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ddarker-dreams · 1 year

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Clarity of Heart.

Yan Shenhe x F Reader. Commissioned piece.

Warnings: Yandere themes, unhealthy relationships and manipulation. Word count: 3k.

To Shenhe, you’re an enigma.

She tries to unravel you, and with every impatient tug of her fingers, ends up forming a tighter knot. Why she even wants to understand you is a mystery in itself. Hers is a life of quiet solitude — a fact that’s never troubled her before. One must have companionship to understand loneliness in its absence. Her master imparted this wisdom to her, further complicating matters.

She supposes there’s no sense in agonizing over the unknowable. Ruminating on why the sun rises in the east and sets in the west would similarly be a waste of time. What she does understand, what’s so tangible that she can almost grasp it with her hands, is that she likes when you’re present and dislikes when you aren’t.

You’re strange, she thinks, not that she has much of a touchstone to make comparisons.

You make a yearly pilgrimage to Mt. Aocang to train, yet whenever Shenhe happens by, you stop everything to greet her in kind. You offer to share your limited supply of provisions, giving her the bigger piece when she insists on splitting things in half. It simply doesn’t make sense. If someone interrupted her training, she’d find them irritating; if someone asked to share her food, she’d refuse.

Though she never felt the need to track time before — the concept you referred to as a ‘calendar’ is not in her lexicon — she finds herself in an agreeable mood when the leaves show signs of turning. The cooling of scorching air and shortening of days proceeds your arrival. Without realizing it, she’ll frequent the base of the mountain, eyes scanning the treeline for your familiar figure.

There are days she spends just like that. Noting the changing phases of the moon, wondering if you’ll arrive when it's waxing or waning.

Sometimes she guesses correctly, sometimes she does not. It’s of no consequence. When you appear, everything else is condemned to be forgotten in a veil of fog.

Every year, she comes to associate new mysteries with you.

However, there’s something about this one that she urges her to investigate further.

“Why did you not use your Vision?”

You suddenly grow an interest in the contents of her mortar and pestle. The herbs release a faintly bitter aroma, lingering in the air where your voice normally flourishes. She finishes grinding it into a paste while you look everywhere but her eyes. Without asking for your permission, she lathers the ointment onto your now bruised bicep. You fight back a flinch, a fruitless endeavor, for she notices anyway.

“It isn’t—” you inhale sharply when she brushes over a particularly sensitive spot, your face contorting as you continue, “A particularly fitting campfire story.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ah, well, it’s popular for people to gather around the campfire and exchange stories. Sometimes they’re scary, but it’s all in good fun. The answer to your question… I can’t say this story’s very fun. Hence why I said it’s not fitting.”

As always, you teach her much about the bizarre customs of those who inhabit the world. She glances to the nearby campfire, to you, then back again.

“Shall I put it out, then?”

You smile, lines forming beneath your eyes while you do so. The fire makes her feel warm, but you make her feel hot.

“It’s okay, there’s no need for that. If you really want to know, I’ll tell you. It has to do with these training trips, actually.”

The pause that follows your words urges Shenhe to respond.

“I’d like to know.”

You gaze up at the stars, your eyes reflecting the brilliant expanse. “A few years ago, I’d been working odd jobs to make ends meet. One of these was a waitressing gig at a fine establishment. At that time, I’d only had my Pyro Vision for a few months… maybe less than that. Since I rarely left Liyue, I hadn’t used it much.”

You hug your knees to your chest.

“There was this drunk customer. He’d been acting flirtatious all evening, but I was just trying to do my job. When it was strictly verbal, I could handle it. I’d dealt with his type before. But… eventually, he reached out and… touched me. I honestly don’t remember much of what happened next. It was warm. I smelled something awful, heard a scream that was even worse.”

The red ropes binding Shenhe’s soul grow taut.

“It was… an event. Turns out the man was a rather important merchant. With a wife and a newborn kid, to make matters worse. The flames had scorched the skin on his hand to the point it was unusable. Had it not been for a friend of mine, Yanfei, I could’ve landed in a lot of trouble. She got him to drop the charges. Still, rumors spread, and people believed what they wanted to believe. It was during that time I met Madame Ping. She offered to tutor me — teach me how to use my Vision, rather than be scared of it.”

Your fingers caress the scarlet gemstone. “That’s why I hesitated earlier. I still have lots of room to improve. Coming out here helps me focus better, though. I don’t know how to explain it. When I see those tall mountains that seemingly go on forever, and am able to reach out and touch the clouds… everything feels right.”

“If you like it here so much, then why do you go back?” Shenhe asks. This question feels important to her, somehow. A riddle that must be solved.

“Liyue Harbor is my home,” you reply without missing a beat. “My master helped me think of it like this: for every painful memory, there’s a memory I cherish to match. I have to go back and remind myself of that. Or else the hurt is all I’ll remember.”

Your posture eases after you finish speaking. Shenhe can tell this philosophy is paramount to you — perhaps even similar to the red ropes that keep her grounded. Everyone arrives at a way to continue forward and this is yours. She glances down at your arm, where a Mitachurl had unexpectedly charged forward and slammed into you.

You had the means to dispatch it, and still, you hesitated. She did not. She hoped your explanation would dispel her confusion, but as is typical with you, she’s left feeling further perplexed. If this is a place that does you good, you should stay. Is returning to Liyue Harbor a type of training for you?

“Thank you again for patching me up. And helping me out earlier,” you give your shoulder an experimental roll. “The way you fight with your polearm is almost magical. I don’t know how you can move like that.”

The praise makes her stomach feel strange, yet it’s far from unpleasant. “I’m glad I was nearby.”

She always is when you’re on Mt. Aocang, but she keeps this detail to herself.

“So am I.”

The wind blows softly through your camp, rustling tree branches and encouraging the fire to crackle. Shenhe’s experienced many nights like this. While she could always appreciate the serene atmosphere, having you present makes it different somehow. It goes from being just another pretty place on the mountain to a slice of paradise. You take the ordinary and turn it into something special, something worthwhile.

“[First].”

“Hm?”

“That man… is he currently alive?”

You shake your head. “He isn’t. As it turns out, he was making shady deals with this group called the Fatui. They aren’t people you want to mess with. No one knows the specifics, but his death was unusual. It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume they did away with him after he no longer held any value.”

“That’s certainly a shame.”

You blink. “It is?”

“Yes,” she shifts her empty stare in the Harbor’s direction. “I would’ve liked to end him myself.”

Shenhe might be dense when it comes to most social courtesies, but even she knows this topic is taboo. Her entire life up until this point has consisted of training to subdue her homicidal urges. From this diligence on her master’s behalf, she came to glean that killing is an act that’s generally discouraged.

For this reason, she almost regrets her lack of tact if not for the sole possibility it could drive you away.

That’s why her eyes widen slightly when you press your hand over hers.

“It’s okay. I get it,” your tone makes it sound like it too. “If I’m being entirely honest, I thought about it before. I used to get angry when my master said I shouldn't throw away my future due to the past. In retrospect, I couldn’t be more grateful for her patience. She wasn’t protecting him, she was protecting me.”

The smile that Shenhe finds more dazzling than starlight works its way onto your face.

“Besides… if I had gone down that path, then who knows, maybe I wouldn’t have met you? That alone makes me confident I made the right decision.”

As far as you’re concerned, Shenhe is nowhere near as enigmatic as the rumors made her out to be.

She has her quirks, that much is undeniable, yet she’s simple at heart. She doesn’t leave you guessing. Mincing words isn’t her style, although it’s not born from malicious intent. To her, it doesn’t make sense why you’d say one thing while thinking another, an element you find refreshing.

You can only recall a single instance where you felt distance from her, despite being physically close.

That instance would be last night.

Judging by the sun’s position in the sky, it should be around noon. Normally, you would’ve seen Shenhe by this point. She prefers to drop by in the morning and then again at night so you can focus on your training. You suppose this ritual was never set in stone, it isn’t like she has to do it. Still, worry gnaws away at your rationality like vermin.

There’s plenty to do to keep your overactive mind occupied. Today marks the last day of this year’s annual Mt. Aocang trip. You pack your belongings up with care, not wanting to desecrate the land that served as your home for the past few weeks. The adepti are generous enough to grant you usage of what’s essentially their abode. The least you can do is ensure everything is returned to how it was.

Wiping the sweat from your brow, you survey your work. You’re running out of menial tasks to justify prolonging your stay. Deep down, you know you’re waiting to spot those silvery strands of hair. It occurs to you then that you’ve never been the one to seek Shenhe out. Where would you begin to search and find her? Traversing higher up feels like a violation, that’s where Cloud Retainer lives.

It wouldn’t be right to depart for an entire year without bidding Shenhe farewell. This predicament leaves you with a limited set of options. You could wait, hoping that she might happen by, or you could leave a note. The latter has an impersonal air to it which doesn’t sit well with you. Especially when you have the distinct impression something about last night changed the dynamic of your relationship.

You’re about to sigh for the umpteenth time that day when your ears pick up on distant footsteps. Relief washes over you in waves, you practically trip over yourself to approach the source of the sound. You know it must be Shenhe before you see her. No one else comes up here, it’s more trouble than it’s worth.

Shenhe doesn’t acknowledge your enthusiastic wave, opting to inspect where your camp once was instead. It could be your imagination, but you swear she’s frowning.

She speaks up before you have a chance to greet her, an unusual edge in her voice. “You’re leaving?”

“I’m sorry for not mentioning it sooner. I sorta lost track of the days,” you rub the back of your neck. “But yes, I plan on starting the trip back to Liyue Harbor today. I have commitments to attend to. Otherwise, I would love to stay longer.”

You don’t know why you feel compelled to explain yourself. It isn’t as if you’ve been caught doing something you shouldn’t be, yet for whatever reason, that’s what it feels like. The way she fixates on your packed belongings isn’t lost on you. The intent behind her stare is, though. Your closest guess is mild displeasure.

“Then stay,” Shenhe’s response makes it seem so simple. “I’ll help you unpack.”

Without waiting to hear your answer, she makes for the bag that holds your tent, until you block her path. You were aware she could be stubborn when the situation called for it. However, this doesn’t seem like the time or place to charge ahead without paying you any mind.

“Hey, is everything alright? Did I say something that upset you? If I did, please tell me. I don’t want to part on bad terms.”

“We won’t,” she promises. The reassurance does little to make you feel better. “I’m not upset. In fact, I’m quite pleased. The intricacies of understanding others is an art that’s often lost on me. It wasn’t until our discussion last night that things made themselves clear.”

You shift your weight from foot to foot. “And just what became clear to you, exactly?”

“You don’t want to leave, so you don’t have to.”

Your lips part and then close in rapid succession. Did you accidentally drink liquor instead of water this morning? Why is she talking like this is the most obvious revelation in the world? Pursing your lips, you comb the recesses of your mind for any possible statement or action that’d lead her to this conclusion. Misunderstandings always have a starting point. No matter what angle you scrutinize your last interaction from, you can’t fathom how she came to believe what she currently does.

Then again, her thought process differs drastically from yours. You’ve never needed to try

“I’ve learned that people are needlessly confusing,” she approaches you with slow, languid steps. “They’ll want one thing then convince themselves to pursue another. You say you like it here, then offer an excuse when given the opportunity to stay.”

A kindling of frustration flickers to life inside your chest. “That isn’t— I’m not giving excuses.”

She tilts her head. “Then why would you want to return to a place that unfairly condemned you, when you were guilty of nothing?”

No one has ever put it that way — so blunt, so raw — the words are knives that know the perfect place to cut. You swallow thickly. A lump forms in your constricting throat that you thought you’d moved past. She’s in front of you now, looking down at you through snowy eyelashes. She smells faintly of morning dew and herbs. Even in the midst of this bizarre, almost dreamlike experience, there’s a certain serenity to be found. You’re situated in the eye of the storm.

Lithe limbs bring you into an embrace with the utmost gentleness, she takes care not to apply pressure to your healing arm. She treats you as if you were made of porcelain.

“I’ve been told this act provides comfort,” she runs a hand up and down your back, leaving goosebumps behind in her wake. You shiver. “Do you feel comforted, [First]?”

“I… I don’t know.”

Her grip tightens, causing your breath to hitch. “How about now?”

The genuine nature of her inquiry leaves you at a loss. Had it been coming from anyone else, you might think they were mocking you, but this is Shenhe. Her actions are always in good faith, regardless of the quality of their execution. You don’t reciprocate the hug or make an attempt to push her away. For some reason, the idea of shrugging her off instills guilt in you.

An unwelcome little voice whispers you wouldn’t be able to, even if you tried. Her strength is far superior to yours.

You beg the voice to not say anything else.

Shenhe nuzzles her nose into your hair, seemingly forgetting that you have yet to reply. “If a place is full of bitter memories, it’s better to leave it behind, rather than force it to taste sweet.”

“I won’t know until I try,” is your weak rebuttal. It sounded better in your head.

“If you try, you can get hurt again,” Shenhe’s fingers are impossibly cold against your sweltering skin. “So don’t try. Stay. My master has given permission for you to live here with us.”

She parts from you with some reluctance. You watch silently as she rummages through your equipment, putting everything back where it once was. She must’ve memorized how you preferred to set up camp. There’s concentration on her features, she’s intent on ensuring each item is in its proper place. After a few minutes of standing as still as a statue, you lend her a hand.

Your movements are far more sluggish than usual, it’s like there’s an invisible weight crushing you from above.

You test various arguments on your tongue and find them all unsatisfactory. How can you go about convincing Shenhe when you’re not even convinced yourself? For as long as you can remember, you’ve clung to the possibility of righting the wrong, struggling in swimming upstream against rushing currents. Could she be offering you a hand that’d pull you free from dangerous waters?

Or is she dragging you into another uphill battle under the guise of rescue?

From this position, high up in the sky, it’s easy to forget the complexities that inevitably come with regular life. There are no such difficulties here. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to stay a while longer. No one here looks down on you, whispers when you enter a room, or avoids you on the street. Underhanded comments never reach your ears. You had forgotten how much each of these unfair transgressions stings.

Shenhe reopened the wound — perhaps she has a better way to close it.

Until then, you’ll learn to endure the hurt all over again.

#shenhe x reader #yandere shenhe x reader #yandere x reader #yandere #genshin impact x reader #yandere genshin impact x reader #commissions #my stuff

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ceiling-karasu · 4 months

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Squirrel and Hedgehog polls

Ok!

So, I will be starting on the drafts for the shipping polls. Might take a few days, I will have to look up photos. Four Choices will be:

1.) Yes, I like this ship

2.) No, I do not like this ship

3.) I see them as Platonic

4.) I don't have any feelings for this ship/I have never thought about this/results

Some notes:

I have been watching on the official North Korean Youtube channel. In Operation: White Snow, the hedgehog scout is repeatedly referred to as Number 11, so I am assuming that he is a different character than the regular Scout Goseumdochi.

I am pretty sure we all agree that we do not ship Bamsaegi, Undochi, and S2 Mulori with the older characters (and I am assuming they are young adults in the show so it is ok to ship them together).

I have seen multiple people say that they do not see Flower Hill as monogamous, so liking one ship does not discount liking another. The first option in the poll could also include ideas of feeling like they may have had something in the past, but it is platonic now. I might make a multi ship poll later.

I cannot think of any ships involving Dr Dudeoji.

I also cannot think of any ships involving Uncle Gom, given how he thinks of the residents of Flower Hill as too small and weak.

Here is a rough draft I quickly made of the current list of ships I could think of, that will be in the polls. Please feel free to message me for any others.

•Geumsaegi and Scout Goseumdochi

•Geumsaegi and Aekku

•Geumsaegi and General Commander

•Geumsaegi and Mulmangcho

•Geumsaegi and Juldarami

•Geumsaegi and that one really competent mouse from A Battle at Mt. Rock

•Geumsaegi and Commander Seungnyangi

•Commander Seungnyangi and Assistant Jogjebi

•Assistant Jogjebi and Geumsaegi

•Officer Yeou and Geumsaegi

•Officer Yeou and Commander Seungnyangi

•Geumsaegi and the squirrel that comes to his window in ep 1

•Hedgehog number 11 and rabbit guide/scout

•Hedgehog number 11 and hedgehog waitress

•Hedgehog waitress and mouse waitress

•Juldarami and Akkeu

•Juldarami and Murori

•Mulmangcho and Akkeu

•General commander and Geomeunjogjebi

• General Commander and Akkeu

• General Commander and the mouse pilot from Searching for the Jewel Necklace

•Officer Yeou and Assistant Jogjebi

•S2 Murori and Bamsaegi

•S2 Murori and Undochi

•Bamsaegi and Undochi

•Commander Darami and Commander Goseumdochi

•Commander Goseumdochi and Commander Seungnyangi

•Some variation of the wolf interrogators in the dungeon, assuming they are not brothers

•I’m assuming Thief and Long Legs are related, so they won't be included

•A variation of individuals in the pact I need to look up again because I know some of them are related.

#squirrel and hedgehog #worked on this as well as a bit of the next chapter of Lily Bell in the Thorn Thicket #does this contain a secondary excuse to scour the web for photos?#perhaps #sitting upright has been really hard for a few days so I just didn't do anything #had to babysit a gaggle of toddlers who go to preschool over Christmas #it was nice to see them but who knows what I caught #thought I might have to go back to the hospital for a bit there

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bokettochild · 2 days

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Ok so I sent the thing about the great gatsby so let me type it instead sorry about that. The one you didn't understand

I went to see the great gatsby on Broadway I'm a big theater nerd so I kinda was just trying to rant but voice typing doesn't like me.

So I feel like if malon and time brought the chain to see the great gatsby time would kinda be like an air port dad but...city like? Like "do you have your tickets? Is that alcohol free? What if that fell down? Legend why do yoy like this jeremy jordan? We're is the parking malon! Why are people cursing to much" like that

Mean while malon is amazed at what the city looks like she is in awe like "why is the buildings so tall? I think that person waved at me" she is like a kid but she also is keeping an eye on hyrule and wild to make sure they're not running off. Four is just holding malons hand.

Legend is the whole reason their there because he has been dying to see jeremy jordan and eva noblezada on Broadway so both of them in one play? Kill two birds with one stone. Legend is giddy the whole time but like it's not obvious Maybe only to hyrule.

Wind hyrule and wild are like "Oh what's that? Can I touch it? Look shiny! What does that say" their running away giving time a panic attack. Twilight has a literal leash on the three of them.

Twilight and sky are just talking about school and their lovers. Well warriors will add a comment here or there.

Once their in the theater.

Legend is just like star struck when he see jeremy and eva on the stage. Like malon has to physically shut his jaw.

Malon is enjoying the show she likes how it is in the 1920s but she had been close to hitting time four time already because he had no clue what Is happening he is not following anything. Like time mind is just wrecked theirs lights on but no one is home.

Warriors wants to know how they all do their make up that's the only thing he cares about he doesn't care about the drama even though you would think he does all you hear from him is "I gotta ask how they did their make up"

Sky passed out the first five minutes of the show.

Twilight is trying his best not to choke wild because wild hasn't shut up from the beginning of the play he is making refrances and all that.

In the play their is a a sex sence that happens and malon would be like "wars! Cover winds ears and eyes!" In panic

legend Is trying not to laugh at malons panic but he is also covering hyrules eyes but is very in vested.

Four is unfazed by aby of the show.

Then for Mt second rambled I was trying to talk about what Broadway shows I think would fit each linked Universe character.

Like for time either Westside story or the notebook book.

I feel like for warriors newsies or mama mai but like if he was a newises boy he would act out katherine.

I feel like legend would either fit six dear evan hanson or the great gatsby just because it fits him so well or bonnie and clyde.

Wind is the greatest showman or high-school musical.

Wild and twilight I feel like are a bit of descendents but also a bit of Westside story.

Four is hamilton just with all the different personality's.

Hyrule i feel like Cinderella.

Sky I feel like he would a mix of newsies or the waitress because he would just relate with it with sun.

Hope this makes sense.

Much better! Thank you so much! I saw Broadway and really wanted to read it, so I'm real thankful for the second go!

Legend being a theatre nerd that drags the whole family down to see his favorite actor (Jeremy Jordan, heck yeah!) is something I love, and while I've never seen that musical, I'll bet he's loving the whole thing!

The oldest three just chilling and chatting while corralling the rest is gold to me LOL

Hevane help the whole theatre if Time and Wild are sitting next to each other, or worse, with Twi between them. they're both so lost and chatty, and Twi just wants to watch the musical! I'll bet food is the only way to shut them up, and he's plying them both with it so he can hear at least some of what's happening.

The whole family starts slapping each other in the face when things get R Rated. How they missed that while buying tickets, they're not sure, but apparently amidst all his fussing, Time forgot to actually look up anything about the play, just the theatre, the town, the roads, and everything else LOL.

I honestly have no clue which musicals best suit the boys, and have only seen a few, but I love the thoughts you had, at least as far as the ones I actually recognize!

#asks and answers #linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu legend #lu warriors #lu twilight #lu wild #lu four #lu time #lu malo #lu sky #lu hyrule #lu wind #theatre

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peistudies · 1 year

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New N4 Vocab for today

あさら (彼方, あっち, あち) that way, over there

あちらの方を見る。I will look over there.

あちらは誰ですか？Who's that over there?

あちらに見えるのが日本で一番高い山、富士山です。That thing visible over there is the tallest mountain in Japan. Mt. Fuji.

あんな that (about something or someone distant from both speaker and listener, or about a situation unfamiliar to both speaker and listener), so, such, sort of

あんな人は知りません。I don't know that kind of person.

あんな服は嫌いです。I hate that kind of clothing.

あんな美しい景色を見たのは生まれて初めてだった。Seeing a view that beautiful was the first time since I was born.

あんなに to that extent, to that degree, so much

あんなに勉強したのに… Despite having studied that much...

あんなに冷たい人を見た事がない。I've never met a person that cold.

あんなに優しい人はこの世界に彼女だけだと思います。People that are that nice, I think that she is the only one in this world.

いかが how, in what way, how about, questionable

体調はいかが？How is your health?

暑いので、窓を閉めてクーラーを付けるのはいかが？Since it's hot, how about closing the window and putting on the air conditioner?

ウエイトレス「お水はいかがですか？」 Waitress: 'How about some water?'

いつの間(ま)にか (何時の間にか) before one knows, before one becomes aware of, unnoticed, unaware

いつの間にか夜になりました。It became night before I knew it.

いつの間にか冬休みが終わってしまった。Winter vacation unfortunately ended before I knew it.

来月子供の結婚式があると聞き、いつの間にか小さかった赤ん坊が一人前の大人になったのだと実感しました。When I heard that my child will be married next month, I realized that before I knew it, my once small baby had become a full-fledged adult.

いらっしゃる to come, to go, to be (somewhere), is (doing), are (doing)

先生が教室にいらっしゃる。The teacher is in the class.

お客さんがいらっしゃる。A customer is here.

もうすぐで部長が家にいらっしゃるので、ビールを冷やそう。Because the department manager will come in a moment, let's cool some beer.

Creds to Bunpro for example sentences

#learn japanese #japanese vocabulary #n4 #japanese vocab #japanese #study japanese #nihongo #japanese langblr #japanese studyblr #japanese culture #japanese beginner #japanese language #japanese grammar #にほんご #にほんごべんきょう #日本語を学ぶ

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changingplumbob · 6 months

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Nishidake Household: Chapter 4, Part 2

Kaori and Charlie may not be sure where to start as mountain guardians but they know sims are watching over them.

In this part the two have a dinner to catch up with flatmates and discuss why they're not planning on growing their family with humans any time soon. Also I make myself tear up (I'm emotional okay) by having Charlie discuss the timeless save with Allie but she is alive for this whole part.

The women reach the end of their hike. Up a few stone staircases set into the mountain they find it, the mountain shrine. A memorial to all those who came before, Kaori's ancestors. It's time to let them know that these women are here to stay, and look after Mt Komorebi.

The prayers are cast into the tunnel and the Nishidake's listen for the echo to tell them they've been heard.

Kaori: We did it

Charlie: That was more draining than I expected

Kaori: You know what cheers me up

Charlie: Woohoo

Kaori: Yes! But also food. Let's go get dinner. Catch up with some friends

Dinner time with the old flat crew, minus their kids

Host: Hello and welcome to 5-3-1 Shinrinyoku. This restaurant was built by the gallery's own KA0260

Kaori: Okay can we-

Host: Can I just say... Hi

Kaori: Ah, hi

Host: Don't be thrown by my looks, I'm also tender and loving

Kaori: Excuse me

Luna: Is he actually

Rahul: Just wait, she's got this

Charlie: Do I get a hi? Being my wife's wife

Host: Ah, of course

Kaori: Table for 6

Host: Yes, this way

Devin: No one leads me anywhere

Luna: He's doing his job

Devin: Sure he is

Host: Call me if you need anything

Charlie: We won't

Kaori: Bye

Charlie: Do you two have to deal with nonsense like that

Devin: No but none of my fans are creeps, by definition of being my fans

Cassandra: Henford is pretty quiet

Rahul: I don't think we've encountered any paparazzi yet

Luna: You mean friends with cameras

Charlie: Oh you do not

Devin: It's a nice way to refer to them

Cassandra: Don't you worry about the boys

Luna: What about them

Rahul: I don't think we'd be comfortable with pictures of our kids in the papers

Luna: Most of them understand not to take pictures of the boys

Charlie: If any don't, just let me know

Waitress: Ready to order?

The group order and Cassandra has to excuse herself to go search for a bathroom.

Charlie: It honestly sounds like hell

Luna: I mean, it's not hell

Kaori: Spending 9 months growing kids only to not be happy at the end sounds like hell

Luna: I'm happyish now

Rahul: Well there you go

Charlie: Huh

Luna: I wouldn't change having them just to avoid the postpartum stuff

Charlie: So glad I'm never having kids

Devin: Wait, never

Charlie: I certainly don't plan on getting pregnant Devin

Kaori: And it would be hard to scale the mountain with nausea

Luna: So you wouldn't get pregnant either

Cassandra: Food's here, what did I miss

Charlie: It's not that big a deal, plenty of people don't get pregnant

Rahul: So you don't have a mum bugging you for grandkids

Cassandra: That's just you big guy

Devin: Pa bugged us for a while

Charlie: We're only... how old are we

Kaori: 26 Charlie: Thanks

Charlie: I mean, maybe we could adopt eventually

Kaori: Maybe. We're not in a rush

Luna: Life can be shorter than we think

Kaori: Not when you can throw chopsticks like this it's not

Charlie: Thanks for coming to us guys

Rahul: No problem

Devin: It's good to get out of the valley

Kaori: I bet

Allie: *barks* remember not to rush the door, they hate that

Clover: *barks* why

Allie: *barks* they only have 2 legs to balance on

Charlie: Say, want to go not make a baby

Kaori: I'd love to go not make a baby

Charlie: Knew it

So the two have some baby free fun.

Winter is officially begun! With it, food coma day! Kaori begins making a grand breakfast while Charlie works on fixing a few things.

Kaori: Are you sure you don't want me to do that

Charlie: You're busy

Kaori: And you hate handiness

Charlie: I promise not to electrocute myself

Kaori: You better not

Kaori: Cuteness alert! And breakfast!

Charlie: Aww, I'm here K

Kaori: You really don't mind not having kids

Charlie: I mean, if they're blood relatives to you... could they end up tied to the mountain as well

Kaori: I think they would

Charlie: Is that fair to them, they might want to live elsewhere

Kaori: I don't want to have kids just to trap them either

Charlie: But we'll probably need someone to take this role after us

Kaori: Maybe adopted kids down the road could be guardians without...

Charlie: Risking death

Kaori: Yeah

Charlie: We'll be here for a long time yet

Kaori: I know

Charlie wanted to take Allie for another proper jog so Kaori sorted out the garden for the day, with Clover's help of course. 2pm rolls around and it's time for Charlie to head to work. Kaori got a request from her publicity to make a fishing video so time to try find a fishing hole.

Here we are. The only fishing spot in the whole of Mt Komorebi. One big mountain, one tiny fishing pier. Kaori examines the water and sees a bunch of fish swimming around. She probably should have invited father in law Harvey along to help identify them.

The afternoon doesn't go terribly. While the drone has battery Kaori manages a few catches. She gets a minnow, a talking llama toy and an infamous cowplant berry. The drone can only last so long however so after a few hours she has to pack it up and head home.

Kaori: Where's the best co editor known to man or dog

Allie: *barks*

Kaori: There you are!

With Allie's watchful eye Kaori uploads the footage and begins the editing process. She ads a few effects, and smooth transitions, and gets a great video. The publicity agent is delighted.

Another food coma day tradition is baking! Charlie gets home while Kaori is still busy so settles on the couch with Allie.

Charlie: How are you doing girl

Allie: *barks*

Charlie: You know you have lived a wonderful life darling. The timeless save will be lucky to have you

Allie: *whines*

Charlie: Not this second of course

Allie: *barks*

Charlie: But when it happens don't be scared okay. You'll see Kaori's grandparents again. And probably your mum. And I'll be there eventually

Allie: *whines*

Charlie: Oh it won't seem like a long time for you, I promise my darling, be brave my girl

Allie may be tired, but she hasn't finished training Clover. She can't rest yet. She'll give it another day if she can, for Charlie. Allie hopes she's right about the timeless save.

Charlie: Thank the watcher she's still here

Kaori: She is

Charlie: I don't have work today, should we do some guardianship stuff

Kaori: I wanted to go rock climbing, the conditions are perfect. I'm sure the mountain wont fall down in a day

Charlie: Fair enough, how's our gear

Kaori: Still good

They two do some stretching before starting, don't want anyone getting hurt. They're both only level 3 rock climbing so have a lot to learn before they can try for the summit. They just have to remember to keep practicing to boost their abilities. Kaori dreams of the summit view.

And some bonus climbing pictures because I was having fun. Kaori did fall once but still managed to improve her rock climbing to level 4. Oh and Kaori is a neat sim after cleaning up some more stuff this morning.

Previous Part ... Next Part

#sims 4 #the sims #the sims 4 #rotation7 #ChangingPlumbobStorytime #NishidakeHousehold #KaoriNishidake #CharlieNishidake #DevinVillareal #LunaVillareal #CassandraChopra #RahulChopra #R0709

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saintsofwarding · 1 year

Text

EMBRYO

Chapter 5: Burger Fool

"No," the diner guy said.

"No?" Rose echoed.

"You heard me. No."

"No job, you mean? No...what? Why?"

"Yeah, no job." He ticked off on his meaty fingers. "...Yeah, no job, and 'cause we aren't hiring kids, Miss..." He glanced down at her application. "Uh...Winners?"

"Winters," Rose said. "Why the hell not?"

"You're sixteen. I ain't doing that whole teenage-drama song and dance again. Not after last time. Come back in two years or whatever." He looked her over doubtfully. "If you want to work here that bad, I guess."

Rose glanced around the diner, which was, non-encouragingly, called Vinnie's Meat Hut. A few exhausted-looking patrons slouched at booths and window tables, sadly munching plates of anemic fries and burgers that looked as if they might cause cardiac arrest on contact.

"Come on," she said under her breath. "I'm...young and hip. I could really...bring a fresh perspective into...you know, the day to day..."

"Fresh perspective," the manager said.

"Yeah. I could wash dishes, too, if you don't want me waitressing. Or I could...um...take out the trash."

"Take out the trash," the manager said.

"Please," Rose said.

"No."

"Please?"

"Kid, you need money that bad, go ask your mommy."

Rose blinked, then put on a sad face with big eyes. "I don't have a mommy," she whispered. "Or a daddy. They died when I was three."

"Cancer?"

"Brain."

"Both of 'em?"

"It was contagious."

"Get the fuck outta here."

Rose let out a huff, turned, and stomped out. She couldn't resist throwing up a middle finger before she went through the door.

The manager returned the gesture half-heartedly.

Rose stood on the diner's stoop, staring out at the rainy morning. Today was Friday, thank God. She needed the weekend badly. She hadn't gotten any homework done that week on account of the stuff with Sam and, of course, the monster.

The monster.

Heisenberg had said nothing about the previous night- not that Rose had given him a chance. She'd left before he even emerged from his room, stuffing handfuls of granola bars into her pockets so she didn't even have to stick around for breakfast. She'd barely slept- her second night in a row without much sleep- and now her eyes were itchy, her brain half-congealed concrete. Still, her ankle felt almost healed. One good thing about her power: she healed really, really fast. She'd never got worse than a broken bone, but even that had been better in a week. That had been tough to explain to the elementary school; Rose suspected Heisenberg had employed threats and intimidation to keep those concerned from looking into it too deeply.

Morning traffic rushed past, horns squabbling, pedestrians pushing by, on their way to work or school. The night before, this street had been ominous, dark and abandoned, but now in the gray daylight looked back to normal. Halloween decorations hung in shop windows, and a news-stand owner across the way was sat by his stand on a folding chair, portable radio by his side, listening to the reports.

Rose edged closer. She ambled across the street, ducked under the news-stand's awning, picked out a magazine, pretended to read. ...Light showers all across Regent City and the coast...looks like our October's only going to get colder, folks, better bundle up those kids for trick-or-treating...three-car pileup on I-60, no one badly hurt...Mt. Calyx hospital reports that...

Rose allowed herself a moment of relief. Maybe...maybe it had been chalked up as a fluke...maybe...

...More information on last night's subway attack...

Her spine went stiff.

...No casualties. A survivor and eyewitness to the perpetrator is currently in stable condition. While wild dogs are rare in Regent City, we do warn all our listeners that...

"Wild dogs?" Rose said, out loud.

The stand owner looked up sharply. "Hey," he said. "You gonna buy that?"

Rose glanced down at the magazine. Engines Quarterly. Heisenberg didn't have this edition yet. It had just come out.

"Yeah," she said. "Actually, I am."

Heading to school on the city bus, Rose hunched down in the seat, glanced around, then got out her phone. It was a super-shitty old one- Heisenberg had tried to juice it up too, but there was only so much he could do- and it took a long time for anything to load. Once it did, she scanned the breaking news articles one after another, trying to see if Mara or anyone else had mentioned her. Most of the articles agreed that it had been wild dogs. One posited that someone had gone psycho after snorting horse Viagra- apparently maulings were a common side effect of that activity- though judging from the comments section it wasn't a widely shared theory.

By the time Rose reached her stop the relief was enough to get her sluggish self off the bus and into school. Still, she tugged her knit hat down, like that would hide her face, and hunched into her coat, trying to get from class to class with as much speed as possible.

The conversation in her classes was a buzz on the edge of her awareness. Parties, Halloween events, weekend plans. Someone mentioned the subway incident, but it was more about how metal it was that there had been an animal attack in the middle of Regent City. No details. Rose's mind kept drifting to her ill-fated interview at Vinnie's Meat Hut. Ugh, she shouldn't have been such a brat. She needed money. She needed...

Just talk to Heisenberg.

Just talk.

She cut off her thoughts with a shake of her head. No. She had to do this herself. Besides, he was keeping things from her. Big things. If he was gonna know about what she was up to, he had to earn it.

When the bell rang for lunch, she didn't head with her friends to the lunchroom. Instead, she made a beeline for the library. The hush enfolded her, a few other students hunched over reading tables or sitting in the computer lab. Rose claimed a computer, logged in, and navigated to the search engine. Glancing to and fro, she hunched a little further forward before taking the metal disc from her pocket.

It gleamed in the light from the computer screen. She set it on the edge of the keyboard, then typed in

EMBRYO

Nothing, of course. Just the usual definition, wiki, et cetera. Embryo test and project embryo turned up even fewer results- just articles about artificial wombs, lab rats, in vitro shit. Rose stuck out her tongue as she scrolled through the image results, then, with a spike of frustration, shut down the search engine and left the computer lab for the library front desk.

The librarian looked up as she approached. It was the same one as the day before, a mid-thirties woman with a braid over her shoulder.

"'Scuse me," Rose said. She slapped the disc down on the desk. "Can I look up barcodes here?"

She looked up from her computer. "...What? Is this for a project?"

"Yeah. Research project. Big thing. Really important." Rose lifted her eyebrows. "So can I? Scan barcodes?"

"Um..." The librarian's eyes flicked to the disc. She smiled a little. "You're...Rosemary, right?"

"Rose."

"Rose, I think this...what is this? A dog tag?"

"Sort of."

"Well," she said, indulgently, "I think you'd need the database for whatever...whatever data is on this if you wanted the code to lead to anything. Right?" Her smile turned apologetic. "Sorry I can't be of more help."

"Sure. Yeah. No, it's okay," Rose began. Dumbass. Of course. "I, just, I-"

"Rose."

She went stiff. She stared down at the desk for a couple seconds, then turned.

Sam stood behind her, hands in her jean jacket pockets, staring down like Rose had just been staring. Dark circles cut under her eyes, her brows drawn together. She kind of looked like she'd been crying. Rose looked around, but none of Sam's friends were anywhere to be seen.

"What do you want?" Rose said.

"I...look..." Sam squeaked her boot along the ground. "I understand if...if you want to tell me to shove off, but..."

"A little bit, yeah."

Her eyes flicked up. She had been crying, Rose realized with a pang. Her eyes were red and puffy, the skin under them pearlescent.

"Can we talk?" Sam said. "Somewhere else?"

Rose opened her mouth. "Yeah," she said. Her voice was soft. "Yeah, of course."

They ended up in the alleyway. The same one as before. The dumpster was back upright, the dog monster's black blood entirely washed away by the rain. The air smelled crisp, clean. Rose sat on the steps, while Sam paced back and forth in front of her.

"So?" Rose said. "Talk."

"I..." Sam stopped. She let out her breath. Then she reached in her bag and brought out her phone. "I know Mara."

The air seemed to siphon from Rose's lungs. Her vision shocked white.

"What?" she said.

"Yeah. I mean...sort of. My friend, Necro, he's in band with me...they went to middle school together. She goes to East Regent High now, but...he knows her. And he was texting her in the hospital. And she said..." Sam scrolled through her phone. "She said...a girl saved her. A blonde girl. With black stuff that came out of her. Someone told her not to talk about it, but she couldn't keep quiet about who saved her. She said...this girl...drove the monster away."

"The monster," Rose whispered.

Sam nodded.

"It was you," she said. "Wasn't it?"

Rose looked at her hands. She drew in a slow breath. As she did, black veins twined through her skin, undulating slightly, like living things. She clenched her fists and they retracted. Sam didn't move. She stood there, watching her with dark, unreadable eyes.

Rose nodded.

"Monster attacked me last night," she said. "I took care of it."

Sam let out a laugh. The sound of it bordered on the hysterical. "Took care of it? You freaking hit it with a subway train, dude!"

She couldn't help but smirk. Heisenberg would be proud. "A little bit."

"That totally beats your goth hobo dad's stop sign maneuver, hands down."

"He's not my real dad," Rose confessed.

"...Huh?"

"He kind of saved me from, among other things, a draconic vampire lady's psychic nightmare dreamscape palace when I was a baby. He's been taking care of me ever since."

Sam took this all in with a blink, but all she said was "And he's...like you?"

"Pretty much."

"Good thing he's not your real dad," Sam said. "I'd hate to meet your mom."

Rose snorted. She doubled over with laughter; it kept coming, snorts and hiccups, uncontrollable; her eyes began to water. Sam started to laugh, too, one hand pressed to her mouth. She leaned against the far wall, her smooth brown throat open to the cool air. Warmth radiated in the pit of Rose's stomach, and despite her exhaustion, her aches and pains, the distance still between her and Sam, she couldn't help but be glad to be here, now, with her.

Their laughter died, and the silence came in once more.

"The way I talked to you..." Sam began.

"You were scared. I get it."

"Not just that." She looked down. "My aunt lived in Raccoon City."

"Oh."

"Yeah. She and my mom...they were super close. After...after what happened...after they just...never found her..." Sam shook her head, her gaze faraway. "My mom was apparently never the same. She's..."

She cut off.

"This stuff," she went on, "these...things. They've destroyed so many people's lives. They've taken so much away from so many. I was...I was scared, yeah. But...I didn't want to be scared of you...just of...of that."

The corner of Rose's mouth quirked in a tiny smile. "That?"

"You know." She wriggled her fingers. "That!"

"Are those my tentacles?" Rose said, letting her voice go sepulchral on the last word.

"Well, I can't summon them, so yeah."

Rose nodded.

"I get it," she said. "But, Sam...this power. These things I can do..." Her throat tightened. "They are me. Don't you understand? I can't put them down. I can't ever be apart from them. I...sometimes, I wish..."

She cut off, then began again. "They are me," she said again. "And. And you get all of me, or you don't get me at all."

Her face was hot, but her voice hadn't shook. Sam still stared at her. Her eyes were bright in the trace of weak sunlight from above. A momentary break in the clouds.

"Can you accept that?" Rose said.

Sam paused. Then-

She nodded.

"I think so," she said.

"Good," Rose said. "I need your help. You said Mara told you guys that someone told her not to talk?"

"Yeah."

"You have any money for flowers?" Rose said. "Because we've got a hospital to visit."

***

"Fuck school," Sam said, starting up her car.

"You're, like, a straight A student," Rose said.

"That's why I can say fuck school." She backed out of the school lot and they were off. "I've earned school-fucking privileges."

The drive to Mt. Calyx grew darker by the minute, the afternoon's brief respite from the rain over. Raindrops spattered Sam's windshield as they drew closer. Rose's hands were clammy; she tried not to fidget, but she picked at a hole in her jeans anyway. Sam glanced over, but said nothing. From the line between her eyebrows, she was a little leery, too.

Mt. Calyx rose above the surrounding buildings. It was built atop one of Regent City's hills, sloping up from the docks district to overlook the city below. The hospital was an imposing steel-and-glass structure with extensive, tree-lined grounds, its name done in bright teal lights across its front facade. After parking, Rose and Sam dawdled by the car, shivering in the chill wind, staring up at the building.

"Kind of creepy, don't you think?" Sam said. "Hospitals, I mean?"

"I've never really been inside a hospital before."

"You serious?"

Rose nodded. "Me and Heisenberg, we...kind of heal on our own. With him, there's some extra organs to deal with-"

"Extra- what, now?" She shook her head. "Long story, right?"

"They all are." In the long years of her child-and-tween-hood, Rose and Heisenberg had bounced from cheap apartment to cheap apartment, motel to abandoned warehouse, never staying for more than a couple years, tops. They'd watched a ton of television- together, sometimes, Heisenberg making constant observations and jokes at the expense of the characters, but mostly Rose alone, huddled under a blanket, staring at the screen, waiting for Heisenberg to come back. It was all kind of a mystery. With his powers, he could have done anything, made fuckloads of cash, become famous, but he never had. Back then, Rose hadn't questioned it- it was the two of them against the world, and no one else mattered- but now she wondered if it hadn't all been for her benefit, if he'd stayed under the radar to keep her under the radar in turn.

Once she would have chalked that up to pure love.

Now?

She couldn't think about that right now, couldn't think about him. Point was, they'd watched a lot of hospital dramas. A lot. Rose knew the procedure, even if she'd never experienced it.

"Come on," she said. "Let's not keep Mara waiting."

They made their way through the sliding doors and into the hospital proper. The lobby smelled subtly luxurious, paneled in wood, the lights kept tastefully low, but under the muffled murmur of conversations and the music played softly on hidden speakers, Rose detected a tang of something like disinfectant, chalky and stinging.

Her nerves prickled. She shoved her hands in her pockets in case her mold started to show. Sam went and spoke to the front desk person, who handed out clip-on visitor's badges and a hospital map.

"She's in the recovery wing," Sam said, returning to Rose. "Room D-6- oh! Look! A shop. Perfect."

She went to the gift shop and bought a bouquet of pink flowers. As she did, Rose's phone began to vibrate. An unknown number. That would probably be Heisenberg. She chewed her lip. Shit, had the school called Heisenberg or something? Usually he couldn't care less whether or not she skipped out on class. After last night had he decided to play responsible-parent after all?

She shoved it back into her pocket and hurried to Sam's side. This time of day, the hospital was quiet, a few nurses chatting in a break area, a doctor working at a computer in a glassed-in office. Rose kept glancing around, then reminding herself not to look suspicious.

"Don't look suspicious," Sam whispered.

"I know!"

"We're not doing anything wrong, we're just visiting a friend."

"I know," Rose said again. She stared down a hallway, pale green walls giving the light an underwater quality. "I just...weirds me out, is all. This place. I..."

She trailed away.

A memory. Suddenly. Like it had walked through a door in her mind. That smell. Chemicals and disinfectant, medical supplies and- mold. A woman's voice, singing her to sleep. Hush, now, child, the wolves are coming, hush, I pray you, hush, or they will make your worries their meal...

The language was unfamiliar, lulling and strange. But Rose recognized every word. She heard it, even now. Faraway, faraway. That song.

Her eyes- golden?

A place deep underground.

Pulse. The hallway was no longer a hospital, modern and clean, but the rocky, lightless cave passageway. The glitter of crystal, the rumble of something underfoot. Something deep, and old. Something sleeping.

Something waiting.

Another pulse. The memory left her. She was back in her body, but she was cold, still staring, white shocking into her vision with each heartbeat. She felt the slick squirm of her mold through her skin, tightening around her heart. Was this a panic attack? Heisenberg wasn't here. He wasn't here. Oh, shit, was she gonna freak out? She needed him bad. She needed-

A warm hand clasped hers. She jumped with a gasp. Sam stared up at her, concern bright in her eyes.

"Rose?" she said.

Her breathing sounded jagged, strangled.

"I..." she began. She and Sam shuffled to the side as a couple nurses walked past, barely giving them a second look. "I'm...I saw...I thought..."

She looked down the hallway, but it was no longer natural rock traced into form by a lantern held aloft, picking out the glitter of crystals growing from the walls, just a regular-ass hospital hallway. The panic slowly ebbed; warmth came back into her limbs.

Sam's grip on her helped.

She realized just how hard Sam was holding her hands, and heat rushed into her face so fast she was surprised her head didn't straight-up explode. She jerked her hands from Sam's. Sam's eyes widened a little, then dipped to her boot toes.

She stepped back.

"I..." Rose started- to apologize, maybe- holding your hands makes me feel way too much right now and I just can't- I'm sorry, Sam, I'm sorry, I don't want to hurt you again-

She didn't go on.

"It's okay," Sam said. She gave Rose a wry smile. "Hey, if you'd passed out or something at least we're already at the hospital."

"Funny," Rose told her. Still, she managed to return Sam's smile.

As they left, she glanced down the hall once more.

Empty.

An echo of singing traced her mind.

Hush now, child. The wolves are coming.

***

They found Mara's room on the next floor up.

The nurse on duty let them in. "She's been through a lot," she told them. "Take it easy, okay?"

"Don't worry." Sam gave her her most winning smile. "We're not gonna bite."

Rose dug her elbow into Sam's ribs as the nurse left.

"What?" Sam said, with a wheeze.

Inside, the lights were turned low, the room's single window washed by rain. The television was on, casting pale light over the hunched shape of a girl in the bed. Her long auburn hair hung loose around her shoulders; her eyes were bruised. She lay with one leg bandaged, tubes leading from the crook of her arm to the saline bag on a stand nearby, her gaze unfocused and lowered. When the door clicked shut, she gave a little gasp and whirled.

"Hi, Mara," Sam said, giving her a wave.

"Sam?"

"Yep. And look who I brought with me." Sam stood aside. Mara's eyes widened.

"Oh, my god," she breathed. "It's you."

"Again. Yeah. I didn't get to introduce myself before," Rose said. She ventured forward and sat by Mara's bedside. Behind her, Sam put the flowers into an empty mug on a counter. "I'm Rose. I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks to you. I thought that thing was gonna eat me." She scrambled awkwardly forward and before Rose could react caught her up in a hug. Rose stiffened, then put her arms, slowly, around Mara. It's okay, she told herself. This is okay.

"Thank you," Mara whispered. She pulled back, her eyes bright. "What was it, anyway?" She gave her a quick glance-over. "...You're not another one, are you?"

"No! Not...uh. Not like that, anyway. That's kind of what I'm here to find out. To make sure you were all right, and to get more information."

"Sure. Anything."

"Is there anyone else here?"

"My mom's just stepped out to go grab some stuff from home-"

"No," Rose said. She looked back toward the windows that looked out to the corridor. Sam quickly whisked the blinds shut. "Not your mom. You said someone didn't want you talking about what really happened. All the papers say it was a wild dog attack, but that's bullshit. Tons of people saw the monster. No matter how scared you are you're not gonna confuse a six-foot strawberry jello monster for a pack of wild anything."

Mara stared at her as she talked, fiddling with her hospital gown. The rain cast eerie shadows over her face.

"They warned me to shut my mouth," she said. "They told me...they told me it would be...bad for the public if I didn't...that it wouldn't do anyone any good to talk about things I didn't understand..."

"Listen." Rose took the Embryo disc from her pocket and held it up. "I found this in the monster's remains. The monster was the fifth test. Don't you get it? Someone is sending these things out. Someone is making them. And if I don't stop it, more people are gonna get hurt."

Mara's eyes shone in the light from the television screen, the sound turned down to a low murmur nearly drowned out by the rain.

"She showed up right after the doctors finished with my leg," she whispered.

"She?" Rose asked. "Who's she?"

"I..." Mara began. "I thought she was part of the hospital staff...a therapist or something. She was wearing, like, nice clothes under a white coat but she wasn't one of the other doctors. She had this...thing? Like a phone but smaller, and it flashed, and it felt like everything I saw in the subway was getting sucked out of my head. And then she told me not to say anything about it."

"Do you remember anything else? What she looked like? Any kind of...symbols she was wearing? Anything?"

Mara shook her head. "When she flashed that thing her face went fuzzy. I could see it but not, you know? Like my eyes wouldn't focus but it was my brain."

Rose glanced at Sam. The other girl's face was paler than normal, her arms crossed over her stomach.

"Okay," Rose said. "I-"

Her phone began to buzz again. "Sorry," she muttered, and looked at the screen. Another unknown number. Jesus, would he keep calling her until she picked up?

"Hang on," she said. "It's my...just hang on..."

She went over to the window. "What?" she said into the phone.

"Kid? That you?"

"Yes. I'm...kind of busy right now."

"What's going on? You're not doing anything stupid, are you?"

"Would you be able to tell the difference?"

"Cool it, pipsqueak. This fucking-" Something clattered, and he yelled indistinctly at it for a few seconds before returning. "-Fuckin' school of yours said you were gone-"

"Yes, and now I'm busy, so if you don't mind-"

"Don't you hang up on me! You need to get your ass home, you hear me? Get it home, now, or tell me where you are and I'll come and get you, I swear to-"

His voice hissed into static. Rose looked at the phone.

"Heisenberg?" she said.

"-don't- dangerous- need-" More static. With a crackle, the signal dropped, the call lost.

"Everything okay?" Sam asked, still too-pale.

"I...I'm not sure-" Rose began.

Voices echoed down the corridor. Sam peered through the blinds, then looked back up. "Shit," she said.

"What?"

"We need to move," she said. "I think someone's coming."

#re8 #re8 fanfiction #resident evil #resident evil village #rosemary winters #karl heisenberg #rosemary winters x oc #chapter 5

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greatfallsrp · 2 years

Photo

NAME: Lorianne Abrams AGE & DATE OF BIRTH: 36 years old / August 24th GENDER & PRONOUNS: Cis Woman / She/Her HOMETOWN: Great Falls, MT TIME IN GREAT FALLS: 36 years RESIDENCE: East End OCCUPATION: Waitress and Manager at Dolly’s Diner

BACKSTORY —

trigger warning: bullying mention, divorce, suicide, death

On a warm western night in Montana, Lorianne Susannah Abrams is born to unsure parents. Unsure of the world, uncertain of the little girl they’ve just brought into the world. Still, they’ve got enough love in them to carry on.

Adolescence goes like this: beauty pageants, wide-toothed smiles, and a small western hometown. Lori is destined for more extraordinary things the moment she’s able to charm the world, embracing her natural, evident beauty. The moment she steps on a stage, she’s adored. By the time she hits high school, she’s the one to look out for. She’s popular, a cheerleader, and the kind most grew envious of. To top off the whole cliché, she starts dating the star quarterback, Joshua Walker. The whole story falls into place, Lori and Josh riding in his pickup down to the spot where teenagers went to kiss and act young and dumb. And that’s just what Lori and Josh were: young and dumb, but it worked.

During her high school years, Lori wasn’t always the kindest. She often fell helplessly into the oh-so-typical “mean girl” trope, teasing others who didn’t quite match her level. It wasn’t anything evidently distasteful but it was enough to leave you wondering what kind of person Lori Abrams truly was underneath all her beauty and charm.

Fourteen wasn’t the year to remember for Lori. The year her parents decided that all their love for one another had run out. The well had run dry and Lori was left out in the cold. They sit her at the dinner table, somberly looking into her dark brown eyes. Her father had met someone at some point, Lori isn’t quite sure of the timeline, the entire thing became a blur of nonsense the moment “divorce” left her parent’s lips. Still, it didn’t change the fact that it was happening. She was to have a stepmom, Katie, who just so happened to be one of their neighbors down the road. “She’s great, sweetpea, you’re gonna love her.” She remembers her father saying at one point in the conversation, making Lori’s face scrunch up as if she had just sucked on a lemon.

The divorce is finalized only three months after, her father having already moved in with Katie and her son who was just around Lori’s age at the time. Lori’s mother wasn’t taking it so well. In fact, she was devastated and alone, just as unsure as she was the night Lori was born. Lori tries to help, to convince her mother that her life wasn’t over, but nothing helps. Miriam begins to hoard, clinging to objects she didn’t need, giving them irrelevant importance that often angered Lori in the process. Their house grew messier and messier, Lori’s room being the only one you could walk in properly. By some miracle, Lori can keep the house semi-decent, cleaning and throwing away items when she can. Though, throwing away items that weren’t needed caused arguments between her and her mother. And once the arguments started, they continued to come. Their dynamic as mother and daughter began to crumble under the weight of their living situation. Lori grew ashamed of her mother. And after a while, she stopped allowing her friends to come over. Her peers questioned this from time to time but Lori always had an excuse ready regardless of anything.

About a year after the divorce, Katie reveals she’s pregnant with Lori’s soon-to-be half-sister and Lori is dumbfounded. Nine months later, Annabelle arrives in the picture, and Lori is still reluctant toward change. Katie and Clay insist she’ll grow to truly love her sister but, a young Lori remained unsure.

Graduation comes in a blink, Lori sporting a royal blue gown across a large stage where the crowd cheers with glee as they hear her name. She soared through her senior year with exceptional grades and the future is bright. The summer after graduation is spent working as a waitress in town while sifting through college applications. Everyone she once knew begins to move on, move out, and start a life. Lori remains, confused about where to go next. The next year and a half stay just like this, confused and lost.

Her relationship with Josh was on the rocks alongside this. He had fallen into a similar funk after not getting accepted into his chosen colleges. Lori did what she could to comfort him, but he mostly wanted to spend time alone. Looking back, Lori assumes things might have ended differently if she would have talked to his parents and expressed concern for her boyfriend. But she was unaware, kept in the dark, and also confused about life. So, she gave him the space she thought he needed. Josh, one evening after expressing sorrow over his future, took his life. He had left a note for only his parents, his older brother, and Lori. Just like Lori, he was only nineteen years old. About to turn 20. Their birthdays were close together and since they were 14, they always celebrated together.

It was Lori’s first funeral and she took it like a champ. Shedding a few controlled tears over Joshua’s closed casket. The waterworks persisted when she was alone, though, bursting like a broken pipe. A naturally stubborn girl, she continued to gain her composure around others, even if all she wanted to do was scream at the top of her lungs until she was blue in the face. She remained close to Josh’s parents as well as his brother, who had taken the death the hardest. After sleeping with Lori after an intense evening of anger, mourning, and tears Joshua’s brother, Dalton, eventually moved away from town. Lori, by some miracle, didn’t take this personally. In fact, she understood more than anyone why Dalton would leave. She even pushed him to do so the morning of, insisting that Joshua would want him to move on and heal in ways he found suitable.

Life went on. Lori continued to waitress and save up money to buy her own home in town. It’s modest but enough for her. She continues to take care of her mother between arguments and clutter. And, as her father and stepmom insisted, she did eventually grow close to Annabelle. By some strange miracle, Lori falls into the “big sister” role nicely, even if she refuses to admit her love for her younger half-sister.

Now a grown woman, Lori remains. Waitressing and unsure.

Portrayed by GEMMA ARTERTON, written by MELANIE.

#t.#na.#f.#lorianne abrams #gemma arterton #melanie

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soflor · 3 months

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–SOFIA FLORES

FULL NAME: sofia pilar flores NICKNAMES: sof, lady AGE: 32 GENDER IDENTIFICATION: female PRONOUNS: she / her SEXUAL ORIENTATION: pansexual RELATIONSHIP STATUS: single OCCUPATION: performer at lady luck POSITIVE TRAITS: charming, resilient, loyal NEGATIVE TRAITS: impatient, impulsive, mischievous PLACE OF BIRTH: oxbow ridge, mt

TL;DR: Sofia Pilar Flores grew up in Oxbow Ridge, raised by her single mother, who shielded her from the truth about her corrupt businessman father in Brazil. Despite being enrolled in pageants from a young age, Sofia rebelled against being treated as a mere doll and yearned for authenticity beyond the glitz. At eighteen, she stepped away from the pageant world but stayed in Oxbow Ridge to care for her ailing mother, working various jobs to make ends meet. A chance at The Byrne's Lady Luck offered Sofia a way to pursue her dreams while staying in town. With her mother's recent passing, Sofia faces a crossroads, torn between embracing her music career and fulfilling her mother's unfinished dreams.

AESTHETIC:

sold out shows, acoustic guitars, vinyl records, half written lyrics, dogeared pages, leather jackets, sneaking out, whiskey - neat, empty beer bottles, doc martens, sarcasm, ripped jeans, filled notebooks, unsent letters, crowns and sashes, long days, inspired, 3am writing, ink stained hands, black on black, maps, messy buns, day trips, adventure, half finished mugs of coffee, dirty hands, reading, black and white keys, loud laughter, unpublished novels, messy sheets, unmade bed, fresh tattoos, unsent postcards, perfect smile, never taking no for an answer, confidence that could kill, blasting music late at night

BIOGRAPHY:

Sofia Pilar Flores grew up in Oxbow Ridge, Montana, raised by her single mother. Her father, a corrupt businessman in Brazil, remained unknown to her, his shadow cast over their lives. Her mother fled Brazil with the family's money to start anew in Montana, shielding Sofia from the truth of her lineage. Despite the absence of a father figure, Sofia found solace in her mother's love, their bond a source of strength in the face of unanswered questions and lingering shadows from their past. Sofia's mother, determined to immerse their family in the culture of Montana, enrolled Sofia in pageant shows from a tender age, hoping to foster a sense of belonging and accomplishment. Sofia discovered her passion under the spotlight, her voice ringing like an angel's amidst the fervor of the stage. However, beneath the facade of glitz and glamour, Sofia chafed against the confines of being treated as a mere doll, rebelling against the superficiality that surrounded her. The trophies that adorned their living room, symbols of success and recognition, held little significance for Sofia, as they failed to capture the essence of her true identity beyond the pageant circuit. At eighteen, Sofia reached a pivotal moment in her life when she made the decision to step away from the pageant world that had defined her upbringing. However, despite distancing herself from the glitz and glamour, Sofia remained drawn to the allure of the spotlight. Just as she contemplated leaving Oxbow Ridge behind for the bustling streets of Los Angeles, news of her mother's illness halted her plans. Sofia chose to stay by her mother's side, putting her own dreams on hold. As she watched the love of her life and friends pursue their aspirations, Sofia couldn't shake the feeling of stagnation that enveloped her own ambitions, a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made in the name of family. Day after day, Sofia devoted herself to caring for her ailing mother, their bond growing stronger with each passing moment. To make ends meet, Sofia tirelessly worked any job she could find, whether it was performing at a local bar, waitressing, or tending bar. Her determination to provide for her family knew no bounds, and she embraced every opportunity to earn a little extra money. Then, at the age of twenty seven, a ray of hope emerged in the form of The Byrne, offering Sofia a chance to escape the monotony of her everyday life without leaving Oxboro. Playing at Lady Luck, Sofia found herself living out her dreams while still being there for the person who mattered most to her, a delicate balance between pursuing her aspirations and honoring her unwavering commitment to family. Even though, it did feel as a betrayal to one specific person. With her mother's recent passing, Sofia finds herself at a crossroads, her heart heavy with grief and uncertainty. Suddenly, the future stretched before her like an open road, beckoning her to forge a path of her own choosing. While she could leave Oxbow Ridge behind and start anew, the town held a piece of her identity, a place where she had built a name for herself. Despite her success at Lady Luck, Sofia felt torn between her passion for music and the unfinished dreams her mother had left behind. Part of her yearned to abandon music altogether as she’ll only be as big as Oxbow Ridge. While, another part of her wants delve into the pages of the book her mother had encouraged her to finish.

HEADCANNONS:

Is pansexual and has been in one serious relationship that lasted almost a decade. currently prefers individuals who are looking for a good time, not a long time. is emotionally unavailable.

Is bilingual and fluent in both English and Portuguese, thanks to her Brazilian heritage.

Was known as the "rebel with a cause" in high school, often challenging authority and questioning rules that she felt were unjust or unnecessary.

Has a passion for cooking and enjoys experimenting with different cuisines, incorporating flavors from both Montana and Brazil into her dishes.

An avid reader who finds escape and inspiration in the pages of books, especially fantasy and adventure novels.

To pass the time with her mother in and out of doctor appointments and everything that came with her illness, Sofia turned to writing as a means of escape. Immersed in her words, she carved out a sanctuary of peace, finding solace and respite amidst the chaos.

While she may have initially entered the world of corruption out of necessity, she has since discovered a sense of empowerment and agency in her ability to outsmart and outmaneuver those who seek to exploit the system for their own gain.

FAMILY:

MOTHER: Isabela Flores - deceased FATHER: Mateo da Silva - incarcerated

NOTABLE CONNECTIONS:

BETHANY WALKER - ex-girlfriend - Inseparable childhood best friends, discovered the depths of love at the tender age of 15, their bond growing stronger with each passing year. For years, their hearts beat as one until the harsh realities of life forced them apart at 21, scattering their dreams like autumn leaves in the wind. Despite the distance, they clung to fragments of their love, sharing fleeting moments during Bethany's return home for holidays and events, until a heated dispute at 28 fractured their once unbreakable bond. Yet, amidst the shards of their shattered friendship, the ember of love still flickers, a testament to the enduring power of their first loves. MAEVE BYRNE MAYOR

TIME LINE:

age 0 - born november 14th

age 5 - met bethany walker in kindergarten, enrolled in first little miss pageant

age 6 - takes etiquette classes, little miss pageant: runner up

age 7 - takes social graces classes, little miss pageant : won

age 8 - takes vocal lessons and guitar lessons, junior miss pageant

age 9 - takes piano lessons, junior miss pageant: won

age 10 - takes public speaking classes, junior miss pageant

age 11 - takes a writing class, starts middle school, junior miss pageant

age 12 - becomes a cheerleader, junior miss pageant: won

age 13 - teen miss pageant

age 14 - starts high school, teen miss pageant: won

age 15 - teen miss pageant: won, starts officially dating bethany walker, lead in school musical

age 16 - miss montana teen USA, debutante ball

age 17 - miss montana teen usa: won, miss teen usa, lead in school musical

age 18 - miss montana usa, quits pageants, mom gets sick, graduates, bethany leaves for LA , starts working at dinne & dash

age 19 - joins a book club

age 20 - wrote first novel: unpublished

age 21 - relationship with bethany officially ends, starts working at last call

age 23 - wrote second novel: unpublished

age 26 - finds out father is incarcerated

age 28 - starts performing at lady luck, loses friendship with bethany

age 29 - wrote third novel: unpublished

age 31 - mother passes away

age 32 - bethany comes home

#muse: timeline #muse: about #muse: headcannon #muse: connections

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septembersghost · 1 year

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Lol, well she did participate in the ‘09 MTV promo piece by Lin-Manuel Miranda https://www.mtv.com/news/fwjzqx/the-inside-scoop-on-the-vmas-west-side-story-theme Did you hear of Max Martin’s pop musical set to his hits? Also Britney Spears has one coming out also. TS’s love interest in IKYWT played Spiderman in the Broadway one set to Bono & the Edge music & lyrics. She has many MT links…

oh i know, i saw that thee night it aired! it was my birthday! it would be nothing but a great memory if the other thing hadn't happened. ;___; lin rewriting tonight for her should actually be the iconic moment in music history. this is my truth!

and lin has openly complimented her since then, and they have some very similar aspects as humanistic lyricists to me (i mean this as nothing but a compliment, i adore him). when folklore was released, it was so near the disney+ release of hamilton (which was. very important to me for other reasons), and i was struck in a number of places by kinship between the two (my tears ricochet, peace, and hoax specifically). i'd LOVE to see the two of them have a conversation, especially since lin has now tried his hand at directing himself, and did it so movingly with tick tick boom.

&juliet is a curious case to me because you'd think one of the taylor/max songs would be a natural fit, and i wonder why one isn't in the show or if she was asked and chose not to license it.

reeve carney (ikywt love interest) also played orpheus in hadestown, and was one of my favorite horrible f***boys, dorian gray, in penny dreadful. 😄 he's lovely (and has also spoken highly of her). i also think a lot of sara bareilles writing waitress, and of the carole king musical (beautiful). i don't think taylor would go with the jukebox form, i do think she'd want to try something new, but either could become a great show, really.

she absolutely has a bunch of musical theatre connections, and it will always be a dream of mine to see that come to fruition and lead her to create there someday.

#anonymous #letterbox #taylor swift #for the same reasons i need her to talk to barbra streisand #because there is really no other apt comparison between a woman who dominated music #and then moved into the field of directing #(with endless scrutiny and pushback along the way)#(and who is so passionate about her own vision and has that artistic drive)#thrown out speeches

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harry-on-broadway · 1 year

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Curious, is there a top MT song you’d want to hear Harry sing?

I actually think about this a lot so I apologize for the essay you are about to read…

In my opinion Harry’s vocal range is much more suited to a pop/rock score so for that reason I’ve always said “Hair” from Hair would be the perfect song for him or even something like “What You Own” from Rent. If he were to duet with someone, I think “Come What May” from Moulin Rouge or “You Matter to Me” from Waitress would also be a good fit.

But…if I’m just thinking of any song from the musical theater canon my top three would be “No One Is Alone” (Into the Woods), “Being Alive” (Company), or “Finishing the Hat” (Sunday in the Park with George)

#broadwayrry

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jmreyes9 · 1 year

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“SMELLING THE ROSES” IN THE ROSE GARDEN OF PORTLAND, OREGON

By Jesse Reyes

Several of us members of the Hinsdale Fil-Am Church flew to Portland, Oregon, “The City of Roses” as I learned later, to attend the wedding of our Associate/Youth Pastor David Kokiong, many of us wedding sponsors. We came three days before the wedding with the intent of doing some sightseeing in this city which I had never visited before.

On the day we arrived in Portland and after checking in at our hotel, six of us (two couples, the second couples daughter and myself) decided to take the streetcar (cable car) for seeing downtown Portland.

At about lunchtime, we alit from the streetcar and walked on the street along the Pearl District (unfortunately we weren’t able to find any pearls on the road!). We decided to eat at a Vietnamese Restaurant where I ordered and enjoyed a chicken pho dish. The weather was a little cool, so the soupy dish warmed me up.

We had heard from someone earlier that Portland was noted for being weird—we observed many people with weird hairdos and weird attire with rings and trinkets worn in different parts of their body. At the restaurant we ate in, the lady in the counter who also turned out to be one of the waitresses, had her hair dyed-green and she had a ring in her nose. When we asked her if it was true that Portland is known for its weirdness, she replied, “We try to be as weird as possible.”

We waxed adventurous on this first day in this lovely city and we took the air tram, a cable car that took us to higher ground where we had a bird’s eye view of the city and its many bridges over the Williamette River that bisects the city and a view of the snow-capped peak of Mt. Hood (it had an orange hue due to the sun shining on it) from a distance). We also were privileged to have a stunning view of the Portland skyline.

The following day, we had planned to visit a famous waterfalls just outside of Portland. However, the forest nearby got burned and since they were afraid that some trees might fall on people, they closed the area for public viewing.

Instead, we decided to go to the Japanese Garden. It was a majestic place which we greatly enjoyed, especially since this was autumn and the leaves of some trees had changed to various hues. There was a small waterfall which was a great spot to take pictures and we readily availed ourselves of it.

After our visit to the Japanese Garden, we walked across the street into the Rose Garden where thousands of roses of different varieties and colors were displayed. The Portlanders take pride in the beauty of the Rose Garden and they take good care of the garden.

At the Rose Garden, I literally “smelled the roses”, at least a few of them. I did this because when I was still actively practicing radiology, I hardly had time to “smell the roses”, an idiomatic expression, one of the meanings being “taking time to enjoy the little things, or even bigger things, in life.”

“Living a positive life gives you better quality to your life. Life is short! Reach out and grab it while you have it! Embrace all those little daily things! Take time to smell the roses. Don't rush through life. Live one day at a time. Stop worrying so much, since it gets you no where. Accept what will be! Let go of all those things that weigh you down! Live, Love and Laugh.” Author unknown.

Some people also told us not to leave Portland without tasting their voodoo doughnuts. We did try to buy the recommended doughnuts. However, when we went to the shop to get them, the line was so long, that if we had stayed in line, we would probably have been late for the wedding. And we didn’t want that to happen, since the wedding was the main reason we travelled to Portland.

The beauty of the city of Portland reminds me of another beautiful city mentioned in the Bible: "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever." Rev. 22:1-5.

Written on 11/16/17 at Whole Foods (one of my offices away from home!) in suburban Chicago, IL.Puvlished in Cyberlink by Romi Talento, Nov. 2017. Posted in FB 2017 with a different title “Of Roses & Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland, OR.”.

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