#protect the heck out of the otters

[montereybayaquarium]

In a bay not so far away, eelgrass blades sway in the shifting tides. Over time, algae can start to cover the blades, growing so thick that it smothers the eelgrass. 

But wait! Enter the unsung heroes: sea slugs! They nibble away at the algae, keeping the eelgrass clean and thriving.

But oh no—here come the crabs! Yes, some crabs are cool, but too many can devour the hardworking sea slugs, leaving the eelgrass exposed again to the smothering algae.

Who will restore balance to the wetlands? 

The sea otter swoops in! By snacking on the slug-eating crabs, sea otters help keep this wetland ecosystem in check. 

Hooray, healthy and happy eelgrass for all! 

[asunflowerana]

how to crash a study date

with: Bakugou Katsuki as your brother.

warnings: bakugou. that's all you need to know.

a/n: request of @the-hangry-otter for the How to Crash a Date blog event. Thank you for joining darlin', hope you enjoy it 😊💕

"Stay covered. Don't let them notice you, right?"

Bakugou wishes he didn't give ears to Kirishima’s stupid plan, and just bursted the whole thing up. Nonviolence it’s not something natural for him, especially with situations involving his family; but if he wants this to work, he needs to stay put, watching his baby sister being disgustingly ogled by a moron and not being able to do anything about it.

And wearing a fake mustache as coverage!

“tsc, freaking dork.” he scolds lowly, watching through the lens of his sunglasses at the way your classmate is passionately gazing at you, not even hiding his smile whenever you touch his shoulder to show something over your laptop, or share eye-contact for more than three seconds. That guy is so taken with you, that makes Bakugou want to puke in disgust, his expression hardening while watching the scene.

And what makes the blonde even madder, is that you’re not even noticing the way that punk is practically drooling over you. What the heck were you thinking of going out with him? He doesn’t look like he could throw a punch to a goose, let alone protect you should anything happen; he’s probably one of those fancy pants wonks with pathetic quirk and overly confidence. He might be enough for those other extras, but surely not good enough for his little sister.

He was fairly right to follow you over this “study date”. 

Bakugou’s temper was already boiling since he got into this stupid cafe trying not to lose you from sight; now imagine when he spots that moron suddenly taking a loose lock of your hair, fondling it between his fingers for a moment before tucking it behind your ear. 

He sees red.

Before the poor guy could make another move his hand is ripped away from your face, his wrist getting twisted backwards painfully by a brutal and unknown force. It takes one look above to see the enraged pair of red eyes staring down at him. “Get your filthy paws away from her!”

It takes a considerable amount of time to stop Bakugou from blasting the whole place up. 

a/n: one minute of silence for the poor date 😂

© asunflowerana 2024 — all rights reserved.

[ask-north]

Walt approaches Finn. Seem he is very lively and confident when he sees someone like him. "H-hey! Nice to see you! Also wow, you have a human partner like my b-bro? How d-did you met her? For me, I've been hatched from the Egg... as I could remember f-from my memories."

✧ Finn seemed to study Walt for a long moment, he really was odd-looking... He wasn't quite like her. In fact, he wasn't like any other Dewott she had seen before! She softly hummed in thought before she gave a final cheerful grin.

Finn: I like it! It makes you unique!

✧ The otter wistfully looked upward... though you weren't sure what she was looking at as nothing was there. She seemed lost in her own thoughts of the past.

Finn: It wasn't just any day, no!

Finn: There wasn't nothin' a little cute face and a few nudges couldn't solve! We were doing regular starters this year, no fancy regionals like me! I was ready for anything!

Finn: This was a very special year for the region, there were hundreds of kids and parents in line ready to receive their new pals!

Finn: Her and her parent, weren't even from this city. Finn: I suppose they travelled a long way to get here, But...

Finn: She finally spoke to me and said, "Hey, Oshawott! This is the one, You don't have to keep searching for them anymore." Finn: I was awestruck, my little heart was sold the moment I laid eyes on North. I couldn't help but stare at my future.

Finn: There were so many exciting adventures running through my head I almost missed what the Professor said! Finn: Even so, I was quick to answer and the professor didn't fight me on it either, It was like they knew too!

✧ Finn triumphantly gestured to North, a never-ending smile plastered on her face. She looked quite gleeful compared to the tired-out and exhausted exterior of her trainer.

Finn: I used to be her #1 Pokemon you know! I was the first one, always there to protect her from any feisty Zigzagoons! After she got the little spirit, that's both me and Smoke's job now! Finn: Even with all the new friends, I don't mind being second though! Besides, I think North's still pretty upset with me after I scared the life out of her! Finn: To be fair, I didn't know she could understand me that day, I spooked her pretty bad too! She even scratched the heck outta her dad!

→ Though Finn kept smiling an awkward silence seemed to come over them at the mention. North looked... suddenly very uncomfortable.

[bellysoupset]

SOUP!!!!!!!

oh my goodness this halloween saga is INSANEEEE AND I LOVE IT SO SO SO MUCH AGHHHH😭 i’ve had one of the worst weeks ever and i seriously think that reading this saga was one of the main reasons i made it thru LMAOooo

PLS THE ANGST WAS SPECTACULAR I CANT EVEN EXPLAIN TO YOU HOW MUCH I LOVED THESE FICS. everything with vin and luke was fucking adorable I LOVE THESE BOYS and their friendship so freaking much <3 then bella with jon RAH CHEFS KISS BC??? i LOVE that she was all calm and nonchalant and caring but also super chill about it while jon was kinda dying on the inside bc he wasnt being a “gentleman”, but at the same they both stayed playful and silly <333 and THEN MY BABY GIRL MY QUEEN GETTING ROOFIED????????? EXCUSE YOU BC HOW THE HECK DID YOU MANAGE TO EXCEED MY EXPECTATIONS????? like i really cannot tell you how excited i was about this and i wasnt sure how you were gonna approach the whole getting roofied thing but i fully trusted that you’d deliver the angst, AND oh my DID YOU‼️‼️‼️‼️

leo being so protective and worried about her???? both him and bella getting ARRESTED protecting her??????? AND JON’S PANIC GOSHHHHH IT WAS EVERYTHING IVE EVER WANTED TO READ‼️‼️‼️ the lack of sympathy sickness with someone other than leo??????? THE REASSURANCE WHEN SHE WAKES UP AND THE HURT AND HELPLESSNESS WHEN SHES SO OUT OF IT AND HE CANT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT????? THE WORRY AT THE HOSPITAL AND OMFG MY BABY VIN ALL PANICKED AND WORRIED AND BLAMING HIMSELF I CANT BREATHEEEEE 😭😭 and the arrest not being enough for him OOF I CANT DO THIS OMG THIS WAS SO FUCKING GOOD I LOVE YOUR OCs SO FUCKING MUCH SOUP😭😭😭😭😭

AND THE BELLA FIC HOLY MOLYYYYYYY😩😩😩 when i thought it couldnt get better and/or more angsty IT FUCKING DID and i enjoyed every minute of it AHHHHH🫶🏽 leo all worried and side eyeing her as he noticed something wasnt right and then giving her his jacket 😭😭😭 and then the whole conversation with luke where shes so out of it and OH MY GOODNESS WHEN SHE SPEAKS SPANISH WITHOUT REALISING IT‼️‼️‼️ THE WAY YOU INCORPORATED THAT WAS SO REALISTIC AND INSANE AND AMAZING AND TERRIFYING AND THEN SHE JUST PASSES OUT?????? HELLO I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO MY GIRL AHHHH THIS WHOLE SAGA WAS CRAZY GOOD IM OBSESSED.

for real thank you so much for writing this and thus making my shitty week a lot less shitty❤️‍🩹 bc i swear that reading these restored the very much needed happy chemicals in my brain when nothing else could 😭🫶🏽

side note the whole ✨unknowingly speaking spanish✨ situation is so insane and important to me bc, as an international college student in the U.S. who plays a contact sport where it’s common to get concussions, this is LITERALLY ONE OF MY BIGGEST FEARS and OMFG you described the panic and confusion and fear (and just this whole situation im terrified of) SO fucking well AGHHHHH i know i say it all the time but YOU’RE SO FREAKING TALENTED DUDE PLS NEVER STOP WRITING 😩🫶🏽

- 🦦

Otter!! Hi!!

I adore your wall of texts sooo much!

I'm so sorry you had a crappy week Otter 🥺 I hope it's better now or at least that it's gonna start looking up soon!

It's funny you mentioned the unknowingly speaking spanish thing, because I do that all the damn time. English is not my first language but daily I find myself switching to english and then just being?? So confused when the people around me are not understanding.

End of the day, don't freak out if that does happen to you. Gestures is an universal language. You've got my whole heart as another bilingual person in the interwebs.

[5-7-9]

Rewatching Inuyasha and then finding out from Reddit that they rushed Final Act and changed a while heck of things so now I’m reading Inuyasha’s manga before Ranma’s:

For some reason I got the impression (from rewatch because back then i really didn’t think about this on first watch) that Inuyasha and Kagome were totally dating throughout the anime, but kinda weren’t official? There is a filler episode 90 where Sota has a crush, in this it is said by Inuyasha that they were not official and barely even kissed, hence forth why I was confused. But in Inuyasha’s moon lady movie 2 which happens between the running of episodes 95 and 96, they totally kiss! Besides at the end of the entire series, that is the only other time we see them kiss. In reading the mange I have truly gained a new perspective and understand why these redditors were so upset, because unlike the anime where it left their relationship status vague, it was less so in the manga. The anime cut out one of the most touching scenes of the manga’s volume 8 chapter 78, where Inuyasha declares Kagome’s concerns of being a replacement away, and in this he basically confesses how comforted Kagome has made him. I’d say episode 19-21 or just 21 is when they start dating officially. But funnily enough, episode 48 where Inuyasha swore to Kikyo, is pretty much their breakup. So they actually dated for at least 27 episodes! Except they still love each other and know it, so actually they kinda continued to date and never actually broke up? But he also chases after Kikyo? Welp

I’ll admit, I thought it made sense why Inuyasha stuck with Kikyo till really really and I mean REALLY far far end (omfg why did she last that long???), because it seemed Inuyasha was loyal enough to still love her. BUT IN THE MANGA OHHHHHH BOIIIIIIIII that is not clear after all. Reddit says the anime made Kikyo bitchier? Idk, but anyway, slight VIZ translation error but Inuyasha crucially shows signs of confusion at Kikyo’s kiss. Also there might be a continuity error or another translation error because in the anime I was sure they had kissed plenty of times before, but the manga translation acts as though that was Kikyo’s and Inuyasha’s first kiss ever?

episode 51 changed the scene where in the anime Inuyasha gets nervous about Kagome’s wounds but in the manga he just half hugs her as she accepts it. Idk if that was a good or bad change at all, but it certainly leaves a different impression. Because in the anime they bicker, but in the manga they seem more mature with their feelings. In episode 52 where Inuyasha becomes sick with himself after transforming in a full demon, I found the way Kagome’s weird shoulder holding weird because I thought a hug would be less weird, why all that distance from Kagome’s chest when comforting Inuyasha? And I was right, because in the manga volume 19 chapter 187 she actually properly hugs him. I have no idea why the anime changed the position of that hug into a non hug, it’s so stupid and lessens their dynamic somehow.

I like how the manga lets the forest guard demon guy alive since he was peaceful. Explains why I saw him in the cat war filler, i was confused.

The scene where Koga gets serious mad at Inuyasha, the anime added Inuyasha also being serious and telling Koga he’s sorry basically and that he will protect her. I like that addition actually, but I’m sure the manga had Inuyasha stuttering over his anger precisely because he had nothing to say for himself. So not good or bad change, just different.

I think the side story focusing on Miroku being jealous was fun, because for some reason Inuyasha randomly got drunk and acted more like a dog and when he tried holding Sango back. Since I wonder why he doesn’t grab stuff with his fangs more. Not sure why he was drunk tho, i might’ve missed an explanation.

The raccoon or otter demon pretending to be a girl for a moment is only in the anime, but I found it funny and a good addition.

Obvioisly chapter 360 something or 362 specifically was different. I think the flow of the story was much better handled too. I was confused as to how easily and lack of emotionally charged impact the diamond stealing attack was, but now i see from the manga that with Inuyasha and Kikyo and Sesshomaru all fighting at once at Moroyo that the anime’s Final Act episode 2 was rushed as heck! Plus the diamond attack stolen made Kikyo worry and insult Sesshomaru by getting injured.

The group actually knew Koga was trying to acquire a cool new weapon. It was random for the group when in battle in the anime but they knew beforehand in the manga.

Kagome finally made the point about Kagome’s vs Kikyo jealousy versus Inuyasha’s vs Koga jealousy

Why does the fire rat robe become useless on the new moonless night too??????

Okay they changed the reason as to why and how Inuyasha masters his scale sword. Naraku helped him by letting his kill a tree demon so he could use it to defeat Moryo (or whatever, i can’t remember his name, too busy reading to check).

Kinka and Ginka! The group was there when Moryomaru absorbs him!!!!! (okay yeah i checked his name real quick). Kanna betrayal????? Oh so they both get stronger okay. Wow! The brothers death is sadder now! WAIT A MINUTE KINKA ABSORBED HIMSELF INSIDE THE TENSUSAIGA?!??!!? 😱 Wouldn’t that be sorta plot important to the anime… how… how can you cut that out??? His sword can do flame attacks now right? Honestly if the scale absorbs then that snake venom should’ve also been an attack but okay, i guess not. Whatever…

Koga traveling with the group! Funny antic!

These plotlines don’t seem very difficult to adapt honestly. Like it’d take 8 or 10 more episodes maybe to get it all right and maybe include stuff cut out.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh the demon that sealed away Kagome’s spiritual powers was from the shikon jewel!!!!! …did I miss that? 😅 oops.

THEY DIDN’T EVEN KISS AT THE END BWAHAHAHAHAH 😂 of course, only the anime was the one building up to a finale kiss. That’s why they removed all the relationship confirmation, all for this one cliche moment. What idiots!

[depressedhatakekakashi]

So Gai doesn't actually know Nakano is his daughter for 7 life times right? And he only learns that about her being his daughter in his last life after losing Kakashi/ his dogs, right?

Do the two try and make up for lost time afterwards? Is he apologetic for not seeing her grow up- (even though she's technically never growing up because THE SPIRIT OF YOUTH is strong with her XD), or raising her. Does he try and love on her like he loves the new twins that just showed up? Maybe have daughter daddy days while he goes to the river with games/ new books from the book shop to play with/ spend time with his daughter?

Gai just seems the type who would have loved to have been an involved father, if given half the chance, but since he can't change the past, e focuses on the present with her, treating every moment like a gift.

When he becomes a god, I imagine they have all the time in the world to make up and have fun together (here's me picturing him turing into a dragon, and either swiming up her river, or picking her up and flying off wirh her as she has fun hanging onto his hornes as he flies her wherever she wants to go).

Nakano thinks it’s funny how hard her papa is trying, because they do have memories together and a connection. He may not remember those things until he passes, but they exist

During his prince lifetime, when she was first created, she would always sneak a flower from her riverside into his pouch so when he got back to the castle he’d find it and smile. And of course her little mortal brother would rave about her whenever he saw her, and Gai and his queen were the only one’s who didn’t think their son just had an ‘overactive imagination’ though they did think it weird he refereed to the other child as his sister.

During his merchant lifetime he had to take the river to the ocean, and Nakano would always give his boat the push it needed off shore. Gai almost never had to to that part, even when the river was a but lower or he’d taken his boat onto shore for repairs. It always found its way back into the water with ease. And of course Hiroki had the river otters and Nakano to play with whenever they were sailing on the river.

Rouge gai always found the river one of the best hiding spots when he was running from castle guards. He’s not sure why, but even when they were standing right in front of him they failed to see him. Once in a while he even saw a young girl with bushy eyebrows distracting the guards so he could slip away, it actually becomes such a problem that the king decides to test his power by deciding to dog up the river to get rid of the ‘annoying goddess’. That didn’t happen of course.

Poor King got one heck of a scary visit from Nakano’s extra dad (Ibiki) for even thinking of that 🥰🥰😮‍💨

Teacher Gai would take his students to the river side once a week, good weather permitting, to learn. It was one of their favorite spots, and every once in a while the river otters would come out and sit among the students listening to gai’s stories. It would look something like a fairytale to anyone who stumbled upon the scene.

But Gai would still feel he has a lot to make up for. After all, al of those instances were Nakano reaching out to him, or protecting him. It never really got to be the other way around until Kaakshi’s mortal life when Gai would visit the river and bring some of Nakano’s favorite foods because he saw the water slowly receding and wanted to do something to help the goddess gain her strength back. It didn’t do much, but it always managed to bring a smile to Nakano’s face.

[starry-blue-echoes]

OOOOOOOOOOO THESE ARE INTERESTING THOUGHTS

If I may offer some of my own:

I REALLY like the idea of mishmashing various animals instead of sticking to just one. The combination could also add to the monstrous aspect of their transformations because they wouldn't be able to be immediately identifiable and more "unnatural" looking (plus it makes designing them more fun :3)

I love the mental image of Jonathan having the size and horns of a moose combined with the build and floof of a sheepdog. It's both the most adorable thing but also the most TERRIFYING because moose of fucking huge and can fuck. you. UP. Maybe he has the front paws of a sheep dog and the hind legs of a moose.

Jonathan would also probably have some of the worst self image issues of the lot, and be endlessly gentle and careful to overcompensate. He'd probably struggle with controlling his beast because of his fear, and Dio and his father definitely wouldn't help. But there would be soft moments later down the line with Erina and Speedwagon who'd help show him he wasn't a monstrous beast and could be trusted, which ironically would give him more control.

George...... admittedly not too many ideas, we don't know enough about him to make the decision obvious, we really could give him anything and it would work. For shits and giggles my brain said "what if you made him a platypus" just for the chaos, but who knows

I LOVE the idea of Joseph being a raven, and maybe he could also have some snake-like traits. He is a slippery little shit after all. Joseph would also probably have the most control out of all the Joestars. Erina and Speedwagon would recognize the signs, plus they'd already raised George II, so Joseph would be comfortable with his beast and probably use it fairly often, especially during fights. This is also going to add an interesting bit of chaos with the Pillarmen, especially Kars. They weren't at all ready for the Hamon User to become some strange creature thing but Kars is VERY interested

Holly deserves being allowed to kick ass ass treat ✨✨✨ but if I may also add for hybrid consideration: otter. I'm personally very attached to these little guys, and as cute as they are I know for a fact they can be rather vicious if need be, especially river otters. She also packs a mean kick when she wants

Jotaro....... definitely would have some issues, especially because of how much more "dangerous" his form is. For him big ol yes on the wolf, but I'm not fully sure for the secondary animal. Definitely something usually seen as dangerous but very protective of family. Maybe something aquatic/semi-aquatic? Maybe an alligator???

Josuke..... yeah I'm drawing a blank too. Part feline maybe?

I love the octopus idea for Giorno, and maybe to add a bit more to his slight separation from the rest of the Joestars, what if Giorno's also an insect, specifically a ladybug. He has a slight edge in the air and water, but can be almost dangerously fragile in some situations. This might result in him partially rejecting that part of himself because of how weak it makes him, leading to him being more unpredictable in beast form. He'd also have one of the smaller forms, probably small enough he could be picked up

(or who knows, maybe for the irony we could make him part bat)

Jolyne being a fox could be a really fun thing to play with, especially considering how her fighting style is more based on agility and outsmarting her opponents. Maybe similar to Joseph she could have some kind of flying half, but not specifically a bird. Heck, maybe we could make Jolyne part bat instead

(do I have any idea how half of these animal hybrids would look? not in the slightest, but that's half the fun of designing them later)

((also if anyone has any better suggestions, PLEASE share I'm super curious what other possibilities there are))

Werebeast Joestars Au- they have big, monstrous forms, possibly with minimal control over them, drawing a narrative parallel between the villains who reject humanity, who choose not to care for others, and the Joestars, whose monstrous forms don't give them a choice.

Fun narrative parallels between Dio becoming a monster on purpose, and Jotaro and Jonathan using the monstrous traits they were born with and trying to turn them towards good.

Parallels between Diavalo and Giorno, both marked as monstrous and other from the moment of their birth but deciding differently what to do about it.

Parallels between Joseph and the Pillarmen, inhuman beings who don't care about what happens to humanity on their path to power, and one that defends humanity ferociously.

Parallels between Josuke and Kira, an ordinary man killing for his own pleasure versus a monster doing everything he can to protect and heal

Parallels between Jolyne and Pucci, the priest and the monster, the holy and the unholy.

(plus BIG SCARY FRIGHTENING MONSTER FORMS and BODY-HORROR LADEN TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCES are a blast to write)

HEHEHEEHEHEHEHE Y E S S S S S S S

oh I love this thought :>

and what if for fun, the control aspect of the werebeast comes entirely from how accepting the Joestar in question is of it. Like, they can't try and lock it away because when it does come out it will run completely rampant. However, they can't just let it run wild and free without inhibition because that will just lead to the same thing as before, just with less steps

there needs to be a mid ground. They need to guide that part of themselves, gently but still firm. They need to find a middle ground, and while it won't give them complete control, the likelihood of them completely loosing it while transformed is severely reduced

(and for even more fun, what if they can technically shift when they want. Sure, every full moon or so they'll have a forced transformation where they'll run the risk of loosing themselves, but what if when they get more comfortable with it, they can control it, to a certain extent)

((also LISTEN THE AU NAME WAS RIGHT THERE I COULDN'T NOT))

[writersrealmbts]

Lonely Little Jack-o-Lantern

Description: Yoonkook x reader, Hybrid Au, Zombie Apocalypse Au. You operate your own little farm, living in an area that doesn’t have as many zombies as other areas, but one day a group of hybrids show up, and the changes are immediate, especially where Yoongi and Jungkook are concerned.

Warnings: Mild language, mild blood and gore (very mild)

Posted: 10/30/2020

Tags/Genre: Yoonkook x reader, hybrid au, zombie au

Sort of Fluff, Sort of Angst: 12,331 words

A/N: This is long as heck, so I hope you guys enjoy it, it’s not the normal zombie au type so bear with me, and I got caught up in details. All the details. But here is your story, @ditttiii​, my baby bird. And It’s technically still the 29th, but I was formatting it anyway and thought, hey, only a few hours away for me! Happy almost halloween!

You walked carefully, furtively looking around.

Then you spotted it, lifting your machete….

And quickly sliced down and through it, cutting it off at the neck.

Severing it’s lifeline.

How else would you dispatch it?

You straightened up with a grin, putting your machete again. “Perfect! You’ll make a fine jack-o-lantern! And your buddy will make a fantastic pumpkin pie!”

The pumpkins didn’t respond, not that you expected them too.

You picked the smaller one up by the vine and cradled the other in your arm, humming happily as you headed back toward your home.

Sure, there was a zombie apocalypse going on. In fact, most people had retreated to the shelters and military safety zones.

But…you hadn’t actually seen another soul for a couple months, or a zombie since last spring.

Cold was surprisingly effective at getting rid of zombies. They had all migrated to warmer climates, except for the odd straggler that moved so poorly due to frostbite damage that you easily dispatched them.

You’d taken up residence in an abandoned farm-store, with an attached greenhouse that you utilized to maximize food production (plus several extra greenhouses a ways away which definitely helped, but you didn’t use all of them for obvious reasons). You went on your merry way, making enough food for yourself, plus extra just in case, and setting aside extra goods for anyone who happened to come your way. You’d give them shelter plus some dried foods to take with them as they journeyed onward, and they usually repaid you with a couple days of help around the farm or kitchen.

Heck, last summer, you’d hosted an impromptu wedding. The group had been traveling together, both families having been together to meet one another before the wedding, and the groom’s father was a priest. He basically ordained you before he left, even told you where to look for legal documentation at the courthouse for if you ever needed to conduct another wedding.

At this point, the ceremony was more of a comfort sort of thing. A long-held tradition to bring a sense of normalcy to the abnormality of the life everyone now lived.

You paused once you reached your home again, feeling as though something were off.

Slowly you lowered the one pumpkin to the ground, grabbing your machete again.

Then you spotted them. Five figures, moving slowly, just shapes at the moment.

You scooped up the pumpkin again and quickly went inside, putting up your defenses just in case after depositing your pick onto the floor. Then you went out around the back to secure your livestock, which mostly consisted of birds that you had adopted from the abandoned homes and farms around you, a few rabbits, three goats (that you honestly only sheltered for the night, they did their own thing and you let them), and a little piglet that a passing family had left with you a few months ago (the runt of the litter, very weak at the time but slowly growing under your care). You went down the street every morning to milk some of the cows that lived there. You didn’t know enough about them to fully care for them, so you weren’t entirely certain what to do for them, but there was a farmer that came up once or twice a summer to check on you and the cows, and the small herd of cows hadn’t suffered yet. And you had butter, cheeses (when you didn’t mess up the process), canned milk, condensed milk, sweetened condensed milk, and had even tried to make yogurt once or twice (it didn’t go well).

Your next foray would be trying to milk the goats, something you’ve been avoiding because you’d never liked the goat products your family had always pushed on you when you were younger, but desperate times and all.

But that depended on you protecting your home today.

They were moving pretty slowly for humans, but not quite as sluggishly as you would have expected of zombies.

You would have to wait until they were closer.

Whatever they were, they still hadn’t spotted you, even as they got within a 100 feet of you.

“Halt! Identify yourselves!” You called out, pointing the rifle at them.

They stopped, some of them raising their hands, most of them looking surprised.

“We’re just passing through, trying to find our way to the sanctuary!” One of them called.

All of them were men, which made alarms go off in your head.

“You know you’re going the wrong way, right?” You asked, really not buying that story.

Until they all drooped and started griping at each other in a foreign language.

“Hey!” You yelled. “Still waiting!”

“Right, sorry, sorry, um, we were at the Cherimo base, but it was being evacuated, and we were on a smaller plane and it crashed…and…we’re lost…” The one that had spoken before said.

You studied them for a while. You had heard over the radio that something was going on due to resource loss, but the signal had been fuzzy and you weren’t sure why they would….

Was that a tail?

Oh.

Oh.

“Are you hybrids?” You asked, lowering the rifle carefully.

One of them nodded before the spokesperson, then nervously halted when he saw the others weren’t nodding.

You lowered your guard a little more. “Let me guess, autopilot failed?”

They all nodded this time.

It made sense. If there were limited resources, why wouldn’t they get rid of lifeforms they deemed less useful. Nevermind that so far hybrids had shown more immunity to whatever it was that made people zombies. If one of them were bitten or injured by a zombie, as long as they cleaned the wound thoroughly and quickly they wouldn’t turn.

“It…it seriously hurt one of our friends. The other stayed behind to take care of him, and we were supposed to find help. That was a couple days ago though….” The spokesperson said, voice trailing off or choking up.

You bit the inside of your lip, looking at your home from the corner of your eye, then sighing and putting the safety on. “Alright. I’ll get the truck ready, but if there are two people there, I can only take two extra people. The rest of you will have to stay here.”

“You’ll help us?” The spokesperson said, sounding completely surprised.

You nodded, heading toward the door to unlock it. “But there are going to be so many ground rules. First of all, I’m allowing you into my home, don’t make a mess of it. Drink as much water as you like, it’s clean, and I’ll cook something when I get back. But you can’t sleep here. It’s too dangerous for me. You can sleep in the greenhouse, or you could try the farmhouse down the street. I’ll make an exception for your injured friend and one other to keep him company. And I’m still going to be celebrating Halloween in a couple days, so deal with it.”

He was translating, but they already seemed to be agreeing.

You ushered them in while you got the keys to the truck. “Names?”

“Kim Namjoon,” The spokesperson said, “Fox is Jimin, Otter is Hoseok, red panda is Jungkook, and Taehyung is the bear.”

You paused to study him. “And what, exactly, are you?”

“White-nosed coati,” He answered, nervously.

You blinked at him, then shook your head and kept moving. Grabbing your first-aid kit (had you raided the emergency medical center a few miles from your home? yes, yes you had) and heading out to the truck, you didn’t bother looking to see who would join you.

It was Namjoon and the red panda, who thankfully looked strong. Jungkook?

They guided you back to where the plane had crashed, which wasn’t too hard after you got in the proximate area thanks to whoever it was that had stayed behind keeping a nice, smoky fire going.

But they hadn’t been joking.

Their friend was seriously injured.

The other looked up, obviously scared and desperate, relief visible when he smelled his friends, calling out to them in their language.

You hurried over, not caring about the snarl he emitted as you got close.

They had strapped him down carefully, so he couldn’t injure himself by moving, which was good, but….

“Yoongi, she’s here to help,” Namjoon said, more firmly.

You bit your lip. “Get him in the bed of the truck. We need to get him back to a clean environment, get him fully hydrated so that he can replenish any blood-loss, and then I’m going to have to clean and suture his wounds. Someone get the tailgate.”

The four of you quickly moved, but carefully got him into the truck and made sure he wouldn’t get jostled around too much. Then you drove carefully back to your home, parking as close to the door as possible.

You hopped out and hurried inside, rushing to the basement to grab some of the supplies you kept in the cold down there.

It was a slow process, especially since you kept double checking with the medical books and manuals that you were doing the right thing, but the other boys were patient. Namjoon reading it again aloud if you were uncertain, and reassuring Yoongi that you were being careful and doing your best.

So you had his wounds sanitized and stitched, had carefully given him some medicine to fight any infection that may have started despite the dedicated care Yoongi had provided, and all of you had decided that an I.V. was too dangerous to attempt without further research and verification.

And he was partially conscious by the time you finished, so you all just resolved to carefully give him lots of water (he was no longer strapped down, they knew his neck and back weren’t broken, they were just trying to keep him still), and he was carefully propped up in your guest bed by two in the afternoon.

You left Taehyung carefully giving him sips of water, closing the door softly to limit the stimulation.

“Thank you,” A voice said quietly, accent present.

You turned toward the voice and spotted Yoongi, head down. “No problem. He’s okay for now, I think. I’m not exactly a doctor or a nurse, but I’ve done everything I can.”

He nodded slowly, but you weren’t sure how much he actually understood. You thought he must have understood most of it, though.

You nodded as well, then took a deep breath…and turned away, heading for the kitchen. “Let’s get you all something to eat.”

They hesitantly followed you into the kitchen, peeking around furtively, and sticking to the spots that seemed to be out of the way.

You glanced at them, then grabbed a couple jars of chicken broth. “Well, are you going to stand there, or are you going to help?”

“Help,” Yoongi said immediately, stiffly walking a little further into the room.

You nodded, then pointed toward the pantry. “In there are potatoes, carrots, and onions. I need two onions…eight red-skin potatoes…and ten carrots. Could one of you go into the greenhouse, through that door, and get me three stalks of celery?”

Namjoon relayed the message and Jungkook nodded eagerly, heading that way.

“Garlic?” Yoongi asked, bringing out the other things.

You contemplated, then shrugged. “Sure, but only one or two cloves.”

He nodded again and headed back into the closet.

You glanced at the other three, then pointed toward the pantry. “In there, rice. Fill this.” You set a measuring bowl out.

Jimin (?) nodded and took the bowl, heading in to find the rice.

You got the jumbo-sized pot out and some of the butter and oil, but didn’t turn it on yet.

Jungkook came back with the celery and you smiled your thanks, getting a cutting board and a knife to carefully cut it up. Then you turned on the stove on a low setting to let the celery cook a little longer.

You had Hoseok (?) peeling the carrots, with instructions on how to chop them afterward.

Namjoon was washing the potatoes.

Jimin was carefully washing the rice.

Yoongi was chopping the onions.

You set Jungkook to mincing the garlic so you could pay attention to the cooking celery, and trying to remember what else you put in the soup. “Jimin, can you go pick some spinach? Fill this bowl, the tiny spinach, though.” You set a bowl down on the counter.

Jimin looked uncertainly to Namjoon, who translated, then he nodded, and headed out into the greenhouse.

Hopefully he knew what the spinach looked like.

Yoongi brought you the onion and you dumped it into the pot.

“Can you go get green onion? Just a small one,” You asked.

He blinked, then nodded, heading out.

You grabbed some eggs setting them nearby for when the onions were ready, and accepting the garlic from Jungkook, but keeping it to the side for the moment.

You handed the spoon to Jungkook. “Stir now and then.”

He nodded confidently.

You grabbed a pan and some of your cherry peppers and mini-sweet peppers. You cut them into chunky pieces, not too big, then coated them in some oil and put them in the oven under the broiler for five minutes, initially.

Jimin came back with the spinach with Yoongi, who had the green onion you had requested.

Jimin took all of it to the sink to wash it, asking something in Korean.

“He wants to know what you need done with the rice and the spinach,” Namjoon translated.

“Spinach can be coarsely chopped, just keep the rice set aside. The potatoes can be cut, somewhat large…um…” You looked around, then pulled the pepper chunks out of the oven. “Slightly bigger than this.”

Namjoon translated.

Hoseok nodded, grabbing the scrubbed potatoes and waving Namjoon away.

You continued watching to make sure they understood, then nodded and went back, checking to see how the onions were cooking, then adding the garlic.

Jungkook looked curious, but also frustrated, like he wanted to ask something but wasn’t entirely certain how.

You cracked half of the eggs into a dish to whisk them up, opting for more eggs since it meant more protein and you had a ton of them anyway. Then—pushing the onions, garlic and celery to one corner—you poured then eggs into the pot and then plonked the lid on for a couple minutes to let the egg cook a bit.

Jungkook stared at the lid, then looked at you, still seeming to lack the words to inquire.

You shrugged, gathering the peppers, and then quickly chopping the green onion, the green part a little bigger than the white, and tossed both of those into the pot when the egg seemed to be the right amount of cooked. Stirring carefully, not wanting to break up the eggs too much, but also wanting to let any uncooked egg have a chance and free the onions, garlic and celery from their eggy prison.

Dear god you hoped this would taste okay.

You boldly poured in the chicken broth, making sure nothing was clinging to the bottom. Then you added the rice, spinach and potatoes and left it to come back up to simmering while you pulled the extra chicken you had cooked out of your cooler. You had planned on making chicken stew, maybe cooking up some dumplings, but…you could tell they were hungry and this would be faster than chicken stew and less nitpicky.

You paused before starting to cut the chicken, quickly going to grab some seasoning and being very careful about measuring that up.

“What is this called?” Namjoon asked, gesturing to the pot.

“Would you believe chicken and rice soup?” You asked, going back to the chicken with a knife. “If you hadn’t noticed, I was kind of winging it. Hopefully it will taste okay.”

Yoongi gave you a thumbs up. “Thank you.”

You nodded. “It’s not much. We don’t even know if it will be good.”

“Still,” Yoongi murmured, shrugging and looking away.

You quickly looked back down at the chicken. “You all are the first people I’ve seen in a couple months. Don’t get me wrong, I love living here. It’s probably safer than even the military zones. The zombies can’t withstand the winters and it makes them easy to dispatch.”

“Lonely,” Jungkook murmured.

You shrugged. “Even in a crowd, people have the ability to feel alone. I think actually being alone is better. Then at least I can’t resent others for not noticing me. It’s an apocalypse. At least I chose this life. No one forced it on me, not the apocalypse, not a plague. I chose this for myself. There’s a sort of satisfaction in that.”

Yoongi came beside you, cat-like eyes flickering over the chicken you were shredding. Then he met your curious gaze, holding it for a long moment.

“I suppose that makes me lucky,” You added. “To be able to decide my own life.”

He blinked slowly.

You shifted on your feet, unnerved.

“Uh, the pot….” Namjoon said, voice nervous.

You broke away from Yoongi’s gaze, and turned toward the pot.

It was boiling, so you turned down the heat for the moment and gave it a stir, then went back toward the chicken.

Yoongi had already taken over.

You stared for a moment, then went to wash your hands. “This place runs on solar power, and has a well. Normally, when I have people here they exchange work for a place to stay for a few days. Your friend is in no shape to be moving anywhere—”

“We’ll happily help you with anything you need,” Namjoon said quickly.

The others were nodding in agreement as he quickly translated, all looking scared and somewhat terrified.

You held your hands up to stop them before they continued down the panicky path they were treading. “I was just going to say, that you can stay as long as you need while your friend is recovering. I’m going to go check on your friends.”

They nodded.

Jungkook followed you out and into the bedroom again.

Taehyung and Jin were asleep.

You carefully closed the door, then studied Jungkook for a moment, noticing a tear in his shirt that looked pretty big. “Are you hurt?”

He glanced down, then looked sheepish and shrugged.

You pointed to a chair. “Shirt off.”

He carefully removed his shirt, obviously in pain from the gash on his ribs.

You could just hit him upside the head. All that lifting he did!

So you did. “Don’t do stupid things like lifting people when you’re injured.”

He looked at you with wide eyes, and you don’t know how much of it he understood, but his cheeks turned red and he looked away quickly.

You went and got water and a cloth, then knelt beside him to carefully clean the wound. You tried not to notice how well-muscled he was, or how he looked much less innocent like this. Sure, he still had an adorably bushy tail, but—

You flinched as a hand rested on your head, lightly stroking your hair, peeking up to see Jungkook mesmerized by your hair.

He grabbed your free hand, which you’d put out to balance yourself when he startled you, and brought it to his heart.

You could feel it racing, and you locked eyes with him.

He shyly looked away after a moment.

You swallowed hard, then finished cleaning his cut, wiping some antibiotic ointment on it carefully, and then bandaging the area. “There. No heavy lifting for a while. I see you overworking and we’re binding your whole ribcage.” You stood up and packed the first aid kit up again, then hurried back into the kitchen.

You stirred the pot, pulling some rice to test it. “Not yet. Tomorrow, I thought a few of us could venture to the local stores and get all of you some extra clothing and shoes and other supplies. Only those of you who aren’t injured, though. There are monsters hiding out in some of the stores still. That means no Jungkook, and no Jimin—I saw you limping.”

“Jungkook?” Yoongi asked, eyes widening.

You nodded, turning to glance at Jungkook as he followed you in, shirt back on. “He has a nasty cut on his ribs. He shouldn’t have been doing any of the lifting he did.”

All of them started ragging on Jungkook, who was sheepish.

Yoongi was over beside the red panda hybrid talking lowly, quickly, and somewhat sternly.

Jungkook nodded, slouching to rest his head on the cat’s shoulder.

You added the chicken to the pot to distract yourself. You’d never really met any hybrids, except a couple of your childhood friends’, but you figured the scenting you were witnessing was more of a private thing from the way the others sort of averted their gazes.

But you were also morbidly curious.

Yoongi came over a few minutes later. “Seokjin?”

“Sleeping still. It’s good for him to rest. How much English do you understand?” You asked, turning a little.

He sort of shrugged.

“Sorry I can’t speak your language,” You said a little more quietly.

He shrugged again. “You…nice. Keep going.”

You blinked at him for a moment, barely registering Jimin in the background making a lot of complaining-type noises. “I’m not sure what that’s supposed to mean, but…thank you?”

He nodded, looking embarrassed, then mumbled something to Namjoon.

Namjoon looked reluctant.

You studied the room.

Namjoon finally turned to you. “Yoongi was wondering how much you understand about hybrid situations during this…pandemic.”

You carefully tasted the broth as you debated how to answer. “I know…that many hybrids have been used as…stress relief for certain clientele to boost morale. Illegally. Others trained as foot-soldiers in the war against zombies. Sent to a slaughter.”

“Yeah. We were transferred to Cherimo six months ago. We were more for shows than anything too….” He didn’t seem to know how to continue.

You stirred the pot nervously. “Shows?”

“Music,” He reassured you. “But…they were talking about us…taking on second jobs. Just before the crisis. Then we were determined to be expendable.”

You nodded. “I understand. Well, once you’ve recovered, we’ll see about getting you all set up on your own, where no one can determine what you can or can’t be. With any decency, you’ll never have to face such threats again.” You tasted the rice again and nodded firmly. “Well, threats from zombies always exist nowadays. Soup is done. Someone grab the bowls from that cupboard.”

Jungkook was hurrying to do as you asked, getting out the four bowls you had, and then looking worriedly in the cupboards.

You went over, opening the one he hadn’t looked in and pulling out assorted other bowls. “They’re all sort of scavenged. I’ve never really needed more than six bowls before today. Guess we should pick up more when we break into the store tomorrow. I think Seokjin should just have broth for now.”

Jimin nodded, taking the bowl of broth you’d ladled out and heading back toward the room.

You gestured for the other boys to get food for themselves, not exactly hungry yourself since you’d had a decent breakfast and instead opting to bring up your pumpkins. One to carve, one to eat. And then you’d also be able to roast any pumpkin seeds to munch on throughout the winter.

Jungkook, Yoongi, and Namjoon stayed in the kitchen while they ate, mostly watching you as you prepared to cut open the pumpkin you were going to carve.

“What…are you doing?” Jungkook asked carefully, quickly filling his mouth afterward.

“Making a jack-o-lantern. I’m going to gut this, then carve a face into it and pretend it’s a normal Halloween occurring in a couple of days.” You managed to get the knife through the thick rind, then carefully cut open the top of the pumpkin.

It took a while for Namjoon to translate since he’d been in the middle of inhaling his food, but after he did, Jungkook nodded, still looking curious.

Yoongi seemed indifferent, mostly muttering something that alerted Jungkook to the fact that his soup still existed, and giving Jungkook a big chunk of chicken.

“Where do you get things like flour and rice?”

You made a face. “Well, most of it I pilfered from stores. I was lucky to find this place early on, lived about a half-hour drive from here, and they had some things. There are stores equidistantly around here: One to the south, one to the north, and one to the east. West is more farmland and forest mix, as you probably surmised by the drive to your crash site. And there’s a farmer to the south that I do work exchange with. He grows wheat, corn, and sugar-beets, and helps me with some livestock. He in turn knows a guy to the east that’s been running some flour and sugar-beet processing, so he’s been providing me with some flour and sugar when he gets the chance.”

“And what do you do for him?”

You pointed to your basket of eggs. “His wife is allergic to feathers. I provide them with bird meat, and eggs. And I can grow things here throughout the winter, and I have a pretty efficient canning process going here. We just exchange goods and services. Nothing else. His son came with him once last winter. They were out of greens. Thankfully, I had enough for what they needed, and sent them home with plenty of greens and some extra goods to help them out. There are benefits to being a party of one, just as there are downfalls.”

“Being lonely,” Yoongi said quietly, not missing a beat and not looking your way.

You shrugged. “But I get a lot done. And I know that if I need company, it’s not terribly far to where his family is. The rule is to bring some goods though. Like, his wife came to visit me sometime in January—they have a horse and wagon that he rigged a heating system in—and she brought me a cherry pie. I spent Christmas with them, and took an apple and a pumpkin pie. That sort of thing. And if you guys settle near here, then we’ll probably do trades with you guys as well. And if you don’t, that’s fine too. What I’m saying…is that solitude isn’t quite so terrible when you know that there is someone around if you really need them.”

Jungkook had moved closer, watching you scrape out the pumpkin guts with clear curiosity.

You glanced at him again, then turned your attention to carefully cutting slices of pumpkin flesh from the inside of it, not wanting to waste any of it. You were determined to experiment more this year, try not to waste anything because it was…hard. Hard to make everything count, and with seven extra mouths eating you were going to need to make every bit count. You had multiple foods curing in the sun so that you could store them on the shelves in the basement, but still…even though you’d been doing this a while, it was always a curious thing trying to figure out if you had enough food for the winter. And it wasn’t as though you could do much about it with it being the end of October.

“How much warning did you get?” Namjoon asked, the first question he seemed to have himself.

You gave a half-laugh. “Well…we knew about the outbreaks in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa…and my family was already taking it seriously. My parents decided to move out to live with my brother. I was still working, and printing off binders worth of information. No one ever thought to hit bookstores. My dad had started buying gas-tanks and filling two whenever he went to get gas. Left that for me since mom wanted to be by my brother and his family.”

“You didn’t go with them?”

You shrugged. “Half-brother? Not on the best terms. We would have killed each other. As it is, we talk on the sat-phones on Mother’s Day and Christmas. Everyone thought the world would shut down completely, but it didn’t. Anyway, I was banking on them surviving. As much as we don’t get along, my brother is a former marine and his neighbors are well spaced and consist of an older trapper and his wife, a marine buddy of his with his wife, and a cattle ranch. They’re doing great. And I got enough plants and seeds and information, not to mention people raced to get out of the area when they were told it was safest to get to a fort or the nearest Military zone. I hid in the basement for three days after that announcement, but nothing happened to me. I stayed at the house for a month after, packing the truck and trailer. I had my car still, with a full tank of gas, and I went around to see what things were like. There were still a few groups evacuating, but no one really paid attention to me. Met the owners of this place, asked if they were staying or going. They were older, and had been planning on selling the place before all of it went down. I gave them a wad of cash and a box of canned food, they gave me the keys. Everyone I did meet thought I was crazy. I was very careful about moving everything, and I kept everything locked up tight.”

“When did the zombies hit?”

“About this time that year. I remember because I thought it was ironic that the zombies would finally show up around Halloween. They were pretty bad that fall, and into December because it wasn’t as cold of a winter as normal. But January swooped in like a champ with below-freezing temperatures and lots of snow. I was lucky. Very lucky.” You finished picking the seeds out of the guts (at least, you were fairly certain you had removed all of them). “The cell towers were still work intermittently, so I can look up information quickly if I want. And the powerplants…they were still running until December. But hey, I’ve got three generators, and a crap-ton of car batteries for powering extra things, like the greenhouses.”

“Did you farm before this?”

You wrinkled your nose as you thought about it. “Honestly? Not to this extent. I’d thought about it, but the most we ever had was a vegetable garden and a couple of fruit trees. To say there was a learning curve would be an understatement. But I got through it.

“Scared,” Jungkook asked, gaze locked on you.

You shrugged. “Who isn’t? Would you like more soup?”

He looked at his bowl, then looked toward the pot.

“You guys can just help yourselves. I’ll probably eat later.” You picked the knife up again, seeing the end of the conversation in sight once more. Less distraction while holding a sharp object. Sure, what you were cutting out of your jack-o-lantern wasn’t going to be pretty, but you could roast the, up like fries and that would be really yummy. Or you could try to make a pumpkin spice something or other. You weren’t really sure what you would do with all of the pumpkin innards you were breaking out.

You just knew the shell was getting a face.

You paused, turning back to the egg basket. “I never let the animals out again.”

Someone followed you as you rushed out the back door to the small stable/barn/shed that you had shooed the animals into (that weren’t already secure in their own pens, mind), opening the doors to the fenced area for the pig and goats to run around, including your favorite pygmy goat that you honestly rescued just because it was cute. Whoever it was helped you shoo the ten chickens, two turkeys, three ducks, and one grumpy goose out into the bird run.

“Go on chicks. Guster! Get your tail-feathers through that door,” You scolded, picking up the grumpy goose and essentially tossing him through.

He landed just fine, honking angrily at you.

The ducks were happily settling near you, but you carefully shuffled them through the door.

The turkeys had gone through the moment you opened the door, the smarty-pants.

As for the peafowl in the pen on the other side of the property…well…as pretty as they were, you pretty much just fed them and cared for them because you felt bad for them. Sure, you had lot of pretty feathers for crafts in wintertime, but they were loud. And picky. And they ate so much, and needed warmer, dryer, well-kept pens.

But they were also very sweet and probably hand-raised because they always came right up to you.

Without a feed source to purchase for them, you hadn’t thought they would survive this long, but they were still plucking along. You let the male out during the hot days of summer to roam, but he always came back just in time for you to put clean water and whatever treat you’d scrounged up.

You’d let all of the birds out when you’d been tilling, letting them get the grubs and ants and other insects that were in your way.

The ducks would usually go down to the pond, but you’d just cleaned out their swimming pool, so you figured they would be fine as long as Guster didn’t decide they weren’t allowed to be there.

You would have to add more minnows to the pool.

There were so many things you hadn’t considered when you were setting up everything and rescuing the animals you did, that you just sort of figured out as you went. Like, hey! If you capture some minnows and raise them you can give them to your ducks and geese and they will adore you for centuries.

You had to raid the U-Haul and get a bigger transport vehicle, then raid a bunch of farm and pet supply stores. Then again that would use up a lot of gas as well.

“Uh…sheep?”

You turned around, looking at Jungkook, then at the goat that was trying to eat his shoe-laces. “Goat. Carl. Just push him.”

He did, and Carl plodded away.

Yoongi was also there, holding an egg and looking curious.

You glanced around, then grabbed an egg-carton. “Guess we should check for more eggs while we’re here.”

They nodded and helped you search, noses twitching and active as they explored the nooks and crannies.

Four eggs wasn’t bad considering you’d just collected eggs that morning. You’d put them in with the broody turkey. She’d hatched at least half of your chickens, and your third duck. She was your most valued asset.

The boys stood well-back while you carefully pushed her from her nest from behind, and placed the eggs before she could attack your hand, then closed the back hatch.

She was happily situated once more when you peeked in.

“Great. Okay. I need to make the trip across to the other pen, and then go down to see the cows this afternoon. But I need to show a couple of you what to do since we’ll probably be gone most of tomorrow,” You spoke, not really expecting a response.

Jungkook caught your wrist. “Me.”

“Alone?”

“You are alone.”

“But I’ve had practice. At least get Jimin and…who else is staying behind tomorrow? Besides Jin.”

Yoongi shook his head. “Jungkook and Jimin.”

You nodded. “Okay, then at least get Jimin to come see what to do as well. Don’t rush. We’re heading toward that building.”

He looked and nodded, then jogged away.

You huffed. “That boy.”

Yoongi made a soft sound, like he agreed but was also amused.

You turned to him. “Does it bother you when I just ramble on?”

He shook his head, a certain intensity in his gaze as he met your eyes that made it hard to continue meeting his gaze.

But impossible to look away.

His ears twitched, but they were angled toward you. His tail flicked as he stepped closer to you.

Warning lights went off in your head. Seven men. One girl. Alone.

You whipped around as fast as you could and started walking, grabbing the bucket of feed you’d prepared earlier. “Welp, let’s go. I’m sure they’ll catch up with us soon.”

And you swore you heard him hiss in surprise, and you just wanted to laugh at how ridiculous you were being and how ridiculous this situation was, but honestly who would have thought—

You squeaked in alarm dropping the bucket and running back toward the house to grab the rifle and the axe, then racing back toward your peacocks to save them from the zombie.

Yoongi gladly accepted the ax, hurrying after you, but also staying a good ways back so that you would have time to shoot the thing so he could chop it’s head off.

You’d become a very good shot in the past two years.

Yoongi looked like he might be sick after cutting its head off.

You didn’t blame him.

Wordlessly the two of you dragged it a place where you could bury it when you got the chance.

Jungkook and Jimin were there when you two returned, with Namjoon to translate.

Poor Namjoon.

When you were finally done instructing them on the peacocks, and the other animals on the property, you all headed down the street to the cows.

Jungkook fascinatedly touched the cows, while Jimin and Yoongi crouched beside you to learn.

And Yoongi was only gulping several times while he watched the milk tin you and Jimin filled, one cow after another.

The boys were also teasing him, and though he refused to give them much of a reaction, his cheeks were a little red and there was a twitch at the corners of his mouth that hinted at a smile and man that was adorable, especially with how his eyes closed slightly and his hair—

Oh no.

Oh no no no.

Nope.

Nuhuh.

Stop it.

“So, what do you do with it now?” Namjoon asked.

You shrugged. “Take it home, separate the cream, pasteurize the milk. Then I’m either going to drink it or make something out of it.”

“Cool,” He replied, then translated, but you got the feeling that only Jimin really needed the translation as the two of them walked away, Jimin carrying the container effortlessly.

Jungkook and Yoongi walked with you, looking around at the farm while you got the cows some fresh hay, and inspecting the houses that the three of you walked past on your way back.

“Where did they go?” Jungkook asked carefully, looking at each abandoned house.

“I don’t know,” You answered quietly. You’d been to each house. When you finished your chores in the winter you amused yourself by inspecting the houses around you. Gathering furniture and supplies that you decided were needed.

“You live there,” Jungkook asked.

You shrugged. “Yeah. It made sense. Live where you work. I was just lucky that they had an extra room attached to the store area that I could turn into my room. I’ll probably just sleep in the kitchen, though. It’d pretty comfortable there once I set up the cot. Nice and warm.”

Jungkook paused by one of your smaller pumpkins that was sun-cured and awaiting transport to where it would be resting for winter or for later processing.

You paused as well, then picked it up. “Come on, panda boy. You can carve one too.”

Yoongi started purring but quickly coughed to cover it.

The other boys were distracted, talking with Taehyung quietly but animatedly, and the door to the room where Seokjin lay was propped open slightly. Seokjin was asleep and Taehyung was eating, cheeks bulging slightly from how much food he’d shoveled in.

Felt good to have your food appreciated, even if they were only eating it because they were half-starved.

Yoongi and Jungkook followed you into the kitchen (Yoongi moving the milk pails, that Jimin had left on the floor near the sink, onto the counter for you).

Jungkook went at his pumpkin carefully, but the one time he didn’t do something carefully he earned a low growl from Yoongi. He proceeded to stick his tongue out at the feline, and continuing carefully.

You pushed the bowl of seeded gut, unseeded guts, and seeds toward Yoongi with a grin.

He winced, but didn’t fight it. He did get a fork and spoon to help him sift through though.

Jungkook hummed as he worked, filling the slight-awkward-slightly-comfortable silence, sometimes murmuring a word or two in Korean.

And you believed that they’d been in the music industry, because there was no way they would pass up the chance for a rare hybrid that could also sing. And Red panda hybrids were rare.

There hadn’t been much of a hybrid-culture around you growing up, so you were aware of it, and had met a few hybrids that were therapy hybrids, but you’d never had significant exposure to them aside from your one road trip with you friends when you broke down in a hybrid town. The hybrid women that came to your rescue been extremely kind to you and your friend and had gotten you on the road again. But they’d told you to avoid hybrid males, “For everyone’s sake” and now…you still weren’t certain what it meant.

You wondered how they were doing during this apocalypse. They’d probably just stayed put and established more defenses. They were already mostly self-sustaining, with their own power supply and water system. Most people wouldn’t have even passed through there unless they were very, very lost.

“There’s a hybrid town…there was a hybrid town, to the east of here. There were completely self-sustaining. After your friend heals up, you might want to head that way,” You said in the silence after Jungkook finished his song. You were finished with your jack-o-lantern, just peeling the skin off of the bits you had carved out to add to the pile of salvaged pumpkin flesh.

Jungkook went rigid, and his tail fluffed out.

Yoongi also looked…tense.

“Or not. Do whatever you guys want,” You quickly added, a little alarmed at how alarmed they got. You’d just wanted to let them know that there was somewhere they might have a better chance. They’d said they wanted to go to the nearest safety zone, but that would also mean returning to servitude, discrimination, and possibly worse things.

Jungkook and Yoongi started having a rapid conversation over the workspace, Jungkook looking desperate and despairing, Yoongi looking uneasy and reluctant and adamant.

You weren’t sure what it was you had said, but they seemed to be quickly heading toward some sort of dispute and Jungkook suddenly turned adamant as well and Yoongi got a fed-up look.

“Namjoonie-hyung!” Jungkook finally called loudly, slamming the knife he had been using down on the counter and turning to head toward the main room.

Yoongi’s eyes widened and he hurried after the panda. “Yah, Jungkook-ah.”

You watched them go, then quickly grabbed the knives and put them in the sink in case they came back. Then you started sorting the seeds out of the guts of Jungkook’s pumpkin as the debate appeared to continue in the next room with lots of shushing.

You really wished you’d gotten more language textbooks and dictionaries. But honestly, there was no way you could have foreseen needing to know Korean.

———

Seokjin was already looking better the next morning, and more aware. Taehyung was carefully feeding him, and between the two of them they managed to tell you about the other pains—possibly broken bones—that Seokjin had. But all you could really do about them (aside from feel them and see if you could feel any displacement, which you didn’t) was splint them and tell him to not take any risks. Unfortunately, at least one of his legs appeared to be broken. You had a brace that he went into comfortable, but that was the best you could do for him.

At least they weren’t avoiding you like the others.

You weren’t sure what it was that you had said that set them off, but, after the…discussion yesterday afternoon, most of the boys sort of avoided you. Looked nervous.

But as it got later in the morning, you gathered and loaded some supplies into the truck. You’d already hooked up the trailer

Jungkook met you there, looking determined.

“No,” You said firmly. “I told you, no injured people on this trip. Too dangerous.”

His brow furrowed.

“No,” You repeated. You were not going to be fought on this. No way.

Finally he stalked away.

You wished you felt victorious.

Namjoon, Yoongi, Hoseok, and Taehyung were set to go with you—though Taehyung appeared to be giving very detailed instructions to Jimin and Jungkook about Jin’s care—and soon packed into the vehicle.

It was very awkward. Yoongi sat in the back with Hoseok, but he wouldn’t look at you.

Namjoon and Taehyung were crammed in the front and Taehyung had apparently tired of practicing his English because he was talking with Namjoon.

Your hand went to the pocket with the list of things you wanted to look for, as if the list would reassure you that everything was okay.

You could feel someone’s gaze burning into you, and you knew who it was without looking.

You knew it was Yoongi.

You just wished you knew why.

You’d gone east, since that town was fractionally closer, easier to navigate, and hadn’t been raided as much.

“What��s the plan?” Namjoon asked as the houses started giving way to more business stuff.

You started to reply, then pulled into the hospital that was there (just a random specialist center, not a full one, but you thought it still might have some things you could use). “First we see if we can find Seokjin a wheelchair, crutches, or more braces—anything that might help. You have your weapons?”

They nodded.

You parked the vehicle, studying the building for a moment. “Okay. We stick together. Two people look, the other three guard. Got it?”

A smattering of agreements and a queasy nod from Hoseok let you know that they agreed.

“Hoseok and Yoongi, you want to look for the equipment?”

They nodded, though Yoongi was slightly more reluctant.

“Yoongi thinks I should help look for equipment and he should help guard.”

You gave Namjoon a quizzical look.

He rubbed his neck sheepishly. “I’m a little clumsy. They call me the god of destruction. He doesn’t want me to destroy everyone.”

You nodded. “Okay. Also, guys, if you see medical things that will fit in our bags, go ahead and carefully grab it. Especially gloves.”

He nodded, translating for everyone, then listening to a few follow ups. “Okay, so, just to be sure we’re all on, uh, the same page—Hoseok and I search and gather large and small supplies. Taehyung and Yoongi guard, but also grab things as they see them, and you’re guarding and searching as well?”

“That is correct,” You answered, curious. Had that not been clear? “I mean, I can also push one of the carts we brought but…I don’t even know if this place will have zombies. It was mostly an rehab center for old people, and I mostly think we’ll find gloves and hopefully a wheelchair or walker.” You shrugged.

Famous last words?

There were definitely a few zombies.

And by a few, you mean a few dozen.

Also, Hoseok was completely terrified of both the zombies and his weapons. No wonder he looked queasy.

You found a room that was empty and the five of you managed to get inside without zombies , locking and then barricading the door so you all could catch your breath and double check for injuries.

Yoongi grabbed you, moving you around and frantically checking you over, then sighing wordlessly.

“I’m fine. Were any of you hurt?” You asked, trying to visually assess Yoongi since he blocked your view of the others.

“We’re good, Tae had a close call, but he wasn’t bitten.”

Hoseok moved into your line of sight and pulled on Yoongi’s shirt, which somehow effectively pulled him away from you.

Which was good.

You were starting to feel a little nervous.

“Wheelchair!” Taehyung suddenly shouted, all signs of fatigue gone as he rushed toward a whole stack of them.

You looked around at the supplies, then met Namjoon’s gaze. “I guess this would be the supply room.”

Namjoon just grinned.

All of you quickly dispersed to fill your bags with supplies, Namjoon grabbing the different braces and checking how big they were, Hoseok carefully grabbing boxes of gloves and carefully looking over bandaging and such, and Taehyung still playing with the wheelchair.

Yoongi was trying to decipher the labels on the medicine.

You started bagging rubbing alcohol, peroxide, other creams and liquids that you recognized.

Which led to you being beside Yoongi helping grab medicines.

Yoongi seemed to look you over again. “You’re okay?”

“I’m okay,” You answered again, shrugging.

Yoongi nodded, then showed you a label.

You nodded, then went to check on the other boys.

But Yoongi stopped you, a strange desperation in his eyes. “Stay by me,” He said firmly, anxiously.

You stared into his eyes for a moment.

“When leave, stay by me. Please,” He begged, grip on you tight.

You weren’t certain what it was about the way he asked, but the moment he asked, you knew you would say yes. “Okay. When we leave.”

All of you jumped when something banged on the door, but it didn’t sound forceful, and a glance toward the door proved that it was just one of the zombies lightly hitting the door with a cane. Geriatric zombies, those were a thing now. Zombies who used canes and possibly walkers.

Now if only they weren’t interspersed with other zombies that didn’t need such aids, getting out of there would be a cake-walk.

But like most of your life since the pandemic, of course it wouldn’t be easy.

“He should be fine,” Namjoon reassured you, pouring more peroxide over the nasty bite and ignoring Yoongi’s growl of pain.

“Why would he do that?” You asked in a whisper, shaken to your core. The five of you were in a different parking lot now, treating his bite since the coast was clear.

The boys just exchanged glances, then shrugged or muttered something.

“Well…he can take a bite and survive as long as we sanitize fast enough, whereas if you were bitten…that’d be it for you,” Namjoon said carefully, watching as Hoseok meticulously cleaned the wound and then applied antibiotic cream. “It’s preferable.”

“It’s still dangerous,” You whispered, then scanned the surroundings again for any interlopers. “And we’ll give him some antivirals just in case. I still don’t understand why…why he acts the way he does around me. One minute he won’t look at me, and the next he’s getting bit by a zombie so that I won’t be bitten.”

Namjoon looked uncomfortable, like he was hiding something.

Hoseok’s gaze darted up at you, and Yoongi was definitely looking a little red.

Taehyung was checking out the store-fronts, only a couple of steps away from the group. He pointed at one of the stores. “Why…why?”

You followed his gaze, noticing the door that you had marked. “I did that. I barricaded it and marked it. The back door too. I cleared it out. It’s safe to go in there. We’ll get you guys clothing, shoes, coats, and other extra things. But they may have gotten in through the back, so we should secure that before we start grabbing things. And I get to approve of the coats, because there’s a certain type you’ll need to make it through a winter here. Hats. Scarves. Gloves. Blankets. Sheets. Pots and pans. Dishes. You should stay in the truck,” You said pointedly, looking at Yoongi.

He rebelliously looked back, stubbornness in his features. “No. You go, I go.”

You huffed, and folded your arms, but you weren’t about to fight him as well. “Fine, but you’re staying back.”

His eyes narrowed, but that was the only response he seemed to give you.

Once Hoseok had bandaged it, and used one of the compression sleeves you all had liberated from rehab center to hold the bandaging in place and give it more protection, all of you carefully removed your barrier and then cautiously entered the store.

But the barricade on the back door was still in-tact, so you all blocked up the front door for while you were shopping, and each of you took a grocery cart or two with you. You went to the kitchen stuff first and filled a cart, then the home goods stuff and filled a cart. Checked on the boys, but they were trying on clothes and shoes together and seeming to discuss the sizes of the others.

So you went and got yourself some more clothing, your gaze continually catching on the night clothes and intimates.

But that was ridiculous. You didn’t need that stuff. You had no one to impress or dress for.

Then again….

After you put those carefully packed suitcases near the front with the carts you’d filled, then started going through coats, grabbing a few for yourself, but mostly pulling options for the hybrids. The warmest brands. Sturdy ones.

You flinched and jumped at the sound of someone sighing just behind you, staring at Yoongi as he examined one of the coats you’d set aside.

Yoongi met your gaze, looked back to the coat, then stepped closer to you. In your space.

You held your breath as he held you in his stare.

He stepped closer, body right next to yours, and then he ducked and tucked his face against your neck.

You froze, feeling his nose brush against your neck, his furry ears tickling your cheek.

Then his lips pressed to your skin and he pulled away, hand resting on the other side of your face, cupping it so that you didn’t look away as he pulled back.

After a second, amusement sparkled in his eyes and he smirked slightly.

Then he was walking away.

And you were frozen. Absolutely frozen.

Because what the hell was that.

Once you had a coat for each of them, including the ones that were waiting at home, they all sort of went to explore since they could.

You grabbed hats and gloves, some beauty products that it carried (which weren’t numerous). Socks. Boots for when yours wore out.

Then you and the boys carefully packed everything into the trailer before heading over to a farm store that you’d raided and secured before.

Except this time you had extra muscle power to load those wood-burning stoves into your trailer. And extra lumber, chicken wire and other fencing supplies, tools, oils, kerosene, butane, propane, rope, nails, screws, sleeping bags, tents, flashlights and lamps, brooders, feeders and waterers for all of your animals, extra chicken coops and rabbit hutches and just so many different and various things you needed or would need. And lots of seeds. And heavy duty work-boots, overalls, and other labor gear for everyone (yourself included, because you would wear through those boots eventually and your father had drilled in you the importance of good footwear).

Not because you couldn’t come back. With the gas you’d managed to salvage, you probably had enough for another eight trips if you kept decent speeds and your car stayed maintained. And your neighbor had been talking about rigging vehicles with alternate fuel sources, so if he ever got that working….

But you had to assume that he wouldn’t, which meant getting as much as you could while you were in town.

Which is why you thought it couldn’t hurt to see if that little oriental market that had been near there had anything that kept that they might enjoy. But it was smaller, so you told them only one other person could go in with you and still be able to fight, and that you’d prefer it be Namjoon since the two of you could communicate more easily.

There was extreme reluctance, especially since you hadn’t specified where you were going and there were several stores in that plaza, but with the walkie talkies that you all had acquired they finally agreed.

And you got five sacks of rice that still seemed to be okay.

Then you guys hit the plaza with two big-box stores. Getting storage containers, mattresses (because none of you trusted the mattresses left behind in the houses, and the boys insisted if they get one [bless them, they planned on sharing one] that you get one as well and Yoongi wouldn’t let you say no so you made them get two mattresses for themselves), and then you all split up to search the many food isles for unexpired goods.

And of course you got paired with Yoongi.

Neither of you said anything as you started walking up and down the isles, you pushing the cart because he was insisting on being the guard. Not that you guys thought there might still be zombies lurking around (you highly doubted there would be any still hiding after the way Taehyung had run around yelling happily once the group had finished killing the four or five zombies that were in there), but it was better to be safe than sorry.

So there you were, chucking snacks that had been chock-full of preservatives into the cart, and wondering if the cereals would be stale or if they could still be good after two years.

Wondering if he was ever going to say anything.

Grabbing just about every canned good after checking expiration dates.

Taehyung said more when he brought you guys two carts, speaking mostly to Yoongi, who translated roughly. Something about the other boys and medicine.

And then Taehyung was gone with the other two carts he had been pushing, and dragging your full cart away.

The store next door had yarns and fabrics that you all just packed right up, regardless of pattern or texture, as well as all of the threads and pins and beads, packing everything in more boxes and such. Raiding the notebooks, pens, pencils, books (including text books, which included English textbooks that Yoongi grabbed several of, and a Korean-English dictionary and textbooks that you grabbed since you figured they’d be there for a while and hey, what’s another language to pass the time), clothing (again, what could you say, you didn’t know how to make socks or comfortable underwear), instant-photo cameras (Taehyung was especially excited about those with main mentions of Jimin in his ramblings), another pharmacy raid, shampoo and soap, and all of the hybrid stuff that they could ever want, extra furniture that was easier to move, more dishes and cookware, candles, canning supplies, solar panels, solar batteries (could never have enough of those), more foods that you knew would keep (because you were now feeding eight people and Taehyung liked to snack, he was doing it in the store the moment you said something was still good), and then if the boys secreted some things into what you all got you didn’t pay attention since they also didn’t pay attention as you checked out the period supplies because that didn’t stop with the pandemic and though you had alternatives (which you picked up more of, thank the heavens) sometimes it was just easier.

And Taehyung had a cart full of ramen that you weren’t about to fault him for.

Yoongi was the only one awake on the drive home.

“What was that earlier?” You asked. “At the coat store.”

He sighed and you heard pages turning. “True partner.”

You waited for more, but that seemed to be all he was going to say on that front. “What does that mean?”

He sighed again, this time more aggravated and with a slight hiss to it. More pages flipping and you could see his frown in the rear-view mirror.

Finally a frustrated growl and the thunk of a book closing. “Home. Jungkook.”

“We’re almost there,” You replied quietly, sighing. “Almost there.”

Jungkook rushed out when you all arrived, grinning with relief. “Hyungs!”

“Jungkook-ah,” Yoongi called back, hurrying to him and grabbing his wrists.

Jungkook immediately nuzzled Yoongi’s neck while Yoongi started muttering something, with glances toward you that soon had Jungkook staring as he gently fingered the fabric over the bandaging.

Taehyung raced inside.

Namjoon gestured to the load. “Unload today, or tomorrow?”

“Unload light stuff, leave the heavy stuff for later.”

He nodded, translating and calling Jungkook and Yoongi over.

You grabbed an old pumpkin cart and brought it over for them while Jimin brought over a couple of the grocery carts.

And Jungkook….

You had to scold him about eight-dozen times not to lift things that were too heavy, but every time he just grinned at you and cutely said “no speak English” and carried on (but it usually gave the other guys time to get over to him and at least help carry the heavier things.

Jimin was parked in the basement stacking canned and jarred goods on your food shelves and medicines and other non-food items on your other shelves, since it required less movement and he apparently aggravated his injury while all of you were gone. You were guessing one of the goats tried to get him, but Namjoon didn’t seem to know how to translate what was said, so you just left it at that.

Taehyung had rejoined everyone in unloading, and was working with you as a two man conveyor system for Jimin.

You swore Jungkook was trying to show off.

Yoongi took the suitcases that all of you had filled with clothing and coats and stacked them in your bedroom to go through later.

And before you knew it, the truck and trailer were almost completely empty.

Jungkook had ingredients out like he was about to cook, and he looked at you happily, as though inviting you to cook with him.

You nodded, gesturing for him to lead on.

He grinned and then brought you some vegetables. “Chop.”

You nodded, not even surprised as Yoongi also joined you and Jungkook and everyone else disappeared to ‘go check on Seokjin’. Because you could see Taehyung and Jimin playing outside and exploring one of the greenhouses, looking at the pumpkins, and Namjoon was just through the door, looking through a stack of books. Which meant Hoseok was probably the only one who actually went to check on Seokjin.

Yoongi and Jungkook somehow managed to give you enough instructions that you managed to help them, and when they couldn’t find an ingredient and couldn’t name it, you would play a guessing game with Yoongi. The hardest was probably soy sauce.

But the most surprising thing was probably how…touchy they were with you.

Or when Jungkook just came up behind you, wrapped one arm around your waist, shoved his face in your neck, and licked you.

Licked. You.

And you yelped, because all of that happened in about two seconds, and you could feel their surprisingly stunned stares as you booked it out of there.

You walked quickly across to one of the greenhouses, cursing frantically and pretending you were doing something completely routine by getting treats for your animals.

Namjoon found you, looking nervous. “Hey. Yoongi sent me to find you.”

“Fuck,” You hissed, picking up a pumpkin. “What the hell is going on, Namjoon? And I am not in the mood for and BS.”

He winced. “Um…what do you know…about…mates?”

“I suppose we aren’t talking about the British or Australian definitions, and more biological definition?” You led the way toward your rabbit barn and hutch.

He nodded, looking anywhere but you. “Definitely more biological.”

“Sorry you got caught in the crosshairs as translator,” You muttered, dropping the pumpkin so that it would break, and then putting pieces of it in the different hutches with some of the seeds for them to enjoy, but also giving them lots of fresh grasses and greens so that they wouldn’t overindulge. You’d give the rest of it to the goats and pig.

He shrugged, peeking at the rabbits. “Cute. So, for hybrids, potential mates are identified by smell a lot of the time. Jungkook and Yoongi are technically mates, but…they also identified you as a potential mate. So…they…want to stay near you.”

“So, hypothetically, if I had told them about a hybrid city that you all may have wanted to go to after leaving here and they reacted poorly to it, it would be because it was almost like an unconscious rejection of them?” You asked, darting glances toward him.

He snorted, and then started laughing. “Is that what happened? Geez, they’re so dramatic. Look, I already told them to take it easy around you because you are human and it might not be something you want for yourself. But…even if you aren’t…we would all like to stick around. Maybe not here exactly, but we could be close by and help you out when you need it. You’re the first person, hybrid or human, who has ever been kind to us. And we feel safe here. Would it be okay if we stuck around?”

You considered it for a moment, wondering what it was that made them feel so safe or comfortable. And if you were okay with what he’d said. Yoongi and Jungkook wanted you as their mate. As proposals went, you’d heard worse, but you also hadn’t known them long enough to commit to anything. “Tell them they have to play the long-game. And…I kept a couple of the nearby houses from having burst pipes the last two winters for when people pass through. If we get the one across the street set up with a power supply, you guys can live there. The house next door is for refugees on the move, and me. It’s easier to bathe there.”

He grinned at you. “We can stay?”

“Yeah, sure. Why not. But that means we’ll have to be frugal. I’ll need you guys to help me get two more greenhouses planted.”

“Sure! We can do that!” He grinned happily, bouncing on his toes.

“Great. Now, go tell the boys to stop attacking me with affection out of the blue.”

He laughed and hurried off to tell the others.

What had you just agreed to?

———

You weren’t sure what it was about Halloween that always brought more zombies around than normal. Maybe it was the swift approach of winter. The hard frosts. Urging them to migrate.

Either way, you’d had your work cut out for you from the moment you woke up.

Thankfully, the boys hadn’t wandered off alone at all, and never unarmed after you woke everyone by shooting the rifle.

You did lose another chicken though, the one that refused to go into the coop once she’d escaped the previous evening.

“Is that coffee?” Yoongi asked, gaze locked on your mug.

“Sort of,” You answered, gesturing to the pot. “There’s coffee in it, if that’s what you’re asking.” You’d combined your coffee-tasting tea with some of the frozen coffee grounds you had. You hadn’t resorted to your instant coffee yet. You weren’t ready to admit defeat. You weren’t ready to say goodbye to coffee.

But that day was fast approaching.

You would have to bid your vice goodbye.

Another gunshot alerted you to an issue out front, but you waited for the holler for assistance.

“We’re good!”

You nodded and poured Yoongi a mug of the sort-of-coffee sort-of-tea.

He took a sip and sighed. “Good.”

“Glad you like it,” You replied.

He nodded, then sat back beside you, surveying the fields for more zombies.

Jungkook came and sat between the two of you on the ground, leaning against Yoongi’s legs.

They sat with you in comfortable silence, though Jungkook was also tracing the seam along your calf. Barely touching, seemingly an absentminded action, but slowly capturing your full attention.

Jungkook peeked up at you, then back down, tugging on the seam. “Okay?”

You smiled. “Sure.” It was amusing that he wanted permission to play with a seam.

Yoongi glanced around, then got up. “Can see house?” He asked, pointing toward the house next door.

You looked around seeing Jimin and Hoseok coming around to relieve you and Yoongi from your watch. “Sure, just tell them where we’re going.”

Jungkook nodded, hopping up and racing to meet them, glancing back multiple times as they continued walking over.

Jimin gave you a thumbs up, and they took your places.

You led the two curious hybrids over to the house, glad you’d kept up with cleaning it once a week. It was chilly in there, but not freezing. And honestly, during winter, you preferred staying in there because of the bathroom. You’d set up a shower in the store, and a sort of bath, but usually if you really wanted to feel clean and bathe in nice hot water, you came to the house and indulged because it had an energy efficient water heater that could run on the power supply you generated all through the year.

Either way, the cozy house was clean and well-furnished.

Jungkook looked around curiously, straying a little.

Yoongi stayed close to you.

“Not much to see. I put overstock food in the basement when I need to.”

Yoongi nodded, then got closer to you, seeming to ponder his words carefully. “Namjoon told you, scents and things.”

You felt a decently strong urge to start running. “Uh, yes. Did he tell you what I told him?”

He nodded, then rolled up his sleeve. He rubbed against certain parts of his wrist and arm, then held it out to you.

You blinked at him, confused beyond reason.

“Smell,” He said quietly.

You looked between him and his arm skeptically, then leaned forward and casually sniffed his wrist.

Then you sniffed again, because who the heck smelled like petrichor?!

Jungkook eagerly joined the two of you, offering you his wrist.

Jasmine.

Your weaknesses.

Yoongi gently pressed a kiss to your cheek. “You smell nice with us.”

You closed your eyes.

“Oranges?” Jungkook guessed, nuzzling up to your other side.

And oh, those sneaky fluff-butts.

And didn’t they know that there were zombies around.

But of course they could tell how you felt about all of this thanks to their superior sniffers.

Which was probably how you ended up kissing Jungkook while Yoongi kissed your neck.

All of you stopped at the sound of a particularly loud gunshot.

Shortly followed by two more shots that had all of you hurrying out to make sure everything was under control.

You carefully avoided them the rest of the afternoon, not entirely certain you trusted yourself around them and their stupid petrichor and jasmine which were your favorites. And they said you smelled like oranges and what did that even mean aside from Yoongi saying that you smelled good with them. Were oranges a desirable smell?

But whenever you passed by them, or were near, they found a way to lightly touch your arm, brush their hand against yours, rest their hand on the small of your back, tuck your hair away from your face and you totally didn’t end up kissing Yoongi when he went with you to feed the broody turkey.

And you both definitely wouldn’t have been overtaken by a zombie if Jungkook hadn’t conveniently come by and shot it.

Jungkook peppered you both with kisses, as though those would help calm you from the close call, and then pointed out that he had set out the jack-o-lanterns.

You stared at the glowing pumpkins and started laughing, because, of all the things to prioritize that day, with zombies all around…he made sure the jack-o-lanterns were put out.

So maybe when all of it was you were assigning watch duty for the night, you made sure those two would be with you, because you felt safe with them looking after you. Both of them had saved you.

“Lonely?” Yoongi whispered, staring up at the stars.

“No,” You whispered back, fingers running through Jungkook’s hair. But this time that was all you needed to say. It was enough.

“Good,” Jungkook sighed, giving a sort of rumble of approval and melting further against you as you gently scratched behind his ears, fluffy tail wrapping around him and eyes drifting shut.

There was a long trial ahead of you. Learning their language, fighting zombies, making sure there was enough food to eat, fighting zombies, caring for the livestock, fighting zombies, and exploring whatever this was with Yoongi and Jungkook. Maybe even convincing them to try and make it over to the hybrid town, just to try and initiate trade or something.

There were a lot of things to think about, and consider, questions to ask and have answered.

But in the glow of the three jack-o-lanterns, with soft smell of petrichor and jasmine surrounding you and the sounds of the others talking and laughing inside, you weren’t worried.

You weren’t lonely. “Not anymore.”

--

Next

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Zombie Apocalypse Masterpost

Tagging: @lost-xim, @bryophytas, @young-yellkie, @alex--awesome--22,  @missmoxxiesworld​, @knjhe​,  @i-dont-even-know-fck​, 

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

WHY IS THAT RELEVANT WHAT THE HECK HAPPENS

IM SO CURIOUS

aight so basically

—Cloverpaw was a huge bitch, especially to Slatepaw

—only became mates with Ottersomething because he would do things for her (like catch prey and everything she didn’t want to do herself)

—cheated with a Thunderclan warrior she actually loved

—Otter caught her and refused to keep the secret

—she killed him

—Thunderclan warrior broke up with her anyway as it was too great a risk before she could tell him that she was carrying his kits

—I know she killed him but can’t remember if it was now or later

—killed his Thunderclan mate, too

—felt really bad and incredibly guilty, so she focuses on her kits

—apologized and became close to Slateshade, former victim of hers

—Being a lone parent with four kits, Slateshade likely helped her care for them + Blackkit was friends with the four

—died in battle protecting her son (fun fact! It was the kit of one of her victims that killed her — neither knew)

—Blackdawn joined the Dark Forest

—So wracked with guilt, if she can make up for what she did to at least one cat, even if they made up later, then she will + repaying her for helping her with her kits while she was emotionally broken

—So, whether or not Blackdawn herself knows, Cloverfox watches out for her to make up for what she did to + repay Slateshade

More detail can be found on her ref, since it’s for some reason hard to find on Tumblr

[polar534]

TOH Hockey AU MasterPost

So I finally got my crap together and looked up how to actually, somewhat, use Tumblr. Since you all keep seeming to like my AU (I don't know why), I'm going to probably keep posting here as I complete it. Just a reminder that the ultimate goal is to post Hockey AU as a chapter by chapter fic on Ao3!

Hockey AU Overview:

Just the generic overview and summary of the AU. Want to know the background information like what the heck the girls's living situation is? What is Amity's position on the team? How about the portal situation and if our girls are actually going to school at all? This post has your answers! I really recommend hitting this up before checking out the rest.

Hockey AU Randoms:

Looking for laughs and goofs and random stuff that probably won't or couldn't be included in a fic? Then have some randoms. (Will probably definitely add more. Especially if anyone has asks I'll probably make this into a category in the future.)

The First Shot:

Type: Chapter / Status: Complete

This is the fully written first chapter of the fic. (I'll probably edit it a bit more when I go to post it officially) In this chapter Luz takes Amity to her first hockey game in the human realm. It's got wonderful established Lumity and Luz being completely unable to skate. So the full package.

Hockey Injury:

Type: Summary / Status: Complete -Awaiting Full Rewrite

Amity gets severely injured on the night of the big game. After an intense night of waiting and hoping Amity pulls through, Luz is lost. She can't tear her mind away from how injured Amity was and how she almost lost her girlfriend.

With the injury preventing her from playing the rest of the season and costing the Otters their big game, Amity feels like she has let her team and herself down. Now at the mercy of her concerned siblings, Lilith, Eda, Camilla and of course Luz how does Amity expect to handle the biggest question of all? What does she do now?

Just a few longish summaries of how I plan on having the biggest arc of Hockey AU go. It's got angst, it's got supportive Lumity, it's got a sports team banding together, it's got Owl Fam protectiveness and Camilla being a boss. Everyone makes mistakes and has misunderstandings as they all work together to heal.

Part 2, Part 3

Jersey Stealing:

Type: Chapter / Status: Complete

What happens when Luz's past just can't seem to leave her alone? How far will Amity go to find the truth about her girlfriend's rocky history with her old classmates, and just how far will she go to get them to leave her alone?

This 4-part fully written out arc features some new characters and some of the small town's signature homophobia. For the most part it is purely Luz angst as she's haunted by her past. Hopefully it gets balanced by Lumity fluff and protective Amity.

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Practicing

Type: Chapter / Status: Complete

A short shot based around Luz's inability to function on ice. (Guys... I am not joking... Luz CANNOT be on ice. The very universe determines this fact, I can't change it.) Featuring one very determined Luz Noceda and supportive and loving best friend Willow. While not official yet, this is most likely going to be the starting chapter for the Semi-Finals Arc that leads up to Hockey Injury.

Pizza Date

Type: Chapter / Status: Complete

The girls go out for pizza after a long day of practice for Amity, but quickly after they arrive at the restaurant, Luz notices something that Amity doesn't.

Part 2

Parenting:

Type: Chapter / Status: Current WIP

Amity Blight has been living with the Noceda's for almost a year and half. Away from her parents she has grown and taken massive strides to become her own person and live her own life. Happily in love with the human they once claimed was unworthy of ever visiting the Boiling Isles, after so long of silence, after months of healing... is Amity really ready to have them back in her life?

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

[starlightshadowsworld]

RWBY but Oz is a shape-shifting cat

The Oz cat AU that has been a long time coming and everyone talking about otters reminded me of it so here it is.

So essentially, in this AU. Salem fell in love with a handsome man named Ozma. But you see, Ozma was no man he was a cat who’s semblance allowed him to become a person (kinda like a kitsune or a siren) For you see in V1 said any living thing can have an aura and if you got aura you can have a semblance. 

Salem found his out and wanted Ozma to become fully human and the brothers had there argument which left poor ol Ozma stuck as a human full time. He’s still cursed and all that but over the centuries he was able to regain his cat form and switch as he pleased. 

And by cat I do in fact mean a big ol chubby tabby cat with bright green eyes. Oz can change his form to be as large as a lion (a big cat if you will) but he prefers to be a smol cat (so he is always huggable.

"What is Ozpin hiding from us?"

"... Meow"

Oscar hearing "nya" in his head and being like the heck.

Also Blake instantly knows, from the moment they met. Every Faunus can sense each other but they find in Oz that it's faint leading them to believe he is a descendant from Faunus with no traits. But somehow Blake figures it out.

Just "Professor Ozpin..." "Yes, Miss Belladonna" "Are you a cat?" ".... Glynda get the car, there onto us!" *swan dives outta the window*

Raven and Qrow used to turn into there birb forms exclusively so they could sit on cat Oz's head.

Oz fighting Hazel as cat form with long memory in his mouth and it throws the guy off completely.

Oscar being so good with animals and it translating to understanding Oz better and helping him.

In Volume 6 Oscar leaves... And by leaves he hides under a sofa.

Jaune:... Oscar... Can you please come out..?

*tiny lil kitty head pops out*

Jaune: would you, like to go clothes shopping?

Oscar vs Leo being a literal cat fight.

Oscar's training in Volume 7 is just

Oscar: Ozpin, hey we got hot coco

Ozpin: *peaks out*

Oscar: pspspsps, Oz look

Ozpin: *slowly lurks forward and drinks hot coco*

Oscar: *pets his hair*

Ozpin: *runs off once he's done*

Oscar: 😊 progress

Oz in Volume 8 is just a tiny lil kitty and Oscar's just protective of him. Just Oz vanishes in Volume 6 and Oscars like quick I need some hot chocolate, a blanket and a book of fairy tales stat!

[mlqcconfessions]

Your headcanons are perfect! Thank you for your work!♥️ Can you make a Headcanon for all four when they are drunk and MC tries to take them home so they can Rest? I think it would be so funny with a drunk Victor...

Who doesn’t love drunk MLQC boys? And this is my first headcanon with Shaw, so hope I got his character right! I changed the scenario a bit to better fit the boys’ personalities! Hope you don’t mind!

MLQC Headcanon - Overestimated Yourself

Victor

He’s a true connoisseur of fine wines, and actually enjoys small drinks with you

He doesn’t let you drink past 2 glasses (not after what happened on Christmas last year)

“But Victor!”

“No buts. You can take the 2 glasses, or you don’t”

He swiftly ignores your attempt at pinching his nose (he pinches yours, instead)

“Dummy”

Fine. You want some wine? I’ll give you some wine.

You ask the waiter to bring out the bottle with the strongest percentage (he nervously glances at Victor, who seems entirely amused with this situation)

“Ri-right away” (poor guy)

You anxiously watch Victor as he takes a sip of the new wine, your phone out and ready to record his expression

Nothing.

NOTHING

No change in expression whatsoever

It’s official. He’s a monster

He looks at your face, pouty with your lips out, and smirks before taking another sip

A few hours have passed, and he’s still drinking (from the strong bottle, even!)

Your chances of getting him drunk are close to zero, and you sigh in defeat

The waiter comes by with the bill, to which Victor returns with his card

Hmm?

“Victor?” (he looks at you like nothing is wrong, but you and the waiter’s faces beg to differ)

He turns his head to the card he’s holding (it’s his business card)

..........

You can’t help but burst out laughing at this adorable mistake

“Victor, (you’re still recovering from laughing too hard) are you drunk?”

His expression doesn’t seem to change (but that’s in the eyes of normal people)

In your eyes, you can tell that he’s lost his usual composure

He did, after all, drink more than he usually would

You can’t stop smiling even as he hands the waiter the correct card

As the two of you are walking to the car (with a driver, of course, no drunk driving) he puts his hand on your shoulder

You can sense a change in the atmosphere temperature

“I want a new proposal idea on my desk by next week” (your mouth opens wide and you can’t believe what you just heard)

It’s official. He’s a monster

Kiro

As a superstar, he and his team often go on company dinners after a successful promotion

And that includes drinks (he’s usually the one to buy it, because he just likes to)

Kiro’s constantly offered drinks by everyone around the table

He can’t take in alcohol to save his life (one shot, and he’s soon dancing on the table)

So he figured out a way to avoid having to accept any more

“Kiro, let me pour you a glass”

“Oh? I guess it’s my turn cook the meat now!”

“Take this special drink I made. It’s a mix of beer and soju”

“Savin really likes that, so you should give it to him!” (Savin has built up a high tolerance because of this)

But whenever he’s at home with you on a special day, he likes having a few drinks

The only problem is, he gets so clingy when he’s drunk

“MC, I love you so much”

“Can I braid your hair?”

“Hey! Stop getting so close to her!” (he’s fighting with a fork)

“MC, did you know otters hold hands so they don’t drift apart? (he holds your hand and takes it next to his heart) Now we’ll be together forever!”

Why is he so precious?

It’s cute for the first few minutes, but it gets a little tiring after a few hours

“Kiro, how about we play a game?”

“What game?” (his eyes are shining)

“Whoever can fall asleep the fastest wins! But you can’t say anything, or you lose right away!” (....this is what you do with the kids at the orphanage)

He mouths ‘okay’ and immediately lies on the couch with his hands folded together on his stomach

You look at him trying so hard to not open his eyes, and nearly let out a laugh (you’re still playing a game)

Meanwhile, he has his ears perked to catch you talking

After you’re done cleaning up after dinner, you return to the couch and notice Kiro’s arm is dangling off the edge

I guess we have a winner now (you quietly tiptoe to his side, kiss him on the cheek, and grab a blanket to cover him with)

He hasn’t had much sleep in a while, especially with his new song about to come out

At least he’ll be able to drift off for a few hours

“Good night, Kiro”

As you go to the kitchen to finish putting away the plates, he slowly opens his eyes and smiles at the sight of you (you had your back to him, so you would’ve never thought that he was awake)

He closes his eyes once more, happily content with knowing you’re next to him

“Good night, MC”

Lucien

You can never tell when he’s drunk or not

But he definitely can tell when you are (that’s what makes this so frustrating)

It seems he always catches you at your worst moments

Of course, he ensures you that everything you do is adorable (but that’s not the answer you want to hear)

Determined to see his drunk side, you invite him over for a dinner

You emphasize that you’ll prepare the best wine you can offer (at least with your budget)

A couple glasses of wine in, and you’re already starting to lose focus

Lucien doesn’t even change faces as he refills both of your glasses

“Don’t drink too much, MC (you’re giving him a pouty face)”

“Hmmph! Says the person who’s on his 5th glass”

He laughs at your timid remark, adding on to his list of MC’s drinking habits

The first one on the list is you trying to enter Lucien’s home with your own door passcode (he always loves watching you get frustrated through the *door monitor on the wall)

After a few hours have passed, you just decide to give up

He’s never gonna get drunk, who am I kidding?

Your head has cleared up a little (because you stopped accepting his refills)

Lucien, on the other hand, seems too quiet

He’s quiet, but not THIS quiet

It’s been a while since he said anything, so you’re worried (he has mentioned how he’s been feeling a little stressed lately)

“Lucien..?”

You lightly tapped his shoulder, and he responded by meeting his eyes with yours

He still didn’t say anything, but you notice his face is brushed with pink

“....! Lucien? Are you drunk?”

“Haha.....it appears so....” (why is he still so elegant when drunk)

He gets up to help you clear the table, but is a little wobbly on his feet

“Woah, Lucien! (he’s leaning on your shoulders) Why don’t you go home and get some rest?”

You walk him to his apartment (it’s like 10 steps) and as you’re about to turn around to leave, he lightly taps your shoulder

“Lucien?”

“MC? When did you get here?” (is this a habit, too???)

Gavin

Birdcop doesn’t usually drink, because he’ll need to be on alert at all times

“But it’s your resting day tomorrow! You can afford to lay back sometimes” (you’re handing him a beer can, cold from the fridge)

He looks at your enthusiastic expression, quickly decides that he can’t win against you, and sighs in acceptance

He’s just hoping that nothing bad happens during this drinking fest (because he can’t protect you 100% when he’s drunk)

Luckily, the night passes on without much turbulence

Except for that moment when you accidentally knocked over the chair (how does that even happen) while you were walking to get more cans

“Alright, MC (he’s collecting the remainder of beers). Confiscated”

“...! But!”

“No buts. You need to sleep early for work tomorrow”

You grab his to stop him from taking your oasis beers (he jolts a little)

“I already took the day off for tomorrow! So I could spend the entire day with you” (Gavin is being swayed)

In the end, you win (like most times) and your drinking party with Gavin resumes

You can hold your alcohol quite well (due to all the after parties you go to)

But poor Birdcop isn’t (he never tries to build up tolerance, because he doesn’t need to)

He’s out like a night light, and you smile looking at his peaceful face (he deserves a break, more than anyone else)

After you clean up, you snuggle in next to him

Perfectly content with this scenario, you rest your head on his shoulder

Then you hear some mumbling (how cute)

It’s getting late, and he should be heading home now 

But as you get up, he pulls you down towards him (so he’s wrapped around you like a bear)

You try to break free, but he doesn’t train every day for nothing

Instead, you wrap your arms around him the same (falling asleep knowing that you’re protected)

He wakes up in the morning and panics

Shaw

He’s not an alcoholic but he definitely likes drinking

Especially when you’re there to make things interesting for him

He likes watching you act all dumb when you’re drunk (but immediately stands in front of you when you act too chummy with the other customers)

He keeps giving you different types of drinks, just to see how you react

So far, vodka wins by a long shot

He has videos of your drunken self (that he sometimes sends to you whenever you don’t reply to his messages)

But Shaw isn’t the type to get drunk, and both of you know that

So when he called you at 2AM, sounding wasted, it’s no wonder that you were surprised

“Shaw? Do you even know what time it is right now?” (you’re trying to sound annoyed, but holding in your urge to giggle)

“Don’t talk back to me, MC”

In contrast to his cold words, his voice was soft and full of laughter

But a loud crash can be heard over the phone, and thunder booms in the distance

Then, silence

“Shaw? Are you okay?” (no answer)

“Shaw? This isn’t funny!” (at this point, you’re nearly ready to run out that door)

“....alleyway” (the call ends there)

Alleyway.....? Ah, maybe.....

You grab your stuff and quickly go outside, almost out of breath as you run to the alleyway near the neighborhood park (the same one where he first asked you out)

Sure enough he’s there, crouched against the brick wall with his arms in front of him

You walk over to him, forehead beaded with sweat, and say in an exasperated tone

“What the heck, Shaw! Do you know how worried I—”

You’re unable to finish your sentence as you notice the wounds on him

You cup his face to closely look at his cheeks (they’re both covered with marks)

“Who...just who did this to you?”

He doesn’t say anything, and just pulls you closer to him (you catch a whiff of the strong alcohol)

Like always, he doesn’t tell you much (and you know better than to prod at a painful spot)

You just let out a sigh, and gently pat the back of his head (he always relaxes when you do that)

“Tell me everything when you’re ready. I’ll wait for you”

He doesn’t say anything, but his tighter embrace gives you reassurance

(The next day he completely forgets what happened and laughs at you for trying to make things up)

This guy....

*this is what I was imagining when I said the screen on the wall for Lucien’s part

Yeah I don’t know why Shaw’s got so dark (it’s probably because I was replaying the latest chapters)

[opalmaplehibiscus]

Through an endless diamond sky

HC of Kalim x Yuu/MC with him getting the healing he needed

*Part of Kalim’s Birthday Series*

·       After the whole OBing event, things were, for lack of better words, awkward

·       It was obvious to him that Jamil didn’t intend to stay friends with him. Well, at least for now. And he respected it

·       No matter what was said to him before the final fight with OB Jamil, he couldn’t help but still blame himself. Jamil was suffering and Kalim didn’t even notice that his one and only friend he could trust his life with had felt that way. He failed Jamil not as a master, but as a friend, a brother

·       Every night he would stare either at the wall or the ceiling of his room, thinking about ways to lighten Jamil’s burden as vice dorm leader. He didn’t want to depend on Jamil anymore, especially when it was burdening the person he thought of as family

·       Kalim no longer woke up with Jamil coming into his room, nor did he eat breakfast made by him. To everyone’s surprise, Kalim was able to do it himself with not hesitance. Heck, Kalim was able to dress properly on his own, showing he was capable of taking care of himself. No one would’ve suspected that Kalim practiced until he was able to replicate to perfection what Jamil used to do for him on his own during the rest of break

·       Even his scarf and make up didn’t look out of place - something he had to spend all night trying to get right. Something none would notice, as Scarabia’s dorm members and Jamil sees the same signature smile on his face and hear his bright greeting

·       Many of the NRC students were able to believe their eyes as they saw Kalim studying at the library by himself. Usually he would be studying with Jamil at the dorms, or would try to without getting bored. But who would’ve thought Kalim would be seen without the vice dorm, by himself, at the school’s library

·       One day turned to five. Five turned to ten as people see Kalim studying hard on his own but struggling. The Scarabia’s dorm members would try to invite him into their group study session but Kalim continued to say no, knowing that the one leading it is Jamil

·       He didn’t expect to see Floyd and Jade nor be offered to be tutored by them. Okay, more by Jade than Floyd, who wanted a pal to bail studying

·       Soon enough, he finds himself hanging around the twins more, which, of course, led to him becoming closer to Azul. He would help out with Mostro Lounge, going as far as funding Azul time to time as thanks for helping him with his studies. And would Azul mind? Nope. Mostro Lounge #2 is about to come home, no way he’s giving up at this point! Even better – no contract needed. It’s all. Freaking. Free. Money

·       Kalim would meet up with Yuu/MC and try to help them out as well, feeling bad knowing how they were caught against their will and had to help solve the whole situation

·       When he tries to apologize and offers to actually help fix the rest of the dorm, Yuu/MC couldn’t handle it anymore

·       Grabbing both of his hands, Kalim gets scolded by Yuu/MC for not learning anything what they were tried to tell them in the end of the desert

·       What happened during Chapter 4 wasn’t his fault. Yes, he should’ve tried to talk to Jamil, yes, he was too naïve but was he the one to plan the whole thing? No. He didn’t force Jamil to OB nor did he try to hurt him. Yuu/MC tells Kalim to quit blaming everything on himself

·       Confliction and frustration start to pile up in Kalim and finally the dam broke as he finally yelled how he didn’t know what to do anymore. He starts talking about how his fate as the eldest has always brought tragedy, stress, and hatred to his loved ones and no matter how much he tries, he still can’t protect them

·       He cries about how he wanted to make others happy while living the normal life others seem to have. He didn’t want to cause people pain; he didn’t want to cause people to be burdened because of him. But what’s the point of enduring everything when in the end it was only going to be useless?

·       One thing leads to the next, and now he’s crying in Yuu/MC’s arms, pouring everything he had held in. The loneliness, the frustration, the despair, and the depression. Just like how Oasis Maker was able to create a flood from rain, his tears drench his face and Yuu/MC’s shirt

·       When he calms down, he gets hugged tightly by Yuu/MC, their hand patting his head while they comfort him. They tell him that he’s strong and tells him that it’s because of he was able to stay strong this whole entire time, his dorm happens to be one filled with the most happiness compared to the rest

·       Even if he wasn’t as calculative and mature as Jamil, he was able to take care of everyone’s need and became one of the most loved and depended dorm leader. His cheeriness made people smile, his consideration made people not worry, and the fact he’s willing to listen and try to help solve other’s problems made him loveable. Yuu/MC surprises him by telling that he’s too selfless – too altruistic and it’s because of this trait, it has become his weakness

·       After the whole talk ended, he finds himself sleepy and accidentally falls asleep in Yuu/MC’s arms

·       When he wakes up, he’s in an unfamiliar bedroom and starts to freak out at first that he was kidnapped again. But when he remembers what had happened and where he was, he quickly looks at his phone and freaks out again, seeing that it’s now past 8 p.m.

·       Just when he’s about open the door of the room, Yuu/MC enters holding a tray of food, surprised when they see Kalim right in front of the door

·       Kalim quickly grabs hold of the tray that was about slip out of their hands, while using his free arm to catch Yuu/MC from falling

·       Flustered, Kalim apologizes while Yuu/MC tells him that it was fine, though, wondering why he was up

·       Kalim explains how he didn’t realize he had fallen asleep and was really late, probably worrying Jamil who still performed his duties as vice dorm leader only to calm down when Yuu/MC tells Kalim that they had already contacted Jamil and got the okay that Kalim could stay the night with them

·       Feeling embarrassed again, Kalim blushes and mumbles an “Oh, I see”  and blushes more when he remembers how much he cried. He tells Yuu/MC he would get them a new uniform since he ruined theirs with his tears

·       Yuu/MC tries to dissuade Kalim but after them playing the game “Yes; No”, they end up changing the topic and asks if Kalim was feeling hungry. He’s about to say no, but his stomach growls preventing from saying it

·       In the end, Yuu/MC and Kalim ends up having a sleep over party with Grim on the side, trying to cheat when they play cards or boardgames. To Yuu/MC and Grim’s surprise, Kalim ends up winning majority of the games making him feel bashful as he explained he would often play them with his 40+ younger siblings

·       Since then, Kalim would hang out with Yuu/MC at Ramshackle Dorm and try to get them to join the light music club though it ends up with him and Yuu/MC chatting and relaxing

·       The one to notice first the change in Kalim’s smiles would be the Sea trio, with Jade pointing out how Kalim’s smile seem to be more…happier and cheerful if that was even possible while Floyd would poke “Sea Otter-kun” to tell them what happened to make him seem like the sun now

·       Kalim would reply with “nothing, just feeling happier than before” only for Azul to pick up the fact that Kalim seemed to be hiding something and questions if it had anything to do with a certain prefect

·       Kalim would laugh and admit that he’s been hanging out with Yuu/MC more frequently, which made Azul hum in understanding and reply with a vague “makes sense”

·       Visits to Ramshackle started to become more frequent, to the point he would have a bedroom marked with his name on it

·       And as time went by, Kalim starts to realize that he really likes Yuu/MC. They make his heart calmer, reminding him to not burden himself or hold stuff in but let it out even if it means coming to them and talking about his feelings

·       He also starts noticing small things like how Yuu/MC tends to look exhausted yet happy when having to mom Deuce, Ace, and Grim, or when having to deal with something Crowley forced asked them to do, they look stressed yet tries to stay positive. But what makes his heart pounds faster is when Yuu/MC laughs and smiles when they seem to genuinely enjoy something

·       When Vil attempts to poison Yuu/MC after seeing them as a threat, it was Kalim’s first time actually getting angry. The rage he showed even made Jamil stay on the edge and willfully listen to Kalim’s orders, not sure how to actually calm Kalim when his wrath literally covers his whole being

·       Kalim realizes that he actually has fallen for Yuu/MC by the time Fairy Gala comes in

·       He became mesmerized by Yuu/MC’s attire and blushes when he gets complimented by them

·       Vil and Leona, who somehow became his friends (though they would like to argue otherwise), would be trading smirks and try to push him to confessing to the prefect, teasing him how his love for them was so innocent and pure

·       When the operation to steal back the magic stone ended successfully, Kalim would convince Jamil, who had recently accepted their new-found friendship, to let him take the magic carpet and visit Yuu/MC

·       After arguing about “how irresponsible of the dorm leader to go out after curfew” and “he needs to fix his habit of announcing something big suddenly”, Kalim leaves the dorm and flies to Ramshackle Dorm

·       Knocking on the window, Yuu/MC would be greeted by Kalim on the carpet, extending his hand and inviting them for a night ride

·       They seemed to hesitate at first until Grim butts into the conversation and tells Kalim he wants to ride the magic carpet again but with someone with experience since their attempt caused them to crash

·       During the ride, Kalim would glance at Yuu/MC time to time while chatting with them the whole time until they pass the clouds and see the moon. He then turns and confesses his feelings for them

·       He quickly adds on and rambles how it’s okay if they reject him and he totally understands and respects their choice if they do only to get silenced by a kiss

·       Yuu/Mc would look at Kalim and teasingly asks Kalim what if they didn’t want to reject him

·       When Kalim was about to tell them he loved them again, Grim suddenly groans out how he had to see that happen right in front of his face, making Yuu/MC blush and try to scold the cat while Kalim laughs as he felt true happiness in a long time

[agathokambescence]

Circle Casting

I only do this when I am working with spirits for protection purposes, because it's a lot and I'm a lazy bitch. It is, however, very effective. All of this is my personal opinion though, so keep that in mind.

What is it?

To me circle casting is basically a temporary ward/shield. What makes it different is that is is temporary and not meant to be up for a long period of time. Circles also have to be opened and closed. Leaving them open can let in things you don't hecking want... I have experience in this. Just please, CLOSE YOUR CIRCLES.

Why?

The purpose is to protect you from anything you don't want to mess with you whilst doing your magick. I typically use mine for spirit work, but people use them for meditating, astral projection, and some people use them for everything. It's a nice lil safety net to have in place as a just in case, even if your wards are great.

How?

Cleanse the area and all materials that will be used.

I place elemental correspondences in the corresponding directions

I then take my wand and point it towards the North and say, "Element of the Earth to the North, allow me to stay grounded and capable during this (spell, séance, whatever you're doing)"

Next, I go to the East and say, "Element of air to the East, please keep me and my space cleansed."

After that, I go to the South and say, "Element of fire to the South, keep me warm and enlightened."

Then, I go to the West and say, "Element of water to the West, allow calmness and a clear mind to be within me."

Finally, I lift my want above my head and say, "Alexiares and Anicetus, please keep me safe and protected within my circle. (Then usually a sappy and heartfelt thank you to them). To the otter, my spirit guide, please wrap your loyal arms of strength around me and protect me within my circle. (Another sappy thank you to my spirit guide.) My ancestors, if you haven't yet passed over, please watch over me now. Do not put yourselves in harms way, but if possible please tell me of things I need to be aware of outside of the circle. (Another thank you is made to them.)

[If you don't worship Gods, or don't want to ask your guides or ancestors for protection, you can ask the element of spirit. You can also add a few words and ask the other elements for protection as you go.]

Then you're done.

To Close:

Cleanse the inside of the circle again.

Thank the elements, and anything else you asked to help you with your circle.

Say, "this circle is now closed, my work is done, energies and spirits shall linger no more."

Then, I disturb the circle and dispose of the elements I used to open it.

In the end, there is no right or wrong way to cast a circle. If you are a beginner, or are looking into this topic, I urge you to look at other resources too. There are many other talented witches out there with fabulous resources and different opinions to look at. Have a wonderful day!

[crappy-capybara]

Jojo’s Barkzarre Adventure: Stardust Crusadog

Jotaro

- Doberman Pinscher, somehow appear at your door step and star at you until you let him in

- Very protective of you, especially against Dio

- Dio once push a vase over his head, Joot retaliated by throwing the cat across the yard into a wall of rose.

- After that accident, you have to put them in different area of the house for two months. The other crusadogs.....don’ t really help. All they do is cheer Jotaro on.

- When you pet his, he let out what look like a sigh, but let you do as you wish. At least until he get too shy and just walk away.

- Will not let anyone else touch him tho, except for one of your other dog, Holly, and your otter, Jolyne.

- Partly tollerant to the dogwang gangs (Josuke, Okuyasu and Koichi)

- Is very popular among you customers, even if all he does is laying on his arse and stare at anyone who dare reach out to pet him.

- Great guard dog, once almost bite off a robber’s legs.

- Get into a fight with stray dog when heguard you to grocery store, dragthat dog back home with you.

- All in all, a giant, intimidating softball of edgy, emo energy.

Kakyoin

- Beagle, his former owner was not the best one. They left him when they moved away. He became stray dog for few weeks.

- Got dragged back by Jotaro, after almost beaten to death.

- stay with you after You patched him up. His eyes are not as good as they use to be.

- Polite, very good with customer, and good at keeping Jotaro from biting someone.

- Observative, will notice any danger and warn you, or you other guard dogs early on.

- Teased by other Crusadogs for his height (he’s smallest one after all.) Will fight back then got sat on, or just pick up by the loose skin behind his neck.

- Like cherry, for some reason, and will give you puppy eyes until you give him (seeds have to be take out first) at least one.

- Will also fight Dio to death if needed.

Avdol

- Pharaoh Hound, your friend have a little problem, and ask if you can keep him.

- Sometime you swear he can see the future.

Gets uncomfortable whenpetted for too long.

- Love to hang out with Ponareff

-More careful than other dogs when searching for danger.

- Once got kicked by Hol Horse. You have to physically restain Polnareff before he ripped the small horse off.

- Good friend with Joseph, help Jonathan calming the Battle Tendogcy Duo.

- Like to lay around in the sun, and being wrapped in blanket during winter.

- Has a small red bird doll he carried around, and throw at people face as a weapon.

Polnareff

- Samoyed that looks like a cloud more than a dog.

- Fluffy as heck, will drown you in his fluff if you hug him.

- You have noidea where he came from....like most of your pet nowaday.

- Loves, Loves, LOVES being petted, especially by girls.

- Friendly and loud, get bullied by Dio’s gang pretty often, will fight back but he’s clumsy sometimes so it’s up to Avdol and Kakyoin to save him. With Jotaro joins in just to beat the crap out of Dio.

- Why do half of your pet hate Dio, you don’t really know.

- Get hooked into Giorno’s Shenanigan one time, almost lost his legs.

- Stay closer to you after that accident, you hace to push him out of the bathroom when you want to show or take care of business.

- Love cuddling with you while watching moving, mainly rom-com, and just fall asleep on you lap.

- An eager lbig cotton ball you love and cherish anyway.

(I tried to draw dog.....it’s not working...)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

[sesamesaysme]

PDX101 “spirit animals” of the Top 20

Y’all this is info that you never knew you wanted. But trust me, you want it. 😂

I looked up all of the Top 20′s primal signs (which is when you combine the astrological zodiac sign with the Chinese zodiac sign) and this is what each person’s animal is:

20.) SEJIN / Aries + Rat = Piranha / yikes, that’s a little scary

19.) TONY / Leo + Horse = Hyena / lol when I think hyena my impression is that they are high-strung and kinda crazy...

18.) WONJIN / Aries + Snake = Praying Mantis / hmm, maybe Wonjin is more cutthroat than he first appears. But then again, isn’t it the female praying mantis that cuts off the male’s head? So either he’s cutthroat or he’s whipped.  

17.) YUVIN / Taurus + Tiger = Wolf / Yuvin being a combo of a bull and a tiger is going to surprise NO ONE. Makes absolute sense to me. Wolf fits him. Magnetic, aggressive, but also an animal that likes to operate as part of a pack. I think he cares a lot about groupmates. 

16.) HANGYUL / Sagittarius + Rabbit = Sugar Glider / I’ve never in my life even heard of a sugar glider but I just googled it and, you guys, it is all kinds of adorable, Makes me think of how Lee Dongwook is always trying to make Hangyul do aegyo. 

15.) JUNGMO / Aquarius + Dragon = Leopard / Wow, ok Jungmo. That sounds wild and sexy. 

14.) MINHEE / Virgo + Horse = Giraffe / I can see that because as a competitor he’s not very carnivorous (as in not that aggressive) but he stands out in his own way

13.) YUNSEONG / Scorpio + Dragon = Jaguar / Jungmo and Yunseong are a pair of very similar wildcats apparently. But jaguars are bigger.

12.) DONGPYO / Virgo + Horse = Giraffe / Same as Minhee. Dang it. I was really hoping none of them would have the same animal. I see Dongpyo as more of a baby giraffe than a full grown giraffe, like he can already walk far but sometimes still has some baby giraffe awkwardness. 

11.) JUNHO / Cancer + Horse = Hermit Crab / LOL awww. Little hermit crab Junho has come out of his shell a lot through this show though! 

10.) DONGHYUN / Taurus + Ram (or sheep or goat) = Panda / That’s really cute. Who doesn’t love pandas. 

9.) EUNSANG / Scorpio + Horse = Dragonfly / Always on the move, always flitting around trying stuff

8.) HYEONGJUN / Sagittarius + Horse = Dove / It figures that Hyeongjun would end up with something small and pure. Confrontations make Hyeongjun cry. He wants to make peace, not war. 

7.) DOHYUN / Scorpio + Monkey = Raven / interesting because it seems like a dark and poetic creature which fits the image of a rapper well

6.) SEUNGYOUN / Leo + Rat = Otter / So...you’re telling me he’s playful, social, cute and intelligent and that he’s also sleek and agile when in his element? I’m done. That’s perfect. 

5.) MINKYU / Pisces + Snake = Frog / I don’t really know what I think of when I think of frogs. He does have big eyes and skinny arms and legs. Oh wait wait! Frog prince! Duh. That’s what I associate with frogs. 

4.) SEUNGWOO / Capricorn + Dog = Boxer (dog) / I’m stumped. I know nothing about Boxers. A good companion? Loyal and protective? Seriously though I know nothing. 

3.) JINHYUK / Gemini + Rat = Chipmunk / Brb, dying from laughter. Jinhyuk the chipmunk. It’s hilarious but it’s not wrong!!! He’s energetic and chatter-y and he’s super responsible. Jinhyuk Chipmunk may bob around in his Olaf costume but he will also be that guy who will work his chipmunk tail off getting dem nuts stored away for winter. 

2.) WOOSEOK / Libra + Rat = Vulture / Dannnnngggg. OK, yeah I can see it if you think of Wooseok being cool and hard to ruffle. Also vultures seem very intelligent. But one more thing. Wooseok’s birthday is on the last day of Libra so his personality will also have a lot of the next sign (Scorpio). And Scorpio + Rat = Anaconda. A combo of Vulture and Anaconda! Whoa. Wooseok is DANGEROUS as HECK!  The imagery of vulture and anaconda fits his Love Shot performance so much. 

1.) YOHAN / Virgo + Rabbit = Earthworm / Earthworm. What the~~? FREAKIN’ EARTHWORM? REALLY?!? Why does everybody else get cool or adorable animals? Maybe it means he’s very gentle and down to earth? (True). But the funny thing is Wooseok is not the only one with a birthday on the cusp. Not to be outdone, Yohan’s birthday is also on the cusp so he also gets bonus traits. His bday is the last day of Virgo which means he’s got a lot of Libra in him.  Libra + Rabbit = Butterfly. Butterflies are like social, lighthearted. They also make people think of transformation which makes sense because Yohan’s skills have really evolved and blossomed during this span of time. 

There you have it folks. Our battle for center is between a vulture/anaconda and an earthworm/butterfly. In one corner we have small animals that represent warmth, lightness, airiness and the stages of life and in the other corner we have large animals that represent coolness, darkness, strangulation and death.  How did this happen? 😂😂I could not have made this up if I tried.

I should not have looked this up. Now I’m picturing all of them like Pokemon trainers with these animals sitting on their shoulders or hovering around.