#there's one pic with blood on a vulture

[s-b-party]

Vultur Volans: Alhaitham and the Flying Vulture

****Possible spoilers ahead!!! (TW: there is one pic of a vulture covered in blood)

Our “feeble scholar”, Alhaitham, is someone who prefers to be away from the eyes of others not because he cares about how others perceive him but because he would prefer to not interact with others (that’s so relatable😭)

Volans means flying/soaring & Vultur is a generic translation for vultures, but not many vultures today have it as part of their scientific name; the reason for this is bc the word vulture is used to refer to a group of raptors that look similar & share a common trait: they feed on carrion

So why is his constellation the vulture, a creature that tends to stand out in the skies or whenever it’s feeding, when he himself is often hard to find?

Normally the first thing we think of when we think of a vulture is “a bird of prey that is an intimidating scavenger,” but there is a lot more to it than just how we perceive it (TW: blood on vulture in 2nd photo)

Vultures are intelligent creatures & can be quite wholesome when we look at the way they look after their own family

Like other birds, they will digest food first to regurgitate back into their chicks’ mouths so that their offspring can get the nutrition they need; interestingly, this includes bones which are an important source of calcium (listen, I think they’re wholesome even with this regurgitating behavior, you can’t change my mind 😂)

They are usually social animals that live in groups although few may choose to be solitary

Now that I’ve gotten the wholesome agenda out, let’s look at the symbolism associated with vultures; although they are usually associated with death, there are a LOT of meanings attached to vultures, both positive & negative, so I’m going to focus on the ones that I think can be strongly connected to Alhaitham & his lore: motherhood & intelligence

Intelligence is the easiest out of the two to see in his lore, but motherhood is probably the last thing you would think of as a concept present in Alhaitham’s lore at first glance, but I think we should take a closer look at his childhood & how he was raised since it would eventually lead to him becoming the person he is today (motherhood is present essentially in the entirety of his Character Story 5)

He had a grandmother who raised him after the death of his parents. His grandmother had essentially become the mother figure in his life who clearly loved him & understood him. She knew that Alhaitham was incredibly smart even for a child, reading difficult works at the age of seven

She opted to have him start school early, but when he came back telling her that everybody was boring & that he preferred reading books over listening to others lecture, she agreed to let him be self-taught rather than forcing him to attend school

This reminds me of those situations where students sometimes become depressed because they’re not getting the intellectual stimulation needed when they are forced to learn at the same pace as those who are struggling to understand or are new to learning the topics (it might not be the same exact situation but it could speak to him not enjoying his time at school)

Some might wonder “Wouldn’t his self-taught education have negatively affected his social skills since he most likely saw others at the Akademiya boring and thus avoided interacting with them?”

The thing is when it comes to his social skills, there are a number of factors to consider: he knows that everybody has different strengths & weaknesses in various aspects (intelligence, work capability, judgement, etc.) & he knows that he is very different from them, so he already understands that his interactions w/ “ordinary” people are not going to be quite fulfilling; we have to keep in mind that he was VERY young (7 years old) when he was reading about topics that probably many children wouldn’t have understood at that point

I think it goes back to the idea of needing proper intellectual stimulation so that could explain why he called those people “boring” & why he didn’t really vibe with the lectures from that day

We know that he avoids interacting with others, it’s not that he’s incapable, it’s because he doesn’t think such interactions are quite necessary; if it is necessary for him to interact w/ somebody (like in the archon quest w/ the traveler), then yes, he will make an appearance & interact, but otherwise, you’re not going to have much luck w/ him

A subtle factor to consider that could further explain his attitude towards socializing with others is the environment of Sumeru itself when the Akasha was still running

Up until the point when the Akasha was shut down by Nahida, many of the citizens took everything that the Akasha ever told them to be factual without ever questioning it, but Alhaitham merely saw it as another source of information that he didn’t completely rely on

For him, it probably felt like being in a nation full of sheep (the mob mentality was probably strong); if he’s interacting with someone who’s just going to regurgitate what a machine tells them, he might as well just be using his own Akasha; chances are he frequently encountered people who simply placed their trust in the Akasha rather than question it

There’s also the fact that knowledge in Sumeru is highly prized & those who show evidence of being geniuses or prodigies are usually shown with much respect (qualifying people based on intelligence is what divides the citizens of Sumeru to the extent of a hierarchy; it’s the reason why there is an obvious divide mainly between scholars & the desert people even though the latter for a long time didn’t have access/had limited access to resources that scholars had within the city so it’s an unfair assessment of the desert people to begin with); Alhaitham is someone who doesn’t like extravagance/over-the-top treatment, which we can see in how his position is something that is glorified/hyped up by others

In other words, he doesn’t like people making a big deal out of matters or stalling around when it comes to conversing

Alhaitham’s grandmother taught him to not take his intelligence & uniqueness for granted; bc his intelligence is so high, she believed that it was his responsibility to always stay clear-minded & objective

As a result, Alhaitham doesn’t care about being exalted as a genius or looked down upon as a loner by others in Sumeru; he just looks at everything as it is without overly praising/criticizing something/someone

You can tell it’s a trait he values, he’s even smiling as he mentions it being one of his strengths

Understandably, there are going to be people who don’t like him after talking to him because their feelings WILL be hurt not only because he’s straightforward with his words but also because not everybody will react well to being exposed/being told they’re wrong/questioned, etc.

Obviously Alhaitham isn’t trying to be mean unless he’s intentionally trying to bait you, then that’s another story, but he will & does acknowledge both a person’s weaknesses & strengths (a lot of people will find his bluntness to be a negative quality, but at least nobody will ever have to worry about him dancing around in a conversation with rhetoric)

In the end, Alhaitham seems to be happy living a life where he doesn’t have to interact with others a lot; his grandmother wanted him to have a peaceful life too so it seems to be a win-win situation for Alhaitham honestly considering that he gets paid well as a scribe & he is living comfortably

What’s interesting is that society even in our world views being a loner as a negative trait because it implies that you don’t know how to interact with people & there seems to be a requirement(?) to be able to interact with others because that’s just how it is (for any occasion regardless of whether it’s personal or business)

As I’ve said before, it’s not that Alhaitham doesn’t know how to socialize, he chooses not to if he can help it whereas others are just not comfortable doing so

Now the reason why I talked so much about his social skills is because part of it is how he was raised not just in Sumeru but also by his only family, his grandmother who essentially became his mother figure, going back to the concept of motherhood being present in his lore

Based on how he is in the present, I would argue that he was raised well in spite of his bluntness; his grandmother loved him & wanted him to be happy; it sounds like she didn’t force him into anything that he didn’t want to do (like going to school), she taught him to never take his intelligence for granted & to always remain objective; by letting Alhaitham be self-taught, she helped him to nurture his critical thinking skills & his ability to question others

We don’t know exactly if she ever brought up the topic of being blunt to Alhaitham, but if she did, it didn’t really seem like she saw a problem with it, at least not enough for him to change his ways from a young age

It’s interesting seeing such a character and knowing that his family loved him; honestly when we first met him in the archon quest, I wasn’t expecting to hear about him having a grandmother who took care of him; it’s wholesome, maybe not as wholesome as some other things in the game but it’s still a bit wholesome 😊

[wttcsms]

no but imagine a 2000s-esque romcom of a fic with journalist!reader and pro!sakusa. the very definition of an ambitious reporter, you get right down to business. except, it's not world news that you're reporting; it's something way more relevant and serves society much more: you're a celebrity gossip columnist.

okay, well you were a celebrity gossip columnist. however, a mega corporation ended up buying out a sports magazine and your beloved girly-pop magazine, and then decided to merge the two companies together to make some weird-ass blend of a publication. so, the focus on sports and athletics is still there, but the new managers want drama. something to get people to subscribe and to actually buy physical magazines again. besides having hot pics of shirtless athletes on the covers, they're requesting juicy headlines that can't be read anywhere else. you and every other writer has to be the first person to any story.

of course, it's a merger and with too many employees coming in from both former magazine companies, there will be cuts. everyone is trying to get the craziest story because everyone is trying to keep their job; you're no different.

fine. they want exclusive stories? then you, ever so ambitious, know who your mark is going to be: kiyoomi sakusa. he's the perfect target. he's rarely in the media for anything good or bad, everyone (from fans to haters) is hungering for any type of scraps on him, but most importantly, you have a bone to pick with him.

you overhear him at an event one day where he was complaining about journalists to his teammates. you think he's shit talking (he's just blunt but i wanted a darcy/pride + prejudice moment with sakusa!!! the misunderstanding that builds the prejudice u have against him!!!), and he's going on about how phony and annoying they are when they introduce themselves... it wouldn't sting as much, but five minute prior, you just got done introducing yourself to him!!! so, you're out for blood. you are going to crush sakusa with this article.

you know what they say: keep your enemies closer. so you build a professional relationship with kiyoomi first, gaining his trust, but somehow, this is the first time sakusa's ever felt seen by a person. he opens up to you. he starts telling you about his bad relationship with the media, how they all seem like vultures, ready to destroy him for no reason other than a paycheck, how you're different. he doesn't like doing much public media appearances or interviews because the media likes to blow everything out of proportion and he's not the type of person who's good at appealing to others.

your article is due SOON. you don't have another story lined up, and if that's the case, you better start searching for another job. you have to decide between your career or your relationship with sakusa. you choose him, of course, but before you can come clean about your original intentions, he ends up finding the draft of your article on him.

[wwaheoh]

"Celebrity Worship" Robin x gnReader, SFW(?), Angst

a/n: contains blood, stabbing, and themes of possesiveness. jfc it was so hard to find a png pic of robin and not a webp pic its like the new fake transparent shit

Dating a celebrity was hard. Worrying about the paparazzi, time restraints, not being able to go out in public without security, overprotective brothers- though that could just be this specific case, rabid fans, the list goes on. Knowing this, you still accepted Robin’s feelings. It was great, she was the most wonderful person, spending time with her was never dull, and you accepted all of her. The problem was, everyone else.

You would be with her on a walk from a nice dinner when a news reporter would exclaim, “Robin!”, leading the vultures known as paparazzi to immediately circle in from out of the woodwork. Flashes of lights and yells blinding overriding your senses.

Days where you were at your shared home, you’d see fans of Robin loitering around. All for the sake of seeing their precious idol.

On social media, people would talk about how they wished for you two to break up or that you’d somehow die. Stating how you weren’t enough for the superstar and how you were undeserving. Even going so far as to send death threats in your comments or private messages. You always blocked them and tried to pay it no heed. Never telling Robin about what happened, knowing she’d take it strongly.

She loved you, and you her.

-

Robin was hosting an event, a new expansion of the Clockie amusement park opening up and she was there to present its grand opening- as well as go on some rides and get some exclusive merch. You were behind the scenes, standing farther away and watching her do her thing.

Steps unheard behind you, a sharp pain ringing through your lower abdomen as someone shouted at you, spit landing on your face as they screeched at you. “You don’t deserve her!” Warmth trickled down as they pushed you down to the ground, another sharp pain bloomed before they were tackled by security.

You lay there, as blood trickled out of you into the puddle forming underneath. You could hear Robin screaming, having abandoned the stage and run over to your side, crying for medical support.

“No, no, please don’t leave me!”

The darkness called as your eyelids grew heavy, seeing Robin being pulled back by paramedics.

-

Several days in the ICU, the sterile smell, heart monitor, and a sobbing Robin by your bedside were your companions. There were times where Robin would have to leave, commitments already signed off on and statements to give to the press. Surgery was required but had gone off without a hitch, Robin made sure you’d gotten the best treatment possible.

There was the question of how the fan had passed security and been able to attack you. With this being a known issue, you’d think they’d have been on high alert…

One day, Robin came, with you having asked her to come so you could discuss something with her. Today was your final day, only a few more check-ups and you’d be free to go.

She arrived, a few minutes earlier than planned. The bright- if tired smile, on her face.

Setting her bag down, she walked over to your bedside. “Today’s the day you’re going to be discharged! I’m so happy you’re okay.” There was a pause, expecting you to respond. When you didn’t, she continued, “Did you want to go out and eat? I could make reservations!”

“Robin.”

“Mhm?”

“I think we should take a break…”

“H-huh? What do you mean?”

“From us… we should take a break from us.”

Over the days you spent thinking while in admittance, you realized that you weren’t cut to date a celebrity. Robin wasn’t the issue, she was kind, beautiful, inside and out. Someone who worked hard for what she wanted, genuine, with a fire in her soul. But to date a celebrity would be to be put under a microscope, millions of people wanted to be in your position, and some were crazy enough to think that they did the right thing by attacking you, both over the internet and… in person.

“You- you don’t mean that!”

Robin’s voice rose, tears streaming across her face as she moved closer.

You already regretted this. But you couldn’t do this, not with having been attacked for the sole reason of dating someone. Not right now at least.

“Please!”

You wanted to hug her, but the phantom pain in your abdomen rang throughout your body.

“Please…”

“Only for a couple months… it’s not you. Just.. I need to… recuperate.”

Robin didn’t want to keep you, but she also didn’t want you to leave. But the dove with freedom, in her eyes, was better than the dove locked in a cage.

With a hoarse voice, “Oh- okay. Just… call me, when you’re ready. I love you…”

She stood up, every step was as if she were wearing lead boots. She didn’t want to keep you but she also didn’t want you to leave. The free dove was better than being caged. She wanted you to be free, but she also wanted you to be with her. Sunday had always talked about how caging a bird was better, better to be alive than dead, no matter the cost. His words all those years ago echoed in her mind as she made her way to the door.

“I love you too.”

Your voice broke through her spiral.

Only a couple months, and you’d be back. You survived, you just needed some time.

She looked back at you, nodding with a soft smile before leaving.

[the-blackorchid1]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: ZOMBIE GREEN BRAIN MOLD RARE 🧠🧟‍♂️ Halloween party decor horror kitsch.

[secondhand-trash]

Waiting on the team captains wearing nothing but their jacket

A/N: detailed elaboration coming your way a day after I make the initial post, as promised uwu

Word count: 1901

Warning: nsfw 

Characters: Sawamura Daichi, Kuroo Tetsurou, Bokuto Koutarou, Oikawa Tooru, Ushijima Wakatoshi

(wing spiker ver.)

-

Sawamura Daichi

You couldn’t help it, his jacket smells like him and just feels to safe to be all wrapped up in the jacket that is so much bigger in size than you. It had almost become a habit of sorts for you to pull out his clothes when you need something comfortable to lounge around in, which he found very adorable.

However, he wasn’t all too sure if adorable would be the word he was looking for when he saw you sitting on the bed, your hair wet and dripping water down to your neck, looking very much so bare except for his old volleyball club jacket.

“Hm? Oh, you’re home!” you looked so innocent as you smiled, uncrossing your legs while he walked closer to you. You had his jacket zipped up, and the hem was right at your thigh. The collar was too wide for you, hanging off your collar bone and threatening to slide down at any second.

“Yeah,” he muttered as he stalked towards you, the mattress dipping as he crawled onto the bed to give you a chaste kiss on your lips. His hand found its way to the supple skin of your legs, he sighed into your lips when he felt how warm you were under his palm from the shower you just took. You giggled before wrapping your arms around his neck, letting him slid up the jacket until his fingers were rubbing at the side of your hips.

You didn’t stop him when his hands moved down to the inner part of your thighs, your hand tightening your grip on his shirt as his finger ghosted over your slit.

“Someone’s wet down here too...” he whispered as he twirled the ends of your wet locks, his finger feeling your growing arousal.

You let out a breathy sigh when he pushed you down onto your back, nudging your legs apart as he caged your between his arms.

You could feel his bulge as he leaned down, your back arching up for more friction reflectively as his hand danced against the zipper of his jacket.

“Let’s take this off before we get it dirty...” 

Kuroo Tetsurou

“Hm... look what we have here...”

You rolled to your side at the familiar voice, looking up to see your boyfriend leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed, eyes glimmering in interest.

“Took you long enough,” you mused, propping yourself on the mattress with your elbow, “I was starting to think that you died on the road with how long it took.”

“Oh please,” you smirked as he pulled you into his lap, groaning when he moved you so sit right at his bulge. His smile was wolfish when he felt how naked you were underneath the red jacket that was far too big for you, "I feel like that exactly what you want to see when you sent me those pics.”

Crooking your brow up, you tilted your head up as he leaned down to nibble at the soft skin of your neck. It was an impulsive decision. He was always busy so you didn’t have much time to add the much needed spiciness in your life so why not give him a kick by sending him a few carefully posed pictures of your bare chest just covered by the baggy material of his old jacket? He could already feel the blood rushing south when he got the first message from you, but he choked on his own spit when his phone vibrated again. This time, you were on your stomach, your back arched as you stared into the camera. You had the decency to cover your lower body with the jacket, but the delicious dip of your waist and the barely visible cleavage already had him up and ready to rush home.

Peeling the jacket off of you, he left the fabric hanging off your back as admired how nice the red complimented your bare skin. You gripped his arms as he trailed open mouthed kisses down your collar all the way until he took your sensitive peak in his mouth, sucking and licking while pinching the other with his finger.

“I hope you’re ready to face the consequences of being a tease...”

Bokuto Koutarou

Congratulations, you had obtained a dazed owl at your hands.

You could hear him the moment the front door opened. His loud voice calling for you as he paced into your shared bedroom. You had such a hard time containing your laugh when you saw the look on his face the moment those round eyes landed on your form. His eyes racked all over you from top to bottom, his mouth slowly hanging open as he felt the twitch in his pants. You were sitting by the edge of the bed with your legs crossed, hiking up the jacket dangerously high against your hips. You did not zip it up, only holding it together with your own two arms, pushing your tits together in the process.

“Kou?” biting the inside of your cheeks, you smiled as you watched him tense up at the sight of you shifting your legs, lifting the hem of the jacket up until it was right at your hip bone before letting it fall again, “you can come closer you know?”

He was uncharacteristically tender with his hands, slowly slipping under the jacket and cupping your tits. You could see his pupils widening when you slowly moved your legs apart, your hands trailing up your sides as you showed him your brae cunt.

“I’ve been waiting for you like this all day long,” you knew you had him when his hands started to get rougher, his chest rising and falling as his breaths got heavier. Bringing your hand to palm over his hard on under his pants, you lowered your voice, “can’t get this off my mind no matter how hard I try...”

He was all over you in an instance, purged over you as he roamed all over your curves. Nothing got him going like the thought of him being the one thing that ran over your mind even when he was not around, the idea that you wanted him all the time stripped him of all self-control.

“Baby you’re so pretty,” his grunted as he pushed your knees back, feeling the ache in his bones when he saw just how ready you were for him. He always thought you were beautiful, but my god did the way you look in his clothes drove him insane.

You knew he would be rambling praises about you all night long as he shows you just how much he appreciated your little treat for him.

Oikawa Tooru

You missed him so fucking much.

From seeing each other almost daily to being at two separate ends of the globe, it definitely took some hard adjustments. There were countless nights when you felt the weight at your chest just from thinking about the future, whether you two would have one together. But it was like he could feel the nerve running through your brain even from so far away and when you needed him the most, you were always reminded that you two would go strong as long as you worked for it with the familiar ring of your phone.

And Oikawa Tooru was definitely worth working hard for.

Clutching his jacket close to your body, you took one hard sniff, trying to inhale whatever that was left of him on the fabric. The cotton was soft against your skin, warm and gentle. You tried to imagine that your boyfriend’s jacket was enough of a replicate for his presence, sighing when you realised how sad it was that you were desperately searching for just a bit of comfort to fill in your yearning for him.

You missed the way he holds you tight, how he would take his time to caress every parts of your body before he filled you with all his love. You missed his body wrapped up around yours but right now the jacket will have to do. Your hands traveled down the side of your waist until your fingers were crawling over your thighs, mimicking the way his skillful fingers would elicit shivers all over your body before even touching you properly.

You were so deep in your own imagination that you didn’t even feel the presence of another person until you felt a familiar touch on your calves.

“Tooru!” you squealed, not even caring about how exposed you were as you leaped into his arms, burying your face into his chest. For a moment, you could not even began to believe your eyes but he was here, so real and so warm against your touch.

“Surprised?” He chuckled as you nodded, rubbing your face against the fabric of his shirt.

“I’ve missed you...”

“I missed you too..” he took a deep breath when he pulled away to see the state you were in, his eyes widening in awe at how luscious you looked all wrapped up in his jacket.

It had been too long and he couldn’t wait to remind you again and again of how much he missed you.

Laying you down, you could feel your face burning up when he brushed away the heavy fabric, drinking in the way your naked body was all on display for him.

“I’ve missed this-” he whispered against your neck.

“This-” A kiss at the valley of your breast.

“This-” soft kisses peppered down your stomach.

But nothing could prepare you for when he hooked your leg over his shoulder, darting his tongue out to lick a long strip up your bare cunt.

“And especially this...”

Ushijima Wakatoshi

The way his eyes darkened the moment they landed on you sent a shameful thrill straight to your core.

He looked like a vulture eyeing his prey as he stalked towards you, towering you with his much larger frame as he stood in front of you. His grip on your jaw was firm as he tilted your head up, making you look right into his eyes. You shuddered when he spoke.

“Princess, what are you doing?”

“Waiting for you,” you replied, “you’ve been working yourself so much lately. I figured I should do something to help you let out some steam.”

His let go of your jaw as he hummed, his large palm sliding down to trail his finger along the collar of his purple jacket on you. The jacket was threatening to fall off of you, barely covering your much smaller frame. 

You looked so dainty, like he could wreck you if he did so little as laid his hands on you.

You obediently let him perched between your parted legs as he crawled over you, his hand digging into your thighs as he leaned down.

“Are you going to behave for me?"

The rumbling from his chest hit you in full force as he chuckled, taking in the way you eagerly nodded. His lips were soft against yours, kissing you again and again as his hand trailed down your legs but pulled away the moment you started chasing more. The look in his eyes warning you that this was about him, and he would not let you have your way around so easily if you did not follow orders.

But of course you would be a good girl for him, knowing how delicious the rewards would be.

[neowinestainedress]

DYNASTY ⮚ NCT

prev⏐ chapter thirteen ⏐ next ⏐ masterpost

warnings: suggestive scene / implied smut (nothing explicit) 

genre: fantasy au, royal au, super powers au

word count: 6.001

summary: The apparent calm that reigns in Neo City breaks into million pieces when some members of the Neos find an outsider laying unconscious in the wood. After that, everything they know stops making sense. Menace from the past come back, while they have to rule on their city knowing that the menace of Simon's dictatorial power is closer day by day. The past they never dared to face will wash over them like impetuous waves. The present is filled with doubts, regrets and the mystery of the lost memories of the nameless girl. The future is even more uncertain.

Can you break the chain with your past even if it's running in your bloodstream?

a/n: the first three pics are part of the story, i simply put them like this because that was the layout i had in mind while writing but i can’t format it like this on tumblr. but if you find it more confusing i can write it like i did on chapter O6, let me know. didn’t specify before but italics are flashbacks. 

The letters on the screen turned green.

“DREAM connected.” The usual metallic voice coming from a speaker stated.

The same man in a white coat pushed a button.

“REC – STARTS” lightened red, tapes started rolling.

“He was standing still, there on the shore. The sea wind was blowing on his face, messing his air and infiltrating in his shirt, making shivers run down his spine. His feet were planted on the shore, the tide caressed them ever so suddenly as if to remind him that it was there, wide, deep and dangerous in front of him. Ready to swallow him, full.”

The other screens in the room changed, tracking down the reactions of the boy’s body during that stage of dreaming. His breathing was becoming more rapid, shallow and irregular. His heart rate increased, blood pressure rising. His eyes jerked rapidly as his limb muscles were temporarily paralyzed. His brain waves started to increase to the levels experienced when someone’s awake.

That only meant one thing.

“Waves are crashing on the shore, wild and violent under the now dark sky. Vultures circling around dark clouds. The raspy, drawn-out hissing sounds were like painful cries to listen to, but they weren’t the victims, they were the hunters. And the boy was there, desperately trying to make it out alive, violently shaking his legs trying to stay afloat but the water was high, and rough, and filled his lungs with arrogance. It was getting harder to breathe.”

The buzzing sound of the cameras, microphones and machine recording came to a stop, as the metallic voice filled the air.

“Synchronization of dreams: started.”

“What is going – ”

“DREAM connected with subject AA04. Synchronization succeeded.”

“Wake him up, this can’t happen. Let’s stop it there.” The man shouted, ordering the woman to wake the boy from his state of rem-sleep.

The man passed a hand in his hair in frustration, as he let his body fall on the chair.

“Why are these files so important?” Bambi was walking down the room holding in her hands some of the few remaining NCTmentary papers, while Ten was looking for a specific book in the big library.

The man sighed, standing up from his bent position to stare at the girl.

“Because they’re the only thing we have left,” he said, then his eyes went back scanning the different book covers.

“We don’t know much, some of us remember more than others, but still, even if we know what they did to us,” he stopped again, staring at a point in front of him, taking a deep breath before going on, “we don’t know why they did that.”

Bambi nodded, and then took another look at the pages, all burned and ruined.

“And you’re looking for?” She asked, tilting her head to the side, chewing the inside of her cheek.

“Books about dreams, or sleep,” The black-haired man moved his hands in the air in a circle, because honestly, he had no idea what he was specifically looking for.

“Doyoung and I are convinced that they only experienced on us while we were asleep, so there has to be a winning key in that.”

“Unconsciousness that leads to a complete free getaway to your deepest parts,” Bambi spurted, not really paying attention to what she was saying, busier reading a note on a paper.

Ten stopped in his track, turning to face her, a confused and shocked expression on his face.

“How do you even know that?”

Bambi shrugged. “I don’t know that, just making assumptions. And also read this,” she explained, handing out the piece of paper she was busy reading before. Ten grabbed it,ì and then read out loud the messy handwritten note.

“Subject JY16. The subject doesn’t fight back, we could enter his dreams through all the stages, non-REM and REM. Annotation, a too strong connection with subject-”

“And with that?” He asked, putting the paper back with the others inside the flip board.

“When you sleep, especially in certain stages, is like your brain is disconnected from reality. We’re the most vulnerable, we play memories and stuff. You’re not on guard from the rest of the world because you think nobody can get into you. But apparently, they had a way to do it. And that’s the proof, they knew this subject had a correlation with somebody else, so strong that probably caused problems to their plans.”

Ten fell silent. His eyes moved rapidly across the room as his finger tapped nervously on his chin. He had no idea how she came up with that but she wasn’t wrong.

“Having control of you and the other experiment was the only way they had to get what they wanted without you knowing it,” she supposed, her eyes were following his movements, as her brain kept on elaborating information.

“Because once we woke up we couldn’t be able to tell what had been a dream or reality,” Ten stated, finally stopping his nervous walk down the library.

“But, wait,” Bambi said, something finally clicked in her brain. “were you victims of this, too? I thought your parents had made him fall.”

A shock of panic ran through Ten and Bambi could see it before he, uselessly, tried to gain back his composed state.

“It’s a long story, Bambi. And I don’t know how to elaborate that, not now that we’re so close to something more concrete,” he said firmly but his tone wasn’t harsh, though.

“And as I said before, we don’t remember. Except for Taeyong and –“ He stopped again, before the wrong name could roll out of his lips.

“Jungwoo, yes. Him, also.”

Bambi sighed, placing her hair on the side of her neck. There was no way they were going to tell her something more.

“We should go talk to the other thinkers, maybe we’ll come up with some more,” she proposed.

“But, how? We still have no idea what their plan was, and especially why they kept experimenting even once they fell and we took over. We were so convinced we had stopped it, but we didn’t,” he huffed, rubbing his hands on his face.  

“Hey, it’s okay.” She got closer to him. “If something was going in their way back then, it will happen even this time. If we’re lucky enough we’ll find out what was so strong that couldn’t let them take over your dreams and we’ll beat them.”

“Honestly, I don’t think so,” he replied, making his way out of the room, heading to the thinkers.

“I could help, maybe. But I need to know more, Ten,” Bambi called, following him out of the room.

Ten stopped walking and turned around. A heavy breath slipped out of his lips.

“Listen, I know that you want to help and that you have this need of being a saviour and a hero for everybody but...” He stopped, running a hand through his hair, “this is not about you. What we have been through has nothing to do with you, you can’t help.”

Bambi felt the same old stinging pain in her chest, she hated when they treated her like this. As if she was stupid, as if she didn’t go through the same things as them. Just because her brain didn’t remember it didn’t mean that she couldn’t use it. And no, she wasn’t playing the hero, she just wanted to find out more about the world she was living in.

But this time her gaze didn’t meet the ground, not even one single tear rolled down her cheeks. She stood there in front of him, proud and tall, and talked back.

“You know what? Maybe you’re right. What you had been through has nothing to do with me, but what the whole world is going to face has something to do with me. So if you don’t want to give me answers, I’ll find them somewhere else. I know how to read and  have a functioning brain, I’m not stupid like you all think I am.”

And with that she turned around, strolling down the corridors of the Neo Palace not giving him time to retort, just like they used to do with her every time.

“You’re going to make the ceiling fall if you keep punching it with so much force.” Jaehyun faced Bambi, stopping the punching bag from going back and forth, forcing her to stop hitting it. 

“Leave.” she hissed, giving him a deadly glare. 

“Wow, you’re really mad. Who hurt you?” He questioned, a slightly playful tone in his voice could be heard. It wasn’t that much, but it was enough to get on her nerves. 

“I’ll punch you in the face, Jaehyun. Leave me alone,” she remarked, lifting a fist in the air. 

“Fine,” he said, raising his hands up giving in and walking to the side. 

“I said, leave. The gym is free now, you all finished training.” 

“Yeah, but you still shouldn’t be here hitting the box as if it’s your worst enemy,” he pointed out, wetting his lips, while his gaze moved back and forth between the girl and the red box hanging from the ceiling.

Bambi sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’m...” She exhaled loudly. “I’m mad, okay?” 

“No shit, really? Thought you were happy,” he retorted in sarcasm. 

Bambi wiped a trail of sweat from her forehead with the back of the glove and then sat on the floor. 

“Want to talk?” 

“What for? None of you wants to give the answers that I need anyway.” 

Jaehyun sighed and then sat in front of her, legs crossed. 

He tilted his head to the side, trying to get a glimpse of her face that was facing the floor. 

“Taeyong?” He tried to guess. 

She denied with a swift movement of her head. 

“Ten?” 

“Yup, correct answer. You win a prize,” she quipped, looking up at him with a fake smile on her face. 

“Gosh, are you that mad? What happened?” 

“I’m okay if you don’t want to tell me what really happened after Simon but,” she took a deep breath and then bit her lower lip, “just, don’t treat me like I’m stupid.” 

“Stupid? What did he say?” 

“Not only him, all of you always act as if I can’t even look after myself and I need to be babysitted. You push me to the sidelines as if this doesn’t concern me too, and I hate it.” 

“I don’t think you’re stupid,” he affirmed, he also wanted to add that none of them thought that, but he could see where she was coming from and knew that the impression they had been giving her was that. So he couldn’t blame her for feeling it. 

“Yeah, whatever,” she shrugged. “Also, all of you treat me like I desperately want to save everybody and don’t know how to do it properly.” 

“But it’s true, though,” he dared to say. 

“And how is it a bad thing? I don’t get it really. Just because you lost hope doesn’t mean that we all have to give up.” Bambi raised her tone and stood up. She wanted to leave, no, she wanted him to leave, because she needed to cool off and nobody asked him to have this conversation with her. 

“We just, we don’t want it to end badly like it already happened with...you know.” Jaehyun’s voice was barely higher than a whisper as he looked up at her, trying to let her know that their point was not what she thought it was. 

“God,” she exhaled in exasperation. “It’s always her, isn’t it? There’s always this fucking hole that you need to fill because she’s gone, well, sad to break it to you, you can’t!” At this point she was screaming, her eyes locked into his were veiled with a confidence he had never seen before in her. 

“You don’t want to protect me, you don’t give two shits about me. It’s all about you and your guilty feelings because you already fucked it up once and can’t let it happen again, but not because you care, no, just because you wouldn’t be able to deal with your thoughts and the voices telling you that you failed –again.” 

Jaehyun was listening silently, his mouth opening randomly trying to let out words that weren’t even in his brain. He had no idea what to say, because as much as it hurt she was right. 

“She’s gone, Jaehyun. And nothing will bring her back or fix the things you all messed up when she was alive, and you know what? None of you ever got over her, as you said to me you pushed the shit under the rug and tried to go on with your lives but, oh, guess what? It doesn’t work like that.” 

“You can’t let her go and desperately try to look for her in other faces so that, maybe, this time you can’t fuck all up. But I’m not her, God. I’m not her, Jaehyun,” she whispered, her voice was starting to show signs of breakdown. 

“What are you going to do? Stop me from finding the truth just because you didn’t stop her from throwing herself in the fire in the already decided attempt to save one of you?” She asked, her head tilted to the side. 

“Stop it, please,” he muttered, his voice small, just like him, who was curled on himself on the floor, face placed on his knees. 

“Will you kiss me again so that you can visualize her face instead of mine?” She kept saying, now kneeling in front of him. 

“Stop it,” he repeated, shaking his head. 

“Will you tell me you love me just because you never had the courage of telling it to her?” Her voice was shaking. It had taken her nights to replay their times together at the dinner just to realize who he was referring to when he told her he felt like knowing her forever, and when she realized it she wanted to scream and cry. 

“Stop, please. Stop!” He exclaimed, running his hands in his hair, pulling in frustration. 

“That’s not true,” he denied, standing up, trying, uselessly, to gain composure in his voice. 

“No, it is. You were thinking of her the whole time we danced together, and you know it,” she remarked, a lonely tear rolled down her cheek and she swiftly wiped it away. No way she was going to cry because of him in front of him. 

“I wasn’t.” 

“And then who do I remind you of?” 

“But I was thinking about you! I had you in front of me. I wanted to be with you –” 

“Yeah, but would you act so intimate with me if it wasn’t because I remind you of her? Would you be pulled to me if it wasn’t for that resemblance you say we have? Would’ve you kissed me if it wasn’t for that?” She asked, stopping him from going on. They now faced each other, both of their eyes veiled with sadness and realization. 

But Jaehyun wasn’t answering her questions, he was just nervously biting his lower lip, trying to put an order to the thoughts in his mind. He wanted to say no to her, but a part of him knew that she was right. He hadn’t got close to anybody else after Anastasia’s death, because they weren’t her, because nobody could take her place. There had been nothing more but some random hook-ups sometimes that meant nothing. So if he was feeling so pulled towards her there had to be a deeper reason behind it. Because it wasn’t a sexual desire what he felt, it was something more. Something he couldn’t explain with words. Something he had never stopped thinking about because he knew he couldn’t name it, and also he always fucked it up after facing his emotions. 

Bambi sighed and faced the floor. 

“As expected,” she whispered, sniffing through her nose. 

“Could you please go, now? I really need to be alone,” she asked, still not looking up. She didn’t want to stare at his warm browned eyes filled with sad emotions, she didn’t want to look at him and feel her stomach convulse due to the mixed emotions she felt for him.

Jaehyun nodded, just to remind himself that she wasn’t looking at him. “Yeah, I’ll go.” And with that he made his way out of the training ground, closing the door behind him. 

When Bambi was alone again, a loud cry broke through the air, her arms wrapped around the box for support as her head met the surface wetting it with salty tears. Anger built up in her again, and she started to faintly hit the box. She felt so stupid for even thinking that at least one of them could care about her, that she could mean something more for somebody. And she also felt stupid because maybe, even if their reasoning were different, they were right. She had to stop trying to save everybody and start thinking about herself. 

The wooden box was placed open on the bed as the ultraviolet lights of the sunset tinted the room shades of purple and pink. 

Jaehyun was sitting on the other side of it, staring at it as if the box could make the first move. He was like paralyzed since he made his way to his room after the confrontation he had with Bambi. 

Her words hurt, they felt like million little needles stinging his skin, not enough deep to make it bleed but enough to make him feel an agonizing pain. 

But she was right, and that was the thing that hurt the most. Their pain and vulnerability were so visible that even a stranger could notice, that the masks they had been putting on for so long were full of cracks and they were close to breaking into million pieces. They weren’t as strong as they liked to believe, or deceive themselves. 

They never let her go. He never let her go. 

Jaehyun looked down at the box in front of him and sighed. Those were the only things he had left of her, nothing more. Just stupid materials stuff that miraculously saved from the fire and things that they used to hide in the wood. 

He moved forward and looked for the necklace, their necklace. The one he had stopped wearing since the fire happened because instead of trying to keep her close to his heart he just wanted to push her away, as if she didn’t mean the world to him, as if he could pretend she never existed. 

He held it close to his chest as if he could still hold her somehow, and other silent tears started to roll down his skin. He could still remember the day he gave it to her. It was a hot evening in the city, if he focused long enough he could still feel the summer air causing goosebumps on his skin. 

“You shouldn’t be there,” he said looking up at the roof where she was letting her feet hang, moving her legs back and forth. “You may fall.” 

“I won’t,” she reassured, smiling, while the warm breeze moved her hair on her face. “But if it’ll happen you’ll be there to catch me, right?” She smirked, tilting her head to the side, and then letting out a chuckle. 

He laughed and nodded. “Let me come up there.” 

“Oh, so it’s not dangerous anymore, Jeong?” She asked with a cocky smile on her face as she turned around to face him, who was now sitting next to her on the roof. Her hands cupped his face and then pulled him closer in a tender kiss. 

“After this, not anymore.” 

“Good,” she smiled, letting her body fall backwards, her hands resting behind her head as she stared at the almost starry blue sky. He followed soon after, but instead, he laid on his side, his arms wrapping around her waist, pulling her closer to him. 

“What are you thinking?” Jaehyun asked her as he rested his head on the crook of her neck, his hot breath connecting with her skin, making shivers run down her spine. 

“We are so small and insignificant compared to the universe, yet, we act as if we’re invincible,”  Anastasia mumbled, one of her hands now was caressing Jaehyun’s hair, moving in circles. 

“Does this scares you?” 

“Don’t know,” she shrugged. “Maybe a little, but not now.” 

“Not now, uh?” He smirked, tilting his head to look at her. 

“No, there could be a war going on right now, and I wouldn’t worry. Not now, not in your arms, not here where time seems to have stopped.” 

A smile crept on his face as he snuggled closer to her, his chin going back where it was before. 

“I could stay here forever,” he whispered while he started to leave kisses on her collarbones. 

A laugh rolled out of her lips. “Stop, you’re tickling me.” 

But he didn’t stop, instead, his pecks turned into small bites and his hand started to travel up on her waist. Coming to a stop, laying flat on her stomach, under her thin silky top, moving his thumb in circles.  

“And this? It tickles you?” He asked in a whisper, right under her ear. 

She shook her head as she grabbed her lower lip between her teeth, and let her eyes fall shut, giving in at the feeling of his touch on her skin. 

“Want me to stop?” He asked, stopping for a second, raising his head to take a look at her. 

“No, don’t stop.” Her voice came out in a shaky whisper, and Jaehyun smiled softly. He could feel her heart beating loudly in her chest, beating for him. 

And so he didn’t, he never stopped his hands from travelling on her soft brown skin, as the sun sinking at the horizon kissed them both. He didn’t stop his lips from brushing like a feather against every millimetre of her body. 

“You look so beautiful, right now,” he whispered as his hands moved to move a strand of her hair out of her face. The warm golden lights of the sunset made her skin shine, and she looked like a fairy framed in a painting with her curls splattered around her face, her plump lips were curved in a shy smile and her eyes were full of a light he rarely got to see in those last times. 

“Your opinion isn’t valid,” she joked, pulling him down, pushing his chest flat against hers, her hands intertwining in his hair as their lips connected in another heated kiss. 

When they pulled away he rested his forehead on hers, as they both tried to normalize their breaths. 

“I’m so scared sometimes,” he admitted in a confession she couldn’t quite get, and he knew that by the confused expression she had on her face. 

“By you, by us, you know...it’s a lot,” he explained, biting his lips. “You are a lot.” 

Anastasia furrowed, still not getting his point. 

“A lot of beautiful, incredible things I’m not, and I don’t get how you could ever –”

“Love you?” She finished, looking straight into his eyes. Jaehyun gulped and nodded, he had always had problems with that word. It had always felt too much for him. He felt that but saying it out loud terrified him. 

“Do you want to know why I love you, Yoonoh?” She asked, propping on her elbows so that he could move and basically sit on her lap. He nodded another time. 

“I don’t know why I love you,” she said, making his heart skip a beat as a sad expression took over his face. “I don’t know because you can’t know why you love. You just do it,” she finished. 

“But I know why I'm happy and grateful every day to have you in my life,” she said, her fingers raising his chin so that now he was looking at her. 

“I'm grateful because I love myself the way I am when I’m with you. I'm grateful because you’re the face that makes me feel safe and sound after a long day.” Her thumb caressed his cheek in soft movements as their eyes were locked in each other. 

“And I know that love is such a big world, but look at us, life surely didn't give us the privilege to act our age. So yeah, I’m in love with you for all those little incredible things of yourself that you don’t see but make my life better. I’m in love with you because in your beautiful soul I find what can make me a richer person.” 

He kept silent, trying to process her words, in his mind and his heart. Now, after what she had said, he was even more scared. Because it was the nth confirmation that there was something so strong between them. 

“I know that you’re scared, but that’s the beauty in love, hun,” she cooed, beaming at him. 

“It’s reckless, like riding a bike down the hill while the wind blows on your face, you feel like flying, and you don’t think that you’re definitely going to fall on the grass at the end of the ride, you don’t think of the bruised knees and elbows. You think of the happiness.”

“And that’s the fun. Because those scars are the memories of the experience, those scars are the memories of your love. But they’re not bad ones, they’re not the ones we try to hide because they bring us sadness. We show them off, we laugh when we say how we made them. And that’s love.” Jaehyun smiled, his fears were put in the back of his mind once again. She was the only one who could do that, save him from his demons when not even he could. Somehow, she always had the right words at the right time. 

“Sometimes it might get blue, but it’s your favourite shade of blue.”

Anastasia laid down again, smiling back at him, as she pulled him back close to her, foreheads touching. 

“There are so many things that I don’t know, Yoonoh,” she whispered as her hands caressed his face slowly. “But one thing I know for sure is the place where you belong. So please, please, don’t ever doubt it,” she finished, pecking his lips. 

“I won’t,” he beamed. “I promise.” And their lips met again in a long passionate kiss. 

The sun was by now gone behind the mountains, and the starry summer sky took over. The hot wind was playing between their close bodies. And the whole world disappeared. Nobody could find them there. Hidden from greedy eyes and their enemies. Hidden from their worries. 

Just the two of them. 

Their love burned bright between them, skin against skin, eyes looking deep into the others, lips parted searching for air, hands intertwined holding onto each other. 

Just the two of them.

Tangled in the night as their bodies and souls became one.

“I have a thing for you,” Jaehyun confessed, breaking the comfortable silence between them. Anastasia’s head was resting on his chest while his hand was caressing her curls. Their legs were intertwined while their chests were flushed together. 

He moved his arm, reaching for his discarded pants, searching for something in the pockets. 

“Here.” He handed her a small red box with a pretty bow on top. 

“Ain’t too early for a marriage?” Anastasia asked, sitting up, while her hands moved to unwrap the package. 

“No, stupid,” he joked, following her. 

“Oh, but it’s beautiful,” she exclaimed, lifting up a lover’s knot necklace.

“You like it?” 

“Yes.”

“The knot represents an unbreakable bond and eternal connection between two lovers," he explained, face tinting of a light shade of red. "It's made of unbroken loops with no begging and no end, and it will never break. And I was hoping this could be our little promise. I don't even want us to be together forever, I know we're still young, and life is full of surprises, but you are an important part of my life and no matter what, I just want to know that somehow we will always have a small place in each other's hearts."  

A fond smile bloomed on her face. And he had no idea what thoughts were running in her mind, he simply hoped she wasn't thinking he was pathetic for wanting to try to keep what they had alive. And his fears vanished when she put the necklace around her neck and said, “So we can always be with each other.” 

“Right next to our hearts?” 

“Right next to our hearts.” 

Jaehyun snapped out of his thoughts. He had lied, he had let her go at the first difficulty. He didn’t keep her close to him, not like he should’ve had. 

Tears started to roll down his cheeks as he let the necklace fall on top of the sheets right next to him. His hands moved to look for a photograph. And there it was, buried under other things that belonged to her, her hairband, her favourite red scrunchie, her purple lipstick, her small notebook, the one he never opened even if he died to know what she used to write in it. Maybe she wrote about him too, maybe he could feel as if she was still there telling him the things that used to make her day better. But he didn’t, because it was hers and private. 

His fingers grazed the photo, slowly moving up and down on the surface, so delicately as if he was caressing the real her. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered through the sobs. He was so sorry for all the promises he never kept, for the way he tried to push her out of his mind, for the way he never changed. 

And as he looked at the frame in his hands, anger started to boil in his blood. They were so young, their smiles were real, their childhood innocence was still there. Right before everything crumbled apart, right before they learned that they couldn’t trust anybody, not even themselves. 

They were happy, their cheeks were flushed against each other and the wind was blowing in their hair. Jaehyun could still remember that day, it was a particularly warm March afternoon. They were all in the garden. Some of them playing soldiers still unaware that that play would’ve soon turned into reality. Others playing soccer with their old and ruined ball. He remembered the screams while Kun used to trick them with his magic skills, how Yuta used to go mad every time he couldn’t find the ball anymore and how Lucas used to laugh at his exasperated expressions. Taeyong splashing Doyoung with water while he tried to run away from him and Liv climbing on the big tree making Taeil worry she would fall. It was chaotic and loud, but it was happiness. Their only free times together, being children, normal children like they were supposed to be, and not some sort of experiments and soldiers. 

And Anastasia and he were resting on the tree’s cortex, she was painting, her hands dirty with different tempera, as she represented the garden they were in. 

“Hi!” Liv’s head popped out of the tree, making them jump up. 

“You scared us!” Anastasia laughed, turning around to look at her. 

“Sorry, love,” she answered, jumping down the branch, falling on the green grass, next to her. 

“I want to draw too,” she said, moving closer to her, Anastasia handed her a blank paper but Liv had other ideas in mind, and her coloured finger landed on her cheek drawing a purple heart. 

“Liv!” She screamed moving backwards, just to be attacked by Jaehyun too, who drew a blue heart on the other side. 

“That’s not fair!” She said and then tinted her finger with a bright pink, doing the same they did to her to them. 

But it never stopped there, and their skin started to be completely covered in pretty different colours and shapes. Then they let their bodies fall on the grass, chest panting from all the laughter as they faced the light blue sky, with no cloud in sight. 

“I want to take a photo with my favourite people,” Anastasia said, standing up with her upper body to grab the Polaroid from the bag where she had some of her stuff. 

“Oh, don’t tell it to Taeyong or he’ll be mad,” Liv joked, causing a laugh to slip out of their lips. 

“He won’t know,” Anastasia whispered, falling back in her place, between the two of them, squishing her tight so they could both be in the picture as she snapped it. 

A sigh left Jaehyun’s lips, they would’ve never got back there. And he missed it so much, he missed having to worry about nothing but get the paintings out of his face, or if the grass would’ve come clean from his pants. He missed when the only things Yuta used to nag about were the fouls Johnny wasn’t counting because he was clearly siding with the opposite team. He missed when the only thing Taeyong had to worry about was if they liked the cookies he had baked. He missed when Mark was trying hard to learn how to play the guitar, and they had to sing the same old song because that was the only one he knew. 

And he wanted to be strong, to be better, but a part of him still questioned if what they were doing was worth it. Because Taeyong was right, giving up now was a coward act but it felt like surrendering themselves in the arm of death. 

It was a coward act, but in the end, he had always been a coward. 

He stood up and moved to the mirror on the wall. And as he stared at the reflection in the mirror he realised that he didn’t recognize himself anymore. He had become someone he hated, someone he didn’t want around. And he couldn’t blame anybody but him for that. But who he really was? What if he had always been this broken empty shell but was just too blind to realize it? Blinded by the love he was showered with, a love he never deserved. He always stood silent, on the sidelines, never raising his voice to be heard. He had fought, but was that enough? 

He had tried to be a better person, but he failed every time. And this was the nth proof, he always ended up hurting people no matter how hard he tried not to. 

And as he stared at himself in the mirror he felt the urge to get rid of that mask, of whatever thing he had become, because he didn’t like it, he was disgusted by it. He knew he wasn’t like that, he knew that inside of him there was something good, that he wasn’t a coward, he just had to let out his voice. He wanted to get rid of that image of himself, he wanted to fix himself, but it seemed impossible. His mental strength was nowhere to be found, he was so strong on the outside, but on the inside, he was fragile and close to falling apart, completely. 

Tears started to fog his eyes once again as frustration took over him, he was stuck. And what came next was unexpected, a rush from his brain to his arms without him even noticing, irrational. 

A punch hit the mirror making it explode in a million pieces of sharp glass piercing his skin. 

[cloud9in]

Human Sacrifice

Summary: The sudden events of the Zeta House Bacchanalia leaves Zoey a victim of humiliation, and Bea has her own input on the event.

 Tags: I’m going to tag the Zoey stans I know: @samanthadalton @jaxsmutsuo @this-person-is-busy @penda-bear @steal-your-moment @tyrils-star @satrinadia (If you want to be removed or added on this list in future writings let me know)

Word Count: 3.6k (Yeah it’s a lot oops)

Warnings: ANGST ANGST ANGST ANGST, Mild Language, Depressing thoughts, also some blood.

Pairing: Badgirl! Mc x Zoey

 Author’s Note: I wanted to write a more realistic version of Badgirl! Mc for the events of the Bacchanalia. I hope you hate her by the end of this.

~

Zoey’s POV

 “I will never let you forget that this is who you are.” 

Poppy’s words struck me like I had just been the victim of a tragic car crash.  Completely surrounded by the noise and utter chaos, but isolated in the clutter. 

My legs began to weaken from the embarrassment, there was nothing to hold on to steady myself. There was no one to catch me before I could collapse and sob my worries into the cold, hard concrete floor of the place I would ironically call hell. 

Bea? Where is Bea?  A faint remembrance of her crossed my mind before I could only focus on my rapidly soaring heartbeat. Any second now it would pop right out of my chest and onto the ground, allowing another part of me to be exposed to the selfish monsters, who took no shame in degrading every part of my being. I wanted to shut my eyes. I wanted to go to sleep and wake up, realizing it was all some nightmare. But all I could do was stand there and hold back the dam of tears that threatened to surge out through my eyes. I’ll be damned if I let Poppy see through my act, see through the poorly concealed cracks in my perfect persona and take advantage of it. She has already ripped me apart publicly, and if there is something that I will cling on to as I walk out of this den of vultures: it will be my pride.

The anger rushed through my veins just as quickly as the shame left. I couldn’t feel it, but I knew my nails had dug so deep into the skin of my hand as I tightened my fists. That would definitely leave a few scars, but not as deep as the mental scars that have rose from the dark depths of my mind. There is nothing more that I want in the world than to forget everything. If all of my flaws had to be exposed in this moment, I can only hope the tears that spill any second will submerge me as well.

~

Bea’s POV

 “Zoey doesn’t need me looking after her. Plus, I already told her this is the only reason I came. She’s gonna love this credit card thing.” 

 I snapped a pic of Poppy’s credit card and uploaded it to the T, courtesy of a sweet message to follow along. It was only after a few seconds of allowing myself to wallow in self satisfaction that I felt the need to go save Zoey. With a final smirk of appreciation I dashed out of the room, knowing in the back of my head that the queen of all bitches was going to fall, hard. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, a blinding spotlight revealed the silhouette of Zoey surrounded by the cretins of Belvoire University. A sensation of guilt invaded the pit of my stomach as I looked over at the mugshot of my best friend, displayed for all to see. The confusion overtook me for a split second before I sprinted towards the wires, tearing its hold from the sockets. 

 “Hey, stop!”

 Whose voice was that? Who could stand there and enjoy what was happening to Zoey? 

I felt my cheeks furiously heating up, like I could explode any moment, and all that would be left is a pool of lava. I couldn’t refrain from scowling as I twisted my head in his direction

 “Eat my ass, Liam!”

 Yes that’s right Bea, a big verbal FUCK YOU to him will solve all of your problems, you idiot.

 I growled as the last of the cords are unplugged from the walls and the room goes silent. My eyes immediately fall on Zoey who shares a heartbreaking look with me, like she’s reaching out for me. She needs me. But even as I acknowledged that, I stood in place and watched as tomatoes were slung in the direction of my best friend. There wasn’t a spot on her body that hadn’t become a canvas to the rotting food, in fact the picture painted before me was quite the opposite of her usual appealing image.

  I wanted to get a closer look, I wanted to scan every part of her. I wanted to see the pain in her eyes...maybe I wanted to be the one who took it away. But all of those bottled up feelings meant nothing when Zoey raced through the front doors, her legs dragging the rest of her body, using every last bit of her strength to not break down right then and there. I wanted to run after her. I wanted to comfort her and hold her, and tell her that I’d fix this. But what could I possibly fix? What does she expect me to do? Maybe this will all blow over, I mean this is Poppy, who doesn’t she embarrass? I surely have been a victim, and it’s not like I wanted this to happen. I mentally patted myself on the back for uploading the credit card pictures to the T, this is going to be the sweetest revenge. That bitch will never see it coming. 

And she didn’t.

 I smirked confidently as I watched Poppy’s hastily retreating form, madly whispering into her phone to the great Piers Sinclair. Her father is gonna have a fucking field day with her, I thought. Rolling my eyes, I let out a chuckle. Who knew playing Poppy’s game could be so….fun? Exhilarating? This was only just the beginning of a feud that will end with my reign. A standing that I could not obtain without Zoey.

I knew that I’d have to go after her, and it’s not like I didn’t want to. But what would I say to her? 

 C’mon Bea, you’re going to talk to her. You’re going to ask her what that was all about. You aren’t going to push any boundaries. You’re going to show her that you care...deeply.

 I knew that Zoey had stolen my heart from the minute she grabbed my hands and pulled me into her world. I knew there was no escape, not with her. She was my world and I wanted so badly for her to trust me, to trust that whatever we’re trying to accomplish here at Belvoire, would bring us closer together. I had to go get my girl.

 After all, who else would comfort her if not me? I was the only one who cared enough.

~

Zoey’s POV

 I felt the remains of rotten tomatoes in every crevice of my body. The residue was not enough to distract me from the chills that invaded my spine, and it wasn’t because I was trudging with chunky tomato bits in my underwear on a freezing evening. My whole body felt numb, where was I going? Who do I go to now? I kept walking though, as if I’d encounter a solution to my complete annihilation. Maybe if I didn’t stop, I’d burn out eventually. Maybe I wouldn’t realize it when I hit the ground. Maybe I’ll wake up and be back home, safe and sound.

Sudden footsteps caused the thoughts in my head to jumble. As I turned to face the figure behind me, a rush of heat filled my lungs as I gasped, reaching for her. 

Bea. My Bea.

I wanted to cry out, to tell her how I felt. But in that moment, her arms offered me safety, the kind of warmth that resembles a thick blanket shielding a fragile body on an icy winter morning. I never wanted to let go. 

 “That was…so horrible Bea. No one...was-”, I shook violently against her chest, and she held on tighter. “No one was supposed to know about the...shoplifting thing!”

 Bea held me close as I struggled to breathe. I pulled my head back, careful not to ruin her outfit any more than I had, and looked into her eyes. They were concentrated on every inch of my face, her eyebrows creased with worry as she studied the remains of tomatoes that were dripping slowly from my head. I had the urge to pull away with shame, I….I didn’t want her to see me like this. 

I was Zoey Wade. But I don’t know who I am now. I don’t know what Bea thinks of me now. Everything I worked so hard for meant nothing in the end because of my past. I can’t help but feel like my past defines me, no matter how hard I struggled to lock it all away. 

 “Poppy is so vile for putting you on blast like that. What was that all about anyway?”

 Bea’s gaze was intense as she turned toward the house with a glare. I could feel her arms start to loosen its hold on me, and much to my dismay, I let her do it. She glanced quickly at me before facing the ground, taking a subtle breath and looking back up. 

 “I know it’s no consolation, but at least my plan worked. I got her credit cards! Her credit cards are going to be totally shot after this..”

 Bea’s eyes were creased with delight but I could see the pity radiating off of her dark features. I wanted to ask her what she was talking about. What credit cards? What does that have to do with me standing in fucking tomato waste? 

Bea reached out to caress my shoulders again.

 “That whole ‘Human Sacrifice’ thing is disgusting. I had no idea this is what she would do to you-”

 ...Suddenly the red liquid dripping down my chin didn’t resemble tomato remains to me anymore. It looked a lot more like blood, I felt as if her words psychically hooked onto my skin and tugged at it harshly. My vision began to blur, I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing this time, and I pushed her back roughly. 

My legs started to shake violently as I tried to suppress the anger boiling within me. But that was impossible. 

 “Wait, to me? Bea, did you know she was going to do this to me?”

 This betrayal hurt more than anything that Poppy had said to me. I felt my throat start to close, was I even breathing anymore? Is this real? I stood there trembling in my own sorrow as I waited for Bea to respond. I prayed that this was all a misunderstanding, that she would use that charming voice of hers to melt my pain away. To reassure me that she cared for me and wouldn’t have allowed Poppy to have done what she did. But…I was terribly wrong. 

~

 Bea’s POV

 “Zoey I swear I literally just found out while in Poppy’s room. I came to warn you but I….I didn’t have enough time.”

 I’m not sure why Zoey pushed me out of her arms so suddenly, but all I knew was that this was not my fault. I wanted to lash out at her for even thinking of blaming me for whatever happened tonight. Does she not know how much I care about her? I’m standing here aren’t I? 

I let the feeling bubble down slowly before speaking again, this time looking straight into her big brown orbs, red and swollen with tears. 

 “Zoey...I had gone up there to go through with our plan….I  saw the cards and figured I’d have time to do both. But...that’s just not exactly how things turned out.” 

 I expected her to understand. How could I have possibly known that they’d throw tomatoes at her? I came here to find dirt on Poppy, we both knew that. I completed our objective, we were one step closer to taking down Poppy. 

Why couldn’t she acknowledge that? 

I tried to speak again but I was cut off by the menacing step Zoey took in my direction.

 “Not exactly how things turned out? What the hell Bea?”

 I didn’t think I’d find myself outside in freezing temperatures, being pulled by the jewel of my choker by my best friend. At least not in the way I had hoped for.

I felt Zoey’s hot breath dissolve across my face as she pulled me towards her, eyes seething with fury that you’d probably only see in hell. My lips quivered with surprise for a second before I was sent sprawling back onto my ass, the concrete scraping vigorously against the back of my bare legs. Leave it to me to get in a fight with my fucking underwear on.

I quickly sprang back up, brushing specs of dirt off my already bruised up legs, before scowling at her. 

 “What the hell is wrong with you? I don’t know why you’re so pissed at me. It’s not like I’m the one who put you on blast back there!”

 “But you knew about it, and instead of telling me, you went ahead and did what you thought was more important, didn’t you Bea?”

 “...Zoey we had a plan. Which I managed to do by the way! I thought you’d be happy but it looks like you’re fucking ungrateful!”

 Zoey’s eyes practically jumped out of her sockets as her jaw dropped open. 

I didn’t mean to say it...I didn’t. But a part of me felt that I was absolutely correct, it’s clear that she didn’t feel the same way though.

 “I’M UNGRATEFUL? Bea are you out of your goddamn mind?! Why the fuck would I ever be happy about this situation. It seems like you can’t understand why I feel the way I feel with that thick head of yours.”

 My body jolted forward as I proceeded to grab onto her once more, I wanted to hold her and make her listen to me. She could not leave until I explained. But all Zoey did was back up even farther, holding her arms out to stop me. Tears burst out from her crinkled eyes and she just stands there and lets it flow. There was no more holding back, as mascara started to mix with her tears. My heart broke at what was unfolding before me. 

I couldn’t even embrace her. I felt a hot spark of blood run through the veins in my arms, and my fingers started to tingle. It wasn’t long until they were practically numb. I felt numb. Was it from the cold? Or something else? I couldn’t tell you.....

 “Zoey...you know that I’d never do this on purpose, you know this isn’t me. This… this is all a big misunderstanding. Please listen to me-”

 When I tried to catch her gaze, every last bit of hurt that covered her face had completely disappeared. She looked empty and cold, something I never wanted to see again. Had I caused this?

 “That’s the thing Bea...I don’t know who you are anymore. You’re not the same Bea who I watched walk onto campus and win the hearts of so many people...including mine.”

 I whipped my head up to stare at her like a deer caught in headlights. 

...I won her heart?

 A few beats of silence passed before I spoke again, my voice hoarse from all of the emotions I refused to display. I am stubborn, yes. I wanted to hear it from Zoey, I wanted her to tell me that she adored me. I wanted to know it was real, that it was never one sided. But it seems like the universe was always meant to be against me.

 “Zoey...I-”

 “No Bea. Just stop...I can’t do this right now.” Her shoulders freeze up as she exhales, a puff of breath glistening in the air as she wraps her arms around herself to shield the cold. “You aren’t my Bea...I don’t even think you realize how much you’ve hurt me, and that lets me know where you stand with...us.”

 She was wrong. Dead wrong. I did everything in my power to help her. To help us. It wasn’t fair that we would have this conversation in the middle of a fight, but I wasn’t going to let her end this. She will not walk away from me like this. I couldn’t hold my tongue anymore, any longer and I’d bite it clean off.

 “Zoey are you serious? That is not true! How are you going to admit your feelings and then walk off like it means nothing to me? Do I not deserve to have a say?”

 Zoey stood up straighter, the words that came out of her mouth were bitter. If I stood any closer to her, my skin would burn from the venom she spit.

 “The only thing you deserve to feel is the fact that you ruined every last bit of hope that we would be together. You don’t deserve me Bea...I can’t believe I didn’t realize that from the beginning..” She scoffs and shakes her head at me sadly, wiping the tears off of her face with her painted arms. 

 “What the hell does that mean? Zoey you-”

 “NO BEA! Can’t you see it? It always has to be about YOU. You’re the center of attention right? Ever since you started hanging out with Poppy’s lackeys...you’ve changed. I think you forget about the reason you have such expensive clothes on your back. How people only hang around you because of your status. But I’m not them Bea...I think you need to realize that I was the only person in all of Belvoire who wanted to know the real you.”

 “What are you saying Zoey?”

 “...You’d be nothing without me. Not here at least. This school never took your kind well, hell not even my kind.”

 A sharp laugh left my throat as I processed her words. I’d be nothing without her? This must be some kind of joke! How dare she even admit that?

She’s not wrong Bea. I stepped closer, ignoring the voice in my head and scoffed bitterly as my body trembled with adrenaline.

 “Is that right?”

  I raised my voice higher,  whipping my arms out towards the sky. “You hear that everyone? Me, Bea Hughes, would be nothing without Zoey Wade..” I lowered my hands and jabbed my finger in her direction. “You got a lot of nerve sayin’ that, am I correct? You know...Poppy was right about you being a social climber. That’s why you hung around me right? To use me?”

 “I don’t have to prove my feelings to you-”

 “But isn’t that what you said? I mean you’re right, I am popular. Is that what the problem is here? Is it jealousy that you feel? Keep in mind, before I waltzed on this campus you were a nobody. So the truth is Zoey Wade...you’d be nothing

 I jabbed my finger accusingly at her chest once more

 “without“

 Twice more

 “me..“

 A streak of blazing fire sent me stumbling backwards as her hand connected with my cheek. I clutched the tender area and reeled back to see blood staining my palms from the small cut her ring gave me. I totally deserve that don’t I? 

I turned to see Zoey inching towards me and I braced myself for another hit, but it never came. 

 “...Don’t ever speak to me like that again.“ Zoey shakes her quietly as she stares at her feet. Her voice vibrated loudly yet broke as she spoke, “I thought you were different...but Poppy has changed you. This game has changed you.”

 “Oh please-”

 Zoey snaps her head up to look at me. “Look in the mirror Bea, do you even recognize yourself anymore? I doubt it...you’re so blinded by this hunger for power that you ruin everything in your path. You’re becoming just like...” Her next words felt like a thousand needles were embedded in my palms. 

 “No...you are Poppy”. 

My breath caught in my throat as I stood there in shock.

If you had told me that my ex best friend would be telling me those exact words, I’d laugh in your face and throw a party celebrating my Poppy-free persona. But was she right? Had I tarnished everything I once cherished because of this obsession I have with my enemy? A thousand thoughts were running through my mind and I didn’t shake out of that trance until I realized that Zoey had already started walking away, shedding tomato off of her on the way.

Before I could stop myself, I shouted forcefully

 “Hey! Who do you think you’re walking away from? Zoey we’re not done!”

 Maybe that was the ignorance she was trying to tell me about..

 Zoey turned around one final time, her eyes full of grief for only a second until hardening, “Bea...do yourself a favor and humble yourself. Don’t forget where you came from...because trust me, they will never  let you forget.” 

~

 I let out a shaky breath as I watched Zoey walk away. 

I find it ironic how this tragedy has allowed me to realize how corrupted I’ve become. The picture of her walking away will forever be embedded in my mind, but one thing I can attest to is that Zoey never deserved to be dragged into the mess I made. 

 So I watched her walk out of my life, because maybe that’s exactly what I deserved. Maybe it’s what she deserved too. Only a fool would allow her to leave that night, and I was the biggest fool that ever set foot at Belvoire.

[sparrowhawkandco]

alriGHT

I’m probably going to get some angry people in my inbox for this, but tbh I’ve accepted it because that’s just how it goes, and because this has been sitting on my chest for a long time

(I’m only being about 20% serious here no worries)

blease...artists that draw inspo from birds for creature design...delve into your hearts and nurture your love for birds...so that you can be inspired to seek out different bird species to use in your works...

I love every single one of them but there are so many bearded vulture designs out there...flocks of secretary bird designs...

I mean what I said - they’re beautiful and I love all of them. But friends? Why limit yourselves? Why pick a sun conure when you could do a nanday?

Why do a rainbow lorikeet when you could do a blue streaked lory instead?

Or a dusky one, for a more Halloween-esque look?

Fuckin hell have you guys heard of keas? The world’s only alpine parrot, supplements its diet with meat? For those of you looking for that kind of edge?

Or, getting out of parrots (oops), what about a sooty owl instead of a barn owl? On the spookier side of ethereal, and in grayscale!

Instead of a bald or harpy eagle, what about a martial eagle? I’ve worked with one of them, and trust me - just as intimidating!

Rather than a peregrine falcon, what about a northern goshawk? The pic doesn’t show it well, but these guys sport blood-red eyes

Have you guys seen how witchy a vulturine guineafowl looks?

You thought all toucans looked silly? The collared aracari would like to have a word

Sulfur-crested cockatoos not punk enough for you? Like the black palm cockatoo but want more flash? I get that. Have you tried the red-tailed black cockatoo?

Want something tiny and fierce? Get out of that hummingbird google search. We can do better than your everyday ruby-throated. Try this red-legged honeycreeper

Want a bird that’ll fit into your cyberpunk universe? Here take a paradise tanager. Or tbh any tanager. Tanager colors tend to be nuts

Want something ballsy and bold? No, put that crow/raven down. Have a mockingbird. Bonus: their wings and tails flash when they fly and they screech their displeasure at literally anything and everything

I could keep going and take up even more of your dash with bird pics, but TLDR; There are so many good birds out there that deserve your love and attention, and incorporating them into your creature/character design will make it even more awesome than it already is.

Also, I am MORE than happy to give you guys bird recs if you have an idea of what you want but don’t know where to start! Or if you don’t even have ideas yet. Clearly I love birds so it'll hardly be a burden on me. Ask box is open :)

[ocean-tumbled-pebbles]

What if Happy Internet Cafe was a Cosplay Internet Cafe?

Fanfic slightly edited from my submission for the June fanfic contest on the discord server! I now have a FFN account and AO3 pending lol. Feedback and comments welcome~

Prompt: Ye Xiu has retired from Glory and departs Excellent Era but doesn’t head to Happy Internet Cafe and become a night manager.

Summary: In which Happy is a cosplay/internet cafe, Ye Xiu is a pro player magnet, and Chen Guo is a shrewd businesswoman

Tags: All叶, allye, cosplay, crossdressing, crackfic, tw minor sexual harassment, help i dont know how chinese money works, timeline is slightly off, let’s play spot the author’s favorite anime characters

(1)

Ye Xiu leant back languidly in his chair, his arms stretching out and coming to rest behind his head. “I feel that I match all of the qualifications, and work and pay aren’t a problem. So how about it?”

Chen Guo eyed him up and down. “Stand up.”

Ye Xiu took the time to stretch out his legs before lazily getting to his feet. Chen Guo circled him like a vulture coming upon a juicy piece of meat, muttering comments to herself.

“Hmm, he’s a little bit tall, but has pretty delicate features.” She crouched down to inspect his legs. “Long legs, not too much muscle....” She circled over to look at his back side. “Hmmm...”

Suddenly Ye Xiu felt a Smack! across his buttocks.

“Um...!” Ye Xiu yelped and rubbed his abused backside.

Chen Guo covered her mouth and snickered. “Oh, you’ll do.”

“Haha..?”

“So which shift do you want?” she asked.

“Night shift is fine!” Ye Xiu figured that he’d avoid the crowds and make some extra money. He didn’t mind switching his sleep schedule and he had always been pretty good at pulling all-nighters, thinking back to his time playing Glory all night long with Su Muqiu.

“Absolutely not!”

“Oh?” Were all the night shift posts taken?

“It’d be a waste to have a good looking guy like you take the night shift! If you want a less busy time you can take either the morning or the evening shift! Pretty boys like you need their beauty sleep!” Chen Guo explained.

Ye Xiu sweatdropped. “Uhh... Okay.... I guess I’ll take the evening shift then.”

Chen Guo clapped her hands together and gestured for him to follow her. “Great! You’ll work from 4 until 10. You get a break at 7 to eat. Most customers only come to use the computers, but if they need any help or want to order food they’ll ring the service bell. We offer special service if they order from us, which is that they can request you to do something, within reason. This usually means saying a line or doing a pose, so do your best to please the customer, alright?”

“Hmm?” Ye Xiu blinked. Wait. What was that last sentence?

“We’ll start you off easy, but we’ll want to take advantage of your good genes later. We’ll let you have a trial period tonight, but you can start officially as soon as tomorrow.” She started  rummaging through a closet in the back room. She finally pulled out some folded clothing in a box that Ye Xiu assumed was the uniform. “You’re about the same height as xiao Li, so this should fit you. I’ll show you the employee locker rooms!”

In front of the locker rooms, Chen Guo shoved the clothes she was holding into his arms.

“Try it on!”

Ye Xiu looked into the box. “Uh, boss, this... is your uniform?”

“You’re chickening out now?” She smacked his back. “You signed up for this, remember? How can we be Happy Cosplay Internet Cafe, the only cosplay internet cafe in all of China, without the cosplay?!”

Ye Xiu almost choked. “Cosplay?”

Chen Guo face palmed. “Have you been paying attention to your surroundings at all? Or at least been listening to me explaining your work?”

Ye Xiu looked around. At a second glance, it turned out that all the staff were wearing costumes of some sort. He had been so focused on getting out of the cold he really hadn’t noticed it!

He’d probably give a bad impression if he admitted he hadn’t been listening to his new boss though, so he coughed and said, “I’ll go change now.”

If he came out with a slight flush in his cheeks, it was a small matter. Well, maybe not, since Chen Guo had squealed and promptly whipped out her camera and begun snapping pictures of him to post on her Weibo. She gave him a big grin and a thumbs up.

“We’ll give you proper training with wigs and make up later. Can’t wait to have you crossdress~!”

A look of horror passes over Ye Xiu’s face. Just what did he sign up for?

(2) Su Mucheng

Dancing Rain: Big bro, you doing alright?

Lord Grim: dw, I got a job!

Dancing Rain: lol who would hire you. Your only skill is gaming

Dancing Rain: you should go back to my place! I’ll provide for you, and you can be my housewife!

Lord Grim: ...

Lord Grim: that was mean.

Dancing Rain: where did you get a job?

Lord Grim: Happy Internet Cafe!

Dancing Rain: you mean that cosplay cafe across the street?

Lord Grim: ...

Dancing Rain: omg are you in cosplay rn???

Lord Grim: ...

Dancing Rain: im coming over

Lord Grim: dont.

Lord Grim: mucheng im warning you

Lord Grim: It’s an internet cafe. What if you get mobbed?

Dancing Rain: dw im good at disguises!

It turned out that Mucheng’s “disguise” consisted of a pair of glasses, a hat, and a face mask. Yup, real subtle Mucheng. Everyone was thinking that, but no one dared approach. Why would Su Mucheng even go to an internet cafe across the street from Excellent Era after all? When Chen Guo took her id card, she nearly started screaming, but was quieted by a wink and shushing finger sign. Through the power of fangirling and selfies, Mucheng was able to obtain the whole second floor to herself, as well as Ye Xiu as her personal server. He was currently dressed in a simple school blazer with a blood red wig. Mucheng was snapping pics of him left and right.

Ye Xiu sweatdropped. “You better not post these.”

“I know,” she said plainly. “These are for my personal enjoyment. Besides, I’m supposed to get a ‘special service’ with my ice cream. So keep still while I take more photos.”

Later Chen Guo dreamily asked him, “Hey, do you think Su Mucheng will come again? Should I build a private room for her? I should build a private room for her.”

Ye Xiu sweatdropped again. Hey, don’t ask me if you’ve already decided.

(3) Huang Shaotian

Tang Rou thought that Huang Shaotian was a creep when he showed up outside around 10pm and covered in scarves, so she went to go get Chen Guo.

“Old Ye!” He whisper yelled, tiptoeing through the door. “Where the hell are you?”

Ye Xiu poked him in the back and the blond puppy jumped five feet in the air. “I’m right here.”

“Shit! You’re Old Ye?!” Huang Shaotian spluttered disbelievingly. To be fair, Ye Xiu was crossdressing, but you’d think that Huang Shaotian would have noticed him.

The short flouncy skirt of the black and white school uniform dress along with the mismatching colorful socks showed off his mile long legs wonderfully, and the orange wig with green highlights had pigtails that framed his handsome face. He was taller than a real girl, with slightly sharper angles, but all in all, he looked really good crossdressing.

“How could you? After all these years of friendship, you’ve forgotten me so soon?” Ye Xiu said in mock sadness.

“Nononono! That’s not it at all! I haven’t forgotten you though maybe I should seeing as you’re an old man dressing up as a girl that is not that you’re some creep or anything but just that you’ve retired and such but I promise I haven’t forgotten you after all you’re probably my best friend after Captain and all of the Blue Rain players and - Hey! Why are you leaving?!”

Ye Xiu turned in the general direction of the word explosion and shrugged. “It’s the end of my shift. I’m going to change.” And he sauntered off toward the back room to change into more comfortable clothes.

Shaotian sneakily grabbed his phone to snag a picture. He grinned down at the photo evidence of the battle god crossdressing.

“There he is, that’s the creep!” Tang Rou had come back with Chen Guo in tow.

“F-shit! I’m not a creep! That Old Ye invited me!”

Chen Guo and Tang Rou looked at each other.  A stalker?

“I’m going to have to see your ID.”

Some selfies and monetary transactions later, Huang Shaotian and Ye Xiu were in the private room running through the plan on the boneyard record.

“Hey Old Ye, it says that if I order some food, I can get special service. I’m going to make you PK with me!”

“Not happening.” Ye Xiu refused plainly.

“Why not?! PKPKPK!”

“Because it’s not my shift.” Ye Xiu wasn’t obligated to do anything for anyone right now. He was also tired after a long day taking requests from customers and didn’t want to deal with Shaotian’s shit right now. The boss had also given him a strict bedtime of 1am at the latest and he wanted to get in all of his dungeon runs before then.

“...”

Ye Xiu suddenly felt a chill down his back. Shaotian being silent? Never a good thing.

The next day at 4 pm.

“OLD YE!” A blond fluffball came flying at Ye Xiu. Ye Xiu tumbled to the ground under the unexpected tackle.

“Oh god.”

“PKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPKPK!”

Six hours later...

“Boss, please kick him out.” Ye Xiu was disheveled and exhausted, pale and looking like he was about to collapse.

Chen Guo paused from counting the money Huang Shaotian had spent on reserving the private room and repeatedly ordering food with service for 6 hours. “....Hmm? What did you say?”

(3.5) All Star Weekend

“Ye Xiu! You’re really Ye Qiu?”

“...Yes.”

“Dammit! We should have charged Huang Shaotian more!”

“...”

(4) Ye Qiu

For the Lunar New Year, it turned out that Ye Qiu had found out he had retired from Excellent Era and was now working at Happy.

“Brother,” he tutted, “Come home for New Years. Do you even have a place to stay?”

“I’m going to work over time!” He just wanted to avoid going home over the holiday and play Glory all day.

“Fine, then I’m going to stay too.”

“Go home little brother. Unless... the boss has been wanting to do twin cosplays...”

“Happy New Year, I have to go attend to mother and little dot! Let me know when you’re coming back already! Bye!” In a flash, Ye Qiu was out the door.

Chen Guo came out of the back room holding a box of costumes. “Why did he leave? I had the cutest matching cosplays for you two!”

(5) Yu Wenzhou

“Captain Yu! What are you doing here?” Ye Xiu was so surprised to see Yu Wenzhou turn up one day that his half and half red and white wig almost fell off.

Yu Wenzhou was disguised in naught but a pair of dark sunglasses. Since Huang Shaotian had turned up the other time, more and more Blue Rain fans had been coming to Happy to see if they could catch a glimpse of their idol. Seeing the captain himself, of course some Yu Wenzhou fans crowded around to see if they could get an autograph. But as they approached, suddenly an ice cold aura appeared, and the fans decided it would probably be a good idea to back off.

“Hello Senior.” The blue-haired captain greeted amiably. “I came to see you in your new place of work.”

A slender hand came up to readjust his wig. “... I meant, how did you find me here?”

Yu Wenzhou smiled and merely handed him a thick wad of cash. “Let’s discuss this in the private room, shall we?”

So Ye Xiu led him up the stairs and Yu Wenzhou explained over coffee and biscuits. “Several weeks ago, Shaotian disappeared after the match with Excellent Era, and later claimed that he wanted to stay in Hangzhou for an extra day to visit family. He has no family in Hangzhou, so of course he must’ve been visiting someone other than family. He clearly lied about it, and as such it couldn’t have been anyone he would publically visit.”

He took another sip of his coffee. “The night he disappeared also happened to be the day the boneyard record was broken by Lord Grim and a swordsman Flowing Tree. Lord Grim is infamous in the tenth server with his technical skill, and he started in the tenth server around the time when you retired. Of course, I had a sneaking suspicion it was you, but Shaotian’s disappearance confirmed it. When he returned after his one day visit to ‘family’ he was in a surprisingly good mood and kept snickering at his phone. Naturally, I confisticated it and searched through the contents. Did you know he had this picture of you on it?”

He held up his phone and Ye Xiu saw that there was a picture of him crossdressing, shot from the back as he walked away to change clothes. It was slightly blurry, as it was dark, and Ye Xiu was surprised (but not that surprised) to know that Yu Wenzhou could recognize him even though the view was from the back and he had been in costume.

“That little brat!” Ye Xiu exclaimed. “Who would take advantage of such a good-looking guy like me, taking pictures of me on the sly?”

Yu Wenzhou put the picture away, ignoring the self-proclaimed ‘good-looking’ god. Ye Xiu noted that he didn’t delete the picture though. Wenzhou continued with his explanation. “When I saw this, I knew immediately that Shaotian had not gone to visit family but had rather gone to visit you at your workplace. A quick search of cosplay cafe and Hangzhou turned up this place. Did you know that this is the only cosplay internet cafe in China?”

“...Your deductive work is too scary Captain Yu.” Ye Xiu sighed. “So what did you hope to gain by coming here?”

Yu Wenzhou gave a little smile. “I was hoping to perhaps chat about some tactics and maybe play a match or two.”

Ye Xiu cracked his knuckles and began stretching out his arms in preparation. “It’ll be 100 yuan for each match, and you’ll need to buy food for any other requests.”

Yu Wenzhou tilted his head. “Hmm?”

“Boss’s rules.”

“Ah.”

(6) Zhang Xinjie and Han Wenqing

When Han Wenqing and Zhang Xinjie came to Happy Cosplay Internet Cafe one evening, they didn’t even bother disguising themselves despite being in the midst of Excellent Era territory, in fact, literally across the street from their so-called rivals.

A whisper chorus of boos echoed up from the computers. The quiet protest was quickly vanquished with the signature Han Wenqing GlareTM, resulting in the offenders groveling on the floor, offering their wallets as penitence.

All the commotion brought Chen Guo over. She reflexively wanted to jump back when he turned his gaze to her, but she held her ground and offered, “What can Happy Cosplay Internet Cafe do for you today, God Han, God Zhang?”

“Where’s Ye Qiu?”

Zhang Xinjie smoothed out the conversation. “We would like to rent out the private room and talk with Senior Ye if possible.”

“It’s 200 yuan per match and you need to order food for any other requests. The private room has a lock. Ye Xiu can let you in.”

Han Wenqing picked up a wallet off the floor, and dropped it on the counter, much to the dismay of one unfortunate booer.

“Yo Old Han.” Today Ye Xiu was dressed in a cute sailor themed idol costume with a long dark colored wig. He gave a mock salute. “Never thought I’d see the two of you here in a cosplay cafe in Excellent Era territory no less.”

“Never thought I’d see you here crossplaying at an internet cafe across the street from Excellent Era after having retired no less,” the older player spat back.

“Let’s go upstairs and fight in the arena instead of in the lobby, Captain, Senior.”

Ye Xiu laughed and led the two of them to the stairs. “You first.”

Zhang Xinjie, feeling that it was out of character for Ye Xiu to be polite asked, “Why don’t you go first, senior?”

“Gasp, Xiao Zhang! How perverted! You want to peek under my skirt as I go up the stairs, don’t you?”

Xinjie turned all shades of red and blurted, “That wasn’t it at all!”

Han Wenqing was not amused. “If we wanted a peek we would just lift it up. Now show me that unspecialized character of yours.” He began pushing Ye Xiu up the stairs.

“Ooh how brazen, Old Han.”

(7) Tiny Herb

Business at Happy was booming. Not only was Chen Guo obtaining more business from users hoping to see their favorite pro player, but she was able to charge the visiting pro players exorbitant amounts and they would gladly pay to play with Ye Xiu. Using the extra money, Chen Guo was able to upgrade the private room upstairs to include a full row of new computers and a comfy couch and coffee table.

The upgrades were a good investment. How else would the entire Tiny Herb pro team be able to fit comfortably into the room?

“Order whatever food you want. The club will pay for it. Don’t forget to think of your requests. You can ask him to do anything reasonable, so make sure you learn from this opportunity.”

“Yes Captain!”

Ye Xiu sighed. Today he was wearing a black and white sailor style girl’s school uniform, along with a short brown wig and white cap. He also had a staff and a stuffed animal to complete the cosplay, but they were too annoying to carry around while playing. “I left Excellent Era so that I didn’t have to be a training partner...” he muttered under his breath.

“What was that senior?” Wang Jiexi blinked his uneven eyes.

“Nothing, nothing. Just a reminder that it’s 300 yuan per person per match and that I require a break between matches. Oh, I know. While you’re waiting for me, you can fight Xiao Tang. I’m coaching her!” He gave a big thumbs up.

The whole ordeal was like one huge party with food and fun and Glory. Tang Rou despite getting utterly smashed bravely continued to fight, earning the respect of Tiny Herb. Ye Xiu then proceeded to crush them all in return. It was a bit depressing to think that all of them combined had still been trounced by a single guy dressed like an elementary school girl.

“Thank you Senior Ye!” exclaimed one Gao Yingjie on the way out.

“Yes. Thank you for your guidance Senior Ye. I hope to be like you someday.” echoed Qiao Yifan.

Ye Xiu patted both on the head. It was nice to see rookies with such enthusiasm. “You two have a lot to learn, but you also have a lot of potential. Keep working hard. And Yifan, why don’t you think about what I said?”

‘Why don’t you try out a Ghostblade! It would suit you!’ Yifan kept thinking of this phrase over and over again walking out of the internet cafe, such that he almost bumped into Chen Guo.

“Woah! Careful there.” She steadied him on his feet. “You know, you’re pretty cute.” Chen Guo handed Yifan a business card. “If you ever need a job or even a side job, you should contact me! I have some cute cosplays that would be perfect for you!”

Yifan almost choked. When he said he wanted to be like Senior Ye, he didn’t mean it that way!

(8) Jiang Botao

“So what brings you here by yourself?”

“Senior Ye! Please grant me a request!” Jiang Botao bowed deeply at a 90 degree angle.

“No need to be so formal,” Ye Xiu laughed. “As long as you buy something from here, I’ll be willing to hear you out.”

Jiang Botao ordered a What a Big One ice cream cone. “Sooo...” he started nervously, “ummm.... Please... Allow me to record a message from you to captain!”

“Oh? To Xiao Zhou? What would you like me to say?”

“Please say, ‘Zhou Zekai, Jiayou!’ a-and then umm, please blow a kiss!”

“Hoho? Well, alright get your camera ready!”

Jiang Botao aimed the camera at him portrait-wise, making sure to capture the full picture of Ye Xiu in a purple accented swimsuit and blue and white jacket covering his shirtless torso. He didn’t need a wig this time, but settled for some styling with gel to achieve the character’s likeness.

Ye Xiu grinned, not caring that it was out of character for the cosplay. “Xiao Zhou, Jiayou! Keep working hard!” He winked saucily and blew a kiss.

Jiang Botao was so grateful he kept thanking Ye Xiu over and over again and insisted on giving him extra cash. “For the wink! Please keep it for the wink!”

Later...

“Captain! Please make an effort to connect more with the rookies! They’re all intimidated by your silence!”

“...”

“If you coordinate well with them and get into the playoffs I’ll give you this!” Jiang Botao pressed a button on his phone, playing the video.

“Xiao Zhou, Jiayou! Keep working hard!” *Wink* *kiss*

Zhou Zekai stared at the little screen. “Want... Senior...”

“If you want it, please make an effort to get along!”

Zhou Zekai nodded emphatically.

“If we do well this season, we can go visit him later!”

Zhou Zekai was already walking out the door.

(9) Happy

“God Ye! Is it true that you initially worked as a staff member for Happy Internet Cafe?” Cameras flashed during the press conference following the Challenger League.

Chen Guo butted in, “It’s Happy Cosplay Internet Cafe. Get your facts right!”

“God Ye! Is it true that you engaged in crossplay?”

“It’s not that bad when you get used to it! Besides, my boss says I should show off my ‘legs for days.’”

“God Ye! Is it true that the other members of Happy cosplay as well?”

Chen Guo again interrupted. “At this time I would like to announce the limited edition release of our new cosplay photobook. It includes both group and individual cosplay photos of all of Team Happy. This limited edition will also include a section of Captain Ye’s best cosplays and a new cosplay as One Autumn Leaf. The photobooks will be on sale starting at midnight tonight and will cost 800 yuan. Proceeds will go to the development of Team Happy and also Ye Xiu’s costume repertoire. Thank you for your patronage.”

All the reporters gossipped among themselves. The males complained it was way too expensive, more than double the price of other costume books, but were quite sorely tempted by the One Autumn Leaf photo. The females wanted to see those legs for days.

The clubs were some of the first to buy the books when they came on sale. When questioned why they wanted to help the enemy the teams merely said, for research. Yeah, for research.

And so, Team Happy became the most influential team in the alliance for the sole reason of Ye Xiu fangirling.

//End notes:  *sweating* Yeah this totally fits the prompt. “Ye Xiu has retired from Glory and departs Excellent Era but doesn’t head to Happy Internet Cafe and become a night manager.” Hahaha *runs away*//

[bestiasilvanus]

Hey guys huge gore warning under the cut pls dont keep reading if ur squeamish, its animal related gore too, be careful

today at the shelter i was given an amputated cats leg from one of the doctors who knows about my love of bones 

this was an AMAZING opportunity because it was my first chance to practice skinning where the result didn't really matter if i happened to screw it up (as you can see i wasn't able to skin the toes well at all, oops)

also the fact that i know this animal is still alive and healthy, as sore as he may be, is amazing and probably not something a lot of vultures can say

However i didn’t get the chance to ask why the leg was amputated and no bones were broken or dislocated as far as i could tell, but the base of the humerus did seem oddly large, so there might be a growth there, but i cant be sure until the flesh has totally rotted away

pics below: the first is the leg before skinning and defleshing; as you can see, skin was cut at the elbow to ensure there was enough to close the cats shoulder back up and it was shaved almost down to the wrist to prevent fur from getting trapped in the wound (what you dont see is that the leg was tightly wrapped up to the elbow with bandages and medical tape to act as a tourniquet, so there was barely any blood during defleshing)

this second pic is, of course, post defleshing and you can see the still furred toes. i was worried about losing the claws and toes bones if i was too rough, so i decided to leave it one to ensure i would get everything from this leg. you can see that the base of the humerus looks sort of large (thats all bone, tendons, and cartilage, barely and muscle there) could be an odd bone growth from cancer or something else, or maybe im just seeing it wrong.

Anyway, i just thought this was a cool thing to share, ive gotten most of my bones solely from scavenging decomposed corpses so getting something that was surgically removed from someone is pretty cool and a rare thing imo

[donttellpeterparker]

Lost In The Deep End P2

I love your writing so much! Could you write a peter x reader where the Vulture kidnapped and hurt the reader to get to peter and peter gets all overprotective and worried? With fluff or cuddles at the end? Whatever you want to do really! You're amazing! -Anon

i have an idea for ya!! something kind of along the lines of a Gwen Stacy scenario - where the reader and peter are dating and peter is desperately trying to keep her out of danger and then she ends up getting really hurt or possibly....dying?? ooooo -Anon

Summary: Homecoming is a night to remember... but not for all the right reasons...

Requested: Yes

Word Count: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Note: I’ve comibned to requests together cause they are quite similar! So hope both you Anon’s enjoy! x

Warning(s)?:  Swearing, Violence, Blood & Gore, Action!Spiderman.

masterlist (x) requests (x)

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

Part 1  Part 3

Lost In The Deep End

''Matthews here hun!'' Your mother called as you emerged from your bedroom. She smiled once she sawy you, coming up to peck your cheek.

''You look stunning'' She whispers in your ear causing you to blush at her compliment. For once you did feel truly and absolutely beautiful. But then... your stomach started doing these weird flips, almost like you were getting the feeling something bad was going to happen. What was going to happen? You were going to a dance!

''He's outside'' She announces. She had begged you once you got home to take photos of both you and Matthew but you declined, saying it would be weird seeing he wasn't actually your date. She tried again, wanting to take pics of her beautiful daughter but you shook your head no. You honestly hated people taking your photo... except for a certain brown haired and brown eyes boy. 

''Be back by midnight Hunny!" She calls out as you shut the front door behind you. You stood straight and turned around, nervously rubbing your hands against your dress. Matthew leant against his car, wearing a cheeky smile. This is it... homecoming.

''So... any second thoughts?'' He asked you as you approached him. You could feel your hands beginning to shake and your throat begin to close up. But for some reason you couldn't explain why, you just had an... uneasy feeling about tonight. You put on a smile, dismissing these ridiculous feelings.

''None at all''

~At The dance

It was only half an hour into homecoming and you were already pooped. Your feet were beginning to hurt even though you were wearing flats. You decided to take a break from dancing for a little while and decided to sit down at a table, gently pulling off your shoes so your feet could get some relief. Matthew came off the dance floor with you and brought over a drink. You thanked him, drinking the glass of water quenching your thirst. You watched out of the corner of your eye Peter and Liz. They stood on the dance floor not moving. You put your cup down and glanced over to them in confusion. Why wasn't he asking her to dance? As much as you hated seeing them together you still wanted him to have an amazing night. And so far he looked so pale like he was going to be sick. Something was definitely up.

They seemed to be in a heated conversation. Peter shook his head at Liz, with hurt in his eyes before he turned away from her, heading out the doors and into the school hallway. What the hell?

''I'm gonna go use the bathroom'' You lied to Matt, seeing as he was busy chatting with one of his mates.

''Be safe!'' He calls out sarcastically making you roll your eyes at him. With your shoes in one hand you head out the doors, turning left to follow Peter. He was now running. You took off in a sprint and chased him. 

''Peter!" you called out. You weren't sure whether or not he heard you so you tried again. 

''Peter!" This time he stopped in front of his locker and turned around to face you with wide eyes. 

''Y/N? Go back inside to the dance'' He says, almost like he was giving you a command. You furrow your eyebrows as you slowed down once you neared him. 

''Peter what's going on? Everything's Perfect! Your here with Liz your, dream girl, she's your date! You finally got her Peter... so... what are you doing?'' You asked concerned and a hint of hurt in your voice. Why was he throwing this away? 

He seemed to glance around nervously, almost impatiently. 

''Look just go back into the dance okay?'' this time he commanded, you could tell. You stood shocked, wondering why Peter was behaving this way. You were slightly hurt but decided now wasn't the time to worry about that. 

''Pet-'' You began before he quickly spun his head around, hearing something that you didn't. He cursed underneath his breath and looked at you one more time before reaching for the lockers. He pulled them up off the ground causing your eyes to go wide. What the...

He grabbed his suit and turned to face you one last time. He held it so you couldn't see what was in his hands. 

''I'll be right back I promise!" He yells, turning around to run. You ran after him again, feeling your heart start to constrict with worry. That nervous feeling in your stomach beginning to churn. You couldn't help but to feel dread beginning to pour over you. 

''Peter!'' You tried one last time but it was too late. He was out the doors and disappeared from your line of sight. Glancing around the empty hallways you sighed, deciding to go after him. You were sick of being kept in the dark, well not anymore. This time you were going to find out what the hell was going on with your best friend. Hearing the echos of the music and peoples laughter from inside the gym you gulped. Half tempted to stay and enjoy your night.

You bit your lip, torn between staying and leaving. 

Shaking your head quickly, listening to one of your favourite songs begin to play you raced towards the doors, heading out of the school and into the carpark. You stopped, gasped when you saw the scene in front of you. Three buses were destroyed, one lying on it's back. What the hell? Noticing glass shards everywhere you quickly popped on your shoes, walking over towards the first bus. As you approached the bus you lightly skimmed your fingers over the metal, feeling the rigids from where it had experienced some sort of impact.

CLANK!

You quickly spun around, fear travelling up your spine. You clamped your hands shut, glancing around. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to be outside. You made your way back towards the doors, planning to ring the police once you were inside with the others.

You got caught halfway, feeling a pair of arms wrap around your waist. You let out a scream that was soon covered up by a cloth. Sniffing the cloth you realised it was covered in methadone. You held your breath, beginning to wriggle through your captures grasp. You didn't want to breathe cause if you did you would blackout from the fumes. But sooner rather than later you had to breathe and you did, letting out deep and shallow breaths. You began to feel yourself weaken in the pair of arms holding you tight. You accepted darkness as it began to consume you. 

~.......

''Why did you bring back a stray?'' You could hear a voice speak. You eyes were still closed, you felt heavy with sleep. You felt cool concrete underneath you.

You opened your eyes to realise the room was still black. You tried reaching your face but found out your hands were tied behind your back. What the hell....

''Found her chasing after bug boy sir'' Another voice now spoke. You began to immediately shake with fear once you realised you had been kidnapped. You started wriggling, trying to pull at the restraints that were around you hands. You rocked yourself up into a seating position and moved your feet around, hoping to find something sharp. You felt something collide against your bare foot. Where were your shoes? 

You began to pull it in using your toes, feeling the rough edge of what seemed to be a blade.

''Really...'' The first guy spoke up seeming to be in thought. Once you pulled the object in you reached your arms around to grab it, pulling it behind your back.

''Hey!" One of the guys called out, instantly stilling your movements. You could feel the object being taken from you and you being pulled up to your feet harshly. You began to shake in his grip as he dragged you across the room, you still couldn't see seeing as you were still blindfolded. You weren't shaking with fear anymore... you were shaking with sheer terror. 

''P-please... d-d-don't hurt me'' You whimpered out, feeling tears beginning to pool in your eyes. You shook more in the mans arms, scared of what they were going to do to you. You felt completely and utterly useless. 

''I don't want to hurt you'' One spoke up, you could feel them move closer towards you causing you to shy away. 

''Just want to ask you a few questions'' A few questions? You shook your head, not wanting to tell them anything. 

''Get away from me!'' You screamed once you felt him step closer. The other guys grip on your arm began to hurt, you ere for sure your arm was going to be bruised.

You began to shake your head ferociously as you felt another cloth begin to wrap around your mouth, he forced your mouth open sliding the fabric inside. You closed your mouth, still shaking you head. He wrapped it against the back of your head, tight. 

''Mhmmmmm!'' You screamed through the cloth, though it came out muffled.

''Put her in the middle'' The one who had tied you asked the guy who was holding you.

''Is that necessary boss?'' the guy holding you responded. Why, what was in the middle? 

''Just.. do it'' The other guy spoke up starting to become frustrated. He dragged you to the center of the room you presumed, leaving you to stand on your own. Your feet were tired so maybe you could run towards an exit, the only problem is you were bling and couldn't use your arms. Who knows what these men would do if they caught you trying to escape. You didn't even want to imagine it...

You felt tears beginning to slide down your cheeks, dampening the cloth around your eyes. A few escaped and fell onto your cheeks, coating your face lightly. 

''Your going to stand there and be silent understood?'' You were commanded. You just nod your head in agreement, not wanting to face any... punishments.

''Good'' He responded. You began to hear clattering of some sort but tried to ignore it, instead you focused on your breathing trying to keep your heart rate as low as possible. 

~....

It had felt like forever and you could feel your legs beginning to tire. You probably weren't standing for more than 20 minutes but with the amount of stress you were under you felt utterly drained. You began to try and sit down. 

''Don't'' The guys said in a warning tone. You stood back up and stayed still, feeling your legs begin to wobble.

''He's here sir'' 

''Of course he is... you can leave now'' You listened to the exchange confused. Wait's who's here? Is he some human trafficking crim? Of gosh.. you were going to be sold off to someone..

''Mmmmm'' You began to speak through the cloth. You tried again once you didn't hear a response. You could hear heavy footsteps approach you. You stopped once you heard the sound of a gun click, feeling mthe cool metal against your forehead.

''Be quite or I shoot you.. dead'' he threatened. You continued to cry and slowly nodded your head, shutting your mouth instantly with the cloth still around your mouth. More tears fell from your eyes as you could hear him walk away again. He was going to kill you... he probably is going to kill you... But what does he want with me? 

no more then a few minutes later you heard a pair of footsteps enter the building. Gosh you wished you knew were you at least were...

''Hey!... Surprised?'' You heard a new voice call out. You stood still were you were and started to shake, you were hoping the this new person couldn't see you. 

''Oh hey Pete, I didn't hear you come in'' Pete? You were confused as to what was going on but stood still and kept your mouth closed, not wanting the situation to get any worse.

''It's over! I got you!" the new voice spoke again, walking past you and towards where you assumed the guy was. You wiggled slightly, hoping that this was a good guy coming to stop a bad guy. 

''Well I gotta tell ya Pete, I really... really admire your grit'' the man replied.

''I can see why Liz likes you'' Liz? Wait a minute.. what the hell was going on? And why the hell where these names so familiar? 

''How could you do this to her?'' Hearing this you tuned into the voice. It did sounds quite familiar you just couldn't quite put your finger on it. You began to wriggle again, moving your hands rapidly trying to find away to break free from your restraints. 

''To her? I'm not doing anything to her Pete I'm doing this.. for her?'' What the hell where they even talking about. To be honest you didn't want to know, you just wanted to get the hell out of here as fast as you can. You could feel there was a clip on the back of your restraint, must be some kind of key lock. Realising there was a bobby pin in your hair you decided to your your hands up, trying to reach your head. This proved to be quite the challenge though.

''Huh... yeah'' You hear what you were hoping was the good guy before you head a THWIP sound. You stilled, thinking it was towards you but felt nothing. 

''Pete... your young, you don't understand how the world works'' The older spoke up in a condescending tone. You tried again to reach for your head but failed, time to try a new way. The only reason you weren't totally flipping out is because at the mean time he was distracted so you could try to come up with an idea to escape, It was worth a shot... even though he has a gun... which would kill you..

''Yeah but I understand that selling weapons to criminals is wrong'' The younger voice defended. 

''I don't know Pete let's take a census?'' He asks out cockily. You could hear footsteps begin to move. 

''Hey, red girl!"' You heard the older man call out. You kept your mouth shut, following his orders. You could feel a pair of eyes now on you but tried to ignore it. 

''Mhmmmmm!'' You screamed out against the cloth, your voice coming out muffled yet again. You began to wriggle harder, pulling at your restraints as you clenched your eyes shut as you felt drips of blood leave your wounds that were caused by the restraints you were tugging at. You kept going, feeling the wire but into you more and more drawing more blood. 

''Mhmmm mhmmm mhmmm mhmmmmm!" You screamed at him. You began to move your feet, tripping over and falling to the ground. You cursed under your breath from the impact and tried getting back up. 

''L-let her g-go!" You heard the younger voice yell in fear. The other guy just laughs in response.

''Sure Pete, just go get her'' He taunts. Don't come anywhere near me Pete... whoever you are. You could hear footsteps race towards you but instantly stopped. You both heard a mechanical noise. You felt a breeze come through harshly as you heard a piece of metal fly above you. You began to shake again, frozen in your spot. What the hell was that? 

You felt the piece of metal fly past you, cutting across your left arm leaving you to muffle out in pain. You closed your eyes and cried more, feeling blood pour from your wound. 

''Stop it! Stop it!" 'Pete' calls out, his voice filled with worry. 

''I warned you Pete... come after me and I'll come after the ones you love...'' He spoke out menacingly. Love? I don't even know this guy! Why am I apart of his problem?!

Unknowingly to you Peter instantly recognized the red, tattered dress as you stood in the middle of the room with a blindfold, cloth around your mouth and your hands around your back.  He felt his whole world stop... why were you here? He couldn't understand. He had told you to go back inside into the dance so how could-... She must of followed me he thought. He couldn't help but to feel guilty, knowing she was in this predicament because of him. You didn't anyone to get hurt, especially you.. the thought of you being hurt because of him.. it killed him. 

''Just let her go! You have me just... let her go'' 'Pete' spoke up as calmly as he could. You could hear a pair of feet approach you and instantly stiffened. You could feel the cloth leave your mouth and the blindfold begin to be taken off. Once his arm was close to your mouth you lent forward, biting down onto his hand as hard as you could. He hissed in pain and immediately hit you with his other arm, causing you to let go. He pulled out his gun and raised it to your head. 

''I fucking warned you...'' he spoke out lowly. Now you could see, but the only thing you were focused on was the gun that was now firmly against your forehead. The feeling of the cool metal sending shivers down your spine. You kept your eyes open, letting your tears fell as you began to hyperventilate. 

You were a goner...

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

Taglist: @cutie1365 @luke-the-princess @that70skiwi @mang0fruitblast @fairydustparker @fortheloveoflamp @jamesbuckybananabarnes @queen-zpidey 

A/N: I couldn’t wait anymore to post so here you go! :)))))

[wallpaperpainter]

20 Mind-Blowing Reasons Why Sunset At Sea Painting Is Using This Technique For Exposure | Sunset At Sea Painting

It is dark and I am continuing on the top of one of the Towers of Silence — a massive bedrock bastion area the Zoroastrians already laid out their asleep for the vultures, to abstain communicable the air with cremation, or the apple with burial.

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For about six weeks, amid March and June aftermost year, I travelled beyond Iran to appointment a dozen of its 22 Unesco-listed cultural ancestry sites, authoritative a three-part alternation for BBC Arts. We went from the age-old Elamite ziggurat burghal of Chogha Zanbil in the southwestern desert, to Mashhad in the north-east, area the catacomb of the 18th-century emperor Nader Shah — the alleged “Napoleon” of Iran — draws Iranians from all over the apple to reflect on the acme of the aftermost Persian empire.

There are abounding indigenous groups beside Persians in

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Sunset at Sea beach by Goutami Mishra – Original painting – sunset at sea painting | sunset at sea painting

Sunset On The Sea, Painting By Oil On Canvas Stock Photo – Image .. | sunset at sea painting

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Sunset On The Sea Painting by Tamara Shturba – sunset at sea painting | sunset at sea painting

Wintry sunset at sea | George Hutton Hunter Newcastle Contemporary .. | sunset at sea painting

Sunset at Sea, 20 by Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky – sunset at sea painting | sunset at sea painting

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Cliffs – sunset at sea painting | sunset at sea painting

Sunset At Sea by Pierre-Auguste Renoir – sunset at sea painting | sunset at sea painting

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The Glory of Russian Painting: Ivan Aivazovsky, ctd – sunset at sea painting | sunset at sea painting

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Mysterious sunset at sea Живописец – Alena Shymchonak | Artmajeur – sunset at sea painting | sunset at sea painting

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Sunset at Sea – sunset at sea painting | sunset at sea painting

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[the-blackorchid1]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: ZOMBIE GREEN BRAIN MOLD RARE 🧠🧟‍♂️ Halloween party decor horror kitsch.

[noelmu]

WEEK IN REVIEW 9/17/17-9/23/17

Last week I posted a picture of the donuts I ate on my first morning at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. This week I’ll post my last TIFF breakfast: a Nutella croissant and an Americano at a terrific Italian espresso bar. Consider this the illustration for my second The Week TIFF report, linked to below.

I fear I indulged a bit too much in Toronto this year, which wouldn’t be that big of a deal, except that I’m in the middle of what I count is the fourth-and-a-half-th big weight-loss push I’ve attempted in my life. The numbers below are based largely and memory and may not be accurate, but here’s a rough tally:

1. About halfway through my college years, my metabolism pretty much conked out on me, and I found that all the pizzas, wings, and cookies I was eating on a near-daily basis were heading straight to my waistline. By the time I graduated in 1992, I’d ballooned up to around 230. During the summer that followed, one day I stepped on a coin-operated scale in the mall where I worked at the time, and after I typed in all my data, the scale suggested a daily allowance of calories (and, more importantly, calories from fat) that I could consume to lose weight in a reasonable way. I followed that plan diligently, even after I moved back in with my parents in Nashville, and in about six months got down to around 190. After losing all that weight I took a trip back to Athens, and just happened to run into Donna, who at the time was really more a casual acquaintance than a friend. She later told me that she was impressed with how good I looked after my diet, which is why she asked me to lunch that day. The rest as they say is history.

2. By 1993, Donna was in Virginia working on her doctorate, and thanks to working in restaurants and having lots of pocket-money, I was over-eating again. By the time I moved up to Virginia in 1995, I’d started getting heavy, and when we got married in 1996, I weighed as much as I ever have: around 235. Not long after that, I started having some health problems, suffering bouts of vertigo and persistent reflux. Taking advantage of the health plan at the corporate job I was working at the time, I started getting regular checkups, and under doctor’s orders started developing an exercise plan built around taking long walks, multiple times a day. We moved from Virginia to Arkansas in 1999, and when I carried Donna across the threshold of our new house, I was back down to around 190. I kept losing weight over the next two years, getting down below 180 around the time Archer was born in 2001.

3. After Cady Gray was born in 2004, my weight started creeping up again. In 2010, when I turned 40, I promised Donna I’d get back to going to the doctor regularly. When I stepped on the scale for the first time in a long while in February of 2011, I weighed 225. More alarmingly, my blood-work showed that I was pre-diabetic. I started logging my calories, and got back to taking walks; but the most important choice I made back then was to try the high-protein/low-carb “primal” diet. I want to make clear that I don’t really recommend anyone else go paleo/primal, because I don’t think it’s sustainable long-term. (At least it wasn't for me.) But I can’t deny that I leaned-out fast. My the end of 2011, I was down to about 185. The next year, I dipped below 180 again, and looked crazy-thin. I actually have a sort of “before and after” pic, from two different A.V. Club videos I participated in, in the consecutive Decembers of 2010 and 2011:

3.5. I started slacking on the primal diet by the end of 2012, and even with a FitBit monitoring my steps, I started walking less and snacking more -- both choices exacerbated by some stressful transitions in my professional life. The gain this time was slow, but steady, such that I was pushing 200 again in the fall of 2014... right before I lost my job. Choosing to turn a crisis into an opportunity, I recommitted to diet and exercise, and got back down into the mid-190s for a while. But then I started getting a lot more freelance assignments, I walked a lot less, and I missed one of my yearly doctor appointments. I stopped stepping on the scale after I noticed I was over 200 again, and I stopped logging my food. The recommit was short-lived.

4.5. So here we are now. Earlier this year I went back to the doctor, and was pleased to see that I wasn’t as heavy as I was afraid I was. I weighed in at 215, and my blood-work was fine. At the start of the summer, I replaced my FitBit with an Apple Watch and started counting calories again. My goal was to get below 200 before TIFF. On the Sunday before I left, I was at 200 exactly.

I only weigh myself weekly, and I chose not to step on the scale last week. Tomorrow will be a big day then. I’m hoping I’ll be hovering around or even below 200. If not, I’ll have to try harder. After all, I’ve done it before.

The A.V. Club Movie Review: Thirst Street puts a smart stalker spin on  ’70s-style European erotica

The Los Angeles Times Movie Review: The Houses October Built 2 revisits effective mix of found-footage horror and haunted houses Movie Review: Thriller Happy Hunting has a bloody good time taking aim at societal hypocrisy

Vulture TV Review: The Good Place Season 2 Premiere: Starting Over (And Over)

The Week The Toronto film festival concludes with raw truths and unexpected beauties

[sparklyjojos]

I can’t into visual art so have a vague pillar men modern au idea thing

 - Kars works with stem cells (which he affectionately calls “vampires” since they’re immortal and you feed them with blood serum) and helps with obtaining transgenic animals for making brainbows and such. Probably does some very shady research on the side. Never really grew out of his Obnoxious Middle School Dawkins Phase. Is that guy whose laboratory notebooks all have saccharine-cute kittens on the cover along with titles like "Biohazard waste disp. 2017" in bold black marker (written with great caution as to not tread on the kittens). Every intern is deathly afraid of him.

Fun fact: after hours he's the local vulture culture enthusiast, has a whole lot of cool bones and would really love to get an eagle skeleton but fully understands why that's still illeagle. Keeps like seven living pets, all incredibly pampered.

 - Esidisi is an expert on military history. He hosts one of those discovery channel shows that's half interesting info on famous battles, weapons and strategies and half "let's check what this cannon will do to a bunch of crash dummies" with morbid humor and some truly awful puns sprinkled in. He has tattoos and piercings for miles and is very buff which leads to at least one popular meme (History Buff Advice, eg. top text: "when facing a cuirassier", pic of shirtless Esidisi giving you a thumbs up, bottom text: "suplex the horse". He loves these. When he has a guest lecture somewhere he always puts one of them in the presentation). He also takes interest in ancient conspiracy theories and mysteries.

Fun fact: while his parents really did name him after the band AC/DC (...why), he likes to joke it’s actually a.C./d.C. as in antes de Cristo / después de Cristo (before/after Christ) and how do you not become a historian with this name?

They meet in a way that’s probably less "meet cute" and more "meet bloody - but don't worry the blood's not mine haha”, and then everything goes really fast and suddenly they're married with two adopted kids and when did that happen?? Time sure flies

[pennylane85]

John Mayer's Summer Tour Opener

On Tuesday night, John Mayer & His Band brought The Search for Everything Tour to Isleta Amphitheater in Albuquerque, NM to kick off his summer tour.

Mayer & Company opened with the fun and Stones like “Helpless” from his 7th LP, “The Search for Everything.”  Up next was “Belief” from his fan favorite LP “Continuum.” One of my favorites from the night was “Heaver Things,” “Clarity.” I think it’s one of the ultimate summer songs, it’s airy and light and carefree. Larry killed it on the keys! Props to Larry who I just saw w/James Taylor on Wednesday night in Nashville, doing double duty, I like it! I know many of us want Mayer to expand his set list, but after seeing Larry w/JT, I realized he has so much music he has to learn, if Mayer has to do repeats, I’m okay w/that. You have seven members of this band who have to remember as much as Mayer. So I’m hoping with that Mayer can at least expand his acoustic set, which I’ll get into in a minute. 

“Moving on and Getting Over made an appearance. Mayer saw a sign in “bubble font” that said “Please sign my yearbook.” Mayer said he wished people had asked to sign his. “He’s turning pages, James Blunt is saved for page 24,” Mayer joked as he signed the fan’s yearbook. Turns out, after seeing a pic of it on Twitter, his senior quote was a Mayer lyrics. “Why Georgia,” a fan favorite from “Room for Squares” launched everyone into a sing along.

Next up was the Trio, which was the third set on the winter tour, so I thought that was interesting. The Trio kicked things off with a nitty-gritty cover of “Crossroads” then played Hendrix’s “Wait Until Tomorrow.” I’m still waiting to hear “Bold As Love,” John.  A rocking “Vultures” closed out the Trio set. I love watching Steve and Pino jam.

The solo acoustic was next, not featuring the red bridge and Japanese background Mayer had on the winter tour. This was replaced with wooded scenery and camp fire ashes flying in the background, true definition of summer. He was center w/his acoustic guitar. I saw Steve Jordan off to the side and knew he was going to sing “Daughters.” I was really surprised by all the people singing the hits, it seemed like the crowd didn’t know the new album. Opening night in Albany back in March everyone sang along to the new songs and I was amazed b/c the album wasn’t out yet. I was excited to finally hear “Emoji of a Wave.” Then of course, “Free Fallin’” was next w/DRH on vocals/guitar. Another sing along, but Mayer, you’re not Tom Petty, and I’d like original material in this slot. If people want to hear “Free Fallin’” go see Tom Petty or watch “Where The Light Is.” The Full Band came out again. It had started raining and someone yelled “Covered in Rain” which would have been perfect, Mayer thought the request was for “November Rain” then said “Did someone say ‘Queen of California?’” “Who Says” and “Slow Dancing In A Burning Room” were some more fan favorites. “In the Blood” is my favorite song off “The Search for Everything” and I was so happy to finally hear it live. My 100th show shout out was mentioned before Mayer launched into “Dear Marie” and all I could think about was “I hope he pays this in Sao Paulo.” Isaiah had a beautiful solo in it and I thought he shined on it.

The encore was probably one of my favorites ever. The screen was a wooded campfire scene and the chairs were all out in a circle and the band came out and they played “Stop This Train” and a beautiful acoustic version of “Edge of Desire.” Larry even played an accordion. Mayer took this opportunity to introduce the band during this little segment. I have to say that’s probably one of my favorite versions of “Edge of Desire.” As soon as I saw the setup it brought back memories to the 2004 Tampa, FL show when Mayer and Band w/Maroon 5 played Guns and Roses “Patience.” A beautiful lively version of “Gravity” closed the show.

I’ll see you kids in Dallas and Houston next for my birthday!!! XOXO, Karri~