#'well what's the longest anime you've watched and how many times have you watched it :)'

[calcescarp]

i fell in love with a song from the new one piece movie so naturally i did some calculations on how long it would take me to watch one piece

#i think this is funnier if i present it without comment #one time my brother (a one piece fan) was like #'well what's the longest anime you've watched and how many times have you watched it :)' #he thought he got me. he thought he had a gotcha #because i do like anime and i do rewatch things sometimes #but i was like 'it was 112 episodes and i've never finished a full second watch :)' #and he was like 'oh. i guess i see why you're intimidated by one piece now' #LIKE YEAH BITCH BUT I'M ALSO INTIMIDATED BECAUSE I'M A NORMAL FUCKING PERSON (<- lying) #(i am not a normal person at all) #anyway i have nothing against one piece itself or its fans #i just truly. truly cannot handle the concept of dedicating that much of my time to something #i could binge one piece for 12 hours a day every day and it would still take me over a month to finish it #and that is so fucking insane to me #i know this isn't a hot take btw i know 'haha wow one piece is long!' is the most lukewarm take #maybe even a cold take at this point #but it's also true. #talking tag

[my-moony-and-padfoot]

Get to know me :) In a very detailed manner and all of this totally unnecessary and unneeded

(I found these random questions/"get to know me" thingies from Pinterest and left out a few things) I just wanted to do this because I'm hella bored and definitely shouldn't be studying

Definitely not

First name: Guess 📚

Middle name: Maria

Nickname: My friends call me Grandma, Gran and gran-gran.

Age: 16 soon seventeen omg

Height: 165.5 cm

Birthday: 31 of July

Zodiac sign: I'm a Leo ♌

Sexuality: Pan 🍳

Fave color: light pink, light purple and dark green

Fave animal/s: dogs and cats, foxes. Red pandas are cool too and reindeers. Oh oh and turtles

Pets: three dogs and four cats (in two different places tho)

Shoe size: 38-39 EU

Hair color: dark red

How long is your hair: down to my shoulders

Eye color: blue green brown ish something I really don't know, they're weird. They like often change colors weirdly idk what's up with them. So, I usually stick with saying they're green

Do you have glasses: I do 🤓

Any siblings: half big sister and half big brother, so technically one right?

Where are you from: That there is a mystery 🌎, unless you're fucking Sherlock, or another fictional detective, or a stalker

Last dream: A nightmare of my grandma trying to kill our whole family

Fave book/s: One of the harry potters and heart stoppers. Also I love this Norse mythology book I have

Last book you bought: Loki: where the mischief lies

Favorite hobby/hobbies: writing and crochet 🧶. Also I really like DND 🎲

Favorite game: Sims 4

Fave song/s: We made it - Louis Tomlinson, Hated - YOUNGBLUD, Call your mom - Noah Kahan and Boy in the bubble - Alec Benjamin (I'm sorry I couldn't pick just one)

Favorite artist/s: Louis Tomlinson (he's mainly on my play list) and I also like Harry styles

Last song you listened to: Family line - Conan Gray

Fave movie: Harry Potter Goblet of fire, I don't really watch movies 🎥

Religion: I'm a Christian, like I belong in the church but I don't really believe into anything, but I respect everyone who does <3

Have you been to the hospital: A lot when I was a child, last time was because of my knees

Ever gotten in trouble with the law: Nope

Met any celebrities: I've met a few YouTubers, does that count?

Baths or showers: Showers. Definitely showers 🚿

What color socks are you wearing: white with light purple stripes at the top

Would you like to be famous: not really no

How many pillows do you sleep with: Two, well one the other one just is kinda there but it's never under my head, it's to prop the other one up

Do you own stuffed animals: I do 🧸

If you do, how many: Six, can't sleep without one of them (it's a bunny). I lied there's seven

What position do you sleep in: The Superman position, y'know? 🦸‍♂️

What do you eat for breakfast: I don't eat breakfast, sometimes coffee though, coffee with oat milk is the best

Ever tried archery: I actually have, was my hobby for a year or something, spoiler alert; wasn't very good at it 🏹

Ever fired a gun: Nope and won't

Favorite clean word: fluffy, it's nice to say

Favorite curse word: Fuck, I say that way too much someone help me

Longest you've been without sleep: 23 hours

Have any scars: I do, a surgery scar on my knee, one on my upper lip from my teeth going through it, small one in the corner of my eyes, a lot on my knees from falling down as a kid so much, and then some others

Are you a good liar: I think I am

Can you do any accents (besides your own): Not really and I don't have that much of an accent, I think

What is your personality type: from the 16 personalities INFJ-T 🌛

Can you curl your tongue: I can, I can also do the flower thingy

Left or right handed: right handed

Are you scared of spiders: Sort of, I don't mind them as long as they're not near me

Favorite food: lasagna and tortillas

Are you a clean or a messy person: Messy but in an organized way 📦

Most used phrase: "No shit Sherlock" "no wayyy" "just...why?"

Most used word: Probably some curse word... Or "what" "why"

Do you suck or bite lollipops: Bite 😬

Do you talk to yourself: all the freaking time

Do you sing to yourself: I do, everytime I listen to music alone 😶‍🌫️

Are you a good singer: I'd like to say that I am, but I don't actually know

Biggest fear: someone murdering me (during the night with a knife), dislocating my knee, or any other part that can be dislocated (it hurts so fucking much, cannot recommend)

Can you name all the states: Maybe probably, haven't tried

Favorite school subject: Psychology or English 📖

Least favorite school subject: MATH, and chemistry, physics is sorta alright but I don't like the math part

Extrovert or introvert: Introvert

Have you been scuba diving: Nope, probably never will go 🤿 deep waters scare me

What makes you nervous: Literally everything

Are you scared of the dark: not anymore, unless it's outside, sometimes it's scary inside too, but not too often

Do you correct people if they make mistakes: Sometimes but not to be mean to them, but not like minor mistakes, unless I wanna annoy someone

Are you ticklish: Not really 🪶

Have you been in a position of authority: I've been a scout leader for the past three years, can't do it anymore tho, does that count?

Have you ever drank underage: Once because my sister forced me to, A glass of champagne how rebellious of me

Ever done drugs: Nope

Ever smoked anything: Nope x2

How many piercings do you have: I have earrings and snake bites 🐍

How fast can you type: Somewhat fast, I'm faster on my phone than on a computer

Are you a fast learner: Depends on the subject, but usually yes

Can you roll your R's: No I cannot 🐐

Do you keep a journal: Every now and then, I'm not very consistent

Do you like your age: ✨Sweet sixteen✨ It's fine, I don't really care I'd honestly rather be older ⚰️

Do you like your name: I think it's very pretty, I used to hate it tho when I was young (still kinda do, most of the time). It's fine but I just don't like using it with people

How did you get your name: From my mom and dad lol. No it "tells a story" and it suits well for English which my mom wanted, it's somewhat rare here where I live. With the spelling I have

Dream job: I have zero clue 🔎

What was your first job: A week at a daycare. But my first actual job (something I got paid for) was in a coffee shop for a summer

What places have you worked in: In a daycare and a preschool and two summers in that cafe, never going back there it was horrible

Last show you watched: Chicago med 🩺

Last show you finished: What we do in the shadows

Favorite show ever: Big bang theory, Chicago med and 911. Oh, heartstopper :)

What is your earliest memory: Sitting on a dresser and my dad telling me to wait for a bit, or being on my mum's shoulders while she was doing something outside (I'm not sure which one is first)

Happiest memory: Moving away, getting into the school I wanted with good grades

When did you start this blog: May-June 2022

When did you start writing fanfic: January 2022 (Rhe next few ones a writing related because they were in this one list of questions I found)

What was your first fic: Fred Weasley/reader definitely not with a self insert *cough cough.

How do you come up with ideas for writing: They just come up when I try to sleep, or am doing something random, or something happens so I just write it out. I hate brain storming with all my heart because nothing good comes up when I try

What character/s do you enjoy writing the most: Sirius and Remus <3, but lately I've fallen in love with Percy and Oliver and starchaser is always fun to write

What character do you not enjoy writing: Any authoritative figure because it's hard and when there's multiple characters because it's hard to keep track

Is there a fic you regret writing: Not really, I mean I'm embarrassed of some of my writings, but it just shows that I've learned and I can write better now :)

Favorite thing you've written: "When I..." A long fic about a suicide attempt and it was very comforting to write, but then I think I've written a few good hurt/comfort fics. There's like very small bits of the stories that I absolutely love, and loved to write

What do you like to write: Hurt/comfort and just sad things, I feel like I'm good at it. I like descriptive writing too and I've been trying to work on it lately

What don't you like writing: Smut, I feel a little cringe when I write it, and like longer fics, I feel I can't come up with a good enough idea for a one 🤔 Also, I don't have the patience for that

Favorite characters: Sheldon Cooper from the big bang theory. Sirius and Remus obviously, regulus, and then I like the Weasley twins... There's honestly too many that I like. But to mention a few more: Nick, Charlie, the art teacher I can't remember the name of from heart stopper. Loki <3. Will Halsted and Sharon Goodwin are the best characters in Chicago med, fight me.

Do you keep a journal: I have a few pages in the back of my calendar for bullet journaling

One bad habit: self deprecation, I apparently do that too much. Source: my friends

What did you want to be as a child: I really wanted to be a chef or a baker

Who's the last person you held hands with: My friend when dancing, if that doesn't count, then with the same friend at a school Christmas party cause I almost lost them in the hallway 'cause there were a lot of people. Before that, no clue

Are you outgoing or shy: Shy with new people. I'm shyly outgoing lol

Who are you looking forward to seeing: My bestie haven't seen her in over a year

What does your most recent text say: "Alright :)" Another one cause it was around the same time but to a different person. "It's just a little guy"

Do you have trust issues. Oh yeah

Favorite part of your daily routine: Everything cause it always goes the same way. We love structure over here

What do you do when you wake up: Turn off my alarm if it's on, then I go through the notifications on my phone and just lay there doing random things before I gotta get up. Usually reading actually if I have enough time and oh, always listen to a podcast/music

Do you like your neighbors: I don't really know our neighbors 👀 except the ones I dog sit for. Oh at least one of our neighbors thinks I'm creepy. (Literally steered their kids away from me while I was coming from school.)

Is your hair long enough for a ponytail: it is, I just often don't keep it in one. Unless it's dirty or I'm alone and need it to get it out of the way

How many languages can you speak: Two (actually three but I'm really bad at the third one) I picked french for next year tho :)

Can you cook: Yep, I'm quite good at it. I can bake too

Last time you cried: A few days ago because I was feeling like an absolutely horrible human being

How long does it take you to get ready: Like 10 minutes lol ⏱️

Favorite number: 5. Five is the Ultima number, and everything either ends in five or is divisible by five. I've always liked the number five :3

Alright 😮‍💨

That was quite long, Sorry about that, I just like questions :)

If there is something you wanna know for some reason, feel free to ask. Like I said I like questions.

I might write more things here, if I think of something or find something fun

Feel free to use these if you want, I just want to note that most of these I did not make up myself and I don't know who did.

Enjoy this I guess I just got inspired and stopped studying for this, anyone I can blame on my English grade after this 👀

Also there's almost hundred of you following me, that's so weird....

<3

#get to know me #questions #get to know the blogger #get to know the person behind the blog #get to know you #fanfic writing #writing #thoughts #this was my procrastination #i'm procrastinating #this was fun

[semperintrepida]

1 (mainly how's progress and what do you love most about it), 4, 21, 23?

Also, for 18 you said "There's a version of that story that doesn't skip the five months between chapter 1 and 2."

Is there any way you would ever post your draft of that version? That's incredibly intriguing and I would love to read it.

Finally, you said "There's also a version with an Isu component that became a darling that I absolutely had to kill."

Could you elaborate? That sounds super interesting.

Hey there, @triyal!

1．Tell us about your current project(s)  – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?

If you've been following me for any length of time, you know what my current obsession project's all about. I'm still working on second-pass edits for the last handful of chapters in the book, while simultaneously doing final polish edits on chapters before posting them. (We're up to chapter 20 of 39!)

I'm really hoping to get second-pass edits wrapped up so I can start working on something else.

What I've loved about this book is the fucking audacity of it: the subject matter, the choice of POV/tense, Kyra as my POV character, the ambitions I have for the narrative. This is a work that the publishing industry would call "a challenging book to sell." It's certainly been a challenge to write.

(I'm also irrationally proud of the ending.)

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

I was joking with someone in a side chat that I've written too many bangers in "The Breaking" for me to choose just one, and I probably deserved their response that it's a wonder my head can still fit through a doorway...

So I'll pick this line from "And the Currents Collide":

Kassandra arrived at the Altar of Artemis under night-shrouded skies that had just begun to soften with the pale light of dissolving stars.

A lot of assonance and consonance in that sentence—the initial run of a sounds giving way to all those s'es—along with an intriguing image of "dissolving stars."

21. What other medium do you think your story would work well as? (film, webcomic, animated series?)

Parts of "The Breaking" might make an interesting stage play. Hear me out: there's not a whole lot of action and the meaty parts of the book are mostly dialogue between two leads. It could work!

23. What’s the story idea you’ve had in your head for the longest?

I've wanted to tell a rip-roarin' redemption story since I watched Xena on broadcast TV in the 90s. My teenage self envisioned it as a Xena fic of course, but that trope was already so so overdone and besides, teenage me couldn't write her way out of a paper bag. (I also had zero life experience so my fiction would have had the emotional complexity of a turnip.)

So I set the idea aside.

Twenty years later, AC Odyssey drops the perfect redemptive protagonist into my lap: deimos!Kassandra, along with an equally compelling romantic possibility in Kyra. I've also had twenty years of Doing and Seeing Some Shit and have somehow learned to write.

So here's hoping this book resonates a little better than a turnip!

Extra bonus asks:

I answered similar questions over here. Very unlikely we'll ever see Deimos doing unforgivable deeds, but the Isu thing is a real possibility...

[Fun meta asks for writers]

#i'm glad you asked #triyal #ask meme #wip: kyklos #wip: irredeemable

[ordinarytalk]

I posted 2,363 times in 2022

88 posts created (4%)

2,275 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@noirandchocolate

@crankyteapot

@anonymousalchemist

@myrskytuuli

@sabertoothwalrus

I tagged 2,304 of my posts in 2022

Only 2% of my posts had no tags

#posts from the queue - 613 posts

#laugh rule - 382 posts

#danny phantom - 215 posts

#dracula daily - 143 posts

#dracula - 102 posts

#personal stuff - 85 posts

#laugh rule! - 68 posts

#undertale - 51 posts

#music - 49 posts

#stories - 36 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#“the monsters that live in these woods‚ the woods you live in‚ are evil. we will protect you from the monsters that live in these woods.”

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

OP I think you accidentally singlehandedly summoned most of the DP fans with your two posts, which is both amazing yet also understandably overwhelming. How are you taking this? What's your favorite fic that you've read so far?

Thank you for asking! I've been kind of overwhelmed, but in a good way? I have never had a post take off like that before. This is like the most crazy supportive fandom I've ever seen.

And I have read so many dang fics it's hard to choose one. My very favorites tend to be small semi-demi-hemi AUs where someone just puts a little one-page wild idea out there, like "What if a ghost thought Tucker was Phantom?" or "What if there was a ghost alien?" People get crazy creative with those.

My favorite longer fic I've read so far is the "Something's Wrong With Danny Fenton" series, because I'm in love with horror stories and I think it's adorable when the kids all have cute teen crushes on each other.

(Before anyone asks, I have A Snapping Sound, Phantom of Truth, and Mortified on my to-read list but I haven't read them yet. I, uh...I'm slightly terrified by the size of some of these.)

My favorite fic/comic series is @artistfingers's Undercover Phantom AU! That's actually kind of what started my Phandom deep dive. Well, that and @the-stove-is-on-fire's Danny Phantom/Spiderman/Deadpool comics. They just kept on popping up on my dash over and over until I was like "okay, interest reawakened, my next thing is Danny Phantom now I guess"

228 notes - Posted January 13, 2022

#4

TAG COMMA

‚ <- that's it, officer

You can also type it with alt code 0130

914 notes - Posted May 1, 2022

#3

1,241 notes - Posted March 28, 2022

#2

Just watched Jordan Peele's Nope.

Nope is about exploitation.

Nope is about how Hollywood chews up everyone involved in it.

Nope is about racism.

Nope is about UFOs.

Nope is not about UFOs.

Nope is about why you don't work with chimpanzee co-stars.

Nope is about being eaten alive figuratively, by your passions, by your history, by trying to reclaim lost glory, by an audience that only ever wants more and is never satisfied.

Nope is about being eaten alive literally, really slowly, and you're awake and screaming the whole time.

Nope is about how you can never really tame a wild animal.

Nope is about how you can absolutely tame a wild animal.

(No you can't) (But you sort of can)

Nope is about the world's most stupidly dramatic recitation of "Flying Purple People Eater," but you suddenly realize that it's scaring you.

Nope is about why you don't let your heavily autistic-coded brother do the public speaking.

Nope is about why you don't let your sister have the aux.

Nope is about being forcibly adopted by a young adult conspiracy theorist who just got out of a four-year relationship and really needs you guys right now, okay? He hacked your cameras, please don't be mad. Wanna play video games?

Most importantly, Nope is about scaring me so fucking bad that I didn't even realize until the movie was over that I had turned my popcorn bucket into this:

1,699 notes - Posted August 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Okay so it turns out that Danny Phantom was the worst possible old show to get a sudden and inexplicable hyperfixation on, because apparently the fandom's been going full tilt since 2004.

Usually when I get a hyperfixation outta nowhere for a completed series, I spend a week, maybe two going through old fanfiction and fanart, and then I burn through what's left, and then I'm done.

Danny Phantom has a pile of fanfiction and fanart that's been growing steadily since, and I cannot emphasize this enough, 2004, and there are still people putting out multiple things every single day. I'm already like 20 AUs in and I've been up till 2:00am every single night this week because I've found a new enormous fascinating fanfic that was so good I could not physically make myself sleep until I finished it.

Help?

15,319 notes - Posted January 9, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#year in review #I am still getting dozens of notifications for the Danny Phantom post every single day #That might be normal for actually popular blogs but I'm still pretty wowed by it #personal stuff

[servin-up-surveys]

survey #094

(taken december 28th last year; uploading surveys taken while gone)

Do you prefer light-coloured eyes or dark-coloured eyes? In general, light.

Are you similar to your sibling(s), personality-wise? How so? Not really, except my mom's oldest daughter Katie. We are VERY similar and I really wish I got to see her way more than I do; she lives in Kentucky. We're both bipolar and deal with a lot of emotional stuff, and we both have a calm, quiet external personality.

Do you watch amateur song covers on YouTube? No. I like some cover artists, but I wouldn't call them "amateurs" by this point in their YouTube careers.

Has someone ever told you that you didn’t have a backbone? How did you react? Been called spineless, yes, and it hurt, but not nearly as much as other shit she said. In some ways I can see her perspective about that in how I handled the situation and I wish I had carried out our split differently, however I absolutely had my reasons, like I genuinely thought we'd both be better off with how I did it.

Do you know who the members of your favourite band are dating? Well Ozzy is obviously married to Sharon, but I don't know most of the Rammstein guys' current partners because really most of them are private with their personal and family lives and the info isn't really public.

What is the longest time you’ve gone without brushing your teeth? I'm not comfortable sharing this because hygiene neglect is a very legitimate problem I've been through because of depression and self-worth and stuff, and I'm finally paying for it with so much dental work in the process. Take care of your teeth, people, you've got ONE pair of adult teeth and your neglect will inevitably eventually show.

Are there any songs that got you through tough times? Which one(s)? Oh my lord in heaven, I could list probably near 50 that played very deep roles in keeping me going, but I'll try to pick out a few super strong ones. "It's Alright" by Mother Mother is one of my absolute go-tos for comfort and reassurance, "The Ghost of You" by My Chemical Romance is a song I JUST became able to listen to again because I binged the shit out of it and sobbed my eyes out to it after Jason's mom died, "Lost It All" by Black Veil Brides was a significant piece in my worst depression, "Another Life" by Motionless In White (along with a metric shitload of over songs, mainly BY MiW) was SUPER significant as I grieved Jason... There's just so so so so SO many, dude.

Would you be interested in going to see a psychic? Absolutely not, I don't give money to scam artists.

What is the most recent band you’ve started listening to? I'm kinda getting into Ghost.

Did you have a lot of role models as a kid? Uh, maybe not "a lot," idk. There was mostly Steve Irwin, Jane Goodall, Jeff Corwin, Jack Hanna... Mostly animal lovers and educators.

Do you feel like anyone looks up to you? Why or why not? Absolutely not. Because I'm, y'know, *gestures at self*

What are three things you hate about your country? Our healthcare system and how human wellfare is handled in general, how incredibly poorly we "take care" of our homeless (it's NOT a worldwide thing where homeless people are treated like fucking roaches in a gourmet restaurant, but America is wonderful at doing just that), and how could I NOT mention how fucking arrogant and "superior" an alarming chunk of our population think this country is, NA imperialism is a massive problem and makes this country look like a fucking joke.

What are three things you love about your country? I mean in general it's a strong place for various opportunities, it's advanced in many areas like proper and safe housing, very impressive medical capabilities, etc., and it has an incredible amount of environment diversity.

If you had to study abroad for a semester, where would you like to go? GERMANY. Spending a year there and therefore inevitably being regularly exposed to the language would help me learn SO much, I'm sure.

If you had to study in another state for a year, where would you go? Somewhere to the west, with plenty of forests and just be surrounded by nature. OR Michigan. I want to visit Arizona, but a year might be too much for me because of the heat.

Who is the nicest person you know? Probably Mazzy, honestly.

Do you act fake on Facebook? lol hell no, I am very open about things like political, religious, and ethical stuff and I know it pisses off family and probably disappoints old teachers, I just don't care.

Do you feel comfortable sharing opinions online? For the most part, yeah. I'm way more comfortable doing it online than in person, and as I get older the more willing I am to share regardless of environment.

[TW: GENERAL ABUSE, SEXUAL ABUSE] Have you ever been abused, kidnapped, molested, or harassed by a cop? I consider myself immensely lucky that I have not been, but I absolutely was harassed as a child by two male peers.

Do you feel safe where you live? For the most part, yes. No one cares about this little shitty section of North Carolina, lol. We're not on anybody's radar. However, I do sometimes think about how if DC got hit by an atomic bomb or something similar, I'm pretty damn sure we would be within pretty damn close impact and be wiped out. I don't think about it a lot though at all, it's a total chance situation that I have absolutely zero control over, so whatever.

Where have you considered moving to? Western NC. That's where one day I want Girt and me to be, in the mountains.

Do you want to move? Desperately. Both Mom and I absolutely loathe this place.

Are there any good churches in your town? I don't believe in "good" churches.

Have you been falsely diagnosed with something by a bad doctor? Yep. Can y'all believe I have ADHD? I did NOT stay with that psychiatrist long, the therapist that worked with her was fuckin weird too.

Have you ever had a doctor refuse to treat you? Uh I don't think so at all.

Who has isolated you and refused to speak to you? Well, Jason, but by this point I don't want to talk to/associate with him either.

Do you have a Nintendo Switch? No.

Have you played Breath of the Wild? No, I'm not a Zelda fan.

Has anyone ever specifically painted you a painting? I remember Juan gave me a Pikachu painting he did in art class once, but idk if he made it FOR me.

Do you feel a connection to the moon? Not really, but also yes. I'm one of those "everything is ultimately connected/as above, so below" people and believe in our very, very core, we all originate from one specific starting point, and that technically connects us to the moon, but I don't feel some like, spiritual connection to it and the connection that DOES exist is so so SO very strained by time.

What are some fall activities you would do with your kids? If I ever have kids, fall will definitely be something I look forward to. I'd seriously decorate the house for Halloween for sure, maybe a bit for Thanksgiving too, and I think I'd wanna make crafts with leaves and stuff with them. At LEAST once I'd absolutely wanna let them jump in a big ol' raked leaf pile. Decorating pumpkins is a must, and I'd definitely wanna pass down my love of Hocus Pocus and other Halloween movies. We will ABSOLUTELY go trick-or-treating, I will drive far to ensure my kids experience a fun, safe, traditional Halloween instead of just that trunk-or-treat garbage. :( As they got older I'd be willing to let them have access to more spooky stuff, like I would without a fuckin DOUBT get the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books, let them go on haunted hayrides and visit haunted house attraction-type stuff, etc. I think it'd be a total fuckin blast to go ghost hunting with my teen kids, lol. YEESH there's more stuff I would want to do but this is already long AND the topic of kids kinda stresses me out now so moving on.

Have you ever seen a fox? Yes, but they're disappointingly rare to see here. :( I actually saw a pretty damn rare sight the other day, a roadkilled red fox, and I was so sad to see it dead. You never see the red and white ones around here.

What color are the squirrels where you live? We have gray squirrels (basically a dull brown with white-ish highlights) around here.

Do you find museums boring or interesting? I LOVE museums, especially science ones. It's a total fucking DREAM for me to visit one with a fossil display, I've never seen one. :(

What was your favorite girl group when you were growing up? Uh, most likely Spice Girls.

Who is the last person you cut out of your life? Mini, once and for all. I don't support transphobic, pro-life bigots.

Name ONE good memory about your last ex? It was just a very new experience, dating a girl. I also felt just extremely connected to her in a friendship sort of way, like one of the tightest friendships I've ever felt, pretty much right when I met her in real life. I was immediately so very comfortable in her presence.

What are you superstitious about? Nothing.

Have you ever had feelings for two people at the same time? Yes. Not like insanely deep ones, but crushes.

Do you study better with or without music? Without.

How many kids do you want to have? I will probably have none, but if I do decide I want children, I absolutely will not have more than two.

Who’s the last person you smoked weed with? I've never smoked.

Who is the person you have hurt the most? Maybe my mom? Or Jason? Sara, maybe? Idk.

Who is the person that has hurt you the most? Jason.

Have you purposely flirted with a friend's crush? As a pre-teen, yes. THAT was an event.

Do you have any siblings that moved away to college? Ashley did when she was in college; she lived in a dorm with friends.

Who’s the last guy to give you roses? Tyler.

What’s the largest animal you’ve ever had as a pet? Cali, a boxer mix.

Could you possibly write a successful novel? I think I could, but I won't.

If you had to get a portrait tattoo, who would it be of? My dog Teddy. I still might do that, but I also may revise his tribute tattoo, idk yet.

Did you get carded the last time you ordered an alcoholic drink? No.

Would you ever consider moving to another country for your career? No. That's the primary reason I never pursued being a meerkat biologist.

Do you own a Kindle? No, I strongly favor physical books. Digital ones just aren't the same at all to me.

Have you ever made a sex tape? No, and that's not something I'm ever willing to do.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “Monday”? In this instance Orgy's cover of "Blue Monday" came to mind, lol.

What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries. I also really enjoy kiwi too, though.

What was the last photograph you took? I took some photos of the Christmas tree a few days back!

What was the first sport you learned how to play? I feel like it was soccer... but I absolutely hated it. It may have been t-ball, which I did enjoy as a kiddo.

Do you like to hold hands? If you're my s/o, yes.

Is shyness cute? It can be. Historically it seems like I'm more attracted to outgoing people, I guess as a sort of balance for me, and I find it ESPECIALLY cute when a typically more socially confident person acts shy around me. It's something that sometimes happens with Girt and I adore it, lol.

Have you ever snuck around to be with a guy? Nope.

Why do some guys lie about not being virgins? I feel like they're like, "expected" to not be, especially at a certain age, way more than women. It's insane how virgin women tend to be seen as so pure, but a man being a virgin is hilarious and/or embarrassing.

Would you ever stay with a cheater? NO. Absolutely not. I'm out, immediately.

Have you ever been pregnant? No, let's keep it that way for my foreseeable future.

Do you or have you ever had a fake ID? Nope.

Do you think earrings are attractive or unattractive on guys? I'd say it depends on the guy, but I'm generally attracted to piercings on anyone. Regardless though, my personal opinion doesn't mean shit, guys can adorn their bodies however the hell they want.

Have you ever walked in on somebody doing something… questionable? I FEEL like I once walked into my parents' room to my dad maybe watching porn. I was never sure, but I do remember what was on the TV was sus and that he changed it after I walked in there.

What is the most disturbing movie you’ve ever watched? Probably Paranormal Entity. The ending was A LOT.

Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning? Probably Jason because I actually had a dream featuring him last night.

If your best friend needed somewhere to stay, could they live with you? Of course, my mom nor I would need to think about it for even a heartbeat.

What were you doing at 12:00am last night? Uh pretty sure I was finishing up my Flickr, since I decided to revamp that last night.

What are you listening to right now? "Mary On A Cross" by Ghost.

#survey #surveys #random questions #personal questions

[lovemesomesurveys]

What's the longest you've spent on this website in 1 day?: I’m on Tumblr off and on all day for hours sometimes. It varies cause it depends Joe how long it takes me to go though my dash and catch up. Plus, I do these surveys and that takes up time cause I often take several a day.

New followers— Hi and welcome, thank you for following! I just want to say my blog is usually more organized, I’m very particular about the survey format, and I usually do post several surveys a day, but for the past month or so now I haven’t been able to due to being in the hospital. I’m doing these on my phone and it takes me longer and I just don’t feel up to doing too much right now. Plus, I can’t do much about the formatting on here either. Anyway, just wanted to throw that out there lol. Hope you stick around!

Could you climb the monkey bars now like you did as a kid?: I couldn’t then or now.

Have you ever dyed your eyebrows to match your hair? : No.

Last sentence you said out loud.: I don’t remember, that was over a month ago.

What's your favorite shower/bath product?: My body soap.

When was the last time you looked out of a window?: I can right now I have a big window in this room.

Do you have carpent in your place of residence? : Carpet? Yeah, the bedrooms do.

What's your shoe size?: 6.

What kind of toothpaste do you use?: Sensodyne.

Do you watch game shows?: Yeah, mainly Family Feud and Weakest Link. A few others sometimes as well.

How many stitches have you had in your lifetime? : Numerous.

Have you suffered from depression? : Yes, I do. Presently. Ongoing.

Do you like rap music? What's a song you enjoy from the genre? : Yeah.

Do you have a favorite day of the week? : They’re all really the same for me, especially now.

How much money do you regularly spend on groceries? : Our grocery trips get pretty pricey.

Who did you last have a phone conversation with?: My mom.

Are you currently wearing any accessories? : No.

What was the last gift you received? : My mom got me a journal that has prompts and other stuff to do to give me something else to do.

Are you wearing anything green?: No.

Has anyone ever pinched you for not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day? : Playfully, yeah. Not hard or anything. If they did they’d be getting pinched right back and hard, too. lmao.

What did you last eat?: Feeding tube food. As for actual food, it was a cookie and some chips.

What does your last text say?: It was from my mom asking how I’m doing today.

Are there any bands you wish would get back together?: I miss Chester Bennington and Linkin Park and I’m sad I never got to see them in concert.

What are your favorite fast food restaurants? : Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, Carl’s Jr, and Chick-Fil-A.

How about least favorite?: Wendy’s and Burger King.

What kind of cereal did you have last?: I don’t remember.

Would you rather, on a dare, eat an insect or kiss a stranger?: I’d like to do neither.

What's the last thing that made you feel sad?: Being here, my health, my life, being in pain…

Would you ever become a truck driver?: No.

Do you like spaghetti sauce or just butter and cheese over noodles? : Both are good, actually.

What do you think animals dream about?: Playing, food, and I’d like to think my doggo dreams about my fam and I ☺️

Have you ever forgotten to blow out a candle before bed?: No. I also don’t light candles, sooo. I’m a scaredy-cat.

What's your favorite thing to purchase at thrift shops?: I don’t go to any.

What type of novels do you enjoy reading?: Murder mystery and psychological thrillers.

Do you like chocolate milk?: I like chocolate Yoo-Hoo.

Would you ever get your nose pierced?: I sometimes think a little one would be cute, but nah.

Do you know anyone named Shirley? : No.

Do you know what day of the week you were born?: A Friday, I think.

When did you last take a shower/bath?: An actual one was over a month ago. I get cleaned up daily here, though. An actual shower sounds nice.

How many chairs are currently sat at your dinner table? (if you have one): We don’t.

How many windows are in your place of residence? : Three.

Are you currently in pain?: Yes. 😣

What was the last song you listened to?: Bring Me To Life.

How is your day so far?: Mehhh. I’ve been having more pain today.

Tell me about a good day you've had here recently. (:: It’s been a long time…

What's the last 3 emojis you've used?: 😣☺️🙃

Does you name begin with an L, A, U, or C?: Nope.

Have you ever accidentally sent a text to a person you were talking about?: Noo, omg.

Are you any good at sports?: Nope. I have no interest in them either.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

[xnchxntmxnt]

Welcome to the party!

I hope you're ready for a fun time! I'm very happy everyone could make it and you all look great. More on the party later, I have a few words to say first.

I started this blog a year ago today after having barely any idea what the hell I was doing. All I knew is my wonderful friend Poe got me into a new anime and I'd absolutely fallen in love with it. I'd had a love of writing since I was ten, and I thought it was time to put that talent to use.

Words cannot describe how happy I am to still be active. I may not be as active as I once was, and I cannot update once a week like I used to, but I still appreciate all the support I get nonetheless.

Since then I've made so many friends, met so many people, got into new things and done things I never thought I would. I could talk for hours about all the friends I have because I love them all, but I'll try to keep these short so we can get to the more fun part...

@emswordss you were my first mutual and we still talk almost every day and that makes me so, so happy. you're so incredible and i'm happy i could be part of the journey you're on and help you with the crazy shit that is teenage years.

@domestic-void/@nekomas-kuroo my second mutual ever! i am so glad you let me write that lev fic its still the longest fic i've ever written for this (besides that one selfship thing but we aren't counting that)

@shoyotime/@miyamours my first wife <33 we havent talked in a while but i remember how much we did especially when i was first starting out. thanks for all the confidence boosts and all the weird conversations <3

@shirari we havent talked in so long !!! how are you? i don't know if you're really active anymore but i feel badcwe kinds lost touch

@ellesmain/@ellewords I MISS YOUUU ik finals suck i do but i miss seeing you on my dash!!! need my big sister once in a while yk <3 i hope finals are going well and that you're doing ok too! mayeb by the time you're back I'll have another taylor swift cover for you

@maizumis i havent seen you online in forever either !! we gotta talk soon!

@possiblypoe THE OG!!! this brilliant person got me into haikyuu it's her fault you all have to deal with me. poe you are so so so so so incredible and i KNOW how long you've been waiting for your matchup so go read and text me/send and ask and tell me your thoughts!!! love you (/p)

@mysterystarz/@nekonovs wife #2!!! thanks for being the crackhead in my discord dms over the summer /j. no but actually i know we dont talk as much as we did over the summer, mostly because we're both busy, but youre so amazing really. thank you for all the late night conversations and the akaashi brainrot

@k-kazvha i think you were my first genshin moot?? also happy late birthday!!! have fun dancing the night away with diluc. i said some of this yesterday on your birthday but i am SO glad we met you're so funny and honestly great to talk to. i ma not always comment on it but your posts make me laugh a lot (usually the shitposts). you're an incredibly talented writer thank you for being amazing

@rqkuya you literally know all my ocs in and out and you're so so so incredible to talk to about them. you always ahve the funniest one-liners and little ideas to add, and no matter how much you yell at me for throwing angst at them, you love me for it anyway. thank you so so much for making me feel like i always have someone to talk to about anything (usually characters, but even serious things) tor.

@merciemer DAD !! high key you're very like an older brother for me and i talk about you deadass all the time. you give me gender envy a LOT (but in a great way) and youre so pretty in like the most gnc way possible. you're absolutely hilarious and i feel my own parent friend instincts kick in once in a while when we talk but its because i care i swear <3

@animated-moon my fellow tendou simp. we really need to sit down and watch howl's moving castle one of these days. i'm still proud of that tendou fic for you i wrote not too long ago (or maybe it was, i have no perception of time) but it was really fun to write and you're just. so much fun to talk to we really need to talk more bc youre a riot in the best way ever

@kage7ama ANGEL THAT INTRODUCED ME TO THAT SONG— ok i still scream sing that and in the back of my head im thankng you for showing it to me i LOVE it thank you. i was so worried when you deactivated but its ok bc i got the new url <33

@kodzukoi ANOTHER ONE WHO HEARS ABOUT MY OCS i am so glad you're as into sk8 as i am (or almost, idk) and know that langa is giving u a forehead kiss rn. as am i (/p). but you're so easy to talk to and constantly reminding me that im not talking too much which i appreciate also you give the best compliments. jun kinnie (affectionate)

@rudolphsboyfriend AAAAA I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU TO READ UR MATCHUP URS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES. but youre so talented like what the hell??? talented voice, talented writer, my irls hear about you all the time jfc i need to shut up about you sometimes. but yeah i just think you're super awesome man

@sunalma i missed you on my dash !!! im glad youre back though even if it's not as much. fun fact: i was SO SCARED to talk to you for so long but the more time went on the more time i got over myself and tried not to hit the send button on inbox asks and throw my phone to the other end of my bed

@miyagem LAST BUT NOT LEAST i think youre my newest mutual??? we talk a decent amount though so i already call u my friend <33 i definitely need to bother you more tho its fun youre great to talk to

that should be everyone its everyone in my notes w an emoji at least. if i forgot you i swear i didn't mean to !!!!

and an extra extra shoutout to all my anons + anyone who just likes to interact, even if through reblogs! ur messages/tags/anything else mean the world to me !! your support is mostly why i keep doing this and i wouldn't have hit 1 year if not for you.

nOW THAT THE SAPPY STUFF IS OVER BACK TO ME WRITING PROFESSIONALLY

quick preface: when in doubt assume everyone is 22. i don't care how that affects the plot of the original story your character is from, everyone is 22 so we can all drink champagne (if you choose). carry on

The night opens in a giant, golden, open ballroom, perfectly set white tables taking up a decent amount of room. Other tables line the walls, all covered in food (all with various coverings on it so it doesn't get too cold). Come in, take a seat wherever you like. Dinner starts soon.

The room is quiet, save the chatter of people finding seats. Three people stand in the center of the room with various kinds of musical nstruments—L, in the center, (@rudolphsboyfriend my beloved) Blue to their side and Semi Eita on their other. All three are smiling, however L is the most, seeing everyone make their entrances.

Once everyone is seated, he explains: one of his biggest passions is music and he has two incredibly talented friends that agreed to play with him for the first part of the night, then dinner, then the rest of the party as everyone pleases.

They make a speech about how appreciative they are for everyone (see above for that) and the three of them play their set. Music kicks on, they announce dinner is open, and the rest of the night is yours for the choosing.

Do enjoy and tell me how spend your time!

Event Content!

playlist for the night

✧ drabbles ✧

@merciemer - dancing with matsukawa issei @kage7ama - people watching with diluc ragnvindr @animated-moon - eating dessert with tendou satori @rqkuya - xiao (yours didn't get a name but i swear its for good reason) @terushimatwinn - balcony conversations with miya atsumu @kodzukoi - car conversations with langa hasegawa

✧ matchups ✧

for @emswordss ✧✧✧ for @keijinn ✧✧✧ for anon ✧✧✧ for @duckymcdoorknob ✧✧✧ for @possiblypoe ✧✧✧ for @rudolphsboyfriend ✧✧✧ for 🌱 anon ✧✧✧

✧ other additions ✧

my evening with kaoru sakurayashiki

If you didn't get a chance to participate and want to (or you did, and want to add onto what I came up with), please do! Send it in as a submission or inbox message, or just tag me in a post you make! I'd love to add it to the main post!

Only rule about this is you cannot double characters. There are a few taken already, but if you would like to participate, please choose someone else that hasn't been listed in one of the drabbles/matchups to save everyone the confusion.

Thank you all so much again. I could not have done this all without you and I appreciate everyone that follows and interacts with me more than you all know. I hope to do something like this next year around this time if life permits. Other than that, get a drink, some dancing in, talk to new people—the night is yours! Enjoy the party.

#anniversary event

[growup-gloup]

I posted 632 times in 2021

117 posts created (19%)

515 posts reblogged (81%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 4.4 posts.

I added 565 tags in 2021

#carpe diem - 116 posts

#ama - 89 posts

#anonymous - 88 posts

#education - 56 posts

#relationships - 44 posts

#beauty - 38 posts

#socialize - 38 posts

#health - 34 posts

#style - 32 posts

#grounding box - 30 posts

Longest Tag: 62 characters

#last time i was the dad from cloudy with a chance of meatballs

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

What are some ways to enjoy my own time without feeling like I need a S/O?

12 ways you can productively pass time and not be bored*

*that don't involve binge-watching on netflix or youtube

Learn a new skill

Start playing a new instrument

Learn a new language

Get a new hobby

Attend a course in an obscure niche topic

If you can’t pay for classes, then YouTube and Google are your best friends.

Play with your style and upgrade your wardrobe/hair

Spend time with friends and family. If that is not an option, then join different Facebook, Tumblr, or Discord groups for people in your area, or with interests similar to yours.

Follow your local bloggers and accounts; some of them are promoting free or cheap events around town, which is a great way to make new friends

Get a cookbook, and cook your way through it, one meal a day/week based on your schedule

Watch documentaries and listen to podcasts or audiobooks

Read, both fiction and non-fiction, especially in genres you don’t usually go for

Start a blog about a topic you’re really interested in. Not only will it keep you busy, but the research, the networking, and the travelling you may have to do for it can be an enriching experience

Basically, the best way to keep yourself busy and not feel lonely are things that only only feel good at the time, but enrich you enough that you feel good afterwards, and something productive came out of it. It doesn't mean watching Netflix or YouTube is the root of all evil. I love both of them, but the best things come in moderation. So yes, do that, and then try the aforementioned activities as well.

💋

Ko-Fi

198 notes • Posted 2021-05-27 04:59:36 GMT

#4

How do I become more social if I don’t have much to say to anyone I feel like I’m boring what could I do ?

How to make yourself more interesting?

Read more books. Start with fiction and non-fiction in topics that interest you, and once you've got the hang of reading regularly, you can move onto other genres and topics that you may not be familiar with. If reading is too much, start with audiobooks. You can find a bunch on YouTube to start with.

Watch documentaries. Marathoning shows and movies are fun and can be great conversation topics, but watching documentaries on a variety of topics can help expand your worldview and knowledge. Watch documentaries on different cultures, points in history, animals, and even space. There is always something to learn and there are so many well-filmed documentaries that captivate you as well as any movie.

Listen to different music. People love to talk about their music preferences, and someone knowing your favorite songs is a love language of its own. Check out different genres. Every genre has the top artists that everyone knows and famous songs. Start with those, and if you're starting to enjoy the music, you can expand from there.

Stay up to date with current events. This applies universally but is especially important these days, as there is always something new happening and there everyone has an opinion on the situation. But tread this carefully. Not everyone wants to be constantly bombarded with horror stories on the news, and it's best to steer clear of politics. These conversations come up naturally, but it helps to know what's going on.

Travel more. Even if you don't have the budget to leave your city, there is still so much you can do within 20 km of where you live. There are new restaurants and hangout spots to try. Many public places are either free or have discounts on certain events. That's a great way to experience something and also an idea for a spontaneous hangout with friends.

All these things help expand your worldview and give you more to talk about when you are with a person. The more you've seen and experienced, the more you can talk about it, even if it is to say that you didn't enjoy it.

Once you get talking, you'll also get recommendations, or learn new things from the people you talk to. Take note of that too. Look into the things they recommend. Who doesn't love hearing "Hey, I checked out that book/show/song/place you were telling me about"? Either you enjoyed a new experience, or you have another topic to talk about next time.

If you're not comfortable talking about yourself, that's totally fine. You shouldn't be telling everyone you meet everything anyways. A little mystery is good. People love talking about themselves and their interests, so even if you don't know much about what they're talking about, asking good follow-up questions can keep them engaged in conversation and help you learn something new.

💋

211 notes • Posted 2021-08-27 06:18:05 GMT

#3

Relationships 101

One of the most common questions I get asked about is relationships, and how to approach them. This is about to be one of the longest posts I have ever written, but trust me, you will be glad that you read it.

One of the first things you should do is do a little bit of self-evaluation. Be honest, but don’t be too critical. You are not as bad as you think you are, but at the same time, there is more you can do to take control of the situation than you think. Ask yourself the following questions:

What do you want from yourself? What does your ideal self and life look like? Where do you see yourself in five years? What can you do to get the life you want?

What makes you feel confident? Beautiful? Sensual? It doesn’t have to be the stereotypical ideas of beauty. This is about what YOU do and how it makes YOU feel. It’s personal and everyone will feel good in different ways. You need to know what makes YOU feel that way before you take in other people’s opinions about it.

How do you define love? How do you differentiate romantic love from platonic love? It’s okay if they are very similar. Many people cannot date someone they don’t consider a good friend. Others cannot imagine dating friends.

What makes you feel loved? Words of affirmation? Physical touch (not to be confused with sex)? When someone gives you gifts (not to be confused with pure materialism)? When you spend time with someone doing your own thing but in their company? When someone goes out of their way to do something for you?

What do you often do to show your love for others? Consider the same love languages mentioned above.

What does your ideal partner look like? What do they like to do? What are they like? This is helpful because if you know what you want, you won’t settle for less. It’s not foolproof and the first person you date after this won’t necessarily be your soulmate, but it can help you avoid settling for less than what you deserve and have fewer heartbreaks.

And possibly the most important one:

Are you mentally, physically, socially, and economically in the right place to be a good partner?

The immediate answer is yes for more people but just think about this first. I know our generation is very introverted, but if this pandemic taught us anything, it’s that we NEED love, be it familial, romantic, or platonic. That being said, just because you want a significant other really bad right now, doesn’t mean that it is the best thing for you at the moment. You should know your worth before you seek validation from anyone else.  

A relationship is a two-way street. You may want the intimacy and someone who is there for you, but can you genuinely offer the same? Even in my own case, I want to be a good supportive partner, but right now, I need to focus on myself, and if I pursue a relationship right now, I would be balancing the two of us, and it wouldn’t be fair to either of us. That could be one of the reasons people choose to be in a polyamorous relationship, but that is just going off on a different tangent.

Sometimes, your partner’s goals and lifestyle may not align with yours. And that isn’t a bad thing. There is so much you can learn from your significant others that you never even would have thought of otherwise. But what you have to keep in mind is that there will be times that these differences may clash. You need to have some common ground. You both need to be willing to explore each other’s interests that have nothing to do with you. You both also need to accept that sometimes, the other person won’t be as into it as much as you are, but you both should respect each other’s interests regardless.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a good partner makes you want to be the best version of you that you can possibly be. They encourage you to try new things that will benefit you and they take joy in your success. They do not try to change you into their own idea of what a good partner should look like. They will not hold you back from achieving your dreams, and yes, sometimes those dreams can mean that your relationship is not the #1 priority. If your dream school is across the country, and they try to stop you from attending because that means you won’t be able to see each other every day, then that is a problem. A good partner would be willing to try long-distance, or if it isn’t possible, accept that this relationship has come to its natural end, which is fine, and you can part on good terms. Many people say that you can’t be friends with your exes, but it really depends on how much you respected each other during the relationship and after.

Once you consider all these factors, and if you think you are ready to be in a relationship, then you can start looking. Remember earlier on when we talked about knowing what you want? This is the time to apply it. You will likely receive dick messages and people who talk about sex in the first conversation. If sex isn’t the main thing you are looking for, then don’t respond. You are not obligated to respond to people who don’t give you basic respect. The same goes for any other boundary that they keep pushing after you have said that you aren’t comfortable.

With this pandemic, online dating might be the safest bet until everyone is vaccinated. Even if you meet someone in person, try to keep your interactions online so that both of you and your loved ones are safe. If you aren’t ready for dating apps, try online forums of communities you are genuinely interested in.

Depending on what kind of person you are looking for, you can go to certain places to attract them. If you want someone who is really into reading, your best bet would be to join a book club. If you are into sports, maybe attending games might get you talking with someone.

Make sure you are taking care of yourself. You don’t have to look like an Instagram model. In fact, that is an unrealistic standard and you definitely should not look like one. Even Instagram models don’t look like that 24/7. You don’t even have to wear makeup if you don’t want to. But you should be showering daily and brushing your teeth and make sure your hair, nails, and skin are taken care of.

You should also remember not to lose yourself in your relationship. Stay mindful of your goals and ambitions and keep working on them.

One last thing to remember is that growth is not linear, and other people’s milestones do not define you. Some people date a lot in their teens and then remain single in their twenties. Some people don’t date until their late twenties by then, they’ve got a better sense of self, and when they do date, they last pretty long. Some people choose not to date at all and are happiest while other people date casually all the time and are happiest. There is no one-size-fits-all, and there is no right age for a relationship.

💋

Ko-Fi

298 notes • Posted 2021-01-27 08:41:24 GMT

#2

hello!! what are some skills i could develop to gain more independence? i don’t know like sewing and such, something useful (btw i love your blog <3)

10 Skills for Independence

Learning to sew, yes, because that definitely can help you in a pinch and can help you look better while saving money.

Change a car tire. Basically, everything on this channel, and this channel, while we’re at it.

Basic Budgeting and Personal Finance.

Cooking and Baking basics. I recommend Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking and Kitchen Wisdom as cookbooks to start with.

Microsoft Office, which includes Excel, Outlook, and Access.

Public Speaking and Conversational Skills. Believe it or not, you can work on that even during lockdown when you aren’t speaking to as many people.

Hobby/Side Income Skill. This can be an art form, like drawing or music, or it could be something practical, like writing. Not only is this good for winding down, but you can also use it as a side hustle if you play your cards right.

Makeup Techniques, if you’re into makeup. Also other self-grooming activities like skincare and hair care.

A New Language. Obscure and ancient languages are cool for impressing people but common languages, like French, Spanish, Mandarin, Hindi, and so on are great for jobs as well. Bonus points if it’s sign language.

Driving, if you don’t have your license yet. If you do, you could always improve your skills, or pick up a new vehicle, like a stick shift or motorcycles.

This is, of course, a nonconclusive list. But it's a good place to start. Maybe one day, I can add a part 2 to this list.

💋

Ko-Fi

417 notes • Posted 2021-05-21 15:51:26 GMT

#1

Image Text:

For all my black friends and their mothers, daughters, and sisters. Therapyforblackgirls.com has licensed black women providing therapy for black girls.

It has been a year since the #BlackLivesMatter protests really took charge all around the world. Since then, much has changed, but there is still a lot to fight for.

And black women, particularly black trans women, need more support. This is a great initiative both for black therapists psychologists but also for the countless of black women who need someone who understands their daily struggles before the trauma conversation even begins.

2990 notes • Posted 2021-06-03 16:22:57 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #mod stuff

[charliemorningstar-the-introvert]

Just wanted to try something to introduce myself, get out of my comfort zone a bit, so these are 100 questions I'll answer about myself. If anyone else wants to try as well, feel free to copy and paste. 💜🖤

1. Who is your hero?

2. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

3. What is your biggest fear?

4. What is your favorite family vacation?

5. What would you change about yourself if you could?

6. What really makes you angry?

7. What motivates you to work hard?

8. What is your favorite thing about your career?

9. What is your biggest complaint about your job?

10. What is your proudest accomplishment?

11. What is your child's proudest accomplishment?

12. What is your favorite book to read?

13. What makes you laugh the most?

14. What was the last movie you went to? What did you think?

15. What did you want to be when you were small?

16. What does your child want to be when he/she grows up?

17. If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be?

18. What is your favorite game or sport to watch and play?

19. Would you rather ride a bike, ride a horse, or drive a car?

20. What would you sing at Karaoke night?

21. What two radio stations do you listen to in the car the most?

22. Which would you rather do: wash dishes, mow the lawn, clean the bathroom, or vacuum the house?

23. If you could hire someone to help you, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or yard work?

24. If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

25. Who is your favorite author?

26. Have you ever had a nickname? What is it?

27. Do you like or dislike surprises? Why or why not?

28. In the evening, would you rather play a game, visit a relative, watch a movie, or read?

29. Would you rather vacation in Hawaii or Alaska, and why?

30. Would you rather win the lottery or work at the perfect job? And why?

31. Who would you want to be stranded with on a deserted island?

32. If money was no object, what would you do all day?

33. If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to?

34. How would your friends describe you?

35. What are your hobbies?

36. What is the best gift you have been given?

37. What is the worst gift you have received?

38. Aside from necessities, what one thing could you not go a day without?

39. List two pet peeves.

40. Where do you see yourself in five years?

41. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

42. If you were a super-hero, what powers would you have?

43. What would you do if you won the lottery?

44. What form of public transportation do you prefer? (air, boat, train, bus, car, etc.)

45. What's your favorite zoo animal?

46. If you could go back in time to change one thing, what would it be?

47. If you could share a meal with any 4 individuals, living or dead, who would they be?

48. How many pillows do you sleep with?

49. What's the longest you've gone without sleep (and why)?

50. What's the tallest building you've been to the top in?

51. Would you rather trade intelligence for looks or looks for intelligence?

52. How often do you buy clothes?

53. Have you ever had a secret admirer?

54. What's your favorite holiday?

55. What's the most daring thing you've ever done?

56. What was the last thing you recorded on TV?

57. What was the last book you read?

58. What's your favorite type of foreign food?

59. Are you a clean or messy person?

60. Who would you want to play you in a movie of your life?

61. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?

62. What kitchen appliance do you use every day?

63. What's your favorite fast food chain?

64. What's your favorite family recipe?

65. Do you love or hate rollercoasters?

66. What's your favorite family tradition?

67. What is your favorite childhood memory?

68. What's your favorite movie?

69. How old were you when you learned Santa wasn't real? How did you find out?

70. Is your glass half full or half empty?

71. What's the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of love?

72. What three items would you take with you on a deserted island?

73. What was your favorite subject in school?

74. What's the most unusual thing you've ever eaten?

75. Do you collect anything?

76. Is there anything you wished would come back into fashion?

77. Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

78. Which of the five senses would you say is your strongest?

79. Have you ever had a surprise party? (that was an actual surprise)

80. Are you related or distantly related to anyone famous?

81. What do you do to keep fit?

82. Does your family have a “motto” – spoken or unspoken?

83. If you were ruler of your own country what would be the first law you would introduce?

84. Who was your favorite teacher in school and why?

85. What three things do you think of the most each day?

86. If you had a warning label, what would yours say?

87. What song would you say best sums you up?

88. What celebrity would you like to meet at Starbucks for a cup of coffee?

89. Who was your first crush?

 90. What's the most interesting thing you can see out of your office or kitchen window?

91. On a scale of 1-10 how funny would you say you are?

92. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

93. What was your first job?

94. If you could join any past or current music group which would you want to join?

95. How many languages do you speak?

96. What is your favorite family holiday tradition?

97. Who is the most intelligent person you know?

98. If you had to describe yourself as an animal, which one would it be?

99. What is one thing you will never do again?

100. Who knows you the best?

[obeymefictionwriting]

I've seen so many requests for the brothers reacting to a really pretty or drop dead gorgeous MC, but can I request HC for the brothers + Simeon reacting to an MC that could be described as looking similar to ugly Betty? Like first impressions and what changes after they get to know them? MC isn't insecure about their looks or themselves, they're indifferent to how they look and don't see why others would care so much about what they look like when they don't care about it themselves

The ugly Betty is literally my style and I love it soooo much, I tried so hard for the longest time to find my own style and when I did I was so happy. When I was in high school I was talking to some friends and I described my style to them as "Ugly Betty meets dark academia" (since HS I have refined to look so it's actually pretty solid now) and in like a year later when a friend turned into a bully she got some of her new friends and her boyfriends' friends to harass me by calling me ugly Betty, its not something that bothered me or that I took too much to heart but it was annoying 🙄 anyway... I digress

I've loved reading what you've written, I have literally spent my afternoon reading over your writing and I'm like 🥺💕

Hi! I absolutely love your idea and I think it will be really encouraging for many people out there. Thank you for leaving the request and here we go!

P.S. Turned out to be a long-read - sorry! :D

Lucifer

“Well, I wouldn’t expect much of a human anyway”.

Can’t help but looks at you with disdain (”Why are humans so pathetic?”)

Despite that, really takes control over his feelings. You are a guest, after all, and Diavolo wants you to be taken care of.

Snaps at his brothers if they try to act in an inappropriate way.

Just hopes you will survive this year.

Admires your confidence though.

Turning point: sees you not running away when facing some creepy demon at school (he step in, of course, but still!)

Starts paying more attention to you. Realizes there is more to you than your looks.

Apparently, you turn out to be quite smart. And witty.

“Maybe humans are not that bad”.

Finds himself enjoying your company and actually relaxing in your presence.

Mammon

“OH NOOOOOOO”

Whines about his duty of looking after you FOR AGES.

Can’t understand why Lucifer chose you. Like, are all humans these mediocre?

Oh and apparently, you are completely dumb too because you aint’t afraid of him.

Secretly evaluates what he can steal from you in order to sell it.

Turning point: you help him with his homework and do not tell Lucifer about him skipping a class.

Hey, you aint so bad!

You are even pretty. Well, no, that’s not what he meant. It’s just... Ugh whatever!

Secretly observes you. Turns out you are thoughtful, helpful and kind.

And you don’t call him moron like his brothers do.

In fact, you might need some protection. There are all sorts of creeps at school. And who but the Great Mammon can protect ya!

Leviathan

Another normie in his house.

Really wishes you were a cute anime girl. Is disappointed and always annoyed in your presence.

Doesn’t consider it worthy to talk to you. What can you possibly offer him? You don’t even know about TLS.

Tries to avoid being in the same room with you. He already saw you starting a convo with his brothers and he doesn’t want to be next.

Turning point: sees you reading some manga series in the library.

There is hope for you.

Maybe you will be interested in TLS...

Has no idea how to approach you.

Is a bit scared by your confidence so shuts in even more.

Is annoyed at how cheerful you are with his brothers. Secretly wishes to be among them.

Satan

Just accepts your presence. If he can’t change it, why worry?

Considers you a funny pet.

Secretly agrees with Lucifer about humans being pathetic.

Sometimes he secretly observes you and tries to understand why you won’t change the way you look. Aren’t humans supposed to want to look gorgeous?

Compares you to the witches he knows.

Turning point: observes you while you read in the dining room. Is fascinated by how interested and involved you are.

Starts paying more attention to you and starts the conversations first.

Finds out you have similar taste in books. How very interesting.

Starts looking at you differently. In fact, you are quite cute.

Is entertained and intrigued by your confidence. Wants to test it.

Asmodeus

Well... maybe you are a good person?

Never had high expectations because humans are well, not demons! Though he knew some truly outstanding humans but you are definitely not one of them.

Is supportive and empathetic though: understands it must be tough for you to live in a different world. Plus you are so...un-pretty.

Really wants to suggest a make over but doesn’t want to force it.

Turning point: sees you laughing and is fascinated by how beautiful you look at the moment.

Oh wow there is more to this human than he thought!

Now he is INTERESTED

Boldly approaches you and suggests help with your makeup and hair and skin. Winks and offers massage too.

Finds your rejection entertaining. He wants you now!

Beelzebub

Is disappointed because Lucifer does not allow to eat you.

You smell really good. And you don’t look so good. Why can’t he just eat you?

Tries avoiding you in order to avoid the temptation.

Is a bit surprised you are not scared of him or of other demons.

Kind of watches you in school. Lucifer ordered to protect you and he does his best but from the distance.

Turning point: you shared your food and suggested you cook something for him.

Are you really so kind?!

Oh and you can cook. Wow.

And you are not annoyed by his appetite.

Goes into full protective mode. You may not be the best-looking human but you are his human now.

Belphegor

Doesn’t care so much it hurts.

Doesn’t even bother to talk to you. Why would he?

Secretly hoped you’d be beautiful but you are so average there is nothing to look at. Boring.

Pulls little dirty tricks on you just to annoy you (and Lucifer!).

Turning point: sees you in the observatory gazing at stars. There is something in your eyes he is drawn to.

Studies you when you don’t see it. Memorizes your habits and preferences.

Stops being mean to you.

Falls asleep on your lap on purpose.

Finds you comfortable to be used as a sleeping pillow but does not admit it.

Solomon

Another human? Interesting.

Oh. Not so interesting anymore.

Wonders why would Lucifer choose you? You are just so average compared to him.

Was a popular boy so is used to ignoring people like you.

Feels superior and does not hide it.

Turning point: sees you interacting with brothers and how they enjoy your company.

There might be something else to this human.

Starts observing you. Realizes you are way more complex than he thought.

Hates to admit it but you are quite charming.

Has a strange feeling when sees you surrounded by the brothers. Would never admit it.

#obeyme #obey me! shall we date? 

[consumedkings-archive]

WITCHING HOUR, a john seed/deputy fic.

chapter eleven: after you've gone

word count: ~12.6k

rating: m

warnings: canon-typical religious blasphemy, though it's in full-force here with joseph so i wanted it to be noted in the warnings. there are mentions of self-harm, both past and implied presently, and they're not treated very lightly. elliot is having a hard time.

notes: there's a lot of moving parts in this so i apologize in advance if it feels a bit slow, but everything felt really important to include and i wanted to make sure nothing got left out. thank you so much to my beta @starcrier who literally proofed this beast with all of the love in the world.

i won't ramble on too much, but i did want to say that the reception for the last two chapters really made my whole heart just explode and i wanted to thank you all! what an incredible experience it is getting to write these two gigantic idiots. <3

“I saw her. Our mor.”

Helmi cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear, scribbling absently on the side of the file she’d continued nosing through once she’d gotten back to the bunker. Like this, she felt far from Kajsa—farther than she had in the longest time. Maybe since they had welcomed her into the Family.

“Did you?” She stretched back against the truck’s seat, feet kicked up on the dash as she scanned the page, going over her own notes. Starvation, classical condition. On animals and people? In the back seat of the truck, Peaches rumbled her discontent at lack of attention; Helmi reached back and scratched her ears until the rumble turned into what she recognized as a more contented purr.

“Yes. She is doing well. Her color is just as Ase said, you know. Perfectly balanced. Poor John—I can see his suffering.”

Helmi hmm’d, the thoughtfulness matching the patient rumble Peaches had rewarded her affection with.

“Is Deputy Pratt behaving?”

“I should hope so. He has no reason to have any loyalty to the Seeds, outside of fear.”

There was a pause on the other end of the phone. Helmi was sure, in the very marrow of her bones, that Kajsa was smiling.

“And what did you give him, Helmi? To make him loyal?”

She considered. “A more impressive fear.” And then: “Also, I said I wouldn’t kill him.”

“That is just a more impressive fear bundled up pretty, my heart.”

“Mm,” Helmi replied in agreement. Whatever the case, she thought that Pratt had more to gain from fucking the Seeds over than he did by fucking them over—and that’s why Kajsa entrusted this sort of thing to her and didn’t do it herself, after all. If it had been Kajsa here, eyeing Pratt like a piece of lunchmeat, she’d have him drugged to the gills and barely aware of what was going on. Not being of use.

It’s why we make a perfect pair, something inside of her said, joy shared, joy doubled.

“Don’t rest on your laurels.”

Sorrow shared, sorrow halved.

Helmi sighed. “I’m not.”

“Keep putting pressure. I want them squirming, hjärtat.”

“I will.” She paused, sitting up in the truck and glancing out at the remaining members of the Family. Those that hadn’t given themselves a swift, clean death. After Kian’s face was crushed in, Kajsa had gathered them all and said, It’s going to be harder, from here. If you feel you cannot do it, if you think that you do not have the strength to answer our calling, then it is your time. We love you.

It had been the time for many. Morale had been—and still was—low. Ase’s death first, gut-wrenching and tragic, and then Kian’s; worse than the last. Worse, because while he had been grieving, while he had been suffering, he had still been their second-in-command. Meant to be infallible, even more so than Ase. He had been meant to carry them into their next life, after It was appeased. Contented. After It had turned the world to winter.

Now, more than ever, with only a handful of them left to huddle around their fires and sleep in the backs of cars, and kiss and laugh and hug each other in the inky black night, they felt like a ship adrift at sea.

Kajsa’s voice hummed in her ear, plastic and metal vibrating where it lay trapped between her head and shoulder. Helmi’s gaze swept away from the remaining Family members and turned her gaze back to the file. The Seeds were deeply rooted in this place—the tendrils of a tree that might be dead at the trunk but stayed for many decades after, if it wasn’t ripped out at the base.

“Did you hear me, Helmi?”

“No,” she replied truthfully. “I was distracted.”

“I am coming back,” Kajsa reiterated patiently.

“The others will be happy.”

“And what about you? Will you be happy?”

Helmi paused. She closed the file, dropped it back onto the dashboard and cranked the seat back so that she could stretch a little, her eyes tracing the tinny, ancient ceiling of the truck she’d lifted from Eden’s Gate. She exhaled, once, and then held her breath; closed her eyes, felt the ache of it between her ribs.

“I sense before me a lost lamb.”

“Not lost,” Helmi replied, her lungs tight. “Just—thinking.”

“Must I divine the dark cloud over your soul myself?”

She allowed her body to take air back in. “I wonder,” she murmured, “if it will be enough to appease the Father.”

“Do you wonder,” Kajsa hummed, “or do you worry?”

A moment of silence stretched. And then, the rich, melodic timbre of the Hierophant’s voice came through again, idle and pulled snug against her ear, like Kajsa was really right there again to say the words against her skin: “What will you do, if Staci Pratt defects despite your Machiavellian threats of harm so great he should never consider to incur it?”

“I don’t know,” Helmi replied uneasily. “It would depend on if he brought mor and the interloper, or if he just—”

“The answer, hjärtat, is that you do not know, because it has not been revealed to you yet.” Despite the interruption, Kajsa’s voice was pleasant and serene. Ever since Ase’s death, she’d been more tempered—like she was playing a role, filling a void. Helmi almost missed her cruelty. Like it was a creature comfort. “There is no use in wondering, because we will never know before it is our time to. We want for much. Whether or not we are given it remains to be seen. Our Father is a most...”

Her voice trailed off. Helmi tried to think of what words Kajsa might use; stringent, perhaps, ambitious, or even enigmatic—

“Wretched god,” Kajsa finished, a grin in her voice. “It does so love to watch us toil, does It not?”

“Yes,” she answered after a moment, because wretched resonated somewhere in her soul, somewhere in the marrow of her bones, reminding her why this had felt like home ever in the first place. Wretched, to watch them suffer, to give them so little information and let them suffer wreck after wreck.

In front of her, the dark of the forest swelled, breathed, reminded her: failure was not an option. Theirs was not a benevolent, forgiving God, the kind who would forgive sin if one only asked—the Father was wrathful, was vengeful, and would make them suffer their insolence and their ineptitude.

“I should get going. I imagine our mor will not be far behind, thanks to your ingenuity, and I want to be in Hope County to welcome her.”

“I am,” Helmi blurted out after a second of hesitation, “happy, that you’re coming back.”

There was a pause on the other end; and then, a soft breath, where Helmi thought maybe Kajsa was smiling again.

“Ingenting under solen är beständigt, my heart.”

The call clicked. Only empty air and static, then, buzzing faintly in the ear, the words dead in her mouth before she’d had the chance to say them back.

Nothing under the sun is lasting.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Elliot was going to be sick. Nevermind the morning-after-dread of realizing she had caved in on her most basest animal desires—What, the man who’s perhaps lied to you the most tells you he’s never thought you’re crazy, and you let him fuck you? Come on, Elliot,—but listening to Pratt ramble nervously into the phone about how he didn’t realize everyone was gone, nobody stopped to look for him, nobody tried to call, he thought she had left too and she had, where was she? Was she okay?

“I’m fine,” she managed out. Guilt ripped through her sternum, burning hot and shameful. I’m fine, Pratt, don’t worry about me. Got well and truly railed last night, it’s fine. Oh, also, I’m going to have a baby. And I’m married. Don’t worry, you found out about the same time as me, just off a few weeks. “I’m at my mom’s.”

“In Georgia?”

“Yeah.” Elliot swallowed thickly. “Are you okay? You sound like shit.”

Pratt laughed uneasily on the other end of the line. “I’m with, uh—I’m with them.” He paused. “The Seeds. And their—the lawyer lady.”

“That doesn’t tell me if you’re okay,” she reiterated, more firmly.

He laughed again. “I’m on the phone with you, aren’t I?”

Frustrating. They might all be looming around him, waiting to hear what she was going to say. It was a trap, of course. Jacob or Joseph had done enough digging around in her past to find out they’d gone to school together, had gone to school dances, had basically dated—and they knew she’d evacuated the entirety of the Resistance otherwise. They were clearly laying a trap to get her to come back. But for what?

“Hey, um—” Staci cleared his throat. “Ell, there’s—a lot of bad stuff going on. There’s these people, and they’re—they’re just killing people, left and right, gutting them and sticking them up and—Jesus, they fucking split Miss Mabel open like a fish, and I’m—”

Oh, there it was; the sickness, the violent urge to throw up. The Family was supposed to be dead. They had been killing themselves off in pairs after Kian’s death, weren’t they? Elliot blinked rapidly, trying to calm the furious beating of her heart, the way it slammed against her rib cage and demanded penance.

Calloused fingers swept her hair to the side and squeezed at the juncture between her neck and shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. She closed her eyes tight, willing herself to accept it for what it was—John, comforting her, because even now he knew her well enough to see she was spiraling.

I can’t, is what she needed to say. I can’t come back, Staci, I can’t, not me and not my baby, my hands are already covered in blood I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry—

“—I’m so fucking scared, Ell.” Pratt’s voice wobbled on the other end, hitting straight at the fresh welt of guilt in her chest, ripping and tearing at it.

I can’t—

“I don’t want to be alone—”

I’m sorry I can’t I’m sorry—

“—I’m sorry—”

“I’ll come,” she blurted out, her voice hoarse, the burn behind her eyes and in her nose a threat of oncoming tears. She couldn’t stand it—couldn’t bear to hear him like this, when this whole time he was supposed to have been safe. She’d let him down, and while she had a responsibility to herself, the responsibility to the others had always come first.

And, better still, was the tiny, tiny fragment of hope that the dark-haired woman with a mouth like broken glass would be left behind, too. The dog with the man’s face and the strands of her hair glinting between Its bloody teeth would stay here, in Weyfield. It would wait for her, but perhaps there would be some peace there, too.

It waits for you, It waits for us all, It will have you. As It gives, so too does It take.

“Tell them I’m coming back.” Elliot bit the words out through her teeth. “And tell them if I come back and you’re hurt, or dead, or—if there’s anything wrong with you, I’m going to fucking kill them. Okay?”

“No need,” came Jacob’s voice over the phone. “You’re on speaker, Deputy Honeysett. We’re well acquainted with your particular brand of mania.”

“Great,” she snapped, feeling a vicious flush spread through her cheeks despite the fact that she didn’t feel bad at all for what she’d said. “You thought I was fucking manic before? I had nothing to lose, then. Imagine how much worse I’ll make your life now—”

John’s hand squeezed again. This time, she shot him a venomous look over her shoulder and shrugged him off. Elliot knotted her fingers in Boomer’s fur and prompted again, “Is that clear?”

The eldest Seed sounded like he was smiling when he said, “Crystal, Deputy.”

“Good.” She paused. “And don’t fucking call me that. I’m not a deputy, anymore.”

“Sure thing, hellcat.”

“Pratt—”

Jacob’s voice came again: “Have a safe trip.”

The phone call beeped once, twice, three times, and then ended. The hard knot of dread in the pit of her stomach did not lessen; she hit the redial button, and it went straight to voicemail. Again, and again, and again, her hands shaking as she thought wait, I didn’t get to say goodbye, I didn’t get to promise I’d be there, I’m coming Pratt, I’m coming please don’t be worried, before she shoved the phone into John’s grip.

“Call him back,” she demanded, “make him pick up the phone—”

“Elliot,” he began, “if he turned the phone off, I can’t—”

“Fuck you!” she snapped, coming to a stand and raking her fingers through her hair. “You fucking knew they had Pratt, didn’t you? You knew that he was still trapped there and he didn’t get out, and you fucking left him there, so that you could pull me back if it didn’t go the way you wanted—”

John stood too, setting the phone on the bedside table and lifting his hands. The gesture was meant to calm and soothe, see my hands? Here they are, no threat here, but all it did was make her angrier, stoke a fire inside of her that had apparently lain dormant since she’d left Hope County.

Elliot smacked his hands down. “Don’t treat me like some fucking animal, John.”

“I’m not,” he defended quickly, dropping his hands all the way back to his sides when Boomer barked twice, sharp and accusatory, hackles lifting. “I didn’t know Pratt was still there. I thought the Resistance had got him out, and I didn’t bother asking.”

“You should have bothered—”

“I’m just as displeased as you are,” John interjected dryly, the dark coloring of his tone implying that he was—but for perhaps a different reason. It struck her that he might, in fact, be so displeased because he was aware of their history, on some level. It did feel a little gratifying to know that he was squirming for such an insignificant reason.

“You fuckhead,” she spit. “You put a fucking baby in me and you still have the insecurity of a middle school boy.”

“We both know,” he replied tartly, “that our baby is not in any way binding you to me, Elliot. And is it so shocking, considering that the thing that I want most in the world is for you to come home, and you fight me at every turn—”

“Hope County isn’t my home anymore—”

“—but Staci Pratt calls you and cries a little into the phone, and you’re jumping at the bit to go back?”

“Fuck. Off,” Elliot bit out between her teeth, face flushing. “Pratt is my friend, which is more than I can say for you.”

“Right,” John agreed, “because you let the person you hate fuck you.”

Her mouth clamped shut, biting and swallowing back a wad of venom she thought might make her sick if she let it out. There was too much of it, the things that she wanted to say—fuckyoufuckyoufuckyou, I fucking hate you, you make me sick, if anything is wrong with Pratt I’ll kill your brothers and then I’ll fucking kill you too—but she didn’t say any of it.

Instead, she said, “Get out. I’m getting changed and we’re leaving.”

John sighed, passing a hand over his face for a moment like maybe he regretted what he’d said. “We can’t.”

She felt her voice spike, near incredulous hysteria: “Pardon?”

“Old Father Time of the Job Ineptitude mentioned he had Federal agents showing up out of nowhere,” he snapped. The words had her stomach twisting; her first thought was a tiny spike of happiness at the idea of Cameron Burke, and then it was quickly doused by the sharp reminder that she’d stolen his gun and ran with it. Because he thought she was crazy. Because he was going to put her behind bars.

John continued, “He seemed to be implying it was somehow related to me showing up, and by proxy you, and if we up and leave—”

“It’ll make it look more suspicious,” she finished, feeling a little numb. “Okay, so—what? How long do we have to wait?”

He scratched his cheek, his eyes flickering absently over the duvet on the bed, like he was trying to map it out in his own head. No doubt, he was trying to operate on multiple timelines—the timeline of Not Raising Suspicion, and whatever timeline Joseph had given him.

Some things really did never change.

“After your mother’s Christmas party,” he ventured finally. “It’s not quite Christmas—could look enough like we’re sticking around for enough holiday cheer to be passable before leaving again. Pritchard’s clearly not unfamiliar with your mother’s...”

His voice trailed off. He looked to her as though asking for permission to say something critical; when Elliot remained stonefaced and immovable, he finished, “...temperament.”

“Nice save.”

“Well,” he replied, humble as ever. “Anyway, that probably wouldn’t rouse suspicion. If it is Burke, and your house isn’t getting stormed right now, I have to think he’s here on unofficial business. Otherwise, why wouldn’t they just come and bust the door down and grab you?”

Elliot hoped that was the case. She hoped this meant that Burke was just trying to find her, and was not hunting her down at the behest of the government. If there was one thing that Joseph had been right about amidst all his doomsday-saying and whatnot, it was that according to the news, there was a big chance the government had bigger things on their hands. Bigger concerns than a tiny town in Montana and its cult inhabitants.

“Get out,” she said again. “So I can change.”

“You—” John sucked in a little breath, stopping himself from what was inevitably going to be stirring another argument; he lifted his hands again, this time in surrender. “Alright, Ell. I said you’d get anything you want, I’ll give it to you.”

“Chop-chop.”

“I’m going. Mind if I pull some clothes on before I walk out into the house owned by your mother, where she has almost assuredly been sipping her vodka martini since four AM?”

She felt her eyes narrow. “Fine.”

Turning, she crossed the bedroom into the master bath and shut the door behind her, pressing the heels of her palms to her eyes until fine webbing scattered across the dark of her eyelids. This was the last thing she needed—and it felt, surely, traitorous and awful to think it, to think, this is the last thing I need, Pratt needing rescuing, when the only reason she’d felt comfortable leaving Hope County in the first place was because she thought the only people who were left were cultists.

Elliot dropped her hands from her eyes, blinking a few times until her vision cleared. In the mirror—much as it had been since coming back from Hope County—stood a girl that she thought looked like a stranger. Blushed cheeks and kiss-reddened lips, her neck littered with love marks, the healthy glow blooming up from beneath the WRATH scar on her chest, exposed by her loosely cinched robe.

That’s not me, she thought, pulling absently on a strand of red hair and swallowing thickly. I’m not that girl.

Her face was softer than before, more lively color rising up around her eyes and cheeks and mouth. More of her freckles had come out. There was a tiny, tiny—almost imperceptible—slope to her tummy, now, too.

Not me, came the thought again, more distressed this time, her brows pulling together at the center of her forehead. That’s not me. I’m not that girl. Who are you, pretty girl? Not me.

The woman and her dark hair—dark dark dark, like an oil slick, looming in the corner of her mind. Her mouth red as pomegranate and stretched like broken glass.

I hear stress is bad for the baby.

A knock came at the door. Elliot blinked, feeling unwell and unsure of how long she’d been standing there, her hand having dropped to cup the slope of her stomach experimentally. Women did that, right? When they were pregnant? Did it make them feel closer to the baby? Did it make them feel more protected?

Did she feel safer?

“Ell,” John said, nudging the door open, “your mother is...”

Pulling away from the door, she cinched the robe tight and busied herself at the sink, turning the water on. As he stepped into the bathroom, she could see John was now fully-dressed, freshly-showered. She’d been standing in front of the mirror trying to recognize the person staring back at her long enough for him to do that, it seemed.

“That was a quick shower,” she said briskly, splashing her face and rubbing absently at her cheek. She could feel John’s eyes on her through the mirror, even though she refused to meet them.

“I’ve always preferred it that way,” he replied casually. And then: “Get distracted?”

Yes, she thought, but didn’t say, because then the things he’d said last night that had made her feel sane and normal wouldn’t mean anything anymore. John would have said I don’t think you’re crazy and he’d have to take it back, because if she told him there was a stranger standing in her mirror, he would think she was crazy.

“It’s weird,” is what Elliot offered after a moment, trying to find a way to be honest and redirect, “to see a baby bump. Even if it’s small.” She cleared her throat and fished her toothbrush out of the holder. Continuing briskly, she added, “And the scar. I spent a lot of time avoiding it.”

John’s expression had done that funny thing that she supposed was softening at her words. He stepped forward; the ghost of his fingers trailing her ribs over the robe made her skin prickle with goosebumps.

“I’m not done being mad at you,” she warned him, eyes flickering to meet his gaze through the mirror.

“I know,” he replied, tone agreeable. “I just—”

The brunette paused then, waiting for her to stop him before he smoothed the warmth of his palm over her hip, across the expanse of her abdomen. It was painfully intimate in a way that didn’t imply sex—intimate, in the way that she felt seen, that she could see the relief coloring the edges of his expression.

John pressed his mouth to the back of her shoulder. “Just missed you,” he murmured after a moment. “Getting to touch you. Even just like this. Especially just like this—”

Something panged sharp and unforgiving in her chest. “Well, don’t get used to it,” she replied tightly, brushing his hand away from the baby bump after letting it linger for a moment. “And I don’t remember inviting you in.”

“Your mother was asking after you,” John said, by way of explanation, looking pleased from their little moment. Fucker. “She wanted to know if you’d be drinking coffee this morning. I think her exact words were, ‘Mr. Seed, would you ask my daughter if she’s going to take the risk of drinking coffee this morning? I know she shouldn’t be, with her condition—’”

“Ugh.”

“‘—but since we’re going to be picking out her dress for the Christmas party today, I could make an exception—’”

“Fuck me,” she muttered, wetting her toothbrush and putting the toothpaste on it. “Ask her if she can make it extra strong.”

“I’m actually enjoying being out of your mother’s ire for a minute.”

Elliot rolled her eyes. “No coffee for me.”

“Got it.” John headed for the bathroom door, and then paused again, turning to look at her. “Ell,” he began, “I really didn’t know—you know, about Pratt.”

That pesky little flutter of something agonizingly sweet—softness—in her chest flared again.

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” is what she said, before she turned the toothbrush on and started scrubbing her teeth. That seemed enough of an answer for John, for once, because he left and closed the door quietly behind him after deliberating.

The minutes, and hours, and days—well, day or two—until they got back to Hope County were going to be something close to agony. She could only hope they had taken her seriously when she told them that she’d better come back to a Pratt in one piece.

I don’t want to be alone. Pratt’s voice echoed hauntingly in her head. She thought she could remember the sound of voices in the background—a woman’s, at least. Faith? Or John’s friend, Isolde? Surely Jacob and Joseph were there listening to him call her, too. She’d been so fucking stupid to let them get to her.

No, not stupid. Not stupid to want Pratt to feel safe, and like someone was coming back for him.

I’m sorry, she thought tiredly, as though the words could somehow get to him. I’m sorry, that it’s me you have to wait for.

I’m sorry that I won’t be the person you remembered.

I’m sorry.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“You did so well, Staci.”

Faith’s voice jarred him out of the weird pause in time he’d been marinating in. It had been just a few seconds, maybe—Jacob and Joseph were talking in low voices, the dark-haired woman standing at the point of their little triangle with her arms crossed and her brows furrowed—that his brain had shut off, the distress in Elliot’s voice echoing eerily in his head. She’d sounded so upset. He wouldn’t have called, wouldn’t have started to ask her to come back, if he’d known how much she didn’t want to.

But that wasn’t true, either. He would have called, because Helmi had said, Either the Seeds are going to drag her back by her hair kicking and screaming, and eventually kill her, or she comes back and we keep her safe.

‘Safe’ had been the keyword there. He didn’t know how much he could take the woman at her word, but considering everything—well, it was better than trying to take the Seeds at their word.

Faith’s hand touched the back of his, startling him into a tiny jump. He cleared his throat. “Um—I wasn’t...Acting.”

“Still,” she replied sweetly, “I know it must have been hard.”

She was so polished—skin all dusted silver and moonlike, flushed with a little high color in her cheeks, her blonde hair tumbling around her face loosely. In the chapel, the air was tepid at best, and frigid at worst, keeping a little pink in everyone’s faces.

It was strange to look at her now. Her hands were soft; her skin unblemished. Just hours ago, he’d been sitting in the car, noticing the same kinds of details about Helmi—about how human she looked, hand slung over a steering wheel, her cracked phone plugged into the truck’s stereo and her chipped nail polish and the scars and bruises littering her knuckles. The way she’d shot him a toothy, wolfish grin as she cranked the volume up and said, What, Staci Pratt, you don’t like Blue Öyster Cult either?

In comparison, Faith didn’t feel human at all. She felt like a dream.

“Can—” Pratt came to a stand, rubbing his palms on the tops of his thighs. “Can I go? Lay down, or something?”

Three pairs of eyes snapped to him. The dark-haired woman, who Jacob kept referring to as Sol, completely ignored his question and looked at the redhead to say, “Has someone checked him for head trauma?”

“I’m not—concussed!” Pratt snapped, his voice wobbling. “I’m just tired.”

Jacob’s eyes narrowed. He looked like maybe he wanted to say something, and then reconsidered, saying, “Dr. Hale will take a look at you and then sure, Peaches, you can rest.”

It took every ounce of his self-control to not tell Jacob to stop calling him that. He had to remember that as far as they were concerned, he hadn’t been taken in by the “other side”, he’d been sitting scared and meek like a good boy at the compound.

Pratt’s eyes darted, catching sight of the woman that Jacob gestured to with a free hand. Right. The Fall’s End vet. She’d been here for what—a little over a year? He couldn’t tell if she was being held captive by Eden’s Gate or if she was there by her own volition, though the few times he’d run into her before she’d seemed like a pretty even-keel person. Didn’t she have like, two degrees or something? What was she doing here?

He made his way to the back of the church, meeting the curly-haired blonde halfway. Definitely looked too clean to be a cultist. “You’re not a people doctor, right?” he asked uneasily, watching as her head cocked to the side and her mouth quirked in a bit of amusement.

“No, Mr. Pratt, I am not a people doctor.” She fell into step beside him, opening the chapel door for him. “But I do have first aid training, which I think is about as good as you’re going to get around these parts.”

“I didn’t get a concussion.”

“That’s good. When was the last time you ate?”

His mouth twisted in a frown, trailing after through the snow as the cold began to sink into his bones. She seemed awfully confident moving around the compound, if she wasn’t part of the cult. But if she was, what was she doing here? How did—?

Pain bloomed behind his eyes, a fresh headache sinking into his nerves. Too much. It was too much confusion, about Elliot (pregnant? And John Seed was with her?) and about the Family and about all of these—these people that he didn’t really recognize hanging around the Seeds. And the compound was so quiet. Where was everyone? Had the Family really taken that many of Eden’s Gate out?

“Mr. Pratt?”

The woman opened a door into a bunkhouse that glowed with golden light from within and radiated heat. Two long-haired shepherds lay on the floor at the foot of the bed, lifting long faces and peering at him with dark eyes. He stepped inside and cleared his throat.

“Uh, a day, maybe,” he replied after a minute. Taking a seat when she gestured for him to, he shifted uncomfortably as she set a first aid kid on the cushion beside him and pulled one of the wooden chairs up in front of him.

“And slept?” She blew a curl out of her face and opened the kit, fishing around to find some alcohol wipes and Neosporin. He guessed he was a bit worse for wear than he’d thought, initially; not that he’d been taking great care of himself, even when it had just been him and Dani. She’d encouraged him to stay high, not stay better.

Fuck, I’m such an idiot.

He let out a little hiss when she pressed one of the alcohol wipes to a cut on his cheek.

“The same,” he replied, reaching up and brushing her hand away. “What—what are you doing here, doctor?”

“Arden is fine.” She sat back, regarding him curiously. “I’m cleaning that cut, Mr. Pratt. It looks agitated.”

“No, I—” Pratt let out a little breath. “I mean here. In the compound.”

Arden stared at him for a moment, like she didn’t understand why he was asking her that question. She lifted her hand and arched a brow inquisitively; when he nodded shortly, she leaned forward again, balancing her free hand on his shoulder and using the other to gently dab at the cut.

“I’ve spent the last month or so holed up in my house,” she explained to him. “Me, and the dogs, I mean.”

A little smile ghosted over her lips, and despite himself, Pratt felt a wry smile tugging at his own. It was difficult not to feel relaxed, when Arden moved with so much surety. In the glow of the radiators ticking away and the warm yellow light, especially.

“Mostly reading. They had assigned one of the boys to me—Santiago. I think he’s John’s man. He doesn’t strike me as one of Joseph or Faith’s.”

Pratt made a little noise of agreement, because he knew exactly what she was talking about. She dropped the alcohol wipes to the side and reached over for the Neosporin, dabbing some onto her finger and then reaching back up to resume her work.

“Sorry,” he said after a moment. “That you got—stuck, I mean. Here.”

“Oh, you don’t need to apologize, Mr. Pratt.”

“I feel partially responsible,” he admitted, feeling some of the tension flee his shoulders. “You know, being law enforcement and all—”

“Hold still, please.”

“Sorry,” he said again. “I guess what I mean is—sometimes it feels like a real failing on our part. All of those people, I...”

He paused, and Arden leaned back, giving him a pat on the knee. “That’s alright, Mr. Pratt,” and her voice bloomed with comfort. “Where was I?”

“Up at your house, with the dogs and maybe one of John’s men.”

“Right. I wasn’t allowed to leave, you know, on account of the—” She gestured with an elegant hand. “Cult running amok.”

He nodded. “Cult number two.”

Arden smiled, and continued, “And then just a few days ago, after one of them started killing those folks in Fall’s End, Jacob came up to get me.”

The way she said it made him feel, a little uneasily, that maybe he was misreading it. Jacob came up to get me did not sound like Jacob came to pick me up because I’m his prisoner.

And then she said, “He was worried, you know. Only having a radio up there. I know how to use a gun, but I’d prefer not to, if I don’t have to, and—”

“Sorry,” he blurted out, “but are you—”

She blinked light eyes at him, almost owlishly, like she didn’t understand the question. “Am I...?”

“With? Them?” Pratt gestured towards where the chapel lay, beyond the bunkhouse walls. “The—Eden’s Gate?”

“Oh!” Arden laughed, almost sheepishly; he felt a nervous little laugh bubbling out of him too, almost hoping for the relief of her assuring him that she was, in fact, not in league with the Darwinian psycho that had spent the last few months mindfucking every resident he could get his hands on.

She came to a stand and pulled a bottle of ibuprofen and a granola bar out of the kit, dropping them in his hand.

“Eat the bar before you take the ibuprofen,” she told him, “or it’ll—well, I’m sure you know. Upset stomach, and all that. Do you want to take a shower?”

Pratt’s fingers curled around the ibuprofen bottle. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I’m sorry,” Arden replied, not sounding very sorry at all, “I guess I just thought it a bit silly. Who else would I be “with”?”

His stomach somersaulted, sinking viciously. Suddenly, the granola bar—which had certainly been sitting in the kit for who knew how long—looked even less appetizing than before. While his vision swam for a second, the woman carried on conversationally, as though she had not just revealed herself to—

Well, to be in league with the Darwinian psycho that had spent the last few months mindfucking every resident he could get his hands on.

“But—they think the world is ending,” Pratt blurted out, lifting his eyes to look at her finally. “And—doctor, all the people they killed, and—”

“Don’t strain yourself, Mr. Pratt. You’ve been under quite a bit of duress as of late, I think, and it would be best to try and keep those stress levels down.” She moved to the small pantry beside the bathroom, shuffling around and producing a few towels, leaning into the bathroom to set them on the counter. “Though, you do bring up a funny point—have you been listening to the news? I suppose you haven’t. I remember listening to the news before all of this business went down and thinking that the world had ended a long time ago. We were just a bit behind, all the way out here. Do you want to take a shower?”

Blinking furiously, Pratt searched his brain for the answer; he muddled through the disappointment raking down his spine, the delicate little hope that had been fostered at the prospect of finding someone who was kind and not under the Seeds’ thumb being crushed beneath the weight of the reality of his situation.

“Yes please,” he managed out, his voice hoarse.

“Alright. Eat that bar first, so you don’t pass out in the hot water. And Mr. Pratt?”

“Y—” He had clumsily ripped open the granola bar and shoved half into his mouth, the fear of being seen as disobedient when Jacob Seed was within radius flickering like a wildfire through his body. He swallowed thickly, the dry food feeling like it was sticking to the inside of his mouth. “Um, yes?”

Her expression colored sympathetic, Arden reached down and fished a water bottle out of the case, dropping it in his hand.

“The honorific isn’t necessary,” she told him. “Remember, Arden is just fine.”

“Yes ma’am,” he mumbled. “I mean—Arden.”

She smiled, this time with teeth. “Good. You holler if you need me.”

I won’t, he thought, even though she was probably preferable to anyone else coming to his rescue.

Maybe he really would rather be dead.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Scarlet insisted that John stay at the house while they went to the boutique. It was all a big show of his mother-in-law attempting, he thought, to be polite, though she failed miserably at it; and as much as John wanted to argue that it would probably be best if he came along—considering their late-night visitor—he could tell when a battle was a lost one, and when it wasn’t.

“Do you think you can do that, Mr. Seed?” she asked, pulling the objectively ostentatious fur coat around her shoulders and buttoning it. “Remain in my home for a few hours, without causing me any problems?”

He said, “I think I can certainly give it a shot,” to which the blonde rolled her eyes.

“Please do more than that.”

“Rest assured, I am fully capable of behaving myself, Mrs. Honeysett.”

He couldn’t wait to be rid of her. Every second he spent in her presence, being reminded of how little she liked him given how much she didn’t know about him—or care to get to know about him, anyway—he thought, I cannot fucking wait to get back to Hope County and the resurgence of the Family. I cannot wait until that is my only fucking problem. Anyone else and she would have been thoroughly cleansed; clearly, Wrath ran in the family. Just the thought of it made his fingers itch.

Elliot had looked tired already, standing at the door and letting her mother go first. As soon as Scarlet was out the door, carefully picking her way down the front steps, John’s hand went to Ell’s hip; her lashes fluttered at the contact, but she didn’t jerk away; only tensed, considering the act of balking and pulling away from him but not yet committing. So there had been progress.

Her free hand came to his shoulder, resting there uncertainly. “Please don’t do anything to my mother’s house.”

“As much as I would love to, I will refrain from my wretched impulses. I am a man of God, after all.” He grimaced. “Do you think she’ll like me more if things are immaculate?”

“Ha-ha. She certainly will not.” She paused, letting out a little breath. “Okay. Back in an hour.”

He felt a smile tug at his mouth. “Ambitious.” His hand drifted to the small of her back, and he said, “Ell, before you go—”

“John, I don’t—”

Elliot turned to look at him at the same time that he stepped forward, closing what little distance there was and rapidly; she blinked, and her eyes flickered to his mouth instinctively, like she was expecting it—like she’d gotten used to the affection when he closed in on her like that. The gesture sent a little thrill through his stomach.

Mine.

“Don’t let her stress you out,” John murmured, keeping his voice low between just the two of them. “You’ll look good in whatever you pick.”

She turned her face away, cheeks going pink. “What’s this, huh? Still trying to make up for being a complete fuckhead this morning?”

He grinned. “You really have gotten brattier.”

“Goodbye, John,” she said, and then he leaned in and kissed her; the connection made every part of him sigh, collectively, as though he’d just been waiting for it.

Waiting for her.

Yes yes yes, it all said when she didn’t pull away, his fingers curling into the fabric of her sweater at the small of her back as her hand slipped from his shoulder to his chest, yes, mine all mine.

Elliot did pull back after a moment, putting a bit of space between them—though it seemed more to catch her breath than anything else. She only pulled back enough for their eyes to meet; John’s gaze darted downward, watching pearly teeth as they tugged at her lower lip, worrying it there for a moment.

“To answer your question,” he continued as casually as he could, “that’s not how I intend on making that up to you.”

“So you agree?” Elliot asked. Her voice came out evenly, despite the color blooming underneath the freckles on her cheeks. “You were being a complete fuckhead this morning?”

“I did so miss our banter.”

“Bunny,” Scarlet called impatiently from the driveway, “the boutique is going to get crowded if we don’t get there when it opens.”

“I’m coming!” Her gaze darted back to him. “The best way to make it up to me would be to say the words out loud,” Elliot informed him as she inched toward the door. “So that baby can hear them, too. At least you’ll have been more honest around our child than with me, if we’re keeping a running tally, and we should—”

He tugged her back from the doorway again, lighter, more playful as he went in to kiss her a second time; but she pulled back, just out of his reach, hand planted firmly on his chest.

Elliot said, “I told you not to get used to it.”

“I’m not,” he answered lightly, “just taking what I can get.”

“Elliot.”

“Coming!” Elliot cinched her coat up more snug, closer to her throat and where the scar lay expertly over her sternum, and snagged the keys off of the counter to the beat-up Honda Civic John had lifted from Eden’s Gate. Right. He couldn’t wait to hear Scarlet’s input on that car ride.

The redhead made it down two steps before she paused, turning and looking at John and going, “Um, bye,” in a tone that was more sheepish than he anticipated; it was almost shy, and it caught him so off-guard that he didn’t even get the chance to muster a response before she was making her way across the snowy driveway.

“Drive safe,” John called, once he’d gathered his senses a bit more. Elliot glanced at him over her shoulder and then ducked into the car, closing the door and beginning to pull her way down the drive. He waited until they’d turned onto the freshly plowed road before he turned back into the house and closed the front door behind him.

Boomer had seated himself in front of the window, letting out a little whine as his tail swept along the floor.

“C’mon, furry sentinel,” he sighed, not risking putting his hand within biting reach. “Just you and me today.”

The Heeler whined again, apparently thoroughly displeased at this news, and stayed rooted at the window to watch for his girl to come home.

Fishing his phone out of his pocket, he hit the redial button on the number they’d gotten a call from that morning and waited as the phone rang, pacing around the polished living room. It rang enough times as he idly adjusted glasses on a bar cart that he thought for certain no one would pick up—and then the phone clicked, and a warm voice came through.

“Hi, John.”

He blinked in surprise. “Hello, Faith. How’d you get this phone?”

“Isolde passed it to me when she saw your call. She wanted me to tell you that she’s too busy to talk to you.”

A wry smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Sounds like everything’s operating as normal, then.”

“I suppose.” Faith paused. “Are you coming home soon?”

“I am.”

“With Elliot?”

“Yes, she—” John cleared his throat and made an effort to sound as unbothered as possible. “She’s very concerned about Deputy Pratt’s well-being.”

“We’re taking good care of him. Will you tell her that? Better than he’d be getting out there, anyway,” and she said the word out there with such a surprising amount of venom that John realized he’d nearly forgotten about the Family’s reappearance. Well, there couldn’t be that many of them left, could there?

And then Faith said, “A lot of us are dead, John.”

His hand went to the mantle for a little support as he leaned against it. There was a bit of a bite to Faith’s voice—almost accusatory. A lot of us are dead, she said, as he stood in the plush home of his mother-in-law while they went dress shopping for a Christmas party. It occurred to him that none of his siblings—nor Isolde—were aware of what they’d been dealing with the last couple of days; they must have felt like he was getting off easy.

“The Father says we only have a little while longer,” she continued, “and that if we can’t fix this in time, we won’t wait for you. He’s been alone, a lot. Talking to God. Praying for more time, for you.”

The words made his stomach wrench, a little. He would have felt worse if he didn’t know already that there was an exit plan in place, one that Elliot was already on board for. “We’re only here for another day, and then we’re leaving” John replied. “The sheriff mentioned some—Federal agents. I don’t want to rouse suspicion and bring them down on us again.”

“Do you think it’s Burke?”

“Maybe.” He pressed his forehead against the stone mantle. “Probably. No one’s come storming in yet.”

“I hope it’s him. I hope he follows you all the way back here.” And then, darker: “He has a lot to apologize for.”

John made a low noise of agreement. It felt good to have a conversation with someone who seemed to be on the same side as him, for once—no bickering with Scarlet, no bickering with Elliot, and no bickering with Isolde. As of late, it seemed he was only capable of incurring arguments; though that did seem to be changing quickly with his wife.

“We’re having a service soon. Did you want me to tell Joseph anything?”

“Ah, no, that’s alright. I just wanted to let you know we had a plan.”

“Do you want to talk to him?”

“No,” John said again, more quickly and with a bout of unease sprinting up his spine. “No, that’s alright. I’ll let you go. We’ll be home soon, okay?”

“Alright.” Faith’s voice lightened when she added, “Tell Elliot I said hello.”

Bad idea, he thought, but said, “Of course,” and hit the end call button. It wasn’t until his entire body relaxed that he realized he’d been fully tensed, waiting for some kind of verbal blow—and though there had been a few, he felt...

Fine.

I feel fine.

It was fine. Everything was fine. Joseph was praying for more time for them. They’d make it back without a hitch. And then, when the world ended, and took the remainder of the Family with them—

Well, that would be all the better.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“My children.”

The heaters rattled, clicking in the lukewarm air in a steady, mechanical heartbeat. Candles lit throughout the chapel drenched the members of Eden’s Gate in a strange, golden glow, and as Joseph’s voice carried all the way to the back where Staci sat between Jacob and Arden. He could see in the front row sat Faith and the dark-haired woman—who he’d come to understand was Isolde Khan, John’s old business partner—and there was a moment where Joseph’s eyes fixed on her before they lifted back to the congregation.

“God has truly been testing us,” the man continued, pacing away from the altar the front, hands folded behind him. “As you know, I have spent a lot of time in silence and solitude so that I might be the most open to receiving from Him. For the longest time, I thought—had we done something wrong? Had I led us astray? Were we being punished?”

An uneasy murmur rippled throughout the crowd. In the front, Pratt could see Isolde writing something down in a notebook; he wished he was closer, so he could see what it was—what was so interesting that she was taking notes now, of all times? What could she possibly be doing?

Preparing for the worst-case scenario, he thought idly, shifting in his seat. Jacob’s eyes cut over to him and he cleared his throat. The shower had done nothing to ease his nerves.

“But I’ll tell you—devout, and loyal, we have not been left to the wayside.” Joseph stopped, pressing a hand onto a woman’s shoulder, squeezing. “I have heard His voice. I have received His word. We are not only followers of God’s word—we are His soldiers.”

The noise that passed through the congregation this time was brighter, agreements—it must have felt good. Not just passive sheep, to be shepherded; soldiers. Capable of violence. And they were.

“We are His warriors.”

The woman Joseph’s hand was on was getting teary-eyed, and when he departed from her to sidle his way down the aisle, she all but collapsed in on herself, folding in half to bury her face in her hands. Another attestation of acknowledgment rippled around him, louder.

“This world is a wretched, vile machine, taking in and spitting out sin, flooding our garden with locusts,” the Prophet continued, his voice lifting in volume. “We are, my children, the only people who have the great fortune of seeing this—of knowing what no one else in the world seems capable of understanding. God has told me—”

Sick, Pratt thought dizzily, I’m going to be sick.

“—that a life of bliss awaits us, if we can only...”

Joseph paused, as though he needed to look for the words, as though he hadn’t been reciting this all day in preparation for the sermon; Pratt knew that he must, the assured cadence of his voice coming so firmly that there was no way it wasn’t rehearsed.

“...look past the dread, and the fear,” he continued earnestly, allowing his hand to be taken by another member, “because fear is the language of the Devil—if we can look past it, and dedicate ourselves fully to His cause, there is only happiness and serenity waiting for us on the other side of this.”

“How do we do it, Father?” a man to the other side of Jacob cried out, his voice a panicked fever-pitch. “How do we show Him we’re devoted?”

Joseph’s head turned. His gaze landed on Pratt, lingering before lifting to the congregant. “We’ve got to stop the machine.”

Optimism flooded the crowd. An easy solution. Stop the machine, like it was nothing. Like they weren’t dealing with a group of people who killed as easily as they did.

“Throw your bodies upon the gears, upon the wheels, upon all the apparatus,” Joseph intoned dutifully, pacing back toward the front. “Whatever it takes to bring the machine to a grinding halt. We can no longer passively take part in the End—we are warriors of God, and our divine right is not instinctively endowed. It is earned. And we will show that we have earned it by exterminating these interlopers invading our garden.”

Pratt’s mouth pressed into a thin line. Eden’s Gate members came to a stand around him; loomed in his vision; eclipsed what little murky light reached him. Cheers and applause rolling around in his head. He thought for sure he’d heard this all somewhere, before—

Oh, yes. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all! The irony of Joseph lifting lines from an activist’s speech was not lost on him.

A heavy hand gripped the collar of his shirt, hauling him to his feet. “Stand up,” Jacob muttered. “Good posture’s important.”

He steadied himself on the pew ahead of him. Amidst the chatter of the congregation, eventually quieted down by Joseph’s patience at the front of the chapel, he could hear renewed excitement. More life had been breathed into the peggies than he’d seen in a long time—well, considering that he’d only been here roughly a day, and the whole place felt like a ghost town even now, that was saying something.

“Please,” Joseph called lightly, “join me in prayer.”

Heads bowed. Pratt let his chin drop to his chest, but his eyes didn’t close; his gaze darted to his right, where Arden stood, hands clasped politely in front of her. Her head did not bow for prayer.

He was only vaguely aware of the words coming out of Joseph’s mouth, redirecting his eyes back to the floorboards beneath his worn shoes. Lord, we pray that you might show us guidance and wisdom in these uncertain times; show us how to be most like you, for only you are perfect...

Elliot was going to come back to this. She was going to come back to this, and he was going to have to figure out how to get her out of here without any of the Seeds noticing. Helmi had said, meet me out back, by the river, in three nights, but he couldn’t keep track. Had it been one night? Two? Less than one?

“I am your Father,” Joseph was saying. “You are my Children. Together, and only together, will we march through the Gates of Eden.”

A rousing amen echoed around him. They milled about, chatting excitedly—perhaps delighted to have a focus for their ire, for their agitation. The members of Eden’s Gate looked worse than Pratt remembered. Dirtier. Thinner. More exhausted. He thought that it must be nice to have a purpose—

Fuck me, not that shit again.

He filed out of the row behind Arden, and with Jacob behind him, following her to the front where Isolde and Joseph stood. They were speaking in low tones, bundled close together; she tapped her ten against the front of her notepad in what looked like an agitated tick, but he couldn’t hear what it was she was saying. By the time they were close that he might have heard, Joseph lifted his head from where he’d bent a little to speak closely and looked at him, smiling.

“It was nice to see your face in the crowd this day, Deputy Pratt,” he said, his voice warm. “Did you enjoy the sermon?”

Pratt opened his mouth, and then closed it. He didn’t want to play this game.

“Go on, Peaches,” Jacob prompted, clapping his shoulder.

The nickname sparked something angry inside of him, like dragging a match against the sandpaper side of the box. If there’s anything wrong with you, I’m going to kill them, Elliot had said.

Pratt turned his gaze to Joseph. “I thought the Mario Savio part was a bit much.”

A surprised, abrupt laugh barked out of Jacob. Joseph’s expression remained flat and serene. In fact, the only person who seemed to have any negative opinion about his words was Isolde, narrowing her eyes as she turned to look at him fully.

“We’re not exactly looking to hit notes with the intellectuals in the crowd, Deputy Pratt,” she informed him coolly. “They don’t care who said it first. They care who said it better.”

“Y—” Pratt swallowed. “Okay, well—”

“��Okay, well’ shut the fuck up,” she snapped. “Or I’ll have Jacob take you out back and put you down like Old Yeller.”

“You can’t,” he protested quickly, “Elliot said—”

“Do you think I care in the least what some woman five states away said?” Isolde cut over him quickly, the elegant, soft roll of her accent a strange and unsettling juxtaposition to her words. “I’m getting this ship in fit fucking order, and that means I don’t need you inspiring dissent. Anyone with an opinion that is less than glowing, radiant, gorgeous—they get taken care of, whatever that means. Got it?”

Pratt closed his mouth tightly, until the pressure was beginning to build between his molars. I just have to make it until Elliot gets here, and then—and then I’ll—then I can get—

He took in a little breath. “Yes.”

“Peachy.” Isolde flashed a smile that was all-too-saccharine, and then turned to Joseph. “Let’s sit.”

“Of course.”

They departed to a pew just to the left of them. Jacob was grinning at him, wolfish.

“Thought about telling you she wrote it,” he said, “but that was much more entertaining.”

“You look pale, Staci,” added Arden, her voice light as it redirected from Jacob’s apparent joy at his suffering. “Maybe you should go lay down. I don’t want you straining any of those injuries.”

Okay, he thought, and maybe the words came out of him but he couldn’t tell; he couldn’t tell anymore, but he did want to go lay down. Lay down, and close his eyes, and sleep until Elliot got back.

He’d never been happier at the prospect of seeing an ex-girlfriend.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

When they arrived at the boutique, Sylvia was standing outside, bouncing on the balls of her feet in what Elliot could only assume was an attempt to get warm. It was difficult, to focus on something as inane and arbitrary as dress shopping when she knew that Pratt was back in Hope County, dealing with God-knew-what the Seeds were throwing at him.

Well, the Seeds. And more. The Family, who were supposed to be dead, and—

I hear stress is bad for the baby. A familiar accent, wasn’t it?

“Well, are you just gonna sit in there all day or what?” her mother asked, having stepped out of the passenger side.

“Did you invite Sylvia?”

Scarlet sighed. “I thought it might be nice, for you.”

It was an unexpectedly sincere gesture on her mother’s part. She swallowed a thick emotion down, clearing her throat and managing out, “It—is, mama, thank you,” before she got out of the car and took the keys with her, heading towards the front doors of the main street store.

“Howdy, Freckles!” Sylvia greeted her warmly, throwing her arms around her in a tight hug. “Been a few. Wyatt’s still got your Jeep, he’s been runnin’ it a few minutes a day to make sure the battery doesn’t go bad.” She smiled brightly, turning to Elliot’s mother. “Mrs. Honeysett, you look mighty lovely.”

“Thank you, dear.”

Sylvia tugged the door to the boutique open, ushering them inside so that she could trail in after. The inside of the store was toasty warm, making Elliot regret having worn a scarf, but it was too late now—the coat and scarf combination were doing the work to keep her scar covered.

“I just love this place,” Scarlet sighed, shrugging out of her coat and hanging it on the rack by the door. “What do you think, Elliot? Maybe something blue. I’d put you in green, but with that red hair, you’d look like a Christmas ornament. Blue’s a nice winter color—very fashionable.”

“Sure, mama,” Elliot replied, brushing her fingers along the silk of one of the dresses. The last time she’d been in anything that blue and nice had been back in Hope County. At her “baptism”. The same one Burke had been dragged to, the same one that John had held her under for just a little too long for, maybe distracted by the Marshal’s arrival back then.

“Psst.” The sound of Via’s voice caught her attention, pulling her from the waking memory. The blonde had pulled what appeared to be the most atrocious Christmas gown that could have been looked at off of the rack, holding it up and lifting her eyebrows as Scarlet chatted enthusiastically with the store’s saleswoman.

“Stop it,” Elliot said, fighting back a smile. “You’re not serious.”

“Oh, dead serious, Freckles.”

“It has mistletoe on it, Via.”

“How else am I supposed to fetch a husband, if not by readily-accessible entrapment?”

Well, she thought a little dryly, that is how John got a wife.

It was odd, to think of the moment with anything less than hostility—to have come to a point where there were things more pressing than a marriage that, in the end, might not matter anyway. John had said that he knew the baby didn’t mean she’d take him back; had acknowledged there was no guarantee. For once, he’d shown up in her life with every intention laid bare for her to see.

Maybe not every intention. But she’d root them all out, eventually, and pretend like it hadn’t become something of a game, to catch John in a lie and watch him squirm.

She let the boutique’s owner show her around, clearly making quite a show for her mother, and politely turned down any suggestions for a deep v or off-the-shoulder type of garment. Sylvia had picked out a few; most blue, some blush, a few red, and then loaded some into Elliot’s arms.

“Try ‘em on!” she chirped. “Yes, even the green ones. Maybe your mama doesn’t want an Elliot Christmas ornament, but I do.”

Elliot heaved a sigh, though it was only half-sincere—anything delivered with Sylvia’s bright, cheery smile, she was hard-pressed to feel anything less than good about. Maybe that was dangerous, to be so comfortable with someone.

Or maybe, she thought, closing the dressing room door behind her, that’s just how having friends are. You remember what that was like.

She did. As she undressed and zipped the back of one of the red dresses Sylvia had selected—thoughtfully aware of the fact that she’d want most of her chest covered—she regarded herself in the mirror. There was that stranger again, flushed cheeks and bright eyes staring back at her. A familiar nose shape, a familiar slope of her cheekbones—but the rest of her. Where had she gone?

With one hand she pushed the door open, the other one lifting the back train of the dress as little as she walked out. A grimace had planted itself on her face, even despite Sylvia’s elaborate applause at her appearance.

“Oh, bunny, you look darling,” her mother sighed, having turned to take a look. “What’s the matter? You don’t like it?”

“Not big on the sparkles,” she admitted.

“I like them. You’ve always looked good in red, though. That fair complexion of your father’s.”

Sylvia grinned. “Try on a green one. I wanna imagine how you’ll look on my tree!”

Elliot stuck her tongue out at the blonde, turning around and scurrying back into the changing room. There were a few more dresses—even a green one—that were in the running, but eventually, she’d settled on a floor-length piece, dark blue velvet and halter-topped to get the most sternum coverage. When she’d redressed and rejoined the group outside, her mother was beaming as she gossiped with the boutique owner.

“Elliot’s quite modest,” her mother said conversationally, “and she’s already married, you know.”

“Thank you, mother,” Elliot sighed, a little smile fighting its way onto her face.

“Whatever are you still wearing your coat for? Your face is all red.”

“I’m—” She paused, swallowing. “Still cold.”

Her mother’s eyes narrowed. “Cold? It’s eighty degrees in here. And your face is all red.”

Sylvia had glanced up from across the store, neck-deep in dresses of a warmer shade. Elliot could feel the eyes on her—her friend, her mother, the boutique owner—and she cleared her throat and tugged absently at the tag on the dress.

“It’s fine,” she said after a minute.

“Well, at least take your scarf off.”

“I think it’s a lovely scarf,” the owner tried, a little helplessly.

“Mother, it’s—I’m fine—”

But her mother moved too quickly for her to realize what was happening; her mother’s hand unwound the scarf with expert ease, and then froze, her eyes fixed on what Elliot thought assuredly was the little of her WRATH scar, revealed.

Her stomach rolled. Heat flooded her body, worse than before—it was the kind of sticky-wet heat that came with the threat of throwing up, the kind that crept up the spine and gripped by the nape of the neck. Elliot felt her lashes flutter; she dropped the dress abruptly and yanked the scarf out of her mother’s hands to wind it securely around her neck again. The boutique owner had quickly turned to the clothing rack, as though something very emergent had occurred on the inanimate objects.

Stupid. She was so stupid. She should have just worn a sweater. She shouldn’t have looked at her scar that morning and thought, maybe it is something to love, she shouldn’t have ever risked the chance that her mother would see it, stupidstupidstupid—

“My God,” Scarlet said tightly, the tone of her voice washing Elliot with shame. “What did you do?”

I’m sorry, she wanted to say, automatically. Mama, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m not good anymore, I’m not—

“Phew, I sure am dressed-out,” Sylvia announced, having come over. “I’ll have to go home and weigh my options. Ell, you wanna head outside for some air?”

“I think that’s best,” her mother replied curtly, before Elliot could even think to formulate a sentence. “I’ll finish up in here.”

She thought about trying to say something—trying to explain, maybe, what it was that had happened. But how could she? Her mother had suffered through the years she’d inflicted pain on herself, after daddy and after Mason, and she had told her mother she was better, now. Healed. Good. What could she say, to make it alright?

Because there was no world where she could say, I didn’t want it, and mean it.

Via’s hand fit snugly in hers, tugging her lightly out through the front door of the boutique onto the street. It wasn’t until she took in a lungful of cold, dry air that she realized she’d been holding her breath; her lungs ached, her head swimming, and she was gripping Via’s hand too tightly.

“Hey,” Sylvia said softly, “s’okay.”

It’s not, she thought miserably, it’s not okay, I’m not okay, I want to go—

Where? Where could she go?

I want—

Nowhere? Anywhere?

—to go—

“Home,” she managed out unsteadily, “I should go home—”

Sylvia gave her hand a squeeze. “You want I should give your mama a ride back to the house?”

“Yes.” She swallowed, sniffing. “Yes, please.”

“Okay, Freckles. Sure. You just—maybe you just take a little drive for yourself, collect your thoughts.” Via paused, and then leaned a little to catch Elliot’s eyes; though her vision blurred from the threat of tears, the blonde still smiled a little. “You gonna be okay all by yourself?”

It was a strange question to ask, but Elliot knew what she meant. Are you safe? Alone?

“Yeah,” Ell replied in a thick, watery mumble. “I am.”

“Okay. Can you give me a call when you get home?”

She nodded weakly. Via pulled her into a hug, tight and gentle all at once, enough to make the dam break; just for a little, just for a minute, the tears streaked down her cheeks and caught up in the fabric of the scarf where it wadded against her jaw.

My God, what did you do?

“I’m sorry,” she blurted out, pulling back and sucking in a sharp little breath. “Um, I’m really—s-sorry—”

But Via shook her head firmly and brushed some of the hair back from Elliot’s face, wet from her tears. “Don’t apologize. Go get a little breather.”

She fished the keys out of Elliot’s pocket for her, putting them in her hand and hesitating.

“Promise you’ll call,” she reiterated.

Elliot nodded. “I—I promise.”

“Okay. No take-backs.”

“No take-backs.”

Via gave her another hug before ushering her towards the car. As she climbed in and turned the key, her hands shaking, she thought about the way her mother had looked at the scar—with disgust. Horror. Shame. Via hadn’t looked at her like that, when she’d seen it. She’d seemed embarrassed, at having put Elliot in such a position; but not like that. She hadn’t looked horrified.

John didn’t look at it like that. He’d spent a lot of time last night, tracing the shape of the scar with his eyes, with his mouth, reverent and adoring. Makes you hungry, doesn’t it?

At least leaving would be that much easier.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

They came back separately.

When John heard the front door open, he’d been starting a pot of coffee in the kitchen. He poked his head around the archway to look out in the foyer, only to find Scarlet standing there, furiously unbuttoning her coat and dropping her gloves into the drawer. Two dress bags hung on the coat rack.

“Ell outside?” he asked casually, coming around.

“Certainly not,” Scarlet replied tartly. “She’s—”

And then the woman let out a sigh, closing her eyes for a moment—for the first time, Scarlet Honeysett looked to be composing herself, which he thought she was nearly incapable of losing sight of. It seemed even the impenetrable armor of the Honeysett matriarch had its own weaknesses after all.

His tiny little thrill at the sight of Scarlet looking troubled was short-lived, however, because she said, “My daughter walked into the boutique sporting this—wretched scar—”

Oh, he thought, suddenly.

“—never been so humiliated in my whole life—”

Oh, no, because he knew exactly what she was talking about and Elliot would be—

“—have no doubt, Mr. Seed,” Scarlet bit out viciously, “that scar is new and you have certainly not influenced her away from such activities.”

He needed to find Elliot. She would be distraught; why hadn’t she come home with her mother? And why wasn’t Scarlet more pressed concerning her daughter’s well-being?

“And where is she?” John asked, ignoring the stinging anger bubbling in his chest. Wretched scar, she’d said. Like it wasn’t beautiful. Like it wasn’t gorgeous. Like he hadn’t spent a whole night looking at it, running his hands and mouth over it, knowing that Elliot had looked at him and wanted it and trusted him and if there was something more devoted, it was carrying someone’s child. “Elliot? Where is she?”

“Taking a moment to regain her senses,” the blonde replied sharply. “She has vowed to be home soon. Mr. Seed—”

He had gone to reach for his coat, pausing at her words and looking at her expectantly.

Scarlet twisted the gloves in her hands for a moment, her brows pulling together.

“I just think,” she finally said, “that as her husband, you are responsible for her as much as I am. You have to be taking care of her when I’m not around.”

“I do,” he replied.

“Evidence says contrary,” Scarlet snapped. “She has come back to me with more—damage—”

The sound of a car pulling up outside snapped John’s attention elsewhere. He knew that if he stayed much longer in the conversation, they would be leaving sooner than what they had planned, if only because Scarlet wouldn’t tolerate him in the house for the things that he wanted to say to her. Damage, he wanted to say, that is only as bad as it is because it’s compounding on your incessant need to brush aside her problems like they’re nothing, like she didn’t need help then.

“Excuse me,” he muttered, pulling his coat on and opening the door. The rush of cold air bit at his face and hands; Boomer came rushing out around his legs, springing down the steps and hurrying to the driver’s side of the Honda. John was only vaguely aware of the door closing behind him—and it didn’t matter, anyway.

She didn’t open the door when Boomer got there, scrabbling at it for her eagerly. She kept her hands on the top of the steering wheel and pressed her forehead into it, the engine ticking as it cooled. When John got there, he reached for the door handle to tug it open. Elliot hit the lock button.

“Ell,” John said, “open the door.”

She lifted her head tiredly from the steering wheel. Where her hand sat over the lock button, her fingers trembled a little, and her face was flushed—not with health, but with the sickly red of feverish, panicked crying.

“Baby,” he tried again, a little more urgently, putting his hand on the glass of the window, “Boomer wants to see you.”

Elliot’s eyes were fixed on his jacket. “Would you—” She stopped, her voice muffled by the glass, and then she took a deep breath and said, “Would you even be here if I wasn’t pregnant?”

“What?” John blinked at her.

“If I didn’t have the baby,” she tried again, her voice thick and watery with unshed tears, that pouty lower lip trembling, “would you have even come for me?”

He stared at her. It had never occurred to him, that there might be a world in her head where he didn’t come for her, where he didn’t find her, where he didn’t try and bring her back.

“Of course I would,” John said, drawing her eyes to him. “I love you, Elliot.” And then, more urgently: “I love you, with or without the baby.”

She looked away from him, then, staring out the other side of the window, fingers curling uselessly against the steering wheel even as the keys lay in the passenger seat—like she wanted to run. Like she wanted to floor it, and go somewhere, anywhere.

“Open the door, Ell.” He swallowed thickly. “Won’t you?”

The door lock clicked. He tugged at the handle and it opened with ease, Boomer instantly shoving his face into Elliot’s side and whining, tail wagging so furiously his whole body moved with it. John pushed the door open the rest of the way and reached for her, and her hand caught his wrist and pulled, and she buried her face into his chest and trembled like a leaf in a breeze.

“I’m so tired,” she moaned miserably into his chest, hiccupping with grief, “I want to go home.”

John wrapped his arms around her, one hand cradling the back of her head and keeping her tugged close.

“I know,” he said. “We’ll go. We will, I promise, Ell, okay?”

“Please—” The redhead pulled back to look at him. “I can’t—you can’t—lie to me, anymore—”

“I know,” John said again, a little helplessly, brushing his thumb across her cheekbone. She was clutching him so tightly he was sure her nails would leave marks on his skin, even through the fabric of his clothes.

“I won’t.”

#far cry 5 fic #fc5 fic #ch: elliot honeysett #ch: john seed #john seed/female deputy #fic: witching hour #john seed x female deputy #my writing #otp: death keep off; i am your enemy #this chapter is about as long as the last one but also feels so much: bigger #thank u to everyone who reached out to me for the last two chapters it literally !!!!! #makes my whole fucking day #when i get feedback or even just to chat with some of y'all #*smooches u*

[softysuho]

pretty boy & zombies

pairing: yunho x reader

summary: In the year 3013, the government unleashed their first wave of "natural selection". They took out elderly by offering a vaccine that was told to prevent further sicknesses and stated that it was mandatory. After the elderly were wiped from the earth, phase two was put into action. There they unleashed a monster. The government started the zombie apocalypse in hopes that the elite human race would show itself.

word count: 1.9k (a/n its been awhile and this is lowkey shit, I also can't figure out how to put "keep reading" in with the new Tumblr update, but I hope you all enjoy this drabble💖)

It was day like every other day, humid and way too hot for any sort of physical activity. The small house you sit in does little to keep the warm weather out, it was a cute place from what was left. There had been an old couple in here prior, from what you gathered. They looked cute and happy in the photos that were scattered across the walls. Most of the food leftover had gone bad, but they did have a decent amount of medical supplies. 

You sighed as you thought back to your home, your parents and your little baby sister. It was hard to keep track of the days you have been without your family, four or five months maybe. Your college days were long behind you now, no more parties, no more all nighters doing homework. Everything had been taken from you. 

On an average day supply run, you can still see the tall billboards, promising a better future. The face of the man who decided to play God and Mother Nature. What bullshit. You wondered if he is dead now, if the zombies got to him like they did to everyone else in the towns. 

One could only hope. 

As for other survivors out there, you know that there are some sharing the near city with you. One day stores could have shelves of food and the next day there seems to be half. Although you haven’t crossed paths with any. Who knows if they would be friendly. 

Maybe they’d put you out of your misery. 

Most days that sounded nice. To be able to join your family in the afterlife. Somedays you knew you didn’t want to die, the fear of what comes next after death chilled your bones. You certainly don’t want to feast off human guts and brains for the next eternity. What if the undead are still the people they were before? Maybe they can only watch themselves turn into a monster.  

As you were running low on filling meals, left with light snacks, you decided it was best to into the deeper parts of the city. It was risky, considering it used to be the most populated, but desperate times come to desperate measures.

You grabbed your gear and your sharp machete and adjusted your makeshift armor straps before taking off. Staying low in the tree was one of the safer moves, taking the longest way into the city in hopes of avoiding hordes. The nature was a beautiful sight, the refreshing smell of pine and the distant trickling of water. Normally it'd be calming if you didn't have to fear the undead lurking.

You wondered if nature would begin to go back in time, before the greedy human fingers that destroyed their beauty. However, you wondered if there would be any animal left once the zombies come and eat them as well. One could only hope they'll be okay.

As the trees began to thin out, you could see the city that used to home to many. The streets were covered in half eaten corpses, trash from the chaos and blood. In the beginning, this sight had you emptying your stomach in a near by bush, 10 deep breaths and one 'you can do this'. These days though, it was just the normal sight you'd become accustomed to.

Normally, these trips would be to the same grocery store you've been too for the last few months. You knew these roads now, and every nook and cranny on the way there. But today was different. You were tired of looking like you just crawled out of an old ladies closet, no offense to her. So you decided to head towards one of the stores with both clothing and food. Hopefully you'd find a new blanket to take as well.

There was a light pep in your step as you made your way there, a small amount of excitement you haven't felt in a long time at the thought of some new clothes. You wondered what else there would be there besides what you need and that thought was fun to think about. So similar to what would've went through your head before the destruction of humanity.

You stuck close to the walls of the tall buildings, trying to be as quiet as you could. You couldn't afford to risk being caught now, out in the open by the dead before you even had a chance to see how bad the rest of the city really was.

What you didn't realize, though, was how lost you were in your thoughts. You inched closer to that dark alleyway you would've avoided originally, one that could hide several lurking bodies within.

It was too late by then, a large and warm hand covered your mouth as an arm wrapped itself around your torso. Alarm bells were going off in your head, slowly realizing that you had to escape before you met your doom. Tears were threatening to spill from your eyes, praying to whatever was out there to let you live for another day.

"Would you shut up? I'd rather not regret saving your ass." It was a harsh whisper against your ear, but it did its job as you calmed in the unknown (hopefully) humans arms. "You were being followed." This time the voice was soft, hand finally falling away from your mouth to pull you closer and further into the darkness.

Only then did you notice the scuffing of feet and deep voices. You could tell they weren't far, and they clearly would've seen you walking alone at some point. A thousand 'thank yous' raced through your head towards the person behind you and you could only hope they could feel how thankful you were. You turned to look towards the stranger, only seeing that is was a male who was taller than you. Or at least, thats what you assumed.

The two of you stayed within the alleyways darkness even after the group walked past and out of ear shot. You heard a breath of relief behind you, followed by a brief brush of shoulders. As the man peered out from the darkness, you saw the messy mop of black hair and a quarter of his face. Inching closer to the man, your eyes popped over his shoulder and scanned for any signs of movement. When you both deemed it safe, he motioned you with his fingers and brought you in the opposite direction of the group.

"The hell were you doing out in the open like that?" He said above a whisper. However you were shocked by the way his eyes sparkled in the sunlight, simply managing a small shrug. He rolled his eyes at you in response, "I'm Yunho.. I've been living in that upscale apartment complex a ways down for about a month, and I swear I've seen everyone who is left around here. You're new?"

You scoffed lowly and looked over your shoulder. Why was he telling you this? Did he want to take you back and murder you for supplies? "I've been living in the woods, there was a farm a little ways out and I've only stuck to the store on that side of town."

Yunho hummed, seemingly lost in thought. He didn't seemed too beat up for being out here alone, not like you at least. There were scratches on your arms from shrubbery as well as old blood from a run in with the dead. Yunho was handsome and from the glimpses of his smile, you could tell it was bright.

You had been walking side by side for awhile now, going into the town deeper than you ever had been. The building were getting taller, more expensive and grand. First floor windows were either boarded up or broken, probably either hiding or stealing. You could picture the busy streets, the high class fashion of the upper working class.

"If you've been here for a month, how come you haven't tried to make friends?" You said softly, looking up at Yunho curiously.

"I had ran into the leader about two weeks ago," He scratched his head, looking from side to side while he kept an eye out. "It was fine at first, we made small talk in one of the stores." Yunho pointed behind him and rolled his eyes, "Somewhere back there, I don't remember. We talked for awhile before one of his buddies came in and claimed he could see a bite mark.. All hell broke out after, but I snuck out the back."

You rose your brows and patted him on the shoulder. "His buddy sounds like a real winner."

When you reached the building, you were pretty amazed at the shape it was left in. There was only one window that was broken, leaving the rest of them untouched. "I don't think anyone attempted to stay here so it was pretty much abandoned." Yunho smirked to himself and took a deep breath before he opened the front doors. "After you, ma'am." He bowed and gestured for you to take a step indoors. You gaped at the interior, if you thought hard enough you could see this place lit up and running as it should. The fountain glowing as the clear water fell into each bowl, grand chandeliers brightening the room. Your face was stuck, awestruck with a small smile. You wished you could've saw everything work in action or had the opportunity to stay a night here with room service.

"Woah.." You whispered when an arm was thrown around your shoulder.

"Wanna go room hunting with me? I've only been to the first five floors." Yunho whispered back as, he too, studied the hotel lobby. Pursing your lips, you shrugged and looked up at Yunho. Studying his features for a few brief moments. He was, indeed, very handsome.

Yunho watched you from the corner of his eye, his lips twitching into a smile. As fast as he could, Yunho turned his whole head to catch you in the act. The smile turning into a giant smirk. "See something you like?" He spoke first, head cocking to the side. "It's okay, I see something I like as well." A wink was sent your way, causing a blush to cover your features.

"Shut up," You joked, side eyeing him before your elbow met his ribs. He chuckled at you and took your hand to pull you to the stairs. "Find me some nice clothes and I'll reward you with a treat." Instead of your voice giving off a confident tone, it came out small and squeaky, leading your blush to darken a tenfold.

"Oh? And what is the treat? I think I should know before doing what I'm told."

"Guess it depends on how well you do."

After several hours of searching, jokes and excitement from not expired food, Yunho was able to come up with a nice sturdy set of blue jeans, a pair of leggings, some new combat boots, three shirts and one giant ass hoodie. He looked at you with wide and innocent eyes, silently asking you for his treat.

With a long sigh, you plopped yourself down on the couch and gestured him to come closer. As soon as he was within arms reach, you gripped his shirt and pulled him down on top of you. "Y/n.. you can't have my shirt." He said with a shit eating grin.

"Just shut up and kiss me."

#ateez fantasy #ateez #ateez imagines #ateez seonghwa #ateez mingi #ateez fluff #ateez jongho #ateez hongjoong #ateez scenarios #ateez reactions #ateez san #ateez yeosang #ateez au #ateez yunho #yunho au #jeong yunho #zombie au #ateez wooyoung #ateez world domination #ateez fanfic #ateez fic #ateez fanfiction

[nine-mp3]

- a one-shot inspired by OnlyOneOf’s Love going back to black hair recently

- vampire!love / jisung

- reader!witch/warlock

- word count: 1755

- warnings: blood mention, narrator only curses once, other than that it is very pg-13 

Lifting up the hatch to the roof of the cabin, you carefully move your way up to the surface. The cool night air of the forest is inviting; promising for days when you couldn't sleep, too many thoughts in mind. You walked across the ceramic tiles, careful not to slip. In one of your hands was a can of Coca-Cola, a favorite drink of the mortals in the world. And it so happened to be the same for yourself though you were a witch/warlock. As for your other hand, you held a medium-sized juice pouch with dark red liquid contained inside; it was made of primarily cranberry juice and other herbs, a known supplement for blood that only witches or warlocks can make. A very popular consumable in the supernatural market. 

You sat down at the other end of the roof, a few feet away from the trap door, and set down the juice pouch, while opening the coke. As you take a sip, the carbonation hits your nose strongly, making you wrinkle your nose for a moment. A black and tawny cat, Chestnut, leapt up from the trap door. She walks over, joining you, brushing against your arms. Though it seemed like the cat was accompanying you, she in reality was waiting for someone else. But you give the cat what she wants anyways; attention, rubbing her head generously.

It wasn't long till said person came, as they had promised to do so the other day. You barely had enough time to blink when someone appeared besides you without any warning. Most people would be shocked, or perhaps fallen off the roof. And that is speaking from personal experience, from when you first befriended Jisung. 

You eventually got used to it; being friends with a vampire simply just came with these surprise appearances. It’s one of the lesser terrifying things in the world when you think about it, considering the life you live as one kind of supernatural being as well.

Chestnut leaps out of your arms without another thought and into his, purring endlessly into his chest. Jisung laughs, happy to greet an animal who wasn't afraid of him. Hands running through fur, he hugs the cat with the same amount of affection. 

"You made it. And on time," you said, a smile reaching your face upon seeing him. 

"Did you think I wouldn't show up?" Jisung asked, his dark crimson eyes moving away from the cat to look at you. 

He idly played with Chestnut's paws as the cat rested on his lap now; it was quite scary to see a cat be in the hands of a vampire literally, wary of Jisung's long dark nails. But over time, you came to know that he was one of the gentler vampires in the world. And cats knew better than all of us; Chestnut wouldn't approach Jisung if she felt he was dangerous. 

"No. It's not an easy travel route to here, I mean," you said, setting down your can of coke to poke the straw into the juice pouch you had reserved for him.

He scooted over closer and was mindful not to jostle the cat in his lap as he did. Jisung smiled giddly, teeth and fangs showing, as if he was a child receiving sweets, and took the juice pouch from your hands to take a sip. You watched as his image changed once he took a generous glup and swallowed; he ran a hand through his black locks of hair, before leaning back against his arms. The light from the night stars made his pale skin glisten, even more than usual. It's hard not to look at him. 

And here's the confession; you thought Jisung is very beautiful. Vampires just came with good looks. He's not the first vampire you've met in your life either. Safe to say most of them are assholes and only have one goal in mind: to survive. As for him, he is both beautiful inside and outside; the supernatural transformation did not take away his ability to be kind or blurr the meaning of it. You assumed it took a great amount of willpower to do such a thing. Comparing the life of a mortal to a vampire, it was drastically different.

"Worried that I can't handle a couple of forest demons?" Jisung asked then, elbowing me playfully. 

"I guess it's something like that... anyways, do you know what day it is?" you responded.

"March 20th? Or is it one of your witchy / warlocky holidays?"

"...Witchy / warlocky holidays? Name one."

"Halloween."

"Huh? That one applies to all supernatural creatures-"

Jisung snickered, seeming to enjoy the confusion on your face. You knew he was joking then and shoved him to the side as hard as you could with your shoulder. Unfortunately, vampires have insane super strength in this world also; your physical shove did nothing to him. It might've hurt just your own shoulder in the end. The vampire, unmoving, laughs even harder.

"God, you're annoying. I'll send you across the field with a fireball if you don't shut up," you said, folding your arms and rolling your eyes in irritation.

"You like me too much to do that," Jisung responded, his smile turning into a knowing one.

In moments like these, when he was making fun of you, it was easier not to look at him out of spite. Jisung teased you relentlessly, but it was part of the friendship. You did the same back, except this moment was particularly different. The meaning of this day. The vampire notices your demeanor, the seriousness, and stops laughing.

“Aw, come on...I know what day it is, y/n. March 20th, the Spring Solstice. The anniversary of the day we first met," he said now. "I remember and...it's not something I would forget."

You didn't immediately look at Jisung again when he said that. It was because no one had ever said anything like that to you, the level of genuineness you felt from his words; it caught you off guard. Warmth had crept up on your face, paired off with the sudden acceleration of your heart. This wasn't something you can hide from a vampire though, it was more out of embarrassment to not look at him now. Out of the corner of your eyes, you saw Jisung's face become written with surprise.

It was probably also good to note that a witch’s /warlock's blood was particularly toxic to vampires, which was another reason why it wasn't hard to become friends with him in the first place; you didn't have to worry about him thinking of you as a midnight snack. 

There was a good moment of silence as you attempted to muster the courage to find a way to respond to that and of course, explain why in the world you were reacting this way. You were trying to figure out for the longest time about how you truly felt about Jisung; if you were confusing feelings of friendship for...something else. The last thing you wanted to do was to ruin it all. 

This had happened several times and before Jisung could ask any questions, you teleported away from him. And you were about to do that again. He seemed to have anticipated the move and grabbed your hands, a tight grasp, preventing you from casting the spell. This forced you to look at him, though mainly out of your own surprise. There was a concern on his face now instead, and you couldn't miss the dilation of his pupils either; this made you know, whatever you were feeling, Jisung mutually felt the same. You felt stupid for not seeing it sooner; it made sense since you did literally disappear every moment before you could see his reaction every single time. But you were only scared. 

“Sorry,” you blurted out, breaking the heavy silence. “I’ve just been confused and I don’t know what this all means and you’re like my best friend and I don’t want to lose you and you know how complicated it would be for beings like us and-”

Jisung removed one of his hands to cover your mouth, stopping you from talking. 

“Okay. Now when I remove my hand you’re going to breathe. Sound good?”

You nodded, complying with his words. When he takes his hand from over your mouth, you inhale and exhale as directed. Looking back over to Jisung, he has an assuring smile on his face. He held both your hands in his again, his thumbs gently stroking in comfort. You noted that Chestnut the cat had gone from his lap; she must’ve thought you two needed to work something out when sensing tension from you and fled. It was one less thing to worry about. 

“So, all of that...was the reason why you kept running away?” he asked. 

“Yes. It was,” you admitted, the feeling of embarrassment returning. 

Jisung laughed lightly and you saw it now, his own shyness visible. 

“It’s hard to find the words...but I honestly wondered if you’d ever really think of me that way. I know that I have this irresistible beauty-”

You rolled your eyes for the second time today at that statement, almost wanting to retract your hands, yet he again prevented you from leaving until he finished his sentence. 

“- let me finish! But we both know it’s the vampire charm, blah, blah. Anyways, what I’m really trying to say is that I do have the same feelings- I mean at least what I sense your heart is telling me and all your stinky blood rushing around like that in your veins. Since day one, if you really want this to get anymore cliche...a vampire falling for a witch/warlock, vice versa...happens once in a blue moon, doesn’t it?”

Of course, Jisung still manages to joke while making a confession out of awkwardness. Yet you couldn’t be any more happier though. You pulled your hands away from his to wrap your arms around his shoulders for a tight hug, not minding how cold he was. There was no hesitation from Jisung either, his own arms immediately moving to loop around your frame, enjoying the warmth that emitted from your body, tucking his head against yours. The two of you spent a while like that, enjoying each other’s presence, before beginning to talk again about memories, addressing the moments where you both were dodgy; overall, catching up with each other’s feelings as the night continued on.

#onlyoneof #onlyoneof love #onlyoneof jisung #kpop #kpop fanfic #fantasy au #fanfiction #vampire #witch #warlock #fanfic #kpop scenarios #park jisung #park love #nine #mill #junji #yoojung #rie #kyubin

[n-ctarinenga]

Flower Boy [ boxer!calum ]

flower boy series | pt.1 | word count: 5,659 | masterlist

"Thank you so much! I'll have these to you as soon as possible. Goodbye!"

Talia grins, as she farewells the family whos portraits she had just finished shooting.

As much as she loves photography, there were only so many matching outfits and unhappy children a person could handle in a day, and with the family that had just left her studio, Talia had reached her limit.

Draining days were something she had gotten used to, business booming lately thanks to the kind words of a handful of past clients. With doors only opening just under a year ago, Valentine Studios didn't exactly have the longest history in town, but Talia liked to believe her dedication and skill made up for lack of experience.

Her mother hadn't really approved of the move, her ideals for her daughter being stuck a few decades in the past.

With the thought of her mother flashing through her mind, Talia couldn't help but sigh as she moved to pack up her camera for the night.

After the great disbandment of the Alisley family, it was nearly impossible for either of the Alisley children to communicate with their mother, but that didn't stop Yvonne from making her annual call to her kids, mostly about the percentage paid out to them every couple weeks from their father's estate royalties, which in Talia's case, was this morning.

From that point onward, it felt like the universe had decided to torment Talia today.

Starting off with the phone call, and most recently manifesting as a set of twins who refused to do any form of posing with their parents, Talia couldn't wait to go home and sleep so she could start the next day fresh and away from the negative vibes of the current day.

Once her backdrops had been rolled up,  and her camera was safely stored in its bag, Talia finally had time to let down her dark brown hair, the two bright streaks of red framing her face. She took great pleasure in turning all the lights off, and locking the door of the studio behind her.

Taking a second to relax in her car, Talia looks at her phone, scrolling through til she reaches the contact of her brother, Brandon.

The Alisley family were estranged from each other these days, but that didn't mean that Talia and Brandon had stopped being lifelong best friends.

The two had always been close, only a couple years between the siblings. Growing up in a world surrounded by adults until they themselves were well into their teens, they were practically a package deal until they had both moved into their own apartments a few years ago.

As of late, while Talia was diving head first into Valentine, Brandon was knee deep in The Vault, the gym he had started not long before Talia opened her own business.

Sitting in her car, Talia contemplated calling him for a moment, her finger hovering over the call button as she thought.

With both of them being so busy, they had barely had time to catch up over the last couple months, and after the day she had had today, Talia needed a bit of chill time with the only other person in the world who could understand her situation.

Their father always joked they could communicate telepathically, and after not seeing him for so long, Talia missed speaking her native tongue.

Deciding to make her way over to the gym, Brandon always telling her he was there any Friday night she would try to make plans with him lately, Talia constructed a plan for what she would do once she finally had convinced her brother to stop throwing himself into his work every Friday night.

With The Vault situated downtown, it was a bit of a drive in Los Angeles traffic, but with the thought of the Thai food just up the street from the gym in her mind, Talia couldn't find it in herself to care about the lengthy journey.

The radio softly played one of the many playlists made on Talia's phone as she drove along, windows down and the breeze lightly whipping her hair around as she did her best to relax while she had the chance.

While most people were finishing their work week, Talia, being the head photographer at Valentine, was still one day away from her own weekend, working every Saturday since the studio opened. This made it easier for families to get together for their shoots, not having to worry about getting back to work and getting the kids back to school, and Talia could tell her clients appreciated it, which made the extra day of work worth it to her.

Propping her head up, with her left elbow resting on the top of the door, Talia can't help the frown that flashes onto her face as she approaches the gym.

Expecting to see only Brandon's car and maybe another employee's, the full parking lot beside the building confuses her. How many people would be at a gym after hours?

The confused frown on Talia's face lingers as she parks her car next one she definitely recognised as Brandon's, climbing out and locking it before pocketing her keys and approaching a man who looked slightly familiar, noticing he was one of Brandon's employees as she got closer.

"Johnny," Talia smiles politely, the man turning to her with wide eyes as he recognizes her, "what's happening here?" She asks.

Johnny stutters for a moment, looking around like he rather be anywhere else in the world at this exact moment.

"Oh, here? Just some regulars here for a get together. Your brother left a few hours back though." He says quickly, tripping over his words slightly, almost like he was making a story up as he went along.

Suspicion courses through Talia at the deflective words of the man much taller than she is, and if she didn't already know him, she probably would have been intimidated by his size alone.

"I just parked next to his car though, and it's kinda odd for Brandon to leave the gym open." Talia laughs awkwardly, not trusting of the excuse she was being given when she knew her brother better than to leave not only his business open, but also his car unlocked outside it.

"I think I'll just check things out for myself thanks Johnny." Talia states, before taking a step forward towards the entrance.

Sensing her disbelief, and his face turning to one of panic, Johnny takes a step sideways, blocking the door from Talia's path.

"Brandon said that you were banned from Friday nights. I'm sorry Talia." He finally says, and Talia can't help the look of surprise that covers her face.

"Me? Banned from the Vault? I hardly think so mate." She laughs, taking advantage of the height difference between them to duck under Johnny's arm, easily pushing the door open into the gym.

Immediately, Talia is met with a wall of noise.

A crowd, some seated, some not, surround the central boxing ring at the center of the building. The usual smell of cleaning supplies and sweat is amplified by the stench of beer radiating through the whole building, but even then, the thing that grabs Talia's attention isn't the crowd or their behavior, but instead, what they're watching.

In the center of the ring, two large, well built men circle each other. Talia watches on in horror for only a moment before one man launches his fist forward towards the others stomach, and it's in this moment she realizes that the men aren't wearing gloves, but thin bloodied wraps.

The crowd roar with a wave of life as the punch connects, the second man doubling over and leaving himself exposed to an onslaught the first delivers without hesitation.

Even with the presence of Johnny behind her, the only thing Talia can see is the pure violence playing out in front of her, realization growing by the second as her eyes finally break away from the ring to where her brother stands at the back of the crowd.

She can't help but think her father might have been right about the telepathy, because almost as if he could sense her eyes on him, Brandon's own find her.

All of the colour drains from Brandon's face as he excuses himself from the black haired man he's talking to, running around the outside of the crowd to reach his sister, who stands frozen in place.

He says nothing as he grabs Talia's hand, pulling her sideways into the office room to the right of the building, easily tugging her past the back of the crowd that still stare focused into the ring.

The clinical white lights above them come to life as Brandon flicks the switch beside the door, shutting it behind him quickly before he turns back to Talia.

"What are you doing here?" He asks quickly, inspecting her as if she was a wounded animal ready to pounce.

Fighting her disbelief at the situation and his question, Talia's eyes go wide as a wave of anger washes over her at his question.

"What am I doing here? What the fuck is that shit, Brandon?!" She throws back at him, her voice louder and stronger than she expected it to come out of her.

Waving his hands panicked, trying to get her to lower her voice, Brandon tries to shush her, which only makes her more ticked off.

"Look you weren't supposed to see that-"

"Answer my fucking question or I'll start screamin' it." She threatens, cutting him off mid sentence.

An angry and frustrated expression settles on his face as Brandon let's out a huff, not knowing how to word his explanation and remaining silent while he tries to find the right words.

"Is this why you've been blowing me off for months? You got some fucking fight club bullshit going on here instead?" She questions further, her voice breaking slightly with stress.

"I can't tell you all the fucking details in one breath, Talia. I wasn't exactly expecting you to find out like this."

Brandon argues, throwing his hand up in annoyance, which only confuses her more.

"What makes you think you have the right to be angry at me when you're the one that has the explaining to do?"

"Fuck! Alright! I get it!" He whisper yells harshly, face twisting in anger and making the siblings look even more alike than usual, Talia taking a step back at his sudden outburst, "look, the money is gonna get cut off one day, I'm thinking about my future, OUR futures here. That's what this shit is about."

"And what exactly is this shit, Brandon?" Talia asks, aggressively pointing towards the door that barely separated them from the crowd.

"It's boxing. Same shit you see on TV, just, not as commercial."

"This isn't the same shit as on TV! Those guys aren't even wearing gloves!" She argues, smacking the back of her hand as she speaks.

"Bare knuckle and wraps get better bets, the guys make their own decisions on if they do it or not." Brandon defends as he crosses his arms.

Talia shakes her head in annoyance, her face twisting. Everything was happening so quickly, meaning she barely had enough time to process all the information being thrown at her.

"You're scared of mommy cutting off the royalties so this is what you do instead?" She asks.

"The money is gonna get cut off and it's gonna be sooner rather than later. Do you expect me to suck up forever? To hide Sam til she dies too? Mom hates both of us now and you know it just as well as I do."

Talia feels her throat tighten at his words. Her stomach felt like it was close to emptying its content as the gut punch of his words hit her at a hundred miles per hour.

"Shut the fuck up. You know I love Sam and you know I don't want to do it just as much as you don't want to. But you're right, it will be sooner if she finds out about this." She spits back.

Taking a step towards him, arms crossed, Talia holds steady eye contact as she looks up to her brother.

"You're not the only one she can fuck over. When she finds out and cuts me off too, what the fuck are we gonna do, huh?" She whispers harshly as the crowd outside the room bursts into life again, the next round starting.

Brandon breaks the eye contact between them as he stares at the ground, fists clenched at his sides as the obvious stress of the situation flashes across his face.

"She won't, not yet."

Talia rolls her eyes as her arms uncross, leaning back against his desk.

"Mom always finds out."

"She won't this ti-"

Brandon is interrupted by the office door swinging open, a tall man with blonde hair and a panicked look on his face ignoring Talia to address Brandon the second his eyes land on him.

"Hood's broken Knight's nose." He says in a rush, causing Brandon to groan, following the man out the door before turning back to Talia.

"Don't leave this office, I'll be back soon."

Talia throws her brother a sarcastic thumbs up before he rushes off, the door clicking shut behind him.

Talia felt like her mind was in the worst spin she'd ever experienced. Finally the late nights, the astronomical bills being excused as gym costs, the secrets, they all made sense.

As angry as she was with her brother, she was more worried about him than anything.

Seeing the crowd, the action in the ring, it was more than just the sparring she would see from time to time as she made the rounds to check in on things. These people were out for blood, and would throw as much money as they needed at it to make it happen. This wasn't the kind of thing she ever expected Brandon to be involved in, and it shocked her that he's involved in that world obviously as more than just a spectator.

Sitting down in the office chair, Talia rests her elbows on the desk in front of her, covering her face with her hands as she tries to take a deep breath to calm her nerves, but jumping as the crowd outside roars again.

This wasn't something she was familiar with, and the uncharted territory this laid out in front of her felt like a minefield. Both her brother's lies, and the violence they were hiding.

With her anxiety peaking as she sits deep in her thoughts, she nearly yelps as the office door flies open, a tall man coming in and looking around for someone, before their eyes finally land on Talia.

If the sharp jawline, dark eyes and deadly look on his face didn't take her breath away, the ripped and bruised skin under his eye sure did.

A seemingly permanent scowl was set on the man's face, and his height and all black outfit just added to the intimidating stance he has as he lets the door swing shut behind him.

Talia couldn't help but notice that the man is attractive, even with blood dripping down his face, noticing his hair closely cropped to his head, apart from the wild bleached curls that fell onto his forehead.

For a brief moment, the angry look on the man's face softens upon seeing the smaller woman sitting behind his boss's desk, but it's instantly replaced by a look of confusion.

"Who the fuck are you?" He asks, his voice deeper than she expected with an unfamiliar accent laced into his words.

Slightly taken back, Talia frowns, withdrawing from the desk and standing up behind it, her defensive nature quickly taking over.

"I'm Talia Alisley, who the fuck are you?"

This time it's the man that's taken back, his eyebrows shooting up as he scoffs, arrogance in spades and tension building by the second as Talia crosses her arms in front of herself.

"I'm Calum Hood," He says, and Talia freezes.

Hood. Was he the Hood that the blonde man was talking about? The one who apparently had broken the nose of the guy Brandon was checking on?

"and I'm guessing you're the precious little sister." He comments, and this time it's Talia that raises her eyebrow. Did Brandon mention her to these guys?

"Too right I am, so don't fuck with me and we should be fine. Brandon said he'd be back soon." She replies, sitting back down with her arms still crossed and the scowl on her face settling in while in his presence.

Deep down, Talia knew it was probably a bad idea to piss off the guy who was not only bleeding, but the cause of a broke nose two rooms over, but her pride and defensive nature was far more powerful than the anxiety swirling in her stomach.

"No need to worry about that, princess." Calum rolls his eyes in annoyance. If Brandon was gonna send him to his office, he could at least show up instead of wasting his time, and give him a warning.

Talia was thankful in that moment for the low light of the room on account of the desk lamp being off, hiding the blush that made her ears burn. Yeah, he might be a dickhead, but he was still an attractive dickhead.

Slumping down into the chair opposite Talia with a huff, Calum shakes his head, while Talia stays stone faced across from him.

"You alright?" She asks after a moment, referring to where blood still sits on his cheekbone.

Calum frowns at her attitude change, not aware of the injury that he sustained from Knight's ringed hand landing a right hook before Calum landed his own.

In his defense, Knight should have known better than to touch his gear.

With the confused look flashing across his face for a longer period this time, Talia can't help but roll her eyes.

"You're bleeding under your eye, bro." She points out.

As Calum reaches up to touch his cheek, the door opens, the blonde man from before walking in with Brandon in toe as Talia thanks her lucky stars.

"Not gonna lie I thought you would have left by now." Brandon says, looking at Talia first while her eyes stay on the actions of the blonde man opening a medical kit on the desk.

"Oh don't worry, I want to." She comments.

"So do I, can I go now?" Calum directs towards Brandon as the blonde man touches an alcohol wipe to his cheek, making his aggressive expression falter slightly.

"Once Luke says you're okay and once I've dealt with you, yes." He sighs, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Look," Talia says, standing up and holding her hands up in surrender, "obviously you've got a lot of shit going on here right now so we'll deal with this tomorrow." She gestures between them, walking around the desk and past the three men.

Letting out a sigh, Brandon sends her a look of appreciation.

"Thanks T, text me when you get home." He replies, to which she sends him a short nod.

"Luke, can you walk her out?" He asks, turning to the man getting up from kneeling in front of Calum.

"Yeah, no worries." He smiles, taking his gloves off and throwing them in the bin.

Walking out the door with Luke, Talia winces at the loudness of the crowd, thankful for the taller, now calm, man standing between them and herself.

"I'm Luke, by the way." He smiles kindly, holding his hand out for Talia to shake as they make it to the door.

"Talia. Gotta be honest, I wish this was under better circumstances." She smiles tightly back at him, shaking his hand.

"Yeah," he laughs, "me too."

As they make it outside, Talia leads Luke around the building to where her car sits, right next to Brandon's.

"Well, this is me."  She says, signalling to her car with the keys in her hand. "Thanks for walking me past all of that."

"No problem. Drive safe." Luke says with a small wave to her, and she gives him an appreciative smile.

"You too. See you 'round, Luke."

Climbing into her car, Talia sighs, relaxing only slightly in the familiar surroundings.

As she pulls away from the curb, Luke sends her a final wave before walking back into the gym.

Driving away, the adrenaline of the situation starts to wear off, and the reality of the situation starts to sink in.

"God, I'm gonna fucking kill him." Talia mutters to herself, turning the radio up and going over the night's events in her head as she drives back to her apartment.

The next morning, Talia awakes with a rock of dread weighing down her stomach.

Her mind immediately flashes back to the events of the night before, and as she showers, gets dressed and locks her apartment door, it almost felt like she wore the dread of the impending conversation she needed to have with her brother as a scarf tied too tightly around her neck.

Instead of heading straight to the studio and editing the photos of the last few days as usual, Talia instead took a deep breath as she started heading back towards Vault, having a couple hours to hopefully get answers before her first clients for the day were set to arrive at eleven.

The parking lot beside Vault sat a lot emptier today. Only a handful of cars sprinkled around, and just like last night, Talia pulls into the space beside Brandon's car.

Taking a moment before walking in, Talia leans back in her seat, closing her eyes.

She was scared. Of Brandon's explanation, of possibly having to accept whatever the fuck she had witnessed last night, of walking out more confused than she was about to walk in.

Her and Brandon had grown up play fighting, and catching an odd round or two when their dad decided to watch Friday Fight Night, but violence had never really been part of their lives in a physical form. Apart from a questionable wrestling phase when she was 14, Talia couldn't even remember the last time she saw two people in a ring together that wasn't casual sparring when she would frequent the gym in its early days.

None of it compared to what she saw last night.

With what happened still fresh in her mind, Talia climbs out of her car, pushing the door shut behind her.

Johnny doesn't stand by the entrance this morning, meaning Talia easily walks into the gym, the door squeaking slightly in protest as she pushes it open.

It's almost like nothing had even happened. All the equipment that was pushed against a wall last night now sits in its normal place, the shelves of alcohol behind the check in desk now stocked with protein powders like less than twelve hours ago the counter wasn't a very convincing bar.

Hearing her come in the door, a couple people look up from what they're doing, sending Talia a polite smile before returning to their work.

Calum Hood is not one of these people.

Almost like the universe had put a glowing neon sign over his head, Talia's eyes instantly wander towards where Calum stands next to the black haired man she recognized as the same person Brandon was talking to last night when she arrived.

Noticing her too, Calum’s encouragement of his best friend is interrupted by his eyes catching a flash of blue hair in his peripheral vision.

While he knew any animosity towards the woman who could probably have him fired with a few fake tears was a bad idea to hold onto, he couldn't help but feel annoyed upon seeing her in what he thought of as his domain.

Face settling into a frown as she looks across the room to the man who easily got on her nerves last night, Talia almost doesn't notice Brandon coming up behind her.

"Hey." He greets quietly, holding a takeaway cup of coffee out to his sister. "Time for that talk, huh?"

"Yeah. Think so." She takes the coffee with a nod of thanks, and hesitantly follows him to his office.

Talia couldn't tell if Brandon was trying to suck up to her with free coffee, but after sitting down at the chair in front of his desk and taking a sip, tasting vanilla latte, she knows he is.

"So, where should we start?" He asks, settling into his seat with a heavy sigh.

Talia scoffs lightly, raising her eyebrow.

"The beginning would be good."

Brandon nods, looking down at his desk to avoid meeting her eyes.

"The fights started around one, maybe two months after we opened, so we've been hosting them for about fourteen months now."

Talia's eyes go wide, disbelief covering her face as she places her cup on his desk forcefully.

"You're telling me you've been hiding this shit for over a year?" She asks, anger already starting to build.

"Yeah, and if you haven't fucking noticed, it's not been the easiest thing to do." He snaps, before holding his hands up, taking a deep breath and rolling his seat back slightly to calm himself, too much tension already in the air.

Talia bites her tongue, looking down at her hands before she signals to him to continue.

"A friend of mine, Ashton, he was part of an illegal boxing league running out of a rundown place up in Hollywood. I saw him fight there a couple times, saw the conditions myself. The guy running the show was a complete asshole to his guys, but they all needed the money, so they stuck around." He explains, voice quieter than before.

"One night we got to talking. I asked Ash if  he thought we might be able to make our own ring, give people a safer place to earn their money. Then we figured out how much we could earn from it, and with shit going so wrong with mom, I figured that if she pulled the rug out from under me, I could use the league as a safety net."

Piecing together the timeline in her head, and doing the best to absorb the information given to her, Talia remains silent and slowly nods along when needed.

"Him and I have built this thing from the ground up, and it's working for us. I manage the books, he manages the guys, and we take care of the admin together. With my connections to the rich assholes who have more money than they know what to do with, and with Ashton's connection to the guys who need that money and want to do it, we're doing really, really well, Talia."

This time it's Talia who avoids eye contact, looking down to her shoes as she curses the logical side of her brain for seeing sense in his story.

"How many people do you have fighting for you?" She asks.

Brandon let's out a heavy breath, waving his hand slightly.

"Around twenty, twenty five. We keep the doors open for the more occasional guy who needs the cash that week."

"And how often are the nights like last night happening?"

"Weekly. Every Friday, normally."

Seeing the hesitation on her face, bottom lip pulled between her teeth, Brandon sits forward to bring her attention to him, her eyes flicking up to meet his.

"I know this is a lot, and I don't expect you to be okay with it, but I do want you to know I'm being smart about this."

Talia sighs, taking a sip of her drink before speaking.

"I know you, so I don't doubt it. It's just so dangerous, Brandon. You can't expect me not to be worried about you."

Brandon laughs lightly, trying to lift the mood slightly.

"I would never expect you not to worry. It's not in your nature."

A small smile tugs at the corners of Talia's lips, and it's enough to ease his mind.

"Anything you want to know about the ring, the business, any of it, I'll answer as best as I can. I trust you more than anyone and I want to do everything I can to make you feel okay with this, and make up for holding it from you."

Talia hazards a look to her brother, seeing on his face that he's been open and honest with her.

"You know I always ask too many questions." She smiles, joking lightly as she referenced something she would hear almost daily from her mother growing up.

Brandon shakes his head as he laughs, taking a sip of his own drink.

"If you get too much for me, I'll just pass you on to Ashton. It's what normally happens around here." He shrugs slightly, before tilting his head.

"Actually, do you want to meet him? He should be around out there." He asks, and Talia mulls the idea over for a moment before agreeing. After all, it would probably be best to know who she would castrate if something happened to Brandon.

"Sure, might as well." She agrees, downing the last of her drink and tossing her cup into the small recycling bin under his desk.

Standing up and following Brandon out of his office, Talia can feel her nerves already starting to act up, and does her best to shove them down as she follows him towards the bench press where the black haired man who she now assumed was Ashton, and Calum stood.

"Hey, guys. I got someone for you to meet." Brandon says, catching their attention as they approach.

Ashton sends her a warm smile as she steps out from behind Brandon, which is a nice contrast from the cold glare Calum sends her way, which she ignores to return the smile instead.

"Ashton, Calum, this is my sister, Talia. Talia, this is the demon on my shoulder Ash, and my blue rock em sock em man Calum."

"We've met." Calum says bluntly, while Ashton raises his eyebrow.

"And we haven't. Nice to meet you, I assure you Brandon's told us nothing but good things." Ashton grins, holding his hand out for her to shake.

Talia takes his hand and can't help but notice how strong his grip is without what looks like any effort, and laughs lightly.

"I'd hope so, but I can't promise my staff have heard the same about him. It's nice to meet you too." She returns, letting her hand drop to her side before she acknowledges the man beside him.

"And yeah, charmed." Talia prods lightly, seeing Calum trying to hide the roll of his eyes from Brandon.

"Talia is gonna be spending more time around, getting to know the workings when she can. I said if she annoys me too much I'm gonna pass her on to you, so fair warning." Brandon informs them, tapping Ashton's arm as he directs his sentence to him.

"Fantastic." Talia hears Calum mutter, not loud enough for the other two to hear it, but just enough that she does.

This time, it's Talia that rolls her eyes at Calum.

As conversation is made, Calum can't help but feel hyper aware of Talia, and the sun shining in from the high windows casting sunbeams through the few red hairs that fell out of her bun and framed her face delicately. He would admit that Talia was pretty, beautiful even, but not audibly, especially not in front of the girl who felt no hesitation in sending him a death glare every few minutes.

The small group spend ten or so minutes talking with each other before Talia's phone rings, letting her know she should start making her way to the studio.

"Looks like I should be getting to work." Talia says, slipping her phone back into her pocket.

"What do you do, if you don't mind me asking?" Ashton inquiries, genuine interest in his tone, making her see why Brandon was such a fan of him.

Talia believed she could read people well, and from her first impression of Ashton, she got nothing but good vibes.

"I'm a photographer, I own my own studio called Valentine." She smiles proudly, and Ashton nods his head in approval.

"My girlfriend works just down the road from you I think! It's not far from Dominion Books, right?"

Pleasant surprise spreads across Talia's face as she nods, happy to have found a common link.

"Yeah! I think I might have seen you there in passing now I think about it." She smiles.

Brandon watches on with joy as he sees both Talia and Ashton getting along, so happy about it in fact that he didn't even notice Calum looking like he would rather be anywhere else in the world.

Talia says her goodbyes to the men before turning to leave, her attention being called back before she makes it too far.

"If you ever need a fill in hunk for a photo shoot, you know who to call." Ashton jokes, sending a wink in her direction.

"Yeah, you can get your brother to pass you my number any time." Calum says sarcastically, surprising her but also making her scoff as she takes a few steps backwards before turning around.

"In your dreams, darlin'." She calls over her shoulder.

As the door swings shut behind her, Calum feels like his feet are glued to the floor, the eyes of his best friend burning into him as Brandon excuses himself to mock throw up against the wall.

"What's that all about between you two?" Ashton asks Calum quietly, picking up his water bottle as Calum picks up his own, holding it up and speaking casually before taking a sip.

"No idea what you're talking about mate."

TAGLIST |  @spicycal​​ @calmlftv​​ @irwinkitten​​  @mrandleer​​ @candidcal​​  @lukeskisses​​  @wallflowercal​​  @brooklynsninenine​​ ​ @whereveryouares​​ @everyscarisahealingplace​

#calum hood #calum hood fanfic #calum hood imagine #5 seconds of summer #5 seconds of summer fanfic #5 seconds of summer imagine #5 seconds of summer blurb #5sos #5sos fanfic

[isobel-thorm]

I'm torn, because while I always love hearing more about John/Nic/Sharky (and I don't know if you've done this yet for them), there's also Jeremy/Alex...

Answered for the Pack Parents so:

1) who hogs the duvet?  Sharky and Nic, though the former does it by far the most. The other two don’t mind, it’s just an excuse for closer cuddling. 

2) who texts/rings to check how their day is going? John and Nic, but this time John does the most- and makes a show of not being happy if the other two don’t check in.

3) who’s the most creative when it comes to gifts? Nic. She’ll come up with gift ideas on the fly and make something while making sure they’ve got a personal touch, when the other two just make sure the gifts themselves are personal. 

4) who gets up first in the morning? John. The Project made him have many an early morning, so his internal clock takes years to recover, even once Prosperity is established. 

5) who suggests new things in bed? Nic. She’ll always get in the Mood and if she’s feeling adventurous on the side “you know I had a friend who tried ____, you two interested?”- the answer’s always yes. 

6) who cries at movies? They all do to their own degree. John does the least, but Nic usually cries a lot for romcoms, Sharky cries with everything. Fast and Furious 7 ending? Sharky was bawling, Nic wasn’t far behind - John called them out but his voice cracked halfway through poking fun at him, so they were quick to call him a hypocrite. 

7) who gives unprompted massages? John and Nic. John does it because he’s still got it in his head that he has to be touching someone to show affection, Nic does it just ‘cause. 

8) who fusses over the other when they’re sick? Nic’s gotta fuss over her two overdramatic boys aaallll the time when either or both are sick. She’s gotten sick because of it several times. 

9) who gets jealous easiest? John, hands down. Sharky and Nic are his, he came along way to get where they are as a relationship, he’s got two people who love him - the claws will definitely come out of he senses someone else coming along and being too friendly to the other two. He trusts Sharky and Nic completely, it’s everyone else he doesn’t.

10) who has the most embarrassing taste in music? Sharky, though he doesn’t seem to think so. He often points out that John willingly listened to the Project’s themes for all the siblings. 

11) who collects something unusual? No matter how hard John and Nic try to deter him from it, Sharky keeps up the piss bottle collection. They’re just grateful he picks a closet far from them to keep them in. 

12) who takes the longest to get ready? John, then Nic directly after. Pampering themselves/putting a lot of effort into appearance is something they couldn’t entirely train themselves out of, even in the Bunker days. They didn’t have products to use, but they were determined to make something work, albeit water or just elbow grease and brainpower in keeping a nice hairstyle/clothing style, etc. 

13) who is the most tidy and organised? John- again, comes with the territory of being a co-runner of the Project. There was a lot to organize, and it comes in handy in the Bunker and in Prosperity. 

14) who gets most excited about the holidays? Nic. She’ll go all out in decorating- she’s literally gone up on Sharky’s shoulders to throw lights and garland and tinsel everywhere), holiday meals, gifts, the works. Sharky’s not far behind, since he’s still forever a kid with the holiday excitement. John and Nic woke up to see him playing in the snow with Cal, Ariadne and Willa one year at like, 6am. 

15) who is the big spoon/little spoon? John’s usually the biggest spoon, though most of the time Nic’s in the middle and both have their chests facing her. 

16) who gets most competitive when playing games and/or sports? Sharky, though he knows there’s no real... anger/jealousy behind it. He wants a good, healthy competition to have some fun. 

17) who starts the most arguments? John, though it’s self-sabotaging a lot, because while he loves both of them with his whole heart, he’s waiting for the other shoe to drop and having his past catch up with him via karma so they’ll leave him, so he’ll start shit because everything’s too damn good- cue Sharky and Nic knowing exactly what he’s doing and digging their heels in that they’re not going anywhere, they love him, etc etc etc. 

18) who suggests that they buy a pet? Nic, though there’s really no suggesting on her part. She’ll just come home with animals and the boys are expected to go along with it- and they do. 

19) what couple traditions they have? If they ever need to have a deep/emotional/serious conversation (take the end of #17 for example) they’ll go back to Sharky’s bunker because it’s technically where they all started as a unit to make a point. When Prosperity is established, the three of them will go out and get the tree they set up for everyone in Prosperity. 

20) what tv shows they watch together? Not much TV, but they’ll watch all the action/adventure movies Sharky’s into. They’ll occasionally watch crime dramas just to hear John tear them apart from a real lawyer’s POV. 

21) what other couple they hang out with? The Ryes, the Stones, once the Train shows up, Rush/Syd/Roger. 

22) how they spend time together as a couple? In the Bunker, they’d just hang out while doing whatever entertainment methods they could get their hands on - chess, cards, radio time, reading.  When they got out of the bunker, one of their biggest bonding experiences was rebuilding Sharky’s place essentially from ground up and having lots of cuddling time once they were settled.  

23) who made the first move? Nic, since her liquid courage kicked in first and she mentioned inviting Sharky to bed when they were shooting the shit in their room together and splitting a couple of bottles of whiskey. 

24) who brings flowers home? John

25) who is the best cook? Nic, mostly because she doesn’t give the other two a chance to get near a stove/fire. She’s afraid to trust Sharky around fire as well as around a meal, and while she believes John’s probably a good cook, she doesn’t believe John wasn’t the culprit behind the watery mac and cheese, so ‘if he hypothetically screwed that up, what else could he screw up? ‘

#Johnnic #Johnnicky #chyrstis

[lovemesomesurveys]

What's the longest you've spent on this website in 1 day? "This" website could be referring to Bzoink or Tumblr, but I'm going to go with Tumblr--it's really all I do on my laptop to be honest, so I'd say quite a bit of time. Could you climb the monkey bars now like you did as a kid? I couldn't then or now. Have you ever dyed your eyebrows to match your hair? No. Last sentence you said out loud. "Yeah, I can definitely drink that." I've been trying to add things to my diet and bone broth is the latest addition. What's your favorite shower/bath product? Shampoo and soap is pretty great, ha. I'm not someone who is all into shower stuff like getting fancy body scrubs and soaps or using bath bombs, I just get in and do what I need to do and get it. I keep it short and simple now. I used to really enjoy long, hot showers but taking them now requires so much energy and motivation.

When was the last time you looked out of a window? Yesterday. Do you have carpent in your place of residence? Carpet? Yes. What's your shoe size? Women's US 6. What kind of toothpaste do you use? Sensodyne. Do you watch game shows? Yeah, I like to watch Family Feud and Weakest Link. How many stitches have you had in your lifetime? Several. Have you suffered from depression? I do suffer from depression currently and have for a very long time. Do you like rap music? Yeah. Do you have a favorite day of the week? No. How much money do you regularly spend on groceries? Our big grocery shopping trips can get pretty pricey. Who did you last have a phone conversation with? My mom. Are you currently wearing any accessories? No. What was the last gift you received? My brother recently bought me a shirt. Are you wearing anything green? Nope. Has anyone ever pinched you for not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day? Yeah, playfully/softly when I was younger. What did you last eat? A mini party cake muffin. What does your last text say? I don't feel like checking. Are there any bands you wish would get back together? Well, this is a sad answer but I wish Linkin Park could be back together with Chester. :( What are your favorite fast food restaurants? Jack in the Box, Taco Bell, Carl's Jr, KFC, and Raising Cane's. How about least favorite? McDonald's and Wendy's. What kind of cereal did you have last? I had a Froot Loops milkshake the other day if that counts. Would you rather, on a dare, eat an insect or kiss a stranger? Neither, thanks. What's the last thing that made you feel sad? My health issues always put a damper on things. Would you ever become a truck driver? No. I couldn't anyway. Do you like spaghetti sauce or just butter and cheese over noodles? Both are good, but I'd gravitate more towards spaghetti sauce. What do you think animals dream about? I always say my doggo dreams of playing with us, her toys, and the doggos next door. Have you ever forgotten to blow out a candle before bed? I don't light candles. What's your favorite thing to purchase at thrift shops? I don't go to thrift shops. What type of novels do you enjoy reading? I've just been reading psychological thrillers/murder mysteries. Do you like chocolate milk? I like a chocolate Yoo-Hoo sometimes. Strawberry is better. Would you ever get your nose pierced? Nah. Do you know anyone named Shirley? No. Do you know what day of the week you were born? I think it was a Tuesday. When did you last take a shower/bath? Yesterday. How many chairs are currently sat at your dinner table? (if you have one) We don't have one. How many windows are in your place of residence? Just a few. Are you currently in pain? At this exact moment I'm okay. Thank you, pain med. What was the last song you listened to? It was a song my mom was playing in the car that I'm not familiar with. How is your day so far? It's only 3:41AM, but so far I've just been scrolling through Tumblr, listening to/watching ASMR videos, and now I'm doing this survey and drinking peppermint tea. I plan on trying to get some sleep soon. Tell me about a good day you've had here recently. (: My mom, brother, and I saw the new Doctor Strange movie last night. Omggg, it was amazing. I am obSESSED with Wanda/Scarlet Witch. She's so badass. What's the last 3 emojis you've used? I don't feel like looking. What do you think of having religion in schools? I think it's interesting to be aware of and learn about various religions to have the knowledge because they do play a huge role, but not to try and persuade or push anything down anyone's throat. Does you name begin with an L, A, U, or C? Nope. Have you ever accidentally sent a text to a person you were talking about? Yes. Thankfully, it wasn't something bad. :X Are you any good at sports? HAAAA. No.

#personal #text #survey #surveys