#put zero's bang on the wrong side

[flowerveil02]

Have a doodle of RRr Zero and Lumi because I haven't made an art post recently. (Or as recently as I'd like to.) I don't see a lot of art of the two of them either, and them and Eve are some of my favs. So I gave them my own style and hcs!

I'd imagine that Zero would definitely dig that grungey early 2k scenemo fashion. Like ripped jeans, crop-tops, beat-up sneakers or platform sneakers, fingerless gloves, caps, all that stuff. He'd also have a futch/androgynous taste.

I just drew Lumi wearing something comfortable, but she's definitely a skirt-wearing kind of quirky girly-girl. 100 percent she'd wear bows when it's too hot for her beanie.

Random hcs for the two below the cut!

🖤 I think Zero's trans and would be afraid to wear makeup and femme fashion at first bcuz of it. But he eventually learns to "quit giving a fuck about it", as he'd say, and just be himself.

💙 Lumi has a full team of Vanillite. They each have different names and everything.

🖤 Zero enjoys babysitting Lumi after the post-game. It takes a while for him to make it up to Eve, but they eventually become ride-or-dies (much to Eve's dismay).

💙 After her recovery from her disease, Lumi has her heart set on traveling the world. She may be little, but she has big dreams! One of her most ambitious plans is to go hiking in the FlintHearth Mt. ranges! (That's a fan area. You can read about it in our Reborn: Rainbow post!)

🖤 His type specialty changes from dark to electric, and he takes Julia's place as the electric-type gym leader. (We have to get the RR league worked out, too.)

💙 Lumi, Heather, Shelly, Mona, and Nikki play together all the time! (Mona is my OC, and Nikki is Zom's @nommyzommy OC. They're all like, 12.)

🖤 His last name is McAmp. He's named after an amp, a measurement of electricity.

Hope y'all liked this! Live grungey, and stay groovy! <3

[twst-drabbles]

Jamil 17

Summary: You and Jamil lay in his bed in his dorm room. While you’re very tired, you’re visibly not bothered by the social implications of being in the bed of another. Jamil, on the other hand, is a little too aware.

(I saw the birthday card and went “eh, why not?” and wrote this.)

Was this something common in your world? Where, out of nowhere, people will just casually ask their friends if they can sleep with them in their bed? Because that’s what you did to Jamil. You approached him, luckily out of earshot from anyone important, and asked that very question with zero shame.

“Hey Jamil? Mind if I sleep with you in your bed tonight?”

Jamil will admit, it took him a good five seconds for him to register the words. And, he will also admit that he banged his knee against the table he was cleaning. Hit it so hard actually that he curled up into a ball, and practically retreated into his hoodie because why would you ask that?! In broad daylight?!

But you know what’s the worst part about all this? Jamil actually got excited. Giddy even! When the hot flush flooding through his body finally settled, all that was left was this glowing feeling.

At the time, he thought that his charms have finally got to you. That all his efforts to be in your good graces have begun to bear fruit.

And so he said, “You know what? Yes, let’s do that. Setting aside the way you asked that, I think I can find it in my heart to forgive that.”

Past him’s an idiot. For all those times he thought himself above the hormonal college students, turns out Jamil was no better. He supposed it was only a matter of time before he was humbled.

And so here Jamil lays on his side of the bed, dressed in his best pajamas, surrounded by the best sheets and pillows he uses for special occasions, and you laying on your stomach, reading the next chapter for one of your classes.

You came in with a tired wave, bag at hand, and flopped over in his bed. And you’ve been in that pose since.

“So, this was what you meant.” Jamil said. Now that his judgment is clear again after an hour of doing nothing, he really should’ve known you didn’t mean anything special by what you asked. Shame on him for expecting an extra meaning to them.

“Hmm? Oh, was the way I asked weird?” You glanced towards him. Jamil recognizes that exhausted look weighing in your eyes. Perhaps, through the rose-tinted glasses, Jamil didn’t notice. Once again, shame on him. Jamil should suffocate himself with these pillows. “Sorry about that. I just really want one good night of sleep. Just one.”

The urge to hit himself with the pillows lessened. Jamil moved onto his stomach, and copied your position, propping his chin on the pile. “Is there something wrong with your bed?”

You put your phone down. “Weather’s getting hotter and I still don’t have a working air con. It gets so humid at night that I sweat through the night. Can barely get more than three hours of sleep at a time.”

…of course the headmage would neglect to give you something as simple as a stable heating and cooling. Leave it to him to ignore your problems while he goes off doing whatever else. Probably binge watching an old drama that’s not even any good.

“I can’t imagine it’s been easy to deal with. Though, I have to ask, why my bed? You have others that you’re closer to, don’t you?”

Others such as Ace and Deuce, but Jamil didn’t want to say their names. It’s childish but he doesn’t want to see if your eyes light up at their mere mention.

You stretched your spine and settled down. “Yeah I know other people, but–how do I say this–they’ll make it weird.”

Weird? Like how Jamil preparing everything from the lights, to the blankets and even stuffing his drawer with extra wipes just in case wasn’t weird? What?

“Wait, what you mean by weird?” Now Jamil’s worried. Did something happen for you to say that? Did someone do something to you?

You waved off his concern. “Well, see, originally I was just going to ask Rook since he doesn’t mind sharing spaces with anyone, but he’s also very into cuddling and I’m not in the mood for that.”

“That’s true, he’s very open about that kind of thin–wait you cuddled him before?” Since when?

“Cuddled him plenty of times. Rook gives the best hugs without trying to flirt with me. Anyways, Rook wasn’t an option, and neither are Ace and Deuce since there’s no room to spare. There was Leona but after that whole ordeal with Azul, I really don’t want to go back there. And as for asking Azul himself… I feel like he’d charge me for that. So, here I am.”

Oh. Well, when putting it like that, it does make sense doesn’t it? So long as you don’t figure out exactly what went through his head when you asked. He’ll just keep quiet about that.

Jamil sighed into his pillow. “While I want to ask why you didn’t ask Kalim, but I know him too well. A peaceful rest isn’t something he can give, not with the way he sleeps.”

You patted his shoulder and it took everything in Jamil to not jump out of his skin. “You get it. So, yeah, thanks Jamil, for not saying no. Honestly, I was ready to find an empty classroom and just sleeping in there.”

Jamil narrowed his eyes. “Don’t do that. You’ll get in trouble. Just sleep here for the time being. When I have time, I’ll see about pestering Crowley into getting everything in order.”

“You do too much for me, Jamil. Really.”

While things didn’t play out the way he wanted to, the warmth flooding in his chest has not once went away. If anything, from the sight of your smile, it threatened to overflow.

This is nice, that you trust him like this.

“…alright, this is still bothering me. How did you and Rook even start cuddling in the first place?”

And can he add himself onto that list of people you cuddle with?

“Hahaha, yeah that is strange, right? Alright, may as well tell you.”

[minniesmutt]

☾ ━━━━━━ 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫

☾ ━━━ PAIRING: BANG CHAN X READER X SEUNGMIN ☾ ━━━ CONTENT: ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP, VAMPIRE! CHAN AND SEUNGMIN, HUMAN!FEM!READER, ORAL SEX (F. REC), BLOOD, MENSTRUAL CYCLE/PAIN, FOOD MENTIONS, BOOB PLAY, HICKEYS, TEASING, FANG MENTIONS, AFTERCARE ☾ ━━━ WC: 1.2K ☾ ━━━ repost from old blog ☾ ━━━ 18+ work!! minors and ageless/blank blogs DNI! you will be blocked, put an indicator on your blog somewhere that you are 18+ before interacting with this work/blog

     Y/n hated it. She woke up in the middle of the night from the cramping of her period. Rolling over in the sheets, trying to get comfortable again but it wasn't helping. 

     Chan was still at the studio. Bad habit of his he would probably never quit. She rolled over to the side of the bed. Grabbing her phone to ask him to pick up her favorites on his way home before going into her messages with Seungmin. Chan, she understood why he wasn't in their bed. Seungmin, she had zero clue where he was

Y/n💋: where are you 😢 Minnie🩸❤️: what's wrong bubs?  Y/n💋: my period came and Chan’s at work  Minnie🩸❤️: poor baby. Do you want your regulars? Y/n💋: I already texted Chan to get them on his way home. Can you come and give me cuddles? Minnie🩸❤️: I’ll be right in. I was just taking pictures of the moon

     She heard the front door open and close. This is what she got for dating not one, but two vampires. Both had no concept of sleep so they were awake all night while she slept. But it definitely made life interesting. 

     It took less than a minute for Seungmin to get up to their room. Slowly opening the door before crawling into bed behind her, hands wrapping around her waist and rubbing her lower stomach. 

     “Bad ones?” he kissed her shoulder 

     “Mhm,” Y/n whined as another hit her

     It was silent for a moment. Seungmin rubbed her stomach and provided some heat to help a little bit. 

     “I heard orgasms help with menstrual pain,” Seungmin stated out of nowhere

     “That’s a weird way to say you're hungry,” Y/n giggled

     “Not my fault it smells good,” Seungmin slowly rolled her onto her back as he sat up a bit, “I can always take from somewhere else.” his lips slowly kissed her neck, “didn't wanna let good blood go to waste.”

     His hands wandered down to rub her legs before placing a gentle kiss on her lips. Y/n gladly returned it as she gripped his T-shirt. Making out with her boyfriend took her attention off the discomfort in her stomach. Hands moved up to massage the area to massage there.

     “Min,” Y/n said as she pulled away from their kiss

     “Yeah?” he asked, placing kisses on her neck.

     “Let’s try,” she said

     “Try what?” he asked, looking up at her

     “Eat me out.”

     “You sure?”

     “Positive. Just grab some towels.”

     Seungmin smiled and pecked her lips before rushing out of the room to grab some towels. Y/n took the time to strip her pajamas before he got back in the room. Seungmin smirked as he moved her to set the towels under her. 

     “Eager little puppy,” Seungmin chuckled as he tossed his shirt off before crawling over her, feverishly pushing his lips onto her. 

     Y/n returned the kiss, holding onto the nape of his neck. His hands ran up her body, from her hips up to her breasts. Groping them and running his thumbs over her nipples. A moan of pleasure left her lips before another wave of cramps hit, making her shrink into herself. 

     “Min,” Y/n whined into the kiss

     “Hurt baby?” Seungmin pulled his lips away from her as she nodded. 

     Without another word, he moved down in between her legs. Pushing them open and immediately diving in. Licking from her entrance up before cleaning any blood that had dripped out of her. Y/n shuddered against the feeling of his tongue. Seungmin smiled to himself as his tongue pushed its way into her. Y/n moaned as his nose brushed against her clit.

     “Taste so fucking good,” Seungmin moaned as he pulled away for a moment before diving back in. 

     Y/m rolled her hips against him as his hands moved up to grope her breasts. The build-up was for sure helping dull the pain of her cramps. It also distracted her from the front door opening and closing again. 

     A moment later, Chan walked in and stood at the doorway. It wasn’t unusual for any of them to walk in on the others having sex or masturbating. He was a bit concerned knowing Y/n was on her period, but when the scent of blood hit his senses, he could care less.

     Chan set the bag of things he had picked up from the store down next to the bed before kneeling on the bed and attaching his plump lips to her, one of his arms wrapping around her waist. Y/n melted once she felt his plump lips. 

     “Minnie making you feel good baby?” Chan asked after he pulled away, lips hovering close to hers

     “Yes,” Y/n moaned out as she grabbed onto his arm as Seungmin’s tongue grazed a particular spot. 

     “Letting him clean all the blood out of you? Gonna let me have some too?”

     Y/n nodded before Chan brought his lips back onto hers. His hand moved down to play with her clit. Seungmin moved lower so Chan’s fingers had some room. 

     The knot in her stomach that had replaced the cramping pain tightened more with the added fingers on her clit. Her hips bucked against them both. Seungmin's hands moved down to hold her hips down as both worked her to her first orgasm. 

     Neither of them stopped their movements as she went through her high. Seungmin blood away. Wiping any bit of stray blood from his face and then licking it off his hands. Chan moved his fingers off her clit and pulled away from her lips as well. 

     “Taste good, Min?” Chan asked as Y/n rested against his chest

     “Find out for yourself, old man.”

     The two vampires switched their positions. Chan threw both her legs over his shoulders before his tongue dove into her. She let out a mumbled “fuck” at the feeling, still quite sensitive from her first orgasm with Seungmin, who was currently laying next to her playing with her breasts and marking the side of her neck with hickeys. Both men seemed to be enjoying the taste of the blood. She almost wondered if it had a different taste from the blood they typically took from her veins. 

     Y/n felt Seungmin’s fangs graze her skin a bit. The touch made her shiver against the bed, toes curling as Chan’s nose nudged her clit. The action combined with the tips of Seungmins fangs teasing her pulse point. 

     “Gonna come,” Y/n moaned, both vampires working harder till she hit her second orgasm. Chan lapped up her release and blood mixture like Seungmin did while the ladder fangs sunk into her neck as soon as she started arching off the bed.

     Seungmin pulled his teeth out of her first and licked the wound as the older pulled away from her cunt. Both moved to cuddle and just provide affection while she came back down.

     “Feel better, bubs?”

     “Yeah,” Y/n nodded, “Wanna go back to sleep.”

     “Let’s get you cleaned first, baby.”

     Chan took the initiative of picking her up and taking her to the bathroom to clean up while Seungmin cleaned up the bed. “Tell us again if it starts hurting, okay?” Chan said as he kissed her forehead     “If it gets both of you to eat me out again, I will.”

     “We can’t let good blood go to waste, can we?”

     “You sound like Seungmin.”

☾ ━━━━━━ M.LIST    TIP JAR

☾ ━━━ please support writers by reblogging and/or leaving feedback

© 2024 MINNIESMUTT. DO NOT COPY, REPUBLISH OR TRANSLATE MY WORK ANYWHERE

[blorbocedes]

For the prompt game: woke up in the wrong body? Clonecest? German twincest? They get freaky friday'd? Whatever your heart desires

Lewis doesn't actually notice anything’s wrong until Nico says, “Don’t worry, we’ll be good. Right, Lew?” to Toto at the end of the Wednesday debrief, flashing a sunny smile.

Lewis stiffens immediately. Nico hasn't called him that in years. What angle is he playing at here? And since when does he joke around during debriefs? Thinking back, Nico had been bouncing around the garage, peeking at both their cars’ suspensions and chatting animatedly to the engineers, even on Lewis’ side of the garage.

The meeting ends, with Toto and Paddy dispersing the team and Nico hangs around, lingering.

“What was that back there?”

Nico sways, shifting his weight from one heel to the other. “Just being good teammates. Buddies, friends.”

Before Lewis can react, Sebastian Vettel storms in with his Ferrari race suit unzipped at the waist, snapping in rapid German.

Nico looks guilty in a sheepish way, says something back that Lewis can only make out his name from.

What the fuck is going on?

Lewis turns to Seb because he doesn't want to deal with Nico being weird. “Hey, man, you're not supposed to be here.”

Seb grimaces, it looks all wrong on his mouth. And his hair is… styled? Coiffed, almost. Lewis wasn't aware Sebastian owned a brush. Nico, on the other hand, had completely unstyled hair today, bangs falling over his eyes like he air dried after taking a shower; not his usual put together self. Lewis doesn't think about him or his hair routine to wonder why.

“You are right,” Seb says with none of his usual playfulness. His mouth is flattened into a thin line. “Nico, a word?”

“Am I in trouble?” Nico quips. “I barely even looked at the cars! Seriously, might be better for your championship chances if you're not dangling your balls in the pool.”

It's a pretty nonsensical remark, especially from Nico who uses controlled diplomacy as a double edged sword. Sebastian, on the other hand, frowns – eyebrows scrunching and mouth going in an almost perfect displeased scowl. It doesn't suit Seb, but it's a face he’s seen a million times on Nico, has teased out of him, has put it on every time he misses a pole, a win, a podium. The way Nico’s standing, his hair, the way he's carrying himself – it's all wrong.

Lewis grabs Nico by the arm. “You're not –” Lewis doesn't even finish his accusation because it's absurd.

Nico looks at him, surprised, and then breaks into a shit-eating grin, self possessed and cocky. “He really doesn't give you enough credit. He thought you wouldn't notice.”

“I shouldn't have trusted you to act normal.” Is Sebastian’s sullen reply, eyes narrowed and zeroed in on where Lewis is holding Nico’s arm. Lewis lets go, suddenly self-conscious.

He hates this, being talked over like he's not even there. The mechanics are starting to notice from outside that Sebastian Vettel in red in their conference room, as if Silvia’s going to come chasing after him any minute. Lewis’ curiosity wins over the facade of being cool and not cracking in case Sebastian and Nico woke up and decided to become best friends and pull an orchestrated prank on him.

“Will either of you tell me what the fuck is going on?”

“Lewis, we need to talk. Somewhere private. Your motorhome.” Sebastian’s tone is bossy, standing arms crossed. He doesn't wait, setting off with a determined ease like he knows exactly where it is.

Nico follows suit, adding in a stage whisper, “By that, he means sex.”

[hidtired]

A Single Punch [Part 2]

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Description: The aftermaths to the line up leaves you with serious injury. With most of the group to believe you dead. How will your recovery go at Hilltop? How will people react to seeing you?

2.6k words

Warnings (much angst, injury, near death, depression, recovery, typical walking dead shenanigans) [happy ending… eventually]

(Daryl Dixon x Reader) Masterlist

Your POV

The steady hum and rocking of the truck bed is what woke you from unconsciousness. The wind ripping around you. It was hard to breathe. Even more so when you realized that you were next to two bodies, presuming that they used to be your friends. What had happened again? A bat? Line of your family being chosen for death. You were one of those chosen. The thought of "I'm alive." While not necessarily feeling like it. You were alive. Your body moving on it own slapping the back of the truck with your bloody hand. Bloody and very broken if the sharp pain sent threw you didn't tell you anything.

The sharp pain making you groan and rolling into yourself. A wheeze still in your lungs. You felt like you were spinning. The loud bang of the tail gate making you jump. Everything felt wrong something is wrong.

"I can't, please it hurts."

Sasha flinched when you spoke. Believing for a second she dreamt it. But your small whimpering and sobs made her drop closer to you. "Y-your still alive- I don't-" Your face and hair were covered in your own blood. Not knowing the location its coming from. Sasha pulling herself together after the initial shock. She turned to Maggie who stood wobbly and in shock seeing you trying to move and talk. Your speech was becoming incomprehensible now. Sasha slipped off a layer of clothing to hold to your head. She turned back to Maggie again, ''Go get back into the car!" Sasha felt you go still again. She had to move fast. Jumping over the side of the truck closing the tailgate. She was not letting Negan have you to.

Days later...

You opened your eyes groggy and confused. Looking over to see Maggie in a bed herself. You try and move your hand up to remove something blocking your right side of your head. Expect your hand stopped bounded to the bed. Maggie heard you move and slowly approached you, "Shh, your safe." This wasn't your first time awake but it was the first that you were more aware.

"W-wha?" Your speech was slurred. But Maggie saw it in your eyes. For the first time she saw you in them. She sniffled, "Y/n thank goodness. I thought you were..." She shook her head and put a hand to your shoulder. "I'll be right back ok? I need to get the doctor?" You simply tried to look at her face trying to gauge what was wrong. She sped out the room leaving you to stare out after her.

She came rushing back into the room with a man. He was speaking to fast at you but they were questions asking your name and if you knew where you were. The man shined a light in your face. You tried to look away from the light because it hurt. You looked at the man with squinted eyes, "H-errrs-sel?" You looked back to Maggie with a questioning look. Only to get a sad look back. Sasha then came through the door in a haste hearing you were awake again.

"Is she doing any better?" She huffed out of breath. The man you had zero clue about simply looked back to you and sighed. "It looks like the swelling in her brain is reducing. I don't know the extent of the brain damage she will have, but her chances of survival just increased." Maggie sighed with the first bit of good news about you. Tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear. She smiled at you. You with having no clue what's going on simply mirrored her back with your own smile. You try and raise your other hand but not feeling it at all you look down to see your arm in a cast and bound close to your chest.

The man who you couldn't place, doctor man, started talking again. "Its only been 2 days, for that much time she is doing better then I could have ever imagined. I think she may have taken most of the blow to her hand. However, head trauma is always unpredictable." They jumped at the sound of your gasp looking at you to see what was wrong. You were just looking at Maggie looking her up and down.

"Ba-baby?!" Maggie moved closer to you and started to try and sooth your worry. "Is fine, the baby and me are ok." You relax back into your sheets. Dr. Carson simply studied you. "I would like someone to be with her at all times now. She could have a stroke or start seizing. She still needs to be bound to the bed for all are safety. If she is still awake in a hour try having her eat or drink." Maggie and Sasha both nodded and looked at each other giving a determined look.

Few hours later you were still awake having to be reminded to 'keep your eyes open' and 'need to stay awake.' You would ask things, try to at least. Most of what you said didn't make sense to anyone but you. The worst was the look on your face remembering about something or someone that was lost along the way. When you were asking about a baby you were meaning Lori and Judith. You knew something with a baby was wrong and that was the only one you could think of until Maggie said that her and her baby was ok that you remembered.

The longer you were awake you would get better minimal but still better. But you began asking for something they couldn't give you.

"Dar-ryl?" They always try to come up with something. 'he is on a run' or 'he is out hunting.' But that didn't stop the want for him. You were frustrated at the broken bits of your brain. You knew Daryl always put those pieces together.

Daryl POV

His cell was cold, dark, and always seemed to have one song playing on loop. It was torture. Not however as much torture then the loss of you was. He never knew the kind of love she gave him. She was a first, and now last. The pain in his shoulder and face from the beating he has gotten were nothing like the one in his heart, his soul. That night replayed over in his head. He thought about how he deserved to have gotten killed not Glenn. He cause Maggie to be a single mother now. He deserved this. Being here.

He thought back to when Rick lost Lori. He didn't understand then. But sure as hell did now.

The door handle started to move, the music cutting off, assuming he was getting the normal moldy bread and dog food. Dwight walked in throwing the food down to the floor. "The sooner you join the sooner this will stop." Daryl all but chuckled, "and what become like you?" Now that pissed Dwight off, striking a nerve. But Daryl lead on more, "I get it. Your doing it for someone else. But I don't have that anymore." Daryl sent a look that could kill. Dwight only studied him and shook his head at him. Throwing two polaroid to the floor, "Someone else doesn't have that anymore either." Before slamming the door shut. The music came on but then changed to a more somber tune.

Daryl hesitated to pick up the pictures before doing so and seeing the images with the smallest light coming from under the door. Yours and Glenn's bodies. His breath hitched looking at it. You the women he loved and a friend who would still be alive with his wife and child if he never existed. He lost it. Sobbing. Broken.

He made a promise to not just you but himself that he was going to do right by you. He still had a mission. By the end of it this place will be burning to ground. Even if he had to go with it.

Maggie POV

After having to deal with a man like Gregory she needed to clear her head before it was her turn to sit with you. Making her way over to were Glenn and Abraham were buried. She was met by Enid staring down to the graves.

''Enid?" She walked over to the young teen and hugged her. Enid sniffled before explaining why she was there, wanted to see if she and the baby were ok. Enid gestured to the two graves. "I didn't know which one was his." Enid the paused, "Why is there only two, where is the third?"

With that Maggie smiled and waved her hands to come follow her. Enid was confused at the action. They stepped into Jesus trailer were they all have taken over at this point. There Enid saw you, she gasped in surprise and disbelief at the sight of you. You jumping at the noise. Breaking your focus from a card game that was to help your memory. Also keeping you distracted. Sasha sitting next you surprised to see Enid, "Are you with the others?" Enid shook her head while approaching your table. "How is this possible..." She sat down across from you. You simply stared back but continued with your cards pointing to one for Sasha to flip. You were struggling with mobility.

Sasha sighed catching the hint and continued flipping cards for you to match. Enid looked at you more closely. Your face was still swollen and was a mix of purples, blues, and yellows. The top to the right of your head had a part of your hair shaved with stitching. You looked pale. Your speech has gotten better but you were just to tired to speak much. It showed in your eyes. You still had your arm in a cast brought close to your chest by a sling. Watching Enid study you Maggie decided to add some insight. "We didn't know she was alive until half way to Hilltop. Didn't know if she would make it even a few days after."

Enid look to you with pity. She saw how sick you were even before leaving Alexandria. At least that seemed to be better. Maggie cleared her throat, "How is everything back at Alexandria."

Enid explained about how they took and trashed everything back home. Maggie could only scowl at the thought of them. At the mention of how they brought Daryl with them and he looked to not be doing to well but still alive. You had looked up and just stared intently, "He ok?" With you gaining some abilities back it was harder to lie about what happened. You had yet to know of his capture and Glenn's death. It was only a matter of time before you found out.

Your mind seemed to be other wise fine. Most of the trouble was how it was trying to move your body. Walking was going to need to be learned again. When you got your right hand back writing and holding things as well. Nothing time couldn't fix. Maggie was the person to mostly look after you. You were a welcome distraction from her mind.

Later that day was when you said something that shook her. To see your mind healing and remember. You were just staring out the window while the sun started to set.

"I was a mercy kill."

You went to sleep shortly after. It was probably time to tell you the truth. Before you could think of all the worsts before hand.

Your POV

Being woken up by Jesus pulling you out of bed with haste and to carry you and hide you under the trailer was not what you were expecting. He was saying 'their here' and 'need to stay here and be silent.' You were laying under the trailer in dirt. It was finally catching up to what had happen just then. You didn't know all the things you probably should but you knew it would come naturally. While you lay there waiting for Jesus to tell you it was safe you remember that a few days ago you thought he was the literally Jesus for a second longer then you would like to admit.

You saw men taking things all around you. These were the asshole who did this to you. You remember when you woke up in the back of the truck. Two bodies beside you. You knew one was Abraham but didn't have the guts to ask who the other was. You just couldn't handle it at the moment. Others thought that to if they didn't say anything about it.

You were starting to get cold. But you saw that the men were leaving now. When the men were gone you don't think you could get out of there by yourself if you tried. When a group of people were quickly making your way over to you, you sighed ready to get up out the dirt. It was Maggie's voice you first heard. She sounded like she was panicking, "Did you hide her? Where is she?" She sounded to be directing this to Jesus. Then you heard a voice that surprised you, "What? Hide who?" It was Rosita. They got closer to you before Jesus spoke and lent down to were he put you. "She's ok, I put her here."

Jesus start to pull you out revealing who you were to Rosita. You just popped out being dragged by under your arms. "Hi" She gasped and lent down to help pick you up off the floor. "Your still alive..." she looked about ready to cry. You smiled, "Damn r-right I am." You would have had more trouble standing if Jesus wasn't helping but also leaning into Rosita while hugging you helped. It was Sasha who came to help you back to your bed while the others talked some more.

It was later that evening eating dinner when everybody was in Jesus's trailer. Everyone was talking while you stared at your left hand trying to move it to the best of your ability. Your body felt like it had latency that's why is was so hard to do anything. You and Maggie were now on your own with them taken Dr. Carson. You sighed and looked around you decided it was time. You needed to know.

"What happened that day..."

It went quiet before all eyes went to you. It was Maggie who first tried to start but Rosita cut in. "What do you remember." You bit your lip and look off into the distance. "Seeing what happened to Abraham, I was struggling to breath... I remember the feeling of the bat. I didn't pass out as soon as it hit me. I froze. Played dead even." You paused before sucking in a breath, your voice was still slow and looked to take a lot of focus to do, because it did.

"I woke up next to two bodies..."

Now is when Maggie spoke, "Daryl had punched Negan after he hit you." You sucked in a breath and held it. "He tried to kill you unprovoked, I don't blame Daryl." She looked into your eyes. "Negan killed Glenn." The air in your lungs released and a shaky hand came to cover your mouth, tears filling your eyes. The room was silent for a moment before she spoke again. "Daryl punched him and distracted him from you. Negan would have kept swinging at you." You closed your eyes to soak in the information. You were alive at Glenn's expense. "There's more." You opened your eyes to look at her.

"They took Daryl as there prisoner."

Part 3

Feedback welcomed and requests open!

Reunions coming next part :)

Also little disclaimer I’m really dyslexic so sorry with grammar or spelling that is messed up!

[spider-stark]

GUTS

Pairing - Peter Parker x Reader

Summary - Peter gets seriously hurt saving someones life, in the midst of panic your true feelings for him come out.

Warnings - Stabbing, blood, violence,

a/n - wow what i'm actually posting something that is WILD. anyways, i recently moved to a new apartment so for the past month my brain has been fried and i have had zero time to write. but, here is this lil blurb! and i am in the process of finishing up the next part of Infinitely You if anyone still wants to read it haha enjoy :)

// masterlist // send me your thoughts //

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. 

He had gotten hurt. Really hurt. 

It was a simple carjacking, or at least it was supposed to be simple. The type of petty crime he responded to all the time. 

He had been so bored, legs dangling over the side of the Empire State building when he heard the call come through over the police scanner he’d been listening to. Finally, he thought to himself, webs already shooting from his wrists as he dived off the side of the building, some entertainment. 

But everything went wrong. 

So fucking wrong, so quick. 

There was no time to think as he saw the streetlights dance along the steel blade of the pocket-knife in the carjacker's hand, its sharp edge just milliseconds away from plunging into the innocent man’s stomach. Peter could see the man’s kid in the backseat of the car, heard his shrill screams as he banged against the window, crying for his dad.

He let adrenaline guide his actions, throwing himself in front of the blade with not a hint of hesitation, shoving the innocent man to the asphalt as steel plunged through the fabric of his suit. 

There was so much blood, so much that it left him feeling dizzy. His vision went spotty, struggling to aim for the carjacker as he tried to shoot his webs at him, hoping to stop him just long enough for the police to get here. 

They have to be close, he could faintly hear the sirens blaring over the sound of his own heart thumping in his ears. 

But, due to a heavy hand and blurry vision, he missed. How could he miss? 

The man, the one he saved, was back on his feet and rushing to comfort his son. They hadn’t seemed to notice Peter yet, notice just what he had done, how he had potentially saved that man’s life. He was thankful for it, thankful that the kid was spared the trauma of watching it happen. 

Peter stumbled into the alleyway, the same one the thief had run into, but he had no intentions of chasing the criminal down. He couldn’t, not in the state he was in. 

It had taken every last bit of his strength to get to your house. To get to you. 

You hadn't expected Peter to come by, but then again he rarely ever gave you notice, especially for visits like this. Late nights spent with a cheap dollar store sewing kit and the skill set of someone who had a mild interest in embroidery often being the only thing that stood between Peter and certain death. You hated when he came to you like this, but you’d never say it. You’d stitch him up a thousand times, put yourself through the horrors of watching your best friend nearly bleed out over and over again if it meant that he would still be here—that he would still be alive. 

But this was the closest he had ever gotten to death, just barely holding on when he came crashing through your bedroom window. He was in and out of consciousness the entire time, as you removed the knife, stitched him up, and tried to clean his blood from your carpet. You worried that you would lose him, worried that he wouldn’t wake back up. But, by some stroke of luck, your security deposit was the only thing you lost that night. 

Still, it was different this time. His super-healing had kicked in once he was awake, the blood beginning to clot and stop leaking out from your amaetuer stitch job. But you couldn’t shake that feeling, the terror and anxiety that consumed you when you had to come face-to-face with the idea of losing Spider-Man. Of losing Peter Parker. 

He thought it was a fever dream. The thought of infection setting in to his fresh stab-wound much easier to believe than the possibility of his best friend, the girl of his dreams, suddenly leaning in and kissing him. But it wasn’t a dream, wasn’t his mind playing cruel tricks on him. You were here, right in front of him, your lips desperately moving against his own and your fingers getting tangled in his dark hair. 

So many times he had dreamt of this. Dreamt of crossing the line between just friends and something more, a line that the two of you had been balancing on for years now. He always hoped that one day he would spill his guts to you, but had never quite expected to almost literally spill his guts to you, and certainly wouldn’t have expected it to end like this. 

He was breathless when you pulled away, and he finally realized that he hadn’t even kissed you back, too lost in his own mind. “Wha-why?” 

“I don’t want to lose you.”

It was a desperate answer to a desperate question, a single beat of silence passing before you followed it up, doubling down on the statement. 

“I can’t fucking lose you.” 

Peter’s already shallow breath caught in his throat, butterflies erupting in his stomach (or maybe it was just pain from his newly sustained stab wound, though he found butterflies to be far more romantic). 

“You won’t.” He breathed out the promise, both of you unsure of whether or not it was one he could actually keep, though neither of you cared at this moment. Because for now he was here, he was alive, and he was finally yours. 

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this, but he didn’t care so long as it meant you would kiss him again.

[appalachianapologies]

could not tell you where this came from. i was simply eating my rushed lunch and was gripped with the idea. bone apple tea have a snip with absolutely zero context ily <3

“Hey man, you alright?”

Mac shivers when he looks up, pushing wet bangs out of his eyes. Most of the blood is on the back of his hands, but Mac imagines that it still isn’t a great look.

“Oh. Wait, Angus, right?”

“Mac,” he replies, coughing as soon as he rasps out the word. “I go by Mac, now.”

“Oh, cool. I’m-”

“Bozer.” Nevermind the fact that they happened to be in the same grade in a town with barely 5,000 people—Mac’s pretty sure that everyone’s heard of Bozer. 

He gives a sheepish smile, as if he could read Mac’s mind. “You okay? Stupid question. Can I like… call someone for you?”

That’s a big part of Mac’s problem. Not that Bozer would know. “No,” Mac shakes his head, swallowing anything else. “I’m okay.”

“Do you like… want a ride or something?”

This time, Mac shakes his head with more fervor. “I uh, I appreciate your concern. But I’m good. Really.”

Bozer stares at him for long enough that standing out in the rain has probably gone from annoying to uncomfortable. “Look, for my own peace of mind, could I at least do something? I don’t feel great about leaving you here. Seriously. No ulterior motives.”

It’s almost funny how much it seems that Bozer hasn’t changed one bit in the five years since Mac’s seen him. Despite the fame, he’s still the same person who would wait long after school with someone when they missed their bus, or share crackers from his lunch. 

Mac couldn’t imagine still being the same person he was in high school. Not after everything.

Without asking for permission, Bozer moves, squatting and joining Mac on the side of a wet and dirty curb. 

“You don’t…” the words are lost on Mac as he tries to get them out. “I’m fine.”

“I’m not gonna leave you on the street when it’s raining.”

“I’m a stranger.”

“We spent twelve years together at school,” Bozer counters, though ‘together’ is a strong word. They existed in the same space geographically, but outside of study hall and the one off literature class, never saw or interacted with each other. Bozer was the type of person that everyone knew for all the right reasons, and Mac for the wrong ones.

Bozer pulls his phone from his pocket after a few seconds, but just barely glances at the screen before stuffing it back. “I haven’t seen you around here for a while.”

Mac raises an eyebrow. He wasn’t the only one who left Mission City. Last Mac heard, Bozer was getting calls left and right from Hollywood. Reporters, magazine owners, the whole thing. 

He’s right, of course. Mac hasn’t been back here for five years, but Bozer is the last person that Mac would’ve expected to recognize that. From Mac’s rough understanding, neither of them have called this town their home for a long few years.

“I haven’t been here for a while,” Mac eventually replies. There’s still a part of his brain that can’t quite comprehend the conversation he’s having right now. The fact that he’s even here to converse in the first place. 

“How’s your grandpa?”

A hollow laugh nearly escapes through Mac’s chest. “Dead.”

“Oh, shit. Fuck, I didn’t know.”

Shaking his head, Mac looks down at the rainwater beginning to collect in the divots of the road. “It’s fine. Just happened.” It’s the only reason Mac’s back here.

“Hey, listen, I know you’re probably going to say no to this, but just hear me out, okay?” Bozer doesn’t wait for Mac’s approval to continue, “Come back to my house with me.”

“Boze-”

“Just warm up, eat some food. My parents always cook too much, and I know they wouldn’t mind.”

This time, a laugh does manage to get out. Nobody’s parents want to see a sopping wet, road-rashed Mac. Nobody’s parents would even want to see a Mac that was put together- his own included. 

“I’m not leaving you out here. Just- please, man. I don’t want to wake up to my dad saying that they found your body tomorrow morning, okay?”

“You won’t.”

“Please.” Evidently, Bozer’s not above begging. “If you don’t come with me, I’ll end up telling my dad anyway, and you’d end up spending the night in the station anyway. You’ll at least get a home cooked meal this way.”

Mac bites the inside of his cheeks hard enough that he tastes blood.

“Mac-”

“Fine.”

“Yeah?”

Exhaling, Mac gives him a nod. “Yeah.”

[fandomwritingbit]

hihihiii i love ur blog sm (this is my first time requesting sorry if i sound weird😭) i was wondering if you could do a will afton x fem/gn!reader (whatever your comfortable with) where the reader comes home upset from a really hard day at work and william comforts and makes her feel better?

love u !!

Hiya, thank you so much! What a lovely request! You don't sound weird at all, lovely.

All is sfw.

william afton comforting reader after a bad day at work.

You can't even put into words how shit you feel right now. Just the pure emptiness of a bad day in a service job. All day people clicking at you, fucking whistling for your attention like a dog, you running around the restaurant not enough for these people. And your manager! If you could call them that, they couldn't manage to run a bath, breathing down your neck. It was just... a really bad one and it felt like it would never fucking end, so when you get back to your house you just want to sit at the bottom of the shower for a bit then crawl into bed.

You open your door a little harder than intending, your emotion slipping, and it bangs into the interior wall hard enough to knock the key out.

"Stupid, bastard thing..." you mutter, not sure if you're referring to the door or yourself. You pick up the key, still cursing under your breath, and lock the door, when you turn your fella is stood at the end of the hallway, his silent approach pissing you off.

"Don't sneak up on my like that, fuck's sake."

"I didn't. You just didn't hear me over all that banging." He leans against the wall looking over you, you looked upset, like really upset and he doesn't know what to do. "What's wrong with you then?" He lands on, his tone not nasty but the words not right.

"Don't, Will. I really can't right now." You have to make a conscious effort for your voice not to wobble. He wasn't trying to push your buttons, you could tell, but you had zero restraint left and the smallest of teasing could push you over the edge.

You just drop your bag at the doorstep and move to walk past him into the kitchen. He catches your shoulder, turning you around to face him, "Look, sweetheart, I won't push it. I can tell I'm pissing you off but..." He moved his hand to stroke the side of your face, "Whatever's upset you, is it serious?" Surprisingly his touch was very welcome and you soften into it, his fingers cool against the heat of your skin.

"No, it's fine I guess, just..."

"No one needs their head smashed in?" You manage to crack a smile, his voice was playful but as with William he wasn't fully joking.

"No, no one specific." you lean into him, your forehead pressed against his shoulder, "But also everyone." He chuckles above you, his hand coming to rest at the base of your neck.

"What do you want to do?" he asks, speaking into your hair.

"Shower. I'm knackered."

~

When you are finished showering, the whole experience not as depressing as you'd thought after Will calming you down a bit, you come out to see your side of the bed peeled back. Hell, he'd even fluffed your pillows, placed the remote on your side table along with a hot drink and a note.

'Gone to get food, you're lucky I love you because they don't do delivery on week days. X'

You can't help but smile, knowing he's gone to your favourite take away, even though he always complained about the service. You settle into your bed, turning on some mindless tv, he could be really sweet when he wanted to be.

~

I hope this is okay, I struggle with this kinda thing lmao.

[orange-enjoyer]

32 days until restoration (holds out my tiny microphone) thoughts?

Scared <3

They have Burnie back so I'm hoping that they'll get the characterisation right and the gang won't act wildly different (looking at you zero tucker and wash) but the whole concept just. Doesn't sit right with me?

They ended the show three times already, in seasons 10, 13 and 17. S10 has a nice ending, I think they could have easily wrapped it up there and left it (freelancer saga my beloved <3) but I'll admit the s13 ending is Amazing and leaves the show on a really bittersweet but high note. It has made me cry every time I've watched it and it's just a really good send off.

Then the blues and reds were a fun little side story but I feel like it kinda shits on the s13 ending (hell, the whole plot is baiting everyone with church being alive). They gave the characters a proper send off with s13 but then had a fun idea for a side story, and it's a pretty solid story with some of my favourite moments in the show so fine, a fun little adventure after the events of the main story.

Then the shizno paradox happened and. I like Huggins! I think donut finally got his well deserved arc and (speaking from the perspective of someone who does not have brain damage or memory issues or anything even close to what happened to wash so take my opinion with a heap of salt) I think they handled wash's brain injury with a surprising amount of care and respect for the haha goofy web series. Also caboose and Carolina in the shizno trilogy? I love them so so much caboose I would kill for you.

But it does feel like a punch in the face of season 13's ending. Especially with how ridiculous it gets at points (putting aside the "god"-killing golf-club they did tucker and sister SO dirty)

From what I can tell, most fans seem to agree that s13 was the proper ending for rvb, so I can understand why Burnie would want to go back to that and try to recreate that, and send the show off with a bang, but at a certain point it's just beating a dead horse? Plus they've already shown that they don't particularly care about respecting the show's roots and one of the reasons it got so popular like not rehiring Trocadero :((

I'm also worried that it may have been made in an attempt to start up the series again which means that we might have some random plot threads that either lead nowhere or get resolved Super quickly because rt got shutdown partway through production :(

Then again, I really hope I'll be proven wrong! I hope they give the cast a proper send-off and end rvb on a high note! I'm just very cautiously optimistic because I'll be honest shizno paradox and zero (and RT just being a horrible company in general and treating their employees like shit) left a rather sour taste in my mouth.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed but I'm not holding my breath ya know?

[kindleaf]

VERSE 1 (VYNCE)

I am riding an elevator,

At my best friend's brother's company.

I could've stayed down there, without a care,

But I ran away in misery.

I'm a hero in a 'vator,

'Cause I didn't know what I should do.

But I'd rather leave here than look on in fear,

At what me and William put them through.

PRECHORUS

Everything was fine,

When Dakota was there.

We were defending Prime,

Until we came down here.

CHORUS

Now I'm just Vyncent in a 'vator,

Vyncent in a 'vator at a quandary;

I hope that Tide's alright.

Just Vyncent in a 'vator,

Vyncent at a 'vator at a quandary;

What an awful night.

I'm climbing up floors till I hit the door.

And thinking about what I have done and more.

I'm just Vyncent, who's a hero,

Stuck on level zero,

Vyncent in a 'vator by himself.

All by himself.

VERSE 2 (VYNCE)

I am running, but, he's out there;

Facing our friends, or, who used to be.

Memories get erased, left without a trace,

At least no one has to keep them but me.

And I hear my best friend,

Screaming at Xavier through the door:

"I'm gonna stab somebody!"

And my heart, it drowns, hearing all these sounds;

'Cause I don't know who is on the "other side" anymore!

CHORUS 2 (VYNCE)

Now it's just Vyncent in a 'vator,

Vyncent in a 'vator in a quandary;

And also Tide is here.

Vyncent in a 'vator,

Vyncent in a 'vator in a quandary;

It's been an awful year.

I'll run fast as I can until I hit the door,

Then come up with a plan that we will all adore.

I'm just Vyncent, who's clueless,

Vyncent feeling useless,

Vyncent in a 'vator by himself.

BRIDGE (WILLIAM)

Stab, stab, stab, stab.

No worries, they'll forget soon!

Stab, stab, stab, stab.

If one gets out, we're all doomed!

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

I think we need to knock them out!

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

Make sure none of them make it out!

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

This fucker's skin sure is tough!

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

We just gotta play extra rough.

Splash, splash, splash, splash!

And then I take one look at Tide,

The only way out is a lie.

I know I'll never pay this debt.

I guess the good news is they'll forget.

PRECHORUS

And I can't help but hear,

Dakota in my ear.

He says "What would a hero do?",

But I'm not you!

So there's no use to deny- I'm just:

CHORUS

... In a hallway.

Is there a scarier sight?

Than, Wiwi in a hallway,

Wiwi in a hallway with his brother?

Two wrongs will make a right.

I got another lease on life,

And I'm using it well.

Who cares if this is all fucked up?

'Cause we're all goin' to hell!

I'm just William who should be dead!

Had to follow the thread!

Thought he was just chillin',

Now he is a villain!

He's always such a bummer,

He wants to trust his brother,

Wiwi in the hallway by himself!

All by himself!

All by himself!

OUTRO (VYNCE)

And I can't stand to see what we became,

Awesome rescue, I'm so glad I came.

[nikedrive]

Chapter 3: Tilt the Labyrinth

[From Nike Drive, an ongoing crossover fanfiction.]

previous chapter

The white frond uncurling from the sun metastasizes and makes me brilliant with malicious life

The door to the training room didn’t actually lead to a training room, quite. Kalypso was met with a locker room; eight lockers sat against the wall on her right, while the room dipped deeper to her left, into individual curtained changing units. So they were only mostly throwing her to the wolves, good.

The lockers were numbered. Nearest the door she’d entered, “S07” loomed out of the blue paint in black block shapes. They counted down, until farthest from her was “O”.

The insult of it hit harder, now that she’d met those men. It was one thing to read about herself in the Nike Drive paperwork, where everything was either sparkling sales pitch or clinically remote analysis. It was something else entirely to walk into a room full of what should, on the court at least, be equals, and see seven sets of eyes settle on her and read ‘Object Zero.’

Still. She could be an object if it meant she got to play. And if they really were unfazed, mostly, by Lamb chemistry in their midst, then that means they would play too, their way. And she could soak up the taste of their way of playing, sink her teeth into their game, and tear off her share.

She could be an object if it meant she got to eat.

Their lockers weren’t secured. Hers was--by, of fucking course, a blood test lock. It meant none of them could fuck with anything she put in there, which was nice. But it might also mean that she had to meet certain chemical standards before they’d let her open it. She’d have no way of knowing whether or not there really were such conditions until the day it locked her out. Infuriating.

Inside, shorts, shirt, shoes. She’d come dressed to train--and they weren’t offering her sleeves or pants here, so good thing she had. She did change her shoes, out of basic decency, since they’d offered.

At the end of the locker room, another set of individually curtained stalls, these with showers. Kalypso could not imagine ever showering in here. Did they think she would want--

Well, of course they did. They would think ‘she’s a Lamb--she’s never wanted anything more’. Maybe this whole shared changing space hell was intended as a nicety. Kalypso’s jaw ached from so much clenching.

Stop thinking, she told herself, tugging tight the knot of the shoelace. Stop thinking. Play.

The door beyond did not have a lock. Kalypso stepped out, into the bright gym, where the squeak of shoes and the gunfire bang of the ball against the court promised her relief.

“Wider!”

“Whatever you say.”

The crack of the hit and the boom of its landing, three inches from the wrong side of the line.

“Tch--wider, you fuck.”

The hitter was wide-eyed and snarling at the blue-haired libero setting him. Across the net, the blocker’s gaze caught on Kalypso as it moved between Jawface and Drill-bit. “Ah--hi.”

That outside was hung up on line-shots with a single blocker? He was tilted, good grief. Kalypso made a directionless sort of motion in acknowledgement that she’d been spoken to and made for the ball cart.

“Tch--” No Flare was going to stop her right now, no matter how hot it was, no matter how furious its Dominion. “You, set me. Get off my fucking court,” the jawbone hitter was snapping that last bit at the teammate who’d been setting him.

“Let’s pretend we don’t know who he’s talking to,” said the man with the drill-bit eyes. Those eyes were boring into her. His grin, still crooked, matched the conspiratorial tone of his drawl.

“She’s not even warmed up yet,” protested the velvet-poison blocker.

She was, at least physically if not in a technical sense. Kalypso had done warm-up cardio and stretching before leaving her room--but it was true that she hadn’t touched a volleyball since arriving here.

“Your sets are shit,” came the snarl from behind her. “Hey. If you’re really a fucking all-rounder--”

“Absolutely not.” There was a bite behind the blocker’s interruption that sizzled across Kalypso’s skin. Great. Once more, two Flaring Dominions in a tussle, and her waltzing into the middle of it. At least this guy at the ball cart wasn’t lashing her with his chemistry. “This is your problem right now, Jaegerjaquez. You don’t get to abuse somebody on their first day. You don’t need a third projection victim.”

“Who’s a victim?” said the setting libero, cheerfully.

Great, just fucking wonderful--now he had an acrid spit of Flare roiling out of him too. Could Dominions just not rile each other up, for once, just for one damned day, please?

There was an upside, though. They weren’t in an awful little communal hangout lounge. They were on a court.

Kalypso had been lifting a ball for herself out of the cart, but now she dropped it. Despite trying her best not to pay him any attention, she was aware of those drill-bit eyes honing back in on her, blinking. “Aww, hang on. We’ll be good.”

The fool--that was unkind, it wasn’t really so foolish a guess out of him, considering the moment and the tempers and the chemistry pooling between all of them, her own doubtless as much a part of this wretched stew as theirs were--thought she was backing out, turning tail, thinking better of showing up.

His mistake. Kalypso never thought better of anything.

She was ducking under the net and stalking into a perimeter defense position on the right wing. To the place guarding the line, where tilted Jawface was targeting.

“Oy. What the fuck?”

“Go on,” she said, her eyes on the ball Drill-bit was tossing between his hands rather than on any of the men.

“Uh--Ixora,” said the blocker in front of her, which was unfortunate because she wanted to play, not talk to any of them. “You sure you don’t want to run some warm-ups first? I’ll--”

“I’m sure. Go ahead. Do your thing.”

“You bitch,” said the hitter.

Nothing particularly nasty was in those words; nothing about his general, all-directions-hostile Flare changed, really. His eyes were differently wide now. The frustration in them had ever so slightly abated, squeezed sideways a bit by surprise. Those words very much changed the Flares of the other two, though.

“Hey, now.” The ball that had been bouncing lightly between the libero’s palms went still.

“That’s out of line, Jaegerjaquez.” It had been a coping mechanism, mostly, assigning this blocker that darkly poisonous containment label, but he was absolutely proving it accurate now. He’d turned toward her initially, but now he was swinging back toward Jaegerjaquez--what an absurdly well-suited name--with malevolence glowing out of his eyes.

She did not want to put herself in the middle of three angry Dominions, but for fuck’s sake, would someone just throw the ball already. “Either shut up and hit or get outta line and I’ll do it.”

There was a single beat of thunderous silence. Kalypso expected it to be broken by Jaegerjaquez either ‘tch’-ing or charging over to put her through the floor--instead, the resonant thump of the ball against the floor was what broke it. Drill-bit had bounced the ball toward the outside hitter and was stepping back from the ball cart, one side of his mouth once again starting to curve upward.

Now they got the ‘tch’. Jaegerjaquez slammed the caught ball between his hands, snarling, and tossed it in a soft arc toward the setter.

Now.

Yes.

Go.

Kalypso glided backward off the attack line, backward and right, sinking low in readiness. The set left the libero’s hands--high, slow, a 1-step tempo--and in front of her, the poisonous blocker tracked it, his adjustments tiny and fluid, snakelike.

He was positioned like the right blocker would be if the two-man block was sealing off the middle, leaving the line open. Kalypso slipped into the jigsaw emptiness left behind, which was, of course, the line that Jaegerjaquez was aiming for, the point of this whole exercise.

The point for him. The point for Kalypso wasn’t anything so technical. What she wanted didn’t have any such constraints.

The jawboned Dominion slammed himself upward. The Flare boiling off him roared toward her, and her own chemical response answered.

These were the only moments when that hateful chemistry was hers. Fire out of him, fire in her. For this moment, hanging there ablaze, that Dominion was metal cut into a key. Her key, because she seized it. Turned it.

Ignition.

He hit for the line, and she wasn’t just there to meet it. She was a perfect plane of reception, grounded against the lightning of his strike. He hit hard, oooh what a hit, and she moved with it to soak all of its momentum into her legs and arms, hips and shoulders instead, all of it nullified and rendered soft and dead except for exactly as much as she graciously allowed it to keep. The ball floated off her arms, and when it hit the floor in the would-be setter’s spot, its gentle backspin killed a bit of its bounce.

“Wasn’t that a kindness,” drawled the libero. As Kalypso slid back up toward the attack line to reset her positioning, he reached for the ball cart and slid it under the net toward her side of the court. “Don’t spoil him, gal.”

The blocker, who’d bent to pick up her passed ball, caught the cart, aligned it where the setter would be. “Would have been out,” said that poison-haired blocker remonstratively. Yes, yes, a blocker would resent that, but already this was a selfish drill, and Kalypso needed to play.

“You’re blind,” hissed Jaegerjaquez through the net. His blue eyes were huge, murderous, accusatory.

The word came out of him with enough Flare to make her throat tighten and her head throb. Clearly he thought it would sting. Clearly he wanted it to sting. Too bad. Kalypso turned her shrug into a settling, a sinking back down into readiness for the next one. “Or maybe I just don’t care.”

“Bitch,” hissed Jaegerjaquez, and this time, neither of the other two bristled in defense. The blocker bounced the outside another ball; he tossed it, and once again Kalypso slid back to the sideline. This time, warned by the now-targeted malice in the Flare steaming off him like a heat mirage and by that extra forward impatience in his jump, she got an answering extra step back just in time. He would not have hit her in the face even if he’d been on target--as it was, she was backed up enough to take it clean and low, even if it did mean stepping a solid foot out of bounds this time. Her pass thumped into the ball cart.

“Yeesh,” muttered the libero.

“Not helping, Cu Chulainn,” said the blocker. Ah, yes, Redford had said some kind of name that sounded something that sounded like that.

“You’re getting worse the longer we go,” the libero, Cu Chulainn, said to the clearly livid hitter, utterly disregarding his teammate’s low warning.

“Is he?” It was sheer spleen, her speaking that question to the room. Idiocy, spiteful idiocy even, especially because the whole gym would hear it as a taunt even if it was true. “I’d say aiming to hit it where I’m not is an improvement already.”

Cu Chulainn blinked. The blocker looked like she’d just electrocuted him.

“The fucking mouth on you,” hissed Jaegerjaquez. “Gimme the ball, Duibhne.”

After a moment, the blocker reached for the cart. As he did so, his gaze latched onto hers as she stepped back up into her reset position. “Don’t push it,” Duibhne said to her, voice low but harsh. The tension in his face told her he’d decided this was her fault. Splendid. Hits getting passed, her fault? She’d accept that blame, no problem. “Leave him the line.”

It was an order, not a request. She did not like that. “Does pity satisfy him?”

Kalypso saw his eyes harden, knew he had read her defiance and was angry that her reaction was not matching her chemistry. “If I were you, I’d be hoping it does.”

Her heart thudded against her ribs. Her whole body flushed, her breath caught, her knees moaned to fold, her lungs betrayed her as they filled with awful chemistry instead of air.

Oh, this bastard.

The Lamb plays well, so let’s threaten her. The Lamb is not afraid, so let’s choose a blade from among our number and show her exactly how we can sharpen him on her bones. If I were you, I’d be hoping it does. He might as well have told her to get on her knees and open her mouth.

She would let her own chemistry suffocate her before giving him that. Him? Hah. He couldn’t hold a candle to the Garden’s--

Something of how badly that threat had backfired must have shown on her face, because that poisoned Duibhne blinked, and tried a different tact. “Not--you pass well, it’s not--just, once, okay?”

He was keeping his voice very low. Across the net, two dark gazes were fixed on them, but they couldn’t hear him. Kalypso did not keep her voice low. “Why?” She did not care about the answer. He wanted to rake her across her own biology, fine--she was going to force some humiliation out of him in turn.

“He needs this.”

She blinked.

She’d thought previously, when she’d seen this man scan the room before he’d come to train, that Duibhne was still considering which of the other Dominions he would align himself with. He’d chosen Jaegerjaquez? A hitter who couldn’t manage an in-bounds line hit against a single blocker, who was giving him the line? That was certainly a choice.

Weren’t they supposed to be top talent?

But her bafflement was once again being subsumed by a stranger realization, that right now, she was an aside to this Dominion. Just like she’d been to Axel and Abarai earlier, in fact. She was a complication, as any variable would be, to their real agenda. Introducing her to the situation did not distract them from that, no matter anyone’s chemistry.

That was really what kept her from sliding back into perimeter defense positioning when Jaegerjaquez tossed the next ball. It wasn’t out of submission to the dominance of a Dominion’s order, or fear of another Dominion’s reaction. It was just…relief. Gratitude, even--so okay, maybe there might have been some chemistry involved and she was just lying to herself.

No, it wasn’t just that.

There was an object of desire, and it wasn’t her, and they were working in tandem toward it. And she could, possibly, join them. If they all were pointed together at the same endpoint instead of at each other--

No, that was stupid, why did it matter what they wanted--wasn’t she here to play?

She came back to herself, to herself, all her hunger rushing back, but that little moment of yearning had kept her up at the attack line too--

Wait.

The sizzle-snap of chemical attention, the crack of a Flare anticipating triumph--that was not somebody who thought they were being pitied.

Jaegerjaquez’s jump brought his arm into view. It shouldn’t have--she was out of position, the block-shadow should have hidden it-but there it was.

He wasn’t hitting line.

Kalypso burst into the dig zone like she’d been fired by a cannon.

This one was going to hit her in the face. There was no way she could turn a hard cross-court strike into a functional pass, not when she was coming from the right side. There would be no clean clear squaring up to the ball, no grounding herself to convert its momentum. She was just going to be a body flung in its path, an obstacle between it and the floor.

And she was going to be a whole body in its way, not just the long narrow prayer of arms thrust out hoping for a miracle. If her arms could get there, so could her feet.

It was going to be ugly, but she was there, not quite square to the hit and far from grounded but there, an eclipse of the light pouring down the throat of the cross-court tunnel, waiting for the impact of the train.

She was there, barely, when Jaegerjaquez’s hand made contact and she realized her lucky mistake.

His elbow flared.

Of course--he wasn’t hitting cross-court either. There out to be a middle blocker there too, after all. If a two-man block was giving him the line, they would have sealed off most of the cross-court in return.

He was cutting.

The ball did not blast off his palm and take her head off. It sank, heavy and short, toward the far side of the attack line--and onto the platform of Kalypso’s waiting arms.

The pass wasn’t too bad. Kalypso, however, was a mess--totally ungrounded, she toppled sideways. Turning that awkward tangle into a roll wasn’t hard, but if she’d had her own outside hitter over here, they wouldn’t have had an approach for shit. Oops.

“Hoooo, gal.” Across the net, that libero’s crooked smile was back, and all edges.

Duibhne’s eyes slid from the ball cart where that pass had barely landed to Cu Chulainn. “You’re in trouble.”

The scything grin under those drill-bit eyes gleamed dangerously as it turned on Jaegerjaquez now. “So much for finding the line, huh?”

“The fuck you doing over there,” hissed the hitter, glaring at her through the net.

Getting lucky as hell, apparently. “Nice cut.”

“Are you or aren’t you hitting line?” Duibhne asked, in the tone of someone who feels like he’s dealing with fickle children.

“I’m hitting where there ain’t no defense, was the fucking intention.”

Kalypso realized, with faint horror, that she was grinning. “Good plan.”

“Tch.” Jaegerjaquez tossed his head, lips curled in a snarl.

“Hey, Ixora, you wanna set?”

A fresh spit of Flare from the hitter as Jaegerjaquez’s ire shot toward Cu Chulainn. “Ain’t happening. You. Ixora.”

“Present,” said Kalypso. Sweat was starting to run down the back of her neck beneath her hair. The press of his attention on her was sharpening. It burned. She hated it, unless it meant he’d keep hitting.

“Try that again.”

Kalypso focused on the floor beneath her feet, on the strength of her legs and the hot burst of blood that rushed through her, foaming with toxins she hated but could weaponize.

His teeth were bared. Tendons stood out on his neck. The jawbone mask that only she could see gnashed hungrily. Jaegerjaquez didn’t care about hitting line anymore. He wanted to hit wherever it hurt her most.

Good. That’s what hitters were for. next chapter

[j-graysonlibrary]

Heartbeats; Paradise Chapter 13

Title: Heartbeats; Paradise

Author: Jay Grayson

Word Count: 112K

Genres: Psychological thriller, drama, sci-fi, LGBT+

Available on: Kobo and my website

Synopsis: Melvin Hardy and Kade Axel appear to be a match made in heaven. After a meet-cute in the rain, the two quickly find themselves in a burgeoning, wholesome relationship.

Yet, things feel…off. It isn’t the ghosts of their pasts that resurface to test the strength of their partnership—no—it’s something nebulous. Something indescribable. Melvin can’t put his finger on it but, the more time he spends with Kade, the more he starts to wonder what’s real and what’s pure fiction. 

Full chapter 13 under the cut:

Chapter Thirteen:

I know the receptionist won’t be any help so, when I run out of the hotel room, I search around for anyone else. Of course, the hall is empty and I curse under my breath.

Gladis doesn’t have a lot of time.

My mind is all but fried but I still stop and think—as best as I can. If Gladis is still here for business then she must have other coworkers joining her on the trip. And, if I follow that logic, some of those coworkers will probably have rooms near hers.

I start to bang on the door to the right of her room. The numbers on the side even shake from the force of my fist against the wood.

“HELP!” I scream at the top of my lungs so that someone might hear me. Even if it’s someone who is disturbed by my yelling—someone coming to tell me to shut up—I’ll take it.

I move to the next door and to the doors on the opposite side of the hall. My fist comes down on each of them, and my knuckles begin to sting and throb. I don’t stop though.

With my teeth clenched, I throw both of my fists onto a door. “A woman is bleeding out!” I shout and my throat clenches shut. It’s dry and hoarse but I continue to force words to come out as loudly as I can. “Please! Help! She’s dying!”

No one is coming to their doors.

I’ve been at this for minutes though it feels like hours at this point. I have to decide if I want to keep at it or try a new approach.

My chest heaves as I catch my breath and I mentally scramble for the correct answer. Gladis is counting on me and if I don’t get her real help and fast, she certainly won’t make it.

I decide that I can’t waste any more time up here.

The elevator comes right away and, as I ride it back down to the lobby, I check my cell phone for a signal. I groan when I see zero bars. It isn’t surprising but it is frustrating.

The doors slide open and, as soon as I’m able, I slip through. I stumble when my foot catches the retreating door but I rebound quickly and make a beeline for the front desk. As I expect, the receptionist is glued to her computer screen and pays me no mind. But I don’t need her to be attentive.

I walk around her and grab the phone off of the receiver, having to reach my arm behind her back to punch in the numbers for emergency services.

When I hear the ringing on the other side, I step to the opposite side of the desk, smacking the receptionist with the phone cord in the process. An apology is halfway out of me when I realize she hasn’t actually noticed. Her hair is a tad askew but her focus remains on her screen.

The phone picks up on the other line and I jump to explain the situation. “I’m at the Loft Hotel on East Street. There is a woman bleeding out in the building—you have to send someone quick!”

A notably robotic and feminine voice answers me, “We’re sorry but the number you dialed is no longer connected to a service or in use. Try calling back or check to see if the number you dialed was correct. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

I pull the phone away and look at it as if it’s wronged me. I don’t think it’s possible I misdialed 9-1-1. This doesn’t make any sense.

Even if I’m not sure Gladis will hold on for much longer, I commit to finding her help somehow or another. I won’t be able to live with myself if I just walk away from this and pretend nothing happened. Gladis might have hurt me as a child and she might have given me long lasting relationship issues but she doesn’t deserve this.

Though, as I run back outside, I start to think Gladis didn’t actually do any of the things that my memory tells me. None of those scenes are clear and, as Oswald described before, some of them are just text or a knowing that’s deeply ingrained in me.

But, before we met at the restaurant across the street from Caramel café, I can’t say—with certainty—that I ever met her before.

She might not make it but I want to try to run to the police station and talk to someone in person. I know there’s a chance everyone will react the way that the receptionist did and everyone at my work does but…I have to try.

I step onto the road and the sunlight hits my eyes. A blinding flash rips through my being and I hear a vicious siren in my ears. It nearly sends me to the ground but I manage to stay upright though I have to clutch my head with my hands.

Time to go back to the apartment.

Kade is waiting for me.

I’m sure I’ve gotten a text from him to confirm it.

Wait…

I clench my jaw and fight the words that are coming into my mind. I don’t think it’s time to go back and I know Kade hasn’t sent me anything. So why am I thinking this?

Go home.

Start walking.

GO.

It’s not my voice in my head. It’s someone else. Someone I don’t know. Someone I don’t recognize. Oswald is right—it does sound like a woman. How have I never noticed before now?

I move my foot in the opposite direction but it’s as if my leg weighs a thousand pounds. Every inch I push my body takes the work of all of my muscles. I’m straining myself to my limits just to take a single step.

DO WHAT I SAY.

When I gasp for air, I’m drawn back and I stumble. My legs begin to move on their own, taking me back to the apartment while my mind is being flooded with fog. It takes too much power and stamina to keep it away and, while I definitely want to have my free will, I don’t think I have the strength to fight it.

Kade sent me a text while I was busy doing my shopping and I’m a bit late replying to it. I read over the message as I wait for a green light on the crosswalk.

“You’re free to come back. See you soon!”

I smile at the string of emoticons after his message, ending in a heart. I may not know what all of them mean but I’m sure Kade chose them mostly because he thinks they’re cute.

I type back, “On my way. Love you.” I send a kissing face to match his message and I hope he gets at least a laugh from it.

The sun is starting to set and I can’t believe how fast the day has gone by. It seems like just a moment ago that I was walking out of my apartment.

The plastic bags, full of party supplies, weigh my arms down but Kade asked for all of it so I didn’t miss a thing on the list. Thankfully, I arrive at the apartment the same time as Starla and she opens the door for me so I don’t have to struggle with it.

“Need a hand?” she asks as she looks to the bags.

“I’m good; thanks.” I make sure to give her a smile, letting her know that I do appreciate her offer.

The inside of my apartment is full of people but my eyes search for Kade and Kade only. He isn’t too hard to find and he bounces over to me with a huge smile on his face.

I let him take some of the bags from my arms and we share a quick kiss. I missed him when I was away and having him near me always fills me with joy. Part of me wishes that this party was just a date between us but I do understand the intent behind inviting all of our friends over.

It’s a very sweet gesture and makes me love my boyfriend all the more fiercely.

The music lowers as Kade hoists up a glass of champagne. I’m not sure where he’s gotten that from but, when I glance behind him, I see a rather impressive champagne tower on our kitchen table.

“Hello everyone and thanks again for coming,” he sounds off in a strong, cheery voice, “Now that Melvin is here, I think it’s time to have a little toast.”

Everyone clamors about and, if they don’t already have a drink in their hands, they find one.

“We’re here today, celebrating, because my incredible, handsome, smart, and talented boyfriend got a raise at his job. I know to some of you that may not seem like a big deal but I’m just so…so proud of Mel and I want to celebrate him and all of his hard work.” Kade tips his glass upward. “Cheers.”

“Cheers!” the guests follow in his footsteps, many taking a long swig of their drinks after.

My eyes stay on Kade who is practically radiant. I can’t help but smile when I look at him and he meets my gaze after a second and laughs at me.

“What?” he asks and wraps his arms around my neck.

“Nothing,” I answer in a whisper before kissing the side of his face, trailing my lips toward his ear. “I just love looking at you. Is that a problem?”

I feel him laugh more than I hear it. “No,” he purrs, “But maybe you should mingle with our friends. We can spend some alone time after the party, okay?”

“Is that a promise?”

Kade pulls away from me and kisses me, not on the lips, but on the bridge of my nose. “Promise.”

I’m torn by being parted from him again and I watch as he walks over to where his sister and Hugo are stood. He’s probably having to break them apart or at least tell Hugo, in no uncertain terms, that Starla is off limits. I would interject but I have a feeling Kade wants me to talk to people without him around. If I go over there, he’ll accuse me of simply following him like a lost puppy.

And though I want to do that, I also don’t want to disappoint him.

I survey the room, seeing faces and smiles that I must know and I smile back at them but don’t spark any conversation with anyone. It isn’t until I see Nate and Bree that I’m seized by a sudden, impassioned need.

I have to talk to Bree.

The brain fog is quite strong but I’m at least aware of it again. It’s not often I’m able to even acknowledge it when it’s so thick. So I continue to push, reminding myself that I need to talk to Bree. That it’s more important than anything else that’s happening.

I walk over, surprised by how easy it is. Perhaps this is something I’m allowed to do? I think for a second before quickly discarding it. I have no time to waste.

“Can I talk to you outside, Bree?” I ask, flat out, as I look down at her with urgency.

“What, you don’t wanna chat with me?” Nate asks with exaggerated offense as he clutches his imaginary pearls.

Bree rolls her eyes and pushes her friend to the side. “Sure, Mel.”

She leads the way through the small crowd in the living room and opens up the clear sliding door that leads to the balcony. I’m not often out here and that’s made clear by the lack of decoration. There is one potted plant but it’s been dead for years. A relic from my first year in the apartment—back when I was sure I would do more with the space.

Bree doesn’t shut the door all the way so some of the noise from inside still leaks out but it is muted to a degree. She glances up at me with an expectant stare. “What is it?”

“I think you know what I want to talk about,” I take a leap of faith in my wording. She gave me Oswald’s address after all, she must know something.

She crosses her arms over her chest and her nails tap against the crook of her elbow. “I can’t be sure I do. Be as concise as you can—no vague, cryptic responses, okay?”

I’m a bit confused about what she expects of me but I shake my head and focus. If she wants a blunt statement, I’ll do my best.

“The other day you gave me a piece of paper with Oswald Friar’s address on it,” I state, pleased it all came out the way I intended. Then I ask, “Why?”

Her big brown eyes dart around, often back into the living room as if she’s searching for someone in particular. “I can’t say—at least not so close to a certain someone.”

“How come you get to be cryptic but I can’t?” it’s the first thing out of my mouth.

Bree shoots me a pained smile, as if she knows exactly what is happening to me but can’t do a thing about it. I suspect it might be true, given what’s happened so far but if she won’t answer me then I can’t be sure.

“I’m sorry, Melvin,” she says in a tone that I have not yet heard from her. “I really can’t help much right now. Just…” Again, she looks back into the apartment but this time there’s more anxiety in her expression.

“Just what?” I urge her to continue. If she knows how to combat this brain fog or, at least, how to lessen the strain of it, I’d really like to know.

Her brow furrows and then her breath hitches. “Shit.”

She doesn’t even look at me anymore and runs back into the apartment, almost frantically. I follow her and see that she’s headed directly to where Starla is.

Kade has his hand on his sister’s shoulder as she grabs the side of her head in discomfort. He looks just as worried as Bree does.

“What’s the matter?” I ask and the crowd clears around us.

“It’s just a headache,” Starla groans. “It’s fine…”

“You should go home and rest. Take some medicine,” Kade suggests, rubbing against her arm with a frown.

“I’ll take her home,” Bree offers and quickly removes Starla from Kade’s grasp. “Don’t worry, Kade, you guys keep partying.”

She and Starla head out and I catch one last glance from Bree before she leaves. It’s a look full of emotions—ones I’m not even sure I understand. The closest I can come is to say she seems both guilty and afraid.

“Sure hope she gets better.” Hugo’s voice breaks me out of my mini-trance.

I look over to him at the same time Kade does. “She’ll be fine,” my boyfriend says and his smile from earlier returns. “Bree’s with her.”

I agree by nodding but I don’t say anything. All of the fog is catching up to me and I don’t have what it takes to keep it at bay so I take one last, voluntary inhale before letting go. My hand travels to Kade’s back and I give him a suggestive smirk, letting him know that I’m about ready for the party to be over as well.

Then it can just be the two of us. Like I wanted from the start.

[kokoch4n3l]

DEAD GIRL’S BEACH࿐ྂ KUROKAWA IZANA x f!oc x SANO MANJIRO

ONE — mr. kurokawa

“patient is a possible narcissist sociopath but is oddly calm. It’s a bit scary honestly. I wonder what he’s thinking… he's pretty nice though. Sometimes that is” — MAYA’S ROUGH NOTES ON K.I

chapter summary: enter Kaneko Maya, a newly graduated psychiatrist with a shit load of student debt racked up and her scary but hot patient from 4th floor, Kurokawa Izana.

chapter warnings: unrequited love, inaccurate depictions of psychiatric hospitals, usage of drugs, mentions of gang violence, mentions of pedophiles, mentions of suicide, mentions of addiction, mentions of alcohol, f!oc with absolutely zero self-preservation skills

word count: 3500

moodboard | masterlist | chapter 2

There was something about one-sided love that was so tragic but so beautiful to Maya. Just loving someone so much despite them not feeling the same way back. It was beautiful but tragic and also Maya's favourite book trope.

One-sided love, Hanahaki disease, right person wrong time, major character death.

Maya lived for tragic endings. When Disney movies with their happy ending stopped sufficing, she turned to books with dark romance, thriller and just dark shit in general. It was pretty nice to read. Don't get her wrong, she still loves her Disney movies just... It was nice to read about a girl who doesn't get the guy she wants at the end. After all, that was basically her life story. "Dude, I'm literally about to start my shift" Maya hisses at her 8-year-long crush over the phone as she

"Maya, what the fuck are you doing taking the night shift on a Friday anyway? I told you to switch to the day shift. It's gotten dangerous at night" Matsuno Chifuyu scolds her on the phone

Matsuno Chifuyu, Maya's senior from middle school. He was about 5 years older than her, currently 26, about to turn 27 in a few months. Maya met him in middle school when she was in 7th grade and he was in his final year of high school. She met him at a park in the middle of the night while he was trying to bandage the wounds on his face without a mirror. Maya called him stupid and Chifuyu scolded her because he was obviously older. He was older and seemed so out of her league but oh did Maya fall head over heels for him. There was just something about guys who rode motorcycles that did something to her heart. Unfortunately for her, Chifuyu did not go that young in terms of dating. She asked him before when he took her out after she graduated high school. He said the youngest he'd go was 2 years and any girl younger just seemed like a little kid to him.

Long story short, Maya got child-zoned.

She doesn't even know if that was a thing but Chifuyu didn't even friend zone her nor did her sister zone her. He just implied she was too young. It made her sad but Maya was alright with pining from afar and never confessing to him. "Night shift makes more money y'know... Besides, I don't actually have to work during the night shift and just make sure everyone goes to sleep after taking their medication. I told you this c'mon" Maya says as she clips her ID to the front pocket of her white coat and puts on the black keycard bracelet thing they gave her that allows her to go from floor to floor by pressing it against the scanners around all the doors and exits in the building.

"Maya. I understand you're not worried because you've been working there for a month now but it's gotten dangerous at night time in general. Don't you watch the news?"

Chifuyu sounds worried. He always sounds worried and his worry makes butterflies erupt in Maya's stomach. "you mean that Tokyo Manji Gang guys? C'mon Chifuyu, the probability of me being attacked by a gang is low" she says pressing her phone to her ear while fixing her bangs with the other as she looks at herself in the mirror of the locker room "I may be drowning in student debt but like, at least it's no interest and I haven't taken money from any sketchy place. I'll be fine. And, you have my live location so it should be fine"

She hears Chifuyu sigh on the other side. "Alright fine. But keep applying and see if you get somewhere better. And I am seeing you tomorrow right?"

Maya worked weekdays Monday to Friday on the night shift and had the weekends off. It wasn't that bad in her opinion. Her job paid crazy well for a simple psychiatrist job and she was able to steadily start to pay off her student loan and pay the rent for her apartment. So maybe it was fine that she worked at night time in the midst of... 'crazy' people, drug addicts, suicidal, violent killers and even more, she got money. Right? "Yup, I will see you tomorrow. Pick me up?" Maya asks

"Of course. Be safe Maya."

Maya feels her heart clench and she bids Chifuyu goodbye. He cut the call and not long after she gets a text from him telling her goodnight. She sighs. Kaneko Maya had a university degree, wrote multiple essays, and read many articles but she still read Chifuyu's text as I love you.

Sunshine Grove Psychiatric Hospital had 4 levels.

1st floor was the entry with the employee locker room, front desk, storage, etc.

2nd floor was where all the drug addicts recovering from addiction were as well as those under suicide watch.

3rd floor had every one that came under other.

The 4th floor was the high-risk area with people that were there under court order. This means they got sent here as part of their sentence under the claims of insanity.

Each floor had a psychiatrist, 2-3 doctors and about 4 nurses assigned. There weren't many people admitted into Sunshine Grove due to how eerie and scary the building was and Maya doesn't blame them. But that also means less work for her so she isn't complaining. Maya was unfortunately assigned to the 4th floor. The 4th floor was lacking the required amount of employees by a lot. It had just 1 nurse and 1 doctor. The doctor, Sawamura or something, rarely ever even showed up. The nurse always tended to hide on the lower floors as well. Which left Maya alone on the floor with the security guard who was always stationed at the elevator. "good evening doctor" The security guard, Mr. Ueda greeted her as she stepped out of the elevator with a large cart

4th floor looked like what you'd imagine the inside of any psychiatric hospital look like. Unlike the other two floors which had some pop of colour, the 4th floor was just bland and gloomy. Flickering tube lights, white tiled floors and grey walls. If Maya didn't love money so much she wouldn't be working in such a shitty place. Especially in a place that looked like the set of a horror movie. "good evening" Maya said with a smile

The cart was stacked with trays on the inside. Food for the patients. It was dinner time and unlike the lower floors, 4th-floor patients didn't get the luxury of eating with other people and had to be given their food in their rooms. "how about you give me the tray for room 410" The guard said with his usual deadpan-monotonous-I-take-no-shit face

Maya nods and pulls out the tray and hands it to the guard to take to room 410. Room 410 had a convicted child predator rapist. According to Mr Ueda, Maya looked too much like a child and he wasn't about to let her get close to him. It was a pretty sweet gesture in her opinion and she never stopped him. So as Mr Ueda goes over to room 410 to give food to the child predator, Maya starts going from room to room with each tray. Despite the 4th floor housing psychotic criminals, it was relatively the calmest among them all. Very rarely any incidents and honestly speaking, Maya doesn't think any of them actually have anything wrong with them. Well all except him.

The man in room 401 at the end of the hall.

Kurokawa Izana. He was 30, and about to be 31 in a month or so. He was half Japanese and half Filipino with white hair, long white lashes, tan skin and violet eyes.

Absolutely fucking gorgeous in Maya's opinion.

Older guys just really hit the spot for her if you couldn't tell already. However, not only was Kurokawa Izana a criminal but he was also her patient. She had to keep things ethical here especially since it was her first job in this field. "Good evening Mr Kurokawa" Maya greets carrying the tray as she steps into his room after scanning her bracelet on the card reader system outside his door, the door locking shut behind her

But there was something odd she found about Kurokawa Izana and that was the fact that unlike the other criminals here, he was often hooked up to some IV bag. Not always but, very often. A lot of the other criminals didn't even get medication so it was weird for Maya to see this. "good evening Doc, I hope the drive here wasn't bad" Izana says with no smile but a sweet tone as usual

Once again, Izana is hooked up to the IV bag. He's lying in his hospital bed with the blanket pulled up to his hips, wearing the all-white 2 piece outfit all the patients here were required to wear. He's leaned back into the bed in a half-sitting half laying position looking a bit groggy like always when hooked up to the IV. It was a pretty potent drug and she couldn't even pronounce the name if she tried. Many times when clocking in she'd be visited by the hospital director himself and he'd tell her to go hook Izana up to the drip. She of course would comply. But it raised many questions in her as to why. "It's Friday night, such a shame you're working the night shift" Izana says as Maya sets the food down on the table in front of him

Maya shrugs as she set the food out like she does for all the patients. "It's whatever. I'm making good money so"

Izana smiles this time. It's eerie. "of course. That's what matters huh? You told me about your student loans last week, need to pay those off"

But unlike the other criminals on this floor, Kurokawa Izana was the only one she would have conversations with about things other than the usual things she was supposed to talk about. "Yeah ugh... So glad they got rid of interest else I would have been dying" Maya says with a laugh "would've sold a kidney or something at that point"

Izana laughs at her joke then slowly brings a hand up and starts to eat. His movements are slow because of the drug. Maya wonders why they're giving it to him. She wasn't a doctor so she didn't exactly know what it did but from the numbers on the bag she knew the dosage was high. "How about you give me some company while I eat, doctor?" Izana asks, cocking his head to the side

Maya nods and takes a seat on the chair in the room. Unlike the other patients, Maya didn't know what Izana did. When she was given his file, so many things about him were blacked off except for his birthday, name, gender and non-important things. Maya had to start off by knowing absolutely nothing about the guy. To make things worse she didn't find anything online either. If he was a criminal she should have found something online but there was nothing. So, Maya had to start from scratch. Over the month she was there she spent time trying to figure out exactly what Izana's condition was and why he was there but she got no answers from the staff and she didn't want to ruin Izana's privacy by asking him even though it was basically her job. It was a bit annoying since she didn't know what she was working with but she figured it could be worse. "Doing anything special this weekend?" Izana asks as he eats

Maya shrugs. "nah, not really. Just going out with a friend"

Izana raises a brow and then completely twists her words. "Boyfriend. You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend"

Getting to know Izana from scratch meant that she also ended up sharing information about herself which she knows she shouldn't have done but... Izana was nice. Kind of. "No, no! Not boyfriend. Just a friend" Maya corrects but the slight pink tinge on her cheeks says otherwise

"You definitely like him" Izana says with a teasing smirk, pointing his spoon at her

There were moments when Maya felt like she was talking to a friend rather than a patient. It was pretty unprofessional on her part but Izana had always been the one to initiate it so it wasn't exactly her fault. "that's... not true" Maya attempts to deny but fails miserably

"You can't fool me, Doctor Kaneko, you're an open book" Izana says, not smiling but his tone eerily cold now

Maya suppresses a shiver. If there was one word she could use to describe Kurokawa Izana(other than fucking hot), it would be scary. The constant switch of emotions on his face made her nervous. It felt like if she lied to him, he'd know. Maya sometimes wonders if Kurokawa Izana is a mind reader because he always seems to know everything before she even finishes telling him. But she is a psychologist working in a psychiatric hospital and she shouldn't let a patient get into her head, especially a criminal. So Maya puts on a professional smile and sucks it up. She needs the money, she'll get through it. "You got me. Just this guy I met in middle school. He's older" She thinks about Chifuyu and feels her heart speed up a bit "He doesn't like me back though. We're just friends"

"Awe... So it's one-sided" He says and Maya can't help but think he's mocking her

Maya shrugs. "Yeah I guess"

As Izana continues to eat, Maya looks around his room to make sure everything is in place. It's something she was required to do to make sure nothing was missing or a possible security breach wouldn't happen. But nothing like that would happen. These rooms were bland. A single hospital bed, a window with acrylic glass and white curtains, light grey walls, tube lights, white tiled floors, a table that was bolted to the ground and a chair that was too heavy to be picked up. The 4th-floor rooms were just glorified jail cells, nothing like the rooms on the 2nd floor with the colours and pretty pot lights that you could adjust. Then again, this floor was full of criminals. Maya often forgets that thought because of how oddly calm everyone on this floor is. Apparently, it wasn't always like this. Maya would rather not know the reason for this tranquillity, fearing the answer wouldn't be something she liked. "So I'm guessing you won't be confessing to him?" Izana asks

Maya giggles, covering her mouth with her hand. "I'm starting to think you like gossip, Mr. Kurokawa"

Izana scowls and denies it immediately but Maya laughs and stands up after seeing the time on her Apple watch and that Izana is almost done with his food. "Okay uh... I'm gonna go collect all the trays" Maya tells him "Be back later for yours"

She walks towards the door and feels his gaze on her back. He was scary. So fuckin scary but also so damn hot. Maya knows it was unethical and just morally wrong to be thinking that way about her patient. It was messed up. But thinking and acting were two different things. She was in no way abusing her power. She was just, admiring. Right? She was a fresh out of college single 22-year-old. Cut the girl some slack. She looks back at him one last time and for a moment everything just felt wrong. Izana is staring at her. Head cocked to the side and eyes blank, void of any emotion. Maya smiles nervously and presses the bracelet on her wrist against the magnetic reader and the door clicks open. She leaves quickly but not after making sure that the door is properly locked. Maya shivers as she walks back down the hall toward the first room she had given food to and sees that the security guard has already brought back the tray from room 410 as usual. It was a routine almost. Maya would bring everyone dinner first, Mr. Ueda would bring it to 410's inhabitant, Maya would end off at 401 and talk to Izana for a while, she'd leave and go get the trays from the rooms and Mr. Ueda would get it from 410. Now Maya was back at room 401 to finally get Izana's tray. She stares at the door for a moment, almost not wanting to go in. They didn't exactly restrain the criminals at Sunshine Grove. She found it weird that they wouldn't. It was just their rooms with the heavy metal doors that were keeping them confined. However, inside the rooms, she was vulnerable. However, Maya never felt that way with any of the other patients on the 4th floor except for Izana. She presses her bracelet against the magnetic reader and the door clicks open. She walks in. "I'm back Mr. Kurokawa!" She says with a smile

But even if Izana was scary and made her feel vulnerable, he was still her favourite patient. "Welcome back, sweetheart." Izana says in his usual low timbre

Deep down Maya knew she was going to be disappointed the day she found out exactly what Izana did to end up here. She knew it was going to make her sad because he was pretty nice to talk to if you ignored how his gaze would go blank and how he seemed almost like an evil spirit— then Kurokawa Izana was a pretty solid guy.

Maya ends her shift at 5 am. As she's waiting for the elevator to come up so she can go back down to the first floor and clock out, Mr. Udea, like always asks how her shift was. "It was fine. Can't wait to go and sleep" Maya tells him with a sigh

Mr Ueda nods and looks around at the single hallway. "From the past month you've been working here I see you spend a lot of time in 401" He says

Technically, all patients were supposed to be asleep after dinner. But the rules for the 4th floor were different. They didn't care what they did in their rooms as long as they weren't causing a ruckus. However, many of the patients still slept anyway. Many except Izana. Maya was a psychiatrist working the night shift when all patients were sleeping. It was dumb for her to even be here in the first place. But money is money no matter what time it is earned. "Well, he's the only one awake and insists on talking to me. I'm a psychiatrist and it's kinda my job to talk to him" Maya tells him with a shrug

Mr. Ueda is frowning for some reason. It almost looks like he knows what Kurokawa Izana did. "What did he do to get in here by the way? 100 percent not a child groomer or pedophile since you let me go into his room... Uh, probably not a rapist either..." Maya keeps trying to think of the possibilities but they're endless

It's been a whole month since she was hired here and she made absolutely no progress in figuring out what Kurokawa Izana did to be admitted into Sunshine Grove. "Maybe don't think about it too much Doctor" Mr. Ueda says cutting her off "It's not important. You're doing your job better than any other psychiatrist that has worked here so far and I think that's enough. Don't concern yourself with what Kurokawa Izana did or who he is"

It sounds more like a demand than a suggestion. Maya is about to ask him what he means but the elevator doors open. "I'll see you Monday, Doctor Kaneko" Mr. Ueda says simply

Maya just nods and steps into the elevator.

How odd...

notes: reblogs, comments and likes are very much appreciated! I hope you enjoyed. I usually don’t edit my works and just say fuck it and post so if there are mistakes, my bad lol. Once again, not meant to be accurate depiction of psychiatric facilities!

[lostinprocrastination]

Okay, but you know what's the best part? Ever since the show began, one of the most common criticisms towards it is that Midge is way too self-absorbed and even unlikable, and then, as it went on, it got worse and worse because she was still the same self-important, self-absorbed little girl who never ever learned and bettered herself from her mistakes. Rachel is way too cute and charismatic, but if you think about it, on paper Midge does kinda suck.

What the critics failed to notice is that the show always knew this. Midge makes everything about herself and all that goes wrong is someone else's fault, so why should *she* change over something she oughta be apologized for? Even when Shy drops her and she *knows* it was over her basically outing him at the Apollo, no, he and Reggie were overreacting and she was mad at them. When she goes to Shy's wedding, he extends an olive branch, but she refuses it because, in her head, he was the one in the wrong, not her. Never her.

She hates Sophie because Susie wasn't available to her 24/7 anymore. Now she has her own talent agency and refuses her calls. Susie has tried to put her in her place ever since they met, but she's always seen it as meaningless banter.

But then she gets banged in the head with reality and it's by Lenny. Of course. It had to be Lenny. This has zero to do with their ~feelings, mind you. It's because he is what she wants to be, he's the seasoned comedian she modeled her career after and thinks that's what the world owes her because he took her under his wing. It had to be him to tell her that the world doesn't revolve around her, that she isn't owed anything, that in order to get where she wants to be, she has to take every opportunity she gets, take the gigs and adapt her act to each situation, not the other way around. She can't afford to refuse opening for Tony fucking Bennet in 1961 because she only wants headlining gigs.

He's the only person in the entire universe that could have given her a dose of reality, because he KNOWS what it takes. Do you think she'd just stand there and take it had it been Susie telling her that kind of stuff? She'd get mad and walk out in two minutes, as she's done so many times before. But not on Lenny. She might be more important than God sometimes, but she regards him as a God ALL THE TIME. He's right. He doesn't hold his arrests as a badge of honor, nor should he. He's not proud of his mistakes, past and future. He wants her to succeed without romanticizing his life and following in *all* of his footsteps, because some of them are really, REALLY bad. This is what mentorship is about. She would never walk out on him, he *had* to walk out on her.

And the teary eyes saying "if you blow this, Midge...you'll break my fucking heart" was the most vulnerable we've ever seen him. Out with the sarcasm and quick wit and the flirting. He cares about her and likes her and loves her SO MUCH that he's willing to pull away so that maybe she'll stop trying to emulate him and find her own way. It was gorgeously sad.

When she leaves, alone, and ends up staring at Gord's big face in the entrance to his show's studio, to me it looked like, for her, to "Go forward" is to be a talk show host. All I want for season 5 is that she finally understands she has to actually work for it - especially because it's 2022 and Sam Bee and Amber Ruffin are the only female late night hosts around, but it's still a far, far cry from The Late Show or The Tonight Show - and she will find all sorts of serious hardships. And, if she's willing to do the work, Lenny will be right there by her side.

Oh, ASP, your hat-wearing weirdo beautiful bastard. Right now you have me. Just don't fuck up this final season. Please. Please. That's all I ask, because if you blow this...you'll break my fucking heart.

[black-rose-writings]

Here’s something I don’t get:

Why doesn’t Zoya like Alina? Why is she so mean to her?

I’m not saying everyone has to like the protagonist (I don’t like Alina either), but I don’t really see why Zoya doesn’t. Their mutual dislike makes no sense to me in either show or book.

Maybe it’s because I’m not a fan of overdone and shitty misogynistic tropes (because that’s what their whole “rivalry” ultimately is - a collection of shitty and misogynistic tropes that have been outdated a decade ago).

Especially when, during the “stink” line in both versions, they had zero actual one-on-one interactions.

In the book, Alina hates Zoya because she’s the “pretty and popular girl” that Mal may or may not have banged the night before their Fold trip. It’s 100% based around jealousy on Alina’s side. Jealousy for a guy that, if I remember correctly, she’s mostly over at this point and whom she has a very sibling-like relationship with, mind you.

And Zoya hates Alina in the book because... I don’t actually know. Because Alina takes the spotlight? Because she’s a bully who just enjoys making Alina miserable? There’s no actual reason given for Zoya not liking Alina. Is she jealous or just mean for the sake of being mean?

She hates Alina, because she’s the “Mean Girl” stereotype. That’s probably the real answer.

Unlike in the book, Alina doesn’t really have anything against Zoya until they meet at the Little Palace in the show.

As far as we know, Alina doesn’t know that Zoya was the Grisha who invited Mal to her bed. Their only interactions so far were on the skiff and in the tent after, where Zoya put her head on the line by claiming her to be the Sun Summoner.

(I think I said this before, but I have a headcanon that there have been false “Sun Summoners” before and they haven’t ended well, partly explaining Alina’s reluctance to proclaim herself as such. And it would put Zoya at risk if she was wrong about Alina).

Then, Alina heads off to the Little Palace.

Zoya talks with Mal (and probably realizes he really doesn’t like the Grisha, but that’s a thread for another day). Then, she must head off to the Little Palace shortly after, because she arrives soon after Alina - soon enough to be present at her introduction to the court and not look like she just rode 200+ miles on a horse, anyway.

At which point, she insults Alina.

We’re told it’s because she’s jealous of Alina getting Aleksander’s attention/having the spotlight on her in general, but... is that really enough to call someone a racist slur over?

There’s also the matter of their fight.

In the book, it’s after Alina has been training at the Little Palace for a while and she beat Zoya fair and square, on her third-or-so try doing it, and Zoya blasts her into a wall, because she’s an immature bitch. For all her faults, Alina clearly has the moral highground in the situation. Her reasons for wanting to beat Zoya might have been petty jealousy, but she did it fairly and didn’t injure Zoya.

In the show it’s Alina’s first day of training. Botkin asks her to show of her combat training (because she claims to have some after a flashback to Mal teaching her how not to break her hand when boxing) and she picks Zoya as an opponent, because, you know, Zoya called her a racist slut absolutely unprovoked.

Zoya beats her, repeatedly, then makes an allusion to having slept with Mal (on a sidenote, when did Alina find out Zoya was the one Mal stole from to get her food? Or is this when she finds out). So, Alina gets up and hits her from behind, prompting Zoya to send her into said pile of hay.

After which we get a scene of Alina ranting to Mal about how she feels so alienated at the Little Palace and how being Grisha is so hard.

In this version, both of them come of as kinda awful people. Zoya because she clearly provokes Alina and Alina because she takes the bait and attacks her from behind. Like, Alina still looks a bit better, but the “Woe is me” monologue right after kinda kills that for me.

These are the people I’m supposed to root for? These are the heroes? Like, their entire rivalry went all kind of nowhere in the books and in general kinda sucked. It was one of those things that could have been left out completely or fixed in the show, but instead, they doubled down on it by having Zoya and Aleksander be fuckbuddies and making Zoya into a hypocritical jealous girlfriend.

[featherlouise]

OKAY SO BASICALLY

(THIS IS JUST A SUMMARY SO IF ITS SHIT IM BLAMING IT ON THAT)

This au is the result of an IMMEDIATE reveal

So! (Again)

The birthplace scene goes as usual, Hollow looks back, spots Ghost, then follows PK out of the room

BUT

As soon as PK closes the doors and Hollow realises they're leaving for good, they panic bc they don't wanna leave their siblings behind, they thought they'd be going back for them

So they run back and start banging on the door, bursting into frustrated tears once they realise that they can't get it open

This OBVIOUSLY makes PK realise that Hollow isn't hollow, and he reasons that OF COURSE the only vessel to make it to the top is alive, that's the only way they'd have the necessary initiative to climb up!!

As the god of mind, he has the power to gift intelligent thought to previously animalistic minds, and similarly, he can take things away.

Usually messing with a person's memory is a very delecate process, as he risks taking away the wrong/too many memories.

However, with Hollow, that's exactly what he wants to do. He erases all of their memories, the stress of which causes them to pass tf out.

At this stage, Vessels are soft, undercooked, and if he's careful, PK can essentially carve a mouth into them, and give them a voice (ik this makes zero sense pls suspend ur disbelief for now lmao)

Maybe WL helps somehow idk but I definitely want her there (I've kinda been shoving her to the side in my other AUs so I wanna give her more of an active role here)

When Hollow wakes up, the first thing they see is their parents. This is their first memory.

To erase any possibility of Hollow's memories of the abyss returning, PK ceases all void experiments and gets rid of anything and everything to do with the void. Hollow cannot know their true nature, lest the horror of their origins be revealed.

A few days later, the prince of Hallownest, child of the king and queen, is introduced to the public

Growing up Hollow, although able to speak, preferred to use sign language to communicate, explaining that speaking and making noise feels "wrong." They were commonly told to "cheer up" as a child, not noticing that when they smiled, they p much only used their eyes while their mouth stayed completely neutral. Eventually, when they hit their teens, it became a big enough insecurity that they'd sit in front of a mirror for hours perfecting their facial expressions.

They also have constant recurring nightmares full of accusing whispers that sound oddly familiar, but they can never put their finger on where they heard those voices before. And every time they wake up, they feel inexplicably guilty.

On their 18th birthday, there's a ceremony during which they're given the king's brand by their father, which legitimises their place as crown prince. It's less of a "you're definitely going to be king one day" bc PK at this point expects to rule for as long as he physically can, and more of a "I trust you with my kingdom" kinda thing.

After this, Hollow's nightmares start to become more vivid, and one night, they dream of the door to the abyss.

Recognising the area to be in the ancient basin, they decide to investigate because these dreams feel SO familiar and they feel like if they can find this door, the reason behind their nightmares will FINALLY be revealed (or something. Lol)

SO they sneak out in the middle of the night, and once they find the door (bc lbr it's not difficult to find lmao) they open it and as soon as they step into the room, they are bombarded with the same voices they've been hearing in their nightmares their whole life. They grow and grow in volume until they've shoved their hands over their ears in an attempt to shut them out, and manage to catch sight of the end of the platform. This sparks the memory of their sibling hanging over the edge (though they don't know that, all they see is a VERY familiar looking child) and this spooks them enough to trigger their fight or flight response AKA they teleport for the first time. Into open air. They collide with the ground, hitting their head and knocking themselves out.

They wake up at the bottom of the abyss, surrounded by the corpses of their long dead siblings. And all the memories, as deeply buried as they are, come rushing back.

Ok so what about an au where Hollow doesn't know they're void and find out in. The worst way possible.