mouth open as he pants, arching up between them almost as if he’s trying to escape.

Normally, Harry would ignore it and continue on his search for someone to drink from, someone who wouldn’t mind his sharp teeth and rough hands. He’s seen plenty of boys like this one, ones who picked the wrong playmates, and if he stopped to rescue every single one of them he would have died from thirst a long time ago.

This one, though. There’s something about this one, the sheen of his bright blue eyes as he blinks slowly, looks around as though he doesn’t know where he is, the weakness of his hands as he tries to push the girl off of him and make his escape.

31) With Stars Of Brightest Gold | Explicit | 41109 words 

Louis Tomlinson is the premier courtesan at the Moulin Rouge. In his dreams, he has always wanted to be a famous stage actor. Locked into his contract, he has little means of escape until a handsome duke promises him freedom with a romantic alliance. Due to a case of mistaken identity playwright Harry Styles is thrown into the mix, compelling Louis to choose between his head or his heart.

32) We Both Got Nothing To Hide | Explicit | 43811 words 

Omega Louis has a secret nest. Alpha Harry keeps losing his clothes.

33) In A World Alone | Explicit | 50787 words 

Harry’s breath catches as the glow grows bigger and bigger until he’s squinting his eyes and blinking at the sudden intense brightness. He closes his eyes, rubbing at them helplessly. When his eyes open again- he gasps, grip loosening on his bow as he gawks at the sight before him.

Because the swan is gone.

And in its place is the prettiest omega Harry has ever seen.

A Swan Lake AU.

34) Hunting Ground | Not Rated | 583658 words 

Note: This fic is the third part of a series. Part two is #38 in this list.

Louis Tomlinson didn’t know how complicated life could be until he became a werewolf. And until he was mated to Harry Styles, the son — and enforcer — of Liam, the leader of the North American werewolves, he didn’t know how dangerous it could be either...

Louis and Harry have just been enlisted to attend a summit to present Liam's controversial proposition: that the wolves should finally reveal themselves to humans. But the most feared Alpha in Europe is dead set against the plan — and it seems like someone else might be too. When Louis is attacked by vampires using pack magic, the kind of power only werewolves should be able to draw on, Harry and Louis must combine their talents to hunt down whoever is behind it all — or risk losing everything.

35) The Wrath of the Emerald Eyes | Mature | 85205 words 

His chin is grabbed harshly, facing the two deep green eyes that have been getting on his nerves for the past ten minutes. The smirk on the man's face does not vanish. The grip of his hand on Louis' chin does not soften, his thumb at the side of his lower lip.

His smile widens as he answers Louis' question, ''My name is Styles, but you will call me Captain."

Pirate AU.

36) Cry Wolf | Not Rated | 85205 words 

Note: This fic is the second part of a series. Part three is #36 in this list.

Louis never knew werewolves existed, until the night he survived a violent attack... and became one himself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, he'd learned to keep his head down and never, ever trust dominant wolves. Then Harry Styles, the enforcer—and son—of the leader of the North American werewolves, came into his life.

Harry insists that not only is Louis his mate, but he is also a rare and valued Omega wolf. And it is Louis' inner strength and calming presence that will prove invaluable as he and Harry go on the hunt in search of a rogue werewolf—a creature bound in magic so dark that it could threaten all of the pack.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

You can find other monthly roundup fic rec lists here.

[allthatglittersisnotgoldrush]

Author Interview: Victoryindeath2 (by Mythopoeia

Thank you @abadpoetwithdreams! I hope you don't regret the last question you asked :D

1. You are responsible for creating the characters of Frog and Sticks! What canon Silm event are you most excited to see from their child perspectives?

Soooo many things—but I am interested to see how they will feel when Mae is back on his feet, a warrior more deadly with his left than he even was with his right, the sort of man who can in canon create the Union of Maedhros. The children have seen Maedhros at his lowest, seen him tormented and crushed into the earth in the cruelest of ways. They also saw how he could be his best even when there was no hope or light for him—he protected them and was kind to them and loved them. I am just interested to see how other men’s and women’s opinions might change as Maedhros moves into the next phase of his life, and how the children will, in some ways, always see Maedhros as their Russandol.

Sticks: yeah I knew he was cool before you all realized it

Frog: *drops a rock in Mae’s left hand and curls up in his lap* tell me and my pet rock a story Mae

Mae: I actually have leadership things to do....

Sticks: you owe us for all the stories you didn’t tell us back in the Bad Place

Mae: *tells them a story and Fingon finds the kids sleeping under Mae’s arms twenty minutes later*

(There is also a non-canon event sometime in the future that I want so VERY badly but guess I can’t say because of spoilers *sighs*)

2. We often joke about how this AU is basically our own crazy version of a Silm tv series. What are some of favourite moments in the series so far that stand out to you as particularly cinematic?

There are so many moments, some of the wondrous and stunning variety, and some of the quiet and beautiful....but here are a few that leapt right to my mind:

a. Maedhros and Fingon parting the last time before Feanor divided the families almost forever! Maedhros with his hair in the sunlight on his horse and the line, “see you on the other side, cano!”

b. Gosh DARN it Mae on the cliff, with Morgoth offering him the chance to leap to his death, and he doesn’t take it *cries*

c. FINGON’S CHILD OF THE WOLF MOMENT WHERE HE TAKES MAIRON OUT (ALSO RIGHT BEFORE WHEN MAE GRABS AT HIS ANKLE AND TRIES TO GET FINGON TO SAVE HIMSELF)

d. Maedhros riding into the thrall camp and basically falling into Gwindor and SLINGING AN ARM AROUND HIS NECK YES HUGS ALL AROUND YESSSS

e. Look Ceili fic I know we talk about it all the time but I am here to talk about it again, especially the moment where Mae pulls Caranthir out on the dance floor and then they all dance together and everyone ends up in a pile on the floor except for Mae who just stands over them all laughing I think doubled over and there is so much good energy in that scene I NEED IT ON SCREEN

f. Personally I like to think that Celegorm stalking his way into a club in New York City and beating the living daylights out of Eol was cinematic

g. Maedhros having successfully argued Huan’s way into the journey west, stumbling all tired like up to the stairs, and meeting Nerdanel there, and resting his head on his mom’s neck. The darling tol bby

h. MAE ATTACKING ULFANG FOR THE SAKE OF HIS BROS, GOING FROM DEPRESSED BROKEN BABY WHO HAS LOST ALL HOPE TO DEPRESSED BROKEN BABY WHO HAS LOST ALL HOPE BUT STILL WILL FIGHT FOR HIS BROS

i. Bby Mae lying on Feanor’s chest ;;;;;;;;;;; before Feanor became the worst

j. Can’t even remember what fic it was at this point but there is a dream? Mae has? Of like....the sea and red sun or something? It was a lot

k. There are many many more moments and I am mad that I can’t remember the one that stood out to me recently

l. ..........the whole fic Seven Card Stud

m. MOONLIGHT GUNSLINGER MAE AND HOW HE TOTALLY OUTCLASSED MAIRON

n. Every hug and brotp and found family moment ever. I have addictions and there is never enough of what I want on screen

o. THERE ARE MORE SPECIFIC ONES BUT I HAVE TO STOP AT SOME POINT DON’T I

3. Walk me through what an ideal day would look like for Caranthir?

The MOST ideal day would be Caranthir waking up in his little closet bedroom in Formenos and realizing he just had a horrible nightmare, and also realizing that he still has his mom and ALL of his brothers. And then at the breakfast table Feanor says something like “wow I’ve been stupid in a good many ways, and a rotten dad because of that, good thing I have recognized my flaws and shall now be a better person, also Mae you can stop going to live in the city if you want, just stay here with your brothers. Also you know, Caranthir, even though you’re still my least favorite child, I’m proud of you. And not just because these are the best pancakes I have ever tasted.”

Then Caranthir probably helps his mom in the garden, gets some quality one on one time with Mae when Mae helps him make a pie, Mae reminds him how special and good he thinks Caranthir is, and Celegorm and Curufin ask Caranthir to join them for fishing. Not that Caranthir necessarily wants to do that, but he does want to be asked. Then Amras and Amrod ask him to help them with sums, so that he feels like a helpful big brother, and without being asked, Maglor takes out his fiddle and plays the slow-moving, peaceful song that Caranthir loves and Maglor despises because it is not challenging enough

4. What is a character POV you have not written yet about but would like to?

I would like to write something from Maeglin’s POV—I feel a powerful urge to protect that lost boy. He’s had an odd and often terrifying life and he needs a break. Good grief imagine having a mom like his mom, imagine Morgoth commanding you to call him uncle. Ew. Anyway, he’s exactly the sort of character I usually adopt as my son. An angsty sad boy without much future, who needs LOVE

5. If you could recommend only one fic from each author (including yourself, of course) what would they be?

HOW TO PICK?!

TolkienGirl: wayyyyy too many to really choose from but I have to go back to the beginning and say “news, breaking” because of the way it introduces my Feanorian boys, and also because of Mae wearing a flowered apron one minute and then a half open leather vest the next, with his glorious hair tied back!

Mythopoeia: I feel like I have to say “those gathered beneath” because it was so DEFINITIVE of our favorite Irish family, and also Turgon is a great narrator (but since I always talk about this fic I shall also add another, lesser known perhaps: “save ourselves unaided” because it introduces Haleth and more people need to appreciate Haleth and Mythopoeia’s Haleth is SO GOOD)

Victoryindeath2: “a certain slant of light (where the meanings are)” because it was my first Caranthir fic, and so it holds a special place in my heart

Bonus Q: The Feanorians are now a KPop group. What are their hair colors and roles?

THE WAY I CHOKED ON MY LAUGHTER WHEN I FIRST READ THIS QUESTION

I ALSO GOT WAY TOO CAUGHT UP IN THIS SO IF YOU ARE AN AU READER WHO DOESN’T CARE ABOUT KPOP IN ANY WAY YOU CAN STOP HERE, I WON’T BE MAD. On the other hand I think I have really good answers so maybe you should continue lol

Maedhros: He has to be a coppery red-head, doesn’t he? Maybe something of the red color that you once told me you wanted Heeseung to try. He would make a great leader, but ALSO. Also I think that he has had enough stress in canon in and in our AU, so I really just want to give him the opportunity to be merely the eldest hyung, who everyone goes to for comfort, for hugs and advice, and who supports the leader quietly. He is a good vocalist and can maybe rap in a pinch? but we put so much emphasis on him as a dancer that he HAS to be the dance leader. Obviously. Is widely acknowledged as the visual of the group

Maglor: Longish black hair, maybe midnight blue or deep purple. Has tried several different hairstyles and regretted half of them. He claims a specific aesthetic in hair and dress is necessary for him to compose the group’s songs, and while he gets teased by everyone for this he also writes amazing music so? It works? Is definitely a vocalist. His vlives consist of him playing every instrument known to man, and half the time Mae is sitting in the background listening with an awed expression on his face—till he falls asleep. Maglor can’t decide if he is pleased by this or insulted

Celegorm: Usually rocks blond or silver hair, but one time some fool insulted Amrod’s pink hair and the next thing you know Celegorm had pink hair for three months. Probably disparaged Maglor’s mullet phase but tried it once himself as a penalty for a game in a Run Feanorian episode and kinda thought it wasn’t half bad.

Celegorm is the “I don’t follow what the company says” member, “screw the rules if they aren’t good for my fam.” He is also a sick rapper and his diss tracks and mixtapes are things of beauty. He also clearly frequents the gym and will toss an annoyed member—most likely Maglor, but sometimes Curufin—over his shoulder any chance he can get. Has definitely done pushups with Amrod or Amras on his back. He and Mae swept the ISAC games

Caranthir: Typically goes with brown/black hair, which only throws the fandom into more of an uproar when the rare occasion arises in which he actually dyes it some other color. Probably went mint for a music video and Curufin started calling him mint choco boy, which offends him deeply as he is (sadly) on the side of “mint chocolate ice cream tastes like toothpaste.” He’s a vocalist with a rougher voice that is surprisingly pleasing to listen too.

Speaking of surprises, Caranthir never quite understands his own popularity. He didn’t like to do vlives by himself for ages, until Mae encouraged him to do cooking and baking vlives, and now he does one once a month on a schedule. Fans are putting together a book of his recipes

Curufin: He does intense and striking hairstyles and colors, and is probably the most likely to do black hair streaked through with red, teal, green, gold, white, etc. He claims to be the visual of the group and Mae is the one member who always agrees with him. I’d say he is also a dancer, one almost as good as Mae but with a different style, and he has a quick and sharp rap. He is heavily involved in the production of their songs over time.

Here is the thing though—I think, in this better non-canon non-Gold Rush AU universe, that Curufin could be the leader. See, Feanor is not gonna be the company CEO loll. Fingolfin is. And Fingolfin mentors better than Feanor EVER could. And Curufin is a sharp lad, very smart and crafty, and if he could just be convinced to care about all his brothers/group members like he does about himself and Celegorm in the AU, and if he just has proper guidance, allowing Mae to assist him in struggles, going to him for support, I think he would be an excellent leader

Ambarussa: Amras and Amrod have tried every color and color combination under the SUN, and they often coordinate with each other either to match or complement. Amras sometimes gets tired of this, preferring to stick to the general group color scheme, and when that happens Amrod just says fine be like that and goes off and does his own thing. Sooner or later though, Amras always gives in and joins him once again.

The twins obviously have all their hyungs wrapped around their little fingers, even Maglor who is driven insane by them crashing into his room shrieking and giggling when he is trying to write music or run a very serious vlive. As far as their musical talents go, I love when maknaes are ridiculously well-rounded, and these are Feanorian maknaes, so I’m gonna say they can both dance, sing, and rap. People have placed bets on whether they will grow as tall as Mae (spoilers, they won’t, no one ever will, he’s the tallest in Kpop world)

Huan: is the team mascot, and lives in their large dorm with them because Celegorm said so

Anddd that’s all folks

[strawberryjmilk]

not yet | kim yugyeom

word count: 2048

anon requested: heyyy, could you do an imagine where Yugyeom sees you dance for the first time and you’re actually really good and he falls for you even more. Thank you💘also I love your writing💞

pining!yugyeom , pining!reader , gender neutral!reader based on the bob’s burgers episode — two for tina! [season 3 , episode 17] special appearance from rubin! [1team]

You had your mind on a loop these days. Gazing, longing and dreaming. Over and over until you mixed reality and your imagination. Gazing, longing and dreaming. Until your eyes watered from where you'd been mindlessly staring at the wall. Gazing, longing and dreaming. And then, a snap.

"Y/N — earth to Y/N! I know you're in there somewhere." Another snap — you shook your head. Smiling at the boy in front of you — he only glared — you shrugged. "Now is not the time to daydream, babe. The showcase is in a week!"

"Oh, please," you groaned, "we've got this, Rubin! I could do this dance in my sleep."

He only glared again, "if you could, then you would be dancing right now."

"Whatever." You curled your nose at him. The purple haired boy continued to grumble, ignoring how you mocked him. You took in a deep breath, stretching your arms before looking back to Rubin. "Okay. Let's go again."

—

On the other side of the building laid Kim Yugyeom. He was settled into the couch in his practice room, mind swirling and warping with different scenarios. Mark had told him to take a break — "your head isn't here, just rest," he'd said.

Of course Yugyeom wasn't mentally present — he was too focused on thinking about you.

He didn't know when this crush — infatuation, adoration, whatever — started. Yugyeom just knew he couldn't even go minutes without you pushing into his thoughts. How you spoke; the way you walked; even those small seconds where your eyes would meet. He was addicted.

This is not what Mark meant by rest, Yugyeom chided himself. With a shake of his head, the boy sunk deeper into the sofa. He needed a distraction — something to overrun all of the thoughts of you. Pulling out his phone, Yugyeom clicked on something that always allowed his mind to drift — Bob's Burgers.

And that's where the nightmare began.

Yugyeom wasn't aware he was dreaming. All he knew is that it was dark and now there's a spotlight shining on someone — on you. He gulped — it wasn't fair. The way you were smiling at him wasn't fair at all. You tilted your head, as if beckoning him forward. And, under your spell as he always was, Yugyeom followed your movements.

To his surprise, you started to dance. And all Yugyeom  could do was stand there and just watch and stare. He didn't even know you could dance — didn't know you could twirl and spin and leap as gracefully as you did. He was being hypnotized slowly and he wasn't fighting it. Yugyeom wanted to only see you — he wanted you to fill his being completely.

Yugyeom was slapped out of his trance as a scoff echoed around the blank room the two of you were in. Blinking rapidly — to snap him out of his staring and your eyes — he turned to the left. He frowned, "what are you doing here?" Because there stood Bambam with a snarl, wearing the same thing you were.

"Oh, please," Bambam rolled his eyes, "like I'll let this wannabe steal you from me!"

"Wannabe?" Yugyeom blinked. He thought that maybe the rumors were true and you shouldn't eat sweets before sleeping. Because, honestly, seeing Bambam of all people in an outfit inspired by yours was a little terrifying.

"Well, I'm not taking anything," you said softly. Yugyeom's attention was solely on you once more. Eyes glistening and shoulders drooping, you had him entranced effortlessly. He grinned a wide, dopey smile at you. You returned the smile, eyes on him as you spoke again. "He's already mine."

Kim Yugyeom was going to combust. You were watching — staring — at him as he stuttered and blushed. Finally, you smirked, throwing him a wink as Bambam scoffed again.

"Prove it," he threw his nose into the air. Yugyeom couldn't even choke his next question out before Bambam was holding an arm into the air, posing ridiculously. You quirked up at eyebrow at the boy. Bambam shouted, "dance off!"

You wanted to ask if he was being serious. Yugyeom wanted to ask if his best friend was feeling well; if he needed to rest instead. Bambam wanted to ask why the both of you were staring at him so strangely. The silence grew until you nodded in defeat, reluctantly  agreeing with the idea.

"Fine. You're the judge, Yugy," you turned to face him again and his breath caught in his throat. Tilting your head, you sent him a teasing smile, "choose wisely."

You knew — you had to know the affect you had on Yugyeom. You were too confident — too much of a tease to not know. You had to know he adored every inch of you — that he thought of you too often and couldn't focus on anything else when you were in the same room.

"Hello!" Bambam's arms were crossed as Yugyeom glanced at him. He tapped his foot with a pout. "Are we going to do this or are you just going to stare at Y/N all day?"

"I wouldn't mind either one," Yugyeom blurted out. His ears turned red, mouth snapping shut as he heard you begin to laugh. Finally glancing up at you once more, he was greeted with a soft smile.

"I wouldn't mind, either, to be honest."

"Okay! I'm starting now! Stop flirting and pay attention!"

Yugyeom would be lying if he said he was watching Bambam. Too often, he'd found himself watching you instead. Admiring how the outfit you wore accented your body and how your lashes brushed against your cheek and how your nose scrunched when you smiled at Bambam. Without turning to him, you spoke. "You can't be the judge if you aren't watching all of the contestants."

"I didn't want to be..." his voice trailed off with a small crack. Yugyeom cleared his throat, facing Bambam as he continued to talk to you. "Be the judge, that is." He shrugged as he fought off another blush. "Would've picked you regardless."

"Well," you nudged your shoulder against his, "that's a little mean, don't you think?" Yugyeom shrugged again as he passively watched his best friend dance — if that's what Bam calls it. You nodded slowly, humming in thought. "Let him have his fun, at least."

And then it was your turn to dance and Yugyeom was reduced to a puddle. That's what it felt like, at least. He swayed on his feet, his knees wobbling and knocking together as your feet stepped steadily, guiding you around the room. Yugyeom felt like he was gasping for breath and you had no issues. He didn't know what you were dancing to, or if there was any music to begin with.

All that ran through Yugyeom's mind was you. You, you, you. His mind was surfaced with thoughts solely surrounding you. Y/N, Y/N, Y/N.

He gasped for another breath — he had to tell you. After you were done with your dance, Yugyeom would release what he'd held for what felt like decades. He would tell you about his fizzing stomach and unstable heart and swirling mind. He would name all of the things he liked about you. All of the nervous ticks you had and your ever-growing list of dislikes. He would tell you he noticed your different smiles and what they meant.

He would do it — Kim Yugyeom was going to confess!

"Yugy." Why was Bambam interrupting his inner-monologue?

"Yugyeom." Seriously, he had to plan this perfectly!

"Dude, wake up already." What?

Slowly, his eyes peeled open and Yugyeom was met with Mark and Bambam hovering over him. Youngjae shoved Bambam lightly, "I told you he was still alive!"

Bambam merely shrugged, continuing to eat the popsicle he held.

"Where's Y/N?" Yugyeom's voice croaked with sleep. As he sat up from the couch, his phone slid into the seat beside him. Yugyeom blinked down as Tina Belcher came onto the screen — no wonder I was having weird dreams.

"Probably still in the practice room with Rubin."

But, it fell on empty ears. Yugyeom was already out of the room.

—

The music pounding through the speakers wasn't the only thing on your mind. Relentlessly, desperately, and tediously — his name popped up again and again. Your body was on auto-pilot as you copied the moves Rubin made, but your thoughts were elsewhere — as they always seemed to be.

Finally, the music came to a stop, allowing you to take a much needed break. Rubin was gulping down his water, eyeing you unconsciously as your mind continued to wander. The purple haired boy rolled his eyes, "if you don't just ask that boy out, Y/N. I will—"

"Will you shut up?" You shoved him lightly with wide eyes. Looking around — though, you knew it was only the two of you present — you let out a loud sigh. "Why do you have to be so loud? He's in this building, you know."

"Whatever," Rubin rolled his eyes. He tossed his now empty bottle to the side, nodding in triumph. "Ready to go again?"

With reluctance, you started to practice again, completely unaware that the boy your thoughts centered around was on his way to you.

—

He found it hard to contain himself. Yugyeom couldn't find it in himself to open the door to the practice room. His tongue was suddenly paper and his throat was parched. His limbs were frozen stiff, not allowing him to move from his spot.

Because there you were. Graceful and beautiful and mesmerizing. And Yugyeom couldn't form the words — couldn't remember his confession. Every thought he'd had in his dream — every phrase and simile and metaphor — left his mind and was replaced.  

With you, you, you.

Suddenly the door was open and your dance partner was staring at him. You were still dancing, eyes closed and oblivious to the world around you. Rubin spoke maliciously, "if you're not here to sweep Y/N off their feet, then leave."

Yugyeom gulped, his eyes bouncing between you and the boy. Raising an eyebrow, Rubin leaned against the door frame. "Well?"

He was standing in front of you. He didn't know when he'd moved or where he'd gained the strength to, but he was standing in front of you now. And you were just staring at him, waiting. Taking in a large breath, Yugyeom finally spoke.

"Y/N—" his voice cracked. Clearing his throat, Yugyeom could feel the familiar heat of a blush trail across his face. You tiled your head at him, a gentle and questioning smile on your lips. [Behind you, Rubin was silently cheering him on. Yugyeom tried to ignore the purple boy, as well as his own friends who'd joined him.]

"I—" he paused again. This was so hard — why was it so hard? Why can't I just say — "I'm in love with you. It's so easy to think of you and admire you from afar. It's— it's not fair anymore. I only think of you and I get so flustered and you're my entire dream and—"

You were still staring at him, but you were a little teary now. Yugyeom's eyebrows furrowed — why were your starry eyes looking at him like that? His blush intensified, "I said all of that out loud, didn't I?"

With a fond laugh, you nodded. "But," your voice broke his thoughts, "I don't mind. I—" you let out a large puff of breath. Nodding slowly, you looked away from Yugyeom almost shyly. "I feel the same way and it's gotten a little embarrassing — how much I love you."

"Finally!" A few cheers echoed around the room. You let out a laugh, reaching to intertwine your hand with Yugyeom's. He beamed at the contact, fighting the urge to say it over and over again. But, he did anyways. "I love you, I love you, I love you!"

He could hear his friends and yours teasing you both in the background, but he ignored them. He was grinning and holding your hand close and blocking out every word they were saying. Because now you were his, and he was yours.

— this was... yeah idk either hhhh i hope you enjoyed this! im determined to b better at updating this year [i say that a lot but i mean it this time okay] requests are always open! it takes me a while, but theyre there! thank you for reading, ♡

[teenwolffanclub-me]

Season 1, Episode 2: Second Chance at First Line (Part Two)

Hey there beautiful reader! If you’re new here, this is a series I’m writing where each chapter is an episode from the first season of Teen Wolf. If you’ve been here before, hey! I missed you! Previous and future chapters are linked at the end of each part if you want to catch up.

Pairing: Stiles x Psychic! Reader (eventually)

P.S. Stiles and Scott are really bad at keeping secrets and Jackson is a suspicious asshole.

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

I stared down at my algebra homework, the numbers blurring together until I couldn’t read them anymore. I blinked a few times in an effort to clear my vision. My head was killing me. I groaned and slammed my pencil down onto the desk in front of me. I’d been working on this for almost an hour now, but I couldn’t quiet my mind. It was already dark outside and I wasn’t even close to being done.

Every time I closed my eyes, gruesome images flashed behind them. Scott and Stiles walking through the forest with shovels, half a body buried in the earth, mangled animals.

I rubbed at my temples and let my head fall down onto the textbook in front of me. As I rested for a moment, I felt myself becoming faint. My eyes fluttered open and black dots floated around my bedroom. I cursed myself for fighting it this long. I knew that always made it worse.

All I could do was whimper as my limbs grew weaker. My eyes rolled back involuntarily and my phone clattered onto the hardwood floor. After that, everything went dark.

I woke to the sound of voices. I was laying on my side, one arm outstretched above my head while the other lay against my stomach. I pried my heavy eyelids open and the whole world tilted. My stomach churned painfully as a wave of nausea crashed over me. It felt like I’d just been hit by a semi-truck. My muscles protested as I forced myself up off the cold ground.

Wait. Cold...ground...

Shit. I was back in the forest. Why did it always have to be the forest? I couldn’t sleepwalk to one of my friends houses or something? My head was no longer pounding, so I knew I was in the place it wanted me to be. Why, though, I had no idea.

“What if he comes back?” It was Scott’s voice that drifted toward me with the wind.

Judging by the volume, he couldn’t be far.

“I have a plan for that.” Stiles responded, sounding slightly out of breath.

I wiggled my fingers as I waited for my body to regain it’s strength. It always took a minute or so after an episode.

“Which is?” Scott was gasping gently too.

Once I felt confident that I wouldn’t face plant, I used a nearby tree to help me get to my feet. I took a few slow steps forward to test myself. Satisfied that I was mostly back to normal, I headed in their direction. Goosebumps erupted on my skin as a soft breeze brushed against me. Once again, I was only wearing a t-shirt and it was freezing out here.

“You run one way, I run the other. Whoever he catches first...too bad.”

I climbed up a small hill and saw Scott and Stiles kneeling before a large hole in the ground. Two shovels lay discarded on the dirt beside them. I swallowed thickly. So, that part of my vision had already happened.

“I hate that plan!”

I didn’t want to waste anymore time. They might think I’m a psycho for sneaking up on them, but I had to find out why they were so hellbent on solving a murder case. I knew my mind wouldn’t let me rest until I figured it out. And I wanted to get home, so I needed to act fast. Within seconds I was standing on the other side of the hole they’d obviously just dug.

“What the hell are you guys doing?” I crossed my arms to maintain some of my body heat as I started shivering.

“Gah!” Stiles jumped aggressively at my voice and fell face first into the hole.

I winced and peered inside to make sure he didn’t hurt himself.

“Y/N? How-how did you find us?” Scott bolted to his feet and looked at me with wide, nervous eyes.

I was honestly surprised he knew my name. I’d been around him plenty of times with Allison, but never really talked to him directly until now.

“That’s...” I hesitated. It wasn’t like I could tell them what actually happened. “Not important. What are you doing?”

“Why are you everywhere?” Stiles popped back up like a whack-o-mole and braced his hands on the dirt edge of the hole.

“What?” I asked dumbly, my own eyes widening.

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed you spying on us all week.” He wagged a finger at me like a disgruntled father.

My cheeks grew hot under the accusation. I really didn’t want them to think I was some weirdo stalker. I tried to keep the rising defensiveness out of my voice. “It’s not my fault you two talk about halved bodies and animal bites in public.”

“You heard that?” Stiles dropped his hand, his eyes twitching slightly.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “It was kind of hard not to. You really think Derek killed that girl?”

Scott took a step toward me with a hand outstretched. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to intimidate me or reassure me with that gesture. Either way, he looked close to a panic attack.

“Y/N, you can’t be here. You need to go home.” His brown eyes were boring into mine, practically begging me to listen.

I frowned. I did not take orders from anyone but my mother, occasionally. I closed the distance between us with a few long strides.

“Not until I get some answers. I’d like to know if I accepted a ride from a murderer. Why are you two so interested, anyway? And talking about scents and bite marks?”

“Oh, God.” Scott instantly started spiraling. He backed away from me and shoved his hands through his hair. He was muttering something to himself that I couldn’t make out.

“Uh...guys.” Stiles’ shaky voice fluttered up from the hole he was still standing in. I moved my attention from Scott’s freak out to see what he wanted.

I looked inside and let out a loud shriek at the sight before me. One lifeless eye stared up toward the sky, attached to the upper body of a wolf. A very much dead wolf. That was cut in half. Bile rose up my throat and I gagged, staggering away from it.

Stiles pulled himself out of the hole and Scott ran to my other side.

“What the hell is that?” He yelled, still freaking out but probably because of the corpse in front of us now.

“It’s a wolf.” I deadpanned, still staring at it. I couldn’t take my eyes away from the gruesome sight.

“Yeah, we can see that.” Stiles sent a glare my way and leaned over me to look at Scott. “I thought you said you smelled blood. Like human blood.”

Did he just say...?

Scott took a deep breath to calm himself down. “I told you something was different.”

I looked back and forth between them, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

“It doesn’t make sense.” Stiles threw a hand up in frustration.

“We gotta get out of here.” Scott just shook his head and picked up one of the shovels from the ground.

“Yeah. Okay. Help me cover it up.” Stiles grabbed the other shovel and was about to stick it into the loose dirt when something caught his eye.

My heart started pounding with uncertainty. What if it was Derek coming back? If he saw us on his property and he actually was a murderer, I’m sure he wouldn’t hesitate to add three more bodies to this grave.

“What’s wrong?” I breathed, unable to wait any longer for him to tell us what he was seeing.

“You see that flower?” He pointed somewhere in front of us.

True to his word, there was a single flower sticking up from the ground a few feet away. There were a few small green leaves at its base, and light purple pedals that formed an almost perfect cylinder at the top.

“What about it?” Scott sounded annoyed that he was stalling the clean up process.

“I think it’s wolfsbane.” Stiles was still staring at the flower with wide eyes.

Wolfsbane? Like the plant from werewolf mythology? There was no way that could be a real thing.

“What’s that?” I let out a sigh of relief when Scott asked the question, glad I wasn’t the only one confused right now.

Stiles’ brows rose and his lips parted in scrutiny as he gave Scott a long look. “Haven’t you ever seen The Wolfman? Lon Chaney Jr? Claude Rains?”

He shook his head. Stiles’ eyes snapped to mine. “The original classic werewolf movie?”

“Of course I’ve seen it.” I admitted. I’d always loved old films, and I actually had to watch that one for a class at one of my old schools.

Stiles sighed and closed his eyes for a brief moment before turning his attention back to Scott. “You’re so unprepared for this.”

My mind was racing with questions. The way they were talking...it was as if something else was going on with all of this. Something other than human. I’d already heard Scott talking about smelling and hearing things he shouldn’t be able to...

Was he...?

Stiles plucked the flower from the ground, a big clump of dirt coming with it. That’s not all that emerged from the ground, though. A piece of rope was seemingly attached to the roots. He looked back at us in question and both Scott and I shrugged.

He pulled on the rope and followed along the path it was creating in the dirt. It became clear almost instantly that it had been buried all the way around the grave, in a huge spiral. Stiles continued walking until the entire length of rope was wrapped around his hands. I heard a soft gasp from beside me and watched as Scott stood to his feet slowly.

“Stiles.” He muttered, staring right into the grave with a horrified glint in his eyes.

I looked down and yelped, nearly shitting myself at the transformation that had happened. The severed upper body of a woman was now lying where the wolf had just been. Stiles joined us quickly.

“Oh, whoa.” He stumbled back at the sight.

The three of us stared down into the hole in stunned silence for a few long moments. I took a step backward to put some distance between myself and the body. This was all too much. What I just witnessed is not possible. It shouldn’t be possible. But it had happened right before my eyes. Wolves don’t just turn into people.

I wrapped my arms around myself tighter, feeling my entire body start to tremble. I didn’t know whether it was from the cold or the events of the last few minutes.

“Y/N?” Stiles suddenly called out as he noticed that I was retreating.

At this point, I wasn’t sure if either of the boys in front of me were entirely human. There had to be some kind of supernatural shit going on here, and I wanted no part of it. I just moved. I couldn’t let us be forced out of another town already.

“I—I’m gonna...I have to...” My teeth were chattering now and my words kept getting all jumbled up. 

“We can explain.” Scott went back to having a major freak out. “All of it.” 

I didn’t really want him to, to be honest. I’d seen enough to know that I didn’t want to be involved anymore. I just hoped my mind would be satisfied at this point and not force my hand again. I couldn’t help it if I just kept showing up places, but at least while conscious, I would be keeping my distance from now on. 

My shoulders tensed as I felt something heavy wrap around me. I’d been so lost in thought that I hadn’t even noticed Stiles walking toward me and offering his jacket. My muscles instantly relaxed under the comforting warmth and I sighed tiredly. Even if I wanted to get away from them, I wasn’t about to turn away a coat right now. 

And, God, it smelled good. 

I sent him a small, grateful smile and his eyes flickered around my face quickly as if checking for signs of insanity. 

“I’ll drive you home.” I sighed in relief that he’d somehow read my mind and nodded. My shaky hands pulled his jacket tighter around my torso as I followed the two of them toward a trailhead. 

I chewed on my lip nervously as I sat in the back of Stiles’ blue Jeep. He and Scott had been throwing ideas around about wolfsbane and it’s uses since we pulled out of Beacon Hills Preserve, but I hadn’t said a word. I was still trying to process everything I just saw while coming up with a plan to avoid these two for the rest of my life. 

“Maybe it’s a special skill, like something you have to learn.” My attention snapped back to the front of the car with Stiles’ words and I realized I had no idea what they were talking about. 

“I’ll put it on my to-do list. I already need to figure out how the hell I’m playing this game tonight.” Scott barked back, seeming a little breathless. I leaned forward a bit and watched as he squeezed his eyes shut tightly. 

“Maybe it’s different for girl werewol...” Stiles let his last word trail off. His head jutted forward and he rolled his lips inward as he visibly cringed. 

A heavy silence filled the car. His eyes fluttered and snapped to mine in the rear view mirror. My jaw was slack as I stared right back. Did he just...was he going to...

“Stiles, finish that thought.” My voice was barely above a whisper. I tried to ignore the fluttering in my stomach as I said his name aloud for the first time. 

He hesitated, chewing on his lips in thought. He looked between Scott and I. Back and forth. I saw Scott shake his head minutely and clenched my jaw shut. If they didn’t tell me what the hell was going on soon, I couldn’t be held accountable for my irresponsible actions. Like jumping out of a moving vehicle. 

“I...I was going to say...” I started taking off his jacket as he tried to think of a believable lie. 

Yeah, I was done. The second we slowed down enough I would be removing myself from this situation and never speaking to them again. 

“Stop that!” Scott suddenly yelled and gripped his hair, so I froze with one arm free. 

“Stop what?” Stiles’ fingers tensed on the steering wheel as his head snapped to the right. 

“Talking!” He was breathing heavily now and clutching his hands into fists. I pressed my back into the seat behind me, wanting to be as far away from him as possible. 

“Are you okay?” Dumb question, Stiles. He was clearly very much not okay. 

He began hyperventilating and pulling at his seatbelt. “No! No, I’m not okay! I am so far from being okay!”

Good God. I’m going to die. 

“You know, you’re going to have to accept this, Scott. Sooner or later.” Stiles’ spoke with that parental tone again and all I could think was that this was so not the time for a lecture. 

“I can’t!” Scott’s voice was thicker now, more guttural. I pushed myself against the door to my left and gripped the handle. 

“Well you’re gonna have to!” Stiles was yelling now too, only making the situation worse. 

“No, I can’t breathe.” Scott slammed one of his hands into the roof of the Jeep with a loud groan and I yelped in surprise. I covered my mouth and froze in fear. My heart was racing in my chest. He was really freaking out, to the point of potential violence. A small car was not the place to be with someone like that.

Suddenly, jumping out seemed like a really good idea. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Stiles swerved to the left and I lost my hold on the door handle. My shoulder slammed into the plush cushion beside me and the seatbelt dug painfully into my hips. 

“Pull over.” Scott demanded, breathing heavily. He hunched over and groaned again. 

“Why? What’s happening?” Stiles was watching him carefully instead of focusing on the road. 

“Oh my God, Stiles! Just do it!” I shrieked, wanting nothing more than to get away from them both. 

Just then, Scott peered into the duffle bag resting on the center console between them and...growled? 

“You kept it?!” His voice was deeper than I had ever heard it and raw with emotion. Anger, mostly. But there were traces of anxiety and fear too. 

“What was I supposed to do with it?” Stiles’ voice cracked with panic as he continued to race on down the road. 

Scott moaned loudly. It sounded like he was in agony. He lowered his head to his chest before snapping it back up quickly. I gasped in shock and scrambled as far backward as I could at the sight of his face. Here eyes were no longer their normal brown, but now looked more like fireflies as they glowed a bright yellow. His canines elongated into pointy spikes. 

“Stop the car!” The metal cage around us shook with his intense scream. 

All I could do was stare at him with wide eyes as Stiles’ skidded to a violent stop in the middle of the road. Thankfully, no one was coming at the moment. He immediately jumped out of the driver’s seat, taking the duffle bag with him. He chucked it over a nearby hill as hard as he could, and it disappeared instantly between the trees. 

“Okay, we’re good.” He called before walking back to the car. 

I hesitantly let my eyes trail back to the passenger seat. I had no idea what I would see sitting there. Would it be Scott? Or some kind of monster?

“Oh, no...” Stiles muttered, noticing at the same time as me that he was gone. 

I tried to catch my breath as I unbuckled myself and fell out of the Jeep. At once, I was both relieved that he was gone and worried about him. The chilly night air helped shock me back into reality. That really just happened. 

“Werewolf.” I whispered, breathless. My eyes met Stiles’, which were practically bulging out of his head at my declaration. “You were going to say werewolf.” 

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

I watched a cloud of condensed air gather in front of my lips as I exhaled and shoved my hands into the pockets of my coat. It was way colder than I’d expected. Part of me wished I’d taken Allison’s advice and worn a scarf. 

“What do you think she’s saying to him?” She asked from beside me, watching Lydia invade Scott’s personal space on the field. 

I had no idea, and I didn't really care. I had so many other things to worry about. Like the fact that he’s a fucking werewolf and we just discovered half of a dead body on Derek Hale’s property a couple hours ago. 

I just shook my head. “I don’t know, probably bribing him to pass to Jackson.”

After losing Scott, Stiles drove me the rest of the way home. He’d practically threatened me when informing me that I couldn’t tell a single soul what happened tonight. I caught him looking up at me from the bench and swallowed nervously. I really wanted to tell Allison. She was practically dating him, for God’s sake. She deserved to know.

I still had no idea where Scott had gone. Either way, he was here at the lacrosse team’s first game. Something in my gut told me that he shouldn’t be here. That it was a terrible idea and bad things were going to happen. 

Lydia joined us in the stands, looking smug. Allison asked her what she’d been talking to Scott about, and she played coy. I kept my eyes trained forward. I just had such a bad feeling. 

The game started out slow for Beacon Hills. We were currently behind a few points, and time was almost up. I noticed that Scott and Jackson kept ramming into each other and intentionally keeping the ball out of the other’s hands. It probably had something to do with the way Jackson had threatened Scott about his alleged drug use in the hallway.

Suddenly, Scott got good. Really good. He was catching the ball left and right, and making every goal. The stands were erupting in cheers at each successful goal he made, but I was watching him closely. He seemed agitated. He was breathing heavily and hunching over every few seconds. I glanced down at Stiles and saw that he was chewing on one of his gloves nervously. 

“That’s it, Jackson! Get fired up!” The coach yelled excitedly from the sidelines. 

“Here, help me with this.” Lydia pulled a sign out of seemingly nowhere and grabbed mine and Allison’s hands.

I stood up and peered around to see what it said. In big bubble letters it read, “We Luv U Jackson!”

As if sensing it, Scott’s head snapped in our direction. Stiles whipped around and cringed before turning back to the field. I watched Scott’s shoulders heave as he took long, labored breaths. He was about to shift, I could feel it. Any minute now, the entire school would know that he’s a werewolf.

He caught a pass and practically jumped over another players shoulders. My lips parted in surprise. That was actually kind of badass. He weaved past every player that tried getting in his way and somehow scared them enough to start passing directly to him. 

Then, he threw a ball so hard that it broke through our opponents goalie net. 

The crowd exploded with pride, but I was frozen. That is not good. There was no way a normal person would be able to do something like that. He was going to get himself caught. 

Time was running out. There were only six seconds left on the clock. Scott managed to score the winning goal and everyone, including Stiles, cheered happily. I watched as Scott threw one of his gloves off and gasped at the sight of brown claws at the tips of his fingers. The people around me started ambushing to field to celebrate. I quickly lost sight of Allison and Lydia. 

I managed to see Scott bolting toward the locker rooms through the dense crowd. Stiles seemed to notice too and went chasing after him. I wanted to help, but I knew I couldn’t just run into the boy’s locker room. I would have to trust that they could handle it. 

I turned to walk down to the field, but stopped when I caught sight of Jackson holding Scott’s discarded glove. My eyes widened as I watched him inspect it. He was paying close attention to the ends of each finger, where claws had poked through. He looked around, probably trying to find Scott. 

This is so, so not good.

Episode 2, Part One      Episode 3

[kim-chann]

How would the Matsuno brothers apologize to his S/O after a fight?

Osomatsu: After a fight, expect him to be sleeping in the couch tonight boy. He would need time alone to recollect himself and find a way to make it up to you. After a fight, he’ll be blocking out all his emotions (just like season 1 episode 24), but he’ll be a broken man inside. His heart would break remembering the tears that drifted down your cheeks. He wanted to stop yelling and wipe the tears away and give you a big hug. But yet he continued to yell, and that’s how he ended up getting kicked outside of your home. 

Osomatsu would walk around the area, hands in his pockets, trying to distract himself with something else, but all he could think of was you. Osomatsu would go to Chibita’s and drink until he passes out, but who would pick him up? Certainly, it would not be you. His blocked out emotions would snap once he grows tired of living in the hole he dug. He’d take out his emotions angrily and punch it out on an ally way wall. But after a few bottles of beer and tears. He was ready to apologize. 

Osomatsu would get your favorite snack from the market and make his way back to your house, his heart beating out of his chest when he remembers the fight. When he knocks on your door and see’s you open up the door, all scruffy, red eyed, and tired. His confidence would break down completely. He would be trembling, trying not to bring you into a tight hug and apologize for what he has said. But instead, he stares into your eyes, trying to read if you’re comfortable with him being around, he’ll slip out his apologies and give you the snacks. If you miss him as much as he did, he’ll hold you close into your arms, his head in your neck as he squeezes you tight like you’re the last living beings on earth. “I’m so sorry, S/O...”

Karamatsu: Oh boy, it would take a while to rile this baby boy up. He’s not known for causing fights, especially not towards his S/O. But if something were to happen where he snaps, he would immediately stop when he sees your tears and feel an overwhelming feeling of guilt and fear of what he’s done. He would mutter your name, wanting to be gentle with his tone, not wanting to scare you further more. He would apologise then and there while bring you into his shaky arms, his biceps squeezing gently on your head as he runs his fingers through your hair. If you push him away harshly, he’ll break down in tears, practically begging that you forgive him. 

He’s a man who hates confrontations and not wanting to disappoint people. So if his S/O needs some space, he’ll respect that, but expect him to be checking up on you a few times to make sure that you’re alright as he brings gifts, snacks, flowers, chocolates-- you name it, in order to make you feel loved. He’ll apologise every second he sees you, lowering his barrier of vulnerability to show that he’s at your mercy. Once you forgive him, he’ll be so happy and bring you to a gentle hug while kissing your head. Expect him to be more gentle around you and give you more cuddles, gifts, as his efforts double to make you feel like the best living being in the world. Because you’re his world.

Choromatsu: Just like Karamatsu, he would stop when he sees you cry. He wouldn’t know what to do. He knew if you go up to you and pretend that nothing just happen, you’ll be angry. So he doesn’t know what to do but watch you cry. He didn’t want to seem like an ass who watches his S/O cry in front of him while not comforting them, but he’s trying his best. Choromatsu would mutter an apology once your cries grow a bit quieter while he fiddles with his fingers, with him biting his lip in guilt. He didn’t mean for you to cry, he blames himself that he made you cry this much. He’ll ask you if you want a hug and if you need some space to yourself. 

If you want the hug, he’ll bring you in his embrace, his hand rubbing circles on your back as he cradles your head into his chest softly. If you need some space, he’ll excuse himself out of the house so he’ll take a walk to get some fresh air. But during his walk, he’ll make sure to buy you some snacks that you like, just like Osomatsu, so he’ll bring a treat for you to feel better. After an hour, he’ll return and ask if you’re alright, keeping a slight distance to not rile you up. He’ll respect your boundaries and makes an effort to make you comfortable. Once you accept his apology, he’ll invite you to watch a movie or sleep early to get some rest together. In the inside, he’ll be cheering and relived that you didn’t break up with him. He loves you too much to let you go that easily. 

Ichimatsu: Yeesh. I think you’re the one that needs to confront this kitty boy. Once he raises his voice and yells at you, he’ll immediately feel the tense atmosphere and become overwhelmed. When he sees the angry and sad tears drift down your cheeks, he would feel his heart shatter into pieces. He doesn’t know what to do. Just like Choromatsu, he’ll immediately blame himself, muttering, “This is my fault, I’m sorry” over and over again. “...I’m garbage, I don’t deserve you, I’m sorry...” His voice word be breathy and hoarse. He’ll insult himself as he’s repeating those words like a mantra.

He would have a panic attack just by looking at the mess he’s done when he sees the pain he’s inflicted upon you. You would need to comfort him about it, not wanting his self deprecation to become worse in the moment. Once you accept his apology, he’ll be denying it, saying that you deserved better and he needs to throw himself off a cliff for making you feel like trash. Once you insist, you’ll need to hug him and he’ll hug you back, trying his best to comfort you but you’re the one that’s really confronting him. Despite him being guilty and worried for hurting you, he’s very, very, happy that you stood with him even after what he’s said to you. And his guilty tears would turn into happy tears. He loves you too much to let you go. 

Jyushimatsu: You would really need him to rile him up in order for him to snap at you. If he does, he’ll lower down his voice and put his sleeve over his mouth, his eyes wide after he yells. He would narrows his eyebrows at you with his lips fallen into a thin line of guilt. He would tilt his head and hum when you cry, not knowing what to do to not make you uncomfortable. He’ll try his best to make you laugh in-between gentle jokes that never failed to make you laugh. 

He’ll pull off stuns; cartwheels, water coming out of his head, nose, and ears, etc. When he hears you laugh in between your cries, he would try harder to turn your tears into tears of laughter. If it works, he’ll say, “I love you S/O!” As his way of saying sorry. Once you take the message and accept his apology, he’ll nuzzle his cheeks against yours and give you sloppy kisses while he laughs happily into your neck. Expect him to hug you more often as a way of saying sorry, cause he doesn’t really know how to be straight forward to make you accept his apology. 

Todomatsu: He’ll click his tongue, “Tsk, why are you crying? Can you stop? It’s so annoying...” He’ll roll his eyes and think you’re trying to make him guilty. He thinks your tears were an act for him to lower down his barrier and show vulnerability so that you can counter his resentment with anger that will hurt him. It’ll take him a moment to realise that your tears were real tears, not fake ones. He’ll immediately feel his heart pang with sorrow once he recalls what he’s done to hurt you. 

He’ll be at your aid and try to bargain your emotions for something that you want. “If you stop crying, I’ll give you kisses and cuddles.” He would coo. He would try to be “funny” in a way to make you giggle in between your sobs as he slowly brings himself closer to you before slipping his arms around you and pulling you into an embrace. “I’m sorry, S/O. Can you forgive me?~” He’ll try not to show that he’s not letting his guard down when he holds you. But he’s holding himself back to not cry harder than you into your arms and scream for forgiveness. But once you accept his apology, he’ll give you the happiest smile you’ve ever seen as he kisses your cheeks with a smile. He’ll make it up to you by buying expensive things that you like in order to make you feel better. Where he got the money? No one knows...

I hope you guys liked it! I got a bit sad when I wrote some of the boys being sad haha. Anyways, feel free to send me a request or a matchup in my inbox!

[volleyball-dontknowher]

hsksjsjss can i get an emergency request? i had a super shitty week and i just kinda wanna get sucked into the earth for a while. can i have some loving kenma fluff, like he's comforting his s/o who's SUPER insecure about how they look and think they're not pretty enough for him? (you can include some nsfw too, 'cause who isn't horny when they're sad?)

Hello lovey!! I am so so so so so sorry to hear you have had a bad week, I hope that things get better for you, and if you need someone to talk to or someone to send you too many pictures of their dog I am here for you any time!! I did include a couple of things I do when I get insecure and I hope that you like it <3 and always know I love you and I think you are so beautiful and absolutely sexy as shit (in a non-harrassing way, I love you) 

Insecure 

Words: 2.1k 

Warnings: Some NSFW and fluff

You knew that Kenma had an internet following, and a passionate one at that, you knew that he had millions of fans who would swoon over his every action and you had to know that because well, he was your boyfriend

What you didn’t know was that other people would make fun of the things that you were already insecure about 

You hated how you looked and couldn’t stand the thought that others did too, you found yourself obsessing about your appearance and trying all of the dumb things to make you feel prettier even though you knew that none of it would work

Most days you could get over it and brush it aside for the sake of your mental health as well as the sake of your relationship, but this week had been so stressful and so shitty that everything had been building on top of each other causing even looking in the mirror to be agony

You had received tons of comments pointing out how your nose wasn’t right for your face and how your smile was so uneven that it made you look like a Disney villain and you couldn't help but take it to heart because that’s what you thought about yourself anyway and these strangers were just telling you facts and helping you feel as though you were useless

You knew that Kenma was going to be working late tonight, it was a launch day and he always tried to get everything done before leaving the office even though he never liked to work later than he had to away from home, but this was good for you, that meant you didn’t have to change or try to look happy about the things that were secretly crushing your insides 

You spent the day laying in bed watching TV and scrolling through your social media’s as you compare yourself to the pretty girls that seemed to appear everywhere without any flaws, you ended up getting yourself more upset than before, as you let the tears run down your face and decided to take a break from your phone and just focus on the episode of Criminal minds that was on

This was good for you because well there wasn’t ever anyone crazy attractive on there and you were more focused on trying to solve the case before the detectives did 

You ended up just sitting there mindlessly for several episodes before you heard the door slam shut, you couldn't help but be paranoid as you jolted upright in bed, worried that someone was now breaking into your house, before you had time to react you heard Kenma’s voice call out your name, not once but three times in a panic looking for you 

You cal his name back quietly in hopes that he wouldn’t come and find you, you were wrong, of so wrong, Kenma came into the bedroom immediately and the moment he saw you his heart dropped, you were sitting there alone with tear stains down your face

This was the last thing that he ever expected to come home to and he knew that he had to say something and figure this out with you 

“Hey,” he started, looking at you with but worry, as he dropped his bag and climbed into bed with you, wrapping his arms around your shoulders as he rubbed up and down your arms and placing a quick kiss to your temples, “what’s wrong love?” he whispered, lips pressed against your hair, he was trying not to panic, but seeing you so upset makes everything in him worried

You didn’t know how to answer him, opening and closing your mouth several times in an attempt to try and get the words out, instead, your eyes started welling up again instead, you couldn't help but start crying again

Kenma had no idea what was wrong and didn’t want to upset you more, “Y/N, I love you, and I know we can get through this together. You are so kind, and intelligent, and sweet, and loving and beautiful, I love you more than anything.” he said, which felt uncharacteristically unlike him, but everything he said was the truth, he really did love you with everything he had

Instead of calming you down it only made you cry harder, “I’m not pretty,” you choked out between sobs

Kenma had never disagreed with anything more in his entire life, “Y/n, how could you say that?” he questioned, pulling you closer to him

“I’m ugly, my face, my body, my weight, my everything, it’s ugly,” you cried out. This time Kenma was the one opening and closing his mouth, he had no idea why or how you felt this way and he just wanted to make you feel better and that didn’t work, he couldn’t imagine what made you feel this way, “I’m fat and I hate my face and I don’t know why you are with someone that is as ugly as me,” you continued on your tangent, unable to stop yourself 

This was the last straw, Kena pushed you down onto the bed and laid on top of you, pinning you down with his hips, “Y/n, I am with you because I love you, because I think you are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever set my eyes on. If you could only see yourself through my eyes then you’d see nothing but beauty and you would find yourself too gorgeous for me. I can’t imagine looking so beautiful and not seeing it, you are stunning Y/n and I want you to know that when I call you pretty I mean it with everything in my heart. You know me, and you know that I don’t lie, there’s no reason to and I could never exaggerate your beauty because there is just so much of it.” he says, never breaking eye contact with you. When he is done, he leans down and kisses your forehead, “You’re beautiful here,” then he kisses your temple, “you’re beautiful here too” then he kisses your nose, “you’re beautiful here too,” he murmurs as he goes to do the same to each of your cheeks

“Stoooop Kenma,” you try pushing him off of you but he just smacks your hands away

“Y/n, you are beautiful everywhere and if you don’t see if then I am going to show it to you,” he gives you a mischievous little smile before kissing your lips lightly and moving down to kiss your jaw and your neck, “You are gorgeous.” “You are stunning.” “I love you.” He continues as he kisses down your body, his hands roaming up your shirt as he slowly pulls it off of you

His lips make contact with one breast, then the other, gently licking and sucking on the delicate flesh, making you moan out his name

Kenma had the tiniest smile on his face as he continued kissing down your sensitive skin as he praised every part of your body, telling you all of the things he loves about you 

When he reached your waistband you couldn’t help but shiver as he left open mouth kisses on your hips as his cold fingers slipped down inside the elastic and slowly pulled them off of you, his eyes glancing back up at you, pupils blown wide as he continued kissing down your hips and stopped right before your panties, he toyed with the fabric before looking up at you and sliding them off

“Fuck” he panted as he saw how exposed you are, “beautiful” 

He began kissing down your hips and placing gentle little bites along your thighs, scattering little marks as his eyes stayed focused upon you, never once breaking eye contact 

His head slowly shifted down between your legs as he licked one slow stripe up your throbbing core

You let out a breathy moan as your fingers went to his hair and pulled gently 

“Fuck, you’re so fuck,” he moaned before going back to licking your dripping core, after a few long strokes his tongue wrapped around your clit and began flicking it quickly as his fingers began stroking your heated core before pushing two completely inside of you and curling them perfectly to hit the best spots inside of you 

A whiny moan left your lips as you tried to raise your hips closer to Kenma but he wasn’t having it, he pushed your hips right back down, “don’t shy away from me, let me enjoy you,” he moaned before pulling his fingers out and replacing them with his tongue, his arms wrapping around your thighs and pulling you closer

You couldn’t help but let out a long needy moan as his tongue pulsed in and out of you, licking up all of your wetness as his fingers went to your clit and began expertly rubbing circles into it 

Your hands were tugging Kenma’s hair as he switched back and forth from long deep licks to quick and shallow ones, as he held you close to his face enjoying your juices smearing down his face

 Quickly your orgasm approached as Kenma replaced his tongue with his fingers and began driving three into your desperate hole as his mouth and nose pushed into your desperate clit, giving it the stimulation you needed as he hummed lightly, sending vibrations straight to your clit 

You were a moaning mess at this point and couldn’t help but whine as he perfectly hit all of the spots inside of you as you felt yourself come undone beneath him, moaning his name as he continued to lick and suck you clean 

When he was finished licking every part of you clean he slowly pulled back up your panties before laying down next to you 

“I love you,” he whispered before pulling you on top of him, “every single part of you,” he starts, looking straight into your eyes, “you are my dream, when I would dream at night I always imagined a girl just like you, I want nothing else, you are perfect,” he sighed before kissing the top of your head

You couldn’t help but start tearing up at his kind words, “Kenma-” you started

“Shh, no but’s no if’s nothing, you are gorgeous, and I love you,” he coos as he rubs your hair, “if you ever think anything like that again, tell me, right away, okay baby, I’m gonna make you see just how beautiful you are.” he smiles before cupping your cheek in his hand and placing a quick kiss on your lips

You lay there for a while before he nudges you off of him and starts rummaging through your clothes 

He pulls out an outfit for you and smiles weakly at you, “you tried this on and loved it, now you should wear it out to dinner,” he stated, smiling even bigger

You instinctively shook your head no, “Kenma, I can’t wear that out,” you stammer

“Why not?” he questions, “It looks amazing on you.” 

“Kenma bab-”

“Kenma what?” he sasses you, “when you tried it on you were glowing, now put it on and let’s go get Thai, okay?” he smiled at you

You couldn’t help but feel giddy putting the outfit on, you secretly did love how it looked on you, you just got nervous about what others would think about you in it but every time you would glance around nervously at dinner Kenma grabbed your hand and said one word, “beautiful” 

He even went as far as taking cute pictures of you for your Instagram and smiling at you, telling you how good you looked after every single one, not only did Kenma make you feel amazing, but he also took the most gorgeous pictures of you that you’ve ever seen, he kept smiling at you and telling you his favorite part of each picture as he scrolled, one he would complement your smile and the next he would complement your beautiful eyes, then your gorgeous pose and when you got blushy he just shrugged and sent you the pictures telling you that he said what he meant and that you really are that pretty 

He even let the two of you get some cuteeee pictures together which is rare for Kenma because he prefers to not take pictures at all, but you two got the best pictures together and it ended up being both of your new screensavers, and every time you saw Kenma open his phone to a picture of you he always gave it a little smile and a pause before going on to do whatever it was he needed his phone for

[twentiethcenturymoviesandtv]

Star Trek: Genre and Themes

Considering the fact that Star Trek was pitched as “Wagon Train in space”, it seems almost redundant to discuss the genre of such a show.  

Since the beginning, Gene Roddenberry’s show’s genre seemed pretty obvious: science fiction-western.  And really, it’s hard to argue with that.  Kirk’s style has been outright referred to as ‘cowboy diplomacy’ by future installations of Star Trek.  The adventures and ‘exploration’ of the new territory is very reminiscent of the western television shows of the time, and the setting of outer space would seem to place it pretty firmly in the ‘science fiction’ genre as well.

But, like always, there’s a little more to it than that.

As I’ve mentioned many times before, very few pieces of media can be categorized as only one genre.  Even the most seemingly obvious and one-dimensional examples have elements of other genres.  No show is designed to fit into only one genre, with any individual television program carrying many characteristics of one specific genre, while sharing many elements of other genres.

And while it may be easy to look at the setting of a film or television show and use that to determine a genre (space = sci-fi, medieval = fantasy), that doesn’t mean it’s terribly accurate.

Such is the case of Star Trek.

As a matter of fact, despite Roddenberry’s initial pitch to the studios, Star Trek actually doesn’t have a whole lot in common with the westerns of the day (Besides Spectre of the Gun).  Kirk’s ‘cowboy’ nature actually doesn’t come into play nearly as much as one would think.  Captain Kirk’s decision making isn’t quite the same as a traditional western lead, weighing more factors than just ‘frontier justice’.  For another, the setup is totally different.  The Enterprise is a military exploration ship, full of people on a mission, not just of exploration, but of diplomacy.  Kirk’s job is not only to defeat ‘bad guys’, but to find the best solutions for problems of other cultures.

So while Kirk’s ‘good old fisticuffs’ solutions may seem a bit more of the ‘Wild Wild West’ than later incarnations of the show would resort to, it doesn’t make it a western.  In fact, Star Trek has far more in common with future versions of science fiction shows than one might think.

Star Trek, at its core, is a show about an optimistic utopia, a future where humanity has learned to straighten itself out.  A future where there is no oppression, no prejudice, no poverty, but of a unified, educated, compassionate Earth, reaching out into the galaxy to explore, extending a hand of friendship.  This is Kirk’s job: being the hand of friendship.  Set in a distant future, a twenty-third century where Earth’s problems are solved, as such, there is no need to examine humanity’s flaws as they are.

At least, not directly.

As is done with many examples of the soft science fiction (or speculative fiction) genre, Star Trek uses its setting and set-up to examine the problems with our own society through the disguise of another.  Routinely, Kirk and the gang land on a planet or meet a people that represent a part of humanity that is less than pleasant to look at.  Episodes like Let That Be Your Last Battlefield take a scathing look at racism, a huge social issue in the late 1960s.  Other episodes examined topics like the Vietnam war, labor, and, a science-fiction favorite, the dangers of technology.  

Add this onto the ‘traveling through the stars’ plotline of Star Trek, and you’ve got yourself a pretty good argument for a solid science fiction show, with or without the western elements to it.  With that said, that doesn’t mean there’s more to the show than just sci-fi.

Star Trek’s storylines typically fell into the category of action or adventure.  There were gunfights (or phaserfights), fistfights, chases, daring escapes, and space-battles galore.  There was typically at least one hair-raising action scene per episode (with a few exceptions, such as The Trouble with Tribbles or The Way to Eden).  Even the episodes without ‘action’ per say as it would later be solidified in shows like The A-Team or Magnum P.I. turned out a decent ‘adventure’ story, with emphasis on the journey and adventure as a whole, rather than action-packed sequences that kept audiences on the edge of their seat.

Star Trek was all about the adventure, as even the opening credits will make clear.  The voyage of the Enterprise is aimed at discovery and exploration.  The setup of the show is, at its core, the greatest adventure: exploring the unknown.  Every episode is aimed at the exploration of the human experience and curiosity.  By definition, an adventure is a risky undertaking, and the exploration of deep space and discovering new civilizations and planets is nothing if not risky.

It’s pretty easy to say that Star Trek fits pretty neatly into the ‘sci-fi/adventure’ category, although it does have shades of other genres.  Episodes like Shore Leave, The Trouble with Tribbles, I Mudd, and A Piece of the Action have a distinct comedic slant to them, whereas episodes like Catspaw, The Enemy Within, Wolf in the Fold, and The Man Trap have a rather sinister, horror/thriller edge.  Other episodes have dabbled into courtroom dramas, tragedies, westerns, and even war, giving all three seasons a wide range of types of stories that they tell.  However, one genre that Star Trek has always been the absolute master of, even more than science-fiction or adventure, has been the genre of drama.

At the heart of every Star Trek episode, no matter how cerebral or action-packed, is an overarching sense of drama.  Not drama in the ‘soap opera’ sense, mind you, but drama as in real character interaction and growth.  The drama in Star Trek is in McCoy and Spock’s argument in Bread and Circuses, in the death of a recently married lieutenant in Balance of Terror, in the death of Kirk’s brother in Operation: Annihilate. Star Trek’s dramatic moments are rooted in character, from Spock’s admittance and sharing of Vulcan rituals in Amok Time and his muted desperation at thinking that he’s killed his Captain in a burst of uncontrollable rage to the doomed romance between Kirk and Edith Keeler in City On the Edge of Forever. The drama in Star Trek is in people, whether human or not.

The examples of Star Trek’s use of characters, be they regular or not, is truly groundbreaking.  From Spock’s mind-meld with the Horta in Devil in the Dark to Kirk’s terrifying identity crisis in The Enemy Within, Star Trek’s strength is in the people, in the personal dynamics between the characters, most notably between the main trio of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.  Even the other, more minor characters on the show received levels of characterization unheard of for the time: Sulu’s love of botany and retro weaponry, Uhura’s musical ability, Scotty’s intelligence and romantic troubles, and Chekov’s obsession with spouting totally innaccurate Russian history, possibly just to annoy the rest of the crew.  Even Nurse Chapel’s flashes of snark helped her stand apart from the many nameless crew members who came and went throughout the series.

In short, Star Trek’s characters were people.  Nowhere was this more evident than in Mr. Spock.

By the 1960s, most ‘alien’ characters on television were either jokes or monsters, cast as gimmicks in My Favorite Martian or as evil conquerors in shows like The Twilight Zone or The Invaders.  But in Star Trek, the ‘alien’ was as ‘human’ as the rest of us, if you’ll pardon the phrase.

A Mr. Spock type character was unheard of in 1966.  A half-human, half-alien, treated as a respected equal of the rest of the crew, was a completely foreign concept at the time.  Spock’s development as a character, and indeed, his criticism of the human condition proved to be one of Star Trek’s best elements of its use of character and drama.  Spock as a character was constantly at war with himself, torn between the outwardly emotionless Vulcan half, and his emotional, illogical human half.  Spock’s internal struggle proved to be one of the most gripping elements of the show, and as his interactions with Kirk and McCoy proved, although Spock did not like to be compared to humans, in many ways, he was more ‘human’ than we are.  His subtle flashes of emotion and occasional bursts of illogical behavior proved repeatedly that there was a lot more to Spock than what he tried to let on.  He, along with the other members of the cast, had layers.

And Star Trek was very good at exploring those layers.

No science-fiction show would introduce characters with layers to explore if they hadn’t had every intention of making the show hang on the relationships of the characters.  And the relationships of characters is the absolute core of drama.

In the end, Star Trek is a science-fiction adventure drama, a speculative look at the nature of humanity and people in general.  Star Trek is a look at a better future, an improved society turned to exploration.  It’s about the new frontier, about the best and worst of humanity, about friendship, adventure, and morality, full of good and memorable stories and characters.  It paved the way for even more complex shows to follow, and remains one of the most thought-provoking and earnest shows of all time.

Even now, audiences remember those characters, those stories, those little moments with these people that they grew to know.  They hold up, remaining just as genuine and heartfelt as they were in 1966.

And they owe that, in no small part, to those wonderful characters.

But that’s a discussion for next time.

Thank you guys so much for reading!  Don’t forget that my ask box is always open for conversation, suggestions, or questions.  Stay tuned for the next article, where we’ll be looking at the crew of the Enterprise and their roles in Star Trek.  I hope to see you there!

[baemy624]

Brain-napped

Hi! This is the ending of what would be my ‘first episode’ idea! I have a dozen patb story ideas, so I ordered them like a season (13 episodes, aiming at 12 minutes or so)

Please let me know your thoughts (in or ooc, ‘stage directions’, etc) 

Thank you! :)

Scene 6:

[Pinky finds his way to brain’s phone from the help of his animal friend(s)] 

[He then finds his way into Julia’s lair; it’s creepy and then completely goes dark; We only see pinky’s eyes and a screen turn on staticky w/o video appearing yet; 

There are audio clips of Brain insulting Pinky repeating all around him; They eventually stop and suddenly change to the presidential night when brain is controlling Julia and she’s going more insane; she lets pinky watch the clip for a bit then starts to talk over it]

Julia: Oh, yes, he has said some rather (*despicable, awful/mean) things, hasn’t he? Hmm? Say, well would you take a look here, Pinky? It’s the presidential debate! Oh, wasn’t that a fun [her brain shocks] night! 

Pinky: Oh, uh, yes… I guess it was… 

Julia: Guess? Take a closer look, Pinky... at what’s happening to my mind.

Pinky: You...you.. Aren’t looking so good, Julia… Poit. Did you eat some spicy food?

Julia: No, you dimwitted, little-- [clears throat]. No, Pinky. That little mishap was caused by a mind control device implanted in my brain by no other than your [sarcastic] dearest/trusted and most loyal friend--

Pinky: --The Brain? [looks speechless; voice cracking; some tears coming to his eyes; taking a few steps back] No, no. The Brain wouldn’t do this. H-He always told me--

Julia: HE LIED TO YOU, PINKY! ALL HE DOES IS LIE AND CHEAT HIS WAY TO VICTORY! [Screen moves closer to his face] DON’T YOU SEE, PINKY? BRAIN IS JUST USING YOU FOR HIS OWN SELFISH REASONS! HE WANTS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU! HE’LL MANIPULATE YOU INTO HELPING HIM, BUT AS SOON AS HE SUCCEEDS, HE’LL JUST THROW YOU AWAY LIKE… Like me… [steps out into the light a bit]

Pinky: [Looks at her with concern; holding his tail but inches closer a bit]... Julia?

Julia: Don’t you see, Pinky? You can’t deny the truth. Brain is just using you, just like he used me. What’s stopping him from controlling your mind? Or any other mice? Or the entire world?!? You can’t trust him.

Pinky: But, Brai--

Julia: FORGET BRAIN, PINKY. [offers her hand]. Stay here, Pinky. We can destroy Brain and take the world for ourselves. [steps a bit closer] We can take our revenge for all the time’s he hurt us…

Pinky: [stepping back slowly; speaking slower then quicker as he is holding and shaking his head with tears going everywhere] No…. NonoNONOno! I can’t--I won’t do that, Julia! B-Brain would never hurt me like that. H-he wants to make the world a better place! Narf! Oh-Ah-ah-ahhh!! [starts crying more; and whimpers a bit; then after a few moments he looks up and takes the remote from Julia] 

Julia: Pinky?! [tries to tug the remote back] Hey, what are you--

Pinky: [sniffing and whiping his face] Hmm. Look here, Julia. [fast-forwards the screen to after the end of the mouschiarin episode where they’re in the cage reflecting on the failed plan and julia]

[Pinky and Brain on the screen following the last scene from ‘Mousechurian

Canidate’]

Pinky: Gee, Brain, why do you think Julia ran away? [gasp] Did you two break up?! [pupil/dilated eyes]

Brain: What? No, nothing like that.

Pinky: Then why?

Brain: I-I-I don’t know Pinky..erm.. [sighs; says quietly] Maybe I shouldn’t take over the world…

Pinky: [stops making the tea/coffee and looks over] Hm? Now why would you say that, Brain?!

Brain: Because...cause… [snaps] Ugh! For years I’ve been trying to take over the world! Every single night! Plan after plan after plan. And NONE OF THEM HAVE WORKED!? Maybe the world is playing some trick on me… right! Haha. Maybe I’m just some insignificant, stupid, little chess piece just moving back and forth but never really succeeding in anything I set out to do! [thinking about how he hurt Julia] I-I-I do want to make the world a better place but MAYBE THE WORLD JUST DOESN’T WANT ME IN IT?!... [quieter] and-and I just hurt everybody, just like the world has hurt me… maybe that’s why I’m such a failure... [looks down; holds himself in the same fetal position with his arms around his legs and head looking down; ears droop] 

Pinky: [gently taps brain on the shoulder] You are not a failure, Brain. [sits besides him] Sure, we might plan and go alllllll over the earth trying to ‘take over the world’ [scooches closer], but even though you don’t always win, you still write your plans and we get up every night and try over and over and over again. Troz. [Puts his hand on brian’s hand/shoulder/head] And I will keep following you all over the world for every plan you come up with. Do you know why, Brain?

Brain: [Looks at Pinky sideways] Why, Pinky?

Pinky: Because you’re my best friend in the whole, wide world. [grabs his cheeks] And there’s NOBODY else who I believe can make the world a better place. [grins; and hugs Brain] 

Brain: [Bit shocked, but subtly snuggles his head under Pinky’s head a bit more] Thank you, Pinky. [closes his eyes] 

Pinky: [wider smile and heart eyes; snuggles himself while hugging brain; whispers] I love you, Brain.

Brain: [eyes open; caught-off guard; bit flustered] I-I-uh… I really don’t know what I’d do without you, Pinky/my friend. 

[Pinky pauses the clip; Pinky in the screen and irl starts to tear up again

and whimpers with heart eyes; then turns around to look at Julia and takes

her hands]

Pinky: See, Julia? Brain isn’t as much of a super meany-bigheaded-sour mouse that you think he is. Troz! He’s my best friend! [holding his hands together and tucking under his chin; heart eyes looking at Brain on the screen]

Julia: [bit shocked for a moment; but shakes it away and tries to steal the remote back from Pinky] No! I don’t care what kind of trick you’re trying to pull on me, but it won’t work. Hmmm. I don’t need you, Pinky. I will defeat Brain all on my own---

[remote bumps into the light and brightens up the room, then hits where the memory download thing is on Brain’s head--thus setting the memory download thing down to 0%, then the remote hits itself into the screen]

Pinky: Ah! Brain!! [He immediately unties? Brain and jumps out of the window into the snow] Waaahhh!!?! [Woompf!]

[Pinky hits his head on a rock/tree and temporarily unconscious; Brain awakens from the snow and rubs his head while looking around at his surroundings]

Brain: [Dizzy; confused; hurt] Oh-Ah-Ah! [touching his face and looking around] I-I’m alive! Haha! I’m-- [sees Pinky; concerned and runs over to hold him] Pinky!?! Pinky, are you alright! [shakes and slaps him a bit, but not too hard]. Pinky, wake up this instant!! [wait a beat and his voice cracks]... Pinky? [hugs him and starts to tear up a bit]

Pinky: [Coughs up some snow comedically; takes a few deep breaths] Aah! Poo, poo! Disgusting [rubs snow off his tongue] No wonder people say not to eat snow off of the-- [notices Brain hugging him; gasps] Brain! [embraces tightly back] Oh, Brain! Troz! I’m so glad you’re alright. I-I was in this dark room and there were all of these big and s-scary screens and j-julia was saying all of these b-bad and terrible things about you, and-and-and--

Brain: [eyes moving subtly and very concerned at Pinky; bit thrown off by the Julia thing; but he hears some footstep behind him; whispers to Pinky] Shh, Pinky… [puts finger over his mouth] I sense someone is approaching us… 

[They look around then to their left as a mind-eraser beam shoots them from the top-right; they are briefly shocked then turn to face each other eye-to-eye before screaming and falling backwards]

Brain: [Brain bumps his head into a rock; we see a spark go off from the mind-control chip in his Brain; he rubs his head] Oww!

Pinky: Ah! Egad, Brain! How did we end up in the middle of this c-cold and s-s-swirly whirly blizzard! I don’t think we’re in the lab anymore…

Brain: [sits up] Of course we’re not in the lab you imbecile, we’re-- [looks up but only hears the snow and wind] … I have no idea where we are. [hears footsteps again and tries to protect Pinky] Be careful, Pinky. There might be a deadly predator approaching us…

[they hear a rustle in some grass then the creature jumps out towards them; they scream for a moment while holding onto each other; Brain is more afraid than Pinky]

Pinky: [chuckles to himself] Oh, look, Brain! It’s a deer! Narf! Hello there little red-nose deery friend! Do you know the way back to our cage-home? [maybe talking w/ some big gestures like a tourist lol]

[deer nods enthusiastically and pants like a puppy]

Pinky: Oh, yippee! [clears throat] May we have your help for di-rec-tionss? [also big gestures]

[the deer agrees then picks them up w/ their teeth and toss them onto their

back then starts running towards the lab]

Brain: AAAaaaAAHH!! P-PINKY! We should definitely get back to the lab before t-tomorrow night!

Pinky: Weeee! Ahhhh! Why Brain? W-what are we gonna d-d-o tomorrow night?!

Brian: [eyes getting misty from the speed and holidng onto the deer] Brrr.. The s-same thing we d-d-o every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world!

[‘Camera’ shot then pans above with the deer running closer to the lab]

[But then then final shot is julia turning off her mind-eraser beam and walking towards her screens]

Julia: Hmm, that oughta do it. Pinky may have refused my offer for now [checks her screen says the mind-control chip is 100% completed/installed] but perhaps we should start again on a clean slate….heheh.

[teacup-baphomet]

G/t Drabble (Crash landed on a hostile planet trope but NOT via the a tiny vulnerable human in a planet of mean powerful alien bigs route)

tw: a bit of censored cursing. Uh. I’m not sure what else. Maybe broaching of sensitive tops such as sexuality and religion. But not really. Mostly it’s just rlly dumb word play/lame humor and a confused alien being confused (and kinda freaked/troubled due to the confusion? you’ll see if you read it i guess). there is some sad lorg boi times. idk. no romantic relationships. just a shaky friendship is forming between a crash-landed big-arse alien (a human! *gasp*  i woulda never guessed something as vile as that o: ) and one of the much smaller, very much not human locals. most want to kill the poor dude who got stuck on this planet of hostile lil guys who think he’s a monster and immediately decide they much off him asap. so like having this one ally is kinda important to him. But it’s hard. because. lots reasons rlly. culture differences. the language tech can only do so much. the size diff creates definite issues because trust is hard in general. and trusting a big being that could easily cause havoc on your planet mostly just cuz he /seems/ nice is not a very good foundation... there is much to learn between the two before they can be truly good frens. so uh good luck to them lol *raises glass* I mean. I don’t think I’ll ever write these two again. but I’m sure they’ll end up good friends. probably.

Anyway without further adieu, here have a disappointment (read: attempt to be creative but i’m kinda lazy tbh and still kinda bitter I can’t draw for more than like 10 minutes before I start spacing out :/ )

"We are called humans or the scientific name is homo sapiens" spoke the large alien, Lyle.

"Homo sapiens? That is rather long, is it not? Why is a "scientific name" even a thing? Why would that be necessary? Scientific name versus what kinda name? Emotional name? Why are these science names two words? Seems annoying. What is wrong with just calling yourselves simply homos? Or something else just as nice and concise. Straight to the point if you will. Probably. I... Uh.. I obviously don't know what exactly is the purpose of a scientific name as i already implied... Sooo..." The much shorter – and much scalier- native being (called Torrynts) awkwardly looked off the side to stare at the plain, blank, siding of their dilapidated, isolated house as if it were the most interesting thing in the entire vicinity. Which it wasn’t of course. There was a f***ing alien 15 times their size only a few them-sized lengths way…

 Lyle gave his new comrade – and only friend on this gawdforsaken planet that mostly wants him dead- th pondering, and possibly ironically, rather colourfully scaled Torrynt by the name of Kyvlar a bemused look, bordering on coy.

"Huh. 'Straight' to the point you say?" He paused with a small snort. "Well, my not-so-statuesque friend, do I got news for you~"

Kyvlar suddenly blanched, giving a Lyle a look that was like a knife to the heart while blurting out. "Wait, wait, wait! Hold up! We? There are more than one of you? Here? On this planet? Were you just a distraction the whole time. Oh... Oh no.... Have we really been victim a secret homo invasion this whole time! I-"

 Their panicked monologue was interrupted by a most horrendous noise. Like a slowly dying tornado with the hiccups or something.

"STOP. Stop I-I can't. I can't. This is too much much!" Spoke Lyle with his hand covering the bottom half of his  and his eyes scrunched shut.

 'Welp,' thought the Torrynt, 'This is the end. This is when I die. I should have known better than to immediately put my trust in such an enormous obviously dangerous specimen. Ho-'

 Kyvlar’s dramatic internal speech was interrupted when the alien surprised them by uncovering the his face, revealing a huge grin. ‘They weren't upset? Huh?’ The Torrynt blinked owlishly at the human in confusion.

 "Sh*t, bite-size (Kyvlar noticeably paled at the impromptu nickname not 100% the foreign joking tone, well it would have been noticeable to someone their size at least), I know you don't mean to, context-wise, but you reminded me of my great aunt Karen when my Uncle Todd and Uncle Copper decide to have their friends over along with relatives for a gatherin'."

Plastering on a faux distraught look and blatantly mocking tone, he  continue with exaggerated hand gestures. "Oh no, it's the...the...," he paused with snort, "... the homo invasion... No, no, no... Not here... not in this... this good, Christian neighborhood. Aren't just two of them enough? Oh woe is me!" The alien dropped the mocking tone and smirked towards the smaller being. "Heh. Good ol' great aunt Karen could never remember Uncle Todd was Jewish and so was the majority of that neighborhood.... It’s where my Uncle Todd was raised actually…"

 The said smaller being just stared blankly at the homo-no-human they supposed as just “homo” meant something else, they weren’t sure what else, beyond just something else.

 "Uhhm. Wh-what? U-Uhm, so what exactly is “homo” then? And what’s Christian? And Jewish too. What’s that? Are... Are those other types of -uh- intelligent, sentient creatures on your planet? Y-you know, b-beside hom-er-h-humans? Or are these subtypes of humans? What kinda are you? What is a great aunt? or Uncle? Does the great indicate a larger size? Oh gawd, a-aren't you humans b-big enough regularly? Oh... W-wait. O-or are you a great- uhm- great aunt, was it? E-er, g-great something? Ohhh. Zyntall (Torrynt swear). I'm sooo confused r-right now... " The timid tiny being, sighed in frustration before their eyes snapped open wide in a panic, and they did an immediate one-eighty with their behavior, and it was off all their previously trust, as wavering as it was, vanished in an instant, squeaking out a quick "sorry. oh, Z-zyntall... I'm so-so-sooo sorry. I-I hope I d-didn't offend y-you or anyth-thing... p-please, oh please, don't hurt me" while gazing everywhere except towards the much larger alien, hoping desperately the 'bite-size' nickname was just a bad joke...

 Clearly they not only didn't get what so hilarious about the whole thing but also thought he was a monster prone to violence – still. Lyle sighed, all the mirth that was previously in his expression draining out of him leaving him with an uncomfortable grimace on their face. How disappointing... They really wish there was another human here to share in the jesting. But alas, that was not meant to be. At least as far as they knew there was no "homo invasion" in the making. Lyle wasn’t naïve. He knew humans were easy to slip into a gray moral state, at best. The role of villains at worst. And many of his kind would likely take advantage of a planet full of tiny, vulnerable people. Lyle couldn’t help but inwardly cringe at the thought, getting nervous about something that wasn’t an issue. At least now. Currently, human-wise, it was just him on this distant planet. And as far as he knew, no one - well, no other human at least- had any clue where they were. It probably just seemed he simply disappeared. Never to be seen again most likely. Trapped on this random alien planet in scenario that is akin to some sort of a personal hell of sorts.

'Wow. Hello, major depressive episode that’s making me overly dramatic. I haven't seen you since I was - what - eighteen?' thought Lyle regretfully. Calling this planet a personal hell was probably a bit over the top. But still, he couldn’t even seem to keep the trust of his single native ally. It only adds to his feelings of lonely isolation. And he feared his lonely angst will only get worse and worse. But only time will tell.

Giving a small sigh, he mentally prepped himself to try and get back his small friend’s trust. At least he was able to laugh for a wee bit earlier. It had been so long since he had done such. It was nice. Hopefully next time it will not lead to a backtracking in his attempted friendly ships with an open local, or even worse, a hostile local. The little laser guns that native being had stung like a b*tch. It reminded him when he got bit a couple times by some fire ants during a vacation as a child.

-----------

So yeah these were rando improvised characters made on the spot.

But Lyle is a guy (he/him. He’d be chill with they/them too)

And Kyvlar is… a Torrynt. So like they/them I guess. Torrynts don’t have genders. Like at all. I guess they hermaphroditic (intersex if talking by human terms but not really as they are capable of reproduction and they aren’t human so… I dunno… Not even sure if hermaphrodite is a useful term. As idk if hermaphroditic animals, in nature, are capable of reproduction… I don’t think so? But I’m not sure tbh…). There is no variants like there are with human “sex”. And male/female concepts are 200+% foreign to these wee reptile-like aliens (albeit warm-blooded minded, so perhaps more draconian than reptilian idk. Also aliens being described as reptilian gives me hives due to a conspiracy theory that is like super bigoted actually n’ stuff. Very yikes. Don’t want to talk it about it rlly…). Their reaction would def be “wtf. That’s the weirdest sh*t ever” to such a thought as male n female binary dynamics & whatnot. No exceptions. They’d be like why a lot of you guys limiting yourself because of whether or not you are a potential offspring vessel or not. I don’t understand.

So Yeah. Uh. Anyways.

Their conversation about this prolly (or close to this):

Lyle: Hi. I’m Lyle. Just some random dude form Earth I guess.

Kyvlar: a random dude what?

Lyle: uh. I’m a dude. I guess I meant that I’m a boy though dudes don’t really have to be boys I think. But not to derail too much… Yeah. I’m a man/guy/boy/brosef, whatever you wanna call the male gender. Please not by brosef actually, heh. Anyway. Yep. A boy. That is what I am. Uh. How about you. I can just tell… you ….you have uhm two legs. Oh damn. Wait. That sounded so stupid. I wouldn’t assume your gender or anything. I just… You don’t look exactly human so..uh. UGH. Nevermind. I don’t even know where I was going with that... Heh. ANYWAY, so yeah what’s your gender is what I’m trying to say. Sorry I’m awkward as f***. I’m not used to socializing much. Been doing deep space sh** on my own for a few years now and.. uh.. yeahhhh….

Kyvlar: *stares blankly*

Lyle: Uh. Yeah. So. A Gender? Do you, uhm, have one? Or…????

Kyvlar: Uh. I think so? I mean I’m mostly a day-by-day I’ll figure it out then type but I, I really want be able to fix my home up. I want to learn to cook. Kinda suck at it now. Uhm. I guess… Uh. I should probably help you get on good terms with my people so they stop trying to kill you. You seem nice n’ stuff… so yeah. There’s that. I could use a little more purpose in my life. Not to-

Lyle: wait. Huh? What are you talking about? Are you talking about an agenda?

Kyvlar: Yes????

Lyle: *snorts* I didn’t say an agenda. I said a gender. As in A. Gen. Durr. Like are male or female or maybe something off the typical binary track??

Kyvlar: Uh. Er. Huh??? I, I’m so confused right now…

Lyle: Hooo boy. I’m so not prepared for this discussion at all.

-----------

One of these days I’m gonna have a character that’s silver-tongue and smooth af and not some bumbling awkward doofus (*cough* like I am *cough*).

[alyssawritesssfics]

Hounded [3] 3. Earth Kills

Pairings: Bellamy x OC // Kane x daughter!OC

Word Count: 3.3K

Warnings: violence, series spoilers

Summary: When trapped in a cave together, Athena sees a new side of Bellamy. One that she might actually like.

Author’s Note: Hii, I’m back with the third chapter/episode. The cave scene has been my favourite to write thus far (I know, we’re only on episode three) and I hope you enjoy it too! Please remember to note and reblog! It really helps me see interest and therefore update the story more often. Thank you! PS. If you’d like to be tagged in future chapters, please send me an ask with your @ and I will add you to my list!

previous chapter // series masterlist

The following day I found myself behind the dropship, collecting more wood for fires. We had returned to camp with the large cat Wells had killed, Bellamy using everyone’s hunger as a way to get them to remove their wristbands. I was able to hold out, sneaking some food once everyone had piled into the dropship for the night.

I hadn’t gotten much sleep last night. Jasper spent most of it groaning in pain, while the other delinquents yelled for him to shut up. The groaning was still going on, though I’d begun to tune it out for the most part.

Grabbing my pile of wood, I headed around the dropship and towards the fire, dropping it all into the pile Wells had started earlier. Just as the wood fell to the ground, the sound of screaming filled my ears.

I ran towards the dropship, climbing the ladder to the top floor and shoving the door open.

“Hold him still, I need to cut away the infected flesh.” Clarke held a knife in her hand, while Monty, Wells and Finn held Jasper down.

“What the hell are you guys doing?” I asked.

Octavia soon climbed through the door, standing at my side. “Stop it! You’re killing him.”

“She’s trying to save his life.” Finn rolled his eyes.

“She can’t,” Bellamy spoke, joining us on the top floor. “Look at him, he might as well be dead already.”

Wells stood up, stepping in front of Bellamy. “Back off.”

“We didn’t drag him through miles of woods just to let him die,” Clarke said.

“He’s making us all crazy, Clarke,” I spoke up.

“This isn’t the Ark, Athena.” Clarke snapped. “Down here, every life matters.”

I shook my head. “I’m not saying his life doesn’t matter. Just look at him, he’s suffering. He’s not going to make it.”

Clarke shook her head, her eyes meeting Octavia’s. “Octavia, I’ve spent my whole life watching my mother heal people. If I say there’s hope, there’s hope.”

“This isn’t about hope, it’s about guts,” Bellamy said. “You don’t have the guts to make the hard choices. I do. He’s been like this for three days. If he’s not better by tomorrow, I’ll kill him myself.”

I kicked my feet and bit my lower lip, catching Wells’ eyes. “Athena, come on. You can’t be on his side.”

“I’m sorry, but I am,” I said, my eyes fixed on the metal floor beneath me. “The longer you four play doctor, the more he’s suffering for nothing. It’s time to let go.”

Bellamy and I turned to leave. “Come on, O.” He said.

“I’m staying here.”

Bellamy shook his head, climbing back down the ladder.

I turned to the group. “I hope you guys are right about this, but if you’re not…” I trailed off, shaking my head and heading down the ladder myself.

...

Later that afternoon, I watched as a group prepped to go hunting. The sound of Jasper screaming in pain was starting to give me a headache and all I wanted to do was leave camp.

When I spotted Bellamy exit the dropship to join them, I rushed to his side.

“Hey, you guys are going hunting?”

He raised an eyebrow. “We are.”

“Good, I’m in.”

Bellamy shook his head, smirking. “You want to go hunting?”

I stepped in front of him, both of us coming to a complete stop. “Look, I can’t listen to Jasper anymore. I need to get out of here. Besides, an extra hand can’t hurt, can it?”

Looking me up and down, Bellamy sighed. “Do you know anything about hunting?”

“No, but I’m a quick learner.”

“As long as you don’t get in the way, sure you can come.”

I clapped my hands together. “Let’s go then.”

...

We had been hunting for a few hours before finally coming across a boar. It was plumb, enough meat on its bones to feed all of us tonight. My mouth was watering just thinking about how good it would taste.

Bellamy pressed his pointer finger to his lips. “Shh… She’s mine.”

I watched as he stepped closer and just as he was about to attack, a stick snapped behind us. Bellamy spun around, throwing his axe in the direction of the noise as the boar ran off. The rest of the group, aside from Atom ran after it, screaming like a bunch of idiots.

Turning around, I spotted a young blonde girl peeking out from behind a tree. Her eyes were wide as she looked at the axe which had hit the tree next to her head.

Bellamy dropped his hands to his sides. “Who the hell are you?”

“C-Charlotte.” The girl mumbled.

“He could’ve killed you.” I hissed, causing the girl to frown.

Bellamy sighed, stepping forward. “Why aren’t you back at camp?”

“The guy who is dying,” Charlotte spoke, her eyes fixed on the ground. “I just couldn’t listen to it anymore.”

I couldn’t help but let out a sigh. “You and me both,”

“There are grounders out here,” Atom spoke. “It’s not safe for a little girl.”

“I’m not little.”

Bellamy and I exchanged glances. “Well then,” Bellamy said, pulling a knife out of his pocket. “You can’t hunt without a weapon.” He handed Charlotte the knife. “Ever kill anything before?”

Charlotte shook her head.

“Who knows, maybe you’ll be good at it.” Bellamy smiled before turning around and heading off to find the others.

I smiled at her as well. “Come on,”

Charlotte and I followed Bellamy and Atom through the forest. We had yet to find the others when suddenly, a swarm of bugs flew past us.

“What the hell?” Atom asked.

Rats, which I had yet to see on the ground, began scurrying in the same direction the bugs had flown. I watched as a cloud of yellow began forming in front of us, a horn sounding in the air.

“That can’t be good.” I mumbled.

“Come on! There are caves this way.” Bellamy spoke, running off.

The three of us followed Bellamy, myself being sure to keep Charlotte within my reach. I watched as Atom tripped, though I didn’t stop. I just kept running until I too fell. 

My head connected with a rock, causing me to scream out in pain.

This is it. This is how I die.

Just as I accepted my fate, a pair of strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me from the ground. “Charlotte, keep going!” It was Bellamy.

I tried my best to run, though Bellamy pulled me most of the way. Finally, we reached the cave and Bellamy let go of me, closing the entrance with a larger rock. I slid down the wall of the cave, pressing my hand to the back of my head.

“Are you okay?” Charlotte asked.

I nodded, removing my hand and examining the blood on it. “Yeah, I’ll be alright.”

“What happened to Atom?” Bellamy asked.

I looked away, unable to explain how I left him behind.

Bellamy sighed. “We should be safe here for the night.”

“Should be?” Charlotte asked.

“Will be,” I spoke up. “We will be safe here.”

Charlotte frowned, and I knew she believed that as much as I did.

...

We had been stuck in the cave for a while, Charlotte having fallen asleep. Bellamy inspected the wound on my head, touching it lightly. I let out a yelp, swatting his hand away.

He moved back. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I spoke, my voice shaking. “Is it bad?”

“It looks like the bleeding has stopped at least. No sleeping for you though.”

I sighed. “Not like I’ve done much sleeping down here anyways.”

We were both silent for a few moments before finally, Bellamy cleared his throat. “Do you think everyone back at camp is okay?”

“I’m sure they are,” I said. “They probably all hid inside the dropship.”

“Safer there than here, I guess.”

“I was sure the fog would’ve slipped through a crack of this cave.” I looked over at Charlotte. “Poor kid probably didn’t expect to almost die twice today. She’s lucky your aim sucks.”

Bellamy chuckled. “It wasn’t bad considering I wasn’t looking in that direction.”

“Alright, I’ll give you that.” I smiled, before the thought of Atom filled my mind. “I left him behind…”

“What?”

“Atom,” I said. “I saw him fall. I could’ve stopped and helped him up, but I didn’t.”

Bellamy shook his head. “You were afraid.”

“And you weren’t?” I asked, tears welling in my eyes. “You ran back to save me. You shouldn’t have. You should’ve kept going.”

“What’s done is done, Athena. You can’t change it now, so learn from it, do better next time.” 

I nodded, my eyes beginning to flutter shut as a wave of exhaustion washed over me. “You almost sound like my father.”

Bellamy ignored my remark. “Hey, no sleeping, alright?”

“I’m tired.”

“Too bad,” Bellamy frowned. “Why did you get locked up?”

“What?”

“If you keep talking, you’ll stay awake. Tell me why you got locked up.”

I shook my head. “It was stupid.”

“How stupid?”

“Bellamy-”

“Athena.” His voice was stern.

I took a deep breath. “Someone I cared about, their father was sick. The Ark wouldn’t give him the medication he needed, so I stole it.” Bellamy’s eyes grew slightly wider. “I stole my mother’s keycard to get into the medicine cabinet and of course, they figured out it was me and thus I was arrested.”

“You must’ve really cared about that person,” Bellamy mumbled.

“He was like my second father,” I admitted. “I mean, you know how my dad is. When I started dating my boyfriend, his father was always nice to me. Always making sure I was okay, something my dad never really bothered to do.” I paused for a second, wiping my eyes. “I couldn’t just sit back and watch him die. Not after everything he’s done for me.”

Bellamy was silent for a moment. “Did he make it?”

“Yeah, he did.” I smiled. “Knowing that makes all of this worth it, as much as I wish I wasn’t down here right now. I would give anything to be able to see my mom again, hug her, tell her I love her.” I watched as Bellamy’s face fell. “Bellamy, I’m sorry-”

“No, it’s okay.” He said, mustering up a small smile.

I shook my head. “No, It’s not. Nothing about what they do up there is okay.”

Just as Bellamy went to speak, Charlotte began tossing, letting out a small scream.

“Charlotte,” Bellamy spoke, rushing to her side. “Wake up.”

Charlotte shot up, panting. “I’m sorry.”

Bellamy frowned. “Does that happen often?”

Charlotte nodded.

“What are you scared of?” I asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” Bellamy said. “The only thing that matters is what you do about it.”

I almost felt like he was talking to me as well.

“But, I’m asleep,” Charlotte mumbled.

“Fears are fears. Slay your demons while you’re awake, they won’t be able to get you while you sleep.”

“How?”

Bellamy looked over at me for a moment, before looking back to Charlotte. “You can’t afford to be weak. Down here, weakness is death. Let me see that knife I gave you.” Charlotte nodded, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the knife. She handed it over to Bellamy, who squeezed the handle in his hand. “Now, when you feel afraid, you hold this knife tight and say ‘screw you, I’m not afraid’.”

He handed the knife back to Charlotte, who held onto the knife as tight as she could with both hands. “S-screw you, I’m not afraid.”

“Louder.”

Charlotte looked to me, and I nodded. “Screw you. I’m not afraid.”

Bellamy smiled, patting her on the shoulder. “Slay your demons kid, then you’ll be able to sleep.”

Charlotte nodded with a small smile. Still holding the knife in her hands, she rolled back over and fell back asleep. Bellamy made his way back over to me, sitting down with his back against the cave wall.

“I think I’m starting to see where Octavia gets it from,”

…

The following morning, Bellamy pushed the rock covering the cave opening out of the way. He stepped outside, looking around.

“It’s all clear,” He said before stepping out further. “Is anyone out here? Jones?”

“We’re here!” Jones called out.

I stood from my spot, my legs shaking under me. “It’s okay, Charlotte. We can head back to camp now.”

Charlotte nodded, standing up and following me out of the cave.

“Where’d you guys go?” Bellamy asked Jones.

“We made it to a cave down there,” Jones pointed to the West.

I stepped forward. “Did you guys see Atom?”

Jones shook his head, causing me to frown.

“We’ll find him,” Bellamy assured me. “Let’s head back to camp.”

…

Most of the walk back to camp was quiet, aside from the occasional call-out for Atom. We had yet to find him, a fact that was slowly driving me insane. I could feel my fingernails piercing the palm of my hands hidden under my jacket, surly drawing blood.

A hand landed on my shoulder, causing me to jump slightly.

“Sorry,” Bellamy said, looking me over. “You’ve been quiet, I just wanted to make sure you’re alright.”

Last night had shown a different side of Bellamy I had never expected to see. I had half expected him to switch back to his douchebag persona the second we left that cave. Instead, here he was, asking if I was alright.

My cheeks began to heat up, causing me to focus on the ground underneath my feet. “I’ll feel a lot better once we find Atom.”

Bellamy nodded.

The rest of the group had fallen behind us, though Charlotte was so far ahead of us I could barely make out her silhouette through the trees. No matter how many times I had called out for her, she just kept going.

Charlotte finally disappeared from my sight and just a few moments later, her frightened screams rang out through the forest. Without hesitating, Bellamy and I sprung into action, running in her direction.

Before long we found her, standing over a body.

Atom.

“Oh my god,”

Bellamy moved closer, kneeling down and looking Atom over. He was covered in bloody boils and blisters, his skin looking as if it had been slowly burned away. His eyes were glossy, his pupils small. 

I placed my hand on Charlotte’s shoulder before making my way over to the two. Atom was shaking, stuttering incoherently. Finally, he was able to get out a few broken words: kill me, please.

Bellamy stood up, taking a few steps back as the rest of the group joined us. Stepping forward, Charlotte pulled out the knife Bellamy had given her earlier. She handed it to Bellamy and whispered, “Done be afraid.” 

Taking a deep breath, Bellamy cleared his throat. “All of you head back to camp. Charlotte, you too.”

The group dispersed, including Charlotte, though she was more reluctant to leave than rest had been. Bellamy eyed me, still standing just a few meters away.

“Bellamy, I can’t-”

“I know,” He spoke, nodding.

Bellamy knelt back down, holding the knife in his hand. I sat across from him on the other side of Atom, watching as Bellamy’s eyes shifted around. 

Atom spoke again through broken words, begging Bellamy to do it. I watched as Bellamy sat there, unable to move. Finally, I reached over, taking the hand he was holding the knife with in mine.

Bellamy looked up at me and for a second I could see tears welling in his blue eyes. I slowly slipped the knife out of his hand and into my own, pulling my hand away and placing it at my side.

“Athena-”

“I can do this,” Taking a deep breath, I looked down at Atom. “Okay, I’m going to help you. Just breathe, alright?”

I placed my free hand on Atom’s cheek, lightly brushing it with my thumb as I moved the knife towards the side of his neck. I slowly slid the blade into his skin, pulling it out just the same.

As Atom slowly bled out, I continued to comfort him as best as I could at that moment. Finally, Atom stopped moving and I knew he was gone. 

Looking up, I was met with Bellamy’s sorrowful eyes. It was at that moment that I realized I had been crying, a droplet of salt falling into my mouth. 

I quickly wiped my eyes with my free hand before wiping the bloody knife on the ground and handing it back to Bellamy. “We should get him back to camp, bury him with the others.”

…

Finn, Wells and Clarke had soon found us and helped us get Atom’s body back to camp. I hadn’t spoken the rest of the way back, knowing if I opened my mouth I would only start to cry again.

The camp gate was quickly opened upon our arrival, Clarke rushing ahead of us and demanding quick action in making Jasper’s medicine. Bellamy ordered a few of the delinquents to get Clarke anything she needed, while Wells headed off to dig a grave for Atom.

Across the camp, I watched as Octavia exited the dropship. She chatted with Clarke for a moment before her face sunk and she yanked herself away, rushing over to myself and Bellamy.

“Octavia, just stay back, please,” Bellamy commanded.

“Why?”

Octavia attempted to push past Bellamy, only to fail. Upon her second attempt, she managed to get past him, her eyes quickly falling on the body whose face was covered by a jacket. She got on her knees and looked at her brother before looking back to the jacket, slowly lifting it.

Octavia let out a small gasp, tears swelling in her eyes. “Atom.”

Bellamy frowned, reaching over to touch her. “There was nothing I could do.”

“Don’t!” Octavia hissed, shoving his hand away before standing up.

“O, please let me explain-”

“I said don’t.”

With that, Octavia ran off towards the dropship.

Soon Murphy approached, earning a sigh from Bellamy. “Did you lose anyone here today?” He asked.

“No.”

“Jasper?” I asked.

Murphy glared at me. “Still breathing, barely.” He turned his attention back to Bellamy. “I tried to take him out but your psycho little sister-”

Bellamy quickly shoved Murphy before grabbing the collar of his shirt.

“Bellamy-”

“My what?” Bellamy asked before raising his voice even more. “My what?”

“Your little sister,” Murphy mumbled, shoving Bellamy off of him.

Bellamy nodded. “Yeah, that’s right. My little sister. Got anything else you want to say about her?”

Murphy stared at Bellamy for a moment before shaking his head. “Nothing, sorry.”

I watched as Bellamy looked Murphy up and down. Finally, he nodded his head towards Atom’s body. “Somebody get him out of here.”

With that, Bellamy stormed off towards his tent.

…

Later that evening I sat on the top level of the dropship where Jasper was resting. Finn took a swig of an old bottle of alcohol he had found before offering it to Monty. Monty refused, passing it to Octavia instead.

“Smooth.” He coughed.

Octavia took a sip, her face instantly crinkling. “Disgusting. I love it.”

She offered the bottle to me and I shook my head. “I’ve got guard duty later.”

“Can I, uh, get a hit of that?” A small voice spoke up.

We all looked over, Jasper’s head poking up slightly from the make-shift bed. He was smiling slightly, his eyes fixated on the bottle.

“Jasper!” Octavia cheered, rushing to his bedside.

Monty smiled, also rushing over. “Let’s start with the soft stuff.”

Finn and I joined the group. “Welcome back, buddy.”

“Was that a dream or did I get speared?”

“You’ll have a very impressive scar to prove it.” I turned my head, noticing Clarke had joined up. She was smiling, though I could tell she had been crying.

“My saviour.” Jasper smiled.

Clarke chuckled slightly. “Thank you for not dying. I don’t think I could’ve taken that today.”

“I’ll try not to die tomorrow too, if that’s cool.”

Clarke smiled, a newfound gleam in her eyes. “Sounds like a plan.”

~

next chapter

[turning-dreams-into-chaos]

Banished (Part 37)

*Not my Gif*

~Banished Master~

Summary: When the 100 was sent to the ground, Y/N Y/L/N was one of them. Having been locked up for almost 8 years, how will she react to surviving on Earth? Especially when she gets banished…

Post Date: 3-4-20

Paring: Bellamy Blake x Reader

Word Count: 4.8K

~Master~

~The 100 Master~

*Based off episode 3x08 of the 100, Terms and Conditions*

Bellamy and Pike made their way up the lookout tower to where Hannah was stationed, looking out over the wall. “Sir, we lost contact with one of the recon teams.” She told them when they were up. Bellamy shook his head, sighing deeply.

“There were four men.” He reminded Pike who spared him a glance before Hannah continued talking. She explained what she believed was happening, the blockage being established as well as the missing recon team engaging in the grounders, they found less than a mile outside the camp.

Another man on lookout interrupted their conversation, getting the three to look out at 2 grounders approaching in the distance. “They have a message; I’ve seen this before.” Bellamy told Pike who stood confused before shouting to the men below him to open the gate.

The grounders arrived at the gate, Bellamy on the ground to greet them. Their masks sat heavy on their faces, covering their mouths as they directed their horses into place. “We seek the one you call Pike.” One of them said as Bellamy stared them down. “An army has fallen, blood soaking the earth where he took their lives.”

“Welcome to the war against Skaikru.” Bellamy told them bitterly. The grounders demanded justice, telling them their justice came in the form of Pike’s death. But Pike wasn’t going to give his life up to some grounders.

“By order of the Commander, you have been surrounded by an army of the 12 clans. If anyone attempts to cross the blockade, warriors wait to kill.” As if to prove their point, they dropped a sack, inside the heads of the missing recon team following out. “We’ll greet them as we did those we caught today.”

Bellamy’s eyes were somewhat wide as he looked between the grounders and the heads by their feet. Pike tried to get Bellamy to fall back inside the walls, weary of the fate that currently affected the two of them speaking to the grounders, but Bellamy just shook his head. “They won’t leave.”

“Choose the side that’s best for your people!” One of the grounders spoke solidly as Bellamy took a second, his hand resting on top his gun.

“I do that everyday.” He mumbled seconds before shooting two bullets, each one going in a grounders head. They fell against the back of their horses with a thud as the animals took off, the recently deceased bodies laying on top of them. “Close the gate!” Bellamy yelled to the men operating the door when he turned around, heading back inside.

The mess hall was fairly empty as you sat there, running your finger over the rim of a glass when Raven took the seat across from you. She didn’t say anything, just sitting there with a content smile, making you uncomfortable. “What can I do for you Raven?”

“More like what can I do for you.” She replied as you raised a brow, taking another swig of the drink in front of you. She just sat there, that same look on her face despite your apparent discomfort. “Do you still have that chip Jaha gave you?”

Your eyes widened before you narrowed them, leaning onto the table to get closer to her. “How did you know about that?” She just shrugged, scooting forward in her seat.

“Have you thought about taking it?” She asked rather innocently, trying to move past your question.

“I haven’t.” You told her, stretching out the words with curiosity before the smile on her face finally made sense. “Raven, for the love of god please tell me you didn’t take it.”

Her grin only widened as she nodded. “I did.” You fell silent, not sure what to do before clearing your throat. You asked her, making sure no one could hear, how she felt. “Amazing. The pain in my leg is gone, Y/N. I feel unstoppable.”

In all honesty, she made it sound comforting. Jaha said it would erase your pain, and now if she truly took the chip you could ask her. Maybe you erase the recent pain of knowing Lexa was gone. You opened your mouth to speak, but instead of words coming out, you heard two gunshots coming from the front gate. “What the hell?” you asked, glancing to where a few people were leaving as you stood up. Raven just stayed put when you turned back to her. “Are you coming?” you asked as she shook her head. You shuddered before leaving her at the metal table alone and heading out of the mess hall.

Raven watched you race out as she tapped her fingers against the surface. A presence, unseen to the rest, hovered over her, watching you as well. “Keep trying.” A.L.I.E. said. “She’ll join eventually.” Raven nodded, getting up and heading out of the mess hall using the other door.

The sun hit your eyes as you blocked it, finding a crowd of people talking frantically. You only heard bits and piece of their conversation, but from the sound of it, a blockade was put around the camp and Bellamy shot two grounders.

“Y/N!” You heard shouted behind you as you spun around seeing Kane motioning for you from the Ark ship. You took one last listen to the group before jogging to catch up to Kane. “Do you know what happened?” you told him what you knew as he chewed on his nail, his pace increasing momentarily before realizing he was gaining unwanted attention.

You entered Kane’s room, taking a seat on his bed as if it was normal. Kane sat at the table, his leg bouncing. In the silence, you couldn’t help as your thoughts wondered, and of course the first place they went was to Bellamy. You didn’t know if you regretted sleeping with him. It all happened so fast and you weren’t at all expecting it. Kane glanced up at you, seeing you taut brows.

“What are you thinking about?” He asked, rubbing his beard with his hand. You groaned lightly, the crease in your forehead never leaving.

“Nothing… Everything?” you admitted.

Kane took a shot in the dark. “Bellamy?”

You groaned louder, pressing the palm of your hands against your eyes. “I’m not having this talk right now.” You told him as you sat up onto your elbows, glaring at him playfully. Kane just chuckled at you, raising his hands in the air. “It doesn’t matter, there are more important things to worry about.” You believed your words truly. Bellamy just signed the blockade death order and here you were worried about sleeping with him.

“That’s not true. Come on, tell me what’s on your mind.” He seemed genuine as you hesitated, moving to sit up.

“I don’t want to have the dad talk, okay? But I will tell you.” He felt a weight in his stomach at your words, seeing the way this was affecting you. He nodded, letting you take the floor. “I slept with Bellamy.”

“Oh.” He went into shock. He didn’t know how to reply to that at all.

You rubbed your arm gingerly, already ready for a change in conversation as the door swung open, Miller and Harper rushing in. Harper looked between the two of you, seeing the look on your faces. “Did we interrupt something?” she asked kindly.

Kane wanted to say yes, he felt protective of you when he heard of you and Bellamy, despite the knowledge you wouldn’t want him to feel like this.

“No, you didn’t.” you almost shouted as you scurried off the bed, happy the two came in at that moment. Miller didn’t see anything wrong as he sat next to Kane, pulling out the radio.

“Pike’s in another meeting.” You and Harper exchanged glances, moving to sit on the bed together. Miller turned the radio on and right away you could hear Pike’s voice, making you roll your eyes. They were talking about trust, not being able to trust anyone outside of the room they’re in. You listened as Pike put Monroe and Lacroix’s deaths on you all, unknowingly of course. He wanted you all pay, no matter how.

The meeting ended as the listening device was turned off. “If they’re gonna play that game, we’ll play too.” Kane said as you bit your lip, your brows taking permanent residence in a furrowed position.

“What do you mean?”

Kane turned to look at you. “We don’t meet here anymore. We change patterns, forget habits. Assume there are eyes on us at all times.”

Harper scoffed. “Why don’t we just shock-lash Pike’s fascist ass then give him to the grounders?” Harper suggested. You found yourself chuckling and nudged Harper, getting her to grin slightly.

Kane glared at you as your smile fade like a kid being chastised. “Because that would be murder, not to mention treason. That’s not who we are.” Your eyes slowly pulled up, feeling that last sentence was meant specifically for you, and by the way Kane was looking at you, it was.

“Maybe it’s who we need to be.” You whispered sharply, Harper and Miller looking between the two of you as Kane said not yet. “Fine. Then I assume you have a plan?”

You spent the rest of the afternoon in a different room waiting for Octavia to radio in, switching channels every so often in case she was on those. Kane came in after a while of you being alone, seeing you seated crisscross on a table. Your eyes were somewhat closed as you absentmindedly scanned through the channels, just waiting for some sign Octavia was out there. Kane pulled a blanket around your shoulders, and you gave him a lazy smile, leaning your elbow onto your knee and pressing your chin in your palm.

“Any luck?” he asked as you shook your head, pushing the radio away.

“If she’s out there, she’s not on.” He nodded as you curled into the blanket.

“So, do you want to talk about earlier?” he seemed uncomfortable as you tilted your head, unsure of what he was talking about. “Bellamy?” You made an ‘o’ shape with your mouth as you realized what he was getting at. He didn’t know how to begin this conversation and by the awkward look on your face, neither did you. But he needed to know how to protect you. “So, you slept with him.”

“Yeah?” You didn’t mean for it to come out as a question, but that didn’t change the fac it did.

“… Do you have feelings for him?” This was as awkward for you as it was for Kane and you knew it.

“I said I didn’t want to have the dad talk.” You reminded him as he nodded.

“I know, but for me?” He almost pouted his lip as you groaned.

“I don’t know Kane. Right now, it’s complicated. I just want to get past this whole thing with Pike. Then I’ll discuss the fact I’m in love with him.”

Well shit. You’re in love with him.

You hoped Kane didn’t catch your words but by the way the color drained from his face, he heard you. There was a knock on the door before it swung open, Harper and Miller entering to yet another awkward conversation.

“Anyone followed?” Kane asked, seeing the gears in your mind turning and the crisis in your eyes. Miller said he was fine before everyone took a seat, hearing Pike in another meeting.

They were planning a plan B, the ammo they have not being enough for many fights. Their new plan consisted of an assault team doing damage to a grounder encampment not far away from you all. Your heart sped up in fear as you listened, knowing that the retaliation of this attack would be stronger than you’ve ever experienced.

“We need to disable that rover. It doesn’t matter how many Grounders they kill, 10 times that will attack on Arkadia. No one will survive.” Kane told you all as the radio cut out. Harper spoke up, asking him if he had any idea what to do. Kane paused, thinking for a second before an idea came to mind.

Little did you know, Pike found your bug.

You took a walk through the hangar, coming to a stop and leaning against the wall. From across the room you saw Kane sitting in a chair, thumbing through a book as he glanced up at you. You pressed the com in your ear, turning it on and sending a soft nod towards Kane before focusing on Sinclair. He had just slid under a car, beginning his fake job when you saw Bellamy walk into the room. He started towards Sinclair as you spoke into the com.

“Sinclair, Bellamy’s coming your way.” Sinclair quickly pulled the com out of his ear, shoving it into his pocket. Bellamy caught your eyes from across the room as you ducked away, making him pause when he realized you where in on whatever was happening. He took a look around the room, seeing Kane reading his book before stopping at Sinclair.

“Sinclair, what are you up to?” He asked as Sinclair slid out from the rover and came to stand on his feet. Sinclair lied to him, telling Bellamy Raven told him the solenoid was acting up. Bellamy nodded, pretending to listen. “You got a work order for that?”

You watched from behind a stack of shelves, on alert as Bellamy glanced over Sinclair’s shoulders, seeing you worried. “Sure I think it’s on my desk.” Not a moment later, Sinclair took off running. In your head, you told yourself it was all part of the plan, but deep down something felt off. Almost like something was going to go wrong.

As you watched Sinclair run off, you tried to get a guess on the amount of people Pike had working for him before you realized you lost track of Bellamy. You were about to make a move to find him before you heard Kane’s shouts coming from his side of the room. You eyes shot to the predicament, seeing Kane holding back some new guard who tried to stop Sinclair with his shock baton.

No one expected that to happen for the moment his arms was in the arm to strike Sinclair, Kane was on him, holding him back. But unfortunately for Kane, that put him in the crossfire. He was going to get arrested.

Now that was not part of the plan.

You watched the men grab Kane and Sinclair’s hands, pulling them behind their backs as Hannah conducted the arrest. You needed to help him. You didn’t know how or what you were going to do but you needed to help him. The plan relied on him not being incarcerated.

You barely got your first step in before a hand grabbed your upper arm, pulling you back. Worried it was someone meant to arrest you, you spun around with your fist in the air to punch them. Yet when you turned around it was just Bellamy and he caught your fist.

“Don’t.” He told you, glaring into your eyes. You didn’t know what he was talking about until his eyes flickered. You followed them, seeing Kane glance back at you briefly as he was being led away.

That’s when realization dawned on you. “You know.” You whispered barely loud enough for it to be coherent. Bellamy was unfazed, his grip on you not faltering in the utmost. You turned slowly, making Bellamy slightly uneasy by the way you looked at him with narrowed eyes. “You know.” You repeated.

He swallowed back his nerves, pulling you to the side and out of anyone’s line of sight. “Y/N, just listen.”

You tried to pull your arm from him, ripping his fingers away from your skin. “Don’t touch me! Don’t you fucking touch me!” You didn’t care if Bellamy was trying to help you, you wanted to help Kane and Bellamy was making that hard.

“Y/N, I couldn’t-“

“You know what happens when they arrest Kane!” You interrupted him, pushing against his chest to separate yourself from him. “You know what’s going to happen to Sinclair! You know Lincoln is gonna be killed!” Bellamy didn’t fight back your pushes, but he didn’t let you go so easily, making you look into his eyes. Bellamy couldn’t tell if you were crying or just shouting at him, but either way it hurt him. Your pushes slowed to a stop, and Bellamy loosened his grip, see your E/C eyes moving up to look at him. “You knew I would be…”

Arrested? Sentenced to death for treason? Why not, it’s what they did on the Ark.

Bellamy nodded. “I wasn’t going to let you get arrested again.” His hands moved down your arms until he could hold your hands, your fingers lazily entangling his.

You took a deep breath, looking at your hands. The sight put you into a trance before reality snapped you back and you tore your hands away, taking a few steps back with a shake of your head. “Well hooray for you Bellamy, saving the damsel. There’s just one problem. I don’t need you to save me.”

Bellamy watched you stormed off; your eyes locked on the ground with the extra pound in your step. Bellamy didn’t know how to handle this. He knew there were no winners here. And he knew you weren’t going to give up that easily. Without a second thought, he slammed his hand against the wall, the noise attracted some people’s stares, but he paid them no mind, walking straight past them.

Miller and Harper met back in the room. Harper was pacing around the room as Miller sat on the couch, leaning forward onto his knees. “Did you see Y/N?” Harper asked, looking to the door every few seconds in hopes you’d walk in.

“After everything, I didn’t. She get arrested?” Miller asked after the 10th minute of you not showing up.

“Oh god!” Harper’s eyes went wide as she stopped pacing, falling into a chair. You finally reached the door, knocking once before throwing the door open. Both teens were on their feet as you busted inside, out of breath and leaning against the door.

“It’s just me!” You told them, putting your hands out. Harper pulled you in for a hug, a surprise for you as you hugged back. Miller gave you one as well, a even more shock as you regained your breath. “I kept feeling like someone was following me.” You told them, running your hand through your hair.

“What happened?” Harper asked.

“They got Kane too.” They both stood silent, contemplating what to do before Miller looked to you.

“So, what now?” They both looked towards you, it was as if they expected you to just hop into Kane’s position. But you weren’t Kane.

You had no idea what to do.

You took a second and a breath. “We keep going. Do the plan. It’s on us now.”

Meanwhile, Bellamy took to questioning Kane, but he wasn’t getting very far. “Come on Kane. Talk.” Kane stayed silent, cocking his brow at Bellamy who sighed, falling into a chair. “Then do it for Y/N. Think of Y/N.” It seemed to catch Kane’s attention as he shifted in his seat, his arms crossing in front of him and his jaw setting. After Kane’s silence stretched, Bellamy slammed his hand down on the table, standing up and leaving the room. Kane waited for the door to slam behind him before he took a deep breath.

Think of Y/N? That’s all ever does nowadays.

Bellamy stormed out of the room, Pike and Hannah talking as he approached them. “Any luck?” Pike asked but Bellamy denied such luck, saying that both Sinclair, who similar to Kane wouldn’t say a word, and Kane would speak soon and to put them both in lock up.

“On the ark, we would’ve floated traitors.” Hannah spoke up, gaining both men’s attentions. Bellamy gulped was Pike cut her off.

“We’re not on the ark.” He said before demanding the men be locked up.

Monty took it upon himself to check over the river, noting that there wasn’t a thing wrong with it. His mom watched him, listening to his grief about everything before telling him the only right choice is the one that helps you survive.

Bryan was used as a spy in his own room as he opened the door, seeing Miller staying there. They talked, shared a lot of kisses, but Bryan’s mind was elsewhere. Instead of being focused on his boyfriend, all he could think about was how he was going to be betraying him. They fought about Pike, as usual before Bryan set off, tossing Miller his coat with the planted bug before leaving.

“The bug’s in place?” Bellamy asked Bryan as he walked into the room him and Monty were sat in. Bryan averted his eyes, nodding solemnly as he thought of his boyfriend.

“It’s in his jacket. I don’t think he knows.” Bellamy pulled his lips into a thin line of a smile, sending it towards Bryan when he called him a good man. Bryan just furrowed his brows. “Am I? Is this worth lying to someone I love?”

“It is if you’re protecting him.” Bellamy countered but Bryan just shook his head, meeting his harsh gaze.

“Unless I’m the one he needs protection from.” Bryan mumbled he tugged on the sleeve of his jacket. “I assume you put a bug on your girlfriend then?” Monty who stood by silently through the whole ordeal saw Bellamy clench his jaw at the mention of you in such tone.

“Let’s go tell Pike.” Monty suggested, pulling the two men out of their staring contest and Bryan and Monty turned to leave. Bellamy though, took a second, beginning to reconsider his side momentarily. He could never put a bug on you, no matter who’s side he’s on. So maybe he knew he was on the wrong side.

Tensions in lock up were high with Sinclair, Kane and Lincoln as well many grounders. Sinclair walked along the wall to where Kane was before settling onto the ground next to him. “You weren’t supposed to be in here.” He mumbled quietly.

“No, my good friend, I was not.” Kane eyed the guards, seeing them switch their shifts as he rested his head back against the cold wall behind him.

“So, what now?” Sinclair asked him. Kane thought about it, seeing Bellamy leave the room and sighing.

“We keep going.”

When time came, the one you decided earlier, Sinclair called Bellamy back into the cell telling him Sinclair was ready to talk. As for you, you went searching for Pike, finding him in the Hangar bay.

“Thanks for meeting me.” You told him, standing in front of him. Pike nodded, a small surprised look on his face.

“I’ll be honest, I thought Kane would’ve spoken to me first.”

You scoffed, biting the inside of your cheek. “Well, he’s kind of arrested. Guess I’ll have to do.”

“I hope you’re ready to negotiate the terms of your surrender.” You had to hold back another scoff as you looked at the chancellor.

Bellamy approached the bars to lock up, coming to where Sinclair stood. “You’re ready you talk?” He asked Sinclair who agreed, questioning what Bellamy wanted to know. “Everything.”

You crossed your arms in front of you. “Kane told me a little about you.” You said, referring to conversations you’ve had to set your plan in place, really you just needed to remember the points Kane was going to make to stall time. “He said on the ark you were a teacher telling kids about our future. The responsibility of being on the ground. So why, Pike, are you taking this side?”

“We didn’t start this war, but we will damn sure finish it.” He started to walk past you but you stopped him.

“You should’ve lost that vote, Chancellor.” Pike didn’t miss your use of venom in his title. You were angry, a chancellors job is protect their people not sign their death certificates.

“But I didn’t. Because I know what’s best for us.”

“You’re gonna get everyone killed. Can’t you see that?”

“What do you know? You’re a child.” He finally pushed past you but you weren’t letting up, yelling after him.

“And yet I know more about surviving down here than you do. Than any of you do.” You knew the time was coming if Sinclair had succeeded so as you yelled at him, you ran after, standing only a feet away.

Sinclair began bargaining with Bellamy, asking for immunity as Lincoln began pacing behind him. “The cowards make a deal to save their own skins.” He muttered, eying Sinclair and Bellamy’s conversation. Bellamy taking a more authoritative stance told him to be quiet, but he didn’t listen. “Can’t defeat the enemy at the gate so you turn on your own people.” Bellamy ordered him to be silent one more time but Lincoln came closer to Sinclair, pressing his chest to his back. “I’m not the one who needs to be silent. You’ll tell them nothing.”

Bellamy yelled Lincoln’s name as the man threw Sinclair to the ground, standing over him. “Cover me!” Bellamy told the other guard as he jumped into lockup, trying to diffuse the situation. Only, as soon as he was inside, he heard Lincoln scream at the other grounders.

They were escaping, and Bellamy fell for it.

Pike was about to speak before the P.A. system butted in. “All units to Lockup!” The man’s voice said as Pike raised a brow at you.

“I don’t suppose you have anything to do with this?” His question was rhetorical as he knew you did.

You smirked at him. “Actually, I do.” You pulled out the shock lash you stored in your pocket and struck Pike with it, sending him to the ground unconscious.

“It worked! You’re all clear, the guards have their hands full.” Harper spoke into the comm in your ear as you let out a shaky breath. If you had known Monty was listening in, that sigh wouldn’t have been as relieving. “The gate’s open Y/N. It’s all you.”

You put Pike in the back of a rover, hoping in the front. You had never driven before but Miller gave you an overview and soon you were off. You hit a couple boxes, sending them flying but pushed on until the open gate was in your view.

You were home free.

Until Bellamy stepped in front of the gate. You slammed on the brakes, coming quite close to Bellamy but not hitting him. Bellamy’s face fell when he saw you driving, not Miller or Harper, but you.

“Get out of the way Blake!” You shouted at him. He just stood there, staring at you before Pike stirred in the back.

“Should’ve killed me when you could.” His laugh was filled with spite at your defeat, but you didn’t react, only looking at Bellamy’s disappointed face.

“Don’t think I won’t.” You mumbled as you saw guns being pointed at you, but not from Bellamy. You put your hands in the air and the back of the Rover opened, a pair of guards helping Pike out. Your door opened as Bellamy helped you out.

He pulled you close to him as he whispered in your ear. “What are doing?”

You looked up at him, the closeness having such familiarity, but this time you didn’t kiss him. “You can’t save me Bellamy.”

You were led to the interrogation room, your hands pulled behind your back. It felt like the first time you were arrested. Only this time you didn’t kill a man, but you should’ve.

Pike stood in front of you, his feet spread apart with his arms crossed. “As you know, the terms of martial law and of the Exodus Charter give me both latitude and ultimate authority in determining your punishment.” Your eyes met Bellamy who stood against the wall, a hand covering his mouth and worried breaths. Pike spared Bellamy a glance before focusing back on you, sat in a chair. Your face was emotionless, not a frown nor smile on your face as Pike went on.

“I hope you believe that if I thought for one minute that turning myself over to the enemy would secure the safety of our people, I would do it, but only a deluded man would believe that.” Bellamy watched him, the man he believed was right, but right now as Bellamy listened to this speech tell of your future, he felt his whole-body shake. And yet you showed no reaction and let Pike move on with his words. Bellamy didn’t know what Pike was going to do with you, but he hoped it wasn’t what he assumed. “Y/N YL/N, for the crimes of treason, kidnapping, and attempted murder,” Bellamy found himself standing straighter, his hands falling to his sides fast when he took a step forward, mentally pleading that Pike wouldn’t finished his sentence. That you’d get one more chance. That this wasn’t the end for you. “I hereby sentence you to death.”

Bellamy couldn’t breathe.

A/N: So, yeah! Tell me what you think! For those of you not in my little loop on here, I’m taking a break for a little while so THE NEXT CHAPTER WON’T BE POSTED NEXT WEEK! Even though I’m not going to be on, I love asks, so feel free to drop some in my ask box! Love you all! Hope you enjoy! Sorry this is so freaking long lol

What did you think?

*Reblogging with Banished tags*

Permanent: @literal-fand0m-trash @just4muggles @saturn-aka-six @nathaliabakes @whyamihere-bro @colored-confetti @wiseeggspickleslime @btsiguess-kpop @galacticstxrdust @independentgirl @wellhellotherelovey @hollymac79 @delicately-important-trash @emcchi @rauwz @herondalescecilys

Bellamy: @jodiereedus22 @nyxxxwtp @danielabetancourth

[fallout-fucker]

Commonwealth Unsolved: Part One, The Museum of Witchcraft

"Today on Commonwealth Unsolved, we're going to be taking a look at the strange and unsettling Museum of Witchcraft as part of our ongoing investigation into the question: Are ghosts real?" The first ghoul starts boldly, his voice crisp and distinct, yet strangely soothing, a voice used to narration. The second ghoul rolls his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief, making the first grin. "You don't seem very open to the idea, Shane."

"We've been asking this for over 200 years. Ghosts don't exist, Ryan." Shane drags, making a point to say Ryan's name back to him sarcastically, in retaliation to his own being used. The smaller man laughs, messing with the microphone he'd fixed to his Pib-Boy.

"And after all we've seen, you still don't believe in ghosts? Not even a little?"

"What? What have we seen? We live in the apocolypse, there's nothing to see but dead people and junk." Ryan wheezes, grinning from ear to ear as he looks at his partner.

"What if some of those dead people are ghosts now? Waiting for us to go to the museum to find them?"

"What? Every single ghost? There's just a hoarde of dead people who have nothing better to do for the rest of eternity than wait for us to visit them? What are they waiting for? A 'come back to life soon' card?"

Ryan breaks into a fit of laughter, shaking his head, "That's not what I-" He cuts himself off, wheezing and choking slightly. Shane joins him a little, cracking his own smile and hint of a chuckle. Once Ryan calms down a little, however, he clears his throat. "Let's just get into it," He begins. "Built in 1972, Salem's Museum of Witchcraft was built in remembrance to victims killed during the Salem witch trials which began in 1692. Over 300 years later, the museum is now a breeding ground for rumours and a hot spot for what people claim as 'strange activity'. A reliable source from the Commonwealth's Great Green Jewel itself states that 'something bad went down there' recently, despite it being 'abandoned'."

"How'd you get into Diamond City?"

"Well I couldn't go in, I was chatting to one of the-" Ryan stops himself abruptly, "I mean, my source- Just outside the city walls, you know near all the turrets and arrows?" He says, gesturing with his hand slightly in a circular motion.

Shane laughs. "Way to almost get your 'source' in trouble there, Ryan. It wasn't Piper, was it?"

Ryan shakes his head. "No, it wasn't Piper." He smiles. "Even if it was, I wouldn't tell you," He shifts, changing the subject, "But I am talking to her about that- That other thing, you know for the other episode later? Well, I guess it's two other things-"

The taller ghoul nods his head. "Ah, yes, the mysterious two other things."

Ryan snorts, "Fuck off."

Shane snickers. "Okay, okay, other than ghosts, what do you think could be in the museum? And don't say aliens." He says, pointing his finger at Ryan and eyeing him accusingly.

"I don't know- An animal maybe? Some raiders? That's what some people have been theorizing. Maybe it's a Deathclaw?"

"It's not a Deathclaw-"

"What if it is-"

"Well then, we're as- We're as good as dead- Look, if it's a Deathclaw, I will eat my own boot, how's that?"

"Deal." Ryan smirks, shaking Shane's hand. The other man couldn't look more done with him. Ryan presses the stop button on the device attached to his arm, pausing the holotape's recording of them.

The air is cold and bitter, Ryan can see his breath turn to mist in front of him as he hugs himself tighter. One of the worst things about being a ghoul is the increased chance of illness and also increased chance of fatality from said illness, so he's not exactly grateful for the cold Autumn air. It worries him that he might catch a cold.

The orange and brown leaves on the ground crunch beneath his feet as him and Shane walk closer to the side of the Museum, stopping when they see the mutilated corpse of what looks like a Gunner.

"Well it's a good job we're in a graveyard." Shane quips. Two hundred years ago he may have been a little more sensitive and considerate, and more likely to throw up at having seen a dead body. Fortunately for them, though, living through two centuries of irradiated wastelands gets you used to seeing dead bodies enough to gain a morbid sense of humour rather than going numb upon every corpse you come across or create. "Holy moly, there's a stash!" Shane reaches around one of the graves and fiddles with a hollow rock, pulling out some ammo, a rifle, and a note. Another thing that surviving the apocolypse teaches you is how to be good at spotting hidden stashes, something Shane and his beady eyes have always been good at since day one. Ryan sums it up to his height, being tall's gotta help you spot things.

"What's the note say?"

Shane shrugs. "Just someone named 'S' saying they missed their friend, 'E', at Megaton and left them some gifts."

"Megaton? That's all the way back in DC, right? Yeah, we lived there for a few years about- What? About ten years ago?"

Shane nods. "And I swear we found a rock outside Megaton with the exact same kinda note."

"Maybe the real mystery isn't the Museum, maybe it's who the Hell S and E are."

Shane laughs, pocketing the note and moving towards the Gunner. "Maybe." He bends down, searching carefully through their pockets and rucksack, pulling out more ammo, some caps, a pair of holotags, and a holotape. He holds the holotape up to Ryan, an eyebrow raised. Ryan shrugs and watches as Shane inserts it into his own Pib-Boy, listening carefully as the audio cackles to life. He winces slightly, audio recordings not being what they used to be, worn down and damaged now. You think he'd be used to it, but there's only so much you wouldn't miss from before the war. Sadly, clean audio was one of the many things he did find himself missing.

It starts with a woman's voice as she talks boredly about the job she and her crew had been assigned, teasing another Gunner about the job. Quickly though, the audio shifts, growing tense as the crew seem to spot something. The woman screams about her friend, Connor. "Where's the rest of him-?!" She cries, sending shivers down both of the ghouls' spines. Something roars in the background, sounding similar to that of a lion. The crew rush inside the museum, but the audio cuts off before they can find out what was chasing them. Shane and Ryan stare at each other. "Well, at least it's not a ghost."

They gave themselves a few minutes to clear their heads and look around a bit more in case there was something they missed. Shane had tried the front door but it had been locked and chained up, so they made their way into the basement from an entrance at the side of the museum instead which, thankfully, hadn't been locked.

They slowly stalk down the steps into the building as quietly as they can. The floorboards above them creak, making them freeze as small bits of debris crumple and fall from the ceiling. "Hey there, demons," Shane says quietly, trying to lighten the mood. "It's your favourite ghoul boys," He pauses to shine his light around the room. "Well I'm glad I don't have a nose because this place looks like it stinks." Ryan smacks his arm, shushing him. His heart pounds in his ears, Shane seems to get the message and shuts up a little.

They make their way through the first room reluctantly, looting whatever they need along the way. The building seems to shake every few minutes, like whatever is upstairs is large enough to make the earth shudder every time it moves.

The two men enter a small use-to-be-closet, and Ryan almost screams as a body that was poking through the boards of the ceiling gets dragged away by something. Shane's hand is over Ryan's mouth, the only reason he hadn't managed to scream, making sure not to alert whatever it is of their presence. He could feel Shane shaking slightly behind him. The taller man pulls his hand away, carefully stepping over a pool of blood and through a hole in the wall, he holds his hand out for Ryan, who takes it, still shaking as he too crosses over the blood. "Holy shit," He whispers, hand clutching the fabric of his shirt over where his heart is. "I can't breathe."

"You're okay." Shane pats his back gently, one of the few times he's ever actually this comforting is when something genuinely terrifying is happening and when they're most likely in danger. "We should go." Ryan nods, but before they can step back towards the hole in the wall, the beast moves again, this time its weight makes the ground below it collapse, and a mountain of bricks, wood, and other debris piles into the room, separating them from the exit. They both look up, staring at the ceiling. A quiet, unsaid realisation dawns on the both of them that the only other exit is upstairs. "Fuck."

The reluctantly make their way through the maze of rooms left in the basement, before reaching the final one. A body falls through a hole in the ceiling and Ryan yelps, quickly cut off by Shane's hand covering his mouth yet again. He feels the other drag him backwards then pause, listening silently. Nothing but quiet fills the museum.

A chill runs up Ryan's spine as he spots some mannequins in the corner, their eyes black and cold, matching black smiles painted on their faces. It feels like they're watching him and he prays the conspiracies surrounding the figures are nothing more than ghost stories. Above them is an old, broken staircase made from rotting wood. Something in him hopes they stay intact, unlike the upper floor that caved in a few rooms ago. He pushes Shane gently off of him, moving towards the staircase. He sucks in a breath as he tests the first few then signals for the taller man to follow.

As they ascend the creaking steps, a growl cuts through the silence, low and soft; the murmur of a beast. Shane and Ryan stare at one another, Ryan's eyes wide in fear whilst Shane's remain unreadable. The older ghoul moves in front of Ryan and places his hand on a door at the top of the stairs. Another sound comes from whatever's out there, this time a whimper. Almost sad. Almost... Broken? They have no time to consider it as Shane carefully opens the wooden barrier, shotgun in hand. It's now or never.

They stalk through the opening, eyes darting around. The first thing their eyes land on are more mannequins, just as creepy and unsettling at the previous ones. This time, however, they're set up in a way that depicts on old witch hanging, making it even worse. They make their way reluctantly through the exhibits, stopping when they hear a soft panting. From the cracks of a few walls, Ryan sees it. He grabs Shane frantically and points in its direction. It is, indeed, a beast. A reptile with large horns and large teeth to match, its signature deadly claws on display, blood dripping from them as it tears apart the body of a gunner. A Deathclaw, the thing of nightmares itself. Standing there, ripping apart its prey. Then, it stops. It moves slightly, snout tilting towards the ceiling as it sniffs. Ryan feels every inch of his body grow tense as the monster slowly turns towards him and his partner, beady eyes settling on them. Time slows, it feels like the Deathclaw stares at Ryan for forever, looking directly into his soul. Finally, time moves again, but Ryan wishes it hadn't as the Deathclaw roars, charging towards him. He runs left as Shane goes right.

The Deathclaw follows Ryan through a series of holes and exhibits as Ryan helplessly shoots at it. His heart pounds in his ears, Shane is nowhere in sight. Half of him feels thankful, knowing his friend is safe, but the other half wants to scream to him for help. He stumbles through another broken wall, grabbing a nearby mannequin and pushing it in front of the entrance before he continues sprinting. Behind him, he hears as the beast trips up on the statue, mid way through a roar that ends up as a pained whimper. The ghoul almost feels bad, but considering the Deathclaw has probably already laid out 50 ways it wants to rip apart, cook, chew him, and spit him back out again, he realises he doesn't feel too bad about it. He turns around to shoot it during its moment of weakness. The bullet hits it right in the torso, but it isn't enough, even as he realises some of his earlier bullets had also hit it. The Deathclaw is littered with wounds, both from his and, what he assumes is, the gunners' attempts to kill the beast. Ryan regrets his decision as the it bellows angrily. It's too fast for him to outrun and it quickly grabs Ryan by the leg. He screams as he falls onto his back, shooting rapidly at its face. His life flashes before him and tears well in his eyes as he resorts to kicking the Deathclaw with his free foot. His gun's out of ammo and he can't reach into his backpack for a backup whilst in this position. Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck. This is the end. It can't be the end. Not like this. Not after everything- Everything he's survived, a whole ass nuclear war and a 200 year old apocalypse and he's gonna die at the hands of a Jurassic Park actor. At least it'll be a cool death, right? Oh, God, Shane better make it out. But what will he do without Ryan? They've been a team for so long, what now? Is Ryan even okay dying without his best friend by his side? Where is he? Where's-

Shane's voice rings out loudly as he hollers, climbing atop of the reptile and grabbing it by the horns. He pulls at them, making its head turn, dropping Ryan in its shock. Ryan scrambles away, watching in a mix of horror and awe as Shane practically plays mechanical bull with the monster. The taller male kicks the Deathclaw in its jaw a few times before it goes to bite him. His eyes widen and he quickly retrieves his foot but not before the Deathclaw can claim his boot, leaving it clenched between its yellow and crimson dyed teeth.

After nearly an astonishing 30 seconds of clinging on, Shane manages to press the barrel of his gun right against the demon's skull before pulling the trigger, immediately killing it.

As it falls, so does Shane. He comes topping forward, collapsing onto the ground next to Ryan with a loud thud, a groan falling from his lips soon after. Ryan stares at him momentarily but then pulls himself up, stumbling towards the Deathclaw's corpse. He pulls Shane's boot from its open jaws, tossing it to him, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Get eatin'."

---

A little thing I’ve been working on! This is what the cryptic ‘Soon’ comment was about. I’ve had this idea for a while but just started writing it. Future fics in this series will include:

Investigation into the Institute, including an interviews with Piper Wright and Nick Valentine, and various theories about the crows and mannequins across the Commonwealth, as well as some political figures

Interview with the Man/Woman Out of Time

Investigation into Pickman Gallery

Investigating Alien Crash Landing

Haunted Insane Asylum Investigation and Rumours of a Mysterious Serum?

Investigation into the Railroad

Early days Appalachia Unsolved and The Hunt for The Infamous Mothman

Stories from DC Unsolved and New Vegas Unsolved

Investigation into the Strange Occurrences Surrounding Far Harbour

A discussion about meats in the Commonwealth that exist despite animals said meats are supposedly made from not doing.

An Interview with Mamma Murphy and Her Sight

Who Are the Children of Atom?

Investigating MedTek

A Discussion about Vault-Tec and Their Inhumane Experiments

And many more, if you have any ideas, leave a suggestion!