#the destruction came into my front d

[caffeiiine]

I read the tags on your Kunikida post… go ahead and explain, my liege

JUST SAW THIS SOMEHOW ABYWAYS TYYY

OKAY so probably going into detail about how kunikida can be considered passively suicidal since i have the most coherent thoughts on that aand warnings for stuff of that nature under the cut :D + length

[also small disclaimer, i have been procrastinating reading dazais entrance exam and so far have only seen the anime adaptation which apparently left a ton of stuff out so feel free to correct me on inaccurate details and/or missed examples or just downright incorrect information]

[note: idk if passive is the correct term bc i was thinking about it and hes not exactly like oh i hope this kills me yk, so whatever that term is lmk <3]

This stuff also sorta ties in with his ideals and their potential self destructive-ness. they tend to cause him to either negligently often risk his life with there being an apparent “other way”, or just outright risk his life with barely a second thought for his ideals.

so kunikida has very strong morals and that’s the core of his character. the main ideals referenced in the show being his infamous “ideal woman”, “how to make dazai ideal”, and the ideal that basically tells him to save people. [i forgot what that one is referred to as]. If we’re talking timeline wise i think one of the first examples of his ideals causing him to negligently risk his life would be in Dazais Entrance Exam, or The Azure Messenger arc if you’re an anime watcher.

First example off the top of my head in dazais entrance exam would be when him and Dazai first see the hostages, specifically the ones in the room

after the gas came down dazai has to actually wrestle kunikida away from the room because otherwise hes gonna die. kunikida repeatedly shouts about how “people shouldn’t die like this”. This might be a bit of a tangent but later on in the episode he remarks how he “may as well ahev set the bomb off himself” when Dazai asks about Rokuzou’s dad, implying he blames himself for Rokuzou’s dad’s death. This is of itself isn’t enough for me to say “oh yeah he’s passively suicidal” so moving on to the main manga where there are several other instances of his tendencies to throw himself directly in harms way.

[there may be examples before this i just skipped to chapter 40] and starting off strong we have the thing with Aya. This could be written up to circumstance but he had the opportunity to avoid death himself so im counting it. he’s basically hugging death. that’s all i have to say for this.

of course he ends up surviving it because of deus ex machina yosano. After the fact, Aya asks him what he would’ve done if Yosano wasn’t there. To which he replies basically he would’ve done the same thing he just did except died and basically would have been fine with the outcome as long as she didn’t die in front of him. [he would’ve been dead as well and not had to deal with the guilt] i should point out as well, he does this because of his ideals. he specifically cites his ideals around these parts usually. The not letting anybody die before his eyes is one of ideals and the most common one he uses.

[im pulling that from the fact he had no backup plans or anything to actually stop the bomb aside from Yosano, since his words could imply he would’ve tried to save Aya. and the guy with the bombs was using the fact Kunikida holds his ideals very close to him, taht he wouldn’t have allowed Aya to die if he could’ve prevented it.]

aaand i think our last example and best example for tonight

context for the scene: they’re in the getaway helicopter and tecchou is trying to take it down via his sword and Kunikida decides to take matters into his own hands and take down Tecchou. First off, HE DID NOT HAVE TO, CHUUYA IS RIGHT. THERE. HE LITERALLY SHOT TECCHOU WITH GRAVITY BULLETS EARLIER.

HE DID NOT HAVE TO RISK HIMSELF BUT HE DID. also additional context, in this arc and the previous arcs, he’s been faced with situation after situation where his ideals have failed him and he’s been unable to exercise them and save the people he thinks he should.

point being, he feels like complete shit! he probably is thinking like if he should do anything then, it should be he makes sure he gets his friends out of there. regardless of whether he’s dead or alive because he jumps out of the plane and full body tackles tecchou while being in direct contact with fucking chuuya.

chuuya “has to stay out of the fights and arcs half the time because he’s too good at his job” nakahara.

chuuya “just shot tecchou and did a decent job at keeping him back a few pages before” nakahara. you see my point.

oh and then he just attempts to blow the both of them up.

he does not care for his life at all here. not one bit. also he did not need to blow the both of them up. he could’ve made a fucking stun gun or anything else that wouldn’t KILL the BOTH of them??

my whole point is he does not care for his life here and it’s gets worse the more you progress through the manga.

anyways anyways ending off, kunikida repeatedly puts his life in danger either for his ideals or neglectfully and/or without need. this has been a ramble. this man is not okay.

also kinda funny is he’s partners with dazai of all people, actively suicidal princess bungou himself. i really enjoy their differences and how similarly different they are.

^ not actually related to anything but i almost started laughing so hard with my family in the room at this piece, junichiro looks so concerned

#good god this was a ton #i hope this was coherent #i most likely missed some stuff unfortunately sobs and there’s probably a contradiction or two in here im not proofreading this #ANYWAYS TYSM FOR ASKUNG #sodaramblestoomuch #bsd #soda ask and answers! #bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #bsd kunikida #bsd analysis #bsd manga #bsd spoilers #bungou stray dogs kunikida #kunikida doppo #bsd doppo kunikida #doppo kannonzaka #kunikida bsd #doppo kunikida #bungou sd #bungo sd #bungou gay dogs

[stillfrownyclownlol]

Oh nooooo somebody stole my Aidlyn/Ashden headcanons so now I have to write more ... ✨️

(SORRY IM SPAMMING THE TAG 😭😭😭)

Some of these are based on my dad because he has bpd and he really reminds me of Aiden.

-His sense of humor is so broken like. Probably makes "that's what she said" and "your mom" jokes. Ash thinks he is the unfunniest person alive 🤡 and she STILL laughs at him (but never when he's trying to be funny). I think he'd be on Vine a lot lmao. He would laugh at that video of the bread slice falling over no cap.

-Aiden Clark, Professional Doomscroller. Maybe an itty bitty bit addicted to social media cuz "omg easy dopamine hit" even if he doesn't post a lot. Would prolly be chronically on TikTok if he was a teen today 🤡 Ash WILL steal his phone and hide it so they can "do something productive" (which alternates between her trying to teach him basic life skills to him falling out of a tree because they went outside for five minutes)

-her parents also gave him a truly awful shovel talk. He came out of it, kneeled in front of her, and said if he broke her heart to kill him before her parents did 💖 Tyler and him bond about their "scary in laws", although he has a better relationship with Mike and Emma than Tyler does with Mary and James 🤡

-convinced her to go to prom because "free food" and managed to wrangle out a slow-dance from her. He already likes dancing, SHE likes dancing...he wants to dance together ^_^

-She really likes his normal smile, when he's not forcing it. He takes good care of his teeth, so he's got a real bright smile :)

-Aiden tried to teach her how to skateboard a few times. She can...stand on it without falling off and roll around, but no tricks lol. Ash still thinks it was just an excuse for him to grab her hands or waist while she was balancing.

-Some problems in the relationship: they are not very good at communicating how they feel, so there's a lot of misunderstandings between them unless the gang intervenes haha ":D Sometimes Ash feels very suffocated by him and she really dislikes his apathy towards himself, and Aiden sometimes feels like Ash doesn't care about him nearly as much as he cares about her.

-his depressive episodes alternate between "I'm just gonna lie here and hope I die" to "actively trying to self destruct", sometimes he might go on a binge (overdosing on his meds, and when he's older he might sometimes drink too much or go on really dangerous joy rides, he's an awful driver), they really freak Ash out :( Recovery is a very long road with no end destination. She's trying to get better at reassuring him and he's trying to...just get better.

-both of them suck at remembering their anniversary 🤡 Aiden is a littleeeee bit better

-They have a knife collection they share ❤️

-he has her as "love of my life 💖✨️😍" on his phone contacts and has a special ringtone for her and everything. Absolutely not embarrassed about it, Ash...definitely is 💀 (she has him as "Aiden")

-sends her really bad poetry he wrote for her because writing his feelings down by himself is easier than saying it in the moment. Ash keeps all of them in a shoebox in her closet.

-she's not really good with touching and stuff but she feels better touching him, like a good stim. Really likes holding his face (no eye contact). Also enjoys him holding her hand.

-Secretly a little insecure about how she looks. She has never really thought about it before because she never cared about it, but now, in a relationship, she's kinda self conscious about him perceiving (read: constantly staring) her. She's very short and thin (even with muscles from ballet and training) and feels like a "late bloomer." Aiden thinks she's the closest thing to physical perfection that exists and will tell her this constantly ^_^

-She actually likes how he smells (grâce à: his really expensive soap lmao) but she would die before telling him lol

-The first time she kissed him her brain kinda shut off and she just squished their faces together while puffing her cheeks up. He bust out laughing and completely murdered the mood 💀 They'll figure it out...eventually

#heres a game: guess which ones are my dad lol #sbg #school bus graveyard webtoon #sbg (webtoon) #school bus graveyard #aiden clark #aidlyn #ashlyn banner #aiden x ashlyn #headcanon #tw self destruction

[footprintsinthesxnd]

I’ll Wait For You

Hey anon, thank you so much for your adorable request. I really enjoyed writing this one. I hope you enjoy. The best way to kick off the New Year? A Eugene Roe fic of course. Happy New Year everyone! Warnings: mentions of injury, family death, destruction of homes, themes of war, weapons.

Eugene couldn’t remember the last time his heart hadn’t been pounding out of his chest. Ever since they’d jumped on D-Day his heart had been beating like a trapped bird flapping its wings against his ribcage. He didn’t know whether it was fear or adrenaline; or both. He could safely say that he was scared, many of the men wouldn’t admit it and as their medic, he wouldn’t show it, but he was scared, scared for himself and his friends. It was normal to be scared. Yet Eugene had never seen anyone as scared as the large blue-eyed civilian girl looking up at him and Liebgott.

“What do we have here?” Liebgott had all but sneered, pointing his M1 at a terrified civilian. Eugene felt himself smacking the gun away from her, “Leave her be. She’s a civilian. What da hells wrong wit’ you.”

Liebgott quickly lost interest in the situation once Eugene took a protective stance in front of her, and hurried off to join Webster and a few of the others that had crowded in the square.

“It’s all right. I won’t hurt ya,” Gene spoke softly as he knelt beside her, his hands raised and his eyes not leaving hers. She backed further away from him, tears trickling down her cheeks as she mumbled something.

“What was that? Whatcha say?”

The girl mumbled again and Eugene’s demeanour quickly softened. She didn’t understand English, of course, she didn't, she was speaking French.

“C'est bon. Je ne te ferai pas de mal,” Eugene spoke again trying to reassure her he was no threat and this time the girl looked up at him, her eyes widening in disbelief.

“Tu parles français?” She asked, no longer looking as though she was about to fly out of the nearest open door.

“Je suis à moitié cajun. Toute ma famille parle français,” Eugene explained, glad that he was able to calm her down in her mother tongue. He could only imagine the horrors she had witnessed and then hiding in an abandoned house during the siege on Caretan too. He could only imagine.

“As-tu une famille? Que faites-vous ici?”

She shook her head and he wondered if he’d crossed the line by asking too much about her family.

“My family are all dead. I came here to be with my Aunt but the Germans had got to her first,” tears began to trickle silently down her cheeks again and Eugene felt himself reaching forward to place his hand on her shoulder, she didn’t pull away, instead leaning into his touch.

“I have no one left,” she muttered and now it was Eugene’s turn to look shocked.

“You speak English?”

“A little,” she admitted, “not a lot.”

Eugene couldn’t help but smile at her. She truly was pretty, her eyes striking against her pale skin, and despite the soot that covered her cheeks Eugene didn’t think he’d ever seen a girl so beautiful.

She moved a little and let out a small whimper which caused Eugene to lurch forward. “Are ya hurt?”

“No, I’m fine,” she lied, clutching her calf which was now smeared with blood, her other bloody hand raised against her chest protectively.

“What happened to ya?” Eugene asked, digging into his musette bag and pulling out a sachet of sulfa powder and a bandage. He didn’t hesitate to wrap the bandage around her thigh, pushing her dress out of the way without a second thought. She was a patient, so why should he treat her any differently, although his growing red in response told a different story.

“Tu es très doux,” the girl mused, watching as Eugene’s hands worked quickly, wrapping her leg securely. Eugene hummed in amusement, no one had ever told him he was gentle before, certainly none of the other paratroopers. “It’s true,” she repeated and giggled as Eugene’s cheeks blushed a deeper shade of red. He quickly moved on, bounding her hand, avoiding her eye contact as she watched him work.

“You should be all set,” Eugene leaned back on his feet. “Can ya try and keep off it for a few days at least?”

“I can try but I’m trying to get to a family friend's house. It’s only a few miles down the road. I’m hoping they will take me in,” she looked down at her scuffed shoes, unable to face the truth that she really was alone now.

“How about we give ya a lift? We got plenty of trucks. I can ask the Lieutenant,” Eugene added hurriedly, he didn’t know why but he desperately wanted to help this girl and yet he didn’t even know her name.

The girl just nodded, watching as Eugene stood and hurried away.

A few days later Eugene found himself passing by the quaint town they had dropped the injured girl off to. He was busying himself in an abandoned barn patching up one of the young Private's shoulders. The boy was whining and moaning at the mere flesh wound and Eugene found himself losing patience with him.

“Will ya just stay still?” Eugene grumbled, pushing his elbow firmly into the boy to steady him. The boy continued to complain but Eugene ignored him, too caught up in his work. The other paratroopers often commented on how he generally focused on the wound instead of the patient, of course, he offered words of comfort when required but he felt the attachment unnecessary. Eugene had never intended to be a medic, it was thrust upon him during training and so he had embraced his calling. He would hold the lives of his fellow paratroopers in his hands, thus denying him the ability to become attached, because if he became attached, became their friends, their brothers, well it would make it all the harder when he lost them.

A muffled voice behind him caused Eugene to turn, seeing the familiar figure in the doorway. He dismissed the private, instructing him to rest as much as possible. He whipped his hands in the spare cloth he carried, “How’s da leg?”

“It is okay. I try to rest it when I can,” she smiled at him and Eugene found his heart beating a little faster.

“Good. That’s good. How’s da hand?”

“It is good too,” she laughed, limping across the barn towards him with a basket tucked under her arm. “I was looking for you. I wanted to thank you for the other day, for your kindness.”

“Please, there ain’t no need. It’s ma job,” Eugene protested but the girl silenced him, placing her fingers to his lips.

“No, your job is to look after the soldiers, looking after me was an act of kindness.”

Eugene blushed, his eyes going cross-eyed as he watched the placement of her finger on his lips.

“Thank you,” she quickly removed his finger and pecked his lips. It was barely a kiss, his mind barely registering the action before it was over. The blush covering their cheeks and the smile on both their lips meant everything.

“I also bought you some food, it’s not a lot but you can share it with your friends if you wish,” she passed the basket towards him and Eugene gratefully accepted.

“Your kindness is too much Ma’am, how will I ever repay ya?”

“You saved my life, it is I who should be in your debt,” she replied, a delighted smile playing at her lips, as Eugene thought of a reply.

“Well, what about if I write to ya and umm… you can write to me too if you’d like,” Eugene watched nervously as the girl thought over his proposition.

“Oui. I would like this very much,” she grinned at him, before throwing her arms around his neck. “And maybe after the war is over you will come back, back here to see me again?”

“Of course, if you’ll wait for me.”

“I will wait for you,” she replied adamantly, nodding her head and Eugene felt himself smiling again. He’d never felt this way before about anyone but this girl he’d stumbled upon seemed to change that and he didn’t want her to leave.

“Wait! Ma’am, I don’t even know ya name. Will ya at least tell me that?”

She smiled at him mischievously before replying, “Write to me first American Boy, then I know you are true to your word. Then you may have my name.”

Tags: @georgieluz @iceman-kazansky @yeahcurrahhe-e @lieutenant-speirs @sharpshootershifty @liberteuniteegalite @msmercury84 @blvestxr @dustyjumpwjngs @theflyingfin @jump-wings @kafka-ohdear @kmc1989 @mads-weasley @docroesmorphine @liptonsbabe @ronald-speirs @sweetxvanixlla @hesbuckcompton-baby @ronsparky @allthingsimagines @whollyjoly @bucky32557038ww2 @panzershrike-pretz @xxluckystrike @malarkgirlypop @hanniewinnix @inglourious-imagines @l13bg0tt

#eugene roe x reader #eugene roe #band of brothers fanfic #band of brothers #easy company

[kairiscorner]

WE WANT MORE OF SPIDER-BARBIE READER WITH SPIDER-NOIR! 💖🖤

So, if you're okay with that, I'd like to request a scenario where Spider-Noir witnesses reader Spider-Barbie fight one of the Kingpins' allies (one of them ruined her Malibu designer bag) and clearly our Barbie got mad at him and fought over her bag (and she won). Meanwhile Spider-Noir could only watch from a distance totally impressed with her.

"I'm so in love with her." .- Noir said aloud while the others looked surprised at the scene.

Crystal 💞✨

HELLOOOO I'M GLAD YOU LIKED ITTT man, this is really random, but i fr wanna see barbie spidersonas more ngl 😭😭😭ESPECIALLY ONE IN THIS SITUATION, SHE'D BE SO COOL i hope you like this one :DDD

(reblogs are greatly appreciated, it helps get my content out there! if you guys like what you see, please reblog it too <:D)

he just loves a killer woman.

summary: oh, they had done it. you can try squashing spider barbie under your foot, but she'll always crawl back up; but try ruining her designer malibu barbie bag? yeah, you're not lasting another second with her. word count: 434

oh, did that really just happen? did kingpin's meatheaded, buffoon of a goon really just do that? a rip resounded through the air as spider barbie watched in horror at how her lovely designer malibu barbie bag was just... just torn into pieces in front of her. noir watched the whole thing unfold as he knocked out one of them just earlier with his bare fists and slamming a random car into them with his webs, his eyes widening as spider barbie stared at the remains of her beloved designer handbag.

her expression was unreadable from her generally expressive mask, noir couldn't see her eyes as she stared at the now torn apart bag. "...my creator gave me that..." she muttered as she tore her gaze from the bag and directed it to the goon, who was now glowering over her and chuckled to themselves. "what? gonna cry about it? oh, boo-hoo, barbie's lost an accessory--grow up, ya pest of a little girl." they taunted her as they grabbed a stray stop sign to slam into her with, and before noir or the goon could do anything, spider barbie threw the first punch at the goon's abdomen that was left wide open.

from there, all of spider barbie's rage--from not just the destruction of the one thing that reminded her of the woman who created her and taught her what it meant to be herself--but from all the pent up frustrations and anger she's harbored for the longest time over all kinds of things came pouring out as she swung here and there to throw hands with this ignorant buffoon who dares condescend spider barbie.

"this is for my friends," whack! "this is for calling me a 'pest of a little girl'," bam! "and this, is for my designer malibu barbie bag, YOU CRETIN!" SLAM!

it was undeniable, spider barbie could kick ass. and as noir watched from the sidelines, admiring how proper and prim spider barbie still was as she fought--not to mention, incredibly fashionable and eye-catching while she kicked that goon's ass through and through--he could feel... a difference in his heart, a stronger palpitation in his heartbeat. he felt a warmth in his face as he found himself smiling a little as he watched her go.

'gee... what a woman, what a woman, what a woman.' he thought to himself as spider barbie subdued the goon and stood on top of them as she looked down at noir, taking off her mask, and smiling proudly at how she defeated this guy with the power of her sheer rage and awesome barbieness.

tags !! @thecoolerdor @miguelswifey04 @sabcandoit @binibinileonara @k4tsu3 @fiannee @luvstarrstruck @maxoloqy @thee-fantastic-mrfox @fictarian @yuridopted0

#spider noir #spider noir x reader #barbie #spider noir fluff #spider noir x y/n #spider noir x you #spidersona #atsv #atsv x reader #atsv x you #atsv x y/n #atsv imagines #atsv fluff #spiderman across the spiderverse #spiderman across the spiderverse x reader #the barbie movie

[d1xonss]

Desert Rose

Chapter 8 ~ Panic Room

✧ Pairing : Daryl Dixon x Rose

✧ Era : Season 1

✧ Word Count : 4.2k

In this chapter ~ When the group pushed even harder for answers about the outbreak as a whole, Jenner gives them the harsh and ugly truth. One that they clearly weren't expecting to hear. But the man didn't stop there as they were all suddenly locked inside the large building, the entire thing going into self-destruct mode. It left all of them terrified, wondering if there was any way out of the danger they seemed to walk right into.

"Give me a playback of TS-19." Jenner commanded out loud as he walked into the large room.

Our footsteps echoed around the giant space, filled with lines and lines of computers and a giant screen in the middle of the back wall on full display. Everything in here looked expensive and new, like there were many doctors and smart people in here at one point trying to do everything they could when the outbreak hit. I didn't miss the mess that lingered in different places when people obviously began to panic, not knowing how the hell to stop this or what exactly it was. But I hoped that after Jenner stayed here for months, maybe he had come up with some sort of answer.

Suddenly, seconds after Jenner spoke, there was video feedback of different 3-D views of human skulls on the giant screen right in front of us.

"Is that a brain?" Carl asks from beside his mother.

Jenner nodded, "An extraordinary one. Take us in for E.I.V."

The screen then showed the brain having all of these different little blue lights, glowing and flickering in every direction. The stemmed from the front and all the way around to the back, the mind itself looking alive right in front of our eyes. Jenner began to explain to all of us that the lights we see are a person's life, all of their experiences, basically all of the different things that make you unique. But I didn't miss his change in tone when he informed us that the person we were seeing had been bitten, and agreed to have all of this recorded and watched by others for learning purposes.

My eyes stayed firmly on the screen as the man rambled on and on it seemed like, nearly tuning him out as I watched all the once bright blue lights, slowly dim with each passing second. Though it only got faster once Jenner commanded the computer to fast forward through the footage, watching as the person slowly lost their life right before our very eyes. The brain then became completely dark as the person stopped moving, fast forwarding even further when something unexpected happened.

Once the person essentially came back to life, red lights suddenly appeared instead in only a certain part of the brain now. Showing all of us what happened to you after you turn is far worse than what we could even imagine.

"It restarts the brain?" Lori asked.

"You tell me." he replies as he gestured to the screen, watching us take it all in like he had probably done many times in the past, studying over every movement time and time again.

"It's not like before, most of that brain is dark." Rick states.

Jenner then says, "Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part, that doesn't come back. The you part. Just a shell driven by mindless instinct."

The screen then previews something suddenly hitting the brain right in the middle, before it all goes black again and the person stops moving completely.

"God. What was that?" Carol asked in shock.

My eyes scanned the person's entire head, looking at the object that was now lodged in the center, "He shot his patient in the head." I assumed, "Didn't you?"

He didn't answer me as he powered down the screen with the press of a button, clearly not wanting to relive the moment. There was something suddenly suspicious about the things he was dancing around, almost purposefully not answering.

"You have no idea what this is do you?" Andrea asked.

Jenner sighed, "It could be microbial, vial, parasitic, fungal."

"Or the wrath of God." Jacqui said under her breath.

"There is that." Jenner said before proceeding to tell us that he truly didn't have the answers we were looking for. He was almost just as clueless about this as any of us are, not having near as many answers as he wished. That only made me wonder what the hell he was doing these past few months if he wasn't trying to figure out what all this shit was. Was he just sitting on his ass in his fancy building, waiting for someone to come knocking and save him? I truly wanted to know.

"Man, I wanna get shitfaced drunk after this." Daryl muttered close to me.

I just nodded my head in response, not taking my eyes off the man as he continued talking, though I couldn't bring myself to pay attention. Coming here only seemed absolutely hopeless now knowing everything. We couldn't save Jim, and we would never know what all of this is, what it would all lead to in the future. The information he gave us was practically useless.

"Jenner, I know this has been taxing you and I hate to ask one more question, but that clock, it's counting down. What happens at zero?" Dale suddenly asked, bringing all of our attention to the big red numbers ticking to our left.

The man grew silent for a moment, shifting from side to side as he visibly grew uncomfortable, "The...basement generators run out of fuel...the power runs out." he eventually explained vaguely.

"And then?" I asked.

Jenner ignored me again. Dick. Before starting to just walk out of the room as if the conversation was anywhere near done.

"VI what happens when the power runs out?" Rick asked the computer.

"When the power runs out, facility–wide decontamination will occur." VI responded, a robotic voice coming through the speakers.

We all looked around at each other in slight confusion, not really knowing what that meant and Jenner was already too far gone to explain any of it. Almost as if he didn't want us to know. That alone caught the attention of a few of the guys as they began to quickly leave the room to figure out what the hell was going on, down towards the basement like Jenner mentioned. Daryl was about to leave my side to follow them out, but turned back to me almost as if he forgot something.

"Grab your stuff, get ready to leave." he told me urgently.

I nodded absentmindedly as I watched him turn around again to leave, before rushing in the other direction to head back towards the many lined up rooms. The door practically flew open with the amount of force I used, not wasting anymore time as I gathered the rest of my things, the books that I had picked out, and a few bottles of water that were scattered around the space. I fucking knew that something bad was going to happen, I should've bet on it. Something had been off since the beginning and I didn't say a damn thing about it, how could I have let this just fly over my head like that without taking it more seriously.

I seemed to pause mid step as I frantically walked around the room as the power went out in a split second, leaving me in the dark, and I didn't hesitate to pick up my pace. I blindly hauled the rest of my stuff over my shoulders and grabbed Daryl's bag along with his crossbow and quickly made it back out of the space.

By the time I rushed back into the giant room we were huddled in, everyone had come back and started hounding Jenner with question after question, all of them he seemed to be avoiding. I fully walked into the area hesitantly upon the scene and I saw Daryl's shoulders relax the second he saw me again, his brows still furrowed in concern.

He then rushed over to me rather quickly, "What the hell took ya so long?" he asked, his tone blunt and angry.

I stood there for a second before handing him his things, "Sorry?" I asked in disbelief.

It hit him then what he sounded like and he quickly shook his head, "I-...sorry, I'm just..." he trailed off, not knowing how to describe the obvious fear he was feeling.

But I understood what he was saying without even having to hear it, nodding to him as he didn't need to finish his thought for me to know. I myself was feeling the same way as I tried to calm my nerves, disregarding all the many things that could go wrong in here even though they might've been true.

For every question that Jenner was avoiding, the harder it was for me to remain calm. There was a conversation happening in front of Daryl and I that he seemed to be listening intently to, but I wasn't. I couldn't. I just tried to focus on my breathing, my heartbeat growing loud in my ears as I was trying to not completely freak out. Panic attacks weren't a new thing to me, but I definitely would rather die than have one in front of a crowd of people.

Then Rick suddenly snapped when he wasn't getting anywhere with Jenner, "Everyone grab your things, we're getting out of here now!" he yelled.

He didn't have to tell me twice. I instantly started to walk out on instinct along with everyone else, but a sudden alarm began blaring loudly the second we moved it seemed like, and the door slammed shut right in front of my face, locking us in. Okay if I thought I was feeling claustrophobic before, then what the hell was I feeling now?

"Did you just lock us in? Guys he just locked us in!" Glenn shouted in panic.

"Yeah, no shit." I muttered in disbelief, my eyes wide as I scanned the thick metal door in front of me.

My breathing started to become heavier after Glenn said that, making the situation only more real and far worse, and Daryl quickly took notice from my right. He suddenly whipped around to the man responsible and ran up to him in a split second, "You son of a bitch! You locked us in here!" he screamed.

He tried to tackle the man but Rick and Shane stopped him by pulling him back harshly by the arms. I dropped my backpack to the ground absentmindedly, starting to walk back and forth in the giant room that only seemed to be getting smaller, trying to steady my racing heart but nothing seemed to be working. We were really trapped in here, with a timer counting down the minutes to God only knows what.

Glenn quickly seemed to watch me frantically moving back and forth from right next to him and gently grabbed me so I would come to a stop, pulling me into him in attempts to calm me down. But it only seemed to make things worse, feeling his arms shaking around me only proving just how scared he was too. How nervous we all seemed to be of the unknown.

It was then Jenner started to yell, having been fed up with the many voices demanding him for answers and the people beginning to attack him every two seconds. The serious man finally reached his breaking point just as he pushed us to ours.

"Do you know what this place is?!" he snapped, "We protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! Ever!"

We were all left to a stunned silence at his outburst, watching as he took a breath and sat back down in his chair, leaving the painful silence all around us. Daryl's eye seemed to catch with mine from across the room and gave me a look I had never seen from him before whilst I was still slightly shaking in Glenn's arms, hating the idea of being trapped.

Jenner then continued, "In the event of a catastrophic power failure in a terrorist attack, for example, H.I.T.S are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out."

"H.I.T.S?" Rick questioned.

Jenner glanced at him, "VI, define." he commanded.

"H.I.T.S- High-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consist of a two stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast heat wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive."

I froze. All I could hear in that moment was Glenn's quickened heartbeat, Carol and Sophia holding each other sobbing, and the rest of the men getting very angry as if it was the only emotion they knew how to feel. Not only were we left trapped in here, but we were also going to die. We were all going to die without even having really lived, and he just seemed to brush past it without a care in the world. Not even considering to bring it to any of our attention before this, and I couldn't have been more angry with him.

Before I knew what was happening Daryl and Shane brushed past us in a hurry, trying to break the door open by hitting it repeatedly with axes they had somehow found along the way. I slightly pushed away from Glenn to walk over towards Jenner to try and hear anything other than ringing in my ears. But I didn't get very far as I felt someone suddenly hug me from around my waist and I looked down to see Carl holding onto me tightly. He was still crying profusely, and I quickly got down on my knees to hug him in return, trying to offer him some type of support as his fear must've been petrifying.

This isn't the way it should go. I felt utterly hopeless, I knew we wouldn't be getting out of here unless Jenner decided so, and by the looks of it he wasn't budging. Even with Rick kept trying to convince him every passing second.

"Can't make a dent." Shane said breathlessly to all of us as he took a break from trying to tear down the door.

"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher." Jenner informed.

"Well you're head ain't!" Daryl yelled while coming at Jenner with an axe, Shane and Rick having to step in once more to stop him again from doing anything rash.

If we weren't about to die, I probably would've laughed at his witty comeback, but Carl's quiet sobs reminded me of the state of the situation and now was not the time. I continued to rub his back reassuringly to try and calm him somehow as I watched the scene unfold in front of me over his shoulders.

Jenner kept trying to convince all of us that this was for the best, and there would be no pain when we all die in here together. But the truth was I didn't want to die, not now, nor did I want anyone else in here to have the same exact fate. And clearly we all were in firm agreement with how much everyone was losing their shit. Reacting in different ways to Jenner's psychotic behavior, anger, sadness, and panic, yet it was all completely the same. Fear. It always seemed to come back didn't it?

Lori came up to me to take Carl back into her arms and just held him for our last few moments while she finally let her own tears fall, realizing it was all hopeless. But Rick clearly wasn't ready to give up. I watched him pick apart the man, digging down as deep as he could to try and convince him to just let us make our own decision on this. That we all deserved a right to choose what we wanted our fate to be instead of it being forced upon us like this. That maybe there was still some hope out there for us to find.

And then suddenly, he broke. The man didn't say a word, not a single word as he silently walked over to a control panel, typing in a few numbers that sent the metal door flying open. Daryl, who was still trying to break through, nearly ate shit when it opened quickly as he still swung the weapon over and over again. But he recovered fast as he whipped around to grab his stuff from off the ground.

"Come on!" he yelled to the rest of us.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding once it hit me that it was real. He was letting us go. My legs had never moved so fast as I sprinted towards the door, grabbing my things along the way and making sure everyone else made it through the door before me as I pushed them through to the other side.

But I quickly noticed as I looked back that Jaqui and Andrea were staying behind with Jenner, leaving Dale shocked beyond repair. He wanted to save her, I could tell by his eyes how much he cared for her, but he knew there was nothing he could do to convince her, so he stayed too. The sight alone caused my mouth to drop at how many people we seemed to be losing, one after another. Each of them fell just like dominos.

My eyes wouldn't pull away from them, wanting them to come with us but knowing I couldn't do or say anything to change their minds. After all, what could I say? They thought their chance of surviving out there was slim, and they were terrified of walkers potentially tearing them to shreds, that's not how they wanted to go. And as much as it might've pained me, I could also understand that too.

Heavy footsteps from behind me were slapping loudly on the ground below, approaching me in record speed but I ignored it for a second, wanting to get one last look at their faces before I made my own decision too.

"Hey, come on, let's go." Daryl said from right behind my head while grabbing my sleeve to pull me along.

I looked at him with a twinge of sadness in my eyes, but nodded and followed him out the door towards the main entrance, not looking back.

The two of us flew towards the front doors where everyone else was waiting, watching from a distance as some of the guys were trying to break the windows with axes and any other type of weapon they could find. I recalled Jenner saying something about not being able to open the front doors again, but it's not like any of us minded that. Where there's a will, there's a way.

But nothing was working as they continued to struggle, the glass being too thick to cut through easily, that is until Carol approached Rick as she dug through her bag, "I think I have something that will help." she said.

"Carol, I don't think a nail file is gonna do it." Shane said in frustration.

I blinked. Really?

She ignored him, "Back at camp when I was washing your clothes, I found this in your pocket." she said as she pulled out a grenade with shaking hands.

My eyes widened at the random object. Yeah, I think that'll do it.

Rick then took it from her and told everyone to get down once he placed it by the window. I ducked and covered the back of my neck with my hands when, at the last minute, I felt another body covering mine. Once the window shattered, I looked up to see it was Daryl and he quickly grabbed my hand and practically dragged me out the window as fast as possible with everyone following close behind.

We all took down as many walkers as we could as we made our way back to the cars quickly, breathing heavily with adrenaline coursing through our bodies. I got into the passenger side of the truck and slammed the door shut, Daryl's movements only mirroring mine as he didn't waste a single second before getting in too. I found myself looking back at the building once more, just in time to see Andrea and Dale making it out of the window at the last minute and diving to take cover right before the explosion.

I ducked down in anticipation to shield myself once again, only seconds away from the ignited fire before it rang out loudly in my ears. I felt the heat of the explosion blow in our direction along with the smoke that came after that, perishing whatever was left inside. Daryl sat up after a few seconds of silence had passed and I got up slowly after him looking to see Andrea and Dale quickly making their way into the RV, with the building burning behind them.

I sat there in shock, trying to process everything that went down in the last thirty minutes. It all seemed to happen so fast.

"Hey, ya okay?" Daryl asked once he collected his own thoughts.

I didn't look at him, but I nodded my head to show that I heard him, even if my answer was far from the truth. But then I felt his hand, slowly and hesitantly falling on my shoulder as if he was scared to touch me.

"Look at me." he said in a soft voice.

My eyes moved over to him slowly to make sure I wasn't just imagining things. Seeing him worried and speaking in such a soft tone was a weird new thing to experience, almost weirder than what we just went through seconds ago. He was being so genuine it seemed unnatural...but not in a bad way. 

"I'm okay." I finally muttered.

I didn't think he believed me, not for a second, but before he could protest more the cars in front of us started to move, leaving him not much of a choice as he quickly started up the vehicle to follow. I sat completely still while we drove in silence, just thinking. I didn't want Jacqui to stay, leaving someone behind for dead was something I never thought we'd do. But I tried to tell myself that she was at peace and wouldn't suffer in this cruel world anymore.

We had been driving for hours and I could tell that the sun would start setting soon enough and we would have to find somewhere to stay for the night. It frustrated me slightly that we had to start all over with finding a safe place to stay, although I didn't have a lot of faith in the CDC, it still would've been nice to hole up there for a little while. Better than mindlessly wandering place after place only to be left with nothing we could rely on.

"Did ya wanna stay?" Daryl suddenly asked.

Although I barely heard the question fall from his lips because it was more of a whisper, yet I was still taken off guard at his question. Was that what he thought I wanted? I didn't want him or anyone to think I wanted to stay merely because I stopped for a moment to look at the others. I wanted to save them, but I didn't want to join them.

I quickly answered him, "God no..." I breathed shakily, "No...I didn't."

He looked over at me, trying to see if I was lying to him, "Then why did I have to pull ya outta there?"

"You didn't have to pull me out of there, I just-," I stopped myself to figure out how to phrase what I wanted to say, "I...almost wanted to take one last look at the others. It was the last time we were ever going to see Jacqui." I said.

He remained silent for a while after that. I began to think that my explanation was just stupid to him since he didn't utter another word, but it was true. I didn't want to just forget about her or forget her face, so I stayed for a few seconds longer because it was somewhat important to me.

"Don't do that shit" he suddenly spoke after a few minutes of awkward silence.

I turned to him in confusion, "Do what shit?" I asked.

"Don't scare me like that" he responded.

My eyebrows raised in slight shock. Scare him? The man that wasn't afraid of anything, not scared to tear someone's head off or take out an army of walkers before him. But I scared him? I almost didn't think I heard him right. "Sorry." I said simply, a smile creeping to my face.

He returned the smile and turned back to the road, "S' fine." he muttered.

"Why do you care?" I found myself asking.

He only looked at me with a blank expression, so I clarified, "I mean you don't know me that well at all...why does it matter to you if I wanted to stay or not?"

His eyes focused back on the road, and he started to chew on his bottom lip slightly while his mind was elsewhere. It didn't seem like that deep of a question but he sure as hell was taking his time thinking about it.

"Well, if yer part of the group now...means I gotta watch yer ass just like everyone else." he said with annoyance clear in his voice.

My heart sank a little at his words, but what did I expect? I guess I was a little flattered when he said that I had scared him, and maybe there was a part of me that thought about what it would be like if I was a little more important to him. I'm not a saint, okay? It crossed my mind. But clearly that wasn't the case.

I didn't say another word in response to that because I truly didn't know what else to say, only moving to press play on the Metallica cd that we listened to yesterday and began to stare out the window, trying to think about something else. I wanted the CDC to be a distant memory and nothing more, but the questioned remained as I watched the city get smaller and smaller. Where the hell do we go from here?

~ Thanks for reading!

#daryl dixon #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon twd #daryl dixon x oc #daryl dixon the walking dead #daryl dixon x female reader #twd daryl #daryl dixon x reader #the walking dead fanfiction #twd #twd fanfiction #the walking dead #norman reedus #norman reedus fanfiction #norman reedus x reader #desert rose #the walking dead daryl #twd daryl dixon #daryl fanfiction #daryl x reader

[angelsanarchy]

Alkaline: Euronymous x Y/N Series CH 18

Tagging: @ophelialaufey@madamemaximoff06@forever-not-gonna-sink@ajmiila02@liquidsmoothdomme@shady-the-simp @auggiethecreator @tempt-ress @blacksoul-27

Oystein walks around the shop making sure everything is perfect. He still had about half an hour before he was opening but he wanted everything to be just right. It took him hours to organize the records and the aesthetic was just right. He could see the line forming outside and he paced. He jumped when there was a knock at the door.

"We're not open yet!" He yelled but this time the knocks were more abrupt.

"HEY FUCK OFF! WE'RE NOT OPEN YET!" He yelled but suddenly the door was opening.

"What the-" It was Y/n.

"You should keep that locked if you don't want people to come inside." He settled back onto the stool behind the counter.

"I didn't think you would come." Oystein said in shock. She walked towards the counter and placed flowers on top of it.

"I hadn't planned on it. Your parents asked me to drop this off as a favor. Looks like they didn't get the name change memo." She spun the flowers around so he could see the little card attached to it.

"I'm happy you came by. I wanted to show you-" She shook her head at him.

"Oystein...I'm not here for this. If your parents weren't so sweet, I wouldn't even have bothered ever coming through that door. Please don't make this into something it's not." She pleaded and he nodded.

"D-did you get my letter?" He asked. She let out a sigh.

"Yes I got your letter. My neighbor also let me know some gothic man was lurking outside of my house so next time try the phone book." She informed him. He was slightly embarassed that he was caught but she wasn't spewing hatred at him or trying to slap box him so he'll take that as a win.

"Also I don't need to educate myself on Black Metal. Your definition of it doesn't make it end all, be all. Music has a freedom to be whatever it wants to be so if I want to listen to this..." She picked up an album and held it up.

"Then it doesn't have to mean death and destruction." Oystein tried not to smirk at her as she held the album. He cleared his throat and she looked at the front of it seeing it was a Mayhem record.

"Oh for fucks sake." She put the record down in frustration.

"You know what the fuck I mean. I have empathy, I don't need flaunt suicide memorabilia to feel connected to something. I just feel it." She explained as Oystein came around the counter and walked towards her.

"You're right. I underestimated your knowledge of the genre. I apologize." She seemed surprised at his demeanor.

"Well...I also appreciate you being a man of your word and pissing off when I asked you. I'm moving on with my life and clearly so are you." She hadn't been standing this close to Oystein since she hit him. He nodded his head at her and picked the album back up holding it out to her.

"I don't need that." She put her hand up.

"Please...I just want you to-" She cut him off.

"I have one." She muttered. She looked anywhere but at him.

"You do?" He smiled. Y/n reached into her pocket and pulled out a small envelope.

"Yeah I do. Look I've got to go to work, Hammed wanted me to give this to you to welcome you into the neighborhood. Don't abuse it just because you're you and you know I'm the one who has to deliver it." Y/n watched Oystein smile as he opened it to see a discount card.

"Don't feel special, he gives them to all the surrounding businesses." She crossed her arms over her chest and Oystein nodded.

"Let him know I appreciate it. Thank you for coming by and bringing me the flowers. I'm glad you came even though I know its the last place you want to be." He said seeing her finally look at him. She couldn't help but stare for just a moment before shaking her head.

"Your mustache looks fucking ridiculous." She wasn't going to leave without insulting him and he waited for her to leave before letting out a laugh. No matter how today went, he found hope that someday they would at least be able to be in the same place at the same time without her hating him.

#R!Euronymous #R!Euronymous x Y/n #Film: Lords of Chaos #Alkaline #Alkaline series #One Shot Series #Rory Culkin #Culkin Cult #18/35

[whillywisp]

heaven is not fit to house a love like you and i.

SUMMARY: They met along the shores and then met again at the foot of those that worshipped them. One rose, one fell from grace and the other caught them both in her gentle embrace.

Or alternatively,

Finnick, Reader and Annie's victory, loss and everything else in between. Brought to you by the music of Hozier, Agust D, Halsey and my wandering friend crafted with grief: A story of trials, love, resentment and rage.

WARNINGS: gore, nightmares, ptsd, self destructive tendencies, self harm, child abuse, near death experiences, forced prostitution, non explicit talks of prostitution, drug addiction, alcoholism, domestic violence, non explicit smut, miscommunication.

PAIRINGS: Finnick Odair x Reader x Annie Cresta

My life was a storm, since I was born. How could I fear any hurricane?

— Francesca, Hozier.

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

Chapter One: Amygdala.

Summary: It's been six weeks, seventeen hours, forty one minutes and twenty three seconds since he came out of the arena drenched in someone else's blood and he eats dried mangoes with a stranger to cope with it.

Warnings: mild gore, unreliable narrator, PTSD.

Word Count: 2k

Because they're also all in the past now. So, is all countless suffering for my own good?

— Amygdala By Agust D.

6 weeks after the 65th Hunger Games.

Sometimes, when he closed his eyes and tried to focus, he could hear it. Wind chimes, his sister laughing as she struggles to keep up with him on her toddler legs, the wet sand making it hard for the three year old and the waves splashing them with salt as he slows down just enough for her to wrap her chubby arms around his legs and think she was the one who caught him.

Her giggles sound bright as wind chimes and just for that minute he can pretend everything's oka—

She drops down next to him in the grass as unceremoniously as one would when sitting down for a boring class. The wind, freezing and cold in a way that's only characteristic to District 4, ruffles his hair as he turns to look at the stranger.

She's familiar but, honestly speaking, so is everyone else in the tiny public school of District 4. But he's never spoken to her, that's something he's sure about. The girl doesn't turn to look at him, instead choosing to look at the waves crashing against the foot of the cliffs.

Neither of them should be here, not really. This small patch of grass and wildflowers was out of bounds for it was perched at the edge of the cliffs that line the back of the school. But Finnick couldn't care less and it doesn't seem like this girl does either but that doesn't explain her presence there, sitting right next to him on the semi-damp grass, too close to be just sharing the space.

His eyes take in her nonchalance for one more minute before he eventually says, "What are you doing here?"

The girl's eyes, as deep as the sea they sat in front of, snapped to look at him and he inhaled sharply, only barely stopping himself from visibly squirming at the intensity of her gaze. She shrugs then, looking back out at the sea as she speaks easily.

"Admiring the view."

He nods and sighs, mimicking her movements as he turns back to the sea too. For a moment, he says nothing, content to stare out at the vast expanse of blue. But after a bit, he turns his head to look back at her. "Who are you?"

Her cheeks redden, just enough to be noticeable that makes something in his heart thaw, before she glances at him, her voice as delicate as lotus silk.

"We, ah, we sit in English together."

He looks at her, actually looks at her, and realises she's indeed the girl who sat next to him in English. Mrs. Hedsson had made them sit together so she could help him keep up but in all honesty, he's spent the past few weeks sleeping in class and for some strange reason, the girl had had neither woken him up nor snitched on him.

He clears his throat, before saying as pleasantly as he could muster up to at the moment, "Of course. You're the smart kid right?"

She raises an eyebrow and tilts her to the side in a way that reminds him of those terrifying, colourful snakes from the arena and their bite making his entire body numb and burn like he was on fire— "I have a name, you know?" She deadpans, a barely disguised sigh in her voice.

He nods, laughing nervously. "Well, do enlighten me on your name." He smirked at her, as he would at the crowds of people in the Capitol or even at the girls here in District 4, but this girl looked at him like he had grown another head, which made his cheeks darken.

She glanced at him curiously, as if he were a very interesting type of lizard before finally speaking. "I'm Y/N."

"You look like a Y/N." *Finnick murmurs. "I'm Finnick. Finnick Odair." He pauses, as if debating how much more to say. "Why don't you ever speak in class?"

"And you certainly look like a Finnick." She looked at him with a frown, making him want to swallow his own tongue. "I do speak in class. You'd know that if you didn't sleep through them."

"I don't sleep through class." Finnick counters, defensive. His face flashes through a few different emotions as he looks at her. Anger, frustration, annoyance, then finally resignation. "I'm trying to figure out..." He sighs and looks back out at the sea. Then, he turns his head back towards her. "... why I'm talking to you."

She shrugs, putting her hand into her pocket and for a second he's sure she will pull out a knife, — like his dagger, like the one from the arena, the weapon he had depended on for the first several days and he braces himself for the pain, for the warm blood to stain his uniform — but all that comes out is a faded blue handkerchief which she unwraps to reveal few pieces of dried mangoes.

Finnick stares at them blankly, a little lost. Dried mangoes which were salted and made during the summer using mango seeds were a delicacy in District 4, far too expensive for the normal people to afford sometimes. And by the looks of her old faded school uniform, the girl wasn't anyone special with enough money to be able to buy such lavish things and the only reason he could think she was able to was probably because of his win that caused the prices of things in the market to drop. So he couldn't understand why she's sharing something as precious as this with someone who could buy her entire existence three times over with all his wealth as a victor.

He looked up at her, confused but she just smiled, placing the handkerchief with the sour treat between the two of them. "You looked tired, you skipped lunch and if you sleep through the next English class, Mrs. Hedsson will send you to the principal's office. The victor status won't protect you from the suspension, you know. So eat and keep yourself awake."

Finnick looked at the mangoes with confusion again. Then, his expression softens and a small smile plays at the edge of his lips. "You're right. I skipped lunch. I should eat something." He takes the mangoes gratefully. "But how did you know I didn't eat lunch?" He asks curiously, taking a bit of the food.

She shrugged again, taking one for herself and chewing on it carefully. "We also have maths together, and it's right before lunch. And you never go to the cafeteria." She paused, rolling the piece of mango between her fingers as she peered at him through her lashes. "Also, Mrs. Hedsson is still not happy about you killing her daughter in the arena. So if you're going to Violet's funeral next week, you should probably try to talk to her about it. Maybe take a gift, make sure it's expensive or thoughtful and write a eulogy. Also avoid her boyfriend, Ren. He and his friends are planning to drag you into an alleyway and beat you up."

Finnick stiffens, visibly agitated by everything she's said to him. "How do you know all these things?" He asks, his tone somewhere between annoyed and concerned. "How do you know I wasn't going to the cafeteria? Or th-that Mrs. Hedsson is mad at me? Or that Ren is gunning for me?"

She only raises an eyebrow at his rudeness and his cheeks flush in embarrassment but he stands his ground, his irritation winning over his guilt. She takes another bite of the mango before smiling in a way that reminds him of a child about to get into trouble.

"People don't like to talk to me. But I do listen to them."

This stumps him a little. You would think someone that looked like that would have more friends but apparently not. But that doesn't subdue his anxiety. "And...you decided today was the day you would share all of this information with me?" He asks, his tone a mixture of disbelief and panic. "Why now? Why me?"

"Because no one else is going to," She says easily, crossing her ankles as she watches a butterfly settle on a wildflower near her feet.

"Everyone here is too self absorbed and desperate to be a part of the Hunger Games fanfare. They're too envious to care about you as a person because they don't like how popular and loved by the Capitol you are. They're all going to be at Violet's funeral next week," she says, turning to look at him. "And watching you get accused by Mrs. Hedsson for her daughter's death or getting beat up by Ren will make them feel like they won over you, that you're not as invincible as everyone thinks you are. So when next year one of them gets selected for the Games and you are mentoring them, they can hold your momentary weakness over you."

She scoffs, pushing her hair back as the wind blows it into her eyes. "The only animals that have a black heart is ayami cermani, a type of chicken," and Finnick can't help but be a little impressed by her random knowledge about chickens with actual black hearts as she continued. "But no. I'm not telling you this out of generosity but because you left your vigilance back in the arena and that's not smart. All of these things have been happening in plain sight around you. Ren glares at you during maths. Mrs. Hedsson targets you in English and you get detention for no reason. Other kids knock into you or stick too close to you for it to be normal. You'd know that if you paid attention."

Finnick pauses, trying to process everything she had just said before he speaks, "And you're giving me a heads up just... out of the kindness of your black little heart?" He asks sarcastically, not able to hide his skepticism.

Finnick flushes at her observations, a little surprised — and also, maybe a little unnerved — to find that some of her criticisms of him are legitimate. "I have been...a bit absent these last few months. You're right about that." He concedes, looking at her curiously. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She whispers back, her eyes trained on the butterfly that was still on the wildflower. "You, of all people though, should be more vigilant."

He raises an eyebrow, popping another piece of dried mango into his mouth before chuckling nervously. "You're too wise for a fourteen year old."

She shrugged before picking up the rest of the snack and placing it, handkerchief and all, in his lap. He glanced up at her, a little surprised by the gesture. "I told you. I listen to people."

His breath hitches in his chest and before he could say something, the shrill ringing of the school bell cuts through the peace of the moment and she stands up, brushing the grass off her faded blue skirt. She looks out at the ocean for a split second and starts walking back towards the school before turning back around, to look at him, her clear, high voice startling him out of his trance.

"Oh and, Finnick? I'm sorry about your family."

He stiffens, watching her walk back to the school without waiting for an answer. He couldn't understand. How did she know? No one did, not outside the people who cared and his fellow victors that lived in the Victor's Village. It only happened last week. How did she know?

But his mind couldn't bring itself to draw connections as it lost itself in the familiar haze of pain. Her condolences hang in the air where she stood as his breathing becomes shallow and his vision blurs, both with tears and the living room floor covered in blood, his little sister's blank blue eye staring up at him, her slight body that didn't even come up to his waist laying across his parents, their own eyes wide open as if surprised even in death and their lifeless gaze feels as heavy as the single sheet of expensive cream paper with names, hotel room numbers and the exact composition of Mags' arthritis medication crumpled in the pocket of his school uniform trousers.

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

A/N: I'm a little rusty so be nice. BE NICE.

#finnick odair x reader #hunger games #fanfiction #finnick imagine #finnick odair #thg #the hunger games #finnick x reader #finnick x you #annie cresta #annie cresta x reader #annie cresta imagine #annie x you #fic #writing #canon divergent au #au #moonfm

[dog-gerz]

Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, Neji with a reader who has a bijuu

Not the request we asked, but the request we so desperately needed 😭😭😭

Warnings: Mentions of 🩸and d*ath on Sasuke’s part. Gender neutral reader. Not proof readed, I wrote this on my phone.

A/N: this ask wasn’t really specific on the form or anything so I went wild 🤪

Again, i’m sorry for any mistakes in the grammar or the spelling, english is not my first language.

————————————————————————

Sasuke:

🍅You two met before he joined the Akatsuki. You too were village-less ninja, a rogue, another victim of the unfairness of the decisions of the power-thirsty wandering the forests, prairies and desserts of the different nations on the map.

🍅 You joined him, after all, you had nowhere else to go and the flag you and team Taka waved was similar.

🍅 You kept the whole Jinchuriki thing as a secret. It had brought you too much pain in times past, you didn’t need more of that.

🍅 Sasuke saw a little bit of his old best friend in you. Both of you carried around that same sense of loneliness and an aura of guilt and melancholy. He was naturally drawn to you as he was to Naruto when they were young.

🍅 You grew close and made an oath to protect eachother. Taka became your family and he became your best companion.

🍅 It wasn’t until one day, during a fight against some bounty hunters that were after Sasuke, that he got hurt and the rage that bubbled inside of you weakened the seal.

🍅 Some of the chakra of the tailed beast within you enveloped you in a coat of anger and bloodlust, completely blinded and stripped of your will, tearing the enemies to pieces.

🍅 By the time you came to your senses, there was nothing but destruction in front of you. You had done it again… and your heart sank impossibly deep.

🍅 But that dark feeling was shaken away from you the moment Sasuke reassuringly placed his hand on your shoulder. You saw support, he saw a chance of making his ultimate dream come true.

Naruto:

🍥 You, alongside Bee, were on the team of teaching Naruto how to control his Bijuu and use its power.

🍥 You had become a perfect Jinchuriki, just like bee, so when you were offered the chance to help the blond Ninja, you immediately said yes.

🍥 Before his Jinchuriki training, Naruto hadn’t met other people like him. His whole life he was hated, judged and humiliated for carrying something evil inside him. Seeing you and bee so strong and confident on the power within you made him feel somehow disadvantaged.

🍥 But it also gave him the impulse he needed to pursue the same path.

🍥 He always had been confident on the fact that he could achieve anything if he had set his mind into it, and, after meeting you and hearing your own story, he knew it was true.

🍥 It was like looking at himself in the mirror. You had gone through hell, just like him, but there were you standing… powerful and brave.

🍥 Your strength inspired him, so he worked hard to conquer that part of himself he hated the most. If you had done it so flawlessly, how couldn’t he?

Sakura:

🌸 She was introduced to you by The Fifth.

🌸 All Hokages knew what to do in case the seal was weakened or broken and, because Tsunade was passing most of her knowledge to her brilliant apprentice, she summoned Sakura to learn the process.

🌸 What she remembers the most about the first time she saw you was how “normal” you looked.

🌸 Well, her experience with other Jinchuriki was limited to Naruto only and the blonde ninja was really far from being normal.

🌸 And she wasn’t sure of what to expect when Tsunade talked to her about you, so it was a nice surprise to say the least.

🌸 She treated you kindly the whole time, as if it was a way to redeem herself on the way she treated Naruto in the past. She knew the stress most Jinchuriki went through and she didn’t wanted that to affect her task or your relationship (platonic or not).

🌸 At first, it was only going to be another learning experience for her, but she found a friend in you and someone to protect. After meeting you and helping you, she felt strong enough to show Naruto and Sasuke how much she had improved

🌸 Her aspiration of no longer looking at the backs of her teammates, but walking alongside them, was becoming a reality.

Neji:

🌀 It were his exceptional abilities as a shinobi that had him assigned as your guard. He was the first of his generation of ascending to the Jonin rank, he was more than capable for the job.

🌀 You were the Sanbi Jinchuriki so you were considered important part of Konoha’s war power. Your security was top tier priority.

🌀 Neji took his role very seriously and went everywhere with you even if you insisted that you didn’t need protection. He followed you like your shadow.

🌀 Besides the possibility of the Sanbi being stolen by the enemy, there was the risk of the seal breaking. A disaster like the one that happened with the Kyuubi was out of the question, he wasn’t going to let it happen.

🌀 For him, at the beginning, it was another task, another part of his path of becoming stronger and honouring the name of his clan, but as he spent more time with you, you two became really close.

🌀 So of course he got more protective because he started to care about you for real.

🌀 He knew that the responsibility of carrying such a beast inside you weighted heavily on your shoulders so he tried to make it less terrible for you by trying to distract you and helping you carry a somewhat normal life.

🌀 He helped you train to release your pent up frustration, teaching you meditation to sharpen your senses and let you vent when you are were too stressed.

🌀 Being a Jinchuriki was hard, but with him by your side, wasn’t that bad.

————————————————————————

I loved writing this one so much!! Specially Naruto’s part. I remember crying so much watching that arc 😭😭 thank you so much for your request!

#Naruto #naruto imagines #naruto shippuden #writing #Panchi writes #headcanons #Sasuke #Sasuke Uchiha #Sakura #Sakura Haruno #Naruto Uzumaki #Neji #Neji Hyuga #Naruto x reader #Sasuke x reader #Sakura x reader #Neji x reader #gender neutral reader

[dj-bynum3718]

Of Fire and Ice - Chapter 11

Melissa Schemmenti X reader X Larissa Weemes   

Summary: self doubt clouds your judgment and you can’t stand it.

Words: 1097

Notes: I’m so sorry for disappearing thank you to the people who are still interested in this… ❤️

Warnings: angst….

What are you doing… you are being an idiot. You look around at the dark gymnasium, empty except for you wrapped in the sheet from the bed that you grabbed in your haste to get out of there. The voices of self doubt finally too loud you had to escape.

You don’t know how you ended up here. One minute you are buried between Larissa’s legs the next you are having a panic attack.

“Trouble in paradise?” You whip your head around clenching the sheet tighter around yourself. “I-I….” “You know the last time I found you here like this you had just stole Larissa away from us.” You watch as Morticia shoos Gomez away a silent conversation had between the 2.

“I didn’t steal her away she broke up

With y’all and came to me” she comes and sits next to you on the bleachers. “Why are you here (y/n)?” “You wouldn’t understand Tish.” “Oh yeah? Try me because it looks to me as though you are running away from your feelings and being an idiot.” She pulls at your sheet. “They are worried for you…”

Your head snaps up as you look at her. “How would you know that?” “We have the room next to yours” she grimaced “gotta be honest we always thought you were the dominant.” You make a face. “Sorry didn’t realize we were that loud.” She shrugs “so why are you being an idiot?”

You look at her your high school rival now realizing she was probably your best friend in school. The one who talked you off ledges of chaos and self destruction. “Tish…. They aren’t actually my girlfriends… Me and Larissa broke up 6 years ago and Melissa and I are coworkers at a school in Philadelphia… I don’t know what the hell I’m doing! Or how to deal with the fact that I’m in love with the both of them!” She nods as you stand adjusting the sheet around you. Now pacing back and forth in front of her ranting. “Gods Tish what if they don’t like me?! I’m not good enough they deserve better than me! They deserve each other, both stunningly beautiful, incredibly smart you know?” You look up making sure she is listening she just nods along.

You aren’t good enough! You did the right thing in running this way the only life you are ruining is your own. You can start over you can do it you did it before it’s not that hard. Who are you fooling of course it’s hard. Your feeling are to consuming fully convinced that you will die if you run again. But it will be better for them they deserve better. Your mind is eating away at your own sanity making you act foolish and you are self aware but to far him to do anything about it.

“You know it would probably settle your mind if you just spoke to them.” You snap your head up giving her a look. “Right,right that’s too simple for you and you want to feel bad for yourself don’t you?” “What?” You give her a look like she just slapped you. “You are being a selfish stupid idiot!” “What am I supposed to d-“ she stands to her full height now scolding you. “Do have any idea how much those 2 women care about you? The moment you just poofed away they started panicking! We heard them we heard the commotion.”

They panicked when you left… why they don’t love you! They don’t want you Morticia is lying she has to be. “That’s why I knew where you would be because you always come here when you are being and idiot! So get out of your head and wake up! Because you’re right about one thing they do deserve better. They deserve to be treated way better than you are right now!”

Now that hurts you never wanted to hurt them. You didn’t. They don’t care about you, you are better off alone.

“Don’t you think I know that!! I love them so badly it hurts! They run through my dreams! And plague my thoughts. Every piece of art I see, every symphony I hear.” You are crying so full of emotions that you can’t stop them. “When I cook I feel Melissa when I play Fleetwood Mac I hear Larissa sing! I burn for them, I would climb every mountain, crawl through hell, catch a falling star if they just asked! I want to spend the rest of my life making sure they never want for anything! I want to take care of them. I want to love them and give them everything they deserve! Gods do I love them!”

“We love you too.” “Even when you are acting foolish.” You freeze staring at Morticia not daring to move. “I think it’s time I take my leave. I think you 3 have a lot to talk about. Come Gomez.” She stands walking out with her husband as your girls move to take her place in front of you.

“Care to tell us why all of this happened?” You look up at them standing in front of you in comfortable clothes eyes red and holding each other. You fucked up. “(Y/n) did we do something? Help us understand what happened.” You can see that you hurt them you did this caused this problem the last full day and you ran. To consumed in your own issues you didn’t even realize.

“I-I’m so sorry”. You take a step forward and at meet with a hand making you stop in your tracks you heart drops and the feeling of dread. “Why… why did you run…” Melissa oh god the look on her face and Larissa just looks angry. “We thought it was all going so good…” “and it was! I don’t want either of you to think for a moment that this was y’all’s fault. It was me all me, I was in my own head and.. oh Gods I’m so sorry. I never wanted to make the both of you feel like this.”

Larissa turns to Melissa and the whisper to each other before turning to look at you. “Come on… it’s cold in here and you don’t have near enough cloths on… and we need to talk”. Larissa finally looking you over. You let them lead you back to the room looking down self doubt and shame filling your body. You hurt your girls and you don’t know what is wrong with you but you hope to fix this…

@enchantressb @gwendolinechristieiscute @mrs-prentiss

#larissa weems #larissa weems x reader #lisa ann walter #abbott elementary #gwendoline christie #principal weems #melissa schemmenti x reader #melissa schemmenti

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: News Broadcasts

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)  

“The overseer is just finishing a meeting and will be with you shortly.” The human secretary spoke politely. “Can I bring you anything to drink while you wait?”

“If you have some of your carbonated water I would like that very much, thank you.”

As the secretary left to get his drink Roxus eyed the seats of the waiting room before deciding he would instead stand. It was not that he was worried that his bulky body could not fit within them nor that they would shatter under his weight, but he had remembered his prior attempts to sit in human furniture and the quills dotting his back becoming tangled within them leading to some rather embarrassing moments. One of which was when he had sat down on a chair in the home of a potential human mate and his quills became trapped within the strange metal coils within the furniture resulting in the destruction of said pieces and the loss of what had been a promising night.

The ambassador had come today to petition the human overseer to release several Navari who had been arrested the previous night and contacted his people’s conciliate for assistance. From what he had gathered from sources they had become intoxicated at one of the human drinking establishments nearby and had then proceeded to wander into a local wild animal reserve, a “Zoo” as the humans called it, and mistook it for a buffet.

Local law enforcement had arrived at the scene just as the group had pinned down a long necked orange creature and were set to devour it. All of them were restrained before it could happen, but law enforcement discovered that they had broken into the reptilian exhibits and eaten every creature present.

To say he was less than pleased to be woken late in the night would be an understatement, and yet here he was waiting to perform his appointed duty and retrieve his wayward fellow citizens.

So lost in thought was Roxus that he was startled when a loud noise came from behind him.

“Breaking news,” came from one of the wall panels behind Roxus, “we have finally been able to reestablish contact with our reporter on the ground Frank Benedict.”

Roxus turned to see one of the wall sections had powered on and was in fact some sort of display unit. The image on screen was that of a sharply dressed human sitting behind a desk holding several papers. Their eyes were focused directly at Roxus and for a moment he thought that this was some sort of communication call before the next few sentences dissuaded him of that notion.

“Frank has been covering the ongoing war with the Tuvilite Conglomerate along the western edge of human controlled space.” The human at the desk spoke as a new image appeared beside them. It was of a human in a dark lit room wearing a form of body armor with the symbols “PRESS” written in brightly white print on the front and several layers of bandages wrapped around their head. “We were starting to get worried about you when we didn’t hear from you Frank; what’s the situation over there?”

The second human, this Frank, nodded as if hearing something before speaking.

“Thanks Mark.” Frank began calmly, “The Tuvilite fleet in orbit has been scrambling the majority of communication signals heading offworld leaving the planet in an almost black hole of information; I’m only able to speak to you now as earlier this morning Terran ground forces launched a surgical strike on a nearby Tuvilite orbital battery emplacement and shot down several ships in the jamming network.”

“Do you know if communications are stable now?” Mark asked, but Frank shook his head. Roxus noticed that when this Frank did so a layer of the bandages shifted revealing a patchwork of dried blood underneath.

“I doubt it Mark.” Frank said regretfully. “The military officials I have spoken to have admitted that the Tuvilite navy is no doubt bringing in fresh ships to fill the gaps in the network and once again block all transmissions to and from the planet.”

Mark nodded and set down their papers. “In case we lose you during this transmission we hope you stay safe out there, but what can you tell us about the situation on the planet?”

“The situation here is dire, Mark.”

Roxus gasped in surprise and took a step back. This transmission, whoever it was for, was no doubt one of top security clearance. If he was caught listening to this he could be charged with espionage and lose his diplomatic protection.

Panicking, Roxus made to quickly leave the room when the doors to the waiting room opened and the secretary walked in holding his beverage.

“With the planet blockaded by the Tuvilite fleet forces on the surface are beginning to run desperately low on critical supplies, such as food, water, ammunition, and medical supplies.” The transmission droned on much to the horror of Roxus. “If the blockade around the planet cannot be broken soon the future military outlook here is looking grim.” That final line damn near made Roxus’s hearts stop in fear as he saw the secretary approach him and hand his requested drink over.

“I apologize for the wait,” she said calmly with a smile as she took her seat behind the desk again. “the dispenser on this floor is being repaired so I needed to go to the floor below.”

Roxus stood transfixed, unsure what to do.

Was this a ruse? He thought to himself as he pulled the cup to his beak to sip. Could they be testing me?

As he pondered these possibilities the display screen panned away from the Frank human and began playing several video feeds. One showed wounded human soldiers being carried through a system of tunnels while the sounds of explosions shook the ground. Another video then played of Tuvilite ships landing in a grassy field some distance away on the planet’s surface and disgorging several squads of their infantry units before rising back into the skies. The final video showed broken weapons casually tossed to the ground while injured human soldiers line the walls of some underground complex in dimly lit lighting.

The images being shown were something Roxus would never have seen outside a classified feed shared only with the highest levels of his government. The fact that he was seeing them, and that the human secretary seemed uninterested that he was, made this moment all the more confusing and stressful for the alien diplomat.

“Would you like me to change the channel?”

Roxus broke his gaze from the display to see the human secretary looking at him with concern.

“I had not expected the news coverage to include war footage so I had it set to auto play whenever the commercials were not on.

This statement perplexed Roxus. While he was not entirely familiar with every aspect of human culture, he had learned enough to know that commercials were essentially advertisements for products; yet the idea of them being put in a briefing such as this was unheard of.

“Forgive me,” Roxus finally asked, “but what is this that is showing?”

Leaning past him to get a better view, the secretary took a moment before answering. “It’s Global CO5 News channel,” she replied, “and I think they’re doing a war update piece.”

“News channel?”

The words were unfamiliar to Roxus, but thankfully the secretary was quick with an answer.

“They are a form of communication broadcasts that inform the people of what is going on in the universe or on their world depending on the scope of the broadcast.”

She motioned to the Mark human. “CO5 tends to focus on universal events and there’s nothing else going on aside from the Tuvilite war so that’s their main story.”

Roxus looked back at the display and the humans Mark and Frank continued talking with each other; their discussion not nearly as interesting after he had learned the full objective of the broadcast itself.

“So your leaders allow this broadcast to announce whatever information they want, even if it is negative to the governing body?” he found himself asking. To his surprise the human secretary nodded.

“It goes by a story by story basis.” She remarked. “Sometimes the hard truth comes out and people see it raw, while other times there are those that work behind the scenes to either bury or alter reported events to suit their needs.”

Raw information such as this being displayed was all but unheard of for his government. They would censor anything that made the state look weak or ineffective and as a result the general population felt certain levels of nationalistic pride and unity.

With the humans having such little control over the information shared via this platform it was amazing they were able to continue to function as a species let alone as a galactic power.

As he stood pondering this new development the secretary tapped their ear and nodded at something Roxus could not hear.

“The overseer is ready for you now.” she said sweetly as the doors to the overseers office opened and she motioned him through.

Roxus was dragged back to the original reason he had come today and confidently entered the officer, but at the back of his mind he was already making mental notes to have several displays back at his embassy tune in to these human news channels and see what other secrets the humans were openly broadcasting.

#HUMANS ARE WEIRD #humans are insane #humans are space orcs #humans are space oddities #scifi #story #original writing #writing #niqhtlord01

[bitchyglitterfox]

Survive - HOTD Zombie Apocalypse AU - Reader X HOTD

Warnings: death, destruction, zombies, character death, animal death, horror

A/n: I love this AU so much it came to me last night and I just wrote. If you want a second part please let me know ok ✅

@valeskafics here’s the first part :D

Part 2

********

It was a normal Thursday morning in Westeros. I was in my calculus class at Kings Landing university when everyone's phones started going off.

“What's going on?” I ask the professor.

“They say people are getting sick, like really sick and they’re telling people to stay indoors,” Jason Lannister says while running a hand through his hair.

“Class dismissed,” our professor tells us. We all calmly walk out of the classroom. Once I make it to the parking lot I sprint to my car and drive home.

When I make it back to my shared apartment I immediately start calling my parents. They pick up on the second ring.

“Oh thank god, are you guys ok?” I ask while checking all the cupboards since I may be here for a while.

“Yes sweetheart, we’re fine. We're gonna head up to your grandfather's cabin in winterfell until all this blows over, if you can we would like you to meet us there. We love you!”

“I love you too, I'll try and meet you there but no promises, who knows this could blow over in a couple of days,” I say while smiling to myself “I love you both, I'll see you soon”.

“We love you both too,” she says as she ends the call.

When our conversation is done I go looking for supplies, thank god me and Heleana are always going to the store and buying things in bulk. Seems we will be able to last a month or two with our stock of food and water. I hear the key turn the lock and look to see Heleana and I notice she's got her boyfriend and my cousin Cregan Stark with her.

“Have you seen the news yet?” I ask just as they come in giggly.

“Huh?” Heleana oblivious to what’s happening asks with a smile on her face but the smile drops once she sees the worry on my face, “No, Cregan and I were just driving around campus, why what’s going on?”

Instead of answering I turn the tv on, “If you are just joining us, we have been advised to inform all of king's landing to stay indoors, a possible virus has been discovered, it is a fast acting virus, symptoms show a mere 8 hours after initial infection and death comes after 4 days. We advise all residents to stay inside. May the seven watch over us all, gods bless”

“I have to call my family,” Heleana says while walking to her bedroom, Cregan following shortly after, mumbling the same.

I fall down to the couch, putting my head into my hands, just breathe Y/n just breathe.

Heleana exits her room, shaken and it seems she’s been crying.

“I just got off the phone with my, with my mom. M-my dads sick, they think he got the virus they are talking about, they’re gonna stay with him in the city, um but since my brothers and cousins haven’t been home they want them to stay with us,” she says sniffling, “Only if that is ok with you? I-it should only be for a few days until the government says it’s ok”.

“Hel, we’ve been friends since childhood, I don’t mind taking in your siblings and cousins,” I say pulling her into a hug, “we have more than enough food and water to last us, plus my parents are at the cabin,” I say looking at Cregan, “If worse comes to worse, which I’m sure it won’t, we can always take do the drive up to winterfell, there will be more supplies, water and weapons”.

When I pull out of the hug there is a knock at the door making all of us jump.

Heleana opens the door, eight people standing in the doorway with their luggage, we rush them all inside, hugs ensued, tears.

“You guys will be safe here, now I suggest we barricade the doors, you never know, quarantines make people a little crazy” I say while moving the coffee table in front of the door. Aegon and Aemond begin to help me move the furniture as Jace consoles his siblings.

And now we wait.

Quarantine day 5: it’s been 5 days since we’ve been in quarantine here in our apartment, classes have been canceled indefinitely and we currently entertain ourselves with bored games and Mario kart. We try to distract Joffrey and Daeron from what’s going on, they currently just think we’re having a huge sleepover with their family. Gotta keep them innocent. We’re keeping in contact with our families.

“I-I see, ok, I love you mom, please stay safe, tell Nyra and Daemon the kids are safe too, I’ll call you tomorrow,” Hel says from the kitchen, she makes eye contact with me as Cregan rushes to her, I tell Baela to take Joffrey and Daeron to the bedroom.

“Mom says dad died, and that Criston and Daemon are also showing symptoms,” the tears begin to fall again, her two brothers rushing to hug her as well. I can’t help but feel my own beginning to fall as well as I rush to hug Jace, Luke and Rhaena.

“It'll be ok, your father is strong, he will fight this and beat it,” you say to the two teens, kissing their foreheads. I give Jace a knowing look. At Least none of us are sick, we are all safe.

Quarantine day 9: more tears have been shed, we have lost Daemon and Criston, but Alicent and Rhaenyra still remain healthy and safe as well, they want to keep everyone here longer, just until this all blows over but at this point that doesn’t seem like it will. We keep the radio running to hear updates throughout the night, but in the mornings we watch the news.

“Good morning, if you are just joining us, we have gotten word from the CDC, they are working diligently on a vaccine for the new virus titled the Z virus, when we know more we will be able to update you as we get more updates”

“Holy shit, did you hear that! We might get to go home soon!” Aegon cheers, “Look as much as I loved spending quality time with you guys, I’m ready to get back out there,” he says, stretching his arms above his head.

“We’ll get to see mom again,” Luke tells Joffrey. Looks like things are beginning to look up, the light at the end of the tunnel, or so we thought.

Quarantine week 3: The day shit hit the fan.

It was a normal day as normal as it could be, we had the younger kids eating breakfast while us adults would watch the news for updates, texting parents who were left, my mom had died a week before along with Cregan's sister and father, we both wanted to shut down but we knew we had to be strong for the others. I was by the window watching the clouds move when something or rather someone caught my eye. It looked to be crouching upon a dead animal.

“Hey Aemond, come here,” I usher him over to my spot, “You see that shit right? Is he eating the dog?” You whispered the last part as to not let the kids or Heleana hear.

“Yes, it does appear to be that way, what the fuck is going on?” He replies, placing a hand on my shoulder and peering out.

Soon enough our question is answered, when the guy eating the dog seems to find a lone person wandering around breaking into cars. He attacks the thief with stealth and agility, biting into his neck, blood gushing out of his neck like old faithful.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” my yell startles everyone causing Aemond to pull me away and close the curtains.

I find the nearest trash can and release my breakfast, Jace holds my hair for me, rubbing my back to calm me.

“Aegon, turn the volume up a bit” Cregan says while going to stand by Heleana.

Breaking: the Z virus has evolved to move across the bottom of the screen. The news anchor seems desperate and worried.

“Hello, it has been made apparent that the virus now known as Virus Z has evolved. We are getting reports from across the country as well as the world that those infected and killed by the virus are now beginning to rise. The CDC is still working towards a vaccine and cure. Stay inside, board up your homes and windows. May the seven bless us all-“ the tv dies out, the lights in the apartment also go out.

“You’ve got to be kidding right? Like this can’t be real life right? What type of the walking dead is this shit” Aegon questions while pulling at his hair, “We are in a movie or or a dream, I’ll wake up and none of this will be real, yeah this is all a dre-“ I cut Aegon’s little rant off with a slap to his face. Everyone is shocked but Aegon softly thanks me.

“Listen, shit has officially hit the fan, we need to get our shit and get out of the city and head up to my family’s cabin. It’s about a 3 day drive, but we need to leave now, Aemond you brought a car as well as Jace right?” I watch as the boys shake their heads, “Alright, text your folks that were coming to get them, before the phone lines go dead. We can all get to the cabin, we will be safe, there’s food, water and animals for hunting. I’ll be right back,”

When I return I’ve armed myself with the nines, a backpack for supplies, a bat with nails, a shotgun and a pistol to the surprise of everyone but Heleana and Cregan.

“Since when did you become a badass Y/n?” Jace says as he watches me go to the kitchen and grab a chef's knife and the broom, snapping off the bottom and grabbing duct tape.

“Since the world went to shit in a matter of weeks, plus me and Cregan grew up in Winterfell during holidays we were taught how to hunt and use guns, I need you guys to grab your bags and pack them with supplies from our apartment, don’t pack the switch or board games, just a few changes in underwear and food” I say all while taping the knife to the broom handle, “Anymore questions?”

“yeah?” Luke and Baela say at the same time, “When can we have a gun?”

I smile at them, “When we make it to the cabin, I’ll show you how to use one, now me and Cregan are gonna make sure our floor is clear, we don’t need anyone dying today,” I hand him the pistol and keep the shotgun, I start to move the furniture from the door. I give Aemond the shotgun and Jace the spear. “If anything happens to us, you are in charge, you get to the cabin and stay safe” I tell Aemond as he leans his forehead against mine, eyes closed.

“I promise, but you are gonna be fine, we’ll be fine”

“Alright Cregan come on,” I say as I step out first checking both sides, and moving further into the hall. Seems we’re the only ones left on the floor, this is either good news or bad. I step the apartment to our left just as Cregan steps out, I nod towards the apartment in front of me, he shakes his head agreeing with me and I place my hand on the door knob. It opens, we slowly step inside guns and bat up in case we need to defend ourselves. It looks as though it hasn’t been touched in weeks, cabinets lay closed.

“I’m going to check the rest of the apartment, can you fill the bag up with food, medicine as well as anything useful?” I say as I slip it off and head to the back rooms, each one empty and clearly the family had left in a hurry. As I’m passing by the bathroom once more a zombie falls out on top of me. I begin to struggle against the body weight, I use the bat as a guard blocking its face and hands from me, I turn my face as spit falls from its mouth.

“Cregan! Help!” I scream. I hear his running feet.

“Close your mouth and eyes!” I hear from above me and a whoosh of a cast iron pan hitting the dead person above me. I feel the weight of the person off me and the softness of a towel wiping away any fluids that happened to get on me.

“hey hey you're ok,” he says as he pulls me into his chest, stroking my hair, as I let the tears fall, “You're safe, it’s ok, shh sh sh”.

We stay there for a few moments, as I calm down.

“Come on we have the rest of the floor to clear and we never speak of this to the others, ” I say. Luckily for us the rest of the apartments on our floor are actually clear. I signal the rest of the gang to follow us down to the parking lot. This time we went out into groups, my car fitting eight comfortably, but instead I took three so we can take our supplies.

I went first followed by Heleana, Cregan and Daeron. We made it safely and stayed put as the next group went. Aemond, Aegon and Luke make it to Aemonds Cadillac, a thumbs up signals the last group. Jace, Baela, rhaena, Joffrey, they make it to Jace's SUV. Once we’ve all made it to the vehicles we start our cars, luckily none have been syfinded for gas. As we are pulling out of the parking lot a small group of six zombies come out from around the building, we high tail it out and head towards the Targaryen mansion deeper in the city to save Alicent and Rhaenyra.

#bitchyglitterfox writes #house of the dragon #hotd imagine #hotd x reader #aemond targaryen x reader #aegon targaryen x reader #Jace velaryon x reader #heleana targaryen x reader

[shattersstar]

i’d still eat the fruit

pairing: dracula x vampire!reader

warnings: minor blood/gore mention, slight angst

excerpt: While he had no care for humanity or their many ideas, if love was another one of their creations, he had reverence for it. He wondered what it would be like to have your heart beat for another, to breathe for another. He was ill equipped for such loving, full of too much destruction and despair for sugar sweet wonderings like that.

a/n: this could be read as like Any version of dracula or even just a vampire in general but I wrote this with dracula from castlevania in mind (and meier link from vampire hunter d: bloodlust if im being honest) feedback is appreciate as always !

—

“Hello my lord.” Your voice had broken through the quiet of his study, the sound of the fire crackling in front of him suddenly fell to a hush as you crossed the room. Dracula let out a low chuckle, slouched in his chair and staring into the flames.

“You needn’t call me that.” He stated as you rounded the space where he sat.

“Is it not your title?” You asked, head falling to the side as he continued to watch the fire.

“Not to you. Not anymore.” He blinked up at you, eyes redder than wine. Your lips pulled into a smile, stepping closer. When you had once waited for his permission to approach, you now did it freely—almost tauntingly half the time. You liked to dangle beyond his grasp, something he had once considered you—out of reach—but he knew you’d come if he so beckoned you with his blood red eyes, and dangerous mouth. So he did. A small grin and held gaze had you closing the distance, your hand coming to cradle his cheek. Your fingertips grazed the midnight black of his hair, your index finger twirling a few strands before you dropped your hand back to your side, or tried too. He caught your wrist before you could, holding you in place, a soft expression falling over his often too serious face. “Why do you play such games?” He wondered, watching you go a bit sheepish. You were never good at being caught.

Hundreds of years old, wiser than most of your kind, but still easily embarrassed. You hadn’t used such titles in decades, you were not some general or servant he ruled over. You were moonlight to him, glowing light and beauty with enough strength to command tides and bring upon night. He wondered if you had been a goddess of the moon in some version of your life before him, worshipped and adored by millions. Now you were only worshipped by one, but he was more than enough. He may adore you, but you loved him all the same. You often told Dracula you wished he had turned you, had gotten to taste your blood and to bind you to him forever.

“You are not something to be bound my love. You are not meant to be limited.” He had told you some time ago, while you were wrapped up in his arms and staring up at him with more love than he imagined all of humanity could muster.

“Games?” You questioned, gaining some of your composure. “You make me sound childish my lo—“

“My love.” He corrected before you could even tease. “And I would never call you such a thing, but you already know that.”

“I do.”

“So you admit to playing games?”

“I admit to keeping you guessing.” He let his hand slide down your wrist and over your hand, but still dropped it nonetheless. You watched as his hand found the edge of his flowing cloak and lifted the fabric. He was beckoning and you obliged with speed only humans dreamed of. You were pressed next to him in an instant, somehow managing to fit on his grand chair, cape draped over you as well now. You let your hand find his underneath the fabric, squeezing it before you rested your head on his shoulder. “I came here with the purpose of bringing you to bed.” You murmured, the sun would be rising in an hour.

“We can go—“

“No, I want to stay like this, just for now.” You pushed yourself closer to him, unsure how he managed to stay warm despite the death that filled his veins. He hummed, cheek pressing into the top of your head as the sound of the fire filled the space once again. You both watched it glower and dance before your eyes, something mesmerizing in its movement that even, with all his knowledge, Dracula still held a bit of wonder for man’s simplest creation. The light it emitted flickered across the abyss like blackness of his cloak, keeping the two of you hidden underneath the rolling fabric. It was a moment of softness in your lives that often lacked such things. You two were all fangs and razor sharp claws—notorious vampires known for incredible carnage devoted to holding one another before the sun rises.

And while he had no care for humanity or their many ideas, if love was another one of their creations, he had reverence for it. He wondered what it would be like to have your heart beat for another, to breathe for another. He was ill equipped for such loving, full of too much destruction and despair for sugar sweet wonderings like that. Yet, you were the same—capable of violence and pain, and just as beautiful with the moonlight glowing against your skin or blood dripping from your mouth. He wasn’t meant to love as humanity did, and neither were you. You loved each other as only two vampires could, with more hunger for each other than the hot red blood that kept you alive.

So he found his own words to express such sentiments, words only Dracula could say and truly mean. “I would cull this wretched world ten times over for you beloved.” He said, staring down at you and drawing your gaze back to him. Your brow raised and your eyes searched for what spurred such sentiments. It was spurred by your sheer existence, your sweeping lashes and fangs peaking out. Your very reason for being in his embrace, to beckon him to bed because you simply hated sleeping without him, how could you not know it was you?

“I would never ask that of you.” You replied, still searching for an answer that was right in front of your face. He only chuckled, your free hand slipped from between your bodies to cup his cheek. He leaned into your touch, ice cold, but still his to love. Your thumb swiped along his cheekbone, just below his eye.

“You wouldn’t need to.” Dracula returned, mouth meeting yours. He kissed you with insistence, fangs grazing your bottom lip before his tongue found its way to yours. Your fingers curled into his face slightly, trying to find purchase while you let him kiss you with as much desire as he wanted. His free hand came to the back of your neck, palm resting on the curve of your skull as he held you to him. He’d kiss you till the sun came up and threatened to kill you both. He’d hold you till the stake pierced his heart or holy water burned his skin. He’d love you as humanity shunned the last of your kind and began the world again.

He would tear out his heart—bloodied and raw—and cast it aside as long as you crawled into the hole left in his ribcage and promised to stay forever.

And forever was the only promise you two could make.

#dracula x reader #dracula imagine #dracula tepes x reader #dracula tepes imagine #vlad tepes x reader #vlad tepes imagine #vampire x reader #castlevania x reader #castlevania imagine #castlevania #writing

[being-of-rain]

My thoughts on Wild Blue Yonder! A little late because the time between the 60th anniversary episodes almost exactly lined up with a visit from my girlfriend. We had a great time, and watched this episode together, but I didn't want to take enough time away from her to write this!

When I saw some EU fans joking about how the episode was going to be an adaptation of Scherzo, I wasn't prepared for how many similarities it had. And it was soooo good. I love some really fucking great Doctor Who. I loved the horror aspect, I loved the duologue aspect, I always love a mystery opening act where the Tardis team has to search for clues and theorise about where they've landed. Oh and a shape-shifter who takes on someone's whole identity and thoughts is a concept that always tickles my fancy.

One of the few nitpicks I have is that I'm not quite sure how the countdown/shifting corridors and the robot connect: if they're part of the same self-destruct system, why is the robot seemingly much older than the ship? If they're not part of the same system, why is there a countdown to the moment the robot presses the button? Why not just have the ship destroy itself, and why would the ship need to 'reconfigure itself to become a bomb' if it had a self-destruct? But (much like Heaven Sent, which the solitary shifting setting is reminiscent of,) the small logic hiccups don't really take anything away from how good the episode is.

A slightly larger nitpick is that the ending isn't the strongest, with the TARDIS coming back right when and where the Doctor was thinking that it should, and then the Doctor realising he picked the wrong Donna because of a miniscule detail (that the audience couldn't pick up on, so it feels a bit of a cheat and a cheap emotional shot). So some of RTD's most common flaws there, but again the negatives really don't stack up to much compared to the quality of the rest of it. Also, I didn't notice the Tardis screen at the end that showed a scan of Donna's arm until my rewatch, and, in classic me fashion, it put me in mind of a random Dr Who EU story. In this case, Project: Nirvana where the Doctor reveals that the Tardis automatically scanned someone coming onboard and flagged an eldritch-monster-shaped issue with her. It does make me wonder if the Doctor thought to scan Donna himself, or if the Tardis did it (and he took the credit, perhaps trying not to think about how he might never have noticed).

But that's enough with nitpicks, what are some other fantastic bits? The throwaway phrase "goosebumps like Braille" is rad as hell, and would've made a great episode title I think. I've had ideas before about the Doctor's compulsion to think and solve problems in front of him being a direct threat, so it was cool to see that idea here. The Doctor worrying about 'invoking a superstition at the edge of the universe' at the end was a vague but incredibly compelling hook for future plots, and infinitely more interesting than the Meep's final line from the previous episode. I love all the tiny subtle ways the not-things were off and unsettling, as well as all the ways that were so over-the-top that I was laughing through my shocked horror.

The Timeless Child and Flux references were fantastic peeling back of the Doctor's emotional walls, and it was nice tying in with what is technically the show's previous season, even though it came out 2 years ago now. Also... it's a little hard to mention those references without dunking on Chibnall in comparison, who didn't tap into the Doctor's emotional state anywhere near as intensely in several years as this episode did in one scene (You could tie this into the Doctor regenerates into what they need/opposite theories, with Thirteen being a relatively repressed Doctor and Ten Point Three being a relatively expressive Doctor). It was particularly nice to have the show actually establish what the consequences of the Flux actually were, because god knows Thirteen's episodes weren't interested in doing that. On my rewatch of series 13 a few months ago, I was amazed at how basically every element of the Flux is confused and contradictory, and at the end my brother and I were convinced that the Ood in the Division ship (or God Ood as we started calling him) must have reversed the very almost total destruction of the universe, because the show simply refused to acknowledge any of that destruction itself. I guess they split the difference and said half the universe. But unpicking the bizarre illogic of the Flux is a whole other post.

Keeping in mind that the next episode hasn't come out yet, Wild Blue Yonder feels wildly out of place in the middle of an anniversary trilogy. A trilogy where the bookends are RTD modern-day blockbusters filled with fan-favourite character returns and niche villains from the show's long history, and the middle is a limited-cast sci-fi psychological/eldritch horror. But that absurdity detracts from the episode in absolutely no way whatsoever.

And speaking of absurdity; the mounting hype and talk of big things happening in the next episode, on top of bringing back a long-forgotten old villain and a long-awaited new Doctor, is just making it more and more ridiculous that the episode is called The Giggle. I can't wait for it though, I'm really enjoying these specials.

#my thoughts #dw spoilers #donna #ten #suuuch a good episode #hard not to dunk on Chibnall when I say I'm enjoying TV Dr Who much more than I have in ages

[welcome-back-to-hoimycraf]

Would you be able to write a little something something about Ren and Martyn third life being gay and in love

OH MY GOD IT'S FINALLY DONE

i'm soooo sorry about how late this is i'm currently like 60,000 assignments behind sigh

but enjoy!!! i actually had a lot of fun writing it :D

It wasn’t often that Ren and Martyn got nights to themselves like this. With all of the death and destruction around them near constantly, it was hard to find time to sit down, relax, and just be domestic. Hell, most of their bonding happened in a warzone- so tonight was a nice change. 

Martyn had even scrounged up some steak from their steadily-decreasing rations! So, of course they had to plan a date night. Everything was going well, surprisingly. No traps had gone off, no undead men came to threaten them- Ren hadn’t even burnt the food! In fact, things were going so well that it made Martyn suspicious, even if only slightly. He guessed being on edge for weeks on end now started to have more of an effect on him than he’d like to admit. 

“Martyn?”

The blonde jolted a bit at the sound of his name. Had Ren been talking this whole time? He wondered how many times he’d been called, embarrassment creeping up his neck. “Yes, m’lord?” 

A soft chuckle wafted over from where Ren stood in front of the stove, glancing between his partner on the threadbare couch they’d thrown together and the food cooking steadily over the flame. “Drop the formalities, hun,” he chided, poorly covering a teasing lilt in his words, “It’s just us.”

Martyn couldn’t help but break out in a fond smile at the man’s tone. “Guess I’m just a bit high strung,” he spoke through a strained laugh that furrowed Ren’s brow. 

The King dropped his attention from the food, focusing it all on the other’s visibly tense posture. He crossed the room carefully, resting on the couch’s edge beside his partner. Martyn looked up at him as a paw-padded hand gently cupped his cheek, running a thumb across the skin under his eye. “Is something bothering you, love?”

“Just-” Martyn broke their eye contact, suddenly finding the shoddy walls of the Dogwarts basement rather interesting. “Guess the bloodshed’s getting to me,” he huffed out, a weak smile contrasting the shaky worry in his eyes. 

Ren carefully taking his hand into one of his own brought his gaze back to the taller man. “Don’t worry about that right now, tonight is just for us,” he muttered, pressing a sweet kiss to Martyn’s forehead. 

The blonde could feel the tension melting from his body at the domestic gesture, lips turning up at the corners involuntarily. “Thank you.” He decided to ignore the slight quiver to the statement as Ren wrapped his arms around his partner’s waist and peppered him with light, chaste kisses anywhere he could reach. Martyn couldn’t help but burst into giggles, squirming and kicking all the while. Damn his ticklish nature. 

After a few moments, the laughter died down slightly, leaving the two resting their foreheads together in a sickeningly sweet act of affection. That was quickly interrupted by Martyn pausing and sniffing the air with concern. “Uh- is something burning?”

“SHIT THE FOOD.”

#fanfic #my fanfic #life series #third life #martyn inthelittlewood #rendog #renchanting duo #treebark #trafficshipping

[neteyummydrabbles]

glistening drops of honey [part 1]

genre: this is more of a prologue but fluff, angst, enemies to lovers pairing: neteyam x fem human reader warnings: cringe, sexy na'vi words: 490

a/n: we're not being serious ok, click off if you're unfunny not interested 💀

the glistening cerulean view was so hypnotic that i didn't even notice my ass vibrating.

we had pictured this moment for ages but it still felt so unreal. i felt my entire being shake with fervour. my brain was wobbling inside my skull; the synovial fluid churning inside my cranium. upon landing on a planet like pandora, one would expect to be greeted by sounds of wild beings in the vibrant green jungles. but the only feral creature grazing my eardrums was kobra - his manic screams echoed not just in the spaceship, but in my pierced cartilages, filling me with homicidal tendencies.

the vibrations soon ended - i felt a jolt in my holes. we had landed. the door clicked open and I walked out dizzily, not a care in the world anymore.

the images of my home planet in shambles, smoke everywhere, nasty odours, gore, destruction - flashed in my memories. life on earth was filled with desperation and suffering. as a homeless, starving orphan, i was born at a very young age. i cried and cried and felt alienated from the people around me. little did i know, i would be travelling illegally with gangsters to a planet light years away in the near future just to put food on my plate. the rich had always found their ways to survive, manipulate, control things in their favour - us poor though, did what we had to do to survive. pandora was lush and blooming with all the resources we ever needed. the journey could have killed us; the fact that i was standing on the planet in one piece was an achievement in itself.

i had heard from whispers among the wealthy and horny that the planet was inhabited by 10 feet tall, muscular, hot, gorgeous blue aliens. and damn - does that sound way more appealing than the literal gremlins back on my birth planet. forget that hellhole- i was ready to fuck. i wanted a new start; away from the disaster that was planet earth, and the opportunity was finally right in front of me.

while kobra and his minions gathered their broke ass equipment, i decided to pull a dora the explorer and walk my way right out of that shitfest. the scent of pandora's lush vegetation engulfed me. my nostrils were flaring for i wanted to take in as much of the scintillating fragrance as possible. i came across a long, dong shaped flower. i was enthralled. they weren't kidding when they said this place was out of dreams and fantasies. i knelt down,feeling the petals against my skin.

suddenly, my trance was interrupted by a snap in the distance. i looked up, heart beat rising- and there they were. those two glistening drops of honey, piercing through my soul.

in a flash, they were gone. was i dreaming? did the landing-induced cheek vibrations alter my sight? was i ever going to see those flickering amber lights again?

thanks for reading :D likes, reblogs and follows are greatly appreciated <3

part 2 has been published!

#neteyam #avatar #atwow #avatar way of water #neteyam x reader #sully x reader #enemies to soulmates #forbidden love

[soap-lady]

Tooth Decay Warning

Thanks for waiting, @angelqueen13art @tenebrare @idreamtofmanderleyagain

Does anyone remember when schools had Parents Nights or Open Houses? Just me? Okay. Let's see how former Cenobites and traumatized young women deal with meeting their "little sister's" teachers.

Parents’ Night

Tiffany had been attending her school for a month now. She was enjoying her classes and making friends. All very good things. Now came an event that could potentially ruin everything; not just legal difficulties but the possible destruction of life as they knew it.

Parents Night.

It might sound silly to an outside observer that such a normal if boring event could cause terror in a former Cenobite and the woman who’d defeated Hell. Twice. Yet when Tiffany had come home with a flier, looking worried and hopeful, her parental figures had been inwardly quailing.

Elliot had no idea what to expect. It was a fairly modern experience and he couldn’t imagine Father or Mother attending some school event when they had soirees to attend or country estates to tour. Then there was hunting season…

Tiffany interrupted his thoughts. “C’mon! It’s not completely mandatory but it’ll look weird if you don’t go.” Her blue eyes pleaded with him. “It’ll be good for you to get out of the house and socialize and meet other parents, not just my teachers. Maybe you can get tips on being a good dad. Guardian, whatever,” she shrugged.

Kirsty emerged from the dining room where she was learning how to refinish the floors. “So, what are we talking about?”

Tiffany left Elliot’s side to shove the flier in Kirsty’s face. “Parents’ Night!”

Kirsty took the flier, a smile spreading across her lips. “Wow, I didn’t know schools still did this. Especially not physical fliers. I guess they would have sent out a mass email but we don’t have a computer yet.” She looked at Elliot. “Considering you’re legally Tiff’s guardian, you have to go, El.” She grinned at him. “It’s what a good cousin would do.”

“You don’t wanna go?” asked Tiffany.

Kirsty looked apologetic but still shook her head. “Not really. No offense, but people around here knew not just my grandmother but my dad and…Frank.” Her smile was awkward. “I really don’t want to deal with a bunch of personal questions by strangers, you know?”

Oh, no. That little minx wasn’t making him endure a night of strangers alone. “Kirsty my dear, you don’t possibly think I could do this all on my own, do you?” He gave her a look Tiffany had told him was called “Puppy Eyes”. “Here I am, a stranger in the modern world, and you’re going to make me fend for myself in a room full of parents and instructors? I thought we were friends.”

Kirsty looked betrayed and he could tell she was weakening. “Family, even. You said so yourself.” He began to walk towards her. “Family aren’t necessarily those we are related to but the family we choose for ourselves. People who understand us and support us as much as we support them. Surely a little discomfort is worth showing our Tiffany how much we care about her?”

Now Tiffany was standing beside him in front of Kirsty and both of them were giving Kirsty puppy eyes. Unable to stand up to their joint assault she gave in.

“Fine,” she glared at both of them and sighed. “What should I wear?”

*****

The event started at six o’clock so of course the Cotton-Spencers were there at promptly five forty-five. Kirsty wore a tan sweater with linen capris and ballet flats. Elliot wore a long-sleeved khaki polo with navy trousers and tan loafers. Tiffany of course wore her school uniform. They looked put-together but still approachable. With a nervous glance at each other and a deep breath, they entered the school together.

They were met by an attractive young man in black trousers, a gray button-down, and a patterned sweater vest. He introduced himself as Mr. McCormic, the 2-D art teacher. He gave them both a smile but his eyes lingered on Kirsty.

“Welcome to Parents’ Night! You must be the parents or guardians of Tiffany here.” He grinned at her and the girl gave him a nervous smile.

Elliot stepped slightly in front of Kirsty and offered the other man his hand. “Elliot Spencer, Tiffany’s cousin.” The younger man was handsome and clearly interested in his friend but really he was supposed to be a teacher and a professional.

The man took it and smiled. “Henry McCormic.” He shook his hand and stepped back. “Tiffany’s cousin from England. Tiffany’s mentioned you.” The man snuck another peek at Kirsty. “How do you like America so far?”

“A bit of culture shock,” Elliot answered honestly. “Fortunately I have my cousin and my friend to help me adjust.”

“Friend?” echoed the art teacher as he looked at Kirsty. He looked a little hopeful.

Kirsty smiled and also extended her hand. “Kirsty Cotton, nice to meet you.”

His eyes widened when he heard her last name. “Cotton. Didn’t you-” he cut himself off and smiled again. He pointed to a poster display stand. “Our schedule can be downloaded with this QR Code. All you have to do is scan it with your phone’s camera and it’ll tell you which classrooms to go to so you can meet all of Tiffany’s teachers. Afterwards we’ll have a reception in the cafeteria and a short speech by Principal Chalmers about what you can expect during the school year for your child. I mean cousin,” he corrected himself.

Elliot took pity on the man now that he knew the young man had no chance after almost bringing up family history. “Quite all right. Ours is an usual family. It’s as if I have two younger sisters instead of a cousin and a friend. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Uh, yeah. Same.” Kirsty smiled and waved to be polite. She scanned the QR Code and stepped away.

Tiffany gave the man a wave. “See you in class, Mr. McCormic!”

As they walked away Kirsty muttered to Elliot. “Yet another reason I didn’t want to come.”

*****

The next hour was a blur as they spent ten minutes meeting various teachers, asking questions and receiving praise for Tiffany’s surprising maturity and good grades.

Finally they met Mr. Harris who recognized Elliot or seemed to. “You must be Mr. Spencer!” He took Elliot’s hand and shook it before it was offered. “Shawn Harris, Tiffany’s history teacher. The report she wrote for her World War One or Great War paper was accurate and incredibly vivid.” He sniffed a bit. “I felt like I was there in the trenches. So real.” He sighed and looked at Elliot, all but ignoring Tiffany and Kirsty. “It’s a shame the state requires me to teach so many facts and dates. Students are just taught to pass a test and not the human toll of war; deaths, separation of families and the lack of care afterwards.” He smiled at Elliot. “You must have had family members who fought in the war.”

“I come from a long tradition of military service,” Elliot kept to their agreed cover story and was as truthful as he could be. “My grandfather told me stories and some of the family kept journals.”

Mr. Harris sighed in longing. “Primary sources! You’re very lucky,” he told Elliot, who wanted to disagree. The teacher’s face was hopeful. “I don’t suppose I could borrow them?”

“Sadly, no.” Elliot would not have given anything to this man if he’d had it. He hoped none of his journals had survived and the man was being rude. “Family archivist has them and they’re rather delicate.”

The man looked disappointed and changed the subject. He offered his hand to Kirsty. “You look very familiar, have we met?”

Kirsty shook his hand. “We might have, as kids if you grew up in the area. My grandmother had a house here. We’re living in it while we sort things out.”

Mr. Harris nodded. “Mrs. Cotton. Very sweet. She played bridge with my grandmother.” He pointed at her face. “You have her eyes.”

She let out an awkward laugh. “So everyone tells me.”

The chime on the PA system saved them from further awkwardness. “Ladies, Gentlemen, and Nonbinary friends, this is Ellen Chalmers.” The voice was calm and professional. “Principal of Gillingham Academy. At this time I would like for you to proceed to the cafeteria for hors d'oeuvres, followed by a short little welcome speech. Please follow the orange arrows on the wall if you are new to our school or ask a teacher to guide you if you get lost. Thank you and I hope to see you all soon.”

Elliot offered both of his companions an arm and gallantly escorted them to the cafeteria. They giggled and thanked him.

“I’ll have to thank your principal later.” Kirsty beamed at Tiffany. “We were quite literally saved by the bell.”

*****

The principal waited until everyone was done with the hors d’oeuvres, crudites, and tiny pastries to walk onstage and stand at the podium. Her image was projected on the screen behind her so people sitting in the back could see her.

Ellen Chalmers was an attractive woman in a sage green pantsuit that complimented her gray hair. She smiled at the assembled parents with real professional warmth. “I can’t begin to tell you all how privileged all of us at Gillingham Academy feel to be trusted with the education of your children. Believe it or not, I went to this school as a child and back then if you’d told me I’d come back as a Math teacher, and then principal, I would have laughed in your face!”

The audience chuckled politely as she spoke of the school’s record of academic excellence, the record number of students accepted to Ivy League colleges and its world class STEM, music, and ballet programs.

Tiffany sat in the middle of Elliot and Kirsty, trying to look interested but still sneaking a few texts to Callie and Antonio. Kirsty checked to see if she had any new emails from her financial advisor.

This was all new to Elliot, having been a student at a prestigious private school but never the guardian. It was a strange perspective to be a parent of sorts, to know that the future of a young person was in your hands. Unlike his parents he couldn’t pass on his responsibility to a servant or a boarding school and he was strangely glad. He wanted to be there for Tiffany and learn about her life, even if he had little to no idea what he was doing and what he could do to help. He glanced over at Kirsty. Did she feel the same way? She had been through so much at Frank and Julia’s hands…and his own. It would have been so easy for her to withdraw from the world and nurse her own pain and grief. She didn’t have to save him or Tiffany, much less take them in and treat them like family.

And yet she had. His once dead heart flooded with warmth as he thought of her generosity and the little family they’d made for themselves.

He felt Tiffany’s warm hand curl around his and glanced over to see she was holding Kirsty’s hand as well. The two of them looked at each other over Tiffany’s head and smiled, communicating with just their eyes.

Elliot had been a broken man when he’d begun exploring forbidden pleasures. The girls had been broken too, or at the very least damaged. Now they were healing and they had each other.

“And with your support, we’ll continue to make Gillingham Academy the best school of its kind!” The principal was saying and the audience clapped. The small family joined in the applause and stood, waiting for the room to clear out a bit before standing and making their way to Kirsty’s car.

“Tiffany!”

“Hey, Tiffany!”

Callie and Antonio caught up with them on the way out. She looked from her friends to her family and asked. “Is it okay if I talk to them before we leave? Just ten minutes,” she thought about it. “Maybe fifteen.”

Elliot nodded then looked at Kirsty to see if she agreed. The brunette nodded.

“Fifteen minutes,” he confirmed. He gave the girl a smirk. “And if you’re not out front in fifteen minutes-”

“Or you don’t answer our texts,” Kirsty added.

“Yes, or answer our texts, you’ll be walking home,” Elliot threatened and Kirsty snickered.

“No I won’t. I’ll get a ride with Callie’s or Tonio’s parents. Or I can call an Uber.” Tiffany stuck her tongue out at Elliot. “You’re not the boss.”

“I am. At least until you’re eighteen,” he clapped back. “Don’t be impertinent.”

Tiffany opened her mouth to get in the last word when Kirsty spoke up. “Don’t talk that way to your father, young lady.”

Elliot and Tiffany gaped at her while she laughed at them. Callie and Antonio tittered at their weird family dynamic but did it quietly.

The blonde pushed her friends away from Kirsty and Elliot, rolling her eyes. “Come on. Grownups are so weird.”

#kirsty cotton #domestic fluff #hellraiser #captain elliot spencer is human catnip #pinsty #felix graham de vanily