#magic car fixing robots

[pillowspace]

NOTE: although I've now finished Ruin, this was written for fun when I had only seen the first half. Its relation is limited

(Wasn't) Worth Fixing by clutterspace

You find the Daycare Attendant of your childhood hidden behind your apartment building, severely damaged.

You... probably weren't intended to.

G | Words: 1,386 | Chapters: 1/1

∘₊✧────────────────────✧₊∘

Your mother used to work as a technician at the pizza place half-way across town when you were little. It took some time for you really memorize the name—Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex—when all you did as a young child was raise your hands up high to your mother so tall and ask when you could go to pizza.

For every day she had gone to work, she brought you with her. You boundlessly scribbled in Freddy Fazbear themed colouring books with crayon on the near silent bumpy car ride there, as she had always requested the quiet before the cacophany of shouting noise the mall offered its full family guests. And much too young to be let loose among the older children, you had always been dropped off at the establishment's daycare before her shift.

The place had once held a charm to it, a brightly coloured wonder of dizzying family fun that evolved into a more thoughtful appreciation for the advanced robotics you eventually grew old enough to possess. Even the daycare had been attended to by a single machine, and to this day, you genuinely wondered sometimes if the bounciness of life its creaky frame held had really been there at all, a marvel of technological advancement, or if it was only the low standard magic that all little eyes saw the world through. Your memories were few and far between, but it had been a joyous place that looked upon you kindly, and much of that credit went to that very machine in place.

It was enough to make you feel a little bad for just how much you begged your mother to let you freely roam outside of the daycare later on, but life went on and on for little minds, and it wasn't a thought worth lingering upon.

When you blessedly just barely became old enough for it, you had gotten your wish granted to you by your exhausted mother, and stuck closely around the Glamrocks and their masses of crowds from then on. It was an endlessly exciting change from the norm, and the musical daycare of childish screams and brightly enthused words of encouragement that had welcomed you with open arms became an afterthought.

You had asked your mother one day where Bonnie went. The older kids had spoken in jokes that fell like cruelty upon your ears, and it was only your mother who might as well have been the CEO in your eyes who you could trust. Older now, you knew there was no harm in the jokes the other children had made among one another, but that a mind so easily swayed could only listen in horror.

Your mother had not sugar-coated it, much too used to the more grown-up side of her occupation to bother. You would have been fine to hear that he was on vacation, or off to bigger and better performances across the globe. You would have smiled, proud to hear of his accomplishments. But the words she told you had been without care.

He wasn't worth fixing, so they got rid of him.

It had been a nagging fear that crept over your spine for a year afterwards that the same could ever happen to you, childishly lacking in the understanding of your differences in value to the surrounding world.

And it was as you silently stared back into the wild, frozen, broken eyes dimly illuminating the dark, filthy alleyway between apartment buildings in vibrant yellow and red hues, with a right hand on your own open back door's handle and a left hand tightly gripped around a filled garbage bag at your side years later, that those very words rung back to you.

Police sirens blared in the distance, but that was the usual.

People talked, but knew little. There had been something off from the usual in town lately, police cars circling the area endlessly. They were looking for someone, or something. And your neighbours speculated, but they all speculated different topics amongst themselves, bringing all that mystery down to a he said, she said, who cares anymore. It all became naught but a backdrop with no follow-up.

Maybe no one wanted to hear a possibly dangerous animatronic was on the loose. Or- no. Maybe just no one wanted to admit to the potentially catastrophic failing, what with the previous rumours already spiralling out of control. A silent capture was in play.

The animatronic looked banged up, shattered holes all along its body. Fabric was littered with rips and tears, while not an inch of casing went uncracked. Its rays adorned with a familiar blue hat were broken, and its faceplace was almost entirely shattered in half. But despite all of the horrific damage it bore, you could recognize the animatronic for the daycare of your early childhood from anywhere, even though only an hour prior, you would not have recalled its form. It held itself still under your gaze, and you too did not move, for there was a shocked terror in the way it held itself firmly pressed against the bottom of the wall, too-thin metal fingers cracking the pavement beneath it.

It looked so scared for something (someone?) that could easily do to you what it was doing to the pavement. Though you doubted that it had any desire to do so.

You didn't know how long you two stared, until finally, you took the slowest step you could towards the garbage bin that stood only a couple feet away in the dim alleyway. The second you moved even an inch, a mechanical hum rose in volume from the wary animatronic's metal body that reminded you of the sounds your own computer makes. It didn't move, didn't talk, only watched you out of the corner of your eye as you ever so slowly made your way towards the bin. You lifted the garbage bag into it, and the clattering sound of its contents shifting within rung out much too loud for the careful silence you required. You internally recoiled from the noise, but outwardly showed not a reaction as you inched your way back towards your door as if nothing out of place had been seen at all.

Your hand fell upon the door as you stepped up across the threshold. You did not walk any further, and instead looked over your shoulder at the vulnerable state the broken, hiding animatronic you had unintentionally spotted was in. You inhaled, feeling doubtfully uncertain, but reminiscent for the sounds of shrieking laughter and the ever so foggy memory of a large sunshine grin poking into a play structure to announce that you had been found. As advanced as its facial recognition likely was, you sincerely doubted that it could connect you back to the toddler you had once been. It had no idea who you were, and therefore had no intentions of ever having been seen by you. But even if it did, would that matter at all? You couldn't be but a single file and a brief, fading memory to its systems.

(It seemed smaller like this, but you knew that you had only grown taller.)

He wasn't worth fixing, so they got rid of him.

"They check this alleyway," you whispered into the cool night air. A small clicking sound of an unknown origin sounded out from the animatronic at the sound of your voice. It did not respond, but you did not expect it to.

You turned away and walked inside of your home, intent on brushing your teeth and going to bed.

You did not close the door behind you. An unspoken invitation, because surely you would not be to blame if the ever so frightening machine found its way into your home all on its own.

You stayed in your bedroom for the rest of the night, and when the muffled sounds of police sirens finally circled back towards your street, you just barely heard the almost inaudible sound of your back door quietly clicking shut. You did not emerge, no matter what shuffling noises you heard afterwards, and instead rolled over in bed to play a song from your phone's lit screen into your newly pushed in earbuds.

If anyone asked, they had been in all night.

#pillowspace writing #i wrote this at 2am but it's fine. looking away #dca fandom #um im gonna use x reader tags but it's platonic #eclipse x reader #dca x reader #ruin eclipse #fnaf daycare attendant #ruin dlc #pillowspace art #ok bye i am making pasta rn

[sweetbluebanisters]

Ultraviolent

I can hear sirens, sirens

He hit me and it felt like a kiss

Who Controlling!Miguel O’Hara x Sweet!Reader

Warnings Contains!Smut, Violence, Abuse

Backstory A sweet bartender from the coast of California clashes with a mean man, who never doesn’t get his way. Two different personalities, don’t always work out in ways you’d wish.

This is my first time writing on Tumblr so please be kind and feel free to give advice + corrections in the comments! Also, Miguel speaks Spanish so I'm trying to incorporate that as well. Please tell me if any part of the Spanish lines do not make sense! I’m very limited and I don't think the google translator helps. at all. 

Ch. l sweet as sugar

Ch. II Deadly Nightshade

                                                             .୨୧˚.

Futuristic Cars, High tech machines that you could not work even if you tried. Marble white everywhere, buildings where robots work the magic. They were all completely brand new to you. Nueva York is something you’ll probably never get used to. 

You came from a rather big city in California, High crime, robberies left and right, litter everywhere, sweet beaches you can see from miles and miles away, and palm trees that are so big you could never miss them even if you tried. Also just known as Los Angeles!

Your name was __________ Monroe, you often went by Monnie in L.A, though. You are 22, fresh out of college where you majored in Cognitive science. You were always the one people could count on if they wanted to have fun, the one that no matter how bad they messed up, you made light out of that darkness. Least to say, you are a respected and honored person in the Spider Society.

You joined along Miguel and Jessica, a little trio if you'd say. About 2 years ago, You were exposed to a radioactive spider during a walk home from the club, all tipsy and alone. You didn't register what happened until the following day. You begin to feel soreness and itchiness on your wrist. You were easily agitated which was extremely uncommon for a girl like yourself. 

You noticed your indurance and speed increased in a matter of days. You began to notice yourself being able to call tons, light weight. Throughout your first year of being exposed, you then found out about your identity. Even you hid from yourself. You didn't know how to approach it at all, if you even had to. Until you met Miguel, spider-man 2099. From a completely opposite detention as yours. 

You were alone at home, per usual. Your only job as of now was a bartender for a night club, you got good tips though. It was around eight- o’clock, you begin to get all dolled up for her night shift at the club. Fixing your long _____ hair, dressing in very, exposed outfit to put into simpler terms. You put on makeup to your smooth skin, and strapped your heels to your feet. Grabbing your coach bag, ready to head out, standing 2ft near your exit just to quickly grab your keys out of quiet literally nowhere you are struck to the ground, it was so quick its like you glitched from standing to groaning on your hard wood floors. Feeling as if Zeus himself punished you for whatever sinful thing you had done and struct you down with lighting. 

“Wha- What the hell!” You blink in shock, turning your head behind you as a very, broad man look down at you, looking at you in confusion, you give the same exact look back. Its a 10 second staring contest before you realize the predicament you're in and speak up “Where the hell did you come from!” You shout, the man realizes that this complete stranger he's on top of is about to hit him with her coach bag, that looks to weigh tons. 

“No! No- my bad!” His hands go up as he quickly crawls off of you, standing up and extending his hand for you to grab. Instead of excepting the help, you gets up on your own before groaning “Jesus Christ how much do you weigh?”

“Im not in the mood for remarks like that.” The stranger scolded, looking at you as you stare at him in in unremarkable disbelief. “You’re in my house telling me you're not in the mood for remarks like that? Why are you in my house and where did you enter!” She snapped, looking at the man up in down, studying his features.

“And why are you in that Spiderman suit.” She mumbles under her breath, her eyes study the mans suit, seeing that he actually looks very.. built. the man rolled his eyes before speaking “You need to stop waisting your time and except that you're a Spider-Human.” He deadpans, looking at you, you had to extend your head up just to look into his scarlet eyes, you’d be lying if you said the man wasn't attractive.

“Are you cosplaying right now? Like are you actually insane?” You provoked the big man, he looks down, grabbing the bridge of his nose while shaking his head entirely. “You were bitten by a radioactive spider, you do realize, right? Didn't you notice the symptoms?” He question looking at you, but you couldn't help shake the feeling that you felt like you were in the clouds

“I was convinced it was just a regular bite, I was like getting stronger but I thought it was because I was working out?” You wondered, looking down and realizing that even though this shouldn't be happening to her, it does make sense to why she suddenly started feeling stronger, and quicker. 

“Able to lift heavy objects like they weigh 5 pounds?”

“Yep.”

“Running faster and running and for longer?”

“Sure.”

“Hearing increased?”

“Oh, yeah! sometimes I can hear my neighbors moaning through 2 stor-” “I didn't need all that, at all. You do realize you are the Spiderwomen of this dimension? Haven't you seen anything on the news?” He hesitated, looking at the girl who pondered her next choice of words “Oh, I mean I never really noticed I was bit but something like that. But, yeah there's a weird man with holes in his body that is like causing havoc or whatever, I thought he was cosplaying too though.” She began, looking at the man who seemed fed up. 

“No! No one is ‘cosplaying’! This is real, and you put your dimension in tremendous danger—“

“What am I supposed to do, just tell him to stop?”

“As I was saying, you’re just sitting on your ass and doing nothing, do you need to be taught?” The man stressed, she looks confused before speaking up

“Taught?”

“Por dios! Taught how to work through the Spider women thing! Like how to shoot webs, or how to y’know how to do your job!”

“Oh.. I don't even know if I want all that responsibly..” You truthfully tell, the man bites his tongue back before continuing “You put on the responsibility of spider by getting bit by this spider, you--” He urged out, before getting cut off my you “Excuse me? I was drunk and I didn't know! I promise you if I was sober and I saw that spider I would've ran, trust.” She corrected, the man began to think that you might have been missing just a few screws, not even loose screws. They're just gone.

“Please, this dimension needs a Spider-human they know they can rely on, at least come with me.” He pleaded, looking at you as you kept your eyes locked with his, you bit her lip as you began 

“But we already have a Spiderman?”

“Yeah, it’s you. What do you not get?”

“No, no. We have a Spiderman, I’m pretty sure he lives in Brooklyn.”

You can tell by the way that he’s looking at you, that information was definitely unexpected. But to avoid the loud silence, you speak up “Where am I going?” You mumbled, the man smiled back his pride before continuing 

“It's a dimension where all the Spidermen and Women work along each other, some live there and some go back to their homes. There's a training center, I can help you.” The man explained, he seemed to be dedicated to his job, you nodded with curiosity before speaking up “Do I need to stay there or-”

“No, you can go back home whenever, but if you want it is easier if you'd say.” He advised, you looked at him with a sweet smile before joking “It sounds like you want me there more than I do myself.” he scoffed before shaking head head, denying the accusation. 

“I just don't want another dimension going down in flames, that I have to save again.” He projected as you nodded, not listening at all. He tapped his watch with ease, as a spiraled portal projected out of what you thought to be thin air. “What's your favorite colors?” He asked, you look at him weirdly before telling him “Pink and.. uh.. black, why?”

“You'll find out.”

“Oh my god its so pretty!” Your smile lights up, cheering as you grab the custom made suit just for you, Miguel finds himself admiring the way you get excited for something so little “The little gems on the spider, Miguel!” You laugh as you look in the dressing mirror, putting the body suit up to you, trying to imagine how it would look on. The way you said his name has his stomach turning in ways classified as enjoyable. “Does everyone get costume suits too?” You question, looking at Miguel for the key to your answer 

“Yes, but some people stick to the blue and red combo for the cliche.” He answers, looking towards you as you still admires yourself in the full body mirror, she looks at Miguel before asking her wanted question

“Can I try it on, please?” You pleaded, looking at the rather tall man as he nods in approval, you speed walk into the changing room, making sure to close the door behind you before striping yourself of your heels, and your dress. being left in just her undergarments “Excuse me?” You pardon herself, the man looks at the changing room door, that hides your face. “Hm?”

“Do I wear a bra with this?” You ask, no implied innocence being stripped from that sentence, Miguel purposely coughs, he didn't know himself either. “Uhm, for now, yes. Let's just see how it looks.” He answers, you hum in approval as Miguel taps his foot, waiting for you to come out of the wardrobe with your rather tight body suit. “Its on!” You reveal, you steps out of the dressing room and looks at Miguel with your arms down to your side 

“Does it look alright?” You ask for his opinion, turning around so he can get a full view, Miguel looks at you, he couldn't help but notice the way it hugged your curves, but instead of voicing that, he just nods. He approaches behind you as you now admiring yourself in the mirror, again.

“It makes my butt look bigger than it is.” You comment, Miguel doesn't know how respond to that so he chooses to stay quiet. “How come it took such little time to make?” You ask, turning your body around to look at the man, he looks down at her. His stare is almost intimidating, but attractive. “With the tech we have provided, all we need is your exact body measurements and preferred colors. The machine makes it to your exact size, it even comes with special accommodations.” He informs, his words sounded so professional it could be mistaken for a advertisement. Your ears perk up as a way to show that you're listening, he continues.

“The fabric makes it easier to move your body, and helps when you're moving is restricted. The wrist of the sleeves come with built in webs, if you look at the black bracelets, you press that button and-- NO!” He begins to explain, but being cut off by the your curious thoughts as they press the button. The thick webbed material stick to the wall before you, You gasps before you let go of the buttons causing your webs to extend back in. Pulling you against the wall as you bang your head. 

“Damn.” You groan as you slides down the wall, Miguel shakes his head in disappointment as he helps you up before cutting the webs still stuck to the wall, off. “My head hurts.” You reply as you stand back up, with stability “I would think so.” 

“When does-” All of the sudden, your whole body feels like its being pinched at every inch and your body begins to twitch violently. “The hell!” You scream as you fall to your knees, Miguel sighs as he pulls a wristband out of his suit pocket “My bad, here's your 24 hour watch. Remind me tomorrow to give you another one.” His apology is rather weak as you snatch it from his rough hand before putting it on 

“You're not in your respected dimension, without protection your body is going to try to glitch its self back home. This just temporarily ignores that response.” Miguel explains, you leap up before looking at the wrist band, “Is there a way to permanently stop that reaction?” You question as he nods his head, looking down at his wrist watch, which attracts your attention.

“This watch permanently stops that reaction, unless you take it off. it also comes with built in controls like-” He begins to rant as you cut him off, again. “Can I have one?” He groans at the girls constant questions before answering, once again. “What makes you think I'll give a trainee a watch?” He sighs looking at you, your doe eyes wonder. You notices Miguel walking out of the dressing room, most likely annoyed. So you quickly grab her dress and put on your heels as she walks out too. Though you are wearing heals, you still stood rather short against Miguel.

“Well how am I going to get back home? I cant do it without a watch.” You provided a rather reasonable answer, the man smiles to himself which brings the girl into a state of confusion, she continues walking along him. Not knowing where she's going, but trusting the man enough to lead you “Yeah, about that.. as a trainee you'll probably stay her for one week, at max two weeks if you absolutely suck.” He explains, your eyebrows burrow in furry, being lied to isn't something you take lightly. Bystanders watch as they see a new spider women, whisper and gossip spread as you two did walk out of the wardrobe room together.

 “What the hell do you mean! You told me I could go back home whenever.” You argue, the man shushes you, telling you to keep quiet as you are causing quite a scene aready. “A week won't hurt, muñeca. Two weeks might though.” He dismisses, you abides to his orders as there is quite a few people looking at you both right now. 

“Go get some rest in the sleephub, I’ll give you an official tour tomorrow.”

“I don't even know where it is!” “You can find it, I believe in you.” Miguel gives you a fake flashy smile, before patting your shoulder and walking off without you.

You ended up needed the two weeks of training, and Miguel often makes fun of you about it to this day. You weren’t the most flexible when it came to web swinging but you definitely did know how to dodge people and objects that went flying your way.

Even since you appeared in the Spider society people could not ever end the talk about you. You were known as a sweetheart there, everyone and I mean everyone liked you. Though, there were always some people who thought your kindness was projected as annoying, but you never let it get to you.

People everywhere addressed you as sugar, which you thought was really corny. You don’t cringe at it though, because that’s how people perceived you as, and it’s definitely better than being called worse.

Even though you were known as Sugar among the spider society Miguel had his own nickname for a girl like yourself. ‘Muñeca’ which means doll in Spanish, you never understood it at first until Jess told you it’s because he thinks your prissy and spoiled, and a typical girl who thinks ‘’my way or no way’ is the standard.

And maybe you do! But that should be excepted widely among people.

The longer you stayed though, the more people began to tease you about Miguel. Sometimes they’d call you ‘Mrs. O’Hara’ and if you were being honest, you definitely didn’t mind it. Through the months you developed a small, tiny tiny crush on what you would call your boss. How could you not! He was most definitely bigger than you in size, he was controlling, and he was hot. Just how you liked your men.

As much as you thought about him, you knew he definitely didn’t feel the same. He only saw your presence as a burden in your eyes. He’d seem agitated or annoyed when he was around you.

A few months into you being part of the Spider society you fucked up a expedition he went on one day, different types of species were glitching into different parts of the spider verse and you were on duty with them to bring them back home. But, you ended letting one severely injuring you, hauling the expedition, It wasn’t your fault though! That thing caught you off guard.

Instead of Miguel assisting to your needs once you guys got back to the office, he yelled at you. Calling you careless, and voicing his annoyance. You threw that sweetness your perceived out the window. You snapped at Miguel for his lack of care, and told him it wasn’t even your fault. Basically, it was a screaming match that echoed off his office walls. Everything went blurry to you after he lost it, more or less snapped. He lifted you by your suits collar before tossing you off the console platform, injuring you worse than you already were.

A ‘ get away from me.’ would’ve been way more deserving.

He never apologized for that day, he just went along the following days like it never a happened. He noticed though that you were definitely trying to distance yourself. Your were still his assistant, though. So it was rather hard to just avoid him, or respect his privacy if you always had to cater to his needs.

Even after that though, you notice that the crush you denied having on that man only grew stronger. You definitely did not like the verbal and almost physical abusive side of him, but apart of yourself choose to avoid that thought of him. Only perceiving him the way you wanted to.

You don’t know why you excepted the job as his assistant, if it was because you were blinded by your crush on the man, or because you were bored and Miguel said you’d be able to go on missions along him with this job. But with a smile on your face you proudly excepted that job, and that day forward you were never spotted without him.

#spider punk #atsv fic #fluff #light angst #atsv smut #miguel o'hara #miguel o’hara smut #miguel ohara smut #spider man #marvel #miguel ohara x reader #miguel ohara x y/n #miles morales #spiderman: across the spiderverse #spiderman 2099 #oscar isaac #fanfic

[ikeep-forgetting-mypass]

As much as I like matpat I am dreading when he plays ruin because this is just going to fuel his 'gregory is evil' stich which I HATE.

Like, maybe stop demonizing this 9 year old. I get it, he has committed many crimes, as he should, and destroyed the glamrocks, but they can be FIXED. THEY ARE ROBOTS. THEY CAN BE PUT TOGETHER AGAIN AND ARE EVEN STILL FUNCTIONAL EVEN AFTER BEING SHATTERED.

You know who can't be fixed if he loses an arm or an eye? GREGORY (because he isn't a robot because FUCK THAT) like???

He is a homeless kid, of course he's going to be a brutal little shit and prioritizes survival against morals, he is on the fucking streets, and the animatronics have been trying to kill him for an entire night, making him run all across the PizzaPlex. You know how fucking big that place is!?

Also, him betraying Cassie makes zero sense for multiple reasons,

1: He went through fucking hell for Freddy and he only knew him for 6 hours, like. He was willing to steal a car and live with him on the road in one ending, tries to save him in the Afton ending, carries his head around, and is shown to cry when he's disassembled, something he is only seen to do in the Bad Ending or when Freddy is ok.

HE LITERALLY COMMITS MANSLAUGHTER IN ONE ENDING FOR HIS ROBOT-DAD FOR FUCKS SAKE.

Even when Freddy is possessed by Peepaw William, instead of trying to dismantle him, he tries to save him instead, when if it was any other animatronic he wouldn't have hesitated to destroy them.

Because of what the cutouts in Roxy Raceway tell us, Gregory and Cassie have a close friendship, him being the only one to show up to her birthday and giving her a napkin to clean up her tears. When you see his missing posters, you can see Cassie is crying, and due to him being homeless, she probably made those posters herself.

(which i am sorely disappointed if no one has made an angsty thing yet c'mon guys)

(I HC them as siblings, but I guess steel wool said fuck you entropy)

So why, if he was willing to do all of that for Freddy, where it was a plot point for all of the endings, would he betray Cassie and try to kill her? It doesn't make sense to me, adding onto my other point:

2: At the end, as everyone predicted, the mimic was pretending to be Gregory this entire time. I don't know why exactly it was luring cassie, probably to kill her or something, but the mimic is a whole other rant because it brings the books explicitly and that means GGY could be canon which. Ugh.

Anyways, it's revealed again to everyone's predictions, that Gregory isn't in the PizzaPlex, which I think is a missed opportunity but that's just me. Cassie escapes the Mimic and 'gregory' says that she awakened it (Afton) and then the elevator falls.

I see people saying that Gregory killed her, but my question is how?

If he isn't anywhere in the PizzaPlex, and can only see the layout, how was he able to cut the elevator wires if not physically present? Did he teleport? Did he magically get into the mainframe and somehow break it down? No.

In conclusion, if there's an installment following this it better not have a villain Gregory or I swear to God steel wool I am able to forgive you for hello neighbor I will NOT forgive you for that

EDIT: just some more things I want to add because MatPat is playing ruin and I am fueled with dread and excitement.

I see people bringing up the books and the whole patient 46 or 42 or 420 or whichever the fuck, which is still do not get, but I don't understand most things in this franchise anyways so.

Even if the mimic and GGY are canon, I still firmly believe that gregory's actions (if he did do them) were manipulated by William/Glitchtrap, with him being mind-controlled like Vanessa. If your going to demonize him for that, then you would have to do the same thing for Vanessa, who has canonically killed enough children to fill out a newspaper as seen in the Bad Ending when it's revealed Gregory is homeless.

(I don't know how or when old willy put his hands on my boy's mind, but It is not because he is a robot because he isn't. the only reason Freddy say's he's broken is because of censorship.

(PS, please stop censoring horror franchises unless it's actually depicts idk SA, talking to you Megan Is Missing. The original line was that gregory cut himself while in the vents. you didn't need to censor that idqbnofq)

Also, for people saying that Gregory is sadistic for destroying and harvesting the animatronics....

I see your point, and I raise that he is a homeless child who probably just got out of mind-control and is now being chased around a massive mall bigger than a 10 Walmart's and Targets put together, trying to escape 3 (4 and 5 if you count sun & moon and a hell of a lot more counting the security bots and damn endos) eight to seven foot hunks of heavy metal and sharp teeth capable of and known for destroying security bots because of Pizza and Jealousy Issues (Roxy and Chica) another that's infamous for destroying fences, his own room and is rumored/thought to have destroyed another robot, and a security guard who, (in yet again deleted voice lines that should have been in the game god damnit steel wool) he saw change into a skipping bunny with a kitchen knife all trying to kill him with only one protector for 6-7 hours straight with barely a moment to breathe.

What do you expect? him to be all "I'm so sorry *cries* let's all be friends!!" NO. in a better world and in a better made game maybe we could have that, but in this world no. Maybe he's a little remorseful, but in the way you kill a bug kind of remorseful.

Also, again, homeless children who probably had to raise themselves aren't going to be the most morally aware children, of course he's going to worry about his and the one person/robot who took care of him in a while above the ones who are attempting to murder him.

#i HATE when people and fandom demonize children/protags who are trying to survive I HATE ITTT #also i have no idea what GGY is about #bit from what i know GGY is luring people to the plex and shit while william is controlling it #and vanessa was also being possessed and she isn't being dragged for it so why GREGORY? #DOUBLE STANDARDS #anyway gregory defeneer for life #i don't care how probable the theory is it isn't canon if it demonizes gregory <3 #also the blob should have been used #fnaf #ruin dlc #cassie dlc #gregory fnaf #fnaf security breach #can you tell that i hate the books are connected? #as much as i love SB and how it got me into the franchise alongside matpat #it is a fucking mess

[protagonistpolling]

PROTAGONIST POLLING

Why should you vote for any of these characters?

Why should you vote for Mae Borowski? (2)

"She's a little cat who likes to jump on powerlines, make bad jokes to random people on the street and howl with her friend because of a restaurant called "Donut Wolf". At one point she makes a drunken speech at a party, where she declares she's a "TOTAL TRASH MAMMAL" before throwing up everywhere. Depending on the routes you can take, she can get electrocuted by a car and see God, whack a broken boiler with a baseball bat because she gets impatient trying to fix it, have a knife fight with her best friend in the woods, build a robot, and more. She is VERY silly :)"

Why should you vote for Niko? (1)

"They are just a little baby who's like 8 years old with the weight of the world on their shoulders (and literally in their arms!). They ask you, the player, to help guide them, and you can have cute conversations about how your world is different from theirs. They love their Mama and they love pancakes. They like riding around on a roomba. They're offended whenever someone calls them a cat but they still make cute cat noises. They are a precious baby and everyone who has played OneShot has already signed the adoption papers <3"

Why should you vote for Coco? (1)

"shes so little. she just wants to learn how to do magic to save her mom, bring wonder in to the world and make it a better place. shes so eager to learn. she has survivors guilt but is being so brave about it. i love her. daughter."

"They are just a little baby who's like 8 years old with the weight of the world on their shoulders (and literally in their arms!). They ask you, the player, to help guide them, and you can have cute conversations about how your world is different from theirs. They love their Mama and they love pancakes. They like riding around on a roomba. They're offended whenever someone calls them a cat but they still make cute cat noises. They are a precious baby and everyone who has played OneShot has already signed the adoption papers <3"

Why should you vote for Coco? (1)

"shes so little. she just wants to learn how to do magic to save her mom, bring wonder in to the world and make it a better place. shes so eager to learn. she has survivors guilt but is being so brave about it. i love her. daughter."

#poll2023 #tournament poll #nitw #mae bor #night in the woods #niko #oneshot game #coco #coco wha #witch hat atelier #tongar #tongari booshi no atorie #tbna

[starlightshadowsworld]

Five nights at Freddy’s but it's Batman.

If you were expecting this to make sense....Don't.

I started ranting about this while half asleep.

I'm not following any time line just game order.

Also we're skipping fnaf 2.

Barbara Gordon is Charlotte "Charlie" Emily.

She is killed by Joe Chill aka the Joker aka William Afton aka the Purple Guy.

Her father, Jim Gordon aka Henry Emily is devastated. He has no idea how this occurred.

Not a clue.

Totally didn't see the purple car at the crime scene.

A purple car he sees every morning.

... Nope.

He goes to the cops but it's Gotham so they don't do shit.

However, because it's Gotham Batman shows up to help.

But unfortunately no one knows who killed poor Babs so gotta do some investigating.

Also there's been a string of dissappearances around the restaurant.

People are loving calling it "the missing children's incident."

And the cops are doing nothing so Batman is also investigating that and wonders if the two are connected.

Bat's makes the great decision to go undercover as a nighttime security guard.

And despite the fact he is very clearly billionaire Bruce Wayne in a security uniform.

No one recognises him.

He is now Mike Schmidt.

... You know still a better name for his cover than Matches Malone.

And because I recently watched Batman: The Doom that came to Gotham.

Great, one of the weirdest things I've ever watched.

... Don't watch it if you like Talia because... Yikes.

Anyway, so Bruce is very much on his fear works because villians are superstitious and cowardly.

I don't believe in magic, everything can be explained by science.

...And than Golden Freddy bursts into the office.

Had to rework a few things than.

It takes him less than 5 nights to figure it all out.

Beats the shit out of and gets Joe Chill arrested.

But it's Gotham and FNAF so it doesn't even go that far.

Not that they know for years later.

During this time Bruce adopts another kid, Jason.

Yeah Dick is here but he left to another city.

He's officially the smart one.

No he doesn't have a character equivalent he's just... There.

Jason however later turns out to be Jason Chill aka the son of Joe Chill.

Aka this worlds Michael Afton.

Gets wind his real father isnt Willis Todd but Joe Chill.

Goes after him, despite him being in hiding for years.

Does this by working at Fazbear Frights as a nighttime security guard.

Witnesses Joe Chill destroying the animatronics.

Releasing the spirits and causing Joe Chill to back into his Spring lock suite.

Multiple springlock failures occure.

Jason gets on tape that he's the murderer and killed Barbara Gordon.

Bruce and Jim show up and together they set the place on fire with Joe Chill's body inside.

But no body is ever found.

One of the old locations starts up again.

Bruce finds out Joe Chill had another son, and adopts him.

Leaving out the whole... We set him on fire.. Maybe.

This kid is Tim Chill aka the crying child.

Who Jason likes to mess with and Tim messes with him back in turn.

Jason plays a seemingly harmless prank on Tim... That he ends up taking too far.

And in his defence no one knew that the Golden Freddy animatronic had the jaw strength of a shark.

Bruce goes into mourning.

The body goes missing.

Jason wanting to fix things does his own investigation and finds Circus Baby's entertainment and rentals.

Ran by Chill robotics.

Turns out Joe Chill decided to literally put his child back together.

And infused Baby with his remnant.

His lil clown.

Though both sides of Tim, both Joker Jr and the brother of Jason fight over Jason's fate.

Whether he should live or die.

Joker Jr I mean Baby wins and Jason is scooped.

Dick, who was staying in Gotham for Tim's funeral, realises Jason has gone missing.

And goes out to search for him.

Finding the his brother now a disturbing shade of purple and an undead zombie.

Gets Jason back home, Jason is basically catatonic only repeating "You won't die, you won't die" over and over.

Bruce gives him a big hug, apologising for blaming Jason and pushing him away.

Though Jason is convinced Tim's fate is his fault.

He ends up puking up Ennard, which Bruce captures and puts in the Batcave.

They take what's left of Baby and upload Tim's consciousness to a robotic version of him Jim just... Had on hand.

Along with a robot Barbara.

... Yeah don't, don't worry about it.

Jason apologises profusely, Tim calls him a dumbass, things are finally right with the world.

Butt this isn't enough for Jim who realises an animatronic can't replace his Barbara.

Decides if I can't have my happy ending none of you can.

Has a redo birthday party for Tim and sets the place on fire.

... Except it does literally nothing and Bruce shoves him in Arkham and just takes Babs back with him.

Way to go smart guy.

Damian Wayne aka Gregory shows up at some point. He got told he couldn't go to the pizzaplex.

And went anyway.

Gave everyone a heart attack, stole Glamrock Freddy and made a friend in Cassandra Cain aka Vanessa.

A trained assassin who Joe Chill was trying to hypnotise into killing for him.

They tried to kill each other if the cause of a night so they're friends now.

Bruce adopts another child all is well with the world.

Until Jonathan Kent aka Cassie shows up because of a fake message luring him to the pizzaplex saying Damian was in danger.

The mimic gets it's butt kicked, Bruce lectures Clark about not keeping an eye on his son.

The hypocrite.

And everyone goes home.

Oh and Jim and his wife got divorced when Babs died.

His wife taking and raising their son, James Gordon Jr aka Sammy Emily.

Who's just off living life and is still a serial killer.

Soo... Yeah.

... Idk what this is but it exists now.

#five nights at freddy's #Idk #Batman #DC #bruce wayne #jason todd #the joker #michael afton #tim drake #joker jr #baby fnaf #barbara gordon #jim gordon #charlotte emily #charlie emily #william afton #damian wayne #fnaf gregory #dick grayson #cassandra cain #vanessa fnaf #Long post #jonathan kent

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for wanting to be beautiful?

I (15F) really thought I wasn't pretty. At all. I kind of thought of myself as a Mrs. Mix-N-Match, all slapped together at random by a blind old lady or something. I thought my nose was stupidly big and my hair was too dull and too straight. I thought I was too fat. My mom and a friend who I'll call A (15F) told me all the time that I was fine just the way I was, but I didn't believe them. They were beautiful, both of them, in a way I wasn't. They were happy with themselves, and obviously they wanted to spare my feelings.

Ever since high school started I wasn't able to get it out of my head that I was just so... stupidly ugly. That I wasn't right and I needed to be fixed with makeup and plastic surgery. One day I got into a fight with A because she thought I was too focused on beauty, and I said a lot of terrible things to her about how she still acted and dressed like a kindergartner. I kind of hated myself even more after that. I really wasn't beautiful on the inside, either, like everyone said counted the most.

That night I decided to do something and sit with the popular girls I admired. I tried to dye my hair blonde, but it didn't work out and my mom was really upset with me. The next day I went to school the same as I'd ever been and sat with the girls anyway, because it was either that or sit alone now that I'd been awful like that to A. I couldn't keep up with them though. I felt so left out of something I wasn't even apart of.

Every day on my way home, I walked past this big junkyard. It's kind of interesting to look at, so sometimes I just stopped and stared. It's where all sorts of ugly things went to be destroyed, there's kind of a beauty in that. Sometimes I felt like walking in and just making my real home somewhere.

On that day, though, I saw a hand sticking out of the trunk of a car. It was humanlike, with long fingers, but I remember immediately recognizing it as some kind of doll. I was curious, so I broke the trunk open and found a robot girl. She looked like a dainty, beautiful clown, but being left in a junkyard she was kind of trashed.

I felt bad for her. So I took her home and brought her to my room. I cleaned her up, gave her some of my clothes that I wasn't worthy of. I redid her makeup the best I could and everything, I really did do the absolute most I could to make this robot pretty again. I think I did a good job.

After I was finished, I turned her on to see if she still worked. And she did! She sprang to life and introduced herself. I'll be calling her E. E thanked me for fixing her up and making her look new again, and offered to grant me a wish to make me as happy as I made her. It felt so surreal at the time, but I made a wish anyway just to fulfill whatever programming she had. Maybe I felt like she could really grant my wish. I'm not sure.

I wished to be beautiful. E told me that she would need a little while to think about how to grant my wish, and turned off on her own. I wasn't sure at the time when had just happened, so I went on with my day as usual. She wasn't on again when I woke up for school the next morning, but by the time I came home I found her on in my room.

E gave me this heart shaped pendant necklace, and told me to never take it off under any circumstances. Apparently it was what was going to help her make me beautiful. At that point I was kind of starting to believe it, because I'm not sure where she got a pristine, actual silver pendant from if she wasn't really magical.

Over the next couple of days, I got prettier. Piece by piece. First my arms, then my legs, and then all that was left of the old me was my face. E warned me that I wouldn't want to change my face, because it would be shocking and maybe even scary, but I told her that I didn't want MY face.

So the next day, I wake up with a brand new, perfect face. I go on a date with my crush, I spend the weekend with a group of beautiful girls I'd always idolized! I felt left out with them, still, because I was still poor and couldn't afford half the things they could, but it was awesome.

At some point, though, I tripped during lunch. Everyone was laughing at me even though I was beautiful. I was more focused on the pendant E had told me to never take off, because the way I'd fallen the pendant had broken off of it entirely! The laughter stopped after a minute, replaced by screaming, and I realized I was turning into some kind of scrap metal monster.

A gave me the pendant as I was standing up. I told her she was a good friend and ran home as fast as I could as my body broke down. When I got there, I couldn't find E anywhere. Eventually I checked the garage, where I found a bunch of bloody trash bags. I opened one to find a bunch of organs and dismembered body parts, it was horrible. Then I saw a familiar nose I'd obsessed over for so long in the bag, and I realized E had been taking me apart to make me "beautiful".

E arrived in the garage and told me she had granted my wish as I fell completely apart. Then, and I don't even know how, she took my old appearance as her own. I realized then that I had been really pretty. I think I died after that.

I don't know. I feel horrible. I was just so stupid, and I didn't listen to anyone. I was horrible to A. I think I kind of deserve what E did to me. I'm just... ugly. Inside and out. She showed me that.

AITA?

#aita #am i the asshole #unreality #body horror

[cannibal-nightmares]

sharing this with you all for perspective and also as a processing method for myself

being schizophrenic can be described by the time I bought a small air dehumidifier for my bathroom. the appliance in the box was fine and normal, it wasn't until I tried to take it out was something Wrong, something was Bad--the thing felt like it was living somehow and that was supremely Not Good; the logic part of my brain (and, truly, god bless I still have any semblance of logic still thriving and kicking) thought annoyedly, "Ugh, not this again, it's an inanimate object," but it will never ever be enough to override the inherent paranoid delusion completely. So they fought, the two sides, and when logic stands a fighting chance, the only way I can get through something is by shouting over the noise... and in this case, it was at a dehumidifier. I managed to get it out of the box all while yelling at it--which may sound like absolutely nothing, but this circumstance was actually huge for me--put it on the floor, and... Walked away. Backed away. I was too scared to plug it in, and this isn't telling the whole of the story: If remember correctly, I think I ended up crying because my hands felt "tainted" after touching the thing, and I was getting so worked up and annoyed because the only self-soothing that helps is your stereotyped incoherent rambling, and I often mitigate the shouting by forcing stressed out laughter which just makes it all seem worse, frankly. I left the dehumidifier on the floor until the next morning when I was able to plug it in and use it; I still to this day struggle to empty out the water carafe and I can't directly look at it, but at the very least I can use it for its functionality.

never thought I'd admit to this story, but I just woke up to my smoke detector beeping because the battery must be dying. the beeping bothers me way less than I would have othewise imagined, but instead of removing and replacing the battery myself, I have to call the landlord to do it for me. I have to. I set up a stool to do it myself, and my head just started swarming. And that shit is louder than any fire alarm chirping. it feels like a swarming, like pressure, like someone shouting at you to get out of the way of an oncoming car fifty times over. it's like standing next to a blaring firetruck at a parade. it feels like There Is No Worse Consequence Than This, like somehow my consciousness will be overridden if I touch the smoke detector, if I get too close to it, if I think about it at a specific angle for too long.

and I try to talk to people about my paranoia, but they don't understand there is no reason to be had. "You're right, the beeping is very loud and kind of scary," they might say. "You don't have to worry about electrocution," they might consider, "it's just a battery." It's like the instance I was having a hard time at work and asked my co-worker if a customer's service dog was real and I was replied to with, "I hope so! A robot dog would be spooky!" it has nothing to do with the physical logic at all, but absurdity like "if I fix the fire alarm myself, magically the next door neighbor will be able to read my mind" and etc beyond etc. And it may sound silly, but that's the point, that's the problem, and it's just as real as the sky is blue.

anyways im not telling this tale for pity, but, again, to offer perspective. This ish robs you of your autonomy in the most jarring and absurd ways and all I can do is laugh through it. What makes it such a monster to deal with--at least for me--is that working through the logic doesn't seem to do a damn thing. So I really do have to force myself to rely on others in times like this, and it's infinitely more difficult when your brain decides that others are the enemy, as well, even when they never had been before.

#cannibal-nightmares rambles #actually schizophrenic #actually schizospec #schizoaffective #actually neurodivergent

[jolikmc-stuff]

Did I ever show these off here? Maybe I did in bits and bobs… Maybe I didn't. I don't remember. In any case, these are a bunch of my characters, in no particular order, from Essence of Ragnarok, an ongoing story that I sometimes add stories to. They're all drawn in the style of Mega Man 7 sprites. That's kind of my thing.

03/18 Edit: I added a little more info. Doesn't help the already-circulating reblog, but eh.

In order, they are:

Carlos Magnus He's a grumpy wolf who doesn't like Joseph. He's highly skilled with alchemy. He later dates and marries Kris.

Joseph Lithius A flirty fox who's unusually lucky in love. He gets around… whether he intends to or not. He creates music professionally.

Kristian Sanders A fox who likes to maintain distance. She can be unapproachable at first, but if she likes you, she'll offer a smile. She teaches Language Arts ("English", basically) at Masamune High.

Hope North An android who's seen it all. Calm and friendly, never swears. Gave up being a nurse to work on cars. Hates her robot body, sometimes.

Professor Marcus A stern man with a dark past. Knows magic and knows it well. Always wears the same outfit with different colors. No one knows if "Marcus" is his first or last name.

"J" A "bunnycoon" with seemingly no name. Always friendly, sometimes cuddly. Completely mute, even when excited. Creature of chaos. Also serves as the mascot for my stuff (as one can see) outside of the story. And yes, she's dressed similarly to a certain Crimson Demon mage on purpose.

Jessica Ingmann (sprite by Jessica U. Ingmann) Bat lady extraordinaire. Likes pretty much everybody. Loves tacos and flirting – both quite shamelessly. Enjoys punching things and teaches boxing in Muramasa City.

These aren't all the characters of my story. Just the ones that have sprites drawn. Incidentally, some of these sprites are quite old and could probably use a redo. I'm not sure the heights are what they should be, for one… (Carlos is 6' 2" while Hope, Marcus, and I thought J were all 5' 3".)

Anyway, yeah. Maybe one day, I'll fix the sprites that need it and do more pixel art of other characters. If you're interested in the characters based on this small glimpse into their personalities, though, there's a whole butt-ton of stories on my literature site.

Cheers, J (but not that one)

#pixel art #style imitation #Mega Man 7 #original characters #Essence of Ragnarok #Carlos Magnus #Joseph Lithius #Kristian Sanders #Hope North #Professor Marcus #Simply J #Jessica Ingmann

[realmackross]

PARTIES: @ignxta, @realmackross TIMING: The night of September 8th. SUMMARY: Chai comes over for a two person pity party with Mackenzie that leads to a trip to the Serpent Flats where things don't go quite as planned...Hang on kids, you're in for a wild ride. WARNINGS: Substance abuse tw (has heavy mentions of alcohol throughout), mental health tw, murder mention tw, unsanitary tw (just in case)

The sleepover had been a literal nightmare. Unfortunately, Mackenzie couldn’t really remember what happened, since she was the one creating all of the chaos. But when she had come back around, she knew that something really bad had taken place. Now was damage control time. What did people know and not know? What were they going to say outside of the sleepover? Would the media find out? Her mind raced with all kinds of thoughts filled with the worst of the what ifs that eventually led to the woman needing a break from it all. A distraction. Reckless or not at this point, she didn’t care. She just needed to make the thoughts stop.

“Dippin’ Dots and alcohol.”

Sending Chai a text, Mackenzie invited him over to finish off the treat he had brought to the sleepover. Of course by the time she had sent the text, she was already half a bottle down on vodka and ten cups in on the Dippin’ Dots she couldn’t even taste. But at this point it didn’t matter. She couldn’t promise there would be any left when he got there, but she’d surely try. The alcohol, on another hand, was a different story.

—

Chaisai was…confused. That was the easiest way to word how he was feeling. The events of the party were clearly some kind of trick, maybe this was the way the Allgoods hazed their new members? It didn’t have to make sense to him. But maybe he had overreacted a bit–or underreacted, it was still foggy on what kind of decision this had been–and touched the Abnormal Crystal and now he was experiencing some new side effects that hadn’t been present before. The Abnormality, or something encased within it, seemed to want control over his body. He didn’t mind that much. Mostly it felt like it wanted him to keep going to Bleak Point, which was easier said than done. But perhaps he could bring company. So when Mack had asked him to come over for Dippin’ Dots and alcohol, who was he to deny her?

His car rumbled up to her Barbie Nightmare House for the second time and Chai awkwardly swung his body out of his car and headed up to her door. Getting his movements right when he was fighting for the controls led to his gait being slightly stiff. He felt a little robotic, a little like a…maybe zombie was not the right descriptor here, if Mack wanted to give him that story. Chaisai stood at her doorstep for a moment, considering just walking in, before he shot Mack a quick text that only said here.

—

Mackenzie heard her phone go off with the notification from her doorbell camera and the text that Chai had sent. She could already feel the tiniest of buzzes, but still not enough to do any real damage. She would soon fix that though, especially now that she had someone to party with.

With the bottle in her hand, she made her way to the front door to let her new friend in. Of course, she wasn’t entirely sure if they were friends after the events at the sleepover. All she knew was that he was giving her the time of day, and if it meant she had someone to get drunk with and eat ice cream with, that was okay. Plus, he had said something about her touching his rock, and it having magical powers. Just like everything else in Wicked’s Rest, it had sounded ridiculous, but what else did she have to lose? Besides, it’s not like it could probably really do anything to her. Mack was a zombie and it was a rock, “Hey Chai. So glad you could make it to my pity party of one. Your Dippin’ Dots are in the freezer and there’s alcohol on the counter, but I call dibs on the three bottles of vodka.”

—

Chaisai smiled when the door swung open. “Hi, Barbie. It’s good to see you looking so full of life. So vivacious today.” He wasn’t joking. She did look better than the last time he’d seen her. The contacts were gone, her head was back in its correct position, and really, what more could he ask? “Hey, a pity party is still a party.” He squinted at Mack at the comment about the vodka and his eyes scanned her with scrutiny. “You can handle three bottles?” he asked, his disbelief evident in his tone. Probably some kind of wicked celebrity party thing, he figured.

Still, he needed no second prompt before he was brushing past Mack and headed to the kitchen. His movements still felt unnatural, but he hoped he looked normal. Something about touching the Crystal had changed him, but he couldn’t figure out what exactly was happening or why. Reaching for a bottle, his hand jerked, nearly sending the bottle crashing to the ground. He managed to snatch it before disaster, and exhaled with a laugh. “Knock yourself out with the vodka,” he said as he began to pour his own glass. “I don’t think I’ll need three bottles.”

—

Full of life? Mack was surprised to hear that, but she’d take the compliment. It was better than feeling dead on the inside and out, “Thanks, Ken. And you are right about that. I’ve even got My Chemical Romance playing in the background.” She stepped back from the door so he could come in, “I could probably handle a lot more, but we’ll start with three.” She hadn’t tried drinking herself into oblivion yet, but tonight they would possibly find out. Like licking a Tootsie Roll Pop, except how many drinks does it take for a zombie to get wasted.

Mackenzie shut the door behind him and followed along as he went to the kitchen, only to see disaster averted, “Damn. Sharp reflexes. Good job, Ken. If only you could have caught me like that the other night.” She had wondered if he still didn’t believe what she was, but shook that thought when she went to grab more Dippin’ Dots and another unopened bottle, “So what’s the plan? Eat, drink, and be merry or was there something else you wanted to do? Anything but mattress surfing.” She didn’t want round three, especially if it involved Chai with some fava beans and a nice chianti, which she had downstairs with the rest of the wine.

—

“I don’t see how you could handle three by yourself–that’s, what, 80 proof?–but sure, I’d like to see you try,” Chaisai had already resigned himself to taking care of Mack tonight, should the pity party take a turn for the worse. It’s what he would hope a friend would do for him, and he figured Mack was as close to a friend as he had right now, despite the whole sleepover thing. 

The mention of the sleepover made Chaisai purse his lips. “How could I have caught you?” he asked carefully. “I think you would’ve broke my bones. Besides, you’re okay now, right?” He turned to look at her, confusion written across his face. “I mean, you look okay now…” He let himself trail off. Maybe she’d finally explain what that whole thing was about. Or maybe she’d just keep up the story about zombies. “The plan? I guess we can clean up some of these Dippin’ Dots. Definitely drink. No mattress surfing, but did you still want to go to Serpent’s Flat? I could get us a Lyft.” He took a sip of his drink, quietly watching Mack’s face for any reaction.

—

Mackenzie wasn’t being very discreet in holding her alcohol, but she knew Chai had been there. If he found out again, what was the worst that could happen? It would just prove that she was never lying to him. Plus, if they wanted to have fun, it was going to take copious amounts. It’s not like alcohol poison was a thing for her anymore. She had easily started to learn that after coming to Wicked’s Rest, “Challenge accepted.”

Walking over to the counter, she pulled out one of the chairs and sat down, her fresh bottle and Dippin’ Dots placed in front of her and ready for consumption, “It was more of a joke, but yeah, you’re right. I probably would have crushed you.” She looked down for a minute, her mind flashing back to the sound of her neck cracking for the second time in her undead life. There was no doubt that Mackenzie probably had PTSD from all she had seen and done, but she was an actress, and she had a part to play, even if it was only to help her make it through another long day of being dead.

Mack let her eyes move back up to meet his, “That sounds pretty solid. And yeah, I do. I’m still intrigued by the fact that a rock can apparently make weird things happen. So yeah. Let’s eat, drink, and be merry, and then you can show me what the big deal is about your rock.” She opened her new cup of Dippin’ Dots which looked almost like Dippin’ Sauce and decided to just pour the thick, creamy liquid back like a shot.

—

Making a note to locate ibuprofen or something later, Chaisai briefly wondered if they would even make it to the Abnormality. Something inside him twisted impatiently at the thought, and he resigned himself to making the trip happen before Mack could finish the challenge of three bottles. He went into the freezer and grabbed a cup of Dippin’ Dots for himself–Ultimate Brownie Batter, the clear winner of the available flavors–and went to sit beside Mack. 

“Look,” he started, noticing how poorly his response had landed. “If I could be your knight in shining armor the other night, I sure would have, but I don’t think anyone was expecting that. Least of all your lamp.” He gestured vaguely to the end table where a lamp should reside, hoping to lighten the mood at least a little. Maybe Mack was just a really good actor, or maybe things were more complicated than they seemed. She looked to be taking this harder than he’d expect for a prank, unless it was because it had really blown up in her face. The little stunt did end the sleepover early, after all. 

A shiver of elation mixed with indignance ran up Chaisai’s spine at Mack’s words. On one hand, he was glad that she’d acquiesced to his plan, and the words your rock felt like a badge of pride. But something deeper inside him scoffed at how she could doubt the power of the Abnormality. Chaisai tried to keep his face a perfect, placid mask and he nodded. “Don’t cast your doubts just yet,” he chided with a smile. “The Abnormality is not just any rock. It’s so much more than that.”

—

Mackenzie swallowed the Dippin’ Dots soup and sat the cup back down on the counter, “Honestly, I didn’t expect it either. Not to be pushed over a railing by a mattress.” She could tell that Chaisai was still in denial, but it was fine. To each their own. Besides, she was just glad someone wanted to spend time with her after everything that had happened. But what was it about the lamp? She still wasn’t sure. Winter had mentioned something about it after everyone had left, but it meant nothing. Glancing over, she noticed the table was bare and needed something. Maybe she’d go shopping online or try to find something in town, “Speaking of, what’s the deal about the lamp anyways? I knew it got knocked off the table, but it seems like you’re not the only person who’s made a big deal out of it. It’s just a lamp…” She turned her attention back to Chai.

While she waited for his answer, Mackenzie unscrewed the cap on the vodka, and took a long slow drink barely feeling the burn as it slipped down her throat. When she was satisfied, she sat the bottle back down, “Well, whenever you’re ready, to take me to the, what’d you call it? Abnormality? I’m ready. I’ve never, in my life, wanted to touch someone’s rock as much as yours so lead the way.” If they were Ubering, the vodka was coming with her. She needed the buzz, because honestly, going to see some flat piece of land that was supposed to be magical sounded like something out of a movie she once auditioned for a very, very, very long time ago.

—

“Yeah, I’d expect to be pushed over a railing by a close friend who is secretly an enemy or enemies to lovers to enemies, maybe. But no one ever suspects the mattress,” Chaisai said, shaking his head slowly. “You hate to see it.” Was humor the way to cope here? He couldn’t tell from Mack’s vibe if she was at that point with it, or if she was taking this more seriously. He took a mighty swig of vodka and tried not to cringe before he chased it down with a bite of Dippin’ Dots. Honestly, it didn’t help much, but it was anything at all. How could Mack chug it like water? She was on another level, clearly, and he’d have to play catch up. 

“Oh, the lamp?” he said, regretting bringing it up. Milo had explained it was due to his wizard magic, but Chaisai wasn’t sure if that was the kind of thing someone kept secret or not. “The lamp, yeah,” he said, stalling for a moment as he thought up a story. “I dunno what happened, but I think when you, uh–,” was there a polite way to phrase this? “–when you took your little tumble, I think someone jumped and bumped it. Cleaned it up, of course, but yeah. I felt bad, because you were, er, indisposed.” That was the kindest way he could think to say it without using words like beefed it, or fucking died, or any audio descriptors. “It was a nice lamp,” Chaisai said, shrugging. He took another bite of Dippin’ Dots before he had to say anything more on the subject. 

“Oh, yeah. Hold on.” Chaisai pulled out his phone and went about ordering their rideshare to take them to Serpent’s Flat. “It says they’ll be here in 10.” He took another swig, longer this time, and couldn’t help from cringing. A shiver ran down his spine and he had to take another bite of his ice cream again. “I don’t know how you’re doing that. Vodka sucks bad.” As Mack started talking about the Abnormality, a devilish smile spread across Chai’s face. “You wanna touch my rock? Bro, you could’ve said anything and you chose to word it like that?” He laughed, shaking his head again. “That’s sus as hell.”

—

“The mattress. The real silent and deadly killer. Would make for a great movie. Maybe I should write a script for it, since I have so much time on my hands now.” She let a soft snort leave her lips, but was secretly heartbroken at the idea of not being able to make movies anymore. Change had always been hard for Mackenzie, but all the change that had happened within the last couple of years had been the worst thing she had ever experienced.

She watched him fumble through the story of the lamp, so immediately her mind went to it, too, being the victim of supernatural shenanigans. “Well, I appreciate the mess being cleaned up. It was a nightmare cleaning up all the Barbie decorations after everyone left. And I’ll be honest, I didn’t really make much of an effort until probably a week later. I don’t think I ever want to see the color pink again.” Mack shuddered at the thought and topped it off with a drink from the uncapped bottle.

“Ten minutes and then I get to see what all the fuss is about.” Mackenzie finished off the rest of the liquid, before screwing the cap back on, “I guess I’m just used to it, but clearly it looks like you’re not from that face you just made.” She laughed. Grabbing the empty bottle, she got up from her chair and went back to grab another unopened one, “I’ve got jokes okay? I’m not just Double D Barbie…Depressed and Dead. But no, really. How bad can this thing be? I’ve touched lots of rocks before.” She narrowed her eyes at him, “Not like that, btw, and nothing has ever happened. Are you finished with the Dippin’ Dots?” If they were about to leave, she was going to at least straighten up the kitchen before they left. Melted Dots and empty liquor bottles was not something she wanted to clean up when she got home from their exciting night of touching flat, hard mounds of the Earth’s creation.

—

“Isn’t there some wild percentage of people who die in bed? Maybe the statistics are wrong and it’s really about people who die by bed.” Chaisai had questions that lingered on his lips. If Mack was still feeling sensitive about the party as a whole, swearing off pink and all, how could he just ask her outright? He licked his lips and pressed them into a thin line. “I don’t…,” he paused, finding the right words. “I don’t really understand what happened that night. Like, a lot of wild shit popped off all at the same time. I’m just trying to wrap my brain around it. But like…you’re like, I don’t know, Deadpool? Like the regeneration thing.” Maybe it was rude to ask so outright, but he had to know, had to understand. 

“Hey, if we ever have another killer party and you need a hand, just shout. Scout’s honor.” He scooped up the last few bites and passed Mack the empty cup. “How do you get used to that? No chaser?” Maybe she could do the whole three bottles thing. Chaisai took another long swig, immediately regretting having finished his Dippin’ Dots. He shuddered with a shake of his head. “You’re built different, you know that?” 

Standing up to clear off the counter with Mack, Chai could feel the little rush to his head. He wondered if the Crystal was feeling it, too. Would it be easier or harder to keep himself in line? He didn’t ponder it long, tuning back into the present moment as Mack spoke. “Oh. I thought Double D Barbie—another incredible way to phrase things—but I thought it might stand for Dippin’ Dots. Can I be Double D Ken? Am I Kenough for that?” 

—

Mack narrowed her eyes and thought for a moment about what Chai had said, “You probably have a point. But it would hurt bed frame and mattress sales, so they spin it to make it fit their propaganda.” Mattress conspiracy theories. If this was any clue to where the night was going, it was going to be quite interesting. And now she was being compared to Deadpool. “I hope I’m not as pretty as Deadpool.” She had thought it had been pretty obvious, but she could tell he was struggling with the idea of the supernatural. Hell, she was too, and she WAS supernatural, “I can see the gears spinning, and I wasn’t lying when I told you what I was. Trust me. It makes no sense to me either. But at this point, if you want to think I’m Ryan Reynolds, then be my guest.”

Snagging the empty cup from Chai, she tossed it in the trash can, along with the empty bottles of vodka, “Honestly, I don’t want to experience another killer party for a long fucking time.” Wetting a few paper towels Mackenzie began wiping down the counters. When she was finished, she snagged the last unopened bottle she had originally gone for, before the distraction of cleaning came about. With her attention back on Chai, she grinned, “Nope, no chaser.” She leaned in closer towards him, “I’ll let you in on a little secret, “I can barely taste anything, so yeah, I would say I am built different.” Mackenzie straightened back up, before walking back around to the other side of the counter to sit next to Chai again.

“You okay there? You look a little wobbly.” If he wasn’t feeling the greatest, they could go to the Flats another time. Mackenzie wasn’t going to make Chai go somewhere if he didn’t feel good, “We can do this another time if you’re not feeling it. And my mom and dad always said I had a way with words. But of course. What is Barbie without her bestie Ken? I’d say you’re Kenough.” She gave him a good firm pat on the back.

—

“You’re definitely prettier than Deadpool. The costume would be a nice touch, though. You ever considered a life of fighting crime?” Joking about it made it easier for Chaisai to wrap his brain around the concept. This was the stuff of comics, not real life. Yet here they were, face to face, and he was pretty sure this was real. “This is a weird town, you know? I didn’t think it could get zombie levels weird, but it surprises me daily.” There were questions he wanted to ask, but if Mack was grappling with her reality already, he didn’t want to make things weird. 

Chaisai scooted out of Mack’s way as she cleaned up the kitchen, but lingered there, feeling like he should be helping in some way. “Hey,” he said, with a smile he hoped was reassuring. “If anything like that ever happens again, at least I could be more helpful next time.” God, he hoped there wasn’t a next time. The thought of the sound of Mack’s neck snapping made his stomach flip, but he maintained his composure. If he thought about it, that night was really something for everyone involved. He would rather not think about it. Mack leaning in pulled his brain back to the present. “You can’t taste anything?” Chaisai repeated, surprised. “Man, I thought you were maybe just some hard ass, Hollywood party girl. Nope, just Deadpool.”

The suggestion that they didn’t need to go to the Abnormality sent a surge of emotion through Chaisai’s chest. His brow furrowed and he shook his head. “No,” he said, a little too firmly. “I’m good, just don’t have the Deadpool tolerance.” He tried to force a smile again, but it looked out of place. “Come on Barbie, let’s go party.” 

—

Mackenzie acted bashful when Chai complimented her about being prettier than Deadpool, “Awww, you’re sweet. I do like a good costume, especially the ones that really sell that you’re about to kick somebody’s ass? You know, I haven’t, but maybe if I had a solid partner to help kick some bad guy ass I would.” Being a vigilante superhero seemed like a fun idea now that it had been brought up. It’s not like much could really mess with the young actress anymore. Even bullets wouldn’t stop her…well, as far as she assumed, but she didn’t want to find out anytime soon. “It is a weird town. But I’m just glad I’m actually starting to make friends, like you, the official Ken of Wicked’s Rest.”

With everything finished up, the only thing left to do was wait for the car, “I appreciate the offer, but I’m pretty sure no one, you included, wants to see that happen again.” Mackenzie hated not being in control of her body, and more so not being in control and not remembering what she did when the hunger took over. It had been a scary experience every time it happened, and one she could stand doing without ever again. “Not anymore, nope.” She narrowed her eyes, “Hey! I’m still a hard ass, Hollywood party girl. Plus, I’m sure Deadpool would love being called that, so ha! And where do you think these dark circles came from under my eyes? Not from a regular 8 hours of sleep, thank you very much..”

Mackenzie raised an eyebrow when Chai returned a hard no, “Somebody’s determined to go spend time with their favorite rock…Now where��s the damn uber? I’m not getting any younger. And I refuse to open this third bottle, until we’re standing at your favorite place in Wicked’s Rest, toasting its weirdness.”

—

“I think you’d look kickass in a Deadpool costume, kicking ass.” Chai laughed at the thought, imagining Mack fighting bad boy zombies. “I personally think I’d rock a pair of tights, but I’m not much of sidekick material. I’m just a squishy little guy.” He didn’t think the Abnormality had afforded him any good powers. He couldn’t fly or see through walls or anything. It had only given him a sense of security that he couldn’t explain in words. It was like knowing something bigger than you had a plan, but not in a religious way. Mack calling him a friend caught him off guard. “Oh. Yeah, I agree. It’s easier to navigate the weird when you aren’t alone.” A pang of guilt tugged at him. He had had friends who touched the rock with him. They weren’t around anymore. But it wasn’t like the rock could kill a zombie, right? She was already dead. She survived a nasty fall, what was the worst that could happen? 

“Damn, if I’d known that I would’ve at least brought something I could drink without a chaser,” Chaisai teased. “How am I ever going to compete with Hollywood’s best zombie party girl?” Only zombie party girl? He wasn’t sure. That thought could wait until he was awake in the middle of the night. It was too existential right now. His phone vibrated at that moment, and he checked it to see the rideshare driver coming down the street towards the house. “Speak of the devil,” he said. He offered Mack a hand. “Shall we? I hope you’ll at least think my favorite rock is cool. There’s a whole chunk of town buried underneath and no one really knows how or why this happened. If it’s not cool in any other way, at least it’s a miracle of nature. What more can a guy ask for?”

—

“You know what would look good in a Deadpool costume? My butt. I’ve worked hard for this ass, and just because I might fall apart a little, every now and then, Barbie’s gonna keep her damn ass.” Mackenzie had wanted light and funny. She needed it. Chai probably needed it. Everything about Wicked’s Rest had seemed so heavy at times, and a night of not thinking had been exactly what she had needed, “Hey, first. You said sidekick, not me. And squishy and little doesn’t mean shit. Some of the best stunt people I’ve worked with were squishy and little and could take a fall like nobody’s business. Maybe I can show you a few things one day, you know, when neither of us have been drinking.” Perhaps the alcohol was getting to her a little more than she thought, but if it made her a little happier for the evening, what was the harm? At least she’d be making good memories with someone she felt she could trust.

“I think I have some soda, water, and Bodyarmor in the fridge. Uh, and there is a bottle of wine. Oh, and Fireball, if that’s your thing. It’s usually my thing, because it’s the only thing I can taste. I know it’s not vodka, but at least you don’t have to chase it?” Mackenzie shot Chai an uneasy smile. “Yeah, more like Hollywood's pariah. But they don’t need to know that.” She was both relieved and excited that their ride had made it, and with a cold, dead hand gladly took Chai’s, “Wait, you didn’t tell me there was actually an unknown part of Wicked’s Rest buried underneath. That just made the curiosity factor go up tenfold. So you’re getting a mystery and nature’s beauty all wrapped into one? I can maybe start to see why you like it so much, but I won’t know until we actually get there.” She proceeded to move forward making sure to lock the house behind them as they made their way to the car.

—

Chaisai couldn’t not look respectfully. He glanced at Mack’s ass briefly and nodded. “Hell, yeah, Barbie. Keep up the good work.” He couldn’t keep from cracking a smile and chuckling. It felt stupid to be drunk, telling his zombie friend she had a nice ass before they did something reckless. He felt stupid, but he was having fun. That counted as a win in his book. “Nah, I think squishy and little is my downfall. Maybe you can show me how to make it my up…fall. But I think my crime fighting tactic right now is to tuck tail and run.” Truthfully, he hadn’t been put in any crime fighting scenarios, but when fight or flight kicked in, he’d want to choose the latter.

“Water?” he asked, as the options were being listed. “Water and vodka? Nah, bestie. But I’ll grab a soda.” Chaisai opened the fridge and grabbed a soda. He scanned the rest of the fridge briefly for any ominous Tupperware containers of brains, but abandoned the search quickly and returned to Mack’s side. Taking her hand, he was surprised it was this cold, but he didn’t comment on it. “Can’t spell party girl without…well, actually pariah doesn’t really fit in there, does it?” He shrugged. “You can be Wicked’s Rest’s party girl now.” Following her out to the car, he nodded as she spoke. “Yeah, it’s like natural phenomena, and history, and weird all in one package. What’s not to like?”

—

Mack was glad Chai had grabbed a drink to go. It wouldn’t be fun drinking alone, even if it was the saddest two person rager known to man. Letting go of his hand, she opened the door and climbed in the back seat, “Up Fall. Don’t think that slipped past me or the compliment about my ass.” She slid over in the seat catching the reaction of the driver’s face in the rearview mirror and stifled a laugh. “At least let me show you some basic self defense moves.” Mackenzie looked over to her friend. In this town, there was no telling who you would have to defend yourself from, and though she hadn’t put those that she cared about in a very good situation, she still wanted them to be safe, even if it meant against her.

“Wicked’s Rest’s party girl. I suppose it’s got a nice ring to it. Plus, it’s a little more private.” Mackenzie shrugged, before looking back up to the driver, “Take us to see his package - I mean, his natural phenomena…Shit.” What was the name? Rocks…Fl- “Flats. The Serpent Flats, please.” She let her eyes move back to Chai, “So maybe my limit is two bottles. Might not need this one afterall.” Raising it up, Mackenzie let out an uneasy laugh.

—

 “It’s a nice ass, what do you want me to say? You know it’s a nice ass,” Chaisai said, climbing in the back behind Mack. “Would you not call running away self defense? I think that should be the first lesson in any self defense class.” He buckled up and greeted the driver quietly. Surely you had to hear weird things as a rideshare driver in this town, but their conversation was certainly bold. Chai couldn’t find it in himself to feel embarrassed or to censor himself. 

He nodded along with Mack again. “That’s what I’m saying. Hollywood is too broad scope, but Wicked’s Rest is a nice fit, right?” Mack was opening her mouth and inserting her foot before Chaisai could get a word in to save her. “Your parents are right,” he said, smirking. “You really do have a way with words.” He had ordered this rideshare through an app, and the driver certainly knew where they were going, but Chaisai didn’t mention anything. “Does this mean I win? If you’re tapping out here, I think I win. I knew three was too much for any person or, well, any–,” he cut himself off, looking at the driver, then to Mack, then back at the driver. “Any Hollywood party girl,” he said, mentally kicking himself for the near slip up.

—

“I know. I’m humble about everything else in my life, but my ass cause I worked hard for that bitch.” Yeah, she was definitely starting to feel a little more tipsy. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all, but it’s not like she could get sick right? She was dead. “I mean, I guess. But what if you get cornered? What are you gonna do then? You can’t run, because you’re trapped.” Mackenzie knew this guy was going to have a story, but that was okay, as long as he didn’t know who she was.

Sinking down in her seat a little, Mackenzie tried to hide herself from the driver’s judging looks as best she could, “I’m starting to wonder if it is, since my foot is currently residing in my mouth. At least there’s no paparazzi waiting around every corner.” She looked out the window watching as the driver pulled away from her house. There had been times in her past, before being a part of the undead, where she had been caught in some awkward tipsy situations and this had been very reminiscent of it. However, Chai claiming that he won caught her attention and ripped her back to her current reality, “Yeah, no. I don’t think that’s right. I still downed two whole bottles, and who knows? The night’s still young. Give it time.” Luckily, she hadn’t caught his little slip up, which kept the mood light for her. The last thing she had wanted was some rando knowing what she was and spouting off to his buddies, even if it did sound preposterous.

—

Chaisai laughed. “You should be proud. Screw being humble, who said you had to do that?” Perhaps it was a celebrity thing, where you had to take fame with grace. But what was the point now if she was dead and thousands of miles away from the flashing lights and the big screen? “Ew, I don’t want to think about that.” Chaisai said, wrinkling his nose. “I don’t want to be cornered, but maybe that’s when my superpowers will kick in. Under pressure I’ll turn into Spiderman or something. This town is weird enough, stranger things have happened.” There was a part of him that hoped that maybe the Abnormality had something hidden in store for him, but he felt no reaction as he spoke. As the car drew nearer to the Serpent’s Flats, though, the familiar longing ache and the hum inside his core was back. Like a well worn sweatshirt, it brought him a sense of comfort and warmth. 

Turning in his seat to face Mack better, Chai bit his lip, mulling over his question before he asked it. “Is it scary? The paparazzi always following you like that? I wouldn’t be able to feel truly alone, you know what I mean?” He glanced at the driver. Maybe this wasn’t the venue for this question to be asked, but what was the worst the driver could take away from this? He could see the headline now. Former movie star gets drunk in Maine and looks at rock. That was benign in his eyes.

“I’m counting it as an early victory,” he said smugly. “Even if the night is still young, I don’t see how you could possibly win at this rate. Not without ending the night with me carrying you.”

—

Chai was right. Mackenzie had tried to be humble and kind most of her life. Sometimes she was caught off guard if it had been a bad day, but she wasn’t in Hollywood anymore. Still, there had been something about being kind to those around her that Mack cherished. She had risen to the level of fame in part because people respected and liked her work. Fandom had been such a tricky thing, because humans were tricky and sensitive, “Kind of an unspoken rule, I suppose. But I guess you’re right. I’m not currently in the spotlight or being hounded for interviews.” She was still in the spotlight, but not for something good at the moment. But Chai didn’t need to know that. “See, you’d make a great Spiderman, and I would totally support you as being my local neighborhood spidey.” She smiled warmly at him, but something started to feel off, and she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Maybe the alcohol was starting to do more than just make her tipsy. Still, there was no time to worry. They were fine. She was fine.

His question for her quickly became a distraction to the funny feeling that was starting to take over her body. The paparazzi had been a tricky and sometimes intimidating part of her life to handle, “Yeah, it can be, especially if I go out on my own to do something. It’s like some of them hangout and just wait specifically for you, if they’ve caught a tip. Others just catch you in the wild. But the scariest thing is the people who see those pictures and study your routine getting this delusional idea in your head that they know you, just because they know what you do on a regular basis…” Her mood had dropped. She had been in some scary situations, because of the paparazzi, and she was grateful that was one thing Wicked’s Rest didn’t have, “I’d take monsters over people with cameras any day…” Mackenzie grew quiet and let her eyes drift past Chai and out the window into the night sky.

Mack was glad when the conversation went back to alcohol, and Chai’s delusional idea that he was going to be victorious, “You’re so on. I hope you like eating humble pie my friend.” A small smile spread back across her face.

—

Chaisai made a Spiderman gesture to mime web slinging, complete with sound effects. “Pschew!” The moment was short lived, however, as it seemed they were both putting their feet in their mouths. “Sorry,” he said, feeling guilty again. “I didn’t mean to be such a Debbie Downer, I’ve just never been famous or even close to it. It’s hard to put myself in your shoes, but that’s not the vibe tonight anyway.” Maybe verbally steering this soon-to-be trainwreck of a conversation into warmer waters could get them back on track. “I love pie,” he said. “Ooo, next time maybe we’ll make pie shots, okay? If we’re going to do these sad little pity parties, we might as well plan a little more ahead next time.” He still sincerely doubted that Mack could make it through another bottle tonight. Or, could zombies not get sick? Either way, he didn’t really want to find out. He considered not egging her on, but he was winning. 

Before his eyes were aware of it, they were pulling up to the Serpent’s Flat viewing stations. Though he hadn’t been paying enough attention to see the Flats coming up on the horizon, the prickling feeling across his skin had told him where they were before the car had come to a stop. “Finally,” he whispered under his breath. “Thank you,” he called to the driver, unbuckling and reaching for Mack’s hand to tug her out of the car. “Come on, come on, come on!” he said, excitement ramping up in his tone.

—

Mackenzie let out a bit of sigh, before shaking her head, “It’s fine, seriously. It’s just a part of my life, and people get curious. I understand.” Mackenzie shot him a reassuring smile that everything was okay. “But I agree with you. Next Pity Party will be a well oiled working machine with a theme. And my vote is that we make these a regular occurrence. You, me, and a new part of Wicked’s Rest to explore every time…Okay, maybe not every time, but sometimes.” She liked the idea of a regular hangout session with Chai. He was fun and funny. A winning combination in her book.

Feeling the car stop, Mackenzie looked around realizing they were literally in the middle of nowhere, but before she could take a good look, she felt Chai tugging her out of the car with such an excitement that even she was surprised; the last bottle of vodka getting left behind in the seat of the car. It was when her feet hit the ground, that she had an overwhelming rush of that same strange feeling come about, and it left her in a daze for a moment, stumbling forward slightly, before she was able to regain her footing. But Mackenzie was still skeptical. There was no way touching a huge flat rock could turn your body inside out or do the things that Chai had claimed. It didn’t make sense. There had been some weird stuff happening in this town, but rocks didn’t have that kind of power did they? She wanted to prove him wrong. But more so, for herself, prove that this town wasn’t as fucked up as it really was appearing to be. Giant spider anomalies and magic name stealing creeps on the internet were different right? They had to be.

Letting her eyes scan the area, it was a vast void of nothing, but what looked like melted rock covering the land. It didn’t seem threatening. Just lonely. Desolate like Mackenzie’s life had felt most nights when she sat at home on the couch watching reruns of old shows. It didn’t look anything like she thought it would, and she couldn’t help, but wonder how the Serpent Flats came to be. She would have to look the history up, when she got home, if Chai didn’t tell her in detail. But first, she was on a mission. There had to be one normal thing in this town, and she was going to prove it, “So Spiderman. What is so damn special about this flat void of black rock?”

—

“I think we could manage that,” Chaisai said. “There’s a lot to explore here, even if we have to get a little touristy.” He hadn’t seen the town from a tourist standpoint, having grown up in Wicked’s Rest. It would be interesting to explore the lighthearted side of things with Mack, as well as the dark underbelly of the town. Tonight was more of the latter kind of experience, or at least it could be. Chaisai almost felt guilty, like he was tricking Mack into this. But she had willingly agreed, even after he mentioned the potential for something catastrophic. She knew the risks, even if she didn’t believe them.

As they exited the car, Chaisai could feel the absolute power of the rocky expanse before them. It was like coming home after a long time away. The feeling comforted him. He let Mack’s hand fall from his grasp and began walking forward to get a better view. His feet were moving before his brain had time to register it, and it made his head swim for a second. He caught something similar happening to Mack, but didn’t mention it. She would be fine. 

When Mack spoke with such derision, that amplified surge of emotion gripped Chaisai again. This time it was a cocktail of anger and indignance and some sick glee that she’d finally experience the power of the Abnormality. “Come on, you’ll see. We just gotta get a little closer.” He beckoned her forward and started approaching the closest rocky surface. Its swirling patterns were enthralling. Chaisai thought he could just forever follow the ebb and flow of the crystalline surface, never getting bored. 

“Come here. Come closer,” he said. The words came out without thought. He didn’t even glance Mack’s way as he reached out to brush his fingertips along the formation. It was like a static shock, sending a tingling sensation through his fingertips. The feeling rejuvenated any fatigue he had felt from drinking. “Home,” he mumbled quietly, and snapped his head to look at Mack, expectant.

—

Whatever this feeling was that was coming over her as they inched closer to the formation had started to grow stronger, and Mackenzie could have sworn that her head was starting to hurt. No, that can’t be right. It’s a placebo effect. Her brain was telling her something that just wasn’t true. But damn had Chai become so entranced by the rocks that lay out ahead of them. So much so that Mackenzie, though something was telling her to turn around, continued to blindly follow him.

The warning signs that lay just to the left and right of them had been completely out of her view. Maybe from the pull of the magnetic feeling or just because her eyesight had gotten so much worse since becoming a zombie, Mackenzie had chosen to ignore them. But it was just a bunch of rocks. She had been telling herself that since the first day she had talked to him. And now, here they were and she had a point to prove. If not to him, then at least to herself. Maybe bursting his bubble wasn’t such a good idea. He had been so kind to her, and she didn’t want that friendship to end, because she didn’t believe in the power of the Flats.

Mackenzie moved closer as she watched him kneel down and soon reach out to brush what appeared to be a smooth surface with his fingertips. It was the way his head turned and his eyes were trained on her that had creeped her out just a little bit. It was as if she were walking into something she couldn’t escape and the closer she got, the sicker she felt. Mackenzie…it’s a fucking mound of flat fucking rocks. Chai’s probably just trying to freak you out. No more alcohol for the rest of the night.

Sucking in air and slowly pushing it back out, she shot a small smile in Chai’s direction as she kneeled down beside him, "What's the worst that can happen? It’s a rock…" Turning her attention back to the anomaly, Mackenzie paused before lowering her hand to meet that of the charred looking surface that spread out just beyond her and her friend.

As soon as her deadened palm lay flat against the cold stone of Serpent Flats it was like her entire life from the start up until this current moment flashed before her eyes. Her head had fallen backwards limp as she remained in some kind of trance. And when she finally came to, she wasn't herself.

Mackenzie's head fell forward and hung limply. There wasn't any kind of thought process left in her brain. But one thing lingered; an insatiable need for food. Her appetite was deathly. And it became apparent that something was not right with her when a low, breathy growl escaped her throat.

With her hand still flat on the rocks, she unsteadily moved her head and looked up at Chai. Her eyes were milky white, but she could still make out shapes and figures, especially of things that were living.

Pulling her hand up and slowly rising to her feet from the kneeling position she had been in, Mackenzie started to stumble forward slowly and awkwardly with one thing on her mind, making him her next meal.

—

Mack looked unwell. Curious. There had been no ill effects in Chaisai’s eyes, but Mack was looking pale, if that was possible for a dead girl. He watched her with curiosity as he absently traced the patterns on the surface of the abnormality. Mack seemed hesitant, so much so that Chai wondered what she was thinking. Was she afraid of rocks? The thought almost made him laugh, but he did his best to keep his face calm and reassuring. “Don’t be shy.”

The anticipation swelled in his stomach. It felt like an electric current running through his entire body. The tension ratcheted higher and higher until he felt like he’d been strung tight, watching as Mack’s hand moved towards the surface in almost slow motion. The second her hand touched the Abnormality, the tension broke. It felt like a rush of cold water being poured down his back. Chaisai sucked in a sharp breath as his vision blurred. He could see snapshots flashing across his mind, but they were memories he didn’t understand. He felt confused, like he couldn’t think straight. He and Mack had been drinking, but his stomach clenched with hunger. When he watched in first person as he stood over a still-warm corpse, one he knew he killed, and he watched as he dove in for a meal, it clicked. This was Mack’s memory. He was seeing what Mack was seeing. Abruptly, he removed his hand from the Flat and stood up. He didn’t want to see anymore of that. The hunger had quickly turned to a pang of nausea. Sweat beaded on his forehead, but he felt cold. He shivered and turned his attention back to Mack. 

Taking a step back, Chaisai smiled sinisterly at his friend as the hold of the Abnormality released her. He eyed her curiously as her head dropped forward. “How do you feel?” he asked, eagerly awaiting her response. What he hadn’t expected was the sound she made. Was she growling at him? “Uh, Mack?” He let out an awkward laugh, trying to ignore the way the hairs at the nape of his neck were standing on end. The Abnormality couldn’t kill her, clearly, but this moment was the first time he had considered if it had been a bad idea to test this out alone, at night, with a zombie. The way Mack’s head snapped up to look at him confirmed his suspicions. This was about to break bad. Taking a bigger step back, Chaisai locked eyes with Mack. He wondered if she could see him. Her eyes were different now, in a way that sent a shiver of panic up his spine. “Mack?” he called again, starting to back up for real as she rose to her full height. “Mackenzie? Can you hear me?” She stumbled forward and he stumbled back. The thought crossed his mind that this was the worst dance he’d ever done. Absurd. Stupid. Dangerous. This had probably been a huge mistake, and now he was going to end up as a chew toy. Was every party going to end with a hunger for brains? “Mack, answer me.”

—

Drool seeped from Mackenzie’s mouth. Her brain was numbed to anything, but the need for food. Words weren’t being processed, and she could no longer understand her name. Instead, all she saw was his form starting to back away from her. And with every step back that he made, she took another step forward. Her limbs were heavy as if the weight of the world hung on her shoulders, and she dragged her feet in true zombie fashion ready to reach her meal one way or another.

The Flats' power truly had a hold on her. It had been nothing like the sleepover. Mackenzie felt stronger. Her hunger was insatiable. Nothing could stand in her way. And right now, all she focused on was making a meal out of the man that stood just a few feet away.

Continuing to move along at a steady pace, Mackenzie extended her arms out trying to grab at Chaisai. Her eyes were hollow and filled with nothing but his reflection. Like a predator trained on its prey, she tracked him never missing a step.

—

Chaisai kept backpedaling, but Mack was closing in on him. As he backed away, he stumbled over the Abnormality itself, falling onto his back. His head connected with the serpentine surface beneath him and for a second, he just laid there. This wasn’t how he had imagined dying, but he knew it would be at the Flats. It would be kind of fitting.

Before he could think any further, before he could try to reason with Mack, before he understood what was happening, his body was acting on its own again. This time, he was grateful to have touched the crystal in his backyard. If he hadn’t, he might have just laid there. But now, he was staggering to his feet and he was running without thought. He didn’t need to stop to think about where he was going, he just knew the route. Chaisai kept checking over his shoulder to make sure there was distance between he and Mack, and his feet propelled him forward thoughtlessly. Like a parasite preserving the longevity of its host, the Crystal or the Abnormality piloted him onward. 

—

Mackenzie was moving in closer, and when her cold, void eyes watched Chai fall back onto the Flats, she was preparing herself to drop down and make him into her first meal of the night. With each uncalculated step on the uneven, but smooth rocky surface, she felt the same initial power engulfing her whole form in a warmth that continued to drive her forward. However, before she was able to make her move, she watched as he managed to scramble to his feet and take off much faster than she was able to keep up.

A meal lost had only angered her, but Mackenzie’s reign of terror was just beginning, and as she moved in the same direction as Chai, whatever was about to cross her path was going to be in for one hell of a surprise. 

#para: chai #para: rock me amadeus #{closer to fine; plot} #wickedswriting #ignxta #substance abuse tw #mental health tw #unsanitary tw #murder mention tw

[blazernot]

Tell me more about Tr!gger? (If you want, haha.) I keep seeing stuff about your OCs, and I'm curious about the story's overall premise! (Or character relationships, if the premise is still super loose.)

Oh bestie im always down to talk about Tr!gger ask chikai or starlight lol.

A lot of the world building is vague and based on dream logic but the basic summary but in the past there were a bunch of different gods and superpowerful beings that ruled over stuff but over the years due to different factors like weakening grips on power and stuff like that they either started dying out, blending in with society, or fleeing west where only they could go.

Also another important addition is a group that started when a bunch of people decided that being ruled by gods sucked and life was really hard because of all these magic things and people running around doing whatever so they formed a secret society focussed on seizing control. In the modern day they're the Trigger Agency.

There's a bunch of other things about the gods like how they each govern different things, Like Ayako is light and used to be a dragon, and I've been calling them domains but I'll probably change that. And there's also different ways they're born or created and they can transfer their abilities to others but you asked for the plot not this stuff so I'll actually get to that after explaining one more thing lol

People have basically super or magical powers and there's fairytale creatures around but it's not a big deal it's like being left handed. Like neat fact bro but you know a few people like that. Stuff like witchcraft and the paranormal are just facts of the world- though note that everything used to be a lot nastier but thanks to Trigger and the nasty stuff dying out people are blissfully unaware of how bad things could really get.

Okay now to actually get to the plot lol. Erica is the protag and a pretty normal lady living in Starlight City. She's a private/paranormal investigator but you can also fix her to pay your car or whatever. Her ability is hammer space. She's moved into a new apartment and is just living her life when a random person just shows up one day and won't be normal. This is Momo. She is later revealed to be a robot and has a mission or something Momo has no idea where she came from but it's not affecting her that much and she won't. Fricking. Leave. So Erica just kinda has to put up with this person.

So that's the start through doing different jobs she meets people like Shield and Venus until she starts getting wrapped up into a major conspiracy concerning Trigger and what the team in Starlight City's and maybe the whole agency's goal actually is. Basically shes the protagonist against her will and that's the basic premise

#theres a LOT more but thats the basic set #if you have questions about particular characters or plot bets you can ask me in the dms lol #or ill make another post lol #oc stuff

[lozfanchick]

Nutcracker!AU

Shadowpeach and Spiceynoodle Nutcracker AU! Still rough and not sure if I'll ever be able to write it but getting the idea out here for the fandom.

SWK as the nutcracker, MK as Clara trying to free him once he hears SWKs story and wants to go on a Magical world adventure! LBD is the rat king and has the sugar plum fairy aka Macaque hostage/under her control. Mac could fix SWK but she has him manipulated/mind controlled into thinking SWK is the enemy (either they were lovers or were past lovers but friends before LBD). Doesn't help that SWK was a spoiled prince so that doesn't gain him a lot of favors from his people. Like his past leading general/advisor DBK and PIF. Who now run a hidden shelter for the survivors (basically rulling the people left at this point). SWK and MK eventually get chased into their area where Red Son helps them out. DBK takes them in and yells at SWK how this is your fault you never listened, never took threats seriously, etc. And SWK is like I'm immortal and all powerful I thought I could handle her. "And now you are made of wood...good job". Meanwhile MK follows RS around and helps him build stuff and help with the shelter ~bonding time~. Anyway they all strategizes how to save their kingdom and SWK is the key, meaning they need Mac to free him, so step one free Mac. Which is an ordeal, physically and emotionally since Mac's mind was messed with. But yadda yadda fights and confrontations, more side bonding with MK and RS fighting side by side cause he didn't want to stay hidden in the shelter anymore and went with SWK and MK to fight. Mac gets saved, transforms Wukong back cause true love 💕. They all go to confront LBD. DBK and PIF bring the robot army RS had been working on (it's not as massive in the show though, maybe like 15-20).

Big fight! Big victory! They don't kill LBD, MK had the opportunity for a killing blow but he can't do it. He doesn't want to kill anyone! So they bind and lock her up. But as their doing their big victory party and MK and RS are being all cutesy around each other. Mayor pops out and blasts MK with something causing him to begin literally to fade away. RS tries to grab MK but can't, he goes through him, SWK doing the same. Mac has Mayor down and is demanding to know what he did to MK but he just keeps laughing till MK fades to nothing.

MK then tumbles onto the floor as he jolts awake. He's all confused but his Dads Tang and Pigsy run in to see what the commotion was. MKs all frazzled and confused cause what just happened?! They remind him he had a sleepover with Mei (passed out upstairs still) and both of them had way too much sugar and alcohol during their "all-night-drunk gaming run". So MKs all sad cause he's like that was all a dream?? Some time later (days, weeks, months, whatever) and SWK comes knocking on their door saying he's looking for his protege. The kid who definitely signed up online and submitted an excellent resume and who SWK accepted. Tang and Pigsy are like "sounds fake but ok, MK come down here" and MK flips out seeing SWK who just winks at him and mimes for him to keep quiet behind his dad's back. SWK wants to talk with MK privately but the Dads are skeptic as hell and thats when Red Son (who has lost his patience sitting the car waiting) runs in. MK doesn't try to not recognize RS and they reunite and it's cute. Tang and Pigsy are still hella lost but SWK is happy. And then out of nowhere pops up Mac who smooths the Dad's tempers/confusion like a boss. And happy ending for both couples 💖

#shadowpeach #shadowpeach fic #shadowpeach au #spiceynoodle au #spiceynoodle #spiceynoodle fic #LMK #LMK AU #Nutcracker AU #LoZfanchick

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Are you sure I look okay? I want her to like me. She usually just ignores me when she's over."

"Trust me, you look amazing. I'm a makeover genius."

Elaine hovered by her friend, admiring her efforts. Their exact relationship was complicated to figure out, so Juliet and Elaina just agreed to be friends. Was the daughter of a robot butler who had once dated Juliet's mom family? Not really. Elaina and her brother lived under the same roof as Juliet, so they felt like siblings at least. Their home situation could only be described as complicated at best.

Ironman and Nikolai had found their way back to each other after Ironman's run from the altar, though not immediately. Nikolai had had a few angry flings and Ironman had spent nearly a year "reprogramming" himself with both a therapist and Orianna's technical know-how. When their parents reunited, Elaina, Nick and the son Nikolai had had with a one night stand all moved back in at the Helios manor. Elaine, Launce, Benvolio and Oriana had welcomed them all back, as had the shy Juliet. Because she was created with undead, mutated genes, Juilet wasn't conventionally attractive and had definitely noticed the difference in how others treated her and her friends. Most people shuddered when she arrived on a lot, some even wondering if she'd somehow escaped Wanda's Zombie Relocation program. The world was a cruel place, especially when her own mother saw Juliet as a failed project or at best, the first draft in an experiment she couldn’t see to completion. 

Because Oriana had tied her life force to Benvolio, they were living on borrowed time together and unable to produce a natural child. Oriana had refused to listen to the demons who had explained this and had tried several different methods of procreation, all of them failures. Her life force had dimmed to the point that she couldn't even get an embryo to form in a laboratory. Every cell in her body was dying slowly and there was nothing science could do to fix that.

And so she had settled for Juliet, the daughter made with cloned cells of zombified Benvolio. Juliet the prototype. Juliet the failure. 

Elaine was still the mistress of the manor, and the Helios heir in control of the estate. She was kind to Juliet and the other children, especially with Launce by her side. She told everyone in the house that they were welcome to live at the manor even when she passed on the ownership to her heir, which was a relief. No one wanted to deal with the whims of Elaine's heir, especially now. 

Lucy Helios was something of a legend in Arkhelios, in the same manner that her nephew was. She was infamous worldwide and larger than life whenever someone had the bad luck to encounter her. Juliet was terrified of her, but her kids seemed nice enough. It was Noelle who she was psyching herself up to greet that night.

Noelle was the queen bee of the lower grades at the Pleasantview Academy of Magic and getting on her good side was the only way someone like Juliet would find acceptance in the world. Noelle had the same domineering, confident personality of her mother, with none of the playfulness. She wasn't even that talented of a witch, but her stepmother had pulled enough strings to get Noelle admitted, and Noelle had done the rest. Juliet looked at a guy like Theo, who attended the school because of his immense raw talent and a girl like Noelle, whose powers seemed to be more oriented to social manipulation and wondered who was more powerful in the end. It would be Noelle who inherited Juliet's house one day, so it never hurt to try to be friendly.

"She's here! Get ready!"

Elaina's brother ran down the hall, calling out to the girls. 

Well, ready or not, here she is.

Noelle glared at the car that had deposited her and her little brother on the driveway of her grandmother's house.

"I don't see why we couldn't have teleported here," she grumbled, holding her little brother's hand so that he wouldn't run out on the street. "Mom's so desperate to look good for this boring place, even though she never comes here."

It had been a turbulent few years for Noelle, with her mother's breaking up with Mikel's father and moving full time to Pleasantview to live with her new wife. Lucy hadn't told anyone yet, but Noelle could see clear as day that she was going to be getting a new sibling soon, which meant that she moved even further down the list of her mother's priorities. 

"Come on, Mikel. The faster we get inside, the faster this will be over with and we can go home." 

"Noelle! You're here! Hi!"

Noelle glanced at the house where three kids, all dressed in purple dresses waved like they were in some sort of cringe parade. Great.

"Hey. Where's Grandma? I think Mikel is hungry or something."

The trio of kids tried to hide their disappointment at her words but kept smiling.

"Mikel! Who's my favourite yellow eyed demon? Who's going to be a great lawyer some day unlike his degenerate parents?"

Noelle stared at her grandmother with disgust. Her grandmother barely tolerated half of her grandkids, but she'd been reading up about the hierarchies of demons lately and discovered that her grandson had potential because of his father. While Elaine had sneered at her daughter’s child with her boss initially, further research had indicated that Mikel would be respected by other demons despite being half-human and that was enough for Elaine. If her daughter insisted on bringing home demons, then Elaine would at least make sure that they were high quality demons.

"You're supporting a biological hierarchy that's just a construct of demon society, Elaine," Noelle sneered, looking bored after being in her grandmother's company for several minutes. "Theo is more powerful than Mikel will ever be and yet you aren't praising him for his genetic potential. You're racist."

Elaine shot her granddaughter a tired look.

"Noelle, honey, why don't you go play upstairs with the other children?" she sighed. "You can all talk about how horrible I am while I get your brother a snack. Ironman will bring something up for you guys too."

"Bitch. You only care about him and Saturnia, your precious favourites," Noelle muttered under her breath as she walked past her grandmother. “They're not the ones who will own all your stuff when you finally die."

"What?"

Elaine glared at her granddaughter, assuming correctly that all of the girl's murmuring was directed at her.

"Nothing, god. I'm going upstairs you stupid cow."

"Noelle, I think we should probably just go play cards or something. Elaine looked kinda mad."

Elaina fidgeted nervously as Noelle continued belting out a song on the karaoke machine. Elaine hadn't forbidden them from using the machine, but the kids assumed that she'd be angry all the same.

"I'm not done," Noelle insisted. "I'm having fun in this dump while I'm stuck here. I don't care what Elaine or my mom wants. I'm only stuck here because my mom wants 'alone time' with my dumb stepmom and school wouldn't keep us over the weekend. At least your parents want you guys around here."

Juliet beamed, finally having an in with the popular girl.

"My mom hates me," she said proudly. "She wishes that she could ship me off to school, but Dad won't let her. So we're the same, kinda."

Noelle blinked slowly, taking this information in. Her face didn't change at all, but her eyes stared at the girl, sizing her up.

"Hmm, you know what's more fun than karaoke?"

"Chess?"

"Darts?"

Noelle smiled, ignoring both girls' suggestions. 

"Come on, we'll have some real fun tonight. Let's go hang out in the basement." 

"I don't think we should be down here," Nick said worriedly, looking at their surroundings in fear. 

No one was supposed to go in the basement. Elaine had forbidden it long ago. Only terrible, dangerous things happened down there. None of the kids could even imagine the horrors that dwelt there despite having vivid imaginations. The basement was a dark place with interdimensional portals leading to even darker places and only the demonic beings in their family were qualified to step foot there. Why did Noelle want to go there? No sane person should.

"Relax," Noelle laughed. "I know what I'm doing. It's the only place where I can call her. Her parents took away her phone for an…incident at school."

Those words were hardly reassuring to the group of children, but none of them spoke out against whatever Noelle had planned. 

"Here, hold this," she said, shoving a candle from behind the stairs into Juliet's hands. "I left some here last time."

With a snap of her fingers, the candle wick burst into a brilliant flame and Juliet tried not to gasp in shock. Behind her, Elaina and Nick were already starting to tremble. What dark magic was about to erupt from the shadows of this horrible place?

Noelle bent down near the remains of a magic circle and removed one of her mother's lipstick tubes from her pocket, dragging it along the stone, reigniting the magic within it.

All of the kids held their breath, hoping against hope that they would survive this supernatural encounter. Would it be a blood thirsty vampire that appeared? Maybe a violent werewolf? Could it be the same monstrous demons who had come for Roman and Theo in the past? 

Noelle cleared her throat and the other children braced themselves for the dark Latin incantations they would surely hear.

"Hey, Destiny! I'm bored and stuck in stupid Arkhelios. Come hang out with me and my lame…cousins? I don't know what they are, but I'm stuck with them."

All the children stared at the glowing circle in confusion. This wasn't what they'd been expecting. Where was the blood or the Latin chanting? Things never looked like this in the movies. 

"Is she calling out to her destiny like a Ouija board or tarot cards?" Elaina whispered. "Is this a fortune telling spell? Can it tell the future?"

Beside her, Juliet shook her head, utterly baffled at how this night was turning out. She'd gone from wanting to impress Noelle to fearing for her life. Would her parents find her body? Would they be mad at her for dying before they did? Juliet prayed that her death would at least be quick.

"Ugh, Arkhelios? It's so dry there and it smells like demons. Can't you meet me in Crystal Cove? My mom's out drinking with their stupid brother again and Dad is going to find out if I keep breaking the house sigils to leave."

The children's fear slowly turned to awe as they realized that they weren't actually about to die or have their fatal fortunes read.

"So walk down the road and teleport from there," Noelle groaned. "It's not hard, you're not bound to it like a demon. Your parents are too lame to notice anyway and if they do, blame Davis."

A groan came from the the circle and then a grudging sigh.

"Fine. But you're buying lunch this week."

After almost three minutes had passed, the circle began to shimmer and a teenage girl with long black hair appeared before their eyes. Noelle looked happy to see this girl, while the other children just stared, their eyes as big as saucers.

"Hey guys, this is my friend Destiny," Noelle informed the shocked children. "She's in an older class, but she goes to my school. She's really powerful, so don't piss her off."

"Noelle!"

Noelle shrugged, ignoring her friend's outburst as if she were the older girl.

"Well you are. They don't need a novel about you, they only need to know that you're cool. Much cooler than them."  Her eyes gleamed with teenage rebellion. "Let's steal Grandma's wine and hang out at the pool! She's such an alcoholic that she won't notice some bottles missing."

Juliet stared at the girl she had hoped to impress in astonishment. She'd always known that Lucy was an unpredictable loose cannon, and apparently some of that attitude had transferred to her daughter. Did Noelle frequently steal from her grandmother or was this just an idea to impress her older friend? 

Destiny snapped her fingers and in an instant, a bottle of red wine appeared in her hands. 

"Piece of cake," she boasted. "Easier than my mom's wine rack and they keep that thing well stocked."

"I…I don't think I'm thirsty," Juliet stammered. Beside her, Nick and Elaina nodded solemnly. Their parents would kill them if they caught the kids drinking with a teenager who came from a magic circle in their creepy basement. 

"Babies," Noelle muttered, taking a swig from the bottle and passing it back to her friend. 

"Lay off them, they're just kids," Destiny laughed. "Their parents actually care where they are, unlike yours." 

"Right, just like Death himself wouldn’t ground you if he knew where you were?” Noelle teased. “You’re like a demi-god, aren’t you? Go have fun.”

“Not really and you know that,” Destiny replied, ignoring the quizzical looks from the other children. “I’m much closer to your powers than I am my parents’. Don’t start with the demi-god thing or I’ll have lines of people lining up at the school asking me to sign things and heal people. There’s no way I’m going through that again.”

“So what’s it like having gods for parents?” Elaina asked, looking at the night sky.

The group had retired outside to drink and stargaze, which had seemed less nerve wracking than anything else Noelle had suggested so the other children had quickly agreed to it. Noelle seemed to be smiling and relaxed, which put Juliet at ease. Noelle was probably settled in for the night and didn’t have more plans that would get them in trouble.

“Kinda fun some days,” Destiny replied, staring at the stars intently. “Less fun other days. A lot of people have an idea of who you’re supposed to be and don’t want to let you be yourself.”

Juliet nodded beside her, feeling a new sense of camaraderie with the teen.

“I get that completely. Lots of people have plans about what I should be too.”

“Me too.”

Noelle’s whispered reply had been barely audible, but Juliet had heard it all the same. Her heart twinged at the tone of it and the hidden sorrow the girl surely felt spilled out in those words. Underneath the callous attitude, it was beginning to look like Noelle had a vulnerable side, one that had been wounded long past healing. Maybe it was because of the alcohol or just the company, but deep down, Juliet could see the girl Noelle wanted to be. Call it supernatural intuition or just being a good judge of character, but Juliet could see the hidden Noelle screaming to be seen and helped. Clearly Lucy’s parenting left a lot to be desired, and no one knew who Noelle’s other parent could be.

“There’s two moons out tonight!” Elaina gasped, pointing at the sky. “Is that even possible?”

“Anything is possible,” Destiny laughed. “Don’t you believe in other universes? Other planes of existence besides our own? Who’s to say that that’s not a natural phenomenon of the barriers between the demonic void and here? Maybe it’s the afterlife accepting lost wayward souls. You never know.”

“Do you know?” Elaina demanded. “What is it?”

“A sign that I have to go back home now. Dad is probably pissed off that I left.”

“What? Your dad uses a second moon to get your attention? Why not just call?”

Destiny just laughed and started gathering her things.

“I never said that he did. Just keep an open mind about things and maybe one day you’ll know what it means. Anyway, it’s been fun. Noelle, I was serious about buying lunch this week.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll get some money from my mom,” Noelle replied. “See you then.”

As the mysterious girl faded from view, Juliet looked up at the sky and the mysterious moons. Was it really an overlap of dimensions or just something Destiny had made up? One day when her parents eventually died, would she be able to see them cross into the afterlife in the sky above her? Would they be able to tell her that they were okay and not to worry about never seeing them again? It was a pleasant thought at least which she hoped was true.

“Noelle! Why am I missing two wine bottles? I’m calling your mother about this!”

Noelle laughed as her grandmother continued shouting at her from the window.

“Go ahead!” she called out. “She doesn't care! Mom lets me do whatever I want.”

#sims 2 #arkhelios #arkhelios adventures #Mikel Helios #Juliet fontana #Nick Helios #Elaina Helios #destiny lane #elaine helios #noelle helios #sim: noelle helios

[audiofictionuk]

New Fiction Podcasts - 27th January

Space Train Audio Drama Punch your ticket for a laughter-filled journey that transcends the boundaries of time and space. Space Train is a full-cast audio sitcom for people who like shows like Community, Futurama, Arrested Development, and the Good Place, delivering a unique blend of humor, heart, and interstellar absurdity. Buckle up, because this space-faring ensemble cast is about to take you on the ride of a lifetime! https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240124-01 RSS: https://feeds.fireside.fm/spacetrain/rss

Tales of the Crossroads Audio RPG We're just a bunch of friends, sitting around a table, playing The Crossroads Interdimensional Tabletop RPG. We decided to start recording these because we have a lot of fun and to give others a chance to learn about The Crossroads ITRPG. Embark on thrilling adventures across The Crossroads, a realm woven with countless portals to diverse dimensions. In this captivating podcast, dive into the immersive tales spun by various groups using The Crossroads Interdimensional Tabletop RPG system. Join our intrepid adventurers as they navigate this multi-dimensional world, facing challenges, unraveling mysteries, and forging unforgettable bonds. The Tales of the Crossroads promises an exciting journey where exploration knows no bounds. Uncover the secrets, triumph over obstacles, and experience the magic of interconnected stories in every episode. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240122-01 RSS: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/tales-of-the-crossroads

EAR CANDY Presents: The Next 5 Minutes Audio Drama It’s 2035… and things aren’t great Downunder. Mass homelessness, pollution ruining beaches, teenagers facing slave labour and everything, including euthanasing the elderly, has been privatised by a corrupt libertarian government in cahoots with Empyrean Industries, a shadowy corporation busy mining the moon. An underground terrorist movement called Swag Sting is mobilising but wracked by infighting. Crowd control measures include giant, deadly robot kangaroos. As our protagonists battle for humanity's essence, we uncover an alarming future that lurks uncomfortably close. THE NEXT 5 MINUTES is not just a podcast—it's a movement, a deep, dark, truthful mirror reflecting a future we must avoid. Every. Second. Counts. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240123-02 RSS: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/654d9e4a07e8cd00124881f9

Stop, Drop & Roll Initiative Audio RPG Introducing Stop, Drop & Roll Initiative, an actual-play D&D podcast hosted by wrestler Martin MacAlistair, podcaster and content creator Satsunami, Twitch streamer RoboticBattleToaster, and Chatsunami Podcast co-host Andrew. Elran (Andrew), Morek (Toaster), and Tempest (Satsunami) form an adventuring party after seeing a local guild's wanted ad and set out to fix a broken world. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240123-03 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f0c1659c/podcast/rss

A Feminist Romance Novel, Podcast! Temptations at Sweetwater Creek Audio Drama What if you were suddenly plunged into the world of a romance novel? Charlotte, April and Polly find out when their car breaks down in Texas during a cross country road trip. After taking refuge at the Sweetwater Creek Ranch Inn, they meet Jack, a brooding cowboy with a rough exterior, Luke, a sexy innkeeper searching for a friend, and Dylan, a mysterious guest who may or may not be a vampire. Driven by a narrator obsessed with romance and happy endings, our three friends are whipped into a frenzy of sex, doubt, and betrayal. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240124-02 RSS: https://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:923516737/sounds.rss

Science Fiction - Hörspiele Audio Drama Bereits heutzutage finden immer weniger Bürgerinnen und Bürger der offenen Gesellschaft zum gemeinsamen Verweilen zusammen. Wie mag sich dies erst in 140 Jahren verhalten, immer vorausgesetzt, dass die den drittnächsten Planeten zur Sonne beglückende Menschheit bis dahin durchhält ohne sich selbst chemisch, bakteriell, atomar oder klimatisch auszulöschen? Fragen über Fragen wie geschaffen für einen utopischen Seelenstriptease-Thriller ... https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240121-03 RSS: https://moderne21.de/science-fiction-hoerspiele.xml

S-O-A-P Audio RPG This is an actual-play podcast for the indie ttrpg Stories of Adventure! https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240120-01 RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2290034.rss

The Cellblock Scorch Writing Contest Audio Book A weekly short-story writing contest among a group of friends that started in 2018 and has continued unstopped since then. In this podcast the members of our group, the Stella Corps, share the winning pieces (aka "scorches") every week https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240123-04 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/ebb17894/podcast/rss

Modern Gothic Audio Book An anthology of weird stories. https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240124-03 RSS: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/659d69ceeddc8100174ac30d

Harsh Static: A Fallout Actual Play Audio RPG What was just another day in the Mojave Wasteland gets interrupted by the pounding of metal feet and strange feedback through the radio. Rumors of odd robots and settlements going dark have people outside The Strip on edge, and things only seem to be getting worse when the Brotherhood of Steel is getting involved. Join our intrepid survivors as they brave the dangers of the wastes in search of the truth, encountering mechanical menaces along the way. Will they make their mark and conquer the day, or end up as another lyric in a sad old song? https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20240116-04 RSS: https://feeds.castos.com/63ovm

#audio fiction #fiction podcast

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 51

The ep title is The Apogee Solstice ... it's here, it's official, no more build up ...

Eight years of this shit and NOW Matt is starting to break down from sheer wear ... TBH we know how he feels.

Another truly awful and thoroughly annoying advert from Sam ... "Are these testimonials completely fabricated? YES!!!" Oof ... and Sam starts to break down too before the end, just like always. And Matt does a necessary disclaimer ... as he should after ANYTHING Sam says.

Oh my GODS Laura you sound SOOOO bad, sweety! Get you some hot lemon and honey pronto! Good thing Liam's here with a suspect Jester impression.

"So, last we left off ... Sam found a bunch oh hands ..." XD

Yes! Beau and Caleb are here! Zoinks!

Oh, so we're on the ship first ... okay ... and Sam is NOT ready ... Travis: "You've had a whole week to think zbout it." Meanwhile Fearne is busy just POLISHING ...

Ira is just getting strange on us and I don't like it at all ... FCG is being really smart trying to get s read on him right now ...WOW he's got seriously flowery in his dreams of vengeance ... FCG: "What's your five year plan?" Oh boy ...

Ira: "Friends complicated things." The Nightmare King's solution to worry ... hmmm ...

Laura doesn't want to get any messages right now. Laura: "Don't wear me out!" Yeah ... so Letters contacts Orym instead. Oh yeah, the aeormaton? Good point.

Fearne (to FCG): "I trust YOU. I don't trust the coin."

Yup. 2 free rerolls with the Potion of Possibility. Handy but only so much ... wait, is this like Harry drinking the Liquid Luck?

COME ON guys, Ira is TOTALLY gonna leave Xandis on the ship to die. This is so dumb ... oh yeah, I am TOTALLY with Xandis here, he CANNOT trust this creature ... 23 on an insight check and SAM gets a whisper? Marisha has to scramble for a plug ... no, it's just a really SHORT whisper then. Almost like a yes or no, you might say ...

Fearne: "What I need you to do is DESTROY." Ira: "Oh I will." Yeah ...

Xandis drinks the other Potion ... yup ...

A missing lens? Ooooooh ... now THAT is interesting ...

Ira: "That way! And don't get lost!" Fearne: "Oh, I wasn't aware that was a possibility."

Oh yeah, they are DEFINITELY gonna get lost in this shit ... 27? Oh that is a FUCKING NICE ROLL there Ashley! Yes!

Crap ... Chetney's not got another wolf-out available after this? Shit ... TAKE A LONG REST MAN!!! LONG REST!!!

Nuts ... trouble? Not good, not good ...

Ashton: "Chickpeas means punch someone? Okay."

Laudna's creepy mind hissing doesn't give her away? That's interesting.

Oh yeah, these two look both fancy and potentially messy ... hmmm ...

MORE new arrivals? Oh, it's FCG and Fearne ... phew! Letters, just chill! XD Fearne: "Who do we know that has a twang?" Oh my gods this is a hilarious mess ...

Orym: "Ira's a Fey sociopath!" FCG: "Well that's a bit judgy." Orym: "I'm not being judgy, he's a Fey sociopath!"

Oh, the other lens they fixed? Smart!

Trying to fix the aeormaton ... seriously, is this even gonna work? Does FCG have the first clue what to do here?

"Fucking pigeons in a sandstorm ... desert pigeons."

Whoa ... Holy FUCK is he actually gonna be zble to make this work? Crazy ... FCG: "I'll have to do surgery on myself!" Um ... what? Hooooo ... wow, nice ... FCG IS NOW A SUPERBOT!!! THAT IS AWESOME!!!

Orym: "This us what all that time with the wooden feet was for, Letters!" FCG: "I know, but this is different!"

Nice! Short rest achieved!

Somebody don't fit ... hmmm ... Fearne is willing to go outside? Might not be that smart ...

Ooof ... Travis ripping the piss about Beau and Caleb ... meanwhile Orym calling Caleb a "magic daddy"? This is getting SOOO meta right now ... XD

Sam: "Matthew, how do I see?" Travis: "You the the glasses off." LOL

Orym trying to hide in plain sight in this thing's hand is a really bad idea ...

Matt: "It's a bit of a clown car circumstance." No shit!

Imogen is a little girl leading round a big robot ... "Full Bioshock." Cute.

Ashton(to Imogen): "Ticking clock, one hour, and if you hear from us sooner, call in the Ashari."

FCG really likes being BIG all of a sudden. Fearne: "Do you feel like a big old daddy?" XD

Ooof ... heads on spikes? Yeah, that's not good at all ... oh, this is what's left of the Vasselheim crew? Yeah ... that's just charming. Laudna:imo "We're smarter than all of Vasselheim!"

Wow ... this thing sounds INTIMIDATING ... are they sure the skyship is even gonna make a DENT on this structure? I mean REALLY?

Sam's getting all kinds of esoteric with the latest piece of flask humour, clearly ...

Imogen messages Keyleth and fills her in on the plan ... okay, it's ramping up ...

Oh, this magic dispelling wave is gonna be a problem, ain't it? Fuuuuuck ... according to Pate it's like getting kicked in the nuts ... DOES he have nuts? According to former hamster owner Laura rodents have BIG nuts and I can't believe the direction this conversation has taken ...

Oh shit ... have they just been rumbled? RATANISH?!!! Shit ... oh, fake it that Orym's a prisoner? Risky ... okay, looks like that's worked. Phew ...

No. Do not piss in the robot, Chetney!

Lots of corpses ... yeah, do they still have their heads?

Ashley tries to give Guidance. Travis: "NO. MAGIC." Ah. Yeah ...

Gah! Stealth and deception checks! Eep! Is this about to go horribly wrong? Oh shit ... is Imogen about to gey found out? NATURAL 20?!!! WOOHOO!!! Imogen just bounces this fucker RIGHT out of her head. Oh that was SO COOL!!! Liam (clearly impressed): "I'm Batman!"

Shit shit shit shit shit ... it's Otohan! FUCK!!!

Oh, there's Ryn ... :(

Yeah, they are just SURROUNDED by enemies now, aren't they? Go SERIOUSLY careful here, guys!

Imogen's mum! There she is! Okay then ... whoa, she's like super Telekinetic ... hmmm ...

Yeah, Imogen is just trying to brazen her way right through here, ain't she? Maybe this could work ...

Planning, planning ...

Going down, then ... NOT the Otohan cavern then ... "the Notohan" even ... oof ...

Oh, nice! Imogen intimidation for the win! Cute.

Is this about to fall apart because of a squeaky hinge? Oh, NICE ROLL!!! Phew ...

Sending Pate on a scout ... QUIETLY!!!

Well now THAT could be a useful target at the right moment ... if in doubt, blow up anything that looks volatile.

So, bluff them out or just fight? Oof ... splitting the party again ... which of course makes me uneasy ...

Bluff? Really? Oh yeah, no, this is TOTALLY funny business.

Ah! ROLL INITIATIVE!!! Here we go then ... suppose it had to kick off SOMETIME ...

Must admit, that is a VERY sexy battle map.

Sneaky Orym grappling! Nice! Dragonborn is DOWN!!! Bait and Switch! Sweet moves as always, Wee Man!

Hypnotic Pattern? Oof ... shit, so Imogen and Chetney are good but Orym and Ashton are now FROZEN!!! Shit!

Aha! Turmoil! Go Chet! Angry little geriatric is DANGEROUS!!!

Oh that is some UNFAIR ganging up on the tiny werewolf!

HELP!!! Imogen calls for aid ... Psychic Whip? Sweet! Nice moves ... AND penalties? Always fun. Ho! And now the boys are BACK in the game again! Yes!

Pate and Laudna's turn! Pate: "Gonna Grasping Shock you!" XD Nice! ZAP!!!

Nuts, one round before reinforcements ...

NEIN!!! Nine damage ... and Orym HDYWTDTs the Dragonborn! Perfect.

Laura: "Don't jinx this shit!" So Ashton rages ... rainbow streaky madness ensues! POW!!! Fuck ... Full blown decapitation on the half-giant! Nice!

Oh yeah, Chetney just ends the fight through pure intimidation. Good job, people!

The Duskmaven? Interesting ...

Chetney: "Anything you can remember right now keeps your lower jaw attached to your head." Oof ...

Oh man ... SO CLOSE to stepping on a magical landmine!

"Basic bitch shit"? Yeah, I know Chetney hates metalwork, but still ...

I love how Ashley's just DETERMINED to offer up Guidance to EVERYBODY at the slightest opportunity. XD

Oh fuck ... Otohan is now coming STRAIGHT FOR THEIR CAVERN!!! Mayday! Mayday!

Shit, and NOW they're on their break? Damn your cliffhangers, Mercer!

Welcome back ... and a change in atmospherics? Oooh ...

Laudna's Spiderclimb is always fun. :) And everybody's hiding ... random D20 rolls? Oh, for Beau and Caleb? Eep ...

BOOM!!! Bye bye magical blockers! Nice one!

Psychic Lance! Sweet move, Imogen! But Otohan shrugs off the worst of it ... crap ... still hurts, but not SERIOUSLY. Damn it!

Whoa ... she's just RUNNING?!!! Now FCG plays dumb and just AMBUSHES her with a rock! Nice! Oh, a miss? BALLS!!!

Call in the ship! Cut the cords! DO STUFF!!!

FCG (to Ira): "It's time!" Travis (chuckling): "Project Chicken Little."

Okay ... just HALF the damage from a BIG explosion, then ... phew, I guess?

So ... this is SORT OF working, right?

Oh, okay ... so this is the big showdown then, right? Okay then ...

Yup, clearly Caleb done gone fucked THAT shit up ...

FCG is right in the middle of this shit now ... what to do? Oh ... REALLY? He's just gonna go and PICK RYN UP?!!!

Oh gods ... FUCK!!! FUCK!!! Did FCG just DESTROY Ryn? Shit ... AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! Oh fuck this is so bad ...

Uh-oh ... it's never good when Matt does a lot of rolling ... Matt: "Ooh ... you're so fucking lucky." Oh ... wait ... the aeormaton is now DEAD!!! FCG is still good but he is now BLIND AND TRAPPED!!!

Ooh, sucker punch? Ashton, that was just MEAN!!!

Oops, company's coming ... Laudna: "Act frantic, it's fucked!"

BLUFF!!! "It's ... been compromised!" I can't believe that actually WORKS!!!

Otohan: "Gather at the Key!" Okay ... that's ominous ...

Another D20 double roll? Oof ...

Fuck ... Caleb! What? Do something! Help him!

Oh shit ... and now here comes Beau ... and they're EXPECTED?!!! Shit ... oh man, this is getting SO BAD!!!

Ryn's okay ... oh shit ... SHE'S MISSING HER FUCKING ARM!!! Aaaaahhh!

DODECAHEDRON?!!! Seriously? GAH!!! And now hoursxflash by in SECONDS!!!

Fuck! Ruidus is on the rise! Shit!

Another battle map! Sam: "Oh ... Matthew, this is BRUTAL!!!"

Oh man, that is EPIC SHIT!!! Incredible work! At the worst possible time, though!

Sam: "Can I try to jump-start myself?" Oh! Yes! Try that! It fails ... BALLS!!!

BOOM!!! The Silver Sun hits! And does ZERO DAMAGE?!!! FUCK!!! That's a total damp squib!

Well, at least Ira kept his word regarding saving Xandis ...

Fearne trying to melt Beau's chain bonds ... hmmm ... this could go SO spectacularly wrong ...

Ah yes, the classic mad bastard supervillain justification monologue from Ludinus ...

Hooooo ... Imogen that was SWEET!!! Caleb is now free ...

Yeah, Big Bad really is just YAPPING AWAY right now ... meanwhile Orym continues to be a stealthy badass. Help Letters, man!

Whoa ... Bull's Strength? That's pretty cool ... and yet Sam rolls SHITE ... balls. FCG remains stuck.

MAXIMUM TEAM EFFORT!!! Yes! It worked! FCG is finally free!

Imogen tries to appeal to her mother's conscience ... oh shit, this could backfire SO BADLY!!! Come on ... PLEASE let this go like ROTJ! Give Liliana her Vader redemption!

Wow ... Chetney's just off here being the world's tiniest King Kong ... and the worst, apparently. Yeah, that didn't do SHIT.

No! Leave FCG alone, you evil prick!

Oh shit! Here come the Ashari! Here we go!

Shit ... this is all about to go full fucking SOUTH, ain't it?

Come on Imogen, snap your mum out of this funk! You can do it!

Liliana ... wait ... dud she just BANISH the Nightmare King? Seriously?

Whoa ... Holy shit ... Imogen and Fearne ... what the hell is going on? The Ruidusborn connection ... oh, this can't be good!

Light that fuse and RUN!!!

BOOM!!! Perfect timing, mid speech and everything!

Holy fuck ... everybody's getting healed? Nice!

Fucking Otohan ... AND her bloody doubles! I hate her!

ROLL INITIATIVE!!! AGAIN!!!

Matt! Stop rolling PLEASE!!! You cannot murder Keyleth! NOOOOOO!!!

Oh my fucking gods this is BRUTAL!!! And all we can do is just SIT HERE and watch! This is PAINFUL!!! Stop with the fucking Action Surges!

WHAT?!!! Vax to the rescue? REALLY?!!! OH FUCK THAT IS AWESOME!!! RIGHTEOUS!!! RIGHTEOUS!!!

The whole table is going insane and I am totally with them all!

FCG tries to come to the rescue! And he can do SHIT right now! And yeah ... shit, he doesn't know who Caleb actually IS!!! Do it anyway, Sam! FUCK!!! Shit roll, BALLS!!!

Orym goes straight for Otohan's backpack ... and rolls BEAUTIFULLY!!! AND an Action Surge! Tanked that one ... but still, that was SO GOOD all the same!

All down go the roll on the Goading attack ... 1? SHIT!!! At least she has disadvantage now ...

Fearne tries to trash the pack too ... come on girl ... FUCK!!! All right, Mister, it's your turn ... come on monkey man! 17? BALLS!!!

Come on Liliana, just SNAP OUT OF IT!!! Vader redemption!

Chetney wolf attack on Ludinus? DO IT, Chet! Come on Travis, roll good! SHIELD? Oh you evil fucker! Fuck! AND a natural 1? FUCK!!! And now Chetney is IMPALED ON THE KEY!!!

Imogen has a perfect shot on the backpack ... FUCK!!! Witchbolt misses! And now she's given away her position! Crap! Get through to you mother, Imogen! You can do it!

Liliana: "This is for the best." FUCK!!!

What? Keyleth was just BAIT?!!! Vax is now just a compressed sphere of black energy and it's all going to shit!

ALL the Ruidusborn are now being activated at once! Shit! Whoa ... the lighting on the studio's gone full on red! Crazy! That's it! Ludinus has won! NOOOOOOOO!!!

Seriously, what just happened?

Wait ... Laudna? On her own? I don't get it ... oh, Ashton! He's there too ... what the hell ... Orym? Okay ...

No Pate? That can't be a good sign ...

So it's just the three of them? Ruidus in the sky, and a red beam ... ummmm ...

FCG? Okay ... phew? White powdery dunes? Hmmm ... no moons? He has NO IDEA where he is ... oh! Fearne's there too! Good! And Chetney can hear them calling out, they're back together at least ...

Okay, so ... two separated groups and NO SIGN OF IMOGEN ...

Uthodurn? What the hell?

Matt: "And that's where we're gonna call it a night." WHAT?!!! WHAAAAATT?!!! SERIOUSLY!!!

The party are split, and HALF of them are ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FUCKING PLANET?!!! AND there's no sign of Imogen? Oh my gods this is so bad! This can't be the cliffhanger! Matt Mercer this is TOO CRUEL!!! We can't wait a whole week yo resolve this mess!

AAAAAAAAAARRRGHHH!!!

#critical role #crit role spoilers #campaign 3 spoilers #campaign 3 episode 51 #matt mercer #marisha ray #laudna #travis willingham #chetney pock o'pea #laura bailey #imogen temult #liam o'brien #orym of the air ashari #ashely johnson #fearne calloway #taliesin jaffe #ashton greymoore #sam riegel #fresh cut grass

[protagonistpolling]

Why should you vote for these characters?

Why should you vote for Niko? (1)

"They are just a little baby who's like 8 years old with the weight of the world on their shoulders (and literally in their arms!). They ask you, the player, to help guide them, and you can have cute conversations about how your world is different from theirs. They love their Mama and they love pancakes. They like riding around on a roomba. They're offended whenever someone calls them a cat but they still make cute cat noises. They are a precious baby and everyone who has played OneShot has already signed the adoption papers <3"

Why should you vote for Coco? (1)

"shes so little. she just wants to learn how to do magic to save her mom, bring wonder in to the world and make it a better place. shes so eager to learn. she has survivors guilt but is being so brave about it. i love her. daughter."

Why should you vote for Mae Borowski? (2)

"She's a little cat who likes to jump on powerlines, make bad jokes to random people on the street and howl with her friend because of a restaurant called "Donut Wolf". At one point she makes a drunken speech at a party, where she declares she's a "TOTAL TRASH MAMMAL" before throwing up everywhere. Depending on the routes you can take, she can get electrocuted by a car and see God, whack a broken boiler with a baseball bat because she gets impatient trying to fix it, have a knife fight with her best friend in the woods, build a robot, and more. She is VERY silly :)"

The Pine Twins were submitted without propaganda. (1)

#poll2023 #tournament poll #niko oneshot #coco wha #witch hat atelier #mae borowski #nitw #night in the woods #dipper pines #mabel pines #gravity falls

[bellysoupset]

Vince having to call Wendy for help because Jonah is really sick/badly hurt and the guys don't know what to do.

Feeling like overindulging into my Wendy/Vin feelings! Let's go. Originally this was a much worse injury, but I felt icky making it about Wendy/Vin, so instead have Jon with a broken foot.

Vince knew anyone would tease him merciless over this, but his safe place was the gym. There was something about putting on headphones and just paying attention to the rhythmic sets of exercises and the nice pain settling into his muscles that calmed him down like nothing else.

So when suddenly there was yelling and people rushing around, he was so zoned out that it took him five whole minutes to realize he recognized that voice.

He pushed down his headphones and moved towards the people who were fretting over someone - and yeah, sure enough, Jonah was sitting down with his leg raised and a scowl so intense that Vince immediately clocked it on him trying really hard not to cry in pain. There was a man, a slim but ripped dude, who was apologizing non stop.

"I got him, I got it," Vince said, before he could stop himself, moving towards Jonah, whose head snapped up and he wasn't fast enough to hide his relief.

"I'm really, really sorry-"

"Sorry isn't gonna magically fix my foot now, will it?" Jon snapped angrily and Vince put himself between his fallen friend and the man whom was about to have his head bitten off.

"C'mon, Jon, hospital with you," he said, offering a hand to pull Jon up. The man went willingly, then swayed on the spot, so Vince wrapped an arm around his torso.

There was blood soaking through the very tip of Jonah's training shoe and he didn't dare putting that foot down. He limped forward and Vince could tell the pain was starting to make him woozy, with how grey his skin was turning and the cold sweat collection over his lip and on his neck.

"Car keys? Unless you think you can hold on, then we can take my bike."

"I don't wanna go on your stupid bike," Jonah scoffed, leaning heavily on the outside wall of the gym, the minute they stepped out. Vince rolled his eyes, but let the snide remark sly. His friend was clearly in a lot of pain.

"Alright, car keys it is."

"Inside," Jonah pointed over his shoulder, back to the gym, "with my bag."

"Capisco, give me a minute," Vince patted his shoulder in a reassuring manner, but that only caused Jon to slump against the wall, eyes squeezed shut.

When he made it back outside, five minutes later, Jonah's condition had deteriorated considerably. His breathing was very fast and shallow, causing Vince to cringe.

"You're gonna make yourself faint," he warned the other man, looping an arm over his back again and guiding Jon to his sports car. Jonah let out a little groan.

"It hurts like a motherfucker, Vin."

"You think it's broken?" Vince carefully pulled the passenger door open, fixing his arm on Jon's waist and practically lifting him off the ground to make the maneuvering easier when helping him inside.

"Oh for sure," Jonah groaned, rubbing a hand over his sweat covered face. Vince ran to the driver's side and the minute he turned on the car, Jon said:

"Siri, call Wendy Marshall."

"Calling - Wendy - Marshall," answered the robotic voice and then the car was filled with the sound of the dialing. Vince squeezed his hands around the steering wheel, suddenly nervous.

It rang for times before it was picked up, Wendy's sweet voice filling the car, "Jon, honey, now's not a-"

"Are you at the hospital?"

"Yes," she replied bitterly, "I got a bunch of hours to make up for, remember?"

"Can you get down to the ER? Some idiot broke my foot," despite his firm words, his voice was slightly slurred by the pain. Wendy let out a scoff.

"Yes, are you almost here?"

"Five more minutes," Vince answered, if only to make his presence known, and there was a minuscule noise from the woman, one he didn't recognize.

"Oh hi, Vince," she said casually and Jonah rolled his eyes.

"Meet us downstairs," he bossed, then hit the end call button on his panel, before she could say anything. Vince frowned.

"That was rude, man."

"I'm in so much pain I feel like I'm gonna vomit, excuse me if listening to you two bicker is not very high in my priorities list, Vin."

"We weren't gonna bicker..." Vince pouted, but Jonah didn't dignify him with a response.

True to his word, five minutes later they parked in the staff's parking lot and Vince helped Jon inside, holding even more of his weight now than he had before. He was getting the sense that Jon's pain tolerance was significantly downplaying how bad the injury was.

Wendy was ready for them with a wheel chair, and Vince offered her a weak, awkward smile. He couldn't help but notice she looked really tired.

"How the hell did this happen, Jon?" she asked the minute Vince carefully set him down on the chair and Jonah's mask of control slipped away. He leaned his head back, against her stomach and sighed shakily.

"Idiot dropped his kettlebell on my foot."

Wendy wrinkled her nose and went to push his chair, but Vince leaped at the opportunity. Now, with no heels, he could fully take in how short she was.

"Let me," he said, taking her place and Wendy hesitated for a split second before moving so she was ahead of team and guiding the way. They entered her office, the same one Vince had nearly passed out on and she chewed at her lip.

"I'd normally ask you to get on the bed, but you're looking really pasty, Jon," Wendy sighed, tugging at her deep blue trousers and sitting on the cold floor, "you should've removed the shoe when it happened, now it's swollen and it's gonna hurt even more."

"I was a little busy," Jonah tried to say in a sarcastic voice, but it came out more like a whimper as Wendy proceeded to undo his shoelaces. Instead of only undoing the top knot, she removed the shoelaces entirely, stretching the shoe as much as she could before slowly pulling it down his foot.

Vince let out a nauseated noise and turned his head at the sight and Jonah followed suit, gagging on his fist and letting out a cry. The kettelbell had crushed his toe and the finger right next to it. The whole foot was swollen and purple and the toenail had completely slipped off.

"I'm gonna puke," Jonah groaned and while Vince rushed to grab the emesis bowl, hearing the clear nausea on his voice, Wendy was all calm and collected. She put a hand on Jonah's knee and squeezed.

"Hey, look at me," she said firmly, but still gentle, "it's not that big, we see much bigger ones every day, right honey?"

"Don't- don't baby me," Jonah groaned, but he nodded and squeezed his eyes shut. Wendy rolled her eyes, flashing Vince an amused smile.

"It's always the big guys," she teased lightly, still squeezing Jonah's leg in an affectionate way, "keep your eyes closed, I'm just gonna suspend your leg and we'll ship you off to x-ray, okay?"

"He doesn't need x-ray, it's very clearly broken!" Vince cried out, looking at the wound again, only to grimace. Wendy leveled him with a stern glare.

"We're not doing an x-ray to check if it's broken, but how broken it is. I need to know if he's got hairline fractures up his foot or not, for example," she looked at Jonah again, who had stopped gulping down convulsively, "how are you holding up, Jon?"

"Stop fucking babying me and numb the area," he groaned, making her nod, although he didn't see.

"On it," Wendy promised, getting up from her crouched down position and kicking Jonah's abandoned shoe under her desk. She wrote something down his file, attaching it to the chair's arm and sighed, "alright, Jon, I'm gonna hook you up some nice drugs while they clear the x-ray."

He let out a sigh of relief and Wendy opened a small, tiny smile as she guided both men out of her office. Once they reach the shared room of bays, Wendy reached for one of the IV poles and then required an IV bag, along with the medication.

"Any allergies I should know?" she asked softly and Vince kept staring at her. He wasn't sure he had ever heard her be this gentle. No wonders she was a doctor.

"Nope," Jon's voice was a little drowsy from the pain and he had his eyes pressed firmly closed. It felt like it took forever, but Vince knew it had taken just ten minutes for her to inject the painkiller on his IV and then another, much smaller dose of anesthesia right on his foot.

Then a nurse came to wheel "Dr. Banks" away, which cause Vince to snort and roll his eyes.... And he was left all alone with Wendy. Vince had never been shy a day in his life, but now...

"Uhm- You're really good with him," he said as if Jonah was his toddler and not a grown man. Wendy's face lit up.

"It's easy because we're the same," she shrugged, leaning softly against a wall and rubbing her eyes. It caused Vince to wonder how many hours she had slept the previous night, by how tired she looked.

"...Could I pay you a coffee?" He blurted out and she opened the eyes she had closed with a small yawn, shocked, which only caused him to stumble over his words.

"As in- As in buying it for you, because you look super tired and it'd be a small thank-"

"My shift ends in forty minutes, would you stick around?" she interrupted him, her cheeks all red, but her voice firm, "Jon isn't going anywhere for at least one hour."

His heart seemed to stop in his chest and Vince nodded eagerly, "Of course."

She smiled, "alright... I'll meet you outside in forty, pussy magnet."

"You have to stop with that!" He cried out, just as she turned around and started walking back to her office.

#fluff #a rare occurrence in my blog #vince x wendy #jonah banks #broken bones #injury #mywriting