#“I should have absorbed you in the tube when I had the chance.”

[ronnyraygun]

I think they should have been brothers from the beginning—

[basu-shokikita]

Dethentines 2024 Day 2

Inspired by a Classic Romance Movie

I was having a hard time coming up with a movie for today's prompt because I'm not much for romantic movies...until my friend reminded me of Twilight, which is both cursed and a formative movie for me. Additionally, I had already thought of a Skwistok Twilight AU so this was the perfect chance for it. 😜

I'm doing a re-imagining of Bella and Edward's infamous first meeting because it's straight up one of my favorite scenes of the movie, it's just too funny. So, anyway, enjoy whatever this is!! 😂😂

Toki reluctantly walked into the classroom, unsure if he had the right one. When he saw the tubes and all the other scientific parafernalia, he let out a sigh of relief. This was definitely biology class.

“Oh, hey!” A middle-aged balding man approached him. He looked friendly and shook his hand right away. “You’re the new kid, right? I’m Mr. Ramirez, your new biology teacher.”

“Ah!” Toki didn’t expect the physical contact, though he wasn’t against it. Mr. Ramirez had a warm hand. “Nice to meets you Mrs. Raysmires, ams Toki-”

“We saved you a spot, Toki!” Mr. Ramirez pointed at an empty . “You can sit right next to Mr. Skwigelf, I’m sure he’ll be friendly. Right, Mr. Skwigelf?” Before receiving any kind of response, he turned to Toki. “Welcome to the class, Mr. Wartooth.” He said and finally let go of Toki.

When Toki glanced at his table partner with hesitation, the words from earlier replayed in his mind.

That’s Skwisgaar Skwigelf. Hottest boy at the school. Probably the most arrogant one, too. He is completely unfriendly and won’t let anyone that isn’t one of his weird little friends approach him. Don’t even try being nice to him, he’ll totally ignore you.

Toki bit his bottom lip, self-absorbed in rumination. Suddenly, he felt a breeze from behind him and turned to look at the fan pointing at him. When he returned his attention to the table, he saw that the Skwisgaar guy had covered his nose and mouth, glaring at Toki with unbridled anger. His free hand was tightly clenched on the table, and he looked away with a deep frown.

Panicked, Toki sniffed his own armpit, wondering if he smelled bad. Okay, he should’ve probably remembered to use deodorant before leaving for school, but it wasn’t so bad. He still remembered to shower this morning and everything. Maybe this person was a neat freak or something.

Trying not to feel affected, Toki walked to his table without paying too much attention. However, the minute he sat on his chair, the guy recoiled against his corner. As if Toki’s presence was too much to bear. That was kind of rude and honestly pretty uncalled for, even for a neat freak.

And yet, when he turned to at least give a judgemental stare to his table partner, he found him scowling back at him. Pitch black eyes pierced into his soul, trembling so faintly that Toki wouldn’t have noticed if it wasn’t for the shaking fingers on the table. His lips, his nose, his eyebrows, even his sharp cheeks…every feature on his face was filled with pure disgust towards Toki. The disheveled golden hair only served as some kind of curtain to present the most disdainful stare Toki had received in his life. 

Despite his better efforts, Toki felt his eyes sting a little. Everyone had been pretty nice to him so far, nobody had bullied him or made fun of his looks, so he should be happy. He should be happy his first day had been going so well. And yet, this hostility was tearing him apart. What had he done to this man he didn’t even know to elicit such a reaction from him? Should he look for another table? Should he leave this class? Should he…

And then, the blond pushed the paper sheet towards Toki. Carefully, as if he was trying his best not to come in contact with Toki, but still. Somehow, that gesture made him relieved. At least, he wasn’t being kicked out, no matter how much this guy seemed to despise him.

“Thank yous…” He said quietly and the guy just closed his eyes almost dramatically in response. It was a little funny, but maybe he needed help. “Um…” Toki tried to move closer. “Ams you okays?”

Skwisgrab opened his eyes at once and stared at Toki like he was crazy, shrinking against his corner like a wounded animal. He opened his mouth but no seconds came out for a few seconds. Then, he tried again. “Don’ts.” His voice was deep, serious and honestly pretty attractive.

“Okays!” Toki said before moving back with his chair. 

“Alright, kids, settle down!” Mr. Ramirez exclaimed, clasping his hands together. “Class is about to begin! Today, we’re studying…”

Toki tried to pay attention for a good whole minute before all the scientific terms got lost on him. He had never been the best with biology anyway. As subtle as he could, he took another glance at Skwisargs. 

The guy was still evidently repulsed, although he was making an effort to conceal it while he listened to the class. And it made Toki be able to see his face better. They weren’t kidding, Skwisgarp was really attractive with the rockstar mane, the long eyelashes, sharp features and full lips. Even his white teeth slightly peeking from under his upper lip were pearly white and…was that a fang?

Skwisgruel glared at him and Toki turned away, feeling his cheeks heat up. He tried to listen to the teacher, but the way Skwisgare crumpled the paper was infinitely more interesting and he couldn’t help stealing another glance at him. Long and slender fingers were wrapped around the abused paper sheet and Toki wondered how someone's skin could be so pale.

When he raised his eyes, he found the guy grimacing at him though it wasn’t just disgust in his eyes anymore, the confusion was apparent too. Whereas before he seemed intimidating and almost menacing, now he appeared weirdly cornered by Toki’s curiosity. And, in all fairness, it’s not like Toki could explain it either, so he pretended to pay attention to some random spot on his table.

The class went excruciatingly slow, with Toki fighting, and repeatedly failing, not to gaze at the handsome and bizarre stranger next to him and said stranger looking off put by him. By the time the bell rang, it felt like a million years had gone by, and Skwisgark dashed away with his bag in a hurry without even letting Mr. Ramirez finish. Toki observed the worn out black boots he was wearing, as his heels disappeared through the door frame. By the time he stood outside the door to take a peak, Skwisgerm’s silhouette was nowhere in sight.

Dangerous, was the first word Toki thought of, when trying to define this person. Like this was the kind of guy his parents would warn him against. And, yet, Toki felt an unshakeable need to know more about him.

Just who was he?

[macgyvermedical]

Treating Diarrheal Illness

Someone recently sent me an ask about vomiting and diarrhea. I got almost all the way through writing it and then tumblr ate it. Didn't save it as a draft, didn't even put the ask back in my inbox, just poof'd it into oblivion.

But it was a good ask, and not one I get very often, so I still want to answer it- it essentially said the following:

How could a non-medical person in an apocalyptic setting treat someone who had severe diarrhea and vomiting, assuming the person in gastrointestinal distress was a doctor and could give them some direction? Can/should they give antidiarrheal medication and how would they go about doing that since the patient would probably throw it up?

So very glad you asked:

Diarrhea

The nice thing about most diarrheal illness is that as long as the person stays hydrated, they have a really good chance at surviving. Water is okay for hydration, but if the caregiver can get their hands on some salt, some potassium-based salt substitute, and some sugar, they can make a really easy and effective oral rehydration solution. The recipe is as follows:

Mix together:

1 liter of water

1/2 tsp salt (you want this to be slightly less salty than tears)

1/8 tsp potassium-based salt substitute (if you have this, great, if not, you can leave it out and it will still be effective)

8 tsp sugar

The goal is to get them to drink more volume of ORS than they are pooping- think at least a cup of ORS per poop.

Vomiting

The nice thing about uncontrollable vomiting is, again, that as long as the person stays hydrated, they will probably survive. Hydrating someone who can't keep anything down is a little trickier for the lay caregiver. Fortunately, there's another entrance to the GI tract.

The colon absorbs water. That's the colon's job. It takes the liquid coming from the small intestine and pulls water out of it until it becomes solid poop. A lay caregiver can take advantage of this process to hydrate someone if necessary by inserting a flexible tube (enema tip, catheter tip, NG tube, IV tubing, whatever relatively clean tube you have lying around that fits) a few inches into the rectum and SLOWLY instilling saline (1 liter water to 1/2 tsp salt). The colon can absorb between 2 and 6 liters of water this way per 24-hour period, which can absolutely keep a person hydrated even without an IV.

Diarrhea AND Vomiting

The annoying thing is that when diarrhea comes with vomiting severe enough to prevent being able to keep liquids down, neither of these really work.

So either your caregiver character needs a method that doesn't involve the GI tract at all, or they need to get creative.

IV hydration has a lot of drawbacks in the apocalypse. For one thing, it involves a lot of specialized equipment- the tiny catheters that sit in the vein, sterile tubing with a drip chamber, sterile fluids, and saline locks- all of which are nearly impossible to improvise. Plus, in the case of this ask specifically- doctors generally don't know how to start IVs. That's a nursing skill and unless a doctor is an anesthesiologist they probably haven't put an IV in since med school (where they did it exactly once).

Subcutaneous (subq) hydration is slower and requires all the same supplies. The nice thing about subq though is that unlike an IV catheter, which has to sit in the vein and takes skill/experience to place, in subq hydration the caregiver only has to place a catheter into the patient's fat (something a lot easier to talk someone through). This can instill about 60ml/hr (about 1.5 liters/24 hr). If they have the supplies and can throw more than one catheter in the person, they can probably keep them hydrated this way.

Recommendations

What I would recommend for this story, however, is to pile a bunch of anti-nausea remedies on top of each other to try to get the puking under control, then work on the diarrhea.

If this were my patient and I was in the apocalypse, I would start by putting a cool rag on the back of my patient's neck and have them smell an alcohol pad or some mint, help them wash out their mouth so it doesn't taste like puke, and try to keep them from puking for about an hour. If they make it that long, I'd start with having them drink about an ounce of clean water. If they don't throw it up over the course of the next half hour, I'd give an ounce of coca cola (I don't usually do brand names, but coca cola has a high concentration of phosphoric acid, which is a great anti-emetic plus the bubbles can help with nausea as well).

I'd then drop to an ounce every 15 mins, then an ounce every 10, alternating water and coke, or ORS and coke. The goal is very small amounts of liquid with time in between. If they become severely nauseous, back off and start again after a half hour. If they throw up, start the whole thing over again.

If at any point during this they had a prescription medication available like ondansetron, compazine, or promethazine, they could crush it and have the patient put it under their tongue- that way they wouldn't have to swallow it and risk throwing it back up. Some of it would absorb, and if they happened to swallow some, that would also be great.

Once the vomiting is moderately under control, they could give bismouth subsalicylate (pepto-bismol) and loperamide. Both work against diarrhea. For loperamide, the dosing is two tablets after the first loose stool, then one after each subsequent loose stool. Bismouth subsalicylate and loperamide can be taken together.

Stopping Things Up

A question a lot of people ask is whether you should take anything to stop diarrhea. This usually comes with the idea that the person with diarrhea must be pooping for a reason, and stopping it up is trapping an infection in there and making it worse.

If the diarrhea is being caused by a bacteria or virus, that infection is in the walls of the digestive tract, and it spreads to other people via infectious poop. Pooping does not get rid of the infection. It just makes it more likely that someone else will catch it, and that the patient will become dehydrated. So taking medication to slow down the poopcano is generally a good idea here, since the goal is basically just to wait until the immune system kicks the infection or antibiotics wipe it out, and pooping doesn't help with that.

Now. If the diarrhea is being caused by a toxin, including a toxin from, say, c-diff (an infection from a bacteria that takes over the gut after some antibiotics and causes life-threatening diarrhea/colitis), taking a medication to stop the poop is a bad idea- since the toxin will get trapped and continue to cause problems. Same if it's something like a food allergy or intolerance- it's going to keep messing you up until it's out, so better to let it get out.

How can you tell? Well, here's where I refer you to a doctor. In this situation, the doctor might be able to make an informed choice on whether they wanted to take an anti-diarrheal medication based on what they thought was causing the vomiting and diarrhea.

[ghostreblogging]

I have this idea okay. So dp x DC crossover. And like a built on Danny needing to consume ectoplasm and usually he just absorbs it from the surroundings. And Lazarus pit is actually ectoplasm

Danny was fucked. Well he was gonna starve . His body does produce enough ectoplasm to at least let him survive. He only actually uses them for energy boosts or when he is fighting non-stop. But he knows that's like only eating one meal a day and expecting to be able to fight all day. It was simply illogical.

He knows he should have gotten more but then again he thought a sixteen pack of ectoplasm tubes were gonna be enough for a seven day vacation. What could go wrong? Even if the ambient ectoplasm is gonna be a little bare, it should still be able to support you! His friends said. Danny that is already too much, you won't be able to fit more and you only need one a day and you only use it like that for the same effect as coffee! Jazz said.

Well a simple cruise vacation led to them being stranded in some where deserty and on a beach. They had been stuck in these stupid deserts for fourteen days. At first they stayed put, but soon it was apparent that no one was coming for them since the cruise was kinda shifty, they found stuff that the lifeboat didn't have trackers or anything that could help them. So they were following a river. Because jazz said they might find civilization If they do. At least the little area of plant life is a good break from the hot deserts.

He tried to ignore the obvious dwindling supply of ectoplasm in his backpack. And he seriously needs to use them once a day, if he doesn't he would have to rely on good ol Fenton strength, not a good thing in the desert where they have to battle the heat all day.

He is seriously considering disappearing and saying he fell into the river where he miraculously found help. But no there is more holes in that than Vlad's stupid cheese. But might as well save it to the maybe category.

He has left one tube. Not enough for this stupid vacation. He can just fly, he would save energy but that would leave them behind. And how would he even get split up?

It was stupid. A sandstorm hit them and they had to hide in between some cliffs. In the panic of it all he wasn't able to hide with them. But this does give him some kind of a chance to go get himself a refill from the nearest natural portal. He won't be gone for that long anyways. It was nearby.

There was a palace surrounding the natural portal. He'll have to close it, someone might try to use it. He phased through the cold hallways into a chamber. There was a pit, and there seemed to be a natural portal in the bottom of it and all of the extra ectoplasm pooled on top of it and got corrupted.

But his body should be able to process it. He thinks. But he is currently really hungry so yeah he can't really care right now.

"What the fuck?"

Danny turns to see the bats on the edge of the pit as he slurps down the forbidden juices

[calliecat93]

I think the thing that gets me so much a bout The Empath is when Bones decided to hypo Kirk and Spock, he did so with no hesitation. Like... zero. Kirk clearly distressed that he’s about to send one of his closest friends to be tortured horribly? He simply stands up, pulls the hypo out, and does what he knows has to be done. Then when Spock points out that he just made it so Spock gets to make the choice and is clearly going to choose himself to be tortured? Bones turns away for about thirty seconds to reload the hypo, chekcs to make sure that Spock isn’t looking, and againw th zero hesitation knocks him out as well.

McCoy may be an illogical, overemotional human who tends to get heated at times and can be prone to rash judgements, but the main isn’t stupid. He knows that if he goes with the Vians, he’s dead. He’s got no reason to doubt otherwise especially when he already saw how badly Kirk was doing after he got tortured, and his turn is going to be FAR worse. But he didn’t care. He decided it was worth it if it spared the two idiots that he’s responsible for keeping alive. Or, more simply put, to save the two people he cares for most. Even when the Vians shows up, he’s not scared. He chooses to assure Gem instead of worrying about himself and just... goes willingly. Even when chained up, he just tells them to get on with it. Again, no fear even when he stares at the tube with his name on it. He just lets it happened, having accepted whatever his fate will be.

That was the moment that McCoy became my favorite character. Sure when you look at it, it’s... pretty concerning that he seemed to have no regard for himself or his well-being, let alone how him dying would affect the same two people that he knocked out. Which you can tell, him giving himself up and especially when they see the result and are helpless to do anything, it’s killing both Jim and Spock. But even if McCoy had considered all of that, he’d have still done it the same way all over again. Why? The same reason he pushed Gem away when she was absorbing his injuries, he can’t cause harm to anyone. He couldn’t let Jim suffer major emotional distress and trauma by choosing between him and Spock. He couldn’t let Spock get tortured and lose his mind, which for a Vulcan may as well be death. There was no need for McCoy to hesitate or give any second thoughts because... well, why should he? He goes, they have a chance to survive, that’s all that he needed to know. Even if it resulted in him dying, ah well, better him than anyone else. It’s concerning cause GDI McCoy you matter so much to them, damn it!! Cut damn, not many people can do that and looking closer at it... it just says so much about him and his character.

I just... have lots of feelings about McCoy, okay?! He needs the love!

[esperantoauthor]

Title: Let Me Hold Your Hand Author: Esperanto | Beta Reader: @blaineandersimp Rating: T Status: Complete (4,349 words) Genre: Hurt/Comfort (emotional)

Summary: For months now, Kurt has wanted nothing more than for Blaine to hold his hand. He has yearned for it, ached for it. But now, now that it is finally happening the only hand Kurt wants to hold is his Dad’s. [or, what if the order of events in season 2 were different and Burt's heart attack happened *after* Kurt and Blaine became close friends?]

✨ Read it on Ao3 or below the cut ✨

It started off as a painfully ordinary day.

Life-changing events shouldn’t be allowed to happen on days like this, with the sun shining and fluffy white clouds in the air. On a day when his pop quiz was cancelled and they actually served something edible in the cafeteria. It should have happened on a horribly overcast day where a thick layer of cloud cover kept the sun from shining a single ray of hope down to the ground.

It shouldn’t have happened at all.

—

Terror grips his heart as soon as Ms. Pillsbury pulls him out of class. He can see the bad news written in the stern lines of her face.

“Kurt, your father had a heart attack.”

The world shatters around him, splintering into a thousand jagged pieces that catch against his skin. Kurt blurts out the first question that pops into his head.

“Is he dead?”

Kurt presses through the rushing in his ears to hear her response. “No, Kurt. He’s in critical condition; that’s all they would tell me. Kurt, I’m so sorry; you must be so scared.”

The air around him is thick like molasses, his face is numb, and his heart is pounding so loudly he can hear each beat ricocheting around in his skull. He doesn’t know what this feeling is. Desperation? Shock?

He stares at her wordlessly, eyes wide, as his world falls apart.

She looks so earnestly concerned that Kurt wants to slap her. How dare she look so sympathetic when she has no idea what this feels like. What it feels like to be going through this for the second time.

“I need to see him, please,” he begs.

“Of course,” Ms. Pillsbury says with a nod. “I’ll take you there now.

—

Coma.

Kurt flexes the fingers in his hands, stretching them out as far as he can, wiggling each finger just to feel his own body move, to make sure it is still there.

His father is in a coma.

Kurt wishes he had written down what the doctor had told him because he’s already forgotten most of it. Not that word though. He’s watched enough soap operas and medical dramas to know that a coma is bad. Really bad. It’s the kind of thing people wake up from with amnesia. At least on TV.

They won’t let him in the room and it takes every ounce of control he possesses not to scream in frustration. He imagines the windows in the ICU waiting room shattering but instead he finds a vending machine and fumbles his way into procuring a diet coke.

The drink is blessedly cold and the sugar seems to kickstart his brain a little bit. When was the last time he ate? Kurt is not sure how much time has passed.

Ms. Pillsbury is still sitting primly in the waiting room chair, glancing nervously whenever someone coughs. Kurt remembers that she is a germaphobe and in a brief moment of clarity he manages to feel grateful that she is here with him anyways, even if it must be hard for her to be in a place like this, surrounded by germs and disease.

“Kurt? There are a few things we need to get settled.”

What could possibly matter when his father is lying in a room somewhere and no one can tell him if he is going to wake up?

“I need to make sure that someone is looking after you tonight. We need to find you a friend or a relative to stay with.”

“I want to stay here,” he says firmly.

She presses her lips together. “I’ll see if that can be arranged. But right now, no one knows besides you, me, and Principal Figgins. I can’t stay here all night with you Kurt but I don’t want you to be alone. Is there a friend who might come sit with you?”

Kurt nearly asks for Mercedes but instead… “I guess I could call Blaine.”

“Who’s that?”

“He’s a friend of mine. He doesn’t go to McKinley but I… I feel safe when he’s around.”

Ms. Pillsbury nods softly and writes down the name. “Who else? Anyone close to Burt who should know? Do we need to call his workplace?”

“Oh my god, Carole! No one has told Carole.”

Ms. Pillsbury looks at him with a puzzled expression.

“My dad’s girlfriend,” he explains. “Carole Hudson? Finn’s mom.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful I didn’t realize that they were involved.”

Kurt finds her sudden perkiness unsettling. He clears his throat and looks at her expectantly.

“Would you like me to call her?”

“Please.”

—

When Kurt asks him to come to the hospital, for a brief terrible moment Blaine fears that the worst has happened and Karofsky has made good on his threats. Rage boils red hot in his chest at the thought of anyone harming Kurt, who is the best person he’s ever met.

“It’s my…it’s my dad, Blaine.” Kurt can barely get the words out, his voice cracking on the word ‘dad.’

“I’m on my way.”

—

The messy head of curls peering around the room is the first good thing that Kurt has seen since he heard the news. He catches Blaine’s eye and waves him over. Blaine deftly weaves his way through the backpacks and nurses until he makes it to the corner where Kurt and Ms. Pillsbury are waiting.

Blaine just stares at him, hazel eyes wide, before he pulls Kurt into his arms for a bone crushing hug. “I’m so sorry, Kurt. So, so sorry,” he whispers into Kurt’s ear, pulling him tighter, rubbing up and down his back.

It is the first moment of true comfort he has experienced since he heard the news and somehow that breaks the dam. Tears, hot and messy, finally come and he buries his face in Blaine’s shoulder, letting the thick fabric of Blaine’s sweater absorb his sorrow.

“Oh, Kurt,” Blaine says softly.

Somehow Blaine lowers them both onto the bench without letting go of Kurt. Kurt holds tight to the front of Blaine’s sweater, unwilling to chance that he might pull back before Kurt is ready for the world to see his face.

Blaine just lets Kurt use him, soak up comfort from him, asking nothing in return. He says nothing to acknowledge that they have only hugged briefly a few times before this and surely Kurt is asking too much of his friend right now.

But Blaine just lets him. Folds himself into whatever shape Kurt needs and just holds him, keeps him steady, supports him so he doesn’t fall to the floor and actually crack into pieces.

“Thank you for coming, Blaine,” he hears Ms. Pillsbury say, making conversation as if Kurt can’t hear them. “I’m so glad he has a friend to support him during this difficult time. Or… he said friend but, I mean…” she fumbles over her words.

Blaine’s chest bounces a few times with silent laughter. “We’re just friends, ma’am.”

“I’m just glad that he has someone. Kurt doesn’t… he doesn’t open up easily. Glee club has been so good for him. He’s made friends and they look out for each other. Will you two be alright if I head out? Carole is getting here as quickly as she can.”

“I’ve got him,” Blaine assures her.

—

After an eternity, they finally let Kurt see his dad.

Blaine shuffles his feet awkwardly. He wants to do whatever Kurt needs but he doesn’t know what that is. Does Kurt need moral support when he sees his dad for the first time or would it better to give him privacy? How is he supposed to know something like that? But asking feels like a burden.

A warm hand slips into Blaine’s. “Come?” Kurt asks hesitantly. Blaine nods and follows Kurt. He wonders where he wouldn’t follow his friend.

The door creaks when they open it and Kurt lets out a little gasp when he finally lays eyes on his father. There’s a feeding tube running into his nose and electrodes stuck to his skin, monitors beeping out their indecipherable codes. But at least they are beeping which is better than the alternative.

Kurt squeezes his hand so hard that Blaine grits his teeth. He waits for Kurt to move, to take a step towards his dad, perhaps to run to him. But Kurt just stands there, frozen.

Blaine gives him a minute but then, when he still doesn’t move, he pulls gently on Kurt’s hand, urging him to walk closer. Kurt finally snaps out of it and then suddenly he is the one dragging Blaine over to the bed.

“Dad,” he cries out. “I’m here, Dad. Please, you need to wake up.”

Blaine’s hand hurts but he resolves that he isn’t going to let go until Kurt decides it is time. His friend needs him and if this is what he has to give then it is Kurt’s, for as long as he needs it. Kurt who is so strong and so kind. Kurt whose whole world is this middle-aged mostly bald man that Blaine has only met once.

—

For months now, Kurt has wanted nothing more than for Blaine to hold his hand. He has yearned for it, ached for it. But now, now that it is finally happening the only hand Kurt wants to hold is his Dad’s.

“Squeeze my hand, Dad. I need to know that you can hear me.”

Nothing. Just a cold, limp hand that doesn’t squeeze back.

So he holds onto Blaine’s because it is warm and full of life and Kurt needs that right now. It crosses his mind that if circumstances were different, this would be exhilarating. If circumstances were different. He swallows thickly. He would give anything for circumstances to be different. He would even give up Blaine, who is becoming so important to him so fast, for circumstances to be different.

“Did I ever tell you about my tea parties?” he asks Blaine.

Blaine smiles fondly and shakes his head.

“It was one of my favorite games when I was little. I would arrange all of my stuffed animals and action figures, setting out little plates of cucumber sandwiches and giving everyone just the amount of sugar and milk that they asked for, making sure that everyone had what they needed.”

“Of course you did,” Blaine says, his smile growing wider.

If Kurt’s heart hadn’t beat itself into exhaustion hours ago, it might have skipped a beat.

“It’s not every dad that will play tea party with their son but he always said ‘yes,’ no matter how ridiculous he thought it was.”

“My dad definitely wouldn’t have done something like that with me,” Blaine replies solemnly.

Kurt’s heart, already broken and bleeding, still manages to ache for his friend. Blaine rarely talks about his parents. Kurt had assumed they were just very busy being high-powered executives but this latest revelation suggests that there is more to it than that. He gives Blaine’s hand a comforting squeeze and a questioning look.

“It was a long time ago, Kurt.” Blaine shrugs. “The tea parties sound really special.”

He nods. “And after she… after we lost her. I hadn’t played with it in years but suddenly that was all I wanted to do. I just wanted everyone to have their tea and their cookies. Why was that so important to me?”

“I don’t know,” Blaine responds. “Maybe you wanted to take care of them just like your mom used to take care of you?”

“I—“ Kurt stares at him wonderstruck. “Yeah, maybe. I…I never thought about it that way.”

Blaine shrugs. “I mean what do I know? I wasn’t there. I just… I mean just from how you described it and knowing you I just thought…I don’t know, I mean, please ignore me, I don’t know anything.”

“You know me,” Kurt counters.

Blaine squeezes his hand.

“Yeah. I know you.”

—

Blaine tries to wiggle some of the feeling back into his fingers without waking Kurt. He told himself he would let Kurt hold his hand as long as he wanted but he hadn’t thought through the repercussions of Kurt falling asleep clutching his hand, head resting on Blaine’s shoulder. His circulation isn’t aware that Kurt needs him.

He manages to readjust his arm enough that the blood starts to flow back into his hand. He sighs to himself in the silence and the half-darkness.

Blaine isn’t sure how Kurt is able to sleep with the beeping of the machines and the nurses coming in once an hour to check Burt’s vitals.

He must be exhausted.

Blaine wonders if he should have gone home. He didn’t exactly plan to spend the night with Kurt in his father’s hospital room. He figured he would come by, be there for Kurt, make sure he had something to eat, and then return home a couple hours later. But once he was there… he couldn’t tear himself away. Why couldn’t he tear himself away? Why was Kurt’s pain so utterly heartbreaking to see? Why was he so determined to do anything in his power to ease it, even slightly?

Blaine has always been a caring friend but he can’t imagine himself doing anything like this for Wesley or David.

But Kurt is just… Kurt has the biggest heart of anyone Blaine has ever met and he simply cannot stand to sit idly by while it is breaking.

An idea, half-formed, presses at the back of his mind, not quite coherent enough yet to rise to the forefront of his thoughts, but there nonetheless. Answers to those questions. The reasons to the why. He tries again to find a comfortable position on the chair and closes his eyes, hoping he can sleep a little before the nurse comes back.

—

Kurt isn’t sure where he is when he first wakes up. It takes a few sleepy moments before the unfamiliar sounds and smells alert him to the fact that he is definitely not in his bedroom. He starts to lift his arm to rub the sleep from his eyes but something heavy is holding it down.

Blaine.

Kurt stills, not wanting to wake his friend. Blaine’s hair is adorably rumpled from sleep and his clothes, once so neatly pressed, are scrunched and stretched from shifting around all night. Kurt feels the hot breath of Blaine’s exhale hit his neck and a shiver runs down his spine. Careful not to wake him, Kurt untangles himself from Blaine and tiptoes to the bathroom to brush his teeth and make use of the change of clothes he’d asked Blaine to bring him.

He feels fresher when he returns to the room, two paper cups of coffee in hand and smelling like Blaine’s laundry detergent.

“I’m sorry about the pants,” Blaine says when Kurt returns to the room.

Kurt shrugs. “They’re clean, which is about all I care about right now.”

“Never thought I’d see the day,” Blaine mutters as he accepts the coffee from Kurt. “You are a godsend, you know that?”

Kurt laughs and then he claps a hand to his mouth. His father is lying there in who knows what condition and here he is laughing.

“He would want you to laugh,” Blaine says softly.

Still stinging with embarrassment, Kurt lashes out. “How would you know?”

Blaine gapes at him. “I…I wouldn’t. I’m sorry, Kurt, I shouldn’t say stuff like that. I was trying to be comforting but, you’re right. I hardly know him. I just know how much he means to you.”

“I’m sorry, Blaine. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I just… would it be ridiculous if I said it has been a long day?”

“Not in the slightest.”

Blaine offers his hand and Kurt accepts it gladly.

After coffee, they chat about reality TV and exchange show choir war stories, acting like Kurt’s world isn’t hanging in the balance just a few feet away in that hospital bed.

When the doctor comes by, Kurt listens eagerly for any scrap of good news but all he hears is that nothing has changed since yesterday.

The doctor leaves and Kurt sets his chair next to the bed, taking his father’s hand and silently begging him to give him a sign, give him anything to show that he is going to pull through this.

Blaine is there too, letting Kurt hold tight to him, letting Kurt hold his hand.

—

The exhaustion of barely sleeping the night before finally catches up with Blaine, and he nods off in his chair, head lolling onto Kurt’s shoulder.

When he wakes up, it is to the purest and most beautiful singing that he has ever heard.

Oh please, say to me

You'll let me be your man

And please, say to me

You'll let me hold your hand

You'll let me hold your hand

I want to hold your hand

“I’m right here, Dad,” Kurt whispers. The words cut at Blaine’s heart like dull knives. He rubs his thumb over the knuckles on Kurt’s hand, hoping that his touch can offer some small comfort to his friend in this moment of despair.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“How long was I out?” Blaine asks.

“About an hour. The nurse came by ten minutes ago and said there was no change. Blaine… I keep asking but they keep saying there is no way to tell when he will wake up. It could be hours or days or… “ Kurt trails off as if he cannot bear the thought of a longer unit of time.

“I’m so sorry, Kurt. I can’t even imagine how hard this is for you. Is there anything else I can do to help? Do you want me to get anything from your house or…?”

“Just stay with me? Please.”

“As long as you want me to,” he promises.

Kurt smiles warmly at him and squeezes his hand. Kurt mutters something under his breath. Blaine can’t make out most of the words but he swears one of them is “always.”

Always. He turns the word over in his mind and in his heart. His chest feels warm. There is that thought again, not yet coherent but gradually taking shape. The reasons to the why.

“Dad?” Kurt’s voice pulls him from his thoughts. “Dad! I’m right here Dad.”

“Kurt?” Blaine doesn’t understand Kurt’s sudden excitement.

“He moved. Oh my god, Blaine, he moved; I’m sure of it. I squeezed his hand and then I felt it.”

Blaine jumps to his feet, fumbling for the call button which he can’t seem to locate. “Nurse! NURSE!” he shouts loudly. Footsteps sound in the hallway and one of the nurses appears in the doorway, out of breath.

“He moved!” Kurt says in disbelief, tears of joy welling up in his eyes. “He’s waking up. My Dad is waking up.”

The nurse jumps into action, fiddling with the monitors and clamping something onto Burt’s hand. “Kurt, I need to warn you, he may be very confused when he wakes up. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything. It’s important that you stay calm.” She turns to Kurt’s dad, putting her hand on his shoulder. “Mr. Hummel? It’s time to wake up Mr. Hummel. Your son really wants to say hello.”

At first, it seems as though nothing is happening. Burt’s fingers wiggle a few more times. Tears run down Kurt’s cheeks that he doesn’t bother to brush away.

Minutes pass.

Blaine wonders if he needs to remind Kurt to breathe.

Then eyelashes flutter and Burt’s cerulean eyes, the exact same shade as Kurt’s, crack open and Kurt let’s out an audible gasp.

“Dad? I’m here Dad. I’m right here.”

“Hey, kiddo,” Burt whispers roughly.

“Dad!” Kurt responds with wonder. Kurt leans forward and grasps his father’s hand with both of his now. Blaine’s hand drops heavily to his thigh. He stares at it as if a foreign object. He’s barely had it to himself for more than a few minutes to use the restroom since he got here. Kurt doesn’t need him anymore. His hand feels too light suddenly, without the weight of Kurt bearing down on it, keeping it grounded. He feels untethered.

Kurt is whispering in hushed voices with his father and Blaine leans back in his chair, the full weight of the past 24 hours hitting him all at once. He could probably sleep for a week. He tries to remember the last time he checked in with his parents, but he isn’t sure. He decides he needs to take a walk. Stretch his legs. Maybe hunt down some coffee. Have a few moments alone with his thoughts.

He’s about to tell Kurt where he is going but he can’t bear to interrupt the emotional family reunion happening beside him. Kurt won’t notice his absence. He leaves without a word.

The too-bright lights of the hospital thrum overhead as he wanders down the corridor. He looks to his left to see a family jubilant as they sign release papers, a middle-aged man in a wheelchair looking eager to go home. He looks to his right and he sees a woman sitting on the floor, head in her hands, weeping like the world is ending. The hospital is a topsy-turvy kind of place. Dreamlike, almost.

Eventually he finds a vending machine that dispenses coffee. Blaine isn’t looking forward to drinking it but at this point he needs the caffeine enough to be desperate. He inserts enough cash for two coffees and carefully punches the buttons so he doesn’t order the wrong thing.

The rhythmic thudding of his feet on the shiny linoleum floors feels grounding as he makes his way back to the hospital room.

“Blaine!” Kurt calls out his name eagerly when he enters the room. “I was worried you had left without saying goodbye.”

Blaine is surprised by how disappointed Kurt sounds.

“Nah, just went to get some coffees. I figured we could both use a little pick-me-up.”

“You are a gentleman and a scholar,” Kurt praises, reaching out his hand to accept the paper cup.

Kurt blows on the hot drink and gives Blaine a soft, contemplative look. “I don’t know how to thank you for this Blaine.”

“It’s just vending machine coffee, Kurt.”

Kurt bumps his knee into Blaine’s playfully. “You know that’s not what I mean. I can’t believe you stayed with me this whole time. Not a lot of people would do that.”

“There aren’t a lot of people I would do that for,” Blaine admits. Kurt is special. Kurt has always been special, but over the last 24 hours it has become painfully obvious to Blaine just how special he is. His devotion to his father has moved Blaine.

Oh.

There it is. The reason to the why.

Kurt smiles and holds his hand out, a question in his eyes. Blaine smiles and reaches back, lacing their fingers together.

“I can’t believe that before yesterday I’d never held a boy’s hand before. And now I’ve held one for 24 hours straight. I might never let you go, Blaine. I’m addicted.”

“I could think of worse things to endure,” Blaine says with a smirk.

They fall silent, neither boy sure what to say, but both of them feeling something huge and irrepressible bubbling up in their hearts. Kurt let’s his thumb trace circles lightly on Blaine’s skin and Blaine feels his heartbeat begin to pick up and his mouth turns to cotton.

“Kurt I—”

“Blaine?”

“I lied.”

Kurt flinches and yanks his hand back, eyebrows furrowed together in confusion and distrust.

I’m doing this all wrong.

“No, no that’s not what I meant. I... “ he reaches hesitantly for Kurt’s hand, asking, “Please?”

Kurt nods hesitantly. Blaine takes Kurt’s hand, holding it firmly with both of his, looking right into Kurt’s eyes.

“When I said there weren’t many people I would do this for. I lied. The truth is that there is only one person I would do this for. Because there is only one person I care about that much, whose happiness means so much to me that I couldn’t bear to see him sad without doing everything I could to comfort him.”

“Wow, I… Blaine, that’s really sweet. You’re my best friend and—”

Blaine cuts him off because he can’t bear to hear Kurt misunderstand. “ — no, no that’s not what I mean!” He desperately wants Kurt to understand. He needs Kurt to understand. Words fail him but his hands have known what to do since he got here.

They do not fail him now. He is reaching and finding and holding and guiding. Kurt’s lips are salty with tears when he finally tastes them, yet somehow the sweetest thing he’s ever known.

Blaine pulls back and clamps his hand over his mouth in horror. He can’t believe what he’s just done. Kurt’s father nearly died and all he is thinking about is kissing. Kurt is vulnerable right now and here he is throwing himself at him. This has to be the most inappropriate thing he has ever done.

“Oh my god! I am so sorry, Kurt.” He leaps to his feet and pushes down the urge to bolt from the room.

Kurt looks up at him in amusement. He crosses his arms. “Well you should be.”

Blaine hangs his head. “I know. I know. I just, I haven’t slept and it has been such an emotional day— not that that is any excuse. That was deeply inappropriate, I mean your father is upstairs getting an EEG for crying out loud and—”

Blaine stops blabbering when he feels something brush his cheek. He lifts his head to see that Kurt is inches away from him. “You should be sorry for taking so long to figure it out, dummy.”

Blaine’s heart soars and their lips crash together. Kurt lets out a soft whine that electrifies Blaine’s heart.

Kurt’s hand finds his and their fingers intertwine. Blaine is so very happy that he let Kurt hold his hand.

Even better, now he never has to let go.

[adenei]

Summer of Jily - Week 2

Prompts: Swimming with friends, and "Today, we're younger than we're every gonna be for @efkgirldetective's Summer of Jily Fest."

Stands alone or can be read as a continuation from Part 1.

“Come on, Evans, join us!”

James pretended to splash Lily from his spot in the lake as she lounged on the grass, content to read her book while the rest of them swam off the side of the dock. There were boats in the distance that traveled lazily along the water as soft ripples made their way toward the shore. Marlene and Mary were floating on inner tubes that they’d tied to the dock, while the boys threw a ball around, playing keep away with Sirius currently in the middle. With one eye on the game, James kept the other trained on Lily as his thoughts drifted back to their early morning conversation.

Just like I’ve been saving all my summers for you.

She walked away before James could ask her what that meant, and as a result, he’d spent the majority of the day trying to sort out whether there was a hidden meaning. Did she mean that she hoped he’d show up here to crash their girls week? But that would only be this summer. What about the rest?

Thoughts of last year flitted through his mind. They’d just become friends, and when Sirius had suggested Lily join them for a summer adventure, she hadn’t seemed opposed to the idea. Not that it ever came to fruition. And it was true, that they’d gone back and forth in their letters, trying to find a time to meet up in recent weeks, but what did that mean for the future? They’d be out of Hogwarts this time next year. Did that mean she wanted him to remain in her life even after graduation?

Would they remain friends or could it possibly lead to…

Smack.

The ball hit him in the side of the face. He grabbed it as Sirius lunged, seeing his opening in James’s mis-step. Wanting to get rid of it before Sirius made his attack, James quickly threw the ball, but not in the direction of Remus or Peter. It soared through the air, toward the grassy area between the water and the cabin. The squishy, water-absorbent ball came down off its arc and hit Lily square in the back, splaying water all over the cover up dress she was wearing.

“Oh, you’ve done it now,” Sirius sniggered.

The four boys watched as Lily shut her book and set it down before she picked up the ball and stood up to make her way toward the lake. Even the girls had paused their chatter, as they took an interest in whatever was about to unfold. Lily stopped when she reached the water’s edge, peering at the boys with narrowed eyes.

“How did this end hitting me?”

“Bad aim?” James offered, wondering if she’d go along with it.

She nodded perceptively. “Hmm. Have you lost all your Quidditch skills this summer, Potter? I hope this slump doesn’t jeopardize our chances for the cup this year.”

A smirk crossed her lips as she threw the ball up in the air as she played catch with herself a few times before folding her arms in front of her chest.

“Now, the real question is should I give this back to you or keep it with me?”

Peter nudged Remus, “looks like she’s practicing her Head Girl duties already,” which elicited a laugh from everyone in the water.

“Oh, come on Lil, just give them their ball back,” Marlene chided.

“Only if they can promise to let me read in peace and without another aerial attack!”

“Oi, come on, Evans!” Sirius goaded her, “stop acting like an old lady. Today, we’re younger than we’re ever gonna be! Join us and have some fun. You can read any time.”

James paused, watching her reaction with keen interest. He’d been trying to get her in the water all afternoon and knew a lost cause when he saw one. He was about to turn toward Sirius to tell him to leave her alone when he noticed a mirthful glint in her shining green eyes.

“On one condition.”

“Anything.”

James’s impulse caused him to reply for Sirius, who shot him a knowing look. He’d never hear the end of it later.

“We reset the game with James in the middle.”

Sirius, Remus, and Peter all burst into laughter as Sirius wasted no time moving to the outer perimeter at Lily’s request.

“As you wish, Evans,” James obliged as he dove underwater to swim to the middle spot.

He was thankful for the charm he’d placed on glasses to repel water and make it easier to see without having to avoid getting his face wet. When he resurfaced, James practically choked as he caught the tail end of Lily shedding her cover up and revealing the green and black two piece she’d been hiding underneath. Luckily, she didn’t notice his reaction as she was tying up her hair, but his friends did.

“Easy there, Prongs,” Remus said under his breath as Lily made her way into the water, flashing James a wicked smile that made his knees grow weak.

It was enough to snap James out of his gawking, but the thoughts that enveloped him earlier still remained. He needed to figure out what Lily meant, and soon.

[sweetescapeartist]

DBS COLORING BOOK CHAPTER 74 REVIEW

*spoilers* I liked this chapter in isolation.

*spoilery spoilers* I dislike this chapter when comparing it to other chapters.

Here's the battle Vegeta fans have been waiting for...! (Glad I lowered my greatly expectations)

First, let's talk about use of panels real quick. When there is action, Toyo has done better and uses about 6 panels max to convey the fight. But when there is dialogue, he uses too many panels. Like 7 to 9 panels on one page. That is too much for dialogue. And he has pointless reaction shots often.

It begins with the axolotl inspired Sugarians leaving their fishbowl homes through cleaning-tube roadways. I like their aquarium-like city and their buildings.

And here we are on page 2 with the Toyotaro dialogue. 😒 How can I tell? Compare it to Dragon Ball and you can easily tell the difference between Toriyama's dialogue & Toyotaro's dialogue. (Toriyama has been more focused with working on the DBS movies. I highly doubt he contributes as much to the manga as some fans believe.)

Vegeta sounds like Mr. Satan when calling fusion and cloning "tricks" lol. And no, I doubt Vegeta's Forced Spirit Fission would work on Granolah. Granolah split himself in 2 with a technique. It is still all Granolah & he hasn't absorbed anyone. Forced Spirit Fission is useless here.

Granolah sure is chatty again after he kept saying how he really really wants to kill these Saiyans. Vegeta tells him he parted ways with Freeza and he is an enemy now, as to which Granolah laughs. Granolah thinks Vegeta is betraying Freeza to spare his own life. This just let's us know what kind of person Granolah is...

Granolah is a nonsensical idiot who doesn't know how to reason well & doesn't listen to truth because he assumes he is already right. I don't like ppl like him who refuse to grow mentally. I went from liking Granolah, to not caring about his bland personality, to disliking him. 😑

Oatmeel's input is pointless because he doesn't sway Granolah into believing the Saiyans may not be lying. He quickly gives up and becomes quiet. Vegeta informs Granolah that he was a child when Planet Cereal's ppl were killed and wasn't part of the attack. But he doesn't care and Paragus wants revenge against the royal family... I mean, Baby wants revenge on all Saiya... Granolah wants to kill all Saiyans.

Then we get Vegeta saying he will kill Granolah after barely talking to the guy who was willing to talk. I guess Vegeta just wants to fight and test his power instead of trying to redeem himself like earlier chapters implied and fans theorized. Throw that out the window.

He turns SSB Evolution & Hakai's large rocks around Granolah. But Granolah appears behind him and shows Vegeta true hakai. He elevates a big chunk of the ground & blows it up then the force pushes Vegeta to him and Granolah strikes him. Cool way to use the environment in battle.

Also, Granolah knows Hakai. He shows it off by using his own more powerful Hakai & suggests Vegeta's training with Beerus is lacking.

There is some cool looking art. Their fight moves from forest to river to lake. Interesting environment s for DB. Reminds me of the Cooler movie and the fights on Namek a bit.

This entire time, Vegeta is on the defensive and has to run. But, I find pages 16-21 silly.

Why is Vegeta swimming when he can fly through the water?! Swimming is slower & Granolah is firing fast ki blasts at him!

YOU: "But, Vegeta is swimming so Granolah can't detect his ki."

Granolah can see him! His right eye is supposed to see blood flow and stuff. He nearly hits him multiple times. And lets not forget he was sniping them long distance and his Goku in the neck and almost took him out. Why does Granolah need aim assist now? I'll tell ya why. To make Vegeta look more impressive than Goku by making Goku look like a poor fighter. And this was a Goku who was using Ultra Instinct and still got messed up by Granolah while Vegeta is just using SSB Evolution. Character sabotage... 😒

Back to my complaints about Vegeta swimming. The swimmin' would work in OG Dragon Ball but not here. It would work on Namek with Freeza who can't sense ki, but not here with Granolah who can sense ki (& maybe even god ki) & his eye can percieve all kinds of movements of the body.

And why does Vegeta momentarily pop up out the water then go hide back into it? Don't say its 'cause he needs to catch his breath. He aparently did training holding his breath while on the Heeter's ship, so he should be fine holding his breath. It was for a short period of time anyways. It just doesn't fit and is unnecessary in multiple ways.

Vegeta Hakai's Granolah's big blast to escape it and it blows him out of the water. Interesting kinda... Until you realize that Vegeta's training that we were shown was lame. He just Hakai'd logs & rocks! It should've shown him trying to Hakai ki blasts from Beerus. Make his training look cool darn it!

Chapter 70 Established that Hakai has changed. It no longer is just erasing things from existence in different ways. It has to have a *boom* explosion to it. So when Beerus Hakai'd Zamasu in chapter 19, there should've been an explosion instead of turning him into sand? So, now whenever the Hakai is used, there will always be an explosion...? I don't like how Toyo is quick to change what he set up just for his convenience...

Granolah brags about himself then Vegeta brags about himself-...! That's why I dislike Granolah! He's just like Vegeta! Maybe if I stop thinking of Granolah as a "good guy" then he will be cooler? I did like evil Vegeta as an evil character. We were supposed to hate him. So, if I imagine Granolah as an evil Vegeta... It worked! Granolah's unappealing attitude works perfectly if you view him as an evil enemy! (Still kinda preachy tho)

VEGETA: "But I'm still going to win."

Vegeta fans rejoice! Your prayers have been answered by the great Zalama! Vegeta announced victory...! Wait... I've seen this before... Yo... Vegeta fans, prepare for Vegeta to be defeated just in case. He has a record of announcing victory then ultimately losing. Don't get your hopes up too high.

Lol Granolah disses Vegeta's ego 👌. But Granolah is unknowingly talking about himself too XD. Dummies. Vegeta mocks him by calling him "Mr. Strongest" & Granolah has nothing to day. Granolah can dish it out but can't take it.

Goku wakes up and sees Vegeta fighting Granolah. Who cares? How are you gonna be caught off gaurd in a form that reacts on its own? Go back to sleep. I'm not mad at you, Goku. I'm just disappointed.

Vegeta fires a barrage of ki at Granolah and Granolah Hakai's them. Then Vegeta fools Ganolah into destroying an ancient city of the Cerelians.

VEGETA: "I can tell, you know... That you only recently acquired this absurd strength."

GRANOLAH: "How? How can you tell?"

VEGETA: "Thank you for confirming."

There's the Granolah we know. Quick to give out valuable info. Also, this is to make Vegeta appear "smarter" & a "better fighter" than Goku. Realistically, a master martial artist like Goku would be first to notice that Granolah recently acquired this kind of power. But, Goku is being dumbed down for Vegeta's sake.

VEGETA: "Need I repeat myself...? You may be stronger but... there's no gaurantee that I'll lose to you!" *attempts to break Granolah's leg*

So says the guy who always loses unless the opponent is weaker than him. But, he even lost to weaker opponents on Earth before, so....

Vegeta fans calm down, calm down. This is basic Vegeta dribble. Let's be real. When has Vegeta ever defeated an opponent that was stronger than himself? Never. When has Vegeta become stronger than his opponent and defeat them because they're weaker than him now? Always. Does Vegeta ever win when he is too cocky? Nope. This is to hype y'all up. Don't be mad if he loses. Y'all know this routine. The arc ain't even over so the chances of him winning are low.

Now let's examine Vegeta's fight in comparison to Goku's fight.

Goku goes through all his forms & uses Ultra Instinct in base, SSJ, SSG, SSB, & then goes silver haired UI when fighting Granolah. Then, he loses in every form. Vegeta goes straight to Blue Evolution and only seriously gets hurt once.

Goku keeps getting hit despite having a technique that is all about evasion. Vegeta gets hit far less & doesn't have Ultra Instinct.

Goku was struggling to fight a clone that was half the power of Granolah. Vegeta fights Granolah at his full power and struggles less.

Goku complains about his training and how he is struggling using his technique. Vegeta who had less time with Hakai training isn't complaining about struggling with Hakai.

Goku far surpassed Vegeta in the Moro arc, yet they are crippling Goku to let Vegeta catch up & make him look better. Vegeta has literally gotten a handout that he didnt have to work hard for in order to catch up with Goku... This chapter is fine when isolated and you aren't thinking about any other previous chapter. But, it is a convoluted mess when you look back at the previous chapters, the piss poor storytelling, & Vegeta's poor Hakai training that leads up to this chapter.

Where'd that "heroic" Vegeta and that "redemption" stuff go? Its as if Toyotaro decided he should stop tying to make Vegeta the hero & main character instead of Goku being the main. (Thank God.)

But... Vegeta says that he loves fights that are unpredictable?? That I disagree completely with. Vegeta wants fights to go in his favor through all of DBZ and will throw a fit when it doesn't.

In RoF: it was going in his favor so he loved it.

Destroyer Tournament arc: he didn't like that things didn't go his way in the end.

Future Trunks arc: he was upset when losing to Black, but loved it when he thought he was going to win.

ToP: angry when everyone else surpassed him, happy when he gained an upperhand, upset when he lost the upperhand.

Moro arc: Vegeta is upset that Moro is stronger but even more upset that Goku is stronger than him. When he is stronger than Moro he is loving it. Then when he loses the advantage, he is upset.

Vegeta doesn't love unpredictable fights, Goku does! Vegeta loves predictable fights in his favor.

Granolah asks how many lives were sacrificed for Vegeta's carnage. Vegeta doesn't answer. Why? Because its best to ignore the fact that he has killed billions of ppl so that Vegeta fans can ignore his bad actions (Yet many say that Vegeta has developed so much without acknowledging his terrible past). Can't have Vegeta looking like a bad guy in this chapter, right?

Oh boy! Page 37 is more "Vegeta hype!" He doesn't care about strongest or second strongest ('cause he has never been 1st place) & he basically explains Dragon Ball to us.

Roshi already taught Goku & Krillin that there will always be somebody stronger, so they need to keep reaching higher and higher.

If Vegeta is stronger than he was a few minutes ago, would that mean the same for Goku when he was fighting? Why did he perform so poorly? I wonder... 🤔

Granolah jabs Vegeta in the stomach, but Vegeta manages to slow it down (how come Goku using Ultra Instinct couldn't do that?). And cool. Blood. Anime has better writing and cool character development/moments. The manga has blood... Well, I guess blood is cooler to some ppl.

Vegeta is looking like Goku in the ToP before he attained UI. He has his head down & all. Vegeta just isn't talking about hownl much he sucks. Why does Goku keep insulting himself? N-nevermind. This is about Vegeta who keeps complimenting himself.

Why did Granolah become scared of Vegeta suddenly? Wouldn't he just see him as a mad dog and use his amazing power to put Vegeta down before he can do anything? He hates them so much, but keeps letting them live.

Uh oh... Vegeta doesn't like protecting and saving? BuT I tHoUgHt hE wAs a hErO! Where is his development going?? Ya mean the real development he had in the anime or the pseudo development in the manga?

But even after saying all that... I prefer manga Vegeta to be like this instead of a wannabe hero. Wannabe hero doesn't fit. This feels like Vegeta is in character again. I like this. I was just criticizing how Vegeta was written in past chapters in comparison to this one. A more chill Vegeta who loves battles? This is what I've wanted from DBS manga Vegeta for a long time!

Oh snap! Vegeta's transforming? I wonder what it will look like (thanks for the warning from the leaks 👍). Oil... Why are you even in this chapter? We don't care about you right now & you're boring without Maki. Goku says it ain't "any old god ki."

I wonder how Goku never knew about this new form if he and Vegeta trained on Beerus Planet together. Ya think he would've sensed and saw it & even wanted to fight against it.

So is this new form a spur of the moment thing? So Vegeta has a new form that he never trained... And he asks if Granolah has been training his new power on page 34... Sounds hypocritical of Vegeta, or he is being thrown a bone to make him look capable. Is Vegeta gonna pull a Golden Freeza by not training this new form? Or maybe a UI Goku at the ToP and lose the form?

Page 43, Granolah shoots tiny ki blasts at Vegeta's tower of flaming ki and he is surprised it did nothing. Why not try again but this time use that one big blast instead. No? Gonna let the guy of the race you hate finish transforming? Just gonna be scared and shocked to make Vegeta look impressive? Ok.

Pages 41, 44, & 45

Oh! Here it is! The new form...! Aaaand I still don't like it. Also, he healed up like Goku did last chapter too. Odd. Why does transforming heal them now? Didn't before.

No build up to make the form more cool, it's just

"Here, Vegeta. Goku has one more form than you do & he has mastered UI, so we can't let you fall too far behind. So I just pulled this crap transformation fresh outa my butt and gave it to you."

Another undeserved handout. Can you please make Vegeta earn a new form in the manga? PLEASE?!

Vegeta looks like he is in his own UI Omen form (like how Vegeta fans begged for Vegeta to get for the longest time). Dark hair with sone lighter coloured higlights, light coloured pupils, new aura. But this is what I see...

SSJ3ROSÉ of DESTRUCTION INSTINCT OMEN (or just "SSJ-ChexMix" for short)

Looks like in the end, Vegeta needed to resort to his own Ultra Instinct equivalent!

Oh no... I criticized Vegeta's bad writing too much! I bet some Vegeta fans are gonna automatically assume that I hate him because I want him to be written better without plotholes! 😱

IN CONCLUSION:

This chapter is good when isolated on its own. But, this chapter is filled with inconsistencies when you look back at previous chapters. Overall, it's... a mixed bag that I barely like. It's just so retarded that Goku had to be dragged through the mud just for Vegeta to look better. That is insulting to Vegeta and it either shows how much he sucks or or how weak the writing for Vegeta is. But we got what we got...

Wanna know how to make Vegeta look good without making Goku look pathetic? Goku never uses MUI! Goku defeats Granolah's clone with SSB. Then, Granolah merges back with his clone & catches SSB Goku by surprise and knocks him out.

Then, the reason why Vegeta seems to be doing better is because Vegeta is using SSBE, unlike SSB Goku who was caught off guard. Why make the MUI form & Goku both look like trash just to give Vegeta his own Ultra (Destructive) Intinct? Is Vegeta really that trash?! 😓😴

I don't wanna see the Heeters anymore. My hype for them died, but maybe a later chapter can make me like them more. Idk.

Where is my homie, Moniato?! 🐌 (BEST CHARACTER OF THE ARC SO FAR!)

Oh yeah...I was supposed to complain about not seeing Freeza again like I do every chapter... Who cares at this point? If Granolah is stronger than Goku & Vegeta, what can Freeza do? Hide for 3 yrs and let Granolah die?

What are my predictions for next chapter? More Vegeta wanking of course. More gloating & looking down on Granolah too. A battle of overinflated egos. Bad dialogue and decent to good art. I'll probably find it mostly boring but I may be surprised (that could be a good or bad thing). Vegeta will appear to be winning before...

Vegeta gets defeated & certain Vegeta fans will rage & be annoying. Those ones will complain about how Vegeta always gets the short end of the deal (that's what he gets for being shorter than Bulma & 12 cm taller than Krillin). This one should happen imo based off of Goku's performance.

Vegeta's fight will get interrupted before the battle ends so that Vegeta fans don't get angry. Make Vegeta fans feel that Vegeta could've won and keep them grasping on to hope. (How manipulative.) This one is most likely to happen to "satisfy" all fans.

Vegeta will win and Vegeta fans will rejoice & some will be very annoying. Despite the fact that he had terrible training, was handed a new form just to stay relevant, and Goku had to underperform & UI had to be nerfed just to make Vegeta look good. This one may happen just to appease Vegeta fans. (That is the worst outcome imo.) If Vegeta gets "a win/a W" against a main villain, make sure his training looks impressive and he has some sort of connection to the main bad guy. That way the victory feels well deserved.

If the final enemy is Freeza, then Vegeta defeating Granolah isn't "a win" against a major villain. Granolah will just be a bump in the road. He's already set up to not be a "bad guy." In the end, the main bad guy will be either Freeza, Gas, 7-3, or someone. Vegeta fans shouldn't care if Vegeta wins or loses against Granolah. He isn't the "final boss."

[haikyuuties-xo]

Ground Zero - Oikawa Tohru

a short story about an overlooked part of Oikawa's life.

i see a lot of myself in Oikawa and maybe that's what compelled me to write this.

this is actually based off of my own experience with different circumstances so i promise this isn't too unrealistic haha

TW: depression, hospitals, seizure, self-harm

oikawa tohru. crowd favorite, ladies man, and, of course, superb athlete.

he was a hard worker, that's what turned raw talents into honed skills.

yet few knew the dangerous way he toed against the line.

-

sirens faintly blare in the background as iwaizumi runs as fast as his legs can carry him. fuck, fuck, fuck. not again.

-

oikawa always overdid it, pushing himself further than anyone should. no matter the coaxing — "even olympic athletes need their breaks", "come on, it's not like your gonna go pro, right?", "dude, you've been at this for hours!" — oikawa never stopped working.

oikawa was the top of his class in academics and popularity. on the outside he appeared so care free and easy-going — like he didn't have a care in the world. iwaizumi knew better. he knew well the calculating, cold and domineering personality that lay beneath the faux exterior. it didn't take long for the rest of the team to realize the same thing.

-

the sirens grew louder as iwaizumi neared the aoba johsai gymnasium. quickly sliding the familiar back door, his shoes squeaked beneath him as he rushed up to his teammate lying unresponsive on the cold gym floor.

"dammit, shittykawa, you already fucked up your knee and now look."

beads of sweat coated oikawa's forehead, his strained expression remained.

paramedics arrived quickly after, supporting oikawa's body along with iwaizumi in order to properly transport him to the Miyagi Prefecture Hospital.

hospitalizations were not unfamiliar to iwaizumi, all thanks to his best friend.

upon their quick arrival, the ever-familiar smell of hand sanitizer, disinfectant, and old people filled iwaizumi's nose.

"god i fucking hate hospitals."

iwaizumi never got used to the smell, just like how he never got used to the anxiety that pitted in his stomach when he'd sit inside the hospital room while Oikawa remained stable, but unconscious.

after what felt like an eternity, oikawa's eyes fluttered open. Oikawa sighed in recognition.

"you've got to stop doing this to yourself, tohru."

"i know. they don't want broken athletes—"

"nOT JUST THAT YOU DUMB FUCK YOU HAVE A LIFE THAT'S WORTH LIVING FOR MORE THAN JUST A FUCKING SPORT."

"you want this as much as me."

"yeah, but not enough to damage myself forever! this is the 17th time you've collapsed and your 5th hospitalization. first the knee, fainting spells — which, by the way, you're so fucking lucky this is all this shit is — anemia attacks, starvation, the list goes on."

Oikawa looked down, his tired eyes staring at the crisp, white, linen sheet. he stood up, being sure to do so slowly, before ringing for an attendant. within seconds, a nurse rushed in asking, "anything i can help you with, sweetheart? could i get you some ginger ale for this medication I'm gonna give you?"

"water's fine, thanks. actually, i was wondering how fast i can leave."

"we're going to have a quick run-by with our neurologist just to make sure there isn't any head trauma from when you fainted and then you should be good to go."

Oikawa nodded, thanking her again before sitting down again in his hospital bed.

"what am I supposed to tell the team, Hajime..."

"tell them the truth — that you overdid it again. they're not blind, ya know."

oikawa didn't reply, thankful that the nurse who quickly placed the meds and bottle of water down served as a proper distraction. downing a bit of water, Oikawa coughed before swallowing the pills. clicking the button again, Oikawa paged the nursing staff.

she popped in once again with a smile, "all set with the meds? great. I'll see about that neurologist." she left once more.

"you sure are an inpatient asshole."

oikawa laughed, "that might be a new one." yet, when he'd laughed, he felt a straight in one of his muscles, like a vein was stretched. suddenly, black spots began to overtake his vision — oikawa's familiar warning that he was set on a path to another fainting spell if he didn't lie down. as inconspicuously as possible, he laid back down.

"I guess I'll try to get some sleep." Oikawa said, though both he and iwaizumi knew of Oikawa's insomniac tendencies.

-

Oikawa awoke from blackness to the bright lights of his hospital room and a twange of pain in his mouth.

"wow, i can't believe i fell asleep."

panic set in as soon as he spoke. he looked down and in his nose was an air tube, on his chest were heart rate monitors, and at the elbow of his veiny arm was an IV jabbed into his vein. the cords were tied to the hospital bed, making him feel like a prisoner. he began to struggle, trying to pull some of the cords that seemed as chains, the beeping of his heart rate monitor furthering his anxiety, bringing back flashbacks of his knee displacement.

iwaizumi quickly stirred from his concentration — he hadn't sleep, but seemed to have been deeply absorbed in thought.

"HEY! hey, shittykawa, stop it! STOP IT!" iwaizumi made a grab for oikawa's arms, steading him as oikawa's labored breathing began to slow.

"haji, what the fuck. what is all this shit on me. i was supposed to go home...", he glanced at the clock, "5 hours ago!"

"Oikawa, stop it. Just stop."

"Why should I? this is all so unnecessary, i just fainted for gods sake!"

"Oikawa."

at last, Oikawa made eye contact with the solemn and tortured eyes of iwaizumi.

"Oikawa, you had a seizure."

Oikawa's eyebrows shot up in disbelief, then into anger, then complete and udder sorrow.

"tohru, hey, it's okay. they think it was just a stress seizure. still, you had me fucking screaming at one point there."

"what....what was i like?"

iwaizumi pondered for a moment, looking away.

"well, first, all your limbs rose up together while you stared all creepy-like, like a robot. then, you lowered them and started shaking all over, foaming at the mouth — but your spit was red."

"i think i bit my tongue, it fucking hurts."

"well, you're not leaving either way."

"yes i am."

"no you're not."

"yes i am."

"no you're not."

"yes i am"

"i override the captain as he is no longer in the proper mental state to be commanding orders."

"you can't do that!" Oikawa immediately tried to stand to defend his honor, but quickly regretted it. pain shot up to his head, right behind his eyes. he couldn't hide the wince in pain.

"Tohru, this is good for you. don't think i didn't notice your cuts. when did you relapse? wait, don't tell me. you don't have to. the point is, you need to reach out for help — there's so many people here who are ready to give it."

"Haji, all i am is a fucking burden. trust me, I've taken much more than I've given."

iwaizumi bit the inside of his cheek, beginning to overthink his own choices.

"hey, if it's cuz of what i said about you being shitty—"

"it's not that. iwaizumi, look around. I'm in the fucking hospital, ruining your Saturday night, ruining our chances at the championships, ruining everything. like i always do. i always fuck everything up. i always think if i try a little harder than I'll be good enough. then i always end back up at ground zero."

iwaizumi sighed. "you're the only guy who can look at all what you've accomplished and see it as a fucking zero."

"you mean, the only guy who can see things realistically."

"Oikawa, you deserve more than what your brain tells you you deserve."

oikawa's vision blurred, his resolve crumpling. it still didn't feel right. iwaizumi is wrong. wrong, wrong, WRONG. I don't deserve shit. i haven't earned it. his chin began to wobble as iwaizumi engulfed him in a tight hug.

"Oikawa, it might not feel like it now, but i promise some day it will."

oikawa nodded, not believing it himself, but holding onto the hope that some day he would.

writing this was very therapeutic to me. upon rereading it later, I've realized that i find the interactions between iwa and oikawa are quite similar to some of the conversations I've had with myself. please know that no matter what you're going through, there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

[miss-kittys-magical-library]

After six long months, I present to you:

Tupelo Honey

Word Count- 3k

Warnings- language, angst, discussion of abortion

A/N- With help from familiar strangers, Honey makes a choice that will change Leon's life and hers forever.

Chapter 4: Angel of The Morning

Late fall of 1968, Morning:

Honey clutched at the pillow as her hips flew towards the ceiling. Her back arched before she bent forward and twisted her free hand in Leon's thick hair. His name echoed off the bedroom walls as she came without caring if they woke Johnny this early.

Honey’s chest heaved as her body attempted to regulate her breath. Leon threw the sheets back and looked up at her. His hand absently ran up and down her stomach to her breasts and back.

“What?” Honey’s voice was sleepy as she met a green-eyed gaze. She propped up on her elbows when his brows knit together. “What's wrong?”

“Not much, love. It's just, your..” Leon's cheeks turned kinda pink, “stuff tastes different. You been eating anything new?”

“No? You mean it tastes different when I cum?”

“Just this time. You gonna start your thing?” He pointed towards Honey’s sex. “Period.”

“I don't think so. Should be around any day now though.”

Leon crawled up towards the pillows and laid down beside his girlfriend. His arm draped across her collarbone as he snuggled up to her shoulder. He nipped at the skin before kissing it. Then pressed his forehead into her neck.

Honey caught a scent of herself on him. “It even kinda smells different. I better get to the clinic just in case. I've not felt that weird other than that stomach bug.” Her nails lightly scratched Leon's forearm as she spoke. “I can't have an STI, since you went all mad and demanded my undying monogamy.”

Leon ignored her. “Maybe,” he yawned and stretched his impossibly long arms and legs straight out, “you caught a case of the pregnancy.” He sat up and leaned down to kiss her stomach.

“Don't say that!” Leon's familiar whine filled Honey’s own voice. “I won't keep it. That's legal here now.”

Leon stared back at her, “Just like that.”

“It's my body, Leonidas. Look at how short I am. Imagine this knocked up,” Honey waved a hand down the length of her naked self.

“I do.” It came out a whisper. Honey glowered. “Don't pull that face on me, Gracie. I know it's your body. We just ain't exactly safe with our shaggin’ are we? Leavin’ it up to chance. Then you get angry if there's one on the way. Keep it. End it. Give it up for adoption. I know it's YOUR choice. You tell me all the bloody time about it being your body. I respect that because I love you. Before you give me cheek, I think about having a baby with you loads.”

“Leon that's not what we want.” Honey sat up on her haunches beside him. “Look at us. We share a one bedroom flat with a ginger con man that we don't even sleep in half the time based on whether he wants to fuck someone or not. Our loo is literally a closet, and we have to shower at your parents’. There's one dresser and half a wardrobe for both of us. Where the hell would we even PUT a baby let alone afford to have one.”

“We've saved money! My parents would help us get a proper house or flat. Or stay with them until we could.”

“Oh sure. Us, your parents, your Yia Yia, one uncle and a baby. Sounds cozy.”

“I grew up in a place with more living there than that. We could get a loan.”

“What will we put down for occupations, Leon?!” Honey was losing her cool. A wave of nausea hit her, but she choked it back. “Occasional actor, waiter, and FBI fugitive?! I can't out myself like that.”

“We lie. I'm an actor. I'm sure you know loads of people who could fake it. Look respectable. I'll cut my hair and clean up my face.” Leon was equally annoyed, hands fidgeting in his lap. His legs started to bounce up and down as he reached, but fumbled with the nightstand drawer.

“Don't you fucking dare cut that hair. Who will we even pretend to be? Patti Boyd and fucking George Harrison? I'm an awful blonde and your hair would take hours to straighten. Leon we would have to fake marriage certificates. That's fraud. Real and proper, honest prison time fraud.”

Leon ignored her and finally yanked the drawer practically in half. The handle came off in his hands causing him to mumble under his breath and drop it to the ground. In a fury he tossed the contents aside in a search for something Honey wasn't sure of.

“If you're about to get high, I'll fucking leave you right now.” Honey got up and snapped her fingers in Leon's face. “We're not done talking about this.”

He looked up at her, his green eyes ablaze for the first time in their relationship. “I'm not GETTING high! Will you quit talking to me like I'm a bloody fucking child? You and Johnny always like I'm mad or deficient. I have a university degree from Cambridge, and I speak three languages. I'm observant not stupid.”

“That's.. That's not what I meant,” Honey bit her lip. “You are one of the smartest guys I've ever met. I just.. Worry about the amount of opium you started sneaking into your pot. You're working less and letting Johnny call the shots.”

Leon was lost in his search, “You’re just jealous of someone else pushing me around?” He waved his hand dismissively before Honey could answer. “I’m fine, love. I'm just a bit stressed is all. It helps me relax.”

“Leon, it's heroin. You know what happened to my uncle.”

He ignored her, “I’ll be swell. Promise. Plus I think this idea Johnny has finally.. DAMMIT WHERE'S THAT TOSSER OF A RING?!”

Something fell off the bed onto the wooden floor with a PING! Leon got down on all fours, stark naked and put his eye to the wood. His arm outstretched and came back to him with an object between his long fingers. He held it aloft towards Honey and took her tiny hand inside of his large one. Honey stopped breathing.

“It's not exactly proper, but you aren't exactly a girl into convention, are ya?” Leon smiled up at his girlfriend. He kissed the back of Honey’s hand. “You think better of me than I think of myself. I want to make you happy, and I want to be a good husband and daddy. If this meeting tonight doesn't go well, I'll stop acting. No more pot or opium or acid or coke right bloody now. I'll get a proper job and we can get a proper house and when the time comes, you choose whatever you want. Stay home. Go to work, I'll stay home. So you aren't loaded down by the patriarchy or whatever.”

“Leon,” Honey’s face was pale and she started to swoon. She saw the way his hand swallowed hers, and panicked. Her fucked up brain saw herself lost in Leon the same way.

“Even if we go to the court, just us. Even if we have to leave London because you're worried. I'll go with you. To India like you sorted out before we met. I don't want you to give up on any dream because of this baby. Or me.”

Before she could get any answer out, Leon slid the ring on Honey’s finger. It was stunning, carved marble and amethyst. She knew it was old, Grecian.

“It's purple because Dionysus cried and spilled his wine onto a maiden he offended by his drunkenness. Artemis protected her, turned her to crystal and she absorbed his wine. It sobered him. Your love, when I'm not foolish, will sober me.”

“Leon,” Honey said again, unable to say anything else.

“Will you please marry me, Gracie?”

The question was so pure. His eyes were so green and hopeful. Honey couldn't think or speak around the lump in her throat. But then..

“I can't,” she whispered. “I have to go to the clinic. You've got an early shift at the restaurant.”

Honey was numb as she pulled on some clothes and her coat. She left the flat and Leon naked on his knees in the bedroom.

----

Later that afternoon:

Honey stared straight passed the nurse as she explained exactly what would happen if she decided to not keep the baby. How they suggest she not be alone and to have someone willing to care for her. To make sure there's no infection.

“Ultimately, dove, it's your decision. Unless you're cold-hearted, it might do your head in. It's not as easy as you modern girls think. You might not regret it, but you might. You prepared? Is your husband keen on this idea too?” The nurse nodded at the ring.

“Oh.. we aren't.. I didn't really give him a choice?”

“Well let's see if you're even pregnant first. Then I want you to go back to your partner and have a good talk. Promise me you'll do that?”

The young woman smiled. It was tentative and nervous. “Yeah. Ok. But it won't change my mind.” She held out her arm for the blood draw and took a cup and left for the loo.

Honey sat on the stairs of the clinic and bent down in a wave of nausea. It was amazing that now she knew she was knocked up the symptoms seemed to worsen. Like how noticing a paper cut makes it suddenly sting.

Her breasts were swollen and a fire built in her chest and stomach every time she laid down. What was the absolute worst, she came to realize, how mean she had been to Leon. A total uncool bitch. Honey looked down at the amethyst on her ring finger and began to cry.

“Hey man, you ok?” a voice asked. American.

“Jesus, don't call her man! What is wrong with you?” a female American voice.

“Leave me alone! Last time I was here, I was in Vietnam. I'm freaking the fuck out, Sel.”

“weren't you a cu-”

“Uh!! This is about them, not me.”

One of them sat down next to Honey. “My brother is right, are you ok? Honey, right?”

Honey looked up to meet eyes that almost took her breath away. A young woman around her age smiled and it reminded her of Leon. Her shoulder length hair had soft waves and curls, but her eyes. Her eyes somehow looked like Honey’s.

“Do I know you?” she squinted her eyes and tilted her head.

“Not yet,” the woman’s cheeks pinked a little. “We're.. Leon's..”

“Cousins!” a male voice interjected.

“I didn't know Leon had cousins from- Fuck me on the tube.”

“Tempting, but I don't think Leon would be down for that.” The inflection of his voice, despite being yank, was so much like his.. cousin’s. “My sister and I have been looking all over this stupid city for you the last few days. To meet you before we left. Leon told my sister you were here. He seemed pretty pissed. This is an uh,” he gestured at the building.

“Abortion clinic?”

“You sure that's how you want to handle it?” the young woman questioned softly.

“Well I don't think Leon has the balls to push me down the stairs,” Honey shrugged.

Leon’s cousin, if that's who she was heaved a sigh. “I like to think I have a sharp tongue and a bit of a shrewd mind. I get it from MY mom. Can I be straight with you?”

“I mean I guess it's easier from a stranger?”

“I know for a FACT you won't be giving up on anything. You are already more involved in changing the world than most people your age. And that doesn't have to stop because you're pregnant. Activists can have children or partners. Take her with you! Take Leon! You come from a long line of shit kickers, right?”

Honey narrowed her eyes. She studied this woman’s face again. Her eyes. HER eyes somehow. But Leon’s features. If she had a daughter, this is who she would want her to be. Sharp, like herself, but optimistic like her daddy.

Daddy.. “Did you say her? How do you know any of this? I swear Leon’s family is here or in Greece. You've got to be close, this one is like fucking Patty Duke. Identical cousins. Man you sure you're cool?”

He scratched his body and Honey heard a tinkling. Then she saw the dog tags. “Yeah I'm gravy.” He looked the way Leon had when she rejected him earlier. It broke Honey’s heart all over.

“Drafted?”

He held out his tags and had this longing in his eyes, “Love.”

“You went to Vietnam for love?”

“I stayed for it. Hardest thing I've ever done besides sobriety. Having a kid and an old man is a fucking piece of cake. If you were gonna go through with.. Termination, I think you would've done it right?”

“I just don't know if I have good enough of a reason besides maybe it'll be fine. I don't know what is freaking me the hell out! We both have happily married parents!! And grandparents. But I've put so much on hold for men. I've let them.”

“Yeah but Leon’s not like that.”

“No. He's not. But the drugs and the hare brained schemes terrify me. My uncle, Lenny Bruce? He ran cons with his wife that he knocked up and they were just. Tumultuous. He loved heroin almost more than Honey and Kitty. It killed him in the end. I don't want Leon and I to be the fluke too.”

“If I tell you to say the FIRST thing that comes to your mind about Leon. No thinking, open your mouth and speak. What is the first part of him you think of.”

“His kind eyes. Your eyes,” she gestured towards the man. “Yours are a bit lost, but they're still just as gentle.”

He bit his lip. Honey noticed it trembled just a tad. “Same thing,” his voice hoarse. “What's the first thing that you would DO for him?”

“Be with him in every life we've ever lived and ever will.”

The woman beside her took Honey’s hand in both of hers. Her annoying familiarity forced Honey to listen to everything she was about to say.

“My parents came from a similar taboo situation. They were immigrants (my dad twice), during the worst war. Activists who got in a bit of a mess. They were separated for a while when my mom was pregnant with me. She had me alone. Yet they have been together for OVER 25 years.”

“I cannot imagine two people better suited for each other than my parents. They trust one another IMPLICITLY and are both still very attracted to one another. Trust me. It's gross.!

“Now they have a successful business. My younger brother and I have our own jobs to pay for ourselves, but our parents are paying for us to go to school. Marriage or partnerships are work, but I have seen that it's worth it. I hope I can be as fearless as they are one day.”

Honey took her hand back and rubbed her face. “Why are you two so hell bent on me staying knocked up? Like there’s something real heavy you're not telling me.”

“We're just like, REALLY invested in Leon’s happiness!” the woman exclaimed.

“Or we could just tell her? I saved Dave that way.”

Honey narrowed her eyes, “Convincing.”

“You and Leon and this baby are going to literally save the world?”

“Alright,” Leon's doppelganger decided to take a turn. “Someone took me away from our mom when I was just a baby. I was raised pretty abusively. But I found my parents, OUR parents,” he gestured at his sister. “They just.. welcomed me in, AND my other adopted siblings.”

“You are so, so much like her. You and Leon are like BOTH of our parents. Really we Kostases.. Kosti? We leap without looking. If we fly, we fly. So I know what Leon's decision is. You said it yourself, he's worth being with in every life you live. Isn't that your answer?”

Honey sighed again and stood up. She looked back and forth between the man and woman claiming to have her best interest at heart. The siblings with her eyes and Leon’s. “I can't just rush into this.”

“Says the woman who fell in love on the set of a porno film.”

Honey ignored him. Ignored how he knew that. She put her hand on her stomach tenderly. “I have to say, if we have this kid, I'm not sure why, but I hope it.. she's like you. What's your name?”

“Selina. After the moon.”

Honey smiled in a knowing way. “Stick around, I'm sure Leon would love to see you.”

“We can't, but you'll understand all of this one day.”

“I'll see you again?”

“I promise.”

Then Honey and the cousins parted ways. She and Leon had a lot to discuss.

Tag: @neuroticpuppy @elliethesuperfruitlover @messengeronthemoon @super-unpredictable98 @bisexualnathanyoung @forenschik @nightmonsters @firstpersonnarrator @rob-private @frogs--are--bitches @ghouls-buddy @a-ghoulish-tale @bwritesstuff @icecoffeegirl @070188

[5-seconds-of-bucky]

Undertow (VI)

Word count: 3.5k+

Warnings: Descriptions of physical harm to Shawn 

Listen to the audio here

Chapter 1 // Chapter 2 // Chapter 3 // Chapter 4 // Chapter 5

“Are you sure that’s the right one?” Merlin asked as he helped Ripley drag Shawn’s unconscious body through the water.

“Yes, I’m sure it’s the right one,” Ripley said, not bothering to spare a glance at the subject he’d been tracking down for the past few days. “You saw him up close yourself. How could you not be sure he’s the right one?”

“I don’t know. They all look the same. Brown hair, oddly specific t-shirts, absolutely jacked even though their jobs don’t require them to be that muscular.”

“Shut up and give him some oxygen, would you?” Ripley grumbled. “Tertis wants him alive when we arrive. A dead body won’t do him any good.”

Merlin tossed a small orb at Shawn’s face, filling the boy’s lungs with oxygen without waking him up. Tertis made it very clear that he wanted the subject alive and then proceeded to explain the consequences that would occur should Shawn be dead in very close detail. It made Merlin shiver just thinking about it.

“We’ll bring him to that cove before we hand him over to Tertis. Maybe we can get him to hand over some information before Tertis beats it out of him.” Ripley made a sharp turn in direction of the cove, jerking Shawn and Merlin along with him.

“But Tertis said to bring the subject directly to him.” Merlin was too scared to act out against the boss, the thought of Tertis’ threats plaguing his mind.

“Tertis can wait,” Ripley muttered, maneuvering around the rocks that guarded the cove Y/N had been stranded in days before.

The two men squeezed Shawn through the small spaces between the rocks and haphazardly threw his body onto the floor of the cove. Scrapes could be seen all over his legs and face from where he’d been dragged and dropped throughout the journey. He took a deep breath, his lungs no longer struggling to conserve oxygen like they did under the water.

“Do we wake him up?” Merlin asked as he dragged himself out of the water.

“Could Tertis have assigned anyone more stupid to this job than you?” Ripley kicked Merlin out of his way and stopped just inches away from Shawn’s body, nudging the boy’s hip with his foot. Nothing happened and Ripley let out an annoyed huff.

“The things I have to do.” He leaned down and smacked Shawn across the face, then proceeding to wipe his hand against the algae-covered wall of the cove

Shawn’s eyes shot open, frantically searching around the room as his breathing picked up. His breath caught in his chest once his eyes landed on Ripley, who towered over him and blocked most of the light that dared enter the cove. Nevertheless, the boy’s chocolate eyes sharpened in a squint, studying the stranger in bewilderment.

“Wh-where...who are you?” Shawn wheezed out, voice hoarse and throat aching from the saltwater. “Where is Y/N? Where are we?” His eyes frantically dashed to absorb the dripping walls of the cavern and the cold rock against his legs. “Why--”

“Quiet,” Ripley demands, grinding his teeth. “I thought you asked too many questions.” He muttered bitterly, sparing a glance towards Merlin.

Shawn attempted to control his panting, which echoed against the thick rock of the cove as Ripley carried on his talking. “I’m gonna say this once, so you and your land-walker brain better think, and think fast.” At the term he had only heard his new aquatic friend use, Shawn sucked in a breath. “I’m sure you can already guess what I’m about to ask you--”

“I don’t know what you’re talking ab--”

“I said quiet!” Ripley barks. Merlin winces beside the man as he raises his arm only to swing it back and administer a harsh strike against Shawn’s cheek. Immediately, Shawn’s hands wriggle in attempts to soothe the sting on the side of his face, but he pauses and elicits a puzzled murmur when his hands remain unmoving. Turning his head, he grunts at the sight of his wrists bound together quite tightly with seaweed.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. And I don’t want any other words out of your mouth except a location we can find Y/N. Otherwise, it’s going to be your head and hers mounted on the king’s wall by dawn. Understood?”

Shawn stays quiet.

“Now, tell me where Y/N is...and I’ll set you free. We can pretend this never happened and you can carry on living your little land-walker life.”

But Shawn found the thought sickening. To revert to his life before his entire wipeout and run-in with an Atlantean was an insane demand and one Shawn would rather die than grant. “Tell me now!” A vicious growl leave’s Ripley’s throat as he continues towering over Shawn.

“Fine...guess we’re gonna get answers from you the hard way.” Bringing his fingers up to his mouth, Ripley manages a shrill whistle, calling outward to the water. “Sandy!”

The boy could not hold back an amused snort at the call. “Oh no, not Sandy! I’m really in for it now,” he chuckles sarcastically. It has Ripley wishing he would have used extra seaweed to gag him. A few light splashes were heard until a noodle-esque figure flopped onto the rock near Shawn’s captors. Menacing laughs come from Ripley, who grips the fish bare-handed complemented by a sinister smile.

“Oh yes, you are…” He inches closer to the tied up boy and Shawn gulps at the sight of the rubber tube of an animal staring back at him with the same flash of evil in his eyes Ripley was currently holding in his own. Its slippery body had Shawn visibly shivering and already imagining the shocking pain he was going to endure from the eel.

“I’ll ask you one more time,” Ripley growled. “Where is the girl?”

Wesley stared wide-eyed at the retreating shoreline. One minute, it was a regular afternoon on the beach. The next, the ocean looked to be about 15 feet farther back with waves tall enough to swallow a building. His feet were glued to the sand beneath him.

The rushing of his fellow lifeguards snapped him back to reality. He rushed towards the water, doing his best to redirect the people running into the towering waves for their loved ones.

“Ma’am, it’s not safe here. You need to run to shore and get to highland.” He grabbed the crying woman by the shoulders and turned her in the opposite direction.

“My son!” she cried, resisting Wesley’s attempts to divert her.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get him.” The woman didn’t look convinced but Wesley didn’t have time to worry about that, the calling of his name tearing his attention away from her.

“Wesley!” Y/N called as she caught sight of him in the middle of the chaos.

“Y/N? What are you doing here? You need to get back to shore!” Wesley caught hold of her arm once she was close enough, trying to turn her around so he could lead her back to safety.

“Shawn’s been taken. We gotta help him!” she said, referring to the moment she looked back in Shawn’s direction and he wasn’t there. She just knew he didn’t run to safety like she told him to. She took Wesley’s hand off her arm.  

“What do you mean he’s been taken?” He followed her as she jogged ahead.

“No time to explain. Just follow me!” She looked back at him to find pure terror on his face. “Everything’s going to be okay, I promise. You just have to trust me.”

“I can’t just leave! People need saving.” He stopped abruptly, almost running into a teenager running away from the waves.

“You’ll die if you go into that water! You’re going to save a lot more people if you come with me. I can’t do this without you.” They didn’t have much time. If they waited much longer the fate of Shawn and the town would be well out of their hands.

“I know how to stop this but I do know that if you don’t help me, we’re all going to be in serious danger!”

“Fine.” He shook his head clear of the fear plaguing his mind. His chance to be a real hero was finally here. “What do we need to do?”

“Your house. There should be clues there.”

“What?”

“I’ll tell you once we get there but we need to go, now!” Y/N bolted in the direction of town, Wesley following a second later.

“Wait, Y/N!” he called as she made it to the edge of the parking area. “Get in the car. It’s faster.” Neither of them said anything as Wesley floored it to his house. He didn’t know what he was getting into, but he trusted Y/N enough. If she was that frantic, something in him just knew it was urgent. They flew out and ran to the door the second the car was parked, Wesley fumbling with the keys as he tried to unlock the door.

“Did your dad have any secret rooms? Anywhere you and your mom weren’t allowed to go in? He’s gotta have some information lying around here.” Y/N ran her hands along the walls, occasionally pulling books off the shelves that littered the living room.

“I was never allowed in his office.” Wesley closed the door and twisted the lock. “He kept it locked and he always has the key on him. There’s no way we’ll be able to get in.” He led Y/N to the oak door, twisting the handle to show that it was indeed shut tight.

“Leave that to me.” Y/N took a pin out of her hair and shoved it in the lock, maneuvering it until she was able to twist the handle and let herself into the massive room.

“How’d you do that?” Wesley questioned, surprised by her quick actions. “You don’t know basic facts about yourself, like where you came from, but you know how to pick a lock?”

“I wasn’t exactly my father’s favorite. Spent a lot of days locked in my room. A girl’s gotta get out somehow.” She walked in, immediately going to the stacks of books scattered around the office. She glanced back at him to see a concerned look stretching across his face as he opened a drawer from the big desk sitting in the middle of the room. “I mean . . . uh . . .”

“Wait, I think I found something!” Wesley stared down into the open drawer. “I don’t actually know what I’m looking for but I found something.”

Y/N hopped up, nudging him out of the way to get a better look. A cartoonish looking map stared back at them, the words City of Atlantis printed out in scraggly handwriting across the top. “Uhh . . . maybe?”

“It kinda looks like something I would’ve drawn when I was five now that I’m looking at it.”

“Put that to the side for now. Maybe we’ll find something else.”

10 minutes later and they still hadn't found anything. They were running out of time and Y/N was growing more frustrated by the second. All she needed was that stupid map. She slammed her hand on the side of the bookshelf, jumping back when it moved so easily. She pressed her hand on it again, the bookcase sliding over to reveal a black and white painting on the wall.

Wesley turned around when he heard the noise of the bookcase scratching the floor. “What the--”

“This is it!”

Painted on the wall was a black and white painting of the same map they’d seen earlier, with a few extra details. Extra towers and secret dungeons were clearly labeled around the castle Y/N used to call home.

“Got it memorized?” Y/N asked, promptly turning away after burning the image into her mind.

“What? No, I looked at it for 2 seconds! Why do I need it memorized?” He still wasn’t sure what was going on in any capacity and his patience was wearing thin.

“We can’t just take this giant piece of wall with us and you’ll get lost if you don’t know where anything is. The castle is gigantic and Atlantis is even bigger. You’ll need to know where you’re going in case we get separated.” She gestured for him to follow her out of the room.

“Castle? Atlantis?” Wesley crossed his arms and sat on the desk he found the first map in.

“I’m not moving until you tell me exactly what we’re doing, Y/N.”

“We don’t have time for that.” She gestured for him to get moving again but he kept his ground.

“Tell me what we’re doing right now or I’m not coming at all.”

“Fine,” she huffed, stepping back into the room. “Shawn’s been kidnapped. The storm acted as a distraction so they could get him. We have to go save him and humanity in one sweep. There’s your explanation. Let’s go.”

“That’s like a CliffNotes version. I need details so I know what I’m actually getting into.”

“What is a CliffNote?”

“Doesn’t matter. Explain!”

“Alright, you want details, here they are.” She closed the door and brought Wesley close as if she was afraid someone would overhear her secret. “I’m an Atlantean. My dad is the king of Atlantis and he forced me into an arranged marriage for political gain. You know, as dads do.”

“My dad never did that but go on.”

“Yeah, I’ve got some news for you, buddy.”

“Hmm?”

“Anyways, I ran away not long before the wedding was supposed to happen and my dad was not happy. He’s sending search parties after me and he has spies everywhere. Your dad kidnapped Shawn to get information out of him and lure me back to the castle. Your dad’s an Atlantean, by the way.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You wanted details, you’re getting them. Now shut your clam.” Her face meant business and Wesley decided it was better to do as she said. “They’re either at the cove or taking him to one of those dungeons. They’ll stop at nothing to get me back and I refuse to ever go back to that treacherous life under the sea.”

“Ooh, that’s a song from The Little Mermaid. I love that movie!”

“You land-walkers and your stupid mermaid movies. I am not a mermaid and Atlantis is not all fun and games! I had zero control over my life down there and I am not going back to that!” Tears welled in the corners of her eyes as she thought of going back to her previous life.

“Look, I didn’t mean to upset you. Let’s just go”

“I’m almost done, just let me explain the plan. I’ll call Douglas and he’ll get us to Shawn. If he’s at the cove, great. If not, the plan doesn’t change much. We go to Atlantis and search the dungeons until we find him. Once we do that, I’ll find my father. I’m gonna have to turn myself in while you get Shawn out. The two of you escape with Douglas. Once my dad locks me in the dungeon, Douglas will come back to get me, and hopefully, I’ll make it back here.”

“What if you can’t escape though?”

“It’s a risk we have to take. Getting Shawn back to shore is more important. I can survive down there. Shawn won’t last more than a few days.”

Wesley bit his lip as he took it all in.

“So you’re a mermaid? And my dad’s a mermaid?”

“We are not mermaids!” Y/N shouted. “I don’t have time for this. Are you in or are you going to let humanity suffer at the hands of a power-hungry idiot?”

“I’m in. Just let me get a picture of this map.” He pulled his phone out and snapped a picture of the painting.”

“That map better not leave that magic device there. If anyone else finds out about Atlantis, the whole sea population is in trouble.”

“It won’t, I promise.”

“We’ve wasted enough time. Let’s get going.” Y/N zipped out the door, not bothering to make sure Wesley was following.

He stood up quickly, taking one last look at the room before following the Atlantean out the door and into an adventure he hoped they all made out of alive.

“The current is too strong, how are we gonna…” Y/N rolled her eyes and brought her pointer fingers up in between her lips. A shrill whistle halted Wesley’s desperate ask and allowed his ears to become very appealing to the palms of his hands. As Y/N continued whistling, the noise wafted along with Hawaii’s breeze and alerted some of her friends from home.

“Douglas! Hey boy, glad you brought some friends.” She ran towards the bottlenose, ignoring Wesley’s gaping expression as her legs threaded through the waves to pet the gray rubber of Douglas’s head. “Alright guys, listen up: I need you to bring me and my friend here to the cove just a little past the current. Douglas can lead the way.” Wesley continues to study Y/N’s flapping lips and the dolphins’ calm expressions as she instructed them. So Douglas is a dolphin...noted.

“How much saltwater did I drink?” he asks, bringing a hand up to his temple.

“Oh, and could you call us some backup? We’re gonna need all the help we can get.”

Water spouts up from each of the dolphins’ blowholes and Y/N is greeted with eager chirps which could only send the right message.

Giggling, she says, “I’ll take that as a yes.” She turns back to find Wesley with his toes firmly dug in the sand. “Come on, we don’t have time to waste!”

“O-okay…” he decides, slowly wading his figure into the water. “I still don’t know how we’re getting through that current.”

“Oh, only the fastest transportation known to sea.” She spares a confident chuckle, before gently grasping Douglas’s dorsal fin. “Ever ridden a dolphin?”

“Um...once. When I was six...and it was technically a figurine on a carousel.”

“I don’t know what that is but it sounds close enough to me!” Y/N decides, readying herself as Wesley mimics her stance and takes hold of the bottlenose nearest to him.

“We’re ready when you are!” A series of chirps sound from Douglas.

“Yes, I promise I’ll get you Harry Styles’ autograph,” she groans, before surging off into the water with Wesley’s horrified screams keeping her company along the way.

“Just tell us already, Shawn. This whole . . . torturing thing is getting kind of old, don’t you think?” The boy was twitching helplessly against the rock, staring up at Ripley and Sandy, whom he was gripping with an unyielding fist. Foam from the previous administrations of the eel to his ribs is spat from his mouth and onto the cold, hard surface of the cove as he maintains his unblinking stare with the knight. Quickly, they flick down to the slick eel controlled by Ripley’s fist.

“I hope you get hooked, canned, and sold,” the boy muttered sharply, trying to control the tremors still sweeping through his body.

Ripley hums at this. “Very well.” The screams Sandy’s electrified body pulled from Shawn echoed around the cove in a haunting manner. Even Ripley found his arms covered with chills, but he refused to acknowledge them.

“You ready to fess up now? I’m sure it’ll only be a few more whips of Sandy’s tail before we leave you for dead.”

“Why--why are you doing this?” Shawn manages through a whisper. “Why does she matter so much to you. You don’t own her.” A strangled cry left Shawn as he maneuvered his body against the rock.

“I could ask you the same thing. What’s a land-walker want so badly from an Atlantean? For all we know, you could be planning to send her away for experiments and expose our whole kind to your world. So, tell me, Shawn, what is your motive for not giving me answers?”

Douglas and tens of other bottlenoses crept slowly towards the cove as soon as Ripley’s booming voice became apparent. Wesley gulped, finding the octave and swing and cadence of the voice all too familiar for his liking. As they neared the edge of the cove, Y/N dismounted from the dorsal fin of her companion and Wesley mimicked the action from his.

“So what is it, Shawn? Hmm?” Ripley started slow footsteps towards Shawn, urging the boy to clench his teeth in preparation for another round of jolts against his body.

Y/N spoke quietly to Douglas and the others, urging them to stay put as she and Wesley heaved themselves up onto the rocky edges of the cove. Both Merlin and Ripley had their backs turned to them and Y/N perceived their slow-moving figures as they cornered a trembling form.

“Tell us! NOW!” The same thundering voice from moments before reintroduced itself. And now with--somewhat--of a visual, each of Wesley’s new-built fears had all come true before his eyes.

“Dad?” The boy whispers meekly.

Look out for the next part of Undertow coming 3/19/21

Join the taglist to see what happens next! 

Taglist: @fallinallincurls​ @ilumxna​ @lonelyreputation​ @purely-imagines-and-fantasies​ @shawnmxndxs​ @learning-howto-be-myselfx3​ @sillyquirkymendessupporter​ @itsalwaysbeen305​ @friendlyneighborhood-mendes​ @marissje​ @princessmia1705​ @rosetoronto​ @itrocksmysocks​ @organicpurplepants​ @truthfulteenager​ @bluebellwoods​

[five-rivers]

Flowers

See the continuation here.

.

A small plastic container fell off the lab table, scattering the small white seeds it had held onto the floor, where they bounced and rolled with reckless abandon. They 'pinged' softly against the linoleum flooring as they did so.

"Oh, no, Jack," said Maddie, dropping to her knees in an effort to stop some of them from rolling away, "these are our only graveflower samples! Help me find them!" She pushed the ones in front of her into a small pile. "I think some of them rolled that way, towards the portal." She nodded her head at the closed doors.

"Right-o!" said Jack, carefully shuffling away from the table and the other labeled seed containers. He too, dropped to his knees and started crawling over the ground, looking for the seeds.

The Fentons had decided to take a look at more traditional ghost hunting- and even ghost attracting- methods, most of which had to do with plants or rituals of one kind or another. Jack had taken a look at some of his ancestors' writings, and, although the plant they were most interested in, blood blossoms, were sadly extinct, they had found a number of other interesting claims. The seeds that had just been scattered across the floor were said only to germinate and bloom at the grave or death site of a person or animal that had become a ghosts, and they were exceedingly rare.

Some of the records of them they had found suggested that the size and number of the flowers were correlated with the power of the power of the ghost, but Maddie was skeptical. Actually, she'd been skeptical of the plant's properties in general, until their passive scans of the graveflower seeds had detected tiny amounts of ectoplasm inside them.

They were hoping to get permission to plant them on the graves of people generally believed to have become ghosts. If they could get them to germinate and breed, it would be a good test, and a warning to surviving family members.

But they couldn't do that if all their seeds rolled under cabinets.

They consolidated the seeds they had found and counted them out. Maddie sighed. "We're missing one," she said.

"I'm sorry, Mads," said Jack.

"It's fine, dear. We still have more than enough, and I'm sure it'll turn up eventually." She frowned at the overflowing cabinets. "It's probably over there, somewhere." She shook her head. "We'll deal with it later."

.

(The seed had not rolled under the cabinets.)

.

Danny crept down the stairs to the lab in human form. He knew his parents had been looking into ghost-affecting plants, and he wanted to know which ones and if he should be worried. He also didn't want to risk being affected by something they already had down there. He didn't think seeds alone would do anything to him, but what if they had seedlings, cuttings, or things like that? It was best to take the precaution of staying human.

He was relieved to find that little, labeled boxes of seeds were all that he could see. He took a piece of paper from the table and started to copy down the names.

Some of them, he had encountered before. Once they had realized that the whole ghost thing wasn't going away, he, Sam, and Tucker had tested as many traditional ghost remedies as they could, including the plants sage, fennel, rowan, mullein, and rosemary. Few of them had done anything to Danny, in either form.

Danny didn't recognize all of them, however, and the ones he didn't know were the ones he was worried about. He didn't see anything labeled 'blood blossoms,' though, so he counted his blessings. He finished his list, and tucked it into his pocket before turning to the portal.

Frostbite and the other yetis were his best bet for knowledge on ghost health, and Danny didn't think he'd get another good chance to take the long trip to the Far Frozen once his parents got really invested in this project. If Frostbite didn't know, Danny would have to rely on Tucker's internet-fu and Sam's botanical knowledge.

He pressed his thumb against the DNA reader. A soft beep indicated that he'd been accepted, and the yellow-and-black striped portal doors whirred open. Behind them, the portal spiraled and swirled, subtly reaching out to Danny. Danny glanced back at the table full of seeds, and decided not to go ghost until he was safely in the Ghost Zone. He stepped through the portal.

.

(He did not notice the seed stuck to the sole of his shoe, nor did notice when it fell off as he walked through the portal tunnel.)

.

"Frostbite said that they're all harmless," Danny told his sister. "As long as I don't eat them, and it's not like Mom and Dad are going to feed us the equivalent of ghost weed. Or ghost truth serum."

"They might, actually," said Jazz, dubiously. "You know how they are, sometimes. Especially if they think we've been overshadowed. But you're sure they won't affect you, otherwise?"

"Well, Frostbite said that some of them will smell really good, but it shouldn't be a compulsion for me to go eat them or lie in them or whatever. Just a nice smell."

"If you're sure," said Jazz. "What about the ghost detecting ones?"

Danny kicked the ground to make his desk chair spin. They were having this discussion in his room. Jazz was on the bed. "Probably not going to be a problem."

"Probably?"

"It's not like they follow ghosts around like the sun. They just absorb ectoplasm in the soil. What I'd really be worried about is the one that grows on ghosts' graves, but it isn't like they're going to try and plant one in the portal, so I think I'm safe there."

.

(The seed that had fallen inside the portal began to crack open.)

.

Maddie frowned at the latest portal energy readings. Over the past week, they had been slowly, but surely, changing. It was as if there was a power drain, a slow leak, somewhere. She gazed at the portal's whirling surface. Even that looked off, the twisting pattern disrupted somehow.

"Jack," she said, "I think there's something the matter with the portal. Will you spot me while I check it out?"

"Sure thing, honey!" said Jack, putting down the grow-lamp they'd ordered for their plants and bounding over to the closet where they kept their ecto-exploration suits. He pulled hers free.

As she put on her suit, she wondered what could be causing the drain. A loose wire or tube? A ghost taking up residence in the tunnel? A bit of spectral debris? It could be anything. It might not even be something immediately visible on the surface.

Maddie shuddered at the idea of trying to fix something inside the walls while the portal was on. They couldn't just turn it off, unfortunately. They had tried that when ghosts first started coming through, but even the emergency power cutoff switch had failed to shut the portal down. The only effect was that they had lost a good deal of control over its power output, which made it much more dangerous to be around. So, they had restarted all of their containment and control procedures and had started to look into ways to close portals.

But it might not be an issue. There was no need to borrow trouble.

The helmet settled on the suit's neck piece with a click, and Maddie started going through her pressurization check. A small amount of ectoplasm wouldn't hurt, but she didn't want to be exposed to the amount that was free-floating in the Ghost Zone.

Besides, if there was a ghost camping out in their portal, the suit would protect her from its attacks.

Jack slid into the seat in front of the telemetry board. "Everything looks good, Mads!"

Maddie gave him two thumbs up and walked into the portal.

She was totally unprepared for what she saw.

There were vines curling up around the walls of the portal, meeting overhead. Roots dug into the metal plates and curled around delicate wires. Heavy, green-white buds hung between heart-shaped leaves. She realized with a jolt that she recognized them, if only from pictures.

"You okay in there, Maddie?" asked Jack over the suit intercom.

"I'm fine," said Maddie. "But I think I found where our missing graveflower seed went to."

"Huh? It's in there?"

"It grew," said Maddie. Even as she said it, she wondered how. They were only supposed to grow on a ghost's grave or death site. They had dug this tunnel themselves. No one was buried here. No one could have died here, either, this far under the earth.

At least, not recently. How far could a graveflower reach back? How far down? How far up? They had barely started their research...

"Are you sure?" asked Jack. "Can you get a sample?"

"Of course," said Maddie, removing a pair of clippers from her utility belt. She removed a branched that had curved out into the center of the portal, away from the wall.

But how were they going to get the rest out?

[huihuiheart]

Goretober D12: No Way Home - Ateez

Ateez + Gender Neutral Reader

Warnings: Serial killer themes, stalker themes, murder, death, suicide, poison, explosion, heights, falling, beating, fights, guns, mauling, gore, blood, drowning, mentions of police and police reports, threats, mention of poison gas, hospitals, mentions of drugging.

Word Count: 5,221

Sitting in the hospital bed all you could do was stare at the copy of the police report they had left with you. Saying they’d return for it it tomorrow, but if you remembered anything to add it to the paper or to tell them. The problem wasn’t remembering, despite your head trauma, the problem was that you couldn’t forget. Looking down at the paper in your hands again, as best you could with one swollen eye anyways you felt sick once again as flashes from the evening filled your mind, and still the people who had found amusement in your torment were no where to be found.

You wanted to run. Hide. Wake up from this nightmare. Anything at all to make it disappear. You had no idea how to live with the events of that evening......

October 11th - 9:17 pm

“Dude that is the sketchiest haunted house invitation I have ever seen.....and that saying a lot, considering it’s literally for a haunted house.” Seonghwa teases Jongho over his little suggestion of activity for the night as your group started to walk up to the abandoned looking building, it looking a rickety four stories high. 

“There’s still three weeks to Halloween bud, we don’t have to do all the scary stuff right away.” You tease the youngest even more lightly pinching his cheek with a small laugh. 

Jongho pouts with a small whine, “Hey! It just seemed like something fun that everyone can do together. You all said you wanted to get out of the house more! If that meant you guys wanted to go clubbing you should have said so!” 

“It’s fine, we’re just messing with you.” Seonghwa assures ruffling his hair, everyone still laughing as we enter. You and Yeosang jumping as a secondary door drops behind the last of you looking almost like the iron gate of a castle. Putting your hand over your heart you let out a breathless laugh at being so easily spooked.

“If you’re gonna be that scared Tiny you can stick with me, I’m a certified human shield.” Yunho slips his arm around your shoulders, he’s chuckling deep in his chest, but a soft concerned look is on his face. 

“I think I’ll be fine. I just don’t expect things sometimes.” You assure him, yet move to take his hand in yours anyways to calm some of his concerns. You may not have been the youngest, but to the boys you were their Tiny. The one they had to protect. 

Looking around one the immediate area of what appeared to be an office hallway was lit up, trying the doors you could see they were all locked. With furrowed brows you and the boys looked around before moving to step into the darkness not knowing where else to go. Only lights flicked on down the path to illuminate the hallway, straight to an elevator who’s doors opened.

“Going up?” I voice echoed through the building sound system, the voice holding a twang to it. The sound nothing southern in nature, but instead almost shrill as if holding back a laugh of some sort. Seeing nowhere else to go and assuming this was just part of the aesthetic of the house you all trudged cautiously to the elevator, squeezing in together. Once the elevator stops you all get off into the room it opens to you before swiftly shutting and dropping down to where it could offer you no way out. The room lighting up to reveal 12 dishes of different fruits. 

You look at Jongho with furrowed brows before you make any move to go examine the food, “Jongho....out of curiosity...what exactly was the theme of this haunted house?”

Jongho pulls out the flyer and offers it to you, “I don’t know Spectacle de something or other...” He shrugs.

Looking over the flyer your eyes widen, “Jongho. It says Spectacle de Mort....that means Show of Death.”

“Show of Death is right! Cause now we’re live, and we’re in for quite the treat with nine of you here. This should give us entertainment for quite some time. You see this is no ordinary haunted house. This place was designed to haunt you, while amusing us and a whole live stream of viewers. Not with little frights though, that amusement passes too easy... No, here you’ll be risking your lives. Simple as that. You all work to complete the activity assigned until your numbers have decreased by at least one person before the next door is unlocked. That is the only way to get out of here.....oh and one more thing. If you don’t do the activity it’ll be much less entertaining for us, but we can kill all of you by flooding any room with a poisonous gas...though it would still me mildly entertaining considering it’s an hallucinogen too.”

Your heart sinks at the voice’s instructions, watching as Jongho pales shoulder’s slumping.

 “I never should have brought us here. It really was a bad idea and a sketchy haunted house flyer and I’m so stupid...” He mumbles before you pull him into your arms, trying to shush him softly, cooing into his ear.

“Shh, shh, Jongho you had no way of knowing. Besides we won’t even know if it’s a hoax or not until until we do something, so let’s just worry about that for now. Okay?” You rub his back gently guiding the way further into the room. Picking up the cue card of instructions to read it.

“One out of the twelve is poisoned. Chose wisely and take a bite, for one is the forbidden fruit.”

You and the boys looked around debating your options. Though if this was legitimate, then at least you each had even odds and no one would have to bear the guilt if something went wrong. Each of you carefully trying to pick a fruit and hoping this was some sick joke instead of reality. Hongjoong picking strawberries, Seonghwa oranges, Yunho kiwis, Yeosang apples, San pineapple, Mingi blueberries, Wooyoung pears, Jongho mangoes, and you picked grapes. Everyone second guessing the whole time until one by one you took a bite and could only wait and hope. A long moment passes and nothing seems to happen as you drift closer to the end where Jongho and Seonghwa stand by the fruits they picked and closer to the door until Jongho starts coughing. It’s only a little at first as his hand comes up to rub at his throat it feeling funny along with his skin heating up. You look at him, eyes widening in shock as you see how pale he starts to look before the coughing suddenly gets harsher to the point of him coughing up blood. Nearly collapsing to the ground before you and Seonghwa catch him and help him sit. You gently rub and pat his back while holding him up and against your chest.

“E-Easy Jongho, just try to breath okay? We got you.” You try to assure him, but when you look up from your spot besides him to make eye contact with San your eyes are glistening with tears. The boys desperately scrambling to find any exit or to get someone’s phone to work to call for help realizing this is in fact legitimate and none of you were safe here, especially Jongho who possibly only had a few moments left. Jongho soon getting weaker as he only weakly sputters out blood and whimpers softly, relying on you to sit up even, before entirely going limp in your arms. Sobs finally breaking loose as you cup his cheek, gently wiping some of the blood off his face.

“C-Come on Jongho you gotta stay awake, we’ll find a way to get you help. J-Just please wake up.” You beg him, even as the door finally clicks open to the next room you don’t want to leave him alone. It’s only when Seonghwa gently takes him from your arms and lays him down that you let the boys take you to the next room hoping to find an exit there.

The next room seeming much more like a lab with all sorts of chemicals and test tubes, the whole area would have just reminded you of Chemistry class and how badly you sucked at that if it hadn’t been for what you just went through. Yunho holding you close and rubbing your back gently, absorbing your cries into his chest as he sniffles a little as well. Hongjoong finding the little card with instructions this time.

“One by one add the chemicals to the one in the center of the room. One of you might be lucky enough to get an explosive reaction.”

“Let Y/N go first.” Hongjoong stops Yeosang from going to grab one and get it over with and the boys all stop to look at him confused, “The chances of picking a safe chemical go down with each one. So Y/N first and then youngest to oldest. Except I’ll go last instead of Hwa.” 

“I-I don’t wanna do it that way. That’s not fair to the rest of you.” You whimper out before Hongjoong pulls you into another hug, gently wiping away your tears.

“It’s alright Y/N. Whatever happens is what happens, it’s not your fault. Now go pick one please and just get it over with.” Hongjoong assures gently before letting go of you, to gently nudge you towards the test tubes. You were kind of hoping that in staring at them something would give away which one would be deadly and just suffer the consequences so that the others wouldn’t have to, but you weren’t so lucky. Finally you chose one and poured it in, waiting and watching for a few moments and yet nothing had happened. It went on for a while until it was just Seonghwa and Hongjoong were left, for the first round anyways. There were more test tubes than there were you all.

“Joong you should go next, really. I’ll take my chances.” Seonghwa insisted, but Hongjoong wasn’t having it as he nudged Seonghwa over gently like he had you earlier. Seonghwa finally giving in as he goes to pick a test tube and pour it in. Waiting a moment nothing seems to happen, until he turns his back to it and it starts to sizzle. Seonghwa’s eyes widen and he quickly turns back towards it trying to cover the explosion with his body to protect the rest of you from it.  San realizing what was going on and pulling you close to shield you behind him too little shards of glass that made it through piercing his back as he keeps you safe. Him glancing over his shoulder to see what damage had been done as the next door clicks open, but not letting you around him to see as he firmly holds you and leads the way through to the next room. The speaker system cackling again, signaling the people who you wanted to curse out are ready to try and communicate with you again in a form other than paper and death.

“Wow! Only two deaths and you already have over 500,000 live viewers. Your quite the popular little group of individuals, aren’t you? Keep it up and we might just let one of you actually survive.” 

The words weren’t what will haunt you though, it was the mocking laughter that rung out afterwards. Echoing through the room, before the sound system cut it off again. You shake your head, eyes burning from tears unable to shed anymore in this moment and you were only two rooms in out of however many they wished to torment you with. Yeosang taking a turn to comfort you while Yunho looked at San’s back trying to help him out. Mingi going to look at the next paper.

“Some locked doors can be opened. Each person pick a door and step through to see what’s waiting on the other side. No cheating.”

Yeosang lets you hug him tightly as you both kind of waddle your way over to where the keys are with the other boys, “Go ahead and pick Y/N. Pick carefully.”

“You too.” You tell Yeosang softly, despite knowing that one person less would be leaving this room than entering no matter how well you all picked your keys. Yeosang kisses your forehead softly, squeezing your hand in comfort with a small smile before picking his while you chose yours. One by one you unlocked your doors all finding a pitch black entranceway. Even the ground was blacked out not providing any sign of what was to come. Until you all stepped through and you heard Yeosang’s scream. Turning towards where he’d been you see him fall in, running over to try and catch him and nearly sliding into the hole yourself if it hadn’t been for Wooyoung catching your leg. 

“Y/N you can’t just throw yourself head first into a hole like that!” Wooyoung scolds pulling you back and into a hug with his kneeling form, softening as he sees fresh tears on your face, feeling some falling from his own. 

“I-I just....I-I thought I could save him.” Your sobs have you shaking against Wooyoung’s chest as he rocks you gently, scooping you up to carry you into the next room.  

“I know, but we just have to try to make sure as many of us stay alive until help can get here. Over 500,000 people are viewing this live, I’m sure someone has called help by this point and they’ll try to help us. Who knows maybe they can save one of the boys.” Wooyoung tries to console you even if he knows himself that it’s false hope.  It served some good in calming you though, you being more hopefully about these things than he naturally was and therefore accepting it for the time being. Wearing through the fresh round of tears and your eyes dried once more, out of them for the time being and wiping your face to take on the next challenge with the boys. Looking around though you found no paper, hoping perhaps you’d been through enough torment to satisfy them. You knew it was too good to be true as the voice came over the speakers again though. 

“So while you’ve been busy entertaining our guests we’ve done some digging on you all......and I must say jealousy is a really nasty look. Especially on you Hongjoong. Not to mention the regretful things it can make you do.” The voice sighs before tsking softly, “Poor poor San....he’s got to let you down like this doesn’t he?”

San looks towards the speaker system in confusion, “What do you mean? He’s jealous of me?”

“Oh he most certainly is and because of that he’s going to have to get rid of you.” The voice chuckles darkly, Hongjoong and San both paling as your eyes widen.

“W-What do you mean? I-I’ll do no such thing.” Hongjoong insists practically screaming at the speaker.

“You will though, unless you want everyone in the room to die.” The voice is serious in it’s threat causing panic to settle in among you all.

“J-Just do it Joong. It’s not worth everyone dying over. It’s simple math...one life or six.” San urges softly despite the tears glistening on his cheeks, willing to do this for everyone else’s sake.

Hongjoong gently hugs the other man before looking around the room, “L-Let me see if there is anything to make it go quicker....b-be a little less painful for you.”

The voice laughs again, “You won’t find anything....you’ll have to do it with your own hands Hongjoong. Hope you still have some of those dark feelings for him, it might just make it go faster.”

Hongjoong feels as if he’s going to be sick, his dam breaking now as streams of tears stain his face, looking at Wooyoung and you for a moment, “Cover Y/N’s eyes.” 

His voice is so quiet like it’s barely there, but Wooyoung hears the words anyways nodding softly and turning away from it himself as he shield your face from the sight against him instead. That doesn’t block the sounds though, the cracks of bones and cries of pain. The sobs coming from all the men around you, but not as pained as the heart wrenching ones coming from Hongjoong while he acts. It dying away, but not soon enough as Yunho moves to cover your ears trying to protect you from that as well. Once it’s over you feel Wooyoung’s hold on you loosen giving you freedom to move. Slowly you walk past them to where San’s battered body lay, unmoving and taking the last pained and shuttering breaths as Hongjoong refused to even look at what he did, instead throwing up in the corner. You gently take San’s hand wanting to stay with him, even as the next door opened.

“Y/N.....we have to go if we can’t get out in time to get him help then he really won’t make it.” Mingi softly places his hand on your shoulder. You nod, but lean down to kiss San’s temple first.

“You’re so brave to do this San, but now you gotta stay strong for us. We’re going to get out and get help as soon as we can for you.” You whisper a promise to him before finally letting go of his hand, gently laying it down to go through the door with the others. Your shoulders slump at the sight of a gun, already knowing whatever the plan for the room was would likely not be pleasant if there was such an obviously placed gun. Yunho getting the little paper and reading it with a sigh before crumpling it up and throwing it as if that’s resolve anything.

“They want us to play fucking Russian roulette. Like normal people would hope to do this for the sake of entertaining others!” Yunho shakes his head as he feels like he’s about to crack again. All of you more than spent at this point with still no exit in clear sight. Not without the risk of at least four more people still dying.  

Wooyoung slipped an arm around you, pulling you close. Worrying about you as usual as Yunho stepped back over to the group, trying to discuss what order you should go in and so on. You didn’t pay that much attention to the conversation though, you didn’t really care what order you went in. Someone else would be dying in a few moments and you felt helpless to it. Part of you almost said fuck it and ripped about of Wooyoung’s arms to go take this one yourself just for the sake of the remaining boys, almost. You knew you probably wouldn’t get far though before they stopped you from what you planned to do. Like you’d rather watch them all die in front of you than save one of them. You were drawn out of your thoughts though when you heard a clicking sound, eyebrows drawing together as you tried your best to wiggle in Wooyoung’s hold and get a look around to see what it was. Another of the same sound following only a moment later.

“Guys, what’s that clicking sound?” You question, but are quickly dismissed by the others who are busy debating why their order is the best option. A debate no one had a right answer considering they were all trying to give themselves the worst chance of survival. 

“Not now Y/N, we’ll deal with that in a minute.” Mingi manages to spare you a glance and it’s only then when you realize who’s voice you hadn’t heard through the whole debate.

“W-Wait guys........w-where’s Hongjoong?” You question eyes widening at a third click sound, stomach dropping as you put two and two together. The others finally breaking from the circle to look into the room. Noticing Hongjoong with the gun to his head right as the bang of a gunshot went off. Not realizing you jumped or screamed at the sight before you, not entirely sure the others registered your reaction either. One that was to be expected when you just saw a friend shoot themselves, blood splattering over the walls. Something you’d see in a museum as a sick form of modern art no doubt, if this had been fake. A reality you would much rather wish for. Four doors clicking open this time as the cackling of the speaker comes on again.

“Hm....I guess the guilt was just too much for Hongjoong. It’s a real shame.” The voice mocks the pain the rest of you are going through, “I’ll give you all a moment to say goodbye to him and to each other now, because you’ll each have to pick a separate door and make your way through a maze. Of course the door at the end will only remain open for three of you. The last person will be left with something....not so friendly.”

Getting to the row of doors you stop the boys before they can start to argue again, “No! No more sacrificing yourselves! Then the rest of us are left to carry that guilt! We all have to agree before we walk through those doors that we’ll all try to make it! Whoever doesn’t.....it was at least fair and we know that. Besides there is a chance they can hide in the maze or something until help gets here.”

Silently the boys nod in a solemn agreement, knowing you had a point and all feeling the burdens of guilt themselves. A tight group hug being held for a moment, knowing it was possibly the last time one of you would be in it, before breaking apart and each walking through one of the doors. After a couple of turns through the weaving maze you stumbled across a glass wall, Yunho appearing after only a moment on the other side. Your smile at the sight of him dropped when you realized you couldn’t make out the words he was trying to speak through the glass. The sounds too muffled through the material, with a sigh he gives up after a moment simply putting a hand on the glass. You doing the same from the other side and giving each other a small smile through tear filled eyes. Until your adrenalin spiked again as a roar sounded through the maze. Looking at Yunho again you managed to make out one word before he turned to leave the glass wall, run. So that’s exactly what you did. You ran through the maze, barely calculating which direction would be a wiser choice as your flight instinct kicked in knowing there was a wild animal somewhere in here with you. Seeing the door out in sight you bolt through it, chest heaving when you reach the other side, looking up to see who called your name to see Wooyoung and Mingi already inside. 

“Yunho!” You yell turning back towards the door as you hear a pained scream before the door suddenly slams shut behind you. You bang your first against it with a curse, before Mingi pulls you away from the door, realizing that the room was moving. Going down in fact. Back to the level you first entered on maybe? No, you’d gone too far down for that now. You were in the basement when the doors opened again. The three of you slipping into the room. Wooyoung finding the little paper this time. 

“The way out will be revealed, but at a cost to you. The door will only be opened if one remains behind as a sacrifice.” 

The three of you look around trying to figure what it meant you wanted to do. Though soon you got a clue as part of the ceiling opened up, starting to flood the room with water. Gasping as icy wet soaks your shoes and works it way up your pants, making you feel much heavier. Eventually determine where the door is, a ladder in the far corner leading up to where an opening above could be. 

“What do we do to get it open then?” Mingi asks climbing up and pushing against it a little, “What kind of sacrifice do they want?” 

You all knew what kind, but you had no idea what they expected you to do, until a red flash came from the opposite corner of the room on the floor. Wooyoung looks at you two with furrowed brows, wondering what it could be. Mingi convincing you to step up a few rungs of the ladder as the water had already managed to get up to the waist at this point. 

“I’ll go check it out and let you all know.” Wooyoung decides before trudging through the rapidly rising water to get there. He has to dive below the surface to see what it is, only to spot a button. He presses it and holds for a moment, not realizing that where you were the door opened until he let go to surface for air.

“What did you do Woo? The door opened and then it closed again.”Mingi inquires looking at the boy who’s shaking out his hair and treading water on the other side of the room.

“I pressed a button for a bit. It must be when unlocks the door.” Wooyoung sees you and Mingi both go to offer and he quickly cuts you off, “Don’t even bother there isn’t time and I can hold my breath longest, I’m the one who’ll be able to hold it long enough for you both. Now get ready.”

You and Mingi both deflate slightly, but listen working up the ladder to wait for the door to open once again. Wooyoung waiting until you were both set to dive again, intending to hold the button for as long as possible, to be sure that both of you had made it. Not that it mattered much, the door immediately closing despite his hold on the button as soon and you and Mingi were through. With a soft sigh you picked up the last paper, like you had the first one. 

“The way things will end will come down to fate. Each choice you make could be your last or it could be the one that finally sets you free. The final door will open when every choice has been made, when only one is left standing.”

Lights were over what looked to be two bins with pull tabs, whatever being inside a mystery. You and Mingi exchanged a look sighing softly before making your choices and each grabbing a lever, not really sure what to expect or why you bothered to even play this game anymore. Even if you made it out alive, for what? Even if help arrived in time for some of them, it would simply be too late for others.

“We pull on three? And no matter what happens we agree to live our lives if we make it out?” Mingi questions, forcing a small smile like it would provide much reassurance at this point.

You give a small nod and return one of your own, “On three.”

1...

2......

3.

Pulling the levers neither of you made it out unscathed, a rolling pin dropping to smack Mingi in the head while a hand held mirror dropped onto you. Your arm coming up to block most of it from your head and face, cutting the skin on your arm while the back of Mingi’s head bled a little. Yet, you both knew it wasn’t enough for whoever was watching as the next two bins lit up. So on you went the next bins weren’t as dangerous of items, the problem us that you looked up wondering what yours was the food can the dropped out hitting you in the face immediately leaving a mark that would only get worse with time, eye swelling slightly. Meanwhile Mingi had a wine glass drop onto him, shattering and raining glass down over him, not helping either of your conditions, but not enough to kill yet. The third row of bins lighting up you both stumbled a little, battered from what you’d already been through, but making it to the next one and pulling the levers once again. Mingi’s loud cry broke out before you could see what happened to him, a rather heavy clock having dropped out and knocking him to the ground. You opening yours and quickly trying to shield your head from the mental pipe that dropped out, it was heavy and beat you a bit as it dropped, but not enough to knock you down. Carefully you go over and help Mingi up and to the next one when he insisted he keep going along with you, pulling again through the tears and swelling of your eye you didn’t see what dropped onto Mingi, only hearing the way the impact knocked the wind out of him in a pained manner while you simply had a grouping of ceramic plates fall onto you. The click of a door opening was enough to let you know how things turned out, trudging your way through shattered remains of the plate with little care and knowing you couldn’t bare to see what Mingi looked like now you made you way through the door. Entrance now in sight, in big flashing red above it the number of viewers your group had gotten the sick bastards who did this to you...... 23, 897,674...

_______________

Looking down at the police report again you shake your head, carefully reaching up to wipe your tears.

Police Report - Event reported 10-12-2020 - Time: 2:47 am

Choi Jongho - Cause of death: Poisoning. Victim stated through ingestion of mangos. Substance: Unknown

Park Seonghwa - Cause of death: Killed by an exploding test tube.

Kang Yeosang - Cause of death: Fell into a empty elevator shaft and onto old support beams. Body not located.

Choi San - Cause of death: Blunt force trauma, beaten by another man according to victim statement. Body not located.

Kim Hongjoong - Cause of death: Suicide, gunshot wound.

Jeong Yunho - Cause of death: Mauled by a wild animal, suspected missing lion. Body not located.

Jung Wooyoung - Cause of death: Drowning. Body not located.

Song Mingi - Cause of death: Blunt force trauma, beaten with objects; rolling pin, wine glass, clock, potentially more we have yet to find.

Y/L/N Y/N - Victim: Traumatized, suffering from major injury, taken to hospital where report was filed.

Assailant: Unknown. Multiple accomplices also in the wind.

You’re about ready to crumple up the paper and toss it aside, but as the doctor comes in again you settle for just setting it onto the wheelie tray they had for food and move it aside.

“Hello Y/N, we’d like to ask you something. Looking over some of your test results we were a little confused by it and wanted to see if you knew anything about it.” The doctor speaks softly and although you were long tired of questions, you nod anyways. Knowing that he was only trying to help and that you’d made Mingi a promise at the end.

“Do you happen to know why there was a hallucinogen in your system?”

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Welcome to Backwater ch.7 (spicyhoney)

Summary: Stretch knows he can't really depend on the kindness of strangers, but oh, sometimes he wishes he could.

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Read ‘The Kindness of Strangers’ on AO3

or

Read it here!

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It was with a heavy, weird-ass book in hand that Stretch returned to the heat of the afternoon. This time he made haste getting back to the store while his knees were cooperating, almost jogging on the sidewalk and waving to any regular customers as he passed. The sun was on its downward path by now and the strollers were out in full force, the Human moms and pops pushing them hardly paying him any mind past a ‘good afternoon’ as he went by.

His knees were back to the wibble-wobbles when he slipped through the door, the bell announcing him with a muted clank. The first thing he noticed was that Red wasn’t behind the counter. He was standing at the back of the store, leaning on his cane and blocking off the hallway that led to both their living quarters. Yeah, that looked like insurance that Stretch couldn’t hurry on past him upstairs; Red wasn’t quick, but he also wasn’t stupid, and Stretch could feel his hard gaze scrutinizing him from across the store.

Wonderbar.

Stretch pasted on a grin and tried to act like someone who hadn’t been recently felt up by Red’s little brother in the public library. Not that Red said that he couldn’t, but some things, (for example, random groping) could probably be inferred.

“hey, what’s up?” Stretch said brightly.

“my bro called,” Red said bluntly, and Stretch’s feeble hopes deflated like yesterday’s party balloon. So much for discretion.

“i can explain,” Stretch blurted, “it wasn’t my idea, seriously, i was only—"

Red interrupted him with an amused snort. “easy, kid, don’t haul out your guilty conscience on my account. all he did was give me the gist of things, said you had yourself an unexpected adventure.” Red jerked his head towards the hallway. “g’wan, string bean, you can use my bathroom. take a shower and cool off.”

A cool shower pouring down on his dirty, sweaty bones sounded like Eden itself right about now, apple not included.

“thanks,” Stretch said gratefully. He skirted around Red, who didn’t move, only squatted there like a grouchy stump in the middle of the doorway while Stretch squeezed around him. Must be tempering his kindness with a little extra asshole to keep things even.

On his way to showerland, Stretch took a quick detour to leave the book on the coffee table amidst the clutter. Maybe he could ask Red about it, get the cliff notes version.

The shower in the downstairs bathroom was stuck with the same crappy water heater as upstairs, not that it mattered since Stretch was about ready to cuddle with an iceberg to cool off. Added bonus, the showerhead was a lot better and it managed to crank the feeble water pressure up to its max. There was a cheap plastic stool sitting in the tub, way too short for Stretch. He sat on it anyway, knees almost up to his chin as the cool water poured down on him and washed away the sweat and filth.

He was shivering a little by the time he was done, dragging a ratty towel over his dripping bones. The pile of his clothes was missing and there a new folded bundle sitting on the closed toilet lid. He must’ve been out of it more than he thought, he’d never even heard Red coming in. Unless laundry fairies were a thing and wasn’t that idea a lot more pertinent than it was yesterday.

Stretch picked up the bundle and part of it fell on the floor. Pajama pants, luckily not a pair of Red’s although it might’ve been hilarious to see Stretch wandering around like a scrawny hulk who sprouted upward out of his clothes instead of sideways. They were red plaid flannel and worn to the stage of being shiny at the knees and elbows. Probably an old pair of Edge’s, the fit was pretty close and not too many Humans wore their waistband quite as skinny as a guy without a waist.

(he was not getting a cheap thrill out of wearing a pair of Edge’s pajamas, no matter what his libido was trying to tell him)

He wandered out into Red’s living room, still squeegeeing his skull dry with the damp towel, and saw the sofa was made up with some blankets and a pillow, the television remote set helpfully in reach.

“you done?” Red’s voice echoed up from the store and his peculiar gait made its way down the hallway until he appeared again in the doorway. “then lay down and turn on the boob tube, zone out awhile. you’ll feel better.”

“what did your brother tell you?” Stretch asked. Not that he wasn’t willing to do what he was told. The couch was saggy in the middle, but the blankets were clean and smelling of laundry detergent. They felt blissfully cozy after the cold shower.

“said you met edgar allen,” Red said. “under less than stellar circumstances, i’m guessin’, since i don’t think ya got an invite for a meet and greet with the local scarecrow.”

This time his shiver had nothing to do with the temperature. Edgar Allen was an okay guy, (guy?) but Stretch was still on the fence about the corn’s attitude problems. “not exactly, no. thanks for the heads up, by the way.”

Red tilted his skull to one side, baffled, “heads up about what?”

“i dunno,” Stretch leaned up on an elbow to see him better and hopefully increase the effect of his dirty look, “maybe when you’re warning me off from the local landmarks, you could’ve touch on that fact that a stroll through the fields might involve the corn trying to hold me as a captive audience?”

“naaah,” Red scoffed. Stretch didn’t miss the way he absently started picking at his gold tooth; that was a nervous tell right there and maybe all this wasn’t just concern but dealing with a little guilt that Stretch’s latest town bonding experience was less than top notch. “that's why the damn scarecrow is there t'begin with. ‘sides, even without him you’d have gotten out before dark. anyway, never expected you to go tromping off into the corn in search of a maze, sorry i misgauged the direction of your dumbass.”

“no, i’m sorry, not your fault.” Stretch couldn’t hold back a yawn so wide it nearly split his skull, yeesh, it wasn’t even dinner time and he was ready to sleep for a week. The imaginary hamster running on the wheel in his head wasn’t quite as ready and it decided to race back to thoughts of Edge sitting in the library, alone. Researching he’d said, so intent on his books from the so-called restricted section, like a bargain basement Hogwarts. “hey, what does your brother do?”

“mostly he’s a pain in my ass.”

It was said with great feeling and Stretch snerked out a laugh. Yeah, kinda a universal trait with little brothers. “no, seriously, i mean, for a living, what does he do?”

Red shifted his feet, his cane scraping the floor. “why are ya askin’?”

“curious. bored,” Stretch shrugged, “take your pick.” He didn’t really want to explain to Red that his brother wasn’t just a sexy pair of legs in boots anymore, (but those hips would never be forgotten). He was interesting, no, fascinating. This whole town was turning out to be some kind of puzzle and it seemed to him that Edge might be a big piece. He’d said that figuring out Backwater was a fool’s errand, but he’d never met Stretch’s kind of fool before.

“kid—” Red sighed and that resigned tone snapped Stretch out of his whimsies. He cringed internally. What was he even trying to do here, he owed Red so much and not just for the job, and here he was digging for information about his bro after Red already warned him off, not once, but twice, so maybe what he was really digging was his own grave, if he didn’t knock it off.

“nevermind,” Stretch said hurriedly. “i shouldn’t’ve asked, none of my business, i get it.”

Red shook his head. “that ain’t it.”

Stretch tried on a little laugh, ha ha, see, it wasn’t that big a deal, right? “look, the state of your brother’s ass aside, i get it. that’s your little brother, and i didn’t forget what you said. we only bumped into each other at the library, i’m really not trying to get into his pants.”

He left off on making it a promise; he was telling the truth, but why take the chance on not keeping it.

He didn’t expected the hand that suddenly scruffed over his skull, like the noogies he used to give to Blue when he was little…well, okay, Blue was still little but noogieing was off the table since he’d started his guard training.

This wasn’t like that childish roughhousing, Red’s knuckles only scraped softly along his coronal sutures. “no, kid, you don’t get it. my bro can handle himself, it ain’t him i’m worried about. but you? don’t ya got the feeling you ain’t up to any new affairs of the soul right now? might want to take it easy awhile.”

That unexpectedly gruff kindness made tears sting in his sockets. Stretch guiltily leaned into that touch to absorb every drop, and how was it he could accept it from Red when he couldn’t take it from his own brother? “i don’t get you. you barely even know me. why are you so nice to me?”

Red huffed out a laugh. “you want i should be an asshole? okay, but i gotta warn ya, i’m a contender when it comes to dick moves.”

“thanks, but you can keep your dick in your pants.”

“your loss.”

“seriously, though, what i mean is. i just don’t get it. this place is so weird, but everyone is nice.” It didn’t exactly line up with Stretch’s view of the world. His brother was always nice sure and Snowdin hadn’t been too bad, if you didn’t count the fact that all his friends were from drinking his nights away at Muffet’s. The surface world ran about fifty-fifty with Monsters being on the kinder side of the scale…until he got dumped and found out he lost all his friends in the divorce, how was that for loyalty.

Red only chuckled. “now you’ve gone and cursed yourself. can’t say everyone is nice, you ain’t met everyone yet.”

That was true, fuck, he hoped the universe wasn’t listening and if it was, that it didn’t decide to drum up a little drama. “red?”

“yeah, kid?”

Stretch craned his head back on the pillow and met Red’s crimson gaze upside-down. “thank you for being nice.”

“don’t tell anyone. i’ll lose my resident asshole status.

“secret is safe with me, promise.” Stretch yawned again and the cow bell suddenly jangled loudly out front, startling them both.

Red shouted. “yeah, i’m coming!” He tossed over his shoulder back at Stretch, “take tomorrow off, sleep in, you ain’t had a day off since ya got here.”

“thanks, boss.”

Stretch started to settle in, nap ahoy, captain, hard to starboard and all that, and his eye lights snagged on the book. Shit, he forgot to ask Red about it. Probably didn’t matter, Red’s ingredient label kinda went equal parts of cryptic and cryptid, so he probably wasn’t gonna give the right answers even if Stretch figured out what to ask.

Wait.

If Red and Edge want to share the part of the local Obi-Wan with their mysterious ways, that was fine. He already had the perfect person lined up to ask about the town’s history. Well, part of a person, anyway, the most important part.

Plan formed, Stretch turned on the television and snuggled into the blankets, letting the dulcet tones of Pat Sajak lull him to sleep.

He didn’t dream.

~~*~~

The next day, Stretch headed over to the theater bright and early, still munching on the muffin Red handed off to him as he settled on the stool for the day with his latest book, this one with a bare-chested pirate embracing a busty Human woman as the ocean sprayed up over the hull over them. Seemed to Stretch that would be less smokin’ sexytimes and more cold and wet, but what did he know, his closest encounter with the ocean was extra salt on his Applebee’s margarita.

“thanks, mom,” Stretch said as he took the little paper lunch bag Red held out to him. Red only grunted and didn’t look up from his book. In the midst of rummaging for his tasty free breakfast, Stretch hesitated at the front door.

He felt a little guilty even though Red was the one who told him to take the day. Before he started working at the store, was Red really sitting there all day long, twelve hours of a cash register and customers while he drank beer and soaked up a little romance language in the form of a cheap paperback?

Not that Stretch was judging, hell, if that made Red happy, more power to him. Still, there had to be more to his life than that, didn’t there? Maybe he’d see if Mitch sold sudoku pads at the gas station, pick him up one along with a six-pack. Hard to guess if they carried that kind of entertainment; Mitch was either some kind of crossword grand champion or the kind of guy who ate ketchup on his cheerios and Stretch still wasn’t sure which.

The first movie showing wasn’t for another hour, but Igor didn’t make a fuss when Stretch asked him if he could go sit down early. (and holy shit, the proprietor’s name was actually Igor? He wasn’t sure if the guy’s parents hated him or if the universe sense of irony rolled a natural D20 when it hit this town.)

Igor only grunted and handed over two cups of popcorn without being asked, handing back a crumpled dollar in change. Aww, Stretch had a usual, see, he was settling into town just fine, suck it, Edge.

(don’t think it, don’t think it, don’t think it…)

Stretch made his way to the theater to his regular seat, propping his sneakers up on the chair in front of him. The popcorn he set aside for now, it wasn’t exactly his idea of a breakfast treat and that muffin Red gave him was still settling into his magic. To be honest, he wasn’t entirely sure if Doris could show up very long before the movie. He was no expert, but he did know that ghosts could have some peculiar rules about manifesting. Hopefully this wouldn’t mess with her morning routine, whatever it was.

He didn’t have to wait long. Maybe Doris could sense him or maybe she could just feel it when a living person came into the theater. She slowly came into focus next to him, pale ectoplasm coalescing, and the already cool air chilled even further.

Doris happily sniffed at her popcorn as she said, whispery soft, “Good morning, Stretch, you’re here very early.”

“yeah, took the day off work,” Stretch said. His voice sounded too loud in the empty theater, not even the elevator music was playing yet. “i need your help with something.”

He might as well have flipped Doris’s switch to ‘on’. She lit up, a smile curving her pretty mouth and seeming more solid than ever. The seat behind her was barely visible through her pale pink dress as she said eagerly, “Of course, anything that I can do.”

So that was how Stretch came to tell her the story about Edgar Allen. He didn’t leave out any details, including the bit about the kids shouting at him not to go in the field, the corn closing in around him in a dizzying maze of green, Edgar Allen’s assistance, and Edge’s cryptic warning that the scarecrow would disappear with the harvest.

Doris listened to it all raptly, her eyes wide and startlingly blue, and she never flickered once the entire time. The only unsettling sight was a single trickle of blood running down the side of her face, gathering in a heavy droplet on her chin.

“My, that sounds terrifying,” Doris breathed, unaware of the irony of her saying that while a slender thread of ghostly blood ran down her cheek. The droplet swelled fatly, growing until it finally fell with a plip onto her dress, leaving behind a perfectly round spot that would slowly vanish, only to be replaced by the next drop.

It didn’t really bother Stretch much anymore; he was getting used to it and an old memory of blood was nothing compared to his recent woes. “yeah, it was spooky all right.”

“But I’m not sure I can help you,” Doris continued sadly, “There wasn’t a scarecrow in my day, not that I remember. But the corn. Yes. That I recall.” She shivered delicately and her chair let out a strange groan of springs. “A person could get lost for days in the corn. I remember…” Her already faint voice went softer and Stretch strained to hear her, her gaze distant. “I remember one year at harvest time, they found a skeleton in the field, it was awful. Oh!” She gasped and pressed a gloved hand to her mouth, “I’m so sorry, it was a dead person, not a skeleton like you!”

“no offense taken,” Stretch assured her. He slouched down in his seat even more and waggled his feet, his untied shoelaces laces bobbing against the seatback “huh. so at least one person died out in the corn.”

“I’m afraid I don’t remember much about it,” Doris admitted. “whoever it was, they weren’t local.”

“uh huh.” An outsider, then, like him, getting munched up by the corn triffids. “who owns the corn fields, anyway?”

“I…” she hesitated, then apologetically. “I’m not sure. I don’t know if I’ve forgotten or if I never knew.”

Another mystery. If he was gonna play at Sherlock Holmes, he really needed to start taking notes. Maybe get a pipe.

“welp, either way, edgar allen bro out there saved my ass,” Stretch told her. He picked up a piece of popcorn and didn’t eat it, only crumpled it between his fingers and let the mangled bits fall to the floor, “and he’s gonna die come harvest time. i feel like i owe it to him to at least hear his story, you know? edge wouldn’t tell me much, just gave me that book and a scavenger hunt.”

“This Edge person doesn’t sound very nice,” Doris said disapprovingly. Her mouth pulled down into a frown that flashed briefly to a bloody smear. “Is he local?”

“kinda? he’s a monster like me, so he could only have been in town for a coupla years. since we came to the surface, anyway.”

Sudden relief washed over Doris’s pretty face. “He’s not a human, then.”

“nope, he’s another skeleton monster.” That seemed to satisfy her. Note to self, Doris wasn’t real keen on Humans, in a way that didn’t seem like it was only about the way they ran away when they got a good look at her. That mystery wasn’t all too mysterious, not with a big, bloody clue flickering in and out of view like a gory version of a kid’s flipbook. If that was a going away present from another Human, he didn’t blame her for being wary. He wondered if she’d met Edge before but Stretch hesitated to bring up that idea, or to mention Red; he didn’t want her to feel bad if she didn’t remember. “yep, another skeleton monster in town. he’s kinda rough around the edges, but he’s okay.”

“Okay, is that all?” Doris said with unexpected mischievousness, “he didn’t sound simply ‘okay’ when you were describing him.”

A blush flared hotly in his cheekbones and Stretch hunched down in his seat, weirdly embarrassed in a way he hadn’t been with Red. At least Red could see what he was staring at, Doris only had him waxing poetically about Edge’s hips to go by, and Shakespeare he wasn’t.

“yeah, yeah,” Stretch grumbled, and damn, he should’ve brought along his hoodie, at least he could’ve hidden from the laughter shining in her translucent eyes. She had a dimple in the cheek on her good side and it deepened as Stretch admitted, “could be that i enjoy the view. but that’s it, okay? just a little sightseeing, i don’t need any souvenirs.”

“Uh huh,” Doris clicked her tongue thoughtfully, “Stretch, my mama always told me you can’t hurry up a good time by waiting for it.”

Other people were starting to come into the theater now. One of them gave him a curious look, but they didn’t stop, only followed the others down to the front row.

“the only time i’m looking for is in the nick of,” Stretch sighed. “guess there’s no way around it, i’ll have to read the book.”

He should’ve known not to try to find an easy way out; seemed like all his shortcuts had abandoned him, lately.

Doris laid a hand on his arm and a sudden chill sank its teeth in deep enough for his bones to ache. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help,” Doris said softly.

“nah, you helped plenty,” Stretch told her. She had. Now he knew that scarecrows were slightly more recent, at least within the past century and that maybe the cornfield wasn’t quiet as safe as it’d been played off to be. At least a cornfield without Edgar Allen in it.

The lights started dimming, the first credits beginning to roll. His popcorn was cold, the butter congealing it into clumps of greasy blobs that stuck to his fingers. Stretch ate it anyway, hey, it cost him a dollar, and laughed with Doris as Buster Keaton escaped from a bumbling crowd of cops by grabbing onto a passing car.

His phone was in his pocket, tucked in deep and only lightly pressing against his femur through the thin cloth of his shorts. It vibrated once in a quick, staccato burst while the movie was playing but Stretch ignored it.

That was one lesson he’d learned very well while they still lived under the mountain; if you focused on the task at hand, you didn’t have to think about the ones you left behind.

~~*~~

tbc

[fletchphoenix]

Everything You’ll Never See Again

Chapter 11 is here - sorry it’s short, I just wanted to get through this chapter ASAP (You’ll see why when you read it) and..yeah. Thank you for the support - I love y’all loads, and onwards with the chapter!

----------------------------------------

Hugo stood in the kitchen, preparing drinks for all of them as Varian and Ulla sat in the living room catching up. A billion questions flooded his head. How did she know they were here? Did she know Hugo was Donella’s….kind of, sort of son? Why was she coming back now? Varian had said that she left when he was younger and didn’t come back, so why did she suddenly show up now? It didn't make any logical sense - surely Varian must’ve known that. As excited as the boy was to see her again, he had to admit there’s gotta be an ulterior motive for his mother coming back. It had to be selfish, after all that’s the kind of woman Ulla was according to Donella.

  He didn’t know Ulla personally, however Donella had told him many stories about her. About how they were friends when they were younger, and used to do a lot of research into alchemy and chemistry along with engineering, and how they were the perfect team. They had worked together in harmony, Hugo having read the few salvaged ones that Ulla hadn’t stolen when she’d left. He was fascinated by the sheer brilliance behind the words they wrote - each one seemed to be meticulously planned without a word being out of place. It was honestly perfect in his eyes how it just flowed so naturally from word to word and made so much sense despite using lengthy, scientific words throughout. He was in awe, however...as soon as Donella saw him with them, she’d immediately taken them and ripped them up right in front of his face as he stood in shock. That was the first time he’d ever seen any emotion on her face - and it was one of his worst memories. Seeing the usually stoic woman with such heartbreak in her eyes at even the sight of her old partner’s handwriting...it hurt. Soon after, she’d told him the story of her and Ulla.

  “We were teenagers when we met, only new in the field and trying to establish ourselves.” she began, her gaze on her hands looking distant. “I suppose it was natural that we’d drifted together - with her eccentricity and my seriousness..we made for a force to be reckoned with. Our research was incomparable! We’d done so much together and..well, of course she’d met that man, Quirin and soon got married and pregnant. Suddenly, she never had time to dedicate herself to our studies, it always being her and her family at the top of her priorities. I should have seen it coming, she was always the weaker one when it came to love and romance.” she let out a sigh, and Hugo shuffled closer to her in silence.

  “We had an argument - a large dispute. It wasn’t...we both said many things we regretted and..we parted ways for a while, me going to my research and her working alone. However, one night, I made a big revelation. I knew I couldn’t do it alone so I called her. We got back in touch and decided to pursue it. One night, she’d figured it out. She tried to steal all of our papers - mostly my hard work. She threw a test tube at me. I assume it was meant to scare me, but she miscalculated and..” she gestured to the gnarled scar on her cheek, it twisting disgustingly from her chin to just below her lip. “She caught my face and, when she saw what she’d done...she just ran. Ran far far away and I haven’t seen her since” 

  Hugo silently stirred the coffee, the teaspoon boiling hot at this point as he looked back on how broken his..mother figure was. It was the most emotion she’d ever permitted herself to show him, all of it truly reflecting how betrayed she’d felt. Why did Ulla have to be Varian’s mother? It just wasn’t fair at all how the universe gave him everything he ever wanted and then ruined it by making Varian’s mother the one person his mother despised. It really was just spitting back in his face, huh? He let out a frustrated sigh and picked up the mugs, leaving the room and heading towards the sitting room silently. 

  Donella wasn’t gonna like this.

  Varian sat beside his mother, listening to her ramble on and on and on about the different things she’d done since she’d left him and his father. He didn’t absorb the information, only staring at her face in wonder and confusion. “That’s...that’s great and all, Mother, but...how did you find me?” He questioned, interrupting...whatever adventure she’d been telling him about the whole time. She looked at him and tilted her head slightly, a smile on her face.

  “Oh! Me and your father kept in touch - well. Kind of. I went over to his yesterday and asked where you lived. I just..had to see you again. It’s been far too long since I’ve seen my baby boy. And look how much you’ve grown up..it’s honestly fascinating…!” she exclaimed, pulling him into another tight hug. “Also, who's that boy you live with? He seems nice!” 

  “Oh, his name is-” He smiled as, speak of the devil, Hugo strutted into the room and placed the coffee cups on his face, however..something felt off. His shoulders seemed stiffer than usual, his eyebrows furrowed in a way that made him look...almost conflicted. What was he conflicted about? What wasn’t Hugo telling him? “This is my boyfriend, Hugo.” He explained, a smile on his face as Ulla once again extended her hand, Hugo glaring at it and turning away.

  “Charmed. Goggles, I’m heading out. I’ll see you later.” he muttered, turning on his heel and heading towards the door. He didn’t understand..why was his boyfriend so distant? Had he done something wrong? He took a second to glance over at his mom, her eyes narrowed and returning Hugo’s previous glare, as if trying to put a name to a face. But that was impossible. They couldn’t have met each other before...right? As soon as that though crossed his mind, Hugo left the bedroom, grabbed his keys and essentially ran out of the front door, giving his boyfriend no chance to say goodbye or..anything. What was going on with that boy? 

  Immediately, Ulla grabbed her son’s hands and pulled him closer to her. “Varian. I know this is very forward but...you need to break up with that boy. Now.” She declared, Varian moving away in shock and staring at her. Break up..with Hugo? Really? She’d just waltzed back into his life and was trying to command him already? Did she really think that was normal? “I know what you’re thinking...but that boy? His mother is the woman who forced me to leave Corona until it was safe for me to return.”

  Varian paused. “What..? What do you mean?” 

  “His mother- well, motherly figure...is Donella. At least I think so from the fact that he has her old jacket. Aka the woman who I used to conduct my research with. We had gotten far on our projects together, however...she wanted to sell our creations to some..very very bad people. She had threatened me so..for our safety, I took the research notes and ran as far away as I could. I wished I could have come back for you, but with her around..it was too risky. And I’m sure your boyfriend knew, judging by the way he looked at me. I’m...very sorry.” 

  Varian sat in a shocked silence. Hugo. Hugo was working for the woman who took his mother away from him, and he knew the whole time. He knew that Donella was bad, and yet he still worked for her. His head hurt. He thought Hugo was good - that he loved him and would tell him anything..his fist slowly clenched at his side. He’d been betrayed once, it sure as hell wasn’t going to happen again. 

  It was time for him and Hugo to have a talk.

--------------------------------------------------------

 “WHAT?!” Donella’s usually tight and toneless voice boomed in anger, loud enough that Hugo thought she’d caused the very foundations of the building to shake. His eyebrows furrowed and the hands that had been in his pockets curled into fists in an attempt to calm him down, nails digging in causing painful little spikes. Her usual perfect hair wouldn’t stay in her ponytail, strands sticking out wildly with the older woman making no attempt to fix it whatsoever. She was like a shell of the woman she was only a few minutes prior - shock and discontent plastered over her features at Hugo’s news of Ulla’s return. “I forbid you from seeing that boy. Ulla is trouble and her offspring will be too.” she concluded without a second’s thought, walking away and leaving Hugo with a dumbfounded look on his face.

  “I-what? No! Mo-Donella, I can’t just break up with Varian! I love him!” he called out, following her down the darkened hallway, knowing full well their argument was bouncing off the steel walls of the warehouse. He didn’t care though - she couldn’t just keep him away from Varian because of some grudge she had! That wasn’t fair on them! He loved that boy with all his heart and soul..Donella could never change that no matter how hard she tried! 

  “I don’t care if you love him or not, Hugo. I am your m-” she stopped herself, her feet stilling. “I am your boss and you WILL do what I say or you’re going to have to leave! It's me or the boy!” she yelled, continuing to walk. Surely the boy would get the message- a bang sounded on the floor. She turned to see her jacket in a pile on the floor, Hugo glaring at her with defiant eyes. 

  “Then I choose him.” Hugo stated, clear as day. The..he was leaving her? She watched him walk down the hall, her feet stuck to the floor as she tried to get over the shock to her system. Her own son- well...student was leaving her for some stupid boy - Ulla’s son no less! It was a sickening thought, making her double over, until she finally concluded. “He’ll be back.” She muttered to herself as she continued her trek down the hall, though a part deep deep down inside of her silently prayed that he wouldn’t. That he would find happiness and love with Varian. It’s what the boy deserved. She just hoped the other boy didn’t hate him for her actions..

  Hugo sprinted home, throwing open the door. “Varian, hey- I have something I need to-” he paused when he saw Varian, standing with a glare on his face and his arms folded. He looked murderous, blue eyes filled with the utmost contempt for Hugo. He’d never seen that look on the boy before...and it made him freeze up in fear. Had he always looked that terrifying?

  “You’re working for the woman that took my mother away from me. And you knew this whole time. Didn’t you?” Oh god. His voice sounded so spiteful, all his love for Hugo turned into hatred in just a few hours. He should’ve told him, but how could he have even entertained the idea that Ulla would show up out of nowhere? “Answer me.”

  “Varian I-I didn’t mean to-”

  “You did! OH MY GOD, HUGO! You have no idea how much I prayed for my mother to be lying to me about that, but she wasn’t! I-Get out! I never want to see you again!” Varian yelled, tears flowing freely down his cheeks as he clenched his fists at his sides. Hugo wanted nothing more than to pull the boy into his arms, comfort him and tell him how truly sorry he was...but he guessed that wasn’t a possibility anymore. He felt his heart shatter as he looked at the boy for longer. Surely he didn’t mean that..

  He slowly reached his hand out to the younger, a frown on his features. “Varian..”

  Varian slapped it away and screamed at him. “WE’RE DONE! DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? YOU RUINED MY LIFE SO-SO JUST GET THE HELL OUT! NOW!” And with that, Hugo felt his heart break for good, a million pieces shattering on the floor as tears started to well in his eyes, before he quickly turned away and ran. 

  NO. No this can’t be happening. This CAN'T BE HAPPENING!- He couldn’t lose Varian! He was-he was the only thing he had left! He ran as fast as he could through the rain, feeling it soak through the T-shirt and trousers he was wearing before he finally turned into the warehouse. He stared at Donella, tears building before running forward and wrapping his arms around her, letting out the emotions he’d pent up for so long...crying freely into the shirt of the older woman.

  Donella merely petted his hair and sunk to the floor, hugging him for the first time ever. She couldn’t bear to see him like this - she’d prayed this wouldn’t happen to him. That he wouldn’t get his heart broken so young..but he did. She sighed and muttered to him. “It’s going to be okay, son..don’t worry.” She whispered to him, holding him close. 

  Ulla was going to pay for this.

[fuckyeahscienceparty]

hey if ur taking requests for writing...., what abt angsty among us idea- reports a body and like.. engie attends and it turns out medic was killed? and then hes heartbroken and really sad and angry at spy for killing medic? obviously u dont have to do this but the among au had me thinking about a ton of angsty scenarios lol. have a good day!!

i'm always takin requests! it may take me a while to get there but i will try my damndest to get it done at some point!

i actually had part of this in my drafts when you originally sent this ask but it's been reason enough to finish it, i think. i hope you like it, even if it's a bit messy :>

-

Per Aspera Ad Astra

In which an imposter experiences the loss of someone he loved and wasn't supposed to.

-

As Dell heard the emergency meeting alarm blare over the intercom and red lights flashed overhead, he looked up from the mass of wires he'd agreed to rearrange for Medic, furrowing his brow.

Odd. Spy hadn't made it clear to him that he was going to attempt anything that day and he knew for a fact that he himself hadn't made any sabotages since last week.

Then again, he'd noticed that this crew in particular had no qualms against using the emergency meeting button for more trivial things. Someone probably just wanted to get everyone's attention to look at some weird space bug that hitchhiked from their last stop on Pollus a few weeks ago or something along those lines. Standard procedure at that point.

He packed up the wires he'd been holding back into their panel before making his way out of electrical and towards the cafeteria, readjusting his goggles over his eyes to make sure nobody would find him out.

When he'd arrived, he could practically physically feel the shift in attitude of the rest of the crew since that morning, mentally noting that Medic was currently the only one of them missing.

"Tex, there you are. You uh. Might want to sit down for this one, lad," Demo said gravely, all the other crewmates' mumbling amongst each other dying down instantly as Spy stood to the side of the table, having said nothing ever since he himeself had arrived.

"Uhm. Sure, ok. Shouldn't we wait for Doc first, though? If it's actually important he should probably be here," He said, a confused smile coming to his face. Demo physcially winced.

"See, that's the thing, it's. It's Doc, he's..." Demo trailed off, Sniper moving to put a hand on his shoulder.

"He's?..." Engie frowned, having to take a moment before he realized what he'd meant.

It took another moment for the dread to set in.

"No. No, that- that's impossible, I- I just saw him like 30 minutes ago. I agreed to do one of his tasks for him while he finished cleaning the medbay so we could finish up for the day," He stuttered, looking anxiously between all the other faces at the table. None of them could meet his gaze even through his goggles, Spy in particular insisting on staring out the large window that peered into the vastness of space around them instead.

...Spy.

Spy said he wouldn't touch him- said he'd let him find a way to deal with all of this effectively and without having to kill this particular crew. Especially Medic. He said- no, he promised he wouldn't.

Engie's anger soon started bubbling inside of him, tightly clenching his fists that he oh so desperately wanted to sucker punch a certain other imposter in the face with. But then came the second realization of what he'd done and he felt his arms go slack again.

Medic was dead.

"...Where is he?" He finally whispered out, somewhere between heartbroken and seething.

"Medbay. Demo, Sniper, and I called for the meeting as quick as we could and did not get the chance to move his. Corpse," Soldier said, standing up straight and visibly uneasy at the mentioning of Medic's dead body.

Engie slowly nodded.

"Ok. Did you fellas, uh. Did- did you contact Pollus yet?"

"Not yet. I was gonna after the meetin's over. 's gonna take us a while to get there tho, at least 2 weeks," Scout said.

"I see. Did you three uh. Did you see anything?" Engie asked Demo, Sniper, and Soldier, all of them shaking their heads.

"Pyro, Heavy, 'n Scout were on comms because they were finished with tasks already and all three of 'em say they didn't see anyone go into Medbay after you left."

"...what about you, Spy? Been awfully quiet the entire time. And you don't have an alibi," Scout squinted. Spy scoffed.

"I was also finished with tasks, I've been in my quarters for at least 2 hours. You can even roll back footage on the cameras."

Pyro pressed a button on their suit, the small speaker on their chest panel letting out a soft 'kshh'.

"...he does have a point. Cams don't lie."

"What if he used the vents, though?"

"You really think this pansy's gettin' in any vents?"

"...Aight, fair point."

"I do not think we have enough information to make decision," Heavy sighed, every looking to each other in a vague sense of agreement.

"Skip vote, then?"

"Yeah, I think that's for the best."

"Alright lads, be on alert, then. If you see anythin' suspicious, y' know where the button is," Demo sighed, patting the plastic cover that protected the emergency meeting button.

Everyone mumbled out affirmations before getting up to head out, Pyro staying behind to raise their hand.

"Ay, what is it, Py?"

Kshh. "...who's taking care of uh. Y'know. The body."

Engie squeezed his eyes shut briefly.

"I'll do it."

"Tex, no, we couldn't ask you t-"

"Demo, it's fine. I'm not a child, you don't need to baby me. I can deal with it."

"If you're so sure..."

"It's fine. Really. You go make sure everyone else is doin' ok, lord knows they'd need it," Engie smiled softly, giving Demo a pat on the arm.

Demo's eyes still showed worry but he nodded, reciprocating the gesture before hurrying into the direction of nav where everyone else went.

Spy turned to leave but Engie stopped him, shifting his goggles back to his forehead.

"...Why did you do it?" He asked softly. He could've sworn that he saw the slightest break of stoicism on Spy's face but perhaps it was just the awful fluorescent lighting of the cafeteria playing tricks on him.

"You were taking too long. It was getting risky for us to be here. I thought it better to end it sooner rather than later," He said, any trace of emotion leaving as quickly as it came as he turned his head. Engie had no response.

"Remember what they did to us. To you. Just because one treated you kindly does not mean others will."

Silence.

"...Don't sabotage anything tonight. They'll get suspicious. Be prepared to leave this ship in a week's time, without the Medic they'll fall apart. Do I make myself clear?"

Still nothing. Spy frowned.

"I said, do I make myself clear, Dell?" He asked again, not even bothering to mask the threatening tone in his voice this time.

Engie squeezed his eyes shut again.

"...Yes. Yes, you do."

"Very well. I will see you in the morning," He said, moving so that Engie's hand no longer rested on his shoulder and starting to make his way to hallway that led to crew's personal quarters.

Spy paused to look back, a feeling that could almost be described as pity overcoming him. He sighed.

"...Get over it. You only knew him for less than 8 months, anyways," He said softly before leaving Engie alone, footsteps echoing against the metal floors of the ship.

When he felt he was ready, Engie made his way to the Medbay with full expectations of what he would find there.

He just. Didn't expect it to hurt so much.

Medic's body lay on the floor in between the scanner and the large computer it was attached to, his normally bright cyan suit soaked in red and a sizable gash made into his back. There was a broken test tube that had fallen out of his hand a little ways away and one of the lensed of his glasses had been cracked, most likely from the impact of falling onto the floor.

Engie took in a deep breath before carefully sitting him up against the nearest wall, preparing himself to find something to clean up the blood that hadn't managed to be absorbed into his space suit.

He wasn't used to Medic being so.. quiet. Lifeless, if you would. He couldn't remember a single time he'd felt a pain in his chest as intense as this.

It was then that his anger suddenly came back, barely being able to contain himself before he turned around and ended up making a decently large crack in the monitor.

He tried to control the emotions that came flooding after, tried to keep himself from feeling this way over this one human when he'd aided the destruction of countless others, but when he felt himself shaking, he fell to his knees, a sob escaping him.

He shouldn't have gotten attached. He shouldn't have, it wasn't like him- like an imposter to get attached, and yet here he was, crying on the Medbay floor as blood soaked into his already red suit and glass shards clinked against the desk as they fell off piece by piece.

Serves him right for believing in humans, he guesses. Serves him right for having the audacity to care.

...what a stupid decision, that was.