#yes i know almost all medications have a shorter/easier name

[knifegremliin]

it's funny when you've been on a medication for so long and talk about it so frequently that you just. know how to spell it without double checking. like yeah that's my methylphenidate. i don't need to look at the bottle or search it up to know how to spell it. she's my longtime friend.

[elvendara]

Sugar and Spice Day 3

July 14th

Rock concert (Rockstar/Fan)

“Five minutes till curtains up!” the man ran backstage shouting over the din. Saeran expected a knock on his door shortly and sure enough, it came. Without waiting for an answer, the man opened the door to let him know the time limit. Saeran locked eyes with him through the mirror and nodded.

Once the door was again closed, he stared at himself. He’d long ago bleached his hair white to differentiate himself from his twin. Saeyoung worked in the shadows, it wouldn’t do to have a famous brother who looked exactly like him. He also utilized colored lenses. It served two purposes, he didn’t need to wear glasses, in fact, his fans didn’t even know he needed them, and the mint green was a stark contrast to his regular, amber-colored eyes. The pink tips were a more recent addition, but he liked them.

Black eyeliner was expertly applied, years of practice making it almost effortless. He took a sponge and smudged it, giving himself that perfect edgy look. The earrings were already in, silver crosses dangling on each side of his face. Ironic really, considering he didn’t believe in God. The thick black silver studded collar was snuggly around his neck as was the matching cuff around his right wrist. He stood and grabbed his leather jacket, sliding it on and glancing into the full-length mirror he had been given in his dressing room. He was comfortable in this persona. The music had been a way for him to deal with his life. Writing down his anger, confusion, and loneliness was a way to get it out of him. It became bigger than him pretty quickly and he found that hiding behind rock stardom meant he didn’t have to answer any real questions about his true self. It worked. Except it kept him lonely and alone. He’d come to terms with spending the rest of his life that way. It was easier than imagining being real with someone. Who could ever love the real him anyway?

He smirked at his reflection as he laced up his biker boots. Time to bring the house down!

..

He was soaked in sweat but didn’t feel tired. In fact, he felt invigorated, like every time he finished a concert. Feeding off the audience was one of the biggest perks to his career. Someone handed him a towel and he wiped his face with it.

“Great show Saeran!” one of the concert coordinators told him. She held a tablet to her chest and had a handful of fans behind her. Five doe eyed girls and one shy looking boy. Well, now that he looked closer, he was definitely a man, close to his own age. He looked sheepish being with the teenaged groupies. “These are the VIP’s for tonight’s afterparty. Thought I’d introduce you before you change.”

“Nice! Great to meet you, I’m glad we’ll be hanging out tonight. Hope you have a good time. Congrats on winning the backstage passes.” He regurgitated. There wasn’t always an afterparty but there were some special guests, rich, who had paid for the whole thing, so he’d been pressed to oblige them with an appearance. He hated the politics of being famous, but he did love his fans. It was because of them that he could enjoy what he did. If it was up to him, he’d fill the party with fans and not rich entitled groupies. He knew he would spend the night fending off offers to ‘get to know each other better’ all night.

“Oh my GOD! It’s really you!”

“Wow! You’re so HOT!”

“Ahhh, my friends are never gonna believe this!”

The girls were just cookie cutter versions of every other girl he’d seen. He couldn’t blame them; it’s how they sold his image. The man looked embarrassed; he wouldn’t even look him in the eye. He took the chance to check him out. He appeared to be a tad shorter than himself, with blond hair and pink clips holding back his bangs. He wore one of his concert shirts and tight-fitting skinny jeans. His nails were painted alternating pink and black with the black ones having his band’s logo on it, a mint green eye. So he really was a fan. Cute too.

“Uh, well, like the lady said, I have to go get changed for the party, I’ll see you all there. And be sure to grab your swag bags before you leave, don’t let them rip you off there! There’s a CD with a snippet of some of our new songs.” He winked and walked off. There was a lot of oohing and ahhing as he left.

He took a quick shower and dressed in a ripped black T-shirt, black jeans and his biker boots, putting all his accessories back on and reapplying his eyeliner. Taking a deep breath, he turned and walked out to the convention center next to the arena. Of course he wasn’t alone, he had security that surrounded him and paparazzi snapping pics as he made his way to the party. They screamed questions at him that he didn’t answer, he smirked, the signature look the media had come to know him by. Surrounded by so many yet feeling so alone. Making it next door took longer than it should have because of the circus around him, but make it he did.

Once he was inside he was taken by the arm by the coordinator who had introduced him to the fans, he couldn’t remember her name but she seemed nice enough. At least she didn’t flirt with him like other women did and took her job seriously.

“You’re here, great, first you should go say hi to the Han family, they’re the ones footing the bill for this afterparty, then you can have a few minutes with the fans before talking to some reporters…”

“Whoah.” He stopped in his tracks and could swear she left skid marks with her heels she’d been going so fast. “I want more than just a few minutes with those fans, and who are all these people anyway?” He saw his bandmates and some of the roadies, but everyone else was a stranger.

“Nobody you need to worry about, uh, I’ll see what I can do with the schedule.” She seemed frazzled but clicked away on her tablet while heading off again. He assumed he should follow, so he did.

“Mr. Han, I appreciate you taking the time and effort for this function.” Saeran greeted the elderly man.

“Ah, of course of course, anything for my new bride!” he had his arm around a young woman who was clearly less than half his age. The rumors about C&R’s head were obviously true. Standing on his other side was a tall and elegant man who appeared to wish he was anywhere but here. He’d seen that face plastered on magazines of all sorts. The heir apparent, Director of C&R, Jumin Han. They nodded respectfully at each other, Saeran feeling sorry for the man and having to deal with his father’s escapades, but the old man seemed like a descent sort. After a few minutes of his ‘wife’ fawning all over him, making him feel uncomfortable, the coordinator pulled him away. He was thankful to her for saving him.

She escorted him towards a section in the back, past all the dancing and the loud music, that was closed off. The music was still loud but at least he could hear himself think. In the section the fans sat, eating and drinking snacks on the coffee table. They all stood up and rushed him. Well, the girls did, touching him and giggling. Where were their parents? They didn’t look old enough to be out. They sat him down and pressed against him. The blond man sat to the side in a chair and continued to sip his cola and eat the snacks, sneaking a look now and then. He wished he could just be alone with him and have a conversation. At least he wouldn’t try to crawl on his lap like these girls seemed to want to do. Well, maybe he wouldn’t mind if the blond tried that.

After about 30 minutes, which felt like a lifetime, the coordinator gathered up the girls and took them out. It was past midnight and he guessed he had been right about their age, couldn’t have minors out at all hours of the night. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It felt like they had leached some of his life force out and he was drained.

“I guess that happens all the time to you huh?”

Saeran sat up abruptly, how could he have forgotten about the blond?

“Sorry, I’ll go if you want to be alone.” He stood and Saeran panicked.

“NO!” he stood, banging his knee on the coffee table, sending him on his ass back on the sofa. He grabbed at the knee, eyes scrunched, “Ow ow ow…”

“Let me see.” Suddenly there was a presence by him as the blond sat beside him, his fingers touching his knee. Because of the ripped jeans, it was easy to see his skin in that area. “Doesn’t look so bad, at least you didn’t break the skin. You’ll have a hell of a bruise though.” The blond raised his gaze to Saeran and he finally got to see the full view. Wow, those eyes knocked him out, was that color even natural? Maybe he was wearing amethyst-colored lenses like what he himself wore. His face was kind, a soft pink flush growing across his cheeks and bridge of his nose. It was adorable.

“Ah, that was really stupid of me. But…I’m glad you didn’t leave. We didn’t even get a chance to chat.” Saeran tried to regain his coolness but found he couldn’t seem to be bothered to try and act in front of this man. “Uh, what’s your name?”

“Yoosung. Don’t have to ask yours I guess.” He smiled, lighting up the entire room.

“Yoosung…I like it.”

“Thanks. I…uh…like you. I mean…I…your music…I…I…like your music…and…uh…I”

Saeran laughed and waved off Yoosung’s explanation.

“So you’re a fan huh? And what…a doctor?” he asked, placing his foot on the ground gently, still rubbing his knee.

“Not quite. But I am going to medical school. And yes, a BIG fan!” his eyes got large, as did his smile. “Your songs spoke to me when I was at a really low point. I don’t know, it felt like you knew what I was going through and understood my pain.” The smile faltered as his thoughts went back to those days. Saeran reached out and placed his hand on Yoosung’s, yes, he knew what it was like to be in pain, he could see it in his eyes.

Their eyes met, an understanding passing between them.

[small-dick-energy-tm]

So one of my OC's is from the naruto verse right? And I made him the brother of Sakura. And I wanted to stick to a name that can be related to a tree and go along with his colouring. I decided Mango but didn't know the Japanese word for it. It's literally just Mangō according to Google.

But anyways I love my feral child, so here's some info on him!

He's the twin of Sakura, he's older by four hours. He absolutely loves his sister, and even though he's older he heavily looks up to her. Both literally and figuratively.

Both him and Sakura have the mokuton. However Mangō has a mutated version of it, he's unable to do normal wood style justus, but a kind with fungi. So he can't ya know, justu up some good ol' plants, but he can with mushrooms, mold, and all that wonderful jazz.

I headcannon not only Sakura being part uzumaki, but also something else (specifically with a clan/family where teeth are sharper than most, similar but not as pronounced as Hoshigaki teeth)

Sakura and Mangō's favorite thing to do is for Sakura to fling Mangō towards people/things, they started doing this when they learned the shunshin, and Iruka threw a pencil and replaced himself with it to show one of the helpful uses of it. It started as a joke, however it became one of their combo attacks later on. After Sakura yeets Mangō at someone, she'll replace him and land a hit, yes they know she can throw a kunai or something, however they both love people's reactions to it.

Mangō is autistic, and so smells, sounds, and bright lights can upset him, I based this off of myself, mainly because I like putting at least one thing about myself into my characters, it helps me connect with them and it makes it easier for me to write. Anyways, so he always wears a mask, tends to use his chakra on his ears to dampen what he hears, and he makes sure to let whoever he may be with that he needs a warning if they are going to use any bright justus. Unless he is on a mission, then he wears special goggles, that also doubles as glasses. (He has trouble seeing things far away)

He has pink, short hair, almost a buzz cut, that always looks like a mess somehow, and green eyes. He's a few inches shorter than Sakura, which she will and has tease him about.

He knows some medical ninjustu, just enough to be a med-nin on missions when needed, but he isn't outstanding at it. He does however love sealing, along with being able to study or research anything he can get his hands on (morally so) and his go to weapon is a multipurpose staff that's decked out in seals, Sakura made him the staff as a present for becoming genin, he gave her gloves with metal on the knuckles that are chakra conductive, he later put seals on both the staff and her gloves when they made chuunin.

On a mission he found a stall selling miscellaneous things, one of which was a hella sketchy looking scroll, asking about it, the stall owner said it was a summoning scroll he's been trying to be rid of, it was a rat summoning scroll, and it seemed no one was interested. Mangō, obviously was. Boy bought it in a heart beat.

He was on team seven, I know I know, the whole "extra member" thing, but I swear there's a reason, the twins are inseparable, and balance each other out, and trying to get them apart would be like if someone tried to take ramen from Naruto, or Akamaru from Kiba.

They told Iruka about the mokuton situation pretty early on, and he told them it'd be best to wait until they were genin to tell anyone, and to only tell their sensei first. Of course they didn't tell Kakashi until after a month or so, they wanted to properly haze him of course. He found out eventually because they finally got bored and decided the best way for him to know, was by very slowly in one day make mushrooms, moss, and flowers grow around where he just stepped, untill a quarter of the training field was full of it. At that point he noticed that they were giggling and definitely using chakra, then he saw them use it.

Anyways more to come, cause this post is getting way to long, lmao, thank you for reading!!

[thelittlesttimelord]

The Littlest Timelord: The Death of the Doctor Chapter 30

TITLE: The Littlest Timelord: The Death of the Doctor Chapter 30 PAIRING: No Pairing RATING: T CHAPTER: 30/? SUMMARY:  The Doctor’s death is looming on the horizon and Elise is growing every  day. What the Doctor doesn’t know is that he has 200 years to teach Elise all he knows. Amy, Rory, and River let Elise in on their secret,  because River knows she will keep it. What will Elise do when he’s gone?

[A/N - Chapter 30! God, can you believe it? Just a few more chapters till the end! Are you ready?]

After retrieving Joe, they went back to the restaurant. Joe was lying on a table while the Doctor scanned him.

Rita was making tea for everyone.

Howie and Rory were trying to find things to barricade the door with.

“If we can wedge a chair under the door handles, that should stop anything from getting in,” Rory said.

Rita walked over to the Doctor and Elise with mugs of tea.

“Thank you,” Elise said.

“What exactly happened to him?” Rita asked, gesturing to Joe.

“He died,” the Doctor told her.

“You are a medical doctor, aren't you? You haven't just got a degree in cheese-making or something.”

“No! Well, yes, both, actually. I mean, there is no cause. All his vital organs simply stopped, as if the simple spark of life, his loves and hates, his faiths and fears were just taken…” The Doctor sniffed his mug. “…and this is a cup of tea.”

Well what else would it be? Elise wanted to say something, but the Doctor clearly wasn’t having any of her attitude on this trip. In human years, Elise would be classified as a teenager. Is that why she felt angry or sad all the time? Hormones?

“Of course, I'm British, it's how we cope with trauma. That and tutting,” Rita said.

“But how did you make it?”

“All hotels should have a well stocked kitchen, even alien fake ones. I heard you talking when you arrived. Look, it's no more ridiculous than Howie's CIA theory, or mine.”

“Which is?”

“This is Jahannam.”

“You're a Muslim.”

“Don't be frightened.”

The Doctor laughed. “You think this is Hell.”

“The whole '80s hotel thing took me by surprise, though.”

“And all these fears and phobias wandering about, most are completely unconnected to us, so why are they still here?”

Rita sighed. “Maybe the cleaners have gone on strike.”

The Doctor chuckled. “I like you. You're a right clever clogs. But this isn't Hell, Rita.”

“You don't understand. I say that without fear. Jahannam will play its tricks, and there'll be times when I want to run and scream, but I've tried to live a good life, and that knowledge keeps me sane, despite the monsters and the bonkers rooms. Gibbis is an alien, isn't he?”

“Yeah. Sorry.”

“Okay. I'm going to file that under Freak Out About Later.”

“Doctor, look at this. I found it in a corridor, I completely forgot I had it,” Amy said, handing over the paper she found earlier.

The Doctor playfully smacked her on the head with it. “My name is Lucy Hayward and I'm the last one left. It took Luke first. It got him on his first day, almost as soon as we arrived. It's funny. You don't know what's going to be in your room until you see it, then you realize it could never have been anything else. I just saw mine. It was a gorilla from a book I'd read as a kid. My God, that thing used to terrify me. The gaps between my worships are getting shorter, like contractions. This is what happened to the others, and how lucky they were. It's all so clear now. I'm so happy. Praise him. Praise him.”

“Praise him,” Howie said.

Everyone’s heads turned towards him.

“What did you just say?” the Doctor asked.

“Nothing. Praise him!”

“This is what happened to Joe!” Gibbis shrieked.

“God, it's going to come for me now,” Howie moaned.

“You'll lead it right here.”

“I won't leave you. I promise you. You have my word on that,” the Doctor reassured him.

“I don't want to get eaten.”

“Calm down,” Amy said.

“He's going to lead the creature right here!” Gibbis yelled.

Elise really wanted to hit him to get him to shut up.

The Doctor pulled out his screwdriver. It whirred loudly and everyone went quiet. “Thank you.”

“Don't you see? He'll lead it right here,” Gibbis said.

“What do you suggest?” Rita asked.

“Look, whatever it is out there, it's obviously chosen Howard as its next course. Now, tragic though that is, this is no time for sentiment. I'm saying if it were to find him, it may be satisfied and let the rest of us go. All I want to do is go home and be conquered and oppressed. Is that too much to ask?!”

Elise opened her mouth to go off on Gibbis, but was cut off by Rita.

“It's okay. I'll stay with Howie. You take the others and go.”

“No. We stay together,” the Doctor said. The Doctor walked over to Gibbis. “Your civilization is one of the oldest in the galaxy. Now I see why. Your cowardice isn't quaint, it's sly, aggressive. Its how that gene of gutlessness has survived while so many others have perished. Well, not today. No one else dies today. Right?”

Gibbis nodded.

“Brilliant. Howie, any second, it's going to possess you again. When it does, I'm going to ask you some questions. Please try to answer them.”

They all sat down at a table, except Elise. She was too restless, so she settled for standing behind her father.

“I hope my mum's all right, she's going to be w-worried,” Howie said. Something came over him.

“Howie?” the Doctor asked.

Howie started smiling.

“Howie. Howie, you're next. We're all dead jealous. So, tell us. How do we get a piece of the action? Why isn't he possessing all of us?”

Howie laughed. “You guys have got all these distractions, all these obstacles. It'd be so much easier if you just let it go, you know? Clear the path.”

“You want it to find you even though you know what it's going to do?” Amy asked.

“Are you kidding? He's going to kill us all. How cool is that?”

They all got up, leaving Howie at the table by himself.

“It's as I thought. It feeds on fear. Everything, the rooms, Lucy's note, even the pictures in reception, has been put here to frighten us. So we have to resist it. Do whatever you have to. Cross your fingers, say a prayer, think of a basket of kittens, but do not give in to the fear,” the Doctor told them.

“Okay, but what are we actually going to do?” Amy asked.

“We're going to catch ourselves a monster.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They managed to trap the monster, which of course happened to be a Minotaur, in the spa.

“Quite fitting isn’t it? Labyrinth of a hotel?” Elise said, “Makes sense.”

“Nothing personal. I just think we should take things slowly. Get to know each other. You take people's most primal fears and pop it in a room. A tailor-made hell, just for them. Why?” the Doctor asked.

The Minotaur snarled at them.

“Did you say they take? Ah, what is that word? The guard? No, the warden? This is a prison.” The Doctor turned and smiled at Elise. “My clever girl.”

Elise returned the smile.

“So what are we, cell mates? Lunch?”

The Minotaur growled.

“We are not ripe. This is what Joe said, that we weren't ready.”

They stepped out of the shadows and faced him.

“So, what, what, you make us ready. You what? Replace? Replace what, fear? You have lived so long even your name is lost. You want this to stop. Because you are just instinct. Then tell me. Tell me how to fight you.”

Elise’s eyes filled with tears as her hearts broke for the Minotaur. He didn’t want to do this anymore. He wanted it to be over. She knew how he felt.

“My master, my lord. I'm here! Oh! Bring me death.”

“That’s Howie,” Elise said.

“No, no, no, no, no!”

The Minotaur put it’s large fist through the glass separating them.

“Rory, watch out!” the Doctor yelled.

Amy and Rita burst in.

“Stay back!”

The Minotaur smashed the glass and knocked Rory down.

Elise rushed to side. “Rory?” she asked.

“Where'd he go?” the Doctor asked Rory.

“Somebody hit me,” Rory said, “Was it Amy?”

The Doctor got up and ran down the hallway.

“Rory, are you all right?” Rita asked him.

“We should find the Doctor,” Amy said. She stood up and walked towards room 7. She opened the door.

Rita pulled her back and shut it.

Amy, Rory, Elise, and Rita met back up with the Doctor, who had already found Howie dead. They took Howie’s body and laid it out next to Joe’s in the restaurant.

Amy placed the goldfish on a side table in the reception area.

The Doctor walked past Elise and grabbed her arm.

“Where are we going? Why aren’t the others coming?” she asked.

“Because. We’re going to go find our rooms.”

Elise laughed sarcastically. “Okay, you’ve completely lost your mind.”

“C’mon. Don’t you want to know?” The Doctor smiled when he saw the curiosity in her eyes.

As they ventured through the hallway, they could hear whispers.

Elise walked past a door with a number 10 on it. It was calling to her to open it.

Elise looked at her father and he nodded. She opened the door and saw herself standing there. Over the bodies of everyone she cared about.

Her father. Both incarnations of him. Amy. Rory. River. Outside the window, Gallifrey was burning.

She stumbled back into her father’s arms as she let out a shuddering breath. She turned and buried her face in his neck.

“Shhh”, he cooed, as she stroked her hair.

He understood her greatest fear now. Being completely alone. Just like she had been in the last days of the Time War. Before he killed them all.

“Hey”, he said, pulling her away from him. He cupped her face in his hands as tears streamed down from her blue eyes. “I’m not gonna let that happen. Do you hear me?” he told her.

Elise nodded and he placed a kiss on her forehead. She wiped her eyes and sniffled. “Did…did you find your room?” she asked.

He nodded and gestured to room 11.

Elise let out a watery laugh. “Of course.”

He opened the door, just enough to peak, before closing it and putting a Do Not Disturb sign on the doorknob. “C’mon. We need to find the security room.

[purplesurveys]

1037

survey by joybucket

Do you have a vlog? No, but I’ve always thought it would be fun to start and maintain one. Just never got around to it because it’s so much work, from conceptualizing to shooting to editing; and idk if my humor will translate to the camera. Plus I hate being shot in public, so it would never work out for me.

If not, have you ever considered starting a vlog? Yeah, a lot of times. It just looks like such a therapeutic outlet that I can sink my teeth into. Who knows, if I ever gain more confidence in the future I may just try making a video or two.

Did you go to AM or PM kindergarten? AM. As much as I hated waking up early from ages 4-6, it was nice to be home by noon and it also made for good training for the rest of my years in school.

What are your favorite youtube channels to watch? Good Mythical Morning, several wrestling-themed channels for their weekly lists, and KBS for their Return of Superman clips. I have a lot of other subscriptions, but those are the main ones I’ve been tuning into lately.

Which relative(s) do you look the most like? I get my mom the most, but sometimes I’ll be told I look like my dad as well.

Have you ever watched a live birth video? I don’t think so.

Have you ever given birth? Definitely not.

Do you remember when the Internet was a new thing? That wouldn’t be possible as I wasn’t born yet and by the time that I was, the internet had already been around for a few years.

Do you remember Y2K? I was alive when it happened but barely conscious, so no. I was only 2.

How old were you when the year changed to 2000? I was 1, turning 2 that year.

What was your favorite childhood vacation? We didn’t have lots of vacations when I was a kid, because for most of the 2000s my parents were still busy saving up and climbing up their respective ladders at work. We only started to regularly go on vacations by the time I was around 11, when finances started to get easier to handle. That said, as a kid I really loved the time my parents would bring us to the local water park on weekends.

Have you ever wished you were born the opposite gender? As a teenager when hating pink and general girliness was cool, probably. I don’t wish for it now.

What's your birth order: oldest, middle, or youngest? I’m the eldest.

Do you fit the stereotype for whatever birth order you are? Idk what kind of stereotype you’re looking for, tbh. As much as I don’t really like tooting my own horn, I’ve heard firstborns are usually more intelligent than their younger siblings and I would attest to at least that lol

Have you ever worn overalls? Yup, though they aren’t the denim kind.

If you're a girl, how old were you when you started your period? I had just turned 10. I thought I was going to get it while I was still 9 (the signs had been showing for a while by then), but it ultimately came a month after my 10th birthday. Still, I was one of the rare cases in my family who had it at a lot younger.

Do you get cramps? I used to get leg cramps all the goddamn time as a kid, and they always came in the middle of the night. I don’t get them or any kind of cramps anymore, thankfully; and the only time I do is on my fingers when I don’t hold my chopsticks properly.

Is your mom mentally stable? I think there are definitely some things therapy could fix.

Is your dad a complete jerk to you? No, you’re referring to the other parent.

Where do you want to go on vacation next? Oh my godddddd, Thailand plz.

What is one place you want to visit before you die? Wrestlemania.

Has anyone ever committed suicide in your town, that you know of? A neighbor’s kid passed away a few months ago, but I didn’t know them.

What's your favorite type of crackers? Ritz Bits are where it’s at.

What's your favorite spice? Cumin.

Are you sensitive? Yeah. I’m a little soft and I tend to take a lot of things personally.

Are you intuitive? It wouldn’t be the first word I’d use to describe myself, but I guess I have my moments.

Are you spiritual? No.

Do you wish your life were easier? Um, if it was a legitimate option then yeah obviously.

What color hair did your first crush have? Black.

What was the name of your first crush? Andi.

Did you ever play on Mamamedia.com? I don’t think I’ve heard of that site. If we’re talking of websites that host flash games or whatever it is they’re called, I always hung out on Y8 haha.

Do you remember your first email address? I didn’t anymore before encountering this, but this question made me automatically rack my brain and now I do remember and now I’m wincing as well. 

Did you name your lego characters? I didn’t make any characters, I think. I just liked making towers.

What was/is your high school's mascot? Both my schools don’t have mascots.

What is/was your favorite class in high school? All the history classes we had to take under the social sciences umbrella; it was Philippine history for freshman year, Asian history for sophomore year; world history in junior year; and then unfortunately we made the switch to basic economics for senior year which was like ???? Why couldn’t we have gone all the way with history? Economics ended up being super boring lol.

Is college an adventure? It really was. I grew and learned so much in it and I couldn’t have spent the last four years in a better place and a better school.

Do you take medication for anxiety or depression? No.

If so, does it work? Does it help you? Or does it make you feel worse?

If applicable, what form of birth control do you use?

Who is your favorite cousin? My eldest cousin on my mom’s side, who pretty much feels like my older brother and not a cousin at this point.

Do you look your age? According to most, no. I look a little younger than 22.

What's your favorite flavor of frosting? Chocolateeeeeeee.

Do you like toe socks? I’ve never had to wear those before so I don’t have an opinion.

Muffins or cupcakes? Cupcakes.

Have you ever had a bag stolen? I’ve had a wallet stolen, so kinda.

How old were you when you got your first phone? I was technically still 6 because I had an advanced celebration, but it was for my 7th birthday.

Are you ready for summer?!?! Now that I think about it I do want to go back to summer, just because it was such a vastly different – and a lot happier – time...

Is winter your favorite season? It probably would be if we had it.

How many people do you know who've said winter is their favorite season? Zero.

Are you unique in any way? I think everyone is.

Do you have any hidden talents? if there are any left, I’m not aware of them yet.

Has anyone said you and your mom look like sisters? Just about everyone, all the time.

Who was your best friend in high school? Gabie for the most part, but Angela was there as well.

What book or movie gave you nightmares as a child? Commercials creeped me out as a child, not a certain book or movie.

What song makes you cry? Usually it’s 26 by Paramore, but not always.

Does anyone know who your first crush was besides you? Yeah, I’ve told a couple of people.

How many teachers have you had crushes on? I think around three or four. Possibly more, but I don’t remember all too well as I’ve since discarded a lot of memories from my old school.

Did you make your Barbie dolls get crushes on each other? Nah. I mostly stripped them of their clothes and broke their arms and legs, lol.

Did your Barbie dolls go on dates? Nope. I didn’t have enough dolls to do that, anyway. It wasn’t my toy of choice.

How old were you when you had your first kiss? I was 16.

Do you like church? Hell no.

Do you have scars from self-harm? You’d only be able to make them out if you knew I self-harmed, but I think they’re almost unrecognizable at this point.

Do you have cellulite? It’s only present if I tightly twist my skin.

How old were you when you started getting zits? Not sure, somewhere in the middle of high school. I’ve never had lasting problems with acne though; I only ever get one or two at a time and it happens like, once a year.

Did your hair change at all when you went through puberty? Aside from hair growing in places? No, not really. It stayed the same.

Are you taller, shorter, or the same height as your mom? I’m a tad bit shorter, though for a time it seemed as if my growth spurt would lead me to overtake her.

Would you ever consider adopting a child? It’s not a personal choice of mine, but there could very much be situations in the far future where I would consider doing so. I’m not shutting that possibility down.

Who was your first roommate? I’ve never had one; I haven’t tried living on my own yet.

Have you ever had a teacher who was rude? So many.

Is your mom paranoid? Very much so. She shows some signs of OCD and her paranoia is reflected through that. 

Do you trim your own hair? Not my hair, but I do this with my bangs.

Did your mom read you bedtime stories as a child? No. That’s one of the things I’ll change if I myself become a mom.

What are all the things you remember being for Halloween? Pirate, Tinkerbell, Daria, AJ Lee, Dora the Explorer, Sofie.

What was the name of the first pet that you loved? My first goldfish.

Did you have your own room as a child? Not until I was 10.

What color was your nursery? I wasn’t put in one. I shared a room with my parents and siblings until I was 10.

Did your parents know your gender before you were born? I think they waited it out until a few weeks before I was born.

What is your name (first and middle)? My first name is Robyn and my second is Isabelle; I don’t need to share my middle name.

What would you have been named if you had been born the opposite gender? They never thought about it, which is kinda disappointing because I do want to know what my other name could’ve been.

Do you like your name? I’ve ended up doing so, yes.

What would you name your children? I haven’t cemented decisions that far ahead. I have ideas for names, like Olivia, but they’re nothing absolute. 

Do you exercise regularly? Nope.

Do you have a healthy BMI? No, I’ve always been a little underweight.

What is your favorite season? Wet/rainy.

Do you look like your mom? This is like the third time I’ve answered this within just this survey lol, yes I do.

What is the origin of your last name? Spanish/Portuguese.

What is the meaning of your first name? I’ve heard it means ‘fame.’ I just don’t feel like checking.

What month were you born in? April.

Do you share a birthday with anyone in your family? Nope. But my sister and one of my cousins share the same birthday, right down to the year.

Do you have a sweet tooth? Eh, it comes out every now and then but it’s not all the time. I definitely enjoy savory more.

What photo editing software do you use? None lol, photo editing is one of my Achilles’ heels.

Where do you buy most of your clothes? Tianggeeeeeeeees.

[frizz22]

Hi, I was wondering if you could write a fic where Hilda is very pregnant and her water breaks during an important coven meeting at the church of night and Zelda is helping her as the midwife and Faustus is somehow magically nice because it’s a boy. Lol thanks.

Thanks for the prompt, sorry for the wait. Enjoy! Read on ao3

She’d had some light cramping throughout the day. Nothing severe, just, uncomfortable. Hilda had been a midwife long enough to know Braxton Hicks contractions when they happened. Besides, she still had another two weeks until she was due, this was just the little darling getting settled.

Placing a hand on her stomach, Hilda looked down at the babe. “You need to calm down, love, mum’s got an important coven meeting she’s going to and she can’t have you causing these cramps, you understand?” Something hit her hand, whether it was a knee or elbow Hilda wasn’t sure, but she grunted softly at the jab. “Oh, so you’re going to be a little heaven raiser like your aunt and cousins, is that it?” 

Just then Zelda popped her head into the room. “Hilda are you ready? We need to leave now if we’re driving.”

Rubbing a hand over her swollen stomach, Hilda nodded. “Coming, Zelds. Little Edward is just feeling especially feisty this afternoon.”

The mention of her nephew brought a smile to Zelda’s face. “Ahh, well he must realize it’s almost time to join us. But right now, it is time for us to join the coven meeting. We’re discussing the celebrations for Witch Epiphany, come.”

Nodding, Hilda followed her sister out of the house, grimacing every once in a while at the cramps.

~~~~~~~~~~

Halfway through the meeting Hilda was seriously beginning to doubt her previous notion that these were Braxton Hicks contractions. Shifting to try and get more comfortable in her seat, when she felt a slight pop and suddenly her skirt was sodden as was the cushion of the chair underneath her.

“Oh. Oh my…” Zelda glanced at her, brow furrowing at her soft exclamation. Turning as calmly as she could, Hilda licked her lips. “I, Zelds, my water just broke.” She informed her sister with a whisper.

Eyes going wide, Zelda lifted the table cloth partially hiding Hilda’s lap and her quiet gasp was an additional confirmation to what Hilda already knew… the baby was coming now.

Standing, Zelda started to assist Hilda up, everyone’s eyes turning to them.

Father Blackwood petered off, unsure what was happening. “Sister Zelda and Sister Hilda, may I ask why you are disturbing—"

“Her water just broke, Faustus.” Zelda cut in, already ushering Hilda into one of the adjoining rooms.

“Oh, oh, well,” he adjusted his collar, like most warlocks he was uncomfortable with the notion of childbirth, finding it messy, loud and a bit of a mystery. “Take her to the academy then, the infernal infirmary will have all the supplies you need.”

Thankfully, Zelda answered for her, Hilda too focused on breathing through a contraction to form words. “Too late, if her water’s broken, I can’t teleport her. Once a witch’s water breaks the babe comes within the hour if not sooner. The magical stress of a teleportation could cause her to give birth right then, between destinations. The results would be disastrous and tragic.”

Taken aback, Faustus blinked and cleared his throat. “Alright. Then take the car, you surely don’t need to deliver the child in one of the rooms here…”

A groan pain escaped Hilda, and it was all she could do not to double over as the stronger contraction hit.

Checking her watch to see how closely this contraction was to the last, Zelda shook her head. “And have the child be born in the back seat of a car on the side of the road far from any assistance? I think not.” Zelda huffed and finished leading Hilda into one of the side rooms. “Besides, do you really want a child of the Path of Night to be born in the middle of nowhere?” She arched a brow and Faustus swallowed hard.

“No, of course not.” He finally rounded the table to help escort Hilda into one of the side rooms. “Who can I send in to help?” He asked, agitatedly smoothing his robes, once they were out of the main conference room.

Zelda couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, you’re not staying?” He blanched at the suggestion. “I’m kidding, Faustus. Send Mildred in if you can spare her.”

“Mildred?” He repeated skeptically.

Arching a brow at his doubt of her judgement, Zelda transformed one of the chairs in the room into a bed and helped her sister lay down. “Yes. She’s levelheaded year-round except when the Feast of Feast occurs. I’ll need her steady hands.” Placing her fingers on Hilda’s wrist to check her pulse, Zelda timed it. Pressing her lips together, she turned back to Faustus. “Get me towels and hot water, as well.” She instructed, Faustus nodded and practically ran away—apparently being in the same room as a witch giving birth was one of the few things that frightened their high priest.  

Another groan escaped Hilda recapturing Zelda’s attention. Gently wiping her sister’s brow, Zelda ran a few diagnostic spells. “Won’t be long, will it?” Hilda asked, fists unclenching as the contraction passed.

“No,” Zelda soothed, urging Hilda to lay back so she could check her sister’s progress. “Little Edward will be with us soon.” Just then Mildred came in, sleeved already rolled up and looking at Zelda expectantly. Not wasting time with niceties, Zelda turned to the witch. “Teleport to my house and get my medical kit, it’s just inside the front door.” Mildred nodded and winked out of sight. “I should have brought it with me, so stupid when you’re this close. I’m sorry Hildie.”

Between pants, Hilda shook her head. “Little demon wasn’t supposed to come for two weeks, Zelds, not your fault.”

Faustus came back then with the other supplies. And though Zelda had angled the newly transformed bed away from the door to preserve her sister’s modesty, Faustus averted his eyes—looking everywhere but at them. “I’m just, going to,” he set the supplies down and waved a hand, magic filtering into air; Zelda recognizing a silencing spell. “Just in case, so the sound doesn’t, doesn’t filter down the hall and—"

“Yes, yes, very good Faustus. You can leave.” Zelda dismissed him with barely a glance; though from the glimpse she had caught confirmed that she’d never seen the high priest move so fast. Huffing in amusement, Zelda lifted her gaze to Hilda’s face from her place at the end of the bed. “How are you feeling?”

Before Hilda could reply, Mildred reappeared. “Here’s the kit. And your nephew also gave me this to bring.” She handed over a chain of charms.

Hilda grabbed it, more relaxed now than she’d been before. “Praise Satan,” she grunted, eyes squeezing shut at another contraction. “I worked on this for months, would hate for all the work to have been for nothing.”

A soft smile touched Zelda’s lips as Hilda ran the chain through her hands. It contained everything from good luck charms, wards against evil spirits to overall protection charms. A bit superstitious, but each expecting mother had her own coping methods, so Zelda said nothing when it came to her sister’s.

Instead, she beckoned Mildred over and the two of them got to work mixing potions to make the labor shorter, more bearable and to ease the process of the babe coming out. Once these potions were administered the labor went relatively smooth.

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

Twenty minutes later a baby’s cries filled the room.

“A boy. Just as your spells predicted Sister Zelda.” Mildred murmured, carefully wrapping the babe in a blanket and handing him to Hilda for skin-to-skin contact while Zelda finished up below. “Congratulations, Sister Hilda, what will you name him?”

Voice thick with emotion, Hilda beamed. “Eddie. Well,” she chuckled and ran a finger lightly across the boy’s head, “Edward Paul Thornton. One name after my brother and one after Cerb’s father.” She lifted her eyes from the boy to look at Zelda who was trying to blink back her tears when suddenly Hilda’s eyes went wide. “Zelda… we have to tell Cee! I can’t, I can’t believe, I didn’t think—"

Huffing in tired amusement, Zelda cast a few spells to get rid of the afterbirth and all the dirty towels and turned to wash her hands and forearms in the sink. “Mildred,” she turned to the witch, though she was still scrubbing her hands, “I have one more favor to ask of you.” When the witch nodded, Zelda shifted to rest her hip on the sink, shutting off the water and drying her hands. “Will you kindly, and discreetly, go get the mortal-demon hybrid Cerberus in town? He’s at the store called Dr. Cerberus’ Books.”

Mildred eyed them a moment and then nodded, teleporting away once more.

She started to pack her medical kit back up, one eye on the babe and Hilda, ensuring they were alright. “Well, you can say one thing about Mildred, she knows how to hold her tongue.” Zelda remarked, screwing lids back onto the jars with the potions and stowing them away.

Ignoring her observation, Hilda shook her head. “Why do you always emphasize that Cerberus is possessed by a demon?” She groused, eyes still on the babe in her arms.

Zelda rounded the table and smoothed her sister’s hair back. “Because it makes it easier for the coven to accept him than if he were just mortal.” She informed her, gently tracing a finger across the babe’s brow.

Unable to argue, Hilda muttered something under her breath and then lifted her eyes to Zelda. “Thank you, Zelds. For being my midwife. I don’t know how I’d have done this without you.”

Waving a hand, Zelda squeezed her sister’s shoulder. “Nonsense. You would have just as excellently regardless of my involvement. Though I am pleased that you asked me to help.” She hesitated a moment and then sniffled. “I’m proud of you. Mom, Dad, Thomas and Edward would be proud of you too, Hildegard. I wish they could see this, you being a mother.”

Tears sprang to Hilda’s eyes and she covered Zelda’s hand with hers. “Me too. But you’re here and—” Before Hilda could say something that would have likely had Zelda sobbing, Mildred reappeared with a clearly disoriented Cerberus clinging to her arm.

Smiling, Zelda led him to a chair next to the bed, knowing teleportation was still difficult on mortal bodies even with a demon inside. “Congratulations, Cerberus, your and Hilda’s son is perfectly healthy.” The man didn’t sit right away, as Zelda expected, instead he turned and engulfed Zelda in a bear hug, thanking her for keeping his loved ones safe before turning to his wife and child.

Taken off guard, Zelda cleared her throat and directed Mildred out of the room, wanting to give the new family some time to themselves. Shutting the door behind her, Zelda thanked the witch for her assistance.

As Mildred walked off, Faustus appeared around the corner. Surprised, Zelda leaned against the wall next to the door. “You still here? The coven meeting must have ended soon after we made our exit.”

Absently nodded, Faustus came to a stop in front of her. “It did. With the three of you missing and most of the details ironed it, it made no sense to continue. How is everyone doing?” He asked, indicating to the door behind her.

“Very well, mother and babe are perfectly healthy. The hybrid my sister married is in there now.” She added to deter Faustus from asking to see the babe, though he didn’t seem to have much of an inclination to do so.

Rubbing his chin, Faustus leaned on the wall next to her. “You ever think about doing it?”

Confused, Zelda furrowed her brow. “Doing what?”

A small smile appeared on his lips. “Marriage, kids.”

Now her eyebrows went up, along with her pulse. “Faustus, what are you…”

His hand brushed hers, the spark the touch elicited skittering along her skin and up her arm, making her shudder—a response that didn’t go unnoticed by Faustus. “Just, just testing the waters.” He murmured evasively, smiling at her more fully now. “Congratulations, Zelda. Another babe born safely, and so your record of never losing a child remains intact.”

And before she could turn the conversation back to what he called ‘testing the waters’, Faustus disappeared. Biting her lip to contain a smile and to try and temper the excitement his words had caused; Zelda shook herself and went to find a mirror so she could call Ambrose and Sabrina and tell them they had a new cousin.

[everyonesawhoregrace]

The Good Side

Part 4

tag: @wefracturedmotivation  @reyloshipper-starwars    ok i keep on trying to add the other tags but it isn’t working so i will private message each time i post to whoever wants me to. x 

read 3 here

read 2 here

read 1 here

enjoy xx

The following day was expected to go easier as the last few. My mind was still racing at the fact that I got an apology out of Tommy fucking Shelby. Magic is real, and in the palms of my hands clearly.

I went home with the thought of him, thinking about silly things like his parents and his family life. The wedding ring meant he was married which made me think of his lady. I got to imagining the life of Tommy. Pictured everything a certain way without my actually knowing a single thing about him.

On my way to work, I felt a bit off. A little nervous than before, and it was an emotion I can only describe as the sign of me knowing I’m going to see Tommy soon.

I was excited. Shy. Nervous.

All the things I would normally feel, had I been crushing on someone. Was I crushing on Tommy? I don’t bloody know. Scratch that, I do fucking know. The answer was yes.

He has eyes the colour of the sky on a summers day. The face of a God who came straight from heaven. The voice is a man who can scoop me up into his arms.

I could almost hear my nagging subconscious, he choked you, with intentions of killing you. How can you be interested an a woman beater?

All questions I should ask myself. But as I swept mascara through my lashes and put on heels, was I thinking about that? Fuck no.

“Good morning Alene,” the warden Grant says to me. He smirks, blushing at me. He’s a little red man with a bald head. A bastard who tries to glance under nearly every woman’s skirts. “You look ravishing.”

“God.” I roll my eyes. “Can’t a woman wear heels and a little blusher without being ravishing?”

He laughs. “It’s just that usually you look quite dead.”

I get it, I’m being an arsehole. I deserved that.

“Can I help you with anything?” I ask, pushing my things into my little locker. I look down at Grant, who clears his throat.

“Yes actually,” he licks his lips. “A gentleman is here from the church. A member called father Hughes.”

“Okay?” I close my locker. “What’s that got to do with me?”

“Well he asked for you specifically. I assumed maybe you two were acquainted.”

“Acquainted?” I almost laugh seeing as I haven’t been to church in over twenty years. Never once picked up a Bible either. 

“Yes. He said he attending your wedding.” Grant looks at me as if I am some sort of mad woman, he’s almost certain this person attended my wedding when I know he didn’t. 

I turn and stare at Grant. My wedding that happened nearly ten years ago? The same wedding that only a handful of close family and friends were invited to? I almost laugh, that’s impossible. 

A voice is sounded from afar and before I can even turn my head does Grant smile widely and spin me around to face the person. “There he is, father Hughes, I found her.” Grant, in his cunning ways disappears in the back, leaving Hughes and I alone. 

Only then do I begin to imagine this man as the perpetrator who hurt Thomas in such a way. 

“Hello.” He says, extending a hand. 

I am hesitant at first, his smirk alone is something that makes me worried. Not taking his hand, I look up into his lifeless eyes, “You told Grant you know me?” I tilt my head, “I don’t recall us ever meeting.” 

“Perhaps you can allow me the privilege of rejogging your memory.” He mentions the hallway. “Lets walk, shall we?”

Not denying him, and knowing I must make my rounds soon. I take my medical kit and head out, with him following close behind. 

“I’m sorry to hear about your ex husband.” He tells me, hands behind his back as he walks beside me. 

I notice that we are heading downstairs, he seem to know exactly where we are going, which makes me question his intentions. Downstairs is of course where Tommy is. 

I keep my cool, despite having a meltdown. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

He scoffs. “Come on now Alene,” He has his head up, confidently taking strides beside me. “Your husband who you seemingly loved, gave up on your marriage the moment he found out you couldn’t do your job as a woman.” He murmurs, revealing only what my immediate family know of. He leans in, “A woman who cannot reproduce is everything but woman, isn’t that right?” 

I stop the moment he stands before the doors of Tommy’s room. I face him, spinning around so that we are literally face to face, and he is not able to wither himself into Tommy’s room. My face burns, I want to crawl into a ball and hide away from the truth. But how can I? 

You’ve got more to give, that’s what my sister said when she got news that I was unable to reproduce a child of my own. The love my former husband and I had for each other was no match for the true love he had of wanting a child someday. Heartbreaking really, it was an ordeal that broke us. 

“How do you know this about me?” I ask, looking up at him. “Who did you have to manipulate in order to find that out?” 

He smirks, “Your secrets are nothing in a holy house such as the church. As a matter of fact,” He puts his hand out, and with the back of his hand, he runs it over my cheek. I pull back, denying him. “Your mum was not a hard lady to confess. She practically showed up in confessional every day. She told me about your father, and how much he hit her. Told me that you took a liking to him. Daddy’s girl. While you sister preferred the company of your mother.” He nods, as if to confirm everything. 

My face gives it all away, mums always been an avid and devoted Christian woman, she’s always praised Jesus, despite the many difficulties he’s brought to her life. An abusive husband who ended up in jail at least for half of his life. And then two snotty daughters, one who hated her - me, and one who loved her endlessly - my younger sister Gabby. I take a step back, hitting my back against the metal bars that protect us from Tommy. 

“My mother only has one weak spot, and thats from you no good, lying Christians who feel superior to the innocent and feebleminded.” I hiss, “You used her weakness to your advantage, but let me tell you something Father. I know just as much about you as you know about me. These underlying details of molestation and sexual assault that goes on behind closed doors of the churches. And although I cannot bare children, something tells me I won’t go to hell for it.” I reveal, looking into his eyes. “But you might, for knowing the things you know. And I’m not saying you partaking in such horrendous crimes against children but, if you do, I hope you die slow and painfully.” 

He frowns so deeply and shaken, I think he might hit me, Hughes stares down at me. “You’re stronger than your mum, you should be proud of that.” He says, nodding once. “Perhaps thats why, I heard there is a man here who you’ve been tending to.”  As I stand there looking clueless of the fact that Father Hughes could potentially be the man Tommy was warning me about all along. “A man named Tommy Shelby.” 

“I don’t know who that is.” I reveal, trying to keep my calm. My medical kit is hooked around my fingers. I want to throw it at him, and run away. I press it close against me, creating a divider between myself and Hughes. 

“No?” He smiles. “You’re not lying to a man of God, are you?” 

“Fuck God.” I snicker, rolling my eyes. “And fuck you, you can shove all of that exploitation and trickery up your arse for all I care.” 

Hughes gets uptight, upset, he puts his hands up but I am too quick for him to touch me in any sort of way.

“Don’t you dare put your fucking hands on me!” I snap, not too sure what I plan on doing with my hands in a knotted fist. “I swear, I’ll scream.” 

Again, this amuses him. “Scream! Oh the inmates would love that I’m sure. A beautiful young lady like yourself crying out, it’ll only arouse the beasts.” 

Shaking my head, I look up at him and sigh. “Hughes, please, your being quite ridiculous and I have work to attend to-” I try to walk around him, but he blocks my body from moving. 

“Tell me where Tommy is.” His chest puffs out. 

“Who the hell is Tommy?!” I lie, just before he lunges at me.

Of course, me being thinner, shorter, and much more equipped of my surroundings, do I maneuver myself perfectly so that I duck under his arms and around him. I am quick to spin around but the moment I do, my cheek comes right in contact with the back of his hand. A slap to the cheek that nearly makes me sink the floor, my medical kit breaks open, and the first thing I set my eyes on, I reach for. A pair of scissors, harmless really unless I angle it right into his artery, killing him. But Hughes is on his feet and pushes his foot into my flattened hand, I cry out, looking up at him for mercy but he leans down and covers my mouth with his hand. That smirk embeds itself into my brain, like a cancer that won’t go away. 

“Listen ‘ere girl, you think you’re protecting the lad...”

My eyes widen at the figure behind Hughes, Tommy stands behind the bars, looking at me as if I’m a schoolchild whose gotten hurt. He pities me. I look back at Hughes, making sure to keep his attention on me. I swallow, tears in my eyes. 

“This’ll only backfire and if I find him somewhere in this prison,” Hughes looks up and around before bringing his gaze back down to mine. “I promise you, Alene, I will break each one of your precious fingers and you’ll be nothing .” Hughes warns me. “Do you understand?” 

I nod, yelping like a dog the moment he pushes down on my fingers before finally letting go and I fall into a fetal position. I suck in a breath, grinding my teeth together as my eyes water. Pain pulses through my fingers, I can see my middle finger and ring finger just oozing of blood, I try to move my pinky, but I cant. I’m bent too far, I take my wrist with my other hand, looking at my fingers to conclude that I’ll be out of work for days. Hughes walks away from me, and I let out a loud scream filled with regret, sadness, anger, desperation, I don’t know, but as I look down at my semi-squished fingers do I hear the bars slide open and his feet in my eyesight. 

I am lifted up into his arms, and I weakly open my eyes to see Thomas’s blue eyes glisten. He stares down at me, murmuring something, but I can only hear a buzzing in my ear. I’m in shock, I know this, but as the tears roll down my cheeks do I stare at his moving lips. 

I got you, I’ve got you. You’re okay. You’re going to be fine. I’ve got you, Alene. 

[oblio-k]

Another USS Nobility fic, this time ft. my OC Dr. Yek, a parasitoid who functions as the CMO’s assistant. Molly is in this one for a brief moment but Yek doesn’t know her name yet. I’m also writing a version of this from Molly’s perspective, the ‘first’ fic in the series

Also on AO3

Reunion

It’d been so cute to see the Cardassian try to repeat his full name, try to mimic all the clicks and trills and whistles. He couldn’t get the humming vibration right, so he’d purred as he said his name, which only made him lose his focus. After a few mostly failed attempts, he’d given up and asked if he went by a nickname.

“How can you be a good doctor if your patients can’t even say your name?”

He’d laughed, and pressed two of his hands to the Cardassian’s, using his other two to push his chest harder against the mattress. Everything about him had been fascinating, perfect, and he’d finally understood what his peers back home had meant by finding the one, the perfect host.

Yek had taken the last syllable of his name, mangled by his host’s reptilian tongue, and decided to go by that. He’d cherished the way his perfect host said his name, and then felt a stab of loneliness whenever he’d heard it after they’d gone their separate ways. He had to go to Denobulan medical school to pursue his career, and his host couldn’t follow him there, his people’s political relations with the Federation shaky at best.

So the Cardassian had taken their son and gone to study at a university in a different territory entirely.

And Yek had drifted off to Denobula to study other species’ medicines, always avoiding questions about his people’s technology, their culture and traditions, the location of and details about his homeworld. He’d befriended a few doctors and taken trips to other Federation worlds, learning all he could to distract himself from how much he missed his host.

When Starfleet issued a notice that they were running the medical exchange again, Yek quickly applied. A three year mission of exploration was bound to distract him, and perhaps he would find what he was looking for.

A home for his perfect host and their son.

Cardassia wasn’t suitable at all, and his host had begged him to make sure he never had to go back there. His own homeworld was too dangerous for a living host. Had his Cardassian died during the incubation period, he would have never become a doctor, and would have taken their son home.

The ship was beautiful, an upgraded Sovereign-class starship ready for almost anything that might get thrown at her. Emblazoned on her side was her registration number and her name.

U.S.S. NOBILITY

Yek’s wings twitched inside of his life support suit, and he took in all the technical information his helmet’s screen displayed. Since he wasn’t going to be acting as engineer, he didn’t tuck it into an important place in his memory. Instead, he packed it in with his other background knowledge, and then looked around at all the people around him.

People were important. He would need to remember crew members, medical histories. Observation was important. Noting friendships and preferences. All his instinctual skills meant for stalking and preying on unsuspecting hosts would be useful for his work as the chief medical officer’s assistant.

He noted a human woman walking past him; an ensign wearing a science officer’s uniform. She was shorter than average for her species, not quite thin, but somewhat muscular, and her hair hid her neck. It’d be difficult to bite her with her hair and uniform collar in the way, and she was a bit small to be a proper-

I have a perfect host already, Yek reminded himself. I do not need to follow my instincts, because it will get me court-martialed before I even set foot in the infirmary, and because I will find my perfect host again someday.

Maybe such a social profession hadn’t been right for him. Perhaps he should have pursued something involving technology after all. Now he was going to spend the next three years surrounded by viable hosts and missing his lover sorely. If only there was an easier way to find a perfect home somewhere! He wished he could whisk away his family to someplace like the Delta quadrant, so his perfect host wouldn’t cry such bitter tears over the reminders of his homeland.

Restraint was a small price to pay for free passage into the unknown. A few years would be nothing by the time it was over, he was certain. It would be worth it to track down his Cardassian and tell him of the wonderful planet they would call home.

For now, his focus would have to be on helping the CMO ensure the infirmary was up to their standards, and then reading through the crew manifests. On a ship going on an exploration mission, the most important crew members to read about would be the senior staff, and then the engineering crews. Then, the young command path and security officer ensigns that would inevitably be assigned to dangerous away missions.

He came to a halt when he spotted someone walking towards the ship with a bag slung over his shoulder, a child held in his arms.

The person turned slightly to watch as a load of cargo was pushed onto a transporter, and he could see those delightful ridges lining the man’s neck, the beautiful grey scales adorning his skin that Yek had spent nights tracing and memorizing. His hair was slicked back as always, and he’d let it grow out since he’d last seen him, the fine black protofeathers now teasing his shoulders.

It seemed the mission wouldn’t be so miserable after all.

“Mekor Dukat!” he called out loud. His Cardassian turned around at the sound of a familiar robotic voice calling his name. 

“Yek?” Mekor stared at him in disbelief. Their son perked up in his arms, chirping inquisitively. 

A few of the Starfleet officers looked as Yek rushed up to him. Mekor laughed as he was pulled into a tight embrace, and their son trilled, bouncing as he tried to give him a hug as well. “Father!”

Yek nuzzled his son’s helmet, rumbling. The toddler was vibrating with the intensity of his own purr, and Mekor looked a bit overwhelmed, eyes wide with shock even as he smiled. “Yek, what are you doing here?” he asked, voice incredulous.

“I am the assistant of the chief medical officer. What about you? I thought you were in Lissepian space.”

“I- I got a degree in virology there, and we’re civilian passengers. I’ve been granted permission to do research on the vessel, provided I share my findings and research with Starfleet.”

“That means we will both be in the lab a lot! We are finally going to be together, far away from home, just like I promised you! We will be able to look for a planet together.”

Mekor smiled, eyes shining with an emotion Yek had never been able to identify. He hoped it was positive. “If you didn’t have that helmet, I’d kiss you.”

“I can take off my helmet in my personal quarters. They have been modified to suit my needs. It would be preferable for you to move into them.”

“Saint hasn’t been in a proper atmosphere since we left your ship. That’ll be perfect for him.” Saint trilled again, and Mekor leaned his head against the boy’s helmet. “Are you happy to see your father again, my dear?”

“Yes! Father, I have missed you. Yadik missed you very much too.”

Goodness, if he were Cardassian, he might have teared up. His wings and antennae twitched instead, and he rumbled quietly. “I missed you both as well.”

[windintheshell]

To Meet the Shell

Chapter 1: Prologue: The heart which forms a hole

 Your sister has gone to aid the Hero in his fight and fulfill her duty as Champion. You will cheer for her, won’t you? Let us pray that she returns safely to us, my son."

Sidon had readily nodded his head and told his father ‘yes’ with a smile even though he didn’t fully understand everything. But he knew his sister needed him, and how important it was to cheer her on. 

 It had been almost four days now.

 The first night before bed, Seggin and most of the royal guard had gathered up, leaving in a hurry. The young prince didn’t know what was happening. Seggin didn’t have an answer for him when he asked. They didn’t know either, but were leaving to help Mipha just in case.

The next day, there was still no news. Nor the day after that. No one knew anything when he asked. Not about Mipha. 

So here he was, making another prayer to the goddess statue.

“ ...And thank you, Miss Hylia, for all the times you bring her home safe. Please do it again so I can give my sister big warm hugs. “ Sidon clapped his hands, bowing his head to the statue as he finished his prayer.

The prince’s head snapped up at the sound of his name being called in the distance, recognizing it as Muzu’s. He shook his head, knowing it was time for bed. Sidon ran on his little legs, making himself scarce. He knew the guards would tell where he went but he wasn’t ready for bed. Not yet. He just wanted to stay up and wait for Mipha a little longer, that’s all!

Sidon ran down towards the central plaza, hiding behind the fountain as he watched Muzu begin down the stairs when one of the guard called for him. The prince watched nervously as they spoke before the two hurried back the way they came, likely called away for other business. He gave a sigh of relief. It would be easier avoiding whoever Muzu sent after him instead.

 “ Prince Sidon? “

 Sidon squeaked surprise, falling on his bottom. The toddler prince looked up from where he sat, a young black zora standing over him. “ I’m sorry! Are you okay? “ He said helping him up. “ Bazz? “ He said, recognizing him as two more older kids came up beside him. “ Yeah, and the Big Bad Bazz Brigade! “ He said smiling before tilting his head. “ So what are you doing? “ “ Shouldn’t he be at the palace or something…? “ Rivan asked. “ He snuck out like the rest of us. “ Gaddison said, Sidon quickly ducking his head. “ Are...are you gonna tell...? “

 Gaddison and Rivan looked to Bazz who scratched his head. “ He’s even smaller than us. Just a toddler. And he’s the prince, if something happens it’d be really bad. We could get in really big trouble for not saying anything.  “ Rivan said wearily. “ Yeaaahh….” Bazz let out, Sidon’s eyes growing big. “ But...you’re waiting for Lady Mipha to come back, aren’t you? Just like me and Rivan are waiting for our folks…”

 The prince bobbed his head. “ Please don’t tell...? Just a little longer, please?  “

 “ Okay, just a little bit…” He conceded. “ Stay with us, okay? “

 Gaddison gave a shushing noise, gaining the group’s attention. She pointed towards the group of zora who started running down the staircase. Bazz nudged Rivan, the two quickly standing to hide the prince from view.

“ Please hurry! Many of them are in terrible shape, some will not survive the night without proper treatment! “ Said the guard leading them.  “ We’ll see what can be done for them, just keep moving! “

The young group watched as the adults rushed through the plaza, heading in the direction of the Domain’s entrance.

“ They didn’t even notice us, they were running so fast...Are they back? “ Sidon asked, peeking past Bazz’s leg. “ I think so...That was Lady Finia just now with her med kit, as well as the other palace doctors. Most of them anyways. Father is always visiting their med ward, with all the cuts and bruises he gets from training so much. “ Bazz said. “ Come on, let’s follow them! I bet Lady Mipha’s there too. Bazz Brigade, march! “

Sidon kept up as best he could on his shorter legs, Bazz holding his hand to make sure they didn’t lose him to the groups of zora that started to become more and more frequent towards entrance of the Domain. The extended run began to make his feet ache and slow, despite himself. He inevitably stumbled, the three stopping to make sure he was alright. Gaddison was the first to pick him up before the other two.

“ You sure? I don’t mind carrying him. I’m the leader, after all. Actually, it should be me.“ The taller of the black zora said. “ It’s fine, he’s cute. “ Gaddison said, making the little prince all shy. “ Besides, neither of my parents are in the guard. I can look after him while you two find your dads. “

“ Okay, but I’m next if you get tired. That’s an order. “ He said as they continued once more.

“ Sir, yes sir. “

The prince clung to Gaddison’s lavender frame as they began their trek again in earnest. Going much faster than before, he watched curiously at the other zora that went by. His heart raced when they finally drew near the Domain’s entrance. The soldiers who had left were back, now battered and weary. They struggled to carry their wounded. Few could be seen not already lending their shoulders or backs to those unable to walk.

And then there were the wagons, the pale almost gray lavender of Finia seen climbing down one of the carts.

“ I need an extra pair of hands! And bring me some extra linens! We don’t have near enough as it is! “ She barked out, one of the physicians hopping off another cart to assist.

As Gaddison set down the young prince, Bazz pointed towards the dark blue soldier approaching the royal family’s physician.

“ Rivan, look! It’s your father, Trello! “ He said, Rivan’s shoulders sagging as he sighed in relief.

Sidon looked towards the various cliffs surrounding the Domain, looking for the familiar silhouette of his sister’s Divine Beast. “ …I don’t see Ruta anywhere close. My sister did not come back with them…? “

Bazz hummed. “ I don’t see my father either…”

“ Come on, let’s go ask my dad! He probably knows where they are!  “ Rivan said bouncing in place before finally running ahead of them, Bazz trailing after him with Sidon and Gaddison in tow.

Sidon watched the surprised expressions of the nearby adults as they saw them, turning their heads. Their eyes only widened in shock when they saw him with the other children, stopping in their tracks. Trello nearly fell over when Rivan ran into him, hugging him for all he was worth. “ Rivan…!? “

“ Father! Welcome back! I’m so glad you’re alright, I missed you! “ He said, his eyes bright as he looked up at him.

“ Listen to me, my son...I’m happy to see you as well but you all need to go home now, alright? “ He said, kneeling down to his height to regard him and his friends. “ You all need to…Prince Sidon…? “

The young prince immediately obscured himself behind Gaddison as Trello stared, Finia frowning as her gaze fell on him.

“ Trello! Now is not the time to lose focus. Few enough are keeping together as it is! “ She said as the dark blue soldier’s grip tightened on his son’s shoulders.

Sidon didn’t quite understand what she meant, only that when he looked around, he noticed many starting to cry and hide their faces.

“...Y-you should not have brought him here…” Trello let out, failing to keep his voice even as he stared right through them.

Rivan’s expression quickly fell, shrinking in place. “...Papa…? “

“ W-wait, it’s not his fault, sir! Please don’t be angry! It was my idea! “

He broke from his trance, looking to Bazz as though for the first time.

Bazz…”  Trello quickly straightened, only for his name to be called by the zora soldiers behind him. 

“ We need help getting Seggin in the wagon! “ One of them said.

 Finia cursed.

“ Father…? “

Bazz’s expression quickly turning frantic as he saw the state of his father while they carried him, ice impaled into his skin and bandages dyed red. Gaddison blocked the prince’s view before he too beheld his injuries, her own gaze one of shock. 

Trello quickly moved, catching Bazz before he could get near. He shouted while Finia assisted getting the limp zora onto the wagon. He pulled as they unchocked the wheels and readied the horses.

“ Finia, wait! Please, take me with you! Please! He needs me! I-I need to be with him! He’s all I have! “ He begged.

“ Listen to me, Bazz. There’s no room in the wagon for you, it’s cramped enough as it is. Everyone that isn’t hurt, I NEED. To save your father. Do you understand? I’ve done what I can but I need to take him to the palace now. “ The doctor told him before climbing back onto the wagon. “ Trello, have someone walk these children home and escort the prince safely back to the palace. Take Bazz with you, I’ll have someone take him to the medical ward once you arrive. Be strong, they need you! “

Trello swallowed, grip tightening on Bazz as they horses took off, pulling the wagon. The young boy watched helplessly as Finia shouted at the zora ahead to clear a path, quickly departing from view.

“ What h-happened? He’s gonna be okay, right? “ He asked when finally set down.

“...Finia is the best doctor there is, Bazz...He couldn’t be in better hands. “ Trello said.

“ ...A-and Lady Mipha? Sh-she’d never leave him like that…” Bazz said, making him flinch. “ She’ll be here soon, a-and when she comes she’ll heal him...She’ll heal everyone, right? “

Trello didn’t meet his eyes, sucking in air. “...We should not tarry here. Come along...I think I saw Kapson around. Rivan, you and Gaddison will go with him while I take...take Prince Sidon back to the palace. “

His son nodded his head quietly and that was that. Trello left to find the priest, thanking him for his help before departing with the prince and a distraught Bazz in tow. The trip back to the palace was entirely silent, save for Bazz’s quiet sniffles. Carried in his arms, Sidon could feel just how unhappy Trello was. The prince wanted to ask for his sister, but was afraid he might become angry and yell at him. He knew already he was in trouble, he didn’t want to make it worse.

At least he thought he was in trouble. No one said anything when they arrived, one of the handmaidens simply took him and brought him to his room to sleep.

Not that he could, the young boy sitting up in his water berth as soon as the doors had closed. Hearing voices outside his room, he climbed back out and snuck over to the door. He pressed his ear to it’s surface, trying to make out what the servants were saying.

The voices were too quiet though, he only knew they weren’t happy. It was too soon for him to try and sneak out, so he went back to the water berth to wait.

Despite difficulty sleeping, he eventually dozed off for a time. It was a shallow sleep. One that was broken by the sound of crying. Sidon rubbed his eyes, water dripping everywhere as he hurried off his bed again. He dared a peek outside his door, spying the guard posted at his door trying to console one of the servants.

“ Come now...y-you mustn’t be so loud, the prince will hear. “ the guard said in a broken tone.

As the prince looked closer, he saw that the guard was also crying. As he led the other zora away, Sidon took the chance to escape his room. Shutting the door quietly, he disappeared down the opposite side.

It was only a few corridors later that he was spotted, squeaking at the sound of his name. The guard that spotted him only stared some moments before going to kneel beside him.

“...Your father is in the throne room...I’m sure he wants to see you…” she said attempting a smile. “ Go on...the guards won’t stop you…”

Sidon hesitated at first, watching her for a couple steps before running on his little legs. True to her word, the guard didn’t come after him. Neither did the others when they saw him. Sidon couldn’t feel glad of it. Not when he kept seeing people crying and sad everywhere he went. It only confused and worried him.

Reaching the outside staircases to the throne room, it only seemed to get worse as he listened to the voices inside.

“ --Thieves! Wretches! Curse them...Curse them all! Curse HIM ! She would have never accepted if it weren’t for that hylian! “ He heard as he reached the top of the left staircase, keeping out of view as he saw Muzu and his father.

“ That is not true, Muzu. She loved Ruta the moment she laid eyes on him. Moreover, it was not just for him.  It was for our people, she did it as her duty to protect them... “ King Dorephan said quietly, his gaze to the floor.

Muzu’s tears ran full stream, hands clenching as he shouted. “ And he was supposed to protect her! He and Hyrule’s princess! Instead they failed us! HE failed us! He could not even fulfill the destiny he was chosen for! At least Princess Zelda was able to repent her failure in the end by trapping that beast! ....Though it both her and the kings fault for even--“

King Dorephan’s claws scraped his throne as he stood, voice raised loud in lost composure. “ I will hear no more from you, Muzu! Hyrule Kingdom lays burning and in ruins! How many families and their loved ones lay dead on the ground!? How many are still fighting for their lives while they flee to safety...?! They have lost everything while we have lost...I have lost... “

The kings advisor became contrite under as the king’s gaze turned to pain. “ …My king, I…Forgive me...Forgive me, I...”

“ Do you not think I feel the same…? I feel all that and a thousand times more…” Sidon watched his father hide his face under a hand, sinking back down on his throne. “ Please leave, Muzu...I...I need some time to myself right now…”

Muzu grimaced, wiping his own eyes as he bowed in earnest. “ …Yes, your majesty…”

Sidon watched him drag his feet, head and shoulders hung low as he left through the opposite staircase. The little prince kept hidden until he reached the bottom, then peeking back into the throne room.

“...My beloved wife, please forgive me...I should never have let this happen…”  He heard as his father quietly shed tears.

A hollow pit began to form in Sidon’s stomach as he came out of hiding, walking into the throne room. “ Papa? “

His father immediately stilled, looking to meet his eyes. “ ...Sidon…You’re still up…”

“ Papa, why are you sad? I don’t like it. I don’t like you to be sad. “ He said as he went up to him. “......Papa, where is Mipha? Why isn’t she back yet? “

“ Oh, Sidon...Come here. Come here, my son. Come here…”

King Dorephan leant forward and picked him up, his large hands making the prince appear far smaller than he was. His father held him closely, pressing his face against him while his tiny arms tried to wrap around his neck. The kings form began to tremble, Sidon feeling every little tremor.

Sidon didn’t like it.

He didn’t like seeing his father this way one bit. “ Papa…? Papa, what’s wrong? Please tell me…! “

 “ Your sister…She’s not coming back this time...” King Dorephan let out, breath hitching. “ ...I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Sidon…”

“ But Papa...I don’t get it. Why not? Mipha always comes back…She promised. ” He said looking up at his father.

“ ...Mipha is gone, Sidon...She’s with your mother now…” His father explained, regretting every word he had to say.

  Mipha is gone.

  The words wrapped around Sidon’s heart and began to squeeze. They continued to dig in until a piece of him chipped and fell away, forming a hole within.

“...But why? Why did she leave too…? I cheered really hard this time...A-and I prayed lots. “ His eyes began to water. “ Did….Did I do something wrong…?

King Dorephan immediately hugged him tighter to himself, even as his tears fell onto Sidon.

“ No, Sidon!  None of this is your fault…It’s no one’s fault. You did everything right. But sometimes....Sometimes bad things still happen. “ He told him. “ We just have to keep doing our best, yes…? That’s all we can do...Please, please, do not blame yourself, alright…? “

The prince sniffled, his lips quivering as he nodded his head. “...O-okay…”

A quiet sob finally escaped his father, rocking him back and forth. “ Oh, my boy...My sweet sweet boy, I-I’m so glad you’re here…! I am. I’m so grateful you’re here...I’m sorry for you to see me l-like this...I promise to be strong for you...Just let me hold you like this a w-while longer...”

Sidon hated it. Hated his father’s grief, the sobs he kept trying to hold back. Hated his own tears, the pain growing inside him, the pain around the palace and the domain.

  Mipha is gone.

  He clutched his father and hugged as hard as he could, trying to console him as well as himself.

  Mipha is gone.

  The young prince’s sobs ripped out him, joining with his father’s.

  Mipha is gone.

  They overpowered his father’s, filling the throne room and echoed into the air outside.

[punsrulz-blog]

Chapter 2 Pages 14-16

Sans, was for once scared all the things that could have happened to Atlis, all the possible deaths raced over his mind. “Damn it! why can’t you just LISTEN TO ME”, Sans was running as fast a his boney legs can move. Sans was looking ahead and he saw a fork in the path, he stopped right before the divide “Shit” Sans bitterly spoke, he examined the walls and floors until he noticed a small feather, (Atlis shed her feathers, Alot) “that's where you went” and he tracked down the dark and dusky hallway. While Sans was running he heard cackling up ahead, and not Atlis’s sweet chuckle, “shit... I hope I’m to late”, Sans saw the doorway at the end of the hallway. bones were crawling on the hallway frame. Sans knew if he touched a single bone, he would be dusted “ugh... I will have to warp” he thought of the longitude and latitude of the room and wear he wants to appear, but suddenly he heard another cackle and a burst of flames causing the bones to evaporate. He had a clear shot of Toriel, he instantly started to walk towards Toriel, he started grinning the most horrifying smile known to man and monster kind.

Chapter 2 Page 15

Toriel prepared her finel and deadliest fireball but suddenly her SOUL turned red, she was slammed against the ground, she groaned “what the fu-” she was interrupted by Sans’s eerie voice echo in the room “heya Tori...”, “oh that's why the air got so distasteful and unworthy of anyone to breath it, except for you of course” Toriel was smiling at her insult, “heh, I’m  skeleton that air goes right threw me” Sans grinned even larger, and his eye smoked a deep red. “so” Toriel said as she stood up, her soul still red what brings you to my humble home Sans” her voice pinched when she spoke his name. “Well I just noticed that Atlis disappeared and, she likes coming here for some reason...”, “oh yes I may have run into her, our little meating HEATed up real fast”she cackeled again, Sans looked very aggravated now “is that her” he said anger in his voice “why yes it is! she looks so wonderful, death really suits her”, “well Toriel don’t you remember we had a deal, you leave her alone and I won’t BRUTALLY MURDER YOU”, “pfffttt HAHAHAH like I would listen to a DEAL that's so STUPID, oh dear, dear Sans you know the rules don’t trust ANYONE” Toriel smiled, after the death of her children, she went mad and completely numb to emotion, or any remorse for her actions, so killing was as easy as breathing to her. “Listen I will show mercy this time and not dust you, as long as you leave her ALONE”, “no promises but I will leave today” she smiled her grin was painfully forced “goodbye Sansy, see you next time HAHAHHA” she laughed as she left Sans and Atlis alone. “I hate her so DAMN much” he growled a little and then Sans swiftly walked over to Atlis and easily picked her up, luckily she was a little shorter than Papyrus and just a little taller than Sans, which made it a lot easier to hold her. “Geez... what did she do to you sunshine” he was looking at the many burns on her arms, legs wings and even face, Sans was now wanting to go after Toriel and dust her, but he was to tired an Atlis needed medical attention now. So Sans using the small bit of energy he had left, he warped out of the Ruins and into Snowdin.

ok that's it sorry that last night it was not complete, the laptop shut down and I like to post to save my progress when I’m almost done. So here is the complete three pages, hope you enjoy if you have Q’s then go ahead and ask and like if you like it :)

[littlebitoffanfic]

Late Coffee

Fandom: Star Trek Characters: Kirk, Bones, Spock Relationship: Kirk/reader Request: Hello! I love your work and would like to request a one-shot where the reader has always been a bit of a loner on the enterprise, she is a forensic pathologist (directing dead bodies to find why they died) and one day while working she meets Spock and Kirk for the first time and they are spooked, while bones is all yup that's her, and Kirk sort of is trying to ask her out through the whole story at the end she sort of agrees You sat in your small office, sorting out some paperwork when you heard a knock at your door. It was rather late at night so you hadn’t expected anyone to be looking for you. Of everyone on the enterprise, you were probably one of the least busy people at this time. You were a forensic pathologist, which mainly consisted of examining bodies to try and piece together the cause of death. While it was sometimes a gruelling and frustrating process, especially when a case is complex, it was rewarding. You were able to give family’s some sort of closure. It was also very challenging. You had studied for years to work in this field, but that didn’t mean you were able to crack a case just by looking at a body. No amount of training in the world could do that. There are thousands of ways someone could die, some leave marks on the skin, some on the internal organs and some are as small as a pin prick. You had to have a keen eye to pick out these small discrepancies on the bodies. Due to the nature of your work, you often found yourself on your own. For one, the dead sometimes offered a better atmosphere and company than the living and two, people associated you with dead bodies. And that didn’t exactly scream ‘best friend’. You didn’t mind though. And you weren’t always on your own. For one, you had made friends with the head of the medical bays, Bones. You couldn’t help but chuckle to yourself every time you thought of how ironic his name was. It would be like you being called Death. He was rather like yourself, only a little more moodier. You worked really closely with him, especially if he has a patient that didn’t make it, you had to verify the cause of death for paperwork reasons. You would also go to him if you were a little stuck on cases. “Hello?” You called out, looking up at your door. The handle turned and Bones stepped in. “Hi, [y/n]. you know how there was a mission to the surface today?” He asked, walking closer to your desk. “yes.” You answered, knowing where this was going. It was a small planet which didn’t have much in the form of life. Which mostly likely meant they had brought back something dead. “They found a body. Can you come take a look.” He nodded his head to the door. You nodded, and got to your feet. Your office wasn’t far from the medical bay, so you followed him there. But as you entered the room, you noticed 2 men standing in the centre of the room. Normally when this happened, Bones wouldn’t allow anyone in the room apart from you due to the distressing nature some can feel at seeing a dead body. Instantly, you recognised them. The shorter one with bright blue eyes and dirty blond hair was Kirk, the captain of the ship. The Vulcan who stood to his right was Spock. You had not met either of them properly before but knew them from over hearing things. And Bones. “Good evening.” You greeted, nodding your head slightly. You could see the outline of a body beneath sheets behind them. “Bones, I thought you said you were getting the forensic person.” Kirk asked, unable to take his eyes of you as he addressed Bones. “And I did. This is miss [y/n] [l/n]. Shes the forensic pathologist for the ship, and has been for the last 3 years.” Bones said, sternly. You couldn’t help but smirk as you raised an eyebrow at the two before moving past them to the body. You glanced back and saw Kirk nodding to you with a confused and bewildered face while Bones smirked and nodded. “Where was it found?” You asked as you pulled back the sheet. You saw that it was human, which made your job a little easier. You grabbed some gloved from the side and pulled them on your hands before getting to work. “near a small river.” Kirk answered as the 3 men came to stand at the other side of the bed. “Male, age about 35, Caucasian.” You mumbled to yourself, making little notes for your paperwork. “So, you deal with all the dead bodies?” Kirk spoke, making you look up. “Yes, that is what a forensic pathologist does. I would have thought the captain should know such things.” You mumbled, the last part more to yourself as you leaned over the body. You heard Bones sniggering to himself as you gently opened the mans eyes. “brown eyes, very bloodshot. Eye lids inflamed.” You continued to mumble to yourself. “So how come we haven’t seen you before?” The captain continued to question you as if you weren’t pouring over a dead body. “Possibly due to the fact I prefer to deal with the dead.” You mused, not looking up. once again, Bones snigger and you knew he was enjoying this. He had always said if you met Kirk, he had to be there. “We theorized the cause of death might be due to the quality of the water.” Spoke offered, trying to bring the focus back to the body. “Was there anything else around the body to suggest that to you?” You asked, looking up. “Like what?” He seemed confused by your question. “Well, the body has a way of getting things out of its system by regurgitating it. If you are suggesting the water was perhaps poisonous, then before he died, his body would have tried to reject the water.” You explained, opening his mouth and looking for inflammation. “yes, there was vomit by the body.” Spoke answered. “That’s something, but doesn’t prove your theory, im afraid.” You said, straightening up. “How?” Kirk asked, followed by a quizzical look from Spoke. “Well, someone can suffer from an inability to keep down simple things like water and food in a variety of deathly situations. From a quick look at the body, I don’t think this was a murder or attack by any creature.” You turned and said to Bones. “So what do you think it is, love?” Kirk asked, walking around the table to you. You had to resist the urge to roll your eyes at him. “Probably something natural. I think there are 2 options. The first being that the water did not offer the correct nutrients or the water was poisoned, as you suggested. Or he dies of water intoxication.” You shrugged, pulling off the gloved. “I’ll have a better look in the morning.” Bones nodded, turned and walked to the cupboards to pull out some documents. Spock went over to speak with the medic. Leaving you and Kirk. “So, whats water intoxication?” he asked, seeming genuinely interested. You were taken back by his interest, considering most people would want to get as far away from the body as possible. “Its when the body consumes too much water.” Your answer was simple and straightforward. But he didn’t seem to think so. “I didn’t think there was such a thing.” He frowned, tilting his head. You did have to admit, he was rather cute. “It normally happens when someone is suffering from severe dehydration. They find a body of water and just keep drinking. That’s what probably happened to him.” You nodded to the body. “he probably thought he was helping himself, but he was actually killing himself.” “How come I haven’t seen you before.” Kirk suddenly asked again, making you frown. “Ive already told you. Im not a people person.” You said, smirking a little. “Plus, I spend my day around death.” “So do i.” Kirk chuckled and nodded to Bones and Spock. You couldn’t help but laugh. It had been a while since someone had made you probably laugh like this. You clasped a hand over your mouth and turned away from Bones, who looked up at your sudden laugher. “What do you say we go grab a drink and speak more about this water thing.” Kirk suddenly asked, gesturing to the body. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” You shook your head, unable to believe his audacity. And charm. “Why not?” He asked. “It is really something im very interested in.” You didn’t say anything but instead shook your head with a smile before walking past him to grab some documents. Bones and Spock were now walking out the door. Kirk followed you to the station. “How about coffee in your office?” He asked as you reached up and pulled down a folder. “Really, in my office that has photos of dead bodies cut open, operating tools and descriptive documents?” Your voice was dripping with sarcasm as you turned to him. “If it means I get to see you again, I’ll help with the dead bodies.” Kirk winked at you. You couldn’t help but smile as you shook your head. He was persistent, you would give him that. But he was also a distraction. So you couldn’t really have him in your office. Plus he had a ship to run. “Dinner tomorrow?” He asked, after you failed to answer him. You mused for a moment. “Breakfast.” You answered, wanting to see how much he would be willing to sacrifice just to see you again. “At 5AM.” “I’ll be there. And we can speak more about dead bodies.” Kirk suddenly smirked, taking you back. You hadn’t expected him to actually accept the offer. You expected him to say that was too early but he was willing to get up at that time. And considering it was close to 11.30pm now, it would only give him a few hours of sleep after a long day. he started to walk away, a new bounce in his step. You almost growled to yourself for actually wanted to see him again. “I don’t really eat breakfast. What about late coffee? At 11?” You called after him, biting your cheek as he turned to look at you again. You could see his eyes light up slightly. “How do you take your coffee?” he asked, turning back to face you. You told him, and he nodded before turning and walking out the door. A part of you was on cloud 9 at the thought of seeing him again. You hadn’t felt this excited about a meeting in well over 4 years. And you knew you had made the right decision when you received a knock at your office door the next day at 10.45am as you were getting ready to leave. When you opened it, you came face to face with the same brilliant blue-eyed captain holding two cups of coffee. He handed you one of them as you stepped aside and allowed him into your office. “To late coffee.” He announced, holding his cup up in a toast. You couldn’t help but giggle as you carefully knocked yourself against his. “To late coffee.”

[yur-ahh]

Tagged by: @noonedefeatsme

rules: answer these 85 statements & tag 20 people

the last: 1. drink: pepsi (lol self medicating) 2. phone call: the only person i call is my grandpa 3. text message: "myth puppy" from @alma---vivo 4. song you listened to: believe me natalie by the killers 5. time you cried: yesterday morning

have you ever: 6. dated someone twice: nope 7. kissed someone and regretted it: once lol, that's why i was crying 8. been cheated on: nope 9. lost someone special: does potentially special count? i was too young to remember anything about her, but i know she was special to me already 10. been depressed: i'm getting better 11. gotten drunk & thrown up: nope

favorite colors: 12. purple 13. red 14. pink

in the last year have you: 15. made new friends: i have!!! and i've been so happy for the first time in a long long time 16. fallen out of love: obviously 17. laughed until you cried: on more than one occasion! 18. found out someone was talking about you: i'll take this to mean "talking shit behind my back" and yes, of course, have you seen the internet? people have been talking shit about my achievements since i debuted in juniors three years ago 19. met someone who changed you: interestingly enough, one changed me in bad ways and the others changed me in better ways than i could ever imagine 20. found out who your friends are: found out i had way more friends than i thought. i've got a problem with understanding my relationships with people 21. kissed someone on your Facebook list: i'm gonna be real right now. i don't run my official facebook account so i have no idea who i have added on there

general: 22. how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: okay i checked just for you and yes they're all the accounts of senior skaters, so i know most of them (also i finally remember who minami kenjirou is) 23. do you have any pets: my two kitties potya and mariska 💕 24. do you want to change your name: i was gonna be cheeky and say "uwu my last name uwuwuwuwu" but do you know how long that name would be??? Too Long. so i guess i don't have to call about changing all my merch 25. what did you do for your last birthday: had a movie marathon (note to self, start marathons earlier than 5pm) 26. what time did you wake up: 4am? it might've been 5. i have a hard time sleeping at night 27. what were you doing at midnight last night: watching youtube to help me pass out 28. name something you can’t wait for: getting married 31. what are you listening to right now: vitya snoring quietly 32. have you ever talked to a person named tom: i think there was an interviewer once named tom?? idk 33. something that is getting on your nerves: there's a fly in here and i have no idea where it is 34. most visited website: tumblr.hell, youtube, or netflix 35. hair colour: i can see there being discourse about this in the future (cause yall pick the dumbest things sometimes) but i'm a natural blond 36. long or short hair: my hair is past shoulder-length by now 39. piercings: here's a cool piece of trivia. i got my ears pierced a long time ago, i just rarely ever wear earrings 40. blood type: B. i'm not gonna lie, i had to check my own wiki page for that one 41. nicknames: you guys know most of my nicknames by now: yura, yurotchka, yusha, yushka, kotik, koneko, kitten, etc 42. relationship status: taken x4 combo! 43. zodiac: pisces 44. pronouns: he/him 45. favourite tv show: princess tutu or vampire diaries (both got me through hard times don't @ me) 46. tattoos: i love how they look but i'm not sure if i'll get any 47. right or left handed: right-handed 48. surgery: none.... yet, knock on wood 49. piercing: awesome this is on twice 50. sport: figure skating ofc. i would put ballet on here but i don't dance competitively so does it even count as a sport? 51. vacation: i had the wonderful opportunity of going to universal studios, epcot, disney's hollywood studios, and disney world all in the span of a week 52. pair of trainers: only for exercising

more general 53. eating: snuck outta the nest awhile ago to get some fruit 54. fav drink: fUCK i LOVE SMOOTHIES. STRAWBerry smoothies, mANGO smoothies, pour it down my throat you COWARDS 55. what you’re up to: being the middle of a vitya and seung-gil cuddle sandwich 56. waiting for: someone to wake up 57. want: seung to Move his Hand lmao 58. get married: yeah 🐱 59. career: jj wrote "Gold medalist ;)" so im gonna write "goldier medalist ;*"

which is better: 60. hugs or kisses: i love to be kissed. also, lemme point out it didn't say where the kisses are going 61. lips or eyes: lips, their shape, their color, lipstick, lipgloss (though, eyes are also fascinatingly beautiful) 62. shorter or taller: taller. tall people are easier to spot in a crowd 63. older or younger: young 64. nice arms or nice stomach: all tummies are perfect canvasses for me to write my name or rest my head 65. hook up or relationship: definitely relationship, i wouldn't have been able to do hookups i think 66. troublemaker or hesitant: the thing is, you need to have both. an impulsive, "spontaneous" person will make the cautious, "calculating" person open up to doing things they never would have done, but they also keep the impulsive person from doing anything dangerous

have you ever: 67. kissed a stranger: nope 68. drank hard liquor: noo 69. lost glasses/contact lenses: i-i don't have glasses! 70. turned someone down: pffff the amount of angels who were clearly in heat and on twitter (a bad combination already) and asking me to father their pups has been hilarious considering i physically cannot do so 71. sex on the first date: no 72. broken someone’s heart: not that i know of 73. had your heart broken: yes 74. been arrested: absolutely not, i'm a good boy 75. cried when someone died: obviously??? i'm a human being?? i cried when binx died in hocus pocus and he didn't even actually die 76. fallen for a friend: fuck off

do you believe in 77. yourself: only if i'm motivated by something else, usually proving to people that they shouldn't underestimate me 78. miracles: everyday is a miracle, like when i wake up and i see my pack wasn't just a dream, or every time i make them smile 79. love at first sight: no, and if you think it does you're going to have a bad time 80. santa claus: i havent believed in ded moroz since i was seven, grandpa used to say that if he was ded moroz, i could be snegurochka because if i grew my hair out i'd look just like her pfff he's right though 81. kiss on the first date: if it went well, go for it! 82. angels: ive never been very religious or spiritual but i do find comfort in the idea of guardian angels 83. current best friend’s name: aside from my pack, there's phichit/pchela (@justpeachyphichit), seung-gil (@alma---vivo), and of course mila (@milababaecheva) 84. eye colour: blue/green 85. favourite movie: besides the lion king, i really love the movie black swan

20 is way too many people to tag so if i mentioned you in this post you can count that as me tagging you? if you want? idk i'm so tired i spent almost four hours typing this

[unitedspoonsofvulcan]

Thanks to @herequeeranduncomfortable for tagging me in this thing!

THE LAST:

Drink: very cheap, very flat champagne

Phone call: Technically my voicemail, but actually my Mom lol

Text message: A long text containing my conspiracy theory on how James Franco is an asshole who takes advantage of the gay community for the $$$ and how much I hate him

Song listened to: “Beth” performed by Kina Grannis

Time I cried: It’s been a stressful time for me lol. So like a few hours ago?

HAVE YOU:

Dated someone twice: I don’t have enough dating experience for that to even be a possibility ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Kissed someone and regretted it: I guess a little? Once when I was drunk I made out with a straight girl who I kinda disliked and was not attracted to. But I’m flattered that I was her first gay experience so it kinda levels out for me lol

Been cheated on: again, I haven’t dated enough for that

Lost someone special: not to death, but I’ve lost some close friends due to personal circumstances

Been depressed: Yeah for like ten years now lol

Gotten drunk and thrown up: ooooh yes. But I don’t let it stop me from continuing to drink lmao

LIST 3 FAVOURITE COLOURS:

Royal blue

uhhhh navy blue

black?

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

Made new friends: I’ve met one or two people I’m friendly with, but we’re not *friends* friends

Fallen out of love: no

Laughed until you cried: Probably! There’s this one story I can’t tell without absolutely losing my shit laughing, so I”m sure at very least I cried at that

Found out someone was talking about you: Yeah kinda but like I could tell what she thought about me in the looks she gave, so it wasn’t really a surprise or a secret when I heard what she told other people lol

Met someone that changed you: I haven’t had a very social year, so no. Maybe in the upcoming months though? Who knows.

Found out who your friends are: I think I already knew

Kissed someone on your fb friend list: No actually! Sadly I haven’t kissed anyone all year.

GENERAL:

How many of your fb friends do you know irl: All of them except for a handful

Any pets: At “home” I have a cat named Kitty who I’m going to get to see again very soon!!!

Do you want to change your name?: I’ve always hated my first name, but I could never come up with a fitting alternative. I’m fine with just going by my last name though.

What did you do for your last birthday: Cried a lot lol. My friend did end up making me a really nice last-minute dinner but other than that it was a really bad day tbh

What time did you wake up: sometime after 4PM. I’m on that summer sleep schedule

What were you doing at midnight last night?: Definitely on the couch. Possibly napping? If not then I was watching tv or something

Something you can’t wait for: Moving out of the state of Louisiana

One thing I wish I could change in my life: Idk I guess being more personable/less hateful would probably make my life a lot easier for me.

Listening to right now: Literally at this moment? Nothing. In general in my life? Also nothing lmao I’m just listening to the same shit I have been for years

Ever talked to a Tom?: I don’t think so

Something getting on your nerves: Kinda everything lmao I’m an easily aggravated person

Most visited website: Youtube/tumblr

Moles: Yeah I have quite a few! I’ve got some little constellations on my arm, and a really cute one on my ear. My favorite is this one between my boobs tbh

Marks: I guess the only one is the skin just below my nail on my index finger, which is permanently slightly pink and swollen form years of picking at it

Childhood dream: The only thing I specifically remember wanting as a child was “a big ball of cats”

Hair colour: Kinda dark brown

Long or short hair: Short! Although it’s a little shaggy at the moment

Do you have a crush on someone: Nah I’m aromantic

What do you like about yourself: Usually almost everything but currently nothing

Piercings?: Three in each earlobe, plus my nostril

Blood type: idk

Nickname: I don’t think I have one? I had Syrup for a short period of time when I was little

Relationship status: single

Zodiac: Capricorn

Pronouns: I don’t really care what people use for me but she/her is fine

Fave TV show: I can’t really narrow it down to one but I like Pushing Daisies, A;TLA, Over the Garden Wall for a miniseries. Maybe Star Trek DS9

Tattoos: None as of now, but I’m considering getting a Sasha Velour tattoo because I’m in love with her

Right or left hand: right, although I did try to learn to be ambidextrous when I was little. It didn’t work obviously lol

Surgery: I’ve had my wisdom teeth removed, but no real surgeries

Hair dyed a different colour: I died my hair black during my goth days, and for a short while I had blue streaks in it

Sport: lol no

Vacation: I’d love one to anywhere, but probably won’t be going on one for quite a while

Pairs of trainers: I have two pairs of cheap sneakers. One is for looking cute and makes me a little taller. The other is for comfort so they get worn a lot more

MORE GENERAL:

Eating: I’m really picky about condiments I guess. Like I think they put too much sauce on almost everything that has sauce on it. I also I hate the texture of mushrooms

Drinking: I used to be really into New Amsterdam Red Berry vodka, but the smell and taste have started to make me sick. Lately I’ve been drinking cheap white rum instead.

I’m about to: Probably watch another movie and/or try to find a relaxing game

Waiting for: A good job, a workable living situation. Possible therapy? Hopefully medication

Want: To not live alone or with my family

Get married: Idk I don’t necessarily believe in romance but I like the idea of having a life partner and tax breaks. So I guess I’d like to get married but I don’t necessarily see it in my future

Career: death

Lips or eyes: idk not to be That Person but I’m usually just attracted to people who are nice lol

Shorter or taller: my height or close too. Significant height differences would cause inconveniences

Older or younger: Older with lots of money to share with me

Nice arms or nice stomach: again for me it’s mostly about personality. Although I do enjoy Muscle Girls and usually their arms are more visible

Sensitive or loud: I don’t think that these are mutually exclusive. But loudness does make me nervous

Hook up or relationship: I guess relationship but either would be nice

Troublemaker or hesitant: Hesitant I guess?

HAVE YOU EVER:

Kissed a stranger: Not a stranger, but people I barely knew

Drank hard liquor: yes lots

Lost glasses/ contacts: Yes!! The reason I stopped wearing my glasses was because I lost my favorite pair. I think I lost them in ecology class one day so they’re probably in a literal ditch on the side of the road somewhere

Turned someone down: Only once directly in the fifth grade, but I’ve also ghosted a few people

Sex on the first date: no

Broken someone’s heart: nope

Had your heart broken: no

Been arrested: nah

Cried when someone died: Yeah my literal grandpa and then my space grandpa (Leonard Nimoy). Probably other celebs too. I’m an emotional bitch

Fallen for a friend: -ish? I used to convince myself I had feelings for my friends. I was deep in denial but even at the time I knew it was bullshit

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

Yourself: Depends on what it’s in relation to. I know I’m smart but I’m also very lazy so I’m useless at go-getter-type activities

Miracles: Very unlikely coincidences are bound to happen sometimes

Love at first sight: Bruh I don’t really even believe in regular love

Santa: Welp I’m an adult so no

Kiss on the first date: If I ever go on a date we’d better bone down immediately

Angels: I’m a pretty strict skeptic, so no

OTHER:

Current best friends names: All of my friends are the best! I don’t want to have to pick lol

Eye colour: brown

Fave movie: Uhhh maybe But I’m a Cheerleader or Hard Candy or something. That’s another hard one to narrow down though

And yeah that was fun! It’s been a while since I got tagged in anything interactive lol. I’m going to tag @marlar and @smolsweetpotato, and @inthemirrordorkly. Plus anyone else who wants to participate :)

[a-tired-bass]

Every 7th question of that huge ask meme :D

Hooo boy here we go. I’m gonna pop this behind a read more cause holy fuck it’s long. Apparently almost 2500 words all up

7 - Your zodiac/horoscope and if you think it fits your personality:

My zodiac is Capricorn. A google tells me that supposedly, Capricorn’s are ambitious, conservative, determined, practical and helpful. I would say I am approximately 2-3.5 of those things at any one time. Given that the average would be slightly above 2.5, I would say it fits me well enough :P

14 - Do you wear contacts/glasses?

No vision correction for me, I have perfect eyesight. Well, so much as ‘perfect eyesight’ is defined for a person. My visual acuity is above the average healthy human eyes.

21 - What’s your sexual orientation?

Heteroromantic. Demisexual.

28 - Where are you from?

Born and raised in Sydney. Lived my entire life in the same city. I’ve travelled a bit and would love to live elsewhere (I don’t count my brief occupancy in the Hunter Valley as living there)

35 - Say 3 facts about your personality:

Oh fuck.... I tend to be quite disparaging of myself, as evidenced by the fact that I couldn’t think of a single thing upon reading this question. Otherwise... I’m a very closed person? I guess? I don’t open up easily, so it’s really nice when I find someone who I can click with immediately. I especially enjoy the company of people who like ot talk a lot, since I really don’t talk that much. I love listening to people’s voices. Finally... God I don’t know. I don’t analyse my own personality that often. Generally it’s other people who are looking at that. I’m just me. That is who I am. I’m not going to change who I am to fit someone else’s expectations. I have to do what is right for me. 

42 - What you want to be when you “get older”

The simplest answer is happy. I want to not have to rely on medication to maintain a semblance of reality. I want to share my life with someone who wants to share theirs with me. I want to travel to places I’ve never been, just to see the beautiful things in the world. I want to not have to worry about working just to maintain a decent level of living. I want to fall asleep every night holding someone I love.

I just want to be happy. I have no other lasting aspirations

49 - Do you have any phobias?

Falling. I’m absolutely terrified by it. Heights don’t bother me in the slightest, but falling, especially free-falling, panics me beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. I find abseiling quite terrifying if I don’t trust the mounting point, something usually only earnt through pushing through it once. When rock-climbing, I can’t stand to be belayed by someone I don’t trust. If I’m bouldering, despite the mere like, 2m drop, I’ll downclimb to at least half way if I have the strength to so I don’t have to jump down. I hate falling. There are only 2 nightmares that have ever stuck with me for more then a few days, and 1 of them is falling. I just can’t do it.

56 - What are three things most people don’t know about you?

Fuck I don’t know. I overshare a bunch a lot of the time. But there are still loads of things I don’t tell people, generally because I don’t see them as worth telling. My story isn’t that interesting, I haven’t done anything marvelous. I’m just... an average person. I have mental health problems. I fall on the ASD spectrum. I have severe body image issues. I have an incredibly high lung capacity, but incredibly bad oxygen transmission. I’ve technically died. I started school early, and was offered the ability to skip grades (Never did, glad of that), as I’d begun to work on early high school level materials in year 2 and 3. I miss my old baritone voice, when I had a range of almost 3 octaves. I’m completely right side dominant, hand, foot, and eye. Stuff, I guess.

63 - A quote you try to live by:

I can never remember quotes. Their essence stays in my head, but never what the actual quote is. Honeslty, while cheesy and obviously influenced by my upbringing, the one that comes to mind most is “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. Yup, nice and churchy. But in seriousness, it’s a good maxim to live by. Everyone deserves politeness and respect until they’ve lost that priviledge.

70 - What is your favorite thing to do?

Another hard one. You truly have bombarded me. In the end, I think it’s play games WITH friends. Oh sure, sometimes I can’t stand being around people. Sometimes I want to play alone. But noting beats playing with friends, achieving progress side by side. It’s... immensely satisfying to me

77 - What is your least favorite word?

Cuckold...

84 - What’s your favourite scent? And on the opposite sex?

Fucked if I know. Scent’s are scents, and my nose is not terribly discerning. I like a lot of flowers or fruit scents. There are some lovely spices. Scents to me are defined as ‘this smells nice’ or ‘this smells bad’. If I had to pick something... Lavendar. It’s simple, but lovely.

91 - Say 2 facts about your favorite things:

I love music, but I tend not to like rap - I like my melody too much. Roleplaying Games - I love to put on another person’s skin, to slide into another persona. 

98 - The best and the worst childhood memories:

Look, I don’t remember much of my childhood. I don’t remember much of anything at all really. I purge a lot of my memories because I find it easier to live that way. I can pull up fragments of absolutely random stuff, but I couldn’t tell you where I learnt it. What I can dredge up says my favourite is one of my teachers. Ms Werner, back in primary. She was a wonderful teacher, and my the world would be improved if there were more people like her. I think the worst would have to be when I realised I had to cut off contact with a very long time friend of mine. We’d known each other for.... I want to say at least 10 years, of which 6 of them were as very close friends. He became someone I didn’t want to associate my life with. Someone I wouldn’t have been surprised if I read their name in an obituary report of some police activity.

105 - Top three places to visit:

Italy, duh. I’ve said so many times before. I would also love to go to Greece again, becasue I would love to meet you in person. Finally, Finland, because I’ve heard wonderful things about it

112 - If your best friend died, what would you do?

Be sad. Attend their funeral. Drink. Forget some. Live on. Be surprised that I’m the one attending theirs and them not attending mine.

119 - Have you ever kissed someone older than you?

Yes, my last ex was older then me by a bit over a year. I’m also assuming family doesn’t count for this question.

126 - Based on past relationships or crushes, describe your perfect boyfriend/girlfriend:

Oh ooft. Well, uniformly my crushes have been on people shorter than me, because I think they’re cute. I’ve always preferred longer hair. They’d have to have a nice voice, that is paramount - I remember one girl who is an incredibly interesting person who I loved to talk to and almost developed a crush on many times online, but lost any interest the moment we spoke again in person because her voice just slightly grated on me. In personality? Kind, caring, accepting, loyal. Someone who desires physical contact as much as I do.

133 - Do you have a crush on anyone?

Yeah, but you already know that. I told you whilst I was drunk 

140 - Have you ever cried over a guy/girl?

Absolutely. I mean, ignoring the fact that this could potentially mean any crying caused by someone else, and only related to those caused because of relationships, I have cried severely over them. I lost my voice for 2 days after my last break up from screaming out into the void

147 - Is there a boy/girl who you would do absolutely everything for?

No. There are lines I will not cross.

154 - What’s something sweet you’d like someone to do for you?

I’d just really like a hug you know? I’m a closed person, and have always had trouble initiating hugs - I’m not good at judging when other people want physical contact. I’m always happy to recieve a hug, I just don’t give them out very often.

163 - Do you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months and not cheat?

Yes. What a despicable question.

170 - Have you ever been cheated on?

Yes. It’s... not an experience I ever wish to repeat, nor is it something I will ever forgive lightly agian.

Realised I got off track on numbers. Leaving those answers though

161 - Is there someone mad because you’re dating/talking to the person you are?

Not that I’m aware of. Would be thoroughly confused if there were though.

168 - The last time you felt jealous, and why?

Near the end of my last relationship. Don’t particularly want to go into detail about it. It involved violations of boundaries.

175 - A description of the person you dislike the most:

I don’t really dislike anyone that much? If I dislike someone, I forget about them. I remember a tall, gangly, greasy black haired mediterranean boy in high school who I despised because he was a bully, and would frequently bully me whenever we got on the train because he happened to get on/off at the same stop or nearby. But I couldn’t tell you any more about him.

182 - What kind of music you like?

Lots! Catchy tunes, glorious symphonies, orchestral works, It’s probably easier to list things I don’t typically like, which are screamo and rap, for typical genres.

189 - A book you want to read/have recently read:

I recently read George Orwell’s 1984. I went to a stage performance of it with a friend of mine and it really captured my mind, so I thought I’d read it to compare. The stage show was much more appropriate to our modern era, but the book still has really interesting concepts in it. Having experienced both though, and were I to only choose one to recommend or re-visit, I would definitely pick the stage production

196 - You’re given $10,000…under one condition: you cannot keep the money for yourself. Who would you give it to?

Easy, Jake. He’d split it with me and buy himself some nice stuff as well. Maybe my parents though, if I weren’t in a personal spending mood

203 - What the last party you went to was… and when the next will be…

God I don’t know. I don’t do parties much. A birthday late last year I think? Oh, Post Concert Parties count I guess? Though that’s generally just meeting at a pub and eating some food, getting a drink, and chatting about stuff after final performance. Next one... I guess i’m going on a trip with some mates later this month, which will probably involve at least a little bit of partying. Should be fun

210 - What are you supposed to be doing right now?

Nothing, my time is my own at the moment! Possibly sleeping, but it is still early. There are productive things I could be doing I guess - I need to clean a bit of the house, or do up a resume, or do some physical activity - but it’s late, i’m occupied with other things, and I’ll probably go to sleep soon. I’d prefer to stay in bed

217 - Do you believe in fate/destiny?

I believe in chance. I’d like fate or destiny to be a thing, even though that means our lives are pre-determined in at least some fashion or other, but honestly.... A set purpose would be nice

224 - How important you think education is?

As important as you make it. A basic education is invaluable. Higher education is... less useful, and shouldn’t be forced on anyone, but should always be offered

231 - Post a photo/draw a picture/write a poem (pick one) of a moment of personal significance:

Oh fuck. Um. Here’s something I wrote long ago, I had to go find it, since i’d forgotten how it goes. I was pretty angry at the time - the man who killed my uncle was cleared of all charges. It’s dramatic and over-the-top and in no way actually representative of anything, but it rhymes nicely

And the fire burns deep insideAs the witness sees the liesThe traitors tongueHis falsehoods sungThe sordid crimes which he deniesThe jury stands, decision madeWhile the chatter of the crowd does fadeThe man who sawNow sees the lawAs nothing more than a false charade“The man goes free” the jury declaresFree to escape back to his lairsHis crimes ignoredEscapes the cordIt seems the world doesn’t really care

238 - What was something you used to enjoy, but was ruined for you? What’s the story behind that?

Boy oh boy could I talk about this one! I don’t want to though. In summary - my university choirs, because of my ex.

245 - What’s something you want to do that you’d be embarrassed to tell other people about?

I can’t really think of something I’d be embarassed about. I guess ask for more hugs would apply though, since it’s something i’d feel weirdly guilty about.

252 - Do you hate anyone?

Yes. Dislike is different from hate. I will not go into detail about this.

259 - Do you care if people talk badly about you?

A little bit, yeah. I don’t really like it when people are dissapointed in me, or label me with things I’m not, or assume my actions or what I say are negative. It’s worse especially when people are vehement about it and don’t try to explain what they’re feeling or actually think about it and why.

266 - Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?

Oh yes. I can’t remember her name though. She was a princess in some novel, and was descendant partially from dryads. It’d be nice to find that book again, that would be some nostalgia

And that’s everything! So many questions!!! Good fun though :D

[sweetnestor]

Story of Another Us | Week 14

university au, platonic af, now on ao3!

previous chapter | masterlist | playlist

Push my luck from trust to dust

When I was discharged, I only had time to speed over to Mark’s house, feed Chica, and then speed over to the airport. I had no choice but to miss human sexuality class, and I wasn’t that bothered by it. I was surprisingly calm, thanks to the Xanax. I didn’t expect it to work so quickly. Although I did feel that sinking sensation in my chest when I parked at LAX and realized I hadn’t taken off the bracelets from the hospital.

The bracelets were too big to slide off by themselves. I nearly panicked before I remembered to look in the glove department. I reached over and pulled it open, digging inside to find the pocket knife I kept there. I was relieved to cut off the bracelets and hide them in a nearby bush.

It wasn’t until I was about to walk towards the actual building (Xanax was making things a lot easier) did I get a text from Mark.

“Flight got delayed. Not sure how long we’ll be here in Boston. I’ll keep you updated, love you!”

Well, fuck me. I was going to be alone for longer than planned. I walked back to the car, actually glad I didn’t have to go inside the scary building. I replied to Mark, asking what had happened, where they were, and if everything was okay. I was starting to worry, so to numb it, I made a run to Sephora.

Despite how many people took up space inside the lavish store, I felt at ease. Makeup was something I knew in and out. It was calming and therapeutic, I was in my element as I looked over which products I could take home. However, I jumped when I heard my name called over by the Tarte counter. So much for my happy place.

I turned to where I heard the voice, and I was surprised to find Sophie approaching me. She was accompanied by her friend Aria Mercer, who was in yoga class with me and Jack. Oh the intimidation.

“Hi,” I greeted, my shoulders immediately going tense.

“Didn’t expect to see you here,” Sophie told me. “Well, I mean, in town. I thought you went to PAX with Jack?”

Oh right. She and Jack spoke a lot during human sexuality class. He mentioned the weekend plans to her. And here I was now, looking like an asshole for not going with him.

“No, uh, I didn’t go,” I said, trying not to stutter. “I, um, can’t do planes.”

Both Sophie and Aria nodded understandingly. I internally sighed in relief.

“This is Aria, by the way,” said my blonde classmate. “I don’t think you guys have properly met.”

I awkwardly waved at the shorter of the pair. Just like in yoga, Aria looked like she didn’t want to be here.

“We have a class together,” she said monotonously.

“Yeah…”

“So what brings you here, Bella?” asked Sophie, who had a knack for cutting away the awkwardness.

“Nothing,” I replied. “Just… went to pick up my boyfriend and Jack and their other friends from the airport. But they got delayed.”

Out of all the Sephora stores in the Los Angeles area, this had to be the one where I ran into people I knew. But  didn’t want to be rude. I kept talking to them, despite how badly I wanted to get out of the situation. I preferred doing all my shopping either alone or online for a reason, I couldn’t focus on what I originally wanted to buy. I couldn’t even bring myself to make an excuse to leave, even though I had plenty. Anxiety, editing, waiting for my boyfriend to land. I had things to do!

By the time we were out of Sephora, Sophie and Aria had some products I recommended to them, and I only had plans to collab with Aria. The only reason why I said yes was because our videos were going to be entirely in Spanish. I always told myself I needed more Spanish speaking friends, more gay friends, more friends in general.

“So do you wanna go to lunch with us?” asked Sophie, who didn’t seem to know when to leave me alone.

I have to take Chica for a walk, I have to wait for my boyfriend to fly in at any given moment, I have to take my fucking xanax. Why couldn’t I say any of these? How polite did I have to be?

“Hey Soph,” Aria spoke up, placing her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Did I, uh, tell you that, uh, Dan called me the other day?”

The blonde suddenly stopped in her tracks, placing her hand over her heart. She turned to her short friend in shock, her mouth agape. Then, she looked at me.

“I’m sorry, Bella. We gotta go.”

I’ll have to thank Aria later.

~

The boys were still stuck on the east coast. It was rolling onto day two of their delay, and I wasn’t really that bothered. I blamed the Xanax.

“I’m so sorry this is happening,” Mark told me over the phone. “Are you okay by yourself?”

“Everything’s fine,” I replied. “It’s just me and Chica. We’re good.”

“Really? You sure?” Mark sounded a bit surprised. “I know you must be worried, we’re trying really hard to get home. Agh, this is cutting into recording time! I was supposed to make videos for the New York trip.”

“Babe, it’s fine,” I said. “Some things are out of our control. And, your fans are really understanding. A few days without videos won’t hurt them.”

“I know, I just can’t help but feel bad… But you’re right. It is out of our control.”

“Yeah…”

“Anyway, I’ll let you know when we’ve got a flight. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

It was almost scary how calm I was. I went about the day, editing the one video I really wanted to get out there. Maybe with this free time, I could make more. I managed to finish up my collab with Jack and got that published. I was originally going to post it over the weekend, but given the series of events that my brain put me through, it was delayed.

While I waited for those comments to pile up, I looked at my covers. Airplanes, Little Me, and Stone Cold. I didn’t regret recording those covers, I just hated the sound of my voice in the first song. I decided to work on those later, maybe with Mark or Jack so they could give me a second opinion. That, and I couldn’t bring myself to focus on it.

Then, a thought occurred to me. Mark had been taking singing lessons and practicing guitar. Plenty of people online had been wanting us to sing together. It wasn’t a bad idea at all, I wanted it just as much. Mark was still insecure about his own voice, though, and I didn’t want to rush him into it. But now that I was thinking about it, I couldn’t help but shoot him a quick text about it.

It’s not that I’ve never sung with Mark before either. We just had brief moments in the car (when I was driving - he likes to drive in silence) where he picked up bits and pieces of the songs I listen to. I wondered if I really could get him to sing with me for a video.

~

“Are you sure, Bellaboo?” he asked a couple of days later.

The boys were stuck in Boston for a total of three days before they finally got a plane back to LA. Mark hadn’t seen my text about singing until I mentioned it when they were all back home. But now that I had him with me, along with the magic of Xanax (that none of the boys knew about), I felt a little more determined to get him to do this for me.

“Yes! Just practice a little more, I’ll help you,” I told him, bouncing slightly in my seat. “Do it because you love me.”

Mark stopped typing on his laptop and sighed. It was easy to tell he had other stuff on his mind, and usually I would just leave it alone. But he was my boyfriend and I wanted to do things with him, especially since we haven’t gone on a proper date in a while.

“Okay,” he spoke. “Pick a song for us, and I’ll listen to it. Can we do it after New York, though?”

I was happy with that response. “Yes.” I leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

Despite that, things weren’t exactly back to normal. It felt like I only saw Jack when I picked him up from the airport. Now he was spending time at my apartment, recording a ton of videos for the next upcoming trip. He was missing class in order to edit everything, at least he was until he got an email from a guy named Robin. Now, Jack was missing class only to record videos and that was it.

He and Mark were going to go to New York for YouTube’s annual Creator’s Summit. The platform’s biggest voices were expected to go, and of course, Jack and Mark were on that list. Obviously, I wasn’t going due to anxiety and the fact that I had less than a million subscribers. I wasn’t bothered by it, honestly. I had seen far too many group activities and audience participation shows in other people’s vlogs from the last summit, and that was enough to put me off from the whole thing. Not that I was ever invited in the first place.

Anyway, since the time between returning from the east coast and going back to the east coast was so small, stress levels were going up at Mark’s house. Honestly, Jack was lucky he was recording at my apartment. He didn’t have to hear the arguments that went down between Mark, Matt, and Ryan. I mean, the three of them working together wasn’t always perfect, but these days it felt like it was getting worse.

“I told you how I wanted it done!” Mark snapped from the hallway. “You’re not listening to me, Matt!”

“You said I can put in my own ideas!” Matt argued, not raising his voice as loud. “Why is it a fucking problem all of a sudden!?”

“It doesn’t matter! I told you how I wanted this video to be done, and I expect it to turn out that way! So stop wasting time!”

I quickly dashed into the bathroom before Mark could enter the room. I really didn’t want to get involved in any of that.

My stomach sank when I found my bottle of Xanax sticking out from my makeup bag that was sitting on the counter. Quickly, I emptied out the bag, stuck the bottle at the bottom of it and then covered it with all my makeup products. You would think I’d remember to hide it.

Then, it dawned on me. I never wanted to take medication, despite the amount of times it was suggested to me by many doctors and my therapist. Now that I was on it, I did feel much better, but I couldn’t help but think further down the line. How was I going to feel without them? If I felt something going wrong, would I run to this orange transparent bottle to make everything better? Would I be able to keep this from Mark?

I wanted to be a functional person. But I couldn’t do it secretly, and I certainly couldn’t do it alone. At the same time, I didn’t want to tell Mark that I spent time in the hospital while he was at PAX and refused to call him. He was angry enough at Matt and Ryan for whatever reason, I didn’t want him to be mad at me too.

~

I pretty much ran for the hills once Jack and Mark left to New York. I couldn’t let myself be alone with Matt and Ryan for more than an hour. I was sure the feeling was mutual. We had never really gotten along, and that was due to my social anxiety and their inadvertent insensitivity.

Aside from that, things were sort of in favor for me. The day after Jack and Mark were gone, I had my follow up appointment with Dr. Francis. I went over to his office with a strange ease, despite the things I had to go over with him.

“Hello, Bella, how has your week been?” he asked, giving me a warm smile as I sat in the arm chair across from him.

“Good,” I replied, because that’s what you’re supposed to say when someone asks that.

Dr. Francis, being the doctor he is, took it literally. “So your mood has been stable? Or good things have happened?”

“Um… I haven’t had any bad days,” I said, which was mostly true.

“The Xanax is helping, I presume?”

I hesitated, shifting in my seat. “Yes. I haven’t felt so… calm, in a really long time.”

“That’s good to hear,” Dr. Francis said.

“But I wanna get off of it,” I continued. “Aside from the side effects, I feel like it’s emphasizing how crazy I am.” And so help me god if Mark ever found out.

Dr. Francis nodded and then wrote some stuff down on a clipboard. “What side effects are you experiencing?”

I explained bits and pieces I could remember, like not being able to focus on things and my lack of appetite. I also explained that I knew there were things that were out of the ordinary, I just couldn’t remember them.

“But besides that,” I went on, “I just don’t like the fact that I have to take a pill in order to function like a normal person. And I really don’t like that I could get addicted to the thing that made me function normally.”

He looked at me for a while, probably wanting to react even though he wasn’t supposed to. I was about to take back my decision, but then he began telling me how I was going to go about withdrawals.

~

Without the Xanax - or so, the thought of being without it - I was sat in the car outside of Mark’s house. I knew Matt and Ryan were home because their cars were in the driveway, and it brought all sorts of pains to my chest.

Did I really need my brand new makeup brushes? Did I have to do my makeup at all? Did I really need to film more tutorials? I mean, I did have plenty of brushes at my apartment, but like I said, these were new. Being the stupid girl I am, I had them shipped to Mark’s house because I didn’t think I would be running from there.

Eventually, I took in a deep breath and opened the car door. I exhaled slowly when I was out, and then I inhaled as I approached the front door. Exhaled when I unlocked it. Relief when Chica came running to greet me. However, it was quickly taken away by the sound of footsteps coming towards me.

It was Matt. “So what’d you forget?”

“I-I ordered something,” I replied, avoiding eye contact as I walked past him.

“Oh yeah, Ryan put the package in Mark’s room,” Matt said, sounding disturbingly intimidating.

I nodded once and went towards there, but then he spoke again.

“Along with your meds.”

Sometimes, my anxiety likes to mess around with my head and make me think there’s danger when there isn’t. I feel like today was a day where my anxiety wasn’t messing with me. Maybe I was so paranoid because Matt found out about my medication and my body was warning me about it.

“Wha-What are you talking about?” I asked softly, turning around but still not looking directly at him.

“What is it? Xanax? Prozac? Lexapro?” he asked. “Does Mark even know you’re on meds?”

“No! Please don’t tell him!” I snapped suddenly. “I-I’m getting off of them, anyway! I’m sorry, just please don’t tell him! And make sure Ryan doesn’t say anything either!”

Matt just looked at me for a second. “Why don’t you want him to know?”

“He’s under a lot of stress, he doesn’t need to worry about me and my craziness.” I sounded stupid and pathetic, but that was the only excuse I had.

“You think he’ll yell if he finds out? Like the way he yells at me and Ryan? Although, I wouldn’t expect you to know anything about that since you’re conveniently out of the room when he goes off,” Matt told me, folding his arms.

I shrugged, feeling even worse.

He pressed on. “Just get Mark to lay off and calm down, and I won’t tell him.”

“Fine,” I said.

After that, I went upstairs to Mark’s room. I found the package and Xanax sitting on the desk. I quickly snatched them up and shoved them into my purse. Then I looked around the room, searching for anything else I could take with me.

“Hey, Bella,” said Ryan’s voice from the door. When I turned to him, he smiled. “Happy birthday.”

Right. I was twenty four today. All I kept thinking about was getting off my meds. Well, that and Cinco De Mayo. I hadn’t properly celebrated my birthday since my 20th. That was mainly because I didn’t really have anyone to celebrate with, and I wouldn’t have liked the attention anyway. It was kind of sad, but I tried not to think about it too hard. It was just one day out of the whole year. It just meant I was another year closer to death.

“Thanks,” I replied, deciding not to be a Debby Downer.

~

It was already past my birthday by the time Mark and Jack returned from New York, but they still surprised me with an ice cream cake. I was relieved that they didn’t make a huge deal out of it. Although, it felt like that was only because the tension returned once the cake ran out.

Mark’s anger wasn’t getting any better. I constantly overheard him arguing with Matt and Ryan over any little thing. He pretty much lost it because Matt offered to take Chica outside.

We were in his room. I was sat on the bed, scrolling on my laptop, and Mark was working on a video at his desk. Jack was nowhere to be found; Surely he would have been able to stop the tension somehow.

“You’re not here to babysit my dog, you’re here to edit,” Mark snapped at Matt, who only darted eyes at me.

“Can you calm down?” I said, my insides shaking. “He’s just trying to help.”

“But he’s not!” Mark argued, which sent a gross feeling down my spine. “He shouldn’t even be here, he should be downstairs doing what I told him to do!”

I sighed and rolled my eyes as I stood up from the bed. “Alright then, I’ll take Chica outside, you can calm down, and Matt can-”

“Quit,” he spoke under his breath.

Mark and I turned to him, surprised. I would have been less surprised if he had spilled about my medication. But this?

“You’re not gonna quit,” Mark said, standing up from his desk, almost like he was challenging Matt.

“I will if you keep screaming at me over stupid shit,” he replied, standing his ground.

“That’s bullshit!” Mark’s voice went up in volume, which made me jump. “That is bullshit! You’re not gonna quit on me!”

“You’re screaming right now,” I said.

“This doesn’t involve you, Bella!”

I jumped again, and Chica barked. I could physically feel the anxiety rise.

“You’re even scaring your own girlfriend, doesn’t that bother you?” Matt shot at him.

Mark said something back, but I couldn’t hear it. I only felt the softness of Chica’s head rubbing against my leg, and that gave me the sign to leave the room. I couldn’t hear Matt or Mark say anything to me, not that I would have listened anyway.

I was led outside, where Chica was supposed to go. Conveniently, that’s where Jack and Ryan were. I sat down on the step, still feeling very zoned out and disconnected. One of them probably called my name, but I didn’t respond. Everything felt so foggy and far away, like I was being ripped away from reality.

At one point, I felt Jack sit down next to me. I felt his hand on my back, but I didn’t give any physical response. I could only hear my heart pounding in my ears, and I could only feel a tingling sensation in my hands. I couldn’t even feel if I was crying or breathing at all. It was such a bizarre state of mind.

“Bella,” he called. “Bellers? Bella? Baller?”

Yeah. Yes, I’m here.

“Chica! Chica, come here!”

Good idea. Dogs are helpful. Calming.

I exhaled when I felt her soft head in my lap. I blinked a few times, realizing that I was still outside sitting on the step. Ryan was nowhere to be seen, but Jack was still with me. My hand went to the top of Chica’s head, scratching absentmindedly as I tried to come back to my body.

“What the fuck?” I asked softly.

“Feeling okay?” Jack replied, sounding relieved that I hadn’t lost the ability to talk.

“Yeah,” I said, leaning down to embrace Chica for comfort. “What happened?”

“You, uh, went somewhere else for a bit. I’m guessing all the yelling and anger gave you anxiety?”

An uncomfortable shudder went down my spine. I could still hear Mark’s harsh words ringing in my ears, and it made me want to be sick.

“Uh, Ryan went inside to talk to them,” Jack continued, “so far, it doesn’t seem like anything’s getting better.”

I sighed and sat back up. “I need to go home. I don’t wanna be around all of this crap.”

“Okay. Do you need me to go with you?”

Too much thinking. “If you want.”

“I'll go with you.”

We stood up and went back inside. The loud voices of Mark, Matt, and Ryan could still be heard upstairs. I couldn't handle them anymore, I didn't care if Mark found out about my meds. There was a reason why I was on them. But now that I wasn't, I had to take initiative to care for myself.

I grabbed my keys from the hook by the door. However, before Jack and I could sneak out of the house, the three musketeers came storming down the stairs.

“You can't just leave!” snapped Mark, who was still at an all time high. “What happened to being a team?”

“Oh, don't throw that shit at us!” Ryan practically yelled. “You're the one who went batshit crazy out of nowhere! You're the one who stopped caring!”

That caused all three of them to argue over one another very loudly. I was suddenly caught between staying here to tear them off each other and running back to my apartment. Staying or leaving. Fight or flight.

“Come on,” Jack told me as he opened the door. “Let's go.”

He practically pushed me out the door before I could say anything. From there, I basically sped over to the car and climbed into the driver’s side. Jack asked me if I was okay to drive, and I nodded rapidly before starting the engine.

“How the hell did this happen?” I wondered, trying to come down from everything.

“No idea,” Jack replied. “It’s like one minute everything was fine, and the next it all came crashing down. What was Mark even mad about?”

“Small, stupid things,” I said. “It was literally nothing worth yelling about. I just hope they work it out.”

_______

final chapter

[unholyhelbiglinked]

Saluting Sgt. Helbig | Twenty Two

The paint fell from the walls in small flakes, resilient chips filling the air like a dark ashy snow. It fell over my boots, turning the dark leather into something that it wasn't- something of beauty. The air was still and stiff, almost sour against my lungs. The cold balanced it out, making it easier to bear the moldy scent.

The rubber of my shoes crunched over the broken glass that littered the distressed wooden floor, making my mind wonder. Was this how the bar looked when it was nothing but a lookout point? Was the paint chipping, mold filling her lungs, or was it in better shape? I knew the roof wasn't, that was for sure. It still held strong, strong enough to hold two people during some less than saintly activities.

"What are you thinking about?" Cassie mumbled, looking up from her own shoes. She was bundled up, a brown aviators jacket hugging her sides as she kept her hands shoved in her pockets.

"Nothing," I knit my eyebrows together, "Nothing really... just, how can someone just get up and leave a place like this?"

"This?" the shorter girl scoffed, shaking her head "it's nothing but a pile of bricks and some paneling."

I lifted my chin slightly, biting at the inside of my cheek as a slight metallic taste filled my mouth "Not always. I don't think. It probably has a lot of stories behind it. Or after tonight it will."

"Hmm," Cassie huffed, "what did you tell Hannah?"

"Not a thing." I sighed softly. The girl left it at that. Hannah had just gotten in about an hour before I got the ominous text from a blocked number texting me coordinates and a certain time. They had lead me here, an old abandoned factory on the edge of town, right by the docks. It reminded me of ever mafia movie that I had ever seen- except those ended with cinder blocks and chains.

She had been sleeping peacefully when I snuck out, her position shifting slightly as I pulled myself out of bed. Chester had met me out front, the car running with the lights turned off. Cassie was half asleep in the back seat, making all of us dread the long night ahead of us.

"What do you tell Mamrie?" I finally asked Chester, who had been leaning against the corner of the wall by the busted out window, a stream of steady pale light illuminating his face in an odd way. "About where you always sneak off to."

"She doesn't ask questions," Chester clenched his jaw, his breathe forming in sharp puffs in front of him. "We started sleeping together casually and then really caught feelings for each other... She still doesn't ask questions though. She's not the type. But Hannah is, isn't she?"

I lifted my chin, staring at my watch. The time read 3am, late enough for me to crawl back into bed with the girl that I love. One that I was lying too. "She is."

The loud footsteps of another drew us from our awkward conversation, both Chester and Cassie a bit too tired to really react in any way. My senses were on high alert, taking it the fact that we didn't really have any means of protection, and even if it was just Ingrid, the girl knew how to fight.

"What's this all about?" Chester said, a bit groggy, he stood up from the wall slightly, his boots crunching against the broken in stained glass. "It's late."

"It's early." Ingrid's voice was sharp, but had a bit of a calming tone to it, "not late. I need you three on your best behavior."

I raised a brow. She was a bit dressed up compared to the three of us. We had begrudgingly dragged ourselves from the comforts of bed. I had pulled on a pair of light grey sweatpants and an old sweatshirt of Hannah's before filing into this place. Cassie was in an uneven buttondown, her hair in a messy bun. Chester himself sliding into a long shirt and some paint splattered jeans.

Ingrid looked like a gift from god at this point. She was in heels, a dark green blouse covering most of her midsection as a black leather jacket covered her arms. She looked a bit elegant, her hair clouding her chocolate gaze.

"Best behavior for what?" Cassie cocked a brow, her blue eyes catching the color of the lulling sky.

"We have a meeting," she ran her gaze over the three of us, taking in our appearances.

"Here? In an abandoned building." I said, a bit of disdain in my voice "I thought you weren't the mafia."

Ingrid cracked a small smile at this, her eyes lighting up "I'm not. But some people are harder to impress than others. It's easier for me to put on a show than to commit the actions of sin that earn me... how you would say, street cred?" she glanced at Chester, who nodded in approval at her wording.

The silence that lasted between us was strong, but short lived, each of us too tired to really overthink the situation. In fact, the only thing I was truly feeling cold. Ingrid took her place awkwardly between Cassie and I, her scent strong with cherry and liquor. I glanced over at her as a warmth filled my palm. My first instinct was to pull away, not interested in a little hand holding, but as she moved her fingers away from mine, she left the all but familiar weight of a gun. A small one at that. But still a gun.

I knit my eyebrows together "You know I prefer a scalpel over a shotgun."

She nodded "I know it's not your style." she scoffed "you're a doctor, not a bodyguard. But tonight you have to be both." she glanced over at Cassie and Chester sharing a light hearted conversation "If not for my protection, for theirs."

I clenched my jaw. Of course it would lead to this. I knew it would. After seeing Ingrid's little tests from a front row seat, nothing I ever viewed would be the same. All four of us standing in an abandoned factory could just be another pop quiz. Either way, we were in at least some degree of danger.

Chester could defend himself, yes, but only with a few punches thrown here and there. Cassie could take a hit, maybe even two, but I didn't want her going through the pain of ending up in another hospital bed hooked up to every monitor imaginable.

"I'm armed too," Ingrid pulled me from my thoughts "In case this goes north, I want you to be ready."

"South," I cracked a small smile, shaking my head as I put the gun against the nave of my back, pulling my sweatshirt over the metal and plastic. It felt cool against my skin, making goosebumps push against my arms. "The expression is if things go south."

"Ah," she shook her head "That's odd."

"Well so are you." I noted, earning a small smile back as the lightness of the room soon began to fill with more than one set of footsteps.They echoed off of the walls like we were in an amplified sound system.

They were all in suits, despite the low temperature and late times. This was looking more like a mafia movie by the second. The man was young, his hair a dark pitch that stood out against the graffitied walls. It was a bit long, too long for my liking. He was pale, his dark grey eyes standing out against his complexion. There was a man next to him, much to the same appearance of his counterpart. His gaze was a deep brown, a navy blue suit and red tie making him look more like a political associate than someone trapped in a desolate building.

A woman stood behind them, her hair a dark caramel, almost blonde, her green eyes reminded me of a cats, but not one with good intentions. Hell, no cat had good intentions, but this woman's posture just drove the point home. Another man stood next to her. He looked a bit more slack than the rest of the group, dressed in a suit with no tie and a few open buttons on his collar.

"Ingrid!" the man with the grey gaze spoke first, his accent thick and foreign. It reminded me of Zoe's in an odd and twisted way, but I was sure all british accents did have a certain similarity to one another. "It's so nice to see you again."

Ingrid seemed to fidget a bit, her eyes darting to the others in the room before landing on what seemed to be the leader of the group. I had never seen her act like this. Even dressed as a scared enemy rebel in a desert room had a certain level of confidence. But her stance now seemed threatened.

"Yes, it always is a pleasure." Ingrid finally spoke, holding her hand out as she shook his carefully.

"It is, it is." he glanced over at the group of misfits, meaning us. Compared to his color coordinated team we looked like street rats, and that seemed to show on Ingrid's face as well. "Why don't you introduce me to your- um, uh?"

"It was short notice," Ingrid seemed to cover her tracks quickly, "I had no idea you would want to meet so quickly after your flight landed, Phil." her voice had a bit of a bite to it, but this Phil guy didn't really seem to notice.

Ingrid let out a bit of a sigh "This is my head medical consultant- Grace." She nudged me forward a bit. I gave the man bit of a nod, taking his cold outstretched hand.

"I'm Phil," He smiled, knowing that he had already stated his name "you look a bit too banged up just to be a medical consultant."

"Phil," Ingrid warned "Grace is very strong in all aspects, Medical being her strongest." She lifted her chin towards Cassie "this is my second medical consultant and my inside man."

"Ah," Phil clapped his hands together a smile on his face "So you've really gotten quite a team together."

"I told you it was no joke." Ingrid said, her accent becoming thicker as her annoyance grew. "Phil we have been planning this for years. You can't just back out at the last minute due to certain doubts."

"Doubts that are rightfully there," he said, containing his composure "if I'm not mistaken, your little medical consultant has a gun behind her back. You have a blade wedged in your boot, and your own firearm on your belt. And I'm the ones with doubts?" he chuckled.

He stepped closer to Ingrid, his breath pooling at her collarbone in misty waves "It doesn't work this way, Miss Nilsen. If we work together on this, I need one hundred percent trust on both ends."

She let out a shaky breath, "what do you suggest?"

"We're sticking around for awhile," Phil smiled "we'll need some form of living. It is a small town, after all..."

I cocked my head to the side, no quite liking where this was going. He was right, there weren't many hotels in town, if any at all. The only place that had rooms were always booked.

"You can stay with us," Ingrid was quick to respond "most of us have spare rooms, right?" she glanced at us, leaving us in a speechless fashion as she looked desperately to the group.

"Fantastic!" Phil clapped again, smiling widely "I'll be in touch."

Their footsteps set off another round of sounds as they crunched over glass and dirt, each of them filing out in an assembly line. It looked like they had practiced their exit over and over again instead of just leaving.

"What they hell was that?" Chester asked, running his hands over his messy hair.

"Who," Ingrid spoke, keeping her eyes in the place where they once stood "The correct expression is who."