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realmackross · 1 year

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PARTIES: The Allgoods, @longislandcharm TIMING: July 29th (Evening/Night at Mack's Mojo Dojo Casa House) SUMMARY: The Allgoods and Winter come over for a Barbie themed sleepover at Mack's house. Good wholesome fun is had by all! :) WARNINGS: Unsanitary tw (what's new), mental health tw, alcohol abuse tw

Mackenzie was excited for the sleepover. She had made invitations. Made sure there was enough food for everyone. Had blankets and pillows at the ready. It was going to be a great night, and something she had needed for a long time. And with Winter having somewhat forgiven her, it was almost going to be like being back home. The invitation had said 6:30 pm, but at this point, as long as people showed up, it didn’t matter.

—

Alex was still surprised to receive a party invite that was extended specifically to her. She supposed she was actually doing the whole making friends thing now, which while scary, was kind of nice even if the car ride over had been a fairly quiet affair. Not that she minded all that much. Staring out the window while listening to Phoebe Bridgers was in fact a vibe. When they arrived at Mack's, she approached everyone who rode in Ariadne's car, keeping particularly close to Cass. When they walked up, she appreciated all the pink decor. A Barbie-themed sleepover was probably filling in the gap for some missed childhood experience. She waved to Mack as entered. "Hey," she greeted, "Thanks for throwing a sleepover... and inviting me. Hope you don't mind, I brought my guitar!"

—

Ever since Metzli's announcement that they were leaving, Cass had been... well, maybe down wasn't quite a strong enough word for it. She was devastated. Everything felt heavy and gloomy, the same way it always did when someone left. But this time, she had something she'd never had in the past to soften the blow: friends. The car ride with Nora, Aria, Wynne, and Alex had been quiet, but not uncomfortable. Cass already felt a little bit better just being with them. As they pulled up to Mack's house, she prepared to put on a happy face for the evening. The party wouldn't fix her... but it might distract her. She offered Mack a small, uncertain smile as they approached. "Hi," she mumbled, hoping the movie star wasn't still angry with her for the mime fiasco.

—

Ariadne hadn't entirely expected to play chauffeur to anyone except for Wynne, but Ariadne had been more than happy to drive Nora, Cass, and Alex. Especially since Nora and Cass (and Wynne) especially seemed miserable. She did her best to tap into who she was before everything, and had tried to cheer them up, with purple slushies and ham and avoiding overly peppy music. She pulled up to Mack's house and gave her a wave. "I - thanks for inviting me, even if we haven't talked a lot other than the whole dance thing I - this is nice of you." She wrapped her hand around Wynne's waist and pulled them close to her, pressing a kiss on their lips.

—

Nora didn't want to go. Didn't want anything. Wanted to sit in the pool of her own self-pity, writhing in anger and confusion. But Nora also needed something to grab onto, to believe. So when her friends asked her to go, more than one, she pulled herself out of the hell hole of her own creation and got into the car when Ariadne came to pick them up. Nora should have known this was a mistake when they pulled up to Mackenzie Ross's pink-decorated house. She shoved her hands in her pocket and forced herself not to think of it. "Sup." She mumbled, shoving past the front door and walking into the manor.

—

Milo hadn't been to a sleepover in... Well, it had been a while. And while he hadn't been feeling the best lately, he had somehow landed an invitation to a sleepover at Mackenzie Ross' house. There was no way he wasn't going to that, especially since Mack had been so nice to him so far. He was a bit nervous about who else would be there, but the last party hadn't gone terribly, and he could use some fun, honestly. He arrived at the massive manor home armed with some snacks and drinks, and an overnight bag. "Hey," Milo greeted the group. "Thanks for the invite, Mack. Your place looks amazing!"

—

When Mackenzie got the alert on her phone that people were pulling into the driveway, Mack couldn't help but let out a squeal of joy; reminiscent of her old self. All she had wanted was a nice evening where it didn't feel like life...death was complete shit. Already dressed in her pink pjs ready for the night, she went outside and started to greet everyone. It was like she was a completely different person, "Hey guys! So glad you could all make it! There's a few more people coming, I think, but go ahead and go inside and make yourself comfortable." She had been surprised to see Nora show up, but the past was the past, and she was trying to turn over a new leaf with the girl.

—

Alex smiled as Mack spoke despite the fact she felt a little nervous. A slumber party was unchartered territory and she wasn't sure what all this would entail. The decorations did fit the mood she assumed their host was going for. She was pretty sure she had just literally walked into Barbie World. "You really went full on Barbie Dreamhouse and it's giving," she told Mack. The effort was awesome and so was the fact they were all hanging out again. "Hey, Milo," she greeted as he approached with a wave. She still felt a little out of place, but she was surrounded by familiar faces who were becoming more familiar.

—

Winter hadn't been so sure about showing up at Mack's place for some party since she wasn't exactly over the girl disappearing on her but what else did she have to do? The ghost on her tail was also unenthused about this whole night which was clearly written on his face. Too bad that made Winter want to go even more. She loved to annoy him. Pulling up to her house, she rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath about this being typical Mack before making her way inside to find blobs of pink obscuring her vision. "Don't say shit about me being late. This is an assault to the eyes by the way." She gestured around them before moving further into the room towards the others she didn't know. "Winter...nice to meet you all."

—

"Winter." Nora repeated the name without much affect in her name. Most people here were familiar. Milio was here, Nora wondered if today was the day she should scare him. It could be fun, but the more she thought about it, the effort to scare someone seemed like a lot of work. Maybe she'd sit at this party and be normal, and do normal party things like stand around and eat chips from the chip bowl. "Where are the snacks?" Nora asked, disappearing into the first doorway she saw to try and find the kitchen.

—

The inside of the manor was even more impressive. Milo had only ever lived in apartments, this place was an actual dream house. He was relieved to see the familiar faces, especially those of Cass and Alex. Even if the latter had made him eat soap, he had become somewhat friendly with them. He smiled at them, offering a friendly wave to the newcomer. "Nice to meet you, too. I'm Milo."

—

Alex waved. "Hey, Winter!" Her tone almost matched the vibe of the decorations. She still felt worried after her meeting with Nora in the mines, but by all indications, she'd been truthful when she said that Alex had helped. There wasn't anything in her mannerisms that was especially cold toward her either. She'd gotten the same characteristic monotone from Nora that everyone else had gotten though the bugbear had quickly gone to find snacks. So she returned her focus to the group around her and gave Milo a playful grin. "Promise I won't make you eat soap this time, bestie."

—

"I'm Ariadne," she gave a nod to Winter. "This is Wynne. My partner." She didn't let her hand leave theirs. "I brought a lot of candy, if anybody wants? I'm not the biggest fan of salty snacks. I'm much more of a sweets girl." Said with perhaps more enthusiasm than was necessary, perhaps, but she'd gotten decent at faking that this past year. The house was exceptional. She'd never been in a place this big (at least invited on purpose). "Hey Milo," she offered him a small smile.

—

Milo laughed. "I'd appreciate that, thanks." He greeted Wynne and Ariadne. "I also have salty covered," he said, holding up the bags of snacks. "Also, rum, if anyone wants drinks."

—

Mackenzie followed everyone inside, "Thanks, Alex. I just wanted to match the vibes you know? Thought we could all use something fun." All things considered in this town...She heard Nora ask about the snacks, "You're headed down the right path, Nora. Just keep going." She had heard Winter's snarky ass comment and was honestly surprised that she had showed up after their meeting at the drive-in, "Fuck you too, Bestie." She moved into the living room and somewhat relaxed, "It's been a while since I've thrown a sleepover, so if there's any games or whatever...throw 'em out. This is a night of fun, even for you Winter, you crotchety old bitch."

—

"Nice to meet you, Winter!" It felt like a battle to glue that smile onto her face, but Cass liked to think it was a convincing one. It wouldn't fool Nora or Alex or Ariadne, but it might fool some of the people who didn't know Cass quite as well. "I'll take some snacks, definitely! And, um, games would be fun. I know we did truth or dare last time, so maybe never have I ever to keep things fresh?"

—

Miyeon wasn't surprised that she was fashionably late. For someone with meticulous organization and a well-penned planner, she still found herself running late for pretty much everything that wasn't her morning show. She was surprised she got an invite to this but she was pretty sure it had to do with Mack trying to keep Miyeon from digging too far into her. Like you don't tattle on your friends or whatever so that made sense enough. "Hey,' she said as she peeked through the door. "I brought nachos. And sangria. It's pink! Well, the sangria. Not that nachos"

—

Winter waved absentmindedly at everyone introducing themselves. She'd never remember all these names. The mention of all the snacks hadn't peaked her interest until she heard"rum" and then later "nachos" and "sangria." Her ears perked at that, the girl ignoring Mack's digs at her age as she smiled at the two who had brought the alcohol. "Anyone with liquor is immediately a friend. I'm always down for Never Have I Ever if it's the drinking game version."

—

"We can do the drinking game version," Cass agreed. Her experience with alcohol was fairly limited --- technically, she wasn't even old enough to have it in the States --- but she thought it would probably help with the vibes here.

—

Seeing everyone mingling made her happy, but there seemed to be a certain sadness hanging in the air. They needed something to pep up the night. Mackenzie wasn't sure what was going on with everyone, because most of the time she lived under a rock, but Cass and Winter's idea sounded fun, despite not being able to drink or taste anything. "Yeah, let's do it! I'll go get more alcohol." She wasn't against spicing things up as long as people could have some fun.

—

"I could drink," Nora called from down the hallway. Alcohol didn't seem to work for Emilio, maybe it would work for her.

—

"I - don't really drink, but..." Ariadne, "my cousin says I should live a bit more, so... sure. Or I'll just stick with Dr. Pepper, or something like that." The nerves were setting in, now, and even though she knew that she was here to support Wynne, she found herself incredibly grateful that they were here, too.

—

Miyeon followed Nora towards where the snacks seemed to be and set down the nachos and the jug of sangria. "Hey, Nora," she said with a wave. "If you want a drink, rose sangria is a good place to start." She winked and grabbed a solo cup and started to fill it up for herself. "Never have I ever could definitely be interesting with this group."

—

Nora gave a slight shrug, filling a solo cup up with sangria. She downed it in one and filled it up again. "Never have I ever kissed someone in public." She stated, knowing full well Ariadne and Wynne had just kissed in public.

—

Alex threw a smile in Miyeon's direction when she entered the manor. It was shaping up to be a good crew and all of the faces were familiar, which made relaxing easier. Rum would also do the trick in that department. "Drinking game never have I ever it is," she exclaimed. She turned to Cass and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Any drink preferences? I can grab one for you."

—

"Whatever you're having," Cass replied to Alex with a soft smile that was a touch more genuine than the one she'd been sporting so far. "I'm not really picky." And she didn't really know enough about alcohol to know her preferences.

—

Ariadne raised an eyebrow, once again thankful she couldn't blush. She grabbed a cup of something, hoping Chance would be proud of her, and downed half of it. "Never have I ever... snuck out of my house without my parents knowing."

—

"Never have I ever is always fun," Milo nodded in a agreement. There was something in the air, vibes slightly off. "You can definitely stick to soda if you're more comfortable," he said to Ariadne. "Can also just add a tiny bit." He shrugged, giving her a smile. "I don't usually drink much myself."

—

Miyeon laughed. "Alright, damn. Make sure you have some water, too," she said as she watched Nora inhale a cup of sangria. She did in fact have to take a drink at her first declaration. "Uh yeah, no shame in that one." And then again, Ariadne was making a statement that had Miyeon drinking again. "Come on, give me one second to breathe oh my god."

—

Nora stares at Ariadne. Did Ariadne know she was a runaway? Nora hadn't mentioned that, had she? She downed the drink again. Running away was sneaking out to an extreme, after all. A buzz pulsed over her skin. Maybe things weren't so bad.

—

Mackenzie left the room and went downstairs to get more alcohol in a spare fridge that didn't contain her food. She had hoped people were enjoying themselves, but she couldn't really tell anymore. Maybe it hadn't been the right time for a sleepover.

—

Alex grabbed two solo cups full of sangria for her and Cass, immediately taking a sip from her own for Nora's statement. It was a little convenient that Ariadne had just said hers too. No one would know which she was drinking for and who didn't love a little mystery. "Here you go," she said taking a seat next to Cass. She looked around the circle and tried to think of a good thing she'd never done. "Never have I ever eaten soap," she grinned, knowing that taking a sip from his drink early on in the night would be way better than eating soap.

—

Wynne took a drink because they did sneak out that one time :/.

—

Milo mixed some of the rum with soda, and quickly took two drinks, catching up.

—

Cass took a sip for Nora's statement, lowering the cup as Ariadne made hers. Hard to sneak out without your parents knowing when you'd never known your parents to begin with. Swallowing, she shifted. "Um, never have I ever left the movie theater before the credits finished playing. Gotta catch the extra scene. You know?"

—

Winter followed the nachos. They looked delicious as well as the pink sangria that was placed next to them and soon she had a solo cup in one hand as she ate with the other. She eyed the room, noticing that a lot of these people didn't seem so into the idea until she heard the first couple of Nevers uttered, prompting her to drink both times. "Sangria's good...props on that." The third Never uttered made her raise her eyebrows though, making a point to lower her cup.

—

"Never eaten soap, but Lush has the prettiest soap I think I've ever seen. Like, way prettier than most soaps," Ariadne looked over to Cass apologetically, "I have, but I won't ever again, okay?" She nestled herself against Wynne, running her fingers against their arm.

—

Nora took another drink. She'd left movies halfway through the movie because they were boring. Her eyes followed Winter as she came to stand near Miyeon and her. "Yeah, the sangria is good." Nora agreed. There was a light flush pressed against her cheeks. Maybe tonight wasn't so bad.

—

Miyeon noted who was taking a drink and who wasn't. "Looks like we have a lot of rebels in here. Good to know." She smiled. She also took a drink at Cass's statement. She was very sweet and maybe a little naive. Miyeon made a note to look out for her if the moment arose. Ariadne, too. Didn't have to drink for the soap one at least. "Never have I ever... gone viral online."

—

Milo: And quickly added a third, throwing a playful look at Alex. "I see how it is." He took another drink at Cass'. "Never have I ever gone skinny dipping."

—

Nora blankly stared at Miyeon. A new suspicion rising. She downed the drink again. As she went to refill her cup, she wondered if the world was spinning a little. Some sticky alcoholic liquid fell on her hand, she stared at it for a minute, trying to decide how she was going to deal with this new and quickly evolving problem.

—

Wynne leaned against Ariadne and drank despite it not applying to them. They just wanted another sip.

—

Cass took another sip of her drink at Miyeon's statement. Technically it was Magma who'd gone viral --- a short video clip that the internet later decided was definitely fake --- but Cass was pretty sure it still counted. Milo's statement actually drew a quiet giggle from her, and she finished the rest of her drinks. Nymphs didn't tend to see much importance in bathing suits.

—

Alex took a drink at Milo's statement. She was pretty sure rinsing off in rivers and lakes when they didn't have a place to stay counted as skinny dipping anyway. She noticed Cass drink at going viral and looked at her curiously. That was a story for another time, she was certain. "Never have I ever seen a movie in theaters."

—

Mackenzie came back upstairs with more bottles and sat them on the counter. Pouring herself a solo cup full of the strongest liquor at the party, she went and took a seat somewhere near the circle. She noticed Miyeon had arrived, but prayed nothing happened that would give the girl scoop for her next radio show, "Never have I ever won an Oscar."

—

Wynne asked, "What is skinny dipping?"

—

"Never have I ever been a f-" Nora managed to swallow the word as her slowed mind realized that this was maybe something she shouldn't say. Her mind stalled, blanking on what she was supposed to say. "Uh. Been a uh. Movie theater." She took a drink because she had been to a movie theater like Alex stated. Then Mack was stating never have I ever won an Oscar, cause once more everyone in the room needed to know she was a famous actress. Nora's blank gaze turned to Mack. Who was supposed to drink to that? Herself?

—

Three more drinks down and Winter had to wonder how young these people actually were. She was only two years older than Mack but suddenly she felt like the crypt keeper. Still, she wasn't throwing out any of her Nevers just yet as she got a feel for who she was dealing with. Her eyes drifted to her ghoul who looked so bored he could die for a second time and Winter snorted softly before looking around at the others.

—

Alex laughed. "Unless someone in this room is secretly William Bowery, I don't think anyone here has an Oscar. Maybe an uncle Oscar or something."

—

Cass refilled her drink only to take another sip at Alex's statement, flashing her a curious look. They'd have to change that, wouldn't they? "I don't think anyone here has won an Oscar," she agreed with a quiet laugh. Looking to Wynne, she added, "Skinny dipping is swimming without any clothes on."

—

Miyeon also noted who was taking a sip during her own statement. "A room full of internet superstars, too." She noticed that Nora was looking a little wobbly. "Hey, you might want to slow down a little there," she said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I don't want to hold anyone's hair back tonight if I don't have to." Wait, was she about to say the word fox just then? Alright, Miyeon was already planning to find a hair tie, they were gonna need it.

—

Wynne nodded at Cass and took a long drink. Though they weren't sure what an Oscar was, they had never won one.

—

Ariadne pressed her lips against Wynne's ear. "I know a place we could do that sometime, if you ever wanted." Shaking her head, she refocused on the group. "No Oscar for me either, I don't think -- who's William Bowery?" She asked Alex.

—

Mackenzie caught sight of Nora glaring at her, "Does it look like I'm drinking, Nora." She looked over to Alex, "Sorry, it was the first thing that came to mind." She looked over to Winter, but also to the man sitting next to her. That was new.

—

Milo looked between Mack and Nora before taking a long drink. Yikes. He'd certainly been to the movies before but no Oscar or viral videos for him.

—

Alex answered, "It's a pseudonym... co wrote a few Taylor Swift songs. Sweet Nothing, exile, betty... and I think those are it." She looked to Nora who did in fact look like she was drinking faster than the rest of them. Her head tilted with concern, but she wasn't sure how to press as much. Getting a good read on people was how Alex usually navigated social situations and Nora was hard to read. Maybe that'd change with time. She found she hoped it did.

—

"Sweet." Ariadne grinned at Alex. "Still getting my Taylor knowledge to exist at all. I like exile, even if it's way sad." She looked over to Nora, offering her a look that wasn't sympathy (as she didn't think Nora would be receptive to that), but was comforting, she hoped.

—

Milo took a handful of chips before casually offering the bag to Nora.

—

Mackenzie looked back over to Nora, "Are you okay?"

—

Nora doesn't like that more people were giving her attention. Looking at her while she looked like this. Nora's blank expression, still well practiced, stared back at each of them in return. "Fine." Fine, she'd slow down if they all stopped looking. "I am okay. This is a fun party, Mack." She took the bag of chips and somehow fumbled a few into her mouth. "Good chips." She answered, swaying slightly in place.

—

"Thanks, I'm glad you're having fun." Mackenzie wasn't sure Nora was, but she was concerned for her well being. "Eat all the chips you want. There's a couple of different dips in the fridge too if you're into that sort of thing."

—

Miyeon would make sure to check that Nora wasn't curled up in the bathroom later that evening. For now, she downed her drink and poured another. She had to catch up after all. Also, things were getting too serious or whatever. Time to lighten the mood. "Never have I ever not done wolf girl jumps at a party." Her words were slurring a little but she was pretty sure that made sense.

—

"I prefer using the name William when talking about him, his real name doesn't deserve to be in conversation." Winter drank again but only because she needed to get drunk to deal with this much longer, something that also prompted the next Never out of her mouth so that she could gulp down the rest of her beverage while still being in the game. "Never have I ever had my Julie Andrews moment and mattress surfed down the stairs."

—

She could sense Wynne's quiet unease, even if they weren't entirely showing it, and stood up, giving their arm a small tug. "We'll - uh, we'll be back in a little while." Ariadne pulled them along, off to find a quiet, empty room where they could just be together. Once said room was acquired, she gave them a deeper kiss, pulling their body close to hers. "Figured we could use some time just the two of us."

—

Milo laughed, drinking at Miyeon's statement, only to grin at Winter. "Oh, man, what an iconic scene. I always thought that looked so fun, but we didn't have the stairs to try to do it at home." He took another drink, thinking back on watching Princess Diaries with his sisters.

—

“Sorry I’m late, but I brought Dippin’ Dots,” Chaisai called, juggling a handful of flavors of ice cream novelty cups as Chaisai breezed through the door.

—

Mackenzie heard the door open and saw Chai enter, "Hey! Welcome to the chaos that is Never Have I Ever. Kitchen's that way." She motioned with her head, "And while you're there grab a solo cup and come join the fun."

—

Alex looked to Cass, assuming she'd know what the heck Winter was talking about. "Julie Andrews moment," she asked in a whisper.

—

Miyeon was intrigued by this proposal by Winter. "Okay I've never done that but like, there's no time like the present, right?" She looked over to Mack to see if she was going to go for it.

—

"It's totally fun, you really should try to do it at one point." Looking at the new arrival, Winter contemplated following just for the ice cream of the future but then she spotted the stairs not far out of eyeline. "Actually, Mack has a nice set of stairs there."

—

"Oh! Can I grab a mattress?" The idea did sound like the sort of thing that would cheer her up. Maybe when Milo was done, Cass would take a turn of her own. She turned to Mack, flashing her a hopeful look. She didn't think the movie star was her biggest fan, but... Maybe she'd be okay with this. For the sake of the party and all.

—

Nora nodded, still swaying lightly on the spot. "Mack has a good set of stairs." Then Cass was getting excited about it, Nora thought. And Nora was happy because Cass was happy, and found something she wanted to do that looked fun. And Cass deserved to have fun at a party. Nora gave Cass a thumbs up.

—

"Uh, considering I haven't done anything crazy daring lately..." Except kill a huge spider... "Count me in!" Mack stood up and walked over to Cass, much like she had at the last party, "Let's go grab a mattress." She reached out her hand with a smile.

—

"Oh, fuck yes," Milo exclaimed. Mattress surfing and Dippin Dots? ...he might be feeling the drinks a little, but he was so in.

—

Ray entered for the first time

Ray left the chat

—

Mack was reaching for her hand, and Cass smiled, glad to see that things did seem to be mending a little between the two of them. "Save us some Dippin Dots," she ordered, taking Mack's hand and letting the movie star lead the way to the nearest mattress to be repurposed for stair surfing.

—

Alex was starting to put two and two together with the whole mattress surfing thing. Cass looked so excited that she couldn't help but catch some of that thrill herself even though she would decidedly not be surfing on a mattress that night. "Go do mattress beach, Barbies!"

—

Chai entered the kitchen and poured himself a drink and unceremoniously deposited the Dippin’ Dots on the counter before returning to the heart of the party. “Did I hear mattress surfing? Like that princess movie?”

—

Ray arrived a little late to the party after his shift at the restaurant. He'd had a few drinks on the way over to curb his anxiety in the crowds and was proceeding to try and keep up with the rest as they drank more and more. even drinking to ones he'd never done to fit in a little. "That sounds fun."

—

Mackenzie had let go of the frustration she had been harboring with the younger girl. It had been more of a concern than anything, but here they were about to mattress surf and make good memories! Mack led her upstairs towards one of the spare bedrooms, "We can grab this one. I think it's perfect for mattress surfing." She started taking off the comforter, pillows, and sheets.

—

"I've lived out my Princess Diary dreams, you guys have fun. I'm going for the dots." Maybe not eating the way she was supposed to this past month was starting to catch up with her because all of this food seemed to be calling her name. Being a little buzzed didn't help either. Winter made her way to the counter with the ice cream and grabbed a random flavor before she came back to watch the goings on. She playfully reached over with her spoon towards the ghost at her side just to annoy him before she took another bite. "Thank you for bringing these."

—

Milo got up to help the girls. "Hey, Ray!" he called over his shoulder.

—

Ray smiled at Milo and moved to put his bottle down to come to help as well "Hey dude, you going to surf too?"

—

Alex waved and said, "Hey, Soup!"

—

As the others mingled, Cass helped Mack grab the mattress. It was big. Bigger than she'd really expected it to be. She had an embarrassingly limited experience with something as simple as mattresses, had only ever really slept on cots and couches when she could find them, and the ground when she couldn't. It felt heavier than she'd expected, too, but she wouldn't let Mack see it. After the mime fiasco, she desperately wanted Mack to think she was cool and normal and nice. She'd do anything for that, especially now. "Okay," she grunted, nodding. "I got a grip. Come on!" Afraid she'd drop the mattress if she took too long with it, she rushed forward pushing both Mack and the mattress along.

—

That zombie strength would have come in handy right about now. Mackenzie could tell she was footing a lot of the weight, but it was okay. Once they got it to the edge of the steps, they'd be good to go. The night was definitely going so much better than she could have imagined. Everyone was having a good time, and Mack was able to let loose for once and not feel so paranoid. As she moved forward, she could tell Cass was using all her strength and it was causing Mackenzie to stumble, "Hey, Cass, slow down just a little will you?" Okay, maybe they should have just drug the thing instead. As she kept walking, she felt Cass push again, but this time Mackenzie couldn't control the additional weight, and before she knew it, she was pushed into the railing, before the mattress gave her the final push she needed to go over the railing. Everything suddenly flashed back to the day she died on the set of Dropped. And as much as she wanted to scream or try to better prepare herself to land safely, all the training in the world couldn't help her. Instead, she hit the hardwood floor head first cracking her neck and back for the second time with a hard thud. And once again, the world went dark.

—

"Sorry, sorry. I'm just trying to..." Cass trailed off, unable to focus on both supporting the weight of the mattress and carrying on a conversation. She grunted a little, shoving the mattress forward again. This was the problem with having a huge house, right? So much more ground to cover. She didn't mean to shove the mattress into Mack... but that was exactly what happened. And then, Mack was losing her footing, was stumbling over the edge, and was hitting the ground with a crack that Cass thought would live in her mind forever. Her breath caught in her throat, and she dropped the mattress to run to the edge of the railing, looking over with a nauseous feeling tugging at her gut. There was Mack, laying on the floor below with cracks rippling out from the tile around her. Not moving, not breathing. For a moment, Mack was Kuma, was Debbie. Cass thought she might be sick. "Oh my god," she said, panic gripping her. "Oh my god. I didn't --- I didn't mean to. Oh my god. Nonononono."

—

Miyeon's hands clasped to her mouth, gasping as she saw Mack tumble over the side of the balcony. The sound of her neck cracking, the thud to the hard floor echoed through the house. For a moment, Miyeon was frozen in place, stunned by shock. Had she just watched someone die? Had she just seen Mack Ross /die/? Her heart was pounding in her chest and she ran over to see if the host was alright. She reached down to her splayed out wrist, trying to feel for a pulse. There was nothing. She could feel panic grip her, her breaths growing shorter. She didn't know what to do and, for once, she had no idea what to say.

—

If he’d have blinked, he would’ve missed it. But he hadn’t. It happened almost I’m slow motion. One second Mack was tipping over the railing, and the next she was crumpled on the floor below. “Oh, shit!” Chaisai exclaimed. Mack didn’t look good, but he couldn’t bring himself to step towards her. He could not be the sober one here. Responsibility was not his strong suit. He downed the remainder of his glass before taking a single, deliberate step towards his friend. “Uh, hey, Barbie. Get up, please. Please?”

—

One minute Winter was eating the delicious ice cream and enjoying the buzz and then the next all she heard was the sickening crunch of Mack literally landing on her head after falling from the balcony above. Everything went into slow motion, the Dippin' Dots slipping from her hands and landing on the ground while she stared at her friend laying there. She watched as one of the others went forward and checked for a pulse, rooted to the spot, and when it was obvious that there wasn't anything to feel she let a whimper leave her lips.

—

Milo had been going up the stairs to assist Mack and Cass. He wasn't incredibly strong or anything, but he figured another pair of hands couldn't hurt. He was about halfway up when he saw Mack tumble over her railing. There wasn't enough time for him to even try to react before she had hit the ground with a horrifying, stomach turning crack. He stared wide eyed at her body at the ground, neck bent at an unnatural angle, frozen for a moment before he came to his senses. "Oh my god," he breathed. This wasn't happening. This could not be happening.

—

Ray was turning to greet Alex as well when he heard the creak of the bannister, head swivelling back around he caught the very moment that Mack hit the ground. A guttural yell escaped Ray as he registered the bones he'd heard crunching and the sight of Mack on the floor. Dead. She had to be dead. He was stock still and unmoving as he whispered to Ryan in his head "Is she gone? Can you tell?" Looking to Miyeon as she checked for a pulse.

—

Nora knew she was drunk. Nora knew that alcohol buzzed in her vein, clouding her thoughts much like her time in the mines. But as Mack's neck cracked against the wooden floor, she had trouble grasping it. This couldn't be real right? This was just a joke? Wasn't Mack proud of her acting skills? "Get up Mack, come on, it's not funny." Nora's words slurred as she spoke them. "Mack?" Nora tried to take a step forward, but the world was spinning around her. "Fuck." She said finally, sitting down on the floor, giving up on movement. "Not again."

—

Alex had been sipping her drink and watching Cass from afar as she helped Mack get the mattress over to the stairs. Everything happened so fast that she couldn't even get a word out before Mack was tumbling over the balcony and a crack was echoing in her ears. She automatically tuned in on Cass, who's heartbeat was moving more rapidly with every second and quickly leapt up to go over to her. It was an accident and Alex was a bit stunned that someone was dead but she had to make sure Cass was alright. "Hey," she said softly, "You didn't mean to, it was an accident. Just breathe slowly, ok?" She placed a hand on Cass's back and tried to rub soothing circles despite the fact she felt like she was going to be sick. There was a slight tremble in her fingertips that she hoped wasn't felt by the oread. The whimper that left Winter's lips told her everything she needed to know.

—

Alex was there in a heartbeat, standing in front of Cass and telling her to breathe. Breathe, like Mack wasn't. Because Cass had killed her. The panic was all-encompassing, to the point that she didn't hear Nora's muttered 'not again,' didn't register Miyeon checking Mack for a pulse, and didn't take note of Winter's whimper. All that existed was the body on the floor and the fact that Cass had put it there. She tried to look at Alex, but she couldn't tear her gaze away from the corpse. She couldn't focus on anything else. "I killed her. I killed Mack Ross. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god."

—

Miyeon had never seen anyone die. She couldn't comprehend it. It didn't make sense. One moment Mack was there and now she wasn't. She was gone. And all that was left was a dead body that Miyeon was crouching next to. Oh god, that was a dead body. She scooted away on the floor and wrapped her arms around her knees, pulling herself in on herself. "Wh--what do we do?" her voice cracked even at a whisper. "She-- she--she..." Miyeon gulped trying to find her next words. "She's dead." Miyeon couldn't tell if she wanted to scream or cry or simply curl into a ball and disappear. Maybe all of them at once.

—

"What do we do?" Winter was still rooted to the spot, her voice a horse whisper as if anything above that would break even more in the room. What did they do? When Mack disappeared from her life months before she had been pissed at the girl but still thought she would see her again and now...now she was definitely gone. She could feel tears welling up but she refused to let them fall. No, they had to figure this out. There was no time for crying.

—

Another crisis for Cass. Nora was grateful Alex was there helping her. Nora wanted to help too, but her legs had buckled under her. Why had she drunk so much? No one else had drunk as much as her? That was so dumb of her. "We dispose of the body." Nora answered. Cass wasn't going to jail for this. They weren't going to jail cause of a dumb accident. "And we never talk about it again." Which, in her drunk slur, sounded silly and not at all serious like the moment intended.

—

He didn't know what to do, wasn't sure he was breathing. Everything the others were saying sounded muffled under the sound of his blood rushing. This couldn't be happening. She had to be okay. There was no way they had all just watched Mack Ross die. He stumbled down the stairs, wanting to check her pulse- Miyeon had to be wrong- but once he was standing there, staring over at her, he couldn't get himself to move any closer. No. No, no, no, no, no. He wasn't sure if he had said it aloud. He couldn't- This couldn't be happening again. His head snapped up at Nora's suggestion, though. "What?! We can't just- This isn't- We have to tell someone! I'm not going-" Milo couldn't get the words out. He wasn't going along with this, this wasn't going to be another fucking death pit situation.

—

Of all the things that could have been suggested, that was not what Winter had expected. Immediately she snapped, her eyes finally leaving Mack as she turned her head towards Nora. "What the fuck? Maybe we call a fucking ambulance? We could be wrong, right?" Even if they weren't wrong, and there was no way they were, Mack still deserved more than a fucking body dump.

—

Alex had hardly had anything to drink, but the suggestion still made her feel sick to her stomach. Even if it was an accident, they'd been underaged and drinking and she couldn't see it shaking out well for Cass. It felt shitty. Mack was her friend. It was new, sure, but they were giving the whole friendship thing a try even if it was new to both of them. But it was Cass and she couldn't let her go to jail. All she could do was nod and move her hand to take Cass's in her own instead. The silent gesture said more than words could, it let her know that Alex was going to be there no matter what they had to do.

—

Ray finally got control of his feet but couldn't get them to do anything useful - especially when all his body really screamed for him to do was run away. But he always ran away. He had to stop. But what were they going to do? Were they actually going to dump a body? "Is that the only way?" he wondered quietly looking to Nora and finally tearing his eyes away from the corpse.

—

Everything was muffled. Words were jumbled. Nothing made sense. But there was a brightness. The lights above. Mackenzie could recognize light. She could recognize that there were other people around her, but everything felt off. She couldn't move. At least not at the moment. But she knew her body was doing something - healing itself. And with the healing came an insatiable need to feed. She was soooo hungry. Food was all that mattered and the room she was laying in currently held many options. Easy pickings. Who first? The little one on the floor? The two on the balcony. She could make out blurs of shapes as her eyesight started to come back. The ones on the floor would be the easiest, because right now her legs and neck were not working. Groaning slightly, she started to move her arms. Things were starting to work, but pitifully. Grunting, Mackenzie began crawling towards Nora. Fitting, since she had just suggested dumping her body, but Mack didn't hear that. All she knew was food. Nothing logical, since she was still in her infancy and dumb as a box of rocks.

—

"I don't want to go to jail. Oh god. Oh my god. They're gonna --- They'll put me in ---" She couldn't even form a thought. What would happen to her? This wasn't some random person Cass had killed. This was a movie star, someone famous, someone loved. There was no way they'd do anything less than throw the book at her. The public would hate her. She'd rot in prison. And then what? What even happened when someone not human was arrested? Were there protocols in place, rules? Would they lock her in a special cell, or would they just kill her? She didn't want to find out. "We can't! If we call for an ambulance, they'll --- We're going to get in trouble and I don't --- We should --- We should promise not to tell. We should..." The body groaned. Mack groaned. And moved. Crawling towards Nora, looking... hungry? "What the fuck is happening?"

—

Of course, Mack had been acting. What kind of fucking play was everyone working on? Nora watched as the body groaned and started crawling towards her. "Come on Mack. We get it. You're an actor, you're sooo good at playing dead. What is all of this?" Because Nora, despite accepting the supernatural, despite being trained by a slayer, wouldn't consider something as supernatural as the undead at a Barbie's Dream House Party.

—

“Dispose of the body?” Chai echoed, incredulous. “Cave girl, we cannot do that. We should probably—we should—I don’t know what we should do.” Should they call the police? It was an accident, no one should get in trouble for that. But the potential for underage drinking was there, he figured, looking around at the group. Would that be a problem? “We can’t throw her away,” he insisted. A feeling of dread snaked its way up his spine. images of his friend being struck by lightning flashed across his mind and he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he looked back towards their friend— their dead friend—and suddenly the corpse moved. “Holy shit. Nope. Nope.” With that, he turned away, heading for the kitchen. He was definitely too sober for this.

—

Fuck. Milo plopped onto the ground. He was shaking and his chest was stuttering and he wasn't breathing properly, and already he could feel that familiar tingling underneath his skin. He needed to breathe. He couldn't lose control here. But then Mack's body started moving, scaring the ever loving shit out of him, and a lamp went flying across the room, shattering against the wall. "What the fuck?!"

—

Alex usually hated her sense of hearing, but in that moment, she was grateful that she was quick to realize Mack was moving. She had been dead and now she was moving with a hungry look in her eyes. She honed in on the sounds coming from Mack and notably a heartbeat was not one of them which could only mean one thing. Shit. Mack was undead and while she didn't know much, that meant she was probably as ravenous as Alex was on the full moon. Did she know she was undead? Alex hoped so, that would mean she had a stash of food for herself somewhere, but she had to be quick. "Cass, Nora," she directed, "You keep an eye on Mack. Do not let her get close to you or anyone else until I get back. Got it?" If anyone could handle a hungry undead, it would be the giant bear and the superhero, even if the former was more than a little intoxicated and the latter in a state of shock.

—

Again, a noise had her head snapping in another direction only to find Mack moving. How the holy… Winter couldn't wrap her mind around what was happening right now and even with Nora's words she felt her stomach drop. Even if Mack was an actor she knew better than to think she would pull something like this on everyone here. Winter might have but not her, right? The lamp flying across the room elicited a scream. With everything happening she was super jumpy. "What the actual fuck?!?"

—

Ray muffled a scream when the body started to move again. She'd been dead. She'd been confirmed dead. In a panic, wanting to get everyone away from whatever was happening he rushed for Nora and scooped her off the floor and moved them rapidly away from Mack. "What's going ON?"

—

A lot was going on. All of it was confusing. Fear was an intoxicating snack for Nora, and she reveled in the sweet snacks of her friends as they all freaked out. For what? Mack's acting wasn't even that good. She just fell and played dead. A sober Nora, one who could read a room and pay attention to many facts, may have picked up on the true seriousness of this situation, but Nora was really into making a fool of herself lately. Ray was picking her off the floor and pulling her away from the crawling Mack, but Ray was a runner. He would be scared of anything. Nora patted his arm gently, there, there. This wasn't even scary.

—

Alex figured if there was a stash of blood in the manor, it wouldn't be in the main fridge she had guests going into. If that had been the case, someone would have already called Mack out on it. There had to be another fridge somewhere. Maybe her bedroom, basement, or garage. The size of the house had seemed cool before, but now it seemed overwhelming. She was 5'1" and while she was quick, that was a lot of ground to cover. She wasn't sure she'd be able to pick up on the smell, but maybe she'd be able to hear the hum of another refrigerator. She normally tuned that out, but she ripped her ear plugs out and closed her eyes to get a sense of what direction to go in. She ran as fast as her feet could take her down the stairs, shuffling around rooms until she found the two refrigerators. In a rush, she ripped the doors open on both, breaking the door off the one that seemed to be for human food. Well, at least if she had this many fridges it wouldn't be an issue to replace later. She quickly gathered as many containers of brains and body parts as she could and flew back up the stairs. As she reached outside, one of the containers fell on the ground, but she couldn't be bothered to stop and instead raced toward Mack. She quickly knelt down and took the lid off one of the tupperware with brains. She handed it to Mack carefully. "Here," she said softly, "You'll feel better after you eat this. I can grab and send someone down to crab more, too. Cass or Nora won't be freaked out by it."

—

Mackenzie heard the voice yelling at her. She still couldn't make out the words. The only thing on her mind was eating. She needed her strength. She needed food. Nora looked like a mighty tasty blur. As she pulled herself forward with her arms dragging herself across the floor, Mackenzie groaned louder, before the word food escaped her mouth. She saw another human figure scoop up her prey. Growling in anger, Mackenzie felt her strength grow along with a healing crack of her back. Pushing herself up off of the floor to her knees and then to wobbly feet, the actress grabbed her head and cracked her neck back into place, "Hungry..." Looking around, her eyes hazy and glazed over, she spotted Winter and started to move towards her.

—

Miyeon thought she was shocked before but then the dead body moved. Mack Ross was dead on the ground one second and then standing up the next. She didn't move. Other than her jaw hanging open in shock, her eyes stuck to the girl who was definitely up and walking after she snapped her neck. She was frozen in place, trying to hold her legs tighter to keep from shaking. She was one second away from just turning into a fox. It might be the only way she could figure out how to move. "Someone t-tell me what is going on?" she whimpered. A lamp crashed and made her jump out of her shock. Yeah, fuck this, she didn't care who knew or who saw what. A burst of smoke surrendered Miyeon and in her place was a small fox, scurrying away to Nora, hiding behind her legs.

—

Keep an eye on her? Why? Cass wasn't thinking logically, but she trusted Alex. "I'll make sure she's okay," she said, moving towards Mack cautiously. She crouched down next to the movie star, reaching out to put a hand on her arm just as Alex rejoined the party with... tupperware? "I don't think she wants a snack, Alex," she said with uncertainty.

—

Winter was having a psychotic break, that was the only explanation. First a ghost was following her around, one who looked decidedly amused at this point, and now her friend was coming back from the dead and snapping her neck into place while things flew across the room on their own. She had to be in some room back home making this up in her head. Did she miss Mack that much? Now a person was a fox? Yea, she had lost it. That was all there was to it.

—

Alex realized how close Cass was to Mack and whispered urgently, "You need to back up, Cass. She needs the snack. It's not a human thing."

—

"Alex, I don't think this is a good time for flirting," Cass replied uncertainly. "She's hurt."

—

Chaisai pounded a glass and re-entered the crime scene in time to see Alex return with…leftovers. He turned to ask anyone else what the hell was happening when he saw something that caught him off guard. “Is that a fox?” he asked no one in particular. “What is even happening tonight?” All of this had to be some immense prank, and it wasn’t very funny. The fox seemed out of place, too.

—

Milo saw Alex returning with tupperware, and noticed the one that had fallen had opened to reveal what appeared to be a brain. Fuck this town. "What the fuck is wrong with this town?" Milo shuddered at the sound of Mack's neck snapping back into a normal position, pulling himself up and away from the zombie??? Only to see Miyeon disappear and a fox to appear in her place. What the fuck?!?!?

—

Alex shook her head. "I'm not flirting with you, Cass," she retorted in a hushed voice, "Mack is a zombie. If she doesn't eat what I just gave her she's probably gonna eat everyone at this party. And no, still not flirting. I mean literally, not in a fun way."

—

Ray felt Nora pet him on the arm but he was very busy watching Mack for what she was going to do next. He didn't let up his hold on the bugbear for a second, she was clearly too far gone and needed to stay away. This wasn't right, there was something going on here. The sickening crack of her neck going back into place made his stomach turn as the others started to put themselves between Mack and the Party.

—

Nora's head swam. Ray was panicked, Miyeon was a fox between her legs, Winter, that was her name right? Her ghost looked like he was having fun. That was nice. Ghosts deserve to have fun. Alex was giving instructions. Did Nora need to go get something? What did Nora need to go get? Maybe she would never drink again. Maybe having control of her conscious thoughts was a lot better then the fuzz that settled it now, even if it worked. In this confusion, she'd forgotten to think about her body and the mines.

—

A zombie? Mack Ross was a zombie? Had she always been a zombie? Cass's brow furrowed as she looked at the tupperware in Alex's hands a little closer. Brains. Okay, so the zombie thing wasn't a new development. Her eyes scanned the room --- Nora, drunk and confused with a fox that... probably had to be Miyeon hiding behind her. Winter, having a breakdown in a way that was totally not how Cass liked to meet new people. Chai and Milo, both looking more than a little lost. Ray, watching it all unfold. Was this what parties were always like? "Um, okay. Mack Ross is a zombie. Cool. Okay. Sure. What the fuck?"

—

Mackenzie had noticed Cass coming towards her. Food that was right in her path was so much easier than the person freaking out on the other side of the room. Reaching out, she moved in the direction of Cass before grabbing her and pulling her in closer with extreme strength. Leaning her newly healed neck to the side, she opened her mouth wide and laid into Cass's shoulder with a hard bite. However, whatever she bit into wasn't budging. Mack growled in frustration as she gnawed on what felt like a rock. Angry, she pushed Cass as hard as she could out of the way, before smelling the brains that Alex had brought up from downstairs. Turning her attention on the werewolf, she started moving towards Alex, "Brains..." She reached out trying to grab the food that wasn't quite in her reach yet.

—

Nora picked the fox up. The fox was soft. Nora buried her face in the soft fox coat. This was a fun party, she thought, enjoying more tasty fear snacks.

—

"Hey!" Cass screeched in a damn good impression of a banshee, jumping back as Mack Ross's zombie teeth tried to take a bite out of her shoulder. "You're gonna rip my shirt!" She hadn't broken the skin --- Cass's skin was pretty hard to break, after all --- but her shirt was all wet with zombie slobber now. Gross. At least the brains seemed to spark something. Cass grabbed the tupperware from Alex, much more content to put her hard-to-bite hand in the line of fire than risking Alex meeting the zombie's teeth, and thrust it towards her. "Here!"

—

Alex rushed towards Cass when she realized Mack was about to bite her only to let out a breath of relief when that didn't go according to plan. Even though Cass always had a certain radiance about her, it was easy to forget that she was stone and magma underneath it all. Before she could reach out to nudge the container towards Mack, Cass was already doing so. She was grateful the oread had caught on and she quickly looked to inspect her. "Are you ok?"

—

Miyeon was moving. Oh god, the world was moving and she was getting taller all a sudden. Then she realized there were hands grabbing her. Hands that smelled like Nora's. Oh, okay, she was petting her. That was fine. She snuggled into her friend. It definitely felt like the safest option. The wolf girl and rock girl could take care of the not dead girl.

—

"I'm okay," Cass assured Alex, turning to let her look at the shoulder in question. "See? No harm done." She directed the last part towards Mack, too, knowing that if their roles were reversed, she'd want to make sure she hadn't hurt anyone. Glancing over to where Nora had Miyeon, she was pleased to see the both of them safe, too. And the boys all looked alright, which mostly left... "Um... Hey, Winter? Are you, uh... How are you doing?"

—

Mackenzie yanked the brain out of the container and started to sloppily shove it in her mouth. Dropping to the floor, she consumed the brain without savoring it knowing it wasn't going to do much considering she had just died AGAIN. When she was finished, she could automatically feel things start to make sense again, but she still had a need to feed, "Alex...food. Want more food." She looked up at the person she knew to be Alex.

—

Ray was stunned as things started to seem to wind down again. It felt like a fever dream. "Uhm excuse me but ...what the actual fuck?"

—

The sight of Mack biting another human was the icing on the cake of this whole night, Winter leaning back against the wall and nodding at whoever was talking to her. "Oh, I'm so good right now." Even in times of crisis sarcasm tended to take over but there was less bite than usual in her tone. Her gaze kept flicking between Mack and the fox and then to the person Mack had bit. Cass...they were the one who had asked, right? "What is going on?"

—

Milo knew necromancy was a thing, but he wasn't sure what the fuck all of this was. This seemed proper Night of the Living Dead zombie shit. "Yeah, seconding that. What the fuck? Also, she just bit you, Cass???"

—

Now that she was a tall fox, Miyeon was able to see the ghost floating around Winter. Her little kitsune stomach started to grumble. And the nachos were not going to cut it. She tilted her little head and made a small little yip, asking to be let down. She wanted a snack, too. And she didn't want the gross-smelling whatever it was that Mack was eating. She was just going to eat a little bit of the ghost, it would be fine.

—

“She, um, she didn't bite me very hard! Didn't even break the skin!" Cass rubbed at her shoulder, pretending it hurt. "It'll just be a bruise, that's all." She looked to Mack with uncertainty. She thought she was probably up to speed now, but it wasn't really up to her to tell everyone else, was it? If Mack wanted a lie... well, she'd need someone other than Cass to tell it.

—

Alex was relieved that the only damage done was some slobber on Cass's shirt. "Okay, good," she said, reaching to give Cass's hand a squeeze before returning her attention to Mack. Cass was checking in on the others and Mack was devouring the brain from the container. Alex quickly grabbed another and shoved it towards the zombie. "Here," she said. She looked for Nora in the crowd and saw her holding a... fox? The fox girl thing suddenly made sense. Huh. And everyone else had a lot of questions that Alex had no idea how to answer, so she looked to Mack, hoping she'd have her fill enough soon to give whatever the PR reason for this would be.

—

Nora, face still pressed to the softest fox she'd ever held, was sad to let Miyeon go. But Nora had always lived by the motto, animals only stayed as long as they wanted. That went with her new friend too. Nora put the fox down. "It wasn't very cool of Mack to bite Cass like that. They should take away her Emmy. Crimes against Cass."

—

"Also, can we address the fact that Miyeon turned into a fox because." Fuck, she had said something about a fox girl at the last party. Milo had thought she was just a furry, he didn't think he meant she was a literal fucking fox!

—

Alex looked around and shrugged, "Uh.... We're all just really drunk?"

—

Milo gave Alex a look. "Bestie..."

—

Alex stifled a laugh under the pressure. "Okay, you got me there," she relented, "But I am very specifically not Mack Ross' PR so I will let her explain her stunts."

—

"I had one cup." She whispered the words, now spotting the fox nibbling on the ghost following her around but Winter wasn't very concerned about that even if he seemed to be. Wait, the fox was biting the ghost? Was that normal?

—

Ray made a face and leaned down to mumble to Nora "Are there other people here that are...like you and stuff too?"

—

Chaisai could feel the anxiety begin to ebb away. “This is a really weird prank.” Something deep in the pit of his stomach tugged at him, told him that something stranger than a prank was at hand here. “Wait, where did she go?” The fox could not be their friend. “I’m not drunk either,” Chai said, agreeing with Winter. “So are we all like, weird here, or is it just…” He let the question hang in the air, looking from Mack to the fox and back.

—

Fox Miyeon was running towards Winter, which seemed like a bad idea. Winter was already having some kind of a breakdown. Cass wanted to tell Miyeon that maybe she should take it easy, but... There was so much going on. It was a little hard to figure out what she should be focusing on. She looked to Mack, chewing her lip for a moment and offering her a small nod. However Mack wanted to play this, Cass would follow along. She owed her that much after tossing her off a balcony.

—

Mackenzie consumed the other brain enjoying all the meaty bits of it. Finally, something more satisfying was happening. She started to feel like her old self. Memories came flooding back. Names started to slowly come back. And when she realized where she was at and vaguely what was happening, she knew she had to go back downstairs. If she didn't eat enough, they were all going to be scrambling for their lives again, except Cass, who was surprisingly tough. Looking around, she could feel emotions again and that sucked harder than the fox sucking on the ghost. Without words, she stumbled downstairs and towards the room with the fridge. The door was gone, but that was okay. It didn't matter at this point. She just wanted the contents.

—

Miyeon trotted off towards the ghost, but it was a little too far away. She leaped onto a chair and then hopped onto the table and was about to take a little nibble of plasmic energy when she heard her name and her ears swiveled towards the source, turning to see that it was Milo. Oh. Right. Whoops. She did sort of shift in the middle of a party, didn't she? She hadn't even thought about it long enough to weigh the consequences. Between the not-dead dead body and the flying lamp and the buzz of the sangria, she sort of didn't have the time. Cool cool cool. She should probably shift back. But her clothes were in the middle of the room. Uh, the tablecloth was going to have to do. She nuzzled her nose under the edge of the fabric and shoved as much of herself as she could underneath it before poofing back into her human form, wrapping the tablecloth around her to try and cover up as much as she could. "Um, don't ask. Can you hand me my clothes, Milo? Please?" She saw the looks she was getting. Yup, okay, this was fine. "Literally don't worry about it. What's going on with Mack? Is she dead? Is she not? What is going on?"

—

"Fair enough, I guess." Though Alex did seem to be the one who knew what the fuck was going on. Seeing another poof of smoke followed by Miyeon poking her head out from under the table just confirmed his suspicions. She had definitely turned into a fox, then. And Mack had just wandered off??? "Seems like we're all weird here, yeah," Milo nodded, a bewildered look on his face as he gathered Miyeon's clothes. His hands were still shaking, but the events of the past few minutes were so fucking weird that he wasn't freaking out as much. That was a plus. As he neared the table, he averted his gaze, feeling incredibly awkward as he held out the bundle of clothes in his hand.

—

Chaisai covered his eyes out of respect, despite this bewildering turn of events.

—

Nora watched Mack consume a brain. Maybe this wasn't acting. Maybe this was. Nora didn't know, but Miyeon was naked now and it felt like a real television party suddenly. Nudity was always included in those.

—

Miyeon said "Thanks," and took her clothes back and ducked behind the counter to quickly throw them back on.

—

Mackenzie made her way through quite a bit of the food she had stored up, and when she was finished everything felt normal again. Well as normal as dying in front of your friends, coming back and trying to eat them, and then consuming brains in front of them could be. FUCK. They had just seen all of that. They knew what she was. Winter knew what she was. Walking back upstairs, she quietly stood at the doorway. With "Dance The Night" from the Barbie soundtrack blasting in the background, Mackenzie knew she had to follow the lyrics of the song and present herself with poise. She had done this before, right? This was part of life in the spotlight. Fuck, fuck, fuck. "Hey guys...so, uh, what'd I miss..." Her smile was uneasy; mouth covered in slime and other things; skin pale; and her eyes still somewhat white and glazed with the skin on her neck bruised from previously being broken.

—

"We're all weird here..." It was all starting to sink in and Winter glanced at her ghost in time to see the fox had turned back into a person. If she had a ghost and he had been told all of her life about mediums it would have been ignorant to think that other things didn't exist, right? It was a lot all at once so she let her body slide down the wall so she could take a seat and breathe a little. "What did you miss?"

—

Milo couldn't help but laugh. "Well, you died, and freaked everyone out so much that someone turned into a fox, so." He snorted. "I'm so sorry. This is just fucking nuts, and I've felt like I've been going insane lately. Came here to get away from that, but I should've known better in this town." He took a few breaths. "Sorry. I'm glad you're okay? I guess? Also, sorry about your lamp."

—

Ray finally let Nora go, taking a deep breath. It seemed Mack was back to...normal felt like too big of a stretch for the moment. Everyone had secrets it seemed. He wanted to go to bed. He didn't quite know what to say to Mack or anyone really. "There's bits of glass on the floor from the lamp watch out?" he offered instead of anything of substance. "Got a brush?"

—

Alex nodded as the group seemed to acknowledge they were all weird in some way. A few years ago, that would freaked her out and even though she struggled with how she saw herself, something about this band of weirdos made her feel a little more okay about it. "Guess we are," she said nonchalantly. She gave Mack a knowing look as she returned and simply nodded. They could discuss *that* later.

—

The fact that this had all been happening while the Barbie movie soundtrack had been playing was just the icing on the disaster cake. Milo rushed to help Ray as the other went to clean up the mess. "I can get it. My fault anyway."

—

Miyeon tilted her head as she looked back at Milo. "Wait, that was your fault?" she asked. She had kind of assumed it was the ghost. "Okay so like you missed a lot. Sort of maybe because you died. I don't know. But like there's a lot going on here. Clearly." She looked over at Milo, Winter, Nora, Cass, Alex, and her gaze landed on Mack last. "Um, but, I guess everyone's okay? Mostly? Are we good? Is it time to keep partying now?" She wasn't sure what she hoped the answer was going to be if she was honest.

—

Chaisai sighed. This night got weird quickly. “Alright. Never have I ever died. Anyone else? Never have I ever turned into an animal. Can we talk about what the fuck is happening? Where’s Ashton, ‘cause it feels like we’re being punk’d. Is this Celebrity Pranks?”

—

Ray dropped to a knee next to the shattered lamp and shook his head lightly "Don't worry dude it's-...your fault? What do you mean..." he trailed off for a second before mumbling to the other "I need something to do with my hands anyway, I'm still a bit spooked to be honest." he showed Milo the slight tremble in his fingers with an awkward smile. "I'm not made for excitement like this..."

—

Winter pointed to Chaisai. "That. All of that."

—

Oh, shit. Well. He hadn't really been thinking when he'd admitted to that. "Uhhh... Don't worry about it?" His voice was uncertain as he repeated Miyeon's earlier words. Milo nodded at Ray, raising one of his own shaking hands. "Me either, dude." Chai's words made him burst out into another fit of laughter, though. "Again, I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh."

—

Mackenzie was ashamed, embarrassed, but more than anything scared. Would they know that she was the one who killed Brody? If she had a heartbeat, it would be pounding so hard right now. She watched as Milo and Ray went to clean up the lamp, "It's fine...It's uh, don't worry about it." She glanced around the room seeing the mess and chaos that had ensued while she was out of it. Everyone was stressed and scared and laughing? Barbie Sleepover had gone to Barbie Nightmare in a heartbeat. Ironic choice of words of course, "Um...look I know...I know this is probably a shock to you all..." She noticed Nora looking unamused, "some...I just, I'm asking if you guys could not tell anybody...please. My life depends on this being kept quiet. I did some things that I hate myself for, and...it's the whole reason I'm here in Wicked's Rest. You don't have to talk to me...or acknowledge my existence anymore after this, if you never want to see me again, but...all I ask is if you...could just please, please not say anything..."

—

Alex was glad she didn't have her drink on her, though on technicality, she wasn't sure a werewolf counted as an animal. That was definitely more turning into a monster. She chuckled nervously and found her way back to Cass. They were all a little weird, but she wasn't sure she was necessarily ready to broadcast that she was a werewolf specifically.

—

Mack was upset. And Cass still felt a little responsible for it, given the fact that she was the one who'd knocked the movie star off the balcony. If she hadn't done that, no one would know anything at all about what Mack was. So Cass looked at her friends, and nodded. "Okay," she said decisively. "Everyone has to promise. Right here, right now. Look at me, and promise not to say anything about this to anyone not at this party."

—

Nora may have still been drunk, but she trusted Cass. So when Cass gave an instruction, Nora was the first to look at her and make the promise. Nora knew Cass was only asking this for a good reason.

—

Ray looked up with a handful of lamp shards "I promise."

—

Chaisai looked at Mack, confusion crossing his face. His brow furrowed. He didn’t quite understand what was happening here if he were being honest, but he nodded slowly. “Sure. Promise.”

—

Miyeon nodded. She knew that there was no way she was going to put any of this into any sort of journalistic anything. And not even just because they could all blackmail her with the turning into a fox thing. No, this was the sort of secret that you just kept. Supernatural stuff. Her parents may have kept most of it from her but they did tell her that much, that things were safer when the whole world didn't know about the strange things lurking just beneath the surface. And who was she to argue? "I promise."

—

Alex didn't need to be asked twice. She vaguely understood the binding thing, but even so, it didn't matter. Cass was asking her to make a promise and if Cass asked, then the answer was always yes. "I promise," she said without a shred of hesitation.

—

Milo narrowed his eyes, thinking back to the death pit. He didn't want to say anything, not that anyone would believe him if he told them that Mack Ross was a fucking zombie, but whatever magic Cass was using... Mack was clearly anxious and feeling miserable, though. He nodded. "Promise."

—

Winter was staring at Mack while she spoke. She wasn't planning on saying anything about this to anyone anyway but how could she when her friend was obviously very upset about all of this and needed some reassurance. She rolled her eyes at the other asking them to promise, still a little shaky about it all, but she nodded anyway. "Promise."

—

Tears barely came out of Mackenzie's pale eyes as she watched everyone around the room promise not to say anything, "I'm so sorry. I just...wanted this to be soft and fun, and I fucked it up." Stammering and looking down for a minute, she took a beat and made a decision, "You can all go. Just...yeah." Mackenzie was defeated. Looking back down, she left the room leaving everyone to decide if they wanted to leave or stay. She didn't care anymore.

—

"And I promise, too," Cass added, nodding to each of them in turn. She crafted the bind carefully, tying the metaphorical knot around each person who'd said the words. They'd be safe now, just like they had been when she'd used the same method to ensure no one would ever find out about Debbie. Mack would be safe. Turning back to her, Cass ached with the look on her face. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I'm really sorry." But Mack left the room, and everything felt a little emptier than it had been before. "I, um... I'll go get Aria and Wynne. Tell them the party's done. I think we should all go home."

#para: the allgoods #para: winter #para: spice up your life #unsanitary tw #mental health tw #alcohol abuse tw #doll tw #{closer to fine; plot}#wickedswriting

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ao3feed-pynch · 3 months

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#IFTTT #AO3 works tagged 'Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish'#pynch #TRC #spoilers

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ash-and-books · 6 months

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Rating: 1/5

Book Blurb: College exes break all the rules when they reunite years later in this enemies to lovers, second-chance romance, the highly anticipated companion novel to the TikTok sensation The Cheat Sheet—from the New York Times bestselling author of Practice Makes Perfect. “A really fun, chemistry-filled sports romance you don’t want to miss!”—Hannah Grace, author of Icebreaker

Nora Mackenzie’s entire career lies in the hands of famous NFL tight end Derek Pender, who also happens to be her extremely hot college ex-boyfriend. Nora didn’t end things as gracefully as she could have back then, and now it has come back to haunt her. Derek is her first client as an official full-time sports agent and he’s holding a grudge.

Derek has set his sights on a little friendly revenge. If Nora Mackenzie, the first girl to ever break his heart, wants to be his agent, oh, he’ll let her be his agent. The plan is simple: make Nora’s life absolutely miserable. But if Derek knows anything about the woman he once loved—she won’t quit easily.

Instead of giving in, Nora starts a scheme of her own. But then a wild night in Vegas leads to Nora and Derek in bed the next morning married. With their rule book out the window, could this new relationship save their careers or spark the romance of a lifetime?

Review:

When two college exes reunite later and enter into an arrangement of sports agent and player, old feelings will come up and things take a turn, especially since they accidentally both get drunk and get married in Vegas... and now have to fake a marriage to the public. Nora Mackenzie has always chased after her career. she so badly wants to make it as a sport's agent, the only time she strayed from her goal was in college when she was dating her athlete boyfriend... the very same boyfriend she dumped and now he's a famous NFL tight end and the very same star she is suppose to snag as a client as an official full-time sports agent... if only she can convince him to let her be his agent. Nora brutally dumped Derek out of nowhere in college and she knows he's going to hold a grudge. Derek is still reeling from letting the one woman he's ever loved get away, Nora, his girlfriend who dumped him out of the blue when he was ready to marry her. He never found out why she did and it still haunts him... yet to his great surprise she shows up asking to be his agent and he wants revenge. Derek agrees to let Nora be his agent and he pulls childish pranks on her and forces her to do petty chores for him, yet when they finally are forced to spend time together they finally face the big breakup from the past and realize that they might have both been wrong about each other. Things only take a turn when a wild night in Vega leads to Nora and Derek getting married and it being made public... and with her job on the line they both decide to pretend that the marriage was a deliberate choice. They agree to follow a rulebook... yet when old feelings arise they might just throw out the rules completely for a second chance at love. This one was unfortunately a big miss for me, for two adults who are suppose to b in their 30's they acted like teenagers and I found myself annoyed with both of them. Everything could have worked out if they just had one single conversation with each other rather than act like children and honestly I was so over their dynamic together. I didn't care about them getting back together and I did not feel the chemistry at all. This one really was a miss and i had loved some of the author's other previous books but this one just didn't work for me. I will definitely still be reading the author's upcoming books though because I have loved some of their previous books, however I just didn't have a fun time with this particular one. If you enjoy childish exes and second chance romances with huge lack of communication trope, this is for you.

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell for sending me an arc in exchange for na honest review*

#book review #bookish #book #the rule book

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made-by-marlow · 1 year

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feminine (& some nuetral) character names: big list one

Inspiration: pinterest, books i'm writing, people I know, words that are cool, names from media I like

Alex

Allyssa

Ana

Andy

Ari

Aria

Ash

Athena

Aubrey

Bailey

Bella

Brianna

Brie

Brielle

Clara

December

Eliza

Evelyn

Everly

Faith

Gwen

Hailey

Iris

Isbelle

Jasmine

Julia

Juliana

June

Junie

Kat

Kenzie

Kylie

Lauren

Mackenzie

Maddie

Madeline

Margo

Maria

Marie

Mav

Mavis

Maxwell

Mel

Melody

Naomi

Natalie

Nora

Nova

Peyton

Raelyn

Riley

Ruby

Rye

Serenity

Sophie

Syd / Sid

Willow

Ximena

#character name ideas #character names #aspiring writer #creative writing #my writing #writing #writeblr #writerscorner #tumblr writers #writing blog #writers on tumblr #writers and poets #writing inspo #character inspo

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ohwynne · 1 year

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TIMING: Somewhere between the two Allgood parties, like early July PARTIES: Mack & Wynne LOCATION: A Latte to Love SUMMARY: Mackenzie goes for a coffee run late at night, as Wynne is about to close the shop. A volmugger interrupts the actress' chance at a dose of caffeine. CONTENT WARNINGS: N/A

Mackenzie missed coffee. She missed the smell. She missed the taste. She missed the rush it gave her on late night shoots. Unfortunately, just like everything else in her life, it no longer tasted the same, smelled the same, or had the same effect. Just another punch to the gut as far she was concerned, but she needed some normalcy in her life. So a late night coffee run it was.

The bright sign on the front of the building advertised just what she needed. She had yet to really explore all of Wicked’s Rest, but this had been spotted on a passing glance. Pulling the door back to an almost empty shop, Mackenzie plastered on a fake smile, much like she used to do when paparazzi would hound her to death at the most random times, “Hey, I’m sorry for coming in so late, I just needed a caffeine boost. Are you guys still open?”

Wynne liked closing up. They liked the fact that they were trusted enough by their employer to do the closing up, as well as the rhythm that came with it. Making everything tidy. Cleaning everything. Checking off all the things on their mental checklist and feeling extremely satisfied when done. On top of it all, they often got to sneak some treats back home rather than throw them out.

But closing up, at this point, did mean that they were often mentally checked out to receive new customers. So when the little bell rung and another patron walked in, there was a little bit of mental shifting they had to do. Especially as they recognized the new patron as the girl who’d left early at Van’s party. “Hi! Yes, we’re still open. But only by a bit. What can I get you?” With those official things out of the way, they smiled. “I think we met at that party? I was sorry to see you leave. I’m Wynne, by the way.”

As soon as they spoke, Mackenzie seemed to recognize their voice along with them, “Wynne. Right. It’s nice to officially meet you. Sorry, for dipping out early. I realized at the last minute I had some stuff I needed to take care of, but it was a fun party.” The reality of the situation was that Nora had mentioned Hollywood and the possibility of why Mack had really left potentially coming out. It had been hard enough feeling like she could fit in here, and a great night had very quickly turned into a horrible one all thanks to a girl she thought she would never see again.

“How did the rest of the party go?” Mackenzie looked up at the menu on the wall while she listened. There had been a variety of options available, but coming in so late meant she would get what they had left, and with that realization, she let her eyes fall back on Wynne, “And, I’ll take whatever you have left, even if it’s cold. I really don’t care.” She was trying not to come off as defeated, but she was tired and the fake smile had already faltered after asking if they were still open.

They wondered if she spoke the truth, when saying that something had come up. Wynne could imagine wanting to just leave rather than stay, as the entire ordeal had been quite overwhelming, if not exciting. “No, it’s okay! Things come up, I get it.” They didn’t mention that it had been their first party like that, ever. That they had been surprised by the lack of seasonal celebration. “It was fun, yes. Maybe we can have another one sometime.”

She looked a little tired and Wynne wanted to ask what was wrong, but didn’t want to intrude. “It went very well, we ended up getting pizza so that was cool.” They did really love pizza. It was fastly becoming one of their favorite foods. “I can make you an iced latte? With maybe a syrup of your choice?” They looked over the other before ducking to get at least some ice, as that seemed crucial for whatever drink was going to be had by the other.

Mackenzie had longed to stay at the party, but after the words between her and Nora, it was a harsh reality of how easily her secret could have been exposed. Instead, she went home, curled up on the couch alone, and put on some shitty reality show on Netflix about food to try and distract herself, until night turned into day again. “I’m glad to hear everyone had fun. Pizza always makes the night so much better.” Her smile was genuine, but broken. “Yeah, that would be great.” She wasn’t sure if she’d be invited, but she’d cross that bridge when she got there.

“An iced latte would be perfect. What syrup do you recommend?” It’s not like she’d really be able to taste it very well, but it would still be refreshing and something pleasant. Plus, the caffeine seemed to give her a little buzz, but not like her normal choice of food did. “Hey, thanks again for making this for me. Sometimes you just need a late night coffee buzz, you know?” While Wynne went off to get ice, Mackenzie let her eyes wander around the small cafe, before they caught on something stumbling around outside. The glint from the street lights caused her eyes to narrow, until she caught a bit of purple and was drawn closer towards the window.

They nodded. “It does. I liked the game but I liked it more when we were just chatting.” There was something about that game that could turn somewhat mean, after all, and though it hadn’t quite happened in a disastrous way, Wynne was glad when it and its rules had fallen way. Maybe that was why the other had left. They tried to remember all the dares and questions that had been thrown around, but the beer had taken something of a toll on their mind that night. Ariadne had also been something of a distraction. “I haven’t been to a lot of parties, but I think it was pretty cool to go to one.”

They looked over all the bottles, “Maybe for this time of the day … butterscotch? Though elderflower is nice for the weather we’ve been having. I like most of them.” Wynne’s sweet tooth really did, and their favorite kept changing over time. “Oh, of course! I don’t mind doing it, and I get it.” They didn’t, as they just wanted to be tired when the day was over so they could sleep, but plenty of university students and professors shared the sentiment. They started preparing a shot of espresso, “What milk?” They bit their lip. “I’ll close up in about five, though. Just a heads up. I mean, if you want to sit here and drink for longer that’s fine, but you know.” They wanted to go home.

Everything Wynne was saying was falling away as Mackenzie seemed to find herself moving closer and closer to the window, “Hey…Wynne…what’s that?” Her eyes were wide, and she couldn’t seem to pull herself away as whatever it was started to move towards her. It was simultaneously the prettiest and the scariest thing she had ever seen. It easily reminded her of something out of Resident Evil, but not quite as ugly.

As it stumbled closer, Mackenzie raised her hand to the glass as if wanting to touch it, but once it was right in her face; the glass didn’t seem like the best place to be standing. If true diamonds could scratch glass, what the hell could this thing do? She instinctively started to breathe heavier despite not needing to breathe at all, but paused when she heard it say something, “Huh?” Leaning in closer, she heard what sounded like a random sentence strung together, “I can’t understand you?” When she glanced back up at it, she saw the hollow expression of someone she could have sworn she had seen around town only days before, but it was the sudden stream of liquid hitting the glass and burning through it that caused her to panic!

Backing away quickly and stumbling over a table and chairs, Mackenzie hit the floor with a hard thud and a grunt, before scrambling to her feet again and running back towards Wynne, “I don’t know what the fuck that thing is, but we’ve gotta go!”

The other became distracted by something outside and Wynne let their gaze drift to whatever was taking up Mack’s attention. Eyes widened, and they let go of the coffee machine, swallowing thickly as they tried to keep themself calm. “Come here,” they said to Mackenzie, who seemed entrenched by whatever was looking at her. “Get back.”

Because it was looking at her, wasn’t it? Despite the fact that there was no face. Wynne patted around them, trying to see if there was anything of use in this shop. But coffee didn’t have to be cut and all the sandwiches came in pre-sliced. They looked back up at the shop window and now the thing that had looked like a gemstone looked exactly like Jeffrey, a regular who always came in on Wednesdays and Fridays and talked loudly on his phone. This was wrong.

And then the glass broke, but not really. It disappeared, eaten away by some kind of liquid the thing had spat out. They let out a sound, thought vaguely of their manager and how pissed he’d be about Wynne being unable to close the shop without some kind of catastrophe. Mackenzie’s words brought them back and they nodded, diving underneath the divider that separated their place behind the bar from the rest of the shop. “Go! I’m right behind!” They sprinted, running once again, and tossing a look over their shoulder. As they caught up with Mackenzie, the pair burst through the door and hit the street, “What happened? Did you do something?”

Now that they were safe and outside, Mackenzie leaned over to find some kind of relief from how fast everything had just happened. Was that thing still after them? She wasn’t quite sure, but she was just grateful that her and Wynne had both made it out safely. Straightening up, she looked over at Wynne, “I didn’t do anything! That damn thing started talking to me and then shot its acid juice at me. What was that anyway?” She looked back towards the coffee shop.

Mackenzie didn’t know what to think. Was anything actually normal here? She had certainly come to the right place to fit in, but was it even safe. There had been a number of strange occurrences, but this one seemed to take the cake, “Why are there walking-talking rocks? What is this town, Wynne? Where did I move to?” She was clearly flustered and just wanted to go back to the safety of her own home, or better yet, California, but she knew what moving back across the country would mean, and quickly pushed that thought out of her head.

“Are you okay?” She looked back to Wynne hoping that thing didn’t somehow get them or shoot acid at them. “I mean, I can’t say much for the coffee shop, but as long as you’re okay…” Mackenzie let out a fast, hard sigh.

When Mackenzie slowed down, Wynne decided to as well, trying to calm down their breathing now that they were no longer pushing themself past their limits. They shook at her questions, “No clue, I have no clue what that was! But it looked like a regular, at some point, but he definitely never spat any acid! He likes sweet drinks.” Jeffrey had, in fact, liked pink drinks in carton cups so no one could see that he drank pink drinks. Wynne didn’t get it but didn’t want to argue with any customers.

As the other started wondering about the town they looked at her, not sure what to say. Wynne didn’t know a lot about the outside world, anyway, so perhaps every town was like this one. Or maybe Wicked’s Rest was special. It had felt more like home than any other of the other places they’d crashed in, if only because they were more accepting of those that diverged from the norm. “It’s weird, maybe? I don’t know! There’s a lot of things that don’t make sense. That seem to have a explanation beyond … like normal biology.” Not that they knew about that: Wynne’s education was quite limited when it came to any of that. “I’m okay. Yes, we’re okay, right? That could have been us, hit by that … and well, my boss will be mad, but I hope the cameras caught what happened? Are you okay?”

“Whatever that man’s been drinking was definitely not sweet.” Mackenzie had never heard of any kind of sugary drink melting glass. It did make her wonder if there was something in the water though. Had the mayor of Wicked’s Rest been feeding the town a special kind of Kool-Aid? She really didn’t want to know. She was dead anyways, so it wasn’t like it would affect her if he was though, right?

“Beyond normal biology…right.” Mackenzie walked back and forth nervously wondering what they should do next. Did they need to call someone? Could they just leave? Could they just go home and pretend like it never happened? As much as she wanted this to be the option, she also didn’t want to just leave Wynne to figure things out. This was their job, and she knew how important jobs could be, “Good. Good. I’m okay. You’re okay…And yes! Cameras.” There had to be cameras. “Do we need to stick around and call somebody or can we go?” She looked at Wynne desperately confused on what to do as she had never faced something like this before.

They almost laughed at that. Wynne looked at Mackenzie in disbelief. “No, definitely more acidic.” The fact that it hadn’t quite seemed to be a man was a fact they omitted. They didn’t seem like the right person to inform others that there was such a thing as supernatural creatures. They nodded as Mackenzie repeated their words. “Right. It’s a weird town. Or weird world, maybe!”

They wanted nothing more than to just go and leave, but that didn’t seem to be an option. The owner of the shop would be so disappointed, especially now that they trusted them to lock the store. “I need to, um, call my boss. And I left the door unlocked, but for obvious reasons I don’t really wanna go back right now.” Wynne inhaled sharply, wondering how they’d have to explain this. Would the cameras show what had happened? Or would this be like the time Nora had come and scared them into letting them steal a bunch of stuff. They felt like crying. They just wanted to do their stupid, simple job right. “Um, would you mind waiting with me until I’ve done that? After that, maybe we can go somewhere. Get a different drink. Or just go home, I don’t mind.” They offered a small smile. They thought of their bike, still at the shop. “What a day, huh?”

“Weird world…yeah.” She could definitely agree with the weird world statement. Mackenzie shut her eyes tightly. Why had she come out tonight? Staying in would have been the better option. The much better option. In fact, why did she leave her house anyways? After this maybe going back to her stupid television shows and unsavory food would be her safe, permanent thing. Forget trying to explore or make friends.

“Uh, yeah, we’re not going back there, Wynne. That’s a hard pass, but I will wait with you. Besides, what if that thing is still inside the store? I don’t want to be faceless.” Dead and faceless was not a good combination. “Surely your boss is more concerned with your health than the state of the store…” Though she almost wanted to snort at her own statement considering everything that happened at her job.

Mackenzie’s determined voice stating that they wouldn’t be going back to the store made Wynne feel a little more steady in their reluctancy to go back. “Alright, okay. We’re not going back.” They swallowed. “How did you get here? Walking or … car?” Maybe they could ask Arden to come pick them up, or maybe they’d ask Mack. “Okay, just hold on a second, okay?”

They moved a few feet away, tapping in the number of their boss and nibbling their finger nails as the tone rung. It was not easy to explain what had happened without sounding like someone who had lost their mind — especially considering the fact that Lauri seemed so oblivious about all that was going on. The conversation ended with Wynne settling on a different story, “No, you’re right, I must have seen something because it was dark and I was tired, it must have just been some random vandals.” Lauri confirmed that he was on his way and told Wynne to return home (probably on account of the fact that they’d started crying on the phone) and soon enough the conversation was over.

They blinked their eyes with frustration, wiping at them before turning back to Mack. They showed the other a thumbs up. “All good. He’s gonna check it out.” Wynne swallowed. “Thanks for waiting.”

Mackenzie wasn’t going to leave Wynne there alone, but it was like a weight had been lifted from the air when they said they weren’t going back. Good. They could leave soon. “I drove, so if you need a ride home, just let me know.” She was ready to go home, and she knew Wynne probably was too, especially considering it was closing time when she had arrived earlier. “Sure thing.”

While Mackenzie waited for Wynne to make their phone call, she had slowly approached the back of the coffee shop and could hear rustling going on along with silverware and dishes being shattered. Catching herself with a jolt of fear coursing through her dead body, she slowly backed up and went back over to Wynne, just in time as the phone call was wrapping up, “Yeah, no problem, but um we probably should go…” Her voice was more of a whisper at this point as she motioned with her head towards the shop.

She wasn’t sure if it was the same thing as earlier or something else, but she didn’t want to stick around to find out, “My car’s this way.” With one last look back, Mackenzie started to walk back around to the front, being sure to keep out of sight of the creature, if it was still inside. Her car was just a few stores down and then they would both be home free.

Frustration rippled through them for a moment, born from their lack of power in situations like these. Things kept happening to them and Wynne wasn’t sure how to get to a point where they could feel proactive. Not like a damned witness to all of it, blinking fearfully at all the danger and oddities this town had to offer. They shook their hands, as if the nerves would fall off their fingers like that.

There were more sounds coming from the shop and they wondered if they should head back anyway, to see what it was that was making all that noise. But Mackenzie was offering a ride. “Yeah, a ride, that’d be cool. I biked and …” They looked in the direction of the noise. “Well. I don’t know, a little risky.”

They followed Mack to her car, eyes flicking towards the shop. Wynne blinked once more, their tears now at least fully swallowed, and looked back at Mack. If anything, they were glad she was there. That this wasn’t a strange creature that they’d had to face alone. That she was kind enough to give a ride, too. As they got into the car, they offered a smile. “Thanks. I’ll um, get you a coffee sometime, okay? On me.” And that was not just out of gratitude but also because, maybe, they wanted Mack to be their friend.

#mack.#threads.#iced latte with crystals.

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lethargarian · 9 months

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2023 Books Wrapped

"'I want to, very much,' the little prince replied. 'But I have not much time. I have friends to discover, and a great many things to understand.'"

" 'And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.'" - Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince), Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

"'When I look at Kirin, I see only him, a bright light in the darkness. When he looks at me, he sees only the darkness.'" - The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea, Axie Oh

"'I didn't know the inner me was hungry,' I said to Art. That's because it already starved to death." - Pop Art from 20th Century Ghosts, Joe Hill

"She was saying something, Max often wondered what. He for some reason imagined himself to be standing just out of frame, a child of four, staring solemnly up at her. He felt that she was raising her hand to wave him back, keep him from wandering into the shot. If this was so, it was reasonable to believe she had been caught forever in the act of saying his name." - Abraham's Boys from 20th Century Ghosts, Joe Hill

"Whereas I had no clear picture of myself, and was always looking to others, watching them intently, both longing and fearing that I would catch some clear sign of who they saw when they looked at me." - Voluntary Committal from 20th Century Ghosts, Joe Hill

"It had felt like the first breath I'd ever taken, to tell him everything." - The Gentleman's Guide to Getting Lucky, Mackenzi Lee

"Where we start doesn't have to be where we end up." - The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, Mackenzi Lee

"It is not a failure to readjust my sails to fit the waters I find myself in. It's a new heading. A fresh start."

"Some fear the demons, and some learn to live with them."

"But I will do my best to keep walking out of the darkness." - The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks, Mackenzi Lee

"' To win back my youth there is nothing I wouldn't do -- except take exercise, get up early, or be a useful member of the community." - Oscar Wilde and the Vampire Murders, Gyles Brandreth

"Should I tell you that when we're apart, your body comes back to me in dreams? That when I sleep, I see you, the dip of your waist, the freckle above your hip, and when I wake up in the morning, it feels like I've just been with you, the phantom touch of your hand on the back of my neck fresh and not imagined? That I can feel your skin against mine, and it makes every bone in my body ache? That, for a few moments, I can hold my breath and be back there with you, in a dream, in a thousand rooms, nowhere at all?"

"You were talking with Nora and June, happy and animated and fully alive, a person living in dimensions I couldn't access...I thought, this is the most incredible thing I have ever seen, and I had better keep it a safe distance away from me. I thought, if someone like that ever loved me, it would set me on fire." - Red, White, and Royal Blue, Casey McQuiston

"'Real men wear floral when trespassing'" - a good girl's guide to murder, Holly Jackson

"'Fuck them all,' Gillian would say, her beautiful little nose in the air as the boys made spooky goblin noises when the sisters passed them in the hallways at school, on the way to music or art. 'Let them eat dirt.'"

"Sometimes it takes a good while before anyone in a house realizes what has happened. People want to ignore what they can't understand. They're looking for logic at any cost." - Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman

"Did you tell your best friend his crush was a cannibal?" - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Suzanne Collins

"The mix of awe and anger and the realization that the world was large, and beautiful, and sometimes so overwhelming in its wonder that is was impossible to drink it all down at once." - A Court of Wings and Ruin, Sarah J. Maas

"I'll bet you didn't know there were so many simple tools to help you poop better! All it takes is for you to start using them, little by little, until they become part of your everyday routine. Then, you won't know how you lived without them. Like I said before, knowledge is power, and in this case, knowledge is poop power in action!" - The Power of Pooping, Nurse Wong with John Rietcheck

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megatraven · 1 year

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If you could have a poly/ot3 route with any two LIs (so the MC dates both of them and they date each other) which ones would you pick? 😁

i think i'd have to go with Alex x MC x Medusa for my top OT3 that i'd want! i already think about it a lot, it would just be so fantastic <333

but i'd also really REALLY enjoy:

Abel x MMC x Lucas Lucien x MC x Roman Vivienne x MC x Zoe Andi x MC x Lorelei Andi x MC x Juliette Antonio x MC x Diego (it would be so fucking funny) Alain x MC x Helena (but i dont want helena and alain dating each other tho) Mackenzie x MC x Annabelle who i know technically isn't an LI but 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 Aurora x Astoria MC x Medusa (this is a guilty pleasure ship tbh) Arin x FMC x Nora Jessa x Alien MC x Nav (but again i dont want Jessa and Nav dating each other) JD x MC x Razi (again. hilarious potential.) Jett x MC x Remy Renzei x MC x Zeke Cal x MC x Darius (AGAIN. WOULD BE VERY FUNNY.) Alex x MC x Hydra Alex x MC x Astraeus

im gonna stop before i just list every possible ot3 combo one could imagine :^) thanks for asking though, i really like indulging in my ot3s :)

#lovestruck voltage #lovestruck

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wickedsrest-rp · 1 year

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Welcome to our weekly round-up! We do these every week to provide plot drops, highlight starters posted that week, and share other information about the setting. Anyone is welcome to use these bullet points in starters, plots, anons etc. Also let us know if you want us to include one of your setting-related plots in here for next week by sending us a bullet point!

What’s new in town?:

Further mining efforts by EER have left Wicked’s Rest in a state of disarray as the anomalous sludge has covered whole blocks of land. People and animals alike have become encased in it as well, unable to escape as it slowly hardens around them. Check out our final plot of the week of Season 1 for ways to interact!

The Peascake Factory is opening up a third location Downtown. They have a wide variety of peascakes for sale including the XL ones that you unroll, and some specialty flavors including catch of the day, fruit-by-the-feet, library book, gasoline, and beanstalk. Don't let the death of one of their new chefs concern you; it's extremely safe there.

Gnomes are thriving this time of year. They’ve made little circles in the town’s green spaces, and are putting on cute little dances for anyone who wants to watch. Nothing wrong with that, except it’s drawing in the stymphalian birds who want to eat them. Watch out for that guano.

In preparation for an upcoming film festival, local filmmaker Marigoold Quinn is holding auditions for her latest project. This cinematic adaptation of Goo Girl by Goolian Flynn is already the talk of the town and it's rumored one Mackenzie Ross will be its star. Anyone interested in working on this surely Oscar worthy movie should head over to art studio next door to Another Castle to audition for their part.

Starters:

Given her past record with falls, Mack wants to know where the hell this creepy well all the kids are talking about is so she can stay the heck away

Just because there's a state of emergency doesn't mean you can abuse the staff at Duarte Realty-- Alan and his team have been working nonstop and will get back to you soon

While Thea can't resist a good read, she doesn't think it's the nicest that this Goolian Flynn is profiting off the gooey mess in Wicked's Rest

During this Fat Bear Week, Nora is reminding you to feed your local bugbear today. Feed her, Nora wants you to feed her

There's a strange wild animal in the woods that Regan is trying to locate and she's offering the very generous reward of one dead chipmunk to whoever provides details of its whereabouts

Felix really can't miss their shift in Worm Row tonight and is looking for tips to navigating around the goo

Guess who's alive and rocking blonde locks? It's Teddy (they're only a little tired?)

Where is a girl supposed to get her cup of coffee without getting kicked out for carrying a sword? Miyeon needs her coffee and her sword

Mona is advertising the fall specials at Amity Road Photo and is reminding patrons it is not the photographers fault if they look bad in photos... they should probably just love themselves more

Prosthetics are meant to be tested before use and Elias is slashing the tires of whoever parked in his assigned parking spot like you do

The cat got ahold of Teagan's phone... she is probably still under goo and not answering though

Something outside the library is stinky and Zoey has questions, but also does not like it

Send Cass $500 and she'll get rid of the goo for you... or at least gaslight you into thinking she did.

#wrw #wicked's rest weekly

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renee-writer · 1 year

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Out of Time Chapter One Hundred and Sixty

AO3

He is with his wife, Claire. That is someone that he doesn’t wish to mess with. Even as she plays with her children, their children, that is a type of awareness about her. She seems to scent the air, her eyes scanning like a mother lion with her cubs.

One, the little boy, Mackenzie, is by her side his sweet lifting voice reaches the waiting John.

“Faith was mean to Juliaellen.”

Jamie’s eyes turn to his daughter. The watching man sees a hint of fire in them. “What is this then?”

“He exaggerates. She just said that she is better at me in maths.” A shrug follows, “Daddy, she is.”

“No one better then my sister!” The little lad looks so much like his daddy when he is angry!

His mama laughs. “It is okay love. Everyone has their strengths. Juliaellen is an artist.”

“Aye, like her late granny . Dinna fash about it son. Let me go see what John needs, eh?”

Claire nods at him. He steps out with a flush. “I didn’t want to intrude.”

“So, you just spied?” Her eyes are stern as she draws her son closer. A mother lion, indeed. He is an unknown threat. He doesn’t blame her.

“I prefer to think of it as observing. But, either way, I am sorry. I should have made my presence known.”

“Is something wrong with Katherine or Kathleen?” Jamie asks, stepping up between them.

Claire relaxes minutely, John is happy to see.

“No, they are wonderful. Both sleeping well. It is about Kitty.”

“Come and tell me.” If it is bad news, he doesn’t wish his children to hear. Claire understands, ushering them away.

“I believe she can be reached. It will take some time but I think she isn’t to far in herself yet.”

Jamie grins in relief and pats the other man’s shoulder. “Man, that is awesome news.”

John is frozen until Jamie removes his hand. Then he is able to breath. “Yes, she responded nonverbally to me, nodding her head at one of my questions. Whether she will ever be verbal is unknown but, she may be able to communicate.”

“Wow! I am very glad to hear it. Why though, didn’t you go to Zach, Nora, or Tara? They are serving as her parents.”

“I shall, it is just, you are the doctor here I just thought…”

“What is it John?”

He needs told. If he isn’t excepted, he needs to know now.

“I am gay. Kathleen was my first lady lover. The loneliness and need drove us together “

He frowns. “Does she know?” He shakes his head, to his shame, “She needs to. Your homosexuality isn’t an issue. Tara is a lesbian. No one has a problem with it. You not telling the mother of your child, that isn’t acceptable. You are a family because of Katherine. She needs to know.”

“You’re right. When it was just us, I feared telling her. Her reaction could have been dangerous had she left because of it.”

“Got that. But now…”

“Yes, she needs told.” Might as well say it all. “Jamie, I am very attracted to you.”

The other man takes a giant step back. It is instinctual though he immediately feels bad.

“John, I am flattered but I am very happily married and very straight.”

“I know. I just wanted to have everything out. This is a small community. Secrets can’t really be kept here. You needn’t worry about me acting on anything.”

“You need to go talk to Kathleen.”

He nods and goes to do it. Had he just killed a friendship before it had a chance to start?

#my writing #outlander fanfic #out of time #chapter one Hundred and sixty #jamie and claire #cannon divergence #outlander fandom #modern au

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letsbenditlikebennett · 1 year

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TIMING: Current PARTIES: @honeysmokedham & @letsbenditlikebennett SUMMARY: When Alex receives a message from Nora to go to the mines, she worries her new potential friend is in trouble and goes down to the mines to make sure Nora's okay. CONTENT: Gun use & eye trauma.

This was a bad idea. Alex knew this was a bad idea and yet she found herself stowing away a firearm and bullets from Kaden’s supply into the inside pocket of her leather jacket with shaking hands. Neither Andy nor Kaden was home and she’d hear them well before they walked in the door, but the whole borrowing without permission thing still left her with a certain sense of unease. Or maybe that was the catastrophically stupid idea of going to the mines to make sure Nora was ok.

Sure, she didn’t actually know Nora all that well. One party hardly created an undying friendship. But she had said ‘cool’ when Alex had drunkenly outed herself as a ‘wolf girl’ and something about the seeming acceptance felt warm in a way that was unfamiliar. Plus, she was Cass’s friend and the mines weren’t exactly the safest place to be. If she could help, she had to, right? Alex couldn’t in good conscience leave her alone down there, not with the increasingly strange things seeming to emerge from them. Even if her heart felt more and more like it was about to leap right out of her chest as she got closer to the network of caves that made up the mines, she had to try and help Nora. She was supposed to be a protector, not a monster, and this felt like a chance to prove it to herself even if it was the last thing she did. A low, almost guttural rumbling sound came from the caves and it dawned on her that this very well could be the last thing she did. God, she really hoped this wasn’t the last thing she ever did.

Despite that nagging sense of dread, Alex ventured into the dark mines with a flashlight and headlight as her only guide. She supposed she did have her senses, but she hadn’t exactly been sniffing people at that party, definitely not enough to know what Nora smelled like and the constant low hum made it hard to discern what direction any sound came from. It was almost comical, the gems that shimmered through different cave walls made it particularly stunning and yet she knew danger lurked, probably closer than she even knew. She heard something that sounded like movement and stopped in her tracks, almost afraid to breathe. Another shuffle. “Nora,” she called out in a hushed tone, “Are you in here?”

The transfer from crypt dweller to mine dweller had been easy. Each offered a large variety of hard surfaces to make home. Each came with darkness. And each came with people telling her it wasn’t safe to be there. The only difference was both Munch and Babadook had refused to accompany her in this move. Well. That sucked for them. Nora would just continue having the time of her life down here. Cass often came down to join her in the depths, and now, after a cryptic online conversation with Cass’s friend Alex, the redhead was coming down here too. Nora was hopeful that she could convert her into a member of mines.

The scent came first, wafting in from the mine’s entrance. Nora knew it was Alex, not because of the memory of the party, but because who else would be here now? Nora shuffled closer in the darkness, it was hard to stay in the shadow since her crystalline body parts let out a soft glow, but Nora knew this mine intimately now. Every crack and cranny to hide in, every protrusion to stand behind, ever winding path step. The redhead called out her name, confirming that it was her. That was another thing Nora could never forgive Mackenzie for. Dropping her full name in a room of people who didn’t need to know it. Nora knew it was bitter to hold that against her, but Nora held a lot of bitter feelings towards Mackenzie. Old habits die hard.

“Alex, are you here?” Nora’s tone was its flat monotone as it echoed back the question Alex had asked. As the last word echoed off the mine wall, Nora stepped into full view of the other. It was a sign of pride, to Nora, to be able to present her truth now. This visage that felt more like her than her regular human and bear ever could. “Glad you made it. Welcome to the mines.” Nora threw a lazy hand out from her side, making a sweeping welcoming motion. “Let me give you a tour.” Nora turned her back and slipped back into the dark depths.

The way her name quietly echoed off the dark walls of the cave was far from comforting. Even if Nora sounded alright and there was no hint of distress in her voice, Alex still felt unmoored. She could smooth the hunch from her shoulders and equip herself with all the weapons in the world, but it’d never make her brave. The way every breath she took in only shallowly waded in her lungs before rushing right back out was proof of that. Nora was calm. That meant everything was fine. She told herself as much silently until she could see Nora step into view.

“I’m here,” Alex answered as she kept her mouth trained in a thin line to hide the fact she was a bit taken aback by the rocky form in front of her. She was a werewolf… Nora was a rock-person. It was cool. She held onto the word like a crutch and let it guide her forward. “Yeah, I was worried you might have gotten stuck down here or something with the accidents and stuff,” she said coolly.

She listened around them. Outside of the trickle of water and the occasional echo of something small scurrying, there was nothing of alarm as far as Alex could hear. It made her relax a little, made the weight of the gun in her jacket feel less like an anchor. Now that her eyes had adjusted, she found them drawn to the sparkling crystals along the rocky walls of the cave. They looked like the ones in the fissures— the ones on Nora. And that brought a certain amount of dread because that couldn’t be good. “A tour,” she asked, “You know your way around down here well then?”

The people of this town didn't understand. So many of them filled her phone with words about how dangerous the mines were. How she needed to get out of there. They asked questions like why didn't anyone care that she was down there? How could she just fuck off to the mines and no one worry about her? Didn't they understand that the mines were worried about her? Didn't they understand that the mines had saved her life, had welcomed her into them, and turned her into what she was always meant to be? A serene sense of peace had washed over Nora since turning into the crystalline creature before Alex. "I could never get stuck down here," Nora answered, her monotone voice revealing nothing. "The mines are my home. They saved my life. They welcome me here and they want me here. They want you here too, you know? They want to help everyone." Nora wasn't sure how she knew this, it wasn't like the mines could physically talk to her. The stones didn't whisper in her ears as she walked by them. It was just something she knew in her heart. An undeniable truth.

"I've been down here for a bit," Nora answered. Cass had helped her map out the tunnels they were near. Cass was talented like that, understanding the rocks around her and helping Nora understand her new home. "Haven't felt the need to leave." The people in her life had been kind to her, they'd delivered food and goods. Nora wished they would stay with her in the mines forever. She wished she could make them understand that they could all live down here, together forever. Wouldn't that be nice? The family they all deserved to have. A family that understood each other and thrived in the safety of a mine matriarch. "They are better the deeper you go. There are some rooms that have so many crystals that it lights up the place. You'll like it."

The idea of being wanted somewhere had its appeal. To be fully embraced by a whole place, to feel a sense of belonging— Alex would be lying if she said she didn’t crave those things. The sparkling gems that covered Nora were beautiful, there was no denying that. Would she become covered in the same gems or would she be something more akin to a rock wolf? The thought was enough for her to shake the idea of being embraced by the network of caves that made up the mines. That didn’t mean she couldn’t embrace Nora though. That idea held a lot more appeal. She was Cass’s friend which somehow by proxy made her Alex’s friend, even if outside attendance at a party, she and Nora hadn’t shared much together. Cool. Still, the same single word echoed in her mind. “Well, thanks for welcoming me to your home then,” she said, looking around and letting the setting sink in. It wasn’t so bad now that her eyes had adjusted and she could see the visible signs Nora was connected to the cave. “Not sure I get the how the mines saved you, but glad they did,” she offered honestly, “Don’t think there’s any helping me though.”

Not unless mines could magically cure lycanthropy and make her… Alex wasn’t even sure she wanted to be a ranger, she just knew she didn’t want to be this. “Maybe you could show me those parts,” she suggested. She stepped deeper into the cave and ignored the chill that seemed to wash over her. This was Nora’s home. She wanted to understand it and potentially allow herself a chance to be understood, but did she even understand herself? As much didn’t matter, she pushed forward and looked at Nora. “How did they save you,” she asked, “Is it part of how—” She gestured to the crystals that covered Nora. “Do they hurt or were they always a part of you?”

The number of times Nora had explained that she had died in the mines, but the mines had revived her was staggering. How often would she have to go through the story? Each time she is met with a new stare of disbelief. All she wanted was for people to believe that the mines were their friends. Their safety. A place to have and hold them forever, in sickness and health. A place where they could all exist. Nora let the disbelief of Alex's comment slip away into the darkness of the mines. The mines would answer Alex when the time was right. For now, all she could do was show Alex the beauty of the mines. "What do you need help with?" Nora asked, prodding for answers. "Speak it out loud, let the mines know your will. They will help you if they can. I promise." Nora was aware of the dangers of making promises to strangers. You never knew who was a fae, waiting to twist your words together and keep you to a promise. Nora didn't care if Alex was a fae. Nora knew, without a question of doubt, that the mines were the answer. The mines would never lie to her.

Deeper and deeper they wound into the darkness, then Alex was asking a question. Nora paused, considering her answer. She had been content to let them walk in silence, to let the mines speak for them. But this was about the mines. About what the mines had given her. "I died." Nora shrugged. "I died somewhere in here, but the mines didn't want me to die. They grabbed me, they transformed me. They made me into this." Nora motioned down at her body. "They made me perfect. Into someone I've always wanted to be." She knew people didn't understand that either. That Nora thought she looked beautiful now. She looked like how she felt on the outside. It was just another thing the mines gave to her. "I never used to care, you know? About what I looked like? It just was. But this, this is everything to me."

Then Nora was leading them deeper into the abyss. In Nora's mind, the further down you went, the better it was. The more welcoming it was. The more embraced you felt by the mines. It was also creepier down there. Probably why Nora liked it so much. Shadows flickered anonymously along the walls. Sometimes the sound of creatures scurrying out of sight was apparent. "Don't worry too much about that," Nora told Alex after some particularly large footsteps ran away. "The mine welcomes all. We're never alone."

Despite the fact Alex had asked several questions, she didn’t feel great about them being turned around on her. What she needed help with, no one could provide. The mines weren’t going to magically spit out a cure for lycanthropy and make her no longer a monster, but something in Nora’s promise felt genuine. This was Cass’s best friend, someone Cass loved and trusted, so didn’t that mean she could trust her too? The mines had always been something of a sore point for her, an environmental hazard she wished the town would shut down, but there was something more to them, too. She knew as much though she didn’t know the scope of what that something more was. “Ask them,” she repeated quietly, not sure where to begin. Did she go with asking them what she honestly needed help with? This was all way outside the scope of her understanding and it was going to have to be curiosity that led the way, and she doubted this qualified as the scientific variety. “I want to be better,” she whispered after a long pause, “I don’t want to be…” She trailed off, nervous to finish the thought.

“It doesn’t matter, I can’t change what I am,” she finally decided. She still wasn’t sure about these mines and if her request would make her more like Nora… but wouldn’t she be more like Cass then too? More like stone and less a beast. It was tempting and something about the energy surrounding them made it tempting. The more Nora answered her, the more so it became. They had quite literally save Nora and the thought that this tentative friend had died made her sad, but Nora felt perfect now… When had Alex felt even close to that word? Even when she was just a run of the mill human, she hadn’t been good enough. “You died,” she repeated, somewhat in disbelief, “And they saved you. And you feel perfect.” She wanted to say that Nora could have been perfect before, too, but she didn’t know them well enough. Anyone could be their best themselves though, she was starting to believe that. “Why didn’t you before,” she questioned, “Not that– I’m sorry, I know that’s probably personal.”

The movement in the shadows made her heart leap in her chest, but Nora assured her it was okay. Alex wanted to believe her, let herself enjoy the mines with Nora like she had enjoyed the caves with Cass. Well, maybe not exactly like that. She simply nodded, hand smoothing over her jacket— over the firearm in it. “I don’t think we’re really alone anywhere in this town,” she joked, trying to ease her own tension, but she swore she saw a glimmer of something in the shadow, too. She’d have to keep a close ear out. She was pretty sure Nora couldn’t survive death twice and she wasn’t about to let them die on her watch.

Alex started to say what it was her heart desired from the mines. The words, I want to be better, drifted from her, with another sentence that was abruptly dropped and forgotten. "You know, I don't care." In the way of positivity. "You could say you want forgiveness for murder from the mines, and I wouldn't care. Who am I to judge someone for what they've had to do in their life." It was supposed to be a message of positivity, but in Nora's monotone, echoed by the crystal of her jaw, she figured she probably sounded blank and bored if anything. But Nora wasn't. Nora wanted to share her love for the mines. She wanted everyone to enjoy everything here just the way that she did.

"You can change what you are. Look at me." Nora motioned to herself. The self that was the best thing she'd ever become. "You saw me before. The mines changed me. They saw that I wanted to be more." Nora really did sound like she was preaching. A church official singing the gospel of everything that had changed her life. Probably. She'd never actually gone to church before. How would she know? "Yes." Nora agreed. "I died, it saved me. I..." Nora chewed on the words, they tasted vile, but Nora wanted Alex to understand just how powerful the mines were. "I didn't feel right in my body. It was a body. It was a tool. It was everything others wanted it to be. But it wasn't who I wanted to be." The words felt different as they were said. They weren't ones she'd ever expressed before. Normally it was a thought that circled in her mind while she looked in a mirror, and now she was stating it out loud. "But it doesn't matter anymore. I am perfect now."

"Monsters are always where you least expect them." Those were the words Nora said as a monster was where she least expected it. See, Nora had expected the monster hiding in the shadows to leave. She'd seen plenty of others in the mines before. Often other crystalline people. They would nod as they passed each other and never talk. But now there was a creature jumping straight at Nora. It knocked her across the tunnel and into the wall. Nora felt her body crash into the rock, head spinning, completely confused about what just happened. This was not according to plan. "What?" Nora asked the world around her. She had been so confident in her safety in the mines, that this attack caught her completely by surprise.

The only change in Nora’s voice came from the echoes of the walls of the mine, parroting her words back in waves. Otherwise they were as cool as a cucumber. There was no waver in their words and part of Alex wanted to believe her words, believe there was any fixing her, but she knew well enough that if something seemed too good to be true, it probably was. Maybe Nora wouldn’t judge her, but she knew decidedly she wanted nothing from the mines. Whatever pull they had on Nora seemed worlds different than Cass’s connection with her cave or Teagan’s with her lake. The fact Nora had died still made her head spin. Instead of offering anything to the mines, she settled. “I’m not even sure where to begin with what needs fixing,” she joked, though it was half-hearted at best, “But I’m glad they saved you. I know we don’t really know each other well… I’m just happy there’s still a chance for that to change.”

The last part was a little more heartfelt. Maybe it was all the time spent in one town now, but Alex was finding it harder to exist solely as the fortress that had always been her and Andy. It was hard to pretend she didn’t want friendships when she saw the same faces and places, day after day, year after year. And something in the way Nora spoke hit so close to home that she couldn’t ignore it, couldn’t pretend like it was a connection that didn’t matter. Because hadn’t her own body always been a tool? First an ill-suited weapon to fight monsters and now just stuck as one. “I get that,” she said softly, hand still ghosting over the firearm as she heard scurrying, “I’m sorry you didn’t get to be what you wanted before. It… just really sucks not having a say. You des–”

No longer was the movement quiet and distant, it was right there and Alex jumped as the creature had attacked Nora. She could practically hear her father chiding her for not being alert, for losing herself to something so illogical. But she couldn’t be that kid who missed all her targets and got her ass handed to her by all the other kids at hunter camp— not when there was someone else’s life on the line. Even Nora, who had seemed so confident the mines were safe, was taken aback by the attack.

“Stay low,” she called to Nora as she backed away from the crystallized monster with no face. The grip on the gun was no longer of the phantom variety and her shaking hand lifted the firearm. Steady. She practically screamed the word at herself and grasped the gun as if it was the only thing holding her up before pulling the trigger. The bullet flew through the air and into the intended target, the strange faceless creature. That seemed to disorient it enough, but also made the ground below them shake and before she knew it, she was falling forward as another one of the creatures, this one wearing an old woman’s face, barrelled into her from behind.

The force of the push into the wall had caused the crystals cascading down Nora's arm to push into the wall. It took a moment of struggle for her to push herself free from the wall's embrace. It appeared the crystals wanted to return home to the ground. Not yet. One day, when she allowed death to meet her and for them to walk the final mine shaft together, her crystals would return to the ground. Alex was screaming, something about staying low. Nora was surprised, fear was there in Alex's scent, but it wasn't overwhelming like Nora would have guessed. Instead, she saw that Alex had a gun. The gun was loud, echoing in the confined space. The sound seemed to vibrate in her crystals, shuddering her body.

Nora, as she was watching Alex, saw another one of those creatures throwing itself at the redhead. The face of an old lady was livid in its expression, mouth open wide. Nora sprang to action, what was the point of having crystalline talons if she wasn't going to use them? Nora dove across the shaft towards Alex, throwing herself on the creature. Head first, she rammed her horns into the creature to push it out of Alex's way. Keeping up the momentum, she slashed. Her talons met the creature, as she slashed and slashed. Full intent to reach into the creature's chest and rip out whatever organ held the heart. This was a breach of everything the mines stood for. This was taking away the sacred right to exist safely in these mines, and endangering someone who could join them. Nora was livid. Nora saw red as her arms worked.

“You hurt no one in the mines.” Nora hissed. The old lady’s face was a twisted mask of anger, but the eyes were empty. Her blue eyes, aged with cataracts, stared blankly back at Nora. It was unsettling, Nora dug her talons into them. The eyes popped as the pressure was applied and the sharp crystals punctured them. The old lady’s mouth opened, a purple substance spewing from her. It burned as it made contact with Nora, she could feel it eating away at her hair, clothes and skin. The crystals took the brunt of the projection, thank whatever trickster ran her life that they didn’t have nerve endings.

The collision sent Alex stumbling forward and the gun flying out of her hands, not that it had been a smart idea to begin with in the enclosed space. Somewhere in the shadows, she could see flecks of light hitting the metal and she desperately wanted that safety net back within her reach. Before the creature could make its full attack on her, Nora was diving in her direction, ripping the creature away from her. Covered in crystals, the other girl could do a lot more damage than Alex could with her bare hands.

Shock still sank in as she watched Nora with a somewhat horrified fascination. She moved swiftly and seemed protective of keeping the mines a safe space. It all confused Alex and her heart was still racing in her chest as if it was trying to reach a finish line. Talons dug into the old woman’s face and dark liquid spilled from the cloudy eyes. It immediately made her feel lightheaded and she found herself stumbling back into one of the stony walls of the mines. Except of course it wasn’t a wall, it was another creature.

Something burned her hand and before Alex could fully register what was happening, the panic had taken reign. Her bones creaked and shifted under her skin and she groaned in pain. It was happening too fast to try and stop it and the brief effort she made only made the pain worse. Claws protruded from her hands and bones broke as they tried to move into place. This creature lacked a face and was stumbling around her, occasionally spitting acid haphazardly. Her own claws dug into the walls of the mines as she clung onto them, trying to recenter herself. Another splash of acid hit her and she lost the hold she had on her transformation.

The crunch of bones echoed within the mines and a howl escaped from the jowls of the werewolf as her body grew into its lupine shape. Where Alex was all fear and hesitation, the wolf had no such inhibitions. It clambered the short distance to the creature and tore through its tough skin. An array of faces appeared before the wolf as it sunk its teeth further and further into grainy flesh, but instinct drove it until the creature was lifeless and dark blood was dripping from the werewolf’s jowls. And just as fast as the shift had taken over, Alex felt her own thoughts rushing in as she looked at Nora.

The creature shifted into the afterlife at the tips of Nora’s claws. Fist full of talon shoved deep into its chest cavity. She felt the muscles move from tense to relaxed, and just like that knew life was fleeting. A part of her, the part that was slowly awakening, the part that was Nora without crystals, recognized that this was a big moment for her. Another kill to her name. Another life struck at her hand, but it was okay because this was the girls died or the monsters. Her or them. Nora trained to kill monsters. She - Who was she? Crystals began to slip off her body, clicking to the ground around her. Pain. Pain again. Pain as intense as the day she’d died. It was more than just the acid. Something was seriously wrong.

Nora looked at Alex. “H-h-help.” The word was a whisper, a breath. There was no way its sound could reach Alex, but with what Nora saw, well, she didn't think anything would reach Alex. A humanoid wolf, a furry if anything the internet had taught her was real. Then a full wolf, four paws on the ground, no longer anthropomorphized. It - she sprang forward at a third and unexpected guest. Claws worked as well as talons as they dug into the beast. Acid was going everywhere in the fight, another sprout slamming into Nora from where she was crouched. All focus Nora had for the fight was fleeting, as her crystal jaw slipped off her face hitting the ground in front of her. Nora screamed. And screamed. And screamed at the pain of loss as she realized what was happening. Her voice cracked, rough and raw in her throat. She couldn't let this happen.

The bear ripped out of her, taking over Nora's screams with a yodel of rage. As her bones broke, as her skin grew, as her muscles rearranged the crystals fell from her. The burns of the acid remained, but the crystals scattered the ground around her. The shift had made it worse, had made the ripping of the crystals out of her body go faster and faster until there were none. No. No. No! Nora shifted back to human, ignoring the momentary pain of breaking her body and remaking it in a different form. Standing there, naked, she had a clear view of her body. A tear was quick to follow because the crystals were gone. All that was left was the smooth flesh of her human, a few acid burns scattered. "No..." Nora looked for her phone in the pile of her torn clothes, opening it to the camera and staring at her face. Nora stared back. Just Nora. Nora without the crystals. "No." Her monotone was broken, and all that remained was a plea. Please don't let this be her. Please don't let this be real.

The crystals didn't come back. No more monsters slipped from the darkness of the mines to put Nora out of her misery. There were just two girls and three dead bodies. The mines no longer felt safe. They no longer felt like someplace she wanted to be, but she knew she'd have to stay. Teddy and Cass were still down there, and she wouldn't leave them. But it hurt. There were so many thoughts rushing through her head, so many ideas. Had the mines been controlling her? Or did she feel this repulsion for them because they had rejected her? Nora's breath was shallow as she tried to parse through the last minute. How could so much happen in the span of a breath? If none of this had been real, then why was her heart breaking for the crystal version of her?

Get it together. This wasn't cool girl of her. This wasn't the girl who always kept her chill and remained emotionless. Her carefully constructed mask. "That hurt," Nora mumbled, wiping the tear away. It left a blotchy red streak, grime sticking to the wet areas. "Your wolf is cool," Nora commented, right before tossing her phone at Alex. Carefully, Nora picked up her jacket and used it to cover herself up. Be cool. Be collected. Be calm. Nora stood in front of her kill, crouching in front of it, making sure the jacket covered all the socially unacceptable bits. "Take a photo of me." Her voice was still raw. She didn't want to speak. She wanted to shut down and close in around herself. She wanted to sob, cry and scream. She didn't want to exist. "I need it for my collection." But she had worked for her image. She wouldn't break now. Not while Alex was here. Peace sign, kneeling, her usual blank expression. She posed for a photo instead of letting herself shatter.

The pleas for help as acid melted the crystals from Nora’s form. Somewhere in the midst of the panic, the monster within her lost the ability to remain dormant. If Alex had been fully in her own mind, she might have noted something about fight or flight, but the acidic blood on her lips had the wolf’s full attention before it slipped into flashes of faces she didn’t recognize. The werewolf let out a grumble that was choked by a cry. Blood dripped from her jowls and onto the cold ground of the mines as the wolf watched Nora. There was something desperate in her mannerisms that helped bring more of her rational thoughts to the forefront. The wolf watched tentatively as Alex gathered her own thoughts, which were admittedly terrified that she had someone made whatever was going on with Nora worse.

As the crystals slipped away, a bear tore loose from Nora and the confusion the werewolf faced in trying to put her own thoughts together had her limbs shifting back into their own human form. Alex watched, cold and trembling, as a loud roar echoed through the mines. The bear didn’t scare her, but there was something pained in the outcry from the bear that stung. She was supposed to be here to help Nora and this didn’t feel like helping, even if she had been fairly certain the crystals that covered her hadn’t been a good thing. And the bear in front of her meant Nora was a bugbear, which from what she studied as a kid, weren’t supposed to be encrusted in crystals. So this was better, right?

It didn’t feel better as the bear shifted back into her human-like form and a pained ‘no’ escaped from Nora’s lips. It certainly didn’t feel better as she looked at the creatures on the ground and felt their blood still sticky on her own face. It felt a hell of a lot worse if she thought about the flash of faces or the way Nora had said her body had been a tool before. By the way Nora seemed to move past the whole ordeal, Alex almost thought she imagined it. If it weren’t for the acknowledgement, she would have thought herself crazy.

“I’m sorry,” Alex mumbled. She wasn’t sure what for– that it hurt? That she had taken something Nora wanted from her? Because didn’t Alex understand better than anyone hating what she was and wishing she could be something better. Who was she to say if a crystal-mine creature was better than a bugbear or not? But Nora was breezing right past all of it and acknowledging her wolf— the very wolf Alex had felt ashamed of, especially in that moment. So all she could do was nod, before she finally said, “Cool bear.”

Because maybe there were layers here they weren’t going to dive into, but the statement had been a show of acceptance, one Alex had desperately wanted, so even shaken up and shivering, she had to make sure it was reciprocated. Because something in the way Nora had talked before made her believe that maybe they could understand each other, that maybe they could figure out the whole shifter life thing together. It was something she hadn’t allowed herself to want and maybe she especially didn’t deserve it from Nora, but hell, Alex would try.

So when the phone was tossed to her and Nora was eager to get a photo for her collection, Alex was confused, but she grabbed a jacket from her own discarded bag and prepared herself for their impromptu photoshoot. She took a second to steady her hands, before offering the bugbear a smile, “Okay, grotte du fromage?”

She snapped a few shots of Nora in her pose at different angles so that the bugbear she hoped was a new friend would have a variety of shots to choose from. Alex wasn’t sure she was ready to process everything that just happened either, so if Nora wanted to turn this into a mines photoshoot and gloss over the heaviness that still lingered in the air, she would happily jump at that chance. Maybe one day they could talk through their experiences as shifters and how they both seemed to hate the bodies they were stuck in, but with the taste of acid still on her lips, she decided this was better. They could turn the whole experience into a meme until they were ready to unpack another day.

#wr nora #wickedswriting #wr writing #gun use tw #eye trauma tw #threads; with nora #threads; with nora; alexs got a gun #(never been a natural all i do is try try try) ;; writing #(the moonlight's blinding) ;; season 1 writing

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realmackross · 1 year

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PARTIES: @fox--tales, @realmackross TIMING: Morning of July 13th SUMMARY: Llama goes for a cup of coffee, but runs into Miyeon in the process. The last thing she wanted. WARNINGS: None!

It was early. Way too early. The wait for her usual morning iced latte was taking forever. Miyeon was pretty sure she was going to get her second tail by the time it came out. If they didn’t hurry up, she was going to get a caffeine headache. Or maybe she just had a headache anyway, whatever. She just wanted her coffee and she was so close to whining about it.

She sighed and resigned herself to her tragic fate when she caught sight of someone from the corner of her eye. Hot damn, it was Mackenzie Ross herself. Miyeon had seen her at that party the other day but she kinda thought she was just passing through town or something. There was no way she was living here. Like sure she went off the grid or whatever but here, in Wicked’s Rest? In the middle of nowhere? No way. Maybe she had family here. Or maybe there was something else. Something more scandalous. It didn’t matter what it was, Miyeon was itching to find out the deets.

Suddenly she wasn’t pressed about how long it was going to take her to get her coffee. “Hey,” she said with a little wave to the girl as she walked over to wait for her order, too. “It’s good to see you again.” She offered a small smile. “You look like you’re doing better than at the party. I don’t know what happened but you’re okay, right?” There was genuine sympathy there, it wasn’t all bullshit. Miyeon didn’t want anyone to be upset, not at something that’s supposed to be a good time. “I mean you did get to miss seeing me embarrass myself with my dare. Fingers crossed there’s no video.”

—

Llama had been covered in a hoodie and sunglasses. Her goto for going out in public these days. Why she had chosen to come this early for something she couldn’t taste almost didn’t make sense. But the last time she went for a late night coffee run, things hadn’t gone so well. And there was a teeny-tiny part of her deep down that had wanted some normalcy in her life. In fact, the more it crossed her mind, the more she had started to long for it. And right now being out in public didn’t seem too bad. People had been minding their own business. She hadn’t been noticed…

Shit. She had been noticed, but it was by a familiar face and someone who had seemed nice enough. But if what she had seen on the internet was true, and Miyeon really did work in radio, then Llama was going to have to stay very tight-lipped on a lot of things, “It’s good to see you.” As long as you’re not here to pry. “Thanks, and yeah, I’m fine. Something came up, and I had to rush home. I hated to leave the party so soon.” She really had wanted to stay, but Nora had made that nearly impossible with her comments, “Oh? What was your dare?” She was curious. “Don’t you hate when that happens. People posting videos of you without your permission.” She had genuinely meant it, but had also hoped Miyeon would pick up what she was putting down in terms of just leaving her alone, when it came to private matters.

“Llama…Ross…Okay, who names their kid Llama?”

Llama rolled her eyes and sighed as she started to move forward to get her drink, “Well, it was nice talking to you. That’s me, and I hope to see you around town sometime.” She knew the conversation had just started, but poor Llama was trying to avoid being questioned by Wicked’s Rest’s own inquisition.

Snagging her drink from the barista, Llama quietly said ‘thank you’, before leaving the small shop. However, on her way out, she heard Miyeon’s name being called by the same barista. Shit. She was gonna have to pick up the pace a little bit.

—

“There’s always next time,” Miyeon said with a small shrug and a smile. “I’m just glad you’re doing alright.” As much as she wanted to dig into Mack for a story, something she could craft into the next big podcast to hit the net, it wasn’t going to be at the expense of her as a person. Miyeon wasn’t that desperate. And if she was invited to the party with the rest of the people there, she had to guess that Mack was a decent enough person.

She hoped regaling her own tale of embarrassment would lighten the mood a little. “Well, you know that wolf girl on tiktok? The one who jumps around and makes fun of those kids in elementary school who thought they were an animal or whatever?” Miyeon always had to laugh at them. They so wanted to be her but they just couldn’t. And they would never even know. She got in big trouble with her mom the one time she told kids she could turn into a fox. Which is why she was super careful that it never got back to her the one time she full-on transformed right in front of Jimmy Macintyre, the little shit. He nearly pissed his pants, too. “Anyway, some people didn’t know or acted like they didn’t know so I got dared to do the wolf girl jumps. It was a stellar performance, totally Oscar-worthy if I do say so myself. I mean it was no mime lessons reenactment, of course.”

Alright, that comment was pointed. Miyeon considered dropping it — she wanted to start off on the right foot, after all— but she simply couldn’t. Not when her integrity was in question.“Hey, if you’re accusing me of something, you can just come out and say it. It’s not like you’re on the record,” she said, her tone firm but not aggressive. She didn’t want to wage a war here, all she wanted to do was get the facts straight for all parties involved. “And, for that very record, I didn’t record any video.” Only some really terrible audio that she could barely hear over the other side conversations happening around her that night. “Even if I did, I have journalistic integrity. I get that that’s not really a thing in LA but you’re not there anymore.” She knew Mack had no good reason to believe her, not really, but she was sincere in her words and Miyeon was usually pretty confident that she was able to effectively communicate her thoughts and intentions.

Miyeon’s face scrunched up in confusion when she heard the barista shout out “Llama Ross.” An interesting choice for a pseudonym. She was going to have to ask about that. And it was her lucky day, her order was ready for her to swipe off the counter with a quick thanks and smile which meant she could stay right on Mack’s — or should she say Llama’s — heels. “Hey, where are you hurrying off to?” It couldn’t be a set or anything, not here. This town was weird but not the Hollywood kind of weird. Maybe the SyFy Channel kind of weird but even that was pushing it.

—

Llama had felt bad not really giving Miyeon the time of day, but she had been hounded like this one too many times. Cue many of the hideous paparazzi photos that were now floating around on the internet. Instead, she opted for the good old classic nod and haul ass plan, but with Miyeon hot on her heels, she really couldn’t escape. And instead of further being rude, she stopped walking, and turned to see exactly what the woman had wanted, “Look, you seem like a really nice person and all, but no offense, you work on the more journalistic/podcast side of things, and for me,” especially now when I stand a chance to be outed for everything that I am and have done, “it makes me nervous. Not to say that you’re like that, but I’ve been burned, one too many times, by people who I thought I could trust, but really just wanted the ‘scoop’.”

Maybe getting to the point was best. But she didn’t want to hurt Miyeon’s feelings. Llama was sure her podcast and morning show were great. It was just a matter of not getting too close only to be burned at the worst time of her life.

She looked at the ground sheepishly ashamed for trying to outrun the woman she had briefly met at the party. She didn’t know if she had taken video or what, but it was still only fair to give Miyeon a legit chance to prove herself. Llama would have wanted the same thing. Please don’t regret this. Please don’t regret this. “Can we start over? It’s not fair that I jumped to conclusions about you when I don’t even know you, and I’m sure those Wolf Girl Jumps were totes cute.” Sticking out her free hand that didn’t contain coffee, Llama looked to Miyeon with a soft smile.

—

Miyeon was pretty sure she was watching a window of opportunity close in front of her. Not that she knew what the opportunity was. She wasn’t sure if it was an opportunity for that interview or for maybe just something simpler – like friendship. Miyeon didn’t even know what she wanted anymore. Sure, when she first saw Mack Ross at the party, she could only see the stars in her eyes, thinking about the potential interview, the scoop, the deep dive, the exclusive. But she couldn’t bring herself to be that kind of slimy gross journalist who would tear someone apart just for a story.

Not to mention, that seemed like a terrible way to get a tail. Sure, okay, she didn’t really know how to earn one of those. Yet. But she figured it had to be good deeds and not like shitty manipulation tactics that would get her closer. Either way, it seemed like they were running in the same circles of people in town. It wouldn’t hurt to see if maybe she could find a friend there.

To say she was almost bowled over by what happened next would be an understatement. “I would love to start over,” Miyeon said with a smile and reaching out to shake Mack’s hand. She nearly jumped at how cold it was and had to make sure she kept the surprise off her face. It was probably just poor circulation or something like that. Did she have an iced drink or hot? Whatever, didn’t matter. “I hope so. Because I’m pretty sure for the most part they were just totally embarrassing.” The shop was busy, but mostly with people coming and going. The seats were pretty empty. “There’s a booth by the back there if you want to hang out?” She wasn’t sure if the other girl was going to take her up on it. “Totally cool if not. But you can interview me instead of the other way around. A nice little turn of the tables, yeah?”

—

The handshake confirmed things. Miyeon was willing to start over and that sent a wave of relief over Llama. She could just eat her later, if things didn’t exactly go according to plan. Okay, that was more of a twisted joke inside of her own head, and one she kept cued up at times, but she knew it wouldn’t make any kind of sense and would only be funny to her. She had to entertain herself and the shitty situation she was in somehow, “Good.”

Pulling her hand back, she glanced over to the booth that her new friend was referring to. It wasn’t like she had anywhere to be. And now that Miyeon wasn’t so much of a threat, Llama didn’t see why she couldn’t spend a little more time getting to know her, “How does one do a Wolf Girl Jump exactly?” She had totally been messing with Miyeon knowing there wasn’t a chance in Hell that the person standing in front of her was going to hop around like a dog and howl in the middle of the coffee shop, but she had to ask. After a brief pause though, Llama’s expression eased up, and she began to laugh, “I’m kidding, but yeah, let’s go find a seat. I’m sure I can figure out some more questions to ask you.”

Llama made her way back to the empty booth and slid in the seat with her back to the door. Normally, she had preferred to see who was coming and going, but at least they would get more privacy if people didn’t see a famous actress sitting in the back when they walked in. Taking a drink of her coffee, she sat it down on the table and crossed her arms, getting comfortable.

—

Miyeon shot the girl a look. There was no way she expected her to do full on wolf girl jumps in the middle of the coffee shop. Like sure, she’d consider it if she got something good out of it. But it would have to be really really good if she was going to completely humiliate herself in public. So she was relieved to see that it was all in gest. “You had me there for a second,” she said with a smile. “I hope you know I’m serious enough about a second chance that I was briefly considering it.” Still, she was glad to have an opportunity to actually chat.

She followed towards the empty booth and took a seat across from Mack. “Alright, hit me.” She went to take a sip of her coffee and paused. “I mean like, not literally. But, you know, with questions and stuff.” It was weird, being the one to get questioned and not the other way around. She wasn’t entirely used to that. She hadn’t been in this position often, especially not lately, and she was really not going to sit and introspect on why that was. There probably was one and she just wanted to enjoy her coffee and not think about her own flaws or failures or anything like that. Too much of a downer for morning coffee.

“Oh wait, can I ask one thing first?” she said, leaning forward eagerly. She got close, looked around to make sure the coast was clear and lowered her voice to a whisper, just in case. “Why are you going by Llama? Is it like a code name or something? Low profile? Sorry, I’m just curious since, you know.” Miyeon pointed at the name on Mack’s drink.

—

Llama had kind of wanted to see Wolf Girl Jumps, but she would save that for later in the evening when she’d probably be scrolling Tiktok endlessly, unable to sleep and trying to avoid thinking about life, errr…death. Still the fact that Miyeon was considering it did mean something to the young zombie. Instead, she was going to relish the opportunity to turn the tables and interview the interviewer, “This, like, never happens, so I’m pretty excited that someone else is in the hot seat for once.” She took another sip of her coffee, before sitting it back down.

Llama had spent years in the spotlight constantly being questioned about this and that. Some things she gladly talked about and others that she really just wanted to be left alone about. But since she had fled her apartment down south after the Brody incident, the idea of being questioned had made her incredibly nervous. Sure, she had been taught not to breach contracts with spoilers knowing there were consequences like fines or possibly being fired, but if she breached this contract by accident, she would likely be sent to prison or worse. It was a thought that had constantly lingered in the back of her mind.

Seeing Miyeon lean forward made Llama’s brow furrowed in confusion. What was this question going to be? If it was anything super personal, she’d get up and leave. Simple as that. But hearing it was just about her name and why she was going by Llama seemed to give her some relief, “I’m not gonna lie, I thought you were about to ask me something super personal, but yeah. Code name. I’ve always loved llamas, so I thought, why not?” In reality, she still couldn’t put her finger on it, and though she hardcore ground it into everyone’s mind who questioned her, the fact of the matter was that Llama couldn’t really understand why it felt so off. It just seemed to help that Miyeon had come up with an answer right there on the spot.

—

Miyeon smiled when she saw Mack’s shoulders drop just a little as she sunk into her seat when she mentioned she was excited to do the questioning for once. As much as Miyeon liked being the one to do the investigating, she knew there was value in sharing enough of herself to make others comfortable. Not to mention, she didn’t have a whole lot to hide. Well, other than the fact that she could turn into a fox and would live for centuries and her parents were ancient and sometimes she ate ghosts. Aside from that, totally normal.

Some part of the kitsune was hoping for some sort of crazy answer, something wild and exciting, but she would have to concede for now. “Why not, indeed,” she said with a smile. “Llamas are pretty cool, fair enough. That’s not a bad code name.” A thought struck her. “Wait, don’t they spit? Or, no, that’s camels. I think. Maybe? I don’t know. And hold on, are they the same as alpacas? I mean llamas, not camels. Like are all alpacas like squares or something and llamas are rectangles? Or are they completely different? Do they–” Miyeon caught herself midsentence. Oh yeah. Mack, or rather, Llama was supposed to be interviewing her. She wasn’t supposed to be asking twenty questions about llamas. “Sorry, I get carried away sometimes. You can always stop me.” She laughed before taking another sip of her coffee. “Or at least you can try to.”

—

Llama leaned back against the seat and settled back in. What she didn’t expect though, was a flurry of questions regarding llamas, camels, and alpacas. But instead of shying away from it, she welcomed it! “Considering Llamas are sort of my thing, you’ve come to the right person. So llamas, alpacas, and camels spit and do so out of feeling agitated or threatened. And while they do spit at humans sometimes, wouldn't you spit too, if you felt threatened and didn’t have arms to punch or push with? I mean we’re coming into their area and their comfort zone right? And they are all from the same family, but llamas are much larger than alpacas. And something good to remember…llamas may not look as cute with their longer snouts and taller ears, but they’re the puppies. Alpacas have squished snouts and shorter ears, look way cuter, but they’re like cats.” Llama caught herself. “I don’t think you’re the only one getting carried away.”

After taking another sip of coffee, she laughed, “I could talk about llamas all day, but I won’t.” It was hard coming up with questions on the spot, but she started with something easy, “Back to me interviewing you. So first question, what’s your favorite animal?” She took another sip, before sitting her cup back down. It was Miyeon’s turn to talk and explain herself. Llama was just along for the ride this time, which was nice.

—

Out of sheer instinct, Miyeon went to reach for a pen to take notes on the notepad that she didn’t have in front of her. There was no paper, there was no pen, of course there wasn’t. Whoops. She tried to act like she was brushing crumbs off from the table instead. “Sorry, whenever I get good answers to something, like really good info, I just want to jot it all down. Even though I’m not currently doing a story on llamas or anything,” she said, a small chuckle following. “I mean I could if I wanted to, I guess, considering I have Wicked’s Rest’s foremost llama expert sitting right here with me.”

It was impossible to keep the smile off her face. If she could see it, she might even call it sly, which would have only made her grin wider at the irony of it all. “Oh, foxes, definitely.” Miyeon nodded and took another drink of her latte. “The ears, the little snoot, the whiskers, that bushy tail!” Of course, she would love to have way more than just the one but that was so not the point at the moment. “You can’t beat them. They’re the best, hands down.” Sure, she was incredibly biased but what else was she supposed to say, guinea pigs? Ew, no. They were cute and all but like she was definitely cuter and she wouldn’t stand for anyone saying otherwise.

—

Llama watched as Miyeon went through the motions. It would have almost made her nervous, if it hadn’t been for the fact that Llama was the one doing the interviewing and the fact that the person sitting across from her didn’t actually have a pen or paper to write on. It was actually a relief, but Llama understood that old habits die hard. She still found herself preparing herself most days, when depression didn’t have a death grip on her, for life as a celebrity. Look presentable. Stay in shape. Eat healthy. Of course, some of that had been slipping lately. She had donned her hoodie more than anything, and it really didn’t matter what she ate now, considering she couldn’t gain weight, “I get it. I still live like I’m in Hollywood sometimes, when I’m really not.” She sighed and her eyes dropped for a minute.

She didn’t want to bring the mood down, so instead, she focused on Miyeon’s answer, “Okay, but foxes are a legit and pretty good answer. They’re not llamas, but I’ll take it. Plus, you’re right. They are pretty cute. I wonder if Fox Girl Jumps are a thing…” She had pondered about the Wolf Girl Jumps before shrugging it off, “Okay, next question. What brought you to Wicked’s Rest or have you always lived here?” It wasn’t like she was going after anything in particular. If they were going to possibly be friends, Llama had just wanted to get to know Miyeon better.

—

“Yeah you’re pretty far from Hollywood,” Miyeon said with a wink. “I hope you’re ready for fall and winter. If you don’t have a snow shovel and some salt, get it now. You’ll thank me later.” She couldn’t imagine living anywhere without four distinct seasons so she was sure this was going to be a big shock to Mack’s system once it got cold. “But, on the bright side, that means you get to buy a whole new seasonally appropriate wardrobe. And if you’re anything like me, that’s more than a perfect excuse for a shopping spree.”

Miyeon had to take another glug of her latte to keep herself from saying anything stupid. It was too easy to make quips and jokes about being a fox girl, especially when people had no clue. But given the vibe of the party the other night, she wasn’t sure if she should even toe the line of revealing that secret any more than she already had. “Born and raised here, unfortunately,” she answered with a shrug, her arms out to her sides. “I know the ins and outs and then some for better or for worse.”

—

Fall and winter. Llama’s experiences with other seasons had certainly been odd. Though she had been around snow and the cold before, it was usually for brief periods of time. Shooting a movie here or vacationing there. But that was something that hadn’t even crossed her mind since moving to Maine. She had been excited at the idea though. The changing of the leaves. Sweater weather. Hot chocolate (with lots of cinnamon). And possibly even building a snowman and having snowball fights. It all sounded fun - a word that Llama didn’t take lightly anymore, “Yeah, I don’t have either of those. Where do you get that stuff? And are you saying what I think you’re saying, because Shopping Spree is my middle name.”

The thought of the cold made Llama instinctively shiver just a little bit. Could she even get cold? Would snow cause frostbite on her already dead skin? Just more questions she’d have to wait and find out the answers too. But she knew one thing, her coffee was sitting in front of her, and she was going to enjoy that, “Wow! So you could essentially be my own personal tour guide with the dos and don’ts of Wicked’s Rest.” Now Llama knew who to go to if she had a question, “Next question. What made you want to become a DJ?”

—

“Bet.” Miyeon was already making plans, lists, outfits, and accessories, she was ready. “In a month or so we should be getting fall looks. Get your PSL ready and we’ll hit the shops.” There were few people who could keep up with her once she was on a shopping high and, fair enough, that was partially because few people could keep up with her normally. That and she didn’t have a whole lot of limitations on her wallet and as much as she could insist that it didn’t matter and she could help, things could get weird. She had a feeling that wouldn’t be an issue with Mack. At least she hoped not. Unless financial ruin was the reason she was in town. Well, that would be a scandal. So really this was going to be good for her either way.

“That I could,” she said with a nod. “I’m sure you already learned the one about avoiding the woods at night. Like the news and whatnot does a pretty good job of advising that one.” Did they say the real reasons why people should avoid the woods at night? No, of course not, but it was better than nothing. “Ah yeah, that one,” she paused to take another sip of her latte before continuing. “So I studied journalism and communications and I don’t know if you could tell this about me but I like to talk a lot. Crazy, I know. I hide it so well.” Hey if she couldn’t joke about herself, then who could? “Anyway, I did a project where I tried out hosting a few spots on Leticia’s station. You know, at Vinyl Countdown, she’s the owner. Amazing, I love her. Anyway, she sort of showed me the ropes and I learned I’m pretty good at it and so here I am.”

—

Llama’s closet was full. So full that she probably needed to rid herself of some clothes, but it was hard. She had memories tied with every piece and parting with any of it would prove to be nearly impossible. It’s okay. She’d just rent out a storage unit if need be. But the last thing she wanted to become was a hoarder - where her next starring role would be the Hoarders crew visiting after reports from her friends came in that she had a problem, only for everyone to find her trapped under a pile of clothes, just to later eat everyone when she was finally dug free after being starved from human brains for so long, “Count me in. PSL will be locked and loaded with extra spice.” Yep. Storage unit it was.

“I’ve heard that one and about everyone’s suspicions with mimes.” Of course, she was also a walking example, considering her name had been stolen, but to her, she was just Llama. “This town sure does have a lot of weird shit going on.” Maybe moving here hadn’t been the greatest idea…But then how would she have ever met people like Alex, and now Miyeon, who was explaining, in detail, how she started working as a DJ. It was nice, though, hearing about someone else with so much passion for what they did. Llama had loved her job as an actress. And not being able to do it was something that had been hurting her, so in this moment, she chose to live vicariously through Miyeon. “Okay, final question…If you’re going to be my friend, you’re not gonna try and use me as a story for your radio show right?” She took another sip of her drink, which she was pretty sure was cold by now, but it’s not like she knew that for sure.

—

“Alright, that settles it. It’s going in the planner.” Miyeon lived and died by her planners. She would never remember when anything was happening or what she was supposed to be doing otherwise. Even if no single other person on earth could interpret her organizational methods, it worked for her and that was enough.

“You can say that again,” she said, pulling a face as she set her cup down on the table. Strange was putting it nicely but there was no point in diving into that deep end. Not today, at least. She didn’t know what Mack knew and honestly, there was a lot that Miyeon didn’t know herself about the supernatural aspects of the town. Her parents had made sure of that. All she knew was where not to go and what not to do. And that only made those more appealing, to be honest.

The last question Mack asked was one that Miyeon should have seen coming a mile away. It was her job to anticipate responses and plan follow-ups to a certain extent. So she was disappointed that it surprised her at all. Ugh, it would be so convenient to just go for the story, get what she wanted and to use it to get ahead, but as sky-high as her ambitions were, Miyeon could never step on anyone else to get there. Sometimes she almost hated it about herself – she could only imagine how far she could go by now if she was willing to look out just for her own goals, but that wasn’t who she was. Tragically. So she held back the sigh she wanted to let out and instead held up her hand, fist closed and pinky raised. “Pinky promise,” she said, looking Mack dead in the eye. “Friends only guest on my show when or if they want to. And I don’t snitch on my friends.” And she meant it. As much as she desperately wanted an in, a story, a break, anything, she only wanted it if she earned it, if it was done with integrity. If Mack had a story to tell, she hoped that she got to hear it. And if she wanted to share it, she hoped she could earn enough trust to tell it. But those were some big ifs that she knew might never come to fruition. And she was okay with that so long as she got something out of it all in the end. Friendship was enough.

—

“I’ll have my people call your people to set it up.” Would Taylor still set this up for her? She was her assistant after all. But did Miyeon have people? Llama was so used to having to set up appointments and even schedule time with friends that she wasn’t sure, “Do you have people Taylor needs to call? You know what, I’ll just put it in my phone, right here, right now.” Pulling out her phone, she opened it up to the calendar and put it down for October. That’s when it got cold enough right? Miyeon would have to be the judge of that, since Llama always stayed cold.

Once she was finished, she shoved her phone back into her hoodie pocket only to see Miyeon holding up her pinky and making a promise. Promises…what had she heard about them? That you weren’t supposed to make them in this town? And though Miyeon was a reporter of sorts, she had been truthful the whole time they had been hanging out. If she was willing to make that promise, then Llama was going to take it.

Raising her own pinky up, she wrapped it around her new friend’s and shook on it, “I truly appreciate that, Miyeon. I’ll be honest. When I saw you earlier, I was hesitant to give you any kind of chance. People in the media looking for a photo or the scoop make me nervous, but I’m not in Hollywood anymore, so I’m glad I’m actually looking past that and giving you a chance. You seem like a pretty good person. Plus, I don’t snitch either. What’s the saying? Snitches get stitches?” Or your brain ripped out of your head? Letting go of Miyeon’s pinky, she lowered her hand and grabbed her cup, “And hey, I mean it about shopping. You’re gonna wish we never planned this.” With a wink, she got up from the table and tossed her cup in the trash, before walking out with a smile on her face.

#para: lattes & pinky promises #para: miyeon #{that's not my name; plot}#wickedswriting #fox--tales

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