#dakota natalie

[creativecuteness]

Total Slaughter Island Chapter 3: Away with the Wind She Goes

A/N Sorry this is a little late. Didn't get a chance to edit this until today ao3 and fanfiction.net links will come a little later. Enjoy the last chapter of this story for a little bit, I hope to update this next month.

 Chef’s outburst caused a mixture of yelps, startled gasps, and whispers throughout the room. It wasn’t like the stone-cold man to get this riled up and panic; even his fiancée was shocked and not used to seeing this side of him.

“Chef?! What did you say?!” Emily spoke, breaking the hushed silence.

“I know who did it! I can’t believe I didn’t notice it sooner. The mask, those overalls, the crazed look in their eyes as they took Ezekiel away—it all points to one person—Hook’s McGrady.”

“Huh?” Everyone gasped, very confused.

“Uh, Hook’s McWho?” Emily questioned, wondering if Chef was just making stuff up.

“Hook’s McGrady,” he repeated in a spooky voice, “someone I haven’t seen since my time during the war.”

Knowing Chef was about to tell one of his famous tales, someone turned off the lights as Chef turned on a flashlight and pointed it at his face.

“His name was Sean Phillip; the two of us met during our training days. While I was strong and burly, he was more like a water boy; however, he was a kind spirit who got along with almost everyone. Heck, the two of us even became best friends. We told each other everything; we had each other’s back. He told me he joined the army cause his mother was sick and was the best way to provide for her, and I promised to help him reach that goal. A promise I was never able to fulfill, it all came crashing down June 13th. We were passing through enemy lines when a sneak attack backed us into an old shack. It was old and brittle, perfect to annihilate an enemy. It all happened so fast. An enemy soldier threw a grenade in, and just like that, boom, the shack collapsed with us inside it. And yet, by some stroke of luck, we lived. However, we were badly injured, and some of us needed surgery to even walk again, and sadly, Sean was one of them; his hands were both dislocated and burned beyond recognition. You should have seen the side of his charred face; it was awful.

Long story short, his hands needed to be amputated, and he wore hooks as makeshift prosthetics. That’s how he got his nickname. I remember promising him once we returned to civilization, we’d get him real prosthetic hands. We tried to be respectful and lift his spirits, but it was fruitless. We knew he was a broken man. His hands were special, man; he had the best trigger finger in our troop, and without them, he was nothing.

And it gets worse; there were a few groups who began mocking him for his disabilities; their words, no matter how hard he tried to brush it off, got under his skin. They even made me feel small when I tried to stand up for the poor guy. To the point where I just held my tongue and ignored the growing tension, but that doesn’t even cover my greatest mistake; it was our toughest mission yet. We were about to invade enemy lines; we were split into two teams, one held the front lines while the other invaded the base. My team consisted of me, Sean, and a group of bullies that wouldn’t leave the poor man alone. We tried to get by without any incident, but eventually their teasing became too much, and Sean had a full breakdown. We were spotted not long after and made a run for it, fighting through the chaos as we made our escape. In doing so, Sean was caught. I desperately wanted to go back and save him, but my comrades convinced me that he wasn’t worth it.

As I left with the others, I heard him scream, saying we’d pay for leaving him behind. In the end, I broke the biggest rule in the army: “No man left behind.” I’ve kept this secret for years; I know his ghost has been haunting me, and now he’s returned for revenge.” Chef concluded his story as someone turned the lights back on.

“That’s an interesting story, Hatchet, but I don’t see how any of this is connected to...

“You don’t understand, man!” He shouted, banging his fists on the table once again, startling everyone witnessing. “This whole thing is my fault. I told Chris to bail because I was terrified of facing my past, and now those kids are gonna suffer for it. Which is why...” The army man took a deep breath, “I volunteer to rescue the campers and beg Hook for forgiveness.”

Everyone was stunned silent, not that anyone would oppose Chef’s offer better him than any of them.

“I also volunteer!” Dakota stood up,

"Wait, Dakota, no.” Chris whispered, not wanting her to get killed.

“I’m going, Chris, and that’s final. I told you before if you won’t rescue the campers, I would.” She spoke seriously, determined to get everyone home safely.

Chris sighed, knowing nothing would change their minds, and stood up.

“And where do you think you’re going, Mclean?!” The C.E.O. spoke disapprovingly.

Chris put his arms around his surrogate daughter and fiancée, for once he was ready to take responsibility for his mistake. “I’m going with them.”

"Wait, you are?!” Dakota gasped; a part of her hopeful, but the other part honestly didn’t want him to come.

The former TV host nodded and said, “It’s my fault the kids are even in this mess; if getting us off the hook is recusing the campers, then I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“I’m afraid just saving the campers won’t cut it. If Ezekiel isn’t the only one dead, the deceased’s parents will take legal action against us. And I refuse to let that happen.”

“So, what are you saying?” Dakota questioned, fearing the mission was going to be called off.

“To put it simply, I want that killer’s head on a platter.” The C.E.O. instructed, “You have three days to get the campers off the island, recover the dead bodies, and catch the killer—nothing more, nothing less. Understand?”

“Three days, but that’s...

“Just enough time for you to get in and out. I doubt it’ll take you more than a day to locate the survivors, and considering Chris has a map of the area, you should have no trouble finding your way around. Now with that meeting adjourned.”

Everyone piled out of the room without saying another word other than bidding the threesome good luck on their mission. Which Dakota knew she needed as she and Emily left early to pack some things.

Chef was going through drawers and his shared closet, grabbing anything and everything that was deemed a necessity, when Chris knocked on the door.

"Sorry, bud, I can’t talk now; we’re leaving early tomorrow morning, and I need to get our stuff in order.”

"Look, I know you’re busy, but was that story you told the C.E.O. true? Or did you make it all up to help Dakota?” Chris wondered,

His lover dropped the clothes on the bed and grabbed Chris by the shoulders, which shocked the shorter man. Who rarely sees his significant other act this serious, “Chris I can guarantee that story was one hundred percent true. However, I may have lied when I said I left Sean behind.”

“Wait, what do you mean?”

Chef sighed deeply, putting his face in his hands. “It’s my fault Phillip died; we weren’t invading enemy lines. Those bullies who mocked Sean forced me to lock him in the gas chamber at home base. I was forced to see my best friend die before my eyes and did nothing about it. I ran like the coward I was, and I never told anyone the truth; instead, I lied, saying I witnessed the whole thing and ran away to get help. The ones involved were punished, but the guilt has been tearing me apart for years.”

“That’s why you weren’t opposed to leaving the campers for dead, wasn’t it?” Chris asked, putting a gentle hand on Chef’s shoulder, who merely nodded, tears filling his eyes.

“I know we made a mistake leaving them, but I was scared too. I’ve seen Grady in my dreams; whenever he shows up, something horrible always happens. He’s returned, Chris; he’s after me, and this time I don’t think I can run anymore. He’s going to catch me; I just know this’ll be my finally days on earth.”

“Look,” Chris started, not really sure how to comfort someone who’s been haunted by the past. “I don’t know what’ll happen, but I promise, everything is going to be okay. Surely the kids are fine. I mean, how many could have dropped dead in a span of a month?”

“Sadly, many Hook’s is crafty; he won’t let anything out of his grasp.”

Chris sighed as he pulled his fiancée into his embrace. Chef held his lover tightly, feeling this could be the last time they'd ever see each other. Chris continued reassuring the man that everything would be okay, knowing they'd sort things out.

“I sure hope you’re right, Chris.” Was all he could say.

The next morning, Dakota was alarmed to see cop cars lined up outside. She immediately ran inside to see officers questioning employees. The young girl was about to ask what was going on when she heard a voice.

“Psst in here.” The brunette searched for the source when she noticed Emily’s hand giving away her location. Dakota ran to the door and was dragged into the basement, where her friend and two others were waiting in the dark.

“Phew, here I thought you were next.” Emily sighed,

"Emily, what’s going on? What’s with the cop cars?”

“It’s all over, girl; they’re out for our arrest.”

“For what?! Chris and Chef are the ones responsible for abandoning the campers!”

“No, this has nothing to do with that; this is a completely unrelated incident.”

“But you said—”

"Okay, fine, it’s slightly unrelated, but the order of events that lead to this point is only partially related.”

“What?”

Emily sighed. “Allow me to explain. The C.E.O. is being accused of some shady dealings behind the scenes; someone was able to dig up some dirt on the dude, and now they have a warrant to investigate us. Also, they want the location of Camp Wawanakwa; parents are getting impatient, and they want answers now.” Her friend informed her,

“Excuse me, Senorita?” A Hispanic boy came forward and asked, “Is it true you’re volunteering to get the missing kids back?”

“Yeah, but I’m not going alone; my boss and his fian… I mean, good friend are accompanying me.” She explained, and the boy hummed in thought, "Wait, hold on, who are you?”

"Oh, right, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Alejandro Burromuerto, and this is my acquaintance, Sierra.” He introduced himself as Sierra waved excitedly.

“It is so nice to meet you. I have a blog that’s been documenting the entire ordeal, and might I say your friend Emily has told me how you’ve been fighting tooth and nail to get the network to send out a rescue? I was hoping you’d be interested in an interview, perhaps? My fans will go insane.”

“Um, sorry.” Dakota smiled uncomfortably, backing away from Sierra’s excitable energy. “I’m not taking any statements right now; maybe another time.”

Alejandro patted Sierra’s shoulder to get her to back off, upon realizing she was making the other girl uncomfortable. She took a deep breath to compose herself and got out of her face.

“Sorry about that; I tend to get a little excited about my passions; I get it from my mother's side.” She explained,

“It’s fine.” Dakota sighed, understanding the tanner girl perfectly. “Just try to control yourself, and we’ll get along swimmingly.” She held out her hand as the two shook it. “I’m Dakota Natalie, by the way.”

“We’re assuming you work here?” Alejandro asked, and the two nodded.

“More like my dad works here; Chris was somehow nice enough to give me an internship here.” She explained,

“I’m an intern as well.” Emily came forward, “But only in the summer; I’ll be out of here come end of August. Though considering we’re under investigation, I should probably just bail before they arrest me.”

“Yeah, something tells me you should do that.” Sierra awkwardly agreed,

“So, is there a reason you’re here? Or are you a part of the feds who are here questioning people?” Dakota wondered, turning to Alejandro,

"No, no, we’re not with them; we snuck in.” Sierra proudly announced, shocking the two interns,

“You snuck in?!” They exclaimed, 

“Okay, first of all, that was very reckless of you. What if you were caught by security?! Second of all…” She paused "Wait, how did you even get in?” Emily wondered,

“We disguised ourselves as delivery men and waltzed right in.” Sierra winked, “It was surprisingly easy.”

“We came in hopes of discovering insider information to help investigators. It appears the urgency of the situation is reaching its boiling point, and we wanted to help. However, once the police came, we panicked and have been hiding down here ever since.” The Hispanic boy explained,

“That was until I found them; considering no one ever comes down here, I knew this would be the perfect hiding spot.” Emily smirked,

“You found them by chance, didn’t you?” Dakota asked,

“Yes.” She confirmed losing her confident demeanor,

"Look, as nice as it is to meet you two, we have to get out of here. I’m leaving to save the kids, and you two can’t be seen.”

"Wait, hold on, we can help you.” Sierra offered hastily, “You only have a limited time to save everyone, right? Alejandro is a world traveler; he and his dad went around the whole world a few years ago. And I have exclusive scoops on the campers; we’ve been planning infiltration for months. Please let us come with you!”

Dakota pondered this for a minute and realized the extra hands wouldn’t be horrible if what Sierra said was true. The two had some experience. “You two do realize you’re putting your lives in danger, right? There’s a killer on the island, and I doubt they escaped; are you two willing to put your lives on the line for the call of duty?”

“Trust me, we are more than willing to sacrifice ourselves if it means avenging those poor souls. We know about the risks, and we promise to proceed with caution.” Sierra understood,

While she wasn’t one hundred percent convinced the two could handle themselves, she knew time was running thin, and if the police were here, Chris and Chef would have bolted. "Okay, you two can come on one condition; don’t get in the way, and try not to get killed.”

The two nodded, agreeing to the terms. “We promise.”

“Okay, Emily, distract the cops while I track down Chris and Chef. I hope you two are ready because we leave now.”

Emily saluted, “You can count on me, girl.” Then she ran into her friend’s arms for a tight hug, “Good luck out there; please promise me you’ll come back safe.”

“I can’t guarantee that, Emily. However, if Chris pulls a bait and switch on me, I plan to haunt him for the rest of his lousy life.”

The feisty girl giggled, already imagining the hilarity of Chris dealing with an unwanted guest. “Alejandro and Sierra, you better get my girl back safe.” She said running upstairs as the remaining threesome slowly followed.

Getting out of the building and finding Chris and Chef were easier than expected. After a brief explanation on the two newcomers, Chris begrudgingly allowed the two to come much to their joy. Chef explained the boat ride to the island would take a few hours, so Sierra showed her teammates the information and background she had on the campers.

“Wow, Sierra You really went all out; if it weren’t for our circumstances, I’d say you were some crazy stalker.”

The other responded uncomfortably, shifting her weight. “Well, you’re not far off per se.” She spoke, trying to laugh it off.

“Wait, what’d I say?”

“What you spoke was the truth.” Chef explained, “When we were doing auditions, we considered putting Sierra in; however, after a quick background check, we found out she had a restraining order on her head and charges for stalking and harassment. The network didn’t want to risk anyone’s safety in case she got handsy, so Duncan got in instead.”

“Yes, because safety was your true priority considering the challenges you laid out.” Dakota deadpanned, "Also, doesn’t Duncan have criminal charges on his hands?”

“Ha!” Chef laughed. “That boy’s got nothing on her; he does petty crimes he’ll hopefully grow out of once he matures. Sierra’s a full-on menace to society; if you ask me, she deserves to be behind bars.”

The girl in question shrank into herself, knowing Chef made a valid point; what she did wasn’t her proudest moment, and she’s been teased and bullied for her experience even more than her daily average. She was a social outcast who weirded out everyone who met her. And the stalking incident didn’t help her reputation; it made it worse, considering many of her classmates pray she’ll slip up and end up in jail for life. But she deserved it, considering she didn’t realize how wrong and inappropriate her actions towards her crush were at the time.

"Chef, that was so uncalled for.”

“No, he’s right.” Sierra spoke, then sighed as she began to explain herself. “I developed a crush on a boy that was very unhealthy. I snuck into his house once and was caught. His family called the police, and I was taken to a mental hospital, where I spent three months receiving treatment for my obsessive behavior and therapy. I received the restraining order shortly before I was released, and never saw him again. He changed schools when I returned, and for all I know, he could have moved out of state. But I promised myself never to do anything like that ever again.”

“So, did this happen before or after you auditioned?” Chris questioned, raising his eyebrow,

“Shortly after, I thought getting on the show would be a way to start fresh; though, considering what happened, I dodged a huge bullet.”

“Actually, Sierra, you dodged a whole nuke.” Dakota laughed, then turned to her other teammate, “What about you, Alejandro? What’s your tragic backstory?” She questioned adding air quotes to tragic and backstory

The tanner boy sighed deeply, rubbing a hand through his hair. “I wanted to see an old girlfriend of mine.” He revealed,

This peeked everyone’s interest: “Ooh, do tell.” Sierra pushed,

“Her name is Heather; I’m sure you’ve heard of her; she was cast for the show.” He stated, holding up a picture of her, she had long black hair and was wearing a red crop top and green denim shorts. Dakota squinted, realizing the shape of her eyes and face suggested she was of Asin descent.

“We met during middle school. You know, I’ve always saw Heather as the most deadliest black rose in a bouquet of wilted flowers. Her and I had similar competitive natures; we loved coming on top; however, that was our downfall.”

“What happened?” Dakota asked,

The boy smiled bittersweetly, a look of longing in his eyes. “Long story short, my competitive nature got the better of me, and I backstabbed her. I cared more about winning than I did about my own girlfriend; the look of heartbreak on her face still hurts me to this day. I would do anything to apologize and make things right.”

“Sheese sounds like a pretty messy breakup.” Dakota understood feeling kind of bad.

“Oh, it was; I’ve never seen her that angry. The last thing she said to me was that I was an eel dipped in grease, and we were through. She got me back though; it ended in me getting expelled, but I took a trip around the world with my father shortly after and did a lot of soul-searching. When I caught wind that she was signing up for this new reality TV show, I figured I could finally make things right. And now I may never see her again.” He sighed, knowing the chances of his ex being alive were next to null. Dakota’s heart broke, knowing he might not even get the chance to say goodbye. She felt her anger flare up, cursing Chris for everything and the network for not acting faster.

As the group fell into silence, Dakota returned to the edge of the boat, Chris not having moved from his spot since they departed.

“Why are you helping me, Chris?” She spoke, breaking the spell of silence that was cast between them. “We all know what you did; surely repairing our relationship isn’t the only thing on your mind. Are you doing this out of sympathy? Maybe guilt has finally caught up to you. Or is it because of the wave of threats that threaten to destroy your career?”

Chris was dumbfounded at the younger girl’s accusation, but if he was being honest with himself, even he didn’t know why he allowed himself to be dragged back to the island with the premise of Chef’s Ghost Story. But Dakota was right on all accounts; he wanted his relationship with her repaired, he wanted to get back into the good graces he lost, but most importantly, he wanted to know why a killer targeted him and twenty-two other teens. What did he do? No, what did they do to deserve this fate? Why did he run? Why did it seem every outcome would have led him back here, no matter what? As he let his thoughts run circles around him. Dakota opened her mouth to speak his thoughts for him.

“If you ask me, I think you’re doing all this because you miss being a hero in the eyes of the public. Why would you care about anyone other than yourself?”

"Look, Dakota, you’ve got that all wrong.”

“Save it, just...” She beathed uneasily as if hearing her own words hurt her. “Let’s just find them; we have three days, and we don’t know what’ll happen if we take an extended vacation. Find the kids, catch the killer, and recover the dead bodies if there are more than one. Easier said, then done, but it shouldn’t take long.”

The two stared at the setting sun as an island came closer and closer into view. Dakota felt an odd sense of foreboding in the air, and while she’s never felt the feeling to pinpoint it, a voice in her head told her the island was haunted by the souls of the deceased. Whether it was the campers or if the killer murdered before anyone stepped foot to film was unknown to her, but she had a feeling they were about to find out as a foghorn sounded and Chef’s booming voice yelled,

“Land Ho!”

#total slaughter island chapter 3 #island of the slaughtered #total drama #total drama fanfiction #chris mclean #chef hatchet #sierra td #td alejandro #dakota natalie #emily jones #creative writing #writers #fanfiction #writing #writers on tumblr #writeblr #writerscommunity #fanfics #fanfic #ao3 author #fanfiction update #fanfiction writer #ao3fic #ao3 fanfic #ao3 writer #archive of our own #fanfiction.net

[jealousymami]

#lana del rey #coquette #girlblogger #high fashion #it girl #waifspo #fashion #lizzy grant #girl interrupted #femcel #icons #lana del rey icons #devon aoki icons #hunter schafer icons #carla bruni #hunter schafer #kristen stewart #natalie portman icons #alexa demie icons #dakota johnson #black swan #selena gomez #taylor russell #zoe kravitz #kate moss #carrie bradshaw

[simpleheads]

when dakota johnson said ‘i am she’ in suspiria and when jennifer lawrence said ‘im his mother!’ in mother! and when toni collette screamed ‘i am your mother!’ in hereditary and when megan fox said ‘i am a god’ in jennifers body and when anya taylor joy said ‘i am that very witch’ in the witch and when natalie portman yelled ‘im the swan queen!’ in black swan and when

#unhinged! #deranged! #i could be sick! #i love it! #suspiria #mother! #the witch #jennifers body #black swan #hereditary #horror #dakota johnson #natalie portman #megan fox #anya taylor joy #toni collette #jennifer lawrence

[dumpitos]

hollywood world

#dumpitos #icons #icons random #twitter icons #icons fiona apple #icons mila kunis #icons dakota johnson #icons famous #icons actress #icons lucy liu #natalie portman #sofia coppola #icons britney spears #00s #90s

[neblisi]

#danny masterson #steven hyde #steven hyde icons #julia roberts #julia roberts icons #robert downey jr #robert downey jr icons #will smith #will smith icons #dakota fanning #dakota fanning icons #edward norton #edward norton icons #natalie portman #natalie portman icons #rachel green #rachel green icons #jennifer aniston #angelina jolie icons #angelina jolie #the fresh prince of bel air #notting hill #movies #icons #aesthetic #series tv #girls icons #boys icons #movies aesthetic

[hollywocd]

women like or reblog if you use them

#gigi hadid icons #madison davenport icons #elizabeth olsen icons #dakota johnson icons #lily collins icons #natalie alyn lind icons #abigail cowen icons #icons #gigi hadid #madison davenport #Lily Collins #natalie alyn lind #dakota johnson #Elizabeth Olsen #abigail cowen

[eemcintyre]

Me and this chart is the equivalent of the man with the string board meme

An exhaustive-as-I-could-make-it chart of the actresses I think look alike and how they are all c o n n e c t e d do you see my vision

In order from left to right, from the top row down:

Jeanne Damas

Michelle Trachtenberg

Anna Karina

Cate Blanchett

Julianna Margulies

Nancy Kerrigan

Nicole Kidman

Kim Novak

Virna Lisi

Brittany Snow

Dakota Johnson

Penelope Cruz

Anne Hathaway

Connie Sellecca

Isabella Rossellini

Helen Schneider

Grace Kelly

Diane Kruger

Alison Doody

Sarah Wynter

Sophia Myles

Kate Winslet

Victoria Pedretti

Liv Tyler

Michelle Monaghan

Rebecca Ferguson

Ingrid Bergman

Nastassja Kinski

Helen Mirren

Jennifer Lawrence

Hayley Mills

Diane Lane

Julia Stiles

Kat Dennings

Mary Page Keller

Laura Prepon

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Elisabeth Shue

Maggie Lawson

Alicia Silverstone

Madchen Amick

Phoebe Tonkin

Dagmara Dominczyk

Megan Fox

Ana de Armas

Olivia Munn

Rachel Leigh Cook

Katie Holmes

Sarah Clarke

Jennifer Morrison

Charlize Theron

Melora Hardin

Ashley Judd

Katherine Heigl

Jeanne Tripplehorn

Kelly McGillis

Alanis Morissette

Michelle Borth

Sasha Alexander

Marion Cotillard

Rose Byrne

Natalie Portman

Keira Knightley

Sadie Robertson

Sharon Tate

Sheryl Lee

Amanda Logan

Stephanie Beatriz

Amy Winehouse

Maggie Wheeler

Zooey Deschanel

Katy Perry

Salma Hayek

Queen Letizia of Spain

Kate Middleton

Hilarie Burton

Stephanie J. Block

Olivia Wilde

Courteney Cox

Demi Moore

Jennifer Connelly

Sarah Vickers

Sarah Topham

Pamela Sue Martin

Reiko Aylesworth

Megan Boone

Cobie Smulders

Andie MacDowell

Julia Roberts

Carla Gugino

Jennifer Garner

Rachel McAdams

Felicity Jones

Sherry Stringfield

Cybill Shepherd

Ellen Barkin

Cameron Diaz

Juliette Lewis

Cindy Williams

Ginnifer Goodwin

Sherilyn Fenn

Hedy Lamarr

Dita von Teese

Audrey Tautou

Jamie Alexander

Lauren Graham

Kelly Preston

Melissa Fumero

Sarah Greene

Christina Ricci

#lookalike #lookalikes #doppelganger #doppelgangers #anna karina #cate blanchett #juliette lewis #dakota johnson #penelope cruz #anne hathaway #grace kelly #kate winslet #victoria pedretti #liv tyler #rebecca ferguson #jennifer lawrence #alicia silverstone #ana de armas #rose byrne #natalie portman #keira knightley #megan fox #zooey deschanel #kate middleton #amy winehouse #christina ricci #ginnifer goodwin #rachel mcadams #jennifer connelly #courteney cox

[selfsabotaqe]

*       ♡     ◞      closed starter      ╱    for @gvngsigns .

fingertips played almost nervously with the hem of her dress. one that had not seen the light of day for quite some time, stuffed into the back of her closet and only resurfaced for the current occasion. which she had only begrudgingly agreed to in the first place. her roommate had needed to resort to bargaining in order to get her to agree, now stuck with the promise to do dishes for the next month in exchange for her agreeing to a blind date. what she did not expect, was to end up in a restaurant where the average main cost as much as the dress she were wearing. but there she was, seated at her table in her coral coloured dress as dark brown hues scanned the entrance for whoever would wander inside. she didn’t quite expect the company that was directed towards her table, unable to stifle the sudden fit of chuckles that slipped past her lips.   “ natalie really has the worst sense of humour, ”   she murmured under her breath as fingertips reached to pinch the bridge of her nose, desperately hoping the other did not hear the unfiltered response.

#* ♡ ◞ dakota young ╱ 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 . #gvngsigns #i didn't set out for this to be long #but i wanted to set the scene and everything #feel free to make this shorter if you'd like! #also im assuming natalie is either like a mutual friend? or a friend of a friend?

[simswcarebear]

David and Natalie stopped by to introduce themselves to the new residents of Hawthorne. One of the neighborhood action plans was buzzed community so Natalie looks a little dazed.

#ts4 #sims 4 #bacc #hawthorne #sims 4 bacc #year 2 #David Hawthorne #Natalie Brilliant #Benjamin Cavanaugh #Cora Groves #Dominic Falcone #Dakota Shepard

[allamericansbitch]

based on this thread, here is a list of famous people who have supported johnny depp and/or made fun of amber heard. fuck all of them:

Aly & AJ

Alissa Violet (Influencer)

Anitta

Ann Coulter

Ashley Benson

Ashley Park (actress from Emily in Paris)

Auli'i Cravalho (actress from Moana)

Bailey Muñoz

Bella Hadid

Ben Shapiro

Booboo Stewart

Chase Hudson (Lil Huddy)

Chase Stokes (actor from Outer Banks)

China McClaine

Chris Rock

Cierra Ramirez (actress from The Fosters/Good Trouble)

Cody Simpson

Connor Swindells (adam groff on sex education)

Cazzie David

Critical Role

Dakota Fanning

Dakota Johnson

Daniel Ricciardo

Diana Silvers

Dillion Francis (DJ)

Dominic Fike

Dove Cameron

Elle King

Emma Roberts

Florence Pugh

Gabby Douglas

Gemma Chan

Halle Bailey

Henry Golding

Ian Somerhalder

Jaime King

Jamie Campbell Bower

Javier Bardem

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Coolidge

Jeremy Renner

Jessie J

JK Rowling

Joe Perry (Aerosmith)

JoJo Siwa

Jordan Fisher

Julian Kostov (actor from Shadow & Bone)

Justin Long

Kali Uchis

Kat Von D

Kelly Osbourne

Kelsea Ballerini

Kyle Rittenhouse

LaKeith Stanfield

Lance Bass

Lennon Stella

Lewis Tan

Lucy Hale

Madelyn Cline (actress from Outer Banks)

Maren Morris

Matthias Schoenaerts

Michael Clifford (of 5 Seconds of Summer)

Molly Shanon

Nicholas Braun

Norman Reedus

Nyane (popular instagram model)

Olivia Jade

Paige (from WWE)

Paris Hilton

Patti Smith

Paul Bettany

Paul McCartney

Penelope Cruz

Perrie Edwards

Phillip Barantini (director of Boiling Point)

Pokimane (Twitch Streamer)

Reeve Carney

Robert Downey Jr

Rian Dawson (Drummer of All Time Low)

Riley Keough

Rita Ora

Ryan Adams

Sam Claflin

Samantha Hanratty (actress from Yellowjackets)

Samuel Larsen

Seth Savoy (Director)

Shannen Doherty

Sharon Stone

Sia

SNL cast and writers

Sofia Boutella

Sophie Turner

Stella Maxwell

Tammin Sursok

Taika Waititi

Tony Lopez

Upsahl

Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa Morgan

Vanessa Paradis

Vincent Gallo

Yungblud

Zachary Levi

Zedd

Zoe Saldana

Zoey Deutch

People who publicly support Amber:

Aiysha Hart 

Alex Winter

Alexa Nikolas (actress from Zoey 101)

Amanda Seyfried

Amy Schumer

Anna Sophia Robb

Bianca Butti (Amber's ex)

Busy Philipps

Chace Crawford

Chloe Morello

Christina Ricci

Constance Wu

Contrapoints/Natalie Wynn

Corey Rae

Dana Schwartz (journalist and writer)

David Krumholtz

Dolph Lundgren

Edward Norton

Elizabeth Lail (actress who played Beck from you)

Elizabeth McGovern

Elizaberh Reaser (Esmé in Twilight)

Ellen Barkin

Emeraude Toubia (actress from Shadowhunters and With Love)

Emily Ratajkowski

Evan Rachel Wood

Finneas

Howard Stern

Ira Madison III

Jamelle Bouie (NYT columnist)

Jessica Taylor, Dr

Jon Lovett (podcaster & former White House speech writer & fiance of Ronan Farrow)

John Legend

Julia Fox

Julia Stiles

Julianne Moore

Kate Nash (singer, actress from Glow)

Kathy Griffin

Kristen Bell

Lauren Jauregui

Lena Headey

Lindsay Ellis (YouTuber)

Lindsay Lohan

Lindsey Gort

Mia Farrow

Michele Dauber (Stanford law professor)

Millie Brady (actress in The Last Kingdom)

Mel B

Melanie Lynskey

Melissa Benoist

Monica Lewinsky

Nathalie Emmanuel (actress on Game of Thrones)

Neil Gaiman (writer of Caroline, American Gods, Good Omens, etc.)

Nikki Glaser (comedian)

Patricia Arquette

Rachel Riley

Raphael Bob-Waksberg (creator of Bojack Horseman)

Robin Lord Taylor

Rian Johnson (director of Knives Out)

Ryn Weaver (singer)

Samantha Bee (comedian)

Sarah Paulson

Sarah Steele

Selma Blair 

Sophia Bush

Uzo Aduba

Willa Fitzgerald

Zach Kornfeld (from the Try Guys)

#tp #amber heard #johnny depp #heard v depp

[linnienin]

💎 A s t e r o i d ⁕ S i r e n e ⁕ i n ⁕ S c o r p i o 💎

Intense, Magnetic, Dark energy, Enveloping, Mysterious, Secretive, Defensive, Tough, Determinate

CELEBS LIST:

Beyonce

Monica Bellucci, Sophia Loren

Grace Kelly

Dakota Johnson, Jenna Ortega

Keira Knightley

Natalie Portman, Lily Collins

Mia Wasikowska

Jane Seymour, Billie Eilish

Brigitte Bardot

Claudia Cardinale, Justin Timberlake

Scarlett Johansson

A s t e r o i d ⁕ S i r e n e ⁕ a s p e c t i n g ⁕ P l u t o

CONJUNCT PLUTO

Dakota Johnson, Scarlett Johansson

Lily Collins, Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska

SQUARE PLUTO

Shalom Harlow, Selena Gomez

Diana Rigg, Catherine Zeta-Jones

OPPOSITE PLUTO

Uma Thurman

TRINE PLUTO

Elizabeth Taylor, Helena Bonham Carter

#sirene in scorpio #asteroid sirene #astro notes #astro observations #astrology observations #astro community

[creativecuteness]

Total Slaughter Island (Rescue Rangers) Chapter 1: One Month Earlier

Alright the official chapter one, I actually had a lot of fun writing this one. Back stories and different POV's are always so much fun to write. I don't really have much to say other than thanks to all the people who are reading this story I hope you'll like the chapter and more insight on Dakota's relationship with Chris.

Dakota Natalie was a kindhearted, gentle, quiet, but compassionate young girl. Her long brown hair and trustworthy eyes made her more approachable than the busy, stressed-out, and, at times, cold and distant members of Fresh TV. Who were scrambling to make deadlines and get the live feed up and running for what is hoped to be the hottest new teenage reality show, Total Drama Island.

Ever since last year, Chris has been planning his show with crazy challenges, high stacks, and, of course, drama-filled rivalries. (And maybe a hint of romance if sparks flow.)

But the real kicker was the one million buckeroos (in Canadian currency, of course) that were offered to the contestant that lasted the longest. (In other words, the person who avoids elimination in a pool of twenty-one other teenagers.)

Dakota expected that money to not even last a week. No kid, no matter how responsible, should have that much money without a little supervision. If she won that prize, her father would store the money away for both a rainy day and college funds. (Not that she even planned to go to college.)

Even though she’s been working for Chris for about six months, she couldn’t say she truly enjoyed it. Sure, the job paid well, and she got to work alongside her dad; however, it was just too overwhelming; the constant hustle and bustle left her physical, social, and mental batteries drained.

It was just too much for her introverted personality; she couldn’t handle high-stress and high-pressure jobs. She desperately needed some quiet time to recharge and had been contemplating quitting for a while. However, it was a stable income most kids her age didn’t have, not to mention she’d have to find a new job to replace this one, and she had no idea what she even wanted to do for a living. So, until she got her life figured out, she'll hold her tongue and exhaustion and went back to work. If she could even call it that since things have been very slow today, it was meant to be the series premiere of Total Drama, and yet she hasn’t been called down for coffee requests, to take notes on viewer opinions, or to watch the live feed to make sure everything was in working order.

Heck, she hadn’t heard from Chris since yesterday, which wasn’t a call for concern in itself per se. Her relationship with her boss has soured a bit ever since he started working on this project. Cutting corners by finding the cheapest island money could buy and lying to everyone, stating the game show took place in a five-star resort. Heck, even the food Chef was cooking broke every health code imaginable.

To say the show was created by a mentally stable individual was the understatement of the century. The way the contents were treated seemed like Chris thought they were cartoon characters doomed to be thrust into slapstick gag after violent slapstick gag. And to Dakota, that mindset was a lawsuit waiting to happen, not that she was surprised.

She always had a sneaking suspicion that Chris was masking his true personality, and Dakota was pretty sure he didn’t notice these observations the young girl took note of. Whether Chris was consciously aware of these patterns of behavior did matter, as it just proved her point that Chris was not what he seemed. In fact, Dakota brought up the behavior to her friend Amy, who was studying to become a therapist, and she agreed that Chris may be a sociopath. Or was it Psychopath? Dakota could never remember the differences.

She glanced at the clock hanging overhead; it was almost midday, meaning the contestants should be participating in their first challenge already, but the cameras were still down. Where was Chris? Why did it seem the show had gone radio silent? And more importantly, what was going on?

She was tempted to call someone and ask if everything was alright when, speak of the devil, she heard panicked whispers and peeked out the door frame to see numerus cameramen, producers, interns, and Chris and Chef themselves. They were back eight weeks early. no campers in sight, and no prize money was distributed. (Or at least not to her knowledge.)

She strained to hear what they were discussing, praying they came back cause of camera failure, but what she was able to make out shook her to the core.

“That was a close one; I thought I was going to be next.” An intern breathed in relief but seemed pretty shaken.

“Yeah, forget that stupid island; I’d rather make it big in the city than stay on a floating death trap.” Another staff member chuckled uneasily; the air felt tense with fear, whatever happened seemed to give everyone a fright.

“What happened down there?” Dakota questioned, “And where’s the campers?” She continued listening, and what she heard next made her heart drop.

“Good job, everyone! phew, we just avoided certain disaster. Now, how about you wash up? I’ll make some calls and see if we can rangel a new setting some more teens and forget the whole murderer on the island thing ever happened.

Dakota’s eyes widened, murderer?! Was someone murdered while filming? She feared something like this would happen considering the challenges Chris laid out weren’t safety-inspected.

“Please don’t let it be a camper; please don’t let it be a camper.” She prayed, hoping it was just an intern and not one of the contestants. Speaking of which, where were they? The young girl hoped Chris wasn’t heartless enough to just leave without them, but of course, asking Chris to be selfless in a situation like that is wishful thinking.

"Uh, Chris, are you sure it was a good idea to leave the rest of the kids on the island? For all we know, the killer could still be there.” Chef spoke his concern,

“Nonsense, they should be fine." He brushed off with a giggle, “I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the campers had a secret bloodlust and took it out on poor Zeke. If the killer doesn’t kill them, starvation and a harsh winter will. Now, I don’t want a word of this getting out to the public if anyone asks; the show ran into technical difficulties and will no longer be filmed live. Understand?” He glared, to which everyone agreed, not wanting to lose their job.

“Good, now if we..." Dakota listened until Chris got out of earshot, unable to believe her ears. A murderer on Camp Wawanakwa? And someone named Zeke was killed?!

“Wait, who was Zeke again?” She thought, she never got the chance to meet the campers in person.

She was startled out of her thoughts when a fellow co-worker eating some chips spoke up, “What’s up, girl? You seem like you’ve seen a ghost."

Dakota looked at her friend, Emily Jones. She had dark brown hair, two strands tied into small pigtails, brown eyes, wore a pink striped shirt, black jeans, ankle-high boots, and a black jacket tied around her waist.

“Yeah, just surprised to see Chris back so soon.” She spoke, feeling uneasy about the whole thing: “I thought the show lasted eight weeks?”

“Oh, you didn’t get the memo?” Emily spoke up, sitting upright.

“What memo?”

“The show’s been canceled; apparently some kid named Ezekiel Miller kicked the bucket. I guess the real world was too much for a sheltered homeschooler.” She revealed it a bit too nonchalantly for her friend’s liking.

“Wait, what happened?!”

“Some surfer dude found his severed head under his bunk late last night, and his legs were found not long after. The network was so freaked out they pulled the show off the air before any damage could be done.”

“Did they see who killed him?”

“Nope, Homeschooler was last seen heading to the confessional when some maniac grabbed him by the scruff of his hoodie and dragged him deeper into the forest. When Zeke didn’t return, Chris sent someone to search for him and found his legs and a threatening message in the outhouse. Yeah, they ran off like a bunch of animals with their tails between their legs and hightailed it out of there.”

“Did they get that all on camera?”

“Most of it, thankfully, it wasn’t shown on air. They were more concerned with scenes that showed the whole group than one lowly, sexist teenager raised by misogynistic parents in the prairies. Oh, did I mention he’s been homeschooled his whole life?”

“Yeah, once or twice.” Dakota muttered, surprised by how Emily wasn’t bothered by this. “What about the other campers? Please tell me they’re  safe."She hoped, but the next words her friend spoke shattered them immediately.

“Nope, those kids are dead meat. Chris and the crew bailed shortly after Zeke was found and left everyone else behind. Assuming the killer isn’t one of them, those campers are as good as dead.”

“No, they can’t be dead!” She yelled, feeling angry tears well up inside of her. “We can’t just sit back and let them die; we have to call the police, the coast guard, any..." Dakota abruptly stopped the last bit of Emily’s sentience, registering, “Wait, what do you mean assuming the killer isn’t one of them?”

“Exactly what I said.” She replied, “Isn’t it obvious? Someone must’ve gotten fed up with Ezekiel’s sexist remarks and confronted him about it. Being the socially oblivious person he is, he continued running his mouth, causing the blackened to become even more fed up until... She paused for dramatic effect, Dakota on the edge of her seat, as Emily explained her theory: “Wham! The murderer pulls out a weapon, and Homeschooler is no more. My money is on the delinquent; he’s been to juvie, ya know, and had a switchblade on him. I wouldn't put it past him to steal a meat cleaver from the kitchen.”

Emily returned to snacking, leaving her friend stunned silent. Was it possible? Could one of the campers be capable of doing this? To an innocent teenager who, yes, had backward views on society, but it wasn’t his fault, his parents filled his brain with misinformation.

“What are we going to do?” She asked quietly,

Emily turned to her friend and sighed sadly for once, showing empathy for the situation: "Nothing; the network doesn’t want to risk any more casualties, and getting authorities is out of the question. The island is undisclosed, and revealing that information will make us prime suspects, and according to the network and Chris, we can’t risk that. We spent a lot of money on this show’s success, and now that it’s canned, they don’t want to waste any more resources on some flimsy rescue mission. Their words not mine. Wait, where are you going?!”

Dakota got out of her seat, emotionally driven and demanding, answers, “I’m paying Chris a visit.” She spoke, straightening her denim jacket and pink dress. Fellow workers bid her good afternoon as she walked past, but they were ignored as she stormed down the halls until she reached a door with a large star-shaped dressing room sticker that read Chris McLean in black cursive letters. Dakota didn’t bother to knock as she barged in.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!" She exclaimed and automatically regretted not knocking. “Oh god! Ewgh! fluff!” She cursed, shielding her eyes, seeing Chris not only shirtless but fully orange.

“Oooo, someone used your tanning bed again?” She asked, the initial disgust fading away, seeing a bit of humor in the tanning incident. “Ha, that’s called Karma Bud." She thought smugly,

“Yep, and I have a pretty good idea who.” He said, “Also, I don’t remember giving you bragging privileges. What’s with the sudden outburst?"

Fully remembering why she came, Dakota put on her best defensive stance and confronted her boss. “Chris, I know what you did; you left twenty-one teenagers to die on a deserted island with no way out.”

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there. First of all, I didn’t abandon them; I just took a minor detour. Second of all, I didn’t leave anyone for dead. I have full intention on returning to rescue them.”

“Oh yeah, when?” She inquired, not convinced in the slightest,

Chris winced, knowing that lie wasn’t going to work. “Well, aren’t you just on a roll? Okay, yes, I’ll admit maybe I ran off when I saw that message and Ezekiel’s legs; maybe I should’ve warned the campers and got us all out of there. But I freaked out. Could you blame me?! The last thing I needed was my head on a platter, not to mention the time it’d take to get everyone out could’ve meant someone else’s life.”

"Yeah, well, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few!” Dakota snapped, “Now those teens are really gonna die and...! Have you no soul?!”

Chris winced again, trying to console an angry and emotional girl. “If this is what raising kids is like, I’m gonna rethink my answer on adopting.”

"Look, I know this is hard for you to understand. But sometimes you need to make sacrifices. Sure, a few people may get a bit ticked off, but one day they’ll get over it.”

“Not if it’s one of their children dying! Those kids had families, Chris; they’re the same age as me, and they could be dead in a week's time! Career or no career, they will never forgive you for this; you’re a coward, Chris! You saw danger and ran the moment it peaked its ugly head. You just cost innocent lives their whole future!” She yelled, fully crying now.

“Dakota, you know the network doesn’t want us...

"No, save it! I don’t care what the network wants; I want them home safe and sound and the killer brought to justice. I don’t want to be mixed up in your mistakes, and if you won’t rescue them, so help me, I will!” She yelled, slamming the door, leaving Chris dumbfounded. “Well, she took that just about as well as I expected.” He chuckled to himself. He underestimated Dakota’s kind heart; she felt sympathy and empathy extremely well, way better than most people here. It allowed her to connect with people’s issues and, at times, helped them relate. And considering the situation, she understood how everyone must be feeling. Scared, alone, and probably sacred for life.

“Ugh, what have I gotten myself into?” He groaned, knowing Dakota was going to be fighting tooth and nail to get those kids home. However, the network’s mind was set; they've convinced themselves that one of the campers killed Ezekiel, and while Chris would rather believe it himself, to believe the campers have a better chance at survival. Deep down, he knew he did a horrible, criminal, and overall unforgivable thing. And yet he did nothing to change it as Dakota desperately tried to get someone to rescue the remaining twenty-one campers. God, he didn’t want to think about how those numbers could be dwindling by the day.

It wasn’t long before word got out, and missing person reports were filed. In hindsight, they should have seen this coming. Word spread pretty quickly in this day and age. All it took was one loose-lipped employee, and the rest was history; the public outcry was overwhelmingly negative. People rallying together, demanding answers, and pressuring the network to fire Chris and save the teens, or at least reveal the information needed so authorities can handle it.

Sadly, the studio stayed tight-lipped, deciding not to get involved, much to everyone’s dismay.

Dakota walked into the office with a heavy heart. It has been one month since Ezekiel’s murder, and calls from distressed parents have become daily. Dakota lost count of how many times a parent or relative would call, asking for updates or a tiny sliver of information on the filming location. Unfortunately, not even Dakota or any employee knew the location of Camp Wawanakwa; only Chris, Chef, and a few higher-ups knew where the island was and didn’t want that information to get out of fear of being prime suspects.

“Ugh, they’re just a bunch of cowards—the whole lot of them.” Dakota thought bitterly, head down, and letting her muscle memory drag her to her office. “I can’t believe any of them; children are dying on a deserted island, and they don’t even have the decency to give the public peace of mind.”

The crestfallen girl moped into the room as Emily was reassuring another parent.

“Mrs. Anderson You have every right to be concerned for your son. No, worrying doesn't make you a bad mother; it’s completely normal in situations like these. Just know that we are doing everything we can to ensure he and everyone else comes back safely.” She reassured, “Yes, Mrs. Anderson? Yes, hello, yes, it appears you are going through a tunnel; I’m gonna have to let you go. Okay bye.” She sighed as she hung up.

“Who was that?”

Cody’s mother: She called me on her way to work, and it's the third time this week too.” Emily answered, resting her head in her arms, “We can’t keep living like this; we need to do something now before we get sued!”

“Oh, so now you're taking this seriously?"

The other glared, "Oh, don’t give me that look. You know I brush things off and use sarcasm to deal with stressful things; it’s my way of coping. Believe me when I say I am on your side."

The other didn’t speak; she just glared at her friend as an employee peeked inside. “Sorry to interrupt, ladies, but there’s a meeting starting. I wouldn’t skip this if I were you.” She spoke simply and left.

The two looked at each other and silently agreed, rushing to the meeting room praying for good news. Walking inside, it was deadly quiet; tensions were high as whispers were exchanged and concerns were expressed. Dakota locked eyes with Chris, who for once seemed remorseful. She quickly looked away, setting her gaze on the head C.E.O., who sighed deeply.

“It appears our decision to stay silent was a mistake.” He started, which many agreed with: “It has come to my attention that many parents have called out of both worry and dead set on finding their kids themselves through private investigators; some have even threatened legal action, which is something becoming increasingly harder to ignore. I have called you all here today because we need ideas. We are slowly running out of time, and staying silent is just making things worse. I believe it is time that we

“I know who the killer is!” Chef screamed bargaining into the room, much to everyone’s surprise and shock.

Honestly, I made Emily way too nonchalant about the whole killer on the island thing, but this is how she copes deep inside she's probably freaking out like everyone else, and I know Danganronpa came out in 2010 but Island of the Slaughter has some Danganronpa vibes, so I had to throw in the blackened reference. Also seems like Chef may have an idea who the killer of Wawanakwa is. But the question is does he? Find out next week when I post the last written chapter that I have backlogged. See ya on the flip side ;)

#total drama #total drama fanfiction #island of the slaughtered #Total Slaughter Island (Rescue Rangers) Chapter 1 #chris mclean #dakota natalie #emily jones #chef hatchet #td ezekiel #writeblr #ao3fic #fanfiction writer #fanfiction chapter #ao3 author #ao3 #fanfiction.net #td chris #td chef #ao3 writer #ao3 works #fanfic

[crushedsweets]

What is the ethnicity/nationality of everyone in ur AU?

I don't have concrete HC's for everyone, and a lot of them just have a general region/race rather than specific ethnicity, but i have some stuff for some characters! fine with it being up to interpretation too

most r born in alabama..cuz.... story takes place in alabama

Tim - white american, born in alabama Brian - white american, born in alabama Toby - white american, grandparents were german immigrants, born in colorado Kate - half white, half chinese american, born in alabama

Natalie - french american, born in louisiana - family has been in america for quite a few generations Jack - indian american, parents immigrated from india, born in north dakota Sally - half chilean, half white american, born in alabama BEN - white american, born in oregon

Jeff - white american, born in new jersey Liu - white american, born in new jersey Jane - black american, born in alabama Nina - mexican american, born in california

Ann - argentinian american, born in new york Lulu - vietnamese american, born in alabama Lazari - white american, born in alabama Dina - english/white american, born in alabama

ok basically theyre all born in america. damn. maybe i should change that HAHA

#creeped #hcs #asks

[otdiaftg]

The Raven King - Chapter Seven

Day: Thursday, September 21st Time: 8:30 PM EST

He knew things about them he'd never bothered to learn about anyone else in his entire life. Renee's birth name was Natalie; her adoptive mother renamed her when she pulled Renee out of the foster system. Her mother was the reason she and Dan were at Palmetto State. Stephanie Walker was a reporter who'd interviewed Wymack with the ulterior motive of marketing Renee to him. Wymack flew to North Dakota during spring championships to watch Renee's team take on their biggest rivals. Dan happened to be captain of the rival team, and Wymack was impressed by her fierce performance. He signed them both that same weekend.

Dan, aka Hennessey, had gotten a fake ID back in high school so she could work as a stripper in a nearby city. The hours worked well around her classes and Exy schedule, and it made the money she needed. Her aunt was unemployed and stuck at home with a newborn. Dan somehow had to support all three of them. Dan said she stopped talking to her aunt the second she moved out, but she kept in touch with her former coworkers. Supposedly they were all waiting for her to become a hotshot star. That was how Neil found out Dan didn't want to go professional after college. She wanted to be a coach, and she planned on seizing the FoxholeCourt when Wymack retired down the road. She would maintain Wymack's recruiting standards in his absence. Matt was wholeheartedly in favor of the idea. Matt was an interesting countermeasure to Dan's scrappy background: the wealthy and well-educated son of a professional boxer and a high-profile plastic surgeon. His parents separated years ago, in large part due to his father's unending infidelity, but weren't officially divorced. Matt grew up with his father, since his mother's career meant a lot of time on the road. Matt minced his words when talking about his father but could go on about his mother at length. She was his idol, and Neil found listening to his stories as interesting as it was painful. When Matt talked about summer breaks spent drag racing in the mountains Neil remembered the sound his mother's corpse made when he tried peeling it off a vinyl seat.

Art used with permission by i-am-weis. Thank you @i-am-weis !

#aftg #all for the game #neil josten #trk #the raven king #the foxhole court #andrew minyard #palmetto state university #psu foxes #andreil #on this day in aftg #otdiaftg #palmetto state foxes #otdi all for the game #nora sakavic #the foxes #on this day in all for the game #kevin day #nicky hemmick #aaron minyard #coach wymack #betsy dobson #abby winfield #matt boyd #dan wilds #renee walker #allison reynolds #artists #i-am-weis

[midheavenastrology]

𓆏𓆏𓆏Your outer appearance + astrology ✪︎︎✌︎

****Celebrities examples are all sun sign placements, but description would be more for rising+sun.

👀Sagittarius placements always have cat eyes and really luscious lips 👄 they’re like the siren 🚨 personified xxx I personally think they’re some of the most beautiful people that have graced the earth- so sensual, so sessy. ex: Zoe Kravitz, Scarlett Johansson, Alexa Demie, Lucy Liu, Jane Birkin, Brad Pitt, Gemma Chan,

👀Cancer placements …y’all are SO ethereally beautiful, like what ? You all look like fallen angels: full, round face, soft eyes and perfectly pouty lips. So angelic, so divine 👼not stereotyping but y’all do look a little moony lol 🌝 ex: Margot Robbie, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Kali Uchis, Hoyeon Jung, Lana Del Rey, Hope Sandoval,

👀Taurus placements..your bone structure is insane. This one’s obvious because Taurus is ruled by the planet of beauty, Venus, but there’s this grace and goddess/god like energy of Taurus placements. Earth mama/daddy energy. 🌎🍃Nurturing, grounding peaceful. 🕊ex: Gigi Hadid, Robert Pattinson, George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Travis Scott, Megan Fox, Machine Gun Kelly, Penelope Cruz

👀Gemini placements: there’s this untouchable kinda beauty to y’all. Almost like you’re not from this planet. Eternal youthfulness (Mercury ruled y’all) feminine yet masculine at the same time or vice versa. 🧔‍♀️Very gender fluid. Mischievous look in ur eyes. Deep set eyes that have perma Smokey eye filter. Smaller frame ex: Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman, Lily Rose Depp and Johnny Depp, Tom Holland, Princess Nokia, Emma Chamberlain, Emily Ratajkowski, Stevie Nicks, Naomi Campbell

👀Capricorn placements..this one’s personal because I have many caprisun placements, but everyone always says I have great bone structure. I see that in a lot of Capricorn celebrities. Great smiles (Capricorn rules the teeth), oddly goat 🐐 like but in the best way possible. Beautiful skin and usually blessed with great hair as well. Actually really ageless, no joke, we ages backwards I swear…a little elf like 🪄🧝‍♀️ ex: my boy Timothee Chalamet, Suki Waterhouse, FKA Twigs, Kate Moss, Hunter Schafer, Jared Leto, Francois Hardy, Florence Pugh

👀Scorpio placements: for real, y’all are so frickin sexy. Like damn.. you got those bedroom eyes and killer smile. Even if they’re not traditionally handsome (like Libras lol) there’s always something about Scorpio placements that draws you to them magnetically. Hypnotizing. Also there’s a kinda vampire 🧛‍♀️ vibe to them ngl. ex: Ryan Gosling, Leo DiCaprio, Travis Barker, Adam Driver, Winona Ryder, WILLOW, Joaquin Phoenix, Drake

👀Pisces placements: otherworldly beauty, like so so dreamy. They have that “dream girl” “dream guy” aura to them. Enchanting, intoxicating. 🔮Neptune rules Pisces and there is a undeniable fantastical quality to y’all. The kinda peeps that you can’t really take your eyes off of. Old soul energy with deep kindness in their eyes. Mermaid/merman energy 🧜‍♀️🧜 ex: Rihanna, Bad Bunny, Ansel Elgort, Olivia Wilde, Liz Taylor, Lupita Nyung’O, Drew Barrymore, Erykah Badu, Kurt Russell

👀Libra placements : I always tell people that Libras are gods favorite. They got the charm+ the looks+the artistic talent. 🙏Sheesh 🙄 There’s a kinda sweetness to their looks, yet you know they’re hiding something from you. It’s the same trickster energy as Gemini. If you were to create the perfectly balanced ⚖️human face, it would be on a Libra for sure. ex: Kim K, A$AP Rocky, Doja Cat, Brigitte Bardot, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg, Dakota Johnson

👀Leo placements: there’s def a cat like energy to y’all- cat eyes, cat nose- just the way you carry yourself is regal 👸 you’re royalty and you know it. Big messy beautiful hair and even bigger luminous smiles. Your aura is like a big ball of light. Super star 🌟 quality. ex: Madonna, J Lo, Austin Butler, Jason Momoa, Chris Hemsworth, Mila Kunis, Cara Delevingne, Obama, Charlize Theron

👀Aquarius placements: Def something really striking about y’all, it’s like a beauty you can’t describe in words. 👀Tend to be quite slender in frame. Badass energy. 🏍Intimidating, yet warm. Contradicting to a T and that’s Uranian energy for you. ex: Harry Styles, Emma Roberts, Christian Bale, The Weeknd, Kid Cudi, Alicia Keys, Megan Thee Stallion, Shakira, Paris Hilton

👀Aries placements: there’s a childlike 👶🏻👶🏻innocence to your look, yet because of the Martian influence there is a fiery 🔥quality to ur looks and aura. Super sexy, yet looks like you wouldn’t hurt a fly. Smaller frame usually ex: Emma Watson, Paul Rudd, Kristen Stewart, Saoirse Ronan, Lady Gaga, Kiera Knightly, Pharrell

👀Virgo placements: Virgo is the virgin🧘‍♀️ maiden, and earthy energy of Mercury. There is a youthful quality to Virgo placements, just like Gemini, but it’s more feminine and soft in nature because Virgo is a feminine sign. Y’all have this wisdom in your eyes, like you see all the worlds hurts. Kind, gentle, yet a hidden sexiness to y’all. The kinda peeps who look innocent on the outside but u know there’s something quite tempting about them. 😉Smaller frame usually ex: Keanu Reeves, Salma Hayek, Zendaya, Beyoncé, Blake Lively, Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, Sydney Sweeny

That’s all y’all 💜 thanks for reading 🙏

#tumblr astrology #astrology #celebrity astrology #rising sign #apperance #harry styles #timothee chalamet #lily rose depp #gemini #sagittarius #aquarius #virgowomen #scorpio #capricorn #aries sun #taurus #libra sun #leo #pisces #cancer #zendaya #sydney sweeney #beyonce

[necroromantics]

🧺 — Laundry And Taxes

chapter 11. // christmas special // (masterlist)

AN: Helloo to all the readers of L&T, happy holidays to everyone and Merry Christmas for anyone who celebrates :] Heres my present to you 🔥

Standing on the station platform, tickets to Alabama in their hands, Natalie looked out at the approaching train. She leaned over to the boy waiting patiently next to her, and told him that she had never been on one before.

“Seems like we experience a lot of firsts together,” Toby grinned as Natalie punched his arm.

The girl sat on the window seat, resting her head in the palm of her hand as she looked out at the passing scenery. Toby laid back in his seat and closed his eyes, everything was in motion. The white winter landscape was complemented by tall, passing evergreen trees. Natalie watched the unspoiled morning skies mingle with the fluffs of clouds, and listened closely to the pleasant chatter of the two passengers seated behind her. By the sounds of it, they had only just met on that train, and were both headed south to see family. She glanced over at the boy resting quietly beside her and thought to herself how strange it is to meet someone you must’ve known lifetimes before.

The pair held fire in their eyes and their bags over their shoulders as they hurried down the streets sprawled with snow. Once they approached their destination of a tiny house decorated with an abundance of Christmas lights, Toby knocked heavily onto the front door. After waiting for a minute, the door creaked open, a familiar tall, blonde man wearing a Santa hat stood with a toothy grin on his face, welcoming the two inside. Brian gave Toby a hearty pat on the back as he led the boy to the living room, Natalie following silently close behind.

“Good to see you’re not in handcuffs yet, man.” Brian said

“Yeah, good to see you’re still growing out that awful mustache,” Toby teased back. In the living room, Tim sat in his recliner chair with an afternoon beer in his hand. He was sporting a red Christmas sweater that presented the words “Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal”. Beside him, there was a small Christmas tree perched atop the coffee table. Toby snickered to himself at the sight as he walked over and played with the plastic pine needles.

“Damn Tim, you really went all out this year huh.”

“Cut the shit,” Tim said, swatting the boy away.

Brian sat himself down onto the couch and grabbed the remote, turning on the television to whatever sports channel was on, letting it play quietly in the background. Taking a seat beside Brian, Toby looked over to Natalie who had been awkwardly lingering in the entrance, her arms crossed over her chest, her body pressed to the wall. The girl glanced over the room of men and furrowed her brow. She never liked proxies. Toby stared at the disinterested girl for a moment, watching her quietly reside in her own little world, before Brian spoke, catching the boy's attention.

“So you’re living in North Dakota now? How’s the weather up there treating you?”

“Uh, yeah, it’s alright. I’m used to all the snow from back home in Colorado, so it’s not too bad.”

As the two men continued to exchange their small talk, filling in the silence that hung over the room, Tim took another sip of his beer.

“You still hellbent on getting back to the old world?” Tim chimed in, causing Toby to look over with an irritated glare.

“So what if I am? Whats it matter to you?”

“Just wondering,” Tim lifted his bottle to his lips once again as he turned his head to look over at the football game. There was a long pause of tense silence for a moment, Toby’s gaze still directed at the man in a trained glare.

“Better to just leave all that shit behind anyways, right?” Brian said, leaning over to Toby to recenter the boy's attention over to their friendly conversation.

“Sure,” Toby muttered, looking down towards his feet for a moment, “What’re you up to now anyways?”

“Just working, trying to save enough up to get back to school, you know?” Brian groaned as he threw his hands back, stretching the tension out of his tired body.

“Yeah? Where do you work?”

“If I tell you that, I’m gonna have to kill you,” The man teased with a grin, to which Toby rolled his eyes in playful annoyance. Natalie watched from a distance as the men caught up with each other's lives, as if there had been no brutality between them. She watched as Toby joked with his colleagues; ones who had beaten him bloody many times before. She watched as Toby’s hands reached for the remote to switch on a channel that played Christmas music; hands that have killed countless people. She watched as Tim eased himself into the casual chatter, throwing in a sarcastic comment or two, bickering with the boy sitting across from him. They were a lively bunch, and as Natalie leaned back against the wall, her indifferent expression subtly hinting disdain, she wondered what gave them the right to act as if nothing had happened. The girl was no saint, and she knew this to be true, she was cruel and vicious, a killer, but she would never find herself sitting amongst men like these, pretending as if blood didn’t drip from her mouth from all the throats she had ripped out. They were rotten and vile, and it seemed her best friend was the worst of the worst.

A soft knock to the front door put a quick stop to the conversation, and Brian walked over to the entrance, past the girl who hadn’t said a word since she arrived. Toby’s head peered up, listening closely to the sound of Brian inviting somebody in. He wasn’t told of anyone else joining them that Christmas evening. As the stranger entered the living room, both Natalie and Toby’s eyes widened. The familiar man held his hands in the pockets of his dark gray sweater, his dark eyes glancing around at the three lounging around the room. Jack smiled awkwardly at Natalie as she shamelessly stared at his newly human appearance, her gaze meeting his. Toby, on the other hand, had been staring out of discomfort. The last conversation he had with Jack had been a fight months ago back in Mississippi. He knew Jack was never one to hold a grudge, yet the boy couldn’t help but feel a weird sense of unease when the man sat down next to him.

“Good to see you again.” Jack smiled.

“Yeah.”

Brian entered back into the room with a case of beer, breaking through the stiff atmosphere, and sitting on the couch next to the two others. He pulled out a bottle and handed it over to Tim, who had already drunk through his previous one, and then handed another to Jack, who shook his head.

“I’m not drinking tonight,” he declined.

“Suit yourself,” Brian exclaimed, popping off the cap and taking a sip. The four men talked amongst themselves as Natalie listened in, drumming her fingers along to the beat of the holiday tunes quietly playing from the TV. She couldn’t help but glance over at the clock, counting down the minutes until she could be free from that dreadful place. When she initially agreed to come to Alabama with Toby, she hadn’t considered how out of place she would feel. Tim never liked her much, Brian and her never really talked. They had both deemed her a weak point for Toby back in the old world — something in the way. There was always the expectation that she would turn on him, sell him out, be his downfall. And in a way, it was true. Whenever Brian snuck a glance over at the lingering girl, he noticed she would always be looking at Toby.

Once the clock had struck 5pm, Tim pulled himself out of his seat, tapping Jack to follow him into the kitchen.

“You too, Toby. I ain’t preparing dinner all by myself.” Toby groaned as he stood up, shuffling irritatedly behind the two men. As he passed by Natalie, he nudged into her with a sore smile, to which she playfully hit him back. The two would laugh at nonsense together as though it made perfect sense, bumped into each other as though it was an embrace. There was an awkward tenderness between the youths who had never been loved, and had to figure something out. Natalie had the tendency to lie through her gritted teeth. Not intentionally by any means, but she deluded herself for so long, so desperately, she was nearly a master at the art of self-deception. Brian had noticed this feat, and on that lively Christmas evening, begun to pester the girl.

“There’s plenty of seats, you don’t need to keep standing around you know,” he called out to the girl who only raised an eyebrow at him. He nodded his head towards the empty chair across from him, and Natalie huffed with annoyance at the bothersome man as she strolled over to take her seat. Brian sat with his bottle in his hands, the sound of bickering coming from the kitchen filled the open air.

“You and Toby live together now, huh?”

“I guess,” Natalie said with a stern look, crossing her arms as she leaned back into her chair, staring at Brian as if she were in an interrogation. The man only smiled back at her, his Santa hat draped over his head.

“Good to hear he’s found someone who tolerates his bullshit,” Brian said as he reached into his case of booze, “Want a beer?”

Natalie shrugged her shoulders in agreement as the man pulled out a bottle.

“Just remember, you can’t save that kid.”

“Great. I never wanted to. I wouldn’t know how to anyways.”

“So, do you love him?”

“What’s it matter to you?” she glared at the man.

“You got a fire between you two,” Brian continued to tease as he handed the drink over to the girl, who snatched it from his hand.

“Then I guess I should ask Santa for an extinguisher this Christmas.”

The man grinned at the witty reply, chuckling to himself as he glanced over towards the boy angrily storming into the living room, ranting to himself. Toby huffed as he collapsed into the couch beside Brian, sinking into himself.

“Toby, get your ass back in here,” Tim shouted out from the kitchen.

“Go fuck yourself,” the boy shouted back. Brian grimaced awkwardly as he took his leave, taking one last look at the girl who had once again been staring at Toby, before making his way into the kitchen to help with dinner.

Once Brian was out of the room, Natalie switched over to sit herself down beside Toby. She nudged her shoulder into him as the boy looked back at her.

“Stop being so cranky Toby, it’s Christmas.” The girl spoke as her eyes met with the boys who stared back at her. Toby let out a deep sigh and leaned into the girls side. He was warm, she was cold. The smell of the turkey and stuffing breezed past the two as Brian waltzed into the room once again, this time to alert them that dinner was ready, and to come get their plates.

The group, with food piled onto their plates, sat together as they made up for all of the lost time. On that drunken Christmas night, with loud chatter and laughter filling the fireplace warmed air, everything was fine. Bloodshed was past, sickness had wilted away. As five human beings sat victorious in that livingroom, ridden with battle of another world, their festive cheer only confirmed the triumph of man. The war was over, and they had earned their evening.

Toby sipped his booze as he watched Tim stumble over to his seat, sharing a tale of a time he had lied his way out of a speeding ticket.

“You’re a great actor, you should star in a film,” Brian teased with a grin.

“I will strangle you,” Tim threatened.

Natalie felt a hand shift over onto her own, and glanced down to see Toby’s fingers interlocking with hers mindlessly. She thought well of him. Even when he drank, she thought he was a good boy. The girl squeezed his hand back, and drifted away from the jokes and festivities to lose herself in her thoughts. He had already made plans to head back to Colorado to spend Christmas morning with his family, leaving Natalie to catch the midnight train back up north.

Once the late night tiredness had washed over the group, Toby found himself arguing with Tim, who alongside Brian, had too many drinks to drive the boy to his destination.

“How am I supposed to wait until morning? You agreed you’d drive me tonight.”

“I could drive, I haven’t been drinking.” Jack spoke out, stepping between the argument. Toby looked over at the man with his offer, and scrunched his brow with reluctance, before ultimately giving in and agreeing to the new arraignment.

Toby stood at the door with his backpack over his shoulder, saying his goodbyes to the drunken Brian and Tim as he waited for Jack to gather his things. Natalie hung around by the boy's side without a word as she waited for him to finish chatting with his colleagues. As Jack slipped on his shoes, and opened the door to head for the car, Natalie threw in a quick goodbye to her friend, and snuck away back into the livingroom as she waited for her train back home, which was going to arrive in two hours.

Tim and Brian chatted with each other as they sobered up, and cleaned the dishes in the kitchen, leaving Natalie alone in the other room after Toby and Jack had left. She leaned back into her chair as she stared mindlessly at the fireplace, watching the flames dance and flicker. In her dreams, her house is always on fire. She couldn’t bring herself to let go of the violence, even as it burnt holes into her. The dead girl with nothing to lose, the horrible girl who can’t escape. A loud ringing from her cellphone snapped the girl out of her daze, bringing her attention to the number presenting itself onto the screen as she flipped it open. It wasn’t one she recognized, but as she hesitantly answered the call, she knew the voice on the other end well.

“Merry Christmas, Natalie.” The woman spoke roughly. She sounded tired, a bit irritated.

“Mom?”

“Just thought I’d call and wish you a good Christmas. But if you don’t want to talk to me, just say so,” The woman snapped. Natalie’s heart began to beat like a snare drum in her chest. She hadn’t heard her mothers voice in years, it made her sick to her stomach.

“Why would you bother calling me?” The girl asked quietly, and harshly.

“I guess it’s a crime now to want to talk to you since you left home. You know damn well you’re all I have left, so show some respect to your mother.”

Natalie scoffed. It seemed she hadn’t changed one bit.

“Sure, whatever, Merry fuckin’ Christmas.” She slammed her flipphone shut as she ended the call abruptly, squeezing her eyes shut as she felt a flurry of rage and shock. The walls felt like they were closing in on her, suffocating, choking her. Natalie quickly stood to her feet as she rushed out the front door to get some fresh air.

The outside was quiet as she sat herself on the front door step. It was late into the night, and everything was still. Natalie blinked back the sting of tears rising to her eyes as she took a deep breath in of the frost and mildew. She knew something bad had happened, she tried her best not to think about it. The Christmas lights hanging off of the edge of the rooftop reflected off of the white ground, sparkling. Suddenly, it began to snow. The girl watched as the snowflakes danced gently down through the night sky, landing on the streets and in her hair. Natalie felt warmth fall down her icy cheeks as she surrendered to her tears, quietly sobbing to herself as she looked out into the dark. Despite everything, the world was still so beautiful.

Toby stared quietly out from the passenger seat window, watching the snow as it fell. Jack remained silent as he drove down the highways of Alabama, keeping his eyes straight and his hands firm on the steering wheel. The boy sniffled to himself once in a while, coming down off of his evening buzz. He had always hoped for a mother, a father, something bigger than himself to tell him who to become. But as he stared out of the window into the dark abyss of the night, wartorn and battered, the world seemed so empty.

A few miles into the drive, Jack pulled the truck into a gas station parking lot, announcing that he was grabbing himself a cup of coffee, and that Toby should take a bathroom break before they continued with their long drive to Colorado. The bell jingled throughout the store which was nearly completely empty as the two men entered, Jack heading towards the coffee machine, and Toby to the toilets. The boy pushed past the door and quickly noticed all of the vandalism scribbled onto the walls, like a page from a book had been torn apart and plastered everywhere. His hand ran across some printing on a bathroom stall and read over a confession of sorts a passerby had left in a place they must’ve known they’d never return to. He read the admissions of guilt spread across the room, as if God had been listening. Memories of the old world rushed into his mind like the Great Flood, and he thought about all of the times he would wake up in places like these, thrashed and wrecked, with no recollection of what had happened, or the times he’d find himself leaning over the dirty sinks coughing up blood. His lungs must’ve been rotting. He never knew of anything that didn’t hurt.

Toby spent no more time in that bathroom as he rinsed his hands and quickly left back outside to the truck. Jack quietly placed his coffee into the cup holder next to him and continued to drive down the dark highway, into the night. The silence remained still between the two men, only the occasional car passed by them. Toby tapped his fingers against his knee as he thought to himself.

“You’re living in Alabama now?” He awkwardly asked, avoiding eye contact as Jack glanced over to the boy.

“Yeah, I am. I moved there mid-November. I thought it’d be easier for me if I was around people I knew. Like dipping my toe in the water,” Jack explained. He had turned away from his college room with his head down, running to Latin texts in the depths of an isolated forest. Jack started to find himself seeing the dead through the midst of the maple and oak trees which dangled hanged men from its branches. It seemed that he had no choice but to face what he had done, and find himself in the bustling streets of humanity once again. He wrote letters to his mother explaining a false reasoning for why he had left his education. He wrote them praying. Every letter he received back he collected as punishment for the sins he had committed. Jack kept them in a box under his bed.

“And you? Has North Dakota been keeping you busy?”

“Oh yeah, definitely,” Toby replied, fiddling with his thumbs as he kept his gaze down to his feet, “I actually started a small lumbering business for myself. Chopping wood and stuff.”

“That’s great to hear. Good for you,” Jack smiled.

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Of course.”

“I mean, thanks for helping me out. Always putting up with my bullshit,” Toby eyed his shoes, he didn’t want to see the satisfied look on Jack’s face. He didn’t want to think about how smug he must’ve been after hearing those words fall from the troubled boy's mouth.

“You’re not as difficult as you think you are, Toby. I’m not the only one who puts up with you.”

Toby looked over at the man driving, and shook his head. He remained untended to, like an overgrown tombstone, sick with decay. It was as if, from the moment he was born, that boy had never needed anybody else. He never asked for help, or reached out for support.

“I’m on my own. Always have been.”

“What about Natalie?”

“What about her?”

“She’s always been by your side, hasn’t she?”

The boy stayed silent for a moment. Toby didn’t know how to tell Jack that she, too, had left him to dig his own grave many times. She, too, loathed him. It didn’t matter, he thought, he didn’t need her, or anyone, anyways.

“Everyone who tries to stomach me eventually chokes me back up, Jack. Nat isn’t an exception.” There was a childlike loneliness in Toby’s voice as he spoke. One that made Jack quickly come to the unfortunate understanding that Toby wasn’t a soldier, or a war hero, he was just a boy. And the burden of always being the one who grits his teeth and fights an old man's battle must be far too heavy for a boy to carry.

“Does that bother you?” Jack asked. Toby shrugged his tired shoulders.

“After you’ve done and seen all the shit I have, nothing really bothers you anymore.”

Jack looked over at the other once more, a golden boy made to conquer, his eyes were desensitized and dark. Toby was entirely indifferent to himself and the world around him. He knew nothing of the time that had passed him, only that somewhere, at some point, there was a war being fought, and he was now far from the battlefield. That boy had long since lost his innocence, and his homesickness lasted forever.

“Do you actually feel bad for the things you’ve done?” Toby spoke again.

“You know, Toby, my guilt doesn’t mean anything. Apologizing while I killed someone doesn’t make me any different than someone who didn’t. I still took somebody’s life, I still sinned.”

“When I killed my dad…” Toby’s voice trailed off for a moment, “It was the happiest I had ever been, like all of those years of fear finally amounted to something. And I would do it again in a heartbeat. I'd rather have all of that suffering make me into a monster than for it to be for nothing at all."

“You don’t think you had any other choice?”

“It had to be done. Sometimes things just have to be done.”

“I understand,” Jack replied softly as he continued to drive.

“Hopefully God understands,” Toby said quietly to himself, turning his head to look out of the window once again. He tried to describe something unfathomable. Fate, the God neither of them believed in, whatever explained it.

"I guess just knowing that somewhere, my dad is still out there... I can't help but miss him. And I don't know why." The boy confessed, staring up at the stars in the night sky as they shined down brightly on the two men. There was a sense of knowing that he would be carrying that rage with him until he died.

“Do you love your father?”

“No, I hate him more than anything. If you met him you’d understand. Why else do you think I do the things I do?” Toby sat up straight in his seat, chuckling sorrowfully to himself, “I became the exact thing I was so fucking scared of growing up. And nothings going to fuck with me ever again.”

“You’ve suffered enough, Toby. I know you have a lot to carry, you did what you had to do to survive, I get it, but you can put it all down and still be safe.”

“I know that, I’m not stupid. I know I’ll have to listen to everyone someday and just let all of this anger go. But it’s like it clings to me like some scared little kid and begs me not to. And I’m not going to betray myself like that.”

“It takes some time, but there’s always the option to make peace with the past whenever you’re ready. You just need to stop looking in the wrong places for redemption,” Jack said.

“Yeah you’re right, time for me to become Mr. Goody Good,” Toby joked back.

“It really is that simple, you know. One day, wake up and decide to be kinder to yourself, and maybe others. You have been through too much to treat yourself so badly.”

The boy stayed silent, the quiet ambience of the drive filled the air. Toby hadn’t realized that he had been doing nothing but torturing himself the entire time. He didn’t know how to treat himself with anything but violence.

“I’m proud of you, Toby.”

The words Jack spoke drilled holes into the boy's burning chest. Toby looked over at the man who was staring ahead, keeping his eyes on the road, before turning his gaze back down to his hands. He had to do the impossible when he left it all behind, but he was alive, and that was his start. The boy was given no other choice, he needed to make his way in that world, it was just another thing that had to be done. He had always assumed that everybody around him looked at him through his fathers eyes, full of hatred and disgust. Toby assumed that his bitterness had left him intolerable, and it had never occurred to him that there would ever be people in his life who would tolerate him anyways. The praise of his violence in the past was replaced with a soft ‘I love you regardless’ when Toby bared his teeth. He then thought to himself how awful it was that his happiness hurt too.

Soon, the sun began to rise over the western landscape and Jack pulled up to Toby’s mothers house. They sat silently for a moment in the truck before Toby spoke.

“Thanks for everything, Jack. You’re a good guy.”

“You too, Toby.”

The boy dragged his tired body to the front step of his childhood home and waved as Jack drove off back to Alabama. It was late into the day, and Toby hadn’t told his mother he was coming over for Christmas. He thought for a moment about all of the time he had spent fighting against the world, and he had slowly come to the understanding that soldiers either die, or they return home from the war. As his luck would have it, on that snowy Christmas afternoon, it seemed he had made it out of the combat zone alive, regardless of what he had done. And now, it was his job to find peace for himself despite it all.

When he entered through the front door with a spare key his mother had given him, he glanced over the empty house, a tall Christmas tree standing in the livingroom. Toby called out for his mom, and sister, only to find that nobody was home. He turned around to look at the driveway, and noticed both of their cars were still there. Closing the door behind him, a sense of dread building, the boy quietly made his way through the house, cautiously examining every room. In his mothers room, he noticed a suitcase on the floor which had been half-packed. Toby bent down to look through the items packed away, before jerking his head up as he heard the sound of the front door opening.

Toby slowly, and silently, walked towards the entrance of the house, lifting his hands up as he prepared himself for a fight. A loud scream filled the house as Lyra jumped at the sight of the intruding boy, putting her hand over her chest as she realized who it was.

“Jesus, Toby! What's wrong with you!” She yelled as Connie quickly rushed in after her screaming daughter, only to relax as she saw her son awkwardly apologizing.

Connie rushed up to Toby, hugging him tightly and laying a kiss on his cheek. Lyra rolled her eyes and shook off the lingering adrenaline, walking up to give her little brother a hug as well. His mother explained that they had planned a surprise trip to North Dakota to visit him, but he had gotten to them first.

“We were down the street visiting Mr. Mulner and his wife. You remember Caroline. She had a fall a couple of weeks ago. Everyone in the neighborhood has been bringing them giftsfor Christmas," Connie explained to the boy the exciting happenings in her life as Lyra rinsed off an empty cookie tray in the kitchen sink.

“Wow, spreading Christmas cheer. How’d you get Grinch over there to come with you?” Toby teased, nodding his head over to his sister who only rolled her eyes.

“So, are you going to be leaving again?” Connie asked with concern in her eyes. She could never keep tabs on him anymore.

“Yeah, eventually. I’ve been living up North with that girl I was telling you about and-”

“You’re living with a girl?” Lyra interrupted with shock, having been listening from the kitchen.

“Shut up Lyra, don’t act surprised,” Toby argued back.

“Don’t fight on Christmas you two,” their mother scolded with a sigh as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

Toby spent the day with his family, helping his mother cook dinner, and listening to Lyra’s latest gossip. The sun seemed to set as quickly as it rose, and the evening draped its darkness over the sky once more. After dinner, Connie went to bed early, and Toby sat in the livingroom with Lyra as they bickered over which Christmas movie to watch.

“Die Hard isn’t a Christmas movie you dork,” she said.

“Fuck you, Die Hard is absolutely a Christmas movie.”

The warm glow of the lights that wrapped around the Christmas tree illuminated the livingroom as Lyra groaned and turned on Die Hard. Toby thought about all of the things he had talked about with Jack, and wondered if Natalie had gotten home safely yet. He thought about how strange that the place he thought of to be his home was no longer the place he sat in, but instead a small, old farmhouse in North Dakota. So many things had changed in such a short amount of time, and for once, as he sat by his sister under the roof he grew up in, he felt as if he could make something more for himself. For once, he felt a sort of happiness that didn’t hurt.

“Merry Christmas Toby,” Lyra whispered over to her brother, reeling him back in from his thoughts as he looked at her with a smile.

“Merry Christmas.”

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