#plants is coming though so maybe i'll have 4 again and then the other 4 after that batch

[arrowheadedbitch]

Okay, I've officially seen the Mephisto death scene (though not the actual episode it happens, what can I say, I'm bad about seeking out spoilers) and I have to say, I'm not convinced.

You're seriously telling me that they killed off a fan favorite character and WEREN'T planning to reveal that he survived in the next season they thought they were getting? Don't make me laugh. It is shown time and time again that the twins have a teleport away spell, it's a perfectly planted scapegoat to explain how he got away! Even from the first episode, we see the twins teleport away just as a blast is about to hit them, I don't think this is any different.

I am ONE HUNDRED percent sure the plan was to reveal Mephisto was never dead and I have a knack for calling this kind of thing so just trust me, all right?

And this isn't just denial talking, could that blast have killed him? Yeah. But, he's not only a fan favorite character that many watchers liked more than the PRINCESSES, the perfect way for him to escape has been planned since his introduction!!

But, Praxina was clearly meant to be the villain in season 3, fighting Iris since she blames her for her brother's death, right? Yeah but that doesn't mean he's actually dead, just PERCIEVED dead

An explosion like that? There wouldn't really be any suspicion if they couldn't find his remains since he got magically blown up, there's no way to prove he died and since Prax literally watched him sacrifice himself for her, she would assume he was dead even if she couldn't find any evidence because...why wouldn't you? He exploded and didn't come back right away.

So where is he? Obviously, we don't know this since we didn't get season 3 but I'll share my guesses on the matter

1. He could be in a different kingdom

It's possible but I don't see it being what actually happened but him turning up in the kingdom of a princess who didn't help fight Gramorr and doesn't know who he is with amnesia and being her jester or something for a few episodes could be fun

2. He's at down near the wreckage where he supposedly died

He didn't have to have teleported far to have survived, and we don't know if anyone went down there to try and recover his remains, he could just be at the bottom and unconscious

3. He's in some random human's house

He teleported to earth with amnesia, some nice human took him in, probably a character who's just being introduced at the start of s3, and is nursing him to health as he tries to remember who the heck he is. I always liked how Mephisto had more knowledge about earth and humans in general than Prax so I'm not sure how I'd feel about this one to be honest

4. He's passed out in the woods

He teleported to earth, landed in a random forest near the cave the twins usually hang at, maybe unconscious, maybe just injured, maybe with amnesia, either they find him completely KO'd or he's living in the forest when they find him

5. He's in the cave

We have no reason to think Prax checked the cave the twins typically stay at, maybe he went there and passed out or something

6. He has amnesia

He's literally wherever and has amnesia, it's a classic. this would likely be thematically compared to when *Praxina* got amnesia and turned good for a while, temporarily forgetting who Meph is. Yes, I am aware of the overlap this has with other items on the list

7. He's low on magic

Maybe he used his last bit of magic to teleport away and with his current injured state he can't really do anymore, so he's stranded where ever her landed until he can get better, which is why he wasn't able to tell Prax he's okay

8. He's in a magic coma

I actually really like this idea. He teleported somewhere but he was injured and low on magic so he had to use an emergency spell to put himself into a magical sleep as he heals to, yknow, not die. He can be in any of the prior listed places for this, cave, woods, floor, I imagine the princesses would eventually find him and wake him up

These are the ideas I have right now

I imagine the conflict resolution would be a fight that is ended by Mephisto stopping Praxina and a reunion, as I can't really see Prax still wanting to fight LoliRock when she sees her brother safe and sound.

I can go more in depth on how I envision this going later but I have to get ready to go home now lol

[graves-doodles]

Look at my blushing fool i love him sm, ironically I always drew him as he is with the Garo mask on but he's so much more than that 😭

More Lore Dumping incoming

We all got the basics on this guy: Zelda? Bad. Ganondorf? Took him in yeah but bad. Link? 🤏 Lil fucked up because of them both and he cant talk, ugh awful, tragic

Now this is where it gets interesting. His whole plot comes from him going along with whatever is done to him, secretly becoming that wanted criminal while he hides as a hyrulian guard. So what happens to help escape this?

Well, Zelda is noticing that this new masked crook is silent. Almost like that kid she cursed into being. Who Ganondorf convinced her a while back to let him train and take in as one of the castle knights. So she summons Link and keeps him close to watch him.

Shenanigans happen where Ganondorf meant to send another different masked man to attack while Link is in uniform to protect Zelda and therefore the mask crook cant be Link, see?? Instead the timing of the hit is so wildly wrong and Link ends up protecting someone else instead 👀

Enter Shad. The guy who is single-handedly going to be the moral compass for our poor lil guy. Shad just walks around awe struck after being saved by this knight, and he then starts seeing Link being placed and thrown all over the castle in different positions.

Shad makes sure to always pass by to say hi, and Link finds it so enduring, but has no idea how to handle his emotions and ends up being our bashful boy.

Eventually they hit it off and Shad finds out about the whole "wearing a mask and sent out to kill people" thing and takes it really rough, but sticks by to get Link out of his situation. Absolute bro move 🤝

[yuna542]

[1]

>Bad Idea<

Pairing: Hong Woojin x Reader

Genre: Fluff, Angst, Enemies with benefits to Lovers

Warnings: 18+, under 18 DNI!, Fem!reader, Suggestive Themes, Swearing, pet names, jealousy, ANGST, blood, sexual assault, violence, mentions of sex, alcohol

Word Count: 9.1k

Note: Here we go. Wanted to write an Oneshot. It escalated and it became a Story with 4 Parts. Hope you like it and you are also obsessed over the show! It’s amazing!

Summary: As Gunwoos little sister he wanted you to finally meet his best friend. Unfortunately you don't get along. He gets on your nerves, you fight all the time and yet you can’t stop messing with each other. One evening you get into a dangerous situation and end up bruised and bloody at his apartment. And you suddenly have to ask yourself: Why do you feel so attracted to that idiot?

"What do you want me to say?" you breathed, struggling to keep your voice steady.

"What you feel," he replied, anger reflected in his eyes as well. He hated that he felt that way. That you had done this to him.

"I can't stand you," you replied, and every word hurt like someone was pressing red-hot iron against your skin. Maybe if you denied it, the feeling would go away on its own.

He came even closer, sparkling at you with mesmerising eyes.

"You don't mean that."

"You don't know what i mean. It's okay. Just leave! If I never see your face again, I'll be happy," you shot back at him, something inside you breaking more with each word. "I wish i never-" but he interrupted you by grabbing your hand.

"Don't say something you don't mean. Don't you dare," he growled.

Chapter 1:

The Idiot

„Gunwoo! Come on! Hurry up!", you shouted through your apartment, leaning on the doorframe, ready to leave.

Now your brother had already talked you into coming to a boxing match that wasn't his own, and now he was making you wait. You heard the rumble in his room and he was probably gathering his things in a panic so that you wouldn't change your mind at the last minute.

Beside the hustle you heard his cell phone ringing behind the door and he answered in a rush:

"Yeah... Yes we're on our way... See you soon."

Then he finally opened the door and ran into the kitchen to plant a kiss on your mom's cheek.

"We're off, Mom."

The woman with the same kind eyes as you and your brother turned from the stove and raised her finger.

"Just watch your little sister for me!"

You sighed loudly as your brother gave you a doubtful look and eyed you. You raised your eyebrows, as you would probably always be the little girl to your mother.

"I'm sure she can do that very well on her own," he said with a gentle smile and you snorted in amusement. But you were grateful that he didn't put you down.

Even though you were way shorter and narrower than your brother, most people had more respect for you. Or they were quickly intimidated. Unlike your reserved, polite brother, you stood out because of your confidence and cheeky manner.

If you didn't have the same eyes and handsome face, nobody would have guessed that the quiet muscleman and the little hothead were siblings.

"Come on now! Otherwise we'll be late!"

Gunwoo shoved his cell phone into his pocket and you waved goodbye to your mother as you disappeared through the door. As you walked down the stairwell, you could see your brother smiling conspiratorially.

"I thought you weren't interested in the boxing match."

"I am interested in your boxing matches. You're making me watch your friend's, aren't you?" you retorted, skipping the last two flights of stairs as you had always done.

Originally, years ago Gunwoo had told you that there was a monster lurking under the last staircase that would grab your ankles and pull you down into the basement if you weren't careful. When you were six you just stuck your tongue out at your brother who was four years older than you and called him a fool, but even today you skipped over them out of habit.

As soon as you stepped out into the fresh air, you took a deep breath. It was a summery day and the birds were chirping. Sitting in a stuffy hall all day, enveloped in the smell of sweat and blood had not been your plan.

"I just want you to finally meet Woojin! He's my best friend and a great boxer."

"Mhh," you replied, remembering the day a few months ago when Gunwoo had come home late from a fight and told you that he had been out to dinner with his opponent all evening.

You used to be his best friend. You shared everything, were always together and you even helped him train for his dream. But since this Woojin showed up, your brother only hung out with him and therefore you had little interest in getting to know him. It would be an understatement to say that you already disliked him without even knowing him.

"This is going to be great. Woojin has been training for today for a long time. I'm sure he'll rock it. And I'm sure you guys will get along great. You guys are actually very similar."

"Oh yeah?" you asked suspiciously, and Gunwoo just smiled knowingly.

-

"Watch it! Idiot," you hissed as you picked yourself up off the ground and rubbed your aching neck. The idiot who had just knocked you over was staring at you with wide eyes, completely frozen.

He had run around the corner unannounced and hit you full on. Not only was he quite a bit taller than you, but he was also broadly built and his chest, against which you had crashed, felt exactly like a wall.

Slowly he seemed to come back to reality and ran a hand through his curly mane, allowing you to see his earrings.

"Man shit! I'm really sorry about that. I didn't see you..."

"What you don't say..."

The amazed man held out his hand to help you stand up, but you ignored it. Irritated, you stood up on your own and patted your skirt while the curly-head still held out his hand.

"I was in a hurry and I just overlooked you. You're so small and light... Shit you really flew really far", he said almost enthusiastically and you scrunched your nose indignantly.

"Well, open your eyes next time, douche bag!" you snapped at him and he stared at you in surprise. He hadn't expected such a sharp tongue from such a pretty girl.

Then, fortunately, you spotted your brother at the other end of the hall, looking out for you with two bottles of Coke in his hands.

The one with the curls was now eyeing you more closely, and he was speechless as soon as you looked at him out of those shimmering eyes.

"Are you watching the boxing match?" he asked, putting on a confident smile.

"No... I just hang out here a lot. It's all full of testosterone-fueled machos and the air is so nice and stale around here."

Now there was silence again and you could clearly see in his face how he was weighing whether it was sarcasm or the truth.

"Really?" asked the rascal now and you just shook your head with a snort.

"You're really not very smart, are you?"

Maybe you weren't particularly nice, but he was getting on your nerves big time, with his handsome face that was sure to drive any other girl out of her mind.

He leaned down toward you with his hands in his pockets and grinned mischievously.

"You're quite bitchy, dollface."

"Fuck you!" you hissed at his provocation and stormed past him.

"I knew it was a mistake to come here," you muttered as you passed, not giving the macho another glance.

Instead, you disappeared among the people and joined your brother, who had gotten you into this whole mess in the first place.

"Where have you been?" he asked, handing you the Coke he'd gotten you. You brushed a strand of hair out of your face and together you stood at the entrance for the bleachers.

"Some idiot knocked me over."

"Oh. Are you okay?"

You nodded with raised eyebrows and leaned against his muscular shoulder.

"Yes ‚Oh'... I‘m fine.“

You hadn't been a fan of the idea of coming along to a boxing match from the beginning, but you had been to every one of Gunwoos fights and he had begged you to come along to his friend's fight until you had said yes.

Well, he had also bribed you with pizza and sushi, but in the end you said yes anyway. He was a boxer himself, so you already knew a lot about the sport. Most guys who boxed at your age were pumped-up, arrogant machos who had nothing but their sport on their minds. That's exactly what the idiot had just proven to you one more time.

"Trust me this is going to be really good today!"

"Let's see. If I don't get squished first."

The first rounds were indeed exciting, and you had to admit that you were soon eagerly following the fight and cheering along. But when the next fighters were announced, you froze in your seat.

The next up-and-coming boxer was announced as Hong Woojin, and Gunwoo applauded beside you as he entered the ring. As soon as the realization hit you, you gasped out loud.

This couldn't be true. As soon as you recognized the curly-haired man, you laughed in disbelief.

"That's him! That's my friend Woojin. He's unbeatable in his class!" your brother began to tell you excitedly, and you could only watch the muscular young man prance across the ring, provoking his opponent even before the fight began.

"That's the guy who knocked me down!" you said then and the start of the fight sounded simultaneously with the incredulous „What?", of your brother.

You had to bite your tongue as you watched the fight. Sweat glistened all over his toned body and with every punch, every tense, his defined muscles looked even more delicious. Gunwoo had been right. He was damn good at boxing and after an exciting exchange of punches, he won with ease.

His movements were fast and precise. Like a bee that stung when you didn't expect it.

Together you waited for him outside the locker room and when he came through the door and discovered your brother, his eyes shone with pure joy.

They fell into each other's arms, laughing, and Gunwoo patted him congratulatory on the shoulders.

It was almost cute how they jumped around clutching each other tightly and were happy like dogs who were allowed to play together in the park.

When they were done with their greeting, you cleared your throat loudly so they finally paid attention to you.

"Oh. Yeah. That's my sister, by the way. Y/N. This is Woojin," Gunwoo eagerly introduced you. Woojin stared at you wide-eyed as he recognized you, and you just pressed your lips together into a line.

"Hey."

You raised your hand and waved shortly at him.

"It's you?" he asked, perplexed, and you rolled your eyes at his disgusted expression.

"Believe me, I imagined it differently too," you said, walking ahead.

Over the next few weeks, you got to know each other better and, more importantly, you hated each other. Woojin was annoying and a pain in the ass. When you went out to eat together, you argued most of the time until Gunwoo intervened.

He teased you incessantly and enjoyed it when you glared at him angrily. It was a gift of his that within no time he knew exactly how to make you mad.

Nevertheless, you often went out together and did things as a trio, because despite your quarrels, you had one essential thing in common. Your love for Gunwoo. You had to admit that Woojin was a great friend to him and they got the best out of each other.

As much as your brother wanted you two to get along, that was probably never going to happen.

It was a few weeks later and you came up to the roof to check on the boys and let them know that dinner was almost ready.

They were working out again.

At the sight of Woojins muscle-bound torso, you swallowed hard. They lifted weights and spurred each other on until they spotted you.

Woojins gaze traveled up and down your body, lingering for quite a while on your cleavage, set off by the new dress you had just put on.

"Hey your sister is here!" he said and your brother put the weight down to look at you.

You walked over to them, trying to ignore Woojins intense stares. Maybe you should have changed your clothes. He always made fun of you, when you were wearing something more revealing so he could unsettle you. It was only a matter of time till he would make fun of you.

"Mom says dinner is almost ready."

Gunwoo nodded and grabbed one of the towels hanging over the back of the chair next to you, wiping the sweat from his forehead and chest.

Inconspicuously, you kept glancing at Woojin as he took the water bottle, his muscles pumped and tense from the workout and his hair stuck to his forehead.

It was outrageous how good he looked.

He pointed to the other towel.

"Dollface be so kind and give me that!" he said with a grin. He had given you that nickname at the very beginning and you didn't know exactly why, but you got heart palpitations every time he called you that.

Annoyed, you took the towel and threw it harder than necessary into his face.

"You're welcome," you purred provocatively, crossing your arms.

"Is that dress new?" asked Geunwoo, looking less than enthusiastic.

"Yes. Don't you like it?" you asked, looking down at yourself. It was a burgundy dress that was tight and came down to your thighs.

"Yes it does, you look good. It's just a little short, isn't it?" he said, protective brother coming through once again.

Woojin ran the towel over his abs and came closer until he was standing in front of you, eyeing you closely.

"I think it's cute. How did you know red was my favorite color?" he teased and you just rolled your eyes.

"Don't get your hopes up Woojin. Even if you were the last person on this earth, I wouldn't let you touch me."

"Ouch and I thought you were wearing those sexy outfits just for me."

Playfully shocked, he grabbed his chest and you wanted to wipe that annoying grin off his face.

"You should go take a shower... You stink," you shot back and turned around to disappear back into the house. That was a lie. In fact, he always smelled so good that you automatically wanted to move closer when he sat next to you. Even when he was sweating, he smelled seductively tart and masculine, which didn't help you loathe him.

"Is she on her period or why is she so sensitive?" he asked extra loudly so you could still hear.

In response, you just raised your middle finger and slammed the door behind you.

Another time, you wanted to watch a movie, but the argument over the remote control got so out of hand that Gunwoo had to pull you apart by force.

Woojin ended up with big scratches across his chest and you were missing a tuft of hair.

Sighing, Gunwoo had come between you and you sulked at each other for a week until your brother persuaded Woojin to apologize to you.

Secretly, you were grateful that the argument was finally over, so you invited them both to the cinema.

When you got the tickets and Woojin saw that it was the movie he'd been talking about for weeks, he'd just looked at you completely dumbfounded.

"I thought you hated horror movies, I have the taste of a preschooler and this was just another cheap copy..." he had whispered to you in the movie theatre and quoted your exact words from a few days ago.

You had just shrugged your shoulders.

"Maybe I've changed my mind."

Then the curtain went up and he had no chance to question you further.

Actually, you still hated horror movies and you wouldn't like this one either. But this was your way of apologizing without losing your pride.

When Woojin held out his bucket of popcorn to you without comment, you smiled in the darkness and took a handful.

That's how it continued to go. You didn't become best friends, yet you were constantly seen together. It had also become normal to go not only to Gunwoo's fights, but also to Woojin's. Especially when Gunwoo didn't have time because he had to help mom at the café, you would go to the fights alone.

When Woojin's eyes wandered through the crowd and he met yours, the corners of his mouth would automatically twitch upwards, as if he knew you would be there.

Even if it was just to laugh at him after a defeat or to poke him in the side on the way home when he got painful bruises. There was absolutely no middle ground with you both, constantly at each other throats, ready to pounce.

-

Chapter 2

The Party

It was a Saturday night when you were getting ready for a party. Half the town was invited and it was going to be a big event.

You checked your appearance in the mirror one last time and pulled your hair into place. You had half of it up and the rest fell in shimmering waves over your shoulders.

The dress was perhaps a bit daring with the emphasised cleavage and it was tight around your waist.

It artfully brought out your every curve and with the high boots and red lipstick, the black minidress looked much more expensive than it had been.

Glancing at your phone, you ran out of the bathroom and bounced right into something big and hard. Cursing, you staggered back, but two strong hands were already at your waist holding you down.

"I hate it when you do that..." you grumbled, looking up at Woojin through your thick eyelashes.

He was about to say something mean, you could tell by the glint in his eyes, but it got stuck in his throat.

Your eyes shone like diamonds, rimmed with eyeliner, that made you look like an attentive cat, and as his gaze traveled down your body, his mouth stood open as if he couldn't believe what stood before him.

He knew you as his best friend's annoying little sister, usually in sweatpants and comfy clothes when he was around, but right now you were a goddess whose presence he couldn't escape.

"Hello? Woojin?? Earth to Idiot?" you asked, waving both hands in front of his face when he didn't respond and also didn't let go of your hips.

Slowly, that brought him back to the here and now, and he looked into your eyes, caught, as if you'd saw him stealing cookies.

"Uh yeah? What did you say?" he asked and you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion.

What was wrong with him? You really had never seen him speechless before.

"I asked if you didn't have your own home?“

Gradually the teasing grin returned and he pinched your side lightly as his hands were still tightly closed around your waist. Your skin tingled strangely at the spot and even though your mind was literally screaming at you, you couldn't put any distance between you.

"What's the point when it's so much nicer at your place?"

You tilted your head a little and eyed him briefly. Surprised, you realized he wasn't dressed as casually as usual. He was wearing jeans, albeit ripped, and a dark red buttoned up shirt that sat tight against his biceps and chest. Slowly you realized what was going on here and you shook your head slightly.

Woojin just grinned wider as he saw the panic rise in your eyes.

"No. Oh no! No! GUNWOO!" you shouted almost hysterically and that's when he burst out of his bedroom door while still buttoning the last buttons of his blue shirt.

"What's the matter? What happened?" he asked, confused, looking back and forth between you.

Briefly, his gaze lingered on Woojins hands, which were still on your hips, whereupon he quickly took them away and clasped them in his neck.

"You're not coming to the same party! He just wants to embarrass me in front of my friends" you shouted, and Gunwoo put a hand on your shoulder reassuringly, but Woojin beat him to it:

"In fact, I've been invited, and Gunwoo is my companion."

Angrily, you glared at him and groaned in annoyance.

"You look gorgeous, by the way, dollface," he said, winking at you charmingly. You searched for sarcasm in his tone, but you didn't find it. Overwhelmed, you just stared at him and then walked away.

Your cheeks glowed and your hands cramped, forcing you to take a deep breath.

At the party, you immediately mingled with your friends and began to booze one drink after another. Bodies moved ungracefully around you, shimmying and shoving through to the living room or to the terrace at the back yard where people were throwing each other into the large pool. All these strange feelings were so confusing that you just wanted to drown them in alcohol. It was around midnight when you first saw your brother and Woojin again.

The older one was bringing a drink to a girl with long black hair and a pretty face. Next to her, Gunwoo was talking to her friend, and even though the alcohol was already clouding your vision, it was obvious that she was head over heels in love with the curly-haired boxer.

Directly something stung in your chest as he laughed at something she said and nudged her.

His hair shone like chocolate in the light and fell messily into his forehead. As the world spun around you and your friend's conversation slowly faded into the background, you stared at his hands for a while. The veins and pronounced knuckles had long fascinated you and you had rarely seen anything more attractive.

But when he put an arm around the girl, something similar to a growl crossed your lips.

You broke away from the circle with your friends without saying a word, and the plastic cup with the Coke-Vodka mixture in your hand crackled dangerously due to the way your fingers tightened around it.

You didn't know why or where this anger came from, but the alcohol prevented even a clear thought from breaking through the thick fog of rage.

As soon as you reached her, you changed your angle and stumbled into the girl with a really convincing startled "Oh". As you did so, you aimed accurately and the entire contents of your drink landed in the girl's face and on her light blue dress.

Shocked, she stumbled back a few steps and Woojin jumped to the side in time to avoid getting hit. With her mouth open, she wiped the burning alcohol from her eyes and you watched with satisfaction as the stain on her dress spread and her makeup ran as if a bucket of water had been poured on an oilpainting.

But from the outside you had a completely surprised expression on your face and held both hands in front of your mouth, to feign concern with your most convincing voice:

"Oh no! I'm so sorry about that! I shouldn't have drunk so much."

Stunned, the girl stared at you and you could see Woojin convulsively stifle a laugh at the angry expression on her face.

"Shit! What the hell!" she screeched at you, stomping like a little kid as she realized the extent of the disaster on her dress.

Gunwoo and the other girl watched silently, seeming to want to help but not daring to.

Woojin on the other hand, only looked at you. When your eyes met, he glared at you questioningly and he could have bet that the corners of your mouth twitched up in satisfaction for a moment.

Before you could fake a guilty conscience any further, she raced past you and disappeared somewhere in the direction of the bathroom.

Her friend ran right after her, and that's when Gunwoo turned to you and pulled you aside by the arm.

"What was that about?" he whispered as anyone around would care.

Of course he knew you did it on purpose. You couldn't hide anything from him. He knew you too well. Woojin crossed his arms and still said nothing. They both knew how much you could drink. You even drank Woojin under the table.

You just shrugged your shoulders unconcernedly and returned your brother's intense glare.

Yes, what was that all about? You had no answer to that. You were simply disturbed by the way the pretty girl looked at Woojin.

"It was an accident," you said unconvincingly, and now the amused smile came through after all.

"Don't bullshit me!" said Woojin and of course he had seen through your charade too.

But he couldn't even guess why you had done that. Maybe he thought you were crazier than he already supposed.

Astonished, he tried to read any answer from your facial features, but you were just as unreadable as usual. He never knew what was going on in your head and that made him curious.

You turned to him and leaned forward until your face hovered close to his.

"Oh. Did I mess up your one-night stand? I'm so sorry about that."

You smiled sweetly, your voice dripping with sarcasm. Woojin opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Instead, his gaze wandered aimlessly across your face.

Your noses were almost touching and the alcohol was messing up his mind. Your body in the dress was already hard to resist and he had been trying not to look in your direction all evening, even though he was almost addicted to the way you shifted your weight to the other foot, the way your curves endlessly flared under the thin fabric. If you weren’t so annoying…

Why had he never noticed how beautiful your nose was? How artistically your eyebrows were curved and how full your pink lips were?

Did they feel as soft as they looked?

"Now I guess you'll have to fill in for her. It would only be fair..." he murmured, narrowing his eyes.

You froze as his intense gaze drove heat into your cheeks. His eyes were fixed on your lips and you wanted to reply something provocative, but the amber around the black of his eyes shone so beautifully that you unconsciously bit your lower lip.

Of course, he was just teasing you, but something about his tone made you feel embarrassed.

Your fingers twitched and you fought the urge to brush the strand of hair from his forehead. You caught yourself, inches away from your face. You saw him, looking down at your lips, causing you to gulp loudly. You wanted to lean in, push away all the doubt you had in your mind, and follow your stupid heart.

It was only seconds, but the moment seemed to captivate you for an eternity. The music and the people around you only seemed like background noise by now.

"No way would I sleep with you!" you finally replied, but why did the words feel so heavy on your tongue?

Like when you claimed, chattering your teeth in front of Gunwoo, that you weren't cold, even though he had told you a hundred times to bring a jacket.

He tilted his head a bit and just smiled in amusement until Gunwoo put a hand on his shoulder and called out to fight the loud music:

"I'm going home! Mom called. She needs help. Some pipe at the sink broke. Are you coming too?"

Woojin seemed snapped out of a trance, and you both looked in different directions so quickly, as if you could use it to undo the strange moment.

"Uh yeah. Yes I'll be right there."

Then your brother turned to you.

"Are you coming?"

Briefly you were tempted to agree, but your stupid heart only raced when you looked at Woojin. Whatever was wrong with you, you desperately needed to do something about it. It was disgusting.

"No. I'll stay for a while."

Gunwoo was going to protest, and he'd throw you over his shoulder if he had to, which is why you quickly disappeared between people until he lost sight of you.

Your head squeezed uncomfortably and you clutched your chest in which your heart just wouldn't calm down. Like a wild bird fluttering incessantly in its cage. You grabbed another cup and rushed out of the living room, the atmosphere suffocating you. You needed another drink, a cigarette, and some alone time.

Actually, you didn't smoke. You hated the taste and the smell of smoke. But Woojin hated it even more and that was reason enough to put the cigarette between your lips and take a deep push.

But on the second puff, you coughed in disgust and threw the cigarette into the trash can.

Confused, you ran into the bathroom on the second floor. There was less going on and in front of the large mirror you first took a deep breath and looked at your reflection.

Your cheeks were pink, but otherwise you looked like before.

Then why did it feel like the world had turned around you?

Woojin's eyes and that annoying grin just wouldn't leave your thoughts. Annoyed with yourself, you dabbed some water on your forehead and chest, perhaps to lessen the effect of the alcohol.

Because that had to be the reason. You had simply drunk too much.

After you were reasonably calm again, you mingled with the people. Your brother and Woojin were fortunately nowhere to be seen. They were probably long gone.

You found your friends again and the conversations distracted you a little from the chaos in your head.

"You look stunning," said a guy about your age as you stood at the bar getting another drink.

"Thanks," you smiled lightly and with a quick glance you had to admit, he was really good looking. He was tall, well built and had a striking face. You struck up a conversation and he was actually funny as well. Actually he seemed to be kind and smart. Also the complete opposite of Woojin.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked after a while.

"Sure."

He led you by the hand to the dance floor and you moved to the music, laughing and goofing around a bit. However, a strange feeling crawled up the back of your neck. Like someone was watching you.

You glanced over your shoulder a few times, but in the middle of the party, among the tightly dancing couples, drunken teenagers, and loud music, you couldn't make out anyone.

The alcohol quickly made the moments flow into each other and you lost track of time. You finally found yourself in a dark corner, the guy whose name you had already forgotten, had his hands firmly on your hips, pressed you against the wall and spread hungry kisses on your neck. You closed your eyes and really tried to concentrate on the moment.

It wasn't the first time you made out with someone at a party and this time he was even friendly, charming and good looking. You rarely got that lucky and it was a welcome distraction.

You just didn't want to think about Woojin anymore.

But as soon as his fingers ran over your sides and his lips brushed your skin, you imagined how the idiot would touch you.

Would he be gentle and cautious, or dominant and rough?

A gasp escaped you as the guy cupped your breast with a hand and somehow sounded suspiciously like Woojin in your head, and when you opened your eyes and stopped seeing the boxer's broad shoulders in front of you like moments before in your imagination, your heart stopped for a moment.

What had you just been thinking about?

Panicking, you pushed the guy away from you, who looked at you in confusion.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, and you just shook your head. The lump in your throat was getting bigger and bigger and you feared choking on it if you didn't get out of this place soon.

"What's wrong?" he continued to ask as you picked up your purse and pulled out your cell phone.

'I just imagined you were my brother's best friend, who I actually hate, and kind of liked the idea.'

Instead you said:

"Nothing. Everything's fine. But I really have to go home now," you assured him, patting him clumsily on the shoulder as a goodbye, not knowing what to do in such a situation.

He was completely flabbergasted and looked after you as you hurried down the stairs and left the party in a complete rush.

Only when you had passed the large estate a few streets behind you, you dared to breathe a sigh of relief. The fresh night-air blew your hair out of your face and it smelled like wet asphalt and leaves. The streetlight illuminated the side streets just enough so you could still read the street names on the signs.

While you were trying to call a cab on your cell phone, you realized what kind of neighborhood you had landed in. It looked like an industrial park and there was no one on the street. You started to feel uncomfortable and when you thought you heard footsteps behind you, you ran faster.

Cursing, you tried several cab companies, but none answered. The line was busy and the constant beeping seemed to mock you. You winced when the sound was behind you again. You definitely hadn't imagined it.

Your heart was already pounding in your ears and just as you tapped Gunwoo's number, your wrist was jerked back hard and the next thing you felt was a blow on your temple.

Then everything went black.

The next time you opened your eyes you were already being dragged into a dark alley. Your vision was blurry and your head throbbed painfully, but you could make out at least three black figures.

Only when your back hit a cold stone wall did your sanity seem to return.

"Well, what have we here?" you heard the tallest of them say. His raspy voice vibrated in your ears and when you recognized the three black-clad and masked men, fear ate so deeply into your chest that your eyes instantly filled with tears.

You wanted to scream for help, but before a sound could pass your lips, a hand was pressed over your mouth and you were slammed hard against the wall. Painfully you groaned and stared at your attacker with wide eyes.

"Such a pretty thing, out so late, all alone?" he asked, and there was nothing but coldness in his eyes.

The other hand was firmly on your hip and you thought you would faint from fear, but with your last willpower you stubbornly returned his gaze and tried not to let your despair show.

The other two thugs were standing menacingly behind him. One had a baseball bat in his hand, the other had brass knuckles on both fists. You felt like you were trapped in a bad movie and wanted nothing more than to just wake up. You could see your cell phone lying on the ground behind them. The screen still glowing and Gunwoo just one call away. It had to have fallen out of your hand when he hit you.

"Listen, if I take my hand away now, you're going to be nice and quiet and not cause any problems, otherwise I'm going to have to be rude, understand?"

He talked to you like you were a little kid and you pressed your hands against your thighs to keep them from shaking.

You nodded and your heart drummed so wildly you feared dying of a heart attack.

"Good girl..." he purred, slowly removing his hand from your mouth.

Instead of screaming, you clenched your teeth hard, jerked your knee up, and caught him right between the legs. Gunwoo had shown you often enough what to do when you were attacked.

Never by three armed men, though.

At that time you had only laughed and said:

"What could happen to me? I have you. You always protect me."

Everything happened so fast that you could hardly take a breath. Fortunately, you had hit it dead on.

Groaning in pain, he slumped forward and you lashed out, hitting him in the nose with your fist, just as you had seen many times with Woojin and Gunwoo in the ring. Taking advantage of the moment of chaos, you wriggled out of his grasp and ran towards the street, the adrenaline rushing in your ears.

Your breath caught in relief as you almost reached the main road, but you were thrown back hard by your hair. Screeching, you flailed around as rough grips closed around your stomach and yanked you all the way back again.

Desperately you tried to hit something, but most of your blows came to nothing, until you were thrown against the wall again and the anger-distorted face of the gorilla appeared in front of you. You felt something warm run down your temple and you instantly fell silent as his hand closed around your neck and squeezed until you were gasping desperately for air.

"Stupid bitch! Get her purse! Look how much she's got on her!" he ordered his minions, and they ripped the purse from your body.

They quickly found your wallet, took the money inside and threw the rest aside. The one with the baseball bat handed the leader the money and he pocketed it before looking back at you and you fervently hoped they would take the money and leave.

You tugged at his hand, but it remained iron-clad around your throat and you felt your field of vision getting smaller and smaller.

Blood soaked his mask and he had trouble speaking. At least you got him right.

"Shit, she's really tough..." he laughed and tore the mask off his face.

When you saw the cruel face, your heart sank and desperation slowly made your resistance collapse. His eyes wandered lustfully down your body and the grip on your neck loosened a little.

"She looks really hot... I guess we got really lucky today," he said and his minions laughed disgustingly.

"What do you think? We have a little fun and you make up for beating me, huh?" he purred, and the fear took on entirely different proportions.

The tears now flowed freely down your cheeks and you tugged harder on his hand, but he didn't move a millimeter. The other two walked a few steps away and turned their backs on you. Maybe to keep watch, maybe to ease their consciences.

With his other hand he grabbed your hip and pushed your legs apart with his knee. In your mind you prayed to whatever God there was to help you. You felt alone and completely helpless that you were about to give up.

Like in a trance, you only noticed how he tore the dress at your chest and pushed it up your legs. You squinted your eyes, your heart ached and fear gradually made you drift away as soon as you heard his belt buckle open.

"Hey you fucking asshole! Hands off her! Now!"

Your eyelids fluttered at the aggressive shout and before your tormentor could turn around, he was yanked away from you and a fist hit him in the jaw with such force that he staggered back.

As soon as you regained your breath, you gasped and slumped against the wall. Your legs no longer supported you and you could only watch, crouched on the floor, as Woojin stood in front of the gorilla and raised his fists.

"What's the matter? Have you lost your tongue?" he shouted at him and now the others also became attentive and rushed to help their boss. He seemed to notice them only now.

"Shit," he muttered and gave you a curt look. The tears in your eyes and the blood slowly running down your temple were enough to make his anger boil over and something animalistic entered his eyes.

You grabbed your aching throat and couldn't believe he was really here. But the relief was quickly overshadowed by new fear as you saw them circling him, baseball bat at the ready.

Woojin breathed calmly and fixated his attackers intently. As he did so, he gritted his teeth aggressively and his jaw muscles twitched with tension.

"You little bastard. Do you really think you can stand up to us?" the one with brass knuckles asked provocatively and Woojin just laughed bitterly.

"Let's try."

You knew the look from the ring, only this time it was aggressive and angry. There wasn't a glint left of the enthusiasm of sportsmanship flickering in his eyes.

There was only blackness and unbridled hatred there.

With that, the gorilla charged at him, but he dodged with ease. He also dodged the next blows and countered with a series of quick, precise punches, all of them hit forcefully. But already the one with the baseball bat swung out and missed him by a hair's breadth.

Woojin kicked him in the knee, punched the third in the face and fended off more blows from the goon. With a well-aimed kick, he managed to knock the gorilla off his feet, but a startled growl escaped him as the baseball bat hit him hard on the rib.

Woojin staggered back, gasping, took the guard up and cashed in a few more blows with the baseball bat until he found a gap and with a clean blow to the temple took out the attacker.

Quick as a flash, he grabbed the baseball bat and threw it at the goon, who was just getting back up at the same time as the other hit the ground.

With a rattling breath, you looked around for anything you could help with.

Woojin ducked away under a few more punches and seemed more tense. He was in pain and the blows with the baseball bat seemed to have hurt him. One precise blow with the brass knuckles would be enough to knock him out.

The gorilla huffed and grumbled like a bear as he tried to get back to his feet.

That's when you spotted a rope behind a trash can. You quickly grabbed it and crawled on all fours to the giant before he could get up and wrapped it around his neck from behind.

He gurgled for air as you pulled the rope tight and tried with all your might to fight his resistance.

You lay on your back and tugged at the rope with all your body weight until your arms trembled, but the gorilla just didn't weaken.

Like a worm, he writhed on the ground, gasping and trying to get rid of the rope. Glancing at Woojin, you winced violently as a blow hit him hard in the face. His head was thrown back and as soon as you saw the blood on his cheek, it flooded your body with renewed energy.

A tortured cry escaped you and you tugged harder on the rope and finally the resistance weakened.

"You stupid asshole! Go to sleep already!", you pressed out and felt the rope cutting into your palms.

Woojin slowly straightened up and fought against the dazed state with all his might. He lunged again, throwing punches so fast you couldn't even follow them.

Just when your muscles were burning so badly you were afraid you'd have to let go, the huge body went limp and you let go of the rope as if you'd been burned by it.

Woojin dodged away under a hard punch at that moment, knocking the thug off his feet and letting a shower of punches rain down on him until he lay motionless.

Getting on his feet again, he swayed briefly and shook out his wrists before rushing to you and kneeling in front of you.

You wrapped your arms around your exposed body and looked at him with those beautiful eyes that he took your face in his hands and said worriedly:

"Are you hurt? Are you okay?"

His voice rolled over with concern and you put a hand on his reassuringly.

"I'm fine. Thanks to you," you replied, still in a raspy voice. In the pale light of the lantern, you could see the blood running down his cheek and you felt guilty that he had caught so many bruises for you.

"You're bleeding. Those fucking assholes..." he cursed, his voice dripping with anger as he saw the blood on your temple. The concern in his eyes overwhelmed you. There was nothing else for him but you at the moment and as he scanned you for more injuries, he saw your torn dress.

He quickly slipped out of his jacket and put it around your shoulders. You pulled it tightly around your body and deeply sucked in his scent that clung to it and it made you immediately feel safe.

"Come on, let's get out of here. Can you walk?" he asked carefully, putting an arm around your stomach to help you to your feet.

"Yes I can do it," you dismissed it, trying to look strong, but in truth your head was throbbing, it hurt to swallow, and your knees were as soft as jello. Reaching the gorilla, he carefully let go of you and picked up your purse, cell phone and wallet that were scattered around him.

He handed them to you and you watched as he knelt down to him and slapped his face.

"Hello!" he shouted.

"Wake up, asshole!", and slapped him again until he grumbled and slowly regained consciousness. He groaned in pain and writhed on the ground, making a pathetic picture.

Then Woojin straightened up again and put a foot right to his throat so he couldn't move any further. Anyway, the guy's face was so swollen that you could barely make out any structure.

Then Woojin looked to you and asked:

"How much did he steal from you?"

After a moment's thought and a look in your pocket, you answered truthfully:

"About 200.000 won."

He patted it down and pulled his wallet out of his pants pocket where he had put your money earlier. Then he took out the bills, counted them out quietly, and handed you a wad of them while the gorilla watched, panting angrily.

"Then this is yours."

He took out the rest of the bills, which definitely were a total over 500.000 won. Apparently you weren't the first one they had robbed tonight.

Then Woojiin handed you the rest of the money as well.

"And this is for the unpleasant trouble he caused you, isn't it my friend?" he asked emphatically, pressing his foot on the gorilla's throat until he gurgled and nodded with a groan.

"Let's go," you muttered, glancing at the unconscious thugs. All of them were covered in blood. Woojin had really raged and from their injuries you could clearly see his anger like a handwriting. He quickly put an arm around you again to support you and together you walked out of the alley onto the street.

After a few shaky steps, he looked at you worried from the side:

"Are you sure you can walk?"

"Yes everything is fine. Stop worrying, it's annoying!" you drove at him a little too harshly than intended.

He raised his eyebrows and before you could react, he lifted you up bridal style and carried you across the street.

"What are you doing? Woojin what..." you stuttered, but he just smiled softly, which silenced you.

"Where are you taking me?" you asked after a while.

"I don't live far from here. I'll take you to my place."

He expected resistance, but his eyebrows furrowed in surprise when you gave in. You were too exhausted and going to his place really seemed like the best idea. Sighing, you relaxed in his arms for the first time and leaned your head against his chest.

His jacket warmed you and his strong arms made you feel safe and secure. He looked down at you as your eyes fell closed and smiled in relief.

At his front door, you opened your eyes again when he lowered you down. As he unlocked the door, he groaned in pain and held his side with a resigned laugh.

"Shit that guy hit me clean with that bat."

A shaky gasp escaped you. Seeing him hurt like that burdened you more than you thought it would and you wanted to take all the pain from him he was suffering because of you. You silently examined his profile and inevitably tears rose again when you saw the bleeding wound on his cheek.

"Woojin?" you murmured in a brittle voice and he looked at you concerned, afraid that something might be wrong with you. Astonished, he watched you step close to him and gently placing a hand against his cheek.

Your lower lip quivered dangerously and he wanted to say something to make the sad gleam in your eyes disappear. But when he said something, he usually made things worse and he didn't want to risk that right now, when you were so close to him. Your breath bounced against his face and his gaze was magically drawn to your lips.

"I'm so sorry," you breathed and your voice broke on the last word as you brushed a strand of hair from his forehead and a bruise was already forming underneath. The guilt was overwhelming and never would you have thought to care so much for the macho man.

Almost panicked, he shook his head and took your hands in his so you looked at him.

"No. Don't. You have nothing to be sorry for. You didn't do anything wrong. It's all those assholes' fault!" he tried to cheer you up, but you just smiled tiredly.

Feverishly he considered and then grabbed his cheek, wincing slightly as it wound was already burning like hell.

"Oh that? That's nothing! I've gotten worse as a boxer!" he said, knocking his fist against his head.

"That's probably why I'm such a idiot, like you always say."

That actually made you smile and you even laughed slightly. He would have loved to jump in the air with relief, but his aching ribs wouldn't allow it. He squeezed your hands gently and then held the front door to the stairwell open for you.

"Come on. Let's go inside and get something good to eat."

Quickly you nodded and let him lead you to the door of his home. As he let you into his apartment and you looked around the room, you noticed that you had never been here before.

You were always at your place or out on the town.

"Do you live alone?" you asked as you kicked off your shoes and he turned on the lights.

The living room was tranquil and empty except for a small red sofa and a television. The kitchen was right next to it and the sink was stacked with pots, plates, silverware and even pizza boxes. Amused, you brushed a line through the dust at the large window through which the light from the street lamps shone.

"Yes. My father and I don't get along well... Tension flew regularly and so I thought it's better to keep my distance," he said, spreading his arms.

"Welcome to my kingdom. Had I known you were coming, I might have cleaned up," he said and you looked over your shoulder in disbelief.

"You wouldn't have."

He snorted in amusement and pulled the blinds closed.

"Yeah you're probably right."

He gathered up a few clothes that were all over the place and tossed them into a pile that only grew.

Despite the mess, which you wouldn't have expected any other way from Woojin, it smelled incredibly good. It was the scent that clung to him as well and was burned into your head.

Meanwhile, the blood on your temple had dried and began to itch.

Actually, you didn't want to know what you looked like. You probably bore more resemblance to a scarecrow.

"Where's your bathroom? I'd like to take a shower."

He was already standing in the kitchen, throwing a handful of ramen into a pot. At the mere sight of it, your stomach grumbled like crazy.

"Down the hall. The door on the left. Towels should be in the closet," he called as he worked, and you smiled as he threw a kitchen towel over his shoulder.

Before you left, you turned back to him.

"Woojin? Can you please not tell Gunwoo about today? He'll just worry unnecessarily."

Woojin pressed his lips together and looked pained.

"I don't like lying to him."

"I know. I'll tell him. I promise. Just not today okay?"

With that, he seemed satisfied and he nodded.

"All right."

In the bathroom, you slipped out of his jacket and carefully folded it. Your dress, however, was beyond saving. You put the torn rag aside and looked at your body in the mirror.

Dark spots were already forming on your hips and on your neck and you got goosebumps when you thought of the large hands that had grabbed you there. Your makeup was completely smeared and there was a wound on your temple from the first blow.

Sighing, you opened your hair and marveled at all the beauty products lined up outside the shower. He had more conditioner than you did. However, that was the last thing you would complain about.

But you made a little mental note when you needed something again to get on his nerves.

As soon as the warm water hit your skin, you sighed in relief. The blood dyed the ground brown and with the water you also tried to wash away the events of the evening.

Hissing, you looked at your wrist. It was swollen from the pumch you had thrown and your knuckles were cracked.

How did the boys always do it without hurting themselves?

Fresh again and with renewed energy, you stepped out of the shower with only a towel wrapped around your body.

"I feel like a new woman ," you commented as you walked into the kitchen, the smell of fresh ramen making your mouth water.

Woojin looked up from the two bowls he was preparing and when he saw your bare legs under the towel, he gulped first.

"I texted Gunwoo that you were drunk as fuck and now snoring on my couch."

That was still better than troubling him with the truth, which is why you nodded and ran your fingers through your hair.

"Thanks."

But you didn't seem to mind just standing in front of him in a towel. By being with Gunwoo all the time, he had often seen you in your pajamas, without makeup, or in sweatpants. It was almost as if he lived with you. Probably you had spent too much time together or you saw him as another brother. The thought tasted bitter in his mouth and he didn't know why.

„Do you have anything I can wear?" you broke the awkward silence, and that's when he finally stopped staring at your legs.

"Sure," he quickly replied and disappeared into the only other door next to the bathroom.

When he came back he handed you a pair of yellow sweatpants and a black shirt with blue flames on it.

Disgusted, you lifted the clothes up with only two fingers.

"You've got to be kidding me..." you commented, and he laughed throatily.

"I'm sure it looks great on you!" he grinned and you wanted to punch him.

"Your clothing style is really questionable sometimes," you muttered, and it was obvious that he had picked out the ugliest things to tease you.

Or maybe he really meant it?

-> [2]

-

© Sky-yuna — 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝.

Taglist (open):

@littlebaby-bunbun @officialshania @choisoorin @fanaticnae @lola2004sworld @penny44224 @tasteskz-sworld

[turtlesandfrogs]

So, here's the problem: the longer I work in gardening and landscaping, the more I care about the ecological impacts of native plants, and the less I care about aesthetics. Which is a problem, when most clients' primary concern is that their yard looks nice. Which, fair, I just don't care as much about it as they do and I feel like I could be making a bigger impact than I currently am.

So I'm thinking of quitting this job and going one of two entirely different directions, and for some reason it's rather hard to choose.

Option A is starting my own native plant nursery, which would focus on small (4 inch and gallon pot sized) native plants, with a focus on plants that are most important for native pollinators (especially those that are endangered or threatened where I am). There's some competition, but mostly at selling-to-landscapers level and not retail, and I'd want to focus on retail sales.

Option B is to get a job with the state doing some kind of ecological restoration work. The problem with that is my bachelor's degree is over a decade old and I don't actually have the kind of experience to put on my resume that would likely convince them that I can do the work (unless a combination of teaching and being self-employed as a gardener that helps people incorporate native plants and removes invasive species counts, which maybe?). So I'd probably have to take a lower level job and one that's further away to get in, and then work my way up.

Option A has the upsides of: completely setting my own schedule, getting to work with plants most of the time, getting to work with my partner, flexibility to decide I want to start teaching classes again or something. It has the down sides of having to do taxes multiple times per year, and not being guaranteed to work, and either needing to take out a business loan to get started or work at a day job to fund starting it up. Also if it fails I'll have to get another job without have professional references again, which yikes.

Option B has the upside of once you're in state work, it's way easier to get other state jobs so if I burn out of one job, I can hop to another relatively easily, will almost certainly make more money, comes with health insurance and retirement savings, and is likely the more stable option. On the down side, it would mean working 40 hours a week without getting to pick my schedule and it would be harder to take time off than it is now, I'll have to work my way up to a comfortable salary, and there's a lot less autonomy than when self employed. But I'll also have professional references out the wazoo, so finding new jobs should be easier?

One of the things that concerns me is I have ADHD and up until teaching, the longest I ever stayed in one job was almost 2 years. I taught for 4 years, then was self-employed as a gardener for 4 years, and now I've worked for this landscaping company for just over a year (and am grumpy about a) not making much money and b) aesthetics and only providing services to people who can afford us, rather than say, improving the environment for everyone). So I'm actually kinda afraid that if I started the native plant nursery, I would get sick of it after less than 5 years and be starting from scratch again. Whereas with a state job, I can pop over to a new job fairly easily. On the other hand, maybe I'm just doubting myself too much because all of those other jobs were actually really bad matches for me.

Anyway, my brain is going in circles over this. I mean, really, part of me thinks I should stay at this job even though it doesn't pay much compared to what I could make elsewhere (I have learned a lot though, which can be transfered to other jobs) just because it's so low stress compared to any other job I've had in the last decade & because the people are great and the work isn't bad. It just galls me that occasionally clients have ideas that I strongly disagree with, like cutting down a very nice magnolia tree because "it's too big" and I just have to do it because I'm an employee now. Ugh.

[obx-archives]

Hii, could I request jj x reader where she’s been feeling kinda lonely and jj’s worried? just pure comfort please

lonely - jj maybank

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warning: angsty? fluff? soft!jj maybank?

word count: 0.7k

author’s notes: i'm guessing y'all reaaaaally are into soft jj! 4 in a row! i tried my best to make every each one of this different but idk.

masterlist | join the taglist | kinktober!!!!

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Ding! 

My phone lit up once more, marking the fourth notification from the same sender, my boyfriend, JJ.

I knew that would happen the moment I declined another invitation to go out with everyone. 

With a sigh, I unlocked my phone and tapped on his message. "Hey, babe, why don't you want to come? It's gonna be cool!" I hesitated, then began typing my reply, "I just need some quiet time tonight, J."

Moments later, another message popped up from JJ, "Got it, is everything okay?" I stared at the screen, contemplating. After a couple minutes, I wrote back, "I promise, everything's okay. I just need some me-time. We'll hang out soon, I promise." As I set my phone aside, the feeling of emptiness has settled in my chest. 

There’s no way to explain the place I found myself. Despite my life being pretty much fun and full of adventure, I feel lost, disconnected, and overwhelmingly lonely even though I’m most of my time surrounded by people. It was as if a million of uncertainty popped into my mind every five seconds.

I crawled into my bed, aware that my sleep wouldn’t come any time soon, just like every other night, when my thoughts and paranoias kept me awake for hours. This heavy feeling in my chest didn’t make things any easier either.

I decided to go to the kitchen, a snack might help, right? Nope, I tried that the other night Maybe. My hands reach for the cookies on the back of the cabinet when I hear a knock on the door. My heart skipped a beat as I went kind of scared to answer it, I opened it just to find JJ standing right in front of me.

He looked at me with concern in his eyes and a determined expression on his face. "Hey," he said, stepping inside without waiting for an invitation. "What can I say? I can’t leave my girl alone." 

My heart was still beating fast when I hugged him tightly. He held my face planting a kiss on my lip. “I’ve been noticing how you’re distant lately and I’m here at your service, If you feel like talking, sure, we can talk. And if you don't, that's cool too. I'll just hang out with you, no pressure.” 

I felt a lump form in my throat as tears welled up in my eyes. I have been keeping my feelings bottled up, not wanting to burden JJ with my problems. But seeing him now, the concern in his eyes, made me realize just how honest I can be with him, even though I can’t tell what’s wrong. 

“I didn’t mean to worry you,” I mumbled.

“I know, I know, I’m here to keep you company.” 

I buried my face in his chest, finally letting the tears flow freely. "I've been feeling so lost, J,” I confessed. "I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know if it’s anxiety or…." I can’t finish my sentence without sobbing.

JJ held me tighter. "It’s okay, I’m here now," he said softly. "We'll figure this out together, just like we always do," he added.

“I-I really didn’t want to worry you, Jay.” 

“Hey, you need to know that I’m here, you don’t have to go through this alone,” he said “You were there for me always, it’s no different now.”

I nodded, "Thank you for being here, J," I whispered, wiping away my tears.

He gave me a warm smile and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. "Always, Y/N. Now, how about we get some rest? I'll stay with you tonight, no more loneliness, okay?"

I nodded again, feeling a sense of comfort wash over me. We walked to the bedroom together, and as we settled into bed, JJ pulled me close, wrapping his arms around me protectively. 

We lay there in silence for a while, my mind started to calm down. I snuggled closer to JJ, as he gently rubbed my hair. For the first time in a couple weeks, the exhaustion and the emotional breakdown caught with me and I just fell asleep into JJ’s arms, there was no reason to feel alone with his presence.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

© obx-archives 2023 — no one has permission to copy or translate any of my works, if you see any of my work being reproduced in another platform please contact me! :)

[anonymooseforever007]

Chocolate Pie

(Michael Gray x Reader)

Summary: After running out of Ada’s house, Y/N realises she forgot her bag at Ada's house after her escape. But will Ada even be there to hand it over or will someone else open the door? In which Polly’s plan come to play.

A/N: Hi y'all! So there's still no TWs I think. This is the shorter second part because I couldn't figure out how connect them properly. More Michael in this, but again he's a bit OC probably. This is written as if he hadn't been taken by his own ambition and is still more of the farm boy he was in S2 if that makes sense! I hope y'all enjoy❤️

WC- 2.1k

Part 1

Main Masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 47 minutes.... 

It had taken 47 minutes for Y/N to get back to Ada's house despite the walk usually only taking 5 max. Really, it had taken her about 4 minutes, half a block, and a quick corner turn before remembering her forgotten items. The remaining time was spend debating if it was really worth it. Maybe her brother actually replaced the spare key under the plant? Probably not. Ada and Polly seems really busy with the cookies, Y/N shouldn't bother them any more? Damn, it didn't take two people to take cookies out of the oven. Did it? Back and forth, back and forth, Y/N's brain went. Was it better to give up today or should she suck it up and get over her embarrassment today? Who's to say? 

In the end Y/N remembered that there was still chocolate pie from last week left in the fridge. She decided that chocolate pie was a better way to fix her mortification than any meal she could get from what ever hotel she'd be staying at otherwise. A chocolate pie... all for herself. 

After she was set on getting her pie it took about three minutes to make it back to Ada's house and now Y/N was standing once again at the front steps. She did notice that, luckily, Mel's car was still gone so maybe she wouldn't have to face him again. At least so soon. Maybe one day. But after what occurred not even an hour ago "maybe one day" was far too soon......

However, the universe seemed to decide that too soon was not soon enough. And Y/N would quickly learn that when the door was opened.

"Really? It's only been like 15 minutes Ada. Just because Karl needed stitches last time I wa... You."

Michael Gray stood in Ada's door staring at the women he had been thinking of for the past couple hours. And she stared back highly debating if she should shut the door and run again.... But she still really wanted that pie.

"Keys."

"What?"

"Sorry. Hi, I forgot my bag here and it has my keys to get into my house. You wouldn't mind if I grabbed it and got out would you?" Y/N asked, slightly peering over his shoulder to look for the bag she swore she left on the couch. 

"Yeah sure, that's fine." Micheal agreed, opening the door wider and stepping out of the way. As Y/N passed him she noticed he wasn't wearing his suit jacket any more or his vest, opting for only his under shirt and trousers. He wasn't wearing any shoes either and Y/N could hear the faint sound of a tub running upstairs. If he hadn't told her otherwise earlier Y/N would have though he was getting ready for bed. 

Making their way to the couch Y/N reached down to grab her bag, ready to leave again. But for some reason her beloved pack wasn't there. Nor was it on the floor by the couch or near any of the other chairs in the living room. Which was odd because Y/N always like to put her bag in the same place every time she came over so she wouldn't forget where it was. But it wasn't there. 

"On second thought maybe it's in the kitchen I'll look there." Nope, the dark green bag wasn't in the kitchen or in the hallway or even in the bathroom that Y/N hadn't stepped foot in. It was as if it was never even at the house in the first place. Which was even more problematic because Y/N knew she had it when getting ice cream and on the way back since Karl kept playing with the straps. So where did the bag go? She'd have to ask Michael for help. Which mean she'd have to face him again.

"Hey Mel? I don't want to bother you but you haven't seen a green bag with brown straps around here have you? I can't seem to find it and I swear I had it when I came in." Y/N had decided to use the name Mel in reference to the Gray man. It made it easier to pretend what happened earlier didn't happen. Bedsides she liked the name Mel and he didn't seem to mind her using it either. 

"No I haven't seen a bag like that, but if you want I can help look." Michael had run up stairs to turn off the faucet upstairs before coming back down and placing himself in the living room. Normally, if someone he's didn't know well was in his cousin's house he'd be suspicious of them looking around and follow them. But Y/N seemed close enough to Ada it didn't seem like a problem. Besides if he followed her into the next room she might think he was a creep he supposed. After all, they had only met a few hours ago and what woman wanted a unfamiliar man filling their every step. 

Besides if he was in a different room than her, he wouldn't have to make conversation again. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but Michael was slightly embarrassed about how he opened the door. He thought it was Ada and if he'd know it was her friend he'd have made sure to say something else. Something he thought was not as dumb as what he actually opened with. Something that didn't imply he'd hurt the little boy Ada's friend seemed so smitten with. In reality, it have been Karl's own fault he'd decided to slide down the stairs in a laundry bin when Michael went to the bathroom for extra padding. Okay, maybe Michael had been the one to show him HOW to do it, but he did tell the boy to wait until the floor was softer. And in the end Karl only need three stitches in the back of his head and you couldn't even see the scar! Though, the only reason Michael didn't have a scar of his own from when Ada found out is because John grabbed her around the waist and picked her off the ground before she could reach the knives. But Y/N didn't know that....hopefully. Michael though she might hate him if she figured that out, and he didn't want her that. Having only been in Small Heath for a year or two he hadn't quite caught on to his cousins' ability to sweet talk their way out of trouble. 

Michael ran a hand through his hair trying to make it look neat again, as well as his hands down his front to straighten his shirt. Would it be weird if he put on his vest again? He liked the way he looked in his vest. However, before he could decide, Y/N had called from the other room and was asking for his help. Evidently, he would have to talk to her again. Hopefully this time he wouldn't say anything dumb.

"Where did you see it last?" Michael asked coming into the kitchen where Y/N was crouched down checking under the table again.

"Well, I could have sworn it was on the couch, but now I can't find it." 

"Alright I'll help look."

And look they did. They searched the kitchen and the hallway and the living room again. Y/N checked the hall closet while Michael check the bathroom. Michael had even run upstairs and spent a few minutes in the dark rummaging around a sleeping Karl's room incase he'd snuck away with it. Their search was accomplished in silence with only a passing "not here" or "have you tried..." as the two moved locations. After 15 minutes it was evident the pack wasn't in the house. But where could it be?

The answer came a few minutes later when Y/N, searching the living room again picked up a pillow, noticed a note lying exactly where she usually put her stuff. Reading it, she groaned and rolled her head to the ceiling making a mental note to give Karl a whole chess pie next time he was over. Michael hearing the noise came into the room thinking Y/N had been hurt.

"Are you alright?"

"Here read this." Y/N passed the note to her companion, trying to ignore how his warm fingers brushed hers when taking the note. 

"Y/N. I noticed you left your bag, but Polly is persistent that we leave now. Since it has your house keys, Polly and I are going to drop it off at your house on our way over. If you aren't there yet we'll give it you on our way back. Love, Ada. P.S. Michael- Be more than an ass.," Michael read aloud getting more confused as the letter went on. 

If Ada and Polly planned on dropping the bag off at Y/N's place then why would the leave a note here? And since Y/N was back here, his family had obviously made it to the club without seeing her. Now Y/N would be stuck here for a few hours unless she wanted to spend the time sitting outside her own steps. Also, he didn't understand why Ada was telling him not to be an ass. Had he already offended Y/N when they met earlier? The way Ada had worded the note was also weird, but he was more concerned about her friend not liking him. He knew by now that he liked her or at least he was more interested in knowing her than the others girls he'd met recently. She was nice and pretty and good with Karl. That was truly about the extent he knew, but that was enough for Michael to realise he wanted to know more.

Brought out of his thoughts by a head thud, Michael turned and saw Y/N, forehead against the wall mumbling to herself. He thought he caught something about "killing Ada" and stupid plan" and "chess pie"? But he wasn't sure. Did he really make such a bad impression that the idea of being in the same house as him for a few hours was concussion worthy? Shit. Moving closer to the women, he stuck out his hand and hesitantly placed it in her shoulder. He began to speak to her as one would a scared child or dog. If she really was anything like his cousin, she'd be more likely to attack when frustrated. He didn't want the woman do dislike him more be believed than she already did.

"Hey Y/N. You alright? I know this isn't what you had planned tonight. You can stay here and make yourself comfortable until Ada gets back. I'm sure she had a few books you can look though. I can go upstairs if you don't want me around."

Y/N's head came up from the wall and she turned to meet his eyes. His hand didn't leave her shoulder and she didn't make an attempt to move it. Nor did he. Taking a breath and deciding to take a chance Y/N gathered her courage again.

"I'm alright," she laughed nervously trying to blow off her nerves," I just wasn't expecting all this to happen and it's fine now. And thanks for letting me stay here. I don't really want to sit on my steps in the dark for a few hours waiting. Especially if it may rain. And you can stay down here if you want. It's not a bother at all. It was nice talking earlier." The last part was slightly mumbled, but still heard by the young man who suddenly felt a weight lift from his shoulders and he smiled. A full smile this time not just half one like he'd given her earlier. So she didn't hate him. That was good. Michael was still slightly curious to why she decided to face plant anyway, but he could ask that later. 

"Alright then why don't we head to the kitchen then darling? I think Ada made some cookies earlier with my mum we can have. There's a bottle of whiskey there too. Then we can go to the living room, it'll probably be the best place to be is Karl wakes up," Michael commented, testing the waters with the endearment while also praying the Karl would absolutely not wake up until morning. Then pushing his luck farther he stuck out his arm jokingly towards Y/N.

"Shall we?" 

The woman laughed, this time it wasn't caused by nerves, 

"Stealing and Drinking? Why yes I think we shall," she replied taking his arm. 

And with that they headed towards the living room. Though they both came from different backgrounds and different routines, in the end they were both the same thing. Two young people as eager as they were nervous to know more about the other.... 

...

"Oh by the way. Mel, why didn't you go out to the club with Ada and your Mum? I thought you were going with them tonight and your car's gone?"

"Apparently I don't have the tits for it."

[slavic-roots-western-mind]

Life in China Observations #4

It's been a while since I last did this, so let's go again!

Identity is complicated The question "where are you from" can be just as complicated as it is simple. For many people, their country of birth is where they're from, which is usually the case here. However, if you happen to be born in country A to parents from cultures B and C, immigrated and became a citizen of country D and now attend university in country E and are now on an exchange program in China, the question "where are you from" is not that easily answered. From what some of my friends told me, where you're from is actually the place where your dad was born in even though you may have been born in a different city which is a pretty interesting concept known as the "ancestral home" - 祖籍 (zǔjí) or 籍贯 (jígùan).

You have to make the first step I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but people are constantly doing something and unless you specifically and intentionally reach out and work on your friendship, you may end up drifting apart. Maybe this is a specific thing, but back home I could go a few weeks without really reaching out to my friends and then someone would suggest grabbing lunch together and it would be like no time had passed at all since we last saw each other. Here? Quite different.

Beauty and pop trends There are all sorts of weird and wonderful trends that you can come across in China. From using bread as a study tactic to decorating your workplace with banana plants, I feel like the more I assimilate here, the bigger the reverse culture shock will be when I go back home, and not just for me. dr.candiselin covers some of these trends on Instagram (not a promo post!), and I recommend checking out her content, it's quite brilliant.

Taobao You can buy anything on taobao. Literally. I saw someone selling a house there. I was previously a little shocked to see animals such as cats and bunnies being sold, but after seeing houses and cars being sold I honestly don't know what else is there to surprise me with.

Prepare in advance (foodwise) for the lunar new year During those 8-12ish days during the holdiays a lot of stores were closed. The convenience store outside my campus was open thank God, because otherwise I would have been living on instant porridge and instant soup which was my main food source 2 weeks prior due to being ill and there is only so much instant oatmeal that you can eat before slightly losing it.

Being ill is a nightmare And I mean the mandatory-bed-rest-no-going-out-for-at-least-5-days ill kind. You need to go to the hospital or a clinic to get a note to give to your school otherwise the day's you're absent will be counted, and once they reach a specific percentage you won't be allowed to take the exam (which can seriously mess with your grades, even more if you're there as an exchange student).

The weather can change at the blink of an eye I remember back in December the weather was in the negative digits and then suddenly the next day it was around 20 celcius?? The very next day it went to 3-4, and even now in March it's very all over the place. The weather forecast is not that useful because I'll leave the dorms wearing my coat in the morning only to return carrying my coat, jumper, long-sleeved shirt and wearing only my t-shirt.

More affordable beauty products I saw some products go for around $80 online?? And here on Taobao they cost under $10? I'm assuming it's the shipping costs that drive up the price so drastically, and now I'm pondering whether it would be cheaper to order online or to travel to China every couple of years just to stock up on beauty products.

[blackswallowtailbutterfly]

My Garden Flowers Part 4

All photos mine. The Pennsylvania pellitory is edited for because the plant app I took the photo in washed it out. The scarlet bee balm is edited for colour because that old phone's camera sucked.

In order of appearance:

091. Pennsylvania Pellitory (Parietaria pensylvanica) A common garden weed, but as it's native it can stay in some places.

092. Perennial Flax (Linum perenne) In spite of the name she sadly didn't come back or reseed. Shame because she looked really nice in that area. Oh well. I'll have to try in another spot.

093. Showy Tick-Trefoil (Desmodium canadense) She tricked me! I thought she hadn't made it as she hadn't come up by late June so I got another one and put her in a different area...only for this one to come up. And if you're thinking, oh, she's just a late bloomer, I should have waited, well, she came up in May this year. Because of course she did.

094. Virginia Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum virginiana) She smells like something you'd want to season steak or something with and would probably do very well at that but I've never cooked a steak before. Maybe I'll try her in pesto some day.

095. Devil's Tongue (Opuntia humifusa) She flowered for the first time last year and is flowering again this year!

096. Fragile Prickly Pear (Opuntia fragilis) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet. She's still quite little. I might break off a piece of her to try growing in that really tough spot. If she can survive summer to winter in a pot, surely that area shouldn't be too harsh for her.

097. Thrift Seapink (Armeria maritima) She's tough enough to survive winter in a pot and did so for three years, but last winter was apparently too much for her. Again, I think it was just too dry. She was pretty much only happy there in the spring and fall, though, so maybe it's just as well. The new one I planted elsewhere seems happy in all seasons.

098-099. Lance-Leaved Tickseed (Coreopsis lanceolata) Usually only the cultivars have those red markings! I'm assuming there's been some cross-pollination with other gardens because I did not plant that. My tickseeds are all straight amber. Unless she independently produced the colour on her own as a sport. Interestingly enough, none of them are showing that colouration this year.

100. White Sagewort (Artemisia ludoviciana) I wasn't actually supposed to have this one. I'd ordered the less aggressive A. frigida, but oh well. Maybe she'll attract American lady butterflies some year. Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet. She smells like something you'd use to season stuffing.

101. Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) After several attempts in different areas, trying my hardest to follow what the information online said she would need, but somehow failing, this one at last seems to be doing fine.

102. Dotted St. John's Wort (Hypericum punctata) I didn't plant that. Either a gift of the wildlife or a dormant seed came to life when I removed the grass.

103. Roundhead Bushclover (Lespedeza capitata) Another one I've had several attempts with, but she seems to like it there.

104. Curlycup Gumweed (Grindelia squarrosa) Flowered nicely that year and I thought she didn't reseed because she didn't come up last year but there is a plant this year! It's good to remember that seeds can lie dormant for some time. :)

105. Upright Prairie Coneflower "Mexican Hat" (Ratibida columnifera) This is a cultivar and has since passed away during the winter.

106. Rocky Mountains Bee Plant (Cleomella serrulata) She reseeded for several years but apparently not this one. Hopefully they're just skipping a year and will come up next spring. If not I'll have to attempt a different area. Anyway, pretty much the whole plant is edible with preparation, and lots of insects love the flowers.

107. Spotted Horsemint (Monarda punctata) Beloved of many insects. Sometimes I just like to sit next to her and watch the activity.

108. Wild Black Sweet Tomato (Solanum ptychanthum) She began as a weed on this property, but not anymore. She is a welcome part of my native garden with her wonderful fruits in the summer.

109. Common Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) The wild type this time, but no evidence of reseeding this year. :(

110. Alpine Rock Cress (Arabis alpina) She flowers in April before most trees have even blossomed.

111. Field Chickweed (Cerastium arvense) By the time I got to plant her in the fall some years ago, I was sure she'd die over the winter. She didn't but struggled through the warm months. But she managed to bounce back the following spring and makes a nice little carpet now.

112. Yellow Wild Indigo (Baptisia tinctoria) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet.

113. Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa) Finally decided to flower this year! She is the only orange species of milkweed native this far north.

114. Upright Prairie Coneflower (Ratibida columnifera) The wild type. Didn't like that spot in the winter either, so I'm trying a different area this year.

115. Fringed Blue Aster (Symphyotrichum ciliolatum) Not the most colourful or compact, but makes a nice spray of pale blue violet over her dark green foliage.

116. Bluestem Goldenrod (Solidago caesia) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet, but she's likely to this year.

117. Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) She's been on the property long before I got here. Not pictured as I haven't gotten any pictures yet since she is very tall.

118. Field Pussytoes (Antennaria neglecta) Compact and low-growing foliage create a mat, with these delicate stems poking out with what looks like kitten toes that pass for the plant's flower.

119. Aster (Symphyotrichum) I don't know what she is yet, but she decided to take up residence with my pussytoes and I guess that's okay. Haven't gotten pictures of the flowers yet.

120. Dotted Blazing Star (Liatris punctata) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet.

[aladaylessecondblog]

Red Mountain Waffle House, pt. 4 ("The Hand")

Sadara kept the corprus thing under wraps. She told Jiub--but no one else.

"Well if that doesn't suck shit I don't know what does," he said through the cigarette dangling from his lips, "You okay? Gonna need me to shank you before you go crazy? When did you get bitten, a couple days ago?"

"A few months, actually," she said, "That's the strange part, I haven't had any symptoms. Not a rash or a boil or anything."

There was a pause. He flicked the cigarette, opened the baggie before him, and set it on the table.

"You got the papers?"

"Do I have the papers..." Sadara scoffed. "With the week I've had I don't think I'll ever forget them again!"

She handed over the bag and Jiub set them out and started rolling their weed into joints.

"Makes me wonder why we ever decided to come here, y'know. We could be doing pretty good just killing cliffracers."

"Yeah, and sleeping outside and in all conditions...I don't want to do that again. Ever." Sadara sighed, and checked on the ash yam stew on the stove, giving it a few stirs before coming back. "Like it wasn't bad, and this time we were choosing to do it, but..."

"But you're sick of it and want a permanent roof over your head. Even if it's just this shithole."

"Exactly. See, you understand me so well."

It was a friendship that went back to when they were both young and hungry. Easier to be poor when you had someone to watch your back and help you out when you needed it. And though they'd parted a few times due to one thing or another, they usually ended up watching each other's back again. Sometimes people thought they were dating, and she'd asked him once, but Jiub didn't seem interested. Didn't like girls, but didn't seem to like guys, either...

He was always good to pretend he was her boyfriend to put off the creeps, though.

"Yeah, maybe I'm a bit tired of it too, I'll be honest...fighting and scraping and trying to heal up from all the fights with cliffracers...like...I can buy healing potions and all, but who's to say we don't get got by a pack of them at some point?"

"So we work at a restaurant where we only get shit from people on two legs."

It wasn't THAT bad, really. The corprus monsters left her alone now, and why that was she couldn't figure out. Maybe having it made them think of her as just another one of them?

There'd be time to debate over it. She'd just have to keep an eye on it, and pray it didn't get any worse than it already was.

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

"Hey, hey, Greg, how ya doing?" Jiub waved as the imperial walked through the door. "So you finally decided to join us in civilization?"

"Something like that," Greg laughed. He was a fairly jovial sort, and the one with a fairly large house (how he owned it inside the Ghostfence was a mystery to everyone) and thus the guy who held all the best house parties. To be friendly with him was always a good idea, even if they weren't entirely sure if he wasn't Sanguine's avatar or something. "You two gonna be free in two weeks? Say, Saturday?"

"What's happening saturday?"

"What d'you think's happening? We'll have ale and sujamma, but if you can bring a little green that'll be appreciated."

"Can't get ahold of any?" Sadara took his order for a waffle and some eggs and stayed at his table as Jiub went to work cooking. "Or you just want some to mellow out?"

"A little of both, it's been harder to get and Jiub's always had a way with the stuff. Oughta grow your own...or maybe you do already, in which case keep up the good work."

Sadara handed him the coffee and plate once Jiub was done cooking. "He's got a green thumb. Me...me, mine's pure black, inside and out. Except for that plant on the windowsill. The local cult leader seems to think I'm Nerevar returned because he was like that too."

"Is that so? Well, that guy's a bit isolated...he'll turn up to a party now and then, but mainly to--"

The door bell jingled and in walked a pair of ordinators. One of them same as Sadara had tossed out before, and she immediately tensed on sight of him.

"At least there's none of those things in here tonight," the mer said, "You'd probably welcome them with open arms."

She didn't respond.

Greg paid and left shortly afterwards, saying he'd give them specifics on when to turn up later. Sadara went over to the ordinators' table.

"And what will the two of you be having?"

The first one was muted, tired, and asked just for some sausage and eggs. The angry one glared up at her, "A Temple-fearing waitress would be a good thing to have, but obviously we're both out of luck now, aren't we?"

"To eat, sir." Her tone was icy, and she could see the temper broiling beneath the man's severe expression.

"Coffee, and eggs."

She took the order and walked back to her place. Shortly after, Ulen entered, and the ordinators tensed up.

"Ulen, it's good to see you again," Sadara said, "The sky looks like it's been threatening to rain all day, does that mean you expect to see..."

"Ah, not today, most likely," Ulen replied. "He has much to handle at home. Something has livened him up and we are all happier for it."

His gaze such as it was, turned to hers.

"YOU again," the ordinator snarled from the corner. When his food was ready a moment later, he was still seething. "I don't care if his money spends well, suppose the ordinators stopped coming here because you're obviously in with the Dagoths?"

"I'm not in with ANYONE," Sadara replied, "It's economics. They spend more than you anyway, it wouldn't be much of a loss."

"How DARE--"

"Can we not right now?" his partner said, "We're off duty, they're not violent, it's not worth the fight."

"The duty never ceases."

A groan.

Ulen didn't acknowledge them, and spoke instead to Sadara. "Your arm, it is healed?"

"Yes. Where did you--oh, right. He must've told you. Please tell me he doesn't have me watched."

"He DOES want to be sure his Nerevar doesn't come to harm."

"HIS Nerevar?" Sadara gave a laugh, and then not wanting to appear rude quickly added, "I'm sorry, it's just a ridiculous idea to me. Me, who's never been to Morrowind before the ship brought me here, and he thinks I'm the incarnate of Nerevar--"

"He thinks you're WHAT?"

The last sentence, spoken perhaps a bit too loud, had caught the ordinator's attention. He stood up so quickly his plate was turned over and clattered to the floor.

"The SHARMAT thinks you're Nerevar," the ordinator charged forward and grabbed her by the collar, "Now you've reached the point of outright heresy and that I CANNOT ignore."

"Get the fuck off me, you creep!" Sadara moved and kneed him in the crotch.

The ordinator let go, but slapped her with his right hand a moment later. "The Temple will know. And the Temple will do to you what they do to ALL those who think to call themselves Nerevarine!"

Sadara decked him then, and dragged him outside, hearing only a faint, "I tell him not to do this shit" from the ordinator's partner, who kept calmly drinking his coffee.

"I'm not Nerevar, but I'll damn sure kick your ass like I was!" She ducked a fireball from the ordinator and gave him another hit on the jaw. The fight that followed was confusing - she would recall afterwards getting cut by his blade, getting knocked in the head, sitting on his chest and punching his face bloody, but nothing more than that. What she did remember was going back inside to clean up.

Ulen came forward to heal the cut, and she thanked him. Gladly, the ordinator's partner left soon after, saying "he just gets like this" and both of them did not return to cause more trouble.

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

A few days later, Sadara's black eye had come in in full bloom, and she had to get a pair of shades to cover it up. The mail tracking app said the package was due to be delivered today, and she went out to the mailbox to check.

Except there wasn't one package, there was two. One was definitely the sunglasses marked "Tiber Mart", but the other was wrapped in postal paper, tied with twine, and marked only with "A Gift" in the most cursive, flourished, show-offy handwriting possible.

She brought them both inside, and after checking that the sunglasses covered up her black eye well enough she looked to the other box. A Gift. What in the hells?

Sadara pulled the end of the twine and tore off the paper. The box was neat and expensive looking, but the scent was horrendous, and for a minute she considered tossing it out. The ordinators might've sent her a stinkbomb, or something poisonous, maybe...

Against her better judgement she opened the lid.

And screamed.

There, within the box, was the bloody, rotten, bonemold gauntleted hand of an ordinator.

[pudding-parade]

Old Capa's Forest by Vany

I hesitated to overview this one, for reasons which I'll go into under the cut, but in the end, I do think the world is beautiful and deserves some attention, so here we are.

As usual, the title of this post is a link to a page that has the world up for download, and also as usual I have re-uploaded a .world file here, just in case the linked paged vanishes. (The .world file goes in your game install files at GameData - Shared - NonPackaged - Worlds.)

There is also a German-language forum thread here in which the creator describes the backstory of the world and shows in-progress pics, etc. My German is extremely rusty, but sufficient to understand that the backstory is about Native (North) Americans, a famine, and grizzly bears, and then settlers moving in. That being said, much of the world looks very German/Alpine/central European, and while that's very pretty, it doesn't fit as American in any sense, native or otherwise. But as a German/Alpine-inspired world created by a German-speaking creator, I think it's wonderful. In any case, I did manage to glean from the forum thread that the world uses all EPs up to Generations and also the SPs that were released up to that point except for the Outdoor one but I'm too lazy to look up what SPs those would be. Sorry.

BUT ANYWAY! There are several reasons for my hesitation in overviewing this one. Among them…

1) In general with these overviews, I want to feature worlds that are complete enough that you can drop in some sims, maybe let Story Progression create some other families, and just play, without having to do anything else. With this one, you can't do that because the residential houses are all empty, some of them not even partitioned into rooms inside. In order for Story Progression to put families in them, you'll need to go through and put at least a fridge and beds in them, plus cribs if you want families with toddlers to move in.

(But speaking of families, many of the houses are tiny one-bedrooms on teeny-tiny lots, which is a huge minus for me, but I suppose may be a plus for others.)

2) There are a ton of trees and other plants. There are so many that it makes it hard to take pics of the lots, frankly. And even though the playable area of the world is relatively small, there are so many trees that I fear the world will lag when it's fully populated and played, unless they are thinned out. And arguably, they should be thinned out on the lots because many of them intrude into the buildings and/or would make playing more difficult because the "plantings" are so dense. Like so:

Now, it is supposed to be a forest-type world, of course, so there ought to be lots of flora, but I think it's a bit excessive. Many of the lots make me want to pull out a chainsaw and a giant weedwhacker, but maybe that's just me.

3) The blurb on the download page (again in German) says the world uses the rabbithole rugs/doors by Jynx, and there's a link to them. I don't normally use that set, but I went ahead and downloaded them and then installed them in the folder that I use to take pics for these overviews. However, they still don't function as rabbitholes in the world. I don't know what's up with that. So when it comes to many of the community lots, I am uncertain as to what they are supposed to be. Some of them are obvious -- one is called a school (in English, so this may be a lot that the creator downloaded), one is called the Krankenhaus (German for hospital), and one is called Wissenschaft (German for science), and one looks like a military base with a barracks and exercise equipment, etc. -- but there are others that aren't so obvious, and I'm not going to go through them and offer my guesses. So, that will require some fiddling if you want to play this world.

4) The world uses store content, at least some of which I don't have -- particularly doors and windows, as you'll see in some of the pics -- so I can't tell you what all might be needed. Other than the rabbithole rugs (which as far as I can tell don't work even if you have/download them, as I said), it doesn't have or require CC, though.

5) Some of the lots are very, very large. There are a couple that are entire mini-villages including both residential and commercial spaces on one lot, so the size is justified, but some of them are just danged big single-purpose lots. Personally, I don't like huge lots at all unless it's livestock-related, so this is a minus in my book, but of course YMMV.

So there are the big downsides, as I see them. On the up side, the world is gorgeous. For reference, this is the world where I took the pictures for this little 'story.' It's big, but not too huge, and the distant terrain makes it feel larger. I'm guessing it's 2048x2048 (but don't quote me on that), but the playing area is fairly small, so it shouldn't take a long time for sims to get from place to place.

What makes the world unique, IMO, is that, as you can see in the first pic of this post, it's created at high elevation with most of the surrounding distant terrain sitting lower than the playable area, increasing the feeling of height. The height allows for, among other things, some truly massive waterfalls, three big ones and a couple smaller ones. Adding to the feeling of altitude (as well as moisture from the massive waterfalls) is the use of fog emitters, so that you feel like you're up in the clouds.

Layout-wise, the world is broken out into discrete sections, which I like. There is an "old town" area with remnants of walls/gates and small residential and community lots built close together, reminiscent of a German/central European town that dates back to the Middle Ages. Then there's a "newer" part with small, densely-packed, more modern-style lots. Then, larger lots are spread around the rest of the world, mostly on roads that are big circles.

The lots are all original, as far as I can tell. As I said, in my game, many are missing doors/windows because I don't have a lot of build content from the Store, but if you have that stuff, this probably won't be an issue. The world has some, but certainly not all, of the "standard" community lots. There's a library, two gyms, a graveyard, a couple dive bars, a vampire lounge, a nectary, and several markets as well as a couple of "real" rabbitholes, namely the movie theater and the police station.

Overall, I feel this world has some excellent bones to it, and it has some truly spectacular scenery. So, I think it's a excellent world to have if you like to finish/renovate lots but not build them from scratch, especially if you like the architectural style. With finishing and, in my opinion, taming some out-of-control flora, this would be a completely gorgeous world that (hopefully) would run well. Or, if you want to take some beautiful, atmospheric scenery pics, it's good as-is. But, it's not as "plug and play" as I'd generally want for these world overviews I do. I do think it deserves a feature, though, just for the world sculpting/decoration and the prettiness of many of the lots.

But enough talk! Time for pictures. Since the rabbitholes don't work, I'm going to dispense with the usual map view and Edit Town pics and just post a bunch of random pics.

[robby-bobby-tommy]

Okay, now there's a character I have in TFP I wish I'd see more of. And this is my cowboy Autobot Wheeljack. So if I can't see more of him, I'll discuss him. Brace yourself for a Wheeljack/Bulckhead relationship analysis.

I really like this character, but it feels so wrong that he gets no good solid long talk with Bulckhead about their history (at the point of season 2. Haven't seen season 3 and movie yet).

There's 4 plot points that aren't really explored with him and Bulckhead imo.

Firstly, Bulckhead's hard choices that hurt Wheeljack.

Seeing how Wheeljack couldn't let go of Bulcky's abandonment of the Wreckers, I hardly consider that the dialogue between them was pleasant.

"Hey, you don't know Optimus as I do! Being a wrecker meant everything to me, but I left it behind cuz..."

"Because Prime was the real thing blah blah blah"

There's some kind of undisguised pain/anger in a way he says it. And yet they have no conversation about it, even though Wheeljack is clearly hurt. For some reason I feel the kind of betrayal in Jackie's voice and not only because of that particular abandonment (though it's the main reason). The other reason of this pain is a second chance that Bulckhead has lost/ignored waaay back in a first season. Remember how Wheeljack offered Bulkhead to go with him like good ol' times? Call me dumb, but I see it like some kind of a test, last chance given to his friend he hasn't seen in probably centuries. But he failed. He once again choose someone else above him, above wreckers.. And I don't want to antagonise Bulkhead, he might have had the best intentions at heart, but from Wheeljack's perspective it was another proof of the painful truth, which leads me to the second issue. Time's arrow neither stands still not reverses, it merely marches forward.

Secondly, Everything stays, but not actually.

It's an another interesting trait I see in WJ. He desperately tries to hold on the past, the Wreckers. It was kinda confirmed by Bulkhead's own words: "...... Because some bots never change, hah.....". This is also represented in Wheeljack's desire to get his old crew together by seeking his wrecker friends, offering Bulckhead to go with him. Maybe it is also why Wheeljack is so against Ultra Magnus. Now this is where I have a question. Since Transformets: Exodus is canonical to TFP, there's a strange contradiction between these two amazing narrations. TFE says that Wreckers formed under the Ultra Magnus' command after the siege of plateau Hydrax (sorry if I call somethings different names. English isn't my first language and I'm reading the translated version), but in TFP he was sent by OP to rule them for some reason. What should I believe? But anyhow, my analysis is also proven by his inability to go further in some ways. Being a loner and unable to work in a team Prime may be a subconscious repulsion of novelty. He doesn't want to be like Bulckhead back on Cybertron. Which, once again leads us to the second big problem in the Wreckers relationship I wished we'd see them discuss. "Do you even care?"

Thirdly, Bulckhead seemingly carelessness for his fallen camarades.

While Wheeljack was searching through the space for his Wreckers, Bulckhead stayed at Earth with Optimus, not even trying to at least contact some of them. I know it wasn't Bulcky's fault, knowing the situation, but it still might have just be yet another proof how Bulckhead moved on with his life, while Jackie couldn't do it for centuries. The another moment that planted yet another seed of this realization in WJ's head was once again the proposal Bulck has denied. From WJ's perspective it just seemed that some human he [Bulckhead] knew for a few weeks/months meant more than him, than wreckers than the precious past. Which is somehow very depressing. It's way too late for me to come up with interesting transition. "What took you so long, Bulck? Don't tell me ridin' with Prime made you...... Soft"

The last, but not least interesting thing I've noticed is BH's and WJ's different opinions on the commanders.

I think this is the last nail in the coffin of their past. Like I guess in late season two/season three WJ finally realized that no matter how much he'd like to be back to the good old days with Bulckhead, it is impossible. It was centuries, Bulck changed and there was nothing Jackie could do but accept him, like Bulcky and Team Prime (kinda) did.

In the end of this dumpster fire of an analysis of this relationship, I want to summarize all in kind of TLDR way.

Basically all I've meant is it's sad we've never got to see them talk deeply about their problems with each other. It would've been an interesting dynamic of a friend who moved on and the friend who desperately holds on the past.

Okay, it scrapping 4 in the morning where I live. I have an hour of sleep left👍 and sorry for grammar..... I'll go a mimir.

[ineadhyn]

Writer interview

@vixstarria tagged me and I finally get to do it! Thank you <3

I am tagging @sky-kiss @scuttlingcrab and @thedomesticanthropologist

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

13 and some are multi-chapter. All are BG3 except for a german Inkheart one

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

85.408 -that is a surprising amount of words for being active less than a year

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

His consort, his god - I finally wrote smut for a popular ship XD (bloodweave)

At her mercy - kinky sapphic Karlach x Durge smut

Natures most beloved treasure - Halsin x trans masc Tav smut

Direct from Hell Logistics - ongoing Raphael x Haarlep comedy/angst/smut/plot - this one has it all

A song of snow and embers and Copper Hearts share this place. one is a F/F/F/F foursome and the other my Astarion x male Tav longfic

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I appreciate every single comment and try to show that. There's nothing better than the e-mail that says "comment on your work" and it can make my whole day. Sometimes I don't know what to respond if it's just a word or a keybord smash, but rest assured I see you and I love every one of those, too.

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Angsty ending hmmmm. Because some of my stuff is not completed yet I am not gonna spoil anything but Dust and ash about Astarion's backstory was naturally quite angsty

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Not. gonna. spoil XD

7. Do you write crossovers?

Not yet. Maybe I could count Copper hearts because I took Francys from my original work and planted him into Bg3

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No, not yet.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do. I am exploring all kinds atm with preferably queer pairings wlw or mlm or nb. I can also write mlw from the men's perspective but not the other way round :D

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I know.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Boy I wish.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No and I am not sure if I could commit to a project like that.

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Hmmmmm ... Raphlep probably

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

My german Inkheart fic with a genderbent lesbian Basta. Damn I was invested in creating this character, but gave up after a while because it was a lot of work and it being german and a niche topic in a small fandom was not very rewarding tbh. I know I should not care and maybe I'll come back to it when the Inkheart obsession comes over me again.

15. What are your writing strengths?

I am good at setting the scene. Atmosphere and small mundane details that make the setting feel alive. I have always liked that in reading as in writing, because it makes you feel like you are actually there when you can hear and smell and taste the scene.

Also I am okay at developing coherent plot, but that's mainly practice from writing a lot of og work before I started with fics.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

I still struggle with english grammar and punctuation at times so I always have a beta reader. And I am lucky to have great ones.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I am not a fan. It confuses me. Singular phrases and such yes, but not entire dialogue. Especially if it's german in an english fic I get super confused.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

*digs through her files* So, my first works were basically fic for my best friend's story. (I was in my early teens.) But since she was the author the lines between canon and fic are blurry and the "fandom" consisted of three people of which one was the author XD

So if we don't count that the first one would be Hunger Games - It was one chapter and I never published it

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

We'll see what posesses me next I guess, though I think Bg3 will stay with me for a considerable amount of time. And ship wise ... I feel Durgetash creeping up on me.

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Definitely Direct from Hell Logistics. I am having so much fun with it. It constantly makes me laugh and sheme and I also feel all the angst. Also it is ongoing and I get to explore the story alongside the readers (though I have a rough plot structure to keep me on track).

[envious0fm3]

Is a deity reaching out? (PLEASE I need help to see if one's reaching out and identifying who"

Okay so I want to begin with I'm a beginner witch, I don't do deity work but I've had a sudden interested in them. I've been seeing things that seems like signs but I truly don't know if I'm going through spiritual psychosis or something. I've been doing divination to confirm but I'm not that experienced in divination. I asked my pendulum board if there's a deity reaching out to me. It said yes, I know that doesn't necessarily mean there is one. I went to my spirit box and changed communication to a spirit box to see if that would be better for conformation. For the past 4 days I've been communicating that way and recording the conversation and going back to the recording to see what words are coming through. I've been seeing snakes a lot, shows or movies I watch recently all involve with daemons and I wouldn't even know that's what the movies about or show or even with Greek mythology or hearing about gods and not intentionally doing it. I get certain urges to research stuff about daemons or stuff about other deities, I've been getting dreams back to back. Like I'll have 3 to 4 dreams a lot this week, last night I had a dream about being in a room with million of bee's, the other day while driving I seen two crows in the road. Back to the spirit box I've asked some questions and I know there's a big thing with trickster's so I don't know if what I'm truly talking to is a deity. I've been asking these questions for four days in a row to see if I get a different outcome. I will be putting the questions I have asked though and the responses to see what your thoughts are.

What are you known for? They replied back with known to "disagree" "does not care anymore" "made them sink or see" "roses" "God" "death" "water" "father time" "who's there when the nights falling" which idk what that means.

What are you associated with? The responses back were the sound of music notes, "snakes" "owl" "interesting" "of a great thing" "I'll wait for you" "love yourself" "often says" "support for" "you" I then asked if they’ve sent me signs. They proceeded to play this certain music note, “color” “plants” “company” and said “this is wrong discussion” “be patient” “for so long” “with us” “music notes again” “Oh dear” “you don’t even hear us” Next question was

How long have you been reaching out to me? They replied with “well” “we’ve been waiting a little long” “years” “a bunch” “Atlanta” “listen to what he says” “snakes” “what he’s trying to say”

I asked what signs have they gave me and its says "you know"

What are things you would want me to know? The reply was “you’ll know from the start” or maybe it says star, “dark” “likes bees” “give me a second” “now” “demon” “i’m a god” “lay down or laying down” “water” “get closer” “learn” “love” “we’ll talk about that later”

What element are they associated with and they only gave me a direction and they said North.

Other random statements

Starting the session “Good Afternoon” “it’s you” “what you got on” because ngl what I had on was pj’s and it looked badd, “have the way of life” Then I said that we’re going to be contacting throw the spirit box they replied with “here we go”.

More random statements

"Hi, question how do you know?" "put music on" "Leo" "envy" "2021" "get turns on earth" then I think it said "at night no questions" at least that's what it sounded like. (This is probably referring to one night that I was asking questions) Then proceeded to say "if you have to you have to" then it said "you are new" "that's so bad" "Hey bad girl" which I got so confused because idk if that was supposed to be humorist.

It would say random things like number 2, look at all the stuff because I had my spirit box, emt meter, tarot cards, pendulum board, “we find stuff” “who do you want” “the audience stays” “no right” “here” “ I don’t think it’s enough”

When I went to go get a lighter because I wanted to light a candle I couldn’t find it

“there” “I seen one” “there” “there is one” “faster” which i found it and it was right in front of my face.

First session and noticing I'm recording the conversation

“hold on” “i’m on the phone” “i’ll go through the phone” 

Thinking of my ex for a second during the session "Damn girl, are you thinking about a ex.

Last question I asked was do they get annoyed with me asking question it replied back with "a lot of response"

After my 2/4 sessions, a day after, my mom put a show on and something in my head was telling me to watch it. It was the show called Abigail the good witch. During as I was watching it there was certain words that caught my eye that kept repeating like "death" it even showed roses. Then at the end to were the credits is. It was a raven or a crow. At this point, I don't know if what i'm going through is spiritual psychosis or actually a deity around me. I need help and advice on what you think is happening and if it is a deity what deity would it be.

[levy120]

Foreign

Rating: PGWords: 790 (Complete) Genre: Slight Whump, Introspection, Speculation, AU Lore: Rayman 2, Captain Laserhawk speculation

Characters: Rayman, Razorbeard, unnamed manager

Summary: Rayman arrives on Eden. Warnings: Trafficking

AN: This is just wild speculation, probably not what's going to happen, likely not even up to my usual standard, but I'm vibing and I need to get the wriggles out :D

Read also on: [dA] | now also on [ao3] ❗❗❗ See also: [You are here] | [Part 2] | [Part 3] | [Part 4] | [Part 5]

More like this: [Rayman Oneshots Masterpost]

"Razorbeard," the voice on the other line crackles, "What have you got for me."

The robot cackles with confidence.

"Depends what you're looking for," he smirks, "I got a whole slew of new slaves to offer! Need physical labor? I got a bunch of kiddy hands just waiting to be put in a sweatshop!"

"Ah…. no," the voice on the other end replies fairly quickly, "My problems right now are a little more delicate. The rabble is unhappy. Do you have something… exotic for me, to keep the crowds entertained? And... distracted?"

Razorbeard slinks in his chair with a thoughtful hum.

"You know," he drones, "I just might! But that one's gonna cost ya, pal."

"Oh really," the voice on the other line sounds intrigued, "What are we talking about?"

"One of a kind," the robot laughs, "You'll have to see it to believe it."

---

"Well, yes, but no…." the assistant comments as they regard Rayman's cell.

"It looks unique yes, but it kinda seems a little dead inside, don't you think?"

Razorbeard waves her nagging aside with a "Pshaw! Then pamper it a little for all I care. Tell you what," he waves a finger at the secretary, "It took me some buckling to get him this way! You'll thank me later for his obedience."

"If you say so," the secretary comments before the flash of a camera startles the Limbless to look up at his visitors.

And suddenly the secretary can't help but smile.

"For all it's worth, it is rather cute," she says, "I cannot imagine it being as much trouble as you claim."

"And that makes him perfect for your cause! Don't you say?"

A thoughtful hum. Another flash of light that has Rayman recoil.

"Maybe."

---

"Chin up, little one," the assistent prattles as she guides Rayman through a large building. Doors upon doors rowed together next to ear, white walls. It would be easy to get lost in here.

Not like trying to escape is very high on Rayman's list, what with being stranded on a different planet. Far from a home that's burning. His friends, gone, dead likely, for trying to keep up the fight.

One of the doors opens. Rayman takes note that it doesn't creak or jar. It's almost surreal.

"This will be your room. Take a moment to get comfortable. You'll have to be in a better mood when the boss comes around next. He did pay a hefty sum for you."

Rayman makes a derisive sound of acknowledgement, but doesn't respond otherwise.

The assistant raises a brow at him, muttering under her breath about mistakes and wasted money as she brushes through her notes.

"I'll be back later today to bring dinner. Anything we need to know?"

Rayman's head turns to look up at her in cautious distrust.

"Are you a vegetarian?" she asks with a hint of annoyance, "Vegan? Any allergies?"

The hostility in Rayman's eyes fades, giving way to honest surprise.

"Oh," he startles at his own voice almost before replying with a humble "No preference."

The secretary jots down a note with a hum and a patronizing "Oh goody. It speaks. See you later."

Then she brushes past him. The door behind Rayman closes… and locks. Not like that would stop Rayman if he still had his powers - but even then, he has no desire to see that bleak corridor again.

With a sigh he slowly starts to explore his new quarters. He's not delusional about trading one cell for another. Even though this one has a bed and a large window - he's towering above a noisy cityscape with even more machinery and not a single plant in sight…

A golden cage is still a cage.

He doesn't know why he's here yet.

But he doesn't want to think about it. It's been a long time his mind has been running with so many thoughts. It's riveting, but exhausting.

He'll have to put all his mental energy into learning what this place is. What is expected of him. It's not like he can just leave (yet). Trying to cling to that thought is just going to hurt.

But the memory still invades his mind, of when he'd first washed ashore on the Glade. Of how he'd been first scrutinized, then welcomed by the most lovely friends he could have imagined…

But they're gone now. And they're… not coming back.

He hangs his head in his hands. If ever he were to be so lucky to have companionship again, there's no way it could measure up to or replace what he's lost.

So for now Rayman will just have to do, what he does best -

Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

When Rayman looks up next, there's a fire in his eyes.

___

/Edit 09-28 ...Ooops, I made a sequel

[cartoonmadness2230]

One day in mid summer my foster parents, with who I was living with at the time had called over a medium (someone who works with the supernatural) to look at our house and to speak to deceased loved ones.

I, age 11 at the time had just lost my own mother not even 2 years back was slightly touched by this offer of getting to speak with my mother again, even if it was for one last time. But I however didn't like the fact about talking to a complete stranger about my mother's passing.

I hesitately sat on the front porch and watched as the medium stepped out of her car.

I don't remember much about her except she was drivering a black car that was probably give or take 6 maybe seven years old, it definitely wasn't new on any means. But I do remember she was wear a leather jacket and a wight button up top with blue skinny jeans and brown flats. I don't remember her face but she had gold ball earrings and blond neck length hair. I think it was dyed cause at the top it looked somewhat black or gray.

My foster parents weighted eagerly on the front porch for the medium to come up the 4 stairs up to the porch.

The medium sat down and smiled, she placed her bag on the side of her chair, readjusted her hair and sighed happily before asking names. (I'm not going to state names of the foster parents because of bad relations I had with them, but I'll call them mother and daughter since the were a family that had adopted me. Side note mother is 62 around this time and daughter is 27.) I didn't even get a chance to say my name or even speak before it was said for me.

I looked down slightly sadden by this and I think the medium could tell to but never said anything. (I can't remember what the mediums name is so I'm just going to call her the medium like I have been.) The medium goes on with speaking before asking about the house and us.

We had nothing strange or weird happen with the house so I don't know why my foster parents were so eager to talk about the house to see if anything was in the house with us. Maybe because the house was built in 1910, but so is the house I live in now.

The mother says that we just moved I that year and are making a garden in the back for my deceased mother. The daughter chimes in and says that they have been digging and going to plant flowers in the back right up against the fence.

This medium stops smiling and looks at the mother and daughter in fear, she glups and says.

**"Don't dig any deeper."**

Everyone goes silent and the daughter simply says "what?"

The medium swallow's hard and grabs her purse, putting it on her lap clutching it hard.

"Don't dig any deeper. For your own good I suggest stopping now unless you want to waken something."

All color drians from my face as the medium says this, my foster parents on the other hand just shrug it off and continue asking about their deceased loved ones. I don't even remember what happened next, I was so zoned put to even recall.

All I remember though is slowly sitting up " I'm going to my room." I say in a panicked voice as I hurry to my room. My foster parents don't say anything probably in assumption that I was going to my room because I was upset about talking about my dead mother.

I close the door and slowly look out the window to the ' garden ' we are making for my mother. As I stare at it my heart sinks and I feel this fear I never felt before. If I already didn't feel as scared as I was I would've been okay. But no, my head hurt, my stomach hurt. I didn't know what was going on, so I turned on my Playstation and turned on Spotify. I listened to some of my music to calm me down, but out of the corner of my eye I see my foster parents start to head to the backyard.

**They start digging**

Again my heats drops and I rush to the window, I can't tell them to stop, I would get in trouble for doing so, I woukd get grounded. I just stare at them as they start to dig, **they find something.**

They call my name and I run downstairs, sliding my flip-flops on and running out the back-door and into the yard.

" Hey Bailey check this out." The mother says " Daughter found some really old kids toys hidden in the ground. " I pause and look at the Daughter, in her hands she's holding a hand full of toys. Some rubber ducks, Donald duck toys, rubber bouncy balls and a singular jack.

I chuckle a bit at the singular jack, but I still feel uneasy. They head inside to wash the toys off.

The toys were so dirty, the must of been there for at least 2 to 3 decades.

It's bedtime and I get into bed, the uneqst feeling already had left me by now and I can sleep easy...

I wake up, room completely dark. My nightlight off, I go to sit up to turn it on, but I can't. I can't move, I'm completely pearlized to the bed. I can feel myself trying to move but no luck. I can still move my head slightly from side to side and up and down. I go to speak, nothing.

Nothing comes out, I look around. Nothing but a muffle. The same uneasiness coming back to me as I finally see it...see **her.**

I look right in front of me to see a girl hiding in the corner of my room, we're my shelf is, she reaches the top of my room. Her neck and upper back hitting the ceiling, the row of shape teeth, matted hair, dirty clothes, yellowed bloody teeth, dirty and brused skin, jetting out bones.

I go to scream, nothing. Tears form in my eyes as I look at her. She stares at me with a inhuman frown, her bones, her limbs. It's like her bones couldn't fit inside of her own body, like she was growing to fast.

Eventually I wake up, tears falling from my eyes as I just stare at the corner she was just in for 10 minutes straight before a name pops into my head.

Janedoe

Janedoe was the onky fitting name, since there was nothing on her to tell me who she was and what she wanted, but rest assured that I wasn't getting any sleep that night.

The next few dreams or nightmares I had with her were relatively the same, except she was now smiling. I had around maybe 3 more dreams over her in this house before we moved to a newer house.

I had around 4 dreams with Janedoe in them, the first at this new house playing out the exact same, the second one was the same but Janedoe slowly came closer to me and either bite my neck or head , i cant really tell. But I could tell in this dream when she bite me she had red eyes, the third dream...

I wake up, not in my own home, but my old home, in my old room. It's daylight outside and I look around confused, not knowing what's going on, the room looks nothing like I used to. Completely white walls, and dirty wood planks coming up from there floorboards.

The only things that were in the room were a bed and I mirror. The bed had lavender purple bedsheets on them with a singular pillow with nothing else. I turn to face the mirror, the wall around it cracking from age.

But when I look in the mirror it's not me, it's Janedoe. I look at her in the mirror, bones jetting out in disgusting ways that would make anyone puke, but she can somehow still stand.

This is when I realize I not me, I'm her. This is a memory of Janedoes.

I believe in the supernatural and withcraft and all that fun jazz since I'm an Atheist. And I'm more spiritual then anything, but this got to me since now I was 12.

She looks out the window pulling back the white curtains that have little embroidered lavender flowers on them, the backyard is filled with lavender flowers, two women in all wight dresses and big floppy hats stand in the yard talking to each other. Janedoe seems puzzled by this until banging can be heard, she goes to open the door but it's locked. She jiggles the doorknob but nothing happens.

This is when I get a good look at the door, I'm no longer in Janedoes point of view. The door is covered in lockes from the bottom to the top of the door, there was at least 30 or more different types of locks. Sliding locks, key locks, it didn't matter.

Soon a man can be heard yelling from downstairs, he stroms uo the stairs angerly with a bekt in his hand. He looks like a priest but everything that's black is white and everything that white is black except his shoes being brown. His hair is slicked back with a permanent cow lick.

Soft whimpering can be heard from inside the room, the man grunts in anger before unlocking all the locks.

" YOU STUPID LITTLE BITCH, YOUR GONNA GET IT NOW!" The man yells as he slams the door shut. Whipping noises can be heard along side with wails and screams.

I wake up, not in the middle of the night but around 10 in the morning. I start thinking about this dream I just had. I researche some of the things I saw in the dream and I now know that this dream most likely took place around 1950 to 1952. I also have a feeling, by how the man acts, and how Janedoe acts that she's most likely 12. She's still just a child. And from what I can make out from my dreams of her and the toys that were barred I the backyard of my old house. Janedoe really liked ducks and jacks.

The last dream I had with her played out like any other, but this time she was smiling a genuine smile at me while waving. Again I woke up in daylight and not in the middle of the night like the other dreams. But now I'm 15 and till this day I've never had another dream about Janedoe.

I think her sprite finally found peace, that she protects me in some way. I think that's a good thought to have dint you think?

Sorry this is so long, my coworker and I were talking and I brought up this. She said to write it into the CreepyPasta website/page. I don't know we're that is so im writing it here.

Here's a drawing of Janedoe

If you guys want to make fanart of her go ahead, just credit me and @ me so I can see your lovely creations! 😊

@t4t-hantunia @max-the-silly-guy @horrorartist23

[changingplumbob]

Knightstone Household: Chapter 6, Part 4

With Silas finally being a toddler, I can go back to joining Suzanna at work for fun and shenanigans.

Whoops. Looks like Suzanna was trying to sleep in, but early riser Silas does not think that's a good idea. I thought he might wake her up by babbling to her but no, looks like he is going to cry her awake instead.

Suzanna: Starshine are you okay? come have a hug

Silas: Mummy

Since Adam was up he ushers Silas to have breakfast so Suzanna can get ready for work.

Silas: Pop pop sing

Adam: I don't sing, I have no singing skill

Silas: I sing

Adam: Can you eat first dude

Silas: la la ba la la fo de do de do

Adam: Few more handfuls son, come on

Adam is writing his morning column when he hits level 7 writing skill. He is doing an excellent job at work so now that he meets the requirements, will today be a promotion day for him? Silas spends some time playing on the couch then we follow Suzanna to the lab.

Suzanna has random tasks today. After viewing a piece of art she has to do some invention brainstorming and whip up a few serums. Then she needs to mind control workers to change outfits (we choose athletic wear today) and spends most of the afternoon on the microscope.

When Suzanna arrives home it appears Silas has a full hunger bar. This makes it only too easy for him to sing to his parents as they eat.

Adam: Great news, I am now a Chief Critic

Suzanna: Congrats. What does that mean?

Adam: More respect and a higher salary for starters

Something in the lounge/dining/kitchen area is annoying Adams squeamish side but do you think I can find what it is? No.

(Future me here again, pretty sure it's the frogs that are making him squeamish, but we are displaying our collections Adam so deal with it)

So I send him off for a run while Suzanna offers to teach some shapes to Silas. In this moment he levels up socially and can now talk!

If only sims could sit down to teach blocks

Suzanna: That is a cube

Silas: The block is a queue be

Suzanna: Each side of the cube is a square

Silas: A square is a side of the queue be

Suzanna: You got it starshine!

Silas: A queue be has squares

The next morning Silas has some play time in the backyard. Adam has successfully prevented abductions for the day so does some painting.

Silas: Chugga chugga vroom vroom

Adam: Don't run me over son

Silas: Beep beep *pushes horn*

Guess who forgot to fix the plants? Still me. At least Suzanna can finish pretty quickly and get some time in with Silas before work.

Silas: Mummy, give hug

Suzanna: What a wonderful hugger you are

Silas: You the hugger

Suzanna: mwah mwah mwah

Silas: *giggles* mummy funny

Suzanna: Larain? Why are you here?

Larain: They said it was an open day so we thought it would be fun to visit

Suzanna: Just make sure you keep your disguises on, my co workers haven't seen actual aliens before

Larain: But they see you everyday Suzanna: Not looking purple

Larain: Don't worry, we're blending in experts

Suzanna: If you say so. Hey, since you're here, would you mind testing my serum

Larain: No problem, us aliens must stick together

Suzanna: Shh, here comes Faye, total non believer

Larain: I'll be cool. But maybe I'll be cool over there

Faye: Damn tourist days, I'd rather aliens

Suzanna: Really?

Faye: I'm kidding, aliens don't exist

Suzanna: You sure?

Faye: Maybe there could be like space gnomes though

Suzanna: Space gnomes?

Faye: Just think about it, logic tracks, small green men

Suzanna takes some time to study the stars, there's plenty of prints she has yet to unlock. When she heads back downstairs there's just 1 tourist left

Suzanna: Sorry, I forgot your name

M-something: It's okay, I forget my human name all the time

Suzanna: Tell me about it

Suzanna: Were you looked after today

Silas: Pop pop fun, we play

Suzanna: That's great. Can you guess what mummy did today

Silas: Save world

Suzanna: Almost. I talked to some other aliens

Silas: Other aliens?

Suzanna: There's more than just you me and pops here

In the morning Silas has plenty of time playing before he is caught for breakfast

Adam: Slide down son

Silas: Pops, other aliens, how many?

Adam: I don't know

Silas: A zillion?

Adam: More like a dozen

Silas: Dozen?

Adam: Some handfuls here

Silas: Hands full of breakfast?

Suzanna spends her last day of work this week doing the regular tasks. Mix up some serums (with varying results), analyse some fruit, and of course brainstorm for a bit on the invention constructor. Can't forget to mind control the workforce either.

Suzanna manages to get three coworkers into their party outfits. We just ignore the moral implications of mind control I guess?

Faye: Man my party outfit is so comfy

Nalani: I know what you mean

Faye: I just got this urge to change

Nalani: Why shouldn't we have causal Friday?

Suzanna decides to not use her coworkers as test subjects today. She has unlocked a serum called Fixer's Luck that may improve her handiness skill so for accurate results we'll have to drink it ourselves. Bottoms up! Results in three, two one...

Uh oh, science fail. Suzanna now has a sad moodlet titled "Can't fix my heart. My achy breaky heart. This is not the time to be romantic." Why do I find this so funny? Clearly Suzanna will have to step up her serum testing game to find more written gems.

Sad Suzanna decides since she has finished her mandated tasks, she'll spend the afternoon outside the lab. All our digging and we only have 1 new collectable. She checks the alien crater and finds a Blue Slug which she already has, so sends the little guy back to Sixam. If only creatures of her size could be sent back as easily.

Back home and the sad moodlet is still there

Silas: Why you sad mummy?

Suzanna: I had some bad serum

Silas: I'll sing after I finish sand mich

Suzanna: Thank you starshine, that'll help

Silas: I great at help, pops says I charming

Suzanna: You are a little charmer

Silas: You listen mummy

Suzanna: I'm listening

Silas: La la lu la, ru rah ru rah, stars are fun fun, alien fun fun, I a star, la la lu la, ru rah ru rah

Suzanna: Did you make that up all by yourself?

Silas: Yes! I sing star

Suzanna: You are so imaginative starshine

Adam: Did I hear the sound of a superstar

Silas: Pops I sing. Make mummy happy

Adam: Are you okay starlight

Suzanna: I will be, just had a bad serum

Adam: What happened to getting the workforce to test them

Suzanna: I can't give it to them every time, the testing won't register

Adam: Great job making mummy happy my dude. It's always nice to cheer up a sad girl

Suzanna: Or a sad boy

Adam: Right. Boys can get sad to

Silas: I sad after potty accident

Adam: Exactly, and that's okay to be sad about

Suzanna: He needs sleep, can you read a story?

We have arrived at the end of the Knightstone rotation. Silas is now level 2 at potty hooray for being able to try by himself! No pregnancy yet for these two, much to Adam's relief and Suzanna's disappointment, maybe next time we check in with the aliens...

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